The Cure: Faith healing in Ireland

Faith healers have long been part of Irish life. Some are born with God-given gifts, like the seventh son of a seventh son, while others inherit ‘the cure’ through family – rooted in folk medicine, charms, and tradition.

For two hours on Sunday mornings, they come to the pub with all that ails them. A small boy with a rash. A farmer with ringworm. A man with a throat infection.

They are here to see Joe Gallagher, who owns this canary yellow pub, nestled alongside a canal in the tiny Irish village of Pullough in County Offaly. They believe that as the seventh son of his family – a birth order long thought to bestow special powers –, he holds a cure.

Mr. Gallagher is just one of hundreds of men and women across Ireland who are healers, or have ‘the cure’, an approach to health care that interweaves home remedies with mysticism, superstition, religion and a sprinkle of magic.

With touch and prayers, Joe, known for having faith healing powers since young age, gives ‘the cure’ to people looking for treatment for various ailments.

Faith healers have been around since antiquity and many Irish believe that certain people have God-given gifts to cure diseases. According to old Irish folklore, the seventh son of a seventh son has special healing powers, however, others get ‘the cure’ passed on to them by a parent or an older relative.

It’s part of a belief in folk medicine, curing charms and faith healers that is still a way of life for many in Ireland.

For Mr. Gallagher, a former monk who said his religious order had been accepting of ‘the cure’, the practice is a deeply religious one.