Name the five Great Trees of Ireland? What trees are most often found beside holy wells or cemeteries? Which tree gave the Red Branch Knights of Ulster their name? Ireland was once so heavily wooded it was said a squirrel could travel from Cork to Killarney without touching the ground. So it is no surprise that, in ancient Ireland, mythology and folklore were a part of the people's general knowledge about trees. Many of the myths and legends and much of the folklore associated with native trees persists to this day and are gathered together in this book.

Illustrated with fine photography, this book presents 140 of the most remarkable trees in Ireland, whether they are culturally or historically signficant, or are simply beautiful.

Stopping by Woods is a fascinating guide to 340 forests and woodlands open to the public throughout Ireland. Donal Magner writes with a rare insight about forests he has worked in and visited over the years as a forester and journalist. The book is the first of its kind ever produced in Ireland and Europe, it is packed with information not only about forests and tree species, but their associated flora and fauna, history and heritage. The book features all the forests featured in the State's open forest policy now enshrined by Coillte, the Forest Service Northern Ireland and the National Parks and Wildlife Service. In his six-year journey the author has explored all our native and naturalized woodlands, and the State forests established since the beginning of the last century. Stopping by Woods is a celebration and record of this remarkable civic amenity. This book will provide readers including students, specialist groups, historians and the general public with a deep understanding of Irish forests and their heritage. It is a book for our times, for people who care about our tree culture and about sustainable development.

In ancient Ireland there were 365 different parts to the body, and a different plant to cure each part. So the wild plants of Ireland are bound up in our culture and folklore from the earliest times. To arry a four-leaved shamrock brings luck in gambling, while putting nine ivy leaves under her pillow means a girl will dream of her future husband. Here plants are described in seasonal order, a perspective dating back to our ancestors. Different aspects of plant folklore are examined following a brief history of traditional herbal medicine in Ireland. Included are their roles in magical protection, in charms and spells (especially for love!), as emblems in children's games, and in Irish place names.

Mythical Ireland embodies the search for a soul among Ireland's ancient ruins, and is an attempt to retrieve something of deeper import from 5,000-year-old megalithic monuments and their associated myths. The book represents a fascinating and engaging journey through time, landscape and the human spirit. Dealing with archaeology, interpretive mythography, cosmology and cosmogony, the book attempts to grapple with a core meaning, something beyond the functional interpretations of academia. In this revised and expanded edition, Anthony Murphy delves further into the many enthralling aspects of this journey. Just how much knowledge did locals have of the secrets of Newgrange before it was excavated? Who is the Cailleach, the ancient hag goddess whose image is ubiquitous in the ancient landscape? What happened to make Ireland's Stonehenge disappear from the landscape? Who were the first kings of Tara? What were the indigenous Irish myths about the Milky Way? Did someone try to steal the Tara Brooch? Why are there myths in Ireland about flooded towns and cities? Lavishly illustrated with exquisite photographs of the Irish landscape and ancient monuments, Mythical Ireland represents a personal and yet universal journey, a quest to reimagine the shrines as empowering and transformative sacred places. Murphy invokes the druids and poets of the Boyne and thus the sídhe of the ancient texts are reawakened for a modern and turbulent world.

From ancient times, people appreciated the spiritual value of trees, singling out individual trees for special veneration. In Ireland the roots of tree worship reach deep into pagan Celtic religion and spirituality. This book explores the stories and legends of Ireland's sacred trees and reveals their spiritual, social, and historical functions from pagan times to the present.