Articles

• Frequently Asked Questions
• Aliens and Irishmen!
• Attack of the Plastic Patty's
• Beyond Green Beer and Leprechauns
• Celebrating the Saint of Ireland - St. Patrick
• Celtic Cats - Magical Mystery Purr!
• Celtic Love, nothing short of Epic!
• An Interview with a Faerie in the 21st Century
• Five Miracles of Storytelling
• Halloween, the Celtic American Holiday!
• Irish Standard Time
• Kerns + Galloglass. Scariest Team on Earth!
• One old Biddy you don't mess with
• The Problem with Fairies.... NEW!
• Saint Preserve Us
• Shaggy Dog Stories - a Celts best friend!
• St. Patrick's Day: A story of celebration and survival
• Storytelling for Kids
• A Tough Act To Follow - Mystic, Legend, Saint,… Patrick.
• Tying the Knot, Celtic Style

Attack of the Plastic Patty's!

written for the Irish News by True Thomas

St. Patrick's Day has come and gone, and with it the annual attack of the Plastic Patty's.
Not that it's all bad. Someone has to buy the T-shirts, and plastic Leprechauns. I imagine that those of us who are active in our Celtic community have a lot in common with the priest who see's his church full on Easter and Christmas. Glad they are there, but wishing for a bit more commitment.

The other day I was listening to some people converse "in the Irish", and listening to the ancient languages lilts and phrasing made me painfully aware that I did not speak it, and was the poorer for it. I've never had a talent for learning languages, and live in awe of folks who collect them like bumper stickers.

We are seeing the last generation of Irish speaking folks getting older and older. Soon it's a language that will be kept alive by enthusiasts, and linguists. Certainly Celtic culture is continuing on in its music and dance. But the relevance is slowly, slowly drifting away. Finn MacCool is a brilliant celtic rock/folk band, but how many folks know who they are named after?

Genealogically, many people are happy to track back their ancestry to days of yore, and claim ancestry to Brion Boru, and so on. But usually if you ask them stories of what their ancestors did, it's a glancing blow at best.

I should insert a disclaimer now. I'm a storyteller, and I make my living doing it, and one of my specialities is Celtic stories. But in this case, I would rather I had competition coming out of the woodwork.

Storytelling, and in particular, Celtic storytelling is not just for kids.
From the incredible legends of the Tain Bo Cuilaigne (the Cattle Raid of Cooley) where we meet Cuchullain, (pronounced Coo Hoo lain) one of the greatest Irish heroes, to Biddy Early, a folktale lady of legend, there is so much that we rarely hear. Queen Medb (from the Tain) would be a woman who by today's standards would meet and beat any femme fatale envisioned by Hollywood.

Traditional Celtic fairies, were weird, dangerous, and much more than the cute fairies and leprechauns we see around us today. And its interesting that both Protestant and Catholic Irish tell pretty much the same legends.

And we can also bring our more recent past into focus from immigration to America, to family historys, to the sad and bloody struggles going on today back in Ireland. How? Stories. I know a lady who's immediate family stories include her family settling Minnesota, Civil war veterans, WWII fighters, FBI, and more. Ask any immigrant about their story, and they will probably have some really interesting insights.

So here are some suggestions- read the age appropriate legends and folktales to the kids. And then read the ones that have always been part of the heart of Celtic culture. Find your family history stories and bring them to life - tell them. We have a history of being some of the greatest communicators this planet has ever seen.

To those promoting music/dance/cultural events, make stories a necessary part of your events. Put storytellers on the big stages, where concerts are meant for adults. I guarantee that there are storytellers who will spellbind an audience. And, you can just have a place for adults to go and listen to the traditional and modern tales.

Give the seissun players a break for a half hour and have a story. Sure, have stories for the kids. But if we as Celts put our cultural heritage, the legacy of Bards and Seanachies for thousands of year, next to the ponies and moon-bounces, what are we saying? Our stories, are wild, magical, and yes, sometimes violent. They were designed to entertain and educate by overt and sometimes subtle means. Our stories were meant for all ages…. even today's!