The beliefs and cults of the Celts
The beliefs of the island's inhabitants before the Gaels are poorly documented. It is often and almost exclusively Greek or Roman writings that provide us with information. The Romans never invaded the island. But don't think that green Erin was then a peaceful Eden. The island's Celts kept themselves busy with battles between kinglets, honored the chieftains of small kingdoms who were the prey of covetous neighbors, developed Brehon laws that still seem avant-garde today, and imagined beautiful stories that they told so well that we no longer know what really happened.
New technologies at the service of archaeologists are opening up new interpretations of the art of living and beliefs in Ireland. By finding offerings and food in the tombs they excavate, archaeologists assume that the island's first inhabitants believed in life after death. Pagan rites and sessions led by druids were organized. Places of worship or sacred sites adopted a particular architecture: dolmens and cairns were erected, and an impressive stone portal tomb evokes the way the dead were honoured nearly 6,000 years ago. Newgrange, Poulnabrone and Creevykeel are impressive examples.
Once upon a time, the tales and legends of Ireland
Festive events punctuated the 4-period year in 2 seasons. The light season, Beltaine and Lugnasad, and the dark season, Samhain and Imbolc. Later, these pagan festivals were used by Christian shepherds. Samhain was adopted to celebrate the dead, as is Halloween today. The story of these events involves a mixture of real people and mythological creatures. So many ceremonies to pay homage to the earth goddess and river goddesses. Festivals to celebrate bountiful harvests were occasions to get drunk, as much with drinks as with words. As far back as protohistory, the Celts attended major festivals where they travelled as a clan, the family. They gathered to pray under oak trees, the Celts' sacred tree. The origin of the word "druid", as they call their magician, comes from the Gaelic duru, meaning "oak". The oak tree is found in the name of the city of Derry, whose coat of arms features an oak leaf. It's also the time when the great sagas of Irish heroes are passed on. Táin Bó Cúailnge, the Razzia of the Cows of Cooley, is the main story of the Ulster cycle. It is still the literary basis of Celtic mythology, a founding text of Ireland. In a nutshell, the rulers of the Kingdom of Ireland, guided by the chiefs of Connaught, invade Ulster to steal the red bull, a special bull, the Brun de Cúailnge, from its king. They will have to fight against the hero Cúchulainn, the Irish superhero par excellence, son of the gods Lug and Eithne.
No wonder, in such a fantastic world, that poets invoke Mirddhyn (Merlin the enchanter), that we are ready to go on crusade with the Knights of the Round Table, to die of love like Tristan and Isolde, to run across the moor to meet the wood fairy, to share the herb wine..
Christianity settles in Ireland
On the continent, the new religion took root in step with the invasions. In Ireland, it was the slaves captured during the raids and brought back to the island by the Celts who gradually spread the Christian religion. Saint Patrick was one of these slaves. Little by little, monasteries were organized and became seats of power and influence. The Irish monk illuminators and their finely calligraphed manuscripts aimed to convey a message through images to those who couldn't read. Did you say power and influence? While the start of Christianization in the5th and 6thcenturies was a smooth affair in a flourishing Celtic Ireland, the following years were sometimes more turbulent. Under English rule, rural Ireland became the granary of English cities. Much of the food produced on the island was shipped to Great Britain. Celtic peasants lost control of the land, economic power and political influence. The Catholic Church organized aid and encouraged conversion. Peasant life became "Catholicized" without losing all its pagan traditions. The Celtic cult of the seasons and festive habits blended with Catholic festivals. Today, eating habits, the wake of the dead, Halloween, Sainte-Brigit, Boxing Day... still bear the marks of their Celtic and pagan origins.
Economic upturn, wider religious spectrum
Today, times are changing and so are the Irish. However, even if the Irish have adopted marriage for all and abortion, the majority of marriages are still celebrated in the church. Children are baptized.
In the 1961 census, the rate was the highest, with 94.9 per cent of the population identifying themselves as Catholic. In 2016, the rate had reached its lowest point, with 78.3%. This decrease can be attributed to the number of people who say they have no religion because they do not practice it regularly. The rate of people reporting no religion is now 9.8 percent of the population, up from 5.9 percent in 2011. The rate of Catholics remains higher in the provinces than in the cities. There is also an increase in the number of Muslims and Orthodox. After the Covid-19 pandemic, the Irish economy is once again on the rise and it is likely that the statistics for the number of religions practiced in Ireland will change again. The remaining people who identify themselves as Christian are Presbyterians and Pentecostals. Muslims make up 1.3% of the population, and this number continues to grow. Buddhists represent 0.2% and the Jewish population represents 0.05%.
