The pagan dance of Lughnasa

Speaker: John WardSounds: Drummers and MF himself!"When I was sixteen, I remember slipping out one Sunday - it was this time of year, the beginning of August - and Bernie and I met at the gate of the workhouse and the pair of us went off to a dance in Ardstraw..." Maggie prior to the big dance to The Mason's Apron in Act One of Dancing at Lughnasa.Lughnasa is the culmination of what the Celtic calendar has been all about. The patience of seeing out Winter, the thrill of the lambs and snowdrops of Imbolc and the strange mix of hope and apprehension of Bealtaine were all leading to the peak of plenitude that is the month of Lughnasa, being August. Samhain may well be the most famous of the cross quarter festivals, but the most vibrant of the four and indeed the most pagan of them must surely be Lughnasa. The crackling of a bonfire on the side of a hill, the pulsing beat of a bodhran, the rising of the summer sun and of course that most magical and pagan of events, the dance. Ensure you watch the full 1994 Riverdance spectacular here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0v_pu6miJ8© 2021-2022 Racontour Productions. This clip forms part of the Celtic Calendar audio archive from Racontour Productions. Feel free to share if enjoyed, but with a credit or a social media tag to Racontour Productions please.SPOTIFY: This platform has allowed us to be creative in ensuring you can access it on your smart phone with ease. Below are the Spotify options: -Celtic Calendar playlist - no music, just audio of all four festivals.Samhain folklore - music and lore for SamhainImbolc folklore - music and lore for ImbolcBealtaine folklore - music and lore for BealtaineLughnasa folklore - music and lore for Lughnasa