Fir an Deiscirt, Seán Céitinn, Éire, 1921
An Sionnach Fionn
Séamas Ó Sionnaigh. Poblachtach Ghaelach, scríbhneoir agus ealaíontóir (agus buzzing mosquito).
Ní Bóna Ná Coróin
Neither Collar Nor Crown
Neither your collar nor crown
Shall I wear, my nose not brown,
Nor I some clown in your court,
In chains brought, a wolf to town.By no oath bound to your King,
To my Gods alone I sing,
Grey shadow hiding from sight
To keep the rite from waning.In red gold you dress these slaves,
What throne can forget Nine Waves?
In deep caves our flame I shield,
Never to yield to such knaves.Collars serve to rein dogs in,
Quell their nerve with shades and sin.
Wild wolf’s kin such bangles scorn,
Free-born I stay, son of Fionn.My brothers hunted, slain, skinned.
Yet still my cries ride the wind,
Numbers thinned, but still we wait,
For your hate, we have not sinned.Now the lone hunters take heed,
Upon the Great Stag we feed,
Blood for mead. His death our life,
Ends this strife, stirs this dried seed.The old packs come together,
Ties that fear cannot sever,
Endeavour in pride to stand
In the Wolf Land, forever.
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An Sionnach Fionn is now available on “Google Currents“, the hassle-free Android and iOS application for tablet computers and smartphones that features magazine-style editions of websites like the Guardian, New York Times, Slate, Mashable and a host of others. This app version of An Sionnach Fionn will feature up-to-date posts from the blog and YouTube channel in a swipeable, easy-to-read magazine format. Installing Currents is simplicity itself. Open the Play Store on your smartphone or tablet, search for “Google Currents” and install the app. You can also install Google Currents via Google Play.
You can find the blog on Google Currents under the name “An Sionnach Fionn” or using the catalogue tags “Éire Ghaelach” and “Éire Shaor”. Or use “Add more” in the app itself and find via the “Search” option in the top bar.
This is the first time I’ve actually gone to your site. I usually just catch little parts on facebook. This is BEYOND insightful for an UNinformed person such as myself. Thank you. I’ll shall be reading FREQUENTLY.
Thanks for the Comment, Mick. All readers – and contributions – welcome
Dia Dhuit a chara,
Is mise Riarthóir ag Fóram na Gaeilge. Táim an-tógtha le do chuid blaganna, caithfidh mé a rá, leis an méid alt atá scríofa agat agus a gcáilíocht. Aontaím le cuid de na blaganna siúd, agus tá cinn ní aontaím le, – sin an saol. Ach, ba mhaith liom cuireadh a thabhairt duit chun a bheith linn ag Fóram na Gaeilge – http://www.foramnagaeilge.com.
Tá súil agam go gcláróidh tú agus déan plé linn, ná déan dearmad – Beatha an Teanga Í a Labhairt.
Mise Le Meas,
Seán.
Fel Cymro Cymraeg dwi’n wrth fy modd hefo dy safle we!
(As a Welsh speaker I think your blog/website is an excellent contribution to Celtic issues)
Diolch yn fawr, Arfon. Much appreciated.
Tá an blag seo iontach! An bhfuil Twitter agat?
Twitter!
Hi there, I’m just wondering what your background is (i.e. are you a published author/journalist, or a social commentator, etc…)- your answer on ‘One skilled scientist is worth an army’ was intriguing. I need to give a brief background for that website for a uni assignment- your help would be appreciated
Hi Catherine, for (relative) anonymity’s sake I won’t say that much about my background but I work in the IT industry in Ireland, would be politically active in terms of supporting various Irish language civil rights causes, as well as more general Irish Republican ones.
The blogging or commenting on sites of interest is just another expression of that. I’ve a few articles published around various Irish current affairs or history-orientated sites and some Sci-Fi and cult ones too (The Wild Geese Today, Forth Magazine, Prog464, etc.).
Hope that helps
Bonjour / latha math/ kwe
Thank you for visiting my blog.
I was actually reblogging a university professor *blushes* and added a little sauce of my own.
I GOGGLED Eunan Professor Eunan O’Halpin after watching “In the Name of the Republic” and came across this blog. I thought the documentary was credible and well presented and felt the professor was very brave to give his account of the history of the period he spoke about as I would imagine there will be a certain amount of animosity created within his family, given their background.
However, reading your version of events and seeing the pictures you referred to has made me doubt the documentary so much that I believe you must make your views known by making a complaint to the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland,
The truth must be made known and the lies challenged, for all of us to know what our history actually is.
Well I’m not one to censor opinions or prevent others from expressing them, however much I disagree with those opinions. History should be under continuous revision as new facts and theories come to light. In that context it is entirely appropriate that the darker aspects of the War of Independence are investigated. Off the top of my head I could suggest several incidents that require new research. The struggle against the British between 1916-1923 bore a close comparison to the WWII struggle in France against the Vichy regime and the German Occupation.
However what we witnessed last night on TV3 was far from serious history. It was demonstrably selective, one-sided, and wholly anti-historical tone to it. Even the smallest of things, like the references to “IRA courts” taking over justice in Ireland during the revolutionary period and serving as judge, jury and executioner were completely at odds with the known facts of the era. How could O’Halpin be unaware of the Dáil/Sinn Féin courts and the role they played? They are perhaps amongst the best documented and researched facets of the undermining of administrative British rule by the Irish Republic and the means by which it won wide-scale support. Yet he deliberately mischaracterized them as “IRA courts”.
One is reminded of the fringe “documentaries” produced by the “9/11 Truthers” or the Tea Party-inspired “Birthers” in the United States. The use of conspiracy theories, misrepresented or selective facts and information, slanted opinions and prejudicial images or film footage (especially when associated with voice-overs implying that the pictures or film represent something completely different from what they actually do represent). It is astonishing that this got made. Yet in the end it produced not a single fact to back up its supposed “executions”. No graves, no bodies, no identities, no missing persons, no records, no nothing. Yet the whole basis of the program was the three “murdered” men found by a farmer on his lands in the 1920s. If they never existed then what of the rest of the allegations made in the documentary?
I would rather take those who produced the sensationalist (and in my opinion anti-historical) documentary to task by analyzing their words and actions than take any other courses of action.
It is actually quite sad and depressing that 90 years on some people are still fighting the War of Independence – but on behalf of the British.
Hi Séamas,
You say “I would rather take those who produced the sensationalist (and in my opinion anti-historical) documentary to task by analyzing their words and actions than take any other courses of action”.
However, I believe that a complaint to the BAI would have a better chance of correcting matters than analyzing their words and actions here, a blog that hasn’t a very large readership. For one, it would be open to public scrutiny to a much larger audience. Unfortunately, I don’t have the required knowledge in history to do so myself.
Séamus – writing an article on Tolkien – you seem to be the expert – can I do an email interview with yourself?
No expert but I have an interest. The blog email is on the home page if you want to send me on any questions. I’ll try my best to answer.
i saw that painting as a 20 year old in a galery in cork city in the early 1970s always liked liked it as i liked CORK IN THE 70S I LIKED THIS SITE full of history i bought a few books in eastons i think one by tom barry i read it all thru the other by dan breen brothers maybe in arms
Thanks for the Comment, John Paul. Seán Keating was a wonderful artist and this is one my favourite paintings.