Men of Action: Obama Outlines ‘Future We Can Build Together’

Posted on June 18, 2013 by aaron

800px-Barack_Obama_at_Las_Vegas_Presidential_Forum

Image from wikimedia

Barack Obama delivered a rousing speech this week, celebrating the progress made in the Northern Ireland Peace Process and outlining its implications for the rest of the world and the ‘future we can build together’.

The Good Friday Agreement was a monumental move towards peace for the country in 1998. It has served as inspiration for many nations across the world, including the USA.

The President enthused:

‘So many of the qualities that we Americans hold dear we imported from this land – perseverance, faith, an unbending belief that we make our own destiny, and an unshakable dream that if we work hard and live responsibly, something better lies just around the bend’

The President delivered his speech to groups of students, tomorrow’s leaders, who greeted his words with a thunderous applause. The Irish fortitude that we celebrate is clearly still alive today. The Wild Geese themselves persevered and believed that they could make their own destinies. Indeed they did.

From their example and Obama’s words, anything is possible.

The President ended with a reminder of the link between Northern Ireland and the USA.

‘You are the blueprint to follow, you are the proof of what is possible, because hope is contagious.

And you should know that so long as you are moving forward, America will always stand by you as you do’

New Cocktail Video: Flying High

Posted on June 14, 2013 by aaron

Get your jiggers and bar spoons ready. Joe Gunner from the Portobello Star in London is back. He’ll guide you through our new cocktail recipe: FLYING HIGH. Show off your expertise to your dad this Father’s Day!

FLYING HIGH
A spiced old-fashioned style drink.
40mls The Wild Geese Rare Irish Whiskey
20mls Domaine De Canton
10mls Benedictine
4 drops orange & mandarin bitters

Stir all ingredients, strain into a rocks glass over ice and garnish with an orange twist.

Father’s Day Cocktail: Flying High

Posted on June 12, 2013 by aaron

Fathers are heroes for more than one day. Treat him to a ‘Flying High’ this weekend!

FLYING HIGH
A spiced old-fashioned style drink.
40mls The Wild Geese Rare Irish Whiskey
20mls Domaine De Canton
10mls Benedictine
4 drops orange & mandarin bitters

Stir all ingredients, strain into a rocks glass over ice and garnish with an orange twist.

Men of Action: Soldiers of Fortune on the Beaches of Normandy

Posted on June 6, 2013 by aaron

Image from DVIDSHUB, via Flickr Creative Commons

Today is the 69th anniversary of the D-Day Landings, one of the largest and most complex military operations of the modern age. Thousands of soldiers were involved in the operation. Whether they fell on the beaches or survived to tell their tales, each of them are heroes to be remembered.

Amongst the force stood soldiers from Ireland who recognised a cause to be fought and played a pivotal role in the landings. Like The Wild Geese these were soldiers who took flight and fought a cause far from home.

One of the soldiers was Sean Deegan, who was a part the amphibious landing.

‘I was a soldier of fortune, not a political soldier. When we got to Germany, we found out it was a worthwhile cause’

He joined the British RAF, but was trained in the use of a Harley Davidson on the battlefield, which he rode into battle on June 6th 1944.

‘Believe it or not, I had thought that all my dreams had come true when they trained me on a Harley Davidson. Then I find myself on one of these little landing crafts waiting to go in, and I’m thinking to myself “what have I done?”

‘It was horrendous, there’s no other way of describing it’

Deegan’s story is even more touching when he goes on to describe the bonds he made before the combat.

‘When there’s danger around you, you become very pally with people. It’s a different sort of friendship that you experience. I’ve never really experience that sort of friendship in civilian life’

We imagine this is the type of camaraderie original The Wild Geese shared in 1691, shoulder to shoulder.

Sean Deegan survived the war, although many of his friends did not, including two who travelled from Ireland Tim O’Neill and John O’Reilly. He became a Franciscan friar and chose the name Bother Columbanus. You can read more of his story here.

It’s important to remember their courage today. We raise a glass to them.

Men of Action: Irish Hero Saves 3 With Broken Paddle

Posted on June 4, 2013 by aaron

Image from N. Tackaberry, via Flickr Creative Commons

Many of The Wild Geese were ordinary men who faced adversity head on. Knowing what was the right thing to do they followed that path without hesitation. Last week another Man of Action flung himself into adverse circumstances because it was the right thing to do.

Mark O’Mahony heard cries for help off the coast of Ballydehob in West Cork and, seeing distressed splashing over a kilometre out at sea, he raced to get his kayak and paddled towards the commotion, while his wife called for help:

‘I assumed people were in the water. I got into the kayak but I only had a broken paddle, so I was struggling to get out’

Despite having a broken paddle it took Mark 15 minutes to reach those in trouble: three young men who’s boat had sank. They had tried to swim the 1.5 km back to shore, but the powerful swirling currents prevented them from reaching the shore.

‘I found the first guy and he was trying to swim to shore. He was about 200m from the other two, who were further out’

Mark managed to secure the man and started to bring him to shore, while the lifeboats that his wife had called headed towards the other two. All three men were saved and transferred to Cork University Hospital. One of the men was stabilised after being treated for water ingestion and hypothermia. The other two men were also treated for hypothermia but made a full recovery.

