In honor of St. Patrick’s Day…
In C.E. Murphy’s Raven Calls, book 7 of the Walker Papers, which came out last month, Joanne heads off to Ireland. What happens there may or may not be lucky for her in the end.
But perhaps Joanne can bring a little luck to someone else. On offer today, winner’s choice of:
* Package One, to catch up on the series: Walking Dead (Book 4), Demon Hunts (Book 5), Spirit Dances (Book 6) of the Walker Papers
-or-
* Package Two, if said winner is already a Walker Papers devotee: The Negotiator Trilogy: Heart of Stone, House of Cards, Hands of Flame
* Winner may also elect to receive with either package Truth Seeker (bonus from her other series)
On behalf of the winner, I will also donate an additional copy of Truth Seeker to the library of their choice.
To enter, comment here and tell me something you love about Ireland, the Irish, or about something really lucky in your life.
One entry per person. Contest runs from now until Midnight (Eastern Time) tomorrow.
Et in arcaedia, ego. 
Okay, I will enter. 🙂
What do I love about things Irish? Well, I’m 1/8 Irish, and I dearly loved my Irish grandmother. How’s that?
Also, those landscapes. Definitely on the bucket list.
I’ve never been to Ireland, but I’ve wanted to go for a long time. I’m addicted to Irish pub food (I know, it’s a weird addiction), so I’ve always wanted to go to Ireland so I can have authentic Irish classics. For now, I’ll have to be satisfied with American-ized versions 😉
What do I love about things Irish? The art, the passion and living in Ireland is fun.
I’m lucky that I work in Libraries, all that access to books! Particularly with my reading speed 8)
Awesome! Is this competition US only or is it open to fans Worldwide?
I’d probably not be very lucky myself if I didn’t include Ireland and then to be fair, would have to include the rest. So, yes, this one is a worldwide contest. (The winner could still choose a U.S. library for the donation if they don’t have a local one that will accept it.)
My great great grandfather and his brothers fled from the famines…one day I hope to see the green hills and rugged coasts they passed down in family stories.
I love belleek porcelain from Ireland.
I love Irish music and hope to visit Ireland someday.
I love Irish Soda bread and Guinness Stout. I love their tales and myths. The green rolling hills and the warmth of the people. I love the rocky shores and the frigid waters. I love the rustic villages and the winding roads. I love Ireland and the history it has given the world.
Ok, I’m game. What do I love about the Irish? Well, how about listening to a lovely Irish accent. Always musical!
I’ve read all the books in the giveaway, but I’d donate them to my library…
I’m fascinated by the history of Ireland and St. Patrick himself. Plus I’m part Irish (my maiden name is Moran)
My nickname is “irish”, given to me by a friend that has long passed away. As far as Ireland, this may sound strange, but I feel it calling me. I have an irish background and I feel like Ireland is home, a home I have never been to. One day my feet will land on the green, green grass of home.
Irish*
What do I love about Ireland? The crazy roadside hedges, the ogham stone hidden inside the monastery ruins at Ardmore, the storytellers everywhere, and the impertinent sheep grazing beside the lia fáil at Tara all rank very high on my list of loves. But the top of the list belongs to the library at Trinity College. I could sit there for days and be very happy.
Something lucky in my life? Finding The Walker Papers. Being part Cherokee, it was a real find since there are so few books with strong female Native characters. (Sorry I couldn’t do the Irish thing, since I’m also part Scottish).
*grin* well since my hubby is Scot Irish, that would be one good thing to come from Ireland =p. Acutally I love the music, voices, and history of the Irish people.
I love the gift of gab that the Irish have. It seems to never fail that we have an amazing ability to spin a tale, spout a lyric or three, and sling humor with the best of them. The countryside is absolutely breathtaking. I have high hopes to get abroad, see the sites and visit family one day.
I love how my Irish grandmother is so ridiculously proud that my name is spelled correctly. Recently, at a pub owned by a man with an Irish accent, upon introducing myself to the owner I realized he was attempting to tease out the spelling of my name letter by letter. I helped out once I realized what the game was and said, “oh it’s spelled correctly.”
What do I love about Ireland? Just about everything. Through an exhaustive genealogy search I have discovered that I am mostly Irish and Scottish, which is quite awesome. I’m actually planning a trip with my parents and my grandma to visit Ireland. For that trip I’m actually most looking forward to Dublin’s literary pub tour. So I guess what I love most are the authors and literature.
I got to study in Ireland for a semester in college, which was definitely something very lucky in my life. The folklore there is absolutely fascinating.
