Talk:River Shannon

Britain in lead

If anything the correct term would be British Isles as the geographic entity rather than Britain which is a country and more properly referred to as the United Kingdom. Personally I don't see that as particularly important and it is mentioned below in the geography section. Could I ask though that there be no more edit warring on this but a proper discussion. The person sticking this in might be wrong about the details but I don't see it as vandalism and both are eligible for wp:3rr sanctions. Dmcq (talk) 10:51, 27 January 2012 (UTC)

Nah, instead of showing up on the talkpage here or replying on his own page, he reverted you. Night of the Big Wind _talk 04:13, 28 January 2012 (UTC)

It was previously discussed as I remember it, Ireland in the lede, British Isles mentioned later --Snowded ^TALK 06:05, 28 January 2012 (UTC)

Changed by IP, I reverted. Should it not actually mention what country it is in in the lead, or do we just stick to geographical locations? River Lagan mentions Northern Ireland, not Ireland - as in island- where the rivers in the republic only mention the island in the lead. Does anyone know why? Cheers. Murry1975 (talk) 17:53, 1 June 2012 (UTC)

Seeing as the River Severn is described as being the second longest in the British Isles, "behind the River Shannon", I assumed it made sense to include a similar note here. 143.239.9.1 (talk) 11:33, 27 March 2014 (UTC)

This issue seems to have raised its ugly head again, after several years of stability. I noticed someone swapped 'British Isles' for 'Ireland and Great Britain', which I reverted. However, another editor then queried the references and undid my revert. I contacted him about it, but so far he hasn't replied. This is not about references. The sentence containing the term was already referenced. The edit simply replaced one term for another, so according to BRD, and to maintain stability - and hopefully keep a lid on the can of worms - I put back the original. I will do so again later. 31.52.164.194 (talk) 11:47, 18 July 2018 (UTC)

Why is it necessary to mention British Isles/Britain at all. If you look at wiki page for River Severn it says its the longest river in Great Britain not the 2nd longest river in the British Isles. Why is it necessary to benchmark Irish rivers against those of Great Britain.

Can we not say Longest river in Ireland. (the end). 195.75.179.146 (talk) 11:34, 17 August 2022 (UTC)

That would be the commonsense solution. But bolstered by sheer numbers, certain folk want to impose a certain viewpoint on Ireland-related articles. Sarah777 (talk) 11:42, 17 August 2022 (UTC)

As in: longest river on the island of Ireland? The Banner talk 14:26, 17 August 2022 (UTC)

As an Irish person themselves there doesn't seem to be any need to change the page from how it currently is, the fact that it is the longest river in the British Isles is one of the most notable things about it. Dubarr18 (talk) — Preceding undated comment added 17:17, 17 August 2022 (UTC)

One of the most notable things about it is that it is the longest river in the islands of GB and Ireland. Nobody is questioning that. Sarah777 (talk) 17:26, 17 August 2022 (UTC)

Neither Ireland nor the Shannon are in the British Isles. Twasonasummersmorn (talk) 02:35, 27 December 2022 (UTC)

Are you sure? British Isles tells another story. Ow, and the non-existing source can be found on page 21 of https://www.epa.ie/publications/research/water/EPA-RR-207-final-web-2.pdf The Banner talk 09:39, 27 December 2022 (UTC)

Please look at page 21 of that document. It mentions The British Isles nowhere except in the titles of other document in the references. And do not revert valid changes. Twasonasummersmorn (talk) 17:24, 27 December 2022 (UTC)

The British Isles is a geographical term. Ireland, the island - whether you like it or not - is one of the British Isles. It is customary to refer to geographical features in terms of largest in, longest in, highest in, deepest in, etc. The Shannon is the longest river in the British Isles. It would be weird to not say so. Bastun^{Ėġáḍβáś₮ŭŃ!} 17:30, 27 December 2022 (UTC)

Are you really looking for WP:SKYISBLUE references? Really?! Bastun^{Ėġáḍβáś₮ŭŃ!} 17:31, 27 December 2022 (UTC)

