cures of ireland

Cures of Ireland by Cecily Gillighan

Let’s move away from the sciency stuff and go back to the traditions. I was glad to come across this book recently and it is a treasury of Irish folk remedies. Many conversations happen at The Urban Co-op about wellbeing. Magic Pills and Cures are often discussed. The hard work of changing diet say from ultra-processed to real involves a certain level of discipline so when we find out about some magical or unexplainable solution it does offer a different perspective but it must be said there is a strong memory in Ireland of traditional cures so I was happy to find out more. More than once I have heard from people that because I am married to someone with the same name I have a cure.. so it was interesting to read this section. There are no recipes as such but the themes of herbalism and faith are involved mostly. Cecily tells the story of meeting these characters and interestingly finds that “ many of the old cures continue to help and to heal people and some are thriving”. 

Anne Maher