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The Irish Herbalist

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The Irish Herbalist

Ciara Murphy is a Master Herbalist, Iridologist & Colon Hydrotherapist based in Blackrock, Co Dublin.

Medical Practice providing professional consultations and treatments in the following:

� Herbal Medicine
� Iridology
� Colon Hydrotherapy
� Nutrition
� Clinical Aromatherapy

16/10/2025

🌿 Boost Your Immune System Naturally 🌿

Join me for a hands-on workshop on Saturday, 22nd November (10am–12.30pm in Blackrock, Co. Dublin) with Ciara Murphy, The Irish Herbalist.

Discover practical ways to strengthen your immune system using everyday foods and herbs from your kitchen and garden.
🍲 Learn the difference between colds and flus — and how to treat them naturally
🌿 Get plenty of recipes and remedies to take home
🌸 Packed with information, inspiration, and practical know-how

💶 Cost: €120 per person
📩 Message me here to book your place — only 10 spots available!

08/09/2025

A clean bowel is one of the true foundations of good health. Before any other organ of the body can be cleansed and strengthened, the bowel itself must first be cleared and regenerated. When waste matter, mucus, and gas are allowed to build up, they poison the bloodstream and place a burden on every organ. But when the colon is clean and working as nature intended, the whole body benefits — the blood runs purer, the mind is clearer, and the organs can do their work with greater ease. The fastest and safest way to cleanse the bowel is through a wholesome plant-based diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains; the daily use of herbs to loosen and carry away old waste; and, when needed, colon hydrotherapy to wash out the putrid matter that has collected over the years. By beginning here, with the bowel, the entire body is set on the path of healing.

29/06/2025

Are you starting out in business or looking to expand your practice? If so, our clinic has a treatment room available to rent on a full time basis.

This treatment room is fully appointed and includes an intercom system, wooden floors and is freshly decorated. The clinic has a welcoming waiting room and ample free parking for practitioners and their clients.

This room is suitable for a wide variety of uses: acupuncture, massage therapy, reflexology, counselling, aromatherapy, osteopathy, beauty therapy, homeopathy, and much more.

Our rates are highly competitive and include all utilities and overheads.
Newtownpark Clinic has a thriving and loyal client base.
DM here if you are interested in joining our team.

11/12/2024

We all know the importance of fibre for achieving good healthy bowel movements.
Too much fibre in the diet can often have the opposite effect. Many cereals such as All bran can often worsen constipation as it is a very dry and ultra processed product. If you are not used to much fibre in your diet, introduce it slowly and make sure you are well hydrated .
Here are some tips for increasing fibre in your diet:
High fibre foods can be found in the food groups you eat everyday. Eating a well-balanced meal with a variety of foods high in fibre every day helps with digestion and elimination.
* Legumes -which includes beans: kidney, pinto, chickpeas , lima and baked beans
* Whole Grains – go for whole wheat versions of pasta and bread. Be careful and look for the whole grain content. Just because something is brown doesn’t mean it’s a good source of fibre!
* Whole Fresh Fruits – the valuable fibre is found in the skin and pulp of the fruit. Fruit is the perfect food for the bowel. It’s high in fibre, has good sugars and it hydrates the colon.
* Green Leafy Vegetables – lettuce, spinach, celery, and broccoli are good examples. Always have a side salad with your meals to help stimulate digestion.
* Root Vegetables – baked potatoes with skin, carrots, parsnips etc
* Seeds - Chia seeds, flaxseeds, h**p seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, and sunflower seed all add value fibre to your diet. Sprinkle them on your meals and mix them into smoothies etc
* Drink plenty of liquids – including water, fruit and vegetable juices. Drink at least 6-8 glasses of water a day.
* Eat meals at regular intervals
* Eat slowly and chew food thoroughly to help digestion work well

