r/IrishFolklore

▲ 62 r/IrishFolklore+1 crossposts

Hi! Moved 7 months ago, realised maybe 3 or so weeks ago that there are a few hawthorn trees on the edge of our property. The oil tank is right under one, I usually don’t go over there unless I’m checking the oil or something. Last time I was checking it is when I realised.

Anyways, I was about to come in through the back door earlier when I could smell the gorgeous flowers on the tree, they’ve started blooming in the last week. Idk my dumb stoned ass went over, thinking “oh I’m not being disrespectful, I just want to smell them, I’m so at one with nature rn”, took a big whiff and then as soon as I turned around and started to climb back down the small slope, my slipper kind of folded and I fell hahahahaha. I caught myself on the wall of the shed and just skinned my arm a little. I’m actually howling as I write this because, what an idiot. I sort of said ok I got it and left and gave a brief apology. But you’re not meant to apologise to them either of course.

I think it was their way of saying, fine to come here for the oil, not fine to come on your own terms to smell the flowers, feck off now.

A couple of weeks ago I picked up a big branch that seemed to have been dead a while, (not from this exact tree) from a storm back in the winter. It finally fell off the tree with some more recent wind and I had been eyeing it up for a while because it’s gorgeous and I was thinking of doing something with it indoors. When I picked it up and laid it against the wall to dry off, I realised it was a hawthorn branch. I was feeling pretty indecisive about bringing it indoors, I’m not sure what the deal is around that, I didn’t want to disrespect them by taking it. I brought it indoors maybe 3 days ago, got worried, and went back out with some honey in return straight away just in case. Honestly, that honey and the fact that I feed the birds and rabbits every day might be the only reason I didn’t get a worse injury hahah.

Just wondering if I need to do anything else to ensure i don’t feel their continued wrath? I was debating going out and leaving some honey and asking if there’s anything else they might like but I probably should just leave them alone? Should I put the branch back out? Any tips for not pissing them off in the future?

I don’t know, please help a gal out! <3

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u/nocrumbsinthebed — 6 days ago
▲ 118 r/IrishFolklore+6 crossposts

Here are all recorded ogham stone locations across the whole of Ireland. The map is populated with a combination of National Monument Service data (Republic of Ireland) and Department for Communities data for Northern Ireland. The map was built using some PowerQuery transformations and then designed in QGIS.

The data for Northern Ireland required a bit of filtering so might be a little off. Welcome thoughts on whether there's anything that is missing.

For those not familiar with ogham stones, they are helpfully defined by the National Monument Service as: “upright monoliths or recumbent slabs, onto which ogham script has been incised. Ogham script consists of groups of 1-5 parallel lines and notches cut along the side or across the edge of a stone to represent the sounds of the Irish language. It is usually read up the left angle. The inscription gives a person's name (usually male) and immediate antecedent/s or tribal ancestor. The stones may have functioned as memorials, grave markers or territorial markers and date from the late 4th to the early 8th century AD.”

There were likely many other ogham inscriptions on wood and other perishable materials, but this shows just those on stone. For more background and an interactive map on ogham stone inscriptions, you can see here.

I previously mapped a bunch of other ancient monument types, the latest being stone circles across Ireland.

Any thoughts about the map or insights would be very welcome.

u/Sarquin — 6 days ago
▲ 68 r/IrishFolklore+5 crossposts

Females who changed the Punjabi Culture and inspired other -Part 1 (Nora Richard )

NORA RICHARD (GRANDMOTHER OF PUNJABI THEATRE 🎭)

Birth and early life 🧬

  1. Was born Norah Mary hutman

  2. Born on 29 October 1876 in Mullaghglass , county armagh ireland

3.Early life was influenced due to irish cultural nationalism , revial of gaelic culture

4.People later compared her with lady gregory

5.She studied from Oxford belgium sydney and many European institutions. She did not do any ba and ma instead due to her background during that time women especially her type of social background do artistic and literary education often happened through private study , cultural society, theatre group.

