Literature in Southern Ireland

IRISH LITERATURE

LIBER FLAVUS FERGUSIORUM
courtesy  of the  Royal Irish Academy

With a manuscript tradition dating to the 6^th century, the Irish literature, the oldest vernacular literature in Western Europe is remarkable for its range: law texts, genealogies, scholarly treatises, devotional tracts, and especially imaginative literature. We will cover the history of Irish literature.

The Irish people have a proud and well-earned reputation as lovers of the word, spoken and written. This characteristic has resulted in a small nation making an out of proportion contribution to the culture of the world in the field of literature. The literature of Ireland, as of all countries, is almost a mirror reflection of the times, currents, moods and emotions of the era.

Ireland is extraordinarily rich in many of the expressions of literature, including the legends upon which storytellers recall an event or a place. Myths and legends are replete in Irish history. As always such myths and legends contain a certain amount of truth, and a certain amount of creative thinking, or in some cases, wishful thinking. There are tales of fairies, mystical gods, Druids, Celts, and of St. Patrick -the founder saint of Christianity in Ireland. According to legend, St. Patrick drove all of the snakes from Ireland and banished them from its shores. No one knows if there were even snakes in Ireland. Prior to the arrival of St. Patrick (432A.D.) Ireland was a Pagan land. The Vikings began to invade Ireland in eight century A.D.

Southern Ireland's flag

SOUTHERN IRELAND – ÉIRE

INTRODUCTION

Southern Ireland in green

The Republic of Ireland, known also as Éire (in Irish), is a state in Europe which occupies five-sixths of the Ireland island, with a population reaching 4,6 million in 2011. The capital of Southern Ireland is Dublin. Although Southern Ireland is considered a small country, it has made an enormous contribution to the world, in terms of arts, music, literature, sports and many more. Arts has roots that go centuries back, just like music and literature. Both with highly Celtic influence at its beginnings. Later, the influences of other cultures play a major role, but the celtic-style was never lost. Economy, demographics and education in Southern Ireland are topics mentioned in this work. Traditions, myths and legends, cousine and sports can also be found with an enormous celtic root. But in this case, their expansion throughout the world has been bigger.

Newgrange

Book of Horus.
Iluminated manuscript

High Cross Sculpture