Lora O'Brien – Irish Author & Guide
Your Authentic Connection to Ireland
Clochar na Trócaire, Ceapach Chuinn Location: Cappoquin, Co. Waterford In the center of Waterford there lies a place which long ago was the stronghold of the ‘Fir Bolgs’. This place is a large Lios descending into the ground for about two feet, and then in underneath for about four yards. At the end of this…
This blog has a lot of new visitors, and I’m really glad to see that! But I also don’t want to be fooling anyone into being a part of a community with me if the fit isn’t right either, you know? So, I figured I’d give ye a little dose of who I really am,…
A version of this article on the Rag Tree in the Irish Tradition first appeared as a guest post on the Call of the Morrigan community blog in 2016. So, I’ve worked for the last 14 years as a professional tour guide to the sacred sites of Ireland, and let me tell ya, I’ve seen some…
Fadó, fadó, sure there were only the 2 seasons in Ireland. Summer and Winter. Even after things moved on, for people, and for the land, these main boundaries in time loomed large every year for the Irish people. And the turning between the two was a time of magic, and mayhem… you’d never even know…
It’s been suggested a couple of times that I should get on ‘the other side of the interview’, and talk about my own Irish Spirituality, and Pagan or magical practices. So recently I queried my Community for their questions on Irish Paganism and Spirituality (or my history/practice in particular). Then I went on FB Live and…
… This ‘Irish Accent’ shit though. And leprechaun hats and lucky charms and a ‘Brigid Oracle’ machine and ‘Irish Yoga’ memes – well, begosh and begorra sure aren’t all the Oirish quaint and charming funny drunks?! Ok, so that’s the frustrated rant part over. Well, the rant part at least. Ok, so I MAY rant…
(There’s a presumption that American Tourists are) …insensitive rude people who think the only way to do things properly is their way. This presumption isn’t limited to Irish People of course. But I find I have to prove myself to not be “one of those Yanks” before people will trust me and open up. However,…
Flour. Baking Soda. Buttermilk. There you go, that’s your Irish soda bread recipe. Ok, so there MIGHT be a bit more to it than that, but seriously like, nothing a few practice runs won’t sort out. (Gluten Free flour works grand too, btw, just swap in a quality self raising kind for regular flour) Here’s…
In Gaelic Ireland, your husband being too fat to have sex was grounds for divorce. A woman could easily divorce her husband for obvious reasons, like hitting her hard enough to cause a blemish, but she also had the legal protection which ensured he couldn’t go down to the village pub and blab about their…
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…