Previously Unreleased

Published 10:12 pm Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Gillespie is an Irish name, although there’s some debate as to whether it originated in Northern Ireland or South Scotland.

It doesn’t really matter. In Ireland the name can be traced back to at least the 5th Century. The name is prevalent in the ancient episcopal province of Armagh, which covered part of Scotland also.

Literally, Gillespie comes from two Gaelic words, “Filid” (the F is silent) and “Asbuig.”

Filids were Druid bards who were in the courts of Irish tribal kings. They entertained the kings and their guests with poetry and storytelling. Asbuig is a word that means Bishop.

There is a legend that St. Patrick himself — who was born in Scotland and was taken to Ireland as a young teen to be made a slave — used one of his first converts, who was a Filid, to help him settle disputes that arose over the complexity of integrating the dictates of Rome with those of ancient Celtic societies.

This may even have been where the shamrock comes into the picture because according to www.catholic.org Patrick used the shamrock to help explain the Trinity.

Around the year 400, when Patrick was taken away from his home in a raid, Ireland was mostly a land of Druids and pagans.

These people would get a taste of their own medicine when the Vikings would begin to arrive about 400 years later and raid them.

The Gillespie Coat of Arms reflects some of this heritage. It’s got a boat on it — like a Viking ship.

One Gillespie I knew from St. Louis was a KKK agitator — that’s how he spent his weekends, going from KKK rally to KKK rally and organizing groups to shout them down.

He was not only offended by what the Klan (with a K) stood for, he really, really hated that they used bagpipes in their parades.

Anyway, he claimed to have studied up on our name quite a bit. He said the old Gillespie family heritage included people who were banished from their Viking tribes.

How bad of a person do you have to be to be “kicked out” of the Vikings?

Were they just so unmotivated that they couldn’t meet their conquer, pillage and rape quotas month after month? Or, were they too motivated? Were they so aggressive they were scaring the other Vikings and had to be let go?

Then there’s this angry-looking cat perched on top of the coat of arms and the family motto reads: “Touch not the cat without a glove.”

Apparently this is the motto for the whole MacPherson Clan, of which the Gillespies belong, in Scotland.

I’d like to know just what happened between the cat and the person who came up with that advice. It must have been a heck of a thing for it to become the Clan motto.

Anyway, St. Patrick’s Day is one of those holidays for which our heritage really doesn’t matter. Everyone is Irish on St. Patrick’s Day whether you want to be or not, so please celebrate tomorrow.

The first time I really celebrated St. Patrick’s Day full throttle, about a quarter of a century ago, I didn’t know anything about my family heritage. I blacked out on green beer shortly after winning a limbo contest at the Ramada Inn in Blytheville, Ark. — and I did it wearing cowboy boots.

The next day I was hit with a wave of shock and awe after going to the bathroom.

It was several hours before it dawned on me that I not only overindulged in beer the night before, but green food coloring as well. So, some of you might want to keep that in mind this weekend.

I’m older now so I celebrate differently these days, and earlier. In fact I already celebrated St. Patrick’s Day this week by making a batch of Irish stew.

The three principles of “traditional” Irish stew is meat, potatoes and onions. You layer these ingredients and add just enough water or stock so that the potatoes soak up the liquid after cooking it low and slow. Many variations of Irish stew recipes can be found but in truth the more you add to it, things like carrots and celery and Guinness and Worcestershire sauce … etc. … the less traditional it is — which is fine — but here’s the recipe I like. It’s a variation from the old “Joy of Cooking” cook book, back before the more health conscious editions were published. For an added touch of St. Patrick’s Day I served it over a bed of green, spinach enriched noodles. It’s not pretty, but it’s pretty good.



Irish stew



2 lbs of potatoes, peeled and sliced

1 lb of lamb or beef, cut into 1 inch cubes

1 cup of onion, sliced

2 cups of water or stock

1 bay leaf

2 tbsp chopped parsley



In a pot or Dutch oven put a layer of potatoes, salt and pepper, then meat, salt and pepper, then onions, salt and pepper and repeat a couple more times finishing with potatoes on top.

Throw in the bay leaf and parsley.

Pour over the layers boiling water or stock.

Bring it to a boil, then cover and turn it down very low. Let it cook for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Don’t mess with it. Just shake the pot a little every once in a while to keep the potatoes from sticking.