Although Labor Day is an American holiday, it still makes me think about the Celtic people. The Carmina Gadelica* is filled with prayers and songs for times of labor. There is a whole section devoted to labor. The people took God with them wherever they went and included Him in whatever they were doing. God, bless Thou…
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Summer is Gone
Summer is Gone Ancient Irish poem translated by Kuno Meyer My tidings for you: the stag bells, Winter snows, summer is gone. Wind high and cold, low the sun, Short his course, sea running high. Deep-red the bracken, its shape all gone– The wild-goose has raised his wonted cry. Cold has caught the wings of…
The Wild Goose
These are the words to a song by the band Iona. The term wild goose in the Celtic Christian tradition refers to the Holy Spirit. You can hear the song in the video below. It’s such a beautiful song. HERE I STAND Here I stand, looking out to seaWhere a thousand souls have prayedAnd a…
The Legend of The Giant’s Causeway
This post originally appeared on an older blog in 2010. We know that the rock at the Giant’s Causeway was the result of cooling lava compressed together millions of years ago (at least most people think it was millions of years ago.) This black rock is basalt and it’s a natural wonder. But what did…
El Roi-The God Who Sees
Have you ever felt unseen, unnoticed, overlooked? Yeah, me too. I want to tell you something that happened to me. I hope it encourages you. Last weekend I attended the Columbus Book Festival representing the Faith & Fellowship Book Festival. It was a good weekend despite a few showers on Saturday. My friend, author Sandra…
Why I Went North, a post from 2010
This post first appeared on an older blog in 2010. Thank goodness cellphone photos have improved! This picture is in Downpatrick on a street where my Little ancestors probably walked. Tom and I spent most of our trip to Ireland in the north. That sounded odd both to people here and to the people in…
The Feast of St. Comgall
Today is St. Comgall Day. He was the founder of the monastery at Bangor in Northern Ireland. The Irish Annals place his birth between 510 and 520 and his death around 602. He was born in the ancient kingdom of Dalaradia in Ulster, in today’s County Antrim. He may have first been a soldier and…
Shipbuilding
This post originally appeared on an older blog in 2011. The Vikings were conquerers largely because of their ships. Whether it’s the Viking influence or something else, Belfast has been building for a long time. Even before the Vikings, however, the Irish were boat builders. They may not have had longboats, but they may have…
Ireland’s Royal Heritage
When someone with Irish roots boasts that he is related to an Irish king, don’t be surprised. Ancient Ireland was divided into five kingdoms–five! The island is approximately the size of the state of Indiana, which of course is only one of fifty states in our “kingdom.” Each Irish kingdom had a provisional “king”, and…
Trinity College Dublin
Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, was founded by Queen Elizabeth I in 1592 (the charter was granted in December 1591.) Dublin donated the grounds, the site of the ruined monastery, All Hallows, which had been founded in 1166 by Dermot MacMurrough (a most interesting character that I will have to blog more about someday.) The oldest building…