I remember vaguely learning that Ireland's conversion to Christianity was more "peaceful" and willing than I typically hear about (convert or die) in other places. I also vaguely remember something about the pagans of that time having no problem paying respect the gods of other peoples whenever they met, and their initial acceptance of the ( Read more... )

From Who was William Shakespeare? : an introduction to the life and works, by Dympna Callaghan.

Language is the defining characteristic of human identity, and Caliban's is some of the most powerful and eloquent in the play [The Tempest]. Yet, Prospero treats him as subhuman, and Trinculo, finding him sheltering under a "gabardine" in the rain, ( Read more... )

"From this period [8th century A.D.] we also have what might be called the first Irish joke. A continental scholar sitting opposite an Irishman, and playing on the Latin terms, asked aloud, 'What is the difference between an Irishman (Latin Scottus) and a drunkard (Latin sottus)?' Unfortunately for the continental scholar, the Latin question could ( Read more... )

I hope everyone had a lovely time with their deceased relatives on Samhain and/or the Day of the Dead. Remember, if you ignore them then there's always the risk of them yelling at you next year because you never call ( Read more... )

This article was written in response to Queen Elizabeth II's visit to Ireland in May this year. It's about the first Elizabeth, a polyglot who decided to learn some Irish as an adult ( Read more... )

Found this old draft and I don't think I ever posted it, so yea.

The Inland Ice and other stories is a collection of short fiction by Éilís Ní Dhuibhne. I checked it out because I wanted to read some stories by/about Irish people. That's rather typical of moods that strike me. I had finished the book a while ago and now feel like reading something ( Read more... )

Irish and Welsh names are IMPOSSIBLE, so I am forced to take notes when I read mythology. I'm too used to Greek and Roman myths. I have just finished the four branches of the Mabinogi as translated by Patrick K. Ford. Let me know if I got confused somewhere ( Read more... )

I temporarily stopped reading novels, because I am back to reading Irish mythology. Again. It's so hard to work through this weird stuff. I am used to reading Greek mythology, and this is so different ( Read more... )

Good pics.


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http://silicondragon.com/Gaming/DAoC/Misc/Celt%20Female%20Names.htm

Nice huge list, when all I wanted was to search for names from mythology. (as always, I can't vouch for accuracy)