Righthand Irish

Photos

2008-05-15T04:51:00.001-07:00

Imagevue is an online flash image gallery for your web site. It is easy to set up, and to update your photo gallery with new images,
all you need to do is upload the photos to your web server - Everything else is automatic! Imagevue consists of the photo album,
the slideshow, and the admin. Together they are the Imagevue software package!

Tracing Slang To Ireland

2007-11-19T05:24:00.001-08:00

clipped from www.nytimes.com

Growing up Irish in Queens and on Long Island, Daniel Cassidy was nicknamed Glom.

Some years back, leafing through a pocket Gaelic dictionary, he began looking for phonetic equivalents of the terms, which English dictionaries described as having “unknown origin.”

Glom” seemed to come from the Irish word “glam,” meaning to grab or to snatch

He began finding one word after another that seemed to derive from the strain of Gaelic spoken in Ireland, known as Irish. The word “gimmick” seemed to come from “camag,” meaning trick or deceit, or a hook or crooked stick.

Mr. Cassidy, 63, began compiling a lexicon of hundreds of Irish-inspired slang words and recently published them in a book called “How the Irish Invented Slang,” which last month won the 2007 American Book Award for nonfiction, and which he is in New York this week promoting.

Nobel Peace Prize winner shot by Israeli army

2007-09-23T03:34:00.001-07:00

clipped from masbury.wordpress.com

Mairead Corrigan McGuire received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1976 for her heroic work in Northern Ireland, where peace after terror became a reality. She recently spoke in the West Bank. Here’s an excerpt from her speech (read it all here.):

She’s participating in a non-violent protest after speaking when soldiers of the Israeli army open fire. McGuire is felled by a rubber-coated steel bullet. Undeterred, she presses the case for human rights under a tree while waiting for the ambulance to arrive. (More of the story here.)

May we be so brave!

Vive Gothic

2007-09-01T01:20:00.001-07:00

clipped from judytha.blog.cz

Gothické obrázky 5

This site contains some wonderful images and photos, of Gothic Culture,also contains other cultures which I have not seen yet,hope they wont offend.

Timeless Myths - Classical, Norse, Celtic, Arthurian

2007-08-28T07:28:00.001-07:00

clipped from www.timelessmyths.com

Welcome to the temple of Timeless Myths.

Here you will find tales and information on ancient and medieval mythology and legend. Timeless Myths centred around four mythology in Europe.

I've relied mostly on translations of ancient and medieval literature as my sources. So what you read in Timeless Myths are summaries of the mythology based on those sources.

There's a little extra in section called Book of Heroes, formerly the World of the Storyteller.

Can get lost here.

'Bard of Armagh' Tommy Makem Dies in US. Clancy Bros fame

2007-08-03T14:55:00.001-07:00

clipped from www.ireland.com Musician Tommy Makem dies aged 74

Celebrated traditional musician Tommy Makem (74) has died of lung cancer in New Hampshire.

Makem, who played banjo and tin whistle and sang in a deep baritone, came to international prominence as a member of The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem.
Makem was born in Keady, Co Armagh, in 1932. During the 1960s, he gained international fame with the Clancy Brothers, performing sellout concerts in Carnegie Hall and being feted at the Newport Folk Festival.

His best-known songs include Four Green Fields, Red Is The Rose and The Bard of Armagh .

"Tommy was a man of high integrity and honesty and his courage really showed through towards the end," he told RTÉ's Morning Ireland today. "Our paths diverged many times, but our friendship never waned. I suppose he was my brother in every way.

Makem visited Belfast last month to receive an honorary degree from the University of Ulster despite his illness and also took time to return to Armagh.

External Links
Tommy Makem

President Mary McAleese offered her condolences to Mr Makem's family.

"In life, Tommy brought happiness and joy to hundreds of thousands of fans the world over," she said. "Always the consummate musician, he was also a superb ambassador for the country, and one of whom we will always be proud."

Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism Seamus Brennan said he had learned of Mr Makem's death "with great regret".

"He was a multi-talented artist whose abilities went beyond music, with other skills as a storyteller, actor, songwriter and poet. I wish to pass on my condolences to Tommy's family, relatives and friends at this sad time and hope that they can take comfort from the fact that his music is a wonderful legacy that will live on for generations to come," he said.

"Tommy was truly a music legend in his own lifetime. Now, with his passing, he has left behind a rich and enduring legacy of music, song and story to be enjoyed and appreciated by this generation and generations to co

_______________________

Tommy Makem (November 4, 1932 – August 1, 2007) was an internationally celebrated folk musician, artist, poet and storyteller from Ireland, most known as a member of The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. He played the banjo and tin whistle and sang in a baritone. He was sometimes known as "The Bard of Armagh" (taken from a traditional song of the same name) and "The Godfather of Irish Music".

After moving to the United States in 1955, he teamed up with the Clancy Brothers, who were signed to Columbia Records in 1961. The same year, at the Newport Folk Festival, Makem and Joan Baez were named the most promising newcomers on the American folk scene.

During the 1960s, the Clancy Brothers with Tommy Makem performed sellout concerts at such venues as Carnegie Hall and made television appearances on shows like The Ed Sullivan Show and The Tonight Show.

Makem's best-known songs include "Four Green Fields", "Gentle Annie",
"Red is the Rose", "The Rambles of Spring", "The Winds Are Singing
Freedom", and "Farewell to Carlingford", and "The Bard of Armagh".

Flying Boats: Foynes role in Aviation - Lindbergh 1933

2007-07-26T14:25:00.001-07:00

clipped from en.wikipedia.org

Foynes (Faing in Irish) is a small town and major port in County Limerick in the midwest of Ireland, located at the edge of hilly land on the southern bank of the Shannon Estuary.

It is noteworthy for having been, in the early years of aviation, the last port of call on the eastern shore of the Atlantic for flying boats. Surveying flights for flying boat operations were made by Charles Lindbergh in 1933 and a terminal begun in 1935. The first transatlantic proving flights were operated on July 5, 1937 with a Pan Am Sikorsky S-42 service from Botwood, Newfoundland and Labrador on the Bay of Exploits and a BOAC Short Empire service from Foynes with successful transits of twelve and fifteen-and-a-quarter hours respectively.

One of Foynes' main claims to fame is the invention there of Irish Coffee. This came about, it is said, in order to alleviate the suffering of cold and wet passengers during its aviation days in the 1930s and early 40s.

Foynes as a port has a longer history

Back in 1933, Foynes was not even a village.

Peace Prize Winner - Wants to Kill

2007-07-24T11:15:00.001-07:00

clipped from michellemalkin.com

Nobel Peace Prize winner Betty Williams came from Ireland to Texas to declare that President Bush should be impeached.

In a keynote speech at the International Women’s Peace Conference on Wednesday night, Ms. Williams told a crowd of about 1,000 that the Bush administration has been treacherous and wrong and acted unconstitutionally.

“Right now, I could kill George Bush,” she said at the Adam’s Mark Hotel and Conference Center in Dallas. “No, I don’t mean that. How could you nonviolently kill somebody? I would love to be able to do that.”

About half the crowd gave her a standing ovation after she called for Mr. Bush’s removal from power.

ColoradoRight 07-12-2007

But she only wants to kill him non-violently? Lethal injection? It just goes to show how political and unhinged the Nobel Peace Prize has become. If they could give one to a thief, thug, and murderer like Arafat - it really doesn't mean anything about peace.

_________

Mushmaster25 07-13-2007 2.31am

Nothing has much real substantial meaning anymore. Try to look on the bright side though, its going to mean that the things that are substantial are going to mean allot more.

_____________

Righthand 07-13-2007 2.44am

“Right now, I could kill George Bush,” she said at the Adam’s Mark Hotel and Conference Center in Dallas. “No, I don’t mean that. How could you non-violently kill somebody? I would love to be able to do that.”

Get the impression that you don't like Arafat? He was a bit like Sharon, I suppose, but he was responsible for far less deaths. And he certainly was far far less corrupt than Sharon.

What was it now that stopped the peace breaking out then. Was it when Israel assassinated its own Nobel Peace Prize winner? That's a great discouragement to any future Zionist peace maker, don't you think? Must be why they've written that little incident of of history.

