Date: Tue, 25 Aug 1998 21:58:07 -0700
This comes from the Web Page of Stewart and Janet Farrar....
ARTICLE: In Ireland
Challenging the Arch Druid:
A statement by Janet and Stewart Farrar and Gavin Bone
We first heard about 'Arch Druid' (Michael McGrath) about two
years ago. We were warned about this time about him by a Gard
(policeman) who told us about the right wing connection. He had
appeared on RTE TV claiming to be head of an exteme racist
right-wing Party, and the fact that he kept appearing in court
for Drunk and Disorderly behaviour and assault - SEE NEWSPAPER
CUTTING from the Leinster/Munster Express 1996.
He wrote to us, direct, inviting us up to Tara for Summer
Solstice 1995. We decided that we needed to meet him personally
before judging him. When we got there we were met by him; he was
dressed in paramilitary dress and told us how he was shocked
about the 'black Druids' who were coming from England. He also
said that he wanted Janet to do the ritual and that he had
called the press who were sending a photographer, even though we
had said quite explicitly stated that we were coming as
'observers'. We exited very quickly giving no reason for our
leaving.
Last year a fundamentalist [Christian?] in Cork trying to sell
anti-Pagan Halloween videos appeared in the tabloids claiming
that there was going to be a human sacrifice at Halloween by
Satanists and that the Gards were 'investigating'. We were
contacted by the Garda inspector in Cork who wanted information,
as this was news to him! We sent him a video on the 'Child Abuse
and Sacrifice Myth' and generally put his mind at rest that it
was just a fundamentalist trying to sell videos. Unfortunately,
the next week, Michael McGrath appeared in the same paper saying
how he was going to turn the full resources of his Order (the
Irish order of Druids) against these nasty 'Satanic witch
covens'. He therefore supported the fundamentalist in his claim
by doing this, and we weren't very happy about his use of the
word witch.
He got a gathering of Druids together at Tara last Solstice,
this included the British Council of Druid Orders, who sent a
representative. One of the groups we were involved with under
the PINE banner sent an observer, as we didn't want to actively
support him. He has only been claiming to be a Druid for the
past four years, so in no way has he the experience (about
21 years!) to claim the right to be 'Arch-Druid', which he has
started doing recently, and more worryingly is being recognised
as such by the Press. We had generally ignored his activities up
until then, but one thing I can say is that his actions have
united alot of Pagan groups here who are all agreed that his
claims are going to far and who worry that his right wing
activities would taint them, particularly the Druidic Groups
here.
At Lammas he decided to Crown a High King at Tara. At this
point we decided to draw the line. We felt that this would be an
insult to the Republic and those that fought for Ireland's
independence over two hundred years. So we went up to Tara. When
we got there we got several surprises. First of all, we weren't
alone in our opposition - there were members of the Druid Clan
of Danu (FOI), Ancient Order of Hibernians (Republican
equivalent to the Orange Orders), Society of Irish Re-enactors
('the Clans') and several others. Secondly, he had been banned
from the Book and Coffee shop there because he was so drunk, by
the owner! There were only about seven of his group (including
his two cousins) there, and by this time McGrath was so drunk
he was unable to communicate coherently! The members of his
'order' had decided to call it off anyway because of his
alcoholic state.
We made our statement in a peaceful manner anyway (as did the
others there) stating that we felt his actions were an insult to
the memory of those that had died for the Republic, particularly
as the site chosen for the crowning was were O'Connell read out
the 1916 declaration of independence. We also stated that we did
not recognise his title of 'Arch-Druid of All Ireland and Tara';
but I think he was to drunk to notice, to be honest!
We got the first letter from him three days later. He threatened
us with a list of organisations, including OBOD, ADF, CAW and
Green Egg etc. etc. He made it clear that he thought that this
was a plot by Janet and organised completely by us - it was nice
to get the credit but it just wan't true!
The second letter we received was very abusive and was from 'The
Knights of Tara', an organisation linked to Michael McGraths
Irish Order of Druids. We are unable to comment on this letter
for legal reasons.
The following Sunday we opened up the national tabloid to find
he had written to them claiming that he had been 'put upon' by
naked witches on Tara - SEE NEWSPAPER CUTTING! He also said that
we were banned from his organisation!!! The article was
generally tongue in cheek about him - referring to him as
'Monarchist' and us as 'Republican' - not a bad thing in this
country!. It also states that there were '150' members of his
organisation when there was in fact only seven (including the
two candidates for 'High King' and his two cousins)! They did
not refer to us by name (we successfully sued a paper here and
that has left them edgy about us). We are pretty sure he just
sent them a letter. Unfortunately, we ourselves were contacted
by the same paper for a reply so had no choice but to say
something. They have chosen to ignore (so far) the information
we have passed on to them on Mr McGrath, and concentrate their
article on 'Witch V's Druids', which is patently untrue as we
are acting with the support of the sensible Druid community here.
As Mr McGrath made the decision to go the Tabloid Press our
reply is to go to the Pagan Press and keep this out of public
view. His need to court the media is like to cause problems for
all the genuine Witches, Pagans and Druids in Ireland. He has
made his views quite clear in the article (and in the letters to
us) on how he feels about the Wiccan community. We know of no
genuine Druids anywhere who hold such a view, infact most of the
ones we know work actively alongside the Wiccan community for
the benefit of the whole of the Pagan community.
Janet and Stewart Farrar, and Gavin Bone, August 1997
Farrar/Bone 1997
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