The Apostles’ Creedon

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February 27, 2005
Million Dollar Lass
Faith n' Begorrah, how pleased was I that Million Dollar Baby took the Academy Award for Best Picture! The Eire up there sure is sweet, isn't it Clint? This film has really done booming box office for all things Irish!

The story follows the boxing career of a young Irish lass, Maggie Fitzgerald (hmm, must check with our own Mimi to see if there's a relation). And speaking of Fitzgeralds, whatever happened to The Fighting Fitzgeralds, in which Brian Dennehy's three sons all move back home to live with their retired fire fighting father. Only 3, Brian? What kind of Catholic are you? Why the 14 "Cracking Skulls Creedons" could whip your Irish behind anytime!

But I digress…I was speaking of this fine film in which Irish is not only representin' with Maggie but also by her manager Frankie Dunn, played by Clint Eastwood. Frankie is what we would call a severely lapsed Catholic. He has weekly conversations, or should I say confrontations, with his young parish priest Father Horvak, played by a fine Irish lad Brian O'Byrne (reminds me of me in my younger days). Frankie has the nerve to compare the Holy Trinity to Rice Krispies' "Snap, Crackle and Pop," and calls our Lord and Savior a Demigod. This leads Fr. Horvak to respond with some salty language better shared over a pint in a pub than to parishioners in the pews.

Speaking of parishioners...I've heard from many of you that there has been a lot of controversy about this picture and indeed there is! Just look at these three examples:

1. The first controversy I may have missed because I had to leave the theatre early to perform an emergency car blessing. Nevertheless, if they talked about "youth in Asia"—even in an Irish movie—that's fine with me.
2. The next one is more serious. When Maggie goes into her first title fight, she is cheered into the ring by shouts of "Mo Cuishle," the Irish Gaelic moniker she's been given by Frankie that she sports on a lovely green and gold robe. The name is a shortened form of the phrase "A chuisle mo chroí," "O, pulse of my heart," or as Frankie puts it more concisely, "My darling." Well, any son of Ireland worth his salt knows that it's spelled "Mo Chuisle!"
3. Lastly, as Maggie's career builds to its climax, Mr. Eastwood attaches the films emotions to the longing held in the Irish language. The most moving of these moments occurs when Frankie translates W. B. Yeats' "Lake Isle of Innisfree" from the little Irish-language book he carries like a talisman throughout the movie. There's just one hitch: Yeats didn't write his poems in Irish. He didn't even know the language well enough to read it!

However, these three controversies aside, I have to give this movie props for awakening an interest in Ireland, our Celtic traditions and language. And for that Mr. Eastwood, I say "Slainte!"

Thank You For Readin' Creedon!

 
Favorite Links
-The real St. Charles website
-St. Charles Post Sunday Source
-My presidential campaign
-Other silly stuff at the parish