Irish Customs And Rituals

Do you know what a Brideóg is? What could you cure if you licked a lizard nine times? Why is Whit Sunday the unluckiest day of the year? From the author of The Irish Cottage comes a new book, exploring old Irish customs and beliefs. Chapters focus on the quarter-day festivities that marked the commencement of each season: ‘Spring: Imbolc’; ‘Summer: Bealtaine’; ‘Autumn: Lughnasa’ and ‘Winter: Samhain’, and also major life events – ‘Births, Marriages and Death Customs’ – and general beliefs in ‘Spirituality and Well-Being’ and ‘The Supernatural’. Focusing on the period from the mid-nineteenth to the mid-twentieth centuries, Irish Customs and Rituals discusses a time during which many of the practices and beliefs in question went into decline. Many of these customs were rooted in residual pre-Christian beliefs that ran parallel to, and in spite of, conventional religion practised in the country. Some customs were so deep-rooted that despite continued disapproval from the Roman Catholic Church they remain with us today. It is wonderful to see so many traditions still with us, as many are worthwhile remembering, commemorating, or even reviving today. Irish Customs and Rituals will appeal to all those with an interest in Irish history, folklore, culture and social history. Marion McGarry is the author of The Irish Cottage: History, Culture and Design (2017). She has a PhD in Architectural History and an MA in History of Art and Design and is currently a lecturer at Galway–Mayo Institute of Technology. She frequently writes articles about Irish social history and customs.

A historical and cultural study of the Irish cottage, fully illustrated in color, which explores the subject in a holistic context.

In this, the ultimate book on Ireland, 122 full-color photographs capture the spirit and beauty of the Emerald Isle, while 17 essays by the country's leading personalities offer lively insights into the character of its people and its rich cultural traditions.

Irish Wedding Traditions is filled with long-forgotten historical and contemporary Irish touchesfrom vows and rituals to symbolic flowers, food, spirits, and song. In addition there are chapters on registering for gifts, dressing for the occasion, and designing the perfect Irish wedding invitation, as well as suggestions for tying the knot or honeymooning on the Emerald Isle.

Ceremonial death is the focus of a major rite of passage, leading the individual from the world of the known to that of the unknown. This book describes funerary traditions and superstitions in the midlands, in particular in counties Roscommon, Longford, Westmeath and Offaly and also in adjoining areas of Galway, Leitrim, Mayo and Sligo. Folklore collected by James Delaney, a full time collector in the midlands, from the 1950s to the 1980s, is the primary source. Material from earlier folklore collectors has also been used. The book describes Death, Wake, and burial customs, in particular, in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Fear of death had a major influence on funerary rites and traditional customs were employed to overcome and control that fear. The role of the community in rites-of incorporation and in transitional rites of passage from the home to the grave is emphasized, while the centrality of the role of women in relation to death rituals is highlighted.

Attributing healing to supernatural powers originated long before the establishment of modern medicine in the seventeenth century. It was a universal phenomenon. American Indian chiefs, African witch doctors, medical men in Australia, Europe and Asia all held the respect of their communities. In Ireland, people simply were unaware of any other possible source of illness than a hostile spirit. There was a strong tradition of fairy lore and a deeply religious ethos among the people. So, if a person was living a reasonably sinless life and fell sick, the accepted culprits were demons or fairy folk. To deal with these, therefore, many folk cures involved secret incantations. While people were glad to accept these, they were even more pleased to leave any possible blame for invoking supernatural powers of healing to another. Psychologists might agree that the pace of Irish folk life in the past was in itself health-giving. It had time for neighbourliness, for helping out, for sympathetic chat with someone in trouble. The rituals in which healers engaged were often drawn out. They impressed the patient or his representative. Folk medical practitioners had 'cures', but above all they had

From the author of the hugely successful book Legendary Ireland, The Turning of the Year explores the Celtic division of the year, from Samhain to Imbolc, to Bealtaine, to Lunasa, back to Samhain. It examines the significance of particular times of the year and features re-tellings of various legends associated with them. The book will look at the close connection of the Irish with the land and with nature, bringing us on an exhilarating journey through the Irish seasons and the customs that welcomed each one in turn. Along the way we encounter saints, scholars, kings and goddesses, whose stories, preserved in myth and folktale, counterpoint the book's exploration both of lost traditions such as keening and how other customs and rituals have been preserved in today's celebrations and communal events. It brings to the reader a new awareness of how such ritual can still have relevance in our lives, and a deeper appreciation of the power of the natural world.