• Saturday, November 3rd, 10am – 2.30pm,
• €10 (includes light lunch)
• To book, contact angairdin1’at’gmail.com or 087 284 5443   (Before 31 October).

The impression that Ireland was a remote, isolated place in antiquity is outdated. Latest evidence suggests it was part of an active trade network along Atlantic-Mediterranean seaways. During the Neolithic and Bronze ages, the sea was a corridor for trade, communication, ideas  and beliefs – easier, faster & more economical than overland routes.

In reality this made ancient Ireland ‘central & accessible’ – its west coast & islands part of a continuous maritime corridor, from the Mediterranean to Scandinavia. Seagoing Irish had intense cultural affinity and contact with other communities along this long seaboard. The result was shared maritime heritage, language, &religious beliefs.

Against this backdrop, Alf Monaghan traces the origin and spread of Pre-Christian eastern religious beliefs to Ireland, and their impact here. In this context too, the influence of Egyptian Christianity on the early Irish Church is easily understood.

Download flyer: Flyer – A Sacred Island – before Chtristianity (5 Sept. ’18) (1)

About Alf Monaghan

Alf, from Carrick-on-Shannon, has spent most of his life abroad.

He has worked as an Economic Adviser to governments and development agencies in Northern Europe, Central America, the Mediterranean, the Middle East, South & West Africa.

His years in Syria,Turkey, Lebanon, Cyprus, Jordan & Egypt, triggered a deeper interest in the origins of belief and religion.