Tully Mountain in the distance at beautiful Connemara, County Galway.

The earliest record of football in Ireland is from the Statute of Galway in 1527, which outlawed hurling but allowed the playing of football ('caid') to continue. Modern Gaelic football originates from this medieval game, with standard rules adopted by the GAA in 1886.

The traditional game of Caid is similar to Gaelic football & was esp. popular in County Kerry. 'Caid' refers to the ball, made of animal skin / bladder. Played in the winter months, with tripping, pushing & wrestling employed to bring the ball 'home' to the winner's parish.

The idea of an 'honourable draw' in sport/combat is well attested in ancient Europe. In Greece a referee would share the prize between wrestlers of equal skill; in Irish myth the Tuatha Dé returned Connacht to the heavily defeated Firbolg. Ties turn foes into friends.

In the Irish tale 'The Priest's Soul', a man thinks himself so clever he teaches there’s no Heaven, Purgatory, Hell and even that men have no souls.

Upon his death a soul leaves his body and that was the first butterfly ever seen in Ireland. 🌷🦋

"The significance of the butterfly in Irish folklore attributes it as the soul and thus it has the ability to cross to the Otherworld. It is also a symbol of transformation and creation." - Butterflies in Irish Folklore (1994) by A. Bonach

In Scottish Gaelic a butterfly is 'dealan dé', meaning thunderbolt of God 🌩️🦋

(Gormán Coiteann - Common Blue)

In Irish myth the butterfly is related to love, rebirth, & the ancestors. In the Wooing of Étaín an enchantress turns love-rival Étaín into a pink butterfly. After 14 years of storms, she flies into the cup of a noblewoman; she is drunk, gestated & reborn to unite with her lover.

In Irish folklore the spider was helped in its nocturnal weaving by fairy spirits. During the day these fairies would travel to the nearest woman's spinning-wheel, bringing her work ill or luck that day.

There’s a legend about Robert the Bruce and a spider:

In 1306, after suffering defeat, Bruce hid in a cave on Rathlin Island. While there he watched a spider struggling to build its web. He uttered: “If at first you don’t succeed, try & try again”. He won Scottish Independence.

The Fear Dorcha ('the dark man') is a mysterious, malignant fairy in Irish lore. Perhaps the most feared entity in the myths, he is "predator of the weak and enemy of the strong". Servant of the Queen of the Dead, he is the chief agent of mortal abduction.

The most ancient Irish name for the harvest season is Brón Trogain, meaning 'Sorrow of the Earth'. Related to the distinct sadness felt at the end of harvest & celebrations, when the earth turns cold and darkness returns into the world.

A bit late, but nevertheless.
The Irish for August is Lúnasa, formerly 'Lugnasad', which is a compound word comprising the name of pagan god 'Lug' & 'násad', a gathering to commemorate something. We see this word today in "Nás na Ríogh" ('Place of Assembly of the Kings'); that is Naas in Kildare.

Traditional phrases for trick-or-treating in Ireland: "Help the Halloween party" in Dublin, or in rural areas "A penny for the púca", which is a fairy. If the nasty spirit was met on the road home, he would take a bribe. A 'trick' meant a performance, like a song or magic act.

Though Samhain, the precursor to Halloween, is considered to be a Celtic festival, the Mound of Hostages at Tara, which aligns with the rising sun at Samhain, is thought to be 5,000 years old, far predating Celtic inhabitation, and hints at more primordial roots.

A timely reminder during these times. November 1st marks the tragic murder of a young volunteer.
https://news.1rj.ru/str/IrishKnowledge/763

#OnThisDay 1920 The Black and Tans unleash a fury of reprisals in Kerry for over a week after the capture (&execution) of two policemen. The Siege of Tralee would see them fire on people leaving church,burning down the town hall, killing civilians, curfews etc.

#OnThisDay 1920 Eileen Quinn, a 23 year old mother of three (who was 7 months pregnant) from Gort, Galway was shot by passing Black and Tans while holding her 9 month old baby in her lap. Eileen was hit in the groin by a bullet & bled to death later that day.