Unreal Irish Folklore

A re-release of the second ever episode of Unreal, while I recover from illness. A new episode will come soon once my voice is back at full strength!   Giants sculpted our landscape. They are strong, and fierce, and can be terrifying if you’re unprepared. But anyone can defeat a giant – if you are clever enough to trick them…   READ THE PODCAST SCRIPT   SOURCES AND FURTHER READING The Story of Fionn and the Giant The Giant’s Causeway, Dublin Penny JournalA Legend of Knockmany, by William Carleton (and the original article)Joe Moore’s Story of Finn Macooilly and the Buggane, Manx Fairytales by Sophia MorrisonVersions from the School’s Folklore Collection at Duchas.ie: 1, 2, 3, 4   The very rude Scottish poem featuring the giant-sized descendants of Fionn   Other Tales Mentioned The fall of the Viking chieftain TurgesiusMaoil a ChliobainJack and the BeanstalkJack the Giant-killerStingy Jack   MUSIC All by Slainte from The Free Music Archive Theme Song – “The Butterfly”The Lark in the Morning / The Atholl HighlandersThe Banshee / The Gravel Walks / The Old Copperplate

The Banshee is one of Ireland’s most famous folkloric figures. A supernatural woman with a cry that foretells of death and devastation to those who hear it, stories about banshees have been terrifying listeners for hundreds of years. But has she always been this way?   Read the Podcast Script   Sources and Further Reading A Folklore Survey of County Clare by Thomas Johnson WestroppThe Triumphs of Turlough translated by Standish Hayes O'GradyThe Hostel of Da Choca translated by Whitley StokesAnnals of Loch CéThe Memoirs of Lady Ann FanshawePersonal Sketches of His Own Times by Sir Jonah BarringtonKeening Tradition"The Irish Funeral Cry" in The Dublin Penny Journal O'Brien's Irish-English Dictionary   Music The Butterfly – SláinteReturn Home - Moorland SongsThe White Birch - Moorland SongsMountain Solitude - Moorland Songs

Hi everyone, Ruth here, and apologies for the slightly sporadic uploads to Unreal this season – I’ve just been having quite a busy time outside of podcasting. I’m actually going to take mid-season break and come back in two weeks with a special Halloween episode, and finish out the second half of the season then, hopefully with more regular uploads for those last few episodes. I hope that sounds ok, and wishing you a folklore-filled few weeks in the meantime. Go n-éirí an bóthar leat.

What happens when a king goes mad? When he leaves his home, his wife and lands, and goes wandering in the woods and the wild? Such a strange frenzy came on Sweeney, an Irish king long ago. The life he came to live was a harsh and a wild one – but, as the story shows, still one where breathtaking beauty could be found . . .  Read the Podcast Script Sources And Further Reading Buile Suibhne. (The frenzy of Suibhne) by O'Keeffe, J. GThe King's MirrorMyrddin WyltWild Man   Music The Butterfly – SláinteThe Elfin Knight - TraditionalI'm Missing Ennis - Philip AyersEverything We Built - Christian AndersenIt All Went Away So Quickly - Christian Andersen

There once was born a cursed girl. She was beautiful, and strong-willed, and would do anything for the man she loved. But in her name, evil came to Ireland, bringing war and fighting that left hundreds dead in its wake. Her name was Deirdre, and stories told about her live on, as one of Ireland’s most sorrowful legends.   Read the Podcast Script Sonder MagazineLet's Talk About the Arts episode (my story is at about 28:30)   Sources and further Reading Story Sources The Exile of the Sons of Uisliu by Vernam HullDeirdre, or, The Exile of the Sons of UsnechDeirdre, in The Three Sorrows of Storytelling by Douglas HydeThe Trí Truaighe na Scéalaigheachta by Eugene O'Curry   Background reading Kingship Made Real? Power and the Public World in Longes Mac nUislenn by Elva JohnstonSatire in Medieval IrelandLeabharchamMilesiansHow Ronan Slew His SonCano meic GartnáinDiarmuid & Gráinne   Music The Butterfly  by SláinteOur Green Lands by Bonn FieldsCalling on the Hill by Moorland SongsRed as a Rose by Rune DaleTurnpikes by Rune DaleFarewell to Ennerdale Water by Moorland Songs