I'm sure that you would agree that the great American peace lady, Mrs Sheehan should be nominated for the peace prize as soon as you get rid of Bush. Seeing as you brought the subject up.

__________

Cniq_cniq 07-13-2007 12.53pm

Except Sharon was not awarded the Nobel prize, so what is the point of your comparison?

___________

Righthand 07-15-2007 2.14pm

Now, Sharon nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize! You must be joking? Who'd assassinate him then?

____________

Moving Tribute on Cliff above to US Climber feared Dead.

2007-07-21T14:43:00.001-07:00

clipped from www.independent.ie

Renowned climber is praised on fatal cliff-top

July 18 2007

ROCK climber Michael Reardon pushed himself to the limit of his abilities, but ships were never meant to remain in harbours.

Tribute was paid to the fearless way the solo climber lived his life, at a moving ceremony on the cliff-top overlooking his last dramatic climb on Valentia Island, Co Kerry yesterday.

people gathered in sunshine to pay their respects to the 35-year-old American who was washed out to sea on Friday, after scaling the cliff-face twice.

A traditional lament on harp and tin whistle opened the ceremony attended by the missing man's wife Marci, their 13-year-old daughter Nicki, close friends, members of the rescue services, the gardai, local people and well-known figures from the sporting and climbing worlds.

These included the mountain-running champion John Lenihan and Kerry football great and island native Mick O'Connell.

people had gathered to honour "a beautiful man" and a "truly extraordinary" climber

West Kerry GP and poet Micheal Fanning read two of his poems: 'I run with the winds and moods', which he dedicated to Mr Reardon's daughter, and 'Odysseus', a poem about daring people and those waiting for them, dedicated to Marci Reardon.

Father Kevin McNamara, a curate attached to Killarney parish, led the prayers. Michael Reardon "wouldn't hurt a rock by putting a claw into it", in order to preserve it for future generations, he said.

He had left a mark that would never be forgotten. He had pushed things to the limit. A ship was safe when in harbour, but that was not what ships were for, the priest said.

A 100 feet below, Navy and Garda sub-aqua teams scoured the sea-bed for any trace of the man renowned among climbers and mountaineers for his daring exploits without ropes or safety equipment. Those on the cliff waved to the divers on the boats below.

Prayers were asked that the ongoing search would bring closure for Mr Reardon's friends and family.

Towards the end of the ceremony, Nicki, tearful throughout the hour-long ceremony, spoke briefly of her father who was "louder" than most people and larger than life.

Flowers were brought to the scene along with a plaque made of local Valentia slate.

A haunting rendition on the bagpipes of the Blasket island elegy 'Port na bPucai', an air said to echo the journey of the departing soul, ended the ceremony.

Michael had arrived Ireland about a month back, to climb the island's cliffs and "reacquaint himself with the land of his ancestors." He blogged on his website, "Chaos follows me everywhere. I arrived in Killarney, Ireland, barely rested from the ten-hour plane flight, and surprised my friend Con Moriarty by showing up two days early. Big smiles and bigger hugs came from everyone at his outdoor shop. It had been too long since I last shared a pint with everyone."

It wasn't a fall but a wave that took the free climber at the bottom of the cliff face at Dohilla he'd just scaled. After the accident, Con Moriarty told an Irish TV news station, "He had just finished a climb and was standing on a rock shelf at the base of a cliff when a wave hit him from behind, knocked him on his back, and carried him out to sea."

Independent reports that a photographer who was with Michael when he fell into the sea tried to throw him a rope, and the climber responded to calls. The photographer then ran to alert the local lifeboat which was immediately launched, but by then Michael had vanished.

Due to return to the United States this weekend, Michael's wife, Marci and daughter Nicki (13) instead arrived in Ireland from LA yesterday

Photos- Michael Reardon: Life Without Limits. HOPE???

2007-07-21T14:28:00.001-07:00

clipped from www.freesoloist.com

My Climbing Pro Blog (every two weeks) presented by Climbing Magazine
http://www.climbing.com/exclusive/problog/michaelreardon/

."

Chris and I

The area around Dingle is one of the many pathways to understanding the traditions and lure of Ireland. The residents speak fluent Gaelic and I’ve discovered over the years that their knowledge of history extends back to the dawn of time better than any history book could provide. The written word has been around for centuries, but it is the oral traditions passed through the ages that provide depth to this cultural preserve.

So many climbs, so many days.

Sea Stacks on the Coast

One Small Part of the Gap of Dunloe

The Sandstone "Granite"

Another Sunny Day in Ireland

Giving Jim the Beta on "Hole Patrol"

!

Feb

5

During the winter months, the Atlantic pounds furiously against the walls and regularly sweeps hundreds of feet up on the land. This action during the earth’s life has solidified the gneiss and cracked the bands

Michael had arrived Ireland about a month back, to climb the island's cliffs and "reacquaint himself with the land of his ancestors." He blogged on his website, "Chaos follows me everywhere. I arrived in Killarney, Ireland, barely rested from the ten-hour plane flight, and surprised my friend Con Moriarty by showing up two days early. Big smiles and bigger hugs came from everyone at his outdoor shop. It had been too long since I last shared a pint with everyone."

It wasn't a fall but a wave that took the free climber at the bottom of the cliff face at Dohilla he'd just scaled. After the accident, Con Moriarty told an Irish TV news station, "Reardon had just finished a climb and was standing on a rock shelf at the base of a cliff when a wave hit him from behind, knocked him on his back, and carried him out to sea."

Independent reports that a photographer who was with Michael when he fell into the sea tried to throw him a rope, and the climber responded to calls. The photographer t

Search still ongoing for US rock climber Michael Reardon

2007-07-18T10:32:00.001-07:00

clipped from www.mounteverest.net

It wasn't a fall but a wave that took the free climber at the bottom of the cliff face at Dohilla he'd just scaled. Thumbnail of Michael courtesy of his website, over image of Cliffs of Mohar (about 60 miles north of Valentia) courtesy of public library/Answers.com (click to enlarge)

Michael had arrived Ireland about a month back, to climb the island's cliffs and "reacquaint himself with the land of his ancestors." He blogged on his website, "Chaos follows me everywhere. I arrived in Killarney, Ireland, barely rested from the ten-hour plane flight, and surprised my friend Con Moriarty by showing up two days early. Big smiles and bigger hugs came from everyone at his outdoor shop. It had been too long since I last shared a pint with everyone."

Related Links

More on the accident
Reardon's blog
Independent

It wasn't a fall but a wave that took the free climber at the bottom of the cliff face at Dohilla he'd just scaled.

New Technology: Irish TCD-based competition for Skype

2007-07-11T00:55:00.001-07:00

clipped from www.siliconrepublic.com

09.07.2007 - Software created by researchers in the Centre for Telecommunications Value Chain Research (CTVR), based in Trinity College Dublin (TCD), uses wireless technology that hopes to “bring advanced new mobile telephone systems to the global market”.

Enterprise Ireland has granted €400,000 in funding to bring this new technology through the commercialisation process, as the CTVR see the potential for a “fully-fledged commercial spin-off”.

Metakall will enable users to make cheap mobile calls using wireless hotspots and the internet as a network base, with emphasis on the fact that customers would be able to roam at low cost rates.

“Imagine the possibility of going anywhere in the world and using your wireless phone or laptop to make calls through the internet for as little as 5 cents a minute, with no other costs,” said Professor Donal O’Mahony

Dublin:

The software that sits on the mobile or laptop will have a meter that logs the amount of time you spend online making a call and only charges per minute online, letting your know how much you are spending as you talk.

It is estimated that this service will be offered at, on average, five cents per minute, although, as yet CTVR is still in talks with industry players on how it will implement Metakall.

Metakall can offer low-cost calls because it pays hotspot providers small amounts of cash in real time.

“Right now you can make internet based phone calls, but you will also have to pay a monthly registration charge of over €20 to an Internet Service Provider or buy a scratchcard in each location for about €10. Only then can you use services like Skype or Vonage for example.”

Razed M3 site 'was national monument'

2007-07-07T20:57:00.001-07:00

clipped from www.ireland.com

Razed M3 site 'was national monument'

06/07/2007 17:59

A site that campaigners claim was an ancient burial ground near the Hill of Tara and which was razed during construction work this week should have been given "the fullest and most detailed attention" and was indeed a national monument, documents published today suggest.
Documents published by Minister for the Environment John Gormley today reveal that the director of the National Museum Dr Pat Wallace wrote to the Minister's predecessor Dick Roche in May urging him to set up a special committee to examine a site at Baronstown, just outside Dunshaughlin, Co Meath.

