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- a collection of essays on Neodruidic Studies
- a journal of Post-Reconstructionist Neopaganism

Sunday, October 28, 2012

ANCESTORS: Best Song, Best Image

First, the image...
The Best Ancestor Image, Ever:
Ford Maddox Brown 1855, The Last of England


Note the Cliffs of Dover receding in the distance...
Also note the the joined hands including the hand of the unseen infant.

Consider first just clicking on the image itself to have a
good look, free of the visual clutter of my blog page....


AND  ( get out yer hankies,)  NOW... 
The Best Ancestor Song, Ever: 

KILKENNY  
by  Peter Jones / popularized by Mick Maloney 
lyrics here )  
based on an actual series of letters from the period: 
(If as I do, you find the images distracting, just scroll it off the screen., or better yet, buy a copy at iTunes)


6 comments:

  1. Beautiful song! I remember hearing some letters like that in a documentary about Irish immigration a few months ago. It breaks my heart to think of how families couldn't see each other easily in those days. The sacrifices our ancestors made! I'm so grateful I can visit my family without a lot of hassle.

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  2. Song is awesome, but the picture tells so many stories...and I love how it shows the past (in their longing look back to their homes), the present (in their love for one another shown by their clasped hands and close proximity), and the future (in the tiny baby hand Mother is holding as she keeps the child safe beneath her cloak. Thank you for sharing this!

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  3. Earrach,
    Thank you for posting this. The stuff you share inspires me as much now as it did when I was younger.

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  4. I was going to comment about the lost hats and umbrellas, carried by the wind out to sea.
    Then the storm came, just got power back,Strange Samhain season.
    I'm looking forward to closing the gates tomorrow,
    and the new year.

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  5. Well, there are no coincidences, are there?
    I have been researching my patrilineal hertiage for years now, to limited success. Met new cousins who live several hours away over this past all too brief weekend, and I was given three old photos of which I've never seen before - of my father's parents who died a decade before I was born.
    And two of the photos were from my parents' wedding in 1949.
    And in my email box from a 'no-reply' google address came your Prayer to the Ancestors...ahhh.
    I hope to the Gods that I listen to the wisdom and interesting timing-'coincidence'...and thought you should know this wonderful confluence of time and space.
    Message received; thank you, go raibh mile maith agat, Earrach!

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  6. Family is a strong thread that spans oceans and time. Those folks left behind were as close as a front porch at night or a dream in the darkness.

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