Irish Ancestry and Heritage: April 2007

Thursday, April 5, 2007

Blackcock's Feather - Irish Swashbucklers

Reviewed by Hilary Williamson
www.bookloons.com

This is the 'plain cloak-and-sword story rendered from the Scots and Gaelic' of a man who became known as Blackcock's Feather for the distinctive decoration that adorned his 'fine Highland bonnet'. We first meet David Gordon, fresh from his father's burial and weary of the futility of years spent with that 'wandering man' in European exile. For Iain Gordon 'had two loves in all his life': David's mother Fionuala, daughter of an Irish chieftain; and Mary Queen of Scots. Iain hated Elizabeth, who ordered Mary's execution and his principles kept him from fighting on the side of the English or against the underdog.

Unfortunately, given the political situation at that time, these scruples left him unable to sell his sword and he ended up teaching fencing and wrestling in small towns on the fringes of armies.Hearing that the Irish chiefs were finally uniting to wage war against Elizabeth, Iain and his twenty-eight year old son travelled to Ireland by way of Bristol. There Iain fell ill and died, leaving his son at loose ends. The story opens as David shows his mettle wrestling with the Cornish shipowner who tries to deny him a refund of his father's fare. This is when he first encounters a gallant enemy, Sir Francis Vaughan, who is impressed by his demeanour and attempts to win him to the English side. Gordon has not yet decided when a brutal encounter in Dublin makes up his mind for him - Captain Cosby, 'a man you would say at first glance was handsome and merry - and be only a good judge of looks', viciously slaughters an unarmed Irish chieftain, whom David has befriended.

After a comical encounter with Vaughan's servant, Trooper Tom Pybus, and taking the 'wine of advice' from his friend Cathal, Gordon rides by back roads to Ulster and to Dungannon where he meets the O'Neill and learns that the cousin he had hoped to find is a truce hostage in Galway. Nevertheless he heads on to Dungiven; his cousin Donal is there after all and welcomes David as close kin. There is also the priest, Father Senan, who loves David for his dead mother's sake.

David describes himself as 'a dangerous, sullen fellow to outward seeming, though, in truth, I was, even then, of mild and reasonable habit.' He finds a fellowship in Dungiven that he had never known ... 'On my first coming we talked for three days back-and-fore, and after that, as they say, we began talking.'

Blackcock's Feather is a wonderful tale of war, action and, of course, romance. While hostage, Donal met and fell for Amy Burc, whose father is about to send her out of reach to England. A raid is planned and succeeds, but the party is separated and David and Father Senan have their own adventure. They cross swords with Cosby and David meets his match in Eithne O'Flaherty in 'an experience that had shaken the roots of my life'. She hides them from the English, who are her mother's allies. There are many more encounters with old friends and enemies, brutality side by side with gallantry.

As in The Quiet Man, Walsh gives an idealized and sentimental perspective of the Gael, imbedded in a rousing tale of historical adventure. David Gordon is an excellent hero; dour and always ready to decry his own abilities, yet a true friend, a brave fighter, and a man of principles like his father. He does defeat the villain in a final confrontation and wins what he deserves, though, in true Irish fashion, his future mother-in-law has the last word. It is a shame that Walsh wrote so few historical novels, but they are all worth reading, especially this one.Notes: This book is out of print but is still available from rare book stores. Thanks to Violet Books for giving permission to show the dustwrapper illustration above. Have a look at their Gallery of Rare Dustwrappers and vintage Illustrations.

Maurice Walsh: The Romance of The Gael

If this is your introduction to the Irish novelist Maurice Walsh, we hope you enjoy his work as much as we do. If you're a fan, let us know what your favorite Walsh novel is.

Walsh was born in 1879 in Lisselton, near Listowel, County Kerry. He's most famous for "The Quiet Man," a short story celebrated in the John Ford-John Wayne-Maureen O'Hara film. Personally, I find the movie cloying and pretty superficial. But that's John Ford for you. Walsh could be overly dramatic, but I think he comes close to capturing the Gaelic spirit - full of elation, wonder, superstition - and depression and despair on a cosmic level.

