Reclaiming the spirit of hallowe’en
An Online Celebration in Preparation for Hallowe’en
This was an event reclaiming the Spirit of Hallowe’en from the clutches of commercialism. Our virtual event reflected on the ancient spirit of the Cailleach at Samhain, remembering the old traditions for celebrating the festival, and honouring our ancestors at this special turning point of the Old Year.
Stuart McHardy
Topic: Tigh na cailleach: – A gateway to the landscape of the Goddess in Scotland. A surviving ritual site in Glen Lyon illustrates just how much the Cailleach still inhabits the landscape of modern Scotland – and elsewhere?
Stuart McHardy is a writer, historical scholar, poet, musician, storyteller and for many years has been a Teaching Fellow at Edinburgh University’s Centre for Open Learning. His unique take on Scotland’s history and culture comes from a thorough immersion in the storytelling arts and history alike. Past President of the Pictish Arts Society and one time Director of the Scots Language Centre, his recent research in Geomythography focusses on cultural continuities that provide clear links to the pre-Christian beliefs of the indigenous peoples of the British Isles and beyond.
Books- https://www.luath.co.uk/stuart-mchardy
Website https://tracscotland.org/storytellers/stuart-mchardy/
Emer Cloherty
Topic: Meaning and Purpose of Samhain
Emer is a Druid, Saoi, and Elder of Old Irish native spirituality, who was brought up in the tradition and trained since childhood in the art of remembering. Emer can offer invaluable information and perspectives on our almost forgotten rituals and practices, and rich resources to those envisioning Samhain anew. She does not have a website, but has imparted her wisdom and traditions through other means, to many around the world.
Dolores Whelan
Topic: The Gifts of Samhain.
Dolores Whelan is an educator, author and spiritual guide in human and spiritual development for the past 30 years. Dolores draws on wisdom and insights from many spiritual traditions, modern psychology especially the evolution of consciousness and “The work that reconnects” . She has woven all of these threads into the fabric of work she shares in the world, and understands the importance of recovering lost wisdom including such resources to evolve towards more wholeness.
The Irish spiritual, mythological, and wisdom teaching are at the heart of her teaching. She is passionate about the protection of sacred landscapes and the celebration of ancient Celtic traditions, especially the seasonal rituals.
Author: Ever Ancient, Ever New – Celtic Spirituality for the 21st Century (second edition 2011).
Contributor: Celtic Threads ( 1999) The Quite Quarter Anthology (2009) and Constant Heart (2010) Brigit Sun of Womanhood (2013). She co-created of the perpetual Celtic Calendar with the American artist the late Cynthia Matyi.
Festivals: Co-founder of the Brigid of Faughart Festival: www.brigifoffaughart.ie and a cofounder of the Brigid’s Way walking pilgrimage: www.brigisdway.ie. See www.doloreswhelan.ie
Ruth Marshall
Topics: Masks, Poetry, Games and Stories
Ruth Marshall is a poet, storyteller and crafter living in Co. Clare. Author of three books, Ruth facilitates poetry, arts and heritage workshops for children, and creativity and personal transformation for adults. She brings storytelling to schools, accompanied with craft work, songs, voice work movement and her ukulele. She is a regular contributor to the Clare Museum’s education programme, with a speciality around the seasonal festival traditions.
Books:
Limerick Folk Tales,The History Press, 2016; Clare Folk Tales,The History Press, 2013; Celebrating Irish Festivals, Hawthorn Press, 2003.
Poetry: Electric Acorn, 9, 2001 (Bird Woman; Sleeping Beauty); Women’s Work IV,The Works,Wexford, 1993 (My Grandmother’s Ring); NorthWords, Scotland 1989 (Winter Comes Earlier); The Stony Thursday Book, Limerick, Autumn 2001 (Island Event ); The Three-legged Stool, Freedom Press, 2003 (Bird Woman;Woollens); Into the Further Reaches, anthology edited by Jay Ramsay, PS Avalon, 2007 (The Country of Love; Three; Celebrating Brigit; Out of the Night of Stars;The Low Road); Clare Champion, Ennis, Co Clare, 2015 (Poetry Knit Prayer); The Stony Thursday Book, Limerick, 2015 (Instructions: Preparing for Dark Times) ;
Links: How the Forget-me-not Got its Name: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNrWBXnG3ZY
The Whale of Mull https://soundcloud.com/ruthmarshall/the-whale-of-mull
King of the Sea: https://soundcloud.com/ruthmarshall/herring-king-of-the-sea
The Key Flower: https://soundcloud.com/ruthmarshall/primrose-the-key-flower
Jane Brideson
Topic: A slide show of some of Jane’s paintings of the Cailleach was shown during our event.
See this interview for Jane’s background and current concerns. https://ramblingsandcoffee.blogspot.com/2017/03/interview-with-jane-brideson-artist.html
Websites and Social Media: http://theeverlivingones.blogspot.com/; https://www.facebook.com/janebrideson/;
Pádraigín Ní Uallacháin
Topic: Beannú: Padraigin’s latest recording, Beannú, will open and close our event.
Of County Armagh and Louth parentage, Pádraigín Ní Uallacháin was raised in an Irish speaking family of eight. She is a multifaceted traditional artist: a professional singer since 1999 and a researcher, song writer, author and composer.
Publications: She is the author of A Hidden Ulster – people, songs and traditions of Oriel (Four Courts Press, 2003), and the author/editor of Oriel Arts Project, a major digital project launched in 2017.
Songs & Recordings: Singing has been the main focus of her professional career – recording nine studio albums and restoring song in the corpus of the Irish language Oriel song tradition and also new song composition. To date she has restored and recorded over 40 Oriel songs that had been lost to the tradition, and has recorded nine other studio albums of song.
Traditional: She has recorded nine studio albums including traditional songs on An Dara Craiceann (1995), and a recent double album, Ceoltaí Oirialla (2017).
Current Work: Her interest in devotional and spiritual song has seen the composition of sacred music in the traditional style, and various devotional songs recorded on the Fonn Ceoil album.
Research on Breifne song, harp songs and songs of Oriel poets is ongoing.
In 2020, Pádraigín released ‘Beannú’, the first composition in an upcoming body of work on the Irish keening tradition.
Website: https://www.irishsong.com (With extensive further biography)