That site was razed by heavy machinery earlier this week

Dr Wallace said in his letter dated May 3rd, 2007 that a committee should be set up after "a short pause for discussion and reflection" in order to afford "this national monument the fullest and most detailed attention and a total excavation to the highest and most transparent standard".

A letter on file from Dr Wallace to Mr Roche dated May 3 rd last congratulates him on declaring Lismullen a national monument and says there is a "compelling case" to be made that Baronstown is also worthy of such protection. Dr Wallace wrote that the discovery of the national monument at Lismullen came as "no surprise" to those who believed the intended motorway route "was indeed bisecting an ancient ritual landscape".

M: Britain's first spymaster was an Irishman who played patriot game

2007-07-07T14:38:00.001-07:00

clipped from www.timesonline.co.uk

William Melville was born in the Kerry village of Sneem to a publican’s family and fled his roots to forge a stellar career in London as a detective fighting terrorism.
When he “retired” in 1903 from the Metropolitan Police at the height of his fame, he went on to establish the forerunner of MI5, providing the inspiration for James Bond’s boss in Ian Fleming’s books.

“Melville was referred to by the War Office as M or the Spy-master from almost the beginning,” Andrew Cook, the author of M: MI5’s First Spy-master, said.

“Although a Kerryman born and bred, he has been a forgotten figure and we now have an opportunity to illuminate a fascinating history,” Helen O’Carroll, curator at Kerry County Museum, said.
“One of the striking issues in the Melville story is the irony that here is an Irish Catholic who was proud of his Irish identity, defending Britain from terrorist threats that included Irish terrorism.

Melville’s most famous exploit was his foiling of the Jubilee Plot of 1887, an assassination attempt on Queen Victoria by Irish republicans. It has since been argued that the attempt was a “dirty war” operation orchestrated by the Government.

Vikings and the Celtic seas

2007-07-03T14:38:00.001-07:00

clipped from www.ireland.com

For at least 1400 years, up to the ninth century, the civilization of Ireland remained uniformly Celtic. Then, in the year 795, came the first of the Viking attacks, on Lambay Island in Dublin Bay.

"Viking" (from the Old Norse vikingr) means "sea-rover" or "pirate", and this is precisely what these people were. Ethnically, they were Teutons, Danish, Swedish and Norwegian farmers, fishermen and sea-merchants, who were forced onto the open sea in search of a livelihood by over-population and shortage of arable land. From the eighth century, their plundering raids terrorized much of the known world, reaching as far as America, North Africa, and Constantinople.

In Ireland, the annalists distinguished two groups among the raiding vikings, the Lochlainn, or Norwegians, and the Danair, or Danes, the Norwegians being described as fair, the Danish as dark. Initially, the Norwegians dominated, and their raids were sporadic and unsystematic.

LUSK

2007-07-03T10:15:00.001-07:00

clipped from www.askaboutireland.ie

Surrounded by the cemetery, it is a place of peace. The Church is dedicated to St. Catherine, having formerly been dedicated to St. Damnan. (A grand synod was held in Lusk by St. Adamnanus, in 695). In 1530, the chapels appended to the parish of Lusk were stated to be Rush, situated in the land of the Earl of Ormond, Kilnure and Knightstown (now Whitestown)'. Perhaps this old spelling of 'Kilnure' indicates an older name 'The Church of the Yew Trees', later anglicised as Kenure. Dr Donnelly in his 'History of the Dublin Parishes' says this was the church of Rush in Celtic times, before the coming of the Normans.

Click image for detail

"Rush by the Sea" - cover illustration

Click image for detail

Catalogue with crest

Click image for detail

Catalogue Cover

Click image for detail

Catalogue history of House

Click image for detail

Furniture for auction

Relics of an Older Time

The Great House built by the Duke of Ormond and rebuilt by the Palmers has ceased to exist

Lusk Black Raven Pipe Band!!!

2007-07-03T09:59:00.001-07:00

clipped from www.blackravenpipeband.net Site Designed and Maintained By Damien and Keith Russell clipped from www.blackravenpipeband.net The Library Hall was used for practice and one evening during practice a certain Jack McNally happened to be passing complete with tin whistle and following an old Lusk tradition he looked in the Library window to see what was going on. The band were playing 'The wind that shakes the barley''. The pipes finished the tune but a tin whistle echo remained until Thomas Ashe ordered the tin whistle man to be caught. He was finally captured on the 'Green' He did not succeed in escaping from the band until the time of his death in 1965. The Black and Tans brought more than the their share of trouble and finally in November 1917 on the night John (Rover) McCann and Joe Sherlock were shot they raided the band room which was then in the Foresters’ Hall (the old Billiard Club). They took those instruments, which had not already been hidden, and also the Black Raven Flag. clipped from www.blackravenpipeband.net

	Home

The John (Rover) McCann murdered by the 'Tans' was my Grand Uncle. The Foresters' Hall was later part of our home. The photo is on the band stand in front of the 'new' church on The Green where the male side of my family have lived for ever. My father was staff major as he could not play a note, just like me. The practice room in recent times was very close as I studied or tied to.

Thomas Ashe was also a band member. More later...

1969 Tax Break for inventors

2007-07-03T09:57:00.001-07:00

clipped from archives.tcm.ie

In 1969 Charlie Haughey introduced a series of tax breaks to assist artists and writers and this has greatly helped the development of the arts in Irish society.

The government is trying to encourage an economy based on ‘‘brainpower, not brawn’’. To give momentum to this effort, we need to actively encourage technical thinking and innovation in our schools, colleges and workplaces. I propose that the government kick start this effort by introducing tax breaks for inventors who go on to develop and commercialise their ideas in Ireland.

Our politicians should be preparing Ireland to become a knowledge-based economy, where the value created will not be manufactured goods or agricultural produce, but intellectual property, creative industries and internationally traded services. This will require world-class infrastructure, which must include decent broadband access.

Creating the next Ireland Sunday, October 22, 2006


TCH Archives

Battle of Clontarf: Clan O' Brien and MacDomnaill

2007-07-02T16:13:00.001-07:00

clipped from generation13.com

In North Ireland, Malachy the Second followed Boru's lead when his forces defeated a Norse army to take Dublin in 980 and Malachy became King of Meath.

Boru was granted the title "Ard Ri", meaning "High King".

In 1013, Maelmordha, King of Leinster, revolted and allied with the Vikings. They summoned reinforcements from Boru's other Irish rivals and the Viking nations, as far away as Normandy and Iceland.

The two forces met on Good Friday, 1014 at Clontarf. Nearly 4,000 Irishmen were killed at the Battle of Clontarf, including Brian's son Murrough, but the Viking/Leinster forces suffered even heavier losses.

There would never be another king powerful enough to rule all of Ireland. Today, Boru is also known as the progenitor of the Clan O'Brien,

Battle of Clontarf: Thomond

2007-07-02T16:09:00.001-07:00

clipped from generation13.com

Brian Boru was from a group of people so obscure that they adopted a fictitious, but more prestigious name, the 'Dál gCais' (Dalcassians in the plural). They occupied a territory that straddled the largest river in Ireland, the River Shannon, a territory that would later be known as the Kingdom of Thomond and that incorporates portions of the present day counties of Clare and Limerick.

The Shannon served as an easy route by which raids could be made against the province of Connacht (to the river's west) and Meath (to its east). Both Boru's father, Cennétig mac Lorcáin and his older brother Mathgamain conducted river-borne raids, raids in which the young Boru would undoubtedly have participated.

Another important influence upon the Dalcassians, including Brian Boru, was the presence of the Hiberno-Norse city of Limerick on an island in the estuary of the Shannon River (known today as King's Island).

Battle of Clontarf: Brian, Cain, the Dalcassians

2007-07-02T16:07:00.001-07:00

clipped from generation13.com

In 964, Brian Boru's older brother, Mathgamain, claimed control over the entire province of Munster by capturing the Rock of Cashel, capital of the rival Eóganacht dynasty. The Eóganacht King, Mael Muad, organised an anti-Dalcassian alliance that included at least one other Irish ruler in Munster, and Ivar, the ruler of Limerick.

