AND THEIR lAMES AND PASTIMES " ..A NJ ..... CELTS AND THEIR GAMES AND PASTIMES SeanJ. Egan The Edwin Mellen Press LewistonoQueenstono Lampeter Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Egan, Sean, 1942- Celts and their games and pastimes / Sean Egan. p. cm.-- Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-0-7734-7171-5 1. Celts--Games. 2. Celts--Recreation. I. Title. GV38 .E43 2002 790.089'91 '6--dc21 2002071848 hors serie. A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the British Library. All rights reserved under International and Pan American Copyright Convention. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author, except by a reviewer, who may quote briefpassagcs in a review. Copyright © 2002 Sean J. Eagan All rights reserved. For information contact The Edwin Mellen Press The Edwin Mellen Press Box 450 Box 67 Lewiston, New York Queenston, Ontario USA 14092-0450 CANADA LOS ILO The Edwin Mellen Press, Ltd. Lampeter, Ceredigion, Wales UNITED KINGDOM SA48 8L T Printed in the United States of America - Contents Preface ....... , ..................... , ............................ i Acknowledgements ............................................... ii Introduction ...................................................... 1 CHAPTERS Who Were the Celts ............................................ 3 II Psyche of the Celts ............................................ 19 III Celtic Games ................................................ 35 Games of Scotland ............................................ 37 Games of Ireland ............................................. 57 Games of Wales .............................................. 94 Games of Cornwall ........................................... 106 Games of the Isle of Man ...................................... 112 Games of Brittany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 Games of the Basque Regions .................................. 139 Icelandic Connection ......................................... 145 IV Children's Celtic Games ....................................... 147 V Celtic Dance and Music ....................................... 159 Conclusion .................. , ....... " ...... " ........ " ....... 171 Bibliography .................................................... 176 Index ......................................................... 189 Preface This book is the first comprehensive study of Celtic games and pastimes. It closely examines the Celtic psyche and culture and it lays the foundation for the work of future scholars. This is an avowedly historic book with extensive references. It gathers into one compilation the games and pastimes that are indigenous to all the Celtic nations. This is an action filled book. The author has succeeded in inviting the reader to ride with him through time and space while he observes the Celtic way oflife. The reader, in a vicarious way, experiences the simple farming life, the fierce battles, the artistic life, the lively music, the dancing, the games, the bonfires and the joie de vivre of the Celts. The reader is also exposed to the spiritual life of the Celts and to their philosophy of life. The idea offair-play is omnipresent throughout the book. The reader is constantly experiencing and comparing new games with older ones as one travels through the different Celtic nations. The origins of many of our modem games are carefully examined. The intellectual and the peasant ride side by side observing, studying, analysing and experiencing the action filled life of the Celts. The author draws information from many sources, from archaeological findings, from the Greek and Roman classical writers, from folklore, from historians, from many modem writers, from field studies as well as from his own Celtic background. The origin of many of the Celtic games and pastimes is steeped in history. The gan1es are indelibly stamped with the culture, experience and psyche of its people. The author of this book has achieved the objective set out in the introduction where he states ... "the goal of this book is to give the reader a gl.impse of the Celts, their way of life, their philosophy of life, their character, their psyche, their skills, their pastimes and their games". Pat Scott, M.A., Chairperson of Celtic Development Committee, University of Ottawa, 2001. II Acknowledgement I wish to extend sincere thanks to all those individuals and organizations who helped make this book a reality. Thanks to "Bradley-Kelly" of Ottawa who generously gave financial help; to Jennifer MacCloud, who gave many hours reading, correcting and rewriting parts of the document; to Pat Daly (G .A.A. Dublin); to Pat O'Connor (Irish Handball Council); to Peadar 6 Tlmtain (Rounders Council - G.A.A., Ireland); to the Camogie Association ofIreland; to the National Museum of Ireland; to the Centre de Recherche Bretonne et Celtique; to the Association Au Carrefour de la Gallesie (Brittany); to the Manx Museum (Isle of Man); to the Welsh Folk Museum; to the International Federation of Celtic Wrestling (Brittany); to the Gaelic Athletic Association (G.A.A.), Ireland; to the Centre d'activite Communales (Bretagne); to the Federation de Gouren (Brittany); to Eddie Lenihan (Ireland); to Denis Leonard (Ireland); to Liam 6 Maolmhichil (G.A.A. Dublin); to Walter Fitzgerald (Ireland); to Michael Chambers (Ireland); to Anne 0 Dowd (Ireland); to Fred Burke (Ireland); to Paul Ie Joncour (Brittany); to Franyois Ie Peru (Brittany); to Patrick Mousset (Pays Basque); to Jean Ie Dil (Brittany); to Jean-Franyois Hubert (Brittany/Quebec); to Jacques Le Garlantezec (France); to Pierre Ie Rhun (Brittany); to Guy Jaouen (Brittany), President of European Traditional Sports and Games Association; to Franch Ie Peru (Brittany); to L. Heuriot (Brittany); to D. Ferre (Brittany); to Patrick Giraud (Brittany); to John O'Shea (Montreal); to Gordon MacLennan (Canada); to Hugh Dan MacLennan (Scotland); to Liz Cameron (Glasgow); to David Webster (Scotland); to Tecwyn Vaughan Jones (Wales); to Frank Delaney (London); to Lois Kuter (U.S.A.); to Henning Eichberg (Denmark); to Ken George (Cornwall); to Roger Holmes (Cornwall); to George Walker (European Council on Sport); to Jorn Moller (Denmark), to Roland Renson (Flemish Sport Museum, Belgiunl); to J.P. Cullinane (Celtic Dance Historian, Ireland) and to Gavin Dickson, Australia. 1 Introduction To the reader, I say, open up your imagination, mount your horse and let's ride back in time, thousands of years, to a place on the Indo-European border. Here we will meet a fascinating people roaming the plains. They are nomads. These people will eventually be called Celts. Let's follow these people westwards. As we follow them westwards, we will discover how they live, where they live, what they eat and what they do for excitement. We will eat like the Celts, we will fight like the Celts, and we will play and pray like the Celts. As we move westwards we will visit areas such as the Balkans, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Yugoslavia. We will settle down in these areas for hundreds of years. While there we will live offfarming and trading. On the move again we will continue westwards to areas such as Greece, Switzerland, Italy, Germany and France. As we move into these areas we will have to fight in order to conquer these areas. Have no fear, not even of death. Death is just the beginning ofa new life. We will conquer Rome in 390 BC. We will tell the Romans that "everything belongs to the brave." Even after conquering the Romans we will leave Rome after six months. We will attack Delphi in 279 BC but through a lot of bad luck we will be forced, by the Greeks, to retreat. In Asia-Minor, we come across the Apostle Paul who tries to convert us to Christianity. We tum westwards again and we follow a few groups of Celts who have already settled down in Spain and Portugal. Other Celtic groups have previously settled in Britain. We cross the English Channel and land in Britain around 55 Be. Shortly after we arrive in Britain, the Romans invade. We manage to keep them at bay for a while by our fierce resistance. Due to too much infighting amongst ourselves (the Celts), the Romans get the upper-hand. As time goes on things get worse. Continual attacks on us from the Romans, the Irish, the Picts and the Angles make life miserable for us. Finally we will move nOlih to Scotland and west to Wales. Next we cross the Irish sea to Ireland. We meet other Celtic tribes who had arrived in Ireland at various dates. Eventually, we, the Celts, are forced to settle down in six distinctive areas in Western Europe: Ireland, Scotland, Isle of Man, Wales, Brittany and Cornwall. In