Author: Dáithí Mac Cú na Mara

Brat Bhríde

Eolas Ársa

Rita O’Loughlin has always been passionate about Irish heritage and local communities.

Originally from Dublin she moved to Portarlington Co. Laois 20 yrs ago. ‘A small town with a huge heart’ as she describes it.

She started the award winning @mybratbhride with the help of the Port Art Collective, a group of
local artists that came together to support and promote each other’s work.

The tradition of the Brat Bhride was passed to Rita by her Mother.

Together they upcycled and embroidered preloved scarves with spirals of colourful wool, gifting
them to friends and family as Brigid healing shawls.

This tradition was quite normal in rural Ireland many years ago, when access to doctors was not as
easy as it is today. With firm belief and devotion to the healing power of St Brigid, it was common
place for women to leave a shawl or a piece of cloth outside on the eve of Brigid’s day, as an offering
to the Goddess/Saint and she in turn would imbue it with special healing powers.

It was then taken inside and kept in a safe place to be wrapped around anyone who fell ill.
After her mother died, Rita decided to set up a voluntary innitive showing people of all ages and
abilities how to make their own brat bhride from a preloved scarf which they could keep or gift to
another.

The project continues to go from strength to strength.

She has been all over Ireland promoting the innitive in schools, women’s sheds, rehab centres,
libraries and many festivals.

There is no skill set required and the aim of this project is to promote a revival of the Brat
Bhride tradition across Ireland at a community level, embracing togetherness, celebrating
communities and cherishing our heritage by involving the wisdom and experience of older members
of society.

>> https://www.creativeireland.gov.ie/en/event/my-brat-bhride/

>> @mybratbhride

Aisling Fraser

Imbas

Aisling Fraser is a medium for this ancient Energetic Healing process
FROM THIS LAND that dates back over 6000 years. She is based in her
healing space Danuwellness located in Midleton Co. Cork and also travels
to where her work takes her holding seasonal gatherings outdoors. She is
a traditional healer, reflexologist, Aromatherapist and Body Worker who
leads with intuition and heart. Together with Aisling, open up a space
to Renew your Cells. BREATHE NEW LIFE INTO YOUR BODY. Renew your inner
desire to be free and to align with your true purpose. Wherever you feel
stuck, wherever there is old patterning, belief systems holding you
back, allow this ancient energetic process to weave freshness into your
bodily systems, cleaning,clearing and removing anything that is not in
alignment with your true purpose here on earth.

Receive High Healing Transmissions and active living energetic Prayer in
a sacred space held by Aisling,

Are you worn out, tired, stuck, held back, anxious, limited, lacking in
abundance??? If any of the above is how you feel right now, come join
Aisling in intimate gathering or 1 to 1 healing session to set yourself
free of the weight and step into your own power.

Aisling is a student of Ger Lyons Global Healer who travels around the
world sharing this tradition.

For more information on Aislings work see her website

>> https://danuwellnesscork.com/

>> Listen to Aislings Poetry Danuwellness Poetry

>> Danuwellness Instagram

>> danuwellness facebook

Annie Hogg

Tallamh

I am a Tipperary based visual artist whose work and practice is around
being in nature as an equal participant.

Some of the materials I work with include soils and their microbes, rain
waters, mineral colours, tears and charred found natural objects.

I aim to look at our current ecological world situation through the lens
of questioning.

Since I was a pup, I have felt the desire to express love and rage for
the wild world and the domesticated world. This has culminated in many
ways throughout my live, with this more recent development of
channelling such things into an active creative practice, which is
suiting both me and the hound with whom I am privileged to spend my days
and ways.

I aim to create work through themes and materials which hold the
integrity of protest to bring about positive change and enable a view of
the world where we are each partakers as opposed to takers.

A second installation in a larger body of work around these themes will
be opening in late summer of 2024 in The Quadrangle Art Gallery at
University College Galway.

>> http://www.anniehoggstudio.com/

>> @anniehogg_thewildhedgeinkco

Seán Fitzgerald

Imbas

Seán Fitzgerald is an artist and writer in County Donegal. Starting in 1989 and throughout the nineties, Seán began self-publishing ‘Protest’, a heavily illustrated publication that covered issues around equality, feminism, worker’s autonomy, music, political prisoners and more. Past issues are now part of the permanent archived collection in University College Cork Library.

As the 2000s rolled in, Seán began hosting a podcast called ‘Scairt Radio’ (meaning ‘Shout’ in Irish), which was also aired on A-Radio in Athens, Greece. The show interviewed bands and community activists around the world. Each episode featured insights from political activist Mumia Abu-Jamal, who spoke from his perspective as a death row political prisoner.

