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Were the Irish Druids from the Lost Island of Atlantis?

“In the secret island the Druid shall dwell once more, and the Bard, the slave of the harp, utter the speech of the Gods.” ― Lewis Spence

Mike Guarneri

Jan 7, 2023

Note: Be sure not to miss my updates and plans at the end of this newsletter.

So, it’s Friday. The first business week of the new year draws to a close. I hope everybody had a great start to the year!

Unfortunately, I have had a rough start to the new year.

The top-level summary is that I am suffering from spinal stenosis. Unfortunately, it has had a very negative effect on my life.

Also, we had a pipe leaking into our basement ceiling. It is now fixed, but we need to replace some sheetrock in the basement ceiling. And we have to spackle and repaint one of the bathrooms.

Anyway, that is my sob story start of the new year! It can only get better from here. Right?

Ok, let’s get to it! Today I want to discuss the Lost Island and the Lost City of Atlantis.

Is Atlantis real? If so, did it ever exist? Is it somewhere at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, or is it completely gone?

Who were the Atlanteans? Were they space aliens, as some conspiracy theories suggest?

Were they Druids?

In one of my early newsletters, I wrote about a claim by author Barry Cunliffe from his book, “Druids: A Very Short Introduction.” Cunliffe claims that the Druids existed long before the Celtic tribes arrived on the scene. This is something I believe to be true. Some refer to these pre-Celtic Druids as Proto Druids.

So, if we believe that the Druids existed before Celtic times, where did they come from?

Now we get to the fun part. Numerous theories claim that the Druids were inhabitants of the Lost Island and City of Atlantis. Over time, these theories have been considered anywhere from the ravings of lunatics to real possibilities.

I will share two derivations of a particular story:

The oceans rose when the ice sheets of the last ice age began melting. The rising water ended up flooding and wiping out many areas, including Atlantis. Druids were among the inhabitants of Atlantis. However, the Druids knew what was going on and left Atlantis. They sailed east to Ireland and West to North America.
In Atlantis, there were Druids and an evil version of the Druids. The evil Druids practiced black magic, infuriating mother nature and causing her to flood Atlantis completely. Like the first story, the Druids knew what was happening and sailed east and west before the island was flooded.

They are entertaining tales but not much more.

However, Keystone University in Ireland has put forth a fascinating theory.

The university admits that its theory contains circumstantial evidence which needs to be proven. Also, science will have to progress further in order to do so.

Keystone University posits that the island of Ireland itself, is the Lost Island of Atlantis and that Cerne in Mauritania, Africa is the Lost City of Atlantis.

The following is from Keystone University’s “Atlantis Ireland” presentation.

Greek Mythology:

According to Greek mythology, Atlas was the first king of the Island of Atlantis and the first king of Mauritania. The Atlas Mountains in Africa were named for him and the Atlantic Ocean.

Aristotle:

Beyond the Pillars of Heracles (Straits of Gibraltar) are two island. Albion and Ierne. Both are beyond the Celtae.
Albion is Britain. The white island (cliffs of dover are white).
Ierne is Ireland. The sacred island.
Celtae is France.

Plato:

The Greek philosopher Plato wrote a bit about Atlantis. Exactly where he obtained his information is not known.

Atlantis was an island in the Atlantic Ocean with a central plain surrounded by mountains.
Ireland meets this description by Plato. Keystone researched the 50 largest islands in the world, and Ireland is the only one that meets the description.

Atlantis has many hot and cold springs.
Ireland has twenty-seven know warm springs and thousands of cold springs (holy wells).

Atlantis was oblong and 3,000 stadia in one direction and 2,000 in the other direction.
A stadia is a unit of measurement. Ireland matches these dimension to within one percent!

In the center of the island there is a plain surrounded by mountains. It is said to be the fairest of all plains and very fertile.
Ireland meets this description.

Atlantis could produce two crops per year.
Due to the temperate climate from the gulf stream, Ireland in fact does produce two crops per year.

At the capital of the Island of Atlantis, there is a circular temple to Posiedon with a strange barbaric appearance measuring half a stadia wide.
This would probably be Newgrange. It meets the description and measurements. Some consider Newgrange to be the oldest temple in the world.

The temple is located fifty stadia from the sea.
The Boyne Valley, where Newgrange is located, is fifty stadia from the sea.

