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The Traditional Irish Wedding
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- Custom - Tradition - History - Superstition
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- An invaluable guide that will help you plan a totally Irish
celebration from start to finish - even to the pre-wedding parties.
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- Inspired by her daughter's desire to have a wedding reflective
of her roots, Bridget Haggerty combed history and culture to
bring together a selection of amusing and appropriate, sophisticated
and simple ways to bring an Irish flourish to any wedding.
How to bring Irish touches to apparel, decor and flowers.
Fascinating facts about the old ways of wooing and betrothal.
Suggestions for vows and blessings.
Traditional food and drinks for the wedding feast.
Ideas for music from ceremony to reception.
Resources for invitations, favors and accessories.
Honeymooning in Ireland.
- From Aitin' the Gander to The Scattering, the
book is both entertaining and informative. It will be enormously
helpful to any couple who would like to plan a wedding with flair,
but don't know where to begin. For that reason alone, it will
be a most welcome engagement or shower gift.
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- Ceremony - Reception - Recipes -
Music
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- $18.95 email us (info@seawear.com)
questions/order and pay via PayPal
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Irish Wedding Traditions
Using your Irish Heritage to create the perfect wedding.
By Shannon McMahon Lichte
When Shannon McMahon Lichte was first engaged, she went looking
for a book on Irish wedding customs. After an exhaustive search
she ended up in The Irish Bookshop in New York City, where a
kindly saleswoman's response to her inquiry was "Ah no...
nothing Dear. We get three wee brides a week looking for a book
on Irish wedding customs and I wish you'd write one!" So
that is exactly what Shannon did.
Shannon shows you the Irish way to:
- Select a wedding date. Christmas, New Year's and St. Patrick's
Day are thought to be lucky dates to wed.
- Cloth the bride and groom in the finest Irish wedding attire:
Irish Lace and Embroidery; it is lucky to marry in an old pair
of shoes
- Incorporate Irish music, historical vows and customs into
the wedding. The couple can pledge their commitment to each other
with The Celtic Loving Cup, a Handfasting Ceremony, or a special
song sung in Irish.
- Grow Shamrocks. Complete directions on growing pots of shamrocks
to be put out for luck on the reception tables, as shamrocks
won't last long if cut.
- Use the symbolic flowers of Ireland. Flowers were assigned
meaning in ancient times and were often used in affairs of the
heart. A bridal bouquet can be filled with hydrangeas for devotion,
daisies for innocence, bells of Ireland for a little whimsy and
trailing ivy to represent wedded love.
- Decorate Irish. Use the cultural and national symbols of
Ireland for invitations and decoration.
- Serve Irish drinks at the reception. The bride may choose
an Emerald Martini, and the groom an Irish Dog.
With over 200 customs and traditions, this one-of-a-king guide
will help future brides and grooms of any descent incorporate
enchanting customs into their wedding.
$20.00 email us (info@seawear.com)
questions/order and pay via PayPal |
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The Story of the Claddagh Ring
- The memorable account of the myths behind the dazzling and
distinctive design of the most popular jewellry sold in Irish
gift shops.
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- 'Let love and friendship reign!' is the motto of the famous
Irish Claddagh ring. This lovely token of fealty
- -a ring in gold or silver comprising two hands surrounding
a heart and surmounted by a crown- takes its name from the Claddagh,
an ancient fishing village now part of Galway city. The earliest
surviving examples are from about 1700 but it is known that the
rings were popular much earlier than this. Tradition has it that
in the Claddagh these rings were handed down from mother to daughter.
Now the Claddagh ring is a sought-after piece of jewellery and
a symbol of romance the world over.
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- This is the story of the Claddagh ring - a memorable account
of the myths and history of one of the world's oldest love tokens.
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- Sean McMahon is a well-known biographer, anthologist and
reviewer.
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- $7.95 email us to order (imported from Ireland) SOLD
OUT
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Irish Love and Wedding Customs
- One of the best ways to explore history is through the heart,
and Kim McGuire's Irish Love and Wedding Customs is the
perfect place to start.
