As Étaín grows up to be the most beautiful woman in Ireland – again – she is wooed and won by no less than the king of all Ireland. But no story can be that simple! Join the Story Archaeologists as they seek out the improbable causes of the “sick-lying” of Étaín’s new brother-in-law. Don’t…
Category: Series 03: Dindshenchas and the Art of Mythic Cartography
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…
Brú na Bóinne and Cnogba – the Boyne Valley in the Metrical Dindshenchas
At the beginning of Tocmarc Étaíne, we have the tale of the conception and birth of Óengus Mac Ind Óc and his claiming of Brú na Bóinne (Newgrange) as his territory. We touched on this story back in Series 1, Episode 3, “Tales of Eithliu”, and compared it to the Metrical Dindshenchas poems on Bóand, the…
The Text of Tocmarc Étaíne Part 1
Here is the part of the text of Tocmarc Étaíne we covered in “Tocmarc Étaíne 1: A Fly On the Wall“. Edited O. Bergin & R. I. Best, Translated by Isolde Carmody, based on Bergin and Best’s translation. View Bergin & Best’s edition on CELT
Fuamnach’s Story
I met them with mild words and open smiles; my husband and this new young wife he had bought with so much gold and even greater labour. I flattered her with gentle compliments, calling her “king’s daughter”, worthy to sit beside me in our home at Brí Leith. And she was beautiful – and young – it…
Dindshenchas 09: Tocmarc Étaíne 1 – A Fly On The Wall
The saga Tocmarc Étaíne, “The Wooing of Étaín”, is a complex and engaging tale of love, loss and time twists. We encounter jealous husbands, repudiated wives and bewildering shape-shifting, all stretching over a thousand years. The Story Archaeologists wander through the first part this magnifigant story, rediscovering old friends and meeting some new, including a…
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…
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,…