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I often feel a strong connections to druidic ways but this is the British View. It was before the Irish and the British Divided into 2

 

The Druids

The Druids were priests who carried out religious rituals in Iron Age Britain and France. The Romans, who visited and later conquered France and Britain, met Druids and wrote about their beliefs and rites. Although these writings may not always have been completely truthful, it is clear that the Druids were an important group of people in many Iron Age societies. A little is also known about the Druid's beliefs and rituals, including the importance of mistletoe. Archaeologists rarely find direct evidence for priests in the Iron Age. But they often find evidence for religious rites and sacrifices and many of these were probably carried out by Druids.

There are no pictures of Druids - what did they look like? Did they wear special clothes or were they dressed the same as other Iron Age people? Some archaeologists have argued that special headdresses or crowns such as that found on the head of the Deal Warrior may have been worn by some priests or Druids.
Modern Druids have no direct connection to the Druids of the Iron Age. Many of our popular ideas about the Druids are based on the misunderstandings and misconceptions of scholars 200 years ago. These ideas have been superceded by later study and discoveries. In particular, there is no link between the Iron Age Druids and the people who built and worshipped at Stonehenge, Wiltshire. This ancient monument was part of a religion that ended before the Iron Age began.

The Heart Wants What the Heart Wants

Even small changes in our actions and perceptions can greatly enhance our spiritual growth. Here are 4 ways to deepen and develop your love for yourself, for others and for the world, to become the person you most want to be: 1. Acceptance “Nothing brings down walls as surely as acceptance.” (Deepak Chopra) When we learn to accept ourselves as we are, we can begin to accept others without prejudice. The idea of acceptance starts from within, and can help us grow past viewing one another (and ourselves) in terms of gender, race, religion, and sexuality, realizing that underneath everything else, we are all humans. 2. Compassion “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” (Aesop) Our personal happiness is directly related to our ability to show love to one another. Every action for another human being strengthens our own spirit, whether or not we realize it at the time. 3. Forgiveness "The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong." (Gandhi) Holding on to anger is easy – any one of us can do that. What is much rarer and much nobler is to mindfully break the cycle of resentment, realizing that we too are human, and that we all make similar mistakes. 4. Patience “Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day.” (A.A. Milne) As humans we often have a need for immediate control and absolute certainty. But if we can learn to surrender our individual sense of urgency and trust the process, then every dream of who we want to be and what we want to accomplish can become a reality. One action. One breath. One moment. These are the single steps by which we grow nearer to universal compassion in everything that we do and become. - See more at: http://www.mindfueldaily.com/livewell/4-practices-to-develop-the-heart#sthash.A4uw2OWU.dpuf

Remember 9-11?

Sgt. Robert Michael Kaulfers

World Trade Center

'Bob Was a Minstrel'

Men and women of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, friends and family members: Soon, the famed lyrics of Sgt. Robert M. Kaulfers may be available. These are the tunes you know and love from retirement parties, wedding receptions and slow days on the job. Take it from Sgt. Mark O'Neill: "Bob was a minstrel."

You'll get "The Hat," the famous ode to Officer Mike Barry, set to the tune of the theme from "The Cat in the Hat," and "Carnevale Time," the paean to Lt. Mike Carnevale. And who could forget the tribute to Sgt. Bernard M. Poggioli, a world-renowned expert on runaway children, "I'm Much Taller Than Poggioli"?

Many of the lyrics were found in Sergeant Kaulfers's locker. His wife, Cookie, thinks she may soon be strong enough to go through his papers at home to meet requests for the other songs. "I would hear him in the shower singing and laughing to himself," she remembered.

Sergeant Kaulfers, 49, also found time to study world history, keep the rookies on the right path and raise two children. His friends said he never held a grudge; perhaps the best evidence of that was his 25- year marriage to the girl who beat him in the election for sixth-grade class president.

Profile published in THE NEW YORK TIMES on December 31, 2001.

Sgt. Robert Kaulfers, 49, an officer first

Cookie Kaulfers does not remember her first day at Aldene Elementary School in Roselle Park some 39 years ago.

But the fourth-grader made quite an impression on a little boy who would grow up to be her husband.

"He remembers because I moved from Newark, and he remembers when I started school that day. I was a new person in town with a different name," said Luz "Cookie" Kaulfers of Kenilworth, yesterday. "We've been friends since we were little."

Her husband, Port Authority Police Sgt. Robert Michael Kaulfers, 49, died in the line of duty, having rushed from Hoboken to New York shortly after learning of the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center.

He dashed in to help and has not been heard from since. His body has not been recovered.

"He was wonderful. Everybody loved Bob. He had a sense of humor. He did all the parties for the retired cops, wrote parody songs . . . He was kind of the life of the party," she said.

