Customer Reviews

Irish Druids and Old Irish Religions (The Occult)

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Contrary to the other "reviewer", this is a classic reprinted annually with the originals worth as much as a nice flat screen for a reason. The book has always stirred controversy because it doesn't kow tow to the "correct view" of those who want to believe that everything before Christianity was barbarism. At the time it was originally published in 1894, this book was literally revolutionary. Keep in mind, the belief of the time was that the Irish were less than human and this book showed that they had been civilized with laws, music, history, and science long before the forced conversion which included the murdering of almost all of the Druid priests. Check out Wikipedia and other sources for more information on James Bonwick (who was very much a religous Christian btw) and the Druids. And, read it for yourself - it is an easy read if you relax about things like the Scottish being called the Scotch and just go with the flow of the book.

I was excited to find that this book was available after having found a reference to it elsewhere. But the book itself is a disappointment. I expected an orderly review of the origins, development, and practice of Druidism and its contemporary religions, along with specifics on their beliefs, rituals, paraphernalia, etc. Instead, this book is disorganized and rambling, with little specific information on Druidism and no attempt to develop any specific portrayals of this interesting magico-religious movement.

Blarney, utter Blarney. This is historical fiction. I teach Irish history and ancient religion, and this is nonsense.

After having read this book, I have to say that I wasn't terribly impressed--nor was I seriously let down. There are plenty of great pieces of hard to find information about Irish Druids--I mean, lets face it. These days you have to really look hard to find your way out of all the wishy-washy fairy-tales concerning Druids and Celtic religion--especially on the internet, where almost everyone seems to be in costume. I also appriciated the mention of other Celtic tribes throughout Europe.

What I didn't care for was the repeated and tiresome disdain towards the "so-called Druids" of Britain. When I'm reading for information/enlightenment, it's difficult to feel that I'm getting it from a credible source when the author's writing seems so biased and disdainful towards the non-Irish Druids. Yes, I know that the book is written with Ireland in mind, but the author just seemed to keep making digs at the other country while elevating Irish Druids over the rest. Kind of annoying, but not terrible.