Truth to tell, I almost forgot to put this newsletter together. I've been busy with a number of projects (such as trying to make a living . . .) that diverted my attention. One of the more important projects is putting together another book. Since the recent one I put out seems to be doing fairly well with a title I stole from Hilaire Belloc (The Restoration of Property), I thought I would steal another title, this time from G. K. Chesterton: What's Wrong with the World.
Fundraising for the new book is a bit slow, however — not surprising during these times of economic downturn and the belief that you can get out of debt by spending more — so if you have an odd (or even) $10,000 that you'd like to see put to good use saving the world, just send it to me, with the check, money order, or wampum made out to "CESJ," P.O. Box 40711, Washington, DC, 20016, for your tax deductible contribution and all kinds of nifty prizes, such as a complimentary membership for life in CESJ and an autographed copy of the book when it comes out.
Aside from that, please consider registering as a member of this SIG so that we can get relisted with national. Since there has been a low response rate for memberships (as opposed to newsletter subscribers, of which we have many), and people do not tend to value what they get for free, if you register in the next thirty days, you will get a special membership rate of only $1,000. Ordinarily membership is free, so hurry and join now while the price is high.
Hey. It's been working for the government, hasn't it?
Beannachtai!
Michael
DISCLAIMERS
Opinions expressed in this newsletter are those of individual authors and may not reflect those of other SIG members or the SIG as a whole. Nothing in this newsletter should be taken as an official position of Mensa. Mensa as a whole has no opinions.
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CONTENTS
Announcements
Organization, Publication and Membership Information
Letters
News and Reports
Articles
Food
Reviews
The Fourth Page
ANNOUNCEMENTS
As a newsletter, we rely on you to tell us what's going on. If you have an announcement for an upcoming event, please let us know. Just keep in mind that we try to publish on the 17th of every month, so get your announcements in at least a few days before that. Otherwise, consider sending it in as a report or a news item for the subsequent month.
• Official Nagging Announcement. We still have a number of subscribers who are probably wondering why they're not getting the newsletter. It's because they haven't verified their subscriptions by clicking on the link in the e-mail Google sent to their specified e-mail address. If you subscribed but have not received the newsletter (which means you're visiting the blog and are reading this there), it's an easy matter to correct. Enter your e-mail address again, and Google will send you another verification e-mail. Come on. This isn't rocket surgery. Or brain science.
• As always, feel free to forward this e-mail to your networks. If you haven't registered as a SIG member, please consider doing so.
• If you have any news items, announcements, letters, reports, or anything of Irish interest, please send them in. The alternative is to get a monologue each month consisting of my wit and wisdom — and you can see what that's like.
ORGANIZATION, PUBLICATION AND MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION
What We Are
Litir Scéala an tSIG Gaelach is the newsletter of the Irish Special Interest Group of American Mensa, Ltd. More information about the SIG and this newsletter may be accessed by clicking on this link.
Resources
We are preparing to put together a list of resources and organizations that might be useful to our members. Due to the global scope of our readership, we are trying to limit the list to organizations that extend beyond a purely local constituency. This is a matter of simple logistics, due to the immense number of organizations out there. If you're looking for a local group to get involved with — and we encourage that — do an internet search. You may be both amazed and pleased at what you will find. We expect to list resources as we rebuild our membership, but right now notifications are coming in at less than a snail's pace.
Who We Are
As we hinted rather broadly above, we have no new members this month, either. We have a significant number of visitors and casual readers, but that's not going to get the SIG reactivated officially, however gratifying it may be personally.
Anyway, here's this month's membership report:
5 Members of Mensa
2 Other
1 Institutional Member
24 Newsletter Subscribers
32 Total Circulation (This does not include forwarded newsletters or visitors to the website who have not signed up for the newsletter — approximately 550 to date.)
LETTERS
I got a short note from my aunt in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, that the trip to Gettysburg to locate (at long last) the statue of Father Corby was on for the first weekend in October.
NEWS AND REPORTS
Members of the Irish SIG don't usually belong only to the SIG, but to other groups with an Irish orientation as well. This is all to the good — the more society becomes more social, the better chance we have of influencing our institutions in a positive way and carrying out "acts of social justice" aimed at improving the common good for everybody. We want to encourage your community participation and then report on local events in which SIG members took part.
