Re: BG: Re: Folk Music & Mtn.Bluegrass

[E Bryant Holman]

<<Ulster refers to the 9 ancient counties but you will note that as it stands now Northern Ireland consists of only 6 of the 9 when the borders were formed in 1922. Having lived there for years I think that I have done plenty of research on the subject. And you will note that it is a highly volatile matter to refer to the area as Ulster and that anyone wishing to remain neutral refers to the area as Northern Ireland. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. >>   Ulster is the historical name for the region. When the immigrants arrived in America from there in the 19th century, for example, that is what it would have been called. When Caesar marched north from Rome and began subjugating the natives to the north, the place was known as "Gaul", and not France, which got its name from a Germanic tribe known as the Franks. The Ulster Irish, who were the people who lived there since Classical Times (500 BC or thereabouts, in other words - I am estimating, or making an educated guess) are a very important group of people for several reasons, not the least of which is that what me know about the Pre-Christian religion and culture of the Celts comes largely from matters recorded by Christian monks in the First Millennium AD (I am going to venture a guess that this was, like, maybe 600 to 700 AD or thereabouts, and any other such information came from the Romans who wrote about the Gauls. So, in the modern Celtic cultural revival, this work is of utmost importance.   These people figure prominently in a wonderful book that traces the history of the Scotch Irish, because, as I pointed out earlier, as time went on they became more and more outlaws in their own land, hunted by the colonist authorities, and they made a contribution, then, to the colonization of the West, and thus it merits looking into them as a distinct group because of their often overlooked historical significance. It is very likely, then if there was a significant contribution to the evolution of Mountain music by Irish elements, that different regions of Ireland and their distinct variations of culture be recognized for what they are worth, in my opinion.   I highly recommend this book: "Born Fighting : How the Scots-Irish Shaped America by James Webb". And here is another one that I have not read, but it looks interesting: "The People with No Name: Ireland's Ulster Scots, America's Scots Irish, and the Creation of a British Atlantic World, 1689-1764. by Patrick Griffin". (Actually, it has an interesting title, but the reviews of it are not very good!)   Here is a good book that focuses on the Ancient Ulster Irish and their sagas, which are immense historical significant, and this is something that has a great deal of bearing on the subject of ballads of the Celts, which, in turn, are the ancesters of the ballads sung today in any music that springs from that of these peoples: "The Raid : A Dramatic Retelling of Ireland's Epic Tale (Ulster Cycle) by Randy Lee Eickhoff "   This book talks about that great Irish hero Cuchulainn (pronounced "Cuh-LOO-lan"), and it is said to be, in terms of Celtic literature, the equivalent of the Illiad and the Oddyssey in Greek literature.   I noticed that someone seemed to disparage Democrats, unless I interpreted that wrong. But I think that it is hardly appropriate to bring partisan politics into a discussion group like this, and I imagine that most everyone else feels the same way.   I think that, inasmuch as it has now been established that Dr. Ralph Stanley recorded a song with Joan Baez, who is a well-known anti-war activist and has been for decades, that he has no need to drag partisan politics into his doings, and so, on this particular list, I think it would be appropriate that everyone follow his example in that. That is just my opinion. I am not an expert on anything, and I have never claimed to be. I am just participating in open discussions with a view to furthering my own knowledge and enjoyment of this music.   Bryant