Beliefs, customs and traditions in Tipperary will be explored in a new lecture series

 Tipperary Museum is pleased to launch its annual lecture programme Beyond Belief. The focus of this year’s series will be the beliefs, customs and traditions practiced by our ancestors.

These rituals or more simply put the everyday ways of life may appear old fashioned, curious or even superstitious to us. Many such customs are decreasing in popularity or have disappeared from contemporary life altogether.

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But have you ever thought about why such beliefs may have come about – were they rooted in practical experiences, in scientific or medical thinking of the day, were they religious beliefs adapted over time or something more magical?

Our 21st Century education and immediate access to information make it difficult for us to understand many of these customs and how such events could have popular support but, in a society where such practices and traditions were just a way of life passed down from one generation to the next they did not appear strange. Honouring these traditions was a way to honour family, locality and heritage.

This series will look at some of the common beliefs in areas such as health, death and burial, folklore and religion.

This series will be the 13th season and is one of the most anticipated elements of the Museum annual events schedule. The series will commence this year on Saturday 4th October in TUS Campus, Thurles with a one-day seminar featuring three speakers. This one-day seminar was a new introduction to the programme last year that aims to widen the reach of the series to other parts of the County and beyond.

As with all past series the programme aims to bring local, national and international speakers to a local audience on an overarching theme.

The monthly lectures held in The Council Chamber, County Hall, Clonmel feature speakers presenting on their area of research within the chosen theme. An annual fieldtrip in Spring/Summer concludes the series.

The one-day seminar is now available to book on Eventbrite - admission is €50 – including lunch. The monthly lectures are €10, payable on the door.

Speakers at this year seminar are Dr. Gillian O’ Brien from Liverpool John Moores University speaking on The Irishman’s house is his coffin: Death and Burial in Ireland, Dr. Kelly Fitzgerald from UCD on The Otherworld in Irish vernacular and folk tradition and Dr Rosari Kingston, UCC on The Wheel of the Year and Health.

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The monthly lectures in Clonmel will feature Michael Fortune from Folklore.ie on beliefs and practices surrounding death, Dr Jenny Butler on the case of Brigid Cleary, Dr Barry O’ Reilly on vernacular houses, Dr Louise Nugent on Pilgrimage in Tipperary and retired National Museum of Ireland Curator, Dr Ann O’ Dowd on the potency of objects for curing and protecting. With a diverse range of topics the series offers audiences the opportunity to attend all lectures or just the ones that interest them. So come along meet old friends, make new ones, learn why your parents/grandparents always practiced a particular tradition and continue the conversation over a cup of tea/coffee and scones.

For bookings or further information contact museum@tipperarycoco.ie or telephone 052 6165252. A full lecture brochure is available via email or hard copy on request or through your local library.