• The Colonel John Fitzgerald Division No. 1 A.O.H. Arlington, Virginia, held its first meeting of the season as a cookout on the grounds of the Edward D. White Council of the Knights of Columbus in Arlington, Virginia. Certified chef Chris O'Connor prepared an immense amount of food, and there was a larger than usual turnout, plus a few prospects for membership.
• As hinted in the letters section, Your SIG Coordinator made a trip to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania the first weekend in October. This time we were able to locate the statue of Father "Fair Catch" Corby, later president of the University of Notre Dame. You can say what you like, but we passed that same spot three times in July of 2011, and the statue was not there. There was, however, a lot of work going on at the time, probably in preparation for the sesquicentennial next year, and we think the statue had been removed temporarily.
• I was permitted to sell my books at the St. Thomas More Cathedral Choir Bake Sale this past Sunday. In spite of there being three collections that day, an extra-long mass, no announcements in the bulletin that day or the weeks leading up, a garbled announcement after mass, and being forced to clear out before the Spanish mass because of some event later that afternoon (meaning the people who attend the Spanish mass who are usually good customers didn't get a chance to buy anything), I still sold four books. The choir will get 20% of the gross, or $10 — yeah, I know, big deal, but usually we have nothing left at the bake sale, and we had to collect a ton of stuff left over. We really should have brought in much, much more.
ARTICLES
Feature Article: A Trip to Lancaster, Pennsylvania
As I hinted above (twice), I took a trip to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the first weekend in October. The Irish highlight of the trip was, of course, finally locating the Father Corby statue on the Gettysburg battlefield. It's near the Pennsylvania memorial, right by the side of a small tree. My aunt took a dandy photograph of me standing beside the statue, but 1) I forgot to get a copy and 2) the statue made me look fat. (I'll bet no one has ever come up with that excuse before.) On the way there we stopped at McDonalds, and I won a medium bag of fries. I gave the coupon to Dawn, a work associate, when I got back since I don't usually go to McDonalds and would feel chintzy going in just to get the free fries.
That was the second day. The first day I took a different route than usual, going by way of Camp Hill to visit Miz. Jean. She still has not opened up the special coffee I sent up to her months ago. She says she's saving it for a special occasion. Why she doesn't make drinking the coffee itself a special occasion, I don't know. It's not as if I can't bring her more — and it would give me an excuse to drop in (as if I needed one).
The third day (evidently I still have to work on my chronology of events), we started out going to the "Corn Wagon." It's a roadside stand for a farm in Lancaster. Going there more than pays for the trip, which costs about $30 worth of gas there and back. It was too early for the Brussels Sprouts or the big shopping bag of end-of-season bell peppers for $3, but I started off with 2 "neck pumpkins" for $2.50 each — a good price, but not astonishing. I would have paid $3 or $4 for the same thing at another place, or twice that at the grocery, so let's say the savings were $1. I'm an accountant, and we're supposed to be conservative.
Then I picked out a dozen huge green peppers, 4/$1. Much smaller peppers cost $1.25 each here. Savings: $12. Four green cabbages, $1 each, at least ten pounds each, probably more like 15, but we're being conservative. They didn't have any red cabbage, which I like with chicken, but so what. Cabbage here is 75¢/lb. Savings: $26. (If you're keeping score, that's $39 so far, a clear profit of $9 on the trip.) Then I got two cauliflowers, fresh from the field — I saw the tractor bringing them in. $1.50 each, for heads twice to four times as big as what you get here for $2 a head. We'll say twice as big. Savings: $13, running total $42.
Six eggplants, 2 for $1. Price here: $1.50/lb. Let's say these were puny and were only 2 lbs each (and that they didn't look much, much better than anything you've ever seen in a store). Savings: $6, total: $48. Finally, four bunches of broccoli, 75¢ each. Here, $1.50 a pound. Being conservative, say 2 lbs again. Savings: $3. Total savings: $51 — and double that if you're being realistic.
Then we went to Cherry Hill Orchard. Usually we get something there, but I swiped one of the free apples (undersized ones they give away for free), and we were off to the Strasburg Rail Road (I don't know why they separate "rail" and "road"). We needed to get a railroad cap for my first-cousin-once-removed Sebastian, who lives in Texas and who loves trains.
