The Stone Circles and Druids of Ireland

Ancient stone circle

Have you heard of the Druids of Ireland? Long before Christianity reached Ireland’s shores, there was a complex culture of beliefs involving the practices of law, medicine, and the oral tradition. In this letter we discuss the Druids, the ancient intellectual class of ancient Ireland.

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The Wine Geese of France

Wine Geese Blog 1 - The Wine Geese of France

A very important occasion has just occurred here in Ireland  – the first of the early potatoes have just been harvested. They have a taste like no other – and, as you probably realise, it is a vegetable that has special significance in Irish history. I wrote in an earlier letter about the link between…

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An Irish Mentor

Fitzpatrick slider jpg - An Irish Mentor

Céad Míle Fáilte – and you are very welcome to this week’s Letter from Ireland. It’s a bring day here in County Cork – and shaping up to be a very nice day for the sea and maybe a few photographs. I hope you are doing well wherever you are in the world today –…

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Saints, Scholars and Irish Family Surnames

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A few weeks back, I mentioned Thomas Cahill’s book “How the Irish Saved Civilisation” – and I know a lot of our readers have already come across it. It tells the story of how Irish monks set about preserving Greek, Roman and early Christian knowledge through their manuscripts and teaching. It’s a wonderful little book…

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