Memes
The memes hosted here are a mixture of proverbs, prayers, triads, and quatrains from various Goidelic sources, which we have been posting on our Gaol Naofa Facebook page and Twitter account. Some of these are in Old or Middle Irish, others may be modern Irish, Gaelic, or Manx (which will be noted in the information attached to the meme in cases where it may not be obvious). In cases where they are our original works or translations, these versions are copyright © Gaol Naofa, but you are free to share them as long as attribution is included, along with a link back to our site.
The images we’ve used in creating these memes are courtesy of talented Scottish, Irish, Welsh and American photographers who have been kind enough to either grant us permission or licence these as Creative Commons on Flickr. The Creative Commons licence they have been released under means you are welcome to share these images on your social media freely, provided you give credit to the original photographer and a link back to the CC licence, as we have done.
We will be updating this page regularly as we add more memes on our social media, so please check in regularly!
Older memes will be archived on separate pages: Archive 1 | Archive 2 | Archive 3
Original photo from Wikimedia Commons
Things in the world are tense right now. We stand with the clergy marching for peace in Virginia on August 12, 2017, with our relatives protecting the land and waters, and with everyone praying for peace, worldwide:
I will kindle the fire today
In the presence of my ancestors,
And the ancestors of all who have come before us,
All over this world. In the presence of the spirit
of the waters that unite us, that are within us,
and together in which we are one.
In the presence of the spirits of nature,
And the spirits of all the lands
And all the people
that are crying out for justice.
In the presence of Brigid herself,
Spirit of resistance, spirit of strength,
Without malice, without jealousy, without envy,
Without fear, without terror of any one under the sun,
But Blessed Brigid to shield me.
My shield is compassion,
Truth is my shield,
The guidance and warding
Of the Most High.
A Bhrìghde, kindle in my heart within
A flame of love for my kindred,
A flame of love for my neighbor,
no matter from where on Earth
they or their ancestors have come,
A flame of love for my community,
In all its beautiful diversity, welcoming, open,
to all who would come in trust and do no harm.
A flame of love for the world,
For the harmony of multifold creation.
For the justice that brings balance,
For the balance that brings truth,
For the truth that brings compassion.
From the most obscure to the most well-known,
From the most oppressed
to those in the highest seats of power,
For the fiercest, for the most gentle,
Compassion and justice,
Love and balance,
The power of Brigid is with us,
Without beginning, without end.
The power of truth is with us all.
Without beginning, without end.
Slàinte Mhath
This prayer is largely traditional and partially original, adapted primarily from “Beannachadh Beothachaidh [Carmina Gadelica Song #82] Blessing of the Kindling,” along with several other kindling and smooring prayers, by Kathryn NicDhàna for Gaol Naofa.
We posted an earlier draft of this at Imbolc, during the protests against the attempted Immigration Ban.