We've had to deal with a few of these over the years, haven't we? Remember the whole "Whiskey in the Jar" insanity?

http://fantasy-faction.com/2017/wading- ... or-fantasy

I certainly do remember that. I think she's a bit hard in criticising the Darby O'Gill story, as it is grounded in traditional storytelling, well at least the first story in the book is, though obviously I'm not talking about the film. There are however certain traditional songs that use the nonsensical words in the chorus as a way of disguising words of a sexual nature, as they follow on from a set of verses that clearly imply what the subject matter is or they can also be used as a way of underlining the irony of a situation described in other types of song.

There's another thing I think is worth pointing out here and it's this. The way archaeologists have had to reconsider how they understand 'Celtic' migrations across Europe is quite astonishing. It would seem that populations arrived on the West coast of Ireland from what is now Spain and Portugal, and much much further back in time than was previously thought. It's not at all sure that these people would have considered themselves or understood the term 'Celt'. On Youtube Simon James and Barry Cunliffe have given lectures on this subject explaining how their thinking has evolved. One thing they can't get away from are the linguistic ties between those living in Ireland and those on the European continent. Simon James in his book 'Exploring the World of the Celts' states that the Picts were bilingual and one of their languages would have been pre-Indo-European. Newgrange might even have been 'celtic'.

It is definitely complicated. Irish culture seems to have an air of mystique associated with it. That's really what these authors are trying to tap into.

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