“The legend is that Morrigan, the goddess of war and winter, came out of these bog pools and then all hell broke loose. “Some of the traditions and practices we remember today at Halloween, they’re a folk memory,” explains Bradley. “I see what’s happening in Derry with Halloween as actually a Celtic revival, coming from the ground roots in Derry. Bog bodies in Denmark famously “inspired Seamus Heaney and his poetry, and then they found one in Bellaghy”, says Bradley. Photograph: Joe DunneAt an old churchyard near Lifford, Co Donegal, Bradley identifies the “toxic” yew tree and explains how it influenced the Harry Potter books.

Source: The Irish Times October 30, 2025 18:03 UTC