Then the Morrigan said … So it came to battle at the last. It came, at last, to red and slaughterous battle as it always has, and it always will. It came, at the last, to the calling of kings To the feats of feasting The feasts of poetic words The talking and taking of…
Author: Chris Thompson
Goibniu and the Gobbán Sáor
In the podcast episode on “The Four Craftsmen”, we discussed the manner in which characters found only within the saga of Moytura developed an enduring popularity in folklore and story. This would seem to have particular relevance in the case of Goibniu the Dé Danann smith. Goibniu is certainly connected, if not cognate, with the…
Metal Crafting ~ Some notes
The descriptions of the preparation for the battle of Moytura by the various skilled craftsmen lead to intriguing speculation about the skills and technologies of the builders and weapon-makers within the story. For example, Section 122, which describes the daily restoration of the Dé Danann weapons, creates an entertaining and “high-octane action” picture of the…
The Craftsmen and the Fomoire Spy
The battle lines were drawn up. Spear-tips glinted in the sunlight, a forest-line of readiness. The sharpness of swords behind shields. He would not stand in that line. He would not shed the redness of his blood in that battle Rúadán was not a fighter, but he might have been. Too young, they told him, too…
The Dagda, Ogmios and the Jolly Green Giant
Who is Ogma and what is he doing in the saga of Moytura? For a start, he is recorded as the Dagda’s brother, and his main role seems to be “The Strong man”. When Lugh arrives at Tara, the gate-keeper gives him that title rather than that of warrior. He proves it later by throwing…
The Leather Cauldron
When Isolde and I were preparing to record the episode focussing on the Dagda and his Moytura stories, we knew that the podcast would be published in Christmas week. Perhaps this coloured our thinking a little, but when you have a fat jolly man who gloriously indulges in overeating and drinking, who is related to…
The Dagda’s Track
The Oak of two meadows The rightness of Four Angles Come Summer, Come Winter Mouths of harps and bags and pipes And didn’t that harp fly? Like a spring storm that scatters the blossom of apples. Like an Autumn wind that whips the waves into flowers of foam. Oh, yes, that harp flew, its melodies…
Lunacy at Lughnasagh – Our Lughnasagh Celebrations
The Lughnasagh games The Lughnasagh (or Lughasad / Lúnasa / Lughnasadh…) games, inaugurated by Lugh in honour of his foster mother, may be of as old a lineage as the Olympic games. Twenty one years ago, I thought it might be a good idea to create our own modern version of the games on my own…
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…
Lugh Who? Where did Lugh come from?
In the Irish stories, Lugh, sometimes Lug, is a central and popular figure. To summarise his story, as it is given in text and tale, he is a child born in secret to a Fomoire mother and a Dé Danann father. In text, his father and mother are contracted to each other to form an…