Audio and video stories with class activities

The Old Irish stories have a lot to offer. They are exciting stories full of magic, humour, a fair bit of conflict and some unexpected twists. Many of their central characters are complex superheroes every bit as skilled as Spiderman, Batman or Wonder Woman.- You may even heard of a few of the most famous heroes, Fionn MacCumhail or Cú Chulainn, but many of the lesser known stories are hard to find, especially in versions attractive to a younger audience.

A Story to begin with: suitable for 1st class and up.. 

This is a great introduction to the marvellous Irish stories. Fergus isn’t the most famous Ulster king but this is an exciting and entertaining story which is impossible to tell without setting it into the context of pre-Norman Irish society, . So find out:

• How to become, and remain ‘top’ king or queen
• How to discover ‘superhero’ treasure and how fight a Péiste; an Irish water monster.
• What to do sf you meet the Lúchorpáin, possibly .the origininal leprechaun. (no rainbow or crock of gold here but loads of magical treasure.

The following  is mostly suitable only for senior primary children and secondary students.

Stories of the Tuatha Dé Danann and the Mythological Cycle

•  The great epic of the Cath Maige Tuire is available as a series of manageable audio tales. You can access them all through this link.

Stories from the the Ulster Cycle, the Táin Bó Cúailnge and its remscéla

• Bricriu’s Feast: A starting point for Cú Chulainn and his friends to attempt some crazy adventures just to find out which of them is the best. This is a long story told in four parts.
• The two Pig-keeper Poets:  This is an origin tale for the battle of the Two Bulls between Connacht and Ulster. It is a story of time-and-shape shifting but most importantly, a reminder of why it is best not to quarrel with your neighbours!
•  Scathach’s Story:  So what did Cú Chulainn,get up to as a boy and how did he become such a famous warrior? This story is told by Scathach the woman who trained him how to fight!
•  The Adventures of Nera: A story set at a Samhain Rathcroghan feast. Nera goes on a terrifying ‘Otherworld’ journey which has a significant part to play in the Táin Bó Cúailnge. This story is told in two parts.
• Findabair’s Story: One evening Medb’s daughter overhears her mother and Ailill quarrelling over which of them own the most possessions. Findabhair cannot foretell that this disagreement will eventually lead to a destructive war .

Stories of Finn and the Fianna

• The Gilla Decair and his ugly horse: A hilarious ‘Finn and the Fianna’ story This is a long story told in three parts.
• The Dreadful Adventure of Conan Maol. Discover a unique hero super-skill!

And how about some class activities and projects?

Become an Irish hero poet. Fun ideas for story making, The ideas are easy to use in the classroom and suitable for 8 to 12 year olds.

Try out a simple and fun ‘whole class’project pack with five different choices of topic, There are information sheets and activity sheets to suit a range of activities, including design, research, creative writing and more .

And a couple of Video Stories, The story of Sinann and The Cats of Cuachan ( a part of the much longer ‘Bricriu’s feast’

Older children and young adults may well enjoy exploring stories and other content from the main Story Archaeology catalogue.‘

I would be happy to hear from you and respond to any poems, stories or stories you create together.. You can contact me through this website. Schools workshops can be booked through heritageinschools.ie or or through Poetry Ireland’s Writers in Schools Scheme.