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Cumann Cultúr agus Spóirt na hÉireann
Nollaig /December 2020
The Pulse
A Chairde (Friends),
During this last month of each year we pause to look back at the events of the past 12
months as we also plan for the fast-approaching new year. Certainly, the “events” list for the
ICSA, as all organizations this year, has been sparce! However, there is great hope that before
too long we will be enjoying each others’ company in person once again, while coming up to
pre-covid speed in celebrating all things Irish!!
ANNUAL RAFFLE — LAST CALL—Drawing TOMORROW!!
LAST CALL for raffle tickets! This year’s raffle will take place
on Saturday, December 19th at 3 PM at the Playwright Restaurant.
Tickets are only $1 for a chance to win some great prizes (1st - $500.00 VISA Gift
Card; 2nd - $100.00 in lottery tickets; 3rd - $100 Gift Cert for the Playwright)
Raffle tickets are available from any ICSA Board Member. (Names and contact info
are listed at the last page of An Cuisle.) Questions may be directed to Shaun
Donnelly at sdonnelly@ICSA-home.org.
ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING
Monday, January 18, 2021
The ICSA Annual Meeting will The next Members’ Meeting will be held
via Zoom at 8 PM on Monday, January 18, 2021. During this meeting
election of officers will take place. The open positions this year are
Vice President, Secretary and Financial Secretary. The positions were
not contested; therefore, the ICSA By-Laws instruct as follows:
Article V, Section 1: “In the event that a position is not contested and only one candidate has
been nominated the Nominating and election committee will cast a single ballot for that
candidate. The uncontested position will not appear on the eligible members’ election ballot.”
Clifford Lynch is the Chairman of the Nominating and Election Committee and will conduct the
proceedings according to the By-Laws.
The Social Committee meeting will take place at 7:45, immediately preceding the Annual
Meeting. All members and their guests are welcome to attend both Social Committee and the
Annual Meetings. An invite will be sent prior to the meeting, Please RSVP to receive login
instructions. We hope to see you there!
IRISH GOODS SALE — Limited items still available
Thanks to all who ordered Irish goods for the holidays. We hope
you enjoy having a taste of “home” at your table over the holidays!
Though you had to pre-order this year, for some items we had to buy
in bulk, leaving us with a limited inventory. Please give Margaret Prendergast a text
@ 203-675-6683 or email @ mspren@snet.net if you are interested in purchasing Bangers,
Rashers, Black and White Pudding, Barry’s Tea (regular and decaf), Jacobs Mallows, Bisto,
Odlum’s Fruit Scone Mix, Roses, and Heroes.
MEMBERSHIP DUES
Happy Holidays everyone! As 2020 comes to a close and we all start to prepare
for what the new year will bring, IC&SA of Southern CT wants to remind you about
our club membership. Memberships are $25 per individual and
$40 per family. Accepted forms of payment are cash, checks,
credit/debit cards and Venmo using our handle name
@ICSAHamden. If you choose to use Venmo as your form of
payment, please indicate your first and last name as well as
the membership type you are paying for. We hope to be able to
see all of you soon and continue the many events that we hold
throughout the year in celebration of our Irish heritage and
culture. We wish you all a happy and safe holiday season!
Gaeilge—Irish Language
HISTORY— WREN DAY
Many of us have heard of Wren Day in Ireland,
celebrated on December 26th, also known as St.
Stephen’s Day. But let’s take a little closer look
into the history behind the tradition.
In Ireland, the day after Christmas meant hunting
down a small bird and tying it to the top of a pole.
That’s how the Irish celebrated St. Stephen’s Day,
or Wren Day.
Celtic myth had it that the robin, representing the
New Year, killed the wren which represented the
Old Year.
In more recent history, groups of small boys would
hunt for a wren and then chase the bird until they either caught it or the poor bird died from
exhaustion. The dead bird was tied to the top of a pole or holly bush, which was decorated with
ribbons or colored paper.
Early in the morning of St. Stephen’s Day, the wren was carried from house to house by the boys,
who dressed in old clothes and wore straw masks or blackened their faces with burnt cork. At
each house, the boys sang the Wren Song, well known
today thanks to The Clancy Brothers recording of 1969.
In olden times, the money collected went towards a
dance for the whole community. In more recent times,
the money is donated to a local school or charity,
Where exactly this whole wren murdering business
came from is somewhat unclear, but here are a few
possibilities: One is that St. Stephen, Ireland’s first
martyr, hiding from his enemies is a bush, was betrayed
by a chattering wren, Therefore, the wren, like
St. Stephen, was hunted down and stoned to death.
For this reason, the wren was also known as the Devil’s Bird. Another legend holds that during
the Viking raids of the 700s, Irish soldiers were betrayed by a wren as they were sneaking up on a
Viking camp in the dead of night. The wren began to eat breadcrumbs left
on the head of a drum, and the rat-a-tat-tat of its beak woke the drummer,
who sounded the alarm and woke the camp, leading to the defeat of the Irish
soldiers and the continuing persecution of the wren.
Today, no wrens are harmed in the name of Wren Day. In fact, the holiday is
barely celebrated in a lot of places in Ireland.25
President’s Message
If you haven’t yet, please contact Shaun for raffle tickets for the drawing tomorrow.
We are hopeful that 2021 will return us to some semblance of “normalcy”, in the meantime
we will continue to Zoom, social distance and virtually reach out to our friends, family and
members.
We wish everyone a happy Holiday Season, and a healthy, prosperous New Year!
Looking forward to seeing everyone soon!
Nollaig shona agus athbhliain faoi mhaise daoibh
Slan,
Margaret
Irish Language Classes: Unfortunately, due to Covid regulations, Irish Language classes
are currently on hold. Any questions regarding Irish language can be directed to Cultural
Director, Rich Regan at rregan@icsa-home.org.
Irish Radio Show: Echoes of Erin. We encourage you to listen to our friends and club
supporters at Echoes of Erin Radio show (88.7FM), broadcasting live every Sunday from 12 to
2 p.m. from the University of New Haven in West Haven CT and over the internet at http://
www.wnhu.net/ This is your source for Irish music, news, sports and community events. Hosted
by Pat and Joan Kennedy, Mike McGrath, Pat Hosey and Siobhan Dacey and Chuck Vigue..
Irish Radio Show: Ceol na nGael. Club member Molly Monahan is the co-producer of this
show on Fordham University’s NPR Radio Station, WFUV (90.7 FM). As a student at Fordham,
Molly was the on-air co-host of Ceol na nGael. Listen in on Sundays from noon to 4pm. You can
listen to several weeks of archived shows at WFUV.org.
If you do not wish to be included in these email
Go raibh mile maith agaibh (Thank You) updates please respond to this email and you will
Irish Cultural and Sports Association
be taken off the list.
http://icsa-home.org/
www.facebook.com/IrishCultureCT
AMAZON SMILE
As the Holidays approach and social-distancing
2020 Officers
is the rule of the times, many of us may be
President—Margaret Prendergast—mspren@snet.net
doing much more of our shopping online this Vice President—Shaun Donnelly - sdonnelly@icsa-home.org
year. This makes it the perfect time to enroll Secretary—Mary Williams—mwilliams@icsa-home.org
in Amazon Smile and make the ICSA of Treasurer—Tim Whalen—twhalen@icsa-home.org
Financial Secretary—Meaghan Whalen—mwhalen@icsa-home.org
Southern Connecticut your non-profit of
Cultural Director—Rich Regan—rregan@icsa-home.org
choice. Every penny helps!
Program Director—Siobhan Dacey-sdacey@icsa-home.org
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