The Wild Gees

Adventures in the Irish Otherworld

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In reply toMoLI – Museum of Literature Ireland

📷 postcard we bought @MoLI_Museum of Maeve Binchy portrait by Helena Pérez Garcia

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The Wild Gees @thewildgees

Celebrating Maeve Binchy, born #OTD in Dalkey, 1938
"I had a very happy childhood, which is unsuitable if you are going to be an Irish writer"
It didn't hold her back though, her books were translated into 37 languages and sold 40 million+ copies worldwide
https://t.co/75ZbvI9pmg https://t.co/aM5MW7wjBW

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The Wild Gees Retweeted · Irish History Bitesize! @lorraineelizab6

Alice Stopford Green (30 May 1847 #Kells #Meath-28 May 1929 #Dublin). Historian. Wrote about sophistication Irish civilisation. Tried to make Home Rule more palatable to Ulster Unionists. Involved in Howth gun-running. Pro-Treaty. 1 of 4♀️in 1922 Seanad! https://t.co/aa603bU9yI https://t.co/DQ8rdFqKwy

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The Wild Gees Retweeted · Clodagh Finn @FinnClodagh

#ThroughHerEyes
How wonderful to see a big jump in entries for the Mary Elmes Prize. It is so heartening to see a new generation learn the story of the Corkwoman who saved lives in two wars.
Look at this stunning portrait from Grace Wolfe. 👏👏

https://t.co/xaliF8CNg9 https://t.co/UC1PzZi9a6

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The Wild Gees Retweeted · IrishFamilyDetective 🇮🇪🇺🇦 @Fiona_Forde_Irl

Born #Onthisday 130 yrs ago in #Glasgow Margaret Skinnider - #EasterRising #IrishWarofIndependence veteran. In the #IrishCivilWar after the death of Harry Boland, she took over his job as quartermaster general of the IRA @finnclodagh More @RTEBrainstorm https://t.co/no3M3H8m07

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In reply toRTE History Show

@RTEHistoryShow @Luighseach @DIB_RIA Although, I'll marry you in the "astral world" but you're not getting the ride is an impressive let-him-down-gently diss

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Some lockdown reading suggestion coming up for all you Wild Gees out there trapped indoors! First up is 'A Ghost in the Throat' from Doireann Ní Ghríofa

Caoineadh Airt Uí Laoghaire is an Irish keen or lament that's been described as the greatest poem of the 18th century. And none of the Wild Gees had heard of it. It wasn't on the curriculum when we were at school. The poem was composed by Eibhlín Dubh Ní Chonaill after her husband Art's murder. It is a wail of grief, but it's also thirsty af - possibly why they didn't teach it! "what a hearty bed-mate you'd be, what a man to share a saddle with, what a man to spark a child with".

Perhaps the most surprising thing in A Ghost in the Throat is that the author first encountered the Caoineadh at school. The book is her attempt to unearth Eibhlín Dubh's own story, too often told only in relation to the men in her life - her dead husband and her nephew Daniel O'Connell. "How swiftly the academic gaze places her in the masculine shadow" she says. Sadly true of so many women in history. The book sets out to redress that while translating the Caoineadh and finding parallels with her own life. "Literature composed by women was shared not in books but in female bodies, living repositories of poetry and song" Doireann Ní Ghríofa calls this a 'female text'.

It's likely that the poem was passed down as part of the Irish oral tradition. Thanks to Nóra Ní Shíndile, a professional keener or bean caoinadh, the Caoineadh was later transcribed.

If you're a fan of women's untold stories, as we #WildGees are, A Ghost in the Throat is worth a read. If you're curious now about the Caoineadh have a listen to this version in the original gaeilge by soprano Siobhán Cleary at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7pwoZJKi4U&ab_channel=ElizabethHilliard

Here's a lovely interview with Doireann and Rickoshea on Shelf Analysis where she talks about the adventure of uncovering Eibhlín Dubh's story and recommends so many books that our TBR pile may topple over and crush us at some point.

https://youtu.be/19rRH2q0Hag

Shelf Analysis - Episode 43 - Doireann Ní Ghríofa

Ep 43 of my live chat show where an author in their home talks to me in mine about books they love and they think you should too. This week poet Doireann Ní ...

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The Wild Gees are passionate about open access to all of the stories of our heritage. September is #WikiLovesMonuments month - a chance to add your images of historic and prehistoric sites to the Wikimedia commons. This means they can be used to illustrate articles. There aren't many #SheelaNaGigs on the map so let's get adding!

We'll be uploading all the images from our #WildGees trip to the drive, running from 1 - 30th September. If you've visited heritage sites over the summer, or are planning any trips this month, we encourage you to do the same - and you might even win an auld prize

http://wikimedia.ie/programme/wiki-loves-monuments-2017/

Wiki Loves Monuments 2020 – Wikimedia Community Ireland

Wiki Loves Monuments 2020 is now open! UPLOAD HERE! From churches to bridges, canal locks to market halls, every red dot on our interactive map is a piece of Ireland’s built heritage that needs a photograph, which means we need your help. Entry into the 2020 competition runs from 1 to 30 September...

wikimedia.ie

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Quite a few of you here and on Twitter have complimented us on our name. It was born as a reaction to a particularly un-gee-ish day, and generally having a pain in the hole with Sligo's favourite and most asshole-y son. Usually we're all about the womxn, but it's impossible to visit Sligo and not run into Yeats. We're big poetry fans but in the age of #MeToo We Need to Talk About William

http://thewildgees.com/william/

ps: we're much more active on twitter, at @thewildgees Follow us there to join the conversation

Day Three: We need to talk about William | The Wild Gees

A trip to Sligo inevitably involves Yeats but lets talk about how problematic he is.

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The Wild Gees

Who we are

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Who we love