Mystical Ireland – The Power Of Ancient Cures and Curses

Name: Mystical Ireland – The Power Of Ancient Cures and Curses
Start: 2026-10-11T14:00:00+01:00
End: 2026-10-11T15:30:00+01:00
Location: The Séamus Ennis Arts Centre

About the event

Healers are practicing a tradition that is thousands of years old but is in a very delicate state, whereby we could lose our cures within 20/30 years.

We are delighted to welcome Sarah McKenna Dunne to the centre to give a 45 minute storytelling performance intertwining Irish mythology and her personal journey collecting stories from ordinary people who practice an extraordinary tradition. For two years, Sarah has been documenting traditional cures in her home region on the border counties of Ireland and now she wants to tell you about where this ancient practice fits in with modern Ireland. 'The cure', as it is known, is the ability of a person, place, or object to heal varied but specific illnesses because of the conditions of their existence. An unusual tradition for a Western European country to still have that survived centuries of colonialization, religious change, and famine, the cure connects us directly with our ancestors but now faces a future where they could be lost. Sarah is trying to encourage conversations in our homes about the cure and if and where our cultural responsibility can support a revival.

But as sure as cures have always existed, so too have curses. Tied deeply with dark folklore, the desire to do harm invokes the land to betray it's inhabitants. Sarah has encountered a few stories of revenge caused by the act of curse, but thankfully she also knows where to get the cure of the curse for anyone who needs it!

Sarah will also have her book, Cures from the Hollow, available to buy and have signed at this event.