Herald and Review from Decatur, Illinois • Page 21

Mjffi Herald Decatur, Illinois, Thursday, March 17, 1988 sn ryu Lni and mighty aw proud of it The Nolan clan in ttwir St. Patrick's Day best in 1953, from left: Mary Kathleen, Patrick, 11; Jerry, Daniel, Thomas, Michael, 10; Timothy, 1. By KATHLEEN HILL Herald Review Lifestyle Writer Joseph O'Rourke had a problem: He didn't have enough money to buy passage on a boat to America. An enterprising Irishman, though, doesn't stop when he can't find an immediate solution. Joseph O'Rourke borrowed $50.

He bought passage to Ellis Island outside New York. He married an Irish woman, Ellen Murray. He worked as a carpenter in New York City and saved his money. When there was enough, he and Ellen bought land in Macon County, near Casner. Before he died, the man who borrowed $50 Jo get to this country had amassed 640 acres.

seph O'Rourke. She grew up listening to them. She told the stories to her seven children. She made sure that Patrick, Timothy, Thomas, Michael, Jerry, Daniel and Mary Kathleen Nolan knew they were special because they 'were Irish. The children are adults now.

All but Michael live in Decatur. Michael's address in Effingham is on Leprechaun Lane. Patrick is 46 and has three children. Michael is 45 and has added four children to the Nolan clan. Timothy, 36, has given Geraldine Nolan one more grandchild.

Thomas, 43, Jerry, 40, Daniel, 38, and Mary Kathleen, 37, have yet to add a fourth generation. The Nolans grew up celebrating St. Patrick's Day with a meal of Irish stew and green Jefi-O. thy O'Rourke Nolan. "That made me so happy.

I've just never gotten over that" Geraldine Nolan said. Proud as they are of their heritage, the Nolans don't mind if others borrow it for a day. Tom Nolan said the Irish are so fun-loving, why should they want to keep others out of the party? "I've always thought being Irish is a state of mind, as well as an ethnic heritage," Tom Nolan said. Michael Nolan wants to bring even more people to the party. If Casimir Pulaski, the Polish hero of the American Revolutionary War, can have a state holiday, Michael said, then St.

Patrick deserves a national holiday. Geraldine Nolan taught her children well. They haven't forgotten they are Jrinh hiumiip i and that was St Patrick's Day," Patrick Nolan said. Geraldine Nolan said she's glad her children are so proud to be Irish. "I always tried to impress on them you never forget you are Irish." She said it's good the Irish now can wear the green on St Patrick's Day and any other day they choose.

Joseph O'Rourke, wasn't so lucky. He had to hide his heritage and change his name when, he arrived in New York. "You were immediately persecuted in those days if you were Irish," Geraldine Nolan said. "It was hard to get a job, or anything else. So, instead of the he just dropped it and made it plain Rork.

I think that's too bad." When Timothy and Jody Nolan's son was born two years ago, they restored the lost family nnmftThny na tried hinvJimfr Patrick Church, too. Geraldine Nolan made sure her children were dressed in green. Today, the Nolans continue the tradition. They wear green. They march in the St Patrick's Day parade with the other Sons and Daughters of Ireland.

They dance in the Knights of Columbus Hall. They eat corned beef and cabbage. Patrick Nolan celebrated St. Patrick's Day 1979 in a way the family still remembers. His son, Patrick Joseph, was born that day.

Patrick Nolan explained that he and his wife, Wegi, picked the day for their son's Caesarean birth because they could think of no better birthday for an Irish baby. "The baby was due the middle of March, so my wife told the doctor there was only one day the baby could be born, One of his granddaughters, Geraldme tones poutiida Saint Amateur crooners need not apply It's a double celebration ie 03 Northwest Christian Schools 3 4 Yr. Old Preschool V2 Day Kindergarten through 3rd Grade Enroll 429-0563 V- 4 4 A a wasn't Irish St Patrick wasn't an Irishman. No one is sure exactly where he. was born, except that it wasn't in Ireland.

