©2025 Fable Group Inc.
4.5 

Ireland's Hidden Medicine

By Rosarie Kingston
Ireland's Hidden Medicine by Rosarie Kingston digital book - Fable

Publisher Description

An exploration of the rich herbal healing traditions of Ireland which resonate through the country’s landscape, music, festivals and language.

Indigenous medicine, no matter where it exists in the world, is characterised by the oral transmission of knowledge and the necessity for each person to be in harmony with themselves, their society and environment, as well as the spirit world.

Ireland is no different, and its traditional therapeutic approach is designed to address body, mind, spirit and emotions within the local social and environmental context. However, these ancient healing traditions are increasingly neglected due to the dominance of biomedicine as the country's primary system of healthcare.

Ireland's Hidden Medicine explores how the core elements of any medical system are always the same: diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, and prevention of ill health. These central elements do not change, but the medical systems which give them expression may evolve, mutate, and even die, because their fortunes are tied up with the changing cultural, technological, and economic paradigms of their societies.

This book provides a fascinating look at the history and fortunes of Irish folk medicine - from the legendary god of healing, Dein Checht, to the coming of Christianity and the religious and social backdrop of the nation's development.

The book also provides a seasonal guide to utilising Ireland's indigenous medicine, which provides a wealth of benefits and a connection to a sacred and therapeutic landscape.

Download the free Fable app

app book lists

Stay organized

Keep track of what you’re reading, what you’ve finished, and what’s next.
app book recommendations

Build a better TBR

Swipe, skip, and save with our smart list-building tool
app book reviews

Rate and review

Share your take with other readers with half stars, emojis, and tags
app comments

Curate your feed

Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communities
app book lists

Stay organized

Keep track of what you’re reading, what you’ve finished, and what’s next.
app book recommendations

Build a better TBR

Swipe, skip, and save with our smart list-building tool
app book reviews

Rate and review

Share your take with other readers with half stars, emojis, and tags
app comments

Curate your feed

Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communities

1 Review

4.5
Slightly Smiling Face“Very good, would recommend easily and cheerfully. There was one problem, which was a lack of understanding between the vast difference between referring to indiginous Irish culture and Indiginous America. These were often referenced as if they're on the same plane (and things like meditating on how life must be for Indigenous Americans on holy days for Irish was even recommended). I would argue these situations are very different, and that projecting how people on another continent as (mostly white) Irish (who through their eyes may be seen as their abusers) is problematic. Why not reach out to those communities, let them speak for themselves, and support them in return? I also thought that calling Anglo/English reductionism "biomedicine" was a lacking approach. All that said, as someone with a long family line of vernacular herbalism from this culture, I was excited to see an accurate representation of many things we do, and even more thrilled to have supporting documentation handed to me in such a delightful format. This is a wonderful introduction to the overall topic.”

About Rosarie Kingston

Rosarie Kingston is a practicing medical herbalist in West Cork, Ireland. She lectures in the department of Folklore and Ethnology at University College, Cork. Her PhD examined Irish vernacular medicine in the twenty first century and she considers this blending of science and tradition paramount to the progression of modern healthcare.

Start a Book Club

Start a public or private book club with this book on the Fable app today!

FAQ

Do I have to buy the ebook to participate in a book club?

Why can’t I buy the ebook on the app?

How is Fable’s reader different from Kindle?

Do you sell physical books too?

Are book clubs free to join on Fable?

How do I start a book club with this book on Fable?

Error Icon
Save to a list
0
/
30
0
/
100
Private List
Private lists are not visible to other Fable users on your public profile.
Notification Icon
Fable uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB