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As we meet the tenth month, we thinkof things autumnal: the smell of fallenleaves, the early arrival of the darkeningsky, harvest bounties. And of course,Halloween.
Halloween, or Samhain, the most Irish ofancient holidays, was the new year in theancient Celtic calendar. The end of harvestand the beginning of winter brought thedarkest time of the year, and it was alsowhen the veil between the two worlds, ofthe living and the dead, was the thinnest. Itwas when things that went bump in thenight might have been your long-deadrelatives.
And Ireland is the home of many of thespooky and eerie creatures that have oc-cupied Irish mythology as well. The FarLiath, the Gray Man; the bean sidhe, orbanshee, the harbinger of impending deathfor those of the Gaelic Order. (Sorry, foryou of Norman blood. She doesn’t visityour families.) The shape-changing puca. Then there are those goddesses of ancientIreland. Many had multiple personalities.They covered the gamut from fertility tolove to war. They could be the source ofkindness and famine and unspeakable acts.Three sisters, the Morrigan, are famed fortheir passions. They were Macha,Clíodhna, and Babd. Or they were Badb,Macha and Nemain, while elsewhere it isgiven as Badb, Macha and Anand. Ormaybe it was Badb, Macha and Aine, orAnu. It seemed to have been a sorority ofcomplex women, and women you did notwish to anger.
The first, Macha, is, from ancient Irishtimes, associated with the province of Ul-ster, particularly with the sites of NavanFort (Eamhain Mhacha) and Armagh (ArdMhacha), which are named after her. Sev-eral figures called Macha appear in Irishmythology and folklore, all believed to de-rive from the same goddess. She is said to
be one of three sisters known as 'the threeMorrígna'. Like other sovereignty god-desses, Macha is associated with the land,fertility, kingship, war and horses. Thename is presumably derived from Proto-Celtic word denoting "a plain."
Macha was the wife of Cruinniuc, anUlster farmer. Sometime after the death ofCruinniuc's first wife, Macha appears athis house. Without speaking, she beginskeeping the house and acting as his wife.Soon she becomes pregnant by him. Aslong as they were together, Cruinniuc'swealth grew. When he leaves to attend afestival organized by the king of Ulster,she warns him that she will only stay withhim so long as he does not speak of her toanyone, and he promises to say nothing.However, during a chariot race, he boaststhat his wife can run faster than the king'shorses.
The king orders Cruinniuc be held onpain of death unless he can make good onhis claim. Although she is heavily preg-nant, Macha is brought to the gatheringand the king forces her to race the horses.She wins the race, but then cries out inpain as she gives birth to twins on the fin-ish line; a boy named Fír ("True") and agirl named Fial ("Modest"). For disre-specting and humiliating her, she cursesthe men of Ulster to be overcome withweakness, as weak "as a woman in child-birth," at the time of their greatest need.This weakness would last for five days andthe curse would last for nine generations.Thereafter, the place where Macha gave
birth would be called Emain Macha, or"Macha's twins".
This Macha is particularly associatedwith horses—it is perhaps significant thattwin colts were born on the same day asCuchulainn, and that one of his chariot-horses was called Liath Macha or"Macha's Grey."
Macha’s sister, Clíodhna, (pronouncedCleena), is a Queen of the Banshees of theTuatha Dé Danann. Clíodna of Carrig-cleena is the potent banshee that rules asqueen over the sidheog (fairy women ofthe hills) of South Munster, or Desmond.Clíodhna is a goddess of love and beauty,and the patron of County Cork. She is saidto have three brightly colored birds whoeat apples from an otherworldly tree andwhose sweet song heals the sick. Sheleaves the otherworldly island of Tir Tairn-gire ("the land of promise") to be with hermortal lover, Ciabhán, but is taken by awave as she sleeps due to the music playedby a minstrel of Manannan mac Lir inGlandore harbour in County Cork: the tidethere is known as Tonn Chlíodhna,"Clíodhna's Wave". Whether she drownsor not depends on the version being told,along with many other details of the story.She had her palace in the heart of a pile ofrocks, five miles from Mallow, which isstill commonly known by the name ofCarrig-Cleena, and numerous legendsabout her are told among the Munsterpeasantry.
The Irish Goddesses – The Morrigan.........................................................................................................
Volume XLIV, No. 8 • October (Deireadh Fómhair), 2018
continued on page 3
OCTOBER 4, 2018 • 7:00 PMMILWAUKEE MONTHLY MEMBERSHIP MEETING
Irish Cultural and Heritage Center (2133 W. Wisconsin Avenue)
T T TSub Sandwich Night. Please bring side dishes or desserts to share!