Instead, this most Irish of saints is credited with bringing Christianity to the Emerald Isle. Historians don't agree whether he was born in England, Scotland, Wales or France. The most likely place, some say, is Kilpatric, near Dumbarton, Scotland, in 387. There's even some dispute about his true name, with some historians opting for Maewyn. -Others point out Patrick is probably the Anglicized version of the Roman name Patrivus.

Historians agree on this the young man didn't want to make his first trip to Ireland. At 16, he was kidnapped by Irish pirates and sold to a Druid chieftain. He spent the next six years herding sheep near what is now County Antrim, Ireland. While in the fields, the young herdsman became a devout Christian. He escaped after dreaming of a ship which was to take him away from Ireland.

He then returned to his family in Britain. He became a priest after studying at France's Monastery of St Martin. He studied at the monastery for 18 years. Later, he was consecrated a bishop. A dream brought him back to Ireland, just as a dream had returned him to his family.

He dreamed of a letter with the heading, "The Voice of the liiuiii" Aj liewml tiieimaytw" PANA Scott McNeely has the ultimate Irish birthday:" He was born on St Patrick's Day. His Irish-American family welcomed him in 1970. They brought green party hats and green noise-makers to Pana Community Hos- The hospital contributed St. 'atrick's Day cookies. His paternal grandparents, Roland and Bonnie McNeely of Tower Hill, spread the news.

They announced Scott's birth with a shamrock-decked sign in the yard at his parents' home. "We were excited because of our Irish ancestry. Having a grandson born on that day who could carry on the McNeely name was really something," Bonnie McNeely said. Scott knows the family was thrilled that he was born on St. Patrick's Day.

But, to him, it's nothing special. His mother, Iva, continues the Irish emphasis. His birthday cake always has shamrocks or leprechauns. Iva dressed him as a leprechaun for his first birthday party. "He had a black hat and a green outfit He was so cute," she said.

Iva McNeely said Scott kept the leprechaun look as he grew. "He has a little tumed-up nose, freckles and blue eyes," she said. Her son has more than his share of Irish luck, too, Iva McNeely said. "Some people have to wait for things, but it seems like everything just comes to him." For example, she said, he won $25 in a grocery store drawing. It's not a lot of money, but more than most players have won.

Terry McNeely said his son has 4 DAY SALE 5.90 Scott McNeely been luckier than most other motor hobbyists, too. When Scott McNeelv was between 12 and 14, he and his friends rode dirt bikes. His cycle rarely broke down. He never had a spill serious enough to send him to the emergency room. "It seemed like the other kids were accident prone, but not him," Terry McNeely said.

"He needed sticnes once, when he was around 10, and that was from a bicycle." Scott kept that luck when he graduated to cars. Like a shrewd Irish horse trader, he's had the gift for spotting a good deal He started with a 1972 Ford Pinto. He worked on the car, his father said, and sold it for more than he paid. Scott then did the same with a 1974 Chevrolet truck. He now owns a 1974 Oldsmobile Cutlass and a 1977 Firebird.

Iva McNeely adds: "He lucks into these deals. He seems to be in the right place at the right time." Maybe it comes from having the ultimate Irish birthday. I heard Irish voices asking him to return to Erin. He returned to the island in 432 and spent the rest of his life there. Historians primly point out that there are no facts to substantiate that he drove the snakes from Ireland into the sea.

They sternly say there is no evidence for the claim he used the shamrock, with its three leaves on one stem, to explain the Holy Trinity's concept of three persons in one God. But, after Patrick's death on March 17, 461, those and other legends became associated with him. The legends people told and the reverence they nad for him were enough in those early days of the church to have him proclaimed a saint. He never underwent the formal canonization process now required of Tank Tops, reg. 7.90 11.90 Snorts, reg.

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