#gaelic — Public Fediverse posts

‘It was a no-brainer to go for LearnGaelic.Scot as soon as we could get the domain. We rebranded from LearnGaelic.Net to LearnGaelic.Scot in 2015 and the site has grown from strength to strength. It has been a real boon for us. People interested in learning Celtic languages can sometimes get confused between Scottish Gaelic, Irish, and Manx.- .scot has provided learners with clear signposting.’ #MondayMotivation #Gaelic #dotScot 🙏 learngaelic.scot

NAMING THE SNAKES: New Writing Scotland 44
Glasgow launch
8 September, Waterstones Sauchiehall St, Glasgow – £5 / £12 with book

Celebrate the latest issue with a mix of readings of poetry, short fiction & non-fiction in English, Gaelic & Scots – all welcome!

https://www.waterstones.com/events/new-writing-scotland-44-launch/glasgow-sauchiehall-street

#Scottish #literature #Gaidhlig #Gaelic #Scots #Scotslanguage #poetry #shortfiction #writingcommunity #Glasgow

NAMING THE SNAKES: New Writing Scotland 44
Glasgow launch
8 September, Waterstones Sauchiehall St, Glasgow – £5 / £12 with book

Celebrate the latest issue with a mix of readings of poetry, short fiction & non-fiction in English, Gaelic & Scots – all welcome!

https://www.waterstones.com/events/new-writing-scotland-44-launch/glasgow-sauchiehall-street

#Scottish #literature #Gaidhlig #Gaelic #Scots #Scotslanguage #poetry #shortfiction #writingcommunity #Glasgow

NAMING THE SNAKES: New Writing Scotland 44
Glasgow launch
8 September, Waterstones Sauchiehall St, Glasgow – £5 / £12 with book

Celebrate the latest issue with a mix of readings of poetry, short fiction & non-fiction in English, Gaelic & Scots – all welcome!

https://www.waterstones.com/events/new-writing-scotland-44-launch/glasgow-sauchiehall-street

#Scottish #literature #Gaidhlig #Gaelic #Scots #Scotslanguage #poetry #shortfiction #writingcommunity #Glasgow

NAMING THE SNAKES: New Writing Scotland 44
Glasgow launch
8 September, Waterstones Sauchiehall St, Glasgow – £5 / £12 with book

Celebrate the latest issue with a mix of readings of poetry, short fiction & non-fiction in English, Gaelic & Scots – all welcome!

https://www.waterstones.com/events/new-writing-scotland-44-launch/glasgow-sauchiehall-street

#Scottish #literature #Gaidhlig #Gaelic #Scots #Scotslanguage #poetry #shortfiction #writingcommunity #Glasgow

NAMING THE SNAKES: New Writing Scotland 44
Glasgow launch
8 September, Waterstones Sauchiehall St, Glasgow – £5 / £12 with book

Celebrate the latest issue with a mix of readings of poetry, short fiction & non-fiction in English, Gaelic & Scots – all welcome!

https://www.waterstones.com/events/new-writing-scotland-44-launch/glasgow-sauchiehall-street

#Scottish #literature #Gaidhlig #Gaelic #Scots #Scotslanguage #poetry #shortfiction #writingcommunity #Glasgow

The land doesn't hold its shape that way. Two breaths, then: in through the nose, a second short sip stacked on top, out long and ragged. Three times.
That second sip is the part that actually reaches the nerve.

Cùm do chasan air an talamh — keep your feet on the ground.

What am I still asking permission to call mine? Ask me...
#Phenology #Nature #Autumn #Gàidhlig #Gaelic #MastoDaoine #Alba #Druid #Folklore #Herbalism #Mindfulness #GardensOfMastodon → https://thistleandmoss.com/subscribe?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=fedica-Wendy-New-RSS
3/3

The land doesn't hold its shape that way. Two breaths, then: in through the nose, a second short sip stacked on top, out long and ragged. Three times.
That second sip is the part that actually reaches the nerve.

Cùm do chasan air an talamh — keep your feet on the ground.