His works include "The Key Above The Door," "While Rivers Run," "The Small Dark Man," "And No Quarter", my personal favorite, known as "The Dark Rose"in the U.S. I'll review this one soon. I lent my copy (now out of print) to my favorite redhead (an O'Sullivan) , and she still has it.

Others are "The Hill is Mine," "The Spanish Lady," "Castle Gilliam," "Trouble in the Glen," "Blackcock's Feather," and "The Road to Nowhere." See the review of "Blackcock's Feather," by Hilary Williamson of www.bookloons.com , above.

Walsh died in 1964. For more information, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_Walsh

A Trip To Western Ireland

After my daughter and her family moved to Ireland in 2005, they visited the West, touring Dunguaire Castle and taking in the medieval banquet at Bunratty Castle. When I saw this photo, my first thought was: "Wow! The place has really grown up." It seemed I'd been there before when the ivy was not nearly as extensive. Deja vu? I wonder.

TALES OF THE BANSHEE

Of all Irish ghosts, fairies, or bogles, the Banshee (sometimes called locally the "Boh[=ee]ntha" or "Bank[=ee]ntha") is the best known to the general public: indeed, cross-Channel visitors would class her with pigs, potatoes, and other fauna and flora of Ireland, and would expect her to make manifest her presence to them as being one of the sights of the country. She is a spirit with a lengthy pedigree--how lengthy no man can say, as its roots go back into the dim, mysterious past. The most famous Banshee of ancient times was that attached to the kingly house of O'Brien, Aibhill, who haunted the rock of Craglea above Killaloe, nearthe old palace of Kincora. In A.D. 1014 was fought the battle of Clontarf, from which the aged king, Brian Boru, knew that he would never come away alive, for the previous night Aibhill had appeared to him to tell him of his impending fate. The Banshee's method of foretelling death in olden times differed from that adopted by her at the present day: now she wails and wrings her hands, as a general rule, but in the old Irish tales she is to be found washing human heads and limbs, or blood-stained clothes, till the water is all dyed with human blood--this would take place before a battle. So it would seem that in the course of centuries her attributes and characteristics have changed somewhat. Very different descriptions are given of her personal appearance.Sometimes she is young and beautiful, sometimes old and of a fearsome appearance. One writer describes her as "a tall, thin woman with uncovered head, and long hair that floated round her shoulders, attired in something which seemed either a loose white cloak, or a sheet thrownhastily around her, uttering piercing cries." Another person, a coachman, saw her one evening sitting on a stile in the yard; she seemed to be a very small woman, with blue eyes, long light hair, and wearing a red cloak. Other descriptions will be found in this chapter. By the way, it does not seem to be true that the Banshee exclusively follows families of Irish descent, for the last incident had reference to the death of a member of a Co. Galway family English by name and origin. One of the oldest and best-known Banshee stories is that related in the_Memoirs_ of Lady Fanshaw.[F] In 1642 her husband, Sir Richard, and she hanced to visit a friend, the head of an Irish sept, who resided in his ancient baronial castle, surrounded with a moat. At midnight she was awakened by a ghastly and supernatural scream, and looking out of bed,beheld in the moonlight a female face and part of the form hovering at the window. The distance from the ground, as well as the circumstance of the moat, excluded the possibility that what she beheld was of this world. The face was that of a young and rather handsome woman, but pale, and the hair, which was reddish, was loose and disheveled. The dress,which Lady Fanshaw's terror did not prevent her remarking accurately,was that of the ancient Irish. This apparition continued to exhibit itself for some time, and then vanished with two shrieks similar to that which had first excited Lady Fanshaw's attention. In the morning, with infinite terror, she communicated to her host what she had witnessed,and found him prepared not only to credit, but to account for the superstition. "A near relation of my family," said he; "expired last night in this castle. We disguised our certain expectation of the event rom you, lest it should throw a cloud over the cheerful reception which was your due. Now, before such an event happens in this family or castle, the female specter whom you have seen is always visible. "She is elieved to be the spirit of a woman of inferior rank, whom one of my ancestors degraded himself by marrying, and whom afterwards, to expiate the dishonor done to his family, he caused to be drowned in the moat."In strictness this woman could hardly be termed a Banshee. The motive for the haunting is akin to that in the tale of the Scotch "Drummer of Cortachy," where the spirit of the murdered man haunts the family out of revenge, and appears before a death. Mr. T.J. Westropp, M.A., has furnished the following story: "My maternal grandmother heard the following tradition from her mother, one of the Miss Ross-Lewins, who witnessed the occurrence. Their father, Mr.Harrison Ross-Lewin, was away in Dublin on law business, and in his absence the young people went off to spend the evening with a friend who lived some miles away. The night was fine and lightsome as they were returning, save at one point where the road ran between trees or high hedges not far to the west of the old church of Kilchrist. The latter,l like many similar ruins, was a simple oblong building, with longside-walls and high gables, and at that time it and its graveyard were unenclosed, and lay in the open fields. As the party passed down the long dark lane they suddenly heard in the distance loud keening and clapping of hands, as the country-people were accustomed to do when lamenting the dead. The Ross-Lewins hurried on, and came in sight of the church, on the side wall of which a little gray-haired old woman, clad in a dark cloak, was running to and fro, chanting and wailing, and throwing up her arms. The girls were very frightened, but the young men ran forward and surrounded the ruin, and two of them went into the church, the apparition vanishing from the wall as they did so. They searched every nook, and found no one, nor did