Sacred. Regarded with reverence and entitled to respect. Worthy of veneration. Unassailable. Inviolable. Highly valued and important. Too important to change. Reverently dedicated to a person, purpose, or object. In researching the sacred I had the opportunity to spend over five weeks in the fall of 2022 traveling Ireland in search of sacred places. I focused on the man-made built-environment as much as possible. Places visited seemed to fall into one of three categories: 1. Finding the sacred in expected places such as visits to the ruins of 6th century monastic sites; 2. Finding the sacred in unexpected places such as museums, memorials, and ‘tourist sites;’ and 3. Surprisingly I didn’t find the sacred in places where I fully expected to find it. Research from my travels, including, photographs and materials gathered, will be shared and discussed during this five-session course. Many places in Ireland are considered sacred in the broadest sense of the word. It was the search for what made a place ‘sacred’ that intrigued me most. Whether you have visited Ireland or not, whether you consider places to be sacred or not, I welcome all who are curious and willing to discuss their understanding of what is sacred…or what is not.

Instructor: Otto Paier; 2miaguys@gmail.com

5 Zoom sessions. Wednesdays 6:30-7:45 pm. May 24- June 21.

Course fee: $125