What am I still asking permission to call mine? Ask me...
#Phenology #Nature #Autumn #Gàidhlig #Gaelic #MastoDaoine #Alba #Druid #Folklore #Herbalism #Mindfulness #GardensOfMastodon → https://thistleandmoss.com/subscribe?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=fedica-Wendy-New-RSS
3/3

The land doesn't hold its shape that way. Two breaths, then: in through the nose, a second short sip stacked on top, out long and ragged. Three times.
That second sip is the part that actually reaches the nerve.

Cùm do chasan air an talamh — keep your feet on the ground.

What am I still asking permission to call mine? Ask me...
#Phenology #Nature #Autumn #Gàidhlig #Gaelic #MastoDaoine #Alba #Druid #Folklore #Herbalism #Mindfulness #GardensOfMastodon → https://thistleandmoss.com/subscribe?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=fedica-Wendy-New-RSS
3/3

The land doesn't hold its shape that way. Two breaths, then: in through the nose, a second short sip stacked on top, out long and ragged. Three times.
That second sip is the part that actually reaches the nerve.

Cùm do chasan air an talamh — keep your feet on the ground.

What am I still asking permission to call mine? Ask me...
#Phenology #Nature #Autumn #Gàidhlig #Gaelic #MastoDaoine #Alba #Druid #Folklore #Herbalism #Mindfulness #GardensOfMastodon → https://thistleandmoss.com/subscribe?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=fedica-Wendy-New-RSS
3/3

The land doesn't hold its shape that way. Two breaths, then: in through the nose, a second short sip stacked on top, out long and ragged. Three times.
That second sip is the part that actually reaches the nerve.

Cùm do chasan air an talamh — keep your feet on the ground.

What am I still asking permission to call mine? Ask me...
#Phenology #Nature #Autumn #Gàidhlig #Gaelic #MastoDaoine #Alba #Druid #Folklore #Herbalism #Mindfulness #GardensOfMastodon → https://thistleandmoss.com/subscribe?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=fedica-Wendy-New-RSS
3/3

Your body has been braced since somebody said the small mean word at a fairground. Bracing isn't weakness — it's a nervous system doing the job it evolved for. The trouble is nobody ever tells the body when the thing is over, so it holds that shape into September, into a jaw that clicks and a shoulder that will not come down.
#Phenology #Nature #Autumn #Gàidhlig #Gaelic #MastoDaoine #Alba #Druid #Folklore #Herbalism #Mindfulness #GardensOfMastodon
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Your body has been braced since somebody said the small mean word at a fairground. Bracing isn't weakness — it's a nervous system doing the job it evolved for. The trouble is nobody ever tells the body when the thing is over, so it holds that shape into September, into a jaw that clicks and a shoulder that will not come down.
#Phenology #Nature #Autumn #Gàidhlig #Gaelic #MastoDaoine #Alba #Druid #Folklore #Herbalism #Mindfulness #GardensOfMastodon
2/3

Your body has been braced since somebody said the small mean word at a fairground. Bracing isn't weakness — it's a nervous system doing the job it evolved for. The trouble is nobody ever tells the body when the thing is over, so it holds that shape into September, into a jaw that clicks and a shoulder that will not come down.
#Phenology #Nature #Autumn #Gàidhlig #Gaelic #MastoDaoine #Alba #Druid #Folklore #Herbalism #Mindfulness #GardensOfMastodon
2/3

Your body has been braced since somebody said the small mean word at a fairground. Bracing isn't weakness — it's a nervous system doing the job it evolved for. The trouble is nobody ever tells the body when the thing is over, so it holds that shape into September, into a jaw that clicks and a shoulder that will not come down.
#Phenology #Nature #Autumn #Gàidhlig #Gaelic #MastoDaoine #Alba #Druid #Folklore #Herbalism #Mindfulness #GardensOfMastodon
2/3

Your body has been braced since somebody said the small mean word at a fairground. Bracing isn't weakness — it's a nervous system doing the job it evolved for. The trouble is nobody ever tells the body when the thing is over, so it holds that shape into September, into a jaw that clicks and a shoulder that will not come down.
#Phenology #Nature #Autumn #Gàidhlig #Gaelic #MastoDaoine #Alba #Druid #Folklore #Herbalism #Mindfulness #GardensOfMastodon
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An Lanntair: Join children’s author Louisa MacDougall to celebrate her new book The Ugly Puffling and other stories. There will be story time, crafts and wildlife-themed games for primary-aged children. Pop in at any time between 12.30 and 2.30pm
The post https://lanntair.com/events/event/the-ugly-puffling-and-other-stories-book-launch/ appeared first on https://lanntair.com.