It was under these unpromising circumstances that Boru, at age thirty-five, became the new leader of the Dalcassians.

Boru immediately set about avenging his brother's death and reinstating the control of the Dalcassians over the province of Munster.

After he had killed Mael Muad, he treated his son and successor, Cain, with great respect, giving Cain the hand of his daughter, Sadhbh in marriage. Cain remained a faithful ally for
the rest of his life.

Brian Boru and Sitric

2007-07-02T16:03:00.001-07:00

clipped from generation13.com

Given the circumstances under which Mael Mordha had been made the new King of Leinster, it's not surprising that he launched an open rebellion against King Brian's authority. In response, King Brian assembled the forces of the Province of Munster with the intention of laying siege to the Hiberno-Norse city of Dublin, which was ruled by Mael Mordha's ally and cousin, Sigtrygg Silkbeard. Together Mael Mordha and Sigtrygg determined to meet King Brian's army in battle rather than risk a siege.

Once again, however, King Brian opted for reconciliation; he requested Sigtrygg to return and resume his position as ruler of Dublin, giving Sigtrygg the hand of one of his daughters in marriage, just as he had with the Éoganacht King, Cain. It may have been on this occasion that and Mael Mordha's King Brian married Sigtrygg's mothersister Gormflaith, the former wife of High-King Mael Sechlainn.

Sitric and Olaf

2007-07-02T16:00:00.001-07:00

clipped from generation13.com

Sigtrygg sailed to the Orkney Islands, and on his return stopped at the Isle of Man.
These islands had been seized by the Vikings long before and the Hiberno-Norse had close ties with the Orkneys and Manx. There was even a precedent for employing Norsemen from the Isles; they had been used by Sigtrygg's father, Olaf Cuaran, in 980, and by Sigtrygg himself in 990. Their incentive was loot, not land.
Contrary to the assertions made in the Cogadh Gaedhil re Gallaibh, this was not an attempt by the Vikings to reconquer Ireland. All of the Norsemen, both the Hiberno-Norse of Dublin and the Norsemen from the Isles, were in the service of Mael Mordha, the King of Leinster. It should also be remembered that the High-King had 'Vikings' in his army as well; mainly the Hiberno-Norse of Limerick (and probably those of Waterford, Wexford, and Cork as well), but also, according to some sources, a rival gang of Norse mercenaries from the Isle of Man.

Raphoe, Inishowen (1188-1247)

2007-07-02T15:57:00.001-07:00

clipped from generation13.com

LC1188, Ruaidhri O'Canannáin, king of Cenel-Conaill for a time, and also royal heir of Érainn

LC1196, Echmarcach O'Dochartaigh assumed the sovereignty of Cenel-Conaill...

LC1199, Domhnall O'Dochartaigh, king of Cenel-Enna and Ard-Midhair, in pace quievit.

Arda Midhair, The Ó Dochartaigh (O'Dohertys), of Cenél Conaill, were cited as chiefs of Arda Midhair (Ardmire, perhaps the Finn Valley) in the barony of Raphoe, county Donegal. At the turn of the 13th century two Ó Dochartaigh were noted as kings of Tír Chonaill, breaking a long
hold the O'Cannons and O'Muldorys (Mulderrys) had on this title. Soon after the O'Donnells rose to prominence in Tír Chonaill. By 1247 the O'Donnells are noted as Lords of Inishowen for the first time (Annals), an apparent indication of Cenél Conaill expansion into a region traditionally held region by the Cenél Éoghain (Mac Lochlainn).

Raphoe, Inishowen (1333)

2007-07-02T15:55:00.001-07:00

clipped from generation13.com

The arrival of the Norman de Burgo family by the latter half of the 13th century saw the building of fortifications in the region. Any fear of further Anglo-Norman expansion in Inishowen and Derry, however, was halted by the murder of Earl William de Burgh in 1333, and the absenteeism of his heirs kept the path open for Gaelic dominance in the region. It was perhaps during this time the Ó Dochartaigh began to make inroads into Inishowen, as chieftains under O'Donnell.

464 AD

2007-07-02T15:53:00.001-07:00

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For 464, Conall Gulban, son of Niall of the Nine Hostages (from whom are descended the Cenél Conaill), was slain by the old tribes of Magh Slecht, he having been found unprotected, and was buried at Fidhnach Maighe Rein, by Saint Caillin, as the Life of the aforesaid saint relates.

The Four Aras

2007-07-02T15:50:00.001-07:00

clipped from generation13.com

The Leabhar na gCeart
cites the people of Ara (Arada, Aradh) were Rudricians, descended from Feartlachta, son of Fearghus, King of Ulster, in the 1st century; but these people were driven out by the descendants of Eoghan, son of Ailioll Óluim, and thereafter the territory was called Eoghanact Aine Cliach

Many of the early kings of Ulster through the centuries were of the Dál n-Araidhe and the Dál Fiatach clans of counties Armagh, Down and Antrim:

In early texts there is mention of the four Aradhs, descended from Feartlachtga, son of Feargus. The Book of Fenagh says they were Uí Monan, Uí Fidhmuine, Artroighi and Teochraide. The Book of Leinster makes them the Taechraige, Artraige, Descert Cliach and Hui Idban (Hui Fidbannaig). The Book of Lecan cites the Taecraidi, Artraidi, Deisceart Cliach, Uí Fidban and Uí Feitheamna.

The Four Aras and Nial of the Nine Hostages

2007-07-02T15:47:00.001-07:00

clipped from generation13.com

Prior to the arrival of the sons of Niall of the Nine Hostages in the 5th and 6th centuries, this area of Ireland was probably inhabited by the tribes of the Uí Failge, Uí Enechglaiss and Dal Messin Corb, who later retreated into Leinster; the Cianachta, of Munster origin; the Déisi and Corco Roída, claimed to be descended from nephews of Conn of the Hundred Battles; the Uí Maic Uais, descended from one of the Three Collas; the Delbna septs; the Gailenga Brega, the Luigni Mide and Fir Chul, the Saithne Brega, and the Mugdorma, among others. Mac Firbis cites the parts of Leinster, belonging to the Clann Cormaic (Dál Messin Corb) are Cuthraighe, Ua Trena, Ui Cruinn or Ui Cuinn, Ua Gabla Fine and Ua Gabla Roireann. From Cú Corb's son Corbmac descend the Dál Chormaic, Uí Gabla, Uí Labrada, Uí Buide (O'Kealy), and the Cuthraighe. From Cú Corb's son Nia Corb descended Cathair Mór and Maine Mál. An the Ui Cormaic - descendants of Cormac, the clan name of the O'Hehirs in Thomond.

Rosguill Tri Tuatha

2007-07-02T15:42:00.001-07:00

clipped from generation13.com

Rosguill,
a promontory (or Ross) in the barony of Kilmacrenan, Co. Donegal, between Sheep Haven and Mulroy bay, i.e. in the parish of Mevagh. O'Dugan (Poems) cites that Ros-Guill and Ros-Iorguil belong to MacGillatsamhais. Ros-Iorguil, or Irguill, is equated to Horn Head, to the west of Ros Guill, in the index to the Four Masters. Both areas are west of Fanad.

The areas of Rosguill (now Downing's & Carrigart), Doe (now Creeslough & Dunfanaghy), Cloughaneely (now Falcarragh ) and Tory Island, were later ruled by the Mac Sweeneys from Doe Castle. These were the MacSweeney Na Doe (Mac Suibhne na d'Tuath), lords of Na Tuatha. The district called Na Trí Tuatha, or Tuatha Toraighe, was an area extending from Ros Guill and Mulroy Bay in the east to Gweedore Bay in the west, with Tory Island included. Note: Trí Tuatha, not to be confused with the Three Tuatha of county Roscommon.

Cian of Ely

2007-07-02T15:39:00.001-07:00

clipped from generation13.com

The Cianacht
encompassed the O’Connors (O Conchobhair) of Keenaght, and the Luighne, or race of Lugh including the families of O’Hara (O hEaghra) and O’Gara (O Gadhra). The O’Garas were once one clan with the O’Haras, and together their territory, Luighne, included the modern baronies of Corran and Leyney in South Sligo, and Gallen and North Costello (Sliabh Lugha) in Mayo. About the end of the tenth century the two families separated, and divided the territory between them, the O’Garas taking the Mayo portion.

