Sunday, December 25, 2011

The Fairy Tree

The Fairy Tree

by

Rónán Gearóid Ó Domhnaill


The hawthorn stands between the ashes tall and slim,
like matron with her twin grand-daughters at her knee;
the rowan berries cluster o’er her low head gray and dim
in ruddy kisses sweet to see.


Samuel Ferguson The Fairy Thorn



Trees were worshipped in Ireland long ago and some were believed to have magical properties. A prime example of this is the fairy tree found all over the country, which even today is both feared and respected. In some ways they are throw back to a time when people lived closer to the land and are also a direct link to our ancient Celtic beliefs.
The Fairy Tree is usually a whitethorn (cartages monogzna) also referred to as a hawthorn or sceach in Irish. The latter gives is found in many place names such as skeagh, skehy, skey, ske, skeha, skew. Until the twentieth century it was considered irreverent to use the term fairy tree and is still sometimes referred to as a lone bush or a thorn.
It is not only found in this country but in most of Europe, North Africa and parts of Western Asia. There are over a thousand different species of the tree worldwide and it can grow in all types of soil growing up to nine metres. Some of the examples of in this country are a few hundred years old. In autumn and winter its red berries, referred to as haws, provide much needed food for birds. While the wood from whitethorn was seldom used in this country it is in other countries where as good firewood. Hawthorn blossoms are edible and can be used to make a tea to cure anxiety and poor circulation, while its berries were used to curse sore throats or even as a heart stimulant. The blossom was also used as a fertility symbol in many countries.
It was not only in Ireland that it was revered. The Greeks and Romans saw the hawthorn as symbolic of hope and marriage. The Roman goddess Cardea, mistress of Janus, keeper of the doors, had a bough of Hawthorn as her symbol. In central Europe however, it was regarded as a symbol of witchcraft with witches performing their rituals underneath and it was generally considered unlucky. Popular folklore has it that the crown of thorns which Christ wore was of hawthorn. According to Cornish legends Joseph of Arimathea came to Britain after the cruxifiction and where he stuck his staff a hawthorn grew, now known as The Glastonbury Thorn. The success of the hawthorn was taken to symbolise the blossoming of Christianity and it was there he built the first church. In the Celtic Ogham alphabet the hawthorn was given the letter hUath meaning fear, which is particularly apt given its reputation in this country.
While it forms an important part of the hedgerow it is the solitary hawthorn which instills fear and even if its position is inconvenient it will generally be left alone. The warnings have been passed down through the generations. Otherworld creatures are said to either live in or nearby the tree and it has often been recorded how passersby would hear music or see a bright light coming from the vicinity of the hawthorn.
Tales of misfortune befalling those who damage the hawthorn in any way are legion. There are accounts whereby the tree started to bleed when branches were cut away, which was a warning of things to come. This may be a legacy from a time when certain, among them the hawthorn, were considered sacred. In the Crith Gablach, an eighth century Brehon legal poem it is stated:
A danger from which there is no escape
Is the penalty for felling
The noble sacred trees
you shall not cut sacred tree
Usually those who damaged the tree went from being healthy to sick, became paralysed, went mad or in the worst case died. Very often workmen were compelled by their foreman, usually someone not from the locality with little understanding of the piseog, to cut the tree or be fired and they would appeal to invisible forces that the misfortune befall he who ordered the destruction and those who carried it out. Gold was sometimes found near the hawthorn, but given the risk of interfering with the tree few dared to go looking, though sometime the fairies would indicate where to dig.
The magical powers of the hawthorn are said to be greatest when found growing beside an oak and ash tree. Hawthorns are very often found growing beside holy wells. This was maybe an attempt to blend in older pagan beliefs with Christian ones and until recently it was normal to tie an offering to the hawthorn growing at these wells. It also grew at some inauguration sites and for centuries the Maguires were inaugurated beside a hawthorn tree at Lisnaskea fort near Enniskillen, County Fermanagh.
Though beautiful, bringing the white blossom into the house usually brought about illness or death. It has been suggested that a chemical found in the body tissue in the early stages of decompostion is also present in the whitethorn, hence its association with death. As a result it is still very much taboo in Ireland to bring hawthorn into the house. In England however, it seems to have been acceptable to do so around May and was used to ward off evil spirits.
Perhaps the most famous hawthorn is the one located at Latoon in County Clare. In 1999 the motorway from Limerick to Galway was delayed and eventually rerouted to avoid damaging the fairy tree there. It is not clear whether the local authorities did so out of respect for the solitary tree or the international media attention that was drawn to it by the folklorist Eddie Lenihan, author of Meeting the Other Crowd- the Fairy Stories of Hidden Ireland. He claimed the tree was a meeting point for the fairies of Munster when they did battle with the fairies of Connacht. He argued that Other World forces would take revenge and the road would be a source of accidents if the tree were to be removed. In 2002 the tree was vandalised by an unknown person who slashed away its branches. The assailant failed to kill the tree and true to form the branches grew back. As the culprit was never identified it is not known whether any misfortune befell him.
Today, many people are reluctant to talk about fairy trees partially for fear of being ridiculed by strangers who do not understand or younger people who have been told that belief in such things is supertitious nonsense. It is essentially a taboo topic and even though belief in Otherworld beings has greatly diminished in recent times there are still very few people who would remove a lone hawthorn.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Galway City Museum

