October 2007 Emerald Reflections
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Oct. SHAMROCK CLUB HOME INDEX 2007 EMERALD REFLECTIONS ONLINE NEWSLETTER CONTENTS: Spooky Irish October PHOTO OF THE MONTH Spooky Irish by Brian Witt MILWAUKEE CALENDAR October WISCONSIN CALENDAR The tenth month finds many planning for the celebration of South Central Halloween at the end of the month. Halloween, the day before All MIDWEST CALENDAR Shamrock Club Saints Day, was, for the Irish, the time when the curtain between JOIN CLUB this world and the next was at its thinnest. November 1 is Samhain, Green Bay News MILWAUKEE MARCH (sow–en). It is the Celtic New Year, the start of the darkest part of ST. PATRICK'S Milwaukee the calendar year. Samhain means “summer’s end” in Irish. DAY EVENTS President’s Samhain was also known as the Feast of the Dead, Oiche na MILWAUKEE CHAPTER Message Sprideanna (Spirit Night), when the deceased revisited the mortal world. STATE CHAPTERS Holiday Folk COLOR GUARD Fair During the 8th century, the Catholic Church designated the first day of November as All Saints Day – all Hallows. Thus All Hallows GIFT CENTER Advance Sale Eve became Hallowe’en. LINKS OF Holiday Folk IRISH INTEREST Fair Tickets As it is the month of the feast of the dead, let’s travel amongst the ghosts, specters and just interesting creatures of the otherworld VENUES Christmas Party that inhabit Ireland, and those lands that the Irish moved to. December 6 There is the Bean Sidhe or Banshee, or female faerie, who makes Sign My Guestbook Color Guard her appearance when someone in the household is about to die. News and Notes She haunts only the families authentic noble stock, the “high Celtic Women Milesian race” – those whose names have an “O”, “Mac” or other Conference prefix, or Norman-Irish poets. Her piercing caoine or keening is View My Guestbook News heard when someone dies. The Banshee is considered benign, but she supposedly has a sister sidhe who has a dark and evil side. The Celtic Women Lianhan Sidhe’s sole purpose is to seek the love of mortal men. First Fridays Their desire for her ultimately destroys them. She should not be confused with the Demon Bride, a beautiful but evil spirit who Milwaukee seduces her mortal victim with a kiss that steals his soul. He dies Email: Shamrock Club AOH News the death of a raving lunatic, haunted by the knowledge of his fatal Milwaukee mistake. Celtic Football The Dearg-Dur is Ireland’s legendary vampire. According to some Sponsorship tales, it can take the shape of a wan but pretty woman lingering Shamrock Club amongst the graveyards waiting for young men to seduce and from Loses Hurling whom she can drain blood and life away. The creature could be Final defeated by building a cairn of stones over its grave. Hallamor Fall Lest one think that only female spirits have all the fun, the Gray Concert Series Man or Far Liath comes in as a fog and covers land and sea with his cloak. As he covers rocks on the shore, ships crash upon them. Sunshine Club He will also fill roads with darkness, in order to have travelers fall over cliffs to their deaths. The Dark Man or Far Dorocha travels Members' on a black horse into our world to abduct humans that the Queen Doings of the Good People desires. Although he never speaks, mortals Milwaukee invariably understand his commands and, unable to disobey, Calendar of surrender their wills to his and mount up behind him. Events Then there is the friendly Grogoch, who was originally a half Wisconsin human, half-spirit entity that was most commonly associated with Calendar of the north of Ireland, as well as Scotland and the Isle of Man. Even Events though he has the power of invisibility, he will often allow certain trusted people to see him. He is quite a cordial creature, and he might help some lucky people with farm work or domestic chores. He just requires a bottle of cream to consider the deal even. However, he still fears the clergy, and will hightail it whenever a member of that class appears. Changelings were the replacement for a mortal child who had been stolen by the faeries. Lest a beautiful child be stolen, people wouldn’t mention its beauty. Parents would call for god’s blessings, and then possibly spit upon the child, hoping to fool the faeries. Boys were dressed as girls in order to keep a child from being made prince-consort of the Queen of the Faeries. Changelings were very ugly and had voracious appetites, eating everybody around them out of house and home. Adults too, were