Ages in Ireland:
In Ireland, as in much of our word, an Iron Age culture overwhelmed a Bronze Age culture. Good iron may cut the best bronze and the many with good weapons overwhel the few. However, with some investigation, we find that in many ways Bronze cultures were superior to Iron age cultures.
I suggest to you that the people of the Bronze Age culture in Ireland had knowledge so advanced in some ways that it seemed to newcomers nearly magical. Although the Iron Age people as they continued to come to the Emerald Isle, drove many of the Bronze Age from their lands. Were able to keep much land that held historic or spiritual for them. Also they were long able to keep their dealings with the people iron honorable and respectful. The people of iron began to refer to some of those of bronze as, shee. " Shee" meant something like magically powerful. Many of the Bronze Age culture were seen as spiritually potent and in many was unusually skillful and wise and being so were "shee." They also,an ancient sense, seemed fay and faerie-like so, they began to be called Shee. "Shee" began to be the Iron Age name for some of those Bronze Age people. That is the way I lost one name and gained another.
Shee Then and Now:
My family name is Sheehan. "Han'' forms a sort of plural. It has meant family and people. So we, the overwhelmed, became the shee people.
There are many words in old Irish and quite a few in modern Irish containing she. You may have heard the word "banshee" used in English. "Ban'
in Irish meant woman or female. So, a banshee is a shee woman. That's not the whole shebang, but it seems enough for now.I am far from having a Bronze Age, Iron Age, or Irish culture. My father, who was half Irish, told me that his father told him to remember that all Irishmen are wits. Where does that leave me? Still, I do hold the name.
I have written elsewhere of a considerable number of Irish words containing shee so I will repeat them here. But I am reminded now of other uses of shee in Irish.
More shee:
There are other interesting happenings, doings, and beings associated with "shee." The Dan or Danann, the pre Milesian people of Ireland have been called shee. Of the prehistoric people of Ireland the Danann seem most well known and may have been a Bronze Age culture. A usage related to shee which I have forgotten is written something like this, "Tir na nOg." That is my attempt at Old Irish and I have no idea of how it translates. If you have knowledge of it, tell us what you can or will in the ''comments'' app below. I thought I was reminded of more. Perhaps I wrong or perhaps they just slipped my mind.
It does come to me that there are now more Sheehan in Ireland and the U. S. than I can remember there being. We may have been overwhelmed more than once, but we are still here.
There also remain certain stone carvings, sometimes call idols. They have been found in Western Europe, England, and Ireland. The show a female figure displaying an exaggerated vulva. These images seem neither young nor beautiful and are often without breasts. some date to about 9,000 BC, so they certainly are not young by current measurements. They would be over 11,000 years old. Perhaps old enough to have been flood survivors. Being so, their makers would have been interested in maintaining the then present population and, perhaps in increasing it.Those idols have been called ''Sheela na gig." An exact translation has not been agreed on. I think that "Sacred spirit of the vulva" may do. Have I said that shee has been used to indicate sacred and holy?
In Wikipedia it says that one of the best examples of these "sheela" was found in the round tower of Rotton in county Kerry, Ireland.
I remember passing through England some years ago a hearing some young men in the street referring to their girlfriend as their sheela. At times, the figures in these sculpted idls have been called witches and hags and less complimentary terms. I also remember that in the distant past a hag was a wise and respected older woman.
Many of these same carvings have been removed from their original sites and some of them then incorporated into the building of early churches, Shee has gotten around.
There is an old Irish dance called the "sheela na gig." According to good old Wikipedia, the oldest record of that name of the dance goes back only to about 1650. What do you think of that?
there is an old story in Ireland and beyond of a goddess who grants kingship. She might appear as a lustful hag and most men would avoid her and reject her advances. Theonenman who did bed with her, found her transformed into a beautiful maiden who conferred royalty upon him and blessed his reign. She has been called shee.
I've been told that many an Irish lad is taken by a good tale and also that there are some tricky old ladies on the island.
I have found that "shee"" can be found in much of the older Irish language and in significant number in more modern Irish. Tell us what you know of "shee" via our "comments" app. Us this app as you will to comment on our content to improve it.
Much of the shee and she of Sheehan I find in the Bronze Age Irish of Ireland.
At a time in Ireland, as in much of our world, an Iron Age culture overwhelmed a Bronze Age culture. Iron cuts bronze. Many overwhelm the few. However, with some investigation we find that in many ways Bronze cultures often seem superior to Iron Age cultures in a variety of ways. That superiority has been acknowledged by Iron Age people. You may notice that I am not putting much of what I note of what I believe to be historic Irish happenings in History my blog, but rather put it hear with my Mago Bill writings. I do not do so because my belief is weak, but rather because my ability to produce convincing evidence that historians would accept is weak.
