Sometimes I wish there were more days in the year, and that none of them were colonized by sheep.

Read: Sometimes »

The story sweeping through blogs in Ireland tonight is that of the 2 paintings, caricatures, of a semi-naked Brian Cowen, Taoiseach of Ireland, our prime minister, which 2 days ago were sneaked in and placed in the National Gallery and the Royal Hibernian Academy in Dublin.

The story for that reason alone, one of mild if daring social satire, was already doing the rounds on Irish blogs, but tonight’s apology by the national broadcasting company for reporting the story the night before has sent the Irish blogging world into a frenzy.

The most eloquent of responses I’ve seen - and I’ve seen a lot - is by Allan Cavanagh on Caricatures Ireland, starting with his own brand new fully nude caricature before outlining the details of the story of the paintings done by somebody Allan himself knows.

Reminiscent of recent stunts by the British artist Banksy, the story of the guerilla prank on 2 of the most important galleries in Ireland seemed genuinely newsworthy and was reported around the world - so why on earth would the Irish national broadcasting company apologise for reporting that the prank took place?

More: History of story

Loads More: Have a look at #picturegate on Twitter to see thousands of reactions and the story as it continues to go through ridiculous loops and twists.

Legal: Cearta.ie offers a legal opinion of some of the issues in the story, and at the bottom of the post has a list to what must be hundreds of blogs and publications that have covered the story.

Similar Sort of Posts:
   • Chocolate and Genitals Cancels Jesus
   • 2 Silent Nuns Walked Into Each Another
   • Irish Press Banned as Irish Independence Revoked
   • Royal Blue Toyota Corollas Banned in Dublin
   • Banned Books Week

Read: When an Irish Leader is Naked »

10 years ago today I moved from Ireland to Kansas City, Missouri.

A short time later I noticed I didn’t laugh very much anymore.

And, Tell Me:
   • How Did You Find America?
   • What was it Like Being Irish in Kansas City?
   • What was Kansas City Like for Buying Socks?
   • Why Did You Leave Ireland and Move to Kansas City?

And there’s more: An Irish View of 25 Things About Kansas City

Read: 10 Years Ago Today »

For a few years I went to O’Dowd’s Little Dublin on the Plaza about twice a week. Most of those nights the pub was close to empty - especially if there was Irish entertainment on.

Similarly once we got past the initial attention following its opening, WJ McBride’s Irish Pub & Restaurant in Overland Park struggled to get numbers all the way until it closed down.

Molloy’s of Westport was even less successful.

I have heard all of them described at times as tomb-like. There’s a harsh deathly sound in a pub with a hard floor and very few people. Why do pubs in Kansas City purporting to be Irish never have carpets?

Prompted by my posting of a video featuring Raglan Road, Tony of Tony’s Kansas City admitted that he recently went there with a friend after lunch one day - and he likened it to a tomb in a post he calls “Raglan Road is Irish and Depressing and Sad“:

Raglan Road at the P&L District is only slightly less depressing than the bittersweet prose of Angela’s Ashes

As a proponent of the characteristics I should probably add that I don’t think there’s anything necessarily wrong with being Irish and depressing and sad, though it does tend to shed light on the difference between the number of people in Kansas City talking about being Irish, and the number of people actually doing very much about it.

I should also add that I’ve no idea what day of the week the video was shot, nor the day of the week of Tony’s visit - but the days of the week ultimately never mattered for Molloy Brothers Irish Pub or either of the WJ McBrides pubs, while O’Dowd’s has thrived largely because of its high-fiving belly bumping non-Irish moments.

See Also:
   • The Closing of WJ MCBrides and Other Irish Pubs in Kansas City
   • History of a Pub, an Irish Pub
   • How To Open An Irish Pub

Read: TKC Goes To Raglan Road »

This is one of those things we do differently, in Ireland and in America. Today is Mothers Day in Ireland, or Mothering Sunday if you prefer.

So Happy Mothers Day to you. If you’re my mother, that is. Otherwise go about your business.

Or I suppose you could look at this as a reminder to wish your Irish mother a Happy Mothers Day, if she is actually Irish that is. If she’s American you can relax and wait a couple of months with the added bonus of being able to wish any mother you know a Happy Mothers Day.

So if your mother is Irish you could make a Kansas City phonecall to an Irish Mother

Other Holidays in Ireland & the US:
   • Valentine’s Day
   • New Year’s Eve
   • Fathers’ Day
   • Thanksgiving
   • Christmas Eve
   • Easter Sunday
   • Halloween
   • MLK Day
   • Fourth of July
   • Columbus Day
   • Christmas
   • The Twelfth

Read: Happy Mothers Day. Or Not »

In the life of Irish KC, this is the 4th year we’ve got to celebrate the annual traditions that are Hoffenpurpenburger Day.

Just as well too, because after the thousands who visited the site on Monday and on Tuesday for St Patrick’s Day, it would now appear that America is Irished out.

Remember children, being a ancestor descendant of an Irish great-grandmother is for life, not just for a couple of days in the year.

Anyway for the record, if you must shorten the name (presumably because you’re in hurry to get through life) then the correct term for today is Hoffenpurp Day, not Hockey Perp Day.

See Also:
   • Don’t Say You’re Not American
   • An Irish Odyssey in Kansas City
   • Hosting Tourists

Read: Annual Hoffenpurpenburger Day Celebration »