Source: https://lanntair.com/events/event/the-ugly-puffling-and-other-stories-book-launch/

#Gaelic #Gàidhlig

An Lanntair: In a special edition of our monthly social gathering for all creative islanders, we’re setting up a big screen to share two films by island artists, Jill Smith and the late Ron Coleman.
This is a limited capacity event so book early!
An Avebury Journey by Jill Smith
A pioneering performance artist, Jill Smith’s work was recently recognised by the Fruitmarket Gallery in Edinburgh, who commissioned her for a year-long project, Zodiac Journey (in collaboration with photographer Mhairi Law) for the gallery’s 50th anniversary. An Avebury Journey, filmed on Super 8 in the early 1980s, marked the beginning of her transition from Jill Bruce, creative partner and wife of artist Bruce Lacey, to creating work on her own as Jill Smith. Unfinished at the time, the silent footage has now been edited by Izzy McEvoy and Jill Smith, and will be screened in public for the first time tonight, accompanied by an improvised live score by Andrew Eaton Lewis and Ralph Tonge.
Caught in this Moment of Time
Adapted from Ron Coleman’s play which toured Scotland, this short film directed by Ian Bustard is Ron’s final piece of work, and part of his remarkable legacy. Ron was a pioneering mental health and dementia activist who later became a playwright and poet. Caught in this Moment of Time dramatises his experiences as a writer with dementia, and his relationship with his AI home help, Alexa. In his final performance, Ron plays…

Source: https://lanntair.com/events/event/artist-gathering-film-night/

#Gàidhlig #Gaelic

Niall O’Gallagher reads “Crindreas”, for National Poetry Day 2022

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szSy4H7Aplk&t=1s

#Scottish #literature #Gaidhlig #Gaelic #poem #poetry #autumn

An lùib na droighne
anns an dris-choille
tha meas an fhoghair
toradh mo ghràidh…

—Niall O’Gallagher, “Crindreas”

https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poem/crindreas/

#Scottish #literature #Gaidhlig #Gaelic #poem #poetry #autumn

What's coming up in your yard this week?
#Chickweed #Foraging #Herbalism #WildFood #Herbs #Plants #Botany #FoodAsMedicine #Gaelic #ScottishGaelic #Druid #Garden #Solarpunk
↳ (self-reply) More in today's issue → https://thistleandmoss.com/p/zero-percent-asked-for-this-fuckery-now-name-the-lake-and-come-sit-down#3-things-that-you-absolutely-need-t?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=fedica
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Read this part: skip it if pregnant or nursing, and talk to a doctor first if you take thyroid medication or sedatives, have an autoimmune condition, or any liver trouble. It's a nightshade. Short courses.

What do you reach for when the jaw won't unclench?

#Herbalism #Ashwagandha #FoodAsMedicine #Gaelic #ScottishGaelic #Druid #Pagan #Witch #Plants #Apothecary #Wellbeing #Folklore
↳ reply: Today's Gathering → https://thistleandmoss.com/p/what-survives-the-morning-trump-is-dying-and-we-all-get-to-watch#the-nurturing-food-as-medicine?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=fedica-Wendy-New-RSS
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Half a teaspoon of ashwagandha root, cold into whole-milk yogurt, cinnamon, a thread of honey. Evening. No heat — everything else this month has already been simmered. It tastes like a barn in the rain and the yogurt carries it

There's no Gaelic name for this plant. It never grew anywhere near that coast, and I like saying so — the pharmacopoeia belongs to everybody or it belongs to none #Herbalism #Ashwagandha #FoodAsMedicine #Gaelic #Druid #Pagan #Witch #Plants #Apothecary
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Pangrattato. Italian grandmothers have called it poor man's parmesan for four hundred years. Cost: nothing. Keeps a week in a jar.

Aran — bread.

What does your house do with the stale end?