sometimes kidnapped and the changeling would be recognized by its harsh voice and mean-spirited personality. This didn’t mean one’s brother-in-law was a changeling. The Puca is best known to many as being the six foot high rabbit in the movie “Harvey”. Pucas can take on a variety of shapes and sizes in order to wreak havoc and harm. However, as the legend goes, it’s now less dangerous thanks to the legendary King Brian Boru, who is said to have tamed it and ridden it like a horse. They are said to take on the form of a horse or calf, rush between a person’s legs, and take them for a wild ride. The Dullahan, or Gan Ceann, (headless one), is the black rider who foretells death. Clad in flowing black robes, the Dullahan has no head on his shoulders. He carries it with him in his hand, and because he is endowed with supernatural sight, he will hold the head up high. This allows him to see great distances, even on the darkest night. According to Bridget Haggerty, on her wonderful website, “Irish Culture and Customs”, “if you watch his journey, you may be punished by either having a bucket of blood thrown in your face, or struck blind in one eye. The biggest fear of all, however, is if he stops wherever you are and calls out your name. This will draw out your soul and you’ll no longer be among the living. Unlike the Banshee, which is known to warn of an imminent death in certain families, the Dullahan does not come to warn.” He is a definite sign of someone’s demise. He has a fear of gold, and will shrink at the smallest piece of it. According to Haggerty, “While no-one knows for certain how the Dullahan originated, it is thought that he is the embodiment of the Celtic fertility god, Crom Dubh, who was worshiped by an ancient king of Ireland, Tighermas. Each year, Tighermas sacrificed humans to Crom Dubh, and the usual method was decapitation. The worship of Crom Dubh ended in the sixth century, when Christianity came to Ireland and the old sacrificial traditions went out of favor.” And then there are the ghosts. W. B. Yeats wrote about them, saying, “Ghosts, or as they are called in Irish, Thevshi or Tash (taidhbhse, tais), live in a state intermediary between this life and the next. They are held there by some earthly longing or affection, or some duty unfulfilled, or anger against the living. ‘I will haunt you,’ is a common threat; and one hears such phrases as, ‘She will haunt him, if she has any good in her.’ One bad sign is if you see the ghost of yourself. It means you are about to die.” So, there you have it. You might be lucky this month, and only see the pucas or Grogochs, instead of the dearg durs or demon brides. Whatever you see, or meet, tell them to have a great Halloween. It is an Irish holiday, after all. INDEX The South Central Shamrock Club News Next Meeting at the “Longley’s Restaurant”, Reedsburg, WI - October 21 at 4 p.m. Summer has ended, though the memories linger as we stroll through fall with vibrant colors of foliage preparing for winter. One of the highlights in August was a performance by “Beoga” a five piece group from Counties Antrim and Derry, in Northern Ireland, who graced us with their musical charm at St. Patrick’s Church in Loreto, WI. Thanks to Mary Ellen and Patrick McCluskey a rare and lovely evening was shared with 150-200 fellow Irish friends and members who did not have the opportunity to hear them at Milwaukee Irish Fest, or if they did, were able to hear them again. A new brew to try is Lake Louie’s selections of ales. Company Profile: “Established 2000, Lake Louie is a small brewery located on the beautiful shores of Lake Louie (actually a ¼ acre pond) just outside of Arena in southwest Wisconsin. When we aren’t swimming in summer or ice skating in winter, we’re producing top quality local beers for local people. Currently offering English and American ales in kegs and pressure filled growlers to taverns, restaurants, and liquor stores. Our beers are being tapped by some of the finer public houses in the area. Really fun free tours on most Saturdays by appointment.” Visit their website: [www.lakelouie.com]. In August a house fire struck a family of four in Lyndon Station, WI. Our president Tom Scanlon presented them with a check for $100 from the club to help them with intial needs. Don’t forget to take time in October to visit your local apple orchards —always a great way to spend a fall day with family and friends. October Meeting will be held at Longley’s Restaurant, Reedsburg, WI on October 21st at 4:00pm.