Connepedia: Encyclopedia of Connemara: Connemara Life

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Hooker Racing

There are four classes of traditional sailing boats in Connemara: Bád Mór (Hookers) , Leathbhád, Gleoiteog and Púcán. The Gleoiteog is divided into two sub-classes: Gleoiteoga Móra and Gleoteoga Beaga.

Hooker races in Connemara are usually held during the day at many of the summer regattas held along the coast. (details of the regattas can be found at http://www.huiceiri.ie/ )

The boats that race have been restored by the Galway Hooker Association ( http://www.huiceiri.ie/) which plays a critical role in maintaining the boat building, navigation and maintenance skills necessary to preserve these unique and beautiful vessels.

The hooker "Bád Mór" has for over 200 years been the maritime workhorse of Connemara carrying turf to the Aran islands, Mayo or Clare and returning with a load of fish or limestone to feed Conenmaras lime kilns. Connemara had a maritime tradition and the sea was the major means of moving from one point to the other along the coast for people living on islands, peninsulas or the mainland coast. They sailed to Galway to shop in these boats built especially to navigate the bays and narrow inlets of Connemara, rough open seas and shallow waters.

Curragh Racing

Curragh racing is a feature of the many regattas that are held on the Connemara coast during the summer.

Both men and womens teams take part in fast skillful rowing races. Teams can consist of 1 to 4 individuals depending on the boat size. Some teams use use specially built curraghs whch ride high in the water and as they have no rudder must be steered by the oars. The currach is steered using the oars. Winning in a racing currachs is all about skill, stamina, strength especially in windy conditions. Races generally involve a course of multiple kilometres with teams racing to a mid point and then returning to the start line.

The growing interest in curragh racing plays a ital part in preserving the boat building skills all along the west coast of Ireland.

Poc Fada

Poc Fada is Irish for long puck. An All-Ireland Poc Fada Championship is held annually to test the distance hitting skills of the top hurlers.

The concept of the competition originates in the Irish legend of Tain Bo Cuailgne when Cuchulainn, who as the boy Setanta set out from his home to the King s court at Emain Macha hitting his sliotar before him and running ahead to catch it. The current course is 5 km.

The tournament was founded in 1960 by Fr. Pol Mac Sheain and the Naomh Moninne club based in Fatima, Dundalk, Louth, with the first All Ireland event taking place in 1961. The competition went off the calendar after 1969 before returning in 1981.

The Senior men complete the full circuit (4 stages). the Camogie contestants poc to An Gabhlan and back again (2 stages) 2.5 km. The boys u16 poc to An Gabhlan and back again (2 stages) 2.5 km.

Competitors must puck a sliotar with a hurley (they may lift and strike or hit the ball from the hand).

They play to the top of Carn an Mhadaidh (Co Louth) and after a short break continue back down to finish in Aghameen. The whole course measures over 5 Km. An Corn Cuailgne ( The Cooley Cup ) is awarded (like golf) to the player who takes the lowest number of pucks to complete the course.

Ties are broken by the distance by which the player s last puck crosses the finish line.

There is also the comortas beirte (pairs competition) in which the competitors are randomly assigned partners, the pair with the lowest combined score winning An Corn Setanta (The Setanta Cup) and the Corn na Craoibhe Rua ( The Trophy of the Red Mountain ).

Gaelic Handball

Handball is a traditional sport played in Ireland. It is one of the four Gaelic games organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA).

In Ireland, the earliest written record of a handball game is found in the town statutes of Galway in 1527, which forbade the playing of ball games against the walls of the town. The first drawing of an Irish form of handball does not appear till 1785. On the west coast of Ireland, Galway had many trading links with Spain, especially the Basque regions, where the similar game of pelota is played.

Handball was included in the G.A.A. Charter of 1884. In 1924 the Irish Handball Council was established to promote, develop and organise the sport. In 1974 Comhairle Liathroid Laimhe na mBan was founded to run womens competitions. In 1998 these were merged to a single Irish Handball Council. In 2009 it became the GAA Irish Handball Council. In the same year Irish Handball was rebranded as GAA Handball.

Handball is played in a court, or alley. Originally, an alley measuring 60 feet by 30 feet was used with a front wall of 30 feet, off which the ball must be struck. In 1969 a smaller alley was also introduced, measuring 40 feet by 20 feet with a front wall 20 ft high. This smaller size is now the standard in the international version of the game.

Players hit a ball with a hand or fist against a wall in such a way as to make a shot the opposition cannot return. It can be played with two players (singles) or four players (doubles).

