Lasqueti Island, BC | February 6, 2025
By William Pritchard
My dear friend Oona finally found an Irishman to make an honest woman of her… LOL. Okay, she would smack me for being so cheeky, but suffice to say she has discovered a profound and enduring love who asked for her hand whilst upon a mountain in Ireland.
The whole story is entirely romantic (alas, it’s not mine to share).
Oona and John invited Andy and me to their nuptials in June of 2024. Unfortunately, we had to send our regrets, but instead decided to give them a card and gift.
One of my longtime inspirations for Celtic art was given to me by my uncle during a visit to the old country when I was 16. Along with my beautiful sister Karen, we visited the Book of Kells at Trinity College Library in Dublin, and Uncle Raymond bought me the Celtic Design Coloring Book by Ed Sibbett, Jr. (Dover Publications Inc., NY, 1979.)
When Oona first saw it (‘lo these many decades) she declared her love for it as she had also had a copy as a young person. Also because the text in Irish angular capitals on the cover bears her name (Una, meaning ‘one’ in Latin).
Oona and John had decided to keep their own English names, but as Oona explained to me in a text message: “Úna Nic Eoín & Seán Mac Eoín, our Irish married names. We both change our names to come into the same house.”
As I said, quite the romantic couple.
I was inspired to create a Celtic artwork as a card for them. The inspiration took hold in May and I began work on the design immediately. Through the process Andy spoiled me with new acid-free paper, a set of expensive acrylic gouache and brushes, permanent markers and a surprise find of a beautiful ‘wet palette’ box.
I then hit the illustrator’s version of writer’s block, with the realization that I don’t have any Irish language, so I was suddenly paralyzed by my decision to use the Irish words “Teach Eoín” (pronounced tchak own) to mean “House of Owen (or John).” I immediately joined several Irish language Facebook groups.
In the interim, I borrowed from the public library The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield (Rugged Land, 2002). That helped me reframe my post-employment lack of motivation into a rest period between phases of life. I had also just passed my second Saturn Return at the age of 56. (Saturn orbits the sun every 28 years.)
In early December of 2024, I finally screwed up the courage to post my half-completed artwork to the Learning Irish – Foghlaim Gaeilge Facebook group. People were kind and enthusiastic in response. I received 80 likes/loves and 11 helpful comments. The notable mistake upon which they all agreed was that the Irish name Eoin does not feature a fada (the diacritical mark above the letter í.) Alas, it was too late to alter that aspect of the design and so it now features this bug.
Andy and I met Oona for coffee (sans John, we have still to meet him) in late December and handed over our gift. Better late than never? I sure hope they liked it, and aren’t mad at me for the wee mistake.
The Design
The central feature of this design is an Irish love knot. It’s an infinite knot – meaning it is plaited using a single path – forming two hearts intertwined. In this case the band is split into two colours, red and gold, symbolizing enduring love.
Supporting the love knot is a bird on the left and a lion on the right. While I did not explicitly choose these animals for their traditional meaning, in Irish Christian manuscripts the lion is a symbol of Saint Mark the Evangelist (courage, protection), and the eagle is a symbol of Saint John the Evangelist (vision, far-sightedness).
Below the love knot is the Irish phrase Teach Eoin (pronounced tchak own) which translates to House of Owen (or John). (See love story above!) The words are set in two letter styles: Teach is set in Irish angular capitals drawn from the Book of Kells; Eoin is set in lettering drawn from the Book of Lindisfarne.
The border is plaited using the secret of the Irish scribes as set out by master Celtic artist Aidan Meehan. Although the design appears to be interrupted in three places, it is actually a single path filled in green.
Policy & Co. 