We (really) need to talk about Ireland
I remember coming across this production about two years ago and how the content struck a deep chord with me. It was the sort of production that one could imagine…
Dublin or Baile Átha Cliath? Blackpool or the or the Ford of Hurdles? On the name origins of Ireland’s capital city.
Ireland's capital city gives us an interesting example of an Irish place-name where the commonly used English form and the native Irish form bear no relationship to each other. Unlike…
Map of Ireland in the Heroic Times Depicting the Sites of Many Legends
Below you can find the Map of Ireland in the Heroic Times, found in Standish O'Grady's History of Ireland. It visualises the key sites and locations from Irish mythology showing…
34 Irish Names from Ancient Myth and History
ÁED m Ancient Irish, Irish Mythology Older form of AODH. ÁEDÁN m Ancient Irish, Irish Mythology Older form of AODHÁN. This was the name of a 6th-century king of the…
On the Formation of the Irish Counties
How and When were the 32 Irish Counties formed? THE division of Ireland into shires or counties is of Anglo-Norman and English origin. The counties generally represent the older native…
Míse Éire – I Am Ireland: A Poem by Padráig Pearse 1912
Mise Éire: Sine mé ná an Chailleach Bhéarra Mór mo ghlóir: Mé a rug Cú Chulainn cróga. Mór mo náir: Mo chlann féin a dhíol a máthair. Mór mo phian:…
Cnóc Teamhair – Hill of Tara in Ancient Irish History
"The Scottish historian Pinkerton, who was hardly sympathetic, admits: ‘Foreigners may imagine that it is granting too much to the Irish to allow them [the Irish] lists of kings…
Three Things A False Judge Deserves
Every false judge deserves a short life, removal from office, and death without an heir. In this triad the brehon (or judge) is reminded of the consequences should they err…
Ancient Irish Olympics – The Lughnasa Games at Telltown
The Telltown or Tailtiu Games were said to have been instituted by the Gaelic god Lú Lamhfada Samildanách – Lugh the Long-Armed Master of the Arts, and are considered to…
The Beginning of the End? The Papal Bull of Pope Adrian IV
A defining moment in the erosion of the old Irish ways came from the Vatican in 1155 when the Catholic Pope Adrian IV (1100-59); the Vatican’s first and only English Pope,…