The Dealbhna Eathra and Dealbhna Nuadat were closely related to the Cianacht and Saithne. The Deal bhna Nuadat were centered on the other side of the Shannon, between it and the River Suck in County Roscommon, and were tributary to the Uí Maine.

Cian of Ely, Ciarraighe Lakes, and Tri-Tuatha

2007-07-02T04:17:00.001-07:00

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The Saithne were closely related to the Cianacht and Dealbhna.
They originally inhabited a territory in the southern part of the kingdom of Brega, the kingship of which they in ancient times, including Dalriada, had shared with kindred groups.
The Ciarraighe Locha na nAirne were originally part of a greater kingdom, the tribal kingdom of Ciarraighe, centered at Cruachu (the ancient capital of Connacht). This kingdom was fragmented by the Uí Briuin of the North Gaels during the late eighth century or early ninth century. The Eile were originally a tribe of western King’s County (Offaly), where place-names recall their early residence in that region.

M1130, Toirdhealbhach Ua Conchobhair proceeded with a fleet as far as Torach, and plundered Ros-Guill.

M1247, A great army was led by Maurice Fitzgerald, and the other English chiefs, first to Sligo, and thence to the Cataract of Aedh Roe, the son of Badharn.

Finn-Ros: Tri-Tuatha

2007-07-02T04:09:00.001-07:00

clipped from generation13.com

Finn Ros, aka The Rosses,
in Tirconnell, the land of the O Forananes and O Carnahanes, according to O'Brien's Irish Dictionary.

O'Donovan in his notes to O'Dugan's Poems cites Fionn-Ros, now the Rosses, was situated in the barony of Boylagh. The Rosses are marked on a modern map of Ireland in the civil parish of Templecrone, in the far north of the barony of Boylagh. The Rosses extends from Crolly Bridge in the north to Gweebarra Bridge in the south, embracing all the intervening coastline and islands, penetrating inland as far as the Derryveagh mountains and the alpinesque village of Doochary.

The territory of Trián Íochtair Baoighellach is described by O'Donovan (Four Masters) in "The Rosses", between Aranmore Island and the Gweedore river, in county Donegal. At least a portion of the Rosses region, if not all, was connected with the O'Boyles, near of a portion of the Tri Tuath

Niall O'Domhnaill was made king by a number of the chieftains of Tir-Conaill.

Finn-Ros: Fanad

2007-07-02T04:07:00.001-07:00

clipped from generation13.com

Fánad, or Fanat,
is the peninsula between Lough Swilly and Mulroy Bay, in the northeast of the barony of Kilmacrenan, county Donegal. The sept of Ua Bresleáin (O'Breslen or Breslin), a branch of the Cenél Enda (MacLysaght) although cited by others as a branch of Cenél Conaill, are noted as early chiefs of Fanad, later noted as Brehons for Maguire of Fermanagh. The Mac Suibhnes (Mac Sweeney Fanat) are not as chiefs of Fanad in the late 14th century.

LC1399, Toirdhelbhach, son of Maelmuire Mac Suibhne, lord of Fanad, quievit.

Finn-Ros: Enda

2007-07-02T04:04:00.001-07:00

clipped from generation13.com

The Cenél Enda (Énna or Eanna)
Located in the southern Co. Donegal and northern Fermanagh region. About the 5th century Enda, the youngest son of Niall of the Nine Hostages, received territory in modern co. Donegal. The Book of Lecan places Cenél Enda mic Neill west of Lough Erne.

Leitrim, together with that of Cavan and part of Fermanaghm afterwards formed the territory of Breffny, or Brenny, which was divided into two principalities, of which the present county of Leitrim formed the western, under the name of Lower or West Breffny, and Hy Briuin Breffny, from Brian, son of Eachod, and grandson of Muredach, first king of Connaught of the Scottish race.

Hy Murragh, the modern barony of Rossclogher, of which the chiefs were the O'Murroghs or O'Murreys.

O'Rourks maintained an independent authority in their territory until the middle of the 16th
century.

Finn-Ros: Enda (Tir Enna)

2007-07-02T04:01:00.001-07:00

clipped from generation13.com

The Book of Fenagh equates Cenél Enda extending from the river Errity to Barnesmore, barony of Tir Hugh, to Sruell in the barony of Banagh, in the county of Donegal. It is said the north-western limit was Farnagh in the parish of Aughnis, barony of Kilmacrenan. The eastern limit of his lands was the river Finn. Historians have also placed this early area on the borders of modern co. Donegal and Tyrone.

Located in northern County Leitrim, south of Dartry, in the present barony of Dromahaire (e.g. Ballinaglera parish).

M1241, Teige O'Conor plundered Dartry and Clann-Fearmaighe in the county of Leitrim.

Cenél Enda (or Tir Enna), just southwest of Inishowen, in nothern co. Donegal, ruled by septs whose genealogies are tied to the Cenél Eoghain; Northern Uí Neill

Magh Ene was located at the southern tip of Co. Donegal, perhaps alluding to the area described in the Book of Fenagh. The latter area was later dominated by septs of the Cenél Conaill

Finn-Ros: Tighernmas, Crom Cruach, Magh Slect, Tellach, Teachmand

2007-07-02T03:58:00.001-07:00

clipped from generation13.com

Ancient citation - King Tighearnmas died, with the three fourths of the men of Ireland about him, at the meeting of Magh Slecht, in Breifne, at the worshipping of Crom Cruach, which was the chief idol of adoration in Ireland. This happened on the night of Samhain precisely.

Loctaed in northwest County Cavan, the name of an ancient tribe (Masraige) inhabiting the area about Magh Slecht, and attributed by some as Fir Bolg in origin. The sept of Mag Samhradhain (MacGovern or Magauran) were later cited as chiefs in the barony of Tullyhaw (Teallach Eachdhach). The Mac Tighearnáin sept (MacTiernan or MacKeirnan) are noted in the neighboring barony of Tullyhunco (Tellach Donnchadha) in the 13th century.

M464, Conall Gulban, son of Niall of the Nine Hostages (from whom are descended the Cenél Conaill), was slain by the old tribes of Magh Slecht, he having been found unprotected, and was buried at Fidhnach Maighe Rein, by Saint Caillin, as the Life of the aforesaid saint relates.

Cian-kingdom of Annaly

2007-07-02T02:46:00.001-07:00

clipped from generation13.com

The Clan Ó Duibhgeannáin were a family of professional historians in medieval and early modern Ireland.
They originated in the kingdom of Annaly (also known as Conmaicne Maigh Rein) on the east bank of the Shannon (mostly situated in what is now Co. Longford) and later migrated into Connacht. The earliest known reference to a bearer of the surname dates to 1296, when, according to the Annals of the Four Masters. However, the family themselves can be traced back with confidence several centuries further, ultimately to Maine of Tethba, an alleged son of Niall of the Nine Hostages.

O Duibhgeannain descend from the figure claimed as an ancestor by the rulers of Hy-Many

The Annals of Connacht, covering the years 1224 to 1544, are drawn from a manuscript compiled in the 15th and 16th centuries by at least three scribes, all believed to be members of the ClanÓ Duibhgeannáin.

Cian-Connemara

2007-07-02T02:41:00.001-07:00

clipped from generation13.com

The Érainn
were the second of the Celtic groups to come to Ireland.
When the first inhabitants of the Arans, probably coastal fishers from the Connemara region, arrived on Inis Mór, they found it divided into two distinct regions, much as it is today. The highest parts of the island faced the Atlantic, sheltering the fertile lowlands from the violent storms that lash the western coast of Ireland. From their safe harbours facing the Connemara coast, the islanders could send out boats to catch the abundant fish of Galway Bay or the Atlantic, and they could build houses and farms on the sheltered lowlands. Irish (Gaelic) is still the first language for many of the inhabitants.

The territory of Conmhaicne Mara / Connemara covers all of the barony of Ballynahinch and the civil parish of Inishbofin, which is in the barony of Murrisk.

