Author Biography
Aidan Moran is Professor of Psychology at University College Dublin and Michael O'Connell is Senior Lecturer in Psychology at University College Dublin
Description
What can we learn from the folk wisdom of our ancestors? For centuries, Irish proverbs or seanfhocail have provided memorable insights into everyday experiences such as love, marriage, happiness and death. In doing so, they give us a unique insight into human nature as well as an understanding of the lives and outlook of our forebears. But is such "timeless wisdom" still relevant in the modern world - or merely the dying echo of a bygone era? In this fascinating book, Aidan Moran and Michael O'Connell reflect on this question and provide a systematic exploration of the psychology of Irish proverbs. In particular, the authors examine a wealth of Irish wisdom about food, drink, weather, money, markets, land, health, happiness, love, marriage and death - all the essentials of life! Thoroughly researched and written in a lively, accessible style, the book is enriched by a selection of beautiful photographs. Often provocative, sometimes witty but never dull, these proverbs will encourage you to slow down and look at the world in a different way.This book is an essential purchase for students of Irish society, people who share a love of folklore, and anyone who is interested in learning more about the meaning and significance of Irish proverbs.
Foreword by Tina Hickey
Psychology and the study of proverbs
Proverbs and Irish Society
Food and Drink
Weather lore
- signs and proverbs
Money markets and land
Between two worlds
- Irish proverbs about health, happiness and death
Love and marriage
poking fun and drawing comparisons
- Triad proverbs
References
Index.
"the authors conduct a thorough study of a selection of these old sayings ... a valuable collection of ancient Irish proverbs for anyone who is interested in them or the language."
Books Ireland
Nov 2006
"It is not often that one fully agrees with a publisher's blurb extolling the virtues of a book. But in this case I wholeheartedly endorse its description on the back cover: ‘An insightful and scholarly survey of our oral heritage; the chapter on weather lore nudges our ancestral wisdom on such matters nicely into a comfortable psychological perspective.' Well, I would, wouldn't I? I wrote it."
Irish Times
March 2007
"This book is an essential tool for students of Irish society, folklore or proverbs."
Newsletter of the Irish Fulbright Alumni Association
Spring 2007
"All are prejudices are here. They are laid bare and gently teased out. The authors are good company in so far as they allow the proverbs to speak fro themselves while also interjecting easy learned commentary along the way ... a clean, clear production with an excellent index and references."
The Irish Book Review Vol 2 No 3
Spring 2007
"‘This is a darling book' ... it evokes memories of bygone times and contains enough material to enlighten, irritate and fuel endless debate."
The Irish Psychologist
July/August 2007
"Professor of Psychology Moran and Senior Lecturer in Social Psychology O'Connell combine their forces to examine the relationship between well-known Irish proverbs and the nature of the Irish national character. Food for many an argument here!"
Ireland of the Welcomes
July/August 2007
Proverbs provide unique insight into Irish psyche
An essential tool for students of Irish society, folklore and proverbs, ‘Timeless Wisdom: What Irish Proverbs Tell Us about Ourselves’, is a unique exploration of the psychology of Irish proverbs or seanfhocail.
Written by Aidan Moran, Professor of Psychology and Director of the Psychology Research Laboratory in the School of Psychology at UCD, and Dr Michael O’Connell, Senior Lecturer in Social Psychology at UCD, this scholarly work took over two years to research.
“One way we can use Irish proverbs to try and understand our collective psyche better is to compare them with those from other countries”, says Professor Moran, “and there certainly seems to be more about death and fatalism in our stock of proverbs in contrast to the self-help messages in the US, which tend to be very positive.”
Prof Moran says this might be explained by our past as feudal peasants. “You worked the lands and paid rent to your landlord, so what was the point of working harder, when that would just mean you paid the landlord even more rent? This anti-self improvement mentality can be found in phrases like ‘It’s not what you know, it’s who you know’ - a kind of resignation that, no matter what you do, your destiny is pre-determined.”
Prof Moran and Dr O’Connell admit that they were surprised at the persistently negative attitude to women in Irish proverbs. “I looked at proverbs from Italy, Poland, Russia, England and the misogyny definitely seemed to be stronger in Ireland than elsewhere”, says Dr O’Connell. “One possible explanation for this is the powerlessness of males in Gaelic society until relatively recently. They rented, rather than owned land, and they had little say in the way society was run. There might have been a bit of ‘frustration displacement’ in which the anger they felt at their lot in life was taken out on women.”
As regards their relevance today, Dr O’Connell feels that people have less faith now in proverbs, probably because they have less need for them. “Proverbs were used as a primary source of information, but this is not the case any more, mainly because there are so many other sources available to us”.
Timeless Wisdom: What Irish Proverbs Tell Us About Ourselves is published by UCD Press.
Link to UCD reviews here:
http://www.ucd.ie/ucdtoday/dec06/dec06/Page%2011.pdf
http://www.ucd.ie/expertiseatucd/researchshowcase/proverbs/
http://www.ucd.ie/research/newsevents/newsarchive/newsarchive2007/mainbody,114,en.html
UCD Website www.ucd.ie
“The Irish have a way with words as we all know. The following is a sample of sayings and proverbs that have lasted for generations. They are taken from a book called Timeless Wisdom available at www.ucdpress.ie”
Click on this line for more details: http://www.irishcentral.com/roots/The-Irish-have-a-way-with-words-80757947.html
6 January 2010
IrishCentral.com
Twitter: @UCDPress