A pointed and useful article on ‘Celtic’ Paganism and Ancestry by Morgan Daimler
Tag Archives: ireland
Irish New Year Traditions | Ireland’s Folklore and Traditions
The Creatures of Samhain | HubPages
The meaning of the word Samhain comes from Old Irish meaning “summer’s end,” from summer, samh and end, fuin. The modern Irish word for summer is samhradh, and Samhain is still the name for the month of November in Ireland. Celts considered sundown as the start of the day, which is why, though Samhain actually falls on November 1st, it would have been celebrated starting at sundown the night before, on October 31st. It is one of the four main festivals in Celtic tradition, making up the “quarter days,” the days between the equinoxes and solstices.
With Samhain comes a wide variety of supernatural creatures.
See more at the link below:
Lughnasadh in Ireland – Lora O’Brien – Irish Author & Guide
The 1st of August (sometimes the 2nd) is Lúnasa (Lughnasadh, Lughnasa, Brón Trogain) – the harvest festival in Ireland.
In her excellent book, ‘The Festival of Lughnasa’, Máire MacNeill wrote:
“Garland Sunday and Domhnach Chrom Dubh are two of the many names of a festival celebrated by Irish country people at the end of July or the beginning of August. It marked the end of summer and the beginning of the harvest season, and on that day the first meal of the year’s new food crop was eaten. The chief custom was the resorting of the rural communities to certain heights or water-sides to spend the day in festivity, sports and bilberry-picking.”
Publisher: Folklore of Ireland Council; Reprint edition (January 1, 2008)
More of this excellent article on Lora O’Brien’s page:
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Source: Lughnasadh in Ireland – Lora O’Brien – Irish Author & Guide
From the Banshee to the Dullahan and the legend of Tír na nÓg, here are 10 of the greatest Irish myths and legends | The Irish Post
Fairies, Featured, Folklore, Irish History, Legends, Mythology
(2) The Mórrígan, Cú Chulainn, Sexuality, and that Story of the Daughter of Buan – YouTube
An excellent video by Lora O’Brien.
The Mórrígan, Cú Chulainn, Sexuality, and that Story of the Daughter of Buan
What is an Irish Draoí – Resources for Decolonising your Druidry & Pagan Spiritual Practice – YouTube
#OTD in 1873 – Birth of Blasket Island storyteller, Peig Sayers, in Dunquin, Co Kerry. – Stair na hÉireann/History of Ireland
IRISH HISTORY, CULTURE, HERITAGE, LANGUAGE, MYTHOLOGY
Born Máiréad Sayers in the townland of Vicarstown, Dunquinn, Co Kerry, the youngest child of the family. She was called Peig after her mother, Margaret “Peig” Brosnan, from Castleisland. Her father Tomás Sayers was a renowned storyteller who passed on many of his tales to Peig. At age 12, she was taken out of school and went to work as a servant for the Curran family in the nearby town of Dingle, where she said she was well treated. She spent two years there before returning home due to illness
More below:
La na Cailleach – Spring Equinox – Fools, Cuckoos, the Lady and the Devil – Cailleach’s Herbarium
When the light of the sun of this day shines into the inner chamber of Sliabh na Calli (The Cailleach’s mound). By solar reckoning, the year is exactly half. Half day, half night. At one exact moment, the world balanced on a pin head. Everything in equal measure, fifty-fifty, resting in perfect balance, a pause. A breath. Exhale. The cry of the cuckoo calls out. Release. We move on to the lighter times. The spring equinox La na Cailleach is here.
More at:
Source: La na Cailleach – Spring Equinox – Fools, Cuckoos, the Lady and the Devil – Cailleach’s Herbarium
History Ireland
Gráinne Mhaol, pirate queen of Connacht: behind the legend
Published in Early Modern History (1500–1700), Features, Issue 2 (Mar/Apr 2005), Volume 13
Vilified by her English adversaries as ‘a woman who hath imprudently passed the part of womanhood’, Grace O’Malley was ignored by contemporary chroniclers in Ireland, yet her memory survived in native folklore. Nationalists later lionised her as Gráinne Mhaol, a warrior who would come over the sea with Irish soldiers to rout the English. She finally became an icon of international feminism, both as an example of a strong and independent woman and as a victim of misogynistic laws. Nevertheless, this subject of verse, music, romantic novels, documentaries and an interpretive centre remains shrouded in mystery. Gráinne Ní Máille’s mythical status is a double-edged sword that, while ensuring that her name survived, has obscured the reality of the woman behind the legend. She was an extraordinary woman who lived, loved, fought and survived during a pivotal period of Irish history that saw the collapse of the Gaelic order and the ruination of Ireland’s ruling élite.
Source: History Ireland