Irish mythology
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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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The Purpose of Irish Hillforts
Read more: The Purpose of Irish Hillforts2,500 years ago, standing atop the fort’s gateway platform, you can see a beautiful panoramic scene before you. Immediately outside lies open pasture, forests cleared to provide the abundant resources needed to build your home. Where these dense forests once stood, now herds of cattle can be seen grazing lazily in the open pasture. The…
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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…