Reading

“Here we were in the very heart of the land of mystery and romance on which so many years before that kindly hand had raised the curtain, bidding us look with eyes of childish wonder. And in that land we strayed long and far; learning to know its broad highways and its quiet bóithríns, its shining spreading plains and its tangled enchanted woods. ”
PH Pearse

1. Getting Started
2. Important Irish Historical Texts
3. Fictional Works of Interest

All of the great leaders and thinkers of the Gaelic Revival, the visionaries and philosophers, found the first wellspring of their fascination with Irish culture in Irish folklore and mythology, what some might call fairy tales.

Pearse did not begin his career as the guiding light of Irish linguistic evangelism on a whim, nor did Collins draw the fire of heroism from nowhere; they and their companions caught the spark in the first place from the embers of our own legendry.

Normally we might tend to think of folklore, mythology and fairy tales as something easily dismissed and fit only for children, but so much of the Irish oral history, passed down since at least the Bronze Age if not earlier, is better categorised as mythohistory, that is mythology reflecting and based upon historical events which may have happened to one extent or another.

A good example of mythohistory is the legend of Helen of Troy, which was considered an entirely fictional bedtime story until archaeologists eventually uncovered a city that turned out to be, almost certainly, the fabled citadel of Troy.

In the late 19th century a scholar of Irish studies, O’Curry, began to search for connections between the stories he had translated from early Irish manuscripts, miraculously saved from the ravages of Viking and Cromwellian Puritans alike,  to what were then very recent archaeological discoveries, artifacts salvaged from bogs, deep cracks in the earth, and beneath ancient ruins across Ireland.

What he found in ancient tales  astounded his contemporaries and played a key role in launching the Gaelic Revival—a seemingly endless list of references to artworks and items which hadn’t seen the light of day for millennia! Suddenly the ancient stories were viewed with new respect.

The Irish are a people of myth — legend runs in our veins and rings in our ears, words passed down by bards, poets, druids and seanchaí from time immemorial echo and fulfil the promise of our blood. We are the sons and daughters of legends.

So perhaps the best way to reconnect to our own high culture, our Irish spirit, is to once again sit by the fire and drink in the tales of old next to the memory of those who have gone before us.

Getting Started

A great place to begin your travels is the website Emerald Isle (https://emeraldisle.ie). Not only is it one of the most comprehensive collections of Irish folklore on earth, the stories are arranged and categorised in an approachable way that makes them very easy to search, with a chronicle, choice of topics in the menu, and even a map!

Another great source of lively and entertaining stories is Seanchaí Eddie Lenihan, with a general preference for his earlier work where available (https://eddielenihan.weebly.com/store.html).

By no means should we turn up our noses at the more visual expressions of Gaelic lore either. Jim Fitzpatrick’s magnificent graphic novels, The Book of Conquests and The Silver Arm, have inspired countless young Irish people.

They are usually available online from reputable booksellers, as are most of the following recommendations.

The Táin Bó Cuailnge represents the oldest vernacular tale of Western Europe, predating both Beowulf and Homer's Odyssey, and indeed it has been called the Irish Odyssey, for it is an epic of comparable scope and grandeur. Poet Thomas Kinsella’s translation is one of the most recognised versions, and is usually available online from reputable booksellers.

A more contemporary interpretation of this incredible legendary arc can be found in the adult-oriented “Hound” graphic novel by Paul Bolger.

The following are a little more academic or were written more than a century or so ago but are nonetheless rich with whispers of ancient Irish lore and startling revelations for the modern reader. Most are freely available in many different formats online.

• Keating's General History of Ireland ( https://archive.org/details/keatingsgeneralh00keat/page/n5/mode/2up )
• The Histories of Ancient Ireland by PW Joyce ( https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/41666 )
• All lectures on The Manners and Customs of the Ancient Irish by O'Curry ( https://archive.org/details/onmannerscustoms03ocur/page/n7/mode/2up )
• The Todd Lecture Series on the Metrical Dindshenchas, the Lore of Places, ( https://archive.org/details/toddlectureserie10royauoft )
• The Poem-Book of the Gael by Eleanor Hull ( https://www.gutenberg.org/files/46917/46917-h/46917-h.htm )
• The Lebor Gabála, or Book of Invasions, from the Irish Texts Society or from ( https://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/leborgabala.html )
• The Transactions of the Ossianic Society ( https://archive.org/details/transactionsofos02ossi/page/n11/mode/2up )
• Dúchas, the Irish folklore archive ( https://www.duchas.ie/en )
• Tales of the Elders of Ireland, Acallam na Senórach ( https://uccshop.ie/shop/tales-of-the-elders-of-ireland/ )
• The Siege of Knocklong ( https://celt.ucc.ie/published/T301044.html )

They are only a sampling of the riches of Irish mythology, our traditions and our folklore, and they serve well as guides directing us towards future research.

