With Easter coming up, I thought I would take another look into James Mooney’s 1889 paper “The Holiday Customs of Ireland”. With his theme that Catholic holiday traditions were often with ancient traditions and mythology he suggested that Shrove Tuesday may be a descendant of the Bacchanalia and Lupercalia. He also says that it may […]
Author: Groomporter
Blogger for The Celtic Croft and owner of MacGregor Historic Games http://historicgames.com
Newsletter Blast from the Past: The Connaught Rangers
The Connaught Rangers Originally published July 2012 The 88th Regiment of Foot, nicknamed “The Devil’s Own,” was an Irish regiment of the British army. It was one of eight regiments raised and garrisoned in Ireland. The 88th Foot were raised in 1793 to be prepare for the threat from Napoleonic France. One of their early […]
Celtic Hist. Newsletter Blast from the Past: Fighting Jack Churchill
Interesting tidbit. According to Nation Museums Scotland “George R. R. Martin has stated many times that the Massacre of Glencoe, along with the Black Dinner at Edinburgh Castle in 1440, is what gave him the idea for Game of Thrones’ most infamous scene – the Red Wedding.” Read their article. Fighting Jack Churchill Originally Published […]
Celtic Hist. Newsletter Blast from the Past: Alexander Selkirk
Alexander Selkirk Originally published November 2012 Alexander Selkirk was born in 1676, and was the real-life inspiration behind the novel Robinson Crusoe. He was the seventh son of a shoemaker from Largo, Fife in Scotland. He is described as a “spoiled and wayward boy” who “frequently engaged in mischief of one kind or another.” He […]
Newsletter Blast from the Past: Celtic Chariots & Cavalry
Free online course on the Book of Kells returns Following a hugely successful debut, Trinity College Dublin is again running its free online course on the Book of Kells – one of the world’s most famous medieval manuscripts. Originally Published February 2013 As with many ancient peoples chariots were an important part of Celtic warfare. […]
Celtic History Newsletter: Irish Holidays (St. Bridget & Patrick)
In 1889 James Mooney Published a paper “The Holiday Customs of Ireland” He found a number of Irish holidays blended the Catholicism with ancient Celtic tradition and mythology. Some of the traditions he documented are still practiced in some regions of Ireland today. For example February 1st, St. Bridget’s Day is a fire festival that […]
Newsletter Blast from the Past: The Poyais Scam
I’m a little late with this week’s blast from the past MacGregor Games got stuck in Oshkosh due to the snow and high winds over the weekend. This article was originally published December 2012 Gregor MacGregor (1786 – 1845) was a Scottish soldier, adventurer, land speculator, and colonizer who fought in the South American struggle […]
Newsletter Blast from the Past: Gallic Dining through Greek Eyes
Originally published March 2013 Of course we have to take writings of foreigners with a grain of salt, but I thought some of these Greek quotes describing dining/feasting habits of the Gauls might be of interest. One of the last ones brings up a question in my mind. “The Celts sit upon dried grass and […]
Newsletter Blast from the Past: Scottish Dirks
Originally published April 2013 We have a guest writer this month. A friend, Joseph D. Smith shared with me an article along he wrote some time ago along with a couple illustrations. His knowledge on the topic comes from not just book research, but also from some personal experience hand-forging dirks and other knives. Origin, […]
Celtic History Newsletter “Gobban the Builder”
Gobán Saor or Gobban the Builder, is a legendary figure in Irish folklore who is believed to be based on an actual historical person. The traditions vary as to the time when he lived, ranging from sometime before Christ to the seventh century. But the Catholic Encyclopedia sites him as being born about 560 at […]