Manannán set to return to Binevenagh mountain

As you may recall, a statue of Manannán mac Lir, which had been erected at the Gortmore Viewing Point on Binevenagh mountain in 2013, was stolen in January of this year. In its place, the thieves left a cross with the message "You shall have no other gods before me." A month later, after an extensive search, the statue was found by ramblers just 100m from its original position.

It's still not known whether or not the statue had been there all along, or if the thieves had dumped it at a later date (it was found exactly one month after the theft, suggesting the latter), but after a thorough examination it was decided that the sculpture was too badly damaged to repair – the back of the head had been hacked off and attempts had been made to remove the limbs. It was eventually resolved – after much deliberation and tense waiting, and a huge public outcry – that a new statue would be commissioned to replace the original, with the costs to be covered by the local council.

Yesterday, the sculptor Darren Sutton uploaded five photos of the new statue, announcing that it's almost ready to take its rightful place, which is great news! The BBC have since reported that – as yet – it hasn't been decided when this will happen. The Derry Journal, meanwhile, have spoken with Darren Sutton, who's given his thoughts on the culprits:

Mr Sutton said they had a job on their hands when removing it, and he doesn’t believe the culprits did it as a prank. 

“It took too much effort because you can see where they tried to saw it off at the beard, the neck and the arms,” said Mr. Sutton. “They obviously went to some effort, but they shot themselves in the foot. I don’t think they realised there would be such a backlash. Everybody was talking about it. They obviously didn’t think it through.”

Derry Journal

Which makes sense. The cross that was left behind could easily have been some kind of attempt at throwing people off the scent of the actual vandals, but the effort involved in both removing and then trying to destroy the statue suggests that this was no mere prank. This was serious business.

Considering this fact, when the local council commissioned the new statue it was announced that the replica would have some extra reinforcements built into it to help strengthen it and prevent a repeat of the theft. Given the reaction by even some of the councillors – a minority of whom were vehemently against replacing the statue at all because it was too "paganistic" and for their tastes – we can only hope these measures will be enough to protect it against the religious extremists who stole the first statue, once it takes its rightful place on the mountain. At the moment there don't seem to be any other preventative measures planned beyond hoping in common decency:

SDLP councillor Gerry Mullan said: "I'm very excited at the prospect of Manannán Mac Lir returning home. 

"People from all over the world came to get photographs with it. Lets hope that happens again. 

"I urge people to take care of him and we hope a similar act doesn't happen again. 

"Santa may even stop by to see him."

BBC

Ho ho ho. But yes, let's hope it doesn't happen again. Let's hope that the reaction and support the statue received from all over the world will help deter those thieves or anyone else from trying again.

And personally, I'm still praying for justice to be done. There are still questions that need answering here.

Decision made on Manannán statue

After the final meeting of Limavady Borough Council this week, a decision has finally been made to commission a replacement for the Manannán statue.

After the statue was found in February, exactly one month to the day since it had been stolen, the sculptor was contacted by the council to see if it could be repaired. Aside from the damage to the base, where it had been hacked away from the rest of the sculpture, the back of the head had been completely detached and there were dents and marks all over it. It was eventually decided that the statue was beyond repair and the best option would be to replace it. The new sculpture, which will be an exact replica (with some extra reinforcements to help strengthen it) will take at least five or six months to complete. It seems the council have decided to meet the cost of replacement themselves, rather than opting to set up an online fundraiser as had been mooted at the last meeting.

The statue was initially discovered by a group of ramblers, only 300 metres from its original position at the Gortmore Viewing Point. Given the search efforts that were made shortly after the theft, which included a helicopter sweep of the area, it's assumed that the statue had only been moved to that position recently, perhaps even the night before it was discovered. The ramblers who spotted the statue alerted some soldiers who were on a training exercise nearby (something that caused a little controversy), and the police were called. One of the soldiers involved in the recovery said that it took three men to move the statue up onto the roadside, so clearly there were a number of people involved in the theft, as has already been speculated.

