Chapter 3 - The Environmental Vocabulary of Irish Folklore

Summary

This chapter expands on what we generally conceptualize when we think of Irish narratives’ attention to the natural world. Folklore, Bairbre Ní Fhloinn writes, “speaks with the authority of the group and with the sanction of accumulated tradition”; it has at its disposal “a ready-made vocabulary.” In many ways, folklore suggests a radically different form of epistemological and aesthetic practice when compared to the Gaelic annals. It is worth noting here that indigenous epistemologies and vernaculars are not only important for historical reasons but also, as the field of Traditional Ecological/Environmental Knowledge (TEK) testifies, paramount for contemporary sustainability measures. Ní Fhloinn demonstrates Irish folklore’s place in a global tradition that is inspired by oral narratives and local histories and committed to environmental activism.