Irish History - Tumblr Posts

Cw: Implication of suicide

Illustrations from Lord Castlereagh: Europe’s Forgotten Father by Ian Knox

usa and irish radical james stephens, 19th century, colourised

POTTERY!!!

I’ll probably keep posting tomorrow, cuz I’m super tired, I have so many more photos. I may not have internet tomorrow tho, so the other stuff might have to wait

Todays Irish museum pics (this’ll be a long one fellas, I’ll have to do this in multiple posts cuz I can’t do more than 10 images on mobile)

First, all the Jesus I could find, this doesn’t include crosses, only noodle Jesus.

Noodle Jesus… this takes the Irish “meme model” to a whole new level

Okay so I have a question for people who went to Irish Primary schools wtf was the name of the puppet that thought us Gaeilge in senior infants, I need to know for purely scientific reasons and google is being a lil bitch. He was a lil guy with kinda curly ginger hair and maybe a stripped shirt that the teacher would pull out. I'm just gonna tag a bunch of random Irish stuff and hope someone knows.

the following is the story and origins of the famed Irish folk hero Fionn Mac Cumhaill (Finn MacCool) accompanied by some very brief sketches.

In early Ireland, the people were organized into many small clans or groups called Tuatha. In these groups, a king or leader ruled through respect rather than authority. This made these older kings much different than later rulers. It was not until the 10th century that the region was ruled by a unifying king. Starting in 795, the Norse people began their invasions of the Irish coast. By 838, they had succeeded at capturing two major ports. However, by 879, the high king Aed Finnliath managed to take back these points. Gradually, relations settled somewhat, and the Norse began trade with the Irish. However, moving forward, High Kings who ruled Ireland rarely were accepted without opposition (Early Celtic Ireland).

The pre-Christian gods of Ireland were called the Tuatha dé Danann. These deities were a group of magical warriors and magic users, hailing from the otherworld. They were worshipped as far back as the Neolithic and Bronze Ages, though they aged along with the people who worshipped them, as many religions do. Among the tales of the Celtic pantheon, there are also those born only partly of Tuatha dé Danann blood. The three figures that stand out most in this regard are the ferocious Cuchallainn, Lugh of the Longhand and the wise Fionn mac Cumhaill (Celtic Mythology).

The conversion of the Celts to Christianity influenced several major aspects of Gaelic religion and myth. The first change was the relegation of the Tuatha dé Danann from gods and goddesses into Kings and Queens, or in rare cases, saints or fallen angels. This shifting of terms was an effort to convert the native population without major uproar or fighting. The Filidh, or druids, were also phased out of religious power. Although many mythological figures were demoted to the ranks of forgotten kings, those who were only somewhat related to the god myths were left well enough preserved in many stages. In Fionn’s case, or rather that of the Fenian cycle of which he is a part, one of the only major additions or changes falls into the final tale of Oisin, Fionn’s son. In this tale, Oisin leaves for the land of the young, stays for what seems like three years but are in fact three hundred, and so on his return he begins dying rapidly. During these three hundred years, the old pre-Christian gods of Ireland, the Tuatha dé Danann, have been left behind, being replaced with the Christian God. In his final hours as he is mourning and mulling over this development, he meets St. Patrick, who hears his tales of Fionn and the Fianna and he baptises him, forgiving his sins and mistakes in the worship and belief of “false magic” (O’Mahoney). However, since these pre-Christian gods were brushed off lightly, so as to stay the populace’s anger. Most Fenian tales, though heavily fragmented, were saved from the brunt of christianization due to the lack of focus they put on the affairs of the Celt’s “false” gods.

