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…
Category: Related Material
Explorations and developments of the themes of each episode
Trials and tribulations of a pair of Story Archaeologists
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…
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…
Welcome to our new site!
As our regular subscribers will know, we are in the process of moving the hosting for Story Archaeology. It may look the same (in fact, we hope it looks very familiar!), but it’s all the worky-bits in the background that have changed. There are bound to be teething problems, so please Don’t Panic!! If something…
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…
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 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…
Étaín, Eithliu, Vessels and Rebirth
In order to gain some insight into the significance of Étaín, her role and her manner of rebirth, we shall look at related themes as they appear in different sagas. This essay is in two parts – the second part will be published after we have reached the end of The Wooing of Étaín in…
The Brú na Bóinne and Brí Leith
The story of “The Wooing of Étaín” is primarily set in two locations, that of the Brú na Bóinnein County Meath and Bri Leith in County Longford. Both are of great mythological importance, yet the Brú na Bóinne (Newgrange) is, of course, a World Heritage site and Bri Leith (Ardagh Hill) is little known. This…
The Ancestors and the Hollow Hills
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…