Baltimore RNLI official Michael Cottrell said that their recovery was due to the quick actions of Mark and his wife:

‘[Mark] should take a lot of the credit. He made a great effort to help and surely saved their lives. Those lads owe him a lot’

We’ll certainly be raising a glass to Mark and his wife! Well done!

Men of Action: The Last Crusade, Remembering A Real Life Adventurer

Posted on May 28, 2013 by aaron

At just 15 years old John Goddard overheard a family friend express regret that he had not done more in his life. Determined to avoid this mistake, he drafted a list of all the things he wanted to achieve and experience in his lifetime.

Some goals on this ‘Life List’ were modest, like becoming and Eagle Scout and learning to play polo. Others were pumped with ambition and paved the way for John Goddard to become one of the world’s most renowned adventurers. It is thought that he was a real life inspiration for the much loved character Indiana Jones and some of the items on his ‘Life List’ that he ticked off go a long way to explaining this.

John Goddard was the first man to explore the entire length of the Nile and Congo rivers, determined to journey some of the world’s longest rivers. He climbed two of the world’s largest mountains, including Mt. Kilimanjaro and the Matterhorn, learned to fly a plane, skydived and even broke records during the Second World War, hitting a speed record of 1,500 mph in an F-111.

Ticked Off:
Mt Kilimanjaro (image by Tambako the Jaguar via Flickr Creative Commons), the matterhorn (image by Nick-D via Wikimedia Commons) and an F-111 jet (image by Marcel Wiseweg via Wikimedia Commons)

He was born in 1924 in Salt Lake City and wrote his ‘Life List’ in 1940. Goddard passed away in May 2013, having checked off 120 of his original 127 goals. He said during an interview in the 1990s:

‘There’s something about the human spirit that when you accept a challenge and work on it and have deadlines and capture your potential, it’s astounding what you can do’

Like The Wild Geese, John Goddard reached beyond his limits and has proved an inspiration for many generations to come. Speaking at the announcement of his death, Goddard’s nephew Dennis Larsen puts it perfectly:

‘What he’s taught me is that you can make your dreams come true’

The Wild Geese Cocktails: The Bentley

Posted on May 16, 2013 by aaron

Shay from Elixir is back with another cocktail recipe – The Bentley. Based on an Old Fashioned cocktail mix, Shay uses our Rare Irish and brings you an Untamed flavour you don’t want to miss!

The Bentley

2 oz The Wild Geese Rare Irish Whiskey
0.5 oz Simple Syrup
2 Dashes Chocolate Bitters
Grated dark chocolate to garnish

Wild Geese Stories: F. Scott Fitzgerald Still Star of The Show

Posted on May 15, 2013 by aaron

The Cannes Film Festival hosted the European premiere of The Great Gatsby last week, adding even more pizzazz to an already glamourous south coast of France. The latest revision of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s renowned novel is dripping with style but aims to maintain the allure of it’s source material, still widely thought of as one of America’s all time greatest novels.

F. Scott Fitzgerald chronicler, Patrick Coleman thinks that the story is still so accessible because it’s themes of disguise resonate with us from the very beginning of adulthood, and it doesn’t hurt that the novel ‘is just so beautifully written, those sentences are stunning sometimes, and that’s what prompts these revisits to the big screen’

The latest revisit is appropriately filled with Hollywood’s elite from master direct Baz Luhrmann to leading man Leonardo Dicaprio and love interest Carey Mulligan. It’s been said that the film is oozing with style that elicits Fitzgerald’s novel.

But not at the cost of the book. The novel has been central to the production for both cast and director, as Baz Luhrmann explained:

The sensational Leonardo Dicaprio (image by foto de chaubaby, via Flickr)

‘Whatever the choices (for the film), it was about one thing: revealing that book

‘Leonard [Dicaprio] would almost drive me crazy, but in a good way, because he would say “Are we honouring the book?”‘

F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote his own Wild Geese story. His parents both held Irish ancestry and he mapped his own journey from humble beginning to the writer of the time. Fitzgerald was a prominent figure of the ‘Jazz Age’ and pre dated the celebrity culture we know today. He was certainly a head of the curve, both as a writer and social figure.

‘He was a wild commercial success,’ explains Coleman. ‘No writer can become famous overnight, like a rock star, the way he did anymore’

The latest filmed opened a week earlier in the USA. Baz Luhrmann shared the story of a mysterious lady who attended the premier in New York:

‘She said “I think Scott would be proud of this film… and by the way, I love the music!”‘

The lady was Eleanor Lanahan, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s granddaughter. ‘So for me,’ the director continued, ‘that was about as good as it could possibly get’.

The Wild Geese Cocktails: The Tipperary

Posted on May 11, 2013 by aaron

Shay is one of the star barmen at Elixir in San Francisco. He mixed up a sensational cocktail using our Classic Blend – The Tipperary. It’s a classic cocktail with a Wild twist.

Check out our video and treat yourself to the The Tipperary.

2 oz. Classic Blend whiskey
3/4 oz. sweet vermouth
1/2 oz. green Chartreuse
Ice cubes

Tools: mixing glass, barspoon, strainer
Glass: cocktail
Garnish: lemon twist

Combine ingredients in an ice-filled mixing glass and stir. Strain into a chilled glass and garnish.

Travel Retail’s Wild Geese: Gerry Crawford

Posted on May 10, 2013 by aaron

Click here to read issue 78 of The Moodie Report e-zine.

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