Maire (42 page)

Of Christian interest, however, is the origin of these people. In the time of the Exodus, the Hebrews stopped at a village on the sea. The people of this village gave them supplies for their journey and incurred pharaoh’s wrath as a result. The pharaoh sent his legions to destroy every man, woman, and child. These frantic people escaped by boats into the Mediterranean, whereupon God blessed them with a rare east wind, which carried them to the Iberian shores. Because they helped God’s chosen, the sea would always be a friend to their descendants, who later became not only the Milesians, but the Phoenicians, one of the greatest early sea-faring races.

muirnait:
beloved, little love

ogham:
early Irish runic-alphabet; pronounced OM, which oddly enough is a
Hebrew
syllable pronounced the very same way.

One God in the sun:
The early magi of the druidry believed that there was only one God, one Creator, and that He lived in the sun, which was their equivalent to the heavens. Now, He was not to be confused with a sun god. Howsomeever, because these magi felt the common man could not comprehend such an omniscient being, they allowed him to associate the Creator with the sun.

Early scholars, basing opinion on Celtic art, which features the sun frequently, assumed the druidry itself worshiped the sun, but that is now challenged by academics of equal knowledge and standing.

In truth, them druids were a lot like the high priests of Jesus’ day, who kept the common man a priest’s length from our God, ’cause they didn’t think him worthy of direct contact with the Almighty. Then along comes the Son—in every sense and sound o’ the word—and enlightens the world to the fact that our Father in heaven
wants
His children to speak to Him directly, not through a priest, who, for all his good intentions is still human and given to the temptations of this earthly life. What a glorious God He was, is, and will ever be!

pooka:
a precocious spirit, usually in the form of a horse, that can lead a person to faeries or misfortune, depending on its whim

rath:
a circular fortification surrounded by earthen walls; home of a warrior chief

Salmon of Knowledge:
A legendary fish from the River Boyne, that if eaten by a human, gave said human all knowledge. A famous druid caught it and was about to sup, when it was said that Finn MacCool accidentally touched the fish and acquired a portion of its gift in his thumb, making said druid furious.

satire:
much like a curse or a spell; to be satirized by a druid could lead to affliction or death

scían:
dagger

serpent:
symbol of knowledge; a druid

serpents driven into the sea:
Some scholars feel that the legend that St. Patrick drove the serpents into the sea was symbolic of Christianity separating the old druid order—those who sought truth and light became priests, while those who preferred to use their knowledge to further their own greed and ambition took to the sea for Gaul or Britain.

Sidhe:
the magical faerie people who lived underground and in caves, possibly the remaining members of the
Tuatha De Dananns.

Star of the East; Star of Bethlehem (druidic legend of the magi):
In Scriptures, three magi traveled to Bethlehem to find out the significance of the star that commemorated the birth of the King of kings. This knowledge was handed down from magi to magi—druid to druid—and when Christianity came to Ireland, the druids who sought truth and light in earnest remembered the star and its legend, as well as that of the darkness at Christ’s death. These learned teachers then became students again to become priests and spread the Word of God and the rest of the story of the King of kings.

Seanchus Mor:
The
Brehon Laws
rewritten and edited to reflect Christian values; wisely Patrick gathered three high druids, three kings, and three priests to do this revision of Irish law, in order to permit the people to retain all their treasured heritage that was not contrary to the Word of God. Allowing them to keep the pagan holiday celebrations by rededicating the glory to God and His saints was another secret to the acceptance of Christianity in Ireland.

Tara:
Essentially the capital of early Ireland in its Golden Age, beginning as the burial place of Tea-Mur, first queen of the Milesian’s ruler Eremon and daughter of one of the kings of Spain. It was said that from Tara’s hill, all five provinces of Erin could be seen on a clear day, and it was at Tara that the Five Roads of Erin converged. Not only was it the seat of the High Kings of Erin, but boasted seven
duns,
each with multiple buildings of wood and stone.