Published in The Galway Advertiser, August 2011

Dear editor,

A recent visit to the city museum proved to be a disappointment. Despite being open for some time now it is still very much devoid of artefacts.
The museum seems to have decided on selective history. Nothing is mentioned of Galway’s early Christian settlements, the battle of Knockdoe, a significant battle of the 16th century or Galway’s role in the Spanish Armada.
While it is admirable homage is paid to Galwegians who fought for the British Empire, the Republican tradition has been airbrushed out of existence. Liam Mellows for example does not get a mention. Nor indeed does the War of Independence. Is it not possible for the two traditions to coexist?
Although a fishing vessel hangs from the ceiling there is little to explain the long maritime tradition associated with the city. Both the Famine and the Claddagh are ignored. Although Padraic O Conaire is acknowledged other Galway writers such as Mairtin O Cadhain, Lady Augusta Gregory, Liam O'Flaherty and Walter Macken do not seem to merit any attention.
It is also hard to decide whether the building is an art museum with a few historical artefacts or a museum with a few paintings. Given the unusually large cafe it would appear that it also a general place of gathering. While the building serves a multitude of purposes its primary function, that of a museum, must be called into question.
The long and vibrant history of the city is quite simply not fully reflected with what is on display and Galway surely deserves better.
yours
Rónán Gearóid Ó Domhnaill
Mountjoy Square
Dublin 1

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Martin McGuinness as a presidential candidate

As a regular visitor to Northern Ireland I admire the way they have put the past behind them and embraced a present where Protestant and Catholic work together. The sanctimonious outrage expressed against McGuinness in the Republic, which was largely spared the horrors of the conflict, seems therefore all the more out of place.
McGuinness was a gunman like so many of our patriots who turned to politics. He embraced the peace process, became a major contributor towards peace and stability on this island and more importantly publicly condemned Real IRA atrocities, yet his critics here are still at war, obsessessed with the way he was, ignoring the way he is.
In 2016 we will commemerate and honour the men of violence and it is perhaps apt that we have a former man of violence to lead these commerations.

Rónán Gearóid Ó Domhnaill

Gaillimh

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Seán na Sagart- The Priest-Catcher

Seán na Sagart- The Priest-Catcher


by

Rónán Gearóid Ó Domhnaill





Eighteenth century Ireland was a turbulent time for Catholics and the Penal laws were strictly enforced. The laws had been introduced after the battle of the Boyne and were designed to establish economic, social and political supremacy of Protestantism by keeping Catholics in a state of incapacity. The laws hoped to eradicate Catholicism in Ireland within two generations and thus bishops and regular clergy were banished and no new priests were permitted to enter the country. The Penal Act of 1709 demanded priests take the Oath of Abjuration and recognise the Protestant Queen Anne as Queen of England and Ireland. Any cleric who refused was deported. Out of an estimated two thousand priests in Ireland at that time, only thirty three priests swore the oath. Despite the harshness of these laws the majority of the population remained Catholic and the mass was still celebrated, albeit at secret locations such as Mass rocks. It was not unusual for the priest to wear a veil while saying mass. Thus any mass goer could honestly say they did not know who had said the mass. While mass was being said someone kept watch for the soldiers and an escape route was always at hand. People were equally vigilant for the infamous and widely despised priest-catchers.

The most famous priest-catcher was Seán na Sagart. He was born John Mullowney in 1690 at Derrew, near Ballyheane in the parish of Ballintubber, County Mayo. Mullowney was by all accounts something of a scoundrel. His two passions were horse stealing and drinking. His former passion landed him in trouble with the law around 1715 and he came before a judge in Castlebar, almost certain to face the hangman’s noose. The authorities; however saw potential in him and realised a person of such low character was ideal for the purposes of priest hunting. Thus, he was spared the hangman’s noose on condition that he became a priest catcher it was not long before he became known as Seán na Sagart or John of the Priests.