Gaelic mythology has four main cycles of myth. The Mythological cycle is concerned mostly with the dealings of the Tuatha dé Danann. Over the course of this cycle, there is one figure who relates to Fionn’s direct lineage: the first King of the Tuatha dé Danann, Nuada Airgetlám. Next, in somewhat overlapping fashion comes the Ulster, or Redbranch cycle, the Fenian cycle, and the Cycle of Kings. The Red Branch follows, among other great heroes, Lugh Lamhfada and Cúchalainn. These two, as will later be seen, are directly connected with the origin of Fionn, the main hero in the Fenian cycle. In this cycle, Fionn’s son Oissin retells the life and exploits of his father. Finally, the Cycle of Kings, or Historical cycle follows each of the legendary Kings of Ireland. The histories recounted within this cycle were made by blending scribes' records and mythology to create many individual histories (Cycles). These semi-true tales were then taught as truth.

“Over and over again one hears a tale describing a hero’s miraculous but humble birth, his early proof of superhuman strength, his rapid rise to prominence or power, his triumphant struggle with the forces of evil, his fallibility to the sin of pride, and his fall through betrayal or a “heroic” sacrifice that ends in death.”(Campbell 101) Joseph Campbell’s idea of a hero is very heavily reflected in the life and exploits of Fionn mac Cumhaill in all aspects but that of the hero’s hubris, which never leads him to death like in other hero myths. This makes sense, as McKillop points out, the stories of the Fenian cycle embody the attributes that the Gaelic people most respected: being heroic, romantic and ribald in nature (MacKillop 8). Thus, Fionn mac Cumhaill embodies the spirit of his country, his continued life through hardship becomes representative of the Irish people as a whole.

Fionn mac Cumhaill’s origins lie in the early oral story telling of the Gaelic Celts. Though he has always been a hero, in his early depictions he was often seen as a more cartoonish, or goofy figure (MacKillop 6). As time went on, and the practice of writing stories became popular he became a much more heroic character in his own stories. “Indeed, the heroic and literary Fionn is very largely a creation of the eleventh century” (MacKillop 45). During and after the Norse raids throughout the eighth through tenth centuries, Fionn begins to take up the mantle of the “protector of Ireland” and is depicted in fights against the Lochlanns, or Scandinavian raiders (MacKillop 23). This shift embodies a point that Robert Graves makes. Primitive peoples remodel old myths to conform with changes produced by revolutions or invasions (Graves v). Anton van Hamel had also argued that: “The fenian narratives, like the Arthurian legends, were in origin ‘Exemplary Myths’ used to instruct timorous Irishmen during times of invasion (MacKillop 43). During the mid 3rd century, Irish warriors began exploring what is now Scotland; these explorers ultimately settled down, and by the 9th century had made the island their home. These Scoti, or Scots, brought with them the tale of Fionn. As they became their own people, he changed in their eyes, and became the hero Fingal (MacKillop 47).

The name Fionn mac Cumhaill can be traced to its precursor: Find mac Umail, which literally means Finn son of Cumhal. However, Fionn is not actually his original name; rather, he begins his life as Deimne. He is given the title of Fionn in much the same way Cuchulainn was, for a feat of power in an early leg of his overarching story. The name Fionn can be seen as having several origins. The first root of Fionn’s name, Find, means “fair” or blonde. In some versions of his story, Fionn has bright blonde hair, and as a result of keeping to himself in early life is simply referred to as such for lack of a proper name to call him by. In one early adventure, he wins either a swimming contest or a game of shinty. A shout from the onlookers: “Có é an giolla fionn,” can be translated to “who is this fair boy?” This little adventure earned him the new name of Fionn (MacKillop 47).

The root of the word Fionn can be found in the Celtic verbs veid or vid, which translate to “know” or “to know.” This would give Fionn the meaning of “wise” or “learned one” which would suit the character of a seer, poet, and utterer of proverbs (MacKillop 46). This seems to be the better established root, as he later gains great wisdom and foresight in a much more important story. It is likely that the Scottish Fingal, was simply Fionn, with an added na Ghal, which means “of valor.” It is also possible, but more unlikely that Fingal took his name from Ri Fíonnghall or “King of the strangers”, a title once worn by the Lord of the Isles (MacKillop 47).