For every death, a price must be paid. Life is precious, and blood is costly, and when you take the life of a man, you do not know how high the penalty will be. This is a story about three brothers, and a life they took, the price they paid, and the devastation that followed them to their deaths. Read the podcast script Sources and Further Reading Story Sources The Fate of the Children of Tuireann from The Society for the Preservation of the Irish Language"The Quest of the Sons of Turenn" by T. W. Rolleston"The Fate of the Children of Tuireann" from The Three Sorrows of Storytelling by Douglas Hyde Background reading "The Grail and the English Sir Perceval" (V) by Arthur C. L. Brown"Fines under Brehon Law" by Laurence GinnellÉraic / eric   Music The Butterfly - SláinteLúnassa - AislinnThe Road to Lisdoonvarna & Scollay's - PinnipiedThe Burning of the Piper's Hut - PinnipiedShady Grove - Shake That Little Foot

As strange as it is imagine, there are infinite worlds out there in the universe, far beyond our sight. But, if the stories are to be believed, a group of early Irish people came closer than most to contact with the world above our world, and the strange people who inhabited it.   Read the Podcast Script   Sources and Further Reading “Aerial Ships and Underwater Monasteries: The Evolution of a Monastic Marvel” - John Carey“Voyagers in the Vault of Heaven: The Phenomenon of Ships in the Sky in Medieval Ireland and Beyond” - Michael McCaughan“Lightnings VIII” – Seamus HeaneyCuriosities of Indo-European tradition and folk-lore – Walter Keating KellyOn Hail and Thunder - Agobard of Lyons“From flying boats to secret Soviet weapons to alien visitors – a brief cultural history of UFOs” – theconversation.com“Sometimes a flying boat is just a flying boat: Not everything has to be a UFO” – esoterx.comTailtenn Games“On the Identification of the Ancient Cemetery at Loughcrew, Co. Meath” - Eugene Alfred ConwellThe Aonac Tailteann and the Tailteann Games – T. H. Nally   Music The Butterfly - SláintePeriwinkle Waters – Christian AndersenFree Form – Amaranth CoveSea of Space – Yi Nantiro

There is something magical about snow, but it’s also deceptive, and deadly – the perfect ingredient for dark tales on a cold winter’s night . . . Read the Podcast Script Sources Weather Lore Customs, Beliefs and Superstitions of the Different Festivals – Dúchas.ieWeather-Lore – Dúchas.iePlucking Geese in Heaven – Dúchas.ieSigns of Snow – Dúchas.ie Derbforgaill The Deaths of Lugaid and Derbforgaill – Carl MarstranderCuchulainn’s Ríastrad: The Cuchullin Saga in Irish Literature – Eleanor Hull Saints St Molasius (Silva Gaedelica, S. H. O’Grady)St Comghan (Mac Dá Cherda and Cummaine Foda - J. G. O'Keeffe)St Patrick (The Tripartite Life of St Patrick – Whitley Stokes) Deirdre The Exile of the Sons of Uisliu – Vernam Hull Sín and Muirchertach The Death of Muirchertach Mac Erca – Whitley Stokes International Stories of the Snow Snow Drop – The Brothers GrimmThe Snow Queen – Hans Christian AndersenSnegurochka Music Dreams of the Brave – Trabant 33Sea of Clouds – Kai EngelArctica – Kai EngelKesh Jig, Leitrim Fancy – SláinteSomewhere Else – Kai EngelGander in the Pratie Hole, Morrison's Jig, Drowsy Maggie – SláinteAs Rainbows Fall – DeskantSurreal Forest – MeydänIn the Bleak Midwinter – Maya Solovey   Stay up to date: https://unrealpodcast.com/https://twitter.com/unrealpodhttps://www.facebook.com/UnrealPod

Granuaile, Ireland’s Pirate Queen , was ahead of her time but remains with us in legend. Escaping the constraints of femininity, Gráinne risked everything she had to live life she wanted, and rule the seas.       Read the Podcast Script Sources and Further Reading   Granuaile: Ireland's Pirate Queen by Anne Chambers"Eighteen articles of interrogatory to be answered by Grany ne Malley" (Granuaile in her own words!)Anthologica Hibernica: 1, 2Folktales from Dúchas.ieGranuaile folk songs from Dúchas.ie   Music The Butterfly - SláinteShady Grove - Shake That Little FootThe Banshee, Gravel Walks, The Old Copperplate - SláinteCeltic Blessing - Bonnie GracePretty Little Dog - Shake That Little FootJig of Slurs, Dublin, Reel, The Merry Blacksmith, The Mountain Road - Sláinte   Stay up to date: My guest episode on the Candlelit Tales podcast https://unrealpodcast.com/https://twitter.com/unrealpodhttps://www.facebook.com/UnrealPod

