Thanks so much to Sharon for sharing this beautiful song with her fellow Daughters of the Flame, with the words:
It certainly does, Sharon. My heart just lifts to hear Padraigín Ní Uallacháin sing these joyous words.
She writes:
BEANNÚ is a new song with Steve Cooney, Dónal O'Connor & Macdara Ó. Graham. Free to share. Translation below.
'Beannú' is the act of blessing or salutation, and the song is a form of appeasement or incantation to nineteen, mainly forgotten, deities and mythological goddesses of pre Christian Ireland. In Ireland rivers, mountains, waves, streams, wells, and sacred sites, are named after them, and indeed Ireland is named from Ériú, and her sisters Fódhla and Banba were synonymous with Éire; festivals and rituals, wars and seasonal feasts were once celebrated in their name and great offerings were made in their honour. Some of them were later christianised, such as Brigid, the Great Mother goddess of them all.
Time to remember and call them in again. That I should invoke 19 of these female deities during the 2020 pandemic of Covid19, is purely coincidental 🙂
Translation
May the bright moon and sun bless us,
May east bless us and west bless us,
May north and south bless us,
May Great Brigid at the heart centre of life bless us;
May Eriú bless us,
May Fódhla bless us,
May Banba bless us,
May Bóann bless us,
May Méadhbh bless us,
May Morrigú bless,
May Great Brigid at the heart centre of life bless us;
May Tailtiú bless us,
May Téa bless us,
May Carman bless us,
May Áine bless us,
May Aoibheall bless us,
May Clíodhna bless us,
May Great Brigid at the heart centre of life bless us;
May Mór bless us,
May Macha bless us,
May Bodhbh bless us,
May Anú bless us,
May Eibhliú bless us,
May Eithne bless us,
May Great Brigid at the heart centre of life bless us;
May the bright moon and sun bless us,
May east bless us and west bless us,
May north and south bless us,
May great Brigid at the heart centre of life bless us,
May the bright moon and sun bless us,
May east bless us and west bless us,
May north and south bless us,
May Great Brigid at the heart centre of life bless us;
May Eriú bless us,
May Fódhla bless us,
May Banba bless us,
May Bóann bless us,
May Méadhbh bless us,
May Morrigú bless,
May Great Brigid at the heart centre of life bless us;
May Tailtiú bless us,
May Téa bless us,
May Carman bless us,
May Áine bless us,
May Aoibheall bless us,
May Clíodhna bless us,
May Great Brigid at the heart centre of life bless us;
May Mór bless us,
May Macha bless us,
May Bodhbh bless us,
May Anú bless us,
May Eibhliú bless us,
May Eithne bless us,
May Great Brigid at the heart centre of life bless us;
May the bright moon and sun bless us,
May east bless us and west bless us,
May north and south bless us,
May great Brigid at the heart centre of life bless us,
You can visit Padraigín's website to purchase a download of the mp3, the lyrics in Irish, and the lyrics in English, for one pound:
Pádraigín Ní Uallacháin - Irish Song and Music – Official website