Lora O'Brien – Irish Author & Guide
Your Authentic Connection to Ireland
The fire crackled and hissed, as life escaped from sticks and seeped from turf that had lain long idle in watery bogs. Each new noise made him jump a little, each spark that fell seemed fascinating to a mind that hungered to focus on something, attend to anything but the blank white page before him. There…
The Mórrígan She Stands Silent, hooded, darkened countenance shifting, muted, inescapably There. Her Face Unknowable, terrible, hidden She is Everything and Nothing. Two Spears Weapons of truth, Imperative Thrusting knowledge and awareness Slaying All that we must leave behind Forcing All that we must discover Darkness and Strength Power and Insight Fear and Finding She…
Sacred Trees in Early Ireland Early Irish law was based on decisions made by the Gaelic Brehons, learned men and women of old Irish society who took on the responsibilities of the Judge. It was an oral tradition, but the rulings were recorded by later Christian monks and priests, and so we have surviving Brehon…
For a decade, I guided at and professionally managed a major Irish spiritual/sacred site; a vast archaeological complex of sites actually, with a ceremonial history stretching back as long as there have been people on this island. I started as a part time tour guide there, many moons ago, and I’m still requested to guide…
Wikipedia says: “The River Saile (known also as Weile Weile Waile) is a children’s nursery rhyme from Ireland.” That’s true like, it is a song I heard as a kid, they taught it to us in primary school, so we would have sung it from about the age of 5 or 6 years old. I got all…
[from the archives, shared for personal history context…] Perhaps, since you already work in this realm, you could look at the three realms (land, sea and sky) from the Tain and the three worlds of the shaman? Either from scholarship or practice. Formal is by no means necessary, though some reference to sources is appreciated….
Phoney Mahoney. Fake Irish. Plastic Paddy. Not terms you’d want to be used about you if you’re serious about your Irish heritage. Well, more serious at least than a green leprechaun hat and getting pissed as a fart on Paddy’s Day. So, how do we avoid such labels? How do you know if you are…
It’s not that hard, really. Us Irish actually have the toughest time of it, with our outdated dinosaur curriculum forced-by-nuns-and-christian-brothers system of learning the Irish or Gaeilge, from the age of 4 or 5 until we leave school at 17 or 18. There’s many an Irish person who’s done over 13 years of schooling here,…
A Beginner’s Guide?Eh…. how far back should I go? Because what you’ve heard about ‘The Troubles’ is only the tip of the iceberg, really. The Normans, perhaps? Strongbow was a Norman lord from Wales who started the Norman conquest of Ireland, around 1170. Though some of them ‘went native’ and were absorbed into Gaelic (Irish) culture,…
Product details Paperback: 264 pages Publisher: Moon Books (December 8, 2017) Language: English ISBN-10: 1782796509 ISBN-13: 978-1782796503 Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.6 x 8.5 inches On the Cover: The subject of fairies in Celtic cultures is a complex one that seems to endlessly intrigue people. What exactly are fairies? What can they do? How can we interact with them? Answering…