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- All you need to know about Irish romantic tradition is here
- harvest knots and strawboys, claddagh rings and unusual marriage
proposals, blessings, prayers, spells and superstitions, and
much much more.
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- Beautifully illustrated by Sarah Cunningham, Irish Love
and Wedding Customs is essential for romantics everywhere.
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- $7.95 email us to order (imported from Ireland) SOLD
OUT
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Surnames of Ireland
- Sixth Edition. Edward MacLysaght was a leading authority
on Irish names and family history. He served as Chief Herald
and Genealogical Officer of the Irish Office of Arms. he was
also Keeper of Manuscripts at the National Library of Ireland
and was Chairman of the Manuscripts Commission.
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- One of the most popular books. a detailed and compact guide
giving a wealth of information on the background of Irish family
names. With more than 4,000 Gaelic, Norman and Anglo-Irish surnames;
appendices and maps.
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- $13.95 email us to order (imported from Ireland)
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Celtic Names for Children
2000 first names from Ireland, Scotland, Brittany, Cornwall,
Wales and Isle of Man. The definitive guide to Celtic names.
All over the world parents are choosing Celtic names for their
children. Some are drawn from ancient legends, others commemorated
places or saints, all province a glimpse of the richness of Celtic
tradition.
- 2000 alphabetically listed names for boys and girls
- Associated myths or stories
- Helpful pronunciation guides
- Cross-references and comprehensive index
- Names from six Celtic countries
- Most common variant spellings
- Commentary on the origin and meaning of most entries
Written by Loreto Todd, she is Reader in International English
at the University of Leeds and has lectured worldwide. She holds
degrees in English and Linguistics and has written more than
20 books. Published by The O'Brien Press Ltd in Ireland.
$11.95 email us to order |
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The Book of Kells
- The most important illustrations plus a series of enlargements
reproduced here show unbelievable minuteness of detail. Up-to-date
text by eat Librarian of trinity College provides analysis and
historical background.
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- The Book of Kells is the most spectacular of a group of manuscripts
created in Ireland and northern Britain between the seventh and
tenth centuries, a period when Irish monasticism was in the vanguard
of Christian culture. Its earliest history remains controversial
but it was in the keeping of the monastery of Kells, Co. Meath,
for most of the Middle Ages - hence its name - and has been in
the library of Trinity College Dublin, since the mid-seventeenth
century. It is a masterpiece of medieval art - a brilliantly
decorated copy of the four Gospels with full-page illustrations
of Christ, the Virgin and Child and the Evangelists, and a wealth
of smaller decorative painting that does not always relate to
the sacred text. The strange imagination displayed in the pages,
the impeccable technique and the very fine state of its preservation
make it an object of endless fascination. This edition includes
the most important of the fully decorated pages plus a series
of enlargements showing the almost unbelievable minuteness of
the detail - spiral and interlace patterns, human and animal
ornament - a combination of high seriousness and humor. Accompanying
the illustrations is a new, up-to-date text by Bernard Meehan,
the current Keeper of Manuscripts at Trinity College Dublin.
It provides a scholarly analysis of these exuberant inventions,
the artists, the text and the writing, and a full account of
the historical background to the miraculous world of the Book
of Kells.
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- $19.95 email us to order
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- CD Rom version! $25.95
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- This is the first digitized version of the Book of Kells
and has been authorized by Trinity College Dublin. It includes
images of the entire contents of the manuscript, with detailed
reproductions of fourteen of the most significant illustrated
pages. The history of the manuscript is narrated, and decorative
and symbolic themes are clearly explained. Minimum requirements
are 1024x768 screen resolution, 24 bit color, Pentium II 233mhz,
Mac G3 or iMac, 64meg ram, Windows 95/98/2000/NT
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Guide to Irish Mythology
- The mythology of the Irish Celts, as anthropologically rich
and rare as that of the Greeks and Romans, has
- long excited the imagination not only of the Irish but of
the world at large.