T Milwaukee Calendar of Events TFor More Information visit http://shamrockclubwis.com
OCTOBER4 Shamrock Club Monthly Meeting; ICHC; 7 pm; Dinner at 6:304 Chvrches; Riverside Theater; 8:00 pm9 Celtic Women International Book Club; Rape of the Fair Country, by Alex
Cordell. Hostess: Barbara Fishbauer.11 Celtic Women International Book Club; Outside Mullingar, performance at
Next Act Theater; 1:30 pm.13 Celtic Thunder; Riverside Theatre; 7:30 pm20 Friends of St. Patrick Centre; “Ireland and the Potato” Event; Trinity
Episcopal Church, 1717 Church St., Wauwatosa; 6:00-9 pm.26-November 4 In Tandem Theatre Presents Bram Stoker's Drakula the Rock
Opera; 628 N 10 Street; 414-271-137127 Set Dance Milwaukee October Dance; ICHC; music by athas; 7 pm
NOVEMBER1 Shamrock Club Monthly Meeting; ICHC; 7 pm; Dinner at 6:30 pm13 Celtic Women International Book Club; Doll Face, by Dylan H. Jones.
Hostess: Maureen Garry.16 Jimmy Keane and Dennis Cahill; Reelin in the Years; Irish Cultural and
Heritage Center; 7:30 pm16-18 International Holiday Folk Fair; State Fair Park16 Celtic Boutique; Celtic MKE Center, 1532 N Wauwatosa; 9 am-3 pm
DECEMBER6 Shamrock Club Monthly Meeting & Christmas Party; ICHC; 7 pm;
Dinner at 6:30 pm11 Celtic Women International Book Club; Christmas Lunch, location TBD.
2
ON GOING … Set dancing at the following: Set dancing Wednesdays, 7 PM atO’Donoghue’s T Craobh Curtin Conradh na Gaeilge meeting at O'Donoghue's Pub, 7 PM, last Tuesday each month T Irish Emigration Library in ICHC open every Wednesday 12–6 PM T Irish Sing-a-long, Irish Fest Center, First Sundays, (throughMay) 7 PM T Irish Fest Sing-a-long: O'Donoghue's Pub, second and fourth Sundays, 7-9 PM T Irish Music Sessions at the following: Session - O’Donoghue’s,Sundays 7 PM; Thursdays @ Paddy’s 7 PM; and The Pub in Oconomowoc, 7:30 PMT Thursdays: Barry Dodd; County Clare Inn; 10 PM T Fridays: áthas and Myserk;County Clare Inn; 6 PM T
Jameson’sCorner Cupboard..................................
In preparation for all things fall andfun we will be doing a submarine sand-wich theme for our menu. The club willprovide the buns and meat. There werecards for people to select from for desig-nated items to bring. If you took oneplease be sure to bring that item, if youdidn’t, a dish or dessert to pass is alwayswelcome. Looking forward to seeing youat the October general meeting.
- Jameson FratersSergeant-at-Arms
Publisher NeededThe Shamrock Club is in need of
a volunteer to take over thepublication of our monthly
newsletter, theEmerald Reflections.
Please contact Pam Canon formore [email protected]
Rent the ICHC for your next
PartyMeeting
RecitalWedding
Spaces available for large
or small events
Email: [email protected]
or call (414) 345-8800
MilwaukeePresident’s Message..................................
Since my last message, Irish Fest hascome and gone. The weather was perfectfor the festival. I remember fests in thepast where rain was a factor every day. Ibought a couple of shirts, one a hockeyjersey, with “Guinness” prominently dis-played, front and rear, with the bright col-ors of a toucan. I bought another T-shirtthat is silly, but the price was right! I lovethe music, dancing, food, and the connec-tion to my Irish heritage. But most of all,I enjoy the meeting of old friends, andmaking new ones. I spotted a lady carry-ing a t-shirt with an image in the colors ofthe Irish flag. The image was just threevertical splashes of color, but you couldsee the Cliffs of Moher in the design. Iasked where she got the T-shirt, and shetold me that the source was out of theshirts, but they were a promotion from theGalway tourism tent. A short time later, Iwent to that tent, and found that same lady,Maura Fay, working there. I asked if therewas a way I could buy the shirt anywhere.She saw that I was wearing the “Irish Manof the Year” sash, and told me that shewould send me one, if I would furnish myname and address, handing me an indexcard for that purpose. She said that theMan of the Year should have that T-shirt.
