Gemini.Finnegans.Wake.38
And we’ll be coming here, the ombre players, to rake your gravel and bringing you presents, won’t we, fenians? And it isn’t our spittle we’ll stint you of, is it, druids? Not shabbty little imagettes, pennydirts and dodgemyeyes you by in the soottee stores. But offerings of the field.
This paragraph is a solemn promise from the mourners to the risen Finnegan. They are trying to reassure him that if he stays dead, his memory will be properly and authentically honoured by his community.
## A Pact with the Dead 🤝
The mourners describe themselves as “the ombre players,” a phrase rich with meaning. Ombre is an old card game, but it’s also the French word for “shadow.” They are the “shadow players,” the living who exist in the shadow of this great fallen figure. They promise to “rake your gravel” (tend to his grave) and bring him “presents,” treating his resting place like a shrine that will be cared for in perpetuity.
## An Ancient Irish Ritual ☘️
The speaker then turns to the other mourners, addressing them with two deeply significant names: “fenians” and “druids.”
- Fenians invokes the 19th-century Irish revolutionaries, framing this group of mourners as a nationalist brotherhood loyal to their fallen chief.
- Druids reaches back even further to pre-Christian, pagan Ireland, suggesting the rituals they promise are not standard Christian rites but ancient, magical, and connected to the land itself.
The strange promise not to “stint you of… our spittle” reinforces this. Instead of holy water, they offer a primal, biological tribute. It’s a raw and earthy gesture, suggesting a libation (a poured drink offering) or a folk blessing, something far removed from formal religion.
## Genuine vs. Fake Tributes 💐
The mourners draw a sharp contrast between the kind of tributes they will offer and the cheap, commercial tat they reject. They won’t bring him:
- “shabbty little imagettes” (shabby little holy pictures or statues)
- “pennydirts” (cheap, worthless items)
- “dodgemyeyes” (shoddy fakes you’d be ashamed to look at)
These are the mass-produced trinkets of insincere grief. Instead, they promise “offerings of the field.” Their tributes will be natural, organic, and authentic—flowers, produce, things taken directly from the Irish soil. This promise connects Finnegan’s memory directly to the land itself, ensuring his legacy will be as real and enduring as nature. Hearing this on a Saturday night in Malahide, it evokes that deep, almost pagan connection to the land that lies just beneath the surface of modern Ireland.
06/09/2025, P25.04, to be continued.