Long Thinking in Inishowen #16 #cong24 #legacy

Synopsis:

My blog post takes heavily from the book ‘The Good Ancestor’ from public philosopher Roman Krznaric and to make decisions with seven generations in mind. My connection with the land, sea and rivers of where I live now has come from the love for the area that was passed down to me through stories. Can I use the stories of my ancestors and an imagining of my descendants to guide how I chose to live my life?

Total Words

1,069

Reading Time in Minutes

4

Key Takeaways:

  1. Can I think long? As proposed by leading public philosopher Roman Krznaric in his book The Good Ancestor.
  2. Will a larger view of the responsibilities I have towards the future generations allow me to make better decisions?
  3. I can trace my ancestors back 7 generations to Inishowen where I now live. I feel a connection passed to me through stories and a love for this place.
  4. I want the work I am doing and how I am choosing to live strengthened with the legacy of my ancestors and with the thoughts of my descendants.

About Carlene Lyttle:

Following a number of years away from the North West of Ireland, I have discovered a powerful connection with Inishowen which I am using to inspire me in different projects including river restoration, capturing the hidden histories of the village of Culdaff and bringing together tradition and innovation in Inishowen’s first science festival.

Contacting Carlene Lyttle:

You can follow Carlene on Twitter or connect to her on LinkedIn.

By Carlene Lyttle

As I began to look at legacy I found it hard to imagine the seven generation stewardship concept of indigenous populations, to live and work for seven generations into the future. I can’t even tell what job my 9 year old may look for in a decade, never mind what might be the world of my descendants in 300 years. Although, I can trace the line of my family in Inishowen back 288 years to my great-great-great-great-great grandfather Daniel O’Dogherty born in 1736 – a fisherman and a farmer living by the Crana River. My great grandfather – Neal Joseph was born in 1874 married Ellen O’Doherty from Umgal, Malin to whom my grandfather John Doherty (Saddler) was born in 1924. I can imagine Granda Saddler as a child, fishing the rivers, collecting dulse, and picking potatoes. I think of the love of the community as the reason why my direct line, for seven generations, chose not to leave Inishowen for a different life in America or Australia. I discovered a peace in the longer thinking of seven generations stewardship. In a world of 24 hour new cycles, instant messaging and unlimited distraction, I am enjoying long term thinking and looking to escape the tyranny of the present moment.

The oldest known human artifact in Ireland is a flint flake found in County Derry dating back to around 12,000 years ago. In Inishowen evidence of hunter gathers goes back to 8,000 BCE with rock art and rudimentary tools. I’m living in a village, Culdaff in North Donegal, which can trace back 4000 years of inhabitants. From neolithic rock art and bronze age shards of urns, the material traces of my ancestors lend a sense of awe and perspective. The copper bell which was made in honour of St. Buadán in the 8th century is the only early Christian copper hand bell still in the area it was made, thanks to a family who passed it down for 1200 years.
But in Culdaff, I see evidence of temporal myopia, defined by Krznaric, as the inability to see beyond immediate concerns. The holy well from the same cult of St. Buadán was built upon with a septic tank which still covers it today. The neolithic standing stones at Bocan, which had a ritual significance for our druid ancestors in the early bronze age, are used as a scratching post for cows of the farmer whose land they are in, causing cracks in the stones. So many decisions have been made for a short term gain.

How can we know what will be reverenced and respected as a legacy of our lifetimes? We can’t. Kierkegaard said ‘life can only be understood backwards but must be lived forwards’. My dad lives forwards. If he was from neolithic Ireland he wouldn’t have had a burial site, or an urn from the bronze age. To bury him he wants us to put him in a wheelie bin and set it on fire. He would not be of the St. Buadán cult and pass on a copper bell through generations. His legacy will not be a watch, rosary beads or a treasured books of poems. But as my sister reminded me when I was mulling ideas for my Congregation submission, he will leave a legacy in the stories we will share.

Stories have a legacy just as physical artefacts. The links of St. Buadán and the monastic traditions of Iona have been carried through a copper hand bell but also the story of the rock, still in the Culdaff River, that saved him from the Picts in Scotland by transforming to a boat and carrying him across the sea, before returning to stone when he disembarked in Culdaff where it can still be seen in the river unmoved by land use or floods. As a life lived forwards the stories that will make up the legacy of Eugene Lyttle, as Brian Friel said of memories in Philadelphia Here I Come, will be ‘distilled of all coarseness and what is left it going to be precious, precious gold’.

What would I say to Daniel O’Dogherty about the legacy he has left me? Thank you for leaving a legacy of love and respect for the land of Inishowen. The stories of the beauty and wild nature have had a lasting impact. I now think of how to maintain the sand dunes, ensure there are still fish in the rivers, and preserve the bogs. Thanks to the stories that have been passed down I have found a meaning in what I am doing, For my great-great-great-great-great grand descendants, you may one day be asked to think back on me as part of a weekend of unconference – I’m going to work to leave you air to breathe, water to drink, a planet to live on.

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