Filed under Ancient Irish Spirituality …

Community Gatherings in Ireland: part two

Community Gatherings in Ireland: part two

The very earliest communal gathering and feasting for which we have solid evidence are known as fulachta fia. These were the locations where an animal, probably a deer or boar, was cooked following a hunt. The sharing of food is a social act that creates and maintains bonds and obligations within a group or community, which seems to have been the entire function of these feasts. Continue reading →

St Manchan’s Shrine

St Manchan’s Shrine

Though the shrine was built in the early twelfth century, Saint Manchan died in AD. 644. Contextual evidence allows the authors to point to possible reasons the saint’s life and work might be commemorated years later by such craftsmanship. Continue reading →

Community Gatherings in Ireland Old and New part one                  

Community Gatherings in Ireland Old and New part one                  

. To this day, we have a saying in Irish ‘Bhí togha gacha bí agus rogha gacha dí le fail ann’, The finest of every food and the choice(st) of every drink was to be had there. This is believed to originally date from bards of one to two thousand years ago. As a chieftain or king, one’s reputation had to be maintained, or enhanced and these ‘songs of praise’, so to speak, were pivotal in this regard. Continue reading →

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The Hermit Priest

The Hermit Priest

A book about an Irish hermit and priest who spent 47 years in the West Australian desert and opened cross-cultural religious dialogue with indigenous Australians. Continue reading →