The reference that has now been inserted again does not say that the Shannon is the longest river in the British isles. You're reverting to a false reference. Try being a competent editor.Twasonasummersmorn (talk) 17:40, 27 December 2022 (UTC)

Excuse me?! Try not being a dick. There is already a perfectly good reference further on in the page showing that the Shannon is TLRitBI. If you want several more, I had several more ready to insert when I ran into an edit conflict with The Banner and left their version. The issue, of course, isn't the reference, it's that you don't acknowledge the term British Isles. Bastun^{Ėġáḍβáś₮ŭŃ!} 18:04, 27 December 2022 (UTC)

The issue is their reference, which does not use the language used. As for anyone being a dick, how about the people attacking an editor for insisting on accurate reference? That'd be you and the Banner. Twasonasummersmorn (talk) 13:21, 29 December 2022 (UTC)

Twasonasummersmorn what exactly is the nature of your objection here? As has been pointed out numerous times by other editors the source provided clearly states that the Shannon is the longest river in the British Isles under the cited section. At the very end of page 21 we are told; 'the largest of them all, the Shannon, which is the longest river in Britain and Ireland.' The source is quite clear in its information and the page states solely this information. Is your objection solely that the source does not explicitly use the term 'British Isles?' In that case it is site wide convention to use that term as it is the accepted academic term.Dubarr18 (talk) 12:50, 28 December 2022 (UTC)

The nature of my objection is that the cited link does not use the term in the text. And that The Banner repeatedly re-inserted it. And that term is not the accepted academic term. Twasonasummersmorn (talk) 13:20, 29 December 2022 (UTC)

So then to clarify Twasonasummersmorn I was correct in stating that your objection was the source not explicitly stating the term 'British Isles'? The usage is the accepted academic term throughout the world, even in Ireland where I myself am from. It is widely acknowledged as being called the British Isles and it is side wide policy to name it as such. Editing as you currently are amounts to little more than vandalism of the page as consensus is to refer to it under the term British Isles.

If you are genuinely trying to change the site wide usage of the term then the proper avenue to take would, from my understanding, be to make a proposal on the associated wikiproject page. From what I gather however such proposals were already made in the past and failed. You would have to find the associated wikiproject and discuss changing the term there, that would make it vastly more likely for this change to succeed than your current route.Dubarr18 (talk) 14:25, 30 December 2022 (UTC)

Again, I have changed the inaccurate text to accurate text. The text that was reinserted again by other editors did not reflect the text of the cited source. Twasonasummersmorn (talk) 13:27, 29 December 2022 (UTC)

In case The Banner tries to revert my change again, here's the text of the document he keeps insisting talks about the British Isles. It doesn't. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kKo1psZQmjzwgGsc3_c0f4_Pr0NiqTOa/view Twasonasummersmorn (talk) 14:02, 29 December 2022 (UTC)

I notice that the Banner has again reverted that change and re-inserted text that does not match the reference. Twasonasummersmorn (talk) 15:03, 29 December 2022 (UTC)

And if you revert again, it will be restored to the consensus version, i.e., stating that the Shannon is the longest river in the British Isles. It is referenced. Dunno what you're on about, talking about "the accepted academic term." The British Isles is the common name for the island group of which Ireland and Britain are part; and it is normal to refer to geographical features in terms of "(superlative) in (largest encompassing geographic area)"; c.f. Nile, Amazon River, County Cork. Bastun^{Ėġáḍβáś₮ŭŃ!} 16:40, 29 December 2022 (UTC)

That's nonsense and you know it Bastun....Sarah777 (talk) 23:18, 29 December 2022 (UTC)

You or I might not like the term, you might not use it, but it is used in Ireland, moreso in Britain, and worldwide is definitely the most common term for Britain, Ireland, and their associated islands. Even if that's changing, it's still currently the case. The Shannon is the longest river on the islands.It is normal to refer to things as "(superlative) in (largest encompassing geographic area)" - we don't say Cork is the biggest county in Munster, we say it's the biggest in Ireland, and Everest is the world's highest mountain, not just Nepal's. Edit warring over something factual and referenced will get the warrior blocked. Not seeing where the nonsense is, Sarah. Bastun^{Ėġáḍβáś₮ŭŃ!} 23:48, 29 December 2022 (UTC)

