Shrouded in the mists of early medieval Ireland, Ogham remains one of the most enigmatic writing systems of the ancient world. Its slender strokes and notches, cut along the edges…
The significance of the number three to the early Irish is evident in the literature, mythology, and laws of early Ireland, which abounds in triplets and triads. There are three triple-goddess personifications of sovereignty and of Ireland; the triple forms of the Morrígan and the motif of the threefold death; as well as the three-leaved shamrock Saint Patrick used to teach the native Irish of the 5th century about the Holy Trinity. This article explores the concept of "three" in Irish history, mythology, and belief.