Latest news with #Samhain
The Guardian
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Oona Doherty: Specky Clark review – distressed orphan out-dances the abbatoir's raw reality
Here we are in an abattoir with a talking pig carcass. You see, Oona Doherty puts worlds on stage you won't see elsewhere. Best known for her brilliant ode to working class Belfast, Hard to be Soft, Doherty's latest piece returns to her home town in a story inspired by past generations, including her great-great-grandfather (the original Specky Clark), where biography and fiction merge with messy edges. Specky (played by petite Faith Prendergast, dwarfed by the tall dancers in adult roles) arrives in Belfast from Glasgow aged 10. Doherty herself moved from London to Belfast at the same age – you can always question whose story this really is. The show is rooted in realism but quickly moves to the magical kind and then full-blown fantasy. 'Let me tell ya a story,' says the narrator, conjuring backstories and personal myths. Set at Samhain, the Gaelic festival marking the start of winter, it's a liminal time when the barrier between the living and dead becomes permeable. Even the anachronistic soundtrack – a David Holmes tune thrown into what we assume is an earlier age – destabilises the sense of solidity. When orphaned Specky is put to work in the abattoir, the pig he's been told to kill stands up and gives him a hug. This is the show's most arresting, affecting scene. It's the comfort Specky needs, but at the same the moment his heart hardens. It's comedic too, which is crucial to Doherty's tone (even if that's occasionally overegged). The show gives us raw reality, and the escape from that. Specky dances with the sense of losing (then finding) yourself. Dance is catharsis; it's the portal out of here. For all that Doherty leans towards theatricality, she has an amazing way with pure movement, whether Specky's internal distress erupting outward in full-body shakes, or the whole cast moving as if Doherty has torn pages from a dance encyclopedia at random: an Irish dance leg flung high, a folk reel, a manic floss, a hip-hop move. This is bold, original, distinctive work. But the driving dramatic idea, Specky's grief for his mother, is underplayed (despite dramaturgical input from playwright Enda Walsh). It doesn't burrow deep enough. We hope for a great redemptive arc that doesn't come. Which is realism, for sure.
Irish Independent
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Wexford May Bush traditions feature on new RTÉ series
Wexford faces and voices featured in the third episode of the RTÉ series Na Féilte Tine over the May bank holiday weekend. The four-part series Na Féilte Tine (The Fire Festivals) and it explores the four indigenous Irish festivals of Samhain, Imbolg, Bealtaine and Lúnasa in Ireland. One of Ireland's leading folklorists, Wexford's Michael Fortune, features in the series and he brought the RTÉ cameras to his native county in a bid to get our particular traditions and customs recognised. Michael was recorded in the TG4 studios in Connemara in early 2023 and a few months later, on May Eve (April 30), he brought the film crew to Wexford to record Marie Coleman from Curragraigue, Ballindaggin and Willie Phayers of Ballyigeen, Boolavogue and also record the decoration of the village May Bush in Ballindaggin. Marie Coleman, a neighbour of Michael's, kept the tradition of the May Bush going in her family farm over her lifetime and the crew spent hours recording herself and her grandchildren and neighbours dressing up the May Bush in her yard. Sadly Marie passed in August, just a few months after this was filmed and the programme producer, Ciaran O'Cofaigh, dedicated this episode to her in the credits. Also featured in the episode was a man called Willie Phayers from Ballyigeen from outside Ferns. Michael introduced the producers to Willie where he spoke about the practice of blessing cattle on May Eve with Easter water. The highlight of the piece was seeing the village May Bush in Ballindaggin being decorated and dressed by the local community. Michael and his wife, Aileen Lambert, re-established the May Bush tradition back into the village in 2017 and every year it has grown in popularity with the community. The film crew did the event justice as it captured gorgeous footage of the May procession featuring St Colman's Pipe Band and St Kevin's Marching Band, the May Queens and King from Ballindaggin National School, and people coming together, decorating the May Bush and marking the coming of Summer. The programme also featured a May song written by Aileen called Good Morrow Fair Yarrow which was the perfect backdrop to the faces and voices of Wexford in the episode.
