Ali Isaac's Blog: H A G , page 8

January: Welcome to H A G

The rugged landscape of the Burren on a wild winter day - built by the Cailleach?. © Ali Isaac

[T]he hag deity known as the Cailleach takes human form at Samhain to rule the winter months, bringing in winds and wild weather. Her very steps change the land… she carries a hammer for forming valleys. A touch of her staff is enough to freeze the ground. [T]he Cailleach is thought to be the mother of the gods, the great cold originator of all things.”1

Katherine May - Wintering

What is the Cailleach Pro...

December: Surrendering to Winter

Sliabh na Callaighe, ‘Hag’s Mountain’, also known as Loughcrew passage tombs, an ancient burial site said to be associated with the Cailleach © Ali Isaac

“Vera, the celebrated goddess, sorceress, or hag, of ancient days. The legend current in the neighbourhood, is to the effect that she came onetime from the North to perform a magical feat in the neighbourhood by which she was to obtain great power if she succeeded. She took an apron full of stones, and dropped a cairn on Carnbane; from this she ...

Surrendering to Winter

Sliabh na Callaighe, ‘Hag’s Mountain’, also known as Loughcrew passage tombs, an ancient burial site said to be associated with the Cailleach © Ali Isaac

“Vera, the celebrated goddess, sorceress, or hag, of ancient days. The legend current in the neighbourhood, is to the effect that she came onetime from the North to perform a magical feat in the neighbourhood by which she was to obtain great power if she succeeded. She took an apron full of stones, and dropped a cairn on Carnbane; from this she ...

November: Excursions into Darkness

A view of the sunset as I walk my local 5km © Ali Isaac.

“It was then that Badb and Macha and Mórrígan went to the Knoll of the Taking of the Hostages, and to the Hill of Summoning of Hosts at Tara, and sent forth magic showers of sorcery and compact clouds of mist and a furious rain of fire, with a downpour of red blood from the air on the warriors’ heads; and they allowed the Fir Bolg neither rest nor stay for three days and nights.”

Excerpt from The First Battle of Moytura as translated into En...

Excursions into Darkness

A view of the sunset as I walk my local 5km © Ali Isaac.

“It was then that Badb and Macha and Mórrígan went to the Knoll of the Taking of the Hostages, and to the Hill of Summoning of Hosts at Tara, and sent forth magic showers of sorcery and compact clouds of mist and a furious rain of fire, with a downpour of red blood from the air on the warriors’ heads; and they allowed the Fir Bolg neither rest nor stay for three days and nights.”

Excerpt from The First Battle of Moytura as translated into En...

The Ancient Ecclesiastical Site of Clonmacnoise

Clonmacnoise. Just look at all those high crosses! © Ali Isaac

Located at the junction of the River Shannon and one of the five ancient roads of Ireland, the An Slí Mhór, Clonmacnoise enjoyed a strategic position in Medieval Ireland which undoubtedly contributed to its success and longevity. Founded by St Ciaran in 548AD, the monastic site at Clonmacnoise continued until its destruction in 1552 at the hands of the English, who were garrisoned in nearby Athlone (Halpin and Newman 381). Clonmacnois...

Emain Macha: Stronghold of the Ulster Kings

The large mound at Emain Macha, known as Site B © Ali Isaac

The Hill of Tara gets all the glory and the visitors, but much as I love it, I think this is a bit of a shame. There is as much a wealth of heritage, in terms of archaeology, history, and mythology at our other provincial ritual sites as there is at Tara, and they are well worth exploring.

The early literature of Ireland has identified a number of ‘Royal Sites’: Tara, in Co. Meath as the seat of Ireland’s high kings; Dún Ailinne in Co. Ki...

Reading the Signs

The three famous burial mounds of the Boyne Valley, Newgrange, Knowth, and Dowth, form the heart of a complex, sacred landscape dating back to the early Neolithic period, c. 4000BC. In 1993, the Boyne Valley was formally designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site (Smyth et al 2009 vi), and continues to excite the national imagination by revealing new, previously unknown archaeological monuments; ‘Dronehenge’, a pit circle dating to c. 2900BC, was discovered during the dry summer of 2018, as was a t...

Controversy at Newgrange

The burial mound of Newgrange is a feat of ancient engineering accredited to the Neolithic farming community of the Brú na Bóinne. Designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993, Newgrange and its neighbouring sites, Knowth and Dowth, form the major part of the Boyne Valley complex, and attract well over 200,000 visitors annually. More than just a repository for the bones of the dead, the burial mounds are thought to represent for the peoples who built them, a ritual space, perhaps a liminal...

Walking the Ceremonial Path at the Hill of Tara

Looking down the length of The Tech Midchúarta, or Banqueting Hall at Tara © Ali Isaac."thrice fifty stately couches there were,and fifty men to each shining couch.Seven cubits, an honest reckoning,before the crowded warlike company,55] with blazing torches burning,that was the measure of the hearth.Other seven, I have heard,made in truth a brightness beyond denial,majestic, notable, noble,60] beautiful chandeliers of brass.This sunny shining citadel,festive, martial, with cask-staves...