A beautiful story from start to finish. I love the history and the mythology of the Peninsula, so rich. You and Gerhard have indeed found a wonderful place to call home--in every respect, Clarice.
Thank you, Jeanine. (And for the restack.) I am coming to realize more and more that history is ever-present in Ireland. Every valley, stream, wood and even rock has a memory and a story to tell.
What a fascinating time you had meeting 2 wonderful men who know and love the area so much, its a true privelage. I look forward to reading your article on Vincent, too. I wonder what it would have been like to be so connected to a sense of place. We have a strong connection with Montana but have been gone so long from its magical lands that its not the same thing.
Lovely post Clarice. We’ve visited the area just once, and never knew of these interesting stones, yet your descriptions took me back with pleasure to the windy shore and sweeping views of southwest Ireland. Thank you.
You're welcome, David! This is one reason I have feel so lucky to live here. There is so much to see and experience that it takes time to do it all--especially to understand what it is you are seeing. Hopefully you will have the chance to return again.
Clarice, thank you for the homesick-inducing account of your sojourn to Waterville and the Eightercua Stone Row. And how fortunate you are to have made acquaintance with Paddy Bushe. It's true that indigenous people often maintain a very deep connection to the land. Geographical features of the land often harbour stories, many times reflected in the feature's name, which are less frequently passed on now than in the past; perhaps the story Paddy related of Carraig Éanna is an example of an ancient tale still being passed on among local people. (I could not find the story documented in Duchas.ie.)
When at UCD, as Librarian I had line responsibility for the UCD Special Collections and the National Folklore Collection UCD, and that was the most rewarding part of my job. I learned much from the curators there, and even was able to read stories captured from people in the Donegal Parish where my mother's family originated. One new resource we established at UCD is the Irish Poetry Reading Archives, which captures the voices of contemporary poets in Ireland (and the Irish diaspora) reading their poetry. You might enjoy the recordings of Paddy reading, available now on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=irish+poetry+reading+archive+paddy+bushe
Thank you for your lovely note, John. How interesting that you had responsibilities for the National Folklore Collection. I will definitely check out Paddy's contribution to the Irish Poetry archives. I didn't mention it in the article, but Paddy very kindly gave us two of his poetry books. One is in Irish (for Gerhard, who is trying to learn Irish), and the other is in Irish and English for me.
In regard to Irish myths and place names, I agree that they are fascinating and point to historical and/or mythical stories that are now being lost. In researching the Milesians for this article, I found various places where Amergin is said to have first set foot on Ireland. Most of the articles also said that the stone row is aligned with the fall equinox, not winter solstice. But I decided to go with what Paddy wrote in his wonderful book.
A beautiful story from start to finish. I love the history and the mythology of the Peninsula, so rich. You and Gerhard have indeed found a wonderful place to call home--in every respect, Clarice.
Thank you, Jeanine. (And for the restack.) I am coming to realize more and more that history is ever-present in Ireland. Every valley, stream, wood and even rock has a memory and a story to tell.
What a fascinating time you had meeting 2 wonderful men who know and love the area so much, its a true privelage. I look forward to reading your article on Vincent, too. I wonder what it would have been like to be so connected to a sense of place. We have a strong connection with Montana but have been gone so long from its magical lands that its not the same thing.
That is true, Janice. I wish we'd known what it was like to be connected to place. We feel that for Montana, but it has been so long...
Lovely post Clarice. We’ve visited the area just once, and never knew of these interesting stones, yet your descriptions took me back with pleasure to the windy shore and sweeping views of southwest Ireland. Thank you.
You're welcome, David! This is one reason I have feel so lucky to live here. There is so much to see and experience that it takes time to do it all--especially to understand what it is you are seeing. Hopefully you will have the chance to return again.
So do I!
Clarice, thank you for the homesick-inducing account of your sojourn to Waterville and the Eightercua Stone Row. And how fortunate you are to have made acquaintance with Paddy Bushe. It's true that indigenous people often maintain a very deep connection to the land. Geographical features of the land often harbour stories, many times reflected in the feature's name, which are less frequently passed on now than in the past; perhaps the story Paddy related of Carraig Éanna is an example of an ancient tale still being passed on among local people. (I could not find the story documented in Duchas.ie.)
When at UCD, as Librarian I had line responsibility for the UCD Special Collections and the National Folklore Collection UCD, and that was the most rewarding part of my job. I learned much from the curators there, and even was able to read stories captured from people in the Donegal Parish where my mother's family originated. One new resource we established at UCD is the Irish Poetry Reading Archives, which captures the voices of contemporary poets in Ireland (and the Irish diaspora) reading their poetry. You might enjoy the recordings of Paddy reading, available now on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=irish+poetry+reading+archive+paddy+bushe
I look forward to reading of your next excursion!
Thank you for your lovely note, John. How interesting that you had responsibilities for the National Folklore Collection. I will definitely check out Paddy's contribution to the Irish Poetry archives. I didn't mention it in the article, but Paddy very kindly gave us two of his poetry books. One is in Irish (for Gerhard, who is trying to learn Irish), and the other is in Irish and English for me.
In regard to Irish myths and place names, I agree that they are fascinating and point to historical and/or mythical stories that are now being lost. In researching the Milesians for this article, I found various places where Amergin is said to have first set foot on Ireland. Most of the articles also said that the stone row is aligned with the fall equinox, not winter solstice. But I decided to go with what Paddy wrote in his wonderful book.