Philosopher meets a family of seven on the road. As luck would have it, the Philosopher is about to sit down to eat. He has travelled a long way, is extremely hungry, and only has a meagre piece of cake. Even so, the Philosopher approaches the family and asks if they will join him. The man who heads the family replies “Why not . . . for the person who would refuse a kind invitation is a dog.” So, even though he has little, the Philosopher commences to divide his small morsel into eight pieces, apologizing about its size. The man, most courteously, eats his piece in 3 small bites instead of gulping it down in one go. He then confesses he has a problem, which is this: after he has eaten of the Philosopher’s offering, he doesn’t know what to do with his own lunch. He says to the Philosopher that he is afraid his lunch will be ruined if not eaten, and suggests it might “not be wasted if you were kind enough to help me eat it.” The man’s parcel of food is large, and so in the end all have a generous and filling meal. After eating, of course, they share stories. This, to me, is Irish hospitality.
We have all heard the Irish saying cead mile failte or 100,000 welcomes. I insist that this is no empty cliché. Like the story above, the warm hospitality of the Irish is extended whether they have little or much. But most interesting to me is how the receiver of the generosity is made to feel important, or as if they are worthy of the gifts given. The Philosopher is made to feel he is doing the man a favour by eating his meal. There is no self serving charity at work on the part of the man or any chance to pity the Philosopher in his need. The motivation for these acts of kindness stems only from a love and respect of humanity and feeling of mutual good will. It is the most generous gift one could receive.
At the Tramore horse races on Saturday, we were given the opportunity to be a part of Irish life that few tourists get to experience. We were included in a circle of Irish race enthusiasts, we were given the chance to meet some legends of Irish horseracing, we were conveyed tips on particular horses, and we were even brought into the winner’s circle to present the awards. I feel we have done very little to deserve this kind of treatment, but our hosts made it seem like the most natural of proceedings.
Last Friday, Jim Snyder and I were given the privilege to attend a weekly meeting between members of the Dungarvan Council and our Mercyhurst students. These weekly meetings are held so that students can tell the council what they need and how they are “getting on” in Dungarvan. The men that attended this meeting gave of their time and energy to make sure the students are having a good experience. While Jim and I have only been here for a week , we have seen so many actions ourselves and heard so many stories from students that attest to how
welcomed we have been made to feel. When students asked where they could rent bikes, they were given 4 new bikes to use, free of charge. When they wondered if they could rent a guitar, two guitars were provided to them. They have been taken out for meals, for golf outings, to local schools, and given complimentary tickets to plays, concerts, horse races, and other events. These people of Dungarvan that we have met are truly altruistic. They give help without thinking of any benefit but to the person being helped. They are providing me and those of us visiting their fair city with a lesson on being human and humane. The people of Dungarvan have given us more than we could have ever expected.
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