04/12/2024

These are all acid conditions of the body, and in order to treat them it is necessary to go on a complete cleansing program to clean out the entire system.
Too much stomach acid is not always the driving cause. Stomach acid itself is a good thing, but only when it stays in the stomach. When it escapes upwards into the esophagus, something has gone awry.
The real cause of acid conditions in the digestive tract is an increase in intra-abdominal pressure.
Several different factors could contribute to an increase in your IAP such as :
* Overeating, eating too fast, drinking at mealtimes, emotional eating.
* Obesity
* Bending over after eating
* Lying down after eating
* Constipation
* Stress
* Poor dietary habits- alcohol, chocolate, sugary, refined carbohydrates, tea, coffee, ci******es, rich fatty foods and spices. Tomatoes and citrus fruit .
The conventional treatment of these conditions is medication called proton pump inhibitor (PPI) but they merely suppress symptoms while doing nothing to treat the underlying gut problems.
Chew your food well; even juices should be swished in the mouth to mix them with saliva and begin digestion. Don’t drink with your meals; water or other liquids dilute the digestive fluids.
Don’t smoke or drink tea or coffee; these irritate the stomach and increase heartburn. Eat small meals frequently.
The goal is to soothe and heal the entire digestive tract and then to nourish and strengthen it.
If the person is on medication for the condition, I get them to continue on it and introduce herbs and to slowly reduce the medication, the goal being to stop the medication completely.
I always use herbs in powdered for to soothe, reduce inflammation. Slippery elm, marshmallow and meadowsweet are the primary demulcent herbs I use. I also combine herbs to help relieve pain, discomfort and cramping. Cramp bark, wild yam, licorice, fennel and ginger are the main herbs I would use.
If stress and tension are a factor, I formulate an infusion of some or all of the following herbs: lemon balm, lavender and chamomile.
These herbs will heal pre-existing esophagus damage at the source and rebuild your digestive lining from mouth to a**s.

01/12/2024

Throughout my nursing carer I witnessed many people with digestive disorders and others with health issues which I now know had arisen from an impure and congested colon.
I gradually became more interested in natural healing. The more research I did, it became apparent that bowel cleanliness was fundamental to health and vitality. I studied Master Herbalism under renowned herbalist Helen Begadon in the Irish School of Herbal Medicine. The emphasis on a clean and well functioning bowel was the bedrock of my training. I also trained in Colonic irrigation as it was the safest and most effective way to achieve a clean bowel and I am a full-time therapist for over 20 years now!
I am truly passionate about my job and its resultant effects. The more waste I see removed the happier I am! Often people release between 20-30 bowel movements in one session alone! Large pockets of gas, old toxic and fermented waste are released during a session. Most people report marked improvements in energy and vitality, clearer skin, less bloating and gas, weight loss and improved immunity. I have seen chronic skin conditions such as acne, psoriasis and urticaria completely clear with bowel cleansing. Several ladies who were experiencing difficulty in conceiving soon became pregnant after colon hydrotherapy. If you are interested in colon cleansing or would like to find out more information DM or find out more information on my website.

20/11/2024

INTESTINAL CLEANSING FORMULA
I prescribe my intestinal cleansing formula for constipation to approximately 80% of my patients. So many people are constipated and most of them don’t even know it. Ideally we should have a bowel movement for every meal we eat.
I remember from my nursing days how constipated patients were and In my experience I can honestly say there is nothing better than my intestinal cleansing formula for constipation. I have successfully treated the most stubborn of cases, where the person has almost given up almost all hope.
Here are a few tips about taking them:
• The goal is to achieve 1-2 big soft ‘cow pat’ poos daily.
• There should be no urgency or cramping. If there is, you are not taking the right dose.
• They are best taken before your evening meal. But if you forget you can take them afterwards or before going to bed.
• The biggest mistake people make, is they take too many capsules thinking they’ll go more. The opposite can happen with herbs!
• When you find the right dose, stick with it. The only time you may temporarily need to increase them x 1 capsule is if you go in holiday or eat a very big meal late at night.
• They are perfectly safe to take daily and on a longterm basis snd they don’t interact with any medications.
• Those with mild constipation, usually only need 1 capsule daily. The majority of people take 2 daily, more constipated people take 3-4.
• These herbs do not make your bowels lazy. Some people are just very constipated despite eating well and drinking lots of fluids. It’s better to take this formula and go everyday, than to have a congested and toxic colon.

17/10/2024

Formula for acne/skin congestion. Press on the picture to read!

05/09/2024

Bursitis

10/08/2024

The principle of a clean colon is the foundation of good health. 70-80% of my clients are constipated, and most are unaware of it. Before any health conditions can be addressed the colon must first be cleaned.

Constipation is when a person has difficulty emptying their bowel. I have noted that the average person who attends my clinic has only three bowel movements a week. In a healthy body we should have three a day, one for every meal we eat.