During the council meeting, it was suggested that the original sculpture could be put on display in a local arts and cultural centre:

“I think the damaged statue itself presents a double whammy, and a golden opportunity to make it an actual tourist attraction within the town centre, which would be of great interest to schools and visitors to learn about the background to the Broighter Gold legend.”

-- Councillor Mullan, Damaged statue represents a 'golden opportunity'

Which sounds like a great idea -- I'd love to be able to see the original statue as well as the new replacement if I'm ever able to go and visit the place (I certainly plan to the next time I'm over in Ireland). Perhaps predictably, however, the suggestion prompted something of an outcry, with a TUV councillor raising concerns that making a tourist attraction out of it "...would promote paganism and false gods":

...Mr Mullan said he was taken aback by the reaction his suggestion ignited from his fellow councillors. Among those who vented their disapproval was the TUV's Boyd Douglas who said he was unhappy the statute had been erected at all. 

"I don't believe in these false gods. Councillor Mullan's suggestion to link a paganistic monument with the Broighter Gold is ridiculous." 

Belfast Telegraph: Celtic statue row: TUV man blasts 'false gods and pagans'

Which totally ignores the fact that there's a good reason that Manannán mac Lir is associated with the Broighter Gold in the first place! And really. Sorry, Mr Douglas. The cat's pretty much out of the bag on this one, with or without a statue...

The councillor might not have much truck with it, but the fact of the matter is, the theft has garnered a huge amount of interest worldwide and more people are interested in going to see the statue -- new or old -- than ever before, regardless of their own personal beliefs or lack thereof. To argue against responding to this interest and refusing to put the damaged statue on display is a disservice to those in the area who could benefit from the increased tourism, a point that Councillor Mullan himself made when he withdrew the proposal.

It's a shame, but at least there hasn't been any serious opposition to replacing the statue up on Binevenagh Mountain itself. Manannán will return.

Decision to be made on Manannán statue

It's been three weeks since the statue's theft and so far there's been no progress in recovering it or finding the culprits responsible -- not a huge surprise but disappointing nonetheless. After a huge response from all over the world, the local news were making some rather positive reports that the statue would more than likely be replaced in the last week or so, and it seemed that it was more a question of whether an exact replica should be commissioned or something bigger and better -- "two or three times the size."

The news was met pretty enthusiastically in most places, although local councillor Gerry Mullan took a more cautious view:

“I think it’s going to cost extra money to have a larger statue and I would fear it may be interpreted as an antagonistic gesture which may encourage further vandalism,” said Colr. Mullan. “Personally, I would be happy to see Mannanán back and replaced in his original form.”

Derry Journal: Manannán Mac Lir statue could be replaced

I think this is a very valid concern and certainly something that needs to be considered. A larger statue could very well be seen as antagonistic, although given the extremes that the thieves went to in removing the statue in the first place, any kind of replacement could be interpreted as antagonistic.

For now it seems that any decision for moving forward is less than certain at the moment, but the prospect of a replacement are not completely hopeless. The proposals to replace the current remains of the statue with something bigger have been voted down, as has a proposal to reinstate an almost exact replica but this time with a full-sized boat. Instead:

In the end, it was agreed, in principle, Council would like to see the sculpture replaced as close to its original form as possible, hopefully costing no more than the original £10,000; that it would be funded by the public as much as possible and it would be reinforced as much as possible. It was agreed that Council officers investigate what is involved in setting up a public fund and bring the costs, and any other information after having spoken with sculptor Darren John Sutton, back to members at the final Limavady Council meeting in March.

Derry Journal: Public may have to fund new Manannán Mac Lir sculpture

A report from the BBC has suggested that the decision to replace the statue is more definitive than the Derry Journal has reported, but according to the Bring Back Manannán mac Lir the Sea God Facebook page, this isn't correct. So as it stands at the moment, councillors will be looking into the potential costs of replacing the statue -- as close to the original as possible -- and will be investigating the logistics of setting up some kind of fundraiser. Any decision based on the outcome of either of these considerations isn't likely to happen until the next council meeting on March 10th, however, and there are no guarantees that any enquiries will follow through into being actioned.

