You will have seen Bryan O'Brien's wonderful picture on the front page of Monday's paper and read of the various feats of those who climbed Croagh Patrick on Sunday. You may have heard Ciaran Mac Mathuna on Sunday morning expanding on the Festival of Lughnasa, with all its varieties of celebrations of the coming of the harvest, many on hilltops and, as the voice of the late Sean J. White reminded us, many involving horses being ridden in sea, lough or river. Maire Mac Neill's book The Festival of Lughnasa, published in 1962, stands as one of the great monuments of folklore/historical publications. It is impossible to open it at random without coming across a gem of information and enlightenment.
She takes us through the various dates of the celebrations, varying almost from place to place - the last Sunday in July; sometimes an earlier Sunday. Then into August, and the same. Pilgrimages on heights, various other types of assemblies on heights, varying from province to province. Then assemblies at lakes and wells, and the fairs. And, of course myths and legends attached to all. It is remarkable for its scholarship and its zest. It is one of the most readable books to come out of our history. Her list of the names of the festival will strike chords in the various parts of the country where it remains, and where it may be forgotten. Domnach Chrom Dubh was last Sunday, but then we have about a hundred versions covering events before and after. And coinciding. Garland Sunday (sometimes Garlic Sunday), Sunday of the New Potatoes, Colcannon Sunday, Mountain Sunday, Height Sunday, Rock Sunday, and then a list of variations on the name of that lovely mountain berry: Bilberry Sunday, Blaeberry Sunday, Heatherberry Sunday, Big Sunday of the Heather, Mulberry Sunday, Whort Sunday, Hurt Sunday, Fraughan Sunday, Last Sunday of the blaeberries. In Irish, of course one word covers this berry, as in Domhnach na bhFraochog.
And these festive occasions were not confined to Ireland, as she demonstrates so meticulously. In Flora Britannica, Richard Mabey praises the berry (Vaccinium myrtillus) and writes of a Manx custom as Las Luanya, Quarter Day, formerly celebrated on August 1st by climbing a nearby hill and indulging in riotous games and lovemaking. A practice denounced by the clergy. A good time of year.