#FoodAsMedicine #Cooking #Frugal #MutualAid #Gaelic #ScottishGaelic #Bread #Kitchen #Herbalism #Pagan #Druid #Food
The rest of today's issue → https://thistleandmoss.com/p/what-survives-the-morning-trump-is-dying-and-we-all-get-to-watch#the-nurturing-food-as-medicine?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=fedica-Wendy-New-RSS
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The heel of the loaf and the two hard slices nobody wanted. Tear them with your hands — never a knife, the ragged edges are the entire point. Dry skillet, medium, a glug of oil, a smashed clove, salt. Six minutes, shaking.

They go the color of a paper bag and the kitchen smells like a bakery.

#FoodAsMedicine #Cooking #Frugal #MutualAid #Gaelic #ScottishGaelic #Bread #Kitchen #Herbalism #Pagan #Druid #Food
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The question I asked in today's issue, and I mean it as a real one: what have you actually turned your face toward this week, and what did it cost you to keep looking? I'm answering every one of these in the comments under the piece.

#Gàidhlig #Gaelic #Alba #MastoDaoine #Druid #Folklore #Lùnastal #Blessing #Solidarity #QueerNews #Seasons

https://thistleandmoss.com/p/what-survives-the-morning-another-week-that-wont-sit-down-2d2398dcba465b14?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=fedica-Wendy-New-RSS
3/3

The goldenrod does not check the roll call, and tonight neither do you. Carry what's yours.

Set the rest down at the door like muddy boots — because it is muddy, and it isn't yours, and you've been hauling it up the stairs all week like a martyr with a subscription.

#Gàidhlig #Gaelic #Alba #MastoDaoine #Druid #Folklore #Lùnastal #Blessing #Solidarity #QueerNews #Seasons

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Tha sinn fhathast an seo, agus tha an talamh a' cuimhneachadh — we are still here, and the earth remembers.

Put one hand flat on the nearest solid thing. Table, wall, tree, floor. Leave it there for one whole breath before you read another headline.

The empire can schedule its shabby little votes for four in the morning if it wants. #Gàidhlig #Gaelic #Alba #MastoDaoine #Druid #Folklore #Lùnastal #Blessing #Solidarity #QueerNews #Seasons

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An Lanntair: Songwriters Circle is our monthly gathering for island songwriters, to try out ideas on each other with no pressure, no expectations, an no audience except a group of kindred spirits who can offer encouragement and ideas.
It’s a chance to share unfinished songs, get feedback, and find people to collaborate with. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced musician, new members are always welcome!
The post https://lanntair.com/events/event/songwriters-circle-18/ appeared first on https://lanntair.com.

Source: https://lanntair.com/events/event/songwriters-circle-18/

#Gaelic #Gàidhlig

I enjoyed this program presented by Michael Rosen. Someone whose writing and broadcasting I have long enjoyed. He is not a #Gaelic speaker (although Roddy Maclean who takes a prominent role in the discussion is) but for I presume mainly speakers of English it is great.

Bruidhinn Gàidhlig. Bruidhinn mu dheidhinn na Gàidhlig.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0030n9z

#Gaidhlig #Gaelic #language #Scotland #bbc

nuair a tha mi fhìn nam sheasamh
aig ceann Loch an Dala
’s mi a’ coimhead thar cuain geur
a’ deàrrsadh ’s a’ deàlradh
fo ghrian na sìorraidheachd
chan fhaic mi sgath dhen ghlasadh cheilteach…

—Iain S. Mac a’ Phearsain, “ceann Loch an Dala”
published in Friends & Kangaroos: New Writing Scotland 17

#Scottish #literature #Gaidhlig #Gaelic #poem #poetry #Islay

Currently watching episode 3 of 4 in season 1 of An t-Eilean, The Island. A fairly stock standard police/murder mystery. but with a very non-standard setting and language. The majority of the dialogue is in Gaelic, the lead actor grew up on the island where it is shot and her education was at a Gaelic medium school. Another of the main actors had a grandfather who has his own wiki page. So if you want to enjoy watching a TV show helping to revive a language AND be perplexed by the impenetrable mystery that is Gaelic orthography, you may enjoy this show.#Mystery #TV #Gaelic

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_MacInnes_(Gaelic_scholar)

Call for Applications: Crossing Tongues Poetry Residency

Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature invites a Scottish poet writing in English, Scots &/or Scottish Gaelic to undertake a 7-day residency in Nigeria, alongside the Hausa International Book & Arts Festival, December 2026

Applications open until 30 September

https://cityofliterature.com/opportunities/call-for-applications-crossing-tongues-poetry-residency/

#Scottish #literature #poetry #Nigeria #Scots #Scotslanguage #Gaidhlig #Gaelic #residency

Ever heard traditional Gaelic Irish music sung by an a cappella group like this?

