Celebrating Women from Irish Mythology €10,000 in prizes Including up to €3,000 for schools (Any form of visual, musical, or literary art) ÉIRÍ (standing for Évoking Ireland’s Resilient female Ícons) is an international arts competition in parallel with a participatory research project aimed to re-ignite awareness of inspirational female figures from Irish mythology and folklore…
Tag: poetry
Verba Scathaige – Scathach’s Words
We opened the episode “Women Warriors: The Training of Cú Chulainn“, with a reading, in Irish and English, of Verba Scathaige. This is the poem that Scáthach creates using her imbás forosna, one of the most advanced poetic techniques, used in story to see events far off in time and space. This attribute of Scáthach’s…
Winter Special 2016: Aisling MacConglinne – A Satirical Tale of Extreme Gastronomy
The Midwinter festival has been a time of over indulgence and conspicuous consumption for millenia! This year, we dig in to the Middle Irish story, Aisling MacConglinne, “The Vision of MacConglinne”, a delicious debauch of extreme gastronomy.! Join the Story Archaeologists in a feast of fantastical food, with a generous side order of sumptuous satire. Read the full translated text here!…
Circling the Tain 01: The Quarrel of the Two Swineherds (or “Where It All Began”)
Welcome to Series 6, “Circling the Tain”. In this series, we will delve into the fascinating web of stories making up the Tain tradition, with the Tain Bó Cúailnge, “The Cattle Raid of Cooley”, at its core. We begin this exploration with the story of two talented swineherds and their shape-shifting,poetic quarrel. Join the Story…
The Mórrígan Speaks – Her Three Poems
From Cath Maige Tuired, “The Battle of Moytura” Introduction At the end of the Old Irish saga of Cath Maige Tuired, there are three poems attributed to the Mórrígan; one immediately before the main battle, and the other two afterwards, ending the saga as a whole. These three poems were the main topic of my Masters…
The Mórrígan’s Prophecy
From “the Morrigan’s prophecy” spoken at the close of the battle of Moytura. (based on the translation by Isolde Carmody) Beneath the peaceful heavens lies the land. It rests beneath the bowl of the bright sky. The land lies, itself a dish, a cup of honeyed strength, there, for the taking, offering strength to each There…
John Barleycorn
John Barleycorn is the titular character of a popular English and Scottish folk-song, found in a number of versions going back, at least, to the sixteenth century. John Barleycorn is given as the personification of ‘the nut brown ale’ (or the uisce beatha) and all the process the grain goes through in order to provide the welcome drink. The…
Many Shades of Darkness
Irish colour words and concepts In primary school, I was very confused to learn two different Irish words for “green”: glas and uaithne. I knew there was a difference, but I wasn’t clear what that difference was. As my schooling continued, more confusion arose: black people were referred to as daoine gorma, “blue people” (according to the dictionary) and…
Texts of Ethliu
From Tocmarc Étaine, “The Wooing of Étain” Edited O. Bergin & R. I. Best, Translated with endnotes by Isolde Carmody. Terms with related notes are in bold. View Bergin & Best’s edition on CELT While this text is included here in relation to “Tales of Eithliu”, we dealt with the whole of Tocmarc Étaíne in 3 episodes in Series 3, “Dindshenchas…
More Stories of Macha – Revisited
FROM THE METRICAL DINDSHENCHAS VOL 4 edited by Edward Gwynn translated by Isolde ÓBrolcháin Carmody