Yesterday, September 12, I got a pack-age from Ireland, containing 2 T-shirts,one of the colorful ones that I saw, and an-other, solid colored Tee with a smallgraphic depiction of the cliffs, with thewords “Cliffs of Moher Ireland”. Therewas also a note from Maura Fay, tellingme how much she enjoys coming to IrishFest and meeting new people. She appar-ently works for the Cliffs of Moher VisitorExperience. That package not only mademy day, but probably the entire month!She did respond to my “thank you” email,but declined to answer as to how I couldrepay the favor….I am trying to come upwith an appropriate gift to send to Ireland.Any suggestions?
I attended the Shamrock Club of Wis-consin State Advisory Board meeting onIF Saturday morning, with Joe Hughes,and Taffy Anderson. Each of the chaptersgave a short report on their activities.Fundraising, new member recruitment,
and keeping a public presence were acommon theme.
I was honored, along with Irish RoseJackie Konkol, to be a part of the Mass onSunday morning. We presented the giftsat the altar to Archbishop Jerome Listecki,and he spoke very briefly with each of us.That was quite an experience.
The next important event facing us isthe International Holiday Folk Fair, com-ing in the middle of November. If theShamrock Club is to have a Café at theHFF, we need a volunteer to take chargeof that area. So far we have had no onestepping forward. Mary Koehler willagain chair the Merchandise booth, and Ihave been told that we have co-chairs forthe Cultural exhibit, one of them being,Brian Witt. More will be said at the Oc-tober General Membership meeting.
Mary Koehler, Josh Walton, and I at-tended the first Holiday Folk Fair’s meet-ings on September 12th. This will be the75th annual folk fair, with the theme being“Diversity”. A second meeting is plannedfor October 20th. The Shamrock Club iscommitted to purchasing fifty tickets tothe HFF to sell. Volunteers working ourbooths will get participant passes, but if youknow of non-volunteers who want to at-tend, sell them a ticket…The price is $10,but the price of a ticket at the door is $12.
Finally, The Emerald Reflections is inneed of a new publisher. Pam Canon is re-tiring from her role as publisher. Finalconfirmation of a replacement is stillpending. In addition to a new publisher,the format of the Emerald Reflections maychange. A change will make it easier topublish and cheaper to mail the hardcopies that we must make for those whochoose not to get the electronic version.
Promote the Shamrock Club. We allmeet people, so mention the SC when it isappropriate. Invite them to a meeting andmention that we will feed them if theycome early! The person you offer a mealto may be our next valuable volunteer!We can’t have too many of them.Irish every day!
Ron Danielson, President
T T T3
Emerald Reflections
Copy Deadline.................................
Membership ChairsDANE COUNTY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Pat McCarthy
P.O. Box 70765, Madison [email protected]; (608) 277-0394
FOX CITIES . . . . .P.O. Box 1632, Appleton 54912
LA CROSSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Linda O. Pfaff,1702 Jackson St., LaCrosse 54601
LAFAYETTE CO. . . . . . . . . . . . . .Beverly Mulcahy,504 E. Mary, Apt. A, Darlington 54530
MILWAUKEE . . . . Member. Chair Molly Modlinski, 2133 West Wisconsin Avenue,
Milwaukee, WI [email protected]
NEW DUBLIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Suzi Snyder,313 W. Beacon Ave.., New London 54961
NORTHEAST WISC. . . . . . . . . . . . . .Judy Brehm,2577 Oakwood Ave., Green Bay 54301
SOUTH CENTRAL . . . . . . . . . Dana Horkan-Gant,610 Vine St., Reedsburg 53959
email: [email protected]; (608) 524-6821
E-mail: . . . . . . . . . . [email protected]
Web site: . . . . . . . . http://shamrockclubwis.com
To become a member of the Shamrock Club ofWisconsin contact the membership chair of thechapter you would like to join. MILWAUKEE ONLY:Family membership (includes both parents and all children under eighteen) - $36.00. Single membership - $24.00. Membership is renewable annually on the anniversary month of the originalmembership. Please send all new and renewal Milwaukee club membership dues to MembershipChair, 2133 West Wisconsin Avenue, Milwaukee,WI 53233. Be sure to send change of address notification to Membership Chair, also. The postoffice will NOT forward copies of Reflections.
