The Sacred Isle: Belief and Religion in Pre-Christian Ireland

by Daithi O HOgain

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The myths and legends of prehistoric Ireland have inspired writers through the ages, down to W.B. Yeats and Seamus Heaney in our own century, but what do we know of the realities of ancient Irish belief? Daithi O hOgain's book approaches the question by studying archaeological remains such as tumuli, stone henges and circular enclosures and analysing the rich materials that have been handed down both in the great cycles of Irish heroic tales and the humblebut significant survivals of modern folklore, for instance the traditions associated with wells and springs. Drawing evidence from these varied sources, he arrives at a balanced picture of a society and its beliefs which have alltoo often been the subject of conjecture and fancy.
CONTENTS Pre-Celtic Cultures . Basic Tenets in the Iron Age . The Druids and their Practices . The Teachings of the Druids . The Society of the Gods . The Rites of Sovereignty . The Triumph of Christianity.

DAITHI O HOGAIN was Professor of Folklore at University College Dublin.
  • ISBN10 0851157475
  • ISBN13 9780851157474
  • Publish Date 29 April 1999
  • Publish Status Active
  • Publish Country GB
  • Publisher Boydell & Brewer Ltd
  • Imprint The Boydell Press
  • Format Hardcover
  • Pages 268
  • Language English