Priest hunters or pursuivants as they were also known, operated in a similar way to bounty hunters. A Bishop was worth £100, a priest £20 and a monk or Jesuit £10.Some like Seán na Sagart had been coerced into doing so, others, former soldiers and spies had volunteered while others like the infamous Spaniard John Garzia in Dublin had been brought in from abroad. Though lucrative it was a risky business and heavily armed he was usually accompanied by a troop of horse. They were considered the lowest form of society and it was not unusual for a mob to chase them through the streets and beat them to death. The distribution of Priest hunters throughout the country was uneven and in some areas religious worship was overlooked, though Seán operating in Mayo could never be accused of being relaxed in his duties and his ill gotten gains were used to finance his heavy drinking and expensive tastes. Although he was held in poor regard some opened their doors to him and he was a regular visitor to Newbrook House in Robeen, near Ballinrobe in South County Mayo, the then the residence of John Bingham.

In 1715 Seán na Sagart gave testimony at Castlebar before the Grand Jury on the whereabouts of the Vicar General of Tuam Diocese, Francis Bourke and James Lynch, Archbishop of Tuam. The document bore a cross for his signature, suggesting he was illiterate.
If he could not catch a priest he killed him. It is not unknown how many priests he killed, but it is recorded that he shot a Fr. Andrew Higgins as he tried to escape from the mass he had been celebrating near a cave at Pulnatheacken. Seán gave evidence that he saw priests being ordained in Laukill Wood, Aughagower. According to tradition Seán arrested and killed priests and brought the heads into the Sheriff in Castlebar. It is also said that the heads were thrown into a little lake in the parish of Ballintubber - Burriscarra and that it is called "Loch na gCeann or Lake of the heads.

By 1726 priest hunting in places such as Dublin was a dying trade, but not so in the west where Sean was still plying his trade with a passion. He even used his own family to catch priests and once when he wanted to catch a priest in Ballintubber, he convinced his sister a widow and devout Catholic by the name of Nancy Loughnan that he was gravely ill and needed to confess before he died. A priest, Father Kilger was duly sent for and arrived in disguise. As the priest knelt by the bed to pray he leant closer to hear Seán na Sagart’s last confession the priest hunter suddenly jumped up and stabbed the priest in the neck. There was widespread revulsion throughout Mayo and everyone, including Seán na Sagart knew that the priest’s nephew Friar Bourke would be at the funeral in Ballintubber.
The friar was indeed at the funeral, acting as a pallbearer and was accompanied by two armed raparees, John McCann and Fergus McCormick, who acted as his bodyguards. At the procession reached Ballintubber a troop of redcoats was seen moving in and out sprang Seán na Sagart from behind a bush and grabbing hold of the disguised friar cried ‘tá mo chíos íochta agam’, (my rent is paid), in reference to the bounty he would receive. The friar managed to break away from him and ran towards the Partry mountains with Seán na Sag art in pursuit. The pursuit is said to have gone on for the greater part of the day. Exhausted the friar and the priest-hunter confronted each other and fought. John McCann had followed the pair and in the struggle the friar stabbed Sean na Sagart with his own knife, with McCann who was a relative of the murdered Father Higgins finishing the job.

Seán na Sagart was buried at Ballintubber Abbey, County Mayo. The locals took umbrage at this and they dug him up and threw his corpse into nearby Lough Carra. However, Friar Bourke, who later escaped to France with McCann, ordered the mortal remains to be reinterred, albeit in unconsecrated ground with the body facing north, where the sun never rises. An ash tree which never bore fruit and which became known as Seán na Sagart’s Tree, grew out of the grave until it split the gravestone one hundred and fifty years later.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Múinteoir eile ag cleamhsán

