Myths from my trip to Ireland
Monday Ministerial Musings
By Rev. Mark William Ennis
2024 Blog #30
July 28, 2025
Myths from my trip to Ireland
Growing up I was told many things about Ireland and being Irish. My family told me that the first of the Ennis family came to New York before the American Revolution. I was told that the town of Ennis was made up of people whose last name was Ennis. Shepherd’s pie, I was told, was a common dish all throughout Ireland. Of course, bagpipes were heard all over the island. Of course, I was told all these things in the mid 1960’s. Either I was told incorrect things, or things have surely changed since then.
Last week I was in Ireland, in the town of Ennis, in the county of Claire and I realized that all that I was told about Ireland simply wasn’t true. My Irish myths were shattered during this trip.
I was told by two different people that I was the first person they had met who had the name Ennis. That is not a common name in the village of Ennis. Likewise, in the Claire Museum when I looked up the original names in the county, Ennis was not listed. I wonder if perhaps the name of Ennis was made up upon coming to the United States. Did my ancestors take on the town name when they arrived here? If so, what were they hiding from?
I wore my Irish Riding cap, commonly called a “flat cap” or a “paddy cap.” in Ireland so that I would fit in with the locals. In most places I found that I was the only person who was wearing one. In most cases, people wore American baseball caps, frequently with American team logos printed on them.
There were a number of coffee shops in Ireland. These, of course, did serve Irish tea as well as coffee. I was surprised at how few cups of Irish tea were ordered and served. Mostly, coffee and Capuchino was served. Irish tea exists, but it is dwarfed by the amount of coffee served.
I did not hear bagpipes played once in Ireland. Every pub in Ennis advertises live Irish music, but the instruments are violins, flutes and even guitars. At times there were Irish drums. No bagpipes were part of these musical groups.
For my final dinner in Ireland, I searched for Shepherd’s Pie. I hadn’t found any on the menu at any place that we dinned in. After Google Searching, we found a place that served this dish. It was quite disappointing. It tasted like canned beef stew heated with potatoes on top. I was underwhelmed by that dinner.
Everything I thought I knew about Ireland turned out to not be true. Either my family gave me a false narrative, or things have changed over the centuries since my family first arrived. Things change whether we like change or not.
I believe that one of the factors in the decline in main line churches is that we do not change. Our ways of doing things are identical to how we did things in the 1950’s. The world has changed, but we did not. Isn’t it time that we make some changes to how we do things if we are to relate to newer generations?