Irish Customs and Rituals

Author: Marion McGarry
Publisher: Orpen Press
ISBN: 178605096X
Category : Antiques & Collectibles
Languages : en
Pages : 165

Book Description
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.

IRISH CUSTOMS AND RITUALS

Author: MARION. MCGARRY
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781786050953
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

Book Description

The Irish Cottage

Author: Marion McGarry
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781786050120
Category : Cottages
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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

The Turning of the Year

Author: Eithne Massey
Publisher: The O'Brien Press Ltd
ISBN: 1788493109
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 250

Book Description
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.

The Year in Ireland

Author: Kevin Danaher
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781856350938
Category : Folklore
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
This volume describes how the round of the year, with its cycle of festivals and seasonal work, was observed in the Ireland of yesterday. We follow the rhythm of the year from New Year to Easter, May Day to Harvest and Christmas along the chain of highdays and feastdays, St Brighid's Day, The Borrowed Days, Midsummer, St Swithin's Day, Lunasa, The Pattern Day, Samhain, Martinmas and Christmas. fishing boat - belief and usage - feasting and merrymaking. Picturesque customs are revealed - some forgotten, some forbidden, some still familiar, such as 'the making of St Brighid's cross - marriage divinations - watching the dancing of the sun on a hilltop on Easter morning - going to the Skelligs - cock-throwing - bullbaiting - herring processions - the swimming of the horses on Lunasa - and many others. A multi-coloured tapestry. years experience of research into Irish folk tradition. Irish Country People, Folktales of the Irish Countryside and The Pleasant Land of Ireland

Welsh Courting Customs

Author: Catrin Stevens
Publisher: Gomer Press
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 204

Book Description
A volume examining the rich tapestry of customs and traditions found in a predominantly rural Wales before the First World War. Bla ck-and-white photographs and illustrations.

Ritual: A Very Short Introduction

Author: Barry Stephenson
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199943583
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 143

Book Description
Ritual is part of what it means to be human. Like sports, music, and drama, ritual defines and enriches culture, putting those who practice it in touch with sources of value and meaning larger than themselves. Ritual is unavoidable, yet it holds a place in modern life that is decidedly ambiguous. What is ritual? What does it do? Is it useful? What are the various kinds of ritual? Is ritual tradition bound and conservative or innovative and transformational? Alongside description of a number of specific rites, this Very Short Introduction explores ritual from both theoretical and historical perspectives. Barry Stephenson focuses on the places where ritual touches everyday life: in politics and power; moments of transformation in the life cycle; as performance and embodiment. He also discusses the boundaries of ritual, and how and why certain behaviors have been studied as ritual while others have not. Stephenson shows how ritual is an important vehicle for group and identity formation; how it generates and transmits beliefs and values; how it can be used to exploit and oppress; and how it has served as a touchstone for thinking about cultural origins and historical change. Encompassing the breadth and depth of modern ritual studies, Barry Stephenson's Very Short Introduction also develops a narrative of ritual's place in social and cultural life. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Old Ways, Old Secrets

Author: Jo Kerrigan
Publisher: The O'Brien Press
ISBN: 1847177549
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 273

Book Description
In a land like ours, the old beliefs bring pleasure and wisdom... Exploring the legends, special places and treasured practices of old, Jo Kerrigan reveals a rich world beneath Ireland's modern layers. So many of today's Irish traditions reach back to our ancient past, to the natural world: climbing to the summit of a mountain at harvest time; circling a revered site three, seven or nine times in a sun-wise direction; hanging offerings on a thorn tree; bringing the ailing and infirm to a sacred well. Old Ways, Old Secrets shows us how to uncover the wisdom of the past, as fresh as it is ancient. 'Inviting, lyrical text and beautiful, atmospheric photographs ... A fascinating read.' Evening Echo on West Cork: A Place Apart

Death Customs in Rural Ireland

Author: Anne Ridge
Publisher: Arlen House
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 164

Book Description
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.

The Invention of Tradition

Author: Eric Hobsbawm
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521437738
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 332

Book Description
This book explores examples of this process of invention and addresses the complex interaction of past and present in a fascinating study of ritual and symbolism.