After the news began reporting that there were proposals for a larger statue, there came some rather concerning reports from local papers, just before the meeting took place, where some of the councillors seemed to be less than enthused about replacing the statue:

TUV Colr. Boyd Douglas isn’t enthusiastic about replacing the statue in any shape or form. 

“I felt the original statue was paganistic and I felt it should never have been erected under those terms. We were told at the time the statue wasn’t costing Council much money,” said Colr. Douglas, who said if replaced using steel it may well become a target of metal thieves. “I can’t see any point in putting a statue on top of a mountain where there is no one around and where it is vulnerable from the start. To replace it would cost Council money and I wouldn’t be in favour of spending ratepayers’ money on this, so I’m not enthusiastic about replacing it.”

Derry Journal: Councillors to decide if Mannanán Mac Lir statue will be replaced 

(At the meeting, Councillor Douglas suggested siting some sort of statue at the find spot of the Broighter Hoard as an alternative to replacing the statue at Gortmore Viewing Point, incidentally). But in the end it seems only one councillor voted against replacing it at all -- not the councillor quoted above -- and even then the objection came down to the fact that the statue may well be vulnerable to further theft in future, given its remote position, and as such it would be a waste of money.

So all in all, there seems to be good cause for tentative optimism here. I do think it's important that the statue should be replaced, even if it ends up costing a little more than the original in an effort to make sure it's harder to remove this time. Not replacing the statue gives the opinions and illegal actions of an extreme minority more weight than those who've spoken out in shock and support for the community of Limavady, and it would legitimate this theft and vandalism, and send a very wrong message to not just the people of Limavady, but to the many thousands of people around the world who've been following this story and have overwhelmingly expressed a desire to see the statue replaced.

Ultimately, however, replacing the statue is not a decision that any of us outside Limavady can make: It's up to the councillors and the people in the area who've lost a local landmark and beautiful piece of art. There's certainly the willingness to contribute financially to the replacement, from the good majority of people who've been commenting in the Facebook group, and some have already tried setting up pages on fundraising sites in anticipation of some kind of official word that that all hopes of finding the statue are dashed (to my knowledge, none of these have actually taken any money, though, and have since been removed). But as Mari Ward, who set the group up, has said, this is something that has to be decided by the council first, and I think it's something that should ideally be managed by them as well. They are, after all, best placed to put the funds to proper use and make sure the job gets done.

Getting the job done is going to take some time, though, and until the next meeting in March there's probably not going to much going on that's worthy of note -- not unless the statue is recovered or the thieves are caught. So the risk is that this is a story that will end up out of sight, out of mind. So far, it's been noted that the council have taken on board the outpouring of support from all over the world, and hopefully that will continue on both sides.

In the meantime, there's also growing concern that proposals for a wind farm nearby are going to have a hugely detrimental environmental and visual impact on the area, which is officially designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. While personally I'm all for renewable energy, I think it should be appropriately located and a wind farm seems incongruous with an area that's supposed to have protections in place to preserve the natural beauty of the area. You can find out more about the campaign here.

Follow up on the statue theft: Where is Manannán?

It's been just over a week since the statue of Manannán was stolen and a cross was left in its place, as I wrote about in my last post. Although the perpetrators haven't yet been found, or the statue recovered, there are a lot of people who are still hoping that some good can come of this. Whether that means the statue is recovered, or a replacement is made, either option seems like as "good" an outcome as possible under the circumstances. As the sculptor himself notes, the statue is more than likely to be in pieces already, but he's issued an appeal to the thieves:

When asked what he would say to the person, or persons, who made off with his statue, Darren made a simple appeal: “Just bring it back. Bring it home and see if we can get it repaired,” he appealed. 

Darren says although he has got over the initial sick feeling he had when he first saw the damage to the sculpture, which took more than six months work to create, he is still crushed about what happened but says the worldwide outpouring of support has provided some comfort and makes him feel proud people held his work in such esteem.

