Paper short abstract:

In this paper, we hope to demonstrate various issues to do with out major research project funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (UK), entitled 'Stories of the Sea: A Typological Study of Maritime Memorates in Modern Irish and Scottish Gaelic Traditions'.

Paper long abstract:

In folklore studies, memorates are an under-studied area. Defined as personal accounts of supernatural happenings, memorates are centred around various phenomena of human life and constitute an extremely popular and productive folklore category. They include a variety of extraordinary maritime experiences and other accounts, which occur in liminal spatio-temporal contexts, such as the sea-shore, streams, fords and bridges. These stories typically involve encounters with ghosts and other beings, and portents of death symbolised in phantom boats.

Maritime memorates form an important component of the narrative tradition of Irish and Scottish coastal communities. The project is assembling a collection of personal accounts of Irish and Scottish fishermen, boatmen, foreshore gatherers and beachcombers, recorded from the end of the nineteenth century to the present day, and seeks to uncover the distinctive character of the maritime memorate with a special reference to Irish and Scottish coastal communities today, demonstrating what particular social and cultural implications for the community they may have.