In my 70+ year of life I decided to havemy ancestral DNA test done and did so inSeptember, 2017. Well, there were somesurprises! My family has always knownwhere our ancestors came from. My fa-ther was 100 percent German, his father,John Kapp, coming from the GermanState of Württemberg in 1848 and givingup allegiance to King William of Würt-temberg when he filed his intent to be-come a citizen in his new country.

My mother’s mother also had Germanheritage. Her father, however, JeremiahColeman, emigrated from Ireland to theUnited States at age 15 in 1857. When hefiled his intent for citizenship, he gave upallegiance to Queen Victoria of GreatBritain and Ireland. My sister and I vis-ited Ireland in 1971 and visited secondcousins of ours on their farm outside ofAdare Village in County Limerick. Theywere gracious to their guests, called Yan-kees by their small son who was scoldedfor calling us a name the parents did notapprove of, and served us a grand meal inthe family living room.

Cousin Maisie Hogan had picked upher Aunt Kitty Kelly for the day as meet-ing American relatives was an event ofsome importance for the family. KittyKelly was my mother’s last first cousin inIreland. Mom had many cousins in theUnited States as some of her father’sbrothers and sisters had immigrated to theUnited States after he boldly or bravely ortrepidatiously (remember, he was only15!) led the way. We were also taken tovisit the farm my grandfather left to cometo the United States.

Over the years other of our relatives onthis side of the great pond made their wayto Ireland visiting with those we had keptin touch with over the years. Many ofthose travelers made their way to the smallcemetery that held the remains of our

grandfather’s parents, their parents and soon until probably back into the 1600s.

OK, those are the Irish roots I believedI had.

When the results of my heritage testcame back I was quite surprised to see myIrish heritage had disappeared and hadbeen replaced by 30% English! My Ger-man heritage had been replaced by ninedifferent nationalities, including German,and three at the very end were quite sur-prising. I will mention those three in thelast paragraph of this article.

In a note I received from a cousin inNorth Carolina after sharing my DNA re-sults with her, she said, “The Anglos andSaxons settled in Britain, but there wereCelts there, too. So who is Irish? TheCelts who originally came from an areanear Bohemia and moved across to theBritish Isles? The Hibernians who camefrom an area near Spain? The Gauls fromFrance, who were the Gaelic? The Fir-bolg, a darker people who came fromGreece? The Vikings, who came in 800AD or so? Or a combination of all those.”Mary Ann ended her note, saying, “Whenit comes down to it, all humans came fromAfrica.” My cousin referred to the Mito-chondrial Eve, who lived in Africa some200,000 years ago and is our earliest an-cestor.

In the first line of Chapter One inGearoid MacNiocaill’s book, “Before theVikings,” he says: “The traditions of the

Irish people are the oldest of any race inEurope north and west of the Alps, andthey themselves are the longest settled ontheir own soil.” An interesting start to along book I did not read. But in his book,MacNiocaill lists the locales that our an-cestors left as they walked across Europeand Asia toward the Holy Land of Irelandand there were many, among them thesmall people from the Mediterranean area(I learned I have Italian DNA), the Celtsin 350 BC from the center of Europe whobrought their red-blond hair with them, theBritish Celts, and the Celts that sailed fromsouthern France (and I have French DNA)and northern Spain. We know the Vikingsinvaded and plundered Ireland settling inmany areas including Dublin where theyfounded a stronghold and established anaval encampment. (I have Danish, Nor-wegian and Swedish DNA.)

And it has been suggested by many his-torians that the first Christians arriving inthe early 5th century were slaves of Eng-lish origin (and I have English DNA).

As my cousin Mary Ann asked in hernote, “So how far do you go back to sayyou’re Irish? Or British? I’d like to un-derstand more about their definitions.”That’s a good question, Mary Ann. Wecan trace our family back hundreds ofyears in Ireland. And yet my DNA doesnot mention any Irish. Apparently DNAgoes way, way, way back to the relativeswho traveled to Ireland, settled there and

SO WHO ARE THE IRISH? And me for that matter?.........................................................................................................

Volume XLIII, No. 11 • January (Eanáir), 2018

continued on page 5

JANUARY 4, 2018 • 7:00 PMMILWAUKEE MONTHLY MEMBERSHIP MEETING

Irish Cultural and Heritage Center (2133 W. Wisconsin Avenue)

T T TStew Competition & Potluck at 6:30 • Please bring a dish to pass.

