This long article (I warn you!) is a reflection on Brigid in her pre-Christian and Christian form; on the nature of cultural and social change in the context of religion and colonialism in Ireland.
Go-hálainn! Go h-iontach! This piece is such an important contribution. (And I am deeply honored to be quoted and to have added some seasoning to what was brewing in your cauldron.
The honour is all mine, Seán! Thank you so much. Your words resonated with me deeply, safe to say without them a part of this essay might have taken a different direction.
Blessed be the mysteries of the trans-Atlantic mycorrhizal web (perhaps it is the remnant of the forest the Cailleach remembers from before there was ocean.) It is a joy to be animating together the iterations of an an dúchas beo that emerge from it in varied and many-splendored forms.
What a fabulous and informative piece of writing... I got here through a recommendation of @dr Sharon Blackie - and how pleased am I to have discovered this. Looking forward to reading more of your work - thank you
Fascinating, thank you for writing this. Absolutely, what colonialism does is try to erase indigenous people and language, culture and beliefs, to destroy their connection to their lifeways, which are rooted in the land itself. To lay undisputed claim to that which is not theirs, or not solely theirs....
Thank you so much, Carmine, and welcome to this space! Yes, indeed, and normalisation is the key element that keeps it going.
There's much to be said about the arrival of Christianity and colonialism, but at this point in time, some 1.600 years after it first arrived to Ireland, the simple fact is this is a shared place whether we like it or not. Such long centuries didn't erase the old indigenous traditions and we're still able to piece some fragments together and celebrate them. At the same time, those of us who are pagans have to acknowledge that we now also have Christian ancestors. There is room for everyone, without forceful erasure - the tricky bit is how to make people see that in a world that adores binary thinking, labelling and othering. The land itself cares little for what we call our spiritual practice.
Thank you for digging into the geography and the lore to find the most accurate possible sources of Brigid. And thank you for saying that it's okay to acknowledge that while we just know scraps and tatters of our roots.
Thank you so much for this essay. I have felt an actual unity and feeling of happiness from the land from when I was very, very young. Even our, then, urban garden resonated with me in a way that I couldn't explain to myself so although I was aware I was disconnected. This feeling has continued throughout my life because I did not know how to give credence to it. Only very recently have I been able to understand that I am too the subject of colonialisation. It's so fascinating to me that those deep feelings/needs/awareness have sat within me patiently waiting to be recognized. I struggle to find the words really but reading your essay has opened up a whole world that has been waiting. Thank you.
Thank you so much for this wonderful comment, Ruth! I'm really grateful for your words, even more so because they resemble my own journey so much. Colonialism always seeks normalisation, it gets embedded deeply into our minds and makes sure we don't recognise it and roar against it.
Because I was warned I printed the article to read it when I had the time. I loved it, it's bringing me a deeper awareness of all that I sense inside myself, realizing it orginates from times and realities that seem to be forgotten ... but are still there to be remembered again. Thank you wholeheartedly for your time writing, waiting, re-writing and sharing this.
Go-hálainn! Go h-iontach! This piece is such an important contribution. (And I am deeply honored to be quoted and to have added some seasoning to what was brewing in your cauldron.
The honour is all mine, Seán! Thank you so much. Your words resonated with me deeply, safe to say without them a part of this essay might have taken a different direction.
Blessed be the mysteries of the trans-Atlantic mycorrhizal web (perhaps it is the remnant of the forest the Cailleach remembers from before there was ocean.) It is a joy to be animating together the iterations of an an dúchas beo that emerge from it in varied and many-splendored forms.
What a fabulous and informative piece of writing... I got here through a recommendation of @dr Sharon Blackie - and how pleased am I to have discovered this. Looking forward to reading more of your work - thank you
Thank you so much, Jo! I'm humbled my essay resonated with you and many others. Welcome to this space and I hope you'll enjoy the writings to come xx
Fascinating, thank you for writing this. Absolutely, what colonialism does is try to erase indigenous people and language, culture and beliefs, to destroy their connection to their lifeways, which are rooted in the land itself. To lay undisputed claim to that which is not theirs, or not solely theirs....
Thank you so much, Carmine, and welcome to this space! Yes, indeed, and normalisation is the key element that keeps it going.
There's much to be said about the arrival of Christianity and colonialism, but at this point in time, some 1.600 years after it first arrived to Ireland, the simple fact is this is a shared place whether we like it or not. Such long centuries didn't erase the old indigenous traditions and we're still able to piece some fragments together and celebrate them. At the same time, those of us who are pagans have to acknowledge that we now also have Christian ancestors. There is room for everyone, without forceful erasure - the tricky bit is how to make people see that in a world that adores binary thinking, labelling and othering. The land itself cares little for what we call our spiritual practice.
Thanks for reading x
Thank you for digging into the geography and the lore to find the most accurate possible sources of Brigid. And thank you for saying that it's okay to acknowledge that while we just know scraps and tatters of our roots.
Thank you so much Bridget, I really appreciate this comment. It's absolutely okay - and inevitable at this point of our shared history.
Thank you so much for this essay. I have felt an actual unity and feeling of happiness from the land from when I was very, very young. Even our, then, urban garden resonated with me in a way that I couldn't explain to myself so although I was aware I was disconnected. This feeling has continued throughout my life because I did not know how to give credence to it. Only very recently have I been able to understand that I am too the subject of colonialisation. It's so fascinating to me that those deep feelings/needs/awareness have sat within me patiently waiting to be recognized. I struggle to find the words really but reading your essay has opened up a whole world that has been waiting. Thank you.
Thank you so much for this wonderful comment, Ruth! I'm really grateful for your words, even more so because they resemble my own journey so much. Colonialism always seeks normalisation, it gets embedded deeply into our minds and makes sure we don't recognise it and roar against it.
Because I was warned I printed the article to read it when I had the time. I loved it, it's bringing me a deeper awareness of all that I sense inside myself, realizing it orginates from times and realities that seem to be forgotten ... but are still there to be remembered again. Thank you wholeheartedly for your time writing, waiting, re-writing and sharing this.