Irish Origins: Griffith's Valuation

2007-07-02T02:38:00.001-07:00

clipped from www.originsnetwork.com

Irish Origins is the most authentic source for Irish genealogy information online, featuring the definitive version of Griffith's Primary Valuation of Ireland records and maps, the most important Irish genealogy research source prior to the 20th century, as well as the one-of-a-kind Irish Wills Index (1484-1858), the 1851 Dublin City Census, Irish Royal Garrison Artillery Records, and our new Irish Origins Library, all accessible via a free Irish name search.

clipped from www.originsnetwork.com

The 1831 Tithe Defaulters index contains over 29,000 names of people who refused to pay their tithe and so started the Tithe War. The people most affected by the Tithe War are precisely those most affected by emigration and the famine in the next generation.
This unique record of names, addresses and occupations provides an important genealogical source for Ireland, especially given the near total destruction of the 1831 census.

Pre-famine Ulster

2007-07-02T02:15:00.001-07:00

clipped from www.ireland.com

At the start of the eighteenth century, the most reliable estimates put the total population of the country at around two million.

By 1754, this had risen to only 2.3 million, (a tiny rate of growth by contemporary standards,) due to poverty, disease and Ulster emigration.

By 1800, the number was between 4,500,000 and 5,000,000; in the 1821 census it was recorded as 6,800,000; by 1841 it was 8,100,000. This increase was largely concentrated in the period from about 1780 to 1830, and overwhelmingly affected the poorest labouring classes.

What caused such rapid growth is still a matter of controversy, but at least some of the reasons are clear: traditionally, the marriage age was relatively low, which led to very large families; and the subdivision of holdings, enforced by the Penal Laws, permitted increasing numbers to marry and stay on the land, albeit at the cost of increasingly poorer standards of living.

Emigration in the 17th-18th centuries

2007-07-02T02:11:00.001-07:00

clipped from www.ireland.com

The traditional view of emigration in Presbyterian Ulster differed greatly from the image prevalent among the great mass of the population, the Gaelic Catholics. In the popular mythology of the Scots-Irish, the New World offered an almost biblical deliverance from religious intolerance and economic oppression, whereas to Catholics emigration meant exile.

Until 1780, Catholic immigration was officially forbidden in the Americas, and even if they possessed the inclination and the ingenuity to get to America, few Catholic Irish had the means.

As a result of the trade between the American colonies and such southern ports as Cork and Kinsale, Catholic Irish managed to settle in the new colonies, particularly in Virginia and Maryland, where such names as "New Ireland" and "New Munster" appear.

Another route for emigrants at this period was to Newfoundland, which maintained strong ties with Waterford and Wexford.

Irish Ancestors: Huguenots

2007-07-02T01:58:00.001-07:00

clipped from www.ireland.com

Small numbers of refugees from this persecution had come to Ireland, mainly via England, from 1620 to 1641, and again with Cromwell in 1649, but it was in 1685, after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, which had guaranteed them toleration, that the main body of Huguenots began to arrive, mostly from the countryside around the city of La Rochelle in the modern region of Poitou-Charente.

The first of these, the Huguenots, were French Calvinists persecuted intermittently by the Catholic rulers of France throughout the seventeenth century.

After the end of the Williamite wars, large Huguenot settlements were established in Portarlington, Youghal, Cork, Dublin, Waterford and Lisburn, where they became celebrated for their expertise in textiles, specialising in weaving, lace-making, and glove-making.

In the course of time, they became thoroughly absorbed into Irish society through intermarriage, and names such as Boucicault, Maturin, Le Fanu and Trench are still familiar in Ireland today.

A History of Land Tenure Arrangements in Northern Ireland

2007-07-02T01:55:00.001-07:00

clipped from www.lineages.co.uk

This paper examines the history of land tenure arrangements in Northern Ireland. Much of the literature on land tenure systems suggests that a fixed tenure system will promote economic activity and ensure political security for nations.

In the place of offering political security, has this tenure system contributed to the insecurity of the nation?

In order for a cadastral system to successfully support economic and political security, it is dependent on other national components to already be in place.

The paper describes the cadastral system of contemporary Northern Ireland, including the Land Registry, and some of the complexities in ownership estates.

The history describes the ancient system following St. Patrick’s years in Ireland (5th century AD) to English colonization and present day Northern Ireland.

It seriously depreciates the natural value of land by reason of its insecurity, costliness, and complexities.”

Irish First Names

2007-07-02T01:51:00.001-07:00

clipped from dorisfamilyoflettermacaward.blogspot.com

Ancient Irish first names were complex. While some of them were very common - names like Tuathal, Fiach, Ceallach, Aedh - and are found in many different lines in many parts of the country, others are very uncommon.

Some of them seem to be descriptive, giving a colour with another element which is a placename. Thus Dubh Eamhna and Donn Clochair probably mean the Black Haired One of Eamhain and the Brown Haired One of Clogher respectively. Some of them invoke the protection of a saint, like Giolla Phádraig or Maol Chiaráin. The important thing to remember about these ancient names is that they were so varied because surnames didn't exist at that time.

In some cases bearers of the more common names would be given a nickname.

However, it should be borne in mind that in English, Irish names were frequently mangled out of all recognition.

Falmouth is not an Irish name and it is almost certainly a corrupt rendering of an Irish name like Feilimidh or Phelimy as it is sometimes given in English.

Vikings and the Celtic seas

2007-07-01T16:59:00.001-07:00

clipped from www.ireland.com

For at least 1400 years, up to the ninth century, the civilization of Ireland remained uniformly Celtic. Then, in the year 795, came the first of the Viking attacks, on Lambay Island in Dublin Bay.

"Viking" (from the Old Norse vikingr) means "sea-rover" or "pirate", and this is precisely what these people were. Ethnically, they were Teutons, Danish, Swedish and Norwegian farmers, fishermen and sea-merchants, who were forced onto the open sea in search of a livelihood by over-population and shortage of arable land. From the eighth century, their plundering raids terrorized much of the known world, reaching as far as America, North Africa, and Constantinople.

In Ireland, the annalists distinguished two groups among the raiding vikings, the Lochlainn, or Norwegians, and the Danair, or Danes, the Norwegians being described as fair, the Danish as dark. Initially, the Norwegians dominated, and their raids were sporadic and unsystematic.

Creating the next Ireland

2007-06-29T16:51:00.001-07:00

clipped from archives.tcm.ie

In 1969 Charlie Haughey introduced a series of tax breaks to assist artists and writers and this has greatly helped the development of the arts in Irish society.

The government is trying to encourage an economy based on ‘‘brainpower, not brawn’’. To give momentum to this effort, we need to actively encourage technical thinking and innovation in our schools, colleges and workplaces. I propose that the government kick start this effort by introducing tax breaks for inventors who go on to develop and commercialise their ideas in Ireland.

Our politicians should be preparing Ireland to become a knowledge-based economy, where the value created will not be manufactured goods or agricultural produce, but intellectual property, creative industries and internationally traded services. This will require world-class infrastructure, which must include decent broadband access.

Creating the next Ireland
Sunday, October 22, 2006

CELTIC TIGER AND FUTURE OF IRISH ECONOMY WITH

2007-06-29T07:47:00.001-07:00

Prices in Ireland are high
Price difference between Ireland and EU15, per cent

clipped from www.finfacts.com

Irish-American industrialist Henry Ford (1863-1947) - Ireland's greatest industrial hero.
In 1919, the year that the tractors began rolling off the assembly lines, at the Henry Ford & Son plant in Cork City, the war of independence against British rule began. Protestants in Henry's father's native West Cork, were sometimes targeted because of suspicions about their Irishness.
The son of a West Cork Protestant has a special place in the history of Cork.

Time Magazine cover of July 12, 1963,
following the State visit of US President John F. Kennedy to
Ireland - - Sean Lemass, Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister)
1959-1966 who together with T.K. Whitaker and former Minister
for Finance Gerard Sweetman (1954-1957), are the architects of
the modern Irish economy

Source: OECD
Economic Survey of Ireland 2006: Boosting growth through greater
competition

Irish Junior Minister Tom Parlon
(seated)

Source: Heritage Foundation

Shamrock: Haiku Journal of the Irish Haiku Society

2007-06-20T19:16:00.001-07:00

clipped from www.freewebs.com

DENMARK

May Day dawning...the letterbox clicks in the dark

Shamrock

Sweet Mary Lou (Hilarious!)

