Lost Words of the Irish Landscape.
The Irish language has thirty-two words for field. Among them are:
Geamhar – a field of corn-grass
Tuar – a field for cattle at night
Réidhleán – a field for games or dancing
Cathairín – a field with a fairy-dwelling in it
The richness of a language closely tied to the natural ladscape offered our ancestors a more magical way of seeing the world. Before we lose their unique knowledge, let us consider the sublime beauty and profound oddness of the ancient tongue that has been spoken on this island for over 2,000 years.
“Thirty-Two Words for Field is a labour of love by a passionate intellectual within a tradition we more recently associate with Tim Robinson and Robert MacFarlane,” writes Hilary White in the Irish Independent Review on 5th Sept 2020. He describes the book as a “rich and absorbing work.”