The story of Oisín’s journey to Tír na nÓg with Niamh of the Golden Hair has become one of Ireland’s best-loved legends. But the history of how it came to be told may still surprise you . . . Read the Podcast Script Sources and Further Reading Lay of Oisín on the Land of Youth by Michael ComynSgéalta ó Ṫír Ċonaill by Énrí Ó Muirgheasa (translation at end)Sgéal ar Oisín agus na Fiantaibh (translation at end)The Colloquy with the Ancients translated by Standish H O'GradyLeabhar na Feinne, by J. F. CampbellCeltic Mythology by J. A. MacCullochUrashima TarōKing Herla   Music The Butterfly by SláinteBack to the Shires - Christian AndersenLovely Maria - AislinnFor a Lifetime - Yi NantiroThe Road Map - Jo WandriniThe Burning of the Piper's Hut - Pinniped   Stay up to date: https://unrealpodcast.com/https://twitter.com/unrealpodhttps://www.facebook.com/UnrealPod

Witch trials came to an end after 1711. But in the decades that followed, hushed into small, catholic communities in the Irish countryside, fear of the supernatural was growing. And 1895 brought the most infamous execution of a suspected fairy ever to take place – the burning of Bridget Cleary in County Tipperary . . . READ THE PODCAST SCRIPT SOURCES AND FURTHER READING Main Sources The “Witch-Burning” at Clonmel – Folklore, Vol. 6, No. 4 Dec., 1895Belief in Fairies and Witches, in Five Years in Ireland, Michael J. F. McCarthy Newspaper Accounts New York Times (1, 2, 3)The Pall Mall GazetteBismark Daily Tribune Other cases mentioned Witchcraft in Tipperary (1, 2), The Times, Sep 18, 1850Revelation from a Hamlet near Athlone, New York Times, March 22, 1896The Times, Tuesday March 10, 1896 MUSIC The Butterfly – SláinteCapclear – AislinnEvening Bells – Arnaud CoutancierToo Ra Loo Ra Loo Ral (Irish Lullaby) – Chauncey OlcottLunassa – AislinnDark Alleys – Kai EngelInterception – Kai EngelFragile Ice – Sergey CheremisinovShe Moved Through the Fair – Sláinte   Stay up to date: https://unrealpodcast.com/https://twitter.com/unrealpodhttps://www.facebook.com/UnrealPod

The story of the last and largest witch trial ever to take place in Ireland.   Read the Podcast Script   Sources and Further Reading Possessed by the Devil: The Real History of the Islandmagee Witch Trial, by Andrew Sneddon Witchcraft and Magic in Ireland, by Andrew Sneddon Account of the Trial of Eight Reputed Witches by William Tisdall Satan’s Invisible World Discovered, by George SinclairIrish Witchcraft and Demonology, by St. John D. Seymour   Music The Butterfly – SláinteBy the Winds - Sergey CheremisinovParanoia – Kai EngelDance with Me – Sergey CheremisinovAll of This – Ayla Nereo

In 1661, rumours swept the town of Youghal about the deadly kiss of a woman named Florence Newton, a kiss that could bring terrible pain, claim lives, and that marked her out for what she truly was – a witch.   Read the Podcast Script   Sources and Further Reading Irish Witchcraft and Demonology, by St. John D. Seymour ‘Florence Newton’s trial for witchcraft, Cork, 1661: Sir William Aston’s transcript’, Edited by Dr Andrew Sneddon ‘Witchcraft belief and trials in early modern Ireland,’ Dr Andrew Sneddon Witchfinders, by Malcolm Gaskill   Music The Butterflyby SláinteCurtains are Always Drawn – Kai EngelFog – Sergey CheremisinovRun – Kai EngelSea & Night - Sergey CheremisinovMindship - Sergey CheremisinovIvory Tongue - Ayla Nereo   Stay up to date: https://unrealpodcast.com/https://twitter.com/unrealpodhttps://www.facebook.com/UnrealPod

(Re-released episode from Season 1) In 1324, Dame Alice Kyteler of Kilkenny became the first woman tried for witchcraft in Ireland. But things did not go according to plan… SOURCES AND FURTHER READING The Sorcery Trial of Alice Kyteler: A Contemporary Account, translated and edited by L. S. Davidson and John O. Ward The History and Antiquities of the Diocese of Ossory by Rev. William Carrigan Irish Witchcraft and Demonology by St. John D. Seymour Witchcraft: A Very Short Introduction  by Malcolm Gaskill The Sorcery Trial of Alice Kyteler by Bernadette Williams   MUSIC "Beacon" by Ayla Nereo“The Butterfly” by SláinteChurchbells, St. Nicholas Cossack Cathedral in Omsk, recorded by Zabuhailo“Global Warming” by Kai Engel“daemones” by Kai Engel“periculum” by Kai Engel"Wheel of Time" by Ayla Nereo

