Christmas as a time of celebrations and revelry goes back to the customs of  pre-Christian times. Mistletoe, yule logs, holly and evergreen trees are of pagan origin, sacred to the Romans and Celts. Of all the Christian festivals, Christmas was considered the most important in Ireland, and preparations began some […]

While today we are more inclined to see life as a linear progression from our physical birth through to our death, a beginning and an ending , Eugene Daly says the ancient Irish saw life as a recurring cyclical process of birth, life, death and regeneration. In the midst of […]

The ancient festival of ‘Samhain’ – the first day of Winter for the ancient Celts – was traditionally kept on November 1, now the Feast of All Saints, and the vigil of this day, ‘Oíche Shamhna’ (Hallowe’en), is still celebrated on the last night in October. Hallowe’en was originally a […]

The harvesting of grain used to mark the busiest period in the Irish farming year. Wheat and barley were ready for reaping in August, while the most widespread crop, oats, was harvested in September. Before the coming of the combine harvesters, co-operation between neighbours was vital in harvesting the grain […]

The abundance of honey in early Ireland can be measured from the size of the vessels used either to collect the honeycombs or to pay tribute to an overlord, or for kitchen use. A barrel, so large and heavy that it could be lifted only as far as the knees […]

The ‘Cailleach Bhéara’ (Hag of Beara) is a mythical old woman in Irish literature and folklore, associated with west Munster, but especially with the Beara Peninsula in West Cork.  Originally her name was ‘Boí’, a variant of the word for a cow, ‘bó’,  At the tip of the Beara Peninsula […]