21st Century Irish Paganism

21st Century Irish Paganism provides an overview of the beliefs and practices of practitioners of Paganism in modern Ireland. Modern-day nature-based spirituality or religiosity, as distinct from pre-Christian contexts of indigenous religions, is examined here in relation to beliefs, rituals, festivals, sacred sites, and the creation of art and ritual objects. Beliefs in magic, deities, fairies and other spiritual beings are explored. This book provides valuable insights into the lived experiences of Irish Pagans including those who are followers of Druidry and other forms of Celtic spirituality, Wicca and other kinds of Pagan Witchcraft. The book presents a detailed documentation and analysis of this vibrant and dynamic culture that relates to Irish landscape, mythology and history in unique ways. The richly descriptive accounts of magical rituals and festival celebrations that the author took part in, along with interview extracts from Pagan practitioners themselves, combine to shed light on the motivations for this kind of spiritual expression and the attraction that Pagan religion holds for its followers. As the first extensive academic study of Irish contemporary Paganism, this book reveals important information about current cultural and social change in Ireland.

Dr Jenny Butler is a leading scholar in the burgeoning field of Pagan Studies and new religious movements. She has been a Lecturer with the Department of Folklore and Ethnology since 2002. She was awarded a Government of Ireland Research Scholarship in the Humanities and Social Sciences by The Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences (IRCHSS) in support of her doctoral research on Irish neo-pagan culture. She has published numerous articles and book chapters on the topic of contemporary Irish Paganism, as well as the results of other research projects she has undertaken, the majority of which were in peer-reviewed and highly regarded international publications.