The objective of handball is to score a set total of points before your opponent does. Points are only scored by the person serving the ball. The serving player has two opportunities to hit the ball, from the service area (between the two parallel lines), off the front wall and across the short line (which is located exactly halfway down the court from the front wall). If they fail their opponent then becomes the server.

Gaelic Football

Gaelic football is a traditional Irish ball game.

Gaelic football is one of the few remaining strictly amateur sports in the world, with players, coaches, and managers prohibited from receiving any form of payment.

The All Ireland football final (yet to be won by Mayo) is usually attended by over 80,000 people each September. It is one of four sports (Football, Hurling, Camogie and Handball) controlled by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) which is the largest sporting organisation in Ireland. Under the GAA, football is a male-only sport.

A related sport of ladies Gaelic football is governed by the Ladies Gaelic Football Association.

The first reference to football in Ireland was in 1308 and the later Statute of Galway in 1527 allowed football and archery but banned Hurling. In 1670 the first references to catching and kicking in football was recorded but in 1695 the game was banned under the Sunday Observance Act . In 1712 the first inter county match was recorded as being between Meath and Louth.

In 1887 the first codified set of rules were established for Gaelic football. The GAA sought to promote traditional Irish sports, such as hurling and to reject foreign (particularly English) games such as soccer and rugby. The restrictions on playing other sports by GAA members have now been eased or eliminated.

Two teams of 15 players play for 60 minutes using a round leather ball on a rectangular pitch which is 130 to145 metres long and 80 to 90 m wide. At each long end there are two goal posts that are 6 to 7 meters apart and a cross bar at a height of 2.5 meters. When a team gets the ball over the bar (but between the goal posts) they score a point which equals 1 point. If the ball passes under the bar (but between the goal posts) the team gets a goal that counts as 3 points.

Hurling

Hurling is an Irish team sport that comes from traditional Irish ball games. There is a similar game for women called camogie (camogaiocht). It is considered to be the worlds fastest field sport.

There are verbal historical reference dating back to 1200 B.C when it was played at Tara co Meath. The earliest written references to hurling are found in Brehon law dating from the fifth century Recorded references to hurling appear in many places such as the fourteenth century Statutes of Kilkenny and a fifteenth-century grave slab survives in Inishowen, County Donegal. Hurling was banned in Galway in 1527. Hurling is also recorded as being played by teams representing neighbouring villages. Villages would play games. Such games could involve hundreds of players and could last several hours or days.

Today two teams of 15 players play for 75 minutes using a ball (sliotar) made of a cork core covered by two pieces of leather stitched together on a rectangular pitch which is 130 to 145 metres long and 80 to 90 m wide. At each long end there are two goal posts that are 6 to 7 meters apart and a cross bar at a height of 2.5 meters. When a team gets the ball over the bar (but between the goal posts) they score a point which equals 1 point. If the ball passes under the bar (but between the goal posts) the team gets a goal that counts as 3 points.

Unlike golf the highest scoring team usually wins.

Camogie

Camogie (Ka-mo-gee) is an Irish stick-and-ball team sport played by women; it is almost identical to the game of hurling played by men.

Camogie is played by 100,000 women in Ireland and worldwide, largely among Irish communities.

It is organised by the Dublin-based Camogie Association or An Cumann Camógaíochta.Matches are contested by two teams of 15 a side, using a field 130m to 145m long and 80m to 90m wide. H-shape goals are used, a goal (scored when the ball goes between the posts and under the bar) is equal to three points and a point (scored when the ball goes over the bar) is equal to one point.

The annual All Ireland Camogie Championship has a record attendance of 33,154, while average attendances in recent years are in the region of 15,000 to 18,000. The final is televised live, with a TV audience of over 300,000 being claimed.

The rules are almost identical to hurling, with a few exceptions. Goalkeepers wear the same colours as outfield players. This is because no special rules apply to the goalkeeper and so there is no need for officials to differentiate between goalkeeper and outfielders. A camogie player can hand-pass a score (forbidden in hurling since 1980).

Camogie games last 60 minutes, two 30-minute halves (senior inter-county hurling games last 70, which is two 35-minute halves). Ties are resolved by multiple 2×10-minute sudden death extra time periods; in these, the first team to score wins. Dropping the camogie stick to handpass the ball is permitted. A smaller sliotar (ball) is used in camogie – commonly known as a size 4 sliotar – whereas hurlers play with a size 5 sliotar. If a defending player hits the sliotar wide, a 45-metre puck is awarded to the opposition (in hurling, it is a 65-metre puck). After a score, the goalkeeper pucks out from the 13-metre line. (in hurling, he must puck from the end line). The metal band on the camogie stick must be covered with tape. (not necessary in hurling) Side-to-side charges are forbidden. (permitted in hurling). Two points are awarded for a score direct from a sideline cut (since March 2012). Camogie players must wear skirts or skorts rather than shorts.

