Irish Storytelling

One of Ireland's earliest traditions and ancient Celtic art form is storytelling (one of the "High Arts" formerly). Thousands of years ago, Irish storytellers told great tales of heroes, fairies, and the gods. In fact, the oldest epic poem of Europe is an Irish story. About 400 AD, when writing was introduced to Ireland, many of the stories were recorded and new ones were created.

Storytelling has a multifaceted history of use including, education of both children and adults, history-keeping, law making, conflict resolution, community decision making and mental healing. Many of these uses are still applied by tellers today. As such, storytellers were (up until the last 300 years) members of the elite class in many cultures were equal in status to the Kings and Queens.

The old people had a way of coming together in the Celtic Lands - the Cèilidh (Kay-lee). The Gaelic word means "a gathering of the people." They would collect, young and old, around the hearth of one of the villagers, or perhaps the hearth of a Chieftain's House. There would be songs sung and music to dance to. The oldest, Seanachaidh (Shan-ah-kee - means storyteller) if present, would tell the Tales they had learned from their elders - Tales of their people, Tales of honour, of battles, of magic, of love, of sorrow. The Cèilidh and these Tales, older than the languages which now recall them, weave the people together, give the people a sense of who they are and where they come from.

The Irish have developed a "gift of the gab," a delight in parody, satire and the grotesque and a unique sense of humor that is still extent today. Wherever you go in Ireland, you will encounter a storyteller who will entertain you with legends, history and tall tales told in the special Irish lilt that is so endearing and entertaining. Ireland, for good reason, is known as the land of storytellers.

I don't think I have ever met an Irishman who didn't have the gift though...my dad is an amazing storyteller (most of his stories are make-believe)...but my favorite storyteller of real life events is my Pap Rice. It is an amazing gift to be able to share with your children's children, the events and the history of your life. It is storytelling that has given me strong ties to my family, and given me a sense of who I am, where I've come from, and who I want to be. I sincerely hope I can perfect that "gift" and create a home where storytelling will help my children to pass on the stories of our families to their own children.