Waxing gibbous moon
Learn about Irish Moon Lore
Our Irish ancestors from olden times were fascinated with the sky and its inhabitants, how they moved, what they meant and where their celestial lives intersected with our own. The Tuatha Dé Danann loved the sun foremost but others built places aligned to the movements of the moon and stars, many of which predate the solar structures. The ... [more]
Our Irish ancestors from olden times were fascinated with the sky and its inhabitants, how they moved, what they meant and where their celestial lives intersected with our own. The Tuatha Dé Danann loved the sun foremost but others built places aligned to the movements of the moon and stars, many of which predate the solar structures. The ... [more]
Important Dates on the Ancient Irish Calendar
An equinox refers to a date with an equal duration of day and night. On the other hand, a solstice refers to a date with either the longest day or the shortest.
February
Thursday, February 1st, 2024
Saint Brigid 451 AD
One of the three patron Saints of Ireland, along with Patrick and Colmcille, St Brigid of Kildare was a devout Catholic in the very first days of the faith in Ireland. Her feast day is the first of February, which previously had been the pagan festival of Imbolc, halfway between winter and spring. Brigid herself was the daughter of a baptised Ch ... [more]
Saint Brigid 451 AD
One of the three patron Saints of Ireland, along with Patrick and Colmcille, St Brigid of Kildare was a devout Catholic in the very first days of the faith in Ireland. Her feast day is the first of February, which previously had been the pagan festival of Imbolc, halfway between winter and spring. Brigid herself was the daughter of a baptised Ch ... [more]
March
Thursday, March 14th, 2024
Saint Patrick at the Hill of Tara 433 AD
On Easter Sunday morning, in anno domine 433 it was that Patrick came face to face with the beating heart of the old religion at Tara, and did battle with the Druids. Although some might dispute the miraculous nature of the events that took place on that day, few argue they didn't happen, so take from that what you will! Laeghaire the king a ... [more]
Saint Patrick at the Hill of Tara 433 AD
On Easter Sunday morning, in anno domine 433 it was that Patrick came face to face with the beating heart of the old religion at Tara, and did battle with the Druids. Although some might dispute the miraculous nature of the events that took place on that day, few argue they didn't happen, so take from that what you will! Laeghaire the king a ... [more]
Thursday, March 21st, 2024
Spring equinox 3000 BC
The Spring equinox was a very important time for the people of ancient Ireland, heralding as it did the end of the dark season with all of its dangers and want, and signalling the dawn of a new year of plenty. The day and night, the light and the dark side of the year were in equal balance, neither stronger than the other, and it is easy to ... [more]
Spring equinox 3000 BC
The Spring equinox was a very important time for the people of ancient Ireland, heralding as it did the end of the dark season with all of its dangers and want, and signalling the dawn of a new year of plenty. The day and night, the light and the dark side of the year were in equal balance, neither stronger than the other, and it is easy to ... [more]
May
Wednesday, May 1st, 2024
Bealtaine the Month of May 800 BC
May is a magical month in more ways than one! The beginning of May marked one of the cross quarters of the year, when the world grew thin in certain places, as the old folks used to say, and the Sidhe and other spirits could travel over and back between our world and theirs. The exact date wanders from year to year mind you, sometimes earlier, some ... [more]
Bealtaine the Month of May 800 BC
May is a magical month in more ways than one! The beginning of May marked one of the cross quarters of the year, when the world grew thin in certain places, as the old folks used to say, and the Sidhe and other spirits could travel over and back between our world and theirs. The exact date wanders from year to year mind you, sometimes earlier, some ... [more]
June
Sunday, June 9th, 2024
St Colmcille of Iona 521 AD
St Colmcille is one of the three patron saints of Ireland, and his life is the subject of story and legend. It was by his efforts that Christianity spread not only through Ireland but also Scotland, England and parts of Europe too! He was a tall and powerfully built man with a rich and melodious voice which, it was said, could be heard from one hil ... [more]
St Colmcille of Iona 521 AD
St Colmcille is one of the three patron saints of Ireland, and his life is the subject of story and legend. It was by his efforts that Christianity spread not only through Ireland but also Scotland, England and parts of Europe too! He was a tall and powerfully built man with a rich and melodious voice which, it was said, could be heard from one hil ... [more]
