The Lifeblood of a Small Nation

In the far northeast end of Ireland, from County Antrim, if you look out just 12 miles across the North Channel of the Irish Sea, you will see the Scottish headland known as the Mull of Kintyre. On a clear day the misty craggy cliffs of the Mull can be seen rising, almost beckoning one to cross the water. I know. I’ve been there. I’ve looked out across the channel and wanted cross over to Scotland, but, I have yet to go there. I’m not the first to long for that crossing. Even before the channel was covered in water, there was a land bridge; archaeologists tell us that the first human beings, hunter-gatherers to arrive in Ireland crossed over on foot near the end of the last ice age, around 10,000 BCE. When the Celts arrived in Ireland in the 6th Century BCE, they called the original inhabitants the Fir Bolg, sometimes called the ‘Dark Men.’ It is believed that the Fir Bolg assimilated with the Celts, probably not of their own volition but through violence and subjugation, and their legends and culture were adopted and morphed into the Celtic mythology. According to legend, the Túatha Dé Danann, translated to ‘the people of the gods,’ came from the North, presumably crossing over from Scotland, and gave the Fir Bolg a home in Ireland. The connection between Ireland and Scotland from the beginning of history has, literally, been legendary.