Racontour Archive 2008 - 2019: Recent Episodes
Racontour and friends
Covering the years 2008 - 2019. Watch this archive expand in 2022 as we remix and update our audio material from these years. All we ask is that you share these clips on social media if you enjoyed them.
Non Yeats POI: Parkes Castle. GPS location 54.264611, -8.33396
A restored plantation castle of the early 17th century, picturesquely situated on the shores of Lough Gill, once the home of Robert Parke and his family. The Courtyard grounds contain evidence of an earlier 16th century Tower House structure once owned by Sir Brian O'Rourke who subsequently was executed at Tyburn, London in 1591. The Castle has been restored using Irish oak and traditional craftsmanship. Access for visitors with disabilities to ground floor.
Next to the castle is the Wild Rose waterbus which takes you out on Lough Gill. George McGoldrick is your affable host on this one hour trip. It sails daily at 12.30, 3.30, 4.30 and 6.30, but check in advance lest there be a change of plan - Mobile:+353872598869
Opening Hours:
9th April - 30th Sept: Daily 10.00 - 18.00
Last admission 45 minutes before closing
Average Length of Visit: 1 Hour
DIRECTIONS: This is the last proper stop off on Day One of the tour. If heading back in to Sligo, take a left after the car park and we'll have some poetry for you along the way.
Non Yeats P.O.I. Dromahair. GPS location 54.220799, -8.297467
Dromahair lies in the hilly north west of Leitrim amid some stunning unspoiled natural landscapes. The "Sleeping Giant" mountain formation (comprising Keelogyboy, Leean and Benbo) is visible on approaches to the village, as is Lough Gill below the Slieve Dae?ne and Killerry mountain.
The village itself is also idyllic, located on the banks of the River Bonet, which flows into Lough Gill. Much of Dromahair was modelled on a village in Somerset by the Earl of Leitrim, and the central streetscape still follows the pattern set down by him.
Looking for a good lunch before getting the waterbus in the afternoon? Try the The Riverbank Restaurant. Stay on the R287 by taking a right coming into Dromahair - the restaurant is on the left and is marked on the map. It has a full licence and is open from Friday to Sunday. Evening meals are from 6.30 pm to 10 pm and Sunday Lunch from 12.30 to 3.00 pm.Bar Food is Served, daily from 12.30 to 9pm
The poem Sean quotes in the audio piece is from Yeats's 1893 collection, The Rose: -
The Man Who Dreamed Of Faeryland
He stood among a crowd at Dromahair;
His heart hung all upon a silken dress,
And he had known at last some tenderness,
Before earth took him to her stony care;
But when a man poured fish into a pile,
It Seemed they raised their little silver heads,
And sang what gold morning or evening sheds
Upon a woven world-forgotten isle
Where people love beside the ravelled seas;
That Time can never mar a lover's vows
Under that woven changeless roof of boughs:
The singing shook him out of his new ease.
He wandered by the sands of Lissadell;
His mind ran all on money cares and fears,
And he had known at last some prudent years
Before they heaped his grave under the hill;
But while he passed before a plashy place,
A lug-worm with its grey and muddy mouth
Sang that somewhere to north or west or south
There dwelt a gay, exulting, gentle race
Under the golden or the silver skies;
That if a dancer stayed his hungry foot
It seemed the sun and moon were in the fruit:
And at that singing he was no more wise.
He mused beside the well of Scanavin,
He mused upon his mockers: without fail
His sudden vengeance were a country tale,
When earthy night had drunk his body in;
But one small knot-grass growing by the pool
Sang where - unnecessary cruel voice -
Old silence bids its chosen race rejoice,
Whatever ravelled waters rise and fall
Or stormy silver fret the gold of day,
And midnight there enfold them like a fleece
And lover there by lover be at peace.
The tale drove his fine angry mood away.
He slept under the hill of Lugnagall;
And might have known at last unhaunted sleep
Under that cold and vapour-turbaned steep,
Now that the earth had taken man and all:
Did not the worms that spired about his bones
proclaim with that unwearied, reedy cry
That God has laid His fingers on the sky,
That from those fingers glittering summer runs
Upon the dancer by the dreamless wave.
Why should those lovers that no lovers miss
Dream, until God burn Nature with a kiss?
The man has found no comfort in the grave.