Derry Journal: One week on and mystery of missing Celtic sea god statue goes global

So there's still hope that the statue may be returned. If it isn't, I do hope it will be replaced, and I think it would be incredibly short-sighted of the council not to considering the amount of attention this has all been giving them, and if there are fundraising efforts established locally then Gaol Naofa has pledged to support that. The huge amount of attention the story has been getting is almost as big a story as the theft itself; a Facebook page that was set up shortly after the news broke now has over 6,000 likes within the last week, and people from all over the world have been sharing their own pictures of the statue, articles from the news, as well as sending in messages of support. The person running the page is urging people to keep sharing and spreading the news, in the hopes that the attention will help with the statue's recovery, and many members of the page have been very generous in giving permission for their images to be used in making memes that can be shared. I posted one that Kathryn made in my last post, and with the help of Caoimhín Ó Cadhla translating for us (to whom we're most appreciative) we've now produced an Irish language version to share:

You can find others we've done hosted on the Gaol Naofa website at a new page we've created in our Resources section, and you can also find them on the Gaol Naofa Facebook page -- feel free to share!

In addition to that, The Wild Hunt got in touch with Gaol Naofa for some comments about the statue's theft, which I took point on as sacrificial lamb head of the organisation, and the resulting article gives a really good overview of reactions from the locals of Limavady as well as polytheists (like myself...) and pagans. As I said there, we've been following the story closely on our Facebook page, and have been sharing some resources about Manannán ma Lir (like the video we did for Midsummer last year), including prayers and traditional songs, since this is something people can do wherever they might be in the world.

We decided that maybe a video was in order to help keep the story circulating, so Kathryn took point on writing up a script and creating a prayer to share, and with the kind permission of some of the photographers who shared their photos of the statue with the Bring Back Manannán page, we've put something together and we're ready to share:

So if you want to share the video and join us in singing Manannán back home, then please do so! We have a little introduction to it on the front page of the Gaol Naofa site, and the prayer from this video is available on a meme we've created, which you're also welcome to share:

This is another one of the images we have up on the new page I mentioned above (along with a different-sized version of this one). If you click through to the front page of the Gaol Naofa site then you can find them in the Resources section of the Library. There are plenty more on the Bring Back Manannán FB page, too.

Statue of Manannán stolen

In case you haven't heard the news:

Mystery surrounds the disappearance of a six-foot sculpture of a Celtic sea god from a mountainside. 

Manannán Mac Lir, which is made out of fibre glass and stainless steel, was stolen from Binevenagh Mountain near Limavady in County Londonderry. 

The statue had became a popular tourist attraction in the area since its installation about a year ago.

Fiona Murray, BBC NI

Click on the link there and you'll see what's left of it -- the thieves uprooted the statue of Manannán from its place in the boat, which must've taken a lot of effort and some muscle to shift; according to the sculptor himself it would've take angle grinders and four or five people to move it any distance.

This doesn't appear to be some kind of petty theft or someone attempting to bring home a rather large souvenir; it has all the appearance of being a deliberate and despicable act of desecration. The BBC initially reported an unsubstantiated rumour that a crucifix and piece of scripture had been left in the statue's place, but the article has since been updated to confirm that it was "a wooden cross with the words 'You shall have no other gods before me.'" I can only assume that in their haste they forgot another commandment or two there... Until or unless the thieves are identified and found, however, we can't say for sure whether this was the real purpose for stealing the statue, or if it's just an attempt to throw the police off the trail (or stir up tensions). If it was done for religious purposes then it's safe to say that this is the work of an extreme and sadly fundamentalist minority.

