As we discussed in Dindshenchas: A Magical Mystery Tour, the Modern Irish name for the city of Dublin is Baile Átha Clíath, “The Town of the Ford of the Hurdles”. The “English” name of Dublin comes from Dublind, “Black Pool”,. This version is pretty much as translated by Gwynn, with some updating of the English!…
Tag: poetry
The Dindshenchas of Dublin
This poem on Dublind (dub = “black”, lind = “pool”) was the second dindshenchas we discussed in Dindshenchas: A Magical Mystery Tour. This version has been written for readability by Chris Thompson. You can read Gwynn’s original translation here. Dublind Metrical Dindshenchas, Volume 3 poem 11, pp 94-95 Ingen Roduib chaiss chalma The bold and…
The Dindshenchas of Brug na Bóinde, Boyne Valley, Co. Meath
The Metrical Dindshenchas, Volume 2 Poem 3, pp 19 – 25 The first Dindshenchas poem we looked at in this episode was the second of the poems on “Brug na Bóinde”, the Boyne Valley complex of Co. Meath which specifically centres on Newgrange. We didn’t go through every stanza in the episode, since…
A Causeway Over Móin Lámraige
The wind’s touch was cold. It fingered his cloak, lifting the edges, finding the fissures between folds of the wool. He shivered, but he did not move to pull the mantle further about him. He must not move. He must not be seen, hiding there among the reeds. It was full dark, a crescent moon…
Dindshenchas 11: Tocmarc Étaíne 3 – A Game of Fidchell
As we reach the final section of “The Wooing of Étaín”, a game of fidchell leads to some epic gains and losses. There will be archaic poetry, incest, a War of the Worlds and some civil engineering. Join the Story Archaeologists as they encounter a tale where text and archaeology come together in an extraordinary…
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…
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 Dindshenchas of Carn Hill, Co. Longford – Carn Furbaide
Carn Furbaide, the cairn of Furbaide Fer Benn son of Conchobar and Eithne Úathach, seems to be on Carn Hill in Co. Longford, a proverbial stone’s throw from Midir’s sid on Brí Leith / Ardagh Hill. (See Hogan’s Onomasticon Goedelicum, Letter C). As ever, terms with notes below are in bold, and the notes are…
The Two Sisters ~ An Old Ballad
The well of Inis Clothran, where Medb of Cruachan met her death, has murky depths, or at least, the tale of Medb and her sisters is somewhat opaque. As we discussed in the podcast , there are some unanswered questions. Does Medb kill Cothru or Ethne, or both of her sisters? Is Furbaide Clothru’s son…
Who killed Medb? ~ a poem
And Medb? That famous queen of Connacht, That virtuous virago – woman of renown, Serpent wise and venomous, How did she die? Was it Ailill, on a night of pillow talk, On a night of boasting and bragging, Was there one too many pillows plumped, To stifle her competitive tongue. Was it Ailill who brought…