#OTD in 1022 – Death of Maelsechlainn II, the great High King of Ireland.

Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill, also called Máel Sechnaill Mór, Máel Sechnaill II, anglicised Malachy II, was King of Mide and High King of Ireland. His great victory at the Battle of Tara against Olaf Cuaran in 980 resulted in Gaelic control of the Kingdom of Dublin. Clann Cholmáin branch of the Uí Néill dynasty. He […]

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#OTD in 988 – The Norse King Glúniairn recognises Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill, High King of Ireland, and agrees to pay taxes and accept Brehon Law | the event is considered to be the founding of the city of Dublin.

The earliest reference to Dublin is sometimes said to be found in the writings of Claudius Ptolemaeus (Ptolemy), the Egyptian-Greek astronomer and cartographer, around the year 140, who refers to a settlement called Eblana. This would seem to give Dublin a just claim to nearly two thousand years of antiquity, as the settlement must have […]

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#OTD in 1171 – Diarmaid MacMurrough, king of Leinster, died in Ferns, Co Wexford.

Diarmaid Mac Murchadha, King of Leinster, is often considered to have been the most notorious traitor in Irish history. After succeeding to the throne of his father, Enna, in 1126, Diarmaid Mac Murchadha faced a number of rivals who disputed his claim to the kingship. He established his authority by killing or blinding seventeen rebel […]

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#OTD in 1919 – The birth of Cairbre, the MGM lion, in Dublin Zoo. He wasn’t African or even Californian, he was a genuine Dub and was named after Cú Chulainn’s charioteer, or a High King of Ireland.

Cairbre, later re-christened Leo and the first MGM lion to roar on the silver screen. The problem is, there were at least 5 MGM lions, all of whom were rechristened Leo. The most likely candidate is this one, photographed being filmed in the early 1930s. Hear him roar (or gently growl) in the MGM video. […]

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Celtic Mythology | Five Sacred Guardian Trees of Ireland

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. […]

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#OTD in 1022 – Death of Maelsechlainn II, the great High King of Ireland.

Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill, also called Máel Sechnaill Mór, Máel Sechnaill II, anglicised Malachy II, was King of Mide and High King of Ireland. His great victory at the Battle of Tara against Olaf Cuaran in 980 resulted in Gaelic control of the Kingdom of Dublin. Clann Cholmáin branch of the Uí Néill dynasty. He […]

Read More

#OTD in 988 – The Norse King Glúniairn recognises Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill, High King of Ireland, and agrees to pay taxes and accept Brehon Law | the event is considered to be the founding of the city of Dublin.

The earliest reference to Dublin is sometimes said to be found in the writings of Claudius Ptolemaeus (Ptolemy), the Egyptian-Greek astronomer and cartographer, around the year 140, who refers to a settlement called Eblana. This would seem to give Dublin a just claim to nearly two thousand years of antiquity, as the settlement must have […]

Read More

#OTD in 1171 – Diarmaid MacMurrough, king of Leinster, died in Ferns, Co Wexford.

Diarmaid Mac Murchadha, King of Leinster, is often considered to have been the most notorious traitor in Irish history. After succeeding to the throne of his father, Enna, in 1126, Diarmaid Mac Murchadha faced a number of rivals who disputed his claim to the kingship. He established his authority by killing or blinding seventeen rebel […]

Read More

#OTD in 1919 – The birth of Cairbre, the MGM lion, in Dublin Zoo. He wasn’t African or even Californian, he was a genuine Dub and was named after Cú Chulainn’s charioteer, or a High King of Ireland.

Cairbre, later re-christened Leo and the first MGM lion to roar on the silver screen. The problem is, there were at least 5 MGM lions, all of whom were rechristened Leo. The most likely candidate is this one, photographed being filmed in the early 1930s. Hear him roar (or gently growl) in the MGM video. […]

Read More

Celtic Mythology | Five Sacred Guardian Trees of Ireland

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