Here kings, druids of all manner—from doctors to lawmakers to poets and historians—heroes, and Erin’s loveliest ladies gathered in a glory not seen since. Most well known was its banqueting hall, attached to the high king’s dun. The hall housed a thousand warriors. Each of Erin’s province kings had their own lodges and buildings for various purposes of administration and hospitality. Today’s archeology testifies that the songs and legends of its splendor were not exaggerated.

torque:
a neck band, often made of gold or silver; many
times took the place of a crown for a king or queen; its degree of elegance often indicated rank in society.

tuath:
a kingdom; a land

tuatha:
a people

Tuatha De Dana:
These were a learned race who were thought to come from the north. Because of their extensive knowledge of astrology, medicine, and the science of the time, they were thought by the common man to be gods. They reigned supreme in Ireland until the coming of the Milesians and the Iron Age. Upon their defeat in a battle where their druids matched wits and magic with the Milesian druids, it was thought that they shape-changed into spirits or faeries and went to live in the hills. More likely, they lived in caves in the hills and continued to study nature, the stars, and the elements. However, folklore has them becoming the
Sidhe
—faerie people.

Uí Niall:
formal for
of the clan Niall,
as opposed to the familiar
Niall,
meaning the same thing

vallum:
area within a
rath
or circular fortification, usually an inner and outer vallums divided by an inner
fosse,
or ditch, and enclosed by an outer one

White Martyrs (White Saints):
Peculiar to Ireland were the saints who did not have to shed their blood or die the horrible death of a martyr for their faith. These were a Pentecostal, fire-hearted lot, who sought to spread the Word with love and humility, rather than with force.

Their willin’ness to allow me children to keep all familiar and precious customs and laws which did not conflict with Scripture added to the druidic legends and prophesies regarding Christ. And the end of the druidic order as it was known, paved the way for the fervent embrace of Christianity. Taking pagan holidays and rededicating all the glory and honor to God, rather than its former god or purpose, was yet another way in which they won the heart and souls of Erin’s children.

These were a feisty lot, a combination of saint and warrior for Christ. They made mistakes in their zeal, just like ordinary
folks, but their love for the truth in the gospel always brought them back in line with Christ’s teachings. I’m proud to boast that Erin produced more missionaries than any other country in time.

And while I’m gettin’ full of meself, I might as well add that it’s my children what preserved civilization and all its records, while the barbarians did their barbarian best to destroy it during the Dark Ages. ’Twas to Erin in that Golden Age of Knowledge and the Book of Kells that the nobility of continental Europe sent their children for education. Why, ’tis the subject of the whole book,
How the Irish Saved Civilization
by Thomas Cahill!

’Twas the followin’ books that spawned me story of the comin’ of Christianity to Ireland and to my dearest Maire of Gleannmara. So if your appetite has just been whetted by all these interestin’ facts and lore, take a gander at the following titles.

Bonwick, James.
Irish Druids and Old Irish Religions.
New York: Barnes and Noble Books, 1986. If this were any more fas-cinatin’, I couldn’t stand it! Certainly an eye opener regarding the druids of Ireland in particular. Many of these fellas got a bad rap, take Camelot’s Mordred, for instance, but that’s a whole ’nuther story, ’nuther place, ’nuther time.

Cahill, Thomas.
How the Irish Saved Civilization, the Untold Story of Ireland’s Heroic Role from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of Medieval Europe.
New York: Doubleday, 1995. An interestin’ peek at just what the world owes me children, preservin’ light and knowledge in a darkening world.

Curtis, Edmund.
A History of Ireland.
New York: Routledge, 1996. Full of historical information in a scholarly presentation, comprehensive.

Cusack, Mary Frances.
An Illustrated History of Ireland from 400 to 1800.
London: Bracken Books, 1995. Sigh. ’Tis hard to pick a favorite out of so many fine books, but this has to be among the best, written in an academic approach, but with true bardic flair.