2007-06-20T12:04:00.001-07:00

Really really funny vid:

A satirical look at the recent performance of Sinn Fein in the general election in the Irish Republic. Despite wild predictions of gains, the Sinn Fein vote was diminished, with star candidate Mary Lou McDonald getting trounced in Dublin.

clipped from www.youtube.com

I want to be all used up when I die. - Bernard Shaw

2007-06-20T07:18:00.001-07:00

clipped from thinkexist.com

“Patriotism is your conviction that this country is superior to all others because you were born in it.”

“Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”

“When I was young I observed that nine out of every ten things I did were failures, so I did ten times more work”

“If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas.”

“The secret to success is to offend the greatest number of people”

clipped from thinkexist.com

“We should all be obliged to appear before a board every five years and justify our existence...on pain of liquidation.”

“We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.”

“Take care to get what you like or you will be forced to like what you get”

clipped from thinkexist.com

“The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who haven't got it.”

Rate of foreign adoptions in Ireland one of Europe's highest

2007-06-19T09:39:00.001-07:00

The Trinity College research examined the experiences of 180 children aged between two and 17 who have been adopted from abroad. The report found that children were 17 months old when adopted, 80 per cent had spent some time in institutional care and they came from 15 different countries.

Given the conditions in which they had typically spent their earliest months or years, the study found that most children had made an "extraordinary recovery".

clipped from www.ireland.com

Previous Day
Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Ireland has one of the highest rates of foreign adoptions in Europe with up to 500 foreign adoptions a year, compared with just 250 in much larger countries such as the UK, new research has found.

A two-year study by the Children's Research Centre at Trinity College Dublin - commissioned by the Adoption Board - found the rate of inter-country adoption is now 10 times that of domestic adoption, which on average involves about 50 children a year.

Experts yesterday said the reasons for the high rate include the relative scarcity of Irish children being offered up for domestic adoption and Ireland's failure to ratify an international convention regulating inter-country adoptions.

The small number of Irish children being placed for adoption is due to a number of factors, including the protection of the family in the Constitution - which makes it almost impossible to adopt a child from a marital family - and a greater acceptance of children born outside marriage

Why was the Iona/Irish church out of step with Rome?

2007-06-16T16:50:00.001-07:00

Curiouser and curiouser. This was a big deal back then. Supposedly we in Ireland got Christianity very late in the day from Patrick, who was trained in Rome? So how did we get Easter so wrong. And we were not the only ones.

Patrick banished snakes from Ireland according to myth. We NEVER had snakes, EVER. How could he banish what we never had? Unless it was figuratively, like the shamrock!

So what is the connection between the snakes that never were and Easter? Anyone have a guess?

clipped from en.wikipedia.org

The Synod of Whitby was a seventh century Northumbrian synod where King Oswiu of Northumbria ruled that his kingdom would calculate Easter and observe the monastic tonsure according to the customs of Rome,

Background

Christianity in Britain during the seventh century existed in two forms distinguished by differing liturgical traditions, labeled the “Ionan” and “Roman” traditions. The “Ionan” practice was that of the Irish monks who resided in a monastery on the isle of Iona (a tradition within "Celtic Christianity"), whereas the “Roman” practice refers to the practice of the remainder of the West, which kept observances according to the customs of Rome.

One of the main differences between the two traditions, and hence a source of controversy, was the proper calculation of Easter

The issue was therefore a question over the proper celebration of the most significant Christian feast, and the situation in Northumbria had resulted in visible disunity, even in the royal court.

!st Large Turbine on College Campus in the World

2007-06-16T16:32:00.001-07:00

It will pay for itself in five years, through reduced electricity bills. It will reduce national CO2 emissions by over one thousand tonnes annually. The total cost was €1m.

clipped from www.measuresoft.com

Dundalk Institute of Technology/Centre for Renewable Energy – Ireland

In 2002 the Dundalk Institute of Technology established The Centre for Renewable
Energy, a research unit within the college campus. The manager of the
centre, Mr Lawrence Staudt has been involved with renewable energy since
1978 in both Europe and the USA. The aim of the centre is to assist with
Ireland’s transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy, through
research, academic programmes and information dissemination. The centre
awarded a contract to Vestas Celtic Wind Technology to erect a wind
turbine on the campus and the project was completed in August 2005.

The turbine
is rated at 850 kilowatts, and provides over half of DkIT’s
electricity needs, with the rest coming from the national grid.

The average
power output over the year is approximately 250 kilowatts

Any excess
electricity is sold to the electricity company, Airtricity.

The turbine
stands 60 metre tall, with each blade length at 26m.

From "Making Sense of the Troubles"

2007-06-16T14:44:00.001-07:00

clipped from www.btinternet.com

From "Making Sense of the Troubles", J. McCrittrick (Blackstaff, 1999)

News of the Westminster bombed halted the offensive in Belfast only briefly. When British troops began advancing again they did so with a new ferocity. Casualty figures for the retaking of West Belfast are unreliable - press reports of any civilian casulaties were strictly censored and Government records remain secret under a 100-year disclosure rule. Republican sources claim casualties amongst the civilian population reached several thousand and there is widespread anecdotal evidence of atrocities committed by troops as they advanced through Belfast. The British Government has consistently rejected such claims, blaming them on a mixture of terrorist propaganda and the result of the IRA torturing those they deemed "collaborators".

The emerald isle. Ireland's Ahern forms a coalition with the Greens

2007-06-16T03:57:00.001-07:00

clipped from www.economist.com

During his decade in power, Ireland's economy has in all but one year expanded more rapidly than any other in western Europe. Unemployment was eradicated in 2000, and the economy has gained tremendously from immigrant workers from the new EU member states. Also, the government has benefited from higher tax revenues arising from strong domestic demand and a soaring property market.

More modest increases can be expected in 2008, not least because of the less rosy revenue outlook. Under our central economic growth forecast, expected trends in revenue and expenditure should cause only a moderate deterioration in the fiscal position over the outlook period. However, as our GDP forecast, of 5% in 2007 and 3.4% in 2008, is subject to large and growing risks, the fiscal outlook is also clouded.

In the decade up to 2006 residential property prices in Ireland rose more rapidly than in any other developed-world economy.

World's Largest Tidal Turbine at 1.2 MW off N.I. coast

2007-06-16T01:53:00.001-07:00

clipped from www.treehugger.com

A company called Marine Current Turbines will be installing a 1.2 megawatt tidal turbine off the coast of Northern Ireland in August. The SeaGen turbine will be the world’s largest ever tidal current device by a significant margin. It will generate clean electricity for approximately 1000 homes. The turbine is a prototype to be replicated on a large scale over the next few years. The rotors on the SeaGen turbine turn slowly: about 10 to 20 revolutions per minute. A ship's propellers, by comparison, typically run 10 times as fast. The risk of impact from SeaGen rotor blades is small, because the marine creatures that swim in strong currents tend to be agile, and can avoid slow-moving underwater obstructions.

Future turbines will generally be rated at from 750 to 1500 kilowatts (kW), and will be grouped under the sea, at places with high currents, in much the same way that wind turbines in a wind farm are set out in rows to catch the wind.

My place ...in Lusk, an ancient site.

2007-06-15T10:04:00.001-07:00

clipped from cloghmore.bravepages.com

Lusk Round Tower
Map Reference: O215546

A monastery was founded at Lusk about 500 by St Macculin and the site is also associated with St Maurus. It was plundered and burned several times in the succeeding centuries and the only remnant of an Early Christian foundation is the Round Tower. It stands about 27m high and retains its original conical cap. There are nine storeys including the basement. The flat-headed doorway is now less than 1m above ground level. The Round Tower is attached to a square tower built in the 15th or 16th century with three matching round towers at its corners. The large tower houses several medieval tombs including that of James Bermingham (1527) and the double-effigy tomb of Christopher Barnewell and his wife Marion Sharl (1589).

clipped from 216.239.59.104

Photos

Up the road from where I live.

2007-06-15T09:43:00.001-07:00

In 1993, Newgrange and its sister sites Knowth
and Dowth were designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO because of their outstanding cultural
legacy.

clipped from www.mythicalireland.com

Newgrange - Ireland's most famous monument

Newgrange

Newgrange is one of the best examples in Ireland and in Western Europe, of a type of monument known to archaeologists as a passage-grave or ppassage-tomb.