We would also recommend joining the Irish Texts Society as a member ( https://irishtextssociety.org/publications-main.htm ) to get discounted access to their remarkable catalogue of Old, Middle and Early Modern Irish texts, as well as a great deal more.

Important Irish Historical Texts

After our great treasury of folklore and mythology, good books on Irish history can be a  wonderful way to learn more about our traditional culture and the formation of the Irish people.

• We can recommend anything from our own website ( https://anclaiomhsolais.com )
• The writings of Padraig Pearse are both accessible and entertaining
• The Story of the Irish Race by MacManus ( https://archive.org/details/storyofirishrace00macmrich )
• The Path to Freedom by Michael Collins ( https://archive.org/details/pathtofreedom00colluoft )
• The website An Cartlann is a superb resource which has collected the writing of many important figures in Irish history into an easily searchable list ( https://cartlann.org/ )

Beyond national history, and beyond the scope of this document to even begin to catalogue, local history is a deep reservoir of detail and information about events, locations, and traditions near to you. Every hill and cottage in Ireland has a story to tell, and these stories were often written down.

Your local library would be the first place to start looking, or if there’s a historical society nearby, they’ll be able to point you in the right direction.

No Irish reading list would be complete without mention of poetry of course, and at the top of that list would be WB Yeats. It might be as well to focus on his early work since he took a darker turn later in life—for example the “Golden Treasury of Irish Verse” which he helped to compile is mostly sorrowful laments written by post-Victorians.

Earlier Irish poetry in general has an ebullient, whimsical, exuberant spirit which is characteristic of the Gael—the aforementioned Poem-Book by Eleanor Hull has some wonderful examples, and more can be found online.

A substantial collection of early Irish poetry can be found in the UCC CELT project, although some of these poems do not have translations immediately available: https://celt.ucc.ie/earlypoetry.html

A word of caution however—there are many documents of dubious provenance and character circulating online, and even some of the most celebrated authentic ones might not necessarily be of benefit to us as modern Gaels. For one, James Joyce might have his own festival in Dublin but it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say the man hated Ireland.

Likewise between a variety of suspect spiritualists and individuals actively hostile to the ongoing persistence of Ireland, maintaining a sceptical attitude would be well-advised. It’s important to use reliable well-researched information, regardless of the age of the source, modern or ancient.

Fictional Works of Interest

Irish folklore and mythology has inspired many works of fiction in print and cinema, so here are a few suggestions for your shelves:

• The Sláine series of graphic novels, loosely based on Gaelic legends, a visual feast.
• Of Gods and Men by Donal O'Neill (Eoin Neeson). A great retelling of the Dananns coming to Ireland, and the two wars with the Fir Bolg and Fomorians.
• The Crimson Spear; The Blood of Cú Chulainn. This collects both stories, Táin and Remscela into one volume.
• Shane O'Neill: 'The Grand Disturber' of Elizabethan Ireland ( https://www.amazon.co.uk/Shane-ONeill-Disturber-Elizabethan-Ireland/dp/0692502726 ) by author Brian Mallon.
• Robert E. Howard's Bran Mak Morn stories and most of his Conan stories, since he made it clear that the Conan character was directly related to the modern Irish people
• The Druid by Steven A. McKay.
• Bard by Keith Taylor.
• The Rigante series by David Gemmell.
• The second trilogy of The Chronicles of Corum by Michael Moorcock is his Eternal Champion theme set in a Gaelic world.
• Hound by George Green.
• On Raven's wing by Morgan Llywelyn.
• Aisling and Other Irish Tales of Terror.
• Cath Fionntrá by Pádraig Ó Siochfhradha.
• Mythical Irish Beasts by Mark Joyce.
• Irish Imbas Books has an excellent selection ( https://irishimbasbooks.com/books-intro/ )
• And more great titles in TCD: ( https://www.tcd.ie/library/exhibitions/wild-waves/irish_myths.php )

One final thought—there are many Irish books of mythology which are untranslated or are only partially translated. We owe a great debt to the work of 19th century researchers like Meyer who brought us  the knowledge we have today, but there is much more still to be revealed!

Chapter List (click to read):

1. Foreword
2 The Irish Language
3. Reading
4. Making and Shaping
5. The Physical Gael
6. The Warrior Gael
- The Crios Belt
- Open Hand Traditions
- Collar and Elbow Wrestling
- Gaelic Weapons
- Seanbhata
- Seanbhata Basics
- Seanbhata Guards
- Seanbhata Strikes and Blocks
- Seanbhata Close Fighting
- The Heroic Feats
7. Tradition and Culture
8. Organisation