Múinteoir eile ag cleamhsán

le

Rónán Gearóid Ó Domhnaill




Is múinteoir mé ach is annamh a labhraim faoi mo phost taobh amuigh den scoil. Tá an t-ábhar i mbéal an phobail agus tá tuairim ag gach mac máthair faoi, go hiondúil tuairim neamhfheasach. Creideann go leor daoine fós nach bhfuil cáiliocht speisilata ag teastáil leis. Dar leo is féidir gach duine a bheith ag múineadh agus an té nach bhfuil ábalta múineann sé. Cuireann a léithéid aineolas ionadh orm ach tá an meoin sin go daingean in aigne ar go leor daoine.
Faigheann na duine a dtuairimí ón meáin agus is léir go hfuil clár ag an meán i gcoinne na múinteoirí. Ní léiríonn siad na fíricí nó an suíomh mar atá sé mar ní oireann sé an clár atá acu. Le teacht an cúlú eacnamaíochta tháinig siosma idir an earnáil poilí agus príoháideach agus cothaítear an siosma sa mheáin. De réir dealraimh is sceilpín gabhair don cúlú eacnamaíochta iad na múinteoira. Is seafóid amach is amach é agus buíochas le feachtas éifeachtúil fuair na múinteoirí trí gearradh pá laisitigh de dhá bhlian agus fós tá daoine ag casoid go dtuillleann siad turastal ró ard.
Deirtear liom go minic go bhfuil saol breá ag múinteoirí. Nach bhfuil laethannta saoire fada acu? Ní mar a shíltear a bhítear áfach. Do go leor múinteoirí is am neamhchinnteachta é an samhradh. Níl an phost tar éis na laethannta saoire acu agus caitheann siad post eile áit éigin a fháil . Níl ach conradh bliaintúil ag timpeall 25% na múinteoirí atá fostaithe faoi láthair ní labraítear faoi phost buan níos mó. Níl a léithéid sa Bhreatain agus fostaítear an múinteoir le conradh buan laithreach baill. Níl an spreagadh céanna ag múinteoir sealadach, an múinteoir fánach. Cé go glactar a leithéid i measc na múinteoirí, fadtéarma ní saol ceart é.
Ní dhéanann na múinteoirí puinn oibre. Ní oibríonn siad ach 22 uair sa tseachtain. Creidtear nach ndéanann siad aon ullmhúchán don ranganna agus níl aon cóipleabhair le ceartú acu. Cé nach dtosnaíonn na ranganna go dtí a naoi, tá an chuid is mó den na múinteoirí ar scoil ag a hocht, uaireannta níos luaithe má tá coinne le tuismitheoir acu. Mar is eol do gach tuismitheoir tá an t-úafás freagracht ag baint le deiláil le déagóir amháin agus mar mhúinteoir is sórt bainisteoir agus tuismitheoir thú ag bainistiocht timpeall 120 déagóir. Tógann sé neart ama agus is annamh a chríochnaíonn an lá ag a ceathair.


Bhí stádas ard ag na múinteoirí tráth ach d’athraigh sé le linn an Tíogar Ceiltigh. Tá na gardaí agus altraí sa suíomh céanna ach cén fáth nach bhfuil an drochmheas céanna ag daoine ar dhoctúirí a thuilleann i bhfad níos mó airgid? Cinnte, ní féidir a shéanadh nach bhfuil roinnt múinteoirí ábalta. I ngach gairm tá a léithéid ann. Ó am go ham déanann dochtúirí botún marfach ach tá ómós fós ag an bpobal don ghairm ach in aigne an phobail tá gach múinteoir mar a chéanna. B’fhéidir go ndéanann doctúirí rud éicint luachmhar ach cuireann múinteoirí le forbairt agus oideachas ár leanaí. Nach bhfuil sé luachmahr freisin? Cuireann an easpa meas isteach ar mhúinteoirí agus is minic a spreagtar an drochmeas seo sa mbaile. Is féidir na daltaí rud éicint maslach a scríobh ar an Idirlíon ar ratemyteachers. An rud is measa áfach ná go n-ionsaítear go fisicúil múinteoirí sa rang agus glactar mar chuid den phost é.
Baineann an múinteoireacht le níos mó ná cúrsaí acadúil. Déantar talamh slán de mhúinteoirí go dtagann siad cabhair agus tacaíocht do imeachtaí spóirt, díospóireachtaí, nó seóanna ceoil. Cothaíonn a leithéid féinmhúinín i measc déagóirí neamhdhaingean. Tá dualgas agus tiomantas le feiceáil ó mhúinteoirí ann agus chun na fírinne a rá níl an tiomantas céanna ag múinteoirí i dtíortha eile. Má leannan an drochchaint faoi mhúinteoirí ar aghaidh beidh a leithéid i mbaol.
Deirtear go bhfuil na múinteoirí ag cnáimhseáil go síoraí agus tuigim go bhfuil an phobal bodhar ag éisteacht leo ach tá leas na múinteoirí ceangailte le leas na bpáistí. Dúradh linn go minic go bhfuil caighdeán ard oideachais sa tír seo ach de réir na staististicí is deireannaí tá fadhanna le scileanna litearthachta agus uimhearthachta ag go leor daltaí. Ag an am céanna nuair a tháinig an cúlú eacnamaíocht tháinig gearrú ar Chúntóirí um Riachtanais Speisialta. Déantar gearrú i bpostanna gan smaoineamh ar na himpleactaí. Ceaptar go rabairne fós in áit rud éicint luachmar, í an oideachas sa tír seo. Má gearrann tú postanna éireoidh cúrsaí níos measa do na páistí agus ní dóigh liom go bhfuil impleactaí dearfach don tsochaí ag baint leis.. Ina theannta sin San Aontas Eorpach níl ach 21 dalta sa rang, sa tír seo áfach tá 30 ann agus beidh an méid sin ag ardú. Ní bheidh an deis céanna ag an dalta lag as seo amach agus níl aon amhras ach go mbeidh an dalta ‘maith’ i gcruachás fresin.
Ag breathnú ar chlár teilifíse ar nós Frontline is léir go beag an taithí faoi mhúinteoirechta atá ag na léirmheastóirí. Lahraítear faoin oideachas i dtéarmaí eacnamaíochta ach ní comhlacht nó gnó an oideachas. Nílimid ag obair le earra, táimid ag obair le duine óg.
Mar fhocal scoir tugaim aitheantas go bhfuil go leor daoine go fuailingt faoi láthair ach is beag an ciall a dhéanann sé an milleán iomlán a chuir ar na múinteoirí.

