Announcement: ‘Gather round me women: Druidigí thart, a mhná'
Dear Moon Medicine Women,
You are invited to gather for a co-curated Moon Medicine gathering with artist, vocalist Ceara Conway and Ormston House as part of the Feminist Supermarket Programme.
On June 2nd, the Moon Medicine online series co-presents a live experience that explores the role of women and the use of lament and song in ritualising personal, local and global experiences of loss.
"Gather round me, women" will be led by Kathy Scott, (Creative Director of the Trailblazery) and Ceara Conway (visual artist, vocalist) with guest luminaries Angela Bourke (writer, irish language scholar) and Marian Dunlea (Jungian analyst, somatics practitioner )
The ancient ritual of the Irish wake held another ritual at the center known as Caoineadh or Keening - the Irish funeral lament. The word keening originates from the Gaelic caoineadh meaning “crying”. Keening was an integral part of the whole process of undertaking and was performed either at the wake, funeral procession or interment and sometimes during all three. It was a skilled ritual artform at the meeting point between life and death and received due respect, including payment.
Photo by Ceara Conway
Keening is part of our indigenous cultural inheritance - a ritual that was practised in the heart of our communities and a practice that we still draw upon today, albeit now more often explored within contemporary art and cultural contexts. Our intention for this event is to explore the cultural practices of Irish women lament poets and their specific role in facilitating community grief. We are curious about how we continue to draw upon these highly developed traditions in new ways to respond to current experiences of loss. We are interested in approaching the experience and process of loss from many perspectives, from the cultural practices of keening to the exploration of grief as a lived somatic experience in the body.
We feel drawn to host a circle about this in light of the loss experiences by many during the ongoing Covid Pandemic. We hope to explore how we might come together as communities to grieve in this moment of collective sorrow, loss and uncertainty.
You will be sent your zoom link on booking your spot for the gathering. Please keep it safe as you will need it to join the event.
Ticket Information
We believe that Moon Medicine should be available to people from all walks of life especially in our current circumstances, so we have created sliding scale payment options for people who need support. Sliding scales are a tool of economic justice.
Price at €25.00 with a limited number of free tickets available.
Join us and tell your sisters.
We can't wait to welcome you with us once again.
With love,
Kathy and all at The Trailblazery xo