predecessor at his university proved both an “exorbitant Celtophile” and a misled eccentric. Evans-Wentz conjured up the peasantry as informants for a pan-Celtic fairy belief system. He incorporated an unnamed mystic’s testimony. Yet this was none other than George Russell. Williams reasons that Evans-Wentz betrayed a “spiritual crush on Russell.” Testifying as to the endurance of this account lies beyond the scope of Williams’ work, he admits he had to cut a third of his own draft. The results remain impressive, even if the source of that apt John Cowper Powys colophon beginning Chapter Nine lacks attribution to that fabulist.
Nowadays, Williams tracks a second arc, again with diminishing attention to the old gods, among Irish writers. The Tuath Dé and their replacements, the Tuatha Dé Danann, as the Irish supernatural race, endure within the “wide uptake” by creative classes outside the isle. The fine arts alongside Celtic Paganism and Celtic Reconstructionism enshrine goddesses, notably the fire spirit of Brigit.
Unfortunately, opposition to the ancient forces still exists. Vandalism of historic sites and a modern sculpture to the Celtic sea-god testifies to the powers of these representations as feared by evangelicals. Unlike other cultures where monotheism replaced paganism, Williams concludes that in Ireland a “restless refusal to resolve” the ambiguities of the survival of the venerable if often barely recalled deities within a Christian context distinguishes that island’s literary legacy within the extant sources.
Fittingly, Williams ends his 600-page survey with a tribute to the late John Moriarty, a philosopher and shaman from County Kerry. Moriarty’s “ecological and psychic sensitivity” to summon up again the mythic terrain’s specters signifies the restoration of “imaginative vitality.” In a nation divided by income inequality and sectarian squabbles, Moriarty’s vision and Williams’ precision combine. This learned volume contributes valuable insights that may guide all those who look to the Irish tales and Celtic heritage as a relevant force of energy.