St. Patrick's Exercises

“MOLLY MALONE” - The Dubliners

1.Warm up / Pre-listening activity -> Pair activity

 

ñDo you know the woman in the photo?

ñWhat do you think she used to do for a living?

ñWhere can we find this statue?

NOTES:

As well, as being known and sung internationally, the popular song 'Cockles and Mussels' has become a sort of unofficial anthem of Dublin city. The song's tragic heroine Molly Malone and her barrow have come to stand as one of the most familiar symbols of the capital. In addition, Molly's international pulling power is shown by the fact that she scores hundreds of thousands of 'hits' on Internet, many of them relating to Irish pubs and restaurants bearing her name. Ir seems perfectly natural therefore that Molly should have been commemorated by erecting a statue to her in Dublin, which monument has become a familiar landmark at the end of Grafton Street.

2.While-listening activity.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ouqhCtIh2g

In Dublin's fair city,
where the girls are so ______,
I first set my _____? on sweet Molly Malone,
As she wheeled her wheel-barrow,
Through streets broad and _______,
Crying, "Cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh!"

"Alive, alive, oh,
Alive, alive, oh",
Crying "Cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh".

She was a fishmonger,
And sure 'twas no wonder,
For so were her _______ and ________ before,
And they each wheeled their barrow,
Through ______? broad and narrow,
Crying, "Cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh!"

(chorus)

She died of a _______,
And no one could save her,
And that was the end of ______ Molly Malone.
Now her _______ wheels her barrow,
Through streets broad and narrow,
Crying, "Cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh!"

(chorus)

3.Post-listening activity

ñWhy do you think we have chosen this Irish song? What day is it?

ñHow much do you know about Ireland and its patron?

ñWhy is it celebrated on the 17^th March?

GLOSSARY: -Wheel-barrow: a large open container with a wheel and two handles that you use outside to carry things. -Cockles: a small shellfish that can be eaten. -Mussels: a small shellfish that can be eaten, with a black shell in two parts. -Anthem: a song which has a special importance for a country, an organization, or a particular group of people and is sung on special occasions. -Heroine: a girl or woman who is admired by many for doing something brave or good -Landmark: a) a building or a place that is very important because of its history, and that should be preserved; b) something, such as a large building, that you can see clearly from a distance and that will help you to know where you are.

Group work: The class will be divided in groups of 3 or 4 people. Each group will be given a different extract about St.Patrick's traditions. They have several minutes to read their own piece of paper and prepare a short presentation that will be done by the speaker of the group. Paraphrasing is compulsory.

St Patrick’s Day Celebrations & Traditions

March 17th marks the day of St Patrick, celebrated by millions of people around the world. In Ireland, St Patrick’s Day was always held as an important religious day to celebrate the teachings of Christianity by St Patrick.

As St Patrick is the Patron Saint of Ireland it became a major day in Ireland’s religious calendar and has always been mainly associated with Christianity.

Typical Traditions & Customs of St Patrick’s Day

There are a number of things that are associated with St Patrick’s Day and the whole celebration that surrounds it. Some are old Irish traditions and are directly related to celebrating the Patron Saint of Ireland and others are more recent such as being Irish for a day.

The wearing of the green on St Patrick’s Day

Many people wear something green on St Patrick ’s Day which is known in the U.S. and other countries as wearing of the green. Usually people would wear green to show their Irish heritage & culture  on the day that everyone’s Irish but in Ireland the wearing of the green doesn’t really exist, well in terms of celebrating our culture. However, we do wear Shamrocks to symbolize the teaching of the holy trinity by St Patrick. A small bunch of Shamrocks would be pinned to the breast of our outer coats.

Holy day of obligation

Most Christians in Ireland will attend Church as they would every Sunday and treat it as a day of rest to spend with the family. Family members would attend Church wearing their shamrocks and afterwards head home for a large roast, similar to a typical Sunday roast. Some families would sit around and watch the St Patrick’s day parades take place in Dublin, New York, Chicago and other major cities.

The drinking of green beer

In Ireland you would be hard pushed to find a pub that served green beer and actual fact this is not a typicaltradition of Ireland but is that of the U.S. & Canada. Some places in Ireland, such as Dublin, may have a few pubs that will serve green beer but for the most part it’s not something we generally do.

Did you know that pubs in Ireland had to remain shut for St Patrick’s Day? It wasn’t until the late 1970′s the Irish law permitted pubs to open their doors on March 17th.

A day of parades & festivals

Another American tradition for celebrating St Patrick’s day is the parades. First started in New York City in 1766 the parades have become a major attraction for millions around the world. Today hundreds of parades take places in many different countries with thousands in attendance.

Did you know that it wasn’t until 1995 when the Irish government decided to start holding a parade in Dublin, to help boost tourism?

It’s now known in Ireland as St Patrick’s festival which takes place over 5 days with events including art shows, plays, concerts, fun fairs and the main parade