Welcome to season 3 of Unreal a podcast about Irish history, stories and tradition. I’m doing something a little different this time around. For the month of October, I will be bringing you weekly true stories of Irish witches: their lives, their trials, their fates. Alice Kyteler. Florence Newton. The women of Islandmagee. Bridget Cleary. These women were part of our history. Their lives and what they went through are all unique, and their stories are a mark of who we were and how far we have come. But all of them deserve to be remembered. So join me next Sunday, to begin a new Chapter of Unreal: The Season of the Witch.   Song: Beacon by Ayla Nereo   **** A note for my regular listeners - the first episode will be a repeat of Alice Kyteler's story which I previously hosted in Season 1, so you may want to give that one a miss and tune in from the week after. Or feel free to listen again!

The tale of the Salmon of Knowledge is one of the most famous and well-loved stories of Irish in mythology. It’s a story about becoming – of a hero before he was a hero. Everyone in Ireland knows the story. But you might be surprised by its roots!   Read the Podcast Script   Sources and Further Reading   The Salmon of Knowledge Variants Salmon of KnowledgeThe Boyish Exploits of Finn – translated by John O’Donovan“Had I but eaten of the salmon of knowledge...” Cath Mhuighe Léana translated by Eugene O’Curry (p97)The High Deeds of Finn and other Bardic Romances – T. W. RollestonMy previous episode featuring Fintan mac Bóchra   Fionn / Enchanted Water Stories Fionn and Cúldub – translated by Kuno MeyerThe Fountain of the Moon – edited by Nicholas Kearney   Sigurd and Taliesen SigurdHanes Taliesen, Taliesen, CeridwenIntervention and Disruption in the Myths of Finn and Sigurd – Joseph Falaky NagyAbstract Narrative in Ireland – R. Mark ScowcroftReviewed Work: The Thumb of Knowledge in Legends of Finn, Sigurd, and Taliesin- Robert D. Scott (Review by: G. M.)   Sinnan and Boand Revue Celtique (Sinnan) – translated by Whitley StokesRevue Celtique (Boand) – translated by Whitley StokesOn the Manners and Customs of the Ancient Celts – Eugene O’CurryThe Well of Faery – translated by Kuno MeyerThe Metrichal Dindsenchas – translated by Edward Gwynn   Music The Butterfly – SláinteThe Crosses of Annagh. The Humors of Tulla. The Cup of Tea – SláinteJig of Slurs. Dublin Reel - Merry Blacksmith. The Mountain Road – SláinteThings you never known – Lobo LocoRelaxing Piano Music – Kevin MacLeodBy the Wind – Sergey CheremisinovLadies Choice – Dance Hall – Lobo Loco   Stay up to date: https://unrealpodcast.com/https://twitter.com/unrealpodhttps://www.facebook.com/UnrealPod

Tales of mythical islands and enchanted cities have captivated our storytellers for generations. We are always searching, searching on the far horizon and in the depths of our lakes and rivers, for the worlds we have lost, and the promised lands we still have left to find.   Read the Podcast Script   Sources and Further Reading   Introductions Ireland’s Mysterious Lands and Sunken Cities by Jon Douglas SingerImmramCeltic Otherworld   Kilstuiffeen Ordnance Survey Letters by John O’Donovan and Eugene O’CurryIreland: its scenery, its character etc. by S. C. HallLegendary Fictions of the Irish Celts by Patrick KennedyA Folklore Survey of County Clare by Thomas John WestroppThe Monks of Kilcrea by A. G. Geoghegan   Caher Linn @RostrevorRARE’s postDúchas Stories CarlingfordCarlingford Volcano Louth Folk Tales by Doreen McBrideCarlingford Leaflet   Fintan Mac Bochra Lebor Gabála Érenn translated by R. S. MacalisterThe Hawk of Achill or the Legends of the Oldest Animals by Eleanor Hull   Liban Annals of the Kingdom of IrelandThe Topography of Ireland by Giraldus Cambrensis   Mystical Islands The Topography of Ireland by Giraldus CambrensisSpeculum Regale translated by Laurence Marcellus Larson   The Voyage of Brendan Lives of Saints from the Book of Lismore translated by Whitley StokesBrendanCumann Comnae by Julianne Pigott   Music The Butterfly by SláinteDrops of Brandy / The Mountain Kid by AislinnThe Burning of the Piper’s Hut by PinnipiedPretty Little Dog by Shake that Little FootShady Grove by Shake that Little Foot