This is Ceann Dubh Dilis (My Sweet, Dark-Haired Love), arranged by Michael McGlynn and performed by the Russian group Spokanki.

https://www.instagram.com/spokanki/?hl=en

@FigsFromPlums #globalmuseum #music #Gaelic #acappella

💁🏻‍♀️ TIL: ✍️🏛️ At Cicero’s request, his freed slave and secretary Marcus Tullius Tiro devised Tironian notes, a #shorthand system of roughly 4,000 symbols for #Latin.

Used to transcribe the orator’s speeches, it expanded to 14,000 signs before emperors suppressed it as diabolical. The symbol ⁊ survives today as the Tironian et in #Unicode, preserved by #Irish and #Gaelic #typography.

👉 https://www.openculture.com/2026/08/discover-the-ancient-roman-shorthand-writing-system-with-4000-symbols-commissioned-by-cicero.html

#cicero #history #rome #writing #language #linguistics #typing #ancientrome #science

Fanaidh an talamh — the earth waits. It has done this before. It will do it again after every one of us is finished arguing.

What's gone early where you are this year?

#Nature #Phenology #Seasonal #Trees #Summer #Gaelic #Gàidhlig #Druid #NatureWriting #Georgia #Kudzu #Cicadas

Today's Gathering → https://thistleandmoss.com/p/firesale-everything-blanche-must-go-also-the-uss-lincoln-is-an-awolfest?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=fedica
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The tulip poplars have begun dropping yellow leaves in August. Not autumn — thirst. The ground went dry and the tree made a decision about it, ahead of schedule, the way anything does when the season asks too much.

Kudzu in bloom on every roadside, smelling absurdly of grape soda. Cicada shells still gripping the pine bark where the bodies climbed out.

#Nature #Phenology #Seasonal #Trees #Summer #Gaelic #Gàidhlig #Druid #NatureWriting #Georgia #Kudzu #Cicadas
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Tha an talamh a' cuimhneachadh — the earth remembers. And what she remembers this week is every July before this one, stacked like plates.
What's holding where you are?
#DeepSummer #Phenology #Nature #Foraging #Druid #Pagan #EarthBased #Gaelic #Gàidhlig #Georgia #NatureWriting #Solidarity
↳ reply: Today's issue → https://twp.ai/4hsxsK
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The blackberries went red to black along the fencerow this week. Goldenrod is thinking about it.
This is the long unglamorous stretch the old calendars barely name — past the solstice, before the harvest. Nothing beginning, nothing ripened. The whole world simply holding.
#DeepSummer #Phenology #Nature #Foraging #Druid #Pagan #EarthBased #Gaelic #Gàidhlig #Georgia #NatureWriting #Solidarity
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The money isn't the point. The point is that a lie built to erase two people who told the truth collapsed in a courtroom, and the truth-tellers walked out whole. Solidarity you can feel in the hands — a name on a witness list — is the only kind history records.

#LGBTQ #QueerNews #Pride #TransRights #Solidarity #QueerJoy #CommunityDefense #News #Resist #LoveWins #Gaelic

An iarmailt cho soilleir tana
mar gum biodh am brat-sgàile air a reubadh
’s an Cruthaidhear ’na shuidhe am fianuis a shluaigh
aig a’ bhuntàt ’s a sgadan…

—Ruaraidh MacThòmais, “Leodhas as t-Samhradh”
published in Scottish Religious Poetry: 6th century to the present

https://standrewpress.hymnsam.co.uk/books/9781800830479/scottish-religious-poetry

