Failté!

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Séamus Draoigall
Illustrator • Crafter • Designer • Gaelic Researcher
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Articles
Articles about my research into Irish history, mythology, heritage and more
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Imagery
Gallery of my Ancient & Celtic Ireland – inspired art
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Artifacts
One-of-a-kind, customized magical and wearable items
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Design
Portfolio of logos and designs for Ireland-related projects
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Tír na Trí
A web-comic-strip for the Éirey-Fairy
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Latest Instagram posts:

There are bridges we didn't know we'd have to cross until we have to cross them. And there are old granny feet we didn't know we had to rub until we had to rub them ☉ ‿ ⚆ As per Fiach's suggestion, Fergal's journey to obtain the blessing of the Sovereignty of Erin brings him face to face with An Cailleach, a divine archetype who probably is the only pre-Gaelic divinity we have evidence for. She does not appear in any of the medieval mythological writings as a character (the association of King Niall's Hag of Sovereignty and An Cailleach is completely my own), but her prolific presence in place-names, toponymic associations and heavy folklore hints to the very real possibility that An Cailleach is indeed a very real, very old and most of all indigenous to the ancient traditions of this island, before the incoming of both the Gaels and the Celtic Christians. Fun fact: Though Irish mythology set in the late Iron Age (like the Ulster and Finn cycles) describes powerful longswords, Irish archaeology tends to unearth short ones. As JP Mallory has demonstrated, the longest Irish sword found has a total length of 66.7 cms. For comparison, that's shorter than the shortest Viking sword found in Ireland (dismissed as a toy sword by some), which is still 10cms longer. In all fairness to Fiach, tough there's scarce evidence for the horse-mating ritual, the theme of the Sovereignty of Erin as a hideous hag can be traced to the scéal "The adventure of the sons of Eochaid Mugmedón". In it, the youngest of a band of brothers during a hunt is the only one to accomplish what the others couldn't: Kissing an old hideous hag in exchange for well-water. Even though the factual evidence on this one is flimsy, I like to believe (and so seem to do most experts) that homosocial nipple-sucking was totally a thing in Gaelic Ireland 😁 ✨ Lá Bealtaine shona daoibh! We finish off this tri-partite introduction with this awkward moment between Fionnuala and the one and only Fionn.