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- It has provided a rich soil for Irish literature for two
centuries, learning the poetry of Irish bards from Mangan to
heany. It was the source of the Literary Revival -try to imagine
the work of Yeats without it!- and like all mythologies it is
the record of a people explaining themselves to themselves.
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- This account, conveniently arranged in alphabetical order
and cross-referenced, lists the personalities, immortal and semi-divine,
the places and the magic objects that go some way to illuminate
that marvelously complicated and enigmatic entity, the Irish
psyche.
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- $7.95 email us to order
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Symbols of the Celts
- Gain insight and find inspiration in ancient Celtic symbols
and motifs, many of which can still be found today in stories
and designs in clotures around the world. Animals, such as the
dragon and the snake; trees, like the oak and the yew; objects,
including the basket and the sword; and numbers are strikingly
illustrated and their origins are brought to life.
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- $13.95 email us to order
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Celtic Design Knotwork
The Secret Method of the Scribes by Aidan Meehan
This remarkable series of practical, step-by-step guides brings
together the most comprehensive collection ever published of
Celtic designs and decorations and provides an invaluable source
of inspiration for artistes, designers and craftspeople of all
kinds.
The methods behind the technical and artistic perfection of
these marvelous interlaced patterns are revealed here for all:
the simple knot,with all its religious connotations, is developed
into a border, panel or traditional carpet-page, a form which
reached its climax in the richly decorated Gospel books of Durrow,
Lindisfarne and Kells. Knotwork and plaitwork are examined in
detail against the scared background from which they sprang,
and illustrations of motifs taken from famous broaches and carvings
show how Celtic knots can be adapted for all manner of craftwork.
Published by Thames & Hudson
$15.95 email us to order |
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Celtic Art Symbols & Imagery
by Miranda Green
One reason people today still are attracted to the art of
the Celts is that it endures as a mysterious system of symbols
that make a deep impression about universal experiences of love,
war, courage, and the supernatural. Now, an internationally acclaimed
archaeologist and Celtic art expert cracks the code of Celtic
art to reveal a new understanding of its place within ancient
society- and ours.
Her analysis shows how even a sword or scabbard, a wind flagon
or mirror, becomes an intricately designed vehicle of rich symbolic
effects. Now you will understand the paradox,ambiguity, asymmetry
and double meanings of early pagan Celtic art, talismans of war,
ornamented fire dog, chariot decorations, cererimonial head dresses,
funerary armlets, children's toys and more.
Sterling Publishing Co
$17.95 email us to order |
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Celtic Knotwork
by Iain Bain
The magic and mystery of Celtic knotwork disappeared with
the people and the artists who's last traces date back over 1,000
years. But the fascination with their brilliantly twisted and
twined knots and plaits has only grown in the centuries since.
In recent years, lovers of Celtic art - as well as studio
and graphic artists - had to rely on tracing paper and pencil
to copy these unending twists and turns. Now, with the help of
these concise descriptions an literally hundreds of simple diagrams
and grids, you can execute remarkably intricate patterns on your
own.
You'll find it delightfully easy to create your own exquisite
designs, using the same motifs that illuminated ancient Celtic
manuscripts and architecture. As well, you'll discover the simple
geometry behind adapting a straight knotted pattern to fill a
circle, a curve or a cross. The variations and adaptations are
as infinite as the endless coils of great Celtic knotwork.
$14.95 email us to order |
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Symbols of Heraldry Explained
- Following a brief introduction to heraldry, this book discusses
in simple fashion the general significance of emblems, symbols
and heraldic devices as they are found on the coats of arms of
medieval European families. In addition, well known Irish Heraldic
symbols are explained against the background of Celtic mythology,
religion, folklore and literature.
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- $9.95 email us to order
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Female Activists
Irish Women and Change 1900
- 1960
Female Activists charts the lives and work of women who were
significant figures in Irish political life in the twentieth
century. Many of these women had cut their activist teeth in
the suffrage campaign and went on to play an important role on
the national and international political stage from the time
of independence.
