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      Traditional Cures of Ireland

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      Author: Sheilagh Larkin, Marketing Executive
      Published: May 28, 2026 More by Sheilagh

      Herbs, Healers and Holy Wells

      Folk medicine refers to the traditional systems of healing practised by non-professional healers, rooted in local customs, beliefs, and oral traditions. It typically draws on natural remedies, particularly herbs and plants, alongside practices shaped by religion, superstition, and long-held cultural lore.

      Before modern medicine, traditional cures were the primary treatments in Ireland, passed through families and communities. Today, some of these remedies still exist alongside modern healthcare. The beliefs of bygone days coloured every cure. Illness was viewed as a shadow cast by unseen forces—fairies, witches, and curses. Healers often infused rituals with mystical symbolism, inviting hope and comfort alongside practical healing.

      The information in this blog is largely drawn from Irish Country Cures by Patrick Logan (1981). It is important to note that none of the remedies described should be taken as medical advice. Logan suggests that many of the conditions recorded in folk medicine would likely have improved naturally over time, but that the role of the healer—offering attention, reassurance, and care at little or no cost—was itself a significant source of comfort and relief.

      Natural Cures

      Before modern medicine, people relied on whatever was available to them when illness struck. In rural Ireland, where most families lived by farming, remedies often included everyday ingredients such as eggs, milk, butter and animal fats. More than anything else, however, people placed great faith in the healing power of plants, using herbs and wildflowers to treat ailments in both humans and animals. Knowledge of these remedies was passed down through generations and formed an important part of daily life.

      While some of these cures may sound unusual today, many traditional herbal remedies contain properties that are now recognised in modern medicine. Across Ireland, countless natural treatments were used for everything from coughs and burns to infections and skin complaints. Below are some of the most common herbal cures once found in Irish folk medicine.

      Dandelion

      Dandelions were widely used in folk remedies. Fresh dandelion leaves, eaten in a bread-and-butter sandwich, were believed to help treat tuberculosis of the lungs. The leaves were also chewed to relieve bronchitis, while dandelion tea was commonly used for urinary tract infections. The plant’s juice was applied to styes and warts as a healing treatment.

      Garlic

      Garlic was considered especially effective for illnesses affecting the lungs and chest. Cloves were boiled, mashed and strained before being mixed with honey to create a remedy for coughs, tuberculosis and other respiratory complaints. For bronchitis in children, finely chopped garlic leaves and cloves were wrapped in brown paper and placed directly on the chest.

      Dandelion flowers growing in the fields

      Dandelion flowers growing in the fields

      Beeswax

      Chewing beeswax was a recognised treatment for blocked sinuses in County Cavan. Beeswax was also mixed with boiled mutton fat and applied to burns, serving as both a soothing remedy and a protective dressing.

      Dock Leaves

      A remedy still familiar today is the use of dock leaves for nettle stings. The leaf would be rubbed onto the affected area, often while repeating certain charms believed to help the cure take effect.

      Onion

      Onions featured in a wide range of traditional cures. Eating a raw onion was said to help with insomnia, while onions boiled in milk were given to children suffering from asthma. Rubbing a raw onion on a bee sting was believed to draw out the sting and ease the pain. Onions were even used as a treatment for baldness, with sufferers instructed to rub a raw onion directly onto the scalp.

      This image captures a close-up of a bumblebee foraging on purple lavender flower spikes

      Bee on lavender

      Ivy Leaves

      People commonly used ivy leaves to treat corns. One method involved wrapping the leaf directly around the affected area. Another method was to steep the leaves in vinegar in a sealed bottle for 48 hours. The liquid is poured off, and the bottle should remain corked until required and then applied to each corn. People also believed ivy leaf juice could cure wounds, ulcers, and burns.

      If you’d like to explore the plants behind many of these traditional remedies in more detail, you can read more about Ireland’s native flora in our guide to wildflowers throughout the year. It’s a great way to connect the herbs and plants used in folk medicine with the landscapes they still grow in today.

      Learn More

      Ivy Leaves

      Ivy Leaves

      Folklore Cures

      Not all traditional Irish cures came from herbs or plants. Many were rooted in folklore, superstition and long-held beliefs about family lineage, sacred rituals and inherited powers. Across rural Ireland, certain people were believed to possess special healing abilities simply because of who they were, the order of their birth, or the family they married into. These cures were often passed down through generations and treated with the same respect as herbal remedies.

      In many cases, the success of a cure depended as much on ritual and belief as on the treatment itself. Specific words had to be spoken, actions carefully followed, and traditions observed exactly. From inherited healing powers to cures linked with holy places and strange rituals, these practices formed an important part of Irish folk medicine for centuries.

