Well of Wisdom Temple Blog
The Book of Ballymote is an iconic and hugely important 14th century Irish manuscript. Since it was presented to the Academy in 1785 many scholars have worked to decipher, disseminate and debate its content and form. This online exhibition takes a look at some of the scholarly works undertaken on the Book of Ballymote. Read […]
by Kevin Danaher 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 […]
The Festival of Lughnasa: A Study of the Survival of the Celtic Festival of the Beginning of Harvest
by Maire MacNeill Garland Sunday and Domhnach Chrom Dubh are two of the many names of a festival celebrated by Irish country people at the end of July or the beginning of August. It marked the end of summer and the beginning of the harvest season, and on that day the first meal of the […]
by Eddie Lenihan & Carolyn Eve Green The Other Crowd’, ‘The Good People’, ‘The Wee Folk’ and ‘Them’ are a few of the names given to the fairies by people in Ireland. Honoured for their gifts and feared for their wrath, the fairies remind us to respect both the world we live in and forces […]
by Christine Zucchelli Trees mirror in many ways the life cycle of human beings: they are born from seed, they breathe and drink, they grow to maturity, reproduce and eventually die from age or disease. Their branches, roots and the veins of their leaves resemble human blood vessels, and certain species even ooze a reddish, […]
by Christine Zucchelli Sacred stones and stone monuments feature the world over and Ireland is no exception. Our landscape is dotted with them, from the Blarney Stone in Cork and Maedhbh’s Grave in Sligo to St Patrick’s Chair in Tyrone and the Royal Pillars of Tara in Meath. Since prehistoric times people have acknowledged their […]