The Island of Hy Brasil

The Island of Hy Brasil


By



Rónán Gearóid Ó Domhnaill



Ireland lay on the edge of the world until Columbus proved otherwise in 1492. The mysterious Atlantic was explored by sailors such as Saint. Brendan (†577) and one of islands he came across on his voyages was Hy Brasil, the Irish Atlantis, which he referred to as The Promised Land.

It got its name from the Irish Uí, meaning descendant of Bresal, meaning beauty. Bresal was of the Fir Bolg and it was after one of his daughters, Galvia, that Galway got its name. It was suggested that the country of Brazil was named after the island, but it actually got its name after the red coloured Brazil wood. Other names for the island included Tir fo-Thuin (Land Under the Wave), Mag Mell (Land of Truth), Hy na-Beatha(Isle of Life), and Tir na-m-Buadha (Land of Virtue).
There is a description of the island the 9th century biography of Saint Brendan Navigatio Sancti Brendani which was a medieval bestseller. The island was described as being shrouded in mist, visible for one day only every seven years, circular in shape with a river running across its diameter. Though visible it could not always be reached.

Its exact location has never been clarified. In 1325 the Genoese cartographer Dalorto placed it west of Ireland, later it appeared southwest of Galway Bay. Some said it was off the Kerry Coast. On some 15th century maps, islands of the Azores appear as Isola de Brazil, or Insulla de Brazil. A Catalan map from 1480 labels two islands "Illa de brasil", one to the south west of Ireland one south of "Illa verde" or Greenland.
Over the centuries many sought it. Indeed, Christopher Columbus may have gone looking for it when he went to Galway in 1477 to follow up on the stories he had heard of land to the west.In the 15th-century The Book of Hy-Brazil was written in both Irish and Latin giving lists of diseases, their symptoms and cures under various columns.

A considerable amount was written about the island in the 17th century. One of the most famous visits to Hy-Brasil was in 1674 by Captain John Nisbet of Killybegs. He and his crew were familiar with the waters of west.One day a fog came up and when it lifted, the ship found itself perilously close to rocks. While getting their bearings, the ship anchored in three fathoms (one fathom =six feet) of water, and four crew members rowed ashore to visit Hy-Brasil. They spent a day on the island, and returned with silver and gold given to them by an old man who lived there.
In his work A Chorographical Description of West or H-Iar Connaught (1684) the historian and last chief of the O Flaherty clan of Galway, Ruaidhrí Ó Flaithbheartaigh (1629 – 1718 ) or Roderick O’Flaherty wrote about the island.
He recalls a tale about a man Murrough Ó Laoí from Iross-Ainhagh, in the south side of the Barony of Ballynahinshy, about nine leagues (one league=3.45 miles/5.5 km) from Galway who had visited the island for two days. While out rambling in 1668, Morogh encountered three men, who kidnapped him and brought him to the island, where the people could speak both English and Irish. From the island he could see The Aran Islands as well as Golamhead and Irrosghill (South Connemara). When he came to he found himself at Seapoint, just outside the city of Galway, not knowing how he got there. He began to practice medicine seven years later with great skill although he had never being to any medical school.
John O'Donovan (1806-1861) from Kilkenny was one of Irelands greatest scholars and internationally renowned for his work on folklore and the Irish language. He was recruited to the Topographical Department of the first Ordnance Survey of Ireland under George Petrie in October 1830 and worked diligently for the Survey on place-name researches until 1842. It was inevitable that he would come into contact with the name of the island. In another version of the tale a version given to him in 1839, Ó Laoí was a member of a ship's crew who landed on the island, and was warned off by a man who told them it was enchanted. As they were leaving, the man gave Ó Laoí a book, telling him not to open it for seven years. Ó Laoí obeyed the instructions, and was able to practise surgery and medicine. The book remained in the family after his death but on further enquiry O'Donovan was told that Ó Laoí’s descendants had recently sold the book in Dublin.

