Sing a song of sixpence, a pocket full of rye. Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie. When the pie was opened, the birds began to sing, Wasn’t that a dainty dish to set before the king? The king was in his counting house, counting out his money. The queen was in the parlour, eating bread and honey. The maid was in the garden, hanging out the clothes, When down came a blackbird and pecked off her nose. There was such a commotion, that little Jenny wren, Flew down into the garden, and put it back again. END
The common Blackbird, formerly also known as an ‘Ouzel’, is a species of the Thrush family. The plumage of the adult male is all black, except for a yellow beak. The adult female and all juveniles birds, on the other hand, have mainly a dark brown plumage, with speckles on the upper breast, which slightly resemble our Irish Song Thrush.
Pictured today, two baby Blackbirds waiting for parents to return with grub. Under the Irish Wildlife Act, it is against the law to cut, burn or otherwise destroy vegetation including hedges between March 1st and August 31st. The purpose of this ban is to prevent the disturbance and destruction of nesting sites of many of our wild bird species. Pic: G. Willoughby.
One would have assumed that Carrion Crows, Ravens, Rooks and Jackdaws would have been referred to first as ‘blackbirds’, but of course historically the word ‘bird’ was correctly used to differentiate larger species from the smaller bird variety; hence the larger Crows, Jackdaws etc. are categorised as ‘wild fowl’.
The blackbird species breeds in Irish woods and gardens; building a neat, round cup-shaped nest, same bound together with dried muck. Its daily diet includes a wide range of insects, earthworms, berries, and fruits. It is a regular visitor to our bird tables, attracted by porridge oats, fruit and cooked potato leftovers. The birds are territorial, especially during the breeding season.
The English nursery rhyme above, entitled ‘Sing a Song of Sixpence’ is possibly as old as the 1500s; which we all learned as primary school kids, was supposedly a coded message used by the legendary pirate Captain Blackbeard to recruit pirates. Sixpence and a hip-flask of rye whisky was the weekly pirate’s wage. Thus the ‘blackbirds’ were Blackbeard’s pirates and the ‘pie’ his sailing vessel.
Yet another theory, which is more acceptable, suggests that the King ‘in his counting house’ and the ‘Queen in the parlour’, actually refers to Catherine of Aragon, the first wife of Henry VIII, while the maid ‘in the garden, hanging out the clothes’, refers to Ann Boleyn, second wife of Henry VIII. Henry VIII, our readers will remember, divorced and executed Ann Boleyn, whom he had beheaded on May 19th, 1536, at the Tower of London. So the reference to the blackbird snipping off the maids nose could possibly represent his decision to separate from the then existing Church of Rome.
Munster Technological University (MTU) latter, the merger between two institutes of technology, (Cork Institute of Technology and the Institute of Technology, Tralee since January 2021), has launched a cybersecurity scholarship programme, with applications now open to students.
All successful applicants are being invited to join a 10-month programme where they will receive a tax-free scholarship of €38,000.
Dr Donna O’Shea
While participants do not need to have a cybersecurity or IT background to apply, the programme will be provided with the necessary skills to evaluate, select and validate ideas for new cybersecurity products and services, which will contribute to the creation of new start-ups and innovations.
Students from IT, humanities and business are welcome to apply with the purpose of this programme to form teams with the combined abilities to produce the best cybersecurity innovations/startups.
The Chair of cybersecurity at MTU, Dr Donna O’Shea has stated: “To our potential participants: This is not just another training or startup programme, it’s a journey towards becoming pioneers in cybersecurity innovation and for you to make your mark on the world. We have the people, the mentors and some of the most advanced cyber security research infrastructure in Ireland for you to realise your success. Our graduates will be catalysts, educators, and leaders—architecting innovative cyber security solutions that bolster our national security and propel Ireland to the forefront of global cyber entrepreneurship.”
WEEE Ireland, in conjunction with the German multinational family-owned discount supermarket Aldi will host free e-waste collection days across the eight major towns in Co. Tipperary, including Thurles, Roscrea, Nenagh, Cashel, Cahir, Carrick-on-Suir, Clonmel and Tipperary Town.
Co. Tipperary householders are being urged to bring their batteries, electrical, and electronic waste to a set of free collection days, to help Tipperary meet its national e-waste recycling targets for 2024.
WEEE Ireland dates for all collection venues together with Addresses and Eircodes are as follows:-
Remember: Anything with a plug, battery or cable can be recycled for free on the day, including old washing machines, TVs, toasters and kettles, electronic tools and toys, cables, IT equipment, mobile phones, remote controls, batteries, including farm fence batteries, and even watches.
In 2022, the equivalent of 216,157 tonnes of CO2 emissions were avoided by recycling e-waste through the WEEE Ireland Scheme as opposed to same being sent to landfill. Same is equivalent to the annual carbon consumption of some 4,323 hectares of trees.
The penal laws, especially in Ireland, were a series of laws imposed in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries on Irish and English Roman Catholics and to a lesser degree, on Protestant dissenters. Enacted by the Irish Parliament, these laws secured the then Protestant Ascendancy, by concentrating property and public office into the hands of the established Church of Ireland, latter who subscribed to the Oath of Supremacy, thus acknowledging the reigning British monarch as the supreme governors of matters, both spiritual and worldly.