The primary issue here is that the Banner repeatedly re-inserted text that was not supported by the reference. Repeatedly. And did so accusing other editors (me) of POV as he did it. Even after I gave a screenshot of how the reference did not support the text. Twasonasummersmorn (talk) 20:30, 2 January 2023 (UTC)

Sarah77 this is not 'nonsense' in any sense of the term, you yourself previously agreed with this stance in a previous discussion related to this matter. I am unsure as to why you are now arguing that is is a nonsensical term when it is the side wide convention to refer to the region under the term British Isles.Dubarr18 (talk) 14:25, 30 December 2022 (UTC)

You'll have to remind me of when I agreed "British Isles" was a suitable term for Wiki to use for these islands. Citation? Sarah777 (talk) 22:39, 30 December 2022 (UTC)

Apologies but the last time this conversation was added I explicitly asked what your stance was about the river being the longest in the British Isles you in response stated that; 'Nobody is questioning that.' It is just above you on this very page.

If your intention was not to state that you agreed British Isles was the correct term for the region then I am unsure how else you expected that answer to be interpreted. Dubarr18 (talk) 02:49, 4 January 2023 (UTC)

Jesuitical. I was merely stating that that nobody was questioning the fact that the Shannon was the longest river in these islands. Nothing else implied. Sarah777 (talk) 02:13, 11 January 2023 (UTC)

In fact the sentence you reference said "One of the most notable things about it is that it is the longest river in the islands of GB and Ireland. Nobody is questioning that".

More than a bit of a stretch to say that's agreeing that the appropriate name for these islands is the "British" Isles! Sarah777 (talk) 02:18, 11 January 2023 (UTC)

It is only the site-wide convention because of long term gang-editing. And ignoring references. Twasonasummersmorn (talk) 20:31, 2 January 2023 (UTC)

Correct. You are obviously referring to the term "British Isles" being imposed as the "geographical term" in relation to Ireland and Britain.Sarah777 (talk) 21:56, 3 January 2023 (UTC)

Once again, I have had to correct the text in the first paragraph to match the reference. The reference does not say "British Isles". It says Britain and Ireland. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kKo1psZQmjzwgGsc3_c0f4_Pr0NiqTOa/view Twasonasummersmorn (talk) 23:08, 2 January 2023 (UTC)

And now Bastun has reinserted the bad text on the basis that "Britain and Ireland is the British Isles". Which is not what the British Isles article says. Stop inserting your opinion. Twasonasummersmorn (talk) 23:10, 2 January 2023 (UTC)

If you want to be tiresomely pedantic about it, the British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, and over six thousand smaller islands. The Shannon is the longest river in the British Isles. It is normal to refer to geographical features in terms of the {superlative} geographical feature in the largest encompassing {geographical region}. If you don't like a reference using 'Britain and Ireland' instead of 'British Isles', shrug, that doesn't mean the Shannon isn't in the British Isles. I can insert several more references stating that tRSitlritBI, but Dubarr18 will probably remove them again, saying the one we have is fine. Bottom line, though - you've no consensus to remove the term from the article because you don't like it. Or because Banner's reference doesn't use the term. In fact, statements in the lede - which should reflect the body of the article - don't need references; the reference in the article body does use the term 'British Isles'. Are we done? Bastun^{Ėġáḍβáś₮ŭŃ!} 23:19, 2 January 2023 (UTC)

Edit-warring notice issued. I've also re-inserted the additional references. You might want to read WP:CON. It's policy. You might also want to read WP:BRD. Bastun^{Ėġáḍβáś₮ŭŃ!} 23:29, 2 January 2023 (UTC)

If the references are good, that's fine. I look at references. And your edit warring notice is just you pushing your POV again. Particularly since it's easy to prove that my edit was supported by the reference and yours (as seems usual) was not. Twasonasummersmorn (talk) 23:36, 2 January 2023 (UTC)

I have requested protection because of your edit warring and POV-pushing. The Banner talk 01:02, 3 January 2023 (UTC)

Good luck. Since it's clear that your changes are not supported by the references and mine are.