T Milwaukee Calendar of Events TFor More Information visit http://shamrockclubwis.com

JANUARY4 Shamrock Club Monthly Meeting; ICHC; 7 pm; Dinner at 6:30 pm9 Celtic Women International Book Club; Evil Under the Sun, by Agatha

Christi; Hostess: Sheila Isakson; ICHC; 1 pm20 Wisconsin Winterfeis; Olympia Resort, Oconomowoc; 8 am21 Dairyland Feis; Olympia Resort, Oconomowoc; 8 am

FEBRUARY1 Shamrock Club Monthly Meeting; ICHC; 7 pm; Dinner at 6:30 pm13 Celtic Women International Book Club; Across the River, by Alice Taylor;

Hostess: Rosemary Walsh; ICHC; 1 pm24 Shamrock Club Honoree Dinner; TBA28 The Irish Rovers; Pabst Theatre; .6.30 pm

MARCH1 Shamrock Club Monthly Meeting & 58th Birthday Party; ICHC; 7 pm;

Dinner at 6:30 pm8 Cherish the Ladies; Cedarburg Performing Arts Center; 8 pm9 We Banjo 3; Turner Hall; 8 pm10 Shamrock Club of Wisconsin Mass in Honor of St. Patrick; St Patrick's

Church; 8.30 am10 Shamrock Club of Wisconsin 52nd Annual St. Patrick Parade;

Downtown Milwaukee; noon10 Shamrock Club of Wisconsin Post Parade Party; ICHC; 1-6 pm13 Celtic Women International Book Club; The Lake District Murder, by John

Bude; Hostess: Nancy Vose; ICHC; 1 pm

2

ON GOING … Set dancing at the following: Set dancing Wednesdays, 7 PM atO’Donoghue’s T Craobh Curtin Conradh na Gaeilge meeting at O'Donoghue's Pub, 7 PM, last Tuesday each month T Irish Emigration Library in ICHC open every Wednesday 12–6 PM T Irish Sing-a-long, Irish Fest Center, First Sundays, (throughMay) 7 PM T Irish Fest Sing-a-long: O'Donoghue's Pub, second and fourth Sundays, 7-9 PM T Irish Music Sessions at the following: Session - O’Donoghue’s,Sundays 7 PM; Thursdays @ Paddy’s 7 PM; and The Pub in Oconomowoc, 7:30 PMT Thursdays: Barry Dodd; County Clare Inn; 10 PM T Fridays: áthas and Myserk;County Clare Inn; 6 PM T

Upcoming Feiseanna..................................

There will be two Feiseanna in January.The first is the Wisconsin Winterfeis onJanuary 20th, sponsored by Cashel Den-nehy School of Irish Dance. It will be heldat the Olympia Resort in Oconomowoc.

http://www.casheldennehy.org

The second is the Dairyland Feis, heldto benefit Beglan Academy of Irish Dance.It will also be held at the Olympia Resort,on Sunday, January 21st. The Olympia islocated at 1350 Royale Mile Road inOconomowoc, WI.

http://www.dairylandfeis.com

A Catholic mass and dancer blessingwill be held at the Olympia on Saturdayevening at 5:30. All faiths are welcome.

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MilwaukeePresident’s Message..................................Ladies and Gentleman, Celtic Friends All:

Athblhliain faoi sheanis faoi mhaiseDaoibh!

Happy New Year to Everyone!

Hoping your holiday season was fantab-ulous! This season usually brings out thevery best in all of us.

'Tis a time for renewal and reflection.Robert Burns wrote the words to "AuldLang Syne," a song or poem that calls tomind all those friends and friendships wehave treasured throughout the year.

Let us also remember those that are nolonger with us and remember them tothose we meet.

The New Year will provide new oppor-tunities to enrich and expand our Sham-rock Club. See what you can do to helpenlarge our organization.

SEE YOURSELF (and Your friends) inTHE SHAMROCK CLUB !

