Celts
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Ancient Rock of Cashel – A fortified myth
Read more: Ancient Rock of Cashel – A fortified mythEach year, as we approach Christmas, many of us will don the charade of Santa Claus for our children, portraying a wonderful joy-wrapped lie. We put out our shortbread and milk, hang up the stockings, possibly even ring a few bells to pretend the reindeers are nearby. The wonder and excitement of our children fuels…
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Highways of Ancient Ireland
Read more: Highways of Ancient IrelandEarlier this summer I watched the road outside my home slowly broken up and resurfaced. The many weeks of hard labour (granted they took far longer than needed), disruption and chaos created, and the army of trucks carrying materials, all got me thinking about how such roads were built and used in our ancient past.…
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Gods of Ireland: The Tuatha De Dannan
Read more: Gods of Ireland: The Tuatha De DannanIf I were to list out the Egyptian, Greek, Roman, and Norse cultures, I can almost guarantee that their respective pantheons will come to mind. But if I now add the Irish to this list, I wonder how many would be able to list even one of their gods. Even as someone who grew up…
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Fashion in Iron Age Ireland
Read more: Fashion in Iron Age IrelandEvery morning all of us share in a ritual that dates back as far history itself. For, without exception, each of us will decide what we will wear for the day ahead. The questions we will ask to form our choices are the same questions our ancestors would have asked some 2,000 years ago: ‘What…
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Dunseverick Castle – Ulster’s hidden treasure
Read more: Dunseverick Castle – Ulster’s hidden treasureThere are few more iconic sites than the lone, solitary stones of a once great castle standing tall above the sea. Dunseverick, as it is known today, is but a shadow of its former glory. Now a National Trust site, all that remains are but a few stone walls displaced along a small headland –…
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Dún Ailinne – Knockaulin
Read more: Dún Ailinne – KnockaulinEven from a young age, we have an in-built desire to outdo one-another. We view the greatness of our homes relative to those of our neighbour’s. When one upgrades their driveway, everyone else will publicly praise and inwardly resent it. You only have to look at the great skyscrapers which line our city skylines to…
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Irish Hillforts – Grounding History
Read more: Irish Hillforts – Grounding HistoryAs you walk around any modern city, nearly always your eyes will be drawn to the architecture. The style, scale, and shape of the buildings captures our attention, eliciting emotions and leaving an enduring impression. I have had the privilege of visiting many cities around the world and invariably it’s the government buildings which standout.…
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Rathcroghan: Ireland’s ancient metropolis
Read more: Rathcroghan: Ireland’s ancient metropolisLittle inspires the imagination as vividly as walking through the ruined remains of a once thriving metropolis. Seeing the great stones of buildings, the hills and walkways where our ancestors would have stepped, or just the sense of scale of a place which has fallen so far from its place of greatness. Rathcroghan, with a…
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Fort Navan: Ulster’s Ancient Capital
Read more: Fort Navan: Ulster’s Ancient CapitalThe Tain1 is one of Ireland’s most vivid ancient tales centering around the theft and subsequent conflict over a mighty bull. The famed Ulster hero Cu Chulainn, known as the “Hound of Emain Macha,”2 sets out to reclaim the bull himself, and (after the Ulster army are stricken with a debilitating sickness3) he single-handedly holds…
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Book Review: The Celts, Barry Cunliffe
Read more: Book Review: The Celts, Barry CunliffeSome historians are born academics, their work is thorough, detailed, and completely incomprehensible. But there are a rare few, of whom we will have all heard of (e.g. Tom Holland, Anthony Beevor), who manage to bridge that great divide, turning facts into narrative, bringing history to life through a colourful string of characters. Barry Cunliffe’s…