The Magic of Pagan Ireland

by Robert Vance

[wyvernfriend]

Quite a short little book this one. It weighs in at 60 pages with fairly large print and lots of illustrations. It details a lot of the remaining significant pagan sites in Ireland, particularly the accessable ones and with a good variety of samples.

However, what's more interesting is the attitude to the sites and pagan ancestry. While Rob comes across as very pro-pagan, it is quite close to the usual attitude you'll find in a lot of Irish people. Maybe not quite so overt but in a country where a road can be diverted for a fairy tree, this is something to expect.

While good, he does talk about burning people in straw effigies, a claim only stated by Caesar in his Gallic Wars and with no other real substance, and with no real archaeological evidence! Still an interesting quick look at attitudes and I would advise writers trying to write about the paranormal in Ireland to read this author to get a flavour of what is not regarded as totally strange in Ireland.