I'm also curious why you reverted changes I made on the Provisional IRA article. I have since added the references. Twasonasummersmorn (talk) 01:38, 3 January 2023 (UTC)

River Source

Shannon Pot traditionally and mystically was considered the source of the River Shannon, but recent research notes that Pigeon Pot in Co Fermanagh is the true source. Considering updating this information in this article on the River Shannon and on the Cuilcagh and Shannon Pot pages too. Looking for feedback on this change, considering it is a big change. Sources I have are as follows:

• https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/heritage/blacklion-safari-1.1797541
• https://presspack.rte.ie/2017/07/23/new-series-creedons-shannon/
• https://cavesofireland.wordpress.com/home/caves/pigeon-pot/
• https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CfbPB0MWIAAsINp.jpg:large [signage at the Shannon Pot]
• The Source of the River Shannon, Ireland by Professor John Gunn - PUBLISHED IN ENVIRONMENTAL GEOLOGY, 27, 1996, pages 110-112.

--Lukemcurley (talk) 11:21, 17 August 2017 (UTC)

This story is already described in Shannon Pot. The Banner talk 16:41, 17 August 2017 (UTC)

It should be mentioned here, considering the source of the River Shannon is incorrectly referring to the Shannon Pot in the current article. It has been scientifically proven the true source is the Pigeon Pot. Understanding a new article on the Pigeon Pot should also be forthcoming. Currently I am trying to source a photo of the Pigeon Pot in the public domain to add to WikiCommons too.--Lukemcurley (talk) 12:14, 18 August 2017 (UTC)

Protect Page

I think it should be considered to protect the page as there has been of late a high increase in the amount of IP addresses coming on and removing any reference to the British Isles on the article and replacing it with Ireland. Not only are these incorrect as per sources but they are also becoming increasingly disruptive. Protecting the page for a while may deter this. Dubarr18 (talk) 20:02, 28 June 2022 (UTC)

Inappropriate New Sources for River length

I am moving to talk here since it seems inappropriate sources are consistently being used to replace the current source for the statement that the river is the longest in the British Isles. The source currently referenced it perfectly fine and sufficient, it is recent and done by a reliable group and states clearly the information. The new four sources are each in their own way in appropriate.

The first offered source was published in 1964, there is absolutely no reason why such an old source needs to be used especially when newer more up to date sources exist.

The second is from Waterways Ireland and quite literally makes no mention of the river being the longest in the British Isles. The closest it got from what I could see is asserting that it was the longest in Ireland with no mention made whatsoever of England. It in no way contains the alleged information.

The third is a book from 2016 and is about an entirely different river, the Severn, and is not about the Shannon whatsoever. Again making it completely unrelated to the claim it is meant to cite.

The fourth is from athlone.ie which has no cited author nor any information bar a weblink, which as best as I can tell is just a website for a company that happens to be named after the county.

The only reason these four sources seem to be added is because of edit warring, ignoring that this is an inappropriate response to such a thing, these sources do nothing to resolve the issue. None of them address the other users argument, which is that the term British Isles is not explicitly used, and if anything are weaker sources than the original as explained above. As well as this the user already made it clear multiple times that they are just going to delete these new sources regardless. Their inclusions solves nothing and adds nothing of value to the page, there is no reason for them to be consistently added instead of the source already used. Dubarr18 (talk) 02:46, 4 January 2023 (UTC)

I think you are wrong here. The sources should back up the claim "longest river in the British Isles", not specifically its length. The Banner talk 10:59, 4 January 2023 (UTC)

Your concern about the sources I share nevertheless. Only source 3, about the river Severn looks like a quality source backing up that claim. It would be nice when you can restore that one. The Banner talk 11:40, 4 January 2023 (UTC)

I agree with your assessment that the sources should back up the claim that the river is the longest in the British Isles, the issue at hand is that none of them actually did that as far as I could see.

