Irish Myths~The Seventh Son of a Seventh Son

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The seventh son of a seventh son is a concept from folklore regarding special powers given to, or held by, such a son. The seventh son must come from an unbroken line with no female siblings born between and, in turn, be born to such a seventh son. The number seven has a long history of mystical and biblical significance: seven virtues, seven deadly sins, Seven Sleepers, seven days of creation, etc. In this case, it refers to a man who is the seventh son of a man who is himself a seventh son.
In some beliefs, the special powers are inborn, inherited simply by virtue of his birth order; in others the powers are granted to him by God or the gods because of his birth order.
All rights, credits and permissions belong entirely to Rte.ie as this is a clip from an episode of ‘Newsbeat’ that was broadcast on 11 March, 1970.