Pagan, Shinto & Spiritual Book Reviews November 2016

Morgan Daimler, Pagan Portals – Gods and Goddesses of Ireland: A Guide to Irish Deities

(Moon Books, released December 9, 2016)
★★★ Read of the Month! ★★★

Morgan Daimler definitely has a touch of magic about her. Everything she writes is consistently excellent. This new release in the Pagan Portals is no exception.

As Daimler puts it in the introduction, “There are many books available on the Celtic Gods more generally and a few on the Irish Gods specifically, but none, to my knowledge, that try to do what I am aiming to do here – concisely describe a variety of Irish Gods in one easy-to-use reference.” Gods and Goddesses of Ireland: A Guide to Irish Deities is an excellent response to this need. It’s a directory of all the Irish deities, divided into three categories: gods of the Tuatha Dé Danann, goddesses of the Tuatha Dé Danann, and deities that are not considered part of the Tuatha Dé Danann. The summaries for each deity are just right in terms of length and depth, and I learned a lot of new information here (Irish deities aren’t my strong point…). I think it might have been nice to include some illustrations, or photos of artefacts attributed to these deities like statues. This would have made Gods and Goddesses of Ireland really something. But it’s still a great resource. As always, you can rely on Daimler to be clear, informative and well-researched.

Less than 100 pages, Gods and Goddesses of Ireland: A Guide to Irish Deities is a very little book. But it just goes to show that a book does not have to be a tome to be great.