Because of the age of Fionn’s story, his narrative as a whole is discontinuous, and it seems like there are many holes within it keeping it from ever being told in completion (MacKillop 16). However, of the parts that are preserved, many fall into very common tropes associated with the hero’s archetype. The first of these events happens even before Fionn is born when his father Cumhal, leader of the Fianna, is slain in battle with the man Goll mac Morna. Goll then assumes the leadership of the Fianna and seeks to find and kill any of Cumhal’s children so as to prevent any acts of vengeance against him.

T.F. O’Rahilly, in his study: Early Irish History and Mythology considered Fionn mac Cumhaill an anthropomorphization of an ancient Celtic god worshipped in the area. This same god is also connected with heroes from two other cycles of Irish mythology: Lugh Lamhfada and Cúchulainn (MacKillop 6). The connection among these three alone is striking mainly in their main adversaries throughout each of their stories. For Lugh it was the mighty Balar “of the poison eye,” a great warlord of the evil Fomorian people who were the adversaries of the Tuatha dé Danann (Balor). Goll mac Carbada was a sun-deity and lord of the Otherworld. He too was a one-eyed foe to be vanquished. Finally, as will later be seen, Fionn fights with a sometimes faerie, sometimes goblin, Aillen mac Midhna, who is also often described with one great eye from which to spew forth great flame. This furthers O’Rahilly’s idea that these three great heroes were only discrete figures because of their separation within their own cycles of myth (MacKillop 41). This gives further proof of Fionn having at least some divine significance. However, as MacKillop states, “Although the arguments for Fionn’s divine origin are persuasive, there has been no explication of the relationship between the figure’s religious functions and his later characterization in literature” (MacKillop 48). However, there is no proof of worship of Fionn in such a sense.

As mentioned earlier, Fionn is a sort of demi-god. His mother, Muirne, is the daughter of Tadg son of Nuada, king of the Tuatha dé Danann; and of Ethlinn, mother of Lugh Lamhfada. Interestingly, Lugh is seen as either being embodied in the hero Cuchulainn or as being his father. This means that not only is Fionn descended from the Tuatha dé Danann, but is also related to another Irish folk hero (MacKillop 309). Muirne then, “did not dare to keep him with her; and so, two women, Bodhmall, the woman druid, and Liath Luachra, came and brought him away” (Lady Gregory 309). Under their tutelage, Deimne became a very well trained, strong kid in both the fighting and druidic arts. These skills were taught to him by Liath Luachra and Bodhmall respectively. With this training, and the innate power of Cumhal in his veins, he could no longer be hidden especially well. It did not help the fact that he would journey forth and take odd jobs with local lords or nobles whenever able. However, every lord that he worked for could immediately tell who he was. Most notably, the King of Finntraigh is said to have denied Fionn’s request for work, as once he was under the king’s roof it was the king’s duty to see that no harm came to him. As Fionn left, the king gave him a final word: “If Cumhal had left a son, you would be that son” (Lady Gregory 311). Thus it was clear that he could no longer stay hidden, even with his teacher’s magics. Thus began his journey to avenge his father’s death; a feat that in it’s completion would grant him his father’s former title. The details of two other short travels of his are important to his overall story. In the first of these adventures, Deimne comes across the swimming contest mentioned earlier. His good looks earned him the name Finn, or fair. In the second of the two, Deimne comes across a mother, bloody and crying. This woman tells him of a great fighting man who had just pursued her son and killed him. Deimne then sets off after this brute; accosting and killing him on their meeting. It turns out that this man was in fact the same fighter that drew first blood against Cumhal, Deimne’s father, and so he carried his magic crane skin bag of weapons. This bag held many trophies that had been heirlooms of Cumhal’s house, and thus with Deimne’s taking of them were restored to the family line.

