From all the ancient inhabitants of the British Isles, the Picts remain the most mysterious and continue to be a crucial focus for many researchers, archeologists, and historians. The history of...
An Irish spirit that was until recently illegal is making a big comeback. Poteen which is pronounced as potcheen is a potent alcoholic drink and was notorious because it was so strong. Distillers in...
Spanish archaeologists are preparing to dig beneath the remains of an ancient chapel in Valladolid looking specifically for the remains of the Irish hero, Red Hugh O’Donnell. Beginning this Monday a...
“Out of every corner of the woods and glens they came creeping forth upon their hands for their legs could not bear them, they looked like anatomies of death, they spoke like ghosts, crying out of...
The turbulent history of medieval Europe always called for abled and skilled warriors. Wars and battles depended on the ability of the soldiers, and a man who was skilled with a sword was a sought-...
Languages have always been the very fiber of humanity. The cornerstone of society, and the force that paved the way for civilization. Without it, societies could not have developed as they did - it...
Most of us when we are cleaning out our garage only find garbage, perhaps some old, forgotten items, but nothing ancient. One lucky man in Britain found a highlander sword which is up to 600 years...
Over the centuries, from its earliest beginnings, Christianity was the inspiration for some truly stunning art. From early frescoes, to illuminated manuscripts , magnificent churches and abbeys,...
Ireland is a country famed for its spectacular scenery and landscapes. Known to many as the Emerald Isle, the land is characterized by lush and verdant greenery. But the landscape is more than just...
A recent discovery is demonstrating the influence of Islamic medicine on European physicians. A fragment from a book dating from the 1400s has revealed the influence of a Muslim Persian polymath on...
Vikings are pretty trendy of late. Marvel’s Thor films, for example, gave Viking mythology the Hollywood treatment and plonked its characters in contemporary America. There have been multiple Viking...
Niall Noígíallach or Niall of the Nine Hostages in English, was an Irish king believed to have lived during the 4th / 5th century. The Uí Néill dynasties, which dominated the northern part of Ireland...
The monastery where the significant Scottish text called the ‘Book of Deer’ was created disappeared from the pages of history about 1,000 years ago. After a decade of excavations looking for the site...
Think of Scotland’s Highlands and islands and you probably think hills, glens, tartan, shortbread, bagpipes, caber-tossing, whisky, haggis, stags in the mist, grandiose aristocrats, bearded ghillies...
To hear her harrowing wail tear through the night sky was an omen of certain death. The cry of the banshee implied that someone in your family had died or was about to– or, that you were about to...
Remarkably similar carvings and simple cross sculptures mark special sites or places once sacred, spanning a zone stretching from the Irish and Scottish coasts to Iceland. We can look to Skellig...