In her teens and twenties, my mom was a singer. She had a lovely, haunting voice and great style. By the time I came along and was growing up, Mom mostly sang while she did chores. She always seemed to have her hands in the sink with a load of dirty dishes from our good Irish Catholic family of five.
Mom was a Connelly and her mother a Kennedy. Yes, we’re related. But then, Ireland is a small island; everyone is really related to everyone else.
So on St. Paddy’s day, here is the closest thing I could find to my mother singing her very favorite song.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day up there, Mom. I hope your Irish eyes are smiling and dancing up there with Dad.
Everyone else keep safe! Me, I have dishes to do.
FiftyFourandAHalf 
Nice, Elyse. I love hearing people sing, and bet your mama was terrific.
And Elyse, you sing to all of us with your posts.
Keep writing, my friend!
Lisa
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You’re sweet Lisa. I actually DO sing, too, although my husband would deny it!
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Glad you liked it, Janice! Happy belated St. Patty’s Day
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Beautiful post, Elyse, thank you for sharing 🙂
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Great piece for the day while also making a tribute to your mom. (But i wish I would have heard this yesterday).
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Frank, I think that the answer is that whenever I post you must stop what you’re doing to read. The fact that it was your wife’s birthday should have taken its place behind the need to see what came off my keyboard!
Hope you had a wonderful St. Patty’s Day/Birthday with your wife!
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🙂
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… and even had green spaghetti!
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Beautiful, and a wonderful memory to have on the holiday!
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Thanks, Guap. Yes, it’s hard for me to sing anything else on St. Patty’s day!
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Lovely post, Elyse! Ah, to be able to sing. What I wish. I can carry a tune with no problem but my voice couldn’t lift a feather.
This gave such a rich slice-of-life insight into your big Irish Catholic family upbringing.
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Thanks, Angie. And welcome back!
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I’ve heard you singing in traffic — you sounded wonderful! I’m sure it was you.
Singing must make you as happy as it makes me. You must be Irish — even today, March 18th.
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Sing while you do the dishes! And sing while you do everything! Me – I sing when I’m driving. I have a fabulous voice…I don’t understand why no one else thinks so,
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Nice! My mother loves music but never sings. Even in church she moves her lips but no words escape. Apparently she isn’t confidant in her voice. I on the other hand, have even sung solos in church. Happy St. Patrick’s Day all weekend.
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Glad you stopped by Renee.
I guess whatever makes you happy about music is good — whether it is singing or not. Sorry your mother never found her confidence — it’s easiest to find in a crowd and church music is so wonderful Good for you for singing the solos — I remember my first one, where my knees locked and I was about to panic. Then I looked out and folks were coming into the rehearsal to hear me, and I relaxed. I miss those days! But I was never as good as my mom!
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What a beautiful way to pay tribute to your wonderful mother.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day to you. I hope you must have inherited that singing quality from your mom. 🙂
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Thanks, Arindam.
My mom was a great singer. I am a good singer — or I was, actually, but I damaged my voice about 15 years ago so I can’t sing for very long.
Have a happy rest of the weekend!
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Can you sing too? I imagine your mother singing brought joy into the house. Wished my mom would’ve sang. If she could carry a note, that is. Thanks for sharing the memory. I can imagine she’s dancing and singing to your dad now. Lucky guy.
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I can sing — or I could. Not so well now that I am getting old and don’t do it all the time. It is always wonderful having someone singing, I think. My husband hates it though — cause I always sing the same couple of songs and they make him nuts.
Dad loved to hear Mom sing. He wasn’t a bad singer himself (only being only half Irish he needed a bit of beer before he sang much! and then he made up hilarious lyrics because he could never remember the correct ones.)
I’m sure your mom brought joy in other ways — they all do!
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Beautiful tribute, Elyse…such a happy one. Thank you for sharing. ooo…I have something in my eye. Bye.
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Thanks Georgette — I hope whatever was in your eye was smiling!
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I have lovely memories of my mother singing us to sleep when we were little.To me, she was the prettiest woman in the world with the best voice– and it sounds like your mom was the same to you.
Something about singing while doing chores and putting kids to bed seems like a lost art!
My grandmother was first generation Irish in the U.S. She sang too, but her favorite was Danny Boy.
Happy St. V.’s Day!
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Danny Boy is another of my and my mom’s favorites. I can hear her singing it now!
You don’t have to lose the art — it’s up to you. My son comments “Mom, you always sound so happy when you sing.” Well, when I’m in good voice!
Thanks for your comment, Melanie. (I love your name!)
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Thanks, Mags — Happy St. Patty’s Day to you. With your sense of humor, you must be Irish too — that and the name “Mags” is a dead giveaway!
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Hi,
Happy St. Patrick’s Day. 😀
I love listening to these old songs, very nice.
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Happy St Patrick’s Day! What a great memory. How unfortunate you don’t have a recording of your mother, at least though you have her voice in your memory.
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It is sad that I don’t have a recording of her. Oh well. She always sounded wonderfully happy when she sang :). I think that’s why I like to sing so much. Well, that and being Irish. It’s a requirement!
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What a lovely voice she had. She was very pretty, too. Thanks, Elyse. Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
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This isn’t really my mom — she sounds like her though. And her hairstyle was similar — short and curly. My mom was a better singer, though. And of course, much prettier!
Happy St. Patty’s Day, Susan!
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What a lovely tribute.For your Mother and St.Patrick’s Day. I am on my way to Buffalo to celebrate the day and have tears rinning down my face as I listen to this. Thank you.
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Thanks, Michelle,
Have a great time in Buffalo — and be safe!
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Thanks Les! Happy St. Paddy’s Day!
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Beautiful.
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She did, but this clip is not my mom singing — just as close to her as I could find. My mother did a much happier version of the song too — I listened to a zillion renditions trying to find one that sounded like Mom, and they all sounded like the folks were crying, not smiling!
Thanks for stopping by!
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Wow, she had a beautiful voice. Lovely, thank you for sharing this with everyone.
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