Before his conflicts and exploits involving Goll really begin, Deimne is presented two other tropes common of the Hero archetype: the prophecy and the wise man. “In many of these stories the early weakness of the hero is balanced by the appearance of strong ‘tutelary’ figures- or Guardians” (Henderson 101). In fact, Fionn’s greatest weakness at this point is simply that he lacks the knowledge of those older and wiser than himself. Soon after leaving fighter mom and druid mom, he meets an old druid named Finneigas who is obsessed with catching the “Salmon of Knowledge.” the eating of such a fish would provide one with the knowledge of all things. He believes that he is destined to catch this fish and gain that great power. It just so happens that, as Deimne comes across him, Finneigas succeeds in his life’s work catching said magic fish. Finneigas tells Deimne that since the prophecy concerns his own obtainment of the ultimate wisdom this salmon provides, he will let Deimne watch over it while it cooks. He then hurries off to prepare for the IQ boost. Deimne promptly burns his thumb with some grease from the salmon, and sucks on it to help the pain. This act apparently counts as the consumption of the Salmon of Wisdom, and so Deimne gains great wisdom just as Finneigas is returning. In several versions of this segment of the myth, the old man sees that his young friend is looking smarter than when he left, and on learning what happened asks: “What is your name?”, to which “Deimne” is the response. “No, it is Fionn, and the prophecy was never for me,” said Finneigas. From theron Deimne would be known as Fionn (Lady Gregory 315). This is where the root Veid is associated with the name Fionn, rather than to Find. Thus Fionn received his name and continued on his quest with two new powers to boot: those of Imbas Forosnai, or foresight, and Teinm Laída, superhuman intuition (MacKillop 7).

Fionn mac Cumhaill could at long last finally seek out Goll to have his vengeance. He makes himself known to the High King at Teamhair, and demands that first Goll mac Morna be brought to justice; and next that he, Fionn, be awarded his father’s title and place at the head of the Fianna. The High King greeted him as if he were his own son, seating him besides himself at the high table. For this, Fionn swore his oath of fealty to the king. However, the title was not just simply handed over, rather, Fionn was tasked by the king to kill a certain fairy prince. This specific prince was one called Aillen mac Midhna, and he had been a thorn in the kingdom’s side for nine years past. He is sometimes depicted as a one-eyed goblin, similar to both Balar, and Goll mac Carbada, as have been referenced earlier. Aillen was called “The Burner,” and would, on every Samhain, the Gaelic festival celebrating the end of harvest time, come to lull the men of the court to sleep with magic lullabies. After Teamhair’s warriors were put to sleep he would burn down the halls of Teamhair with it’s men inside. To kill Aillen would be no easy feat, yet it was the test laid for Fionn; the passing of which would gain him his inheritance as head of the warrior Fianna (Lady Gregory 372).

Fionn would in fact beat Aillen the Burner, but first he had to stay vigilant throughout his song of magic sleep. In this endeavor he was gifted a great and deadly magic spear by a man Fiacha mac Conga, who in return asked of Fionn one third of any treasure won by Fionn, and another third of his trust and friendship. This spear was the very same that Lugh Lamhfada had used to kill an evil creature known as Balar. “Its head was made from dark bronze, tapering gracefully into a fine, fearfully sharp point. It was fastened to a rowan haft by thirty rivets of gold, and powerful magic was said to have been woven into its making” (Isaac). With this gift is accepted, Fionn gained both the means of Aillen’s destruction, in the haft of Lugh’s Spear; and a new ally in the form of the young Fiacha (Lady Gregory 375). He of course knew how to use such a weapon in more ways than one, and in fact was able to bypass Aillen’s first trick with it. “Fionn held the spear to his head and inhaled its magical fumes, making him immune to the musical spell from Aillén’s harp” (Donnelly). Next, as Aillen blew forth his fiery breath so as to reduce Teamhair to ash, Fionn took a treasure from his crane skin bag: a great crimson cloak with which he raised against “The Burner’s” terrible breath weapon. Using the cloak, he was able to envelope the flame and disarm his foe of his greatest power (Lady Gregory 376). With his magic depleted, Aillen attempted to retreat back to the home of the Tuatha dé Danann, but before he could do so; Fionn followed, and seeing an opening, drove Lugh’s Spear through Aillen’s heart. Afterwards he took off Aillen’s head with his sword to prove this feat to the King. Though Aillen serves as the monster in this myth, the main test of Fionn’s heroism stands in the man Goll mac Morna.

