Fili Fridays: A Rosc for Writing

Last updated on September 2, 2025

Something a little different.

The Irish term rosc (from Old Irish roscad, “speech” or “recital”) refers to a heightened, often rhythmic form of speech used in early Irish literature, especially in myth and law texts. It’s half-poetry, half-incantation—broken syntax, vivid imagery, and a cadence meant to strike like a spell or prophecy. Druids, filid (poet-seers), and legendary heroes.

Rosc 2

I am the Shannon
I am the Foyle
I am Joyce’s city streets
I am Synge’s weathered islands
I am Leanan Síde’s pen

Grant me to tell me stories wide