Content for Emerald Reflections is dueon the 15th of the month (next deadline:Oct. 15th to appear in the November issue.)Copy received after that date will not appear due to deadlines. While we try toinclude every submission possible, due tospace limitations, we cannot guarantee thatevery submission will be included imme-diately. E-mail submissions preferred,send to:
Brian Witt, [email protected]
Pam Canon, PublisherMary Moze, Proofreader
Sunshine Report..................................Happy forty-fourth wedding anniver-
sary to Pete and Dawn Fleming on Sep-tember 14th.
Warm, pleasant, fun birthday wishes tothe following members: Glenn Nowak –Sept. 19th, Sue Suit – Sept. 24th, DeclanBlaha – 30th.
Gratitude for improved good health toChuck McLaughlin.
Please contact Maggie Blaha, Sunshinechair, with information concerning ourmembers who can use a bit of cheer orcontact with their Irish friends. Maggiecan be contacted at mailto:[email protected].
- Maggie Blaha, Sunshine Chair
Celtic Women International..................................
The CWI Book Club meetings begin at 1:00 pm at the ICHC and include discussion, tea, and treats. New membersand guests are always welcome to join us!
Barbara Fishbauer will be our hostesson October 9th. We will discuss Rape ofthe Fair Country, by Alex Cordell.
On October 10th, we will attend Out-side Mullingar, at Next Act Theater. Theperformance begins at 1:30 pm.
Doll Face, by Dylan H Jones, will beour topic on November 13th, and our host-ess will be Maureen Garry.
On December 11th we will celebrate theholiday season with our Christmas Lunch,Location tbd.
- Rosemary Walsh
4
Shamrock Club Retail..................................Retail will be looking for another good
group of volunteers to sign up for the Hol-iday Folk Fair. We will be setting up onThurs, Nov 15, selling Nov 16-18, andtearing down on Sunday evening, Nov 18.More details to come.
- Mary KoehlerRetail Chair
Membership Report..............................Now that Irish Fest is over, I will be
working on sending out notices for mem-bership dues. New membership forms arebeing created to reflect the change in feesand will be distributed soon. As we pre-pare for the Holiday Folk Fair in twomonths, please keep in mind that we willneed volunteers for the event. Watch foran online sign up and a sign up sheet at thenext meetings.
Please contact Molly Modlinski withany questions at:[email protected]
- Molly Modlinski, Membership Chair
Ireland & the PotatoSaturday, October 20th 6:00-9pm..................................
The Friends of Saint Patrick Centre,Milwaukee Chapter will be holding afundraising benefit to support their YoungAmbassador Program on Saturday, October20th from 6:00-9 pm at Trinity EpiscopalChurch, 1717 Church St., Wauwatosa. Theevening will feature music by Evan & TomLeahy, Irish dancers and the WisconsinPotato Growers Spudmobile.
Tickets are $15, and include a supersizedpotato buffet, soup, salad and dessert. Formore information, contact Judie at 262-641-9192 or email [email protected].
Facebook&Social Media..................................If you haven’t seen us on Facebook,
like us! 2230 people have already.https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sham-rock-Club-of-Wisconsin/102023943184
You can also find us on Twitter athttp://twitter.com/shamrockclubwis or on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/com-pany/shamrock-club-of-wisconsin.
Cliodhna is also associated with theBlarney Stone, as she told Cormac LaidirMacCarthy, to kiss the first stone he foundin the morning on his way to court, and hedid so, with the result that he pleaded hiscase with great eloquence and won. Thusthe Blarney Stone is said to impart "theability to deceive without offending". Hethen incorporated it into the parapet ofthe castle.
The third, the Badb (bəiv]), meaning"crow," is a war goddess who takes theform of a crow, and is thus sometimesknown as Badb Catha ("battle crow"). Sheis known to cause fear and confusionamong soldiers to move the tide of battleto her favoured side. Badb may also ap-pear prior to a battle to foreshadow the ex-tent of the carnage to come, or to predictthe death of a notable person. She wouldsometimes do this through wailing cries,leading to comparisons with the bean-sídhe (banshee).
Badb, part of a trio of war goddessesknown as the Moadb, is associated withwar and death, appearing either to fore-shadow imminent bloodshed or to partic-ipate in battles, where she createsconfusion among the soldiers. As a har-binger of doom, she appears in a numberof different guises. In Togail Bruidne DáDerga, she takes the form of an ugly hagwho prophesies Conaire Mór's downfall.She appears in a similar guise in TogailBruidne Dá Choca to foretell the slayingof Cormac Condloinges, as well as takingthe form of a "washer at the ford"—awoman washing Cormac's chariot and har-ness in a ford in what was considered anomen of death. The cries of Badb may alsobe an ill omen: Cormac's impending deathis foreshadowed with the words "The red-mouthed badbs will cry around the house,/ For bodies they will be solicitous" and"Pale badbs shall shriek".