Throughout the early nineties and beyond,Seán continued illustrating for grassroots community groups, as well as book and album covers. In 2010 Seán began working on a book combining Irish mythology and folklore to tell the story of the Tuatha Dé Danann and Fomorians. This was drawing from folk knowledge passed down through generations rather than just academic sources.

In 2019 this work saw the light of day as the book “The Last Battle of Moytura”. Currently Seán is finishing an extensively illustrated exploration of traditional Irish ritual, which is rooted in hands-on experience and decades of research, drawing from Old and Middle Irish manuscripts as well as folk traditions.My art and writing is very much part of my focus on positive community development by fostering well being through cultural connection. So, I am deeply appreciative of being part of such a supportive community of like minded people within An Comhairle Sióg na hÉireann. Some people today use the word ‘fairy’ as a homophobic taunt and the phrase “away with the fairies” to suggest someone is out of touch with reality or mental illness. I think it is empowering to reclaim words and bring fairy back to the Sidhe and folklore tradition.

>> https://www.instagram.com/seanfitzgeraldart
>> https://www.patreon.com/seanfitzgeraldart
>> https://seanfitzgeraldart.bigcartel.com

Grá Fiánta Herbal

Tallamh

My name is Leasha, I am a community folk herbalist living in
Belfast.

Grá fiánta means ‘fierce love’. This is the philosophy I live by,
particularly in my work as a community herbalist. My herbalism practice
is grounded in the city ecosystem and is guided by principles of
solidarity, mutual aid, and reciprocity.

Grá Fiánta Herbal exists to empower people and communities by making
plant medicine accessible. Knowledge is power, and through my work I
hope to reconnect people with the traditional knowledge of plant
medicine. I aim to mobilise plant medicine in support of people
experiencing marginalisation and oppression, as part of the wider
struggle for rights, community sovereignty, and justice.

Through Grá Fiánta Herbal I offer educational plant medicine workshops
in collaboration with community gardens and other local groups. I aim to
share the knowledge I have collected in ways that are accessible and
useful.

I also offer free and low-cost herbal teas, flower essences, and other
remedies.

I also sell my writing work & other plant inspired creations.

>> http://www.grafianta.com/

>> https://www.instagram.com/grafiantaherbal

Buile agus Eagna na Sionainne

Council Project, Uisce

Fáilte. Be welcome to a family-friendly day of talks and activities on Sat 20th May 2023 on one of the mighty aquifer lakes that feeds the Shannon. Meet the communities of people and organisations who are the stewards and guardians actively working towards the preservation of our land. This will be a fun-filled one day family event, with activities and information providing something for everyone. We are facilitating a safe space for the difficult conversation of what rights of the Shannon could look like, or mean.

Organiser: Shannon Rights Alliance

Location: Doon Shore Amenity, Tawnytaskin, Co. Roscommon (on the western shore of Lough Key)

Date: Part of National Biodiversity Week on Sat 20th May 2023

Scheduled Events:

  • 9:45: Opening of the event
  • 10:30: Exploring aquatic life, pond dipping with Kate NcNutt (child-friendly).
  • 11:30: A storytelling with Chris Thompson: Stories in the Landscape.
  • Noon: Craic agus ceoil
  • 12:30: Talk on the River Shannon by Jack O’Sullivan: “Power, Threats and Management”.
  • 13:30: “Soul sounds of the Shannon” with Anne-Marie Hynes and a break for food.
  • 14:30: Talk by Daniel Monaghan: An ecological journey through environmentally sensitive landscapes and an insight into gold mining in Tyrone.
  • 15:45: Storytelling with John Willmott: Fire on water and the hawthorn.
  • 17:00: Celtic Kirtan with Eileen Bray
  • End of event and Open conversation around the central fire about rights of the Shannon.

Activities throughout the day:

  • Meet some of the great projects active in protecting and celebrating our natural heritage.
  • Central fire
  • Traditional music and harp
  • Reflexology
  • Hair braiding
  • Face painting
  • Story telling
  • Willow weaving
  • Children’s craft workshop
  • Moss balls craft

We operate on a zero waste philosophy and encourage self-sufficiency by event attendees.

What to bring:

  • Bring water from your own local well (the central fire will have a kettle on the go all day for herbal teas)
  • Picnic blanket or campchair.
  • Picnic food for yourself (there will also be soup and bread to share).
  • Your own cup, bowl and eating utensils.