It was constructed around 3200BC, according to the most reliable Carbon 14 dates available from archaeology. This makes it more than 600 years older than the Giza Pyramids in Egypt, and 1,000 years more ancient than Stonehenge.

Newgrange
from the air

Newgrange
sits on the top of an elongated ridge within a large bend
in the Boyne River about five miles west of the town of Drogheda.

This area has great eminence thoughout Irish history - legend tells us the foundations of Christianity were laid here. Two miles or
so downstream is Oldbridge, where the Battle of the Boyne took place
in 1690.

The younger Newgrange about 3200 BC

2007-06-15T09:29:00.001-07:00

The Mound or Cairn at Newgrange is about 300 feet in diameter and has 97 Kerbstones at the base of the cairn, Kerbstone 1, pictured left, is the beautifully decorated entrance stone, the kerbstones are all numbered in sequence running clockwise from the entrance stone to kerbstone 97 on the right of kerbstone 1.

clipped from www.megalithicireland.com Although not the oldest passage tomb in Ireland, Newgrange is without doubt Irelands best known prehistoric monument. Dated to around 3200 BC, Newgrange is 1,000 older than Stonehenge and centuries older than the great pyramids of Egypt. The earliest passage tombs in Ireland are on the West coast in County Sligo and there construction and design developed as they spread across to the East coast culminating in the great complex at the Boyne Valley. The Tombs of this complex include the great monuments at Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth. The Boyne Valley complex was designated a World Heritage site in 1993 by UNESCO. The Entrance Stone.

HILL OF TARA AND THE M3 MOTORWAY

2007-06-15T09:00:00.001-07:00

clipped from www.hilloftara.info

Letter to Editor. The Irish Times February 23rd, 2004
HILL OF TARA AND THE M3 MOTORWAY

Irish Megalithic Images 1

2007-06-15T08:51:00.001-07:00

clipped from www.mythicalireland.com

Irish
Megalithic Images as electronic art, by Lloyd Graham

Lloyd Graham, of Sydney, Australia, has presented these wonderful images
for the Mythical Ireland website. Lloyd says that, a few years ago, after a visit to Newgrange, he became inspired by the megalithic fort in the Boyne Valley, so he generated these four digital compositions based directly on motifs engraved at Newgrange and Knowth. He says he thinks other people will enjoy seeing them too (and they definitely will!) so he sent them to me for the art section, and here they are in all their glory.
Kerbstone
52, Newgrange

Irish Megalithic Images 2

2007-06-15T08:33:00.001-07:00

clipped from www.mythicalireland.com

Kerbstone
15, Knowth - Prehistoric Calendar

This is the truly amazing kerbstone 15 at Knowth,
which author NeilThomas has said is "an exact
365 day, sixteen month, four
week month, five day week solar calendar."
You can see his detailed description of the
calendrical function of this stone on this
page, while you can browse pictures of
Kerbstone 15 and many of the other
kerbstones of Knowth on this
page.

Irish Megalithic Images 3

2007-06-15T08:16:00.001-07:00

clipped from www.mythicalireland.com

Newgrange
Spirals from Kerbstone 1 and Chamberstone 10

The spiral, or triple spiral, is one of the most familiar images from the Irish Neolithic. The impressive entrance stone at Newgrange, Kerbstone 1, is highly decorated with spirals. Some researchers believe the spiral represents the sun, or the sun's movements through the sky. See a detailed interpretation of megalithic symbols on this page. The triple spiral is repeated inside Newgrange, on a stone in the end recess of the chamber, Chamberstone 10.

This triple spiral symbol, according to Professor Tom Ray of the Institute of Advanced Studies, could have been indirectly illuminated at Winter Solstice as mentioned in local legend. (Source: New Data on Newgrange, Frank Prendergsat, 1991.)

Irish Megalithic Images 4

2007-06-15T08:06:00.001-07:00

clipped from www.mythicalireland.com

Engravings
on Knowth East basin

These markings are from the huge stone basin which is located in the right
recess of the cruciform chamber of Knowth. The top image shows the
markings which are located in the bowl at the top of the basin,
while the lower marking is located around the front of the basin.
Brennan
says of the upper markings: "The stone basin at Knowth is a
ritual implement found in the context of an equinoctial solar construct.
As ideally the equinoxes divide twelve months of the year into two
equal parts, six radials are divided by a luni-solar emblem."
The photograph of this remarkable stone basin from Knowth shown
below is by Martin Byrne of the Sacred
Island website, at Carrowkeel.com.

Mythical Ireland

2007-06-15T08:00:00.001-07:00

Map of the Hill of Tara (Temair)

This map of the monuments on the Hill of Tara is based on an old map
drawn in the 1830s. It shows just how many monuments are situated
in the area. Some areas of the map are clickable and will open up
pictures of the various monuments.

A
number of ancient stories relate how five great roadways radiated
from Tara. One story names them - Slige Midlúachra, Slige
Asail, Slige Chualann, Slige Dala and Slige Mór. One of these,
Slige Chualann, is shown on the map above. There are a number of
disused roads which converge at Tara, but it is not known if these
are the same routes mentioned in antiquity.

NOTE:
This map was used as the label illustration on the 2003 CD album
"Two Horizons", by Moya Brennan.
The map was used with permission of www.mythicalireland.com,
and credited in the inlay card.

clipped from www.mythicalireland.com

Interactive
map of the Hill of Tara, Co. Meath, Ireland

Newgrange Knowth Dowth

2007-06-15T07:32:00.001-07:00

This is a provisional map (from the www.astroarchaeology.org website) showing known or suspected alignments in Brugh na Bóinne.
Visit this page to see details about each of the alignments.
Alignments numbers 2, 8, 9, 11 and 25 have all been independently observed and verified for this project by the Mythical Ireland team.

clipped from www.mythicalireland.com

BRU NA BÓINNE KNOWN/SUSPECTED ASTRONOMICAL ALIGNMENTS

Ogham Stones. Recent Irish writing

2007-06-15T07:21:00.001-07:00

clipped from www.megalithicireland.com

Ogham is the earliest form of writing in Ireland, it dates to around 3rd century A.D. and was in use for around 500 years.
The Ogham alphabet is made up of a series of strokes along or across a line.
The alphabet was carved on standing stones to commemorate someone, using the edge of the stone as the centre line.
They normally read from the left hand side bottom up, across the top and if need be down the other side.

Ballinrannig

See Ballinrannig in Kerry
sites

Discovery Map 70: Q 367 056.

Breastagh

See Breastagh in Mayo
sites

Discovery Map 24: G 183 339.

Cloonmorris

See Cloonmorris in Leitrim
sites

Discovery Map 33: N 080 850.

Drumlohan

See Drumlohan
in Waterford sites

Discovery Map
75. 366
013.

Colaiste Ide

See Colaiste
Ide in Kerry sites

Discovery Map 70: V422 997.

Castlekeeran

See Castlekeeran in Meath
sites

Discovery Map 42: N 690 772.

Ballyquin

See Ballyquin in Waterford
sites

Discovery Map 75:
421 187.

Well, recent by Irish standards. Ha, ha.

Arthur of the Round Table an Irish war leader - professor

2007-06-15T07:09:00.001-07:00

clipped from www.ireland.com

Previous Day
Wednesday, June 13, 2007

An English archaeologist has claimed that the mythological King
Arthur, of the Knights of the Round Table fame, was Irish rather
than British.

The royal debunking has been suggested by Prof Dai Morgan- Evans of the University of Chester, who said his research indicated that although generally hailed "as the ideal British bastion of
kingship", Arthur was an Irish war leader more at home on the
battlefield than the throne.

King Arthur is a significant figure in British mythology and is
said to have been born in the fifth century. The professor said
Arthur could have been part of the Irish colonies brought to
Britain by the Romans to help defend the Welsh coast.

He suggested that the Irish enjoyed political control over large
areas of western Britain in the fifth and sixth centuries.

"Based on the evidence at our disposal, it appears that Arthur
was effectively a senior military figure as opposed to a king,"
said Prof Morgan-Evans.

What next! Everyone wants to be Irish. That's the price of fame and fortune, I suppose. As long as Bush doesn't find any Irish roots, PG. We could change from 4th most peaceful to 4th lest peaceful if he returned!