Connemara Marriage and Divorce

Marriage and Divorce are both legal in Connemara. Modern rules relating to both are somewhat different than in previous centuries.

Ancient Irish law tracts give precedence to a mans one official wife, the first in the household (cetmuinter).

The first wife usually contributed movable property of her own to the joint housekeeping. She was, in the case of a divorce, entitled to receive it back along with any accumulated profits.

Divorce could be initiated by either the husband or the wife.

There were a number of grounds for divorce.
A wife, could cite her husbands impotence or sterility, his beating her severely enough to leave a scar, homosexuality causing him to neglect her marriage bed, failure to provide for her support, discussing her sexual performance in public, spreading rumours about her, his having tricked her into marriage by using magic, or his having abandoned her for another woman.

If the husband abandoned his First Wife for another woman the first wife had the right to remain in the marriage if she wished, and was entitled to continued maintenance from her husband.

Connemara Irish Language

It is estimated that 1.66 million (39%) people in the Republic of Ireland can speak some Irish and in Northern Ireland 10.4% claim to have some knowledge of Irish.

The Irish language along with English is one of two official languages in Ireland. It is the main language of the Gaeltacht (Irish speaking) regions. Irish is also one of the 24 official languages of the European Union.

Irish is one of the last 6 surviving Celtic Languages in Europe. Celtic languages (Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Manx Gaelic (Manx), Welsh, Breton and Cornish). Their origins are believed to be from Common Celtic, which is an Indo-European in origin.

Irish the oldest written native language north of the Alps. Ogham, from the 5th and 6th centuries, is the oldest written form of Irish that exists. This is generally found inscribed on stones. By the 7th century the Roman alphabet had replaced Ogham as the main alphabet use in writing Irish.

It is believed that Irish came to Ireland over 2,500 years ago and by the beginning of the Christian period Irish had replaced all other languages spoken in Ireland. The Irish language was heavily influenced by the already existing prehistoric languages, and contained a number of borrowings, particularly those relating to personal and tribal names.

The development of the Irish language, from its earliest recorded days to the present, is divided by scholars into four distinct periods:

1. Old Irish: 600-900 CE
2. Middle Irish: 900-1200
3. Early Modern Irish or Classical Irish: 1200-1650
4. Modern Irish: 1650-present day

The forms of the language known as Old Irish and Middle Irish are accessible only to those with a specialised scholarly training. Although it has a standardised spelling and grammar, Modern Irish as spoken today has three main dialects: Munster Irish, Western or Connemara Irish, and Ulster or Donegal Irish.

Irish adopted words from other cultures such as Scandinavian in the Middle Irish period (900-1200 AD) and with the arrival of the Anglo Normans in the 12th century introduced multilingualism into Ireland. This also marked the beginning of the decline in the use of Irish.

Although the majority of the people spoke Irish, English, became necessary for administrative and legal purposes. Irish, was never again the main administrative language in Ireland but remained it the main daily language of rural inhabitants and working class urban dwellers.

The language was heavily discriminated against under the 16th century Penal Laws. The last of these laws were finally rescinded by the Government of Ireland Act 1920. These laws severely undermined Irish as did the increasing adoption of an anglicised lifestyle and the population loss of the Great Famine of 1845 – 1847 when rural populations of the west collapsed.

Of the five million people estimated to be living in Ireland at the end of the eighteenth century, two million were monoglot Irish speakers, one and a half million were bilingual in Irish and English with a further one and a half million English speakers. Predominant among the monolingual Irish speakers were the rural poor, in particular those concentrated in peripheral areas of the South, West and North West of the country. This class were especially vulnerable to changing circumstances: they were repeatedly reduced during the nineteenth century by famine, epidemic and emigration, and were almost totally wiped out by the Great Famine of 1846-9.

The nineteenth century was, by any standards, a calamitous one for the language. According to the 1851 census the total number of Irish speakers had declined by then to just over one and a half million. By the end of the century, the number of Irish speakers had declined to 600,000. An even more telling figure was the fall in the percentage of Irish speakers among the under-10 population, which had declined to 3.5% of the total.

The Society for the Preservation of the Irish Language, which was established in 1876, managed to gain recognition for Irish at every level of the education system from primary school level to university. In 1893 Gaeilge, or the Gaelic League was formed and managed to create a mass movement of support for the Irish language.

Irish was fully documented and the first Official Standard Irish published in 1958.