Goll is head of the Morna clan and current head of the Fianna at the time during which Fionn arrives in Teamhair; despite having killed Fionn’s father Cumhal, he willingly steps down from this station. In most strains of the myth, he then joins with Fionn and his cohort (Lady Gregory 322). Thus with his father’s death avenged, Fionn becomes head of the Fianna. In becoming leader of the Fianna, he also manages to reunite it’s two halves: those who had stayed at the side of Goll, and those who split after Cumhal’s death. These two halves became the Fianna de Éireann with the returning of power to Cumhal’s line (MacKillop 21). With this band once more united, Fionn essentially claims the forests and open places of Ireland, his own domain. Interestingly, this was not a problem with the Ardrig, or high king, who still held ultimate dominion over such land. It operated in much the same way that a Lord might be granted his own fiefdom. Goll mac Morna, in this somewhat passive loss, becomes more of an opposition figure, rather than a monster that Fionn must face.

Fionn, now head of the Fianna, eventually finds himself a wife. This woman, named Sidbh, was bewitched by a dark druid called Fear Doirche for refusing his love. Thus Fionn first came upon her as a beautiful deer, one that his two great hunting dogs Bran and Sceolan would not touch. With his interest piqued, he led this deer back to his dwelling where upon entering, she was transformed once more into her true human form. They lived together, happy, and for awhile nothing of note occurred by the hand of Fear Doirche. Finally he struck when the Lochlann forces, those berzerkirs of the North, invaded Ireland. Fionn went away to put down this great threat. As Fionn returned from some bit of fighting to see his wife, his men informed him that Sadbh had been once more been lured away by Fear Doirche. The druid had come in Fionn’s likeness, and called her to him. She had obeyed, and once outside of the home of Fionn, was transformed again into a fawn (Lady Gregory 338).

Despite the fact that Fionn would never find his lost bride, he never truly lost hope, and continued his search for seven years after her abduction. During his hunts, he would only ever take with him five of his most loyal and greatly trained dogs. These were Bran and Sceolan, those who originally discovered Sadbh, and three others called Lomaire, Brod, and Lomluath, dogs he knew would never cause harm to his lost wife. Though Sadbh was lost forever, at the end of these seven years, Fionn came across a great commotion during one such hunt, when he came upon a mysterious young boy being fiercely guarded by Bran and the others against a tumult of other lesser hunting dogs. As this scuffle was put down, Bran and Sceolan came to the boy and whined as if they knew him. Thus, this boy was brought back with the party, and as he ate and drank with them he lost his wildness. “There was some look of Sadbh in his face, and that it might be he was her son, and he kept him always beside him” (Lady Gregory 342). As the boy grew and learned once more to speak, he told Fionn of his mother, her imprisonment, and eventual enchanted taking by a dark man. He was then confirmed to be the son of Sadbh and Fionn mac Cumhaill, and was given a new name: Oisin. Thereafter he became a great fighter and poet, and as stated earlier, became the compiler and re-teller of the great exploits of Fionn mac Cumhaill.

The final entry of interest in Fionn’s saga is his death, or lack of it. There are two paths down which Fionn’s story goes in this final story; either he lives on as one who wanders as a guardian of Ireland’s people, or has gone with his host of Fianna into a deep death-like sleep within a mountain. The former of these two versions simply says that Fionn still walks the roads of Ireland, and will now and again show himself, just as he was in ancient times (Lady Gregory 794).

The latter of the two, is quite similar to the final story of King Arthur, among others. This trope is dubbed “The king under the mountain,” in which a hero resigns themself to a death-like sleep; only to be woken by some great magic, or in the time of the world’s final destruction (MacKillop 7). As the myth goes: “A day will come when the Dord Fiann, will be sounded three times, and at the sound the Fianna will rise up as strong as they were” (Lady Gregory 794). There is but one story of the finding of the sleeping Fionn, in which a smith wanders into a cave, there seeing a “very wide place, and very large men lying on the floor, and the Dord Fiann” (Lady Gregory 794), or Horn of the Fianna, on which he deigned to take a blast. This began to wake these men of the Fianna, and in fear of such a host, the man ran from the place. To this day, the spot that is referenced has never been located. Arthur’s resting place is also said to be hidden, only found by one man, who, as the smith had done with the Dord Fiann, found by the resting bodies of the great king, his host, and his great sword, which he began to draw forth from its scabbard when the stirring of those sleeping drove him away in fright (Horne).

