Cill Aodáin (Killedan) is a town in Mayo, and it is also the homeplace of the Irish poet Antoine O Raifteirí (Anthony Raftery). Raftery was born in 1779 and died on Christmas Day, 1835…

When we begin a New Year, we often think about the changes we wish to make, resolutions we want to keep, promises we hope to make, and the symbolic page we wish to turn…

Many of the Irish writers of this small island wrote about what it means to connect to a sense of place, to connect to home, to connect to Ireland, to its native language, and this, too, has often been an expression of a yearning and sense of exile within…

Edna O'Brien was an Irish novelist, memoirist, playwright, poet and short-story writer. Her writing often spoke to women's experiences and described the inner world of women and their challenges in society…

We are on the threshold of a new season.  The natural world around us is still full and ripe, yet we feel a change is coming. The trees are getting ready to lose their leaves again, and vegetation will begin to change colour and die away...

The native language of any country is a vessel for translating the soul of that country and its people. If a country lost its native language, it would lose an entirely unique way of thinking and feeling about the world…

Courage is facing our fears, going into them, and being able to face what frightens us…

His name means ''Son of the Sea,'' he is considered the God of the sea and one of the Túatha De Danann…

Going through difficult times in our lives really brings home the importance and value of kindness…

The Grey wolf was an integral part of the Irish countryside and culture until 1786, when the last wild wolf in Ireland was said to have been killed…

The moon has a face we can see and an unseen side in the shadows.  This is a wonderful symbol for our own psyche…

Solstice, blessings to you all! This is a beautiful time of the year when we can celebrate the sun…

Before the famine, Ireland saw one of the worst storms ever recorded in Ireland. It was a storm that led to…

At this time of year, the Sun has its greatest moment of light, the longest day of the year, and lasts for a few days where the hours of daylight remain almost the same— as though the Sun has stopped in the sky at that place of most light…

Teallach is the Irish word for hearth. The hearth was always of central importance in Celtic society…

This proverb invites us to view change and transformation as a metaphorical dark night- an initiation...

This sean fhocal, or proverb, speaks to how all things have their own timing. It is a wise reminder not to wait for a crisis to happen to make the changes necessary in our lives…

The haystacks stood in the field for a month or so, and then it was time to bring them home from the fields to the shed or haggard- the traditional storage area for the crops…

Probably the most well-known Sean Fhocail, which is most often referenced, is “Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine”…

Water is life-giving. We meet it from the very beginning, in the womb. We emerge into the world when the waters break…

Bealtaine marks the beginning of summer in the ancient Celtic calendar. It is a Cross Quarter Day, halfway between the Spring Equinox and the Summer Solstice.  In ancient times, bonfires were lit to mark a time of change and transition, celebrating the season's turning…

Antoine O Raifteiri (Anthony Raftery) was an 18th-century blind Irish poet and fiddle player who came from the ancient bardic tradition. He lived and walked the roads of Mayo and, later, predominantly, South Galway, playing music and reciting poetry in the time before the famine…

As we emerge from the dark incubation of the wintering season, the world outside the window begins to come back to life. The buds are slowly coming onto the trees, the earth softens, and new life forms. Our souls are growing, too…

Ireland is world-renowned for its writers, poets, storytellers, artists and musicians. It is unclear when literacy first came to Ireland. The earliest Irish writings are inscriptions, mostly simple memorials, on stone in the Ogham alphabet, the earliest of which date to the 4th century…

Gráinne Ní Mháille (Grace O’Malley in English), or as she is known in Irish folklore, Granuaile, was born in Ireland around 1530. She was the daughter of Dubhdara O Máille, who commanded the biggest fleet of ships in Ireland at the time. They were from Clare Island, a stunning island in Clew Bay in Co. Mayo. When her father died…