The Old Oak Tree at the Hill of Tara, Photo Taken Author M. Delaney/Máire Ní Dubhshláinne 2024
The Irish Oral Tradition of sharing wisdom, old stories, myths, songs & poems, across generations, preserved ideas, culture, knowledge, wisdom & spirituality. Old ways, that offer an insight into life in ancient Ireland across generations, linked to the land we live in.
This oral tradition, its archetypes, stories, songs and poems, gently cradle a reminder for us to celebrate the life we live & freely honour the beauty, mystery and magic of it all.
These cleverly crafted, and imaginative vehicles, are a testament to the intelligence & resilience of the human spirit and our ancestral communities across time & generations.
They are evidence of an ancient people's ability to use creative analogy's & imagination in a purposeful way, that honour's our human need to share, connect and guide each other through this experience called life.
A Druid was identified among the ancient Celts as a member of the 'learned class. It is believed men and women held this role. There are no records or documents handed down from this time or cohort of Celtic society, as they used the spoken word and memory.
We know they held a place in Irish Pre-Christian Celtic society around the 3rd Century bce. Some clues about this group of Celtic society can be found embedded in our Irish landscape, and old ancient references to them, that lie resting in ancient Irish literature, stories, and Poetry and music. It is thought the druids were still active, albeit to a lesser extent, after St. Patricks life time, up to the 7th/8th Century AD....
It is said the name 'Druid' comes from the Celtic word meaning "Knower of the oak tree" (Duir). Research of old Irish Texts and other literature, tells us they worked to keep peace in Celtic societies, and to educate, heal and guide their communities in a structured, nature based manner, in line with the cycle of life, the wheel of the year, guided by mother nature and the sun, moon and stars. Astronomy played a role in Celtic Ireland, and was used to track the seasons, and years, for agricultural and spiritual purposes...
Some of what we know about the Druids has come from the writings of Julius Caesar, Cicero, Tacitus and Pliny the elder, this was at a time when power struggles across lands were prevalent, therefore many call in to question the accuracy of these accounts, making this area of research a very enthralling, mysterious labyrinth of discovery where discernment is necessary and mystery lingers.
A quote often associated with Winston Churchill is very apt when considering this part of our history: "History is written by the victors". Rome became one of the largest Empires in the world, and this by default would have had some impact on the accuracy of some recorded material of the time. The Pre-Christian Law's, developed in part by the Druids and communities they lived in, held enough gravitas to spur St. Patrick on to codify many of them, highlighting the sophisticated legal system that was in place, at this time. This was eventually replaced by the Roman legal system that took over.. (Sources & more info in Course)
Author M. Delaney/Máire Ní Dubhshláinne 2025