A seanchaí ( or – plural: ) is a traditional Gaelic storyteller/historian. In

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well ...

the word is (; plural ). The word is often anglicised as shanachie ( ). The word ''seanchaí'', which was spelled ''seanchaidhe'' (plural ''seanchaidhthe'') before the

Irish-language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was the ...

spelling reform of 1948, means a bearer of "old lore" (''seanchas''). In the Gaelic culture, long lyric poems which were recited by bards ('' filí''; ''filidhe'' in the original pre-1948 spelling) in a tradition echoed by the ''seanchaithe''.

Traditional art

''Seanchaithe'' were servants to the heads of the lineages and kept track of important information for them: laws, genealogies, annals, literature, etc. After the destruction of Gaelic civilization in the 1600s as a result of the English conquests, these more formal roles ceased to exist and the term ''seanchaí'' came to be associated instead with traditional storytellers from the lower classes. The ''seanchaithe'' made use of a range of storytelling conventions, styles of speech and gestures that were peculiar to the Irish folk tradition and characterized them as practitioners of their art. Although tales from literary sources found their way into the repertoires of the ''seanchaithe'', a traditional characteristic of their art was the way in which a large corpus of tales was passed from one practitioner to another without ever being written down. ''Seanchaithe'' passed information orally through storytelling from one generation to the next about Irish folklore, myth, history and legend, in medieval times. The distinctive role and craft of the ''seanchaí'' is particularly associated with the

Gaeltacht ( , , ) are the districts of Ireland, individually or collectively, where the Irish government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant vernacular, or language of the home. The ''Gaeltacht'' districts were first officially reco ...

(the Irish-speaking areas of Ireland), although storytellers recognizable as ''seanchaithe'' were also to be found in rural areas throughout English-speaking Ireland. In their storytelling, some displayed archaic

Hiberno-English Hiberno-English (from Latin '' Hibernia'': "Ireland"), and in ga, Béarla na hÉireann. or Irish English, also formerly Anglo-Irish, is the set of English dialects native to the island of Ireland (including both the Republic of Ireland ...

idioms and vocabulary distinct from the style of ordinary conversation.

Modern times

Members of the Irish Cultural Revival took a great interest in the art of the ''seanchaí'', and through them the stories that they told were written down, published, and distributed to a global audience. At events such as

mummer Mummers' plays are folk plays performed by troupes of amateur actors, traditionally all male, known as mummers or guisers (also by local names such as ''rhymers'', ''pace-eggers'', ''soulers'', ''tipteerers'', ''wrenboys'', and ''galoshins''). ...

s' festival in

New Inn, County Galway New Inn () is a village in east County Galway, Ireland. It lies mostly within the townland of Knockbrack, northeast of Loughrea Loughrea ( ; ) is a town in County Galway, Ireland. The town lies to the north of a range of wooded hills, the ...

, and the

All-Ireland All-Ireland (sometimes All-Island) refers to all of Ireland, as opposed to the separate jurisdictions of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. "All-Ireland" is most frequently used to refer to sporting teams or events for the entire islan ...

Fleadh Ceoil The Fleadh Cheoil (; meaning "festival of music") is an Irish music festival run by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann (CCÉ), a non-profit organisation. The festival includes live music events as well as competition. Each year a single town or city ...

storytellers who preserve the stories and oratory style of the ''seanchaithe'' continue to display their art and compete for awards.

Eddie Lenihan Edmund Lenihan (born 1950), also known as Eddie Lenihan, is an Irish author, storyteller, lecturer and broadcaster. He is one of the few practising '' seanchaithe'' (traditional Irish lore-keepers and tale-spinners) remaining in Ireland. He has ...

is one notable modern-day ''seanchaí'', based in

County Clare County Clare ( ga, Contae an Chláir) is a county in Ireland, in the Southern Region and the province of Munster, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council is the local authority. The county had a population of 118,81 ...

. Seán Ó hEinirí of Cill Ghallagáin, County Mayo was thought to be the last ''seanachaí'' and the last

monolingual Monoglottism (Greek μόνος ''monos'', "alone, solitary", + γλῶττα , "tongue, language") or, more commonly, monolingualism or unilingualism, is the condition of being able to speak only a single language, as opposed to multilingualism. ...

speaker of the

Irish language Irish ( Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...

. Actor Eamon Kelly was well known for his portrayals of the traditional ''seanachaí'', and ran several series of one-man shows in Dublin's

Abbey Theatre The Abbey Theatre ( ga, Amharclann na Mainistreach), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland ( ga, Amharclann Náisiúnta na hÉireann), in Dublin, Ireland, is one of the country's leading cultural institutions. First opening to the p ...

Other uses of the term

The term is also found within

and Manx where it is spelt ''seanchaidh'' () and ''shennaghee'' () respectively. All uses ultimately have their roots in the traditional poets attached to the households of ancient

Gaelic nobility This article concerns the Gaelic nobility of Ireland from ancient to modern times. It only partly overlaps with Chiefs of the Name because it excludes Scotland and other discussion. It is one of three groups of Irish nobility, the others being ...

. In Scotland, it is commonly anglicised as ''shen(n)achie''. The Shanachies are a cricket club playing in the Inner West Harbour grade competition in Sydney.

Notes

References

* Padraig Colum, editor, ''A Treasury of Irish Folklore'' * Frank DeLaney, ''Ireland'' * Patricia A. Lynch, Joachim Fischer, and Brian Coates, ''Back to the Present: Forward to the Past—Irish Writing and History since 1798'' Leabhar Seán Ó Conaill. Killrelig Co, Kerry Note Seanachai of "Song Of The Sea" (2014) who is inspired by the tradition.

External links