Sunday, June 23rd, 2024
Midsummer Bonfire Night the Summer Solstice 1905 BC
Although it is less celebrated these days, the midsummer festival used to be an important occasion in Ireland, going back many centuries, far into ancient times. Even as lately as fifty years ago half the streets in Ireland would have their own bonfire, or more properly bone fire, since the Irish word for “bonfire” is tine cnaimh. The b ... [more]
Midsummer Bonfire Night the Summer Solstice 1905 BC
Although it is less celebrated these days, the midsummer festival used to be an important occasion in Ireland, going back many centuries, far into ancient times. Even as lately as fifty years ago half the streets in Ireland would have their own bonfire, or more properly bone fire, since the Irish word for “bonfire” is tine cnaimh. The b ... [more]
July
Monday, July 15th, 2024
The Tailteann Games 1829 BC
A thousand years before the Olympic games were founded, the Tuatha De Dannan had arrived in Ireland and defeated the Fir Bolg, establishing their place on the Emerald Isle. The mighty queen Tailtiu had married Eochaid mac Eirc of the Fir Bolg, but he was killed during the invasion of Ireland by the Tuatha, so the leader of the invaders took her for ... [more]
The Tailteann Games 1829 BC
A thousand years before the Olympic games were founded, the Tuatha De Dannan had arrived in Ireland and defeated the Fir Bolg, establishing their place on the Emerald Isle. The mighty queen Tailtiu had married Eochaid mac Eirc of the Fir Bolg, but he was killed during the invasion of Ireland by the Tuatha, so the leader of the invaders took her for ... [more]
Tuesday, July 23rd, 2024
Bilberry Sunday 1815 AD
The month of July was known for the past several centuries in Ireland as the hungry month, since that was when the food from last year's harvest began to run out or had spoiled. The ability of the typical Irish household to store food and save money to buy more was at its lowest by the middle of the nineteenth century, even before the great hun ... [more]
Bilberry Sunday 1815 AD
The month of July was known for the past several centuries in Ireland as the hungry month, since that was when the food from last year's harvest began to run out or had spoiled. The ability of the typical Irish household to store food and save money to buy more was at its lowest by the middle of the nineteenth century, even before the great hun ... [more]
Saturday, July 27th, 2024
Croagh Patrick 1300 BC
Croagh Patrick or Patrick's Stack is an important place of pilgrimage for Christians throughout Ireland and the world today, some even walking the ascent in their bare feet as penance for their sins. However it was considered a holy place long before St Patrick came to visit, even though it is said he banished the snakes from Ireland while stan ... [more]
Croagh Patrick 1300 BC
Croagh Patrick or Patrick's Stack is an important place of pilgrimage for Christians throughout Ireland and the world today, some even walking the ascent in their bare feet as penance for their sins. However it was considered a holy place long before St Patrick came to visit, even though it is said he banished the snakes from Ireland while stan ... [more]
August
Thursday, August 1st, 2024
Lughnasa 1890 BC
Lughnasa means “the gathering of Lugh” the many-gifted, who was once a leader of the Tuatha Dé Danann. In times we know only from myth and legend, this festival was celebrated for the two weeks leading up to the cross-quarter date, which might have been anywhere from the first to the fourteenth of August, and for two weeks afterw ... [more]
Lughnasa 1890 BC
Lughnasa means “the gathering of Lugh” the many-gifted, who was once a leader of the Tuatha Dé Danann. In times we know only from myth and legend, this festival was celebrated for the two weeks leading up to the cross-quarter date, which might have been anywhere from the first to the fourteenth of August, and for two weeks afterw ... [more]
September
Monday, September 23rd, 2024
Autumn equinox 3000 BC
The Autumn equinox was considered to be a day of great importance by the ancient Irish, especially for the first farmers who arrived and built the great megalithic civilisation. Numerous ancient monuments are aligned to both the spring and Autumn equinoxes, such as those at Loughcrew, and we can easily imagine ancient druids or magicians enacti ... [more]
Autumn equinox 3000 BC
The Autumn equinox was considered to be a day of great importance by the ancient Irish, especially for the first farmers who arrived and built the great megalithic civilisation. Numerous ancient monuments are aligned to both the spring and Autumn equinoxes, such as those at Loughcrew, and we can easily imagine ancient druids or magicians enacti ... [more]