Irish is available as an option on Google Translate.

Connemara Warfare

Irish clans often engaged in raids against their neighbours. These, depending on the seriousness of the engagement, usually consisted of small raiding parties.

For larger set piece battles the preferred means of attacking an enemy was an all-out assault. The adoption of regular formation, shoulder to shoulder, forming a solid front with shields and spears came as military tactics (and the odd defeat) brought change.

Cavalry was not widely used until the arrival of the Normans. Chiefs and clan leaders went into battle on horseback. Each horseman had at least one footman to attend him called a gilla or dalteen armed only with a dart or javelin.

Two kinds of foot-soldiers are often mentioned in Irish military records, the kern and galloglasses. The kern were light-armed soldiers: they wore headpieces, and fought with a skian (a dagger or short sword) and with a javelin.

The Irish, unlike the Scots, generally wore clothes when fighting. Soldiers thought likely to desert were tied together at the ankle to prevent them deserting but allowing them to fight.

The galloglasses are mentioned after the Anglo-Norman invasion. These were heavy-armed infantry, wearing a coat of mail and an iron helmet, with a long sword by the side, and carrying in the hand a broad, heavy, battle axe.

It was common to use war trumpets in Irish battles. These were used to signal the troops as to what to do in battle but also as means of communications in camps.

The Irish clans also had a clan war chant or cry that they used when charging into battle. The use of sea power is rarely recorded in Irish military history.

The most famous user of naval military resources was Grace O Malley or Granuaile ( 1530 to 1603) who commanded the Connemara Coastal Defense and Anti Piracy Force in Elizabethan times.

Connemara Housing

Housing in Connemara has improved radically since the Devon Commission report in 1845. Most urban and rural housing stock is now up to modern standards.

The Devon Commission (Commission on Occupation of Land (Ireland) 1843 to 1845) used 4 categories to describe habitations in rural Connemara.
52.8% were in the lowest class. These were all mud cabins with one room and these housed 53% of all families. They were generally without windows or a proper chimney.
37.6% were in the next class. These were mud cottages with 2 to 4 rooms and had one or more windows.
9% were in the next class. These were classed as a good farm house, or in town, a house in a small street having from five to nine rooms and windows.
0.6% were all houses of a higher quality.

Most farmers built their own houses. The custom was to place almost every building below the level of the adjacent ground. The houses had a step down into the interior which led to a high level of dampness. Cabins were usually built of clay or sod on a foundation of stone. They used a slope at right-angles to the contours so that the top ends were set against a hillside or large rocky outcrop. Many had rounded corners making them an elongated oval. Horizontal bands or tops of bog-fir, sally or heather, were pegged into the thatch at intervals.

In Connemara the scallop or scobe thatch was secured by bent rods which were hidden except at the ridge and along the eaves, where they were worked into lozenge patterns.

Housing stock gradually improved in the post famine period due to improving social and economic circumstances. In the 20th and 21st century significant personal investment and government incentives helped to bring the majority of Connemara housing stock up to modern standards.

Between 1946 and 1979, over 420,000 customers in rural Ireland were connected to the national grid as part of the Rural Electrification Scheme. On 8 September 2003, two of the last remaining places in Ireland unconnected to the national grid – Inishturbot and Inishturk islands in Connemara were finally connected to the national grid.

Connemara Genetics

In Connaught, almost all men (98.3%), carry a particular gene (haplogroup 1) that links them directly back to the ancient population of Ireland 4,200 years ago.
10,000 years ago most of the population of Western Europe carried the haplogroup 1 gene. Through the movement and mixing of peoples, this gene was diluted and today it is found in relatively few people in Europe.
In 2007 Scientists in Trinity College studied the genes on the Y chromosome which is passed from father to son. By performing a number of genetic tests they were able to identify a particular genetic pattern in the Y chromosome of the Irish. They estimated that most of the genetic variation in Ireland has accumulated over the past 4,200 years following a rapid growth of the population at this time. This is the time of the Early Bronze Age in Ireland.
The scientists have shown that most of the genes present in Ireland today came from the people who were living at the time of Newgrange. These people were the descendants of the ancient hunter-gatherers of Europe.
They also found a gradient from east to west in Europe. The lowest frequency of the gene is in Turkey and the highest frequency in Ireland where 78.1% of all men have the gene.
The most striking finding was that in Connaught, the western most point of Europe, almost all men (98.3%) carry this particular gene. This indicates a relative genetic isolation of the Connaught population over time.
The frequency of the gene varies according to the original source of the family name. For Gaelic surnames names the frequency is highest whilst Scottish surnamed people have the lowest frequency of the gene.