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The Celts like many societies in the past taught and passed down information and tradition orally. This was attested to by Julius Caesar in the his writings about the Gauls. However, the Druids did write other things down employing Greek script and later Ogham particularly for small monuments and dedications. It remains a mystery if the Celts did not have a eventually a corpus of texts that reflected the religion and its cosmology and the philosophies of the Druids in depth. Some works in Greek are lost in history that were said to address exactly that. Although the Druids most likely did not write things down as a rule, it would not be beyond belief that eventually things were written down as the Vedas was . The reasoning for the Vedic canon is due to the forgetfulness of the generations and the dulling of the mind due to the Kali yuga. We can speculate the Druids understood the times were changing and perhaps saw it necessary at one point to write the religion down to some extent, and we see this somewhat in such text like Mag Tuired which are barely christian in nature and are remnants of Druidic stories. The following collection of writings are not Canon. As far as an official religious text for modern Celtic pagans, there are none. All the texts we have available are written under Christian rule and monastic circles. While they are very pagan in spirit and nature often still do not qualify as uncorrupted or unbroken tradition. The manuscripts that we have left available to us are for educating ourselves of the context of the times, finding the pre-Christian elements, and grounding ourselves on Indo-European philosophy. The corpus of Old Irish texts are both historically important for the history of Ireland itself, and the evolution of Christianity and the development of Quasi-Christian Druids.

The weekly portion

In Old Irish “an drecht” means “the portion” or “share.” It was often used in the context of dividing something, such as land, property, or food, among people. We like to think of the distribution of Celtic stories and wisdom as the spiritual food necessary for the strengthening and survival of our souls.

For every week of the year we have a formed a schedule so that Celts can stay in touch with their roots. We understand that in our faster paced environment that people may not have much time to read or even know where to look for traditional Celtic stories which is why we’ve put together some of the most important ones and have broken those up in to smaller portions.

There isn’t a designated day of the week historically for reading manuscripts like the sabbaths of abrahamic religion, but ideally our modern Sunday could be a suggested day to read the portion. Interestingly, not only do Christians worship on Sunday but Hindus as well generally have special Sunday services. Seeing this and in keeping with the modern times we suggest the Sun’s day as the day in which the next portion is read. We hope you enjoy and are inspired from Drecht to Drecht!

List ofweekly readings:

  1. The book of invasions Pt 1
  2. The book of Invasions Pt 2
  3. The Book of Invasions Pt 3
  4. The Book of Invasions Pt 4
  5. The Book of Invasions Pt 5
  6. The fate of the Children of Lir
  7. The Island of the Ocean God
  8. The voyage of Bran
  9. The voyage of Bran
  10. The voyage of Bran
  11. The Dream of Oengus
  12. Osin in Tir Na N-Og
  13. The Death of Cu Cuthlainn
  14. Death of Tailtiu
  15. The Sons of Tuirenn
  16. How the Dagda got his magical staff
  17. The four Jewels of the Tuatha De Danaan
  18. The First Battle of Mag Tuired ( 1-18 )
  19. The First Battle of Mag Tuired ( 19-36)
  20. The First Battle of Mag Tuired ( 37-56)
  21. The Second Battle of Mag Tuired ( 1-25 )
  22. The Second Battle of Mag Tuired ( 26-51)
  23. The Second Battle of Mag Tuired (52-75)
  24. The Second Battle of Mag Tuired ( 76-101)
  25. The Second Battle of Mag Tuired (102-127)
  26. The Second Battle of Mag Tuired (128-167)
  27. Tale of Nera in Samhain
  28. The Birth of Cu Chulainn
  29. The story of the birth of Lugh
  30. The fosterage of the house of two pails
  31. The Satire upon Bres
  32. Courtship of Etain

To be completed…

Da Derga’s Hostel

The Destruction of Da Derga’s Hostel (Togail Bruidne Dá Derga) is one of the most important and dramatic sagas of early Irish literature, belonging to the Ulster Cycle. It recounts the tragic fate of King Conaire Mór, a High King of Ireland, who falls victim to a series of geasa (sacred taboos) that ultimately lead to his death.

The story begins with Conaire Mór unknowingly breaking his geasa, which sets in motion a series of violent eventsculminating in the attack on Da Derga’s Hostel, a royal hall where Conaire is staying. The hostel is destroyed by a band of enemies, resulting in the slaughter of the king, his warriors, and many others. The saga is noted for its vivid depictions of battle, supernatural omens, and the inevitability of fate. It mixes historical, mythological, and poetic elements, creating a tapestry that illustrates the intersection of human action and cosmic law in early Irish thought.

  1. The Destruction of Da Derga’s Hostel
  2. The Destruction of Da Derga’s Hostel
  3. The Destruction of Da Derga’s Hostel
  4. The Destruction of Da Derga’s Hostel
  5. The Destruction of Da Derga’s Hostel
  6. The Destruction of Da Derga’s Hostel
  7. The Destruction of Da Derga’s Hostel

Táin Bó Cúailnge

The Táin Bó Cúailnge (“Cattle Raid of Cooley”) is the central epic of the Ulster Cycle and often called “the Irish Iliad.” It tells the story of a massive cattle raid led by Queen Medb of Connacht and her husband Ailill, who seek to steal the Brown Bull of Cooley from Ulster in order to match the wealth of Ailill’s White-Horned Bull.

When the raid begins, the warriors of Ulster are struck down by a mysterious debility due to a curse, leaving only the young hero Cú Chulainn to defend the province. Cú Chulainn single-handedly holds off Medb’s entire army by challenging enemy champions to single combat at a ford. His duels are fierce, tragic, and legendary—most notably against his foster-brother Ferdiad, whom he loves but must kill. Eventually, the Ulstermen recover, join the battle, and drive the invaders back, but Medb manages to escape with the Brown Bull. The saga ends in further tragedy when the Brown Bull and Ailill’s bull fight to the death.

  1. The Táin Bó Cúalnge 1
  2. The Táin Bó Cúalnge 2
  3. The Táin Bó Cúalnge 3
  4. The Táin Bó Cúalnge 4
  5. The Táin Bó Cúalnge 5
  6. The Táin Bó Cúalnge 6
  7. The Táin Bó Cúalnge 7
  8. The Táin Bó Cúalnge 8
  9. The Táin Bó Cúalnge 9
  10. The Táin Bó Cúalnge 10
  11. The Táin Bó Cúalnge 11
  12. The Táin Bó Cúalnge 12
  13. The Táin Bó Cúalnge 13
  14. The Táin Bó Cúalnge 14
  15. The Táin Bó Cúalnge 15
  16. The Táin Bó Cúalnge 16
  17. The Táin Bó Cúalnge 17
  18. The Táin Bó Cúalnge 18
  19. The Táin Bó Cúalnge 19

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