Over the last few months we have been exploring the wild watery wonders and terrors of the Immráma. We have reached out for the delicately blossomed branch and healing apples of Manannán , and glimpsed the scintillating orchards below the waves. We have witnessed the salmon’s leap over a brazen weir, wondered at milk -running rainbows…
Author: Chris Thompson
The Isle of Women
Máeldύin stood at the stern of the triple skinned boat, brooding moodily over the glassy waters. His eyes remained fixed on the shadowed depths, almost as if he were searching for another of those uncanny underwater islands; a place to dream, a place to drown. Behind him, was the clamoured activity of the boat. The…
The Birth of the Uí Corra ~ A Connacht Fairy Tale.
Once upon a time, in the dear and beautiful land of Connacht, there lived a wealthy man and his wife, who wished for nothing other than a healthy child to make their lives complete. It sounds like the beginning of a familiar fairy tale, and so it is. In a way, the birth of a…
The Island of the Salmon
To travel in the hands of God.To put away the boat’s oars and let the undulating waves breathe them where they would.To watch the world’s sun light up the broad plain of the sea into molten gold, glittering with sudden sparks of silver like drowned stars.There was a great peace in this voyage. The monk…
Reflections On The Skelligs
In our first episode on the Imramma, ‘The Voyage of Bran Mac Febul, we discussed the monastic preference for settling in lonely and out of the way places. We referred to the practice as ‘extreme monasticism’. One of the best examples of this must be early monastic complex on a lonely rock, you can hardly…
The Otherworld Apple Branch
It was just a branch from an apple tree. It lay there beside him on the ground, shining silver in the sea-washed sunlight. Bran sat up, yawning. He stretched his arms, flexing his fingers. What a dream that had been! The music; sweet, unearthly. It had followed him as he walked alone on the sharp-grassed…
St. Colmcille and the Water Monster
In the episode “Dindshenchas: A Magical Mystery Tour“, we discussed the dindshenchas story of Áth Clíath. It concerns the destruction of the great beast that created the Boyne Valley. Now, there may be no Irish dragons, but there are plenty of tales of water beasts, the ollphéists. We mentioned a few in the podcast episode. I…
A Christmas Card from the Story Archaeologists
In our Midwinter special we pulled out some of the less familiar treasures of Irish mythology from Manannan’s famous Craneskin bag, also known as the treasure bag of the Fianna. In a light hearted attempt to seek out some unusual seasonal gifting opportunities, we wondered which ones might still be appropriate in the early 21st…
The Treasure Bag of the Fianna
The fair boy stared at the bag, turning it over in his hands. It felt smooth to the touch; fine leather, warm and welcoming to his fingers. He continued to stare at the pouch, its faded colours telling a story, but it was a tale he could not yet read. But he knew the object,…
The Corlea Trackway
The Irish bog is a remarkable environment. Not only is there a wide diversity of flora and fauna to be found, but these wetlands also provide a rich resource for archaeological discoveries. Things survive under the bog. Materials that would generally perish , wood, leather, and even the soft tissue of a human body, may…