      Ritualistic Cures

      People also associated many traditional cures with sacred objects or specific locations believed to possess healing properties.

      • One remedy for stopping bleeding was to use moss taken from a human skull exposed to the elements to dress the wound.
      • In County Cavan, a dried-up lake known as Lough Leighis — meaning “the Healing Lake” — was famous for curing skin complaints. People collected mud from the lake bed at midnight and used it as a face mask over several weeks to treat rosacea and other skin conditions.
      • Warts, too, were treated through ritual. One common cure involved washing the wart in forge water for nine consecutive mornings. However, the cure only worked if someone other than the patient secretly stole the water.

      If you’d like to dive deeper into the myths and beliefs that shaped many of these traditional cures, explore our page on Irish folklore and discover the stories and legends woven into Ireland’s past.

      Ireland’s Folklore

      A close-up shot of a tree trunk displaying two distinct textures: the right side features rough, vertically grooved bark in shades of gray and brown, while the left side is heavily carpeted in dense, lush green moss. A few small ivy leaves are visible climbing up the mossy section on the far left.

      Moss On A Tree

      Familial Cures

      Marrying Someone with the Same Surname

      One of the more unusual beliefs held that a couple who shared the same surname before marriage possessed the power to cure whooping cough. The cure itself varied from county to county. In Leitrim, the husband and wife would give the final piece of their breakfast to a messenger, who then carried it to the patient. In Cavan, the sufferer was expected to visit three such couples. Elsewhere, the healing power was believed to lie with the children of these marriages, who could cure the illness simply by offering food to the patient.

      A Man Who Had Never Seen His Father

      A man who had never seen his own father was believed to have the power to cure thrush by breathing gently over the patient’s mouth. Breathing over the sick was an ancient practice, rooted in the belief that harmful spirits feared human touch and breath. Such a man was also said to possess the cure for warts, though only if the sufferer managed to touch his coat without him noticing.

      Seventh Son of a Seventh Son

      Perhaps the best-known folk healer in Irish tradition was the seventh son of a seventh son. People believed such men possessed remarkable healing powers, particularly for ailments such as eczema and ringworm. Treatments for eczema often involved mixtures of honey and buttermilk, cream, or unsalted butter blended with cabbage juice. Ringworm, meanwhile, could supposedly be cured simply through touch. The seventh son was widely credited with the ability to heal many illnesses and was often highly respected within local communities.

      Inherited and Bestowed Cures

      Some cures were believed to be inherited through families or bestowed by saints, priests or rituals. The Donaghy family of County Leitrim, for example, were famous bone-setters whose gift was said to have been granted by St. Columcille and passed down through generations.

      Seventh Daughter

      The seventh daughter was also believed to hold healing powers. In particular, she was said to be able to cure ringworm by making the sign of the cross over the affected area.

      Earned Cures

      Other cures were earned through strange rituals, such as licking a lizard nine times over a set period and in a particular place to gain the power to heal burns.

      To learn more about the customs and beliefs that shaped daily life in Ireland for generations, explore our guide to Irish traditions and discover the rituals, celebrations and practices still remembered today.

      Irish Traditions Guide

      Holy Wells

      What Are Holy Wells?

      Holy wells are deeply woven into Irish history, folklore and spiritual tradition, holding an important place in communities across the country for centuries. They were associated with every stage of life: people visited holy wells before marriage, used them for baptisms, and often wished to be buried close to them after death. Today, there are thought to be more than 3,000 holy wells scattered throughout Ireland, ranging from carefully maintained pilgrimage sites to quiet springs hidden in remote fields and forests.

      Many of these wells are believed to predate Christianity and were originally linked to ancient Celtic beliefs and deities before later becoming associated with Christian saints. Over time, they were Christianised, with each well typically dedicated to a particular saint and connected to local customs, feast days and healing traditions. Despite changes in religion and society, holy wells continued to be places of devotion, ritual and healing for generations of Irish people.

      Holy Well Ireland

      Holy Well

      Holy Wells & Cures

      People widely believed holy wells possessed healing powers and visited them to seek cures for a vast range of ailments. Different wells became associated with specific illnesses, and each developed its own rituals, prayers and traditions that visitors had to follow carefully. Many believed the well’s healing powers reached their peak at midnight on the feast day of the saint to whom the well was dedicated.

      Some holy wells also retained traces of older Celtic traditions beneath their Christian identity. One well-known example is St. Brigid’s Well near Liscannor in County Clare, which is traditionally visited during Lughnasa, the ancient Celtic harvest festival now observed on the last Sunday in July. Pilgrims visiting the well follow a specific ritual, reciting six Our Fathers and six Hail Marys while walking around an outer ring of prayer stations six times, before repeating the prayers around an inner circle. The ritual ends by kissing an ancient crucifix and drinking water from the well in the hope of receiving a cure.