Catholic bishops were banished completely from Ireland, while Parish Priests had to be ‘registered’ and also take the Oath of Abjuration, latter which involved swearing an oath of loyalty to the protestant succession and denying the son of Catholic James II, deposed in 1688.
Catholics were forbidden to have schools of their own or to have their children educated by Catholic teachers. No Roman Catholic could own a horse worth more than £5. They were forbidden to buy land, and they could not lease property for more than 31 years, while at the same time having to pay a rent that was to be at least-two thirds of the value of said land. Catholic could not carry arms, while the ‘Laws of Inheritance’ were altered allowing a son or daughter, who adopted the Protestant Religion, to become the sole heir/heiress to all property.
Various acts passed in the 16th and 17th centuries prescribed fines and imprisonment for participation in Catholic worship and severe penalties, including death, for Catholic priests who practiced their ministry in Ireland.
Above is a rare eighteen century brass bell-shaped, flared, travelling Communion Chalice. Same has a turned stem and foot (See centre pic) which can be neatly secured inside the cup when it is inverted unto a threaded screw, (See picture right). The piece, when unscrewed, and turned upright, reveals the base and can then be assembled correctly for use, (See Image left). The cup shape (centre above) is just five centimetres (1.9685 inches) high and the chalice when fully assembled is a mere 8.2 centimetres (3.22835 inches) high. Pic: G. Willoughby.
Many older priests, however, refused to leave the country. They wore lay clothes, took up lay employment often as farm labourers, and ministered in secret to their flock. Mass was held, when possible, in the open air using a large flat rock; often a large stone taken from a church ruin, serving as an altar, in a sheltered part of a field, wooded area or barn. Because these activities were illegal, Mass were never scheduled and such occurrences was communicated verbally between those of the faith. Lookouts were posted to keep watch for the dreaded ‘Red Coat’ army, who were always on the alert for large Catholic assemblies.
Most Bishops were obliged to leave the country at this time and eventually only two remained, same working incognito as parish priests. It was hoped that without Bishops, priests could no longer be ordained, resulting over time to the eradication of such persons over time.
Spying was encouraged. There were severe penalties for Catholic bishops and priests who remained in Ireland without permission. A reward of £20.00 was offered for information leading to the capture of a priest, and £50.00 for the capture of a Bishop. Such rewards led to the arrival of the dreaded “priest hunter”. One of the most notorious priest hunters being John Moloney, Ballintubber Co. Mayo. To escape hanging for horse stealing, he was persuaded to become the priest hunter known as “Sean an tSagairt”, who had the protection of the British “Red Coat Army”, wherever he was summoned or went.
The custom of placing a lighted candle in the window of homes at Christmas is believed to come from Penal times. It was a signal to any wandering priest that it was a ‘safe house’, and that the family wished to receive the Blessed Sacraments.
Dublin born philosopher, Anglo-Irish statesman and member of Parliament (1766 and 1794), Edmund Burke, himself a Roman Catholic, the offspring of a Roman Catholic mother Mary (latter a cousin of Nano Nagle, who founded the ‘Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary ) and father Richard, a member of the Church of Ireland; described these penal laws as “a machine of wise and elaborate contrivance, as well fitted for the oppression, impoverishment and degradation of a people, and the debasement in them of human nature itself, as ever proceeded from the perverted ingenuity of man”.
It was under such penal laws that brass and bronze Communion Chalices, such as that pictured above, were made secretly in the 17th and 18th century and used by Irish priests to discreetly minister to their flock. When not in use, the stem and the bell-shaped cup could be detached and easily hidden.
Catholic relief efforts in the late 18th century led eventually to the repeal of most of the Penal Laws by 1793. However, Catholics would continue to be hindered in regards to government service and participation until the passage of Catholic emancipation in 1829.
The Emancipation Act of 1829 admitted Irish and English Roman Catholics into Parliament and to all but a handful of public offices. Daniel O’Connell’s (1775-1847), Emancipation Act of 1829 admitted Irish and English Roman Catholic men into Parliament and to all but a handful of other public offices, but reduced the number of Irish peasants entitled to vote. After 1829, Parliament no longer acted exclusively for members of the Church of England.
Yesterday morning, 166 new members joined the Irish Garda Síochána police force.
Garda Intake Class No 233.
Intake No 233, having commenced their training on July 31st, 2023, have now completed their Phase 1, Stage 3 training at the Garda Training College, situated in Templemore, Co. Tipperary, and have taken their Oath.
Attestation Oath “I hereby solemnly and sincerely declare before God [Words “before God” may be omitted from the declaration at the request of the declarant] that:- * I will faithfully discharge the duties of a member of the Garda Síochána with fairness, integrity, regard for human rights, diligence and impartiality, upholding the Constitution and the laws and according equal respect to all people. * While I continue to be a member, I will, to the best of my skill and knowledge, discharge all my duties according to law. * I do not belong to, and will not while I remain a member form, belong to or subscribe to, any political party or secret society whatsoever”.
The Garda “Attestation Oath”, above, is sworn by all members of An Garda Siochana and the Garda Reserve.
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