The feast of St. Michael the Archangel falls on September 29. In the old Irish tradition, Michaelmas was known as ‘Fómhar na nGéanna’ – the goose harvest. Geese, hatched out in spring, were left outside all through the summer in what can only be called truly free range and organic! […]

At midsummer, the summer solstice, the countryside is bejewelled by our native wild flowers and herbs. Along the roadsides, brightening the hedgerows, flowers are everywhere – a blend of yellow, white, red, blue, green, pink and many shades in between. Today many of these plants are considered weeds but somebody […]

According to Edna O’Brien countries are mothers or fathers and “engender the emotional bristle secretly reserved for either sire”. Ireland has always been a woman, a beautiful maiden, a womb, a cow, a Rosaleen, a bride, a harlot and the gaunt Hag of Beara. For James Joyce, in ‘A Portrait […]

Easter Sunday may fall on any date between March 22 and April 21 with a wealth of lore and customs attached to Holy Week. People in all parts of Ireland held to the pious belief, common in many parts of Europe, that on its rising on Easter Sunday morning, the […]

Noted in Irish folklore for its swiftness, alertness and agility, the hare was also regarded as a fairy animal associated with deception and witchcraft. In myth, the hare was linked to Celtic goddesses of fertility, both of spring and of the harvest.  One widespread belief among Irish country people was […]

Waders are, for the most part, birds of coastal mudflats, inlets and sandy beaches. Some frequent grassy meadows, remote uplands and boggy land. Many waders were eaten at one time, especially in times of hardship. Thousands of years of hunting have made them wary of man, so a close view […]