| Lughnasadh |
| the sun, crafts, artistry, and courage. In honor of his foster mother, Tailtui, Lugh decreed that a commemorative feast be held each year at the beginning of the harvest season. It was after the defeat of her people by the Millesians, that Tailtiu, the royal Lady of the Fir Bolg, was obliged by the Millesians to clear a vast forest for the purpose of planting grain, dieing of exhaustion in the attempt. According to legend she was buried beneath a great mound named after her, the hill of Tailte, where the first feast of Lughnasadh was held. Over the years the traditional celebration of Lughnasadh has grown not only to honor Tailtiu, but also the work and sacrifice of people as they strove to provide food for their families and Tuatha’s. Traditionally, Lughnasadh is celebrated by playing games, holding contests of skills, singing, dancing, and of course, the great feast. Because so many tribes gathered together to celebrate Lughnasadh, it also became a time of intertribal marriages, fosterings, contracts, and alliances, of oaths in general. In the last 500 years or so there has come to be, in some places, a more modern expression of honoring Tailtiu in which a woman, or an effigy of one, is crowned with summer flowers and seated on a throne, garlands strewn at her feet, with dancers whirling around her, touching her garlands or pulling off a ribbon for good luck. One of the more fascinating parts of Lughnasadh, at least to me, is the tradition of making the bonds of Pósadh, or marriage and how it was done. As I understand it, men would line up and court the women, the women choosing which man she wanted. They were then bound by a one year marriage, the bonds of Pósadh. If they wished to nullify it, they simply stood back to back and walked away from one another...the epitome of ‘so long as love shall last’, and a tradition I can certainly agree with. Another Lughnasadh tradition is the Tailteann Games, competitions of strength and skill. Inaugurated in 632 B.C., they were held in the first week of August almost without interruption until 1169. As sad as it is, cultural changes often mean the end of some traditions, either due to the tradition becoming forbidden or the people willingly leaving the tradition behind. However, the Tailteann games, despite an 855-year lapse, survived, being revived in 1924 with the gathering of international athletes at Croke Park. Today, the modern concept of the Tailteann Games is a festival of school athletics derived from a meeting of Bill Hyland and the late Jack Sweeney in 1963, as well as the decision of the Nestle Chocolate company to involve themselves in the longest sponsorship in Irish sports. The Ancient Tailteann Games (As I understand it, Tuatha Mactire will remain true to tradition, celebrating the Tailteann Games in the manner our ancestors did. I can’t say for sure, but we Gaelic being a proud people, I would imagine many of the Tuathas will do much the same.): A foot race on a chariot course, the winner being the first who finished. Del Chlis – a spear feat in which the spear is thrown in such a way so as to spin and strike with incredible accuracy. (Something like what rifling in a barrel does for a bullet.) Wrestling – A brutal form of unarmed combat. (Not too different from Pancratean, known today as Pankratian) Roé – a sword duel using short bladed swords. (Roé is now seen as the Irish marital art of Bata fighting.) Running leap over a stream – (that’s one long jump…) Tossing of Stones – Something like a free-form version of Shot put. Hurley Competition Spear Throw for distance Chariot Race Skill of Driving – A chariot team skill course where the driver of the chariot must navigate a rough course of obstacles and the warrior in the back has to grab rings and other items from poles, as well as throw javelins at targets on the move. The modern day version of the Tailteann Games, the original proposal in the 1924 version, is as follows: Modern Athletics: 100 Meters Flat; 200 Meters Flat; 400 Meters Flat; 800 Meters Flat; 1,500 Meters Flat; 4 Mile Run; 26 Mile Marathon; 100 Meters Hurdle; 400 Meters Hurdle; 3,200 Meter Steeplechase; Standing Broad Jump; Standing High Jump; Running Broad Jump; Running High Jump; Hop, Step and Jump; Three Jumps; Pole Jump; Throwing the Hammer; 56 lb. without fellow; 56 lb. over bar; Discus, Free Style; Javelin, Free Style; 1,600 Meters Relay Race; Cycling - One Lap, 600 Meters; 1,000 Meters; 5,000 Meters; 20 Kilometers; 100 Kilometers. Boxing, Football, Hurling, Rounders, Handball, Rising and Striking the Hurling Ball, Long Distance Place Football Kick. Swimming. For Ladies: Camogie and Rounders. NATIONAL SECTION. The following events will be confined to Irish men and women resident in Ireland: Fencing; Gymnastics; Tug-of-war; Rowing; Motor Boats; Piper Band Competition; Brass and Reed Competition. Inter-College Athletics - 3,500 Meters Walk. Team Revolver and Pistol Shooting; Rifle Range, Revolver and Clay-bird Shooting; Yacht Racing; Motor Cycle Racing. Step Dancing - 4 Hand Reel; 8 Hand Reel; 16 Hand Reel. Lofting the Bowl. Inter-School Athletics for Boys. For Ladies: Swimming. |
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| ughnasadh (pronounced Loo-nahs-ah), celebrated on the day dead center of Summer Solstice and Autumn Equinox, is the festival of Lugh, the Gaelic God of |
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| Tailtui by Jim Fitzpatrick |