Sgt. Kaulfers was repeatedly described as a loyal, honest family man and a devoted police officer by those who knew him. He especially took an interest in the new police officers.

"He really related to all the rookies," Cookie Kaulfers said. "He was a cop first. He was always out there doing more and more than he should have. I was always afraid that something would happen.

"You live with that kind of thing your whole life when you're the wife of a police officer," she said. "But I never imagined this."

The Kaulfers, parents of two, recently celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary.

His mother, Julia Kelly Kaulfers of Roselle Park, remembers a "good boy" who loved his family, played football and Little League baseball and decided in his late teens to study criminal justice.

The Port Authority promoted him to sergeant in January 1996. From there he was assigned to the bus terminal in New York City and the PATH train. He began his career at the authority in 1979 as a facility operations agent.

Before that, he was an investigator for the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office's Narcotics Task Force, from 1976 to 1979.

He graduated Trenton State College in 1975.

Besides his wife and mother, Sgt. Kaulfers is survived by two children, Timothy, 22, and Meredith, 18; his father, Arthur; two sisters, Susan Nerbak and Carol Visconti; two brothers, Jack and Edward, and two nieces and four nephews.

A memorial Mass will be held Saturday at 3 p.m. at the Roman Catholic Church of the Assumption in Roselle Park.

The family asks that donations be made to Robert M. Kaulfers Memorial Fund, P.O. Box 252, Kenilworth, N.J. 07033.

Profile by Debra Dowling published in THE STAR-LEDGER.

Remember Viet Nam?

Sgt Roger Spence US Army, April 8, 1945 - March 7, 1969. (Legend of RPHS Class of 1963) ... May He Rest In Peace ... Thank You For Your Service

Whats in a name???

Whether you are Irish or Irish-American you're probably immensely proud of your surname.
Many a Irish family proudly declare their Irish roots by displaying the crest of their clan in their homes.
But which last names win in the battle of Irishness?
IrishCentral took a look at the list of the most common surnames in Ireland in order to come up with a top 10 list.
Smith and Murray are two of the most common, but one is of British origins and the other’s Scottish, so they didn’t make the cut.
Here, then, are the 10 most Irish last names:
1. Murphy  - the sea battlers
Murphys – you win the prize for most common and widespread name in Ireland, especially in County Cork. 
This surname, which means “sea battler,” translates to Gaelic as MacMurchadh (son of Murchadh) and O'Murchadh (descendent of Murchadh), a derivation of the first name of Murchadh or Murragh.
O'Murchadh families lived in Wexford, Roscommon and Cork, in which county it is now most common, with the MacMurchadhs of the Sligo and Tyrone area responsible for most of the Murphys in Ulster.
The name was first anglicized to MacMurphy and then to Murphy in the early 19th century.
READ THE WHOLE STORY OF THE MURPHY CLAN! CLICK HERE
2. Kelly – the bright-headed ones
Kelly comes second to Murphy as the most common surname in Ireland.
The Kellys are all over Ireland; the name originates from at around 10 different and unrelated ancient clans or septs. These include O'Kelly septs from Meath, Derry, Antrim, Laois, Sligo, Wicklow, Kilkenny, Tipperary, Galway and Roscommon.
O'Kelly comes from the Gaelic O Ceallaigh, meaning "descended from Ceallach," an Irish chieftan. “Ceallach” means war or contention. It is an ancient first name that is no longer used as a first name in Ireland. However, Kelly is a popular first name for women in the U.S.
READ THE WHOLE STORY OF THE KELLY CLAN! CLICK HERE
3. O'Sullivan – the hawkeyed ones
Kellys may have bright heads, but O’Sullivans have hawk-like eyes.
The O'Sullivans or Sullivans are one of the most populous of the Munster families. In Irish, O'Sullivan is O'Sileabhin, and there is no doubt that origin of the name comes from the word sil (eye), though whether it is to be taken as "one-eyed" or "hawkeyed" is in dispute among scholars.
Originally lords of the territory around Cahir, County Tipperary, in the 12th century, they migrated to what is now West Cork and South Kerry, where the name is still very prominent.
READ THE WHOLE STORY OF THE O'SULLIVAN CLAN! CLICK HERE
 4. Walsh – the Welshmen
The meaning of this “Welsh” name is pretty straightforward.
The name Walsh is one of the most common of the Norman associated names found in Ireland. It seems to have been the name used by the many different groups of Welsh people who arrived in Ireland with the Normans during the 12th century.

Read more: http://www.irishcentral.com/roots/The-10-most-popular-Irish-last-names-98012749.html#ixzz2YCQ1SNbq
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Heh Ho