These biographical studies recount the lives and work of trade
unionists, Louie Bennett, Helena Molony and Mary Galway, and
political activists, Kathleen Lynn, Rosamond Jacob, Hanna Sheehy
Skeffington and Margaret Cousins. While often associated with
one particular arena these women, in reality, campaigned on numerous
significant issues, from suffrage to pacifism, republicanism,
trade unionism, socialism and health reform. In addition, Jacob
was a novelist, Molony a leading Abbey actress, and Lynn a pioneer
in paediatric (pediatric) medicine. Many were viewed as 'radical'
in a society that was deeply conservative.
$21.95 email us to order |
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The Scotch-Irish: A Social
History
- Dispelling much of what he terms the "mythology"
of the Scotch-Irish, James Leyburn provides an absorbing account
of their heritage. He traces their life in Scotland, when the
essentials of the character and culture were shaped; their removal
to Northern Ireland; and their successive migrations to America,
where many settled in the back country of Pennsylvania, Virginia,
the Carolinas, and Georgia, before joining the flow of pioneers
westward in the wake of the Revolutionary War.
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- The late James G. Leyburn was a professor sociology at Washington
and Lee University.
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- "A substantial contribution to the literature on American
ethnic groups." -American Sociological Review
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- "The best synthesis of what is known of the Scotch-Irish
in their two centuries as an identifiably distinct people...
A most readable contribution to the growing body of sophisticated
literate on immigration in the colonial period." -Pennsylvania
Magazine of History and Biography
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- $16.95 email us to order
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A History of Ireland
A lucid, lively account of Ireland's history from the twelfth
century to the present day. Major themes include the development
of Gaelic culture, the English invasion, religious conflict across
the centuries, the struggle over Home Rule and the complex nature
of the modern Troubles. Ireland's contribution to the world of
the arts and the impact of its Diaspora are significant elements
in this story.
Mike Cronin is an adept guide and this book will be read with
profit by all with an interest in the often problematic history
of this fascinating island.
$26.95 |
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The Story of the Irish Race
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- Everyone knows that St. Patrick drove the snakes from Irish
soil, that the Irish are a great race of fighters and poets and
singers and saints, that Tristan's Isolde came from Ireland and
that from time immemorial the Irish and English have been at
loggerheads and still are. But the average well-read American
knows little more of the great history of the Irish people -
a history too important to ignore, and a chronicle too fascinating
to miss.
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- DID YOU KNOW THAT:
The first man of Columbus' crew to step on American soil
was an Irishman names Patrick McGuire?
The continent later known as America was referred to as "Great
Ireland" by ancient geographers long before Columbus?
According to the ancient historians Euschiums and Cicephorus,
some of the apostles visited Ireland - among them James, Simon
Zelotus and St. Paul?
Cromwell's propaganda against the Irish included the interesting
information that Irishmen had tails six inches long?(His massacres
at Drogheda and Wexford read like pages of Nazi atrocities in
Oland and the Ukraine.)
Irish schoolmasters - defying the English laws - taught Latin
and Greek under the hedges, and that these classical languages
were so commonly known that the "cows were bought and sold
in Greek" in mountain marketplaces?
- The Story of the Irish Race is indispensable for anyone who
wants to understand the Irish people - their political struggle,
their magnificent literature, and their whole great contribution
to Western Civilization, a contribution amazing in its richness
and variety.
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- (Doesn't that make one proud to be Irish!) cb
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- $14.95 email us to order
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Discovering Your Irish Ancestors
A Genealogist's Guide of how
to find and record yur unique heritage.
Learn how and where to search for your family records. With
answers to questions you haven't thought of yet! Like how far
back in time can you expect to trace your family? How does Protestan
Irish research differ from Catholic Irish research? (had you
thought of that one!) What's the most efficient way to use archives
and libraries? Sources fro access Irish cemetery, land, church,
estate, census and military records. emigrations lists. Sources
and strategies for researching Irish ancestors that settled in
Canada, Australia, New Zealand, England, Scotland, Wales and
the Caribbean.
