The Warrior Gael
“The noblest, the bravest, the wisest of men is helpless when unarmed he meets in the jungle the tiger hungry for blood. Ireland met her tiger. If she gets away from its claws and yet again walks abroad unarmed she will indeed deserve to perish.”
The Doctrine of Nationality
The Irish Martial Tradition
The Gaels have often been described as a “warrior race”, and while this is reductive of the many, indeed disproportionate, artistic, cultural and scientific achievements of the Irish, it is nonetheless a noted and striking part of our tradition which should be vigorously renewed and embraced.
In much the same way that oriental martial arts are celebrated in song and story, our own lineage of fighting skills has drawn the admiration and the awe of many. The loss of such arts is a grievous loss not only to Ireland, but to the world.
These traditions must be restored to the greatest extent possible and proudly cherished. Ideally they should be taught in our schools, just as similar traditions are taught to children in countries across Asia, providing great benefits to fitness, manual dexterity, strength, mental focus, self-realisation, confidence and personal discipline.
They should become indelibly associated with the Irish in the popular imagination of the world as a symbol of our separate identity, and the fire of that invincible spirit whose strength has been demonstrated consistently throughout history, burning brighter with each challenge.
Innumerable historical and mythohistorical references to Irish martial arts can be found in abundance in documents listed earlier, so in the following sections we will list the individual skills and weapons used, and share some ideas about how they might be restored.
Notice
Please note: the following sections consist of opinion pieces not intended to be construed as health, sporting, legal or medical advice or directions. If you intend to make radical changes to your diet or start any course of exercise, consult your doctor or a qualified medical professional before doing so.
Any actions undertaken are done so entirely at the risk of the individual in question, this publication and its authors take no responsibility for any injuries incurred.
Getting Started
Although there is enough information in the following pages to allow anyone to achieve a good degree of proficiency in the listed martial art, it’s best if you can find a few friends to try these out with, whether in a gym or in your own facilities.
Some of the skills already have a well-established teaching tradition (such as boxing) but you should practise and train these among your own peer group even if you initially learn from a professional tutor.
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
The project will follow in their footsteps along the path laid down by Hyde, O'Conaire, MacNeill, Cusack and many others through sharing news, ideas, articles of Irish cultural interest and more, as well as helping to support Irish language and cultural initiatives. You can find out more about An Claíomh Solais by clicking on the buttons below, or join our team as we begin the great Gaelic restoration!
The Flame Still Burns: The Unbroken Spirit of Gaelic Ireland
There is a fire that has never gone out.
Though winds have blown across our hills and empires have cast their shadows upon our land, the spirit of Gaelic Ireland remains—a living ember in the hearts of her sons and daughters. It is not a myth or memory. It is blood. It is breath. It is the pulse beneath the skin of the nation, ancient and eternal.
Ireland was never just a place. It was, and is, an idea—a sacred trust handed down through generations of warriors, poets, craftsmen, mothers, fathers, and the noble dead. The Gael did not simply inhabit this land&m
Read more...
PH Pearse Letters Awaiting Execution 2
Kilmainham Prison
Dublin
3rd May 1916
My Dearest Mother,
I have been hoping up to now that it would be possible for me to see you again, but it does not seem possible. Goodbye, dear, dear mother. Through you I say goodbye to Wow-Wow, M.B., Willie, Miss Byrne, Miceal, Cousin Maggie and everyone at St Enda’s. I hope and believe that Willie and the St Enda's boys will be safe.
I have written two papers about financial affairs and one about my books, which I want you to get. With them are a few poems which I want added to the poems of mine i
Read more...
PH Pearse Letters Awaiting Execution I
Arbour Hill Barracks,
Dublin,
1st May 1916.
Dearest Mother,
You will, I know, have been longing to hear from me. I don't know how much you have heard since the last note I sent you from the G.P.O.
On Friday evening the post office was set on fire, and we had to abandon it. We dashed into Moore Street, and remained in the houses in Moore Street until Saturday afternoon. We then found that we were surrounded by troops, and that we had practically no food. We decided, in order to avoid further slaughter of the civil population and in the hope of
Read more...
A marvellous description by Liam Bulfin
A marvellous description by Liam Bulfin in United Irishman ar 21 Aibreán 1906. Give us ten such men and English will be a second language in a generation!
“This is Pádraig Ó Dálaigh, General Secretary, a southerner. He can work 12 and 15 hours a day. He has a perfect constitution. With care he may live to eat square meals in the 21st century. He seems to have lived a long time already although his face is under the 30 limit. It is his brain that is old. His heart and all the rest of him are young ...
Under my personal observation he has
Read more...
Mionn
I n-ainm Dé,
Dar Críost a Aon-Ṁac,
Dar Muire a Ċaoṁ-Ṁáṫair,
Dar Pádraic Apstal Gaeḋeal,
Dar dílseaċt Ċuilm Ċille,
Dar clú ar gciniḋ,
Dar crú ar sinnsear,
Dar dúnṁarḃaḋ Aoḋa Ruaiḋ,
Dar bás truaiġṁéileaċ Aoḋa Uí Néill,
Dar oiḋeaḋ Eoġan Ruaiḋ,
Dar mian an tSáirséalaiġ le huċt a ḃáis,
Dar osna éagcoṁlainn an Ġearaltaiġ,
Dar créaċtaiḃ cróil
Read more...
Collapse of the Terror
British Rule's Last Stages
What the Elections Meant
We have seen how in ancient Ireland the people were themselves the guardians of their land, doing all for themselves according to their own laws and customs, as interpreted by the Brehons, which gave them security, prosperity, and national greatness, and how this was upset by the English determination to blot out Irish ways, when came poverty, demoralisation and a false respect for English standards and habits.
The English power to do this rested on military occupation and on econ
Read more...
Recent News
Name Galway's New Pedestrian Bridge in Honour of 1916 Hero Julia Morrissey
An Athenry native, Julia Morrissey, was a key figure in Cumann na mBan's Galway branch. In 1916, she commanded a group of 50 women during Easter week, as part of the rebellion in Galway that was led by Liam Mellows. When Mellows first came to Athenry in 1915, Mor... [more]
Human activity discovered in Ireland 33000 years ago
A REINDEER BONE fragment uncovered in a cave contains a revelation set to dramatically alter the understanding of Irish human history. The bone fragment was found at Castlepook Cave near Doneraile in north Cork where a mammoth bone was discovered in 1972. T... [more]
Wolfe Tones announce anniversary gig
After breaking records at Electric Picnic over the weekend, the Wolfe Tones are set to mark six decades of making music with an anniversary gig in Dublin next year. The Wolfe Tones drew the largest crowd to date to the festival’s Electric Arena on Sunday as a s... [more]
RIA culture night 2023
Come and join us on Culture Night 2023, we will have lots of cultural activities for all ages! Explore the Royal Irish Academy - a hidden Georgian gem tucked away on Dawson Street. View the earliest example of Irish writing - the 6th century Cathach, have a go at som... [more]
More than one million people are actively learning Irish
More than one million people are actively learning Irish on Duolingo according to data from the language app. A recent report (June 2021) listed Irish as the 16th most popular language to learn on the app, with 1.10 million users actively learning the language. ... [more]
United Ireland poll
Linda Ervine places herself in the “don’t know” group when it comes to a united Ireland, saying: “I’m one of those people that will have to be convinced.” Almost one in five voters in Northern Ireland are in the same category, acco... [more]
