📖 Ancient Restoration

In Irish folklore the spider was helped in its nocturnal weaving by fairy spirits. During the day these fairies would travel to the nearest woman's spinning-wheel, bringing her work ill or luck that day.

In Irish myth the butterfly is related to love, rebirth, & the ancestors. In the Wooing of Étaín an enchantress turns love-rival Étaín into a pink butterfly. After 14 years of storms, she flies into the cup of a noblewoman; she is drunk, gestated & reborn…

In Scottish Gaelic a butterfly is 'dealan dé', meaning thunderbolt of God 🌩️🦋 (Gormán Coiteann - Common Blue)

"The significance of the butterfly in Irish folklore attributes it as the soul and thus it has the ability to cross to the Otherworld. It is also a symbol of transformation and creation." - Butterflies in Irish Folklore (1994) by A. Bonach

In the Irish tale 'The Priest's Soul', a man thinks himself so clever he teaches there’s no Heaven, Purgatory, Hell and even that men have no souls. Upon his death a soul leaves his body and that was the first butterfly ever seen in Ireland. 🌷🦋

In the Irish tale 'The Priest's Soul', a man thinks himself so clever he teaches there’s no Heaven, Purgatory, Hell and even that men have no souls. Upon his death a soul leaves his body and that was the first butterfly ever seen in Ireland. 🌷🦋

The idea of an 'honourable draw' in sport/combat is well attested in ancient Europe. In Greece a referee would share the prize between wrestlers of equal skill; in Irish myth the Tuatha Dé returned Connacht to the heavily defeated Firbolg. Ties turn foes into friends.

The traditional game of Caid is similar to Gaelic football & was esp. popular in County Kerry. 'Caid' refers to the ball, made of animal skin / bladder. Played in the winter months, with tripping, pushing & wrestling employed to bring the ball 'home' to the…

The earliest record of football in Ireland is from the Statute of Galway in 1527, which outlawed hurling but allowed the playing of football ('caid') to continue. Modern Gaelic football originates from this medieval game, with standard rules adopted by the…

The earliest record of football in Ireland is from the Statute of Galway in 1527, which outlawed hurling but allowed the playing of football ('caid') to continue. Modern Gaelic football originates from this medieval game, with standard rules adopted by the GAA in 1886.

The Five Graces of Fortitude, Faith, Charity, Hope and Chastity - Margaret Henry's Memorial, Kylemore Abbey, Galway.

Was it for this they died? Their children called oppressors, Their graves defaced, Their culture derided. Was it for this they died? To be lectured that our suffering was less, From the mouths of those who harmed us, Due to our skin. Was it for this they died? To not rid us of one planter, But to import another, Who see no connection to us. Was it for this they died? Our success in overcoming taken for supremacy, Our charity smothered by a sea of envy, The fruits they shielded for us taken again by force. Was it for this they died? - Íomhar an t-Ulchabhán