O'Brien: The Round Towers Of Ireland Or The History Of The Tuatha-De-Danaans

O'Brien, Henry, O'Brien: The Round Towers Of Ireland Or The History Of The Tuatha-De-Danaans, London: W. Thackery & Co., 1898

The Round Towers Or The History Of The Tuatha De Danaans by Henry O'Brien was published in 1834. The book was controversial at the time because O'Brien claimed that the round towers which were a common feature of early Irish Christian monastic sites were in fact built by pre-Christian pagans. According to O'Brien the towers were phallic symbols built by the Tuatha De Danann as part of an ancient cult he linked with ancient Greece, Egypt, India and Buddhism.

O'Brien, Henry, O'Brien: The Round Towers Of Ireland Or The History Of The Tuatha-De-Danaans, London: W. Thackery & Co., 1898

O'Brien, Henry, O'Brien: The Round Towers Of Ireland Or The History Of The Tuatha-De-Danaans, London: W. Thackery & Co., 1898

The Round Towers Or The History Of The Tuatha De Danaans by Henry O'Brien was published in 1834. The book was controversial at the time because O'Brien claimed that the round towers which were a common feature of early Irish Christian monastic sites were in fact built by pre-Christian pagans. According to O'Brien the towers were phallic symbols built by the Tuatha De Danann as part of an ancient cult he linked with ancient Greece, Egypt, India and Buddhism.

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The Round Towers Or The History Of The Tuatha De Danaans by Henry O'Brien (1808-1835) was published in 1834. The book was controversial at the time because O'Brien claimed that the round towers which were a common feature of early Irish Christian monastic sites were in fact built by pre-Christian pagans. According to O'Brien the towers were phallic symbols built by the Tuatha De Danann as part of an ancient cult he linked with ancient Greece, Egypt, India and Buddhism.

The Tuatha De Danaan appear in ancient Irish mythology and the earliest written histories of Ireland as among the first people to arrive in Ireland. They defeated another people called the Fir Bolg and made Ireland their home. Another wave of settlers called the Milesians, believed to be from Spain and originally Turkey, followed and defeated the Tuatha De Danaan. The Tuatha De Danaan were said to have magical powers and after their defeat retreated into the underworld becoming the sometimes malevolent fairy folk of popular Irish lore.

O'Brien claimed that the Celtic languages, religion and civilisation originated in cultures that existed in ancient India where Buddhism began. He claims there are commonalities with ancient Iran, Egypt and Greece because pagan religions across Europe, the Middle East and Asia apparently featured phallic worship. The superficial resemblance of a typical Irish round tower to upright standing stones, monuments and obelisks of the ancient world led O'Brien to believe they were in fact a remnant of the lost Celtic druidic faith that was stamped out by St. Patrick and his successors.

In the 20th and 21st century the consensus among most historians and archaeologists is that the round towers were refugesduring Viking and Gaelic Irish attacks on monasteries. Another theory is that they were also used as belfries due to their similarity with other free standing belfry towers on the European continent.

O'Brien defied orthodoxy by linking the mythical lost civilization of Atlantis, the round towers of Ireland, contemporary secret societies, the occult, freemasons and the Tuath De Danaan. His curious writings reveal a supposed counter-narrative to the accepted narrative of orthodox historians who reject fantasy and leaps to unsupported conclusions. His works were very popular during their time and would influence generations of pseudo-historians, science fiction writers and modern day conspiracy theorists.