Today’s Ireland has never lost the link with its pagan past, never forgotten the old ways. This book reveals the hidden world of pagan Ireland, showing it still exists among the people and in the landscape where it belongs.

In a land like ours, the old beliefs bring pleasure and wisdom…

Exploring the legends, special places and treasured practices of old, Jo Kerrigan reveals a hidden world beneath Ireland’s modern layers.

So many of today’s Irish traditions reach back through the centuries to the natural world: climbing to the summit of a mountain at harvest time; hanging offerings on a thorn tree; bringing the ailing to a sacred well.

Old Ways, Old Secrets shows us the wisdom of the past, as fresh as it is ancient, and how it is still quietly practised as part of everyday life among the people and landscapes of Ireland.

Jo Kerrigan is a historian, writer and journalist. Her other book for The O’Brien Press (with Richard Mills) is West Cork: A Place Apart.

In a land like ours, the old beliefs bring pleasure and wisdom…

Exploring the legends, special places and treasured practices of old, Jo Kerrigan reveals a rich world beneath Ireland’s modern layers.

So many of today’s Irish traditions reach back to our ancient past, to the natural world: climbing to the summit of a mountain at harvest time; circling a revered site three, seven or nine times in a sun-wise direction; hanging offerings on a thorn tree; bringing the ailing and infirm to a sacred well.

Old Ways, Old Secrets shows us how to uncover the wisdom of the past, as fresh as it is ancient.

'Inviting, lyrical text and beautiful, atmospheric photographs ... A fascinating read.' Evening Echo on West Cork: A Place Apart