$19.99 U.S. plus shipping |
Sons of Erin
Irish Songster of the American
Civil War
Irish songs, ballads, musical history and lyrical and poetic
legacy of the American Civil War. The Irish in America, volunteered
for the Patriot cause in greater proportion to their numbers
in the population than probably any other group. (as noted by
Michael J. O'Brien and other historians). In England it was later
said that "the Line of America (i.e. army line of battle)
was the Line of Ireland"; a report in the Westminster
Parliament concluded that England had "lost America through
the Irish". Read the stories of the fights that
inspired the songs. The book has been respectively dedicated
to the Fenian Brotherhood and Friends of Irish Independence.
$11.95
Sons of Erin - CD
Derek Warfield of the Wolfe
Tones
Recorded in County Westmeath, Ireland. Twenty ballads and
songs of the American Civil War. America's Irish Brigade; The
Irish Volunteer; Ireland Boys Hurrah; Irish American Army; The
New York Volunteer; The Fall of Richmond; Pat Murphy of Meagher's
Brigade; The Wearing of the Gray; Mike from Garryowen, God Save
Ireland...
Two sought after treasures for Civil War buffs and historians.
$19.95 |
Ancient Celtic Festivals
and how we celebrate them today
This book, written for children ages 9-12 was very interesting
even for me! (46)
People love holiday celebrations buy most of us don't know
why we wear masks on Halloween or watch for the
groundhog on February 2. The Ancient Celtic Festivals shows us
that many of our modern traditions started in northern Europe
with the festivals of the ancient Celts. The Celts were farming
people, so their festivals marked the important events of the
agricultural year. Imbolc, in very early spring, celebrated the
birth of new lambs; Lughnasa, in late summer, the first harvest
of grain; Samhain, in late fall, the end of the growing season.
Chapters cover Who Were the Celts; Ancient Celtic Festivals;
Modern Ways to Celebrate the Ancient Festivals; How Natural Science
Explains Ancient Tradiditons; Where do Traditions and Calendars
Come From?
$18.00 |
Patrick, Brave Shepherd
of the Emerald Isle
Animated video for children. Fun loving Patrick had it easy
at his parents seaside villa. At 16, he thought he had it made
for life. That is, until the day raiders kidnapped him to nearby
Ireland. Now a slave and a shepherd, Patrick faced a bleak and
uncertain future...
Blending historical facts with beloved traditions, Patrick,
Brave shepherd of the Emerald Isle brings to life a long-lost
world of Druids, warriors and kings. One that brave Patrick,
following the example of the Good Shepherd, illuminated forever.
30 minutes in color
$14.95 |
Shamrocks, Harps and
Shillelaghs
The Story of the St. Patrick's Day Symbols
Why does a leprechaun always live alone? Where did St. Patrick
grow up before he was kidnapped and taken as a slave to Ireland?
Each of the familiar St. Patrick's Day symbols has an amazing
story that illuminated Ireland's rich history, and some can be
traced back to ancient customs from many different cultures.
All are recognized today by people the world over and are celebrated
in the pages of this entertaining book. Did you know St. Patrick
was standing in shamrock when he drove the snakes out of Ireland!
Written in 2001 for children, but you will read it first!
$7.95 |
The History of Ireland
The best-selling illustrated children's history of Ireland.
Large format, 32 pages and 500 illustrations. It covers the people
and events that have shaped the history of Ireland from early
Celtic times to the present day (updated through the Good Friday
agreement), and answers such questions as "what is a dolman?"
To when the Dail Eireann was formed.
An illustrated time line runs along the bottom of each page,
showing what was happening around the world during Ireland's
turbulent history.
$9.95 |
Ancient Ireland
From Pre-history to the Middle
Ages
If you own one coffee table book on Ireland, this is it. Large
hardcover at 11" by 13" published by Oxford University
Press. Thick heavy paper with more than 300 color photographs
that glimpse the beauty and richness of Ireland's ruined architecture.
