Blessing, Cursing and the Irish

Anyone who knows an impressionistic bit about Irish/Celtic culture and history might readily think of various poetical Irish Blessings such as, “May the road rise to meet you, may the wind be always at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face and the rain fall soft upon your fields, and until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.”

I was able to type the above from memory not because I necessarily memorized this well-known writing, but because in either junior/senior high school choir (can’t quite recall!) we performed this piece in harmonic parts. In fact, I just took a moment of pause (and on second-third attempt) my alto part pretty much came back to me. Even the very last part which I always had trouble finding the melody/pitch of.

Anyway, I digress.

I adore Irish jigs/Celtic dancing. I adore certain types of bluegrass/Celtic music/Celtic Hymns in 3/4 time (ex. Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing and Be Thou My Vision) or with a lively, lilty Irish feel. I often find myself spontaneously dancing inside or outside if I’m listening to this type of music and the fancy strikes me. Maybe there is something to the idea of one having Irish blood in them (or any tendency toward cultural activities of their heritage group).

I love seeing the beautiful, green landscapes of this country and hearing interesting, seemingly innocuous folklore–stories about fairies, and magical tales of sorts. The idea that four-leaf clovers bring good luck is fun, though I don’t seek them out and have no superstition/magical belief about finding one. Like all cultures, there are things to love and appreciate, and in spiritual terms, all (Christianized) cultures that have (generally/loosely) received the message of Christ contain amounts of previous cultural/pagan influences.

From foods to music to folk tales–I imagine even Messianic Jews have their own assortment of traditions that are more culturally-based. Speaking of which, I will link another interesting article in footnotes regarding the function of imprecation in Israel’s biblical prophets.²

In many countries, various traditions and folklore of a more harmless nature can get somewhat mixed into the practices of the Christian Church that is present. Like most things of importance–it can at times seem complicated.

But what I didn’t know (or at least with such clarity) until a couple of nights ago when I came upon an article as I was thinking about my writings here–is how deeply the Irish are considered a cursing culture. That is a term from the article I will link in the footnotes.¹ While I did know (generally) that some Celtic paganism (such as the Druids) strongly permeated Irish cultural/spiritual history (even the term “Celt” I associate with Ireland but upon further definition, it extends to Scotland and central Europe), I didn’t know that actual cursing of others for various reasons was so rampantly practiced or held in value.

According to the well-documented, well-presented article I read through the other night¹, I was surprised to learn several things that stick in my mind. And as I proceed here I want to clarify that when I say “cursing” I am not talking about swearing. And I am not talking about human anger, rage, quick-temperedness (which the Irish are known for, for whatever reason) that leads all humans to at times say things in anger, that they might regret. Or to utter various things (bad thoughts) before, during or after some type of argument with someone, for example.

We all sin and we are all subject to weaknesses–hurts, fears, emotions and such. We are all deeply broken people and marred by sin. We sin, and we are sinned against. I can think of times going back to my teenage years in various situations or with various people, saying (or thinking) the typical angry or negative things that people typically are tempted to say or think. Sometimes very understandably, sometimes, not so much.

So to clarify here is when I use the word cursing (of the Irish) I am referring to imprecations. I am referring to a practice that is based in intentional crafting of wishing harm or ill-will on someone (and even to their descendants). And again, not just careless words in a heated situation, but carefully formed, intentionally-crafted words that are spoken in a particular way (and may even involve an accompanying ritual to energize them, per the article) that puts them in the category of actual maledictions, witchcraft and sorcery.

As I began reading the article and encountered the word imprecation a few times, I thought to myself, “I’ve heard that word before.” And then I remembered reading it a few months back as describing certain Psalms in the bible. That was the first time I learned that various Psalms fit into the category of “imprecatory Psalms.” Meaning, these are the ones where one is calling upon (the one true God) to righteously vindicate, deliver and/or otherwise bring various enemies to destruction.

The topic of biblical imprecatory Psalms is in another category for discussion (not too much here in this piece). Since all humans sin–and there are none in righteous standing apart from Jesus–these Psalm expressions can be hard to properly understand in some ways, or to have a proper take-away/application. Especially when you try to harmonize these Old Testament writings with New Testament words of Jesus to love one’s enemies. Yet, I believe they are all part of God’s Word to us, therefore, even the imprecatory Psalms are there to teach and benefit us in some way and force us to try to reconcile the apparent contradictory nature of these writings.

But, back to the Irish practice of imprecations.

I am trying to form several more blog pieces relating to Various Thoughts About Generational Blessing and Cursing (as it relates to my own thoughts/noticings about my mother’s personal family generational history (and mine, by implication), and that is what prompted my additional reading, as I work through my series of thoughts on the subject. I forget my exact search terms (I tried several) but I was stunned to locate that article, especially for the strong connections to Irish Catholicism.

As a Jesus follower (and though I am not Catholic, I maintain that many are true followers of Christ, even if some of the practices or doctrines are not the same as my Protestant basis for understanding biblical tenets of my faith and practice) I found the accounts of Irish Catholic priests heavily speaking imprecatations upon community and individuals from the altar (with the theatre of it) pretty significant.

The article also tells of Irish Catholic priests invoking maledictions in connection with political matters, as well, to sway elections and such. It is all so antithetical to the very heart of Jesus and the Christian faith as revealed in the bible, and in these practices one can see the pitfalls of cultural/institutional religion (in contrast to radical relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ). Loving God, loving one’s neighbor, and especially, love among family should be the end goal of faith; we are called to be a blessing to others.

I also found it interesting that though there are other cursing cultures (I believe Kenya was mentioned as one, which relates a bit to the article linked in my previous piece³) that the Irish tend to be quite poetical, metaphorical and downright specific and gory in some of their crafted imprecations. I also took note of many other interesting descriptions of imprecatory behavior such as woman standing on high rocks overlooking waters, stretching out arms pronouncing curses on police and sailors (with hair down to symbolize rebellion against the gender norms of the day) as they set sail or the writing of menacing letters filled with words wishing harm or ill-will.

The Irish are also known for the gift of gab. Who knows if it is something genetic of sorts (DNA gene for talking, rather than the Blarney Stone) or if it is more akin to the stereotypical Italians that use their hands and are loud, or the stereotypical British who don’t show their emotions or talk about something considered socially improper.

The Irish tend to be more poetical and gabby, I suppose. Again, who knows why. The opening Irish Blessing I started this piece with is actually quite poetically beautiful. So, when the Irish decide to curse, I found it interesting (for lack of a better descriptor) that they carry this gift of the lyrical/poetical tendencies into usage for harm and evil.

What also stood out to me throughout this article (and not that I didn’t already know that the Catholic/Protestant contentious split wasn’t significant in Ireland) was a clearer picture of just how deep the enmity/hatred between the religious divide went. I conclude this blog-segment with just one example of how imprecations were made upon Catholics who left for Protestantism, or worse, married a Protestant.