This month your board will be consid-ering nominations for our 2018 ShamrockClub Honorees: Irishman of the Year, IrishRose, and Parade Marshal(s). Please sub-mit your nomination to any board memberbefore 6 pm on January 25, 2018. De-scribe the nominee and tell us what won-derful things they have done for theShamrock Club and the celtic communityin general. Some of us like to brag. . . butall of us enjoy hearing how wonderful weare, and sterling remarks about our pastexploits and accomplishments.

We will also have a special announce-ment for a Special Honorary Grand Marshal.

Don't forget to "Save the Date" Satur-day, February 24, 2018 for our annualHonoree Dinner. Location is still TBA, butlast year was a huge success.

This year your board and several otherclub members have a few surprises inmind and a few special events in theworks.Soooo . . .See Yourself in the Shamrock Club!See you at the Shamrock Club Meeting,

January 4th.- Joseph Hughes, President

T T T

Jackie’sCorner Cupboard..................................

I hope everyone enjoyed the wonderfulChristmas party at the December meeting.Special thanks to David and Chris Brustand the Fred Astaire dance instructors forproviding an exceptional end to themeeting and getting us ready for theHoliday season.

For the January meeting, we will havea stew competition. Please bring yourfavorite stew recipe . . . beef or lamb. . .forall to try. There will be prizes and brag-ging rights for the top three. If you arebringing stew, please contact me so Iknow how many there will be. If you don'twant to cook, feel free to bring side dishesor desserts.

Looking ahead to February...it will betime for the annual chili cook off.

Thanks again for your continued support!- Jackie KonkolSergeant-at-Arms

Rent the ICHC for your next

PartyMeeting

RecitalWedding

Spaces available for large

or small events

Email: director@ichc.net

or call (414) 345-8800

Scholarship Committee..................................The Shamrock Club of Wisconsin

awards 2-3 scholarships to college stu-dents in April of each year. The committeeis need of new members. We are able todo most of our business via email with 2-3 actual meetings. The first meetingwill be held Wednesday, January 17 at6:30 p.m. at the ICHC. If you are interested in helping with this committee,please contact Mary Moze atmozem@att.net or 414-327-0552.

Scholarship RaffleOur method of raising money for the

scholarships is through the raffle at thePost Parade Party on March 10. We needyour donations in order to make this asuccess. Bottles of liquor are always apopular item. Any items that you mightnot use anymore would be appreciated asa donation. You can donate a “themed”basket or individual items. Cash dona-tions are also welcome. Please bringwhatever you have to the Shamrockmeeting on January 4 or February 1, orcontact Mary Moze.

Just for Fun..................................The rain was pouring down. And there,

standing in front of a big puddle outsidethe pub, was an old Irishman, drenched,holding a stick, with a piece of stringdangling in the water.

A passer-by stopped and asked, "Whatare you doing?"

"Fishing," replied the old man.

Feeling sorry for the old man, the gentsays, "Come in out of the rain and have adrink with me."

In the warmth of the pub, as they siptheir whiskeys, the gentleman cannotresist asking, "So how many have youcaught today?"

"You're the eighth." says the old man.

Doolin bought himself a jigsaw puzzlewith 20 pieces. It took him a month to fitthe pieces together correctly. He thoughtthis was terrific, but his mate O'Reilly said,“What's the big deal?”

Doolin said, “Well it said on the box: 4to 6 years.”

Emerald Reflections

Copy Deadline.................................

Membership Chairs

Content for Emerald Reflections is dueon the 15th of the month (next deadline:Jan. 15th to appear in the February issue.)Copy received after that date will not appear due to deadlines. While we try toinclude every submission possible, due tospace limitations, we cannot guarantee thatevery submission will be included imme-diately. E-mail submissions preferred,send to:

Brian Witt, Editoremeraldreflections@shamrockclubwis.com

Pam Canon, PublisherMary Moze, Proofreader

4

DANE COUNTY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Pat McCarthyP.O. Box 70765, Madison 53707-0765

pmmccarthy@charter.net; (608) 277-0394

FOX CITIES . . . . .P.O. Box 1632, Appleton 54912

LA CROSSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Linda O. Pfaff,1702 Jackson St., LaCrosse 54601

LAFAYETTE CO. . . . . . . . . . . . . .Beverly Mulcahy,504 E. Mary, Apt. A, Darlington 54530

