What is so special about Mongán? Mongán is no longer a well-known figure in Irish mythology; and yet we have found ourselves giving three full podcast episodes to exploring his stories. In the Irish annals (3.1), Mongán was referenced as a king who died in 625 CE. There is also an existing prose text and…
Category: Immráma 10: Mongán and the Poets
The Humiliation of Eochu Rígéigeas
Eochu, chief poet of Ireland seethed furiously, shame diffusing his face into red rage. To make a fool of him, to humiliate him in public – it was an unforgivable insult to a man of his status. But for a young man, hardly more than a child, to be the cause, the origin of his discomfiture;…
Rowing Around Imrrama 10: Mongán and the Poets
In our second dip into Mongan’s mysterious waters, we compare several stories showing off Mongan’s miraculous poetic skill. As a boy-wonder, he humiliates his father’s chief poet; as a king, he terrifies a poor student into a mysterious quest; and finally lets slip that he may have been here before… Join the Story Archaeologists as…