The Luck of the Irish

So....it's later than St. Patrick's day, but for a while now I have been wanting to write about my love of the Irish and what better time than (somewhat) around the green holiday? Ever since I was a little girl, I have been drawn to Irish everything. Maybe it's because of my very Irish maiden name: Katie Connors. You really can't get more Irish than that :)

When I was about ten, I went with my family to see Riverdance on Broadway in LA. I remember listening to one of the Irish songs and starting to cry, and I didn't know why. All I knew was, that for some weird reason, the music resonated with me as if I had heard it before. I can't explain it, but just listening to the music, I knew that being Irish was a big part of my heritage. Not to mention, I fell in love watching the Irish dancers dance. Even though it is made fun of all the time with its straight-armed stance, who can seriously not love this:

However, I wouldn't recommend showing this to your friends at a sleepover when you are twelve, like I did. I literally made my friends watch Riverdance (an older version of the video) because I thought they would love it as much as I did; I think I was made fun of for weeks after. I don't blame them. 

An Irish Dance studio was opened up near my home by an Irish dancer medalist, from Ireland, and I was determined to go. I subsequently learned that Irish dancing is not tap dancing--there is hard shoe and soft shoe; I fell in love with soft shoe. Soft shoe, obviously, doesn't make any noise and is more graceful. Here's an example of soft shoe:

Irish Dancing became a huge part of my life, and I loved going to an occasional Feis (Irish Dance competition) to compete, but after a few years I had to choose between voice lessons and Irish Dance lessons because both were just too much. After much deliberation, I chose Voice as natural talent didn't come to me as easily in Irish Dance. I took an Irish Dance class at BYU and re-fell in love with the whole thing.

If that wasn't enough to indulge in my Irishness, I was assigned to sing multiple Irish song solos for different choirs throughout the years and had one special experience with a particular Irish song (that I may tell on this blog later on, but that's a whole other story). I found that I loved Irish singing and Irish music in general. One of my favorite groups is Secret Garden, featuring an Irish Violinist and a Norwegian pianist--playing Celtic inspired songs. Love. Another is Celtic Women; you may get seasick if you watch them because they love to sway when they sing, but for just listening purposes, it's heavenly.

All of this Irish obsession helped drive my goal to go to Ireland one day. A BYU Study Abroad to England with a week long trip to Ireland helped fulfill that goal:

Dear Study Abroad Friends in Ireland

I was just a little excited to be at an Irish lake with mist all around...

I couldn't believe when a year later my parents wanted to take a family trip to Ireland and review sites of our family history, and we explored everywhere. I fell even deeper in love with my Irish heritage.

My dad and I on our Irish journey.

Maybe my love of the Irish borders obsessive, but I also feel that it is one of the strongest ways I have to connect with my ancestors.