Tour curator John Ward welcomes listeners about to embark on a range of sites that inspired a young Yeats to conjure up his Celtic Twilight. All of the well-known sites, plus a few non-Yeats treats are included culminating in a visit to Yeats's grave at Drumcliffe.
Please see the dedicated Yeats page https://www.racontour.com/yeats/ which has an overview of what the ful tour entails including pointers on the planning of the route over three days. To really get the most out of this guide though, you need to listen to it on our Yeats Country Guide playlist on Spotify where the stories are combined with songs: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7MFBdeOsoiScwyxo0zVty9?si=98c7331a3bad4451
Assuming you are doing so, after this audio piece, we have The Waterboy's epic version of a Celtic Twilight poem from the 1899 collection, The Wind amongst the Reeds: -
The Hosting Of The Sidhe
The host is riding from Knocknarea
And over the grave of Clooth-na-Bare;
Caoilte tossing his burning hair,
And Niamh calling Away, come away:
Empty your heart of its mortal dream.
The winds awaken, the leaves whirl round,
Our cheeks are pale, our hair is unbound,
Our breasts are heaving our eyes are agleam,
Our arms are waving our lips are apart;
And if any gaze on our rushing band,
We come between him and the deed of his hand,
We come between him and the hope of his heart.
The host is rushing 'twixt night and day,
And where is there hope or deed as fair?
Caoilte tossing his burning hair,
And Niamh calling Away, come away.
You'll have noticed Mick changed some of the lines around, but if someone is going to tamper with the master, let it be Mick! Besides, it was artistic licence. we love how he turned the opening lines into the chorus. It also made for the most perfect opening track as we ask you to come away with us on our epic tour of Yeats Country.
An Appointment with Mr Yeats, the Waterboys album of WB Yeats poems-become-songs first released in 2011, was recently remixed and remastered with six previously unreleased bonus tracks. It was released in late May 2022. Highlights of it feature throughout the playlist, including Steve Wickham's rendering of Come Gather Round Me, Parnellites which features straight after a visit to Connolly's where Parnell had been in Sligo.
Says Mike Scott: "I remixed the Yeats album during the 2020 lockdown, using all the skills I picked up while making the last several Waterboys records. Then it was mastered by my colleague Don Jackson. I'm thrilled with how it's come out. Not distractingly different, but fuller and richer, more powerful." No word of a lie, Mike!
Rosses Point
GPS Location: 54.304105, -8.561783
Yeats loved Rosses Point and first experimented with the paranormal here, encouraged by his cousin's housekeeper who had the ˜second sight'. Today excellent restaurants and pubs meet all your needs, even if they can't predict your future! Yeats stayed at Elsinore House when he was in Rosses Point. It is now a ruin and is just below the statue in the picture above on the way to the pier. There's talk every few years of doing up the derelict site, but as you'll see, nothing has happened!
DIRECTIONS: After Rosses Point, make your way back to Sligo Town. In town, we have listed the key Yeats sites you may wish to visit.
Rathcormack
GPS Location: 54.31955, -8.48289
Rathcormack is a small village at the base of a valley. You may wish to take note of an art installation honouring Countess Markievicz by the roadside. Rising on a brae from it towards Sligo, get ready to turn right at the top of the brae for Rosses Point - it is signposted although, please note the sign is for Kintogher.
Directions - get to Rosses Point via Google Maps ensuring you take the right turn off at the top of the brae and NOT be taken into town only to double back!
GPS Location: 54.304105, -8.561783
Location: Yeat's Grave, Drumcliffe
Yeats's grave is marked in front of you with Ben Bulben visible through the cemetery trees. If the church is open, ensure you pay it a visit. If the excellent booklet by Derick Bingham entitled 'The Eye of the Heart' is still in print, it's well worth a read.
The resting place of Ireland's greatest poet, William Butler Yeats, is as near perfect a location as you'd expect for such an evocative wordsmith. In the final two stanzas of Under Ben Bulben, Yeats declared: -
Irish poets, learn your trade, Sing whatever is well made,
Scorn the sort now growing up All out of shape from toe to top,
Their unremembering hearts and heads Base-born products of base beds.
