Cocaí Féir
The Irish Word for “Haystacks.”
The haystacks stood in the field for a month or so, and then it was time to bring them home from the fields to the shed or haggard- the traditional storage area for the crops. This was something that I remember with great excitement because neighbours would arrive early in the morning to help. I felt a real sense of community. Something important was happening. I remember running out to the fields in the early Summer morning, ready and eager to help.
I also remember returning to the kitchen with my grandmother at various times during the day, helping prepare food and bringing tea and sandwiches back to the fields for lunch in the sun. I remember calling my grandfather back from the far field to have the tea. I can still smell fresh hay, and everyone is leaning against the haystacks, drinking great pots of tea and eating thick slices of porter cake my grandmother had made. The smells still stayed with me, and the feeling of relief I sensed in my grandparents as the evening closed in, when the hard work was complete, and the hay was saved for another year'....
Focail Gaeilge | ‘Irish Words’
In this series, I share words in Gaeilge (Irish) and explore these words through a Depth Psychology lens, allowing us to begin exploring our inner world— our psyche, and deepen our understanding of our place in the world around us. When we embrace our native language or become curious about the languages from our ancestral roots, we can embrace our sense of place, our speech, our imagination, our psyche, and the song of the soul...