MILWAUKEE . . . . Member. Chair Maggie Blaha, 2133 West Wisconsin Avenue,

Milwaukee, WI 53233slainte4142-shamrock@yahoo.com; (414)344-0688

NEW DUBLIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Suzi Snyder,313 W. Beacon Ave.., New London 54961

NORTHEAST WISC. . . . . . . . . .Michelle Anderson,P.O. Box 10612, Green Bay 54307

SOUTH CENTRAL . . . . . . . . . Dana Horkan-Gant,610 Vine St., Reedsburg 53959

email: willardana@yahoo.com; (608) 524-6821

E-mail: . . . . . . . . . . club@shamrockclubwis.com

Web site: . . . . . . . . http://shamrockclubwis.com

To become a member of the Shamrock Club ofWisconsin contact the membership chair of thechapter you would like to join. MILWAUKEE ONLY:Family membership (includes both parents and all children under eighteen) - $25.00. Single membership - $20.00. Membership is renewable annually on the anniversary month of the originalmembership. Please send all new and renewal Milwaukee club membership dues to MembershipChair, 2133 West Wisconsin Avenue, Milwaukee,WI 53233. Be sure to send change of address notification to Membership Chair, also. The postoffice will NOT forward copies of Reflections.

Scottish Band DáimhSaturday, Feb. 17, at 7:30 pm..................................Called the champions of straight-in-the

eye Highland music, the Scottish bandDáimh will perform at the Irish Culturaland Heritage Center, 2133 W. WisconsinAve. on Saturday, Feb. 17 at 7:30 p.m.

Based around West Lochaber and theIsle of Skye, Dáimh (pronounced Dive)have been called the champions of“straight-in-the eye” Highland music.Taking their name from the Gaelic word for“kinship,” the band has brought their py-rotechnic jigs and reels, along withachingly poignant ballads, to more than 20countries. They have released five studioalbums and were named Best Folk Band inEurope at the Folkherbst competition inGermany. They recently were honored asFolk Band of the year at the ScottishTraditional Music Awards.A Gaelic-speaking piper originally from

Cape Breton Island Nova Scotia, AngusMacKenzie draws his piping style from hisOuter Hebrides roots along with the dance-influenced rhythm of Cape Breton music.From Northern California but with familyroots in Prince Edward Island, fiddle playerGabe McVarish completed a degree inScottish music after moving to the ScottishHighlands. A multi-instrumentalist on man-dola, mandolin and accordion, MurdoCameron was immersed in traditionalGaelic singing and music while growing upin Glenelg near the Isle of Skye. From In-verness, Ellen MacDonald is renowned forher smoky voice along with acting skillsthat led to a key role in the BBC’s Gaelicdrama Bannan. Originally a fishermanfrom Arisaig, Scotland, Ross Martin is anin-demand guitar player who has touredwith one of Ireland’s most influentialsingers, Karan Casey.

Tickets for the show are $21 in advance,$25 on concert day, $10 for students with IDand free for ages 12 and younger. To orderonline, visit www.ichc.net. Tickets may alsobe ordered by calling (414) 345-8800.

- Kathy Schultz

Advertise in theEmerald Reflections

Contactdpcanon@wi.rr.com for rates

Bylaws Committee2018..................................

The biennial bylaws committee is nowbeing formed to review the bylaws of theClub and consider any changes. If youwish to be a member of the committeeplease contact me via email at:joshwalton1@yahoo.com. If you havechanges or recommendations that youwish to be considered again, please emailme.

The committee shall consist of 5members, including the parliamentarian.If the committee is formed we will meet at5:00 pm before the general meeting onJanuary 4th.

- Josh WaltonParliamentarian

MilwaukeeMembership News..................................The New Year will see us working on

a directory of the current members of theClub. Our hope is to share addresses(postal and email) and phone numbers tohelp us be more connected. If you do notcontact me with your wishes, you will beincluded.

I will be focusing on reminding peoplethat their memberships are due. Singlememberships are $20.00 and family mem-berships are $25.00. Checks should bewritten to Shamrock Club of Wisconsin.How would you like to have membershipsall due at the same month? Possibly Julyor August? Would love to hear your gen-tle thoughts.

You may contact me at: slainte4142-shamrock@yahoo.com or callme at 414-344-0688. - Maggie Blaha

Membership Chair

5

evolved into the Irish family you and Ihave always known about. N'est-ce pas?Damn, did I just say, N'est-ce pas? ThereI go speaking French because of my new-found French heritage.

