
- 320 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
Cures of Ireland
About this book
It's said that almost everyone in Ireland, particularly in rural communities, will know of someone with a 'cure'. It might be for the mumps, a stye in the eye, or a sprain. Indeed the author of The Cures of Ireland, Cecily Gilligan was herself cured of jaundice and ringworm by a 'seventh son' in her local Sligo during her childhood.
Cecily Gilligan has been researching the rich world of Irish folk cures for almost forty years and, given the tradition has largely been an oral one, has been interviewing a broad range of people from around the country who possess these mystical cures, and those who have benefited from their gifts. One has a cure for eczema that comprises herbal butter balls, another 'buys' warts from the sufferer with safety pins. There are stories of clay from graves with precious healing properties and pieces of cords from potato bags being sent across the world to treat asthma.
While the Ireland of the twenty-first century continues to develop at lightning speed, there is something deeply comforting and reassuring in the fact that these ancient healing traditions, while fewer in number, do survive to this day. The Cures of Ireland is an exquisitive book that will be treasured by many generations to come.
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Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Author Bio
- Title page
- Copyright
- Dedication
- Contents
- Prologue
- 1 Cures in Ireland Past
- 2 Cures in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries
- 3 Cures in Ireland Today
- 4 Faith Cures ~ Hearts, Strokes, Heads, Sprains and Healers
- 5 Faith Cures ~ Bleeds, Asthma, Hernias and Pains
- 6 Seventh Daughters and Sons
- 7 Herbal Cures ~ Cancer, Shingles, Jaundice, Gallstones and Skin
- 8 Independent Cures ~ Burns, Eczema, Shingles, Whooping Cough and Warts
- 9 Cures for Animals and Bone-setting
- 10 Acquisition of Cures
- 11 Ritual ~ Secrecy, Healing Days, Transference and Number
- 12 The Process and Atmosphere
- 13 Faith, Success, Source and Passing on Cures
- 14 Payment and Exchange, Modern Medicine and Cures
- 15 Healing Threads, Clays, Cloths and Stones
- 16 Holy Wells
- 17 Pilgrimage
- 18 The Future for Cures
- Epilogue
- Bibliography
- Acknowledgements