The mother of all women

She’s alive and well, and now she’s on Twitter. Don Morgan pays tribute to that legendary institution, the Irish mammy

IT’S Mother’s Day next Sunday. For some, the planning will be down to the finest detail: To not wake up after St Patrick’s Day with a kebab stuck to your face and go home with more than a wilted bunch of petrol station flowers and a fixed smile.

In Ireland, Mother’s Day is a big day, because in Ireland, we all love our mammies. What’s more, Irish Mammy is a cultural phenomenon. So who is she? Why does she insist on doing the Christmas dinner? In today’s Ireland, is her traditional image just a distant memory? And what’s she doing on Twitter?