Modern Druidry In Ireland (originally published in Brigid's Fire magazine, August 2010)
Over the last twenty years there has been a slow and steady increase in paganism
in Ireland which has gathered pace in the last decade. Wicca, introduced to
Ireland by Janet and Stewart Farah, is perhaps more established than any other
form of paganism here, although Druidry (also encouraged by the Farahs) has
grown significantly in that time.
The seeds of the pagan revival in Ireland were sown not here but in the UK in
following the repeal of the Witchcraft act in 1951. Following this repeal two
strands of esoteric thought emerged into the mainstream via two men who have
become very well known in magical circles.
The first person was Gerald Gardner, author of several books, most notably ‘Witchcraft
Today’ which blew the lid off what had until then been a religion practiced
in total secrecy. It was Gardner who coined the term ‘Wicca’ and
almost single-handledy created a new form of the ancient pagan religion that
existed throughout Europe up until the middle ages. It is from Gardner’s
foundation that the Wiccan religion has grown, evolved and spread throughout
the western world.
Ross Nichols. a contemporary and friend of Gardner, was instrumental in the
mainstream druid revival in the UK and played a part in its revival in Ireland
via the Fellowship of Isis. Ross Nichols was chairman of the Ancient Druid Order
(a freemason like druid order) which claims its origin in the 1700s. However
Ross left the order in the 1960s and established the Order of Bards, Ovates
and Druids (OBOD) which was set up as a vehicle for returning to celtic spirituality.
From this other splinter group other groups such as BDO formed and a number
of other orders have since sprung up in the UK, America and beyond.The re-emergence
that took hold in Britain transferred to Ireland to some extent, although this
process was to some degree hampered by the much later repeal of the Witchcraft
Act (1983) in the Republic. Subsequent to the British pagan revival, which is
largely focused on British traditions, the Irish revival has gathered pace but
this seems to have taken place in a slightly different way to in Britain.
The druid revival in Britain could be described as pan-celtic – it draws
on the traditions of Wales, Scotland, Cornwall, Northern England, Brittany and
Ireland. Druidry in England itself, lacking it’s own sources due largely
to the influence of the Romans and later on the Saxons and the Normans, has
tended to draw mostly on Welsh tradition.
Ireland, in contrast to England, despite conquest and many attempts at cultural
domination has retained the bulk of its celtic cultural heritage and still retains
the native language in pockets around the country. Druidry here was not suppressed
by the Romans, who maintained only a trading relationship with Ireland, instead
it was gradually absorbed and replaced by Christianity over a period of several
centuries, seemingly with little violence. The remains of Druidic tradition
here were still in evidence in the 17th century at the time of the demise of
the Bardic schools following the flight of the Earls. In more recent centuries
the total dominance of Catholicism largely eradicated Druidic thought and beliefs,
but with some of the more secular aspects such as laws, folklore and some customs
remaining but generally in a form that is detached from their original context.
From my observations of Druidry here most druids seem to fall into one of two
camps -those who take a nationalistic or purist approach to Druidry, based on
a desire to resurrect Irish practices and the other camp being those who are
somewhat more eclectic. Many feel a desire to develop and unearth the indigenous
Druidry rather than simply copying the established systems of non-Irish organizations
such as ADF, OBOD or BDO etc. For others, the sources – modern or ancient,
Irish or British, Celtic or multi-faith, is not so important, the spiritual
journey and the attitude being of greater priority than concerns about cultural
integrity, learning and technique.
One major ideological difference it seems would centre around the magical systems
employed. Most of western esoteric tradition has its roots in kabalistic magic
which originates in the middle east, however this is not the case with celtic
magic. The druids and shamans of the pre-christian period had a system that
shares some of the concepts found in kabalistic magic, alchemy and witchcraft
and also in helenic and vedic culture. However the expression and practice of
these concepts is in most western magic is often quite different from what we
know of druidic culture. A basic example of this would the elements, kabalistic
magic has 4, Chinese has 5 and Celtic magic had 3 – sky, sea and land,
or 9 if you consider the concept of dúile.
There being a vast treasure trove of written material concerning early Irish
culture and still existing folklore and tradition that could be said to be indigenous,
some druids feel that there is no need to ‘borrow’ ideas from other
pagan traditions, including those of the international druidic revival. Much
as there is a strong case for continued rediscovery of Irish druidic heritage
that is buried just under the surface, there is also a case for a more inclusive
approach that also respects and values the contribution of other sources.
I personally believe that there is room to accommodate both extremes and those
that fall between two stools. Although a fudged consensus pleases nobody, I
think that as mature spiritual practitioners we should be able to ‘agree
to disagree’ and find common ground where it does exist.
The Druidic community here is small and comprised of small orders and groves
that usually work entirely independently. Following the demise of the Convocation
of Druids of Ireland (CDE) there has been no umbrella organization either to
represent the Druids of Ireland or even to provide networking opportunities
to the Irish Druid community.
Consequently Irish Druidry remains isolated and somewhat stagnant. I feel that
it is important that Druidry here develop its own unique character and find
maturity as a path on its own terms, and this process can be facilitated by
dialogue between the disparate groves and orders of this island. The disagreements
and confrontations that have occurred in Irish Druidry in the last few years
may have been a necessary part of a growing up process but they have done nothing
to foster links within Ireland or abroad and this is a problem that is in need
of addressing.
For some reason, Druidry in Ireland has been particularly plagued by politics
and dogmatism. Perhaps when one looks at the turbulent and troubled history
of this island, made worse by infighting and disunity, it should not be such
a great surprise. Given that the groves and orders here are all relatively young
it may take some time and communal efforts to re-establish a form of Druidry
that can be identified as Irish. I hope that as this process happens and Irish
Druidry gains maturity that its practitioners and organizations will have the
self-confidence to be uniquely Irish yet also be respectful and open to interaction
with international Druidry and other religious paths.