RTÉ News
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- RTÉ News
Na Féilte Tine: Michael Harding & 'Bealtaine'
RTE's four-part series Na Féilte Tine (The Fire Festivals) explores the four indigenous Irish festivals of Samhain, Imbolg, Bealtaine and Lúnasa. Bank Holiday Monday's programme explores the festival of 'Bealtaine' and the theme of Nature. Michael Harding features & joins us now from our Cork studio
National Geographic
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- National Geographic
Fire. Fertility. Chaos. How Scotland is reviving an ancient pagan ritual
Each spring, on the night of April 30, thousands gather on Edinburgh's Calton Hill to welcome the return of summer—with fire. Performers dressed in dramatic costumes move through the crowd, reenacting ancient rituals to drums and chants echoing across the city. The crowd—locals and tourists alike—comes for the Beltane Fire Festival, Britain's largest modern celebration of an ancient that honors fire, fertility, and the changing season. Revived in 1988 by a group of artists and volunteers, the festival has grown into a high-energy spectacle rooted in tradition but shaped by modern values. So how did a nearly forgotten pagan fire ritual become one of Scotland's most iconic annual events? What are the origins of Beltane? Beltane (pronounced BEL-tayn) is one of eight seasonal festivals in the Celtic calendar, alongside Samhain, Yule, Imbolc, Ostara, midsummer, Lughnasadh, and Mabon. Its roots stretch back centuries across Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and the Isle of Man. Costumed performers prepare for the Beltane Fire Festival in Edinburgh. The annual event blends ancient Celtic rituals with modern performance, drawing thousands to Calton Hill to mark the arrival of summer. Photograph by Jim Richardson, Nat Geo Image Collection Blue-painted participants represent the 'Blues,' the ritual guardians of the Beltane Fire Festival. As the festival's elders, they lead the procession, uphold tradition, and maintain order amid the chaos during the celebration. Photograph by Jim Richardson, Nat Geo Image Collection Beltane translates to 'bright fire,' which is central to the festivities. It celebrates the coming summer sunshine months and the fertility of nature, including the people and livestock that come from the changing seasons. Historically, everyone in the community would have to put out their individual home fires, and a grand bonfire, known as a 'need-fire,' would be lit in the community space. Part of this ritual would include driving cattle between two central 'need-fires' to protect their health for the season ahead. After this protection ritual was completed, music, dancing, and drinking would continue late into the night. 'Beltane has long been an important part of Scottish traditions and culture since the pre-Christian/Gnglosaxon colonization of the land,' says Romaine Furmston-Evans of the Beltane Fire Society. 'When these takeovers occurred in history, traditions like Beltane were adopted by the dominant culture and shifted to suit their means. So, the celebration never really stopped; it was just altered and often renamed. In Beltane's case, it became May Day.' The history of Edinburgh's Beltane Fire Festival Fire purges winter during Edinburgh's Beltane Fire Festival on Calton Hill. The May Queen leads a ritual of renewal, as performers reenact the seasonal rebirth of the Green Man before a crowd of thousands. Photograph by Kieran Dodds, Redux Although the repression of paganism and traditional festivals continued throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, Beltane didn't disappear entirely. In 1988, a group of performance artists resurrected the festival's spirit on Calton Hill. Still run by community volunteers today, the event has grown from a small audience of about 50 in its first year to roughly 10,000 by 1999. Ross Tinsley, a lecturer at Edinburgh Napier University who has researched Beltane extensively, says, 'the group who resurrected it were seeking a release from struggles against the dominant political landscape of Thatcherism.' Historically, the Beltane celebrations would've been celebrated on the slopes of Arthur's Seat. But because this land is crown-owned—and given the political symbolism—organizers chose Calton Hill, a space known in the 1980s for its connection to queer counterculture. (This ancient festival celebrates springtime—and a brand new year.) The story of the