Not only does Fionn fit the classical mold, but as Anton van Hamel argued, Fenian narratives exhibit what a true Irish hero is as well. Like in Arthurian legend, these myths of Fionn are in origin “exemplary myths” used to instruct timorous Irishmen during times of invasion (MacKillop 43). Again, he fills the bulk of the most common tropes among the classic hero myth. First with the importance of his birth, and then again with his magic upbringing. The two women that raise Fionn, as well as the druid Finneigas serve as his more experienced mentors. Then, his older opposition in the form of Goll mac Morna, the killer of his father. Who is also responsible for his secretive upbringing. Of course Fionn had many quests over his many stories, but ultimately he existed to protect the whole of Ireland, and to serve as its protector in times of invasion.

He faces Aillen mac Midhna, who serves as the monster at least in his origin story. And, though not directly given to him by Lugh, Fionn receives the spear of Lugh which won him his battle with his monster. Later in his life, Fionn would have to deal with Fear Doirche, who could be seen as another of the monsters he had to face. In the myth dealing with Fear Doirche, Fionn met Sadbh, who became his love interest, and his wife. Thus Fionn succeeded in the vanquishing of one of the two great monsters within his story, but also faced defeat in the losing of his bride to Fear Doirche.

When Fionn became older, he and his Fianna laid themselves down in a deep sleep, which serves as the character’s “death.” However one could also say that the taking of the name Fionn, and the leaving of the name Deimne was also a sort of death. This was a symbol of his rebirth from a child into a wise man and a great warrior.

As his story evolved over time, Fionn became an ideal hero to the Irish, his main point to inspire and embody the Irish spirit in times of war or hardship as a wise druid, capable fighter, and a great leader. He was crafted into “Defender of Ireland,” and it was said he fought off the vicious Lochlann forces, just as the Irish people had managed. He became changed by the ideals and hardships of the people that knew him, so as to stay the great ideal for all in Ireland to look to and take after.

Bibliography:

(MacKillop):

MacKillop, James. Fionn Mac Cumhaill: Celtic Myth in English Literature. Syracuse University, 1986.

MacKillop, James. A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology.

(Lady Gregory):

Gregory, Isabella. Gods and Fighting Men / The story of the Tuatha de Danaan and of the Fianna of Ireland. 1932.

(Campbell):

Campbell, Joseph. The Hero With a Thousand Faces. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1949.

(Henderson):

Jung, Carl, and Henderson, Joseph. Man and his Symbols. Dell Publishing, 1968.

Henderson. Chapter: Heroes and Hero Makers

(Graves):

Intro of: New Larousse Encyclopedia of Mythology.

(Celtic Mythology):

mac Cana, Proinsias. Celtic Religion, Britannica.

(Balor):

Balor. Britannica

(Mahoney):

Mahoney, Olivia. How Christianity converted the stories of Irish Myth. Shamrockgift.com

(Donnely):

Donnelly. Aillen Mac Midhna: Fire Breathing Goblin. YourIrish.com

(Isaac):

Isaac, Ali. Spear of Lugh. Aliisaacstoryteller.com

(Cycles):

The Four Cycles of Irish Myth. Derdriu of Sorrows.

Not sure who this is directed at but Dublin is indeed the capital of the Republic of Ireland, a postcolonial country. I’m descended from Irish revolutionaries and everyone I know is delighted not to have a queen.

This concert is also taking place in Kilmainham on the grounds of a former army hospital founded while we were under British rule, which was considered as a potential home for the Oireachtas Éireann (Irish parliament) following the foundation of the Irish Free State, and is now the Irish Museum of Modern Art.

