Welcome to my weekly blog,  SATURDAY SESSIONS!

In this blog, for the perusal of all our students, past, present and future, I include an extract from our interactive presentation Course, Ireland and its Culture.

If you wish to ask me any question about the text, by the way, just send me an e-mail at greg@bluefeather.ie

                      THE SALMON OF KNOWLEDGE

When Fionn was a child, he loved visiting the poet Finnegas because Finnegas knew all about the plants and the animals and the stars.

In the evenings, Fionn loved sitting by the fire at the home of the poet, listening to all the great stories that he had to tell. Finnegas was an inspiring teacher and in return, Fionn helped him with his household chores.

Fionn's curiosity was insatiable. Sometimes, he would ask questions that Finnegas simply couldn't answer.

Every day, Finnegas would go fishing, but always with the intention of catching the same fish that had eluded him for the past seven years.

That's why Finnegas lived near the Boyne. He had been told by a druid that in a big dark pool near the river there was a salmon which had eaten nine hazelnuts from nine hazel trees surrounding the pool. The fish had thereby acquired all the knowledge of the world. The person who would catch and eat that salmon would be the most knowledgeable person alive.

Fionn would often accompany him and keep him busy with his endless questions while Finnegas patiently waited for the salmon to bite.

Finally, one bright summer's day, Finnegas cried out to Fionn:

'I've caught him! I've caught him, Fionn! I've caught the Salmon of Knowledge!'

He was ecstatic and he and Fionn jumped and danced in glee about the river bank. Then Finnegas prepared a fire, and put the salmon on a spit. He then went off to collect more sticks for the fire and asked Fionn to keep an eye on the fish so that it wouldn't burn. He also told Fionn not to touch the fish under any circumstances.

When he returned with the sticks a short time later, he noticed a change in the child's expression; Fionn's eyes were sparkling like the water of the Boyne.

'Did you touch the salmon? Did you eat some of that fish?' questioned Finnegas in horror at the very thought.

'No!' said the boy. 'Why do you say that?' 

'Did you touch it?' questioned Finnegas.

'No!' said Fionn. 'But when I tried turn it over with the stick, I burnt my thumb.' 

'And then? And then what?' asked Finnegas. 'Then what did you do?'

'I did what anybody would do!' said Fionn.  'I sucked my thumb to soothe it!'

It was then that Finnegas knew that all the knowledge of the salmon had passed into the spirit of the child.

But he also knew that he was witnessing the fulfilment of a prophesy Fionn's father had told him about Fionn, just after the child was born. The prophesy was that the boy would grow up to be the most knowledgeable and wisest man in Ireland.

Finnegas smiled and told Fionn to eat the whole salmon.

After Fionn had eaten it, he told Finnegas that he felt no different from before. Then Finnegas told him to suck his thumb. Fionn sucked his thumb and his eyes sparkled like the waters of the river Boyne.

At that moment, he had no questions because there was nothing he didn't know. Finnegas told him to return to his home now, as he had nothing more to learn. Any time he wanted to know anything about anything, all he had to do was suck his thumb.

'One day soon,' Finnegas joked, 'I'll be knocking at your door in search of a thumb-sucking teacher!'

Fionn grew up to be leader of the legendary Fianna, the Samurai of Ireland. To become a member of the Fianna, one had to perform extraordinarily challenging tasks, such as running barefoot through a forest without breaking a twig, or being stuck in a hole with only a shield to defend yourself from attack. To be a member of the Fianna, you also had to be able to write a poem!