Despite being crazy-busy with promoting my book and the thrill of The Duchess of Malfi opening at the Sydney Opera House, I missed my daily hit of Doherty when Tony went overseas. The rhythm of our letters had become a delicious punctuation to my days—though it had sped up to a mad polka by the time I opened that mailbox. I could never have guessed, even with my high hopes, how crucial our correspondence was to become for me.
Back then, I was busily working on an article or two, and a monologue for me to perform. There was plenty on my plate, you’d think, but I remember one chilly afternoon, when I was wondering where my pen-pal was, deciding to try to find a definition of ‘shanachie’. There were a few, so I cobbled together the best of them. Then, out of curiosity, I looked up ‘priest’. I was delighted with my findings, and I thought you might enjoy them too.
Shanachie
An anglicisation of the Irish word seanchaî. A traditional Irish storyteller, or bearer of the old lore.
Priest
1. An ordained minister of religion, especially of the Catholic, Orthodox or Anglican church, authorised to perform certain rites and administer certain sacraments.
2. A mallet used to kill fish when angling.
And the moral?
Fishing with priests may be something best avoided by fair-haired shanachies!
Ailsa