Besides having Scottish ancestors (as mentioned in the recent post about bagpipes), I also have Irish ancestors.
I’ve been thinking about one of my grandmothers lately, the Irish one.
The one I’ve been thinking about is my father’s mother, Anna McNamara. She was born in Ireland, of Irish parents, and she had Irish ancestors as far back as they knew. She came across the Atlantic Ocean on a sail-rigged steamship in the late 1800s with her parents. The ship landed and they disembarked in Canada.
My Irish grandmother, Anna McNamara, married my Scottish grandfather, Archibald, in 1896 in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Archibald’s father and mother came over the Atlantic from Scotland in the middle/late 1800s, also arriving in Canada. Anna, from Ireland, after marrying Archibald, from Scotland, gave birth to my father in 1898, and then Anna died four years later.
We have no photos of her. The only records from Ireland that I find (that I’m sure of) list her as being born in County Clare (Clair), and list her as living near the River Shannon, but that’s it, nothing more, not even her parents’ first names. So when I stumbled across the short video below about an early morning spent by a fellow in a canoe on the River Shannon, I was sure enough pleased. It’s just a bit of connection that makes my heart feel good. 🙂
The River Shannon, where my grandmother was born, is in the Republic of Ireland which is not part of Great Britain. It’s not ruled by England. The Republic of Ireland is a separate nation unto itself.
[Northern Ireland, on the other hand, is the small northern part of the “island” of Ireland and certainly is part of Great Britain and is ruled by England.]
So my grandmother, Anna, was born in Ireland, somewhere along the banks of the River Shannon.
The River Shannon is the longest river in all of Great Britain (England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland) and the longest river in the independent country of the Republic of Ireland as well.
The River Shannon is so large and so important that it first appeared on Graeco-Egyptian maps around 150 AD. The River Shannon is said to begin in “Shannon pot”, a small pool (photo below) that feeds into underground limestone caves near the town of Derrylahan on the side of Cuilcagh Mountain in County Cavan, after which the water surfaces and becomes the young River Shannon, a beautiful small trout stream.
Kingfishers (called Cruidin in Ireland) are native to Ireland and live up and down the length of the River Shannon (and all other waterways in Ireland). Irish legend says that Kingfishers were the first two birds to fly from Noah’s ark after the flood. The variety that lives in Ireland is the Common Kingfisher. It’s said they received the orange color on their breast from the setting sun, and the blue coloring on their backs from the blue Irish sky. Kingfishers are considered a symbol of peace, promising prosperity, and love.
Vikings settled along the River Shannon in the 10th century and used the river to raid the rich monasteries deep inland. I have a bit of “Viking” DNA in me too (Norway and Denmark) so this may be where that DNA came from.
According to Irish mythology (or factual history!) ….
The River Shannon was named after a woman named Sionann (older spelling: Sínann or Sínand), the granddaughter of Lir. She went to Connla’s Well (possibly where Shannon Pot is today), not to find power but to find wisdom, despite being warned not to approach it. She caught and ate the Salmon of Wisdom who swam there, and she became the wisest being on Earth. However, the well then burst forth, taking Sionann and carrying her out to sea, creating the River Shannon. The drowning of a goddess in a river is common in Irish mythology and typically represents the dissolving of her divine power into the water, which then gives life to the land. A small myth of Sionann tells that the legendary hunter-warrior Fionn mac Cumhaill was attacked by a number of warriors at Ballyleague near north Lough Ree. It is said that when Fionn was near defeated, Sionann arrived with the Stone of Sionann and rescued Fionn by giving him the stone. Fionn threw the stone and the warriors were immediately killed. However, Fionn was afraid of the power of the stone so he then threw the stone into the river, where it remains today at a low, shallow spot in the river, where the river can be forded on foot. It is known that if a woman named Be Thuinne finds the stone, then the world’s end is near.
There are many more legends, lots of history, that travel along and surround the River Shannon.
If you’re interested in even more fabulous wildlife information and video of the River Shannon, here’s another video, about 50 minutes long. It’s narrated by the same fellow who narrates the videos above. I think it’s absolutely fascinating. https://youtu.be/Kz5ygD0FJ6o
Sometimes, in the evening, here at home, I get curious and go online and go looking for things of interest. I look for videos about other countries and cultures, other music, languages, people, science, farming, art, and I look for videos about the land and nature around the world. People are wonderful the world over. Yes, there are the odd folk who aren’t so pleasant, but sure and begorrah most folks are good and kind and pleased to have a chat. The first name on my very own birth certificate is “Anna”, just like my Irish grandmother’s name.
I don’t know what the words in the song below translate to in English. I don’t think I need to know. I think they speak of love and of missing someone.
Somewhere, wherever she is, my grandmother Anna knows that I think of her and love her.