The island was still being marked on sea charts in the 19th century. J. Purdy’s chart of 1830 stated that “Brazil Rock” could be found at 51°10' N and 15°50' W.
an still appeared under that name until1865, when as its location could not be verified it was removed from maps.

It was suggested in 1870 that the mysterious island could The Porcupine Bank, a shoal raised area of seabed with cold-water corals in the Atlantic Ocean about 200 km/124m west of Ireland discovered in 1862. The last documented sighting of Hy-Brasil was in 1872, when the historian T. J. Westropp and several friends saw the island appear and then vanish. This was Westropp’s third view of Hy-Brasil, but on this voyage he had brought his mother and some friends to verify the existence of Hy-Brasil.

Scientists today believe sightings of the island believe are the results of a mirage, but this does not take away from the beauty of the legend.
Even today, it still continues to inspire authors, most notably Peter Treymayne who wrote a charming story My Lady of Hy Brasil and Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill who wrote a very fine poem as Gaeilge enitled An Bhreasaíl. As the seanchaí Eddie Lenihan once remarked ‘if you have no magic in your life you are living in a sad place’.


Wednesday, April 6, 2011

An Dhanóib Ghlas

An Dhanóib Ghlas


le


Rónán Gearóid Ó Domhnaill




Mothaíonn tú an sean aimsir i Vín, príomhchathair na hOstaire. Feiceann tú rianta láidir na hImpire agus cé nach bhfuil sé soiléir i dtosach tá nasc níos sine ná míle bliain idir an tír seo agus an chathair álainn seo.
I gcroílár na cathrach tá an Steffl, ceann de na hardeaglaise is sine san Eoraip, ann. Buail iteach agus sa siopa beag ar chlé tá cloch ar an mballa, cloch darbh ainm Kolmanistein. Tháinig Éireannach darbh ainm Colman go Baile beag gar don Vín sa bhliain 1012 agus é ar a bhealach go Iarúsailaim., bhí cuma ait air, dar le muintir na háite agus níor thuig siad a chuid Ghaeilge. Chreid siad go raibh sé ag spiaireacht agus crochadh Colman bocht gan moill ó chrann talmhaíocht. Tamaill ina dhiadh sin thosaigh an crann ag bláth agus tógadh mar mhíorúilt é. B’éarlamh na hOstaire é Colman go 1663. Dúradh go gcrochadh é ar an Kolomanistein agus dúradh fresin go raibh a fhuil le feiceáil ar an gcloch. Nuair a tháinig oilithreach isteach chuimil sé an cloch agus thug sé cosaint dó.
Tháinig na Manaigh Beinidicteach Éireannach ó Regensburg sa Ghearmáin go Wín sa 12ú haois déag agus tógadh an mainistir sa bhlian 1155 agus tá an Schottenkirche fós ann. In aice leis fuair ceann de na seangheataí na cathrach an t-ainm Schottentor nó geataí na hÉireannaigh (ní dhearna na hOstairaigh aon difríocht idir na Albannaigh agus na hÉireannigh) agus inniu sin ceann de na stadanna U-Bahn den líne U2.