She was also regularly depicted as anactive participant in warfare; indeed, thebattlefield was sometimes referred to as"the garden of the Badb". During the FirstBattle of Mag Tuired, Badb—along withher sisters, Macha and Morrígan—fightson the side of the Tuatha Dé Danann.Using their magic, the three sisters incitefear and confusion among the Fir Bolgarmy, conjuring "compact clouds of mistand a furious rain of fire" and allowingtheir enemies "neither rest nor stay forthree days and nights". Badb plays a
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Jimmy Keane andDennis Cahill
Friday, November 13 at 7:30 pm..................................Two of Irish music’s most inventive
and highly regarded musicians, JimmyKeane and special guest Dennis Cahill,will bring their show Reelin’ in the Yearsto the Irish Cultural and Heritage Center,2133 W. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee onSaturday, Nov. 13 at 7:30 p.m.
Accordionist Keane and guitarist/vo-calist Cahill perform music ranging fromancient airs to newly composed tunes. Thetwo have been friends and musical com-panions since first meeting in Chicago inthe early 1980s.
Born in London to Irish speaking par-ents from Counties Connemara and Kerry,Keane’s accomplishments are far-reachingand include winning five consecutive All-Ireland titles on the piano accordion. He isan avid collector and arranger of old tunesand is increasingly known for originalcompositions, many of which have be-come part of mainstream traditionalmusic. He has produced and recorded anumber of albums and is associated withnumerous groups including behola andGreen Fields of America. Online musicsource DMusic described him as “one ofthe true giants of Irish traditional music ofthe past fifty years” and singer-songwriterChristy Moore called his playing “wildand beautiful.”
Cahill is considered one of the world’sfinest guitarists in traditional Irish music.His unique playing, accompaniment andarranging are acknowledged as a majorbreakthrough for guitar. Cahill is perhapsbest known for his long musical partner-ship with fiddler Martin Hayes and is afounding member of new superior groupThe Gloaming.
Concert tickets are $25 in advance, $29on concert day, $10 for students with IDand free for ages 12 and younger. For moreinformation and to order tickets online, goto www.ichc.net or call (414) 345-8800.
ICHC programs are supported in part bya grant from the Wisconsin Arts Boardwith funds from the State of Wisconsinand the National Endowment for the Arts.
- Kathy Schultz
similar role in the Táin Bó Cúailnge, (theCattle Raid of Cooley), terrorizing anddisorienting the forces of Queen Medband causing many to fall on their ownweapons. She would often take the formof a screaming raven or crow, striking fearinto those who heard her, and could alsobe heard as a voice among the corpses ona battlefield.
Maybe one needs to look at the scarycreatures associated with Samhain, orHalloween. The crow or the raven may bethe greater threat, more than a black cat, ofimpending doom. And if you see one, andhear a banshee, recall that they are a signof the three sisters.
Happy Halloween.- Brian Witt
Word of the Month..................................Cat Dubh - (chat doov)Ná cuir isteach an cat dubh. Féadfaidh séglaoch ar an fiach dubh. (Na cure is-tack an chat doov. Fade-daih shay glay-ok are an fee-ock doov.) Do not bother the black cat. He may call the raven.
Thank You..................................Dear Shamrock Club Members,
I want to thank you all for giving methe opportunity over the past 6+ years toserve you as the publisher of the EmeraldReflections.
While I have very much enjoyed work-ing on the project every month, I find thatI now have other commitments in my lifethat I must devote my time to.
I very much appreciate the trust thatyou all put in me to get the publicationdone each month. I would like to thank allthose who assisted me, especially BrianWitt, for writing so many of the articlesand handling much of the content, MaryMoze and Julie Smith, for their proof-reading time and talents, and all thosewho submitted articles over the years. Icouldn’t have done it without you!
- Pam Canon
EMERALD REFLECTIONSPHOTO OF THE MONTH
An Old Gaelic PrayerMay the Road Rise to meet youMay the wind be always at your backMay the sun shine warm upon your face,
till the rains fall soft upon your fields.And, until we meet again,May God hold you in the palm of His hands.
SHAMROCK CLUB OF WISCONSIN2133 W. Wisconsin AvenueMilwaukee, WI 53233
For Information: http://shamrockclubwis.comor: www.saintpatricksparade.org
Blarney Castle in Autumn
