In our update on Ethliu, Mythical Women revisited: Series 5.3, we discussed the story of the birth of Lugh. The only available version of this story, Balor on Tory Island is to be found in “Hero Tales of Ireland” a book of orally narrated stories collected by folklorist and ethnologist Jeremiah Curtin and published in 1894. Jeremiah…
Tag: mythology
Origin stories – revisited
Virtually all cultures have creation stories… There are two main types of creation myth: the cosmogenic, which is about the creation of the universe or the world; and those that concern the creation of human beings. The stories of the creation of humans often comes in the same package as that of the creation of…
The Shannon Pot
The Shannon is the longest river in Ireland and the UK with a length of 280km. The river flows from its source in the Cuilcagh Mountains to its estuary below Limerick. This important river and its tributaries drain some 15,500 sq km or about one fifth of the island of Ireland. The traditional source of…
The Story of Sinann
In the days of dreaming, when the Ever-Living Ones still walked freely among the misty mountains and green valleys of Ireland, when the soft light of enchantment still shone from every hill of the síd, there was a well.
On the Seas of Time ~ Immráma in a Broader Mythological Context.
How to define an Immrám Series Four of Acallam na nÉces has been exploring the tale type, Immráma, that is ‘Voyages’. Immráma appear in the tale list which sets out the curriculum for the qualification of poets. This list sets out the five times fifty prime stories that any self-respecting bard should have ready, as well as the twice fifty…
Notes on the Festival of Lughnasagh
The subject of Lughnasagh is worthy of a whole podcast episode on its own, as are any of the traditional Irish festivals. We may well examine these these in more detail sometime in the future. In essence, however, Lughnasagh is a festival that marks an important phase in the agrarian year. It is the close…