Irish Druids and Old Irish Religions

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Old Irish Religions.
—
black bit, hidden in the cake, was considered worthy of
sacrifice to Baal, as the cailteach bealtine. He was pushed
into the fire, though soon rescued, and afterwards had to
leap three times through the flames. The term Beltane
carline was ever a name of reproach.
In other places, at the Bealtine, a trench was cut round
the fire, the young men assembled in the circle, and cast
lots who should be the threefold leaper.
Before eating the
consecrated oatcake, a libation, in heathen style, was poured
upon the ground. The Scotch generally are not now so
given to sacramentari.mism. Dr. Donald Clark conceives
that the Beltane is not derived from Baal.
The Isle of Man, coming more under the influence of
Ireland than any neighbouring land, has survivals of the
old worship. Waldron asserts, " Not a family in the old
Island, of natives, but keeps a fire constantly burning—or
the most terrible devastations and mischief would immediately
ensue."
Train, in his account of the people, writes
" Almost down to the present time, no native of the Isle of
Man will lend anything on either of the great Druidical
festivals."
The Deas-iul dance, anciently in honour of the sun, is
still practised there, going, like the sun, from east to south
in its course, not ear-tuia-iul, or going round by east to
north. Fires were kept up on the first of November, as
at Hallowe'en.
Plowden, another historian of the place, remarks that
"The Scotch, Irish, and Manx call the first day of May,
Beiltein, or the day of Baal's fire." A newspaper of 1837
has this paragraph—" On May-day the people of the Isle
of Man have, from time immemorial, burned all the whin
bushes in the Island, conceiving that
they thereby burn all
tlie witches and fairies, which they believe take refuge
there."