The start of summer and the Bealtaine festival were marked with ancient Celtic ceremonies and rituals at Tara, Co Meath, at the weekend. This evening women and men from around the globe will dress in their native spiritual costumes and bring the festivities to a close.
The weekend also saw the marriage of Lakota Chief Jeffrey White Horse and Mary Elizabeth Thunder, a Native American couple who chose Tara and a Celtic marriage ceremony.
The tradition involves the couple staying together for a year and a day. Then, if they are happy together, they take part in another ceremony to make the marriage permanent.
Colleen is based in England and visits Ireland every few months. "We consider Tara to be a sacred centre and there are people from different cultures here," she said. "They have come from the US, England, and Germany and elsewhere to be in Ireland. We hope to have a better understanding of each other and for that wisdom and understanding to be sent out from here." Adi Vkara, a female chief in Fiji, took part "to represent the female aspect of my people. There are 13 council chiefs and 12 are male. The first born of those 12 families are male. The thirteenth family always has a first-born female. I returned to my island and my first and only born was female," she said.
"Before we speak in high council we take a breath, that is our connection with the divine. I am a universal being and I love Ireland, your land is sacred, it talks."
The weekend was organised by Sacred Journey of Awakening group and it returns to Ireland for the Celtic festival of Lammas at the end of July, when it will visit Oldcastle in Co Meath.