Celestial Echoes: The Night Sky in Irish Folklore
I mentioned last week that I attended a public lecture by journalist Seán Mac an tSíthigh called Celestial Echoes: the Night Sky in Irish folklore. The talk was largely about some of the names given to celestial objects and the stories attached to those names. Much of the material was drawn from an extensive National Folklore Collection held at University College, Dublin. Unfortunately, however, the index to this collection is not very good at names for stars and constellations. In some cases it isn’t obvious what those names that are recorded actually refer to and in some cases the words themselves are obscure. The lecturer stressed that many of these words would have been known by the parents or grandparents of people in the audience, but have since been lost. There’s an article here that makes a similar point in a wider context. One prominent source of folklore, for example, is the traditional style of mackerel fishing, done at night so that the phosphorescence produced by the fish could be seen, which basically no longer exists so the folk names of stars and constellations used by the fishermen for navigation have been forgotten. Some other names have obviously been influenced by the Greco-Roman constellation names, etc.
I didn’t take many notes during this very enjoyable talk, but I did jot down a few words and phrases that I thought I’d pass on here. Given that my knowledge of modern Irish is very limited and many of the words used are dialect or archaic words that you won’t find in dictionaries, I’ll restrict myself to just a few of the things that caught my ear. Many of these are very similar in Scots Gaelic. Apologies in advance for misspellings, mistranslations or other forms of incompetence!
Before we start let me just mention that the Irish word for “star” is réalta (plural réaltai), which can also mean “a light”. There is also a diminutive, réiltín. Astronomy is réalteolaíocht and astrophysics is réaltfhisic. I’ve always liked the way astrophysics looks like “real physics”!
- The Milky Way is usually Bealach na Bó Finne (the Way of the White/Fair Cow). The legend that goes with this name is of a cow that produces an endless supply of milk. The Milky Way can also have the more literal name Claí Mór na Réaltaí (the Great Wall of Stars); in Irish mór means “big or great” and must be cognate with the Welsh mawr. Another folk name is An Láir Bhán (the White Mare).
- Orion is An Bodach which can mean a man, specifically an old man, or a ghost.
- Betelgeuse is An Spor Dearg (the Red Spur); Rigel is An Spor Liath (the Grey Spur).
- The Orion Nebula is An Sparán (the purse, pouch); cf. Scots sporran.
- In modern Irish, the Pleaides is An Tréidín (the Little Flock or Herd) but there are a variety of other terms including Buaile an Bhodaigh (the ghost’s milking place) and Na Cearrbhaigh (the Gamblers, because they look like people playing cards..).
- The constellation of Leo is An Corrán (the Hook, Sickle).
- Polaris is An Réalta Thuaidh (the North Star) but also Réalta Eolais (guiding star)
- Sirius is An Réalta Mhadra (the Dog Star).
- Ursa Minor is An Dragbhoth (the Fiery House).
- Ursa Major is An Mathghamhain Mór (the Great Bear); a more modern alternative word for “bear” is mathúin. The Plough is An Camchéachta
- The Aurora Borealis can be Soilse na Speire Thuaidh (lights of the Northern sky) or na Gealáin Thuaidh or na Saighneáin.
- A Comet is réalta (an) eireabaill, (star with a tail) réalta mhongach (long-haired or maned star) or réalta (na) scuaibe (star with a brush). There is an (extremely exaggerated) account of a comet in the famous book (and mainstay of the Irish language leaving certificate) by Peig Sayers; given the timing it may have been Halley’s Comet near its 1910 perihelion.
That’s enough for now. I have a few more, but they’ll have to wait…
In the Dark 
August 29, 2023 at 8:42 pm
the index to this collection is not very good at names for stars and constellations. In some cases it isn’t obvious what those names that are recorded actually refer to and in some cases the words themselves are obscure.
Whereas it is of course perfectly obvious that the stars making up Orion look like a hunter with a club and a belted robe, Ursa Major looks exactly like a bear and the Plough subset of it precisely like a plough…
August 29, 2023 at 8:52 pm
I’ve never been able to make out the lines connecting the stars, which make the shapes more obvious.
August 29, 2023 at 8:57 pm
Look more closely, and you might even see the numbers by the stars so you know in what order to join the dots.
August 29, 2023 at 8:58 pm
I think I’ll stick to theory…
January 18, 2024 at 9:44 pm
was there mention of the quarter days
geimhreadh winter
and do the months have astronomical names
samhain 2/8 first quarter day first month of year the start of the dark half of the year booleying down the mountain side for the living bodies to be beefed up as food supply is going to run out in winter
november 1st assembly of the dead booleying bodies living
november 2nd assembly of the all souls living
place the ram with the ewe as food supply is in short supply for the winter months five months time
meteor shower
14th 20th november max rate 17th the leonid meteor shower comet temple tuttle which orbits the sun every 33.25 years and it is its dust tail that is the originator of the leonid meteor shower with a virtual point of origin near gamma leo golden or leo shower trinox samo sindiu = trinoxtion samoni sindiu the three nights of samoni today gaulish coligny calendar 2nd century bc
nollaig december natalica birth of the light christ
place the bull in the field before vernal spring equinox and you might be calving on christmas day
25th december 3/8 day of year nollaig stad and grian solus calving on christmas day the divine calf wash the feet
place the bull in the field after vernal spring equinox and you should not be calving on christmas day
eanair january
earrach spring
imbolc imbolg imolg 4/8 second quarter day fourth month of year the belly getting fatter the foisc/ewes milk for the uan/lamb bah bah luan growing bigger the earth belly springing to budding sprout after winter drought
feabhra february
february 2nd la feile muire na gcoinneal feast day of the candles of candlemas
the wet nurse of the light of the world
the milk of the ewe for the lambs of the world
the lambing season is in the air/es
marta warriors of mars march march march roars in like a lion
laethanta na bo riabhai last days of marta march the old cow days the days of the brindled cow
place the bull in the field before vernal spring equinox and you might be calving on christmas day
the first three days of aibrean april so bitterly cold na bo riabhai died
marta march 25th 5/8 vernal spring equinox equal day equal night wash the hands in water pisces two fishes
place the bull in the field after vernal spring equinox and you should not be calving on christmas day
goes out like a lamb
aibrean april always remember aphrodite month on the eostre month
always recall the cross of the light of the easter lamb world
samhradh flower garland gardenland summer
la bealtine beltine 6/8 third quarter day seventh month of year the bright fire light half the premature birth may cetshamhain first of summer
booleying of cattle up the slopes for fattening
meitheamh june
june 25th mid summer day 7/8 day of year stad an grian wash the head
iuil july
fomhar harvest autumn
lunasa lugnasa lammas 7/8 fourth quarter day tenth month of year the first harvest the mature birth august first fruits harvest loaf mass five loaves
mean fomhair september middle harvest
september 25th 8/8 and 1/8 day of the year autumnal equinox
deireadh fomhair october end of harvest the second fruits harvest nuts apples
samhain last twelfth month of the year
return to top to start new year
as the days have astronomical names
luan de luain from latin dies lunae lunar day moonday
de mairt from latin dies martis the ares mars 1 tuesday marsday
de ceadaoin first fast of the week wednesday the first fast swift mercury wodens day
deardaoin the day between the fasts thursday jupiter a slower one
de haoine the day of the fast friday venus second fastest
de sathairn from latin dies saturni saturday saturn
de domhnaigh from latin dies domincus the cu hounds of the domi lord
an altermative latin name for sunday dies solis being more common suns day
January 18, 2024 at 10:12 pm
No.