An

cien

t Ir

elan

d•The pre-history of

Ireland is shrouded in

the distant past.

•Neolithic people of

Ireland built megaliths,

standing stones, and

burial chambers that

historians and

archeologists think had

religious significance.

•By the Iron Age Ireland

was peopled by

numerous Celtic

speaking tribes.

Lon

g C

airn

of

Cre

evyk

eel

Ph

oto

Fro

m Ir

ish

Tou

rism

Boa

rd

Pre

-Ch

rist

ian

Irel

and

•The religious ethos of Iron & Bronze Age Ireland can be

discerned in archeology, landscape & art.

•The religious structure of pre-Christian (Pagan) Ireland was

centered upon animism & sacred sites & nature.

•Triads & trinity were revered: Earth-Sea-Air, Underworld-

Man’s Realm-Otherworld, M

aiden-Mother-Crone, etc

•The ancient Irish & Gaels manifested their gods in sacred places

& were represented by standing stones and art.

•Sites such as Tara Hill became centers of both worship and

kingship, which to the ancient Celts were intertwined.

•There were many ancient Celtic deities, (polytheism) each tribe having their own,

but m

ost derived from a basic theology.

•Brigid, Lugh, Cernummous

•The Lebor GabaláErenn or “Book of Invasions”states that ancient Ireland underwent

5 invasions of mythical or semi-mythical beings and people.

•The last of these two divine races fought an epic battle: the eldest race, Fir-bolgor

little ones, represented wild nature, chaos, and magic, and battled the Tuatha Dé

Danannthe forefathers of ‘humans’that represented order, kingship, and

technology, and war.

•The Tuatha DéDananndefeated the Fir-bolg and drove underground to live in caves

and dark forests and bogs. It was a costly battle as the Tuatha DéDanannlost their

divinity and became mortal. Pre-Christian Irish felt they were the descendents of

the Tuatha. The Fir-bolg lived on as fairies, the ‘Fay-folk,’‘sidhe’and other

mythical incarnations that haunted humanity.

•T

he

pag

an I

rish

ob

serv

ed a

fo

urf

old

yea

r, w

ith s

ac

red

da

ys a

t ea

ch o

f th

e ‘p

oin

ts o

f th

e co

mp

ass.

’

•Sa

mha

in (

sow

-ihn

)Fa

ll h

arve

st,

tran

sitio

n,

and

“n

igh

t of

fires

.” A

tim

e w

her

e th

e v

eil

bet

wee

n t

he

real

m o

f th

e liv

ing

an

d th

e d

ead

blu

rre

d. T

he

‘fair

y-fo

lk’ o

r fir

-bol

g &

sid

ge(s

hee

) ro

am

ed th

e E

arth

. Ce

ltic

New

Yea

r

•Im

bolc

(im

-bol

c)In

th

e o

ld C

elti

c ca

len

dar

wh

at w

e c

all F

ebru

ary

wa

s th

e 1st

mo

nth

of

Sp

ring

. Da

ys g

row

lon

ger

. In

ou

r n

ew c

ale

nd

ar th

is

is th

e S

pri

ng

Eq

uin

ox.

•B

elta

ine

(bye

l-ti

n-yu

h)“F

ire D

ay”

Su

mm

er

cele

bra

tion

so

me

sch

ola

rs t

hin

k v

ener

ated

a

fire

or

sun

dei

ty.

•L

ughn

asad

h(l

oo-n

uh-s

uh)C

ele

bra

tion

of

the

bo

un

ty o

f su

mm

er,

tra

nsi

tion

to

earl

y fa

ll.

Lug

h “

man

y sk

ille

d”

go

d. M

ay

ho

ldo

ver

into

mo

der

n t

ime

s. W

ha

t do

we

cele

bra

te a

t th

is t

ime

tod

ay?

Sam

hain

Nov

embe

r 1

Imbo

lc F

ebru

ary

1

Lugh

nasa

dh A

ugus

t 1

Bel

tain

e M

ay 1

Sam

hain

Nov

embe

r 1

Imbo

lc F

ebru

ary

1

Lugh

nasa

dh A

ugus

t 1

Bel

tain

e M

ay 1

Win

ter

Sol

stic

eS

umm

er

Sol

stic

e

•As can be seen in Celtic knot work, the circle or spiral held

great reverence amongst the ancient pre-Christian Gaelic

speaking Irish and Scots.

Stan

ding

Sto

nes

at C

lann

ish

Ph

oto

fro

m:

Gae

ltach

t &

Hig

hla

nd

Isl

es T

ou

rism

Bo

ard

Tar

a H

ill

Tar

a H

ill•Tara Hillin County Meath has been a revered site for millennia. It was aburial site for

centuries, was the center of pre-Christian Irish worship, and was the seat of Irish ‘High

Kings’or Ardh Ri

•To be Ardh Riof the five Irish kingdoms a chief needed the blessing of the Earth,

manifested at Tara. This again demonstrates the trinity aspects of pre-Christian Ireland:

Chief (male)-Earth/fertility (female)-Threshold (between the real and the divine).

•Many religious and secular scholars believe this is why after St. Patrick, and St. Columba

began their missions to the Gaelic kingdoms of Ireland and western Scotland conversion

was achieved more easily than in other pagan areas: The belief systems were similar

enough for transculturation to occur.

Chief

Father

Earth/Fertility

Son (Christ & Mary)

Threshold: real & divine

Holy Ghost

St.

Pat

rick

•Christianity came to

Ireland in the 5th century

A.D.

•Religion in Ireland was

still concerned with the

forces of nature

•Druids were the priests

or soothsayers of this

Celtic world

•What we know about

Druids is limited-mainly

Roman then Christian

sources.

St.

Pat

rick

•Patrick was a Romano-Britain,

son of a Roman civil servant.

•Abducted by Irish pirates and

enslaved.

•Returned to Ireland in the 5th

century to convert the island to

Christianity.

•He and St. Columba are the

patron saints of Ireland.