Plus, the Cliffs of Moher are The Princess Bride’s Cliffs of Insanity. Who can ask for more than that?
Ireland – My family has been traced back to Northern Ireland, and I am extremely jealous of my parents, aunts and uncles and grandparents who spent 10 days touring in 2007. I love the magic that I feel Ireland is, there is a calling that looking at any picture invokes. I count the days until I am lucky enough to make a trip there. I am also very luck in life in that I have four beautiful children, and a wonderful supportive family!
I’ve never been to Ireland and would love to go. I admire the spirit of the Irish but on a purely superficial level; the Irish accent is beautiful! 🙂
I love stories about Ireland, Irish accents, and Irish butter!
I have to say I adore Irish folk and myth. I am not Irish, but my roommate is (and enjoys her Irish roots). Its awesome to hear her talk about it!
While I’m not Irish myself, my adopted brother is and has some wonderful stories/photos/etc from his time there. One of these years when we both have the time and money available, we’ll be heading over the Atlantic for some serious wandering. Even the thought inspires me.
The original Guinness Brewery in Dublin has a 9,000 year lease on it’s property, at a perpetual rate of 45 Irish pounds per year. I’ve probably drank enough Guinness to cover a few hundred years of that lease on my own. Here’s to the Irish, Guinness, and the 5 minute pour!
Ireland is a land of extremes, you can’t help but admire the richness. Stories of royalty both real and fantasy lore are as beautiful and romantic as stories of their working class and slums. They are seafarers and skilled farmers. They have been both conquered and conquerors. Who wouldn’t want to be Irish? It’s no wonder this small country has such a prominent place in our daydreams, music, art and stories.
The…drinking songs of course! Even, if I don’t really drink anymore…Or walking into an irish pub on St. Pattys and having people surmise I’m of Irish descent due to hair color…Then again, part of what lets me enjoy the Walker Papers so much is having a second cousin with hair redder than little orphan Annie who managed to secure registration in the Cherokee tribe due to a great-great-great-great-grandfather’s marriage.
Then again, probably a good thing I’ve not had a chance to visit the emerald isle…I’d probably be arrested for bothering folks for tales of the sidhe — assuming I wasn’t already arrested for pestering Mrs. Murphy or Morgan Llwelyn’s autographs. 🙂
My great grandmother came over from Ireland, and every year we celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day with near-insane fervor. Two years ago I blogged about our celebration, with pictures, and I prepare to do the same tomorrow with my infant son. My family and being part Irish is my favorite thing about Ireland. 😀
A Photo Journey
My brother-in-law is first generation American, his father came here as a young man. I am thankful for him in mine and my sisters lives.
I am studying the Celtic traditions and the Celtic herbs to make life and health better for others. I love that they still have traditions about their ancestry, that they care about their land and their health.
Something really lucky in my life has to be my children, and being so blessed having them share my passion and love for reading and the arts.
Thanks!
I’ve never been to Ireland but I love the accent.
Having lived nowhere but Ireland i find it fascinating that so many people claim Irish ancestry.there are 4.5 million people living in Ireland and 35 million claiming Irish ancestry in America,we certainly took the bible to heart (go forth and multiply).In the times of austerity, when all we seem to do is complain about everything, the best things about Ireland are free.
On my way into work i am lucky to have to drive by the coast and everyday i stop and take a few minutes just to admire the view across Dublin bay.It fills you with a sense of peace and joy.All the comments above saying that they have heard stories about the beauty of Ireland should do everything they can to come and see it for themselves.The view across Conamara on a sunny spring day (rare) have reduced me to tears more than once.Come in May and you’ll see why green is Irelands’ colour.
So for me the luckiest thing is i live in Ireland.
Well I love the Irish for their music, their friendliness (at least those I have met), the accents, their amazing academic folklore programs, and for the wakes that they hold to celebrate and honor the life of those who have passed. I have yet to go to Ireland, but hopefully I’ll be Lucky enough to go one day.
I’ve been very fortunate to have lived in Ireland as well as visit many times. My favorite place is in Antrim, near the Giant’s Causeway & Bushmills town.
It can be stark, in the offseason & glorious in the spring, (this is true for most of Ireland, which I adore).
Slainte
You are blessed.
The people, and the history. When I went to Ireland last summer to do research for my novel, the kind people at the main library in Tralee found old documents from the 1850s and held them aside for me until I got there. A beautiful country–I hope to return there someday.
Its the people. A country is defined by its people and my family is from Scotland. Our two peoples have shared a long history of conflict, but we both know what freedom is worth after the years under English rule. There are stories told at Scottish festivals about how the Irish are true friends of Scotland because they are an honorable people with courage and bravery.