Manannán is still very much a significant figure in the area, and the site of the statue is close to where the Broighter Hoard was discovered in the nineteenth century -- a stash of gold items including a torc, a bowl, and a miniature ship with oars and mast -- which, it was argued (during a courtcase in the late nineteenth century), were deposited as an offering to Manannán:

Offerings are still made to Manannán in the area today, and the statue itself has come to be the focus of some of these. According to local legend and belief, storms and rough seas are said to be the result of his fury and I can only hope the thieves get at least a taste of it... Another article, from the Derry Daily, has a quote from a local farmer who says:

Local people who still believe in the legend behind the god say those who stole the statue would have no luck. 

“It’s a real disgrace that anyone would steal it,” said one local farmer. 

“I can tell you that whoever they are will have no luck with it.” 

Anger as Thieves Steal Manannán mac Lir Statue -- Derry Daily

Kathryn has a post about this over on her blog as well and she's made up a pic to share and help raise awareness, with a photo credit to Neil Meroney:

Here's hoping (and praying) for a swift and safe recovery of the statue so that it can be put back to its rightful place. 

Pictish Puzzle

Earlier this month it was reported that a new project was going to be launched to help piece a Pictish stone back together. The stone, from Easter Ross, dates to around the ninth century and has suffered over the years:

At some point it was knocked over and broken, possibly in a storm, and the bottom portion was lost. It is also believed to have been vandalised more than once during the time of the Reformation in the 16th century. 

In 1676 the original carving of the Christian cross was chipped off and replaced with an inscription commemorating a local man, Alexander Duff, and his three wives. 

Recent excavations of the chapel site uncovered the upright base in the ground and more than 3,000 scattered fragments of the face of a cross.

Gamers take aim at ancient Pictish stone puzzle

So each of the fragments has been scanned and digitised, and a new website has launched today that invites members of the public to help put the pieces together. Go to pictishpuzzle.co.uk and have a go! It seems pretty simple to use, but I think it's safe to say you need to be really good at jigsaws to get anywhere with it...It's kind of addictive, though, even if I'm terrible at jigsaws.

Tumshies!

If you're looking for some ideas for turnip carving, here's a good link:

Turnip Lanterns (hop tu naa)

From the Manx curriculum website. There's an old photo of 1950s school kids with their lanterns and pictures of more recent examples too.

THE NIPPLES STRIKE AGAIN

As you might have heard by now, the Laois bog body (now dubbed "Cashel Man") has been officially declared as the world's oldest. As you may remember, when the body was first discovered a couple of years ago now, pretty much every report focused on one man and his theory about nipples...

And lo! Here he is again:

In the other two bog body cases, says Eamonn Kelly, the nipples had been deliberately damaged. 

"We're looking at the bodies of kings who have been decommissioned, who have been sacrificed. As part of that decommissioning, their nipples are mutilated. 

"In the Irish tradition they could no longer serve as king if their bodies were mutilated in this way. This is a decommissioning of the king in this life and the next."

Quoth the Beeb

Once again, there's no firm evidence offered for any of this, and as before there is no consideration of the alternatives to offer some balance in the article itself. Is it indicative of a ritual "decommissioning" or, as National Geographic points out, more to do with the conditions of the bog and delicate tissue like the nipples just not surviving? Granted, perhaps that makes less of an exciting story...

Mothers of Modern Ireland

With a tip of the hat to Laurel for posting this on the Gaelic Polytheism group on FB:

'Mothers of Modern Ireland: A People's History' is a landmark film oral archive of Irish grandmothers now available online. 

Over the past five years, independent filmmakers have been recording the oral histories of 32 grandmothers from across Ireland. They have now assembled a landmark film archive which can be viewed at mothersofmodernireland.com.

A People's History recounts events in Ireland's history and culture from women’s perspective

The website's easy to navigate and the videos cover a number of subject like cures, ghost stories, sex, death, and emigration and immigration. I've only viewed a couple but there's some interesting stuff there. The direct link is:

Mothers of Modern Ireland

Book of Kells online

Well at least there's something good that's come of this year's impending Paddy's Day madness:

Book of Kells online

I don't know if it's because I'm on a mac (or just because my poor mac is old and decrepit) but the website seems a wee bit buggy (the scrolling down is a little hit and miss for me). There's and iPad app you can download, though, which seems pretty neat and has added commentary on it:

Book of Kells app

Alas, I'm skint so I haven't tried it out but if I ever do have €11.99 going spare I'm certainly tempted!

