Irish Roots of Mickey Mouse and Walt Disney for St. Patrick’s Day

 by Ray Keating

Lifestyle/History

DisneyBizJournal.com

March 16, 2023

 

St. Patrick’s Day – the day when we’re all Irish – is upon us. And it turns out that Walt Disney, along with Mickey Mouse, had real Irish roots. 

 

So, how about some Irish tidbits as they relate to Walt, Mickey and Disney in general?

• Mickey Mouse, the Irish Mouse! 

 

In his book Walt Disney, Neal Gabler offers the following on the birth of Mickey Mouse (emphasis added): 

 

Walt read the story to Lillian, but she said she couldn’t focus because she was upset by the name Walt had bestowed upon his character: Mortimer. “The only thing that got through to me,” she told an interviewer, “was that horrible name, Mortimer…. I’m afraid I made quite a scene about it.” “Too sissy,” she said. When she calmed down, Walt asked her what she thought of the name Mickey, an Irish name, an outsider’s name. “I said it sounded better than Mortimer, and that’s how Mickey was born.”

 

• Walt’s Irish Ring and Roots

 

In a DisneyBizJournal guest column titled “Walt Disney and the Irish Claddagh Ring,” Chris Lucas wrote of Walt Disney’s Irish roots:

 

Walt was proud of his family's Irish heritage and only wore two items of jewelry in public: his wedding ring and his Claddagh ring, bought for him by his wife, Lillian, at a shop in Connemara, Ireland in the 1940s.

 

Walt Disney’s family was from County Kilkenny, Ireland. His grandfather, Kepple Disney, one of 16 (!) children, immigrated to Canada in 1834. His son, Elias (Walt’s Dad), crossed the border to the U.S. in the late 1800s and moved to the Midwest. Walt was born in Chicago in 1901.

 

The famous “Partners” statue at the Disney parks, designed by Disney Legend Blaine Gibson, depicts the Irish Claddagh ring on Walt’s right hand (the one not holding Mickey, the one pointing to the future), but most people never notice it because it is above the sight line.

 

• Sean Connery and the Little Irish People

 

Okay, the title for this 1959 Disney film actually is Darby O’Gill and the Little People. But it does co-star Sean Connery, before he was James Bond, as Michael McBride, who is from Dublin. Check it out on Disney+.

 

• A Documentary on the Irish

 

According to Disney A to Z: The Official Encyclopedia by Dave Smith, the 1998 six-part television documentary Irish in America: The Long Journey Home was a collaboration between Disney Studios and WGBH in Boston. Smith reported, “This project was close to the heart of Roy E. Disney, whose great-grandfather was one of the Irish immigrants.

• For the Love of Raglan Road

 

We’re big, big fans of Raglan Road: Irish Pub and Restaurant at Disney Springs. Grabbing a meal and catching the entertainment at Raglan Road is a perfect way to enjoy St. Patrick’s Day, or any other day when you’re seeking a bit of the Irish. Read our previous pieces about Raglan Road here, here, and here.

 

Happy and blessed St. Patrick’s Day to all!

 

__________

 

Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com; and author of the Pastor Stephen Grant thrillers and mysteries, and the Alliance of Saint Michael novels; and assorted nonfiction books. Have Ray Keating speak your group, business, school, church, or organization. Email him at raykeating@keatingreports.com.

 

The views expressed here are his own – after all, no one else should be held responsible for this stuff, right? 

 

Consider books by Ray Keating…

 

• The Weekly Economist: 52 Quick Reads to Help You Think Like an Economist. Signed paperbacks at RayKeatingOnline.com or paperbacks, hardcovers and Kindle editions at Amazon.com.

 

• Cathedral: An Alliance of Saint Michael Novel. Signed paperbacks and/or paperbacks, hardcovers and the Kindle edition at Amazon. 

 

• The Pastor Stephen Grant thrillers and mysteries. The latest in the series is Persecution: A Pastor Stephen Grant Novel. Get the signed books here, or paperbacks and Kindle editions right here.

 

• The Lutheran Planner: The TO DO List Solution combines a simple, powerful system for getting things done with encouragement, inspiration and consolation from the Christian faith.

 

• Behind Enemy Lines: Conservative Communiques from Left-Wing New York  –  signed books  or at  Amazon.

 

•  Free Trade Rocks! 10 Points on International Trade Everyone Should Know is available at  Amazon  in paperback or for the Kindle edition, and signed books at  www.raykeatingonline.com. 

 

Also, check out Ray’s podcasts – the Daily Dose of Disney, Free Enterprise in Three Minutes, and the PRESS CLUB C Podcast.

Suggestions for a Near-Perfect St. Patrick’s Day

 by Ray Keating

Review/Lifestyle

DisneyBizJournal.com

March 16, 2022

 

What to do on St. Patrick’s Day? Well, how about a delicious Irish meal and watching The Quiet Man on the big screen?