It turned out that the gift shop wouldn't open for another hour, so we got directions to "Michael's Homestyle Breads" bakery in Strasburg. The railroad worker who gave us directions said we had to bring him back some sticky buns if they were open. They weren't, but they did say they were at market in Bird in Hand that day. Since we were going to Bird in Hand Market anyway, we went. My aunt got her sticky buns and a loaf of raisin bread. At other stands I got some garlic ring bologna and some smoked paprika (to go with the green peppers that were turning orange, of course — these days even the vegetables are political).
Then we went to Kitchen Kettle Village down the road for lunch. Naturally we first sampled the pickles and such, but then had hotdogs for lunch, with root beer. The next day I drove back to Northern Virginia in time to sing at the Arlington Cathedral.
FOOD
Eggplant Under Oil
Not Irish, you say? Well . . . the olive oil is green, sort of, so it counts. Besides, I had to say something about what I did with all the eggplant I bought up in Lancaster. And, since it's Halloween, telling what to do with the most horrible vegetable anyone can imagine fits in with our theme. And it's not colcannon.
You'll need a stainless steel or enamel saucepan — something that won't react with the acid in vinegar. You'll also need glass jars with lids to put the eggplant in. Pickle jars are perfect, if there's no corrosion on the lid. You're not canning, just keeping it in the refrigerator, so you don't have to worry about a proper seal. You'll need a vegetable peeler and a sharp knife. I know, your knives should always be sharp; dull knives are dangerous — they slide and can chop you instead of the food. You'll also want a colander, a bowl to set the colander in, and a pair of tongs to handle the eggplant with. I think that's all the equipment.
The ingredients are eggplant — any variety should do, as long as it's firm and fresh. Everyone I've ever talked to says that whole "male/female" thing is meaningless, so don't worry whether your eggplant has an indentation on the bottom. Olive oil, vinegar, garlic, salt, pepper and minced bell peppers. In a pinch, you can do with just the olive oil, vinegar salt and pepper, even some garlic powder.
Peel the eggplant and cut it into rounds or lengthwise, between 1/4 and 1/2 inch thick. Put an inch or two of vinegar in the saucepan and bring it to a boil. Put the eggplant slices in for a very short time — I'd say no more than 30-45 seconds, remove them with the tongs, put in the colander to cool, and put the next batch into the saucepan. Keep going until you've done all the eggplant.
Now start putting the eggplant into the glass jar or jars. Layer the slices in, and over each layer put salt, pepper, garlic and minced bell pepper. You can add olive oil, too, up to the level of the eggplant, or you can wait until the end to add the oil. Go until you run out of eggplant, cover with oil, put on the lid, and put in the refrigerator for 4-8 weeks. Serve on crackers or bread. Save the oil for more eggplant, or just put it on bread.
REVIEWS
John Henry Newman's Callista: A Sketch of the Third Century. Once and Future Books, ISBN 978-1602100046, 280 pp., $20.00.
In general such novels promoted a very superficial understanding of both theology and history. They usually gave the impression that the only thing necessary to be a "Christian" was to be a good and decent man (or woman) . . . more or less. God might test you with some trials and tribulations (or there wouldn't be much of a plot), but there would be the necessary happy ending, with the handsome hero and the beautiful Christian maiden riding off into the sunset, or whatever it was that Romans did in those days. All that nasty and unpleasant martyrdom and death was ignored.
Almost without exception, these novels and plays assumed any one of the many Protestant positions as a given. Being works of fiction, events could be tailored to support or conform to any theological or political claim. From the point of view of one of the most intellectual English converts to the Catholic Church in the nineteenth century, these stories were both bad theology and bad history — as Newman himself said, to know history is to become Catholic.
Needless to say, many of these novels were also just plain bad stories. The most enduring of the bad stories has been The Last Days of Pompeii, by Edward Bulwer-Lytton. Bulwer-Lytton, of course, is the man famous for penning the immortal opening line of Paul Kelver: "It was a dark and stormy night."
