From Tocmarc Étaine, “The Wooing of Étain” Edited O. Bergin & R. I. Best, Translated with endnotes by Isolde Carmody. Terms with related notes are in bold. View Bergin & Best’s edition on CELT While this text is included here in relation to “Tales of Eithliu”, we dealt with the whole of Tocmarc Étaíne in 3 episodes in Series 3, “Dindshenchas…
Tag: Eithliu
Revisiting Mythical Women 3 – Revisiting Eithliu
Eithliu is a figure who seems to pop in and out of stories, taking no notice of traditional story cycles, or even how her name is spelt. Yet she rarely takes a leading role. In this “revisit”, we return to this enigmatic and sometimes troubling character from Irish mythology and folklore. With the benefit of…
Revisiting Sinann’s Other Poems
From the Metrical Dindshenchas, Volume 4, edited by Edward Gwynn translated by Isolde ÓBrolcháin Carmody pp 36 – 43: Poems 11 & 12 Note: It may seem hard to believe, but in our podcast episode, Revisiting Sinann, we didn’t jump up and down shouting about the link between Sinann and Mongán! We compared her poetic quest…
The Dindshenchas of Brug na Bóinde, Boyne Valley, Co. Meath
The Metrical Dindshenchas, Volume 2 Poem 3, pp 19 – 25 The first Dindshenchas poem we looked at in this episode was the second of the poems on “Brug na Bóinde”, the Boyne Valley complex of Co. Meath which specifically centres on Newgrange. We didn’t go through every stanza in the episode, since…
Étaín, Eithliu, Vessels and Rebirth
In order to gain some insight into the significance of Étaín, her role and her manner of rebirth, we shall look at related themes as they appear in different sagas. This essay is in two parts – the second part will be published after we have reached the end of The Wooing of Étaín in…
Brú na Bóinne and Cnogba – the Boyne Valley in the Metrical Dindshenchas
At the beginning of Tocmarc Étaíne, we have the tale of the conception and birth of Óengus Mac Ind Óc and his claiming of Brú na Bóinne (Newgrange) as his territory. We touched on this story back in Series 1, Episode 3, “Tales of Eithliu”, and compared it to the Metrical Dindshenchas poems on Bóand, the…
The Text of Tocmarc Étaíne Part 1
Here is the part of the text of Tocmarc Étaíne we covered in “Tocmarc Étaíne 1: A Fly On the Wall“. Edited O. Bergin & R. I. Best, Translated by Isolde Carmody, based on Bergin and Best’s translation. View Bergin & Best’s edition on CELT
Dindshenchas 09: Tocmarc Étaíne 1 – A Fly On The Wall
The saga Tocmarc Étaíne, “The Wooing of Étaín”, is a complex and engaging tale of love, loss and time twists. We encounter jealous husbands, repudiated wives and bewildering shape-shifting, all stretching over a thousand years. The Story Archaeologists wander through the first part this magnifigant story, rediscovering old friends and meeting some new, including a…
The Dindshenchas of Carn Hill, Co. Longford – Carn Furbaide
Carn Furbaide, the cairn of Furbaide Fer Benn son of Conchobar and Eithne Úathach, seems to be on Carn Hill in Co. Longford, a proverbial stone’s throw from Midir’s sid on Brí Leith / Ardagh Hill. (See Hogan’s Onomasticon Goedelicum, Letter C). As ever, terms with notes below are in bold, and the notes are…
Dindshenchas 03: The Well and the Cheese – The Unlikely Story of Medb and her Sisters
Inis Clothrann, the largest island of Lough Ree, Co. Longford, is famous for more than just its venerable monastic remains. It was here that Medb of Crúachán would bathe in the island’s well in fulfilment of a geis, imposed for killing at least one of her sisters. It was at this same well she met her death….