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Singing the Soul Home: Keening, Wake, and the Old Irish Lament
In the hush between life and death, the Irish keening tradition once rang out with an untamed cry. A sound that split the air, carrying...


At the Waters of the Equinox
At the edge of the valley, the mountain rises in stone and shadow. At its foot the lake lies still, receiving the whole mountain into...


To Rise Like a Tide – On Resisting Hopelessness in a Time of Unmaking
It would be tempting, these days, to curl into the dark – to say the work is too great, the damage too deep, the hunger too vast. That we...


The Body of a River, The Body of a Human
The magical Esknamucky Waterfall. Photograph by Nigel Wheal A river is never still, even in its seeming quiet. Beneath its skin lies a...


The Arc of Fire, and 'Emotional Kintsugi'
In Ireland, we say that story is medicine. Our indigenous oral traditions do not treat story as unburdening, but as offering – something...


Beauty and the Shapeshifter
What does it mean to live in a world where beauty is everywhere and yet nowhere? Where our eyes are flooded with polished images, but our...


Reclaiming Enchantment After Exhaustion
There are times when the marrow of life feels spent. We arrive at the edge of our own strength and find only hollowness echoing back....


Customs and Folklore of the Autumn Equinox
This year, the Autumn Equinox takes place on the 22nd of September here in Western Europe. This is the moment in the year when the hours...


Blúiríní Béaloidis 15 - The Salmon In Folk Tradition
Irish communities have been sustained for centuries by the fruits of our seas, rivers and lakes, from which both physical and economic...


Blúiríní Bealoidis 26 - Seals In Folk Tradition
Seals have been an integral part of coastal life in Ireland for generations, and as such there exists a large body of tradition, belief...


Seasonal Tutorial: How to make Bath 'Bombs'
A fun Autumn project is to make your own bath bombs. It is the season of water after all, so how about some hand crafted herbal beauties...


The Hazel Tree in Irish Magic, Witchcraft and Folklore
The hazel tree was held in high and mystical regard by the ancient Irish people. In Irish mythology the hazel tree was said to bestow...


Ancient and Holy Wells of Ireland
The bullán (english: bullaun) you see above is situated in wild commonage on the Trafask townland on the Beara Peninsula. It comes with a...
