A family stands outside their cottage in county #Cork, Ireland, 1927.

Two fishermen take a break in Spidéal, #Galway, 1913.

The boy is dressed in a skirt; a common safeguard against the fairy-kind.

A young girl knits a colourful woolen garment in Ardara, Co #Donegal, 1927.

A pair of girls collect turf for the fire - June, 1963, #Ireland.

A way of life that existed for hundreds of years but has now vanished.

"Irish children with their pony 'Gypsy' in Clondalkin, #Dublin - a metropolis where cars still dodge horse-drawn carts hauling vegetables to market."

- National Geographic, 1994

In the Irish tradition, the 'long arm' signifies 'power at a distance': supernatural & regal ability. Sometimes depicted as a club, example: Ogma

Sucellus, the hammer-god of the #Celts. His name means 'the Good Striker', as he awoke the seasons & warded off evil with his mighty hammer.

"The hammer-god's emblem could symbolise the striking/awakening of life after the 'death' of winter, or the death of people."

Much like a Celtic Thor.
Very Indo-European.
#Celtic #Thor

The Dagda is the hammer-god of the Irish pantheon. Like Sucellus he carries the sacred tokens of magical wand (club)& regenerative cauldron.

Hammer-gods like the Dagda were the most widely venerated; they were the 'good gods', fatherly protectors laden with tools of work & trade.

"He was a peasant deity, but he could rise to sublime heights, rivaling Jupiter.."

The hammer-god's role as an agricultural/crafters deity:

Celtic coin art showing the 'Lámhfada' or long arm. Depictions range from simple elongated arms, tree or vine outgrowths, to wand/hammers.

The main triad of Irish gods, Dagda, Ogma & Lugh, all possess the Long Arm - authority over spiritual knowledge & rule of the mundane world.

The Long Arm archetype takes on apocalyptic overtones in the Spear of #Lugh, which is to be "set down in Ireland at the world's ending."

The #Celtic Lámhfada lives on as an authority symbol in items such as the fasces or the striking 'long arm of the law' of the judges gavel.

Joke: Columbus discovered the Americas
Woke: Leif Erikson discovered the Americas
Bespoke: Saint Brendan discovered the Americas

http://bit.ly/2ioCzjH

The “Burning of Cork” started on this day in 1920. The British Army and Black & Tans looted and set fire to the homes of Irish people. The Brits shot at those that tried to extinguish the blazes.

Otd 1928: First independent Irish coinage circulated. The 8 coins of the 1928 Irish coin set were designed by Percy Metcalfe.

This red-haired Indian lady is a fine example of resurgence in ancestral phenotypes (i.e. atavism). It might surprise you just how many blue eyed, fair-haired Indians still exist. And yes - the headline is definitely sensationalist.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-5178549/amp/The-Indian-feels-like-foreigner-country.html?__twitter_impression=true

A flock of sheep making their way through heavy snow, Northern #Ireland

#Glendalough, Co Wicklow, early 1900's.