We regularly receive questions from listeners and readers. We try to answer them as soon as we can but many are well worth exploring in more detail. Here we discuss just three. Firstly there is the problem of ‘coir’, a word that we use regularly in episodes to express an important but complex concept. Another…
Tag: poets
The Irish Abroad – an ongoing tradition
In our final Immrám episode, The Pursuit of the Gilla Decair – An Unofficial Fenian Immrám, we noticed that Goll, Oscar and Fergus FinnBhéoil [“Fair-Lips”] came up with a familiar strategy. Just like the Children of Tuirenn, Fergus suggests that they sneak into the court of Athens disguised as poets, right down to the hair-do!…
Special: Trees and Ogham – When is a tree not a tree?
An Acallam na nÉces Special Many people are familiar with the “Tree Alphabet” or even “Tree Calendar” derived from the ancient Irish Ogham script. But is this barking up the wrong tree? Is this really what Ogham was created for? Peel back the compacted layers of 19th century romanticism and Medieval reconstruction with the Story…
Imbás: Poetry, Knowledge and Inspiration
The “filid”, poets, of early Irish society were not poorly paid struggling artists: they were held in the highest esteem and a crucial part of culture. Indeed, the word “fili”, poet, more literally means seer, and the “ollamh”, great poet, chief poet, had equal status with the king of the “túath”, petty kingdom, and the…