In aimsir na Péindlithe tháinig Na Géanna Fiáine. Bhí Impireacht mór ag an Bhanimpire MariaTheresia agus bhuaigh na hÉireannaigh clú agus cáil mar shaighdiúirí. Ba ghinearál marcshula é Carl Claudius O’Donell in aimsir na Cogadh Seacht mBliain (1756-63). Bhí na hainmeacha marascal machaire Browne agus De Lacy i mbéal an phobail ag an am freisin. I gceantar 23 (tá 23 ceantar sa chathair agus uimhir ag gach ceann dóibh) tá sráid Uí Bhrian nó O’Brien Gasse ann tar éis Barún Johann von O’Brien a bhuaigh cath i gcoinne Napoleon sa bhliain 1809. Tá fiannaise ann go raibh na huaisle ag ceiliúradh lá Fhéile Phádraig sa bhliain 1766 agus bhí bratacha glasa ag crochadh sa Hoburg, an pálás impireach. Labhair siad Fraincis, teanga na huaisle ansin, agus Gaeilge le chéile.
Os comhair an Schottentor tá eaglais ón naoú haois déag darbh ainm Votivkirche. Tógadh é sa bhliain 1855 mar bhuíochas Dé (Votiv). Dhá bhliain roimhe rinne gréasaí bróg iarracht an Kaiser Franz Josef a mharú. Stopadh an feallmharú le Ginerál Maximillian O’Donell von Tyrconnell a raibh i gcomhluadar an Kaiser. B’é an Barún von Banfield ceann de na pilóidí is cáiliúla sa Chéad Cogadh Domhanda. Bronnadh an bonn is airde, An Ord Maria Theresa, dó. Gach uair a thug sé cuairt ar Vín, go dtí a bhás sa bhlian 1986, bhí garda ónóra ina seasamh os comhair a hóstán, ómós a thugtar go hiondúil do uachtaráin amháin.
Le briseadh an Impireacht tar éis an Chéad Cogadh Domhanda. D’éirigh an Ostair níos lú agus rinneadh dearmad ar thionchar na hÉireannaigh.
Tháinig an cultúr Éireannach ar ais deireadh an 20ú haois nuair a tháinig na pubanna sna nócaidí agus feiceann tú ainmeacha ar nós Charley P’s, Flanagans agus Molly Darcys chomh maith le roinnt pubanna éireannach nach bhfuil ceangail dá laghad acu len tír seo agus tá tóir ag na hOstairigh orthu. Tá siad sa bhfaisean agus faigheann siad seans a gcuid Béarla a chleachtadh. Tá dúil orthu ar an uisce beatha freisin agus tá siopa darbh ainm The Potstill le breis agus trí chéad fuisce difrúil ann.
Tá níos mó ag baint len cultúr Éireannach ná na pubanna áfach. Bunaíodh Cumann Céilí Vín i 1986 agus tá cumannn cultúrtha ann freisin, an Austro-Irish Society. Fiú amháin ar an Ollscoil tá cúrsa Gaelach ann. Bunaíodh The Vienna Gaels, foireann peil Gaelach sa bhliain 2004 agus imríonn siad ar fud na hEoraip ach go háirithe i gcoinne clubanna eile i Munich, Copenhagen agus Budapest. Cé go bhfuil neart Éireannaigh le feiceáil ar an bhfoireann tá suim ag na hOstairigh freisin. I measc peil na mban mar shampla is an Vín an chuid is mó den fhoirne.
Tá ceilúradh Lá Fhéile Phádraig ag dul ó neart go neart chuile bhliain agus b’fhéidir go mbeidh an brat glas ag crochadh arís go luath sa Hofburg.

Téann Aer Lingus go Vín agus Ryanair go Bratislava (uair a chloig ó Wín)

