A Gateway to Authentic Irish Heritage and Spirituality I’ve been a student of the Irish Pagan School, founded by Lora O’Brien MA and Jon O’Sullivan, since it came online in 2017. It stands as a beacon of authentic Irish culture and spirituality, offering a unique pathway for those drawn to the ancient wisdom and vibrant traditions of Ireland. Situated in County Waterford, Ireland, this online institution is not just a school but a community hub, dedicated to providing scholarly yet down-to-earth teachings on a wide range of topics pertinent to Irish history, heritage, folklore, and mythology ..read more

A while back, I was interviewed by a student named Hannah for their college research, and I thought others might be interested in the Irish Paganism Q&A that resulted from the interview. What would you say is the overall conception of the world and the place of humans in Irish Paganism? Overall, I believe native Irish spirituality/Irish Paganism views us all as connected, and by ‘us all’ I do mean everything, in this world and the Otherworld. Even the worlds are strongly connected. Nature’s inhabitants and cycles are still integral to our survival in many areas of this island, and of cou ..read more

Bealtaine (or May Day) is coming up at the end of this month, so we’d love to see you fully prepared for this very important Fire Festival in the Irish Tradition. Note: In Ireland, Bealtaine is the name for the month of May in our Irish language and living cultural traditions, while Beltane is the anglicised version that is commonly used in contemporary Paganism. We do prefer, generally, that people respect our history and heritage by using the word Bealtaine… see videos below for pronunciation! Go raibh maith agat We have a lot of content available across our various channels, so here is a h ..read more

The Morrigan resources provided here are compiled by Lora O’Brien: native Irish author and educator, co-founder of the Irish Pagan School, and dedicated Priestess of the Morrigan since 2004. These are the best readings and resources available (at time of publication) for students wishing to work with, worship, and study the authentic lore of the Morrigan, Irish Goddess of battle, prophecy, and change. NOTE: This post contains affiliate links to some of the books recommended here. Should you choose to use these links, the author may earn a small affiliate commission at no additional cost to you ..read more

A lot of folk have asked me about a practice I engage with every December, my Winter Solstice vigil each year here in County Waterford, Ireland. So, I decided to outline what it is, why I do it, and if it’s something you should be doing as part of an Irish Pagan practice. What is the Winter Solstice? This is the solstice that marks the onset of winter, at the time of the shortest day, about 22 December in the northern hemisphere and 21 June in the southern hemisphere. Astronomically speaking, the solstice in December is when the sun reaches its minimum declination. My Vigil I’ve been ..read more

One of our most frequently asked questions in the Irish Pagan School Tuath (community) is about books and reading – what’s reliable, trustworthy, and worth your time? We have a few basic Recommended Reading blog posts for Irish History and Irish Gods and Goddesses through those links, but thought it might be useful to give a more personal insight into what is interesting us currently. So here’s what we are reading right now (November 2021)… you can take it that we’ve done our homework before we commit to a book and it’s got a great chance of being good, or that it’s been recommended to us by a ..read more

Ogham (also spelled ogam) is a uniquely Irish alphabet, which uses a system of notches and horizontal or diagonal lines to represent the sounds of an early form of the Irish language. Our students at The Irish Pagan School always want to know though, how to read Ogham? We have two primary sources for the Ogham language in Ireland: inscribed stones, and the manuscript tradition. Ogham stone inscriptions give us the earliest recorded form of the Irish language (Gaeilge), and form our earliest written records – dating back at least as far as the 400s (5th century) Ce (Common Era). Mostly, the sto ..read more

I’m delighted to host a guest post by my friend Pat Booker, a wonderful Irish Pagan person who has in fact, grown up in Northern Ireland, and therefore knows more about it than I do. The Lovely Pat Northern Ireland 101 Northern Irish people are often asked to explain the latest news from our disputed territory. The question is normally a variant of “What are they fighting about now?” and is frequently asked in a tone of exasperation. We fight, march, riot and protest a LOT. And sometimes we kill each other. It’s frustrating for everyone that an explanation of yesterday’s news often requires us ..read more

As you may be aware, the Irish language (Gaeilge) is a bit of a sore spot for most Irish folk, due to a variety of reasons both historical and personal. At the Irish Pagan School, we believe that the native language is fundamental to the expression of and engagement with our native spiritual and magical energies and entities. We also know that learning a whole new language, or improving your existing grasp of Gaeilge, can be HARD. (We don’t call it Gaelic, fyi, just Irish, or Gaeilge… though you’ll see the occasional mixed opinion on this from Irish folk.) So, we provide resources! The followi ..read more

We’ve had a few questions lately about boundaries when using Lora’s Guided Journeys in the Irish Otherworld method (more info on the basics of that here) – with some people or other entities popping up for folk unexpectedly, and I’ve a few thoughts to share on this. Firstly, within this methodology, WHERE you are within the Journey (ie what location or stage you are at, either on the way out or the way back) is relevant. We work with 3 Levels of Guided Journeys within this system: Level One – The Beach (which is mostly you, and your internal stuff, with an element of the Otherworld… a toe in ..read more