Early Irish forests were thick with wolves. Fierce, fast and predatory, it’s no wonder these animals inspired so many myths and stories before their extinction. The legend of the werewolf - men and women who could walk through the world in the shape of wolves - has captured imaginations for centuries.   Read the Podcast Script Sources and Further Reading   WerewolfWolves in Folklore, Religion and MythologyBretha Crólige (Brehon Laws) translated by D. A. Binchy   Ossory Werewolves Leabhar Breathnach Annso Sis, translated by James Henthorn ToddTopographia Hibernia, by Gerald of WalesThe Wonders of Ireland by Patrick Weston JoyceWerewolves of Ossory   St Ronan “Chronique IX” by By H. D’Arbois de Jubainville, in Revue Celtique (translation here)Ronan of Locronanstronans.co.uk   The Wolf Women of Cruachan Cave “The Story of the Three She-Wolves” in Irische Texte by Whitley Stokes“The Cave of Cruachan” in Gods and Fighting Men by Lady Augusta Gregory   Lady Jane Wilde’s Wolf Stories – in Ancient Legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland Cathal the KingConnor and the Wolf Men   Fiachna “Fragmentary Annals” in Silva Gaedelica by Standish H. O’Grady   Cormac Mac Art “Birth of Cormac Grandson of Conn” in Silva Gaedelica by Standish H. O’Grady“The Birth of Cormac” in The High Deeds of Finn by T. W. Rolleston   Music The Butterfly by SláinteMagic Forest by Kevin MacLeodHidden Past by Kevin MacLeodSurreal Forest by MeydänSmouldering by Kai Engel   Sound Effects Forest Day by sonidosreales245Dusk Wolf by killyourpepeCooper Creek Solitary Wolf Howl by betchkalWood of Wolves in the Rain by maurolupo

Down in the hollows, hiding just out of sight, the wee folk are watching our every move. And despite their size, these little beings can bring about an incredible amount of destruction. But were the wee folk always thought of as so sinister? And do they think of humans as being just as magical as we think of them?   Read the Podcast Script   Sources and Further Reading Leprechauns Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland, by Thomas Crofton CrokerIrish Wonders, by D. R. McAnallyRevue Celtique, by Whitley Stokes“Another Illusion Shattered: "leprechaun" not native Irish” in Language Log   King Fergus and the Wee Folk The High Deeds of Finn and other Bardic Romances of Ancient Ireland, by T. W. RollestonSilva Gadelica, by Standish Hayes O’GradyThe Saga of Fergus Mac Létí, translated by D. A. Binchy   Music The Butterfly by Sláinte The King of the Fairies – The DublinersThe King of the Fairies – Alan StivellLunassa by AislinnThe Banshee. Gravel Walks. The Old Copperplate – SláinteGander in the Pratie Hole, Morrison's Jig, Drowsy Maggie - Sláinte

Far below the ocean waves live the strange and mysterious people of the sea. From ancient times to the modern day we have been fascinated by stories of the sea folk – the way they look, the songs they sing, and the great hold they have on us. But the merfolk are very different to humans, and when human and sea person meet, things rarely go according to plan…   Read the Podcast Script Sources and Further Reading Introductions MermaidsMerrowsSelkies   Stories Lebor Gabála Éirenn, translated by Robert Stewart MacAlisterRoth Mac Cithaing & Port Láirge, in the Rennes Dindsenchas translated by Whitley StokesThe Wonderful Tune / The Lady of Gollerus by Thomas Crofton CrokerOrkney Folk-lore: Selkie Folk by William Traill DennisonThe Little Mermaid by Hans Christian AndersonThe Fisherman and His Soul by Oscar Wilde   Essays The Testimony of Tradition by David MacRitchieThe Motif of the Mermaid in English, Irish, and Scottish Fairy- and Folk Tales by Stephanie KickingerederSupernatural Beings in the Far North: Folklore, Folk Belief, and The Selkie by Nancy Cassell MacEntire   Music The Butterfly by SláintePure Water by MeydnSiren Song by Platypus VACapclear by AislinnCobweb Morning by Kai EngelThe Great Selkie of Sule Skerry by June TaborRain by MeydnO Come Ye by Ayla NereoOctober by Kai Engel