Given this, someone who has never read Callista would end up thinking that it must be a very dull book indeed. After all, who wants to read a thinly disguised lecture on the fine points of Anglican v. Catholic theology? (Well . . . every reader of Newman's earlier novel, Loss and Gain, 1848, one of the most barbed, insightful — and amusing — examinations of the Anglican claims ever written, that's who.)
The impression that Callista is simply a Catholic version of a Bulwer-Lytton potboiler has probably prevented more people from reading it than any other cause. Yes, there are Catholic romances in that vein, at least one of which, Henryk Sienkiewicz's magnificent and panoramic Quo Vadis? is justifiably considered a classic, and a thrilling story — and it doesn't avoid all that unpleasant stuff like death and martyrdom. A good translation of Quo Vadis? — the one by Jeremiah Curtain, the Irish folklorist, was personally approved by Sienkiewicz (you knew I'd work Ireland in here somewhere) — is well worth the effort to locate, and is almost guaranteed to be read more than once.
So what has prevented Callista from also being enjoyed to this degree? For one thing, the cover art of at least one popular paperback edition from the 1950s probably hasn't helped matters any. Coincidentally, it dates from the same period as the Hollywood Biblical Epic phase. The cover depicts a "typical" early Christian maiden in a typical "stained glass" pose with an appropriately "holy" expression on her face. I showed a friend of mine a copy of that particular edition, whereupon she exclaimed that her father had had that same edition, and had always urged her to read it.
"And did you?"
"No. It looked too boring."
This is unjust. Callista does not follow the established pattern of an "early Christian romance." It blazes a new trail, one that few writers have dared to follow. There is, of course, a happy ending . . . but it is not "happy" in the sense that many of today's readers would understand or appreciate without first grasping the basic idea that underpins every sentence of the novel: that Jesus is God and rose from the dead. Nothing that happens in the book makes sense unless we realize that all the characters are either acting in accordance with that belief, or in opposition to it.
Ultimately, Callista is a novel written by a Catholic for Catholics — although Newman being Newman, he couldn't help but turn out a work of literature that appeals to audiences far removed from the questions he examined and the belief system he explained. It can — and should — be read as a well-written and exciting story, certainly much better than a great deal that is churned out today. It also has the advantage of reinforcing an essentially sound orientation to life, a benefit to anyone, regardless of his religious belief or affiliation. There is no reason to cheat yourself out of a good story simply because you may disagree with the religious beliefs of the author or have a prejudice against anything written before you were born. Read it anyway; besides which, you may find that you don't disagree quite as much as you thought you did. You might even learn something, and you will certainly be entertained.
THE FOURTH PAGE
The Geraldines of Ireland, IV: Subjugation and Assimilation
THE CONCLUSION OF THE PRESUMED CONSPIRACY OF 1331 was settled in typically Norman-Irish fashion. Desmond I was released from Dublin Castle in 1333, but de Burgo had died in prison in Northburgh Castle in 1332. FitzGerald's lands were restored, and he seemed to keep the peace for the next ten years. However, Ireland, while relatively peaceful at this time, was receiving some salutary treatment from Edward III. Due to the in-fighting and general assimilation into Irish culture of the Irish-born English, the king removed all royal officials "who were beneficed, married, and held property in Ireland, and had nothing in England" and replaced them with English-born Englishmen, who had lands and benefices in England. The stated policy was to employ only English-born English in the future. This policy, largely a failure, succeeded only in causing great resentment among the Irish-born English.
Desmond I again became embroiled in trouble in 1343 when he seized the Barony of Inchiquin, held in the king's wardship for the Baddlesmeres. It was once again alleged that he was trying to make himself king of Ireland, and that he had sent letters to all the major lords, inciting rebellion, as well as sending a letter to the Pope denouncing the rule of Edward III in Ireland and asking to be appointed the Pope's representative there, in exchange for an annual payment to the Holy See of 2,000 marks (£1,333, 6/ 8d-a mark was two-thirds of a Roman pound of silver). With a force of 1,000 men, recruited from disaffected Normans and Irish, Desmond attempted to take the king's town of Youghal in 1344, but was unsuccessful. This lent credence to the charges of treason.
That was how the situation stood when Ralph de Ufford was appointed Justiciar in 1344, arriving in June of that year. Apparently the Irish-born English were causing as much-if not more-trouble than the native Irish. De Ufford reported to the king that his slowness in reporting was due to taking prompt action to subdue recalcitrant English who would not obey the law, as well as the Irish, "who were much inclined to do ill, and did it from day to day, but they do not bear themselves so high now as they did."