This is a free event, although donations of support on the day will be welcome.

To ensure this is a safe and family-friendly event, this will be an alcohol and drug-free space. Children must be always accompanied by a responsible adult.

Shannon Rights Alliance is a newly formed alliance of groups with an interest in protecting the Shannon and working towards Rights of Nature for the River. We are delighted to invite your group to host a table at our launch event as part of National Biodiversity Week on Sat 20th May 2023 at Doon Shore Amenity.

The day will include talks, stories and music with the theme of biodiversity and protection of the River Shannon. Please find attached a schedule for the day. Entry is free as the event is sponsored by the Irish Environmental Network and Zero Waste Alliance Ireland. We are expecting to attract good numbers to the area and we thought it might be beneficial to you and interesting for visitors if your group wanted to host a table with information about what you do for people who visit.

We are hoping to work together with groups all along the River Shannon to find our common interests and ways to come together to ensure the River continues to be the inspiring life-giving entity that it has been for us and previous generations, and we hope will be for long into the future. As well as hosting a table, we would love to talk with your group about how we might work together towards Rights for the Shannon.

On the day arrival and set up is at 0930 – please be as self-sufficient as possible and bring your own chairs, tables, water and food.

Shannon Rights Alliance

Council Project

>> Be welcome to a family-friendly day of talks and activities on Sat 20th May 2023

Buile agus Eagna na Sionainne

The mighty River Shannon, flowing north to south, bisects Ireland geographically, in mind and in spirit. Many centuries ago, large numbers of us were driven west across the Shannon; yet we continue to love the river for what it is, for its bounty, its sacredness; its integrity and authenticity.

But while we may appear to love the River Shannon, we are failing to recognise its importance and vulnerability; instead we have tried to tame it, tried to confine it within artificial banks, used it for the disposal of waste, and promoted the river as a location for industry, with little or no control over potentially adverse consequences. We have also inadequately protected its unique ecosystems and habitats from the Cuilcagh Mountain to the Shannon Estuary, where the River merges with the Atlantic Ocean; and we have never developed an integrated plan for taking care of this great waterway.

The Shannon Rights Alliance has been born from an awareness of these problems, and our aim is to create a new approach, based on recognising and becoming more aware of the inherent wildness and wisdom of the river; as expressed in our vision and call to action:

“Buile agus Eagna na Sionainne”

A major part of our aim is to reignite peoples’ awareness of the authenticity of Sinann (the possessor of wisdom) as the Shannon’s mythological river deity, and to appropriately honour her.

To achieve these aims we need more than the usual systems of protection; we need to give a legal right to the River Shannon, a right no different from that afforded under our Constitution and our legal system any person or company.

We ask why should a polluting company have legal rights when the river being damaged has none? In an increasing number of countries worldwide, legal rights are now being granted to specific features of the natural environment, including mountains and rivers; and we see no reason why this should not be possible in Ireland.

To further this aim, we have lodged a formal declaration with the United Nations, and we are looking for your support to enable us to continue this important work.

Remember that caring for this great river has the potential to create a deep connection and powerful link between the communities which have been separated by Ireland’s internal political border; and it equally holds the potential to heal long-standing divisions and wounds in our country.

Resources:

Kate Flo Murphy

Imbas

Kate Flo Murphy is a photographer, filmmaker, musician and guide from West Cork. Her visual work explores the relationship between body and earth, contemplating the many ways in which the human landscape, specifically the female body, and the natural world are extensions and mirrors of each other. Kate’s imagery provides an intimate perspective on and into the body as a powerful portal and sacred vessel between realms of form and formless.

Kate strives to empower through her healing photoshoots and visual work, and reminds both the observer and participant of our greater need for connection and togetherness, and our innate power on this long and winding journey home to ourselves. Her mission is to support women in their rewilding, to remember, reconnect and reclaim their own true magic and medicine.

Many themes are touched on in her work and these are largely centred around our connection to spirit and earth to assist us in the integration of the spiritual into the physical, on our healing journey
to wholeness.

Kate’s photos and empowered embodiment gatherings encourage women to connect with their own body and to deeply root into the immediate landscape that surrounds them.

She is passionate about providing a safe space for women to come into unity, to express authentically with courage and to support one another in integrity for our collective well-being. She creates deep contemplation through portraying the beauty and the pain of this complex human experience beyond words, time and space.

Links:

>> kateflomurphy.com 

>> Instagram: @kateflomurphy