Happy St. Patrick's Day!

On this day I thought I would share a little of my Irish history with you. Since meeting up with my cousin Kevin recently, I've been learning a lot more about my dad's side of the family. Seems my paternal great-grandfather, James Walsh -- or "Old Jim," as he was known -- immigrated to Schuylkill Co., Pennsylvania, from Wicklow, Ireland, as a child. When his daughter Mary married and moved to Brooklyn, N.Y., he eventually moved in with them -- turns out I'm not the first NYC Walsh in the family! -- where he resided until his death in 1937. Although he was a mine foreman and organizer of the YMWA in lower Schuylkill Co. by professional, he was also a gifted writer and poet, one of several we have come to discover in our family tree. (His son and daughter were writers, too!)

Hope you're getting drunk somewhere today and having a great time -- the Walshes always did!