We were lucky enough to visit Ireland last April. We loved it all, but one day stands out. We rose very early and drove from near Cork through the mists up over the mountains to the Aran Isles. Our only companions were spray painted sheep, goats and ponies. We took a tiny ferry from Doolin to Innis Mor, rented bikes, and rode to a second second century fort, Dun Aoinghusa, high on a cliff. We picnicked on some rocks overlooking the sea, with seals cavorting below. On our way back we passed a golf course built into hills, with steps to get from one hole to the next.
What I love about Ireland is the fair-skinned, freckled redheads with those delightful accents who make me swoon. The countryside is stunningly beautiful too.
Oh, Ireland…
I was in love with an Irishman years ago, does that count? Otherwise, I love Harp Lager, the Book of Kells, & U2 + the books set in Ireland by Nora Roberts. Had a quick trip to Dublin & Glendalough many years ago – loved it! I adore Catie’s books, so thanks for the giveaway!
Ireland, for me, has always been about the magic and mythology. There’s just something so *wild* about it all.
I would love to win this!
Let’s see – I’ve never been to Ireland, but my great-grandmother was Irish, and my Grandma’s birthday was St Patrick’s day. If I had been a boy my name would have been Patrick. And lastly, I’ve been pretty lucky in life – I have a wonderful husband who loves my daughter as his own and we went on to have a son together – then we tried for a third and got triplet boys!
I’m a mix of Scots Irih and Cherokee so really love the Walker Papers. One of my favorite things about Ireland is the wonderful music!
I’ve always enjoyed reading about the history and mythology of Ireland. My favorites are Cuchulainn, Brighid, and the Morrifan. Anything about Tuatha De Danann and when people first settled in what is now Ireland fascinates me.
What can I say… Beautiful twisty-windy country roads, castles, incredible cliffs over the ocean, amazing people who meet you in a coffee shop and just volunteer to be your tour guide around ancient historic sites (that often don’t have any official tourist guides), and even take you down into hidden caves to the Otherworld.
But for me, it all comes down to this: spending hours getting lost and wandering across sheep paddocks, encountering stinging nettles (very painful), discovering incredible glacier-carved valleys, wading through hidden puddles to get to eerie mossy forests, and finally having to come back the next day to actually see the ancient tombs I was looking for. But it was all worth it when I got to watch the sunset strike the inside walls of a passage tomb during the only few weeks of the year when it’s possible to see it – and I had the whole place to myself.
(I don’t know if photo-links are allowed for the contest, but I’m going to put one in anyway) https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/W4hCAT9_nKt23RimzBlMN9MTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink
I’m a quarter Irish. Something lucky in my life was after going through a messy seperation and messy divorce I met the most wonderful man and he’s made me life a brighter place.
jessi_wuzzle@hotmail.com
Honestly? 9th century Irish monks, both for preserving literature when Europe fell into the dark ages, and for creating such beautiful illuminated manuscripts.The Book of Kells is a true artistic masterpiece.
Irish stories, both old legends and newer tales. I read with my kids a lot and we’ve always loved THE SELFISH GIANT by Oscar Wilde. Our fave traditional ballad is “The Leprechaun” from Colum’s Irish treasury:
In a shady nook one moonlit night,
A leprechaun I spied
With scarlet cap and a coat of green,
A cruiskeen by his side.
‘Twas tick, tack, tick, his hammer went,
Upon a weeny shoe,
And I laughed to think of a purse of gold,
But the fairy was laughing too.
With tip-toe step and beating heart,
Quite softly I drew nigh:
There was mischief in his merry face–
A twinkle in his eye;
He hammered and sang with tiny voice,
And drank his mountain dew;
And I laughed to think he was caught at last,
But the fairy was laughing, too!
As quick as thought I seized the elf,
“Your fairy purse!” I cried,
“The purse,” said he–“’tis in her hand–
That lady at your side.”
I turned to look: the elf was off!
Then what was I to do?
O, I laughed to think what a fool I’d been;
And the fairy was laughing too.
Ireland is beautiful, from rugged cliffs to rolling fields of emerald green, and her people are just as full of life and joy despite the difficult, even tragic, parts of her past and present. Wherever the Irish have spread, they have brought a treasure of music, dance, art, literature, history, and folklore.
i love that I have an Irish connection thru both parents. On my moms side it is Cork, on my dads side it is County Fermanghna in Northen Ireland. I would love to be able to go there and see the home of my ancestors!
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