THE CAUSES OF CONSTIPATION
Stress
Inherent weakness
Dehydration
Diet- mucus forming foods, high protein diets, white foods, cereals etc
Sedentary lifestyle
Medication- NSAI, analgesics, antidepressant, antispasmodics, anti cholinergenics and iron supplements.

IDEAL BOWEL MOVEMENT After every meal consumed (aprox 3 daily)
Soft (cow pat)
Float
Effortless
No marks on toilet bowl
No need for toilet paper!
Medium brown or green
A definite feeling to go but not urgent
No conscious straining
Slides out smoothly
A feeling of complete emptiness in the lower bowel.

STOOL COLOUR
Ideally it should be mid brown or green.
Mucus indicates inflammation and irritation. Bad bacteria thrive in this environment.
Black stools can be a result of iron supplements, wine, charcoal, upper GIT blood loss or beetroot consumption.
A red movement is usually fresh blood from haemorrhoids, or in colitis, or ulcerative colitis
Green stool can be seen in chlorophyll rich diet.
Pale or light clay may be attributed to gallbladder issues, lack of bile secretion, a fast transit time or fats in stool .

TRANSIT TIME
This is the length of time it takes for ingested food to leave the body.
Normally, four-fifths of food ingested should be eliminated over an eleven to nineteen hour period of time.
Every eight hours there is a peristaltic urge triggered by the gallbladder.
If a bowel movement is passed on waking at 7:00 a.m., then the next one should be passed at approximately 3:00 p.m.
A good way to find out your transit time is to eat sweetcorn or beetroot!

My goal as a herbalist and colon therapist is to
rebuild and renew the colon and body through diet, lifestyle and herbs to achieve a clean functioning bowel.

07/08/2024

“The colon is a sewage system, but by neglect and abuse it becomes a cesspool. When it is clean and normal, we are well and happy. Let it stagnate and it will distill the poisons of decay, fermentation, and putrefaction into the blood, poisoning the brain and nervous system so that we become mentally depressed and irritable; it will poison the heart so that we are weak and listless; poison the lungs so that the breath is foul; poison the digestive organs so we are distressed and bloated; and poison the blood so the skin is sallow and unhealthy. In short, every organ of the body is poisoned, and we age prematurely; look and feel old, the joints are stiff and painful, neuritis, full eyes, and a sluggish brain overtake us, and the pleasure of living is gone.”

15/04/2024

The skin is a mirror of the purity of our blood that feeds it. Acne is the result of an impure bloodstream.

The bloodstream becomes impure when one of the organs of elimination is not working efficiently (colon, liver, lungs, kidneys) and can often be triggered by stressful situations.

As a herbalist my goal is to identify the underlying cause, and not just treat the symptoms. I use herbs primarily to work inside the body. Topical applications only provide superficial relief.

The first thing I do in healing acne is to ensure the colon is clean. If your try and treat acne without firstly cleansing the colon the condition will always get worse. I use either colon hydrotherapy and/or herbs to achieve this.

I recommend a mucusless diet which eliminates all foods that clog and irritate the organs such as wheat, dairy, meat, eggs, processed foods and devitalised fats. A diet primarily of fresh fruits, vegetables, sprouted nuts and seeds, fresh plant juices and water are the foods and fluids of choice to achieve true and long lasting results.

There are many herbs that I use to purify, nourish and clean the skin. Burdock , dandelion root and yellow dock are excellent for the skin. I use them when there is redness and inflammation and when the cause lies in a poorly functioning digestive system.
I always use nervine herbs (nerve support) as stress is always a factor whether it is the cause or the result of a skin condition.
When acne is of hormonal origin, I give Vitex for females and saw palmetto for males.
Echinacea is a wonderful herb for killing off bad bacteria that can cause acne.
Red clover, nettles, chickweed, dandelion leaf and root, echinacea, milk thistle, calendula, plantain, cleavers, marshmallow, uva ursi and sarsaparilla are some of the herbs I also use in healing acne. It will take several months to cleanse and bring the body back into balance.
All formulae are individually prepared and are unique just like the person I am treating!

Address

7 Rockville Road, Blackrock
Dublin
A94RC52

Opening Hours

Tuesday	10am - 8pm
Wednesday	10am - 6pm
Thursday	10am - 6pm
Friday	10am - 6pm
Saturday	8am - 3pm

Website

http://www.theirishherbalist.ie/

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