Uisgebeatha: n Irish Gaelic uisce "water", and bethu "life" or Water of Life. Another variation is the Scots Gaelic Uisge beatha. Pronounced Ish-ka ba-ha. This was a Gaelic name given by Irish and Scottish monks in the early Middle Ages to describe distilled alcohol. It's a translation of the Latin aqua vitae 'water of life'.…
Thule or Tile is a legendary island in the North Europe, which was first written about by Ancient Greek Explorer Pytheas of Massalia during his travels between 330-20 BC. Later, a Roman citizen named Strabo wrote about Thule in his treatise named Geographica c. 30 AD. Thule - is the great unknown. The land of…
Many years ago, I went hiking in Ireland in Glendalough I saw some magical landscapes. Ireland has a beautiful soft light in the summer. The diffused sunlight is speckled with clouds that pass over the vast valleys and mountain-sides. It's possible to sit there all day and just watch the way the light travels over…
Continue reading ➞ Travel: Among the Irish Faeries and Norse Gods
The word Borbhan comes from Gaelic. It's the gentle murmuring or purling sound made by a stream; also the sound of small stones falling.
The word bóithrín comes from small (ín) Cow (bó) path. This is a path can either be man-made or created by cow meandering. Bóthar for road and botharín for small road - in the diminutive form. This became boreen or bohereen in Hiberno-English.
In the southern hemisphere, today marks the date of the Spring Equinox, also know n as Eostara. This is a time to celebrate new beginnings, regeneration, growth and the conception of new ideas. The venerable Bede mentions the name in reference to Eostre, the Germanic goddess of spring. In the northern hemisphere this rite coincides…
Hy Brasil is a mysterious phantom island that was thought to exist off the west coast of Ireland in the Atlantic Ocean for hundreds of years. The area being nautically challenging for seafarers, it was an elusive and mysterious place, hailed in pre-Christian times as being the Celtic Elysium or land of promise. During Christian…
Continue reading ➞ The ancient and elusive fairisle of Hy Brasil
In the southern hemisphere, today in the Pagan calendar is Imbolc. It's a Sabbat to honour the Celtic goddess Brighid. It's a time to purify oneself, dedicate oneself to a task. The word imbolc comes from Irish Gaelic and means 'ewe's milk'. It's in reference to the time when ewe's begin suckling with their young…
Lammas, also known by its gaelic name Lughnasadh is a time for remembering gratitude, and how abundance has come into your life. It's a time for giving thanks to the universe for all that has come to fruition and all that is still to come. Lammas
When I was in Glenadough, Ireland the land spoke volumes to me. It felt and it indeed was ancient. The Irish people exist in comfortable relation to it, and appreciate its melodic shifts and seasons, as they have done for thousands of years. There are vast tracts of low-lying suburbs around Dublin. It's almost always…
Created in 2011, Storymap is still an oldie but a goodie. It's the creation of two Dublin filmmakers, Andy Flaherty and Tom Rowley. They had just been abroad and were sick and tired of the notion that Dublin and Ireland in general was a gloomy place with rampant unemployment and nothing to offer visitors. They have…
I visited this crumbling relic, the largest and oldest remaining church in the Irish village of Glendalough in 2009. It was one of the largest known early Christian churches in Ireland. The church was originally dedicated to Saint Peter and Saint Paul but ceased to be a cathedral in 1214. The large rectangular stones at…
Continue reading ➞ Travel:Exploring early mediaeval churches in Eirann
This photograph of the Shamrock Hurling Club, Waterford Co. Champions, 1915-16: was commissioned by Mr. Murph of, Ferrybank. The 1916 Waterford County Senior Hurling Championship was played in October and resulted in a draw, so Ferrybank Shamrocks (as they were known) played the Young Irelands again on Sunday, 26 November 1916. The Shamrocks won by…
Continue reading ➞ Every Picture Tells A Story: Shamrock Hurling Club in Waterford, 1915