Just across the road from this is Kilmainham Gaol, a former prison and present-day museum where many Irish revolutionaries were sent by the British including the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising, who signed the Proclamation of The Irish Republic. 14 of them were executed by firing squad in the gaol and this accelerated a significant revolutionary period leading up to the War of Independence.

Kilmainham is a lovely spot for yelling “Fuck the Queen.” Yesterday was a grand day for it and hopefully today will be too.

The poetry of my people.

CDTH SPOILERS will tag also but just so you’re warned

The use of the word Fenian in CDTH is so jarring to me. Like I’m sure she’s trying to invoke Fenian in the sense of a member of the Irish mythological Fianna ? But like... it’s unavoidably political as a word ?

I could delve into a better explanation of this but I’m currently in a doctor’s waiting room so have this Wikipedia explanation of the term.

Being associated with Boudicca as an organisation makes it weirder that it’s being used and isn’t political to me. (There are probably a host of reasons why Boudicca as a figure could also complicate this further, but I just mean in the barest sense of it being a shady dangerous group, not that they appear to be even remotely paramilitary in nature, which also adds to the weirdness)

I mean lbr here is a man who must have memories of being from Belfast during the Troubles as evidenced by his shared past with Niall discussed in Chapter 64:

And calls himself the New Fenian apolitically ? As a henchman of this group ?? So odd.

I mean the term even has specific American history too.

I just don’t think any of the reasoning behind this will touch upon any of the connotations/history of this in itself - I mean that’s absolutely not the point of CDTH, nor do I particularly think it should be. So just... why ? Is it just that it sounds like a cool rebel name ? If so that surely would be shrouded in the actual historical rebellion it’s linked to ? Being from Belfast when Niall would have been there, there is no way he’d be ignorant of the word or immune to its connotations, he wouldn’t use it without those being considerations, and I don’t know why he’d particularly want to in this context regardless of political leaning. Therefore: very strange.

Like generally when people are talking about the Fianna even you wouldn’t say “Fionn mac Cumhaill was a Fenian” you’d say he was a leader of the Fianna? Diarmuid Ua Duibhne - solider or member of the Fianna. Calling them Fenian would be weird. It’s still an extremely recognisable term today.

Anyway this is my off the cuff rambling as a confused Irish reader.

Celebrating for my 1st time

Samhain (Oct 31 - Nov 1)

Also known as witches new year, marks the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter, the nights are long and it is getting colder. The harvest is celebrated and we express our gratitude. Samhain is also a celebration to honor ancestors and contact the deceased, as the veil is thin and makes communication easier.

Correspondences for Samhain: Symbols of Samhain | pumpkins, bats, spiders, cobwebs, witches, broomsticks, skeletons. Colors | Black, orange, white, silver, purple. Spells | Gratitude, releasing, honoring, abundance, communication, protection. Crystals | Amethyst, onyx, obsidian, smokey quartz. Herbs and flowers | Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Rosemary, Sandalwood. Food | Apple pie, pears, pumpkins, nuts, grains, bread, vegetables, soups, stews, candy, ciders. Activities | Honoring ancestors, letting go, celebrating, baking, visiting cemetery, trick or treating, watching horror movies, dumb supper, séances.

hey everyone

This is me but give me a heads up thanks and help me how to be you

Why tf is Elon musk tweeting about the IRA fuck you know about the IRA

weird ass mf

NOOO WTAF...

😬😬😬😬

Why tf is Elon musk tweeting about the IRA fuck you know about the IRA

weird ass mf

I love your Irish culture. That makes me wonder, do elves exist? :000

IDK??? I'm not big into mythology since I more of a history gal but we do have lots of folklore about fairies!!!!

Idk much about folklore LMAO but u can ask anything about history 🫶🫶💗💗

YESS GIRLSSS COUNTESS MARKIEVIC TYPE SHITTT💪💪💪💪🔥🔥🔥

alright fellas, it's nearly here