Celtic Cultural Plundering: From Carnival Row To Dungeons & Dragons
Judging by the reaction of critics and long-time fantasy fans I suspect I wasn’t the only one to lose interestContinue Reading
Irish News, Politics, Culture
Judging by the reaction of critics and long-time fantasy fans I suspect I wasn’t the only one to lose interestContinue Reading
Despite their elevated status among devotees of fantasy literature I have yet to read any of the short stories andContinue Reading
Following on from a recent post on the supposed existence of warrior women among the Vikings, here are three lecturesContinue Reading
When you find yourself in agreement with Danny Healy-Rae, the maverick independent TD from Kerry, you know that your dayContinue Reading
When I was growing up my mother regaled me with many stories of her own childhood in West Cork, andContinue Reading
Following on from my post highlighting the formerly fractious debates in the cloistered world of prehistoric and Medieval Irish and Celtic studies,Continue Reading
I regularly scan the internet for new books or articles examining Medieval Irish literature, particularly those discussing the possible religious beliefs of the pre-ChristianContinue Reading
The Australian fiction author, Hannah Kent, whose debut historical novel, “Burial Rites“, was published to critical acclaim in 2013 is currently promotingContinue Reading
A guest post by Megas Begadonos of the website, Unchaining the Titan, reinterpreting for a modern audience the Medieval Irish figure of Crom Cruach,Continue Reading
Ireland’s indigenous literature has long regarded the ninth wave, reputedly the outermost one surrounding the shoreline of the country, as a supernatural boundary. When the invadingContinue Reading
The Leabhar Gabhála Éireann or “Book of the Taking of Ireland” is a Medieval collection of poems and prose narratives purporting toContinue Reading
Sunset on the last day of April, May Eve or Oíche Bealtaine, is the traditional start of the Irish and pan-Gaelic festival of BealtaineContinue Reading
I’m sure some of you may have seen the recent flurry of articles in the national and international press highlightingContinue Reading
Here’s an article from Vice magazine on the Ásatrúarfélagið movement in Iceland that I meant to highlight a few weeksContinue Reading
The sun has set, the bonfires are being lit, and the Feis Shamhna is upon us: the nocturnal festival of Samhain marking the commencement of the newContinue Reading
Militant atheist and secularist though I am I still respect religious beliefs as a vital component to the cultural heritageContinue Reading
One of the more mysterious mentions of the legendary hunter-warrior Fionn mac Cumhaill in the indigenous literatures of Ireland, ScotlandContinue Reading
Well the sunset in Baile Átha Cliath is less than half-an-hour away and with it comes Samhain or the greatContinue Reading
The J.R.R. Tolkien fansite, TheOneRing.net, carries some news on the release of An Hobad, the Irish language version of Tolkien’sContinue Reading