The Otherworld

I saw this posted on the Carmichael Watson Facebook page and it looks really interesting:

The world of the fairies may seem like a long way from our world of skinny lattes and social media. But open the pages of the book The Otherworld, and listen to the two CDs that come with it, and you’ll find yourself carried off – as if by magic – to another realm. 

This enchanting selection of songs, tunes, black-and-white photographs and snippets of story is taken from the National Folklore Collection held at University College, Dublin. The musicians and storytellers describe a wide range of encounters with the supernatural, from the smile-inducing to the seriously spine-chilling.

A Day With the Fairies

Seeing as I was given just the right amount to treat myself for Christmas, it should be arriving within 3-5 days...

Knowth

A nice wee article on the history (including ritual) of Knowth:

Irish Archaeological Research Digital Magazine Volume 4

Plans for Gàidhlig-only village on Skye

I saw this on tumblr referencing The Times (which is behind a pay wall), and the only other source I can find on this at the moment is a teaser from The Press and Journal:

The new £40million village beside the Gaelic college at Sleat will include almost 100 new homes – from affordable to high-market seafront plots – college buildings for research and teaching, and a new conference centre. There are also plans for hotel accommodation, a retail outlet and cafe bar as well as sport facilities, a central green, and parks, paths and cycle networks.

Skye Gaelic village will be ‘plan of the century’

But it certainly sounds like exciting news, and I just hope they can make this work without too much of a negative impact on the local environment.

Irish-language toy company branches out

Now this looks interesting! A toy manufacturer that specialises in Irish-language toys is branching out:

Bábógbaby has announced that it will be available in English, Scots Gaelic and Welsh in October in Ireland and UK toy stores after its launch in the UK in September.

Based in Galway, Bábógbaby specialises in Irish speaking toys and is now branching out into other languages.

Babógbaby

The article also mentions the launch of a Scots Gaelic app next month, which is something I'd be especially keen on. I've not really used any apps before now but something to help with building on my beginners knowledge of the language would be really good, and if it gets the kids interested then all the better. I won't be able to go back to classes until I'm recovered (if I recover!) so this is the next best thing; something to help with pronunciation would be extremely helpful.

The Táin more closely based on 'real life' than previously thought

Here's a story that would have made Kenneth Jackson smile, I'm sure...

Researchers have used mathematics to conclude that ancient Irish epic, Táin Bó Cúailnge, may be more closely based on real-life societies than previously thought. 

The study takes a numerical look at how interactions between characters in the ancient Táin Bó Cúailnge compare with real social networks.

Study finds numbers add up in Irish epic 

Maths is pretty anathema to me so I'll just nod and smile at the technical bits, but as per one of the comments on the article you can read the article here.

New Publication

My good friend and colleague Treasa has had an essay of hers published in Hiraeth Press' Written River: A Journal of Eco-​​Poetics. Treasa's essay is titled 'Cornerstones of Wisdom: Poetry, Permanence and Wildness in Gaelic Polytheism' and you can find it on page 50-53 of the preview that's available at the link there. Hard copies aren't available yet, but I'm definitely going to be getting one for the shelf when they are, I think. These are the kind of publications that really need supporting.

The article is well worth a read - go! Go take a look!

Lia Fáil vandalised

Bastards. That's pretty much all I have to say on the matter. The Irish Times is a little more eloquent about it:

The standing stone, which is believed to date from 3,500BC, is considered an extremely important national monument and features extensively in ancient texts. The granite stone is associated with the inauguration rites for the Kings of Tara and was moved to its current position in the early 19th century. 

The monument was reported to be damaged last weekend, but it is unknown when the attack occurred. 

An archaeologist from the National Monuments Service examined the monument this week and concluded it had been struck – possibly with a hammer or similar instrument – at 11 places on all four faces of the stone. Fragments of the standing stone were also removed.