I suspect, and suggest to you, that Iron Age people who came to Ireland found the Bronze Age culture wondrous, a bit fearsome, and worthy of respect. Some of the Bronze Age people seemed magical and so, shee. Some of the Bronze Age people were seen as spiritually potent, as unusually skillful, and wise and so, shee. They seemed fay and faerie like; so they began to be called, shee. Shee began to be an Iron Age name for some of those Bronze Age people. And, just like that, our name was changed.
I am interested in this because my family name is Sheehan. The final syllable of Sheehan is -han and once meant "people" or "family" and formed the plural. So, we became the shee people, those who were overwhelmed by iron and greater numbers. It comes to me that there are more Sheehan than ever in Ireland, the US, and elsewhere. We may have been overwhelmed, but we are still here.
One of us was a "shee" and a number of us were "han." She was the name of a people and han was the plural. There are many words in Irish containing "shee." You may have heard the word "banshee" used in English. "Ban" in Old Irish meant female or woman. So, a banshee is a shee woman. I will add more examples of shee and sometimes she usage in Old Irish.
My father's father told him to remember that all Irishmen are wits and you are half Irish. My father's mother was Norwegen. My mother was not Irish. That seems to leave me a quarter-wit. I am far from having an Iron Age or Bronze Age culture and am American. Even so, I do have the name and so do have some personal connection with this essay.
I have written elsewhere, some on this very blog, about Irish, English, and Old Irish words containing the syllable, shee, and so won't repeat them here. However, I have recently been reminded of some other uses of shee; so, I will share some here.
Among other interesting happenings, doings, and beings is that the Dananns were likely to have been called "shee" by the Milesians. The Dananns represented the ending of the Bronze Age culture and the Milesians represented a strong Iron Age culture.
A usages of of Old Irish relating to the term shee which I have forgotten may be written much like this "Tir na nOg" to denote the Old Irish. If you have any knowledge of the phrase tell us about it in "comments" below.
Their remain certain stone carvings, sometimes called idols that have been found in Western Europe, England, and Ireland. They show a female figure displaying an exaggerated vulva. They are not beautiful and are often without breasts. Some date to about 9,000 BC, so they certainly are not young. They would be be about 11,000 years old. They have been called shee. They may be old enough to have been Flood survivors. Those idols have long been call "Sheela na gig." An exact translation seems not to be agreed on. I think that "Sacred spirit of the vulva" may do. I believe that I have said elsewhere that "shee" has been used to indicate sacred or holy.
In Wikipedia it says that one of the best examples of these ''sheela'' was found in the round tower of Rotton in county Kerry, Ireland.
At times the figures in these sculpted stone idols have been called witches hags and less complimentary terms. I remember passing through England years ago and hearing and hearing some young men in the streets referring to their girl friend as their sheela. I also remember that in the distant past a hag was a wise and respected older woman.
Some of these same old stone sculptings have been removed from their original sites to then incorporated into older church buildings. Shee has gotten around.
There is an old Irish dance called the "Sheela na gig." According to good old Wikipedia, the oldest written record of that dance goes back to only about 1650.
There is a ''myth," in Ireland and beyond, of a goddess who grants kingship. She might appear as a lustful old hag and most men would avoid her and reject her advances. The one man would sleep with her, found her transformed into a beautiful maiden who conferred royalty upon him and blessed his reign. She has been said to be shee.
I've been told that many an Irish lad has been taken by a good tail and also that there are some tricky old ladies on the island.
''Shee" is found in much of the older Irish language a significantly in more modern Irish. I have written of examples elsewhere and, if you so wish, will write more of such examples in a future post.When you have anything to add to the content of this post (or any post of mine) or corrections to make or comment to offer, use the comment app below.
Shenandoah
Sailors knew words and music to a song called Shenandoah very early and carried it far and wide.. The music was older than the lyrics. The words varied, but often had an ongoing similarity. We learned of that song from the English who mostly learned of it from French voyageurs on rivers which became part of the land Americans call America. Those French voyageurs sang that song with their Indian friends and families. Those Voyageurs sang their versions of that song before the English had colonies in the land. Knowing this I believe the song is Irish. I believe that the title is Irish, in the Old Irish language.
I believe that I am not the only one to believe the song has Irish roots. I suspect that the title meant something very like "wise people of long ago" or perhaps "wisdom of old."
And who would question this old man's beliefs. Anyway, a song which still has some popularity today was sung long before there was a U.S.
Thank you for the visit and for reading.
rcs
"
Thank you for the visit and for reading!
Richard Carroll Sheehan