any one pass out. All were now well scared, and got home as fast as possible. On reaching their home their mother opened the door, and at once told them that she was in terror about their father, for, as she sat looking out the window in the moonlight, a huge raven with fiery eyes lit on the sill, and tapped three times on the glass. They told her their story, which only added to their anxiety, and as they stood talking, taps came to the nearest window, and they saw the bird again. A few days later news reached them that Mr. Ross-Lewin had died suddenly in Dublin. This occurred about 1776."Mr. Westropp also writes that the sister of a former Roman Catholic Bishop told his sisters that when she was a little girl she went out one evening with some other children for a walk. Going down the road, they passed the gate of the principal demesne near the town. There was a rock, or large stone, beside the road, on which they saw something.Going nearer, they perceived it to be a little dark, old woman, who began crying and clapping her hands. Some of them attempted to speak to her, but got frightened, and all finally ran home as quickly as they could. Next day the news came that the gentleman near whose gate the Banshee had cried, was dead, and it was found on inquiry that he had died at the very hour at which the children had seen the specter. A lady who is a relation of one of the compilers, and a member of a Co.Cork family of English descent, sends the two following experiences of aBanshee in her family. "My mother, when a young girl, was standing looking out of the window in their house at Blackrock, near Cork. She suddenly saw a white figure standing on a bridge which was easily visible from the house. The figure waved her arms towards the house, and my mother heard the bitter wailing of the Banshee. It lasted some seconds, and then the figure disappeared. Next morning my grandfather was walking as usual into the city of Cork. He accidentally fell, hit his head against the curbstone, and never recovered consciousness."In March, 1900, my mother was very ill, and one evening the nurse and I were with her arranging her bed. We suddenly heard the most extraordinary wailing, which seemed to come in waves round and under her bed. We naturally looked everywhere to try and find the cause, but in vain. The nurse and I looked at one another, but made no remark, as my mother did not seem to hear it. My sister was downstairs sitting with my father. She heard it, and thought some terrible thing had happened to her little boy, who was in bed upstairs. She rushed up, and found him sleeping quietly. My father did not hear it. In the house next door they heard it, and ran downstairs, thinking something had happened to the servant; but the latter at once said to them, 'Did you hear the Banshee? Mrs.P---- must be dying.'" A few years ago (_i.e._ before 1894) a curious incident occurred in a public school in connection with the belief in the Banshee. One of the boys, happening to become ill, was at once placed in a room by himself,where he used to sit all day. On one occasion, as he was being visited by the doctor, he suddenly started up from his seat, and affirmed that he heard somebody crying. The doctor, of course, who could hear or see nothing, came to the conclusion that the illness had slightly affected his brain. However, the boy, who appeared quite sensible, still persisted that he heard some one crying, and furthermore said, "It is the Banshee, as I have heard it before." The following morning the head-master received a telegram saying that the boy's brother had been accidentally shot dead. [G]That the Banshee is not confined within the geographical limits of Ireland, but that she can follow the fortunes of a family abroad, and there foretell their death, is clearly shown by the following story. A party of visitors were gathered together on the deck of a private yacht on one of the Italian lakes, and during a lull in the conversation oneof them, a Colonel, said to the owner, "Count, who's that queer-looking woman you have on board?" The Count replied that there was nobody except the ladies present, and the stewardess, but the speaker protested that he was correct, and suddenly, with a scream of horror, he placed his hands before his eyes, and exclaimed, "Oh, my God, what a face!" For some time he was overcome with terror, and at length reluctantly looked up, and cried:"Thank Heavens, it's gone!""What was it?" asked the Count."Nothing human," replied the Colonel--"nothing belonging to this world.It was a woman of no earthly type, with a queer-shaped, gleaming face, a mass of red hair, and eyes that would have been beautiful but for their expression, which was hellish. She had on a green hood, after the fashion of an Irish peasant."An American lady present suggested that the description tallied withthat of the Banshee, upon which the Count said:"I am an O'Neill--at least I am descended from one. My family name is, as you know, Neilsini, which, little more than a century ago, was O'Neill. My great-grandfather served in the Irish Brigade, and on its dissolution at the time of the French Revolution had the good fortune to escape the general massacre of officers, and in company with an O'Brien and a Maguire fled across the frontier and settled in Italy. On his death his son, who had been born in Italy, and was far more Italian thanIrish, changed his name to Neilsini, by which name the family has been known ever since. But for all that we are Irish." "The Banshee was yours, then!" ejaculated the Colonel. "What exactly does it mean?""It means," the Count replied solemnly, "the death of some one very nearly associated with me. Pray Heaven it is not my wife or daughter."On that score, however, his anxiety was speedily removed, for within two hours he was seized with a violent attack of angina pectoris, and diedbefore morning. [H]Mr. Elliott O'Donnell, to whose article on "Banshees" we are indebted for the above, adds: "The Banshee never manifests itself to the person whose death it is prognosticating. Other people may see or hear it, but the fated one never, so that when every one present is aware of it but one, the fate of that one may be regarded as pretty well certain." FOOTNOTES:[E] From "True Irish Ghost Stories."[F] Scott's _Lady of the Lake_, notes to Canto III (edition of 1811).[G] A.G. Bradley, _Notes on some Irish Superstitions_, p. 9.[H] _Occult Review_ for September, 1913.