      Folding reeds into St Brigid's Day crosses

      St Brigid’s crosses are an example of how these two feminist figures have fused.

      Holy wells were believed to heal everything from blindness and skin complaints to back pain and mental illness. Some wells developed such strong reputations that people believed they could cure almost any ailment brought to them, reinforcing their status among the most sacred healing sites in Irish folk tradition.

      Interested in learning more? The Heritage Council has put together a handy guide to Holy Wells in Ireland. Read more here.

      Healers & Herbalists

      Traditional healers played an important role in Irish society, particularly in rural communities where access to doctors and medicine was limited. Many of these healers were women known in Irish as bean feasa, meaning “wise woman”. While they often relied on herbal remedies and practical knowledge of plants, their treatments were also deeply connected to ritual, folklore and spirituality. Because of this blend of healing and mysticism, these women were often viewed as possessing special, even supernatural, powers.

      Biddy Early

      cows Ireland

      Cows in ireland

      One well-known example is that of Biddy Early of County Clare. She was born in 1798 to a poor farming family. Widowed multiple times throughout her life and left struggling to raise children alone, she became famous throughout the county for stories of supernatural powers that emerged after the death of her second husband. According to local legend, when police arrived to evict her for unpaid rent, she used words given to her by her dead husband to magically stop them in their tracks. Biddy later became widely known for her mysterious “Blue Bottle,” which she claimed was given to her by her deceased son Tom and which supposedly allowed her to predict the future and see approaching visitors before they arrived.

      Biddy also gained a reputation as a healer and wise woman, using water from a special well beside her home and herbal potions to cure illnesses in both people and animals. She was closely associated with Irish fairy folklore, and many believed she could communicate with the “little people” and reverse fairy curses. Despite her fame, she was remembered as generous and humble, accepting only food, drink or small gifts in return for her help rather than money. Stories about her life and powers spread across Ireland, making her one of County Clare’s most enduring folk figures. She died in April 1874, and legend says her magical Blue Bottle disappeared after her death, having been reclaimed by the fairies who had loaned it to her.

      If you’d like to learn more about Biddy’s fascinating life, the Clare library has put together a fact sheet about her, which is available here.

      Moll Anthony

      Rainbows in Ireland

      Rainbow & fairy tree in Ireland

      Moll Anthony, also known as Mary Leeson of the Hill of Grange, was a legendary Irish healer who died around 1878. Renowned for her supposed supernatural powers, she was believed to cure both people and animals suffering from paralysis, fits, strokes, and other illnesses using herbal potions prepared according to strict rituals. Patients received the medicine in three porter bottles, paid for with silver, and had to follow detailed instructions exactly — including travelling home without stopping or speaking — or the cure would fail. Many people believed evil spirits or fairy forces tried to prevent the potions from reaching their destination, but if all directions were obeyed, the cures were said to be remarkably successful.

      Stories surrounding Moll Anthony’s origins added to her mystique. According to folklore, two brothers once discovered an abandoned coffin containing a young girl who appeared dead but soon revived. The girl, Mary, stayed with the family, later marrying one of the brothers and settling in the area. Years later, at a fair, her true parents recognised her, realising she had been mistakenly thought dead years before. Some legends claimed that Moll Anthony was connected to the fairy world, believing her powers came directly from the fairies or that she herself was a supernatural replacement left in the coffin. She became one of Ireland’s most famous folk healers, remembered for her mysterious cures, uncanny knowledge of strangers, and the belief that her powers existed somewhere between the natural and supernatural worlds.​

      Read more about Moll Anthony and her powers here.

      Much More to Explore

      This blog offers only a brief insight into the rich and complex world of ancient Irish folk medicine. From herbal remedies and wise women to ritual cures and sacred sites, these traditions formed an important part of everyday life in rural Ireland for centuries.

      There is, however, far more to explore. Each remedy, belief and story opens a window into how people once understood health, illness and the natural world. Irish folk medicine is a vast subject, deeply rooted in landscape, culture, and tradition, and can be delved into more deeply for those interested in its history and meaning.

      If you’re ready to discover Ireland for yourself, why not explore our selection of small group tours? Whichever trip you choose, you’re sure to uncover a sacred place along the way.

      Small Group Tours

      Meet the Author: Sheilagh Larkin

      Growing up in a beautiful corner of Ireland meant my younger years were spent along stunning beaches, karst landscapes, and craggy hills. This deepened my appreciation of the outdoors and being in nature in any capacity.

      View profile More by Sheilagh

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