In the podcast episode, “The Further Adventures of Nera – The Cow and the Time Machine”, we found ourselves exploring the gateway to the Irish Otherworld. It is not the first timewe have made this journey.. We only have to return to our last story, Fled Bricrenn, “Bricriu’s Feast”, where we encountered another powerful Otherworld…
Category: Articles
Supporting articles, texts and translations and related materials for each episode
Sat-Navs and Seanchaís – Finding your way through stories and landscapes
This article was published in the journal Keltria in issue 42, “Storytelling”. You can order this issue of Keltria here for digital download or print edition. Notes appear at the end of the article. Ireland has an international reputation as a nation of writers and storytellers, and it forms a large part of our national…
The Further Adventures of Nera ~ The Cave Between the Worlds
As Nera climbed out of the steep misted cave, into the darkness, he was met by the autumn smoke smells of damp and decay, clustering around him like a guard of arms, wakeful and watching. The cold night air caught at his throat and he shivered. And yet there was another odour, strong, green, fresh,…
Cú Chulainn’s Wild Ride
In Section 32 of Fled Bricrenn, Cú Chulainn explains to Loegaire and Conall that he won’t fight them for the Champion’s Portion, as he’s had a busy day: Is and asmbert Cuculaind: ‘Rosirius andú morbrughi h-Érinn’, ol se, ‘Bregha Midii, Muiriusc Murteme Machae Magh Medbhai, Cuirech Cletech Cernai, Aidne Aidli Asul, Lia Linde Locharna, Fea…
The Legend of Knockmany Hill – a late tale of Cú Chulainn
In our explorations of the text of Bricriu’s feast we encountered many passages that demonstrate the story tellers’ art, full of patterning and rich vivid embellishment. The text also contains plenty of evidence for literary collation; versions of the story gathered together for the sake of completeness. Once stories enter the great library of written…
‘If you can keep your head’ – Thoughts on the beheading game.
IF you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you… I had never considered that I might commence a comparison of the beheading game in Fled Bricrenn and Gawain and the Green Knight with a quote from Rudyard Kipling. It is apt, particularly in terms of the…
The Giant in the Mead Hall
In the flickering firelight of the evening feasting, the shadow of the newcomer filled the whole hall, darkening its comforting warmth. The man himself was a giant; huge, twice the height of any other. But he was no noble hero-warrior; no, not this one. This one wore no garment striped with gold. This one had…
Dressed to the nines! ~ a gallery of finery.
Fled Bricrenn is rich in its descriptions of finery. In its feasting halls, heroes and horse harness, detail is embelished with vivid detail. Our text is, of course largely ninth century CE but the story telling recalls an earlier heroic age of epic deeds. It is possible to identify memories of a mthologised pre-christian world throughout…
The Coming of the Heroes to Crúachán ~ a description
From inside the dún, It sounded like an army approaching in full battle-stance. The whole household of Crúachán stopped still, startled in their strength. “Go see who is coming,” said Medb to her daughter. So Findabair went to the high place of the house and looked out. The sight before her dazzled her vision. Two matched…
The mead-circling hall ~ roundhouses and their stories
I have always liked round houses. Since, as a child, I first discovered that there were mysterious wicker chests of red-gold gem stories tucked away, unregarded, behind the marbled classical tales of fabled Greek heroes, I wanted to know more. But the stories from Wales and, above all, Ireland were hard to find, and even…