Tara monument attack condemned

There is a picture of some of the damage up on Facebook (the picture is public); the blows to the stone are quite clear, and while they're not so damaging that the monument itself is damaged beyond repair, the damage they've done to a monument that's probably a good 5,000 years or so is irreparable. It could just be mindless vandalism, but more worryingly (as far as I'm concerned) is the idea that the vandalism is the result of souvenir hunters trying to get a few pieces to keep or sell.

Whoever did it, I hope their disrespect comes back to bite them in the arse.

The Paisley Curse, or, "We don't believe in this stuff, honest!"

My husband brought this one to my attention because he remembers the story being told in hushed tones when he was a lad; he grew up not far from Paisley in the 70s, so it was something that was still fresh in people's minds.

Anyway, the story goes that - back in the good old days of 1696 - a girl from a wealthy family in Paisley began to complain that she was being plagued and tormented by all kinds of supernatural and frightening things. Eventually the finger was pointed at several people; in the end, around 30 people were involved once things got a bit hysterical and accusations began to fly and it was quite a big story in its day...

Some might say the poor girl really was the victim of witchcraft or supernatural goings on. Others tend to be of the opinion that the story was an excuse to deal with a wee problem of industrial espionage going on. Whatever the case, the upshot of it was that four women and three men ended up sentenced to death - to be garroted, burned, and then interred in a mass grave.

This is where the curse bit comes in to the story, for it is said that one of the women didn't go quietly. Instead, she screamed out a curse on all of the people who were present, their descendants included. Being cautious types, the townsfolk decided to bury the ashes of the convicted 'witches' together, as planned, but sealed with a horseshoe to stop the curse from getting out of the grave. All was fine and dandy in the town of Paisley until the 1960s, when the roads were dug up to remove the tram lines. During the work, the grave was disturbed and the horseshoe was removed. And so, according to the article over on the Beeb:

"Of course in the 1960s, during road works, the horseshoe was lifted," explained Liz Gardiner from Renfrewshire Witch Hunt 1697.

"Now, we know it was coincidence, but from that point on Paisley's fortunes did decline. Last month it was declared the town with the highest number of empty shops of any high street of any town in the UK.

"We know it's a myth. But it's a powerful myth."

'Silly superstition'? Welllll...

The horseshoe was restored four years ago, but since then it's apparently come loose and has now had to be fixed again - hence the article, hailing a new era of prosperity for the town. It may just be a myth (albeit a powerful myth), but...It can't hurt trying, right?

'Cursing stone' found in Scotland

(Proper post coming soon, I promise...)

Bullauns, or cursing stones are common in Ireland, but until the news today they've not been known in Scotland:

Dating from about 800 AD, the stones are associated with early Christian crosses - of which there is one on the isle.

It was found in an old graveyard by a National Trust for Scotland (NTS) farm manager.

The stone is about 25cm in diameter and engraved with an early Christian cross.

It was later found to fit exactly into a large rectangular stone with a worn hole which was located at the base of the Canna cross.

BBC News

You can read more about bullauns here (lots of photos, although I have to say I'm not sure about the claims that these things date as far back as the megaliths - not something that's easy to prove, but I guess they do seem similar to cup and ring marks so there is logic to it; as the article says, though, most are seen as early Christian, although that doesn't mean to say that some couldn't predate that). E. Estyn Evans has a little bit about them as well:

"Smooth pebbles resting in certain stone basins are turned three times against the sun ... Their utilization as cursing stones continued into recent times. I was told of the example illustrated at Killinagh in Co. Cavan, that 'you would think twice before turning the stones, because the curse would come back on you unless the cause was just'."

Irish Folk Ways, 1957, p299-300.

The tuathal (anti-clockwise; against the direction of the sun) direction indicates their purpose for cursing, a sign of negative intent, and given the caveat about it possibly rebounding on you, you'd have to be pretty damn pissed off at someone to use them.