Ancient Ireland concentrates on the rich architectural heritage
of both early and late medieval Ireland, ranging from the time
of St Patrick in the fifth century to the decline of Gaelic Ireland
in the seventeenth century. This is the only book which comprehensively
covers in text and captivating colour photographs Ireland's heritage
of prehistoric and medieval buildings up to 1700. With pictures
by one of Ireland's most acclaimed photographers, and written
by a highly respected authority on Ireland's ancient monuments,
this book is a lavish, fascinating, essential guild to the country's
finest archaeological and architectural sites.
$45.00 limited availability first copies delivered
the end of March 2001 |
To Hell or Barbados
The Ethnic Cleansing of Ireland
This book has been named one of the top ten books of the year
by Read Ireland. First printing was immediately sold out and
second printing is paper. This is a very difficult book to obtain
in the states. We have shipped it worldwide and is extremely
popular at college level study of the history of slavery.
The shocking, previously untold story of over 50,000 Irish
men, women and children who were transported to Barbados and
Virginia (hell) between 1652 and 1659. The motivation for the
initial transportation of the Irish was expressed by King James
I of England: "Root out the Papists and it (Ireland) with
Protestants."
From a search that began in the library of the Barbados Museum
and Historical Society and its files on Irish slaves, Sean O'Callaghan
for the first time documents the history of their transportation,
the conditions in which they lived on the plantations and their
rebellions in Barbados. To Hell or Barbados manages to put a
few names and faces on those otherwise anonymous victims of slavery.
$12.95 paperback add $2.50
for shipping or $3.95 if you want Priority Shipping
SOLD OUT
This will not be for the squeamish. If you have not researched
Irish slavery in the U.S. some things to prepare for-
- 80% mortality rate the first year they arrived at Virginia
Plantations
- Irish slaves were given one meal a day, black slaves two
- black slaves were treated and sold as valuable property and
documented, Irish were treated as baggage and there was no need
for records to be kept
- under Virginia law of 1662, blacks could only be indentured
in slavery for 25 years (no one told them how to count...) Irish
were enslaved for life <In George Sandys laws for Virginia,
Whites were enslaved "forever." The service of Whites
bound to Berkeley's Hundred was deemed "perpetual."
These accounts have been policed out of the much touted "standard
reference works" such as Abbott Emerson Smith's laughable
whitewash, Colonists in Bondage.>
- the 11, 12 and 13 year old girls taken from their families
in Ireland and shipped to Virginia to be given to black slaves
for breeding for the continuation of slavery. A newborn child
slave had the same birthrights as it's mother... black mother
than the child was free at 25, if an Irish mother then it was
a slave for life
- dangerous jobs were given to the Irish as the Plantation
owners would not risk the life of a valuable black slave...
- On 24 August 1652, there was put into motion what the author
calls "the most thorough and ruthless transfer of the Irish
people to overseas colonies ever undertaken by any English leader".
- "Man-catchers" were set upon the native Irish.
Mounted and armed with long whips, they herded the people into
holding-pens set up outside towns and cities, much as cattle
would be driven to fairs. The man-catchers were paid £4
or £4 10s for every young woman and child.
- A reference in the Public Records Office in Kew Gardens notes
that Sir John Clotsworthy was given a license by the English
Board of Trade to ship 1,000 Irish children to Virginia.
- What were their names, the 50,000 plus sold in slavery? We
do not know: that part of their humanity was stolen forever.
Unlike indentured servants, they were listed simply as "merchandise"
and "ships cargo". A 20 per cent loss during shipment
was considered acceptable, the bodies fed to the sharks without
ceremony.
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- Hello Charlie and Leslie,
- Just a short note to let you
know I received the book today in good order. Many thanks and
also for the Irish coin souvenir. Who knows, I may even get to
visit Ireland one day. Already, from quickly browsing through
the book, I recognise three
names mentioned -- Mrs. Betty Carillo Shannon, the librarian
at the B'dos Museum whose son is married to a cousin of mine
- Mr. Patrick Roach a researcher at the B'dos Museum and John
Goddard (ex W.I. cricket captain) who was also married to my
father's cousin. Now I can hardly wait to get stuck into the
rest of the book! Thanks again for your most efficient and friendly
service.
- Best regards,
- Barrie (in NZ)
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