Through folktales, literature, place names and language, ceremonies, rituals and monuments, Ireland: A Sacred Journey examines the interplay between myth and history through the ages and grounds it, literally, into a walking tour of Ireland.
With a visit to the annual pilgrimage site of St. Patrick's Purgatory in Ulster, Michael Dames begins to explore the relationship between Irish Catholicism and pre-Christian myths. Neolithic and Iron-Age mythology unfolds along a walk beside Lough Derg in Munster. Dublin's mythical past is retold in the literary achievements of Leinster's poets, writers, and playwrights, and in the landscape of the remote western province of Connacht, the themes of love, war, life, and death are merged.
Throughout this thought-provoking and beautiful book, a mythic narrative is woven, drawing together the four provinces of Ireland, and revealing the life of the gods in the landscape of this ancient nation.
