This review is purposely overly harsh in an effort to achieve a counter-balance. In truth, it deals with one, inexcusible, chapter re: The Great Queen [i.e. The Morrighan]. He *really* fummbled the ball, here (and that's being generous!).
Having read nearly all of the books listed in these authors' Bibiography, I firmly disagree with their interpretations of The Morrighan, entirely. In essence, they seem to have been imposing their views onto the evidence at hand. Further insulting was the way in which they extended an olive branch to Medb in an effort to completely excuse Her from War-Goddess status. However, they refuse to extend the same grace to The Morrighan when, according to the Medieval concepot of war-fare [inter-tribal catle raids] Medb is more of a War-Goddess than The Morrighan will ever be!
Most scholars, today, seem to be referring to Her not as a War-Goddess, but as one of the following: Tutelary-/Sovereign-/Earth-Goddess. In fact, recent academic articles by one Maire Herbert have exploded this out-dated War-Goddess model as it's applied to The Morrighan. This out-dated model is, unfortunately, the result of early Classicist idealogy being imposed onto non-Classical Gods and Goddesses (this model stems ONLY from one article written in 1870, and has stuck ever sense, unquestioned, and undefied erroniously-so by Pagans).
He further insults any well-informed reader by calling Her a "Battle Fury" (scholars are unanimously firm in their belief that She never actually engages in battle). Some other choice descriptions (which are abhorantly over-stepping the bounds of all reasonable research) are: She is a Goddess of a severe psychotic episodes, and that She is the personification of the cool, calculated, mentality of a serial killer! None of this is borne out via the research! I suggest that ANYONE interested in researching Her, turn to the following scholars (he referenced only to the last text listed, and seemed to have ignored that the author was emphatic in stating that She is an Earth-Goddess; others state She is also from a Mother-Goddess Cult, too):
* The Witch Figure -- Ed. V. Newall [Contains an article by Dr. Anne Ross]
* The Concept of the Goddess -- Ed. Miranda Green [contains two
academic articles by two Irish scholars which define Her as an Earth-Goddess, a genius loci, and one even blowing a part the War-Goddess model, Aspect, with no answers possible!]
* The Celtic Hgeroic Age -- Ed. & Trans. John Carey & John Koch [Often defines The Morrighan strictly AS Anann, the Irish Mother-Goddess.]
* The Great Queens: Irish Goddesses from the Morrighan to Cathleen Ni Houlihan -- Rosalind Clark [She has some excellent info. re: The Morighan as an Earth-/Tutelary-/Fertility-/Cow-/Sovereignty-Goddess.]
* War Goddess: THe Morrighan & Her Germano-Celtic Counterpart --
Angelique Epstein [Still a good text, even though she relies far too heavily upon the now out-dated War-Goddess model; she puts Irish "warfare" into it's propper perspective, which is truly alien to the modern Pagan re: what we concieve of as "war".]
* The Ancient Celts -- Barry Cunliffe
The utter nerve that he would dare state this chapter as objective research is insulting to academia, as well as to Pagans, who are taking them at their word! His clear, unthinking bias (and hypocricy when the Medb chapter is taken into account), is clear, and unforgivible to this Pagan (and researcher)!
I don't trust him as a researcher. In fact, his views concernign academia are lacking, for example, re: Ronald Hutton. He doesn't understand so much about the academic community, and that Hutton is often mistaken re: his personal assumptions. But, McColman merely writes any of his critics off (who question anything he writes, no matter how miniscule) as "not knowing what they're talking about!" No researcher would (especially an academic) would be so foolish!
Any truly advanced student in the subject will quickly see the huge problems concerning this book and how he type-casts the Gods (which is academically inexcusible!).
The authors have presented one of the first popular efforts to explain the Irish and Welsh Gods in a way that Neopagans will understand and appreciate. The book is written with a moderately reconstructionist sensibility that helps break down modern misunderstandings of Celtic lore, but it maintains a friendly and instructive voice that doesn't put the reader off. Scholasticly sound without being stuffy, and spiritually aware as well.
Recommended.
Ian
