MACNEILL, Máire. The Festival of Lughnasa. A Study of the Survival of the Celtic Festival of the Beginning of Harvest.

Dublin: Comhairle Bhéaloideas Éireann, University College Dublin, 1982. Royal octavo. pp. xix, 706, [1]. Red cloth, spine and upper cover titled in gilt with gilt sheaf-of-wheat device. A fine copy in near fine pictorial dust jacket. Large folding map of Ireland loosely inserted at rear pocket, as issued.

A high-quality facsimile reprint of the original edition published by Oxford University Press in 1962, lithographically reproduced by The Dundalgan Press, Dundalk.

Máire MacNeill’s monumental ethnographic and folkloric study remains the definitive exploration of the ancient Celtic festival of Lughnasa – a harvest celebration dedicated to the god Lugh, and one of the cornerstones of Ireland’s seasonal calendar. Drawing on oral traditions, placenames, topographical associations, and hundreds of recorded customs from across the country, MacNeill meticulously traces how ancient rites of thanksgiving and tribal gathering survived into Christian times through patterns of hilltop assemblies, “pattern days,” and local pilgrimages.

With over 700 pages of detailed analysis, extensive appendices, and a comprehensive index, The Festival of Lughnasa is a foundational text in Irish folklore, anthropology, and Celtic studies – essential to understanding the continuity between pagan and Christian ritual in rural Ireland.

[L2 5B]