 

As it turns out, that’s exactly what I did this past Sunday, March 13, at Disney Springs.

 

The first stop was at Raglan Road Irish Restaurant and Pub, which also happens to be in the midst of the “Mighty St. Patrick’s Festival,” featuring Irish bands and dancers. Check out Beth Keating’s write up and video for DisneyBizJournal on the festival right here.

 

As for the food and drink, DisneyBizJournal served up a review before, but this time around we had some dishes for the first time. 

 

As for a St. Pat’s Day drink, the Raglan Irish Stout was smooth and creamy. It would have been easy to let my Irish heritage (and younger days) take over, enjoying a few of these stouts, telling tales and arguing about inane topics. But it was just one delicious Raglan Irish Stout this time.

As always, Raglan’s unique Irish soda bread, accompanied by a sweet Guinness reduction dipping sauce, and the Kiss Before Shrimp appetizer, with its garlic, chile and lemon butter sauce, impressed. This was the first time I tried the Pull the Boxty appetizer. The potato cake was crispy on the outside, had a hint of sweetness, and combined nicely with the pulled ham hock.

 

One of our diners had the huge, crispy and sizeable Fish & Chips, and as we’ve noted before, it’s some of the best fish and chips we’ve had.

The Bangin’ Bangers & Mighty Mash was my choice, and it in no way disappointed. The hearty portion of pork sausage was pleasantly seasoned and done to perfection, with smooth mashed potatoes and a sweet onion gravy.

 

The third diner went with the waiter's recommendation, and opted for the braised beef, a 12-hour slow-braised beef shortribs in a reduced red wine jus. The ribs were incredibly tender, some of the best we've had on Disney property, and were served perched on colcannon mashed potatoes with a sprinkle of diced roasted veggies on the side.  The roasted veggies weren't spectacular, but the mashed potatoes, again, were creamy and flavorful.

Dessert? For the second time doing a Raglan Road review, there was no room left. Obviously, another visit is required in order to just sample the desserts. I take this responsibility seriously, and it will be done.

 

In lieu of Ger’s Bread and Butter Pudding, for example, Raglan Road was left behind in order to stroll over to AMC Disney Springs 24 theater to catch The Quiet Man, starring John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara and Barry Fitzgerald, and directed by John Ford. 

I hadn’t seen this film in many years, and its uniqueness is striking. Most of us are used to the great Westerns that Wayne and Ford created together. But this movie is part love letter to Ireland and part romantic comedy, with a touch of darkness to Wayne’s retired boxer character, Sean Thornton. There is Irish wit; Wayne doing some very different acting than in his Westerns; a Catholic priest and Protestant pastor getting along famously; plenty of drinking and singing; and Maureen O’Hara stealing so many scenes as the fiery Mary Kate Danaher. The Quiet Man is a movie of another era, released in 1952, about an even earlier time in Ireland (the 1920s), and well worth seeing. Indeed, if you’re a movie fan, you not only need to see this movie because it has become a classic Irish-American film, but also because John Ford won a best director Oscar for this movie, while he never earned one for any of his Westerns.

 

So, there you have my recommendations for a near-perfect St. Patrick’s Day. As we reported previously, on St. Patrick’s Day only (March 17th), Raglan Road will have a $20 cover charge, and will be first-come, first-served for visitors. And as for The Quiet Man, there will be two screenings on the 17th – one at 1:00 PM and the other at 7:00 PM – at the AMC theater in Disney Springs. Grab your tickets in advance, and enjoy!

 

__________

 

Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com, and author of the Pastor Stephen Grant novels and assorted nonfiction books. Have Ray Keating speak your group, business, school, church, or organization. Email him at raykeating@keatingreports.com.

 

The views expressed here are his own – after all, no one else should be held responsible for this stuff, right?

 

Get more out of 2022 with The Disney Planner 2022: The TO DO List Solution! It combines a simple, powerful system for getting things done with encouragement and fun for Disney fans, including those who love Mickey, Marvel, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Pixar, princesses and more. Also, “The Disney Planner 2022: The TO DO List Solution” comes with a handy spiral binding for easy use. 

 

Keating has three new books out. Vatican Shadows: A Pastor Stephen Grant Novel is the 13^th thriller/mystery in the Pastor Stephen Grant series. Get the paperback or Kindle edition at Amazon, or signed books at www.raykeatingonline.com. Past Lives: A Pastor Stephen Grant Short Story is the 14th book in the series. Again, get the paperback or Kindle edition at Amazon, or signed book at www.raykeatingonline.com. And order the 15th book in the series What’s Lost? A Pastor Stephen Grant Short Story – grab it at Amazon.com or signed editions at www.raykeatingonline.com. 

 

Also, check out Ray’s podcasts – the Daily Dose of Disney, Free Enterprise in Three Minutes, and the PRESS CLUB C Podcast.