Ireland’s Hidden Medicine traces the path and fortunes of Irish indigenous medicine from the legendary god of medicine, Déin Chécht, to today.  Unlike the great scribal medical traditions, Ireland’s indigenous medicine is based on medical knowledge passed on orally to each succeeding generation.

This journey explores the difference in worldview between biomedicine and indigenous medicine, before it sketches the changing fortunes of this indigenous tradition from the coming of Christianity, through the law tracts and the medical manuscripts of the Middle Ages, to its demise with the fall of the old Gaelic order in the seventeenth century. From there the book examines how some knowledge could have disseminated within the wider community before exploring the factors that influenced its decline in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Irish indigenous medicine is like a diamond hidden in plain sight with its beauty present in the Irish landscape, festivals, and language.  Yet its riches are not realized and it is ignored it to the detriment of health and wellbeing. Ireland’s Hidden Medicine is an important step in changing this.

• Learn how to recover, improve, and maintain your health with this supportive and useful course.
• Access it any time of the day and explore each presentation at your convenience.
• It takes place over twelve months and explores the traditions, stories, food, and plants that contribute to your health and wellbeing.
• Each month has, at least, six presentations, with more being added each month. All presentations are designed to increase your knowledge of Irish traditional practices AND enlarge your perception of how to maintain your health. Learn More
• Each month’s plant study will look at the health benefits of the plant as well as its preparation and use. Learn More
• A live Q&A takes place online each month where you can submit views and questions. This is usually on the third Thursday of the month.

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