Irish Folklore, Traditions, and Cultural Icons
Ireland’s Ancient Mythology and Folklore
Ireland’s long history is full of ancient mythology and folklore. Ireland’s ancient societies, the Druids and the Celtics, believed in the power of magic, and many of these beliefs spread to modern-day legends told again and again around the country. The Banshee is a female spirit in Irish mythology, usually seen as a sign of death and a messenger from the underworld. The Banshee was a woman who carried with her a sign of death. She can appear in a variety of forms. Most often, she appears as an ugly, frightening witch, but she can also appear as an awesome, beautiful woman of any age that suits her. Sometimes you saw the Banshee as an old woman dressed in rags, sometimes you saw her as a young and beautiful girl, and sometimes you saw her as a wash woman, ringing out bloody clothing. In legend, a banshee wails nearby when someone is about to die. There are Irish families who are believed to have banshees attached to them, and whose cries herald the death of a member of that family. Whenever she was seen, she let out a horrible cry, and legend has it this cry brought death to any family that heard it. King James I of Scotland thought he was approached by a Banshee. Shortly after, he died at the Earl of Atholl. There are records of several prophets believed to be incarnate banshees attending the great houses of Ireland and the courts of local Irish kings.
St. Stephen’s Day in Ireland
St. Stephen’s Day is a Christian saint’s day to commemorate Saint Stephen, celebrated on 26 December. St. Stephen’s Day honors the first Christian martyr, stoned to death shortly after the Crucifixion. In Ireland, the day is one of nine official public holidays. In Irish, it is called Lá Fhéile Stiofán or Lá an Dreoilín, meaning the Day of the Wren or Wren’s Day. When used in this context, “wren” is often pronounced “ran”. According to an Irish legend, he was betrayed by a wren while hiding from his enemies. Another legend tells of Viking raids on Ireland on St Stephen’s Day. Irish soldiers were approaching a Viking camp to drive out the intruders. However, a wren started eating crumbs from a drum and alerted the Vikings to the presence of the Irish soldiers. Some people felt that wrens betrayed them and should be stoned to death, just as St Stephen was. Boys traditionally hunted a wren and threw stones at it. They tied it to a stick when it was dead and paraded it around the village. They did this to collect money for a dance or party for the whole village. Although the custom of killing wrens on December 26 died out around 1900, St Stephen’s Day is still known as the Day of the Wren, particularly in rural areas. Banks, post offices, and many other businesses and organizations are closed on St Stephen’s Day. However, stores and pubs are generally open, although they may open later and close earlier than usual. Public transport service schedules vary depending on where one lives and intends to travel. If St Stephen’s Day falls on a Sunday, the public holiday moves to Monday, December 27.
Hurling: Ireland’s National Passion
The game of hurling is more than just a game — it is Ireland’s national passion. But to appreciate hurling, one must look beyond the mere fact that it is a sport, because it is much more. Hurling is the fastest game on grass, most skillful game in the world. It is also one of the oldest with its traditions set in the mists of ancient Irish history. It is a game played purely for the fun and history of it. Hurling is an outdoor ball-and-stick game played with fifteen players on a field larger than a soccer pitch. Hurling is played with a flat wooden club, and the ball is struck by swinging the stick vice flinging it. Players can catch and carry the ball in the hand, but can only pass it by hitting it with the stick, kicking it, or slapping it by the hand. The object is to drive the ball either into a soccer-sized goal or ‘over the bar’. A goal is worth three, over the bar is worth one. The common tactic is to accumulate single points, chasing goals only when a clear opportunity presents. An average senior-league score would be about 22-18, with three-to-five goals averaged per game. The team with the highest score at the end of the match wins. It is over 3,000 years old, and is said to be the world’s fastest field game, the female version of the game is known as Camogie and is very similar to hurling, with just a few minor rule changes. Hurling is a great game, not just because it is a great game by itself, but because it seems to illustrate the best of Irish culture — its folksy character, its work-hard and play-hard virtues, and its community-based values.
The Cranberries: An Iconic Irish Rock Band
The Cranberries are an Irish rock band who formed in Limerick in 1990. Although widely associated with alternative rock, the band’s sound also incorporates indie pop, post-punk, Irish folk, and pop rock elements. A hallmark of 90’s pop-rock, The Cranberries are one of the rare Irish bands to make an auspicious run on US music charts with singles like “Zombie,” “Linger,” and “Ode to My Family.” The band consists of vocalist Dolores O’Riordan, guitarist Noel Hogan, bassist Mike Hogan, and drummer Fergal Lawler. In September 2003, despite working on a new album, the Cranberries announced they were taking some time to pursue individual careers. The Cranberries reunited in January 2009 “to celebrate Dolores becoming an Honorary Patron of University Philosophical Society (Trinity College, Dublin)”. While the group indicated at the time that this did not signify an official reunion, things seem to have changed. On 25 August 2009, in anticipation of the release of her second solo album, No Baggage, O’Riordan announced that the Cranberries would be reuniting for a North American and European tour.[21] O’Riordan indicated that the band would be playing songs from her solo albums and a lot of The Cranberries classic hits as well as some new group compositions.
Cultural Concepts and Historical Figures
Culture: Learned and shared human patterns or models for living; day-to-day living patterns. These patterns and models pervade all aspects of human social interaction. Culture is mankind’s primary adaptive mechanism (Damen, L.)