Monday, January 3, 2011

1588- A Dark Year for Galway

1588- A Dark Year for Galway


by



Rónán Gearóid Ó Domhnaill




Following the disaster of the Spanish Armada the remnants of the fleet sailed down along the Irish coast and had the misfortune to encounter the worst storms in ten years. To add to their misfortune their maps, especially with regard to Connacht, were deeply inaccurate, with only half the province actually appearing on their maps. Of the estimated 5,000 members of the fleet who perished in Ireland just over a fifth lost their lives in Connacht and twelve ships found their watery grave along the Connacht coast.
The Spanish saw the native Irish as savages. Indeed, Captain Cuellar’s account, describing his treatment upon reaching land does little to dispel this image.
The English feared the Spanish would invade Ireland and the order went out that no quarter was to be given to any Spaniards landing in Connacht and the man who would oversee this in Connacht was Governor Richard Bingham.
Bingham had been appointed governor of the province in 1584. He was soldier and seaman who had served both with and against the Spaniards and been involved in English naval manoeuvres against the Spanish at Smerick in 1580.Connacht was relatively peaceful and any sign of rebellion was brutally crushed and it was not long before Bingham became known as ‘the flail of Connacht’.
In September 1588 two ships were sighted off the Aran Islands, but were unable to land in the poor weather and it is not known what became of them. An unnamed Spanish vessel sailed into Galway bay and anchored around Bearna. A party went inland bringing wine with them which they hoped to barter for food and water. It is probable that they knew the coastline well as they had managed to avoid running aground. Galway was the centre of wine trade in Ireland with the continent. The city was also loyal to the crown and the landing party was met by a mixed group of Galwegians and English troops who ordered the Spanish to lay down their arms. Edward Whyte, clerk of Bingham’s Connacht Council, who spoke Spanish recorded that the townspeople took them and the mayor of Galway was willing to spare their lives if they would yield up their goods and ship. However, the captain, seeing how his men were being treated, sailed away. Whether or not the ship made it back to Spain is not known.
The Falco Blanco Mediano, a 300 tonne ship carrying 103 men on board 16 guns was wrecked on a reef near Freaghillaun in Ballynakill Bay between Clifden and Renvyle. The survivors were looked after by the Connely clan. Bingham had issued a proclamation that all Spaniards were to be surrendered to the English under pain of death and through his network of spies news of the Spaniards’ arrival would have soon reached him.
The survivors were transferred to the O Flahertys of Ballynahinch who brought them to their clan leader Sir Murrough o Flaherty at Aughnanure, who had been knighted by Queen English in Galway and turned over the survivors.
There were several Spanish noblemen amongst the prisoners, the most famous being Don Luis de Cordoba, his nephew Don Gonzalo and the captain Pedro de Arechaga.
Another sept of the O Flahertys under Tadgh na Buile was involved with another wreck. He had his castle at Ards near Carna, at the head of a natural harbour. Only a small part of a wall now remains as a reminder of this time. The clan knew the sea well. It was at Duirling na Spáinneach near Ards in Mweenish Bay that the Cocepcion Delcano went ashore. One night in rough weather the crew saw fires on the shore. Thinking the fires were to guide them in they followed them, little realising that Taghg na Buile deliberately intended to drive the ship aground and plunder what remained. It carried two hundred and twenty five men on board and its captain Juan Delcano went down with the ship. Again the survivors were beaten and robbed. The guns from these wrecks were soon recovered by Sir George Carew. Those who survived were brought to Galway, among them Don Diego Sarimento.
In Galway the jails were soon overflowing. Spaniards from wrecks in Mayo had also been sent to The City of the Tribes. They numbered between 300 and 350. Sir William Fitzwilliam, the Lord Deputy of Ireland, had given the order to execute all Spaniards regardless of rank and even to use torture. He came from Athlone to Galway to personally oversee the executions. It is highly probable that his motive was also to get his share of the spoils and he ordered the O Flahertys to hand over anything of value they had stolen from the Spanish.
Robert Fowley, Captain Nathaniel Smythe and John Byrte along with several assistants were chosen to act as the main executioners.
Three hundred Spaniards were taken to a hill at St Augustine’s Monastery, now called Forthill where the grisly deed was to be performed. The Augustinians gave the condemned men the last rites and then to the horror of the Galwegians they were beheaded.
Forty noblemen were set aside for ransom with Don Diego Sarimento and Captain Archega included in their ranks. When news of this reached Fitzwilliam he was furious and ordered them to e executed immediately. The order was carried out. Included in the executions were six Dutch boys, who had been on the ships. It is said that two Spaniards were saved and hidden in the city. This is probably a reference to DeCoroda and his nephew, whose lives were spared. De Corboda had made no secret that he was a wealthy man and there is little doubt that is what kept them alive. They were both repatriated after a ransom was paid. Unsurprisingly, his Ireland sojourn left him bitter towards the Irish.
The women of Galway made burial shrouds for the corpses and the Pope forgave the citizens of Galway for what had happened.
The question remains however, could the Galwegians have done more for the Spaniards? While it is true that most people in Connemara would have had scarcely enough food for themselves, let alone for a few hundred Spaniards their actions seem to promote self-interest over showing kindness to strangers.
Today there is little trace in the Galway city of these terrible events and most Spaniards and Galwegians are oblivious to what happened so long ago. Forthill is still in existence and is the city’s oldest cemetery. Thirty seven Spaniards are said to be buried in a corner of the cemetery and a plaque in Spanish and Irish, but not English, serves as a reminder to this grisly epsiode in the city’s history.