May Queen and the Green Man is at the heart of the modern festival. The May Queen is almost a Mother Earth figure, representing nature. The Green Man tries to get the attention of the May Queen throughout the festival but isn't successful until he shrugs off his winter coat and embraces the new season. The culmination of the festival is the marriage of the two and the start of summer. As the narrative unfolds, other characters representing aspects of nature join the performance. The Whites, attendants of the May Queen, embody her emotions and energy. The Blues, elders of the festival, uphold tradition and order. The wild and unpredictable Reds represent nature's chaos and carnality—and often disrupt the other groups. These roles unfold across Calton Hill over four hours, creating an immersive, interactive experience. Beltane's revival Beltane's rise in popularity is about more than spectacle. 'We are currently seeing a resurgence of embracing indigenous cultures across the world,' says Furmston-Evans. 'This is part of Scots reclaiming our heritage.' (Paganism is on the rise—here's where to discover its traditions.) In part, Beltane's popularity reflects a growing desire to reconnect—with each other, the natural world, and rhythms that feel older than modern life. 'This growth can be seen as a reflection of dissatisfaction with more traditional religion and with the pace of contemporary Western society,' says Tinsley. According to the Beltane Fire Society website, 'The motives behind Beltane are the search of a human primal nature, the need to reconnect with land and nature, the contraposition of the chaotic and wild movements of the elements of life and nature in opposition to the over rationality and disciplinarian order of the central state at that time.' 'Beltane is a festival of hope for brighter times ahead,' says Furmston-Evans, something many find comfort in during uncertain times.
Yahoo
09-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Starwatch: October belongs to Pegasus
October belongs to Pegasus and the water constellations, which float through the southern sky after nightfall. Reigning supreme high in the south are the Great Square of Pegasus and, stretching from its northeast corner, a string of three stars in the constellation Andromeda. Above the middle star, you may see a faint oval smudge; this is the Andromeda galaxy, the Milky Way's largest close neighbor. Below the Great Square, the Circlet of Pisces is easy to find. Moving southwest from the Circlet, the Y-shaped Water Jar is the centerpiece of spidery Aquarius, the water bearer. The water bearer refers to Ganymede, a handsome youth whom Zeus (Jupiter) made cupbearer to the gods. Now, it's also one of Jupiter's four Galilean moons. Southwest of Aquarius is unobtrusive, chevron-shaped Capricornus, the sea goat. And the lonely star far to the south is Fomalhaut, brightest in Piscis Austrinus, the southern fish. A dim Mars manages to stay above the sun's afterglow, but the evening sky's real planetary presence is Jupiter. As October opens, the brilliant planet rises around 9:45 p.m. CDT, and it appears earlier every night. Jupiter sojourns between the horns of Taurus, not far from the bright star Aldebaran, the eye of the bull. In the morning sky, Venus is a beacon in the east. Our sister planet has a close encounter with Regulus, the brightest star in Leo, on the 3rd and gets a visit from a crescent moon on the 12th. October's full hunter's moon falls on the 29th. It will be a beauty, rising close to sunset and only about three hours past perfect fullness. This moon draws its name from the fact that in October the fields have been harvested and the open fields make hunting easier. And with winter approaching, more urgent. The moon will be past full when it rises on Halloween during prime trick-or-treating time. Whether they know it or not, the children (and some adults) dressing up that night will be re-enacting the ancient Celtic rituals of Samhain (rhymes with COW-en), an astronomically based holiday that marked the start of the dark half of the year. At sunset that day, the seam between our world and the netherworld opened, releasing evil spirits that had been banished from the human realm since May Day. People tried to ward off the feisty spirits with lanterns made from hollowed-out gourds, or to appease them by leaving offerings of food. Samhain was one of four cross-quarter days falling midway between an equinox and a solstice.