October
Thursday, October 31st, 2024
Samhain 4500 BC
The ancient Irish festival of Samhain, or as we know it today, Hallowe'en, is rooted deep in the very bedrock of Ireland, among the customs of those who first arrived here when the great ice withdrew. On this advent of the darkest time of the year they imagined their worst fears coming true, the dead walking and evil spirits hovering outside th ... [more]
Samhain 4500 BC
The ancient Irish festival of Samhain, or as we know it today, Hallowe'en, is rooted deep in the very bedrock of Ireland, among the customs of those who first arrived here when the great ice withdrew. On this advent of the darkest time of the year they imagined their worst fears coming true, the dead walking and evil spirits hovering outside th ... [more]
Thursday, October 31st, 2024
The Parshell 540 AD
There is a kind of cross, not unlike the much more famous St Brigid's cross, which can only be made on Hallowe'en or Samhain as it used to be known. It could be hung inside the front door, in the thatch or elsewhere within the house, and it was reputed to offer protection from bad luck, sickness, curses and the fairy folk who might be up to ... [more]
The Parshell 540 AD
There is a kind of cross, not unlike the much more famous St Brigid's cross, which can only be made on Hallowe'en or Samhain as it used to be known. It could be hung inside the front door, in the thatch or elsewhere within the house, and it was reputed to offer protection from bad luck, sickness, curses and the fairy folk who might be up to ... [more]
November
Sunday, November 10th, 2024
The Last Blood Sacrifices 550 AD
On Martinmas eve, that is to say the 10th of November, it used to be the custom in many parts of Ireland to sacrifice an animal to Saint Martin of Tours! This tradition has only recently ceased, having been carried on well into living memory, as lately as the 1940s in some places. In poorer homes a goose, gander, duck or chicken was killed, whil ... [more]
The Last Blood Sacrifices 550 AD
On Martinmas eve, that is to say the 10th of November, it used to be the custom in many parts of Ireland to sacrifice an animal to Saint Martin of Tours! This tradition has only recently ceased, having been carried on well into living memory, as lately as the 1940s in some places. In poorer homes a goose, gander, duck or chicken was killed, whil ... [more]
Monday, November 11th, 2024
The Blackthorn Tree 200 AD
The sinister crone of the woods, the wishing thorn, there are as many tales told of the blackthorn trees of Ireland as there are spiky thorns on its branches. The people who came before, whose blood still runs in some, planted them around their tombs and sacred places and bound the lunantisidhe, or moon fairies to protect them, save only on the ful ... [more]
The Blackthorn Tree 200 AD
The sinister crone of the woods, the wishing thorn, there are as many tales told of the blackthorn trees of Ireland as there are spiky thorns on its branches. The people who came before, whose blood still runs in some, planted them around their tombs and sacred places and bound the lunantisidhe, or moon fairies to protect them, save only on the ful ... [more]
December
Sunday, December 22nd, 2024
Winter solstice 4000 BC
The winter solstice is the shortest day of the year, and the people of old Ireland called it Grianstad, or the day of the stopped sun. The solstice festival and celebrations date back at least six thousand years, but may go even further back - we can guess their age for them because many of the megaliths constructed by the Neolithic Irish are a ... [more]
Winter solstice 4000 BC
The winter solstice is the shortest day of the year, and the people of old Ireland called it Grianstad, or the day of the stopped sun. The solstice festival and celebrations date back at least six thousand years, but may go even further back - we can guess their age for them because many of the megaliths constructed by the Neolithic Irish are a ... [more]
Thursday, December 26th, 2024
The King of All Birds 500 BC
From the earliest times in Ireland the tiny native wren has been regarded with respect as the wisest bird of all, who outsmarted the eagle to become the king of the birds of Ireland. Indeed some believe that its name in Irish, dreoilín, means trickster. The craftiness of this little bird was how it got its crown, for the king of all the b ... [more]
The King of All Birds 500 BC
From the earliest times in Ireland the tiny native wren has been regarded with respect as the wisest bird of all, who outsmarted the eagle to become the king of the birds of Ireland. Indeed some believe that its name in Irish, dreoilín, means trickster. The craftiness of this little bird was how it got its crown, for the king of all the b ... [more]