As bullauns are for cursing there are other kinds of stones associated with healing or blessing. Some of them are rounded depressions in rocks, and the water that collects in the depression can be used for healing - curing warts or infertility, for example (Evans references an example of these in Cairngorm, Scotland). There are also healing stones that were commonly kept at wells, and borrowed by the locals as needed:

"At St. Olan's Well, Dromatimore, Co. Cork, the rounds include visits to the saint's Cap and Stone. The former is an oval quartzite stone which rests on an ogham-inscribed monolith and which replaces one, removed by the parish priest a century ago, which was invested with magical properties. 'It was said to be an unfailing talisman, and was much sought after for various feminine ailments, particularly maternity cases. If worn on the head and carried three times round the church it was said to cure the most violent headaches and, in addition, it had the gift of locomotion in that, if removed to any distance, it unfailingly returned to its original position.' "

Irish Folk Ways, 1957, p299-300.

In Scotland, F. Marian McNeill details a lot of healing stones that were kept by certain families for similar purposes.

Given the close historical links between Scotland and Ireland the find of this bullaun is not all that surprising - aside from the fact that none have been found before, perhaps. There are more than likely other examples to be found across Scotland; as Dr Forsyth notes in the BBC article, there are plenty of examples of the base stones with depressions in them, which could be bullauns with the stone missing, perhaps, or else examples of the 'wells' that Evans describes. Or otherwise they might be gruagach stones, where offerings of milk were left in the depression to ensure the local gruagach would continue to watch over the cattle...

The find of this bullaun just goes to show how much there is for us to still find out, though, and that's what makes it exciting for me. What's next?

Celtic Reconstructionism according to Mickopedia

Yes, you heard that right - Mickopedia, "The Irish Encyclopedia." Be the hokey here's a quare wan:

Celtic Reconstructionist Paganism (also Celtic Reconstructionism or CR) is a feckin' polytheistic, animistic, religious and cultural movement, like. It is an effort to reconstruct and revive, in a holy modern Celtic cultural context, pre-Christian Celtic religions.

Celtic Reconstructionist Paganism originated in discussions among amateur scholars and Neopagans in the oul' mid 1980s, and evolved into an independent tradition by the bleedin' early 1990s. Whisht now. Celtic Reconstructionism represents a bleedin' polytheistic reconstructionist approach to Celtic Neopaganism, emphasisin' historical accuracy over eclecticism such as is found in many forms of Neo-druidism. Story? Currently, "Celtic Reconstructionist Paganism" (CR) is an umbrella term, with a feckin' number of recognized sub-traditions or denominations. Whisht now and eist liom. [2]

From the feckin' Mickopedia entry. Holy blatherin' Joseph.

How about a bit more, for good measure. Grand so:

While the bleedin' ancient Celtic religions were largely subsumed by Christianity,[16] many religious traditions have survived in the feckin' form of folklore, mythology, songs, and prayers. Me head is hurtin' with all this raidin'. [6][17][18] Many folkloric practices never completely died out, and some Celtic Reconstructionists (CRs) claim to have survivals of Irish, Scottish or Welsh folkloric customs in their families of origin. Jaykers! [6][17][18] 

Language study and preservation, and participation in other cultural activities such as Celtic music, dance and martial arts forms, are seen as a bleedin' core part of the tradition.[6][19] Participation in the feckin' livin' Celtic cultures[20][21] - the oul' cultures that exist in the bleedin' "areas in which Celtic languages are actually spoken and in which Celtic traditions have been most faithfully handed down to the bleedin' present day"[22] - is a vital part of their cultural work and spiritual practice, that's fierce now what? [20] The protection of Celtic archaeological and sacred sites is important to Celtic Reconstructionists. G'wan now and listen to this wan. [23] When construction of the feckin' N3 motorway in Ireland threatened to destroy archaeological sites around the Hill of Tara, Celtic Reconstructionists (among others) organized protests and a coordinated ritual of protection, would ye believe it? [23][24]

Jaykers!