Editing Irish folklore (section)

==Definition==
What constitutes Irish folklore may be rather fuzzy<!--"nebulous"--> to those unfamiliar with Irish literature.{{sfnp|Markey|2006|p=21}} Diarmuid Ó Giolláin, for one, declared that folklore was elusive to define clearly.<!--"Folklore escapes clear definition"-->{{sfnp|Ó Giolláin|2000|p=2}}

[[Bo Almqvist]] (c. 1977) gave an all-encompassing definition that folklore covered "the totality of folk culture, spiritual and material", and included anything mentioned in [[Seán Ó Súilleabháin]]'s ''A Handbook of Irish Folklore'' (1942).<!--although Almqvist gave 1940 date--><ref>{{harvp|Almqvist|1977–1979|p=11}}, cited by {{harvp|Markey|2006|p=22}}</ref><ref name="dominican-college"/>

It was not until 1846 that the word "folklore" was coined, by English writer [[William Thoms]], to designate "the manners, customs, observances, [[superstitions]], [[ballads]], [[proverbs]], &c of the olden time".{{sfnp|Markey|2006|p=21}}{{sfnp|Vejvoda|2004|p=43}} The term was first translated into Irish as ''béaloideas'' (lit. 'oral instruction') in 1927.{{sfnp|Markey|2006|p=22}}

===Folktales and songs===
Tales have been traditionally recounted in fireside gatherings,{{efn|Such actual gatherings being reconstructed in [[Patrick Kennedy (folklorist)|Patrick Kennedy]]'s works.}}<ref name=delaney-fireside/> such social gatherings, in which traditional Irish music and dance are also performed, are labeled by some as the {{lang|gd|[[cèilidh]]}},{{sfnp|Read|1916|p=}} though this is a term borrowed from [[Scottish Gaelic]]. The story-telling, songs and dance were also part of how  special occasions were commemorated, on such days as Christmas, Halloween ({{lang|ga|Oíche Shamhna}}, eve of [[Samhain]]), [[Bealtaine]], held on the first day of May,<ref name="dominican-college"/> or [[St. Patrick's Day]]. Irish folklore is closely tied with the pipe and [[fiddle]], the traditional Irish music and folk dance.{{sfnp|Ó Giolláin|2000|pp=2–3}}

The [[keening]] {{lang|ga|[[Caoineadh Airt Uí Laoghaire]]}} composed by [[Eibhlín Dubh Ní Chonaill|Eileen Dubh Ní Chonaill]] in her husband's wake is a piece of poetry passed down by folk tradition.<ref name=cullen/>

Other than folktales and legends, the folkloristic genres is complemented by memorates, beliefs, and belief statements.<ref>{{harvp|O'Connor|2005|p=24}}, back cover</ref>

===Handcraft and herb lore===
Also part of Irish folklore are the handed-down skills, such as basket-weaving or making [[Brigid's cross]]es.

As an example, shallow wicker baskets called ''skeeoges'' as [[strainers]] (to empty the boiled potatoes and hot water on, to drain the liquid) were recorded in the [[County Wexford|Co. Wexford]] area by [[Patrick Kennedy (folklorist)|Patrick Kennedy]] in the 19th century. A later folklore collector was unable to ascertain whether this practice was carried out in the locality during the field work in the 1950s (or in the revisit in 1970's).{{Efn|James G. Delaney was a folklore collector for the [[Irish Folklore Commission]].}} This basket's name ''skeeoge'' supposedly derived from the Gaelic word for "shield" ({{langx|ga|sciath}}).<ref name=delaney-skeeoge/><ref>{{harvp|Kennedy|1866 |loc="The Long Spoon" |pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=jfdLAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA147 147–148]}}</ref>

The [[Irish Folklore Commission]] has accumulated a collection of crosses made on [[Imbolc|St. Bridget's Day]] (1 February), and various craft objects made of plaited straw, etc., gathered from across the county.<ref name=osuillebhain1944/>

Folklore can also include knowledge and skills such as {{citation needed span|how to build a house|date=May 2020}}, or to treat an illness, i.e., [[herb lore]].{{sfnp|Read|1916|pp=255–256}}