#Scottish #literature #Gaidhlig #Gaelic #poem #poetry #20thcentury #Summer #Lewis #Hebrides

“An Eala Bhan” (“The White Swan”) has been performed by a huge number of Gaelic artists from Julie Fowlis to Capercallie & Linda Macleod who grew up in the same part of North Uist as Dòmhnall Ruadh Chorùna. She speaks here to Cathy McDonald about the significance of the song and the man behind it

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p03z41p3

#Scottish #literature #Gaidhlig #Gaelic #poem #warpoetry #Somme #WW1

Gur duilich leam mar tha mi
’S mo chridhe ’n sàs aig bròn
Bhon an uair a dh’fhàg mi
Beanntan ard a’ cheò
Gleanntannan a’ mhànrain
Nan loch, nam bàgh ‘s nan sròm
’S an eala bhàn tha tàmh orra
Gach là air ’m bheil mi ’n tòir…

—Dòmhnall Ruadh Chorùna, “An Eala Ban”

The First Battle of the Somme began #OTD, 1 July, 1916. Dòmhnall Ruadh Chorùna / Donald MacDonald composed “An Eala Bhan” (“The White Swan”) during the battle.

#Scottish #literature #Gaidhlig #Gaelic #poem #warpoetry #Somme #WW1

Tha a’ chlosach air ragachadh
mar gun robh e a’ snàmh,
spliadh is ceann air an togail,
sùil is bian
a’ deàrrsadh mar umha…

—Meg Bateman, “Dòbhran Marbh”
Published in THE GOLDEN TREASURY OF SCOTTISH VERSE, @canongate.co.uk 2021

Today, 3 March, is World Wildlife Day

https://canongate.co.uk/books/3267-the-golden-treasury-of-scottish-verse/

#Scottish #literature #Gaidhlig #Gaelic #WorldWildlifeDay #poem #poetry

#BostonWeekend 17x Sun CELTIC Scottish Country Dance with Canadian flair in #SomervilleMA 29$, cheaper for students, free for years 5 and under. https://artsatthearmory.org/events/rscds-boston-presents-celebrating-our-celtic-connections/ #BostonDancing #BostonKids #Celtic #Pipes #ceilidh #Gaelic #Boston

Banshees

A banshee (Bean si in Modern Irish & ben side, in Old Irish, meaning “woman of the fairy mound,” or “fairy woman”) is a female spirit in Irish folklore who heralds the death of a family member. She usually does this by screaming, wailing, shrieking, or keening. Keening is a traditional form of vocal lament for the dead in the Gaelic Celtic tradition. This is known to have taken place in Ireland & Scotland.

Banshees are strongly associated with specific Irish families. The belief is that the banshee is a family spirit attached to a particular lineage. Her mournful wail/cry is heard only by family members as a warning of an imminent death.

Another of the banshee characteristics is their unwavering attachment to certain Gaelic families such as the O’Neills, O’Brians, O’Connors, O’Grady, & Kavanaghs, among others. Some traditions hold that the banshee is the ghost. This is perhaps a mother of a famous poet/singer from the family who died tragically. In this sense, she’s an ancestral spirit tied to the bloodline & the land.

She appears or is heard only to mourn & warn the family of an impending death. Often before anyone has received news of it. This direct, specific role makes her an inherently familiar guardian or omen for that clan/family.

They aren’t family pets, the banshees presence is a known, if terrifying, part of the family’s history & destiny, linking her fate to theirs across generations.

A banshee is an autonomous entity, a powerful fairy-woman (bean sidhe) or ghost, isn’t under the control of any living person.

Sometimes she has long streaming hair, which she may be seen combing, with some legends specifying she can only be keen while combing her hair. She wears a gray cloak over a green dress. Her eyes are red from continual weeping. She’s sometimes dressed in white with red hair & a ghastly complexion.

In Ireland & parts of Scotland, a traditional part of mourning is the keening woman (bean chaointe), who wails a lament. This keening woman may be a professional, in some cases. The best Keeners would be in high demand.

Irish legends talks about a lament being sung by a fairy woman, or banshee. She would sing it when a family member died or was about to die. Even if the person had died far away & news of their death hasn’t come yet. In those cases, her wailing would be the 1st warning the household had of the death.

