Together, each of our creative threads, weaves the dreaming fabric of Irish culture.
Books:
Overview of the Mythology:
An Introduction to Early Irish Literature by Muireann Ní Bhrolcháin (Muireann was my own lecturer in Medieval Irish and Celtic Studies and an incredible academic and activist).
The Celtic Heroic Age: Literary Sources for Ancient Celtic Europe & Early Ireland & Wales by John T. Koch & John Carey—this book includes translations of many original myths, it’s a treasure!
Ireland’s Immortals: A History of the Gods of Irish Myths by Mark Williams attempts to map the history of our mythical Irish ancestors from our pagan past through to the coming of Christianity and the Gaelic revival in the 19th century.
Celtic Gods and Heroes by Marie-Louise Sjoestedt—this short book was written in 1949 with a preface from Myles Dillon. It's a little outdated now but contains some absolute nuggets.
Myths and Legends of the Celts by James MacKillop.
A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology by James MacKillop—a dictionary with c. 4,000 entries on all things related to Celtic myth.
Translations & Retellings:
(As above, The Celtic Heroic Age).
The Táin: From the Irish Epic Táin Bó Cúailnge (The Cattleraid of Cooley) by Anonymous translated by Thomas Kinsella—This is Ireland's 'Epic' saga, which Thomas Kinsella translates from multiple sources dating back to the 8th century.
Táin: The Women’s Stories by Karina Tynan—this is a compelling collection of mythic stories from Táin Bó Cúailnge, retold from the perspectives of the women.
Early Irish Myths and Sagas by Anonymous translated by Jeffrey Gantz—translations of some of Ireland's most influential mythical tales.
The Celtic Literature Collective website from Mary Jones is an impressive endeavour to collate original translations of Celtic literature. As the translations are so old, the language can feel archaic to navigate but well worth the effort.
Sacred Texts is another useful resource. These translations are from the late Victorian and Edwardian eras, like the works of Lady Augusta Gregory, and as such are censored to reflect the 'sensibilities' of the time.
From a Jungian Lens:
Beyond the Mist: What Irish Mythology Can Teach Us About Ourselves by Peter O’Connor. Jungian psychology tends to rely on the Classics as mythological sources to work with the Western psyche. This potent book is the first in-depth overview I have come across, exploring our mythology from a Jungian lens. We need more!
The Irish Bull God: Image of Multiform and Integral Masculinity by Sylvia Brinton Perera. This thoughtful book has been integral to my journey of reconnection with my animus and the image of the Irish mythic masculine.
Anything by John Moriarty (I especially love Dreamtime). Although not technically a ‘Jungian’, John Moriarty’s work holds the numinosity of a depth psychology approach to the mythic and cultural imagination.
Historical:
In Search of Irish Dreamtime by J.P. Mallory—this work explores the early Irish literary tradition through a historical and archaeological framework.
The Celts: A Very Short Introduction by Barry Cunliffe.
The Living Goddesses by Marija Gimbutas—The hypothesis proposed in this book originally flew in the face of contemporary archaeology as Gimbutas reconstructed the goddess-centred cultures that predated historic patriarchal cultures. It features considerations on the Irish Neolithic and mythical landscapes.
The Myth of the Goddess: Evolution of an Image by Anne Baring and Jules Cashford—this book is focused more broadly on Western traditions where the authors explore what happened to the Goddess, when, and how she was excluded from Western culture, and the implications of this loss.
Spiritual:
The Serpent and the Goddess by Mary Condren—this provoking book provides a powerful exploration of the decline of matriarchal power in Western civilization through the lens of Ireland and the Catholic Church.
The Sacred Isle: Belief and Religion in Pre-Christian Ireland by Dáithí Ó hÓgáin—a scholarly attempt to put a frame on a pre-Christian religion in Ireland.
Anam Cara: Spiritual Wisdom from the Celtic World by John O'Donohue—this beautiful book is a journey through Celtic Spirituality.
Ever Ancient Ever New Celtic Spirituality in The Twenty First Century by Dolores Whelan—a wonderful resource on the Celtic Calendar and cyclic living.
Women and Mythology:
If Women Rose Rooted by Sharon Blackie—I highly recommend this brilliant book; an urgent call to women to reroot in our native Celtic stories, wisdom and landscapes.
Women Who Run With the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estés—this classic uses myth and story cross-culturally within a Jungian framework to reignite the wild woman archetype within.
Descent to the Goddess: A Way of Initiation for Women by Sylvia Brinton Perera explores initiation in women into their path of becoming through the myth of Inanna Ishtar from ancient Sumer.
Dancing in the Flames: The Dark Goddess in the Transformation of Consciousness by Marion Woodman and Elinor Dickson—a deep descent with the dark goddess who embodies the energy of creativity and chaos, creation and destruction, death and rebirth.
Language and landscape:
Thirty-Two Words for a Field: Lost Words of the Irish Landscape by Manchán Magan—this wondrous book provides profound insight into the cultural wisdom that is weaved into Gaeilge, the Irish language.
Niall Mac Coitir's series of fascinating books provide a mythical and folkloric backdrop to Ireland's trees, plants and herbs, and wildlife.
Dúchas—the digital platform for Ireland's National Folklore Collection. This superb resource includes folk stories passed down inter-generationally (and in the original handwriting they were recorded in).
Other Supports:
The Irish Tarot is the first version of the Rider Waite tarot in Gaeilge. Translated by Regina de Búrca who is an oracle on the influence the Creideamh Sí, the Irish ‘Fairy Faith’, had on this famous deck. Regina also offers Celtic Soul Readings (in English), which you can book online.
The Trailblazery with Kathy Scott is a cultural organisation dedicated to creatively activating the spirit of our times by offering innovative programmes rooted in the soul of Ireland.
Leigheas Dé Danann with Aoife Lowden offers land and ancestral-based courses, workshops, retreats, sacred site tours and ceremonies in Éire, Ireland, to awaken the wisdom of the ancients within us.
Moon Mná (‘Moon Women’) offer training in women’s circle facilitation from a Celtic framework, along with a treasure trove of resources including sublime oracle decks created by founder, Dr. Karen Ward and artist, Bernie Sexton.
Next Stage Celtic Wheel with Mari Kennedy offers a year-long transformational journey deep into the enchanted nexus of the Celtic Wheel and the sacred feminine.
Tara Brading is a women’s educator, storyteller and songstress dreaming the ancestors back into our awareness. She is the creator of The Roundhouse, a year-long journey into the Irish traditions and of Grail Priestess, a deep-dive program into the heart of England’s ancient heritage.
Marisa Goudy is a story weaver and writing coach who wrote The Sovereignty Knot inspired by the Sovereignty Goddess archetype in Irish mythology and founded the remarkable Knotwork Storytelling podcast, an otherworldly haven on Celtic mythology for all ears.
Nadine McCarthy draws upon the consciousness of samildánach (skilled in all of the arts) in Irish mythology fusing this with regenerative flow science to enable leaders and teams to flourish.
Dee Mulrooney is an Irish artist, performer and activist whose projects span visual art, film, storytelling and theatre. Dee draws upon mythical themes within the Irish tradition to inform her powerful body of work.
Mary McLaughlin is a singer and songwriter steeped in the Ulster Gaelic song tradition and a scholar and teacher of the Irish Keen, the traditional lament of our ancestors.
Anthony Murphy of Mythical Ireland is a well of wisdom on the UNESCO World Heritage sites at Brú na Bóinne, particularly on astroarchaeology, and offers tours of these neolithic temples.