Sláinte! Today brings the lyrics of The Irish Rover, April Fool's Day traditions in Ireland, another Gaelic word to go with sláinte, and a couple of Irish toasts.

The Irish Rover

The one verse in italics is, at the bar I frequent, not generally sung. The audience participation parts are also from the bar I frequent. I don't know if they are universal or not.

On the fourth of July eighteen hundred and six*
We set sail from the sweet cove of Cork
We were sailing away with a cargo of bricks
For the grand city hall in New York
'Twas a wonderful craft, she was rigged fore-and-aft
And oh, how the wild winds drove her.
She had twenty-three masts and withstood several blasts
And we called her the Irish Rover.

We had one million bags of the best Sligo rags
We had two million barrels of stones
We had three million sides of old blind horses hides,
We had four million barrels of bones.
We had five million hogs, we had six million dogs,
Seven million barrels of porter.
We had eight million bales of old nanny goats' tails,
In the hold of the Irish Rover.

There was awl Mickey Coote who played hard on his flute
When the ladies lined up for his set
He was tootin' with skill for each sparkling quadrille*
Though the dancers were fluther'd and bet*
With his sparse witty talk he was cock of the walk
As he rolled the dames under and over
They all knew at a glance when he took up his stance
And he sailed in the Irish Rover

There was Barney McGee from the banks of the Lee,
There was Hogan from County Tyrone
There was Jimmy McGurk who was scarred stiff of work
And a man from Westmeath called Malone
There was Slugger O'Toole who was drunk as a rule
And fighting Bill Tracey from Dover
And your man Mick McCann from the banks of the Bann
Was the skipper of the Irish Rover

We had sailed seven years when the measles broke out
And the ship lost it's way in a fog. (Audience: Big fog!)
And that whale of the crew was reduced down to two,
Just meself and the captain's old dog.
Then the ship struck a rock, oh Lord what a shock (Audience: bang on the table with your beer glass)
The ship it was turned right over
Turned nine times around, and the poor dog was drowned (Audience: Glug, glug, glug)
I'm the last of the Irish Rover

April Fool's Day Prior to the 16th century, the New Year was celebrated on April 1st. When Pope Gregory introduced the new Christian calender in 1582, New Year's Day became January 1st. The people that didn't hear the news continued to celebrate New Years on April 1st as usual, and this is probably how the custom of giving people false news on April 1st was spread. A common practical joke in Ireland was to have a note delivered to someone that says "send the fool further". These would often also have a verse that reads "don't you laugh, and don't you smile, send the gowk another mile." A gowk is a Celtic word for cuckoo and is slang for a gullible or naive person. Traditionally, the pranks and false errands are only supposed to continue until noon. Information from irishcultureandcustoms.com.

Health and Wealth Another word that goes with sláinte is taáinte, meaning wealth. So the phrase would go "sláinte is taáinte" meaning health and wealth, and would be pronounced slancha iss tancha, or more accurately SLAWN-chuh iss TAWN-chuh.

Cheers! By the way, a poltroon is a coward.

He's a fool who give over the liquor,
It softens the skinflint at once,
It urges the slow coach on quicker,
Gives spirit and brains to the dunce.
The man who is dumb as a rule
Discovers a great deal to say,
While he who is bashful since Yule
Will talk in an amorous way.
It's drink that uplifts the poltroon
To give battle in France and in Spain,
Now here is an end of my turn-
And fill me that bumper again!

For [insert city of your choosing] hath no sober man,
Or none of milk sop thinkers,
And no philosophical fools,
But great and glorious drinkers!

Sláinte!
AllieKat