The Seanchai (or Shanachie)

I've changed part of the name of the post. It used to be The White Rider, I am a great fan of Tolkien and that character is one of my favourites. Recently, someone I respect greatly suggested that one of the things he liked about my blog was the way that I included storytelling in my posts. Storytelling is a huge part of my life and my work life too.

Based on that I have changed my name to The Seanchai (which is the Gaelic version of the anglicized Shanachie). In olden times before books the Seanchai would travel the rural areas of Ireland and visit and tell stories and pass on the history of the country. He was a solitary figure who would tell tales of Gaelic heroes and when he was finished in a particular area he would vanish only to be found in the next village where the storytelling would begin again. He would arrive unnanounced and leave with the wisps of the morning dew.

Before the times of the wireless (that's what they used to call the radio) or the daily papers, history would be taught and told by the Seanchai. There's a bit of a romantic nature in the sense of the coming and going of the individual. They came and went as they pleased and were taken care of by those they told their stories to. There's something to be said for that type of hospitality that doesn't exist anymore.

I hope you like the stories as much as I like telling them.