Did Ireland’s old gods really disappear, or did they simply change their names?

When Christianity arrived, it didn’t sweep the land clean. It adapted.

Take Brigid.

She was a goddess of poetry, healing, smithcraft and sacred fire. Her festival, Imbolc, marked the coming of spring. Water wells were dedicated to her. A flame burned in her honor.

Then came Brigid of Kildare.

A patroness of poets. A healer. Associated with smiths. Sacred wells in her name. Feast day? 1 February, the same day as Imbolc. An eternal flame at Kildare.

Coincidence? Or continuity?

Across Ireland, holy water wells once linked to older deities were rededicated to saints. Sacred hills remained sacred.

Harvest festivals such as Lughnasadh survived under Christian influence. The old stories weren’t destroyed, they were reframed.

Even the Tuatha Dé Danann were not erased. In texts like the Lebor Gabála Érenn, they were rewritten as an ancient people. They retreated into the sídhe mounds. They were no longer gods but not quite gone either.

Ireland didn’t abandon its past.

It layered belief upon belief. And if you look closely… You can still see the older world shining through the newer one. What do you think? Transformation or takeover?

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