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 year's new food crop was eaten. The chief custom was the resorting of the rural communities to certain heights or water-sides to spend the day in festivity, sports and bilberry-picking. The custom existed also in the Isle of Man, Cornwall, Wales and in the north of England. Formerly it must have been general in all Celtic lands for there is no doubt that it is a survival of Lughnasa (Lugnasad), the Celtic festival held on the first of August. In the description of the celebration much emerges of the old life of the countryside, and so the study is, in part, a contribution to social history. Moreover, as the people preserved legends of the origin of the festival and of the assembly-sites, it has been possible to show a correspondence with ancient mythology, as expressed in Irish literature and in the cult-figures of Roman Gaul. The dominant myth of the festival is brought to light. A panorama, both extensive and detailed, is unfolded in the study, which reveals, inter alia, the nature of Crom Dubh, shows that legends of Cu Chulainn, Saint Patrick, and Cornwall's Jack the Tinkard originate in tales of Lugh, suggests why Jephthah's daughter was connected with the festival in the Isle of Man, glances at the medieval cult of Saint James, and interprets anew the battle of Moytura and the Etain saga. It shows a relationship between the old assembly of Tailtiu an the Croagh Patrick pilgrimage. It discusses Puck Fair. It ranges from Lugudunum in first-century Gaul to Dun Lughaidh at the foot of Errigal. Figures from Irish mythology, hagiography and history throng its pages.

The Shamrock and Peach is a unique book in many ways. It is a cookbook that explores the best of Ulster-Scots cuisine but is also the tale of an immigrant's journey, following in the footsteps of those Scots-Irish settlers who forged the trails of Appalachia years ago. It is a story of the many cultural overlaps that exist between the North of Ireland and the Deep South, celebrating those cultural expressions through the language of really good food. The first half of the book is set in the green fields of Ireland from where we cross the ocean to the American South to discover some wonderful food experiences that have their roots in the Emerald Isle. Filled with beautiful photographs of both regions, this cookbook will be a fun and interesting resource to browse through and use in your kitchen for years to come.

Lammas (or Lughnasa) is now one of the most obscure of the eight festivals of the witches' Wheel of the Year. This book features practical advice on how to celebrate the festival, themes to explore, recipes, incense, spells, traditional types of divination, and information about several full rituals.

THE STORY: This extraordinary play is the story of five unmarried sisters eking out their lives in a small village in Ireland in l936. We meet them at the time of the festival of Lughnasa, which celebrates the pagan god of the harvest with drunken

Midsummer--or the summer solstice--occurs when the sun is at the height of its power, the faeries are most active, and the future can be uncovered with ease. Shakespeare even captured the mischief of the occasion in his play, "A Midsummer Night's Dream." This book explores Midsummer customs and bears witness to their power today.

Offers the script of the film version of Brian Friel's play about five sisters living in Ireland in the 1930s

An engaging and rich exploration of Saint Patrick and his extraordinary influence on the world. Forced into slavery at the age of fifteen, Patrick overcame all hardship to fulfil his calling: to bring the people of Ireland into the light of God's word. He carried out his mission of conversion and care at a crucial time of change, as Christianity spread across Romanised Europe and harnessed existing social structures and belief systems in Pagan Ireland. Patrick met high kings and mythical heroes, Celtic gods and goddesses, lowly farmers and loyal servants, and he left lasting marks upon the Irish landscape and way of life. He was humble, courageous and resourceful, and was the first of Ireland's saints to write down his experiences. Thus began the cult of Saint Patrick, galvanised over 1500 years of devotion and scholarship, and culminating recently in the cheerful 'greening' of the world's most famous landmarks. Drawing from recorded histories, 'tall tales' from all four provinces and beautiful illustrations, this is a light-hearted look at the global phenomenon of Saint Patrick, his life and his legacy, the facts and the fiction of his incredible journey from slave to international saint.

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.