Mater Deorum Hibernensium (The Mother of the Gods of Ireland): Identity and Cross-Correlation in Early Irish Mythology

Presented at the 1999 Harvard Celtic Colloquium, and published in the Proceedings of the 19th Annual Harvard Celtic Colloquium.
Also presented by special request at the Harvard Study Group on Ancient Magic and Religion, Lecture Series, 2000

A discussion of the term 'Tuatha Dé Danann,' focusing on the goddesses Danu, Anu and the Mórrigan, and the connection of Danu's name with widespread river names in Celtic territories (as well as its possible late formation in Medieval Irish sources).

     The Hazel of Immortality

Presented at the Ford Foundation's GSAS Lecture Series for Celtic Studies, 2000.

An exploration of early Irish traditions connected with the eating and drinking of sacred substances associated with visions, prophecy and ritual, and the possible use of psychotropic substances in Irish and Scottish sources.

     The Descent of the Gods: Creation, Cosmogony and Divine Order in Lebor Gabála érenn

Presented at the Harvard Celtic Colloquium, 2001. Published in the Proceedings of the Harvard Celtic Colloquium.

An exploration of early Irish deities and cosmogonies and onomastic traditions pertaining to ancestror deities and divine figures who may demonstrate connections with creation scenarios, primal landscapes and the World Tree of the early Irish.

     Mistress of the Wild Things: An Inquiry into the Nature of Abundance and Feminine Power in Early Irish Tradition

Presented at the Harvard Celtic Colloquium, 2002.

This paper discusses the Irish divine figure of Flidais, a goddess associated with the wilderness, deer, sacred liquids or beverages, and feminine power. It also follows possible parallels of function or attribute in other female figures, including antlered goddesses from Britain and the Continent, and the Scottish figure of the Cailleach.

     Oenach Aimsire na mBan: Cycles of Work, Deities and Gender Roles in Early Irish Tradition

Presented at the Harvard Celtic Colloquium, 2003.

An exploration of the seasonal work cycles of the calendar year, folklore and traditions, and early textual sources which make reference to divine figures, suggest that one half of the year was considered the male half of the year, and the other half the female half, in native Irish tradition.

     Ainimm-Eolchaire ('Soul Longing')

Original poem written in Old Irish in the style of early Irish 'immrama'
Presented at University of Massachusetts, Amherst -April 2004. Published in mOthertongue Journal, CompLit Department, Umass.

     éisce, Gáethe ocus Muir: Three Notes on Archaic Celtic Cosmology

Presented at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland -July, 2004, Published in Cosmos, Journal of the Society for Traditional Cosmology.

    A discussion of three elements in early Celtic cosmology and mythology, including lunar time reckoning, lunar calendars and the pre-eminence of the new moon in the lunar cycle; the associations of the four directions in early Irish tradition; and Celtic and Indo-European examples which suggest the association of the Goddeess of Sovereignty and Horses with the God of the Sea.

     Sharynne may be publishing a paper in the University of Glasgow (Scotland) Proceedings of the 2003 Conference 'On Wummans Wayis: Woman in Medieval Scotland, 950-1650', entitled, 'Warriors, Wives and Witches: Representations of Scottish Women in Medieval Irish Texts' (which explores the roles of Scottish and Pictish women), and may be presenting other papers in Scotland next year as well.

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