So how far back do you go . . . how fardo the DNA tests go? Good question!

And now back to that interesting reve-lation in my DNA testing. I have WestAsian DNA, namely Turkish, Iraqi, andIranian. But then, like the rest of you, Iknow my first ancestor, the MitochondrialEve, came from Africa.

- Joan Kapp Kreuser

continued from page 1

Sunshine Report..................................Andrew Dineen Pyle was born No-

vember 24, 2017 to Andrew and Kristen,son of member Teri Dineen Pyle and herhusband. We are pleased to welcomeall 8 lbs. of Andrew to our world.We want to wish happy new year to thefollowing members who are celebratingtheir birthdays. If you would like to beadded to the birthday calendar, pleasesend me your information.

December birthdays were: Dec. 1,Noreen Barclay; Dec. 4, Dan Stotmeister;Dec. 7, Mike Malloy; Dec. 8, MaureenBlaha; and Dec. 8, Bob Hamill.

If you have Sunshine news, please emailit to: slainte4142-shamrock@yahoo.com.

- Maggie BlahaSunshine Chair

Nominations ForIrish Honorees..................................

Nominations for the 2018 Irish Rose,Irishman of the Year, and Parade Marshal,must be received by 6 p.m., January 25, before the start of the Shamrock ClubBoard Meeting. Nominations must be inwriting, or e-mailed, and be made bymembers in good standing. The nomineemust also be a current member. Nomina-tions can be mailed to Shamrock Club,2133 W. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee, WI53233, or e-mailed to Joseph Hughes at:jhughes0317@yahoo.com.

Cultural Program inNorthern Ireland for

Young Adults..................................The friends of the Saint Patrick

Centre-Milwaukee Chapter is once againsponsoring the Young Ambassador pro-gram, in which young adults ages 20-25are selected for a two week, mostexpenses paid, cultural learning programin Northern Ireland, hosted by the SaintPatrick Centre in County Down during thefirst half of June 2018. We are looking forstudents that are very interested in North-ern Ireland who will gain a lot by aninternship-like experience that will betailored toward their intended career. Contact Jen Vettrus atjentropy4@gmail.com and visit the web-site www.youngambassadorprogram.comDeadline for applications is Feb 15th.

Celtic Women International..................................

The CWI Book Club meetings begin at 1:00 pm at the ICHC and include discussion, tea, and treats. New membersand guests are always welcome to join us!

Our topic on January 9th will be EvilUnder the Sun, by Agatha Christie, hostedby Sheila Isakson.

Rosemary Walsh will be our hostess onFebruary 13th when we will discussAcross the River, by Alice Taylor.

On March 13th, our topic will be TheLake District Murder, by John Bude,hosted by Nancy Vose.

- Rosemary Walshrowalsh@wi.rr.com

Word of the Month..................................Sneachta (Shnack-ta) - SnowTá sé ag cur sneachta anois.(Ta shay agh coor shnack-ta an-ish)It is snowing now.

Facebook&Social Media..................................If you haven’t seen us on Facebook,

like us! 2195 people have already.www. f a c e b o o k . c om / S h am r o c k -ClubofWisconsin/

You can also find us on Twitter athttp://twitter.com/shamrockclubwis or on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/com-pany/shamrock-club-of-wisconsin.

St. Patrick’s Choir..................................We are hoping to have many singers

for the choir at St. Patrick’s Day Mass onMarch 10th at St. Patrick’s Church. Wepractice the last Sunday of February andthe first Sunday of March usually from1:30 – 3:00. The most necessary instru-ment is a warm and loving heart for Godand singing. Please consider joining us withthe voice you were given and developed.

EMERALD REFLECTIONSPHOTO OF THE MONTH

An Old Gaelic PrayerMay the Road Rise to meet youMay the wind be always at your backMay the sun shine warm upon your face,

till the rains fall soft upon your fields.And, until we meet again,May God hold you in the palm of His hands.

SHAMROCK CLUB OF WISCONSIN2133 W. Wisconsin AvenueMilwaukee, WI 53233

For Information: http://shamrockclubwis.comor: www.saintpatricksparade.org

Connemara, Co. Galway