The history and laws of Celtic peoples were not written but memorized in long lyric poems that were recited by the filí (bards). This tradition has been carried on in Ireland by the seanchaithe and in Scotland by the seanchaidhean. In times past, the seanchaithe served clans and maintained their oral history and tradition. Others were itinerants that traveled from village to village exchanging their stories for food and shelter. In more recent times, storytellers that identify with the seanchaithe are commonly found in the Irish or Gaelic speaking areas of Ireland.

TALES OF THE SEANCHAITHE

Eddie Lenihan, One Ireland’s Best Seanchaithe

Sean, a Seanchaí

The Tinker of Telemacht

The Clever Daughter

The Three Wishes

“Mná na hÉireann” (English: Women of Ireland), is a poem written by Ulster poet Peadar Ó Doirnín (1704–1796). The poem was first put to music on the 1969 live album Ó Riada Sa Gaiety. Nolwenn Leroy’s beautiful rendition follows.