Blog Me, I'm Irish: Irish KC
Published: Dec 8, 2007
By: Jeff Meade
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Call us crazy—hey, we've been called lots worse—but we have a soft spot in our hearts for an Irish city blog, produced on a shoestring budget.
Daly's self-portraits adorn his blog. I'm not sure what he really looks like, but if the drawings are any indication, it's a cross between a young Fidel Castro and an angry Santa Claus.
On the surface, Irish KC is a blog about, ummm ... Irish events in Kansas City. But there's a so much more to it.
For one thing, Liam evidently is back in Ireland. So at the moment, it's not about KC, except for the events listing, which evidently is on autopilot. (Amazingly complete, though.) For another, it's only tangentially about Irish stuff. Still, the writing is quirky and engaging, like Regis Philbin—except that Liam is not (thank God) Regis Philbin.
Take this recent example, from a November 24 post titled "Irish Conversation in the American Midwest #34:"
—Hey, just the person I was looking for
—Why’s that?
—I’m going to Ireland in a couple of weeks and I was wondering if I needed to bring a coat?
—It’s December
—I don’t know what it’s like in Ireland
—It’s December
—That doesn’t mean anything to me; I’ve never been to the southern hemisphere before
—No, neither have I. Ireland’s in the northern hemisphere, just like the US
—But it’s thousands of miles away?
—Yes, but northeast of here; you don’t cross the equator
—Oh
—So December in Ireland is winter, as it is here in the Midwest
—But do I need a coat?
—If it was summer you’d need a coat
—Huh?
—Bring a coat
Daly's "Irish Inventions and Their Inventors" (September 28, 2006) is at least equally loopy. It includes such illuminating nuggets as: "Irish Dancing—invented in 1994 by Michael Flatley using only baby oil, arm extensions, and a winning smile" and "Irish Tourism—invented in 1984 in Dingle by Fungi the Dolphin, using a harbour and several small tour boats."
Irish KC is well worth a visit just for the events listing. But it also stands out as a pretty cool example of what bloggers can do when they're as daffily inspired as Liam Daly. It's just a great little read.
Thank you very much Jeff
Thank you very much Jeff for the kind words about myself and about Irish KC.
Also in response to the anonymous comment above: I do hope you are more successful at tracing your ancestors than you were at tracing references to the Irish Museum & Cultural Center in KC's Union Station on my site.
The IMCC has been featured regularly since its inception. All the events you mention, and much more, have featured on the Events Calendar, and most of them were also featured on the home page highlights of events. Some are still visible on the home page at the time of writing - including the annual gala which doesn't take place for another 10 or 11 weeks yet.
Also, as well as being archived in their respective months, each post on the IMCC is also archived in the category called "Organizations". The December session was cancelled due to it coinciding with the Sandy Jackson presentation on "The History of Ireland and the Holidays Through Song". News of those events including the cancellation, were all postsed on IrishKC.
Also note that once it was founded I placed a graphic in the far sidebar (that I created myself - it's not an ad) for the Irish Trad School. The school is located at the IMCC - which the graphic clearly states.
Did you use the search facility? Did you use the scrollbar? Did you even glance down the screen?
blog me I'm Irish KC
I take exception to blog me's comment that Liam Daly's (writing under his nom de blog Eolaí gan Fhéile) blog of Irish events in KC is "Amazingly complete, though."
He doesn't seem to be aware of the Irish Museum & Cultural Center in K.C.'s Union Station. The organization's been around for a while, though they just opened their lovely space last St. Patrick's Day (as a prelude to the second or third largest St Patrick's Day Parade in the U.S.).
I've been attending their Irish programs (including an excellent presentation on Book of Kells) and their monthly Sunday "sessions". I've also made good use of their free genealogy resource center to trace my ancestors.
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