Foundation of Britain by Brutus: According to the popular British legend, Brutus, a descendant of Aeneas, was a Trojan exile who sailed to Britain in the 12th century BC. After slaying a few giants, he sets up the first monarchy, while the name Britain itself is said to have derived from his name. The legend of Brutus first appears in the Historia Brittonum (c. 830) once falsely ascribed to the authorship of Nennius. Scholars today, however, agree that this work was compiled by an anonymous author. The Historia Brittonum itself purports to have been based on much earlier written sources, including some “ancient books”, which has prompted some historians since the 19th century to conjecture if there were earlier literature which contained the Brutus foundation myth (Bohn, 1848: 391).
Morris Dance (ENGLISH): Is an English folk dance usually accompanied by music. They strike up the Devil’s dance withall: then march this heathen company towards the church, their pypers pyping, the drummers thundering, their stumpes dancing… It is based on rhythmic stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers, usually wearing bell pads on their shins. Implements such as sticks, swords, and handkerchiefs may also be wielded by the dancers.
Legend related to Irish warrior Finn McCool and the Giants (IRISH AND SCOT): Finn McCool was a mythical giant, a hunter-warrior of Irish mythology, occurring also in the mythologies of Scotland and the Isle of Man. Fionn or Finn is actually a nickname meaning “fair” (in reference to hair and/or skin colour), “white”, or “bright” and several legends tell how he gained the nickname when his hair turned prematurely white. Most of Fionn’s early adventures are recounted in the narrative The Boyhood Deeds of Fionn. He has a series of adventures involving hunting, fighting, sorcery, love, and passion. Finn has many romances but it is with the goddess Sadb that he begets his famous son, Oisín (Ossian). In one legend, he is the creator of the Giant’s Causeway, a peculiar series of volcanic rock formations on the coast of Ireland. One day, Finn grows angry when he hears that a Scottish giant is mocking his fighting ability. He throws a rock across the Irish Sea to Scotland; the rock includes a challenge to the giant. Woden (ANGLO-SAXON): In Anglo-Saxon England Odin held a particular place as a euhemerized ancestral figure among royalty, and he is frequently referred to as a founding figure among various other Germanic peoples, including the Langobards and in most of Scandinavia. On a chalk down, in the south of England, a dark figure stands in the shadows, watching; shrouded in a deathly back cloak, his face hidden by a wide brimmed hat, revealing only one wisdom filled eye and his unkempt grey beard. In his hand he carries an ancient spear, carved with strange angular symbols. In the distance, two Wolves bay and a pair of Ravens fly across the face of a full moon above him. He watches with interest the small settlement below, then strides past the gallows on that hillside, and merges into the darkness of the night. To any Anglo-Saxon of that period this description could only of been that of Woden.
Kathleen Ni Houlilan (IRISH): She is a mythical symbol and emblem of Irish nationalism found in literature and art, sometimes representing Ireland as a personified woman. Kathleen Ni Houlihan is generally portrayed as an old woman without a home. Frequently it is hinted that this is because she has been dispossessed of her home which comprised a farmhouse and “four green fields” (symbolising the four provinces of Ireland).Túathal Techtmar: Son of Fíachu Finnolach, was a High King of Ireland, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition. He is said to be the ancestor of the Uí Néill and Connachta dynasties through his grandson Conn of the Hundred Battles. The name may also have originally referred to an eponymous deity. The Annals of the Four Masters gives the date of Túathal’s exile as AD 56, his return as 76 and his death as 106. Geoffrey Keating’s Foras Feasa ar Érinn broadly agrees, dating his exile to 55, his return to 80 and his death to 100. The Lebor Gabála Érenn places him a little later, synchronising his exile with the reign of the Roman emperor Domitian (81–96), his return early in the reign of Hadrian (122–138) and his death in the reign of Antoninus Pius (138–161).Cymru (WALES): One of the four countries that make up the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; during Roman times the region was known as Cambria. Prydain (BRITAIN in Welsh): Prydain is the medieval Welsh term for the island of Britain (the name Albion was not used by the Welsh). More specifically, Prydain may refer to the Brittonic parts of the island; that is, the parts south of Caledonia.
Historical Tidbits and Legends
Richard III MOTTO: “Loyaulte me lie”. “Comfort et liesse” Edward IV motto. “Hope is my strength” of the Percy family and “None other” of Edmund, the first Duke of York. Vampire of Crogling Grange (In my solitary life). (Apuntes) Glamis Castle- Angus (Apuntes)The Black dog (warning danger up ahead). Mods vs Rockers
- Northern Soul ( año)
- The Hacienda (Manchester Night Club)
- Wimbledon
- Football (Newcastle –The Toon Army)
- Tiddlywinks (Plastic Disks)
Alnwick Castle was built around the beginning of the 9th century, but had apparently been home to a vampire before Yves de Vescy became Baron of Alnwick. He asked about the castle, he was told that a former lord of the estate allegedly lived underground and emerged only at night to attack villagers. It was near this time a plague was spreading through the town. And the townsfolk attributed the cause to this vampire of Alnwick. The vampire was apparently a man who had caught his wife being unfaithful. He’d been hiding on the roof when he caught her. Falling through the roof, he cursed his wife, and refused to repent for his sins and died unrepentant. That was when the plague began to appear. The following days the man was reported to be seen at night throughout the town. He visited the bedside of a lady who was told to report the events to the brothers at the monestary. People became afraid to encounter the man and began to lock themselves in their homes at night. Then one Palm Sunday, the local priest assembled a group of devout followers and prominent citizens who went to check where this man had been buried. When his body was uncovered, he appeared to have been gorged with blood. So much so that it oozed from his body when struck with a spade. The body was then removed from the town and burned. This brought the epidemic to an end.