The Year in Ireland: Irish Calendar Customs [Paperback]

Kevin Danaher (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1972

This book by Kevin Danaher describes how the round of the year, with its cycle of festivals and seasonal work, was observed in the Ireland of yesterday. We follow the rhythm of the year from New Year to Easter, May Day to Harvest and Christmas along the chain of highdays and feastdays, St Brighid's Day, The Borrowed Days, Midsummer, St Swithin's Day, Lunasa, The Pattern Day, Samhain, Martinmas and Christmas. The rich and warm life of Irish folk tradition unfolds, the work of farm and fishing boat - belief and usage - feasting and merrymaking. Picturesque customs are revealed - some forgotten, some forbidden, some still familiar, such as 'the making of St Brighid's cross - marriage divinations - watching the dancing of the sun on a hilltop on Easter morning - going to the Skelligs - cock-throwing - bullbaiting - herring processions - the swimming of the horses on Lunasa - and many others. A multi-coloured tapestry. Kevin Danaher has drawn on a wide variety of sources and on more than thirty years experience of research into Irish folk tradition. Kevin Danaher was educated at Mungret College, at University College, Dublin and at the Universities of Berlin and Leipzig. Having entered the Irish army as a volunteer gunner, he left the army with the rank of Captain to resume his research in Irish rural life and tradition. He is the author of In Ireland Long Ago, Gentle Places and Simple Things, Irish Country People, Folktales of the Irish Countryside, The Pleasant Land of Ireland and has contributed to numerous learned journals in Ireland, Sweden, Germany, Britain and America. He edited The Irish Sword, the journal of the Military History Society of Ireland from 1960 to 1971. He was a lecturer in Irish Folklore at University College, Dublin.

Product Details

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: The Mercier Press Ltd; First Edition edition (November 1972)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 085342280X
• ISBN-13: 978-0853422808
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,925,491 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Authentic Irish Tradition, January 17, 2002

By 

Francine Nicholson (New England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Year in Ireland: Irish Calendar Customs (Paperback)

Kevin Danaher is one of the more significant collectors and scholars in the study of modern Irish folklore. This book, however, is written for popular audiences. This book covers seasonal customs in very readable fashion. At the same time, you can rely on its accuracy. Put this book together with Danaher's _In Ireland Long Ago_ and Henry Glassie's _Passing the Time in Ballymenone_ and you will have a solid image of rural Ireland over the past 100-200 years.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspirational and interesting, April 11, 2003

By 

S. Roit - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Year in Ireland: Irish Calendar Customs (Paperback)

This is one of my favorite books in my good sized Celtic studies library. This is from inside the culture itself, it's people. It provides a wonderful glimpse into the world of "who are the Irish". I have others of Kevin's books, his facts are solid, he writes in an engaging manner, and includes many wonderful bits for a well rounded picture.
I'm defintely too, supportive of a book written about a people, *by* one of those people.
I have an Irish friend who observes many of the customs written of in this book (as do his family, and myself as well) which further lends credence to it's authenticity.