In February, 1345, Desmond I summoned an assembly of lords at Callann, which he attended, along with a large force. The other lords, however, stayed home, having been forbidden to attend such "suspect conventicles." Although the Earl had been negotiating with the king over a marriage of an heir that he had purchased (and withheld the payment of), he continued to attack the king's forces and castles throughout the summer. Finally de Ufford, the Justiciar, proclaimed the royal service (i.e., called upon all the lords and knights who owed the king or his designated Lieutenant military service) and began taking Desmond's castles. Desmond I himself took refuge among the native Irish, while his associates were executed, forced to give hostages or obliged to seek formal pardons.
In order to subdue the Geraldines further, de Ufford now proceeded against the Northern FitzGerald, the fourth Earl of Kildare. It is unclear how the Lord Justice carried it out, but apparently he sent two writs to Kildare IV in 1345, one ordering him to assist the Justiciar against his kinsman, the Earl of Desmond, the other commanding him to be put under arrest and imprisoned, presumably should he prove reluctant to turn on his own family. Kildare IV apparently decided, to his credit, not to bear arms against his own cousin, and was imprisoned in Dublin Castle until 1346, when he was released on the surety of twenty-four gentlemen of his county of Kildare. De Ufford died prematurely in April of 1346, having reduced Desmond I, but still leaving him at large among the "Irish enemy."
Desmond surrendered himself shortly before the royal appointment of Walter de Bermingham as Justiciar (who replaced Roger Darcy, who served briefly after his appointment by the Irish Council in Dublin), on condition that he be given special protection and allowed to go to Westminster to answer charges against him. In 1348, he was released on bail, and a year and a half later he received formal pardon for his treason and restored to his dignities and estates. He returned to Ireland in 1350, and the Michaelmas Parliament of 1351 annulled all the writs of outlawry.
By the time Desmond died in 1356, he had been Lord Justice himself for several months. In light of the many accusations against him and his past history, this appointment in July of 1355 was somewhat surprising, but the king may have been somewhat skeptical of some of the more dramatic charges against FitzGerald. Also, he may have been the only truly viable candidate: Most of the obvious men were with the king fighting in France, while Desmond's cousin, the Earl of Kildare (Kildare IV) was undergoing a bout of contrariness which had put him temporarily out of favor at court. Desmond I's heir, Maurice FitzMaurice FitzGerald, second Earl of Desmond, held the title only three years, before he died in 1359, not having had much of a chance to do anything on his own after being in the shadow of his father for so many years. His own heir, his half-brother Gerald (Desmond III), was left in his infancy.
Meanwhile, the insidious process of assimilation into Irish culture was proceeding apace. In 1350, the Earl of Kildare (Kildare IV) made an agreement with Maurice Schynnach, King of Fertewac and Monthyrcagan and Fergal Mac Geoghegan, Duke of Keneraliagh, by which they became his liegemen, and in 1368 he retained the O'Dempseys and Sheyn Mac Airt. Similar arrangements were made between other Norman and Irish lords. This may have begun as early as under John FitzThomas FitzGerald (Shanid IV).
All over Ireland, the Norman lords were taking on Irish retainers and Irish customs, probably at first in order to secure assistance in taking as much land as they could grab, but, in the end, it initiated and accelerated the process of assimilation. This, incidentally, was the setting for the enactment of the Statute of Kilkenny, which sought to halt and, if possible, reverse the process. Many of the new men sent to Ireland by the king were shocked by the degree of assimilation, and, apparently, expressed it vocally. This was probably conducive of a number of private duels and other gambroils, to the extent that a report was sent to the king that,
". . . divers dissensions and debates arisen between the English born in England and the English born in Ireland his subjects, whereby in times past hurt and peril has happened in Ireland, and worse is feared unless the same be speedily appeased."
The remedy for this, expressed in the Statute of Kilkenny, was that there was to be no distinction made between the two groups, particularly by name-calling, so that "all shall be called by one name, the English lieges of our lord the king," on pain of a year's imprisonment and a ransom to be set at the king's will.
#30#
