Favorite Irish Femmes

Hey! Hey! It’s St. Patrick’s Day!

I must confess, I’m really bummed that I’m not more Irish. My last name is Dalley–the internet says this is an Irish name. I was convinced hidden deep in my DNA, was some GREEN.

So I did the whole Ancestry DNA thang, actually right around St. Patrick’s Day, JUST to prove this wishful thinking of mine.

Okay, I’m 2% Irish. I’m mostly British and Scandinavian. I knew all about my British roots (mostly the reason why I’m so golly jolly obsessed with all things British dammit) but the Scandinavian part was a shock. I come from Anglo/Viking tribes. Not Celtic.

2% Irish. How disappointing! Excuse me as I emotionally binge on Lucky Charms cereal.

But! Let’s gush over some women who ARE Irish, shall we?

Cue the Cranberries and Enya, if you please…

favorite irish femmes:

Ella Fitzgerald’s Irish heritage came from her father, William Fitzgerald. Sadly, he abandoned her and her mother when she was a toddler. Nonetheless, Ella was proud of her Irish roots, displaying her Irish family crest in her home and eventually touring Ireland in 1964.

Molly Brown was the daughter of Irish immigrants. She was born in Hannibal, Missouri which also happens to be the same hometown to a certain Samuel Clemens (cough, cough MARK TWAIN.) In fact it was Mark Twain who inspired Molly to move to Colorado; he was a customer at the restaurant where she was a waitress and he told her all about the wealth and promise of Colorado. She soon left for Rockies where she met and married J.J. Brown who later struck gold. Newly filthy rich, she traveled all over Europe, eventually boarding the Titanic where she became a legend–the Unsinkable Molly Brown.

Nellie Bly was daughter of Irish immigrants. She was known for her daring journalist feats, as well as traveling the world in 72 days, breaking the world record in 1889.

Rosa Parks was the great granddaughter of an Irish immigrant, James Percival. He actually immigrated by way of indentured servitude, being brought to serve a family in Alabama where he met and married Mary Jane Nobels, a working slave. Rosa lived with her Irish great grandfather as a little girl until he passed away at age 90.

The Kennedy dynasty were Irish–which shouldn’t come as a surprise. Starting with the matriarch, Rose Kennedy was originally a Fitzgerald who lived in the Irish Catholic community in Boston. Eventually she married Joseph Kennedy. They had five daughters: Rosemary, Kathleen, Eunice, Patricia, and Jean.

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis passionately embraced her French ancestry from her father’s side. She spoke French fluently, hired a French chef in the White House, and famously adored all things French, especially fashion; however, she was only 1/8 French but 1/2 Irish from her mother’s side. In fact, she was more Irish than her husband, JFK.

Caroline Kennedy, Jackie O’s daughter, embraced her Irish heritage. The bodice of her wedding dress was covered with shamrocks.

Maria Shriver, another Kennedy clan member, is daughter to the late Eunice Kennedy Shriver. She is an American journalist, ex-wife to Arnold Schwarzenegger, former First Lady of California, mother-in-law to Chris Pratt. Also, she is the niece to the late JFK. NBD. She also has really great hair. (Marcia! Marcia! Marcia!)

Enya. Like, duh. Fun fact: she lives in a castle in Ireland.

Margaret Mitchell, the author of Gone With the Wind, is the granddaughter of an Irish immigrant. She fully embraced her Irish heritage, in fact her famous literary protagonist, Scarlett O’Hara, was also Irish. To this day, the Margaret Mitchell House & Museum in Atlanta host Irish Whisky Fundraisers to raise money for literacy programs.

Scarlett O’Hara! A fictional Irish woman, but a famous one at that. Did you know that her original name was Pansy, but Margaret Mitchell changed it to Scarlett right before publication?

Mary, Lady Heath was an Irish woman and aviator who broke many barriers for women. She was the first woman in Britain to hold a commercial flying license, and the very first woman to jump out of an airplane with a parachute. Fun story: she landed in the middle of a football match.

Dolores O’Riordan. Lead singer of the Cranberries. All together now! If youuuu, you could return, don’t let it burn, don’t let it faaaaade . . .

Soirse Ronan. Irish American actress. She was nominated for an academy award for best actress for her role as a young Irish immigrant in the 1950s. The movie isBrooklyn. Be still our hearts.

Anne Bonny. This is one damn cool broad. Born in Ireland in 1700. Her father dressed her like a boy and called her “Andy.” She married and moved to the Bahamas where everyone and their uncle were pirates. She met a man with he absolute most PERFECT pirate name: Calico Jack. They became pirate lovers. They were captured and set up for execution, but her execution was delayed because she was pregnant with Calico Jack’s love child. Damn, girl.