As for source 3 would you by any chance know where it mentioning the Shannon is located? Having briefly checked the book myself it seemed entirely focused on the Sevren with no section on the Shannon. Dubarr18 (talk) 16:55, 4 January 2023 (UTC)

Did you read that source? The introduction starts with: At 220 miles (354 km) from its source to the sea, the Severn is the second longest river in the British Isles; it is five miles longer than the Thames and two miles shorter than the River Shannon in the Republic of Ireland. (...). The Banner talk 17:17, 4 January 2023 (UTC)

As mentioned previously I did not have the time to read the entire book and instead had to give it a quick look, which was enough to confirm it was about an entirely different river, and could find no mention of the Shannon. Seeing as the used reference at the time did not make any mention of a page number as well there was no where to actually check.

Seeing as there is in fact a mention of the cited material then that source should indeed be added. Dubarr18 (talk) 17:24, 4 January 2023 (UTC)

So you took it down without even looking at it? Because my quote is the first text you see when you open the given link. The Banner talk 17:39, 4 January 2023 (UTC)

As explained to you numerous times now the source was in fact read by myself but it is not exactly reasonable to read an entire book, especially when it becomes quickly apparent it is focused on an entirely separate river. When opened by myself it did not take me to the introduction but instead the start of the book. Dubarr18 (talk) 18:09, 4 January 2023 (UTC)

The link did send you straight to the quote. You just never looked at the source. And you are wasting our time with sloppy work.The Banner talk 21:30, 4 January 2023 (UTC)

I also think you're wrong here. The now-banned editor's position was 'the reference doesn't mention that the River Shannon is in the British Isles', so they got four more references pointing out that yes, it is. I grabbed the first few I happened across and agree they could have been better (though the one about the Severn is fine). But removing the references let the edit warrior keep up their warring. Bastun^{Ėġáḍβáś₮ŭŃ!} 14:25, 4 January 2023 (UTC)

As explained above however none of them addressed their issue. There issue was that none of the sources explicitly used the term 'British Isles' and none of these new sources do that either, completely failing to address their issue. As also pointed out above the editor also removed these sources as well and made it clear repeatedly that they didn't particularly care for the sources used, meaning even in this regard their inclusion is not useful whatsoever. You yourself even admit that these sources are not good quality. There is no need for their inclusion in the article. Dubarr18 (talk) 16:59, 4 January 2023 (UTC)

Please actually read the sources. They all do, indeed, mention the term, specifically in relation to the Shannon, and that's why they were added. Bastun^{Ėġáḍβáś₮ŭŃ!} 17:23, 4 January 2023 (UTC)

As mentioned previously the sources were checked and I could find no mention of the cited claim in some of them whatsoever, and none explicitly mentioned the 'British Isles' from what I could see. Only the fourth source did but as already explained is inappropriate since it is not an academic source and instead appears to be a company website as far as I can tell. (The third source does as The Banner pointed out to me as well.) If you think any of them state the cited information then please say where. None of the other three are appropriate for reasons explained above anyway so the point is moot regardless. You yourself just earlier admitted that none of them are particularly strong sources. Dubarr18 (talk) 17:32, 4 January 2023 (UTC)

Sources do not have to be academic, or brilliant, or satisfy any bar other than being reliable. WP:RS. All of the ones I entered are just that. Better ones exist, but I was in a hurry. Athlone.ie is not a company - it is a website run by Destination Athlone - a group of businesses, supported by Athlone Municipal District, Failte Ireland, and Lakelands & Inlands Waterways and others and is funded by various EU and government sources. As to where the term exists in the sources? Click on them. Then press 'Ctrl + F' on your browser. Then type in the term 'British Isles'. Your browser should highlight the term for you. It does that for me, anyway, highlighting the term in the very first sentence of the athlone.ie reference, for example... Bastun^{Ėġáḍβáś₮ŭŃ!} 17:57, 4 January 2023 (UTC)

As explained for the third time now none of them are exactly reliable and a few seem to even fail the criteria you just linked, as well as that none of the original objections have been addressed by yourself. (As for the Athlone website I struggle exactly what pointing out that it is ran by multiple companies rather than one is meant to show.) You yourself already admitted you did not find any of the sources particularly strong and as already explained your intent for adding them didn't work. Despite being asked you also could not say where exactly these sources mention the alleged claim. It is somewhat unclear why you are still arguing for their inclusion at this stage.