Welcome to the new Irish Heritage Blog

This site will celebrate the Celtic heritage, with the main focus on the Irish branch. We'll offer book and movie reviews, photos from my family's album - they live near the capital - notes on Irish actors, actresses, authors and artists. Next up - An appreciation of the romance writer Maurice Walsh and a review of his "Blackcock's Feather" by Hilary Williamson of BookLoons. Visit them at http://www.bookloons.com The image of Queen Maeve is by German-American commercial artist J.C. Leyendecker ,who produced dozens of covers for "The Saturday Evening Post." This image is from the frontispiece of "Myths and Legends of the Celtic Race,"published by T.W. Rolleston, London, 1911. Reproduced with permission from Ray Dickenson, editor of Perceptions. http://www.perceptions.couk.com The work is one of several legendary Irish figures, including Cuchullain, that Leyendecker painted to illustrate Theodore Roosevelt's article "The Ancient Irish Sagas" in "The Century" magazine for January, 1907.

Irish Ancestry and Heritage

Dunguaire Castle, near Kinvarra

Thursday, April 5, 2007

Blackcock's Feather - Irish Swashbucklers

Maurice Walsh: The Romance of The Gael

A Trip To Western Ireland

Queen Maeve

Heraldry

O'Kelly

A Great Site for Heraldry

sullivan

O'Sullivan?

Banshees!

TALES OF THE BANSHEE

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