#Celtic#FolkloreThursday: #Ogma mac Elathan, son of Delbaeth, is according to #Irish tradition the inventor of the #Ogham script. This Son of Art was not only extremely famous in the art of speech and poetry, but also an athletic trénḟer, a power man. In the battle of #MagTuired he fought on the side of the #TuathaDéDanann against #Bres and his #Fomorians.
Source: Helmut Birkhan Die #Kelten
Austerity, Brexit, Covid Lockdown Parties, PPE Scandal, Raw Sewage in UK Waterways & Coastal Areas, Economic Crash, Record Inflation, Record Interest Rates, Cost of Living Crisis, Pensions Decimated, Mortgage Rises, NHS in Crisis, Schools Crumbling, Housing Crisis...
To be fair, South of the border, no one cares about #ScottishIndependence or a united #Ireland. I think most people wish both would happen so we don't have to hear about it any longer.
It's the ruling class unionists who still hanker for the colonial empire, & keeping Scotland & North Ireland under English rule. It's never been a major issue for the average person in England, hence why I think most would support the #Irish & the #Scots if given the chance.
20 May 1629: William Bedell, future translator of #Bible to #Irish#Gaeilge and Provost of Trinity College #Dublin is appointed Bishop of Kilmore & Ardagh by Letters Patent #otd (eebo)
#Celtic#FolkloreSunday: Dún Dealgan means ‘the stronghold of Dalgan’ in #Irish. According to legend, long before it became the home of Ulster’s hero, #CùChulainn, it was originally the site of a fortress constructed by a Fir Bolg chieftain by the name of Delga.
This legendary and historic site is situated on a ridge just outside of Dundalk, overlooking the Castletown River, known also as Abhainn Chaisleán Dhún. The tower, known as ‘Byrne’s Folly’, which is still standing today, was built by a local landowner named Patrick Byrne. He was quite a character by all accounts, as he was reputed to have made his fortune by smuggling.`
Source: Ali Isaac
19 May 1649: Westminster Parliament passes an Act declaring England (& dependent territories) to be a Commonwealth & a Free State #otd (eebo) - note the #Irish harp alongside the George’s Cross
18 May 1534: Pope Clement VII provided Roland Burke to the see of Clonfert #otd In spring 1536 Henry VIII nominated Richard Nangle an #Augustinian to the same bishopric. This became the first time there were both royal and papal bishops for an #Irish diocese. (JohnArmagh)
18 May 1580: Fynes Moryson matriculates at Peterhouse #Cambridge#otd. A voluble travel writer, on #Ireland memorably : ‘the #Irish are naturally given to religion & naturally to a #monkish life of ease'
16 May 1639: The #Irish Privy Council orders all #Scots over 16 years of age living in #Ireland to take an oath abjuring the National Covenant #otd (BL)
#FairyTaleTuesday: Like the seal, the badger was sometimes seen as a shape-shifting person; the #Irish hero #Tadg found their meat revolting, unconsciously aware that they were really his cousins.
Source: P. Monaghan Encyclopedia of #Celtic #Mythology and #Folklore
The National: Glasgow airport has been told to act after a sign for a restaurant appeared to mix up Irish and Scottish Gaelic… The slogan on the sign currently reads “An bhfuil ocras ort?” with [Murdo] MacSween explaining it should instead say “A bheil an t-acras ort?”
#Celtic#MythologyMonday: „The names of the #Irish goddess #Medb and the #Gaulish goddesses #Meduna and the #Comedovae may be derived from an Indo-European word *médhu– signifying ‘honey’, ‘intoxication’, and designate the fermented drink extracted from honey, that is ‘mead’. If this etymology is correct – other possibilities have been suggested -, their names may be therefore glossed as ‘Goddess of Intoxication by Mead’ or ‘Mead Goddess’.“
#MythologyMonday: The #TuathaDéDanannrefined the art of brewing until the ale of their smith and brewer #Goibniu was strong enough to endow the drinker with immortality. #Irish epics connect ale with the festival of #Samhain, when the boundaries between this world and the #Otherworld were blurred.
Source: P. Monaghan Encyclopedia of #Celtic #Mythology and #Folklore
‘Transgressing into poetry’: Nationality, Gender & Sexuality in SONNETS FROM SCOTLAND by Edwin Morgan & THE PRICE OF STONE by Richard Murphy
by Prof Tara Stubbs
Both #Scottish poet Edwin Morgan & (Anglo-) #Irish poet Richard Murphy transgressed poetic norms: contradicting ‘nationalist’ poets of their respective traditions, making playful use of language, & treating #gender & #sexuality in daring ways
8 May 1666: d. John Sinnich of #Cork professor of Theology at #Leuven & canon of Sint-Pieterskerk #otd He made his career as a vigorous defender of Jansenist opinions, & was Rector Magnificus of the university (googlebooks) He left money to support #Irish students to study law.
#MythologyMonday: Geali Dianvir was the eldest son of the king of the Fir Bolg, #Irish invaders who may be mythological memories of early #Celtic arrivals; his people were defeated by Balor, king of the evil Fomorians, who similarly may reflect historical indigenous peoples. After the battle, the defeated Fir Bolg sailed away from #Ireland, returning to the mysterious land of Gallowna, where they attempted to recoup their strength.
From Gallowna, Geali Dianvir was sent back to repair the damage to his people’s reputation that Balor had dealt. When he arrived in Bantry, in western Co. Cork in the southwestern province of Munster, Geali Dianvir found the Formorian queen surrounded by Balor’s men, who every night applied venom to their swords so that they were unbeatable in battle. The venom was obtained from a well into which the warriors plunged their weapons; the Fir Bolg hero decided to eliminate their advantage by turning it from poison to clear water. To do this, he poured 20 measures of the milk of the magical cow of abundance, the glas ghaibhleann, into the well. The Fir Bolg hero was then able to gain the advantage over Balor’s men and drive them to the outer reaches of the land.
Source: P. Monaghan Encyclopedia of #Celtic #Mythology and #Folklore https://x.com/dublinmacker/status/1271541748863508480?t=VlZCYYhpw-KLu22YntMnsw&s=09
#Celtic#MythologyMonday for #MuseumDay: „In #Irish#mythology, the #TuathaDéDanann were said to have played hurling with their enemies, the Fir Bolg, before the Battle of Moytura commenced.
According to Lady Gregory in her book, Of Gods and Fighting Men, this is what happened:
“It was on a Midsummer day they began the battle. Three times nine hurlers of the Tuatha de Danaan went out against three times nine hurlers of the Firbolgs, and they were beaten, and every one of them was killed.”
So the Fir Bolg won the game, but unfortunately for them, went on to lose the battle. In some versions, they actually played with the heads of their enemies, instead of a ball.“
Source: Ali Isaac