  1. Any honorable doctorate was given to her also by punjabi university patiala also later in her life .

Before coming to India

1. Before going to India she practiced theatre as stage name Norah boyle

2.She is already trained theatre before coming to India

  1. She did not arrive as a ruler ,a missionary and imperial beruecats but as a artist

Marriage and death of husband

1. She married Philip Ernest Richards which was English professor in dayal college lahore

  1. As a lahore was the intellectual capital of punjab , centre for literature, journalism and reveloution.

  2. In Lahore she discovered punjabi folklore, culture , theatre and traditions.

  3. She wanted students to write theatre play in punjab.

  4. Earlier punjabi theatre was done on English play , parsi melodrama and superficial entertainment

  5. Due to her encouragement students started writing theatre play in punjabi which was first done in modern way by her student I.S nanda in 1913-1914 on dulhan play under her guidance

  6. Due to her efforts dramatist like balwant gargi and Harcharan singh the tradition further as they were her students.

  7. Norah believes theatre should educate society ,reform injustice, uplift villages , awaken moral consciousness in people .

  8. One of his students play tell about child marriage this play name is suhaag .

  9. She was highly influenced by abbey theatre which was started by lady gregory as a co -founder

  10. After death of her husband she settled london temporary but love for punjab pull her back to punjab .

Settling in andretta

  1. Andretta was remote forested , quite artistically untouched area due to her love for mountain, village simplicity, ecological life and folk culture she chooses to settle there .

  2. She purchased 15 acre land and named it Woodland estate where she built a mud house instead of concrete inspired from destruction of kangra due to earthquake and also inspiring from kangri culture and named it chameli niwas

3 . Her daily routine is described by b.c sangal . He described her digging soil herself , gardening, wearing khadi and typing late at night by kerosene lamp .

  1. She organised week long theatre festival at andretta . She thinks or believed culture belongs to local people.

5 . Prithviraj kapoor (famous actor , father of raj kapoor )often visit her in Andretta

  1. Due to her work in creating andretta artistic ecosystem sobha singh settled near andretta .

  2. She strongly supported - women dignity, women performers , female education which is seen in her and her students theatre play.

Last time and death

Here final year were difficult. She worried deeply about preservation of manuscript, future of woodland estate and survival of andretta artistic spirit . Eventually she entrusted much of her legacy to punjab University.

In 1970 Punjab University Patiala given her honourary doctorate due to her contribution.

She died in 3 march 1971 in andretta and given us a message after death which is written in her gravestone says

"Rest Weary Heart — Thy Work Is Done.”

Which means your heart can now rest because your life mission is complete ✅.

From her life we can understand

Culture has no boundaries.

u/One-Friendship-8819 — 3 days ago
▲ 8 r/IrishFolklore+7 crossposts

The death of Cú Chulainn is one of the strangest images the Ulster Cycle leaves us with. Mortally wounded, betrayed by his own geasa, and refusing to fall, he ties himself upright to a standing stone (the Clochafarmore) so his enemies will still see him on his feet. He only "dies" when the Morrígan — in raven form — lands on his shoulder. That's the moment the war-band finally believes he's gone.

What I find compelling is how much of his arc is built on contradiction:

- A demigod son of Lugh who insists on dying as a mortal warrior

- Bound by geasa that are mutually exclusive (don't refuse hospitality / don't eat dog) he's doomed the moment they're invoked

- Kills his own son Connla because of an oath, in a scene that mirrors Sohrab/Rustam from the Shahnameh and Hildebrand/Hadubrand from the Germanic tradition

It's also one of the few hero-cycles where the *raven landing* is the death — not the wound, not the fall. The supernatural witness is what seals it.

I spent the last few weeks animating a long-form retelling of the full arc — birth, Connla, the Táin, the death at the stone, the Morrígan. Posting in case anyone's interested in the visual interpretation, but I'd also love to hear which version of his death you grew up with the Lady Gregory rendering, the Kinsella translation of the Táin, or one of the Irish-language sources. They differ in interesting ways on whether Lugaid takes the head or just the body.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5UsRz5feSM&t=1s

u/nejjad — 6 days ago

I'm curious if anyone knows what the most historic/lore accurate sources regarding Fairy Queen Áine might be? I'm really interested in learning more about her, and especially whether she actually has any connection to the Leanan Sídhe. I've seen a few sources attempt to tie her to this fairy in a few different ways but I don't know how reliable they are and would love to know more!

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u/book_girl333 — 7 days ago