Unless there is another point to be made here there seems little point continuing this discussion as we are talking in circles at this stage and none of the original points are being addressed. The two citations there currently are sufficient. Dubarr18 (talk) 18:17, 4 January 2023 (UTC)

If you can't be arsed reading the first fucking line of sources, then you're right, there's no point in continuing this discussion. Bastun^{Ėġáḍβáś₮ŭŃ!} 21:17, 4 January 2023 (UTC)

Dúchas project story

I've removed the sentence from the folklore section outlining a story about the Shannon being created when a monster heard Saint Patrick was arriving to Ireland, and in fleeing, created the river channel. It seems ridiculous to include this river's "origin story", pinning it to the 5th century, no less, after we've already outlined folklore about the goddess Sionnan, the warrior Fionn Mac Cumhaill, etc. Although the story may well have been told to the child in question, who passed it on in good faith via their teacher to the Duchas project - it doesn't even rate as a piseog, a common bit of folklore. I can find no other reference whatsoever to the Shannon only being created in the 5th century that aren't retellings of that one Duchas story. Bastun^{Ėġáḍβáś₮ŭŃ!} 23:09, 4 January 2023 (UTC)

Nice story, but unreliable. Small kids interviewing old people with the stories transcribed by the teacher. The Banner talk 23:42, 4 January 2023 (UTC)

I think this is a mistake. The Shannon is the subject of many legends, being one of the island's main features, and who is to say that this legend is not as valid as that of Sionnain. The Sionnain legend is a major one, but there are dozens of other Shannon stories. All these are legends, not facts, and as long as they're in the right section, there is no limit to how many we can hold. Nor does it matter to what date they relate - they're all equally unreal - but myths are important as such too. And the source should not be dismissed like that - the Duchas project collected legends from all over Ireland, and in the nature of folk memory, which fades, some stories are indeed only captured once. It was a supervised / curated project, and was and is an important source of folklore. The material is valid, the citation is valid, so why not include it... SeoR (talk) 01:04, 5 January 2023 (UTC)

I do feel the need to note that the source is not necessarily unreliable, in fact the Duchas project is held as reliable in the folklore studies academia. A great deal of work is based upon it. Dubarr18 (talk) 01:04, 5 January 2023 (UTC)

In terms of supervision/curation - literally, school children were asked to interview and collect stories from elderly relatives/neighbours, and these were then collated and sent on to the project by their school teachers. Bastun^{Ėġáḍβáś₮ŭŃ!} 12:39, 5 January 2023 (UTC)

I propose to restore this tale tonight, if there are no solid objections - I've checked further, with UCD, this morning, and this is not a "child's story" but a bit of genuine folklore collected in one of Ireland's two largest folklore gathering projects, which used schools to find and record for posterity stories from across the country. It's not exactly the only story of the Ollpeist, not even re. the Shannon (the beastie also threatened St Patrick and some disciples at a ford, for example). SeoR (talk) 09:17, 5 January 2023 (UTC)

Yes, I object to re-inserting, at least in the pre-existing form. I absolutely acknowledge the bona fides of the Dúchas project, but relying on it for the claim of the origin of the Shannon is just a ridiculous example of cultural appropriation, especially given the rest of the article. We mention right in the lede, Known as an important waterway since antiquity, the Shannon first appeared in maps by the Graeco-Egyptian geographer Ptolemy (c. 100 – c. 170 AD), - predating Saint Patrick's arrival by nearly half a millennium! - and we also mention the goddess Sionnan, Fionn Mac Cumhaill, etc., all of whose stories long pre-date Ireland's most famous Welshman.

