Thirty-Two Words for Field

Thirty-Two Words for Field examines the Irish language’s close relationship with landscape, memory and traditional knowledge. Manchán Magan considers the 32 words used for different kinds of field, including geamhar for a field of corn-grass, tuar for a field where cattle stay at night, réidhleán for a place associated with games or dancing, and cathairín for a field containing a fairy dwelling.

The book moves from field names and place names through fairy traditions, witches, the cailleach, seaweed, winds, curses and the ecology of Irish. Magan combines discussion of mythology, oral tradition and archaeology with stories from his own travels, while reflecting on how disappearing words can carry memories of older relationships between people, language and land.