Irish History, Culture, Heritage, Language, Mythology
From its craggy cliffs to its wind-beaten shores, Ireland has long exuded an aura of mystery and magic. Its culture and traditions have been forged from a unique mixture of warrior ballads, clan sagas, fairy tales, and bardic narratives. A magnificent combination of myth, legend, and historic fact embroiders the very fabric of Irish culture. […]
Read More
The gift of the ‘sight’ was highly valued by the Celts. But this gift could cause the possessor great sorrow, especially if he or she foresaw the death of someone close to them. On the other hand, the seer might be able to avert catastrophe after receiving a premonition of danger. The most famous see […]
Read More
In ancient times, the people of Ireland were internationally renowned for their love of law and their intricate justice system. Law was the articulation of fairness and the embodiment of justice, the application of the law to real scenarios was seen as a manifestation of justice in action, an affirmation of the natural harmonising order […]
Read More
In ancient Roman religion and mythology, Janus is the god of beginnings and transitions, thence also of gates, doors, doorways, endings and time. He is usually a two-faced god since he looks to the future and the past. The Romans dedicated the month of January to Janus. His most apparent remnant in modern culture is […]
Read More
Tree lore is a suspected ancient school of knowledge with roots stretching back into our earliest symbolic imaginations. The Tree is a common universal, archetypal symbol that can be found in many different traditions around the ancient world. Trees are symbols of physical and spiritual nourishment, transformation and liberation, sustenance, spiritual growth, union and fertility. […]
Read More
Fáilas was one of the four cities of the Tuatha Dé Danann, along with Gorias, Findias, and Murias, whence they came to Ireland. Morfessa was the instructor of learning there. In their departure the Tuatha Dé Danann took the magical stone of Fál with them. That stone would cry out to choose the rightful King […]
Read More
Moytura is where the Tuatha Dé Danann began their invasion by taking on the Fir Bolg in a battle for the possession of Ireland. It’s name in Irish is Cath Maighe Tuireadh, meaning ‘Battle of the Plain of Pillar’. The Danann won. Some thirty years later, a second battle of Moytura was fought, this time […]
Read More
In Irish mythology, Donn is a god of the dead. Donn is the modern Irish word for the colour brown and appears as an element in many Irish surnames like Donegan, Donovan, Donnelly and on its own as Dunn/Dunne. However in the case of Donn the word derives from the Celtic word ‘dhuosnos’ meaning dark […]
Read More
‘Things have to get worse before they can get better.’ With each passing day of autumn we lose daylight. However, as the Winter Solstice arrives, the shortest day arrives, and we gain more daylight going forward. Ancient people, who spent more time outdoors, were acutely aware of this annual ebb and flow of daylight, the […]
Read More