Daley, Mary Dowling.
Traditional Irish Laws.
San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1998. A delightful peek into me past with the entertainin’ and informative Celtic law before Patrick got his saintly hands on ’em, also referred to as the Brehon Law.

Laing, Lloyd and Jennifer.
Celtic Britain and Ireland: The Myth of the Dark Ages.
New York: Barnes and Noble Books/St. Martin’s Press, 1997. Ye’ll never confuse non-Roman with uncivilized again.

Lea, Henry C.
Superstition and Force: Torture, Ordeal, and Trial by Combat in Medieval Law.
New York: Barnes and Noble, 1996. What can I say? After witnessin’ such as this, I can’t help but think that some of the folks in these pages just missed the whole point of the faith they professed, and sadly, it’s still bein’ missed today by some of our most pious o’ professin’ saints.

Macalister, R.A.S.
Ancient Ireland, A Study in the Lessons of Archaeology and History.
New York: Benjamin Blom, Inc., 1972. An arrestin’ plethora of early Irish information, quite scholarly in its presentation, combining the knowledge from historical record and that confirmed by archeological digs.

MacManus, Seamus.
The Story of the Irish Race.
Greenwich, Connecticut: The Devin Adair Co., 1971. Ach, what soul with Celtic blood flowin’ through his veins couldn’t fall in love with this rendition of me children’s story? ’Twill tickle the funny bone, move yer heart, and light yer fancy.

Mac Niocaill, Gearoíd.
Ireland Before the Vikings.
Dublin: Gill and Macmillan, 1972. We all need this kind of friend to keep us humble. ’Tis a bold and brash account of how things were in olden times, but I got the impression that, despite himself, this learned fella had to say some wonderful things about me and me children—all of which was true, o’ course. No lore philosophizin’ for this one, but full of spell-bindin’ facts, some flatterin’ and some, left to me, best forgotten—lessin’ ye’re writin’ some academic paper or whatnot.

Mann, John.
Murder, Magic, and Medicine.
New York: Oxford University Press, 1992. Now I mentioned the Tuatha De Danaans were known as great healers, so gifted that they were considered to possess magic powers of healing. Read how some of the medicine of the past—that what didn’t kill folks, that is—is being used again by our modern medicine. Magic?
Decide for yourself. Not only will ye be entertained, but enlightened as well.

Ó Cróinín, Dáibhí.
Early Medieval Ireland
(400–1200). New York: Longman Group Ltd., 1995. The man takes ye there and surrounds ye with all manner of information on what it was like to live in them times. ’Tis a veritable wealth of information and fascination.

Scherman, Katherine.
The Flowering of Ireland—Saints, Scholars, and Kings.
New York: Barnes and Noble Books, 1996. Another favorite! ’Twas the most inspirational of all reads to this soul, for it’s the memory of how the Pentecostal Flame kindled in the hearts of saints, scholars, and kings. Praise be, I’ve not been the same since. Come to think of it, neither has the rest of the world.

Smith, Charles Hamilton.
Ancient Costumes of Great Britain and Ireland from the Druids to the Tudors.
London: Bracken Books, 1989.

Time-Life Books.
What Life Was Like among the Druids and High Kings: Celtic Ireland A.D. 400––1200.
Alexandria, Virginia: Time-Life Books, 1998.

Various Authors and Topics. “How the Irish Were Saved.”
Christian History Magazine,
(Issue 60, Vol. xvii, No. 4). In keeping with the story of Maire and Christianity comin’ to me green shores, this issue takes a look at Patrick behind the legend, the pains and pleasures of Celtic priests, and the culture clash of Celts versus the Romans. A keeper, to be sure!

Faith, I’d love to list the host of other books full of riveting fact and fiction that contributed to the tellin’ of Gleannmara’s story, but I’m runnin’ out of time and space. Since this work was started, the numbers of works on Ireland and its past have doubled and tripled. Looks like the Golden Age of the Celts may not be over after all.

May the good Lord take a likin’ to ye, dear hearts.