The banshee is also a predictor of death. If someone is about to enter a situation where it’s unlikely they’ll come out alive, she’ll warn people by screaming/wailing. This gives rise to the banshee also being known as a wailing woman. The banshee was also linked with the death coach. The banshee is said to either summon the death coach with her keening or travel in tandem with it.

When several banshees show up at 1 time, it usually indicates the death of someone holy or great. The story sometimes tells that the woman (though called a fairy) was a ghost. She’s often a specific murdered woman, or a man who passed away in childbirth.

In some parts of Leinster, she’s referred to as the bean chaointe or ban nigheachain (“little washerwoman”) or nigheag na h-ath (“little washer at the ford”). She’s seen washing bloodstained clothes or armor of those who are about to die.

In Welsh folklore, there’s also a similar being known as the cyhyraeth. The cyhyraeth gives a disembodied moaning voice before the person’s passing.

Some sources suggest that the banshees Laments only the descendants of pure Milesian stock of Ireland. The Milesians were the final race to settle in Ireland. The original belief appears to be associated with a number of ancient Irish families. According to tradition, a banshee wouldn’t lament or visit someone of Saxon or Norman descent or those who came to Ireland later.

Most, not all, of the last names associated with banshees have the “O” or “Mc/Mac” prefix. That means people with the last names of Goidelic origin. This means a family native to the Insular Celtic lands. Rather than those of the Norse, Anglo-Saxon, or Norman.

There are some exceptions to the banshee lore. A banshee may lament a person who’s been gifted with music & song.

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#AngloSaxon #BanNigheachain #Banshees #BeanChaointe #BeanNighe #BeanSi #beanSidhe #BenSide #Celtic #Cyhyraeth #DeathCoach #Gaelic #Goidelic #InsularCeltic #Ireland #IrishFolklore #Kavanaghs #keening #KeeningWoman #Milesian #ModernIrish #Norman #Norse #OBrians #OConnors #OGrady #ONeills #OldIrish #Poet #Saxon #Scotland #ScottishFolklore #Singer #WelshFolklore

Happy Glasgow Fair Monday!

“…on one occasion the Highland Queen was berthed by the master and a boy, the rest of the crew being quite incapable…”

Steamships, “steaming”, drunkenness & “smùid” – Donald Meek on going doon the watter, & early Scottish booze-cruising

https://meekwrite.blogspot.com/2013/04/maritime-and-linguistic-studies.html

#Scottish #Scotland #Scots #Scotslanguage #Gaelic #Gaidhlig #steaming #GlasgowFair #FairMonday #culturalstudies #19thcentury #20thcentury #alcohol #steamboat

I'm not saying all #leprechauns are gay, but...
They are definitely all gay.
Always leaving their "pot of gold" at the end of the rainbow?
And, as #StewartLee has pointed out, they speak #Gaelic, don't they? And any student of etymology can work that out.
Plus, they seem to have only one gender.
They must reproduce asexually.
And look at those shoes....
None of this is rocket surgery.
#TIL
#ChunderRoad
#TheMoreYouKnow

#Snowdrops in the grass #meadow. A photograph to acknowledge #Candlemas, or #Imbolc, tomorrow, 2 February.
The #Christmas period is truly over now as we head into late winter.
Imbolc falls halfway between the winter #solstice and the spring #equinox. It is a #Gaelic traditional festival celebrating light and the first signs of #spring.
Every year I hope for the snowdrops to rise up through the snow - in vain.
‣ Upright. Click to see all.

#artistsgarden #ImperfectGarden #garden #GardenPhotography #Artist #wolfkettler #Photography #GardenWiltshire #WiltshireGarden #Wiltshire #winter #NaturalGarden #WildlifeFriendly #PlanetFriendly #ecology #climate #ClimateChange #conservation #SilentSunday

We went each Sunday for the mass
recited in my parent’s language
that wasn’t mine…

—Niall Campbell, “Tongues of Water”
from The Island in the Sound (Bloodaxe Books 2024)

https://cumbriatimes.co.uk/article/Poem-Of-The-Week-Tongues-Of-Water-By-Niall-Campbell

#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #Hebrides #Uist #Gaelic #language