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• Attack of the Plastic Patty's
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• Celebrating the Saint of Ireland - St. Patrick
• Celtic Cats - Magical Mystery Purr!
• Celtic Love, nothing short of Epic!
• An Interview with a Faerie in the 21st Century
• Five Miracles of Storytelling
• Halloween, the Celtic American Holiday!
• Irish Standard Time
• Kerns + Galloglass. Scariest Team on Earth!
• One old Biddy you don't mess with
• The Problem with Fairies.... NEW!
• Saint Preserve Us
• Shaggy Dog Stories - a Celts best friend!
• St. Patrick's Day: A story of celebration and survival
• Storytelling for Kids
• A Tough Act To Follow - Mystic, Legend, Saint,… Patrick.
• Tying the Knot, Celtic Style

Saint Preserve Us! (But we can do it too!)

written for the Irish News by True Thomas

One of the saddest things I've ever run into. I went to a estate/yard sale, and there in a jumble of boxes was a box full of photographs and letters. When I brought the seller's attention to them, they just shrugged and turned away. In that box were old photos of loves lost and won, of trials and tribulations, and of memories and stories that were now gone. As a storyteller, and as a person, it made me truly sad. In my business, both traditional and personal stories have power. I was looking at the stories of a person and a family, "that had no home to go to". The Irish certainly went through some troubled times, and sometimes left those memories behind them on purpose. But memories (and the stories) good and bad help us define who we are, and in a larger sense, where we are going. Our stories have power.

How many of us have the box of photo's of unknown folks, from long ago? Here's a shillelagh brought by my great grandfather from the old sod. "I'm Paddy McIrish from a long line of Dugans and Kelly's and …….Here's my family crest…." But all this is "thin soup" compared to "and when your grandfather fought in the labor movement" and "this side of the family were infamous horse thieves, and on the other side, we've long line of royal folks," etc. etc. So here are some recommendations on saving those family stories.

First and foremost, "Don't Assume." We often think that Aunt Sally will live forever, and that all these stories are recorded somewhere. Wrong. When Aunt Sally trips off to Tir Nan Og, those stories may go with her. So make it official policy that once or twice a year, you gather folks together, kill the tv, and tell the family stories. And record the conversations. You can get your family historians together, the ones who know all the embarrassing stories, put them down in front of a photo albums or box of photo's and mementos, bring out the tea, and the camera or audio recorder. If you set the camera on wide lense, and with a long tape, and a reasonable view, after while, people forget about the camera, and the stories will be recorded. {Use AC power, not batteries}
And believe me, 20 years from now, your grandkids will really love the story of how your Uncle got shot down over France in World War 2.

Along with the Don't Assume theme, don't assume that there are not multiple versions of the stories (from different perspectives) and that the quiet ones have no stories. Uncle Al may be a stone in a group, but one on one, asking a few questions could unlock a wealth of memories and stories. On the oral side, if there are songs, jokes, stories, that you know are family traditions- these need to be pointed out and passed on, and recorded if possible. A discreet tape recorder is a handy thing.

Second, a mantra in the computer world, should be adopted for family history. "Always Make Back Ups." Don't have just one keeper of stories. Take the folks with the gift of memory and storytelling, and put them together, young and old. Make copies of photo albums, and nowadays you can scan the photos, text, and have them on a website, if you are so inclined. (It's a great way to find lost relatives and stories!). And even though it's a pain, take the time to take those photo's and write a story with dates, and captions. Add in postcards, coins, what have you. The photo's are eloquent, but need stories to surround them. Just like us.

For more information on how to keep stories alive, there are a great many resources on interviewing and becoming a family historian on the web and at the library. I hope you all have wonderful stories to keep and sustain you. -True