Atlantis was the way to other islands, and from those islands you might pass through the whole of the opposite continent.
Keystone believe that what Plato is describing is sailing from Ireland to Iceland to Greenland, and finally to North America. This would probably have been the best way at the time.

Atlantis Ireland was virtually destroyed by a great disaster causing a great flood (tsunami). Only a few survived.
Keystone believes this disaster was caused by a fragment of a comet hitting at the location of the Puerto Rico Trench, causing a great tsunami that washed over Ireland. Note Plato’s use of the word “disaster.” In Greek it means bad or evil star. Perhaps a comet could be considered a bad or evil star.

Given the above, I think Keystone University gives us a theory worth considering. And if they are correct, it is not a difficult leap to believe that Druids of times long prior to the Celts were inhabitants of Atlantis (Ireland).

What do you think?

Note that Plato presents similar information regarding Atlantis City, which Keystone believes to be the city of Cerne in Africa. That is beyond my scope at the moment, so I will not be writing about it.

Update:

Now that we are into the new year, I am making plans regarding my research and content production.

Here are some of my thought and plans so far:

This weekly newsletter will continue.
Perhaps at some point, I will create an offshoot of this newsletter with additional content like behind the scenes, my ramblings, seeing how I do my research and experiments, etc. The content will likely be provided using some combination of a newsletter, YouTube, and my Podcast.
YouTube channel and Podcast - I plan to release new content at least twice per month. Content will be interviews, my thoughts about my research and experiments, and other fun and interesting stuff. Who knows, maybe even bardic musical performances by yours truly. If you like my newsletter content, please head over to my YouTube channel and subscribe!
I am thinking of starting a Book Club on Zoom. I would pick a newbie-accessible book in my subject area to read. We would meet on Zoom maybe every couple of weeks, and I would moderate the discussion. Please e-mail me if you are interested in the book club idea at mike@guarneriny.com.
My first top-secret conclusions regarding how the old ways and practices may naturally provide some relief to mental health issues are progressing. I am still experimenting and have a bit more to figure out. I will stay at it!
In a matter of months, I hope to truly blow your mind with my first researched and tested formula to successfully apply old ways and practices to help with anxiety and depression.
As I continue to research, learn, and critically analyze, more and more material is being generated for an eventual book. If you had asked me six months ago if I would ever write a book, I would have said no way! But here I am researching and writing as if I am a “real” author…

That’s about it for now!

I have a favor to ask!

Many people read my newsletter, but very few click the like button.

So I humbly request that if you like a particular newsletter issue, please click the like button (the little heart).

More likes translate to more exposure for this newsletter and my research.

Don’t Forget About My Upcoming Interview…

Paraic Donoghue - January 2023 - (Interview Temporarily Postponed From December)

Paraic is a native Irish language speaker. He was raised on the Connemara Gaeltacht in County Galway, Ireland. Paraic is committed to the preservation and growth of the Irish language, along with the culture that is inextricably linked to it. He currently provides private Irish language lessons to students all over the world.

We will be discussing what it was like growing up and living on the Gaeltacht, his views on the Irish language and its importance, and the customs and traditions of his Gaeltacht that may have derived from the time of the Celts or earlier.

The interview will be published on my YouTube channel and Podcast approximately one-week post-interview.

Have a great weekend!

My name is Mike, and I am a skeptic and recovering accountant just starting to make my way through the world of the Druids, Celts, and Pagans.

Join me on my journey as I use an analytic eye to extract what I believe to be golden nuggets of truth from these fascinating topics. My goal is to find valuable ways, practices, and insights to make your life better today.

If my content speaks to you, please subscribe to my newsletter! Also, feel free to leave a comment to let me know what you think. I am here to serve what I hope will be a great community of curious and like-minded individuals.

“May the Road Rise to Meet You!”

With a skeptical mind and an analytical eye,

Mike Guarneri

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P.P.P.S. - If you enjoyed reading this piece, I’d like to ask a favor of you. For an extended limited time, I will be conducting 1-on-1 Zoom calls with select members of my SubStack subscribers.

Think of this call as a Discovery Call. The goal is to discover your vision, goals, and challenges as they may relate to the Celtic way of life, druidism, and pagan practices. This call will be beneficial to both of us.

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