Sing the peasantry, and then Hard-riding country gentlemen,
The holiness of monks, and after Porter-drinkers' randy laughter;
Sing the lords and ladies gay That were beaten into clay
Through seven heroic centuries; Cast your mind on other days
That we in coming days may be Still the indomitable Irishry.
Under bare Ben Bulben's head In Drumcliff churchyard Yeats is laid.
An ancestor was rector there Long years ago, a church stands near,
By the road an ancient cross. No marble, no conventional phrase;
On limestone quarried near the spot By his command these words are cut:
Cast a cold eye On life, on death. Horseman, pass by!
DIRECTIONS: We'll be turning left on to the N15 coming out of the car park and heading towards Rosses' Point via Rathcormack village.
Drumcliffe GPS Location: 54.325334, -8.493741
You are now in the village of Drumcliffe, firmly put on the map when W.B. Yeats was interred here some nine years after his death in France in January 1939. After a long and somber route back from Roquebrune where it lay in state both there and in Sligo Town, he was laid to rest as per his instructions in "Under Ben Bulben". In an ironic twist, the Government was represented by its Minister for External Affairs, Mr. Sean McBride, son of Maud Gonne.
Hear more about the return from RTÉ Radio's John Bowman Sunday archive show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaNplPvSbx4
Lissadell House
GPS Location: 54.344031, -8.57777
Please note that Lissadell House has a limited opening season. Best to check the Lissadell website when planning your visit closer to the time.
One of the great coups for Lissadell is getting Leonard Cohen to play here in 2010. Thw riter was lucky enough to see the show and it was magnificent hearing him sing - and also quote Yeats: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5vYpWCbHsE
Lissadell is famous as the childhood home of Constance Markievicz, one of the leaders of the 1916 Rising; the first woman to be elected to Dáil Eireann, where she served as Minister for Labour, and also the first woman to be elected to Westminster Parliament in London.Her brother Josslyn created at Lissadell one of the premier horticultural estates in Europe. Yeats was friendly with the Gore Booths, and has immortalised Lissadell in his poetry.
In Memory Of Eva Gore-Booth And Con Markiewicz
The light of evening, Lissadell,
Great windows open to the south,
Two girls in silk kimonos, both
Beautiful, one a gazelle.
But a raving autumn shears
Blossom from the summer's wreath;
The older is condemned to death,
Pardoned, drags out lonely years
Conspiring among the ignorant.
I know not what the younger dreams –
Some vague Utopia – and she seems,
When withered old and skeleton-gaunt,
An image of such politics.
Many a time I think to seek
One or the other out and speak
Of that old Georgian mansion, mix
Pictures of the mind, recall
That table and the talk of youth,
Two girls in silk kimonos, both
Beautiful, one a gazelle.
Dear shadows, now you know it all,
All the folly of a fight
With a common wrong or right.
The innocent and the beautiful
Have no enemy but time;
Arise and bid me strike a match
And strike another till time catch;
Should the conflagration climb,
Run till all the sages know.
We the great gazebo built,
They convicted us of guilt;
Bid me strike a match and blow.
DIRECTIONS: After here, you'll be making your way back to Drumcliffe on the N15. Want to be brought to the car park of Drumcliffe church via Google Maps? Use these coordinates: 54.325334, -8.493741
Carney village
GPS Location: 54.336437, -8.527212
Narrators: Pro Yeats Mary vs Anti Yeats Sean!
You are driving through Carney, a small but well-serviced village, with two good restaurants and pubs, a Chinese take away and even a football team called Yeats FC!
DIRECTIONS: Carry on to Lissadell House. In our audio piece, Mary and Sean give their honest opinion of Yeats and his legacy - it makes for a lively debate!
Want to be brought to Lissadell by Google Maps?
Use the coordinates: 54.344031 -8.57777
By the shores of Glencar lake
GPS Location: 54.33762, -8.404841
One of the many tranquil spots along the lake where the scenery is worth stopping for. In our audio piece, we move onto Irish mythology as under Ben Bulben is where the Fianna warriors hunted and where we tell you the story of Diarmaid and Grainne.
However, the good people are never too far away in these parts. Yeats wrote A Faery Song where the two worlds meet where the sleeping lovers get the blessing of the area's oldest residents.
A Faery Song (sung by the people of Faery over Diarmaid and Grainne, in their bridal sleep under a cromlech) Better still, sung next by The Waterboys if listening on the Yeats Country Guide playlist on Spotify.
