was a beautiful day in downtown Chicago, and the pride of the Irish was on display. Hundreds of thousands of proud Irishmen crammed the sidewalks across several blocks of Columbus Ave., south of Grant Park, to see Chicago's famous St. Patrick's Day Parade, one of the largest in the world. Marching bands, local radio stations, the Ancient Order of the Hibernians and numerous other Irish associations took their place in this low-key but enjoyable event. And yes, there was a giant, inflatable leprechaun. (Learn More...)

esearch carried out in September 2005 for the Heritage Council by Lansdowne Market Research shows continuing dramatic increases in the importance people place on protecting heritage in Ireland. The study was carried out with a nationally representative sample of adults and benchmarked against Heritage Council/Lansdowne studies carried out in 2004 and 1999. The study found 76% of the population agree that more should be done in Ireland to protect our urban and rural heritage while just 2% of the population thought that enough was already being done to protect our heritage. (Learn More...)

t. Patrick (AD 390-461) is the National Apostle and Saint of Ireland, and probably the most famous and celebrated person in Irish history. There are varying stories on his origins, but most believe that he was born a Romanized Briton either in Cumbria (Wales) or Scotland. The tradition has it that he was captured in a raid by the famous King Niall Noígallach (Niall of the Nine Hostages), and was sold by the Irish raiders as a slave to a man named Milchu, a chieftain of Dalriada, in what is now County Antrim. There he was put to work as a shepherd for Milchu, who was also the local high druid. During his captivity, Patrick learned a great deal about the Irish language and customs, also learning a great deal about the Druidism that he was destined to banish from the sacred isle. After six years in captivity Patrick was visited by an angel, and to his surprise, the angel admonished Patrick for tarrying too long in Ireland, telling him to escape back to his family. This he did successfully, reuniting with his family and friends in Britain."

Before his death, St. Patrick wrote a document called the Confessio, or "The Confession of St. Patrick". Part confession of faith and part autobiography, the Confessio is our best and most reliable source about St. Patrick's life and accomplishments, some of which are reviewed above in a quote from our book, Mysterious World: Ireland. And though we provide a complete summary of the life of St. Patrick in Mysterious World: Ireland, we have decided to publish the complete text of his Confessio for your enjoyment. (Learn More...)

t. Brendan was a prominent Irish saint, born into the Eóganacht clan of Loch Lein, in Ciarraighe Luachra, near the present-day city of Tralee in County Kerry, Munster province, around AD 484. St. Brendan is best known for his famous voyage to find the Promised Land of the West, which many believe to have been America, nearly 1,000 years before Columbus. Navigatio Sancti Brendani Abbatis, or “The Voyage of St. Brendan” was the very famous tale of St. Brendan’s journey to visit the “Promised Land of the West” that he had heard was the land that God had promised to the saints to be their eternal inheritance, forever. In this classic tale of white martyrdom, some versions say, one day St. Brendan climbed nearby Slieve Dagda (later named Brandon Mountain after him), and fasted for forty days and forty nights, seeking God’s will. It is said that an angel then came to him in a dream and promised to guide him to the Promised Land. (Learn More...)

he Táin Bó Cúailnge, “The Cattle Raid of Cooley”, is generally considered to be the greatest epic of not only the Ulster Cycle, but of all Irish history. The Táin is essentially the story of a contest of wills between King Ailill and Queen Maeve of Connaught, and the consequences that can occur when there is competition between the king and the queen over who is truly the ruler. The story begins with a simple argument between Ailill and Maeve over who was the richest. While engaging in this “pillow talk”, they began to compare each other’s properties horse for horse, cow for cow, and goat for goat, until they realized that they were exactly equal in wealth, with one important exception. There was one exceptionally large and strong bull named Finnbennach (“the Whitehorned”), of which there was no match in all the herds of Connaught. Finnbennach had originally belonged to Maeve, but the proud bull had decided that he did not want the dishonor of being part of a woman’s herd, so he went over to dwell in Ailill’s herd instead. So great was this loss to Maeve that it was as if she had nothing at all, and she purposed to find a bull that was better than Finnbennach so her wealth would be greater than that of Ailill’s. (Learn More...)

nce upon a time, settling in after a hard day's work, they gathered around the turf-fire, passing the time chatting about the day’s events while keeping their fingers busy weaving, whittling, spinning and sewing. The young boys would climb up wherever they could get a good view, while the young girls crouched between the knees of their fathers and brothers, all waiting anxiously for the seanachie, the local lay storyteller, to begin to tell his tales. The seanachie would take his time, however, easing back into his chair and reddening his pipe with an ember from the fire, waiting for the muse of inspiration to stir his soul into motion. Then, all at once the storyteller, usually a man ancient of days and saintly in habit, began to speak, weaving a tale that those in attendance may never have heard, though they might have heard him tell his tales for many years — such was the size of his repertoire. Perhaps it was a pithy, local anecdote from the recent past, an adventure tale of Finn McCool and the Fianna, or maybe, in more recent centuries, a story about St. Patrick. Whatever the tale, however, the storyteller always had his audience’s complete attention from the first word to the last.

Make sure to return every quarter, at which time our virtual seanachie will present you with another trinity of stories from his nearly limitless treasury of folklore. These tales will always include one story from each of the three basic types of folklore: Mythological Tales, Fairy Tales, and Folktales:

ello, my name is Ian Middleton. Here’s me standing outside of my favorite place to stay when in Ireland: Kirwan House in Wexford, County Wexford. I am a travel writer based in southern England, but I have traveled the world, writing travel books and articles about my many adventures. However, my favorite place to visit, and write about, is Ireland — my home away from home. One fateful day two years ago whilst surfing the Internet looking for travel sites and related things of interest, I stumbled across this amazing website called Mysterious World (http://www.mysteriousworld.com). Ostensibly a travel site, it actually includes a great deal more historical and mythological information than I am used to seeing in a travel site. I found the site fascinating and, as a travel writer always on the lookout for someone to write for, I contacted the publisher straightaway with an idea I had about writing a series of articles on traveling in Ireland. Doug Elwell, the publisher, got back to me fairly quickly, reacting to my initial email enquiry with some interest. However, instead of just a series of articles on Ireland, he suggested that we make an entire book out of it, and call it Mysterious World: Ireland, the first in a series of travel guides. “That’s a great idea!” I replied, and a book was born. (Read More...)

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