Beyond druids and stone circles: exploring Pagan Ireland

Pre-Christian Ireland Pagan Ireland, Pre-Christian Ireland – two expressions which conjure up many different pictures. But what was Pagan Ireland like? It brings to mind visions of druids, standing stones, ancient tombs, mythology, and gods and goddesses. How accurate is this vision? Many believe in Pagan Ireland there was a strongly organised belief system, one with clearly defined (and never changing) beliefs and a fixed number of gods (including Lugh, Brigid, the Daga, the Morrigan, etc.). In this video we are going to explore pre-Christian religion and beliefs in Ireland to unravel some of the confusion, cut through the fluff that has built up over many years, but also identify the many mysteries. This is perhaps the most important thing – to acknowledge that we do not and cannot know everything. It is easy to identify erroneous ideas, but to build up an accurate view of pre-Christian Ireland is exceedingly difficult. This is also the first of several videos on aspects related to pre-Christian Ireland. So watch this space…. References Bushe, Paddy. The Amergin Step: An Exploration of the Imagination of Iveragh, Dingle 2024 Bushe, Paddy "Landscape, Myth and Imagination in Iveragh" and Ó Cíobhan, Brendán. "The Toponymy of the Peninsula of Uíbh Ráthach" Both in Crowley and Sheehan, The Iveragh Peninsula A Cultural Atlas of the Ring of Kerry. Doyle, Peigín (ed) Pathways to the Cosmos. Wordwell, 2020 Hutton, Ronald. Pagan Britain, Yale 2013. Johnston, Elva "Making St Brigit Real in the Early Middle Ages". Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. (January 2024). Ó hÓgáin, Dáithí. The Sacred Isle; Belief and Religion in Pre-Christian Ireland. Collins 1999 #pagan #druid #Celtic #Lugh #religion #celticmythology Please help support the channel. Contribute here: https://buymeacoffee.com/forasfeasa