We who are old, old and gay, O so old!
Thousands of years, thousands of years,
If all were told: Give to these children, new from the world,
Silence and love; And the long dew-dropping hours of the night,
And the stars above: Give to these children, new from the world,
Rest far from men. Is anything better, anything better?
Tell us it then: Us who are old, old and gay, O so old!
Thousands of years, thousands of years, If all were told.
As they were on the run from her husband Fionn McCumhaill, Diarmaid and Grainne (Diarmuid and Grania) are said to have spent the night in the shelter of a cave in Benbulben, known as Diarmaid and Grainne's Bed.
DIRECTIONS: we'll be guiding you along Ben Bulben on your right until you get back to the N15 main road. Take a left here, but please note just before Drumcliffe, take the signs for Lissadell House on the right. if in a hurry, skip this step, but ensure you hear the lively Yeats debate!
Want to be brought to the N15 turnoff by Google Maps? Use the coordinates below to bring you to the next Point of Interest:
54.341436 -8.502989
Glencar lake and waterfall
GPS location: 54.340271, -8.37323
We've guided you to the car park by Glencar lake. It's got clean WCs available and adequate parking for everything from buses to motorhomes. This car park may be the best place from which to do a proper walking tour of the area.
The waterfall is believed to be the site which inspired The Stolen Child, this is an enthralling place. Make sure you you climb the 100 or so easy steps on the looped walk, right past the waterfall and past the hazel bush where rags or votives have been tied to it where believers have made wishes.
WHERE dips the rocky highland Of Sleuth Wood in the lake,
There lies a leafy island Where flapping herons wake
The drowsy water rats; There we've hid our faery vats,
Full of berrys And of reddest stolen cherries.
Come away, O human child!
To the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand,
For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand.
Where the wave of moonlight glosses
The dim gray sands with light,
Far off by furthest Rosses
We foot it all the night,
Weaving olden dances
Mingling hands and mingling glances
Till the moon has taken flight;
To and fro we leap And chase the frothy bubbles,
While the world is full of troubles
And anxious in its sleep.
Come away, O human child!
To the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand,
For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand.
Where the wandering water gushes
From the hills above Glen-Car,
In pools among the rushes
That scarce could bathe a star,
We seek for slumbering trout
And whispering in their ears
Give them unquiet dreams;
Leaning softly out
From ferns that drop their tears
Over the young streams.
Come away, O human child!
To the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand,
For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand.
Away with us he's going,
The solemn-eyed: He'll hear no more the lowing
Of the calves on the warm hillside
Or the kettle on the hob Sing peace into his breast,
Or see the brown mice bob
Round and round the oatmeal chest.
For he comes, the human child,
To the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand,
For the world's more full of weeping than he can understand.
DIRECTIONS: After the waterfall, you'll be continuing your anti-clockwise journey around the lake taking you near Ben Bulben. We'll be guiding you to a scenic spot to pull over and enjoy the view. Use the coordinates below to bring you to the next Point of Interest:
54.33762, -8.404841
DAY TWO
Starting point is the N16 to Manorhamilton
GPS Location: 54.282961, -8.45329
Narrators: Mary Murphy and Sean McMahon
In our audio piece. Mary and Sean set the scene on Yeats's fascination with the Celtic twilight. Today's route encompasses its famous sites before coming to Yeats's resting spot.
The N16 is a scenic route that will take you high above Glencar valley on your left within the next five miles. DIRECTIONS: Ignoring the first sign for the Glencar waterfall, we'll be taking you anti-clockwise around the lake to get to the waterfall. Carry on out the N16 and look out for a viewing park of the lake on the left. After this, you will be driving another 2 kilometres before turning off left where signposted.
Want to get brought to the viewpoint by Google Maps?
Use the coordinates below to bring you to the next Point of Interest:
54.332011, -8.39793
We finish Day One overlooking Lough Gill from a viewing point with good parking.
Actor Neil O'Shea recites The Song of Wandering Aengus from 1899 The Wind amongst the Reeds collection. This is one of the pieces from his full length show, The Irish Writers Entertain which mixes verse, poetry, comedy with some fine anecdotes about Ireland's literary elite.
To be brought to the Lough Gill viewing point via Google Maps: 54.