Lughnasadh E2: The Celtic Olympics

Wild Kin: A Celtic Podcast · Aug 1, 2026 · 13m · transcript

Every August 1st, people across the Celtic world gathered for Lughnasadh—one of the best-documented festivals of the ancient calendar. In this episode, we step onto the fairground itself: the games, the legal proceedings, the matchmaking, and the truce that made all of it possible. We'll also look at what modern archaeoastronomy has revealed about just how far this tradition traveled, and how a Celtic harvest festival ended up shaping a Roman political calendar.

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Sources:

D.A. Binchy, "The Fair of Tailtiu and the Feast of Tara," Ériu 18 (Dublin: Royal…