Even modern-day Halloween traditions, like wearing costumes and carving pumpkins, come from ancient Samhain practices.

In traditional barmbrack, certain items are added to the dough before cooking, including a ring, a coin, a piece of cloth, a stick, and a pea.

In The Anthology of Irish Folk Tales, Richard Marsh explores the phenomenon of gates that won't stay closed in Moynalty, a small village in Co Meath.

Even if you don't believe in these old notions, chances are you know a family member or friend who obeys them

'Most Irish people have some instinctive belief in the world of the fairies, even if sometimes it has to be excavated carefully from under a veneer of busy modernity'

Many tales warn against the disturbing of fairy forts, as they are believed to be portals to the otherworld.

Have you ever fallen victim to a stray sod and found yourself lost and walking aimlessly?