No objection to including mention of the story of the oilliphéist itself, or, if we really must mention the "the route that then becomes the Shannon", at least point out how anachronistic it is (e.g., when the oilliphéist was busy doing its thing, the river was already an important trade route that had already been mapped!) Bastun^{Ėġáḍβáś₮ŭŃ!} 10:50, 5 January 2023 (UTC)

For a start I do not see what you mean by comparing the wiki mention as cultural appropriation since no part of that seems connected to the discussion. It is a piece of Irish folklore being connected to an Irish feature. I do not see what culture you think is being appropriated here.

As well as this what exactly is the nature of your objection? Is it solely that it is not factually accurate? In that case, as mentioned previously to you, the statement is under the folklore tab of the page and therefore is not meant to be taken as factually accurate, by definition folklore are not factual pieces of information. If it was being placed under history I would agree with you but as stands it is under folklore and thus is not meant to be taken literally. If one is worried that a reader will conclude from the reference that the river was literally made in the 5th century by a monster then one may as well also worry that they conclude that Fionn and Sionainn are both historical figures. Dubarr18 (talk) 11:08, 5 January 2023 (UTC)

Christian appropriation of Celtic/pagan myths, feasts, etc., was/is a thing: "Here's a big river. They say it's named after one of their goddesses." "Can't be having that. Let's make up a story about Saint Patrick being the cause of the river." In very much the same sense as "This lot already have at least two sets of triple goddesses." "Can't be having that. Let's make up a story about the ignorant natives needing to have the Trinity explained to them. By Saint Patrick. With... a shamrock." See also Saint Brigid/Imbolc, All Saints Day, Bealtaine, etc.

Other objections: one telling of this creation tale in a collection of stories told to/recorded by children makes this WP:UNDUE. It simply isn't a common story, period. The ollphéist, at least, is. Bastun^{Ėġáḍβáś₮ŭŃ!} 12:07, 5 January 2023 (UTC)

I would have no objection myself to re-adding the section to the page. There is currently a discussion on if Duchas pages should be used as a primary source on the Ireland wikiproject page as well if you want to give your thoughts there SeoR. Dubarr18 (talk) 11:03, 5 January 2023 (UTC)

OK, I think the issues are clear. I really think we should not get too far into the "Christian appropriation" argument - we are encyclopedists, documenting what is, not what might have been. One could argue that it was both unfortunate, and sometimes quite ridiculous, how earlier stories were twisted to "fit" into Christian narratives, sure, but it happened, very long ago, and it was not a first (by some measures, almost the entire Roman mythos was lifted and converted from Greek origins, yet we still refer to the Roman deities and stories too). Further, it provided a whole new layer of folklore - and whatever opinions might be about nowadays, the Christian stories and ethos were central to Irish identity for many centuries. I do agree that we should mark the incongruities that this created in some way, and will think how to word that.

I don't think any of us have the expertise to say how common this story, or most other bits of folklore, was - modern Irish people, for example, tend to know 6-10 of the most common legends, but there were hundreds to thousands. But anyway, I can help "upgrade" this item - I popped into the local library and went through the major collections by Hyde, Gregory, Sinead de Valera, and so on, and I found a close relative of this item in one of Douglas Hyde's seminal volumes, so I will use that as the referred version. I hope that this satisfies concerns. SeoR (talk) 16:09, 5 January 2023 (UTC)

Fair play to you! The only other reference I could find to this story is a book, Leitrim Folk Tales, by Susie Minto - which also seems to be based on the Dúchas Project! :-) Bastun^{Ėġáḍβáś₮ŭŃ!} 16:59, 5 January 2023 (UTC)

I agree that a discussion of whether Christian influence counts as appropriation is not particularly fruitful for here.

In the case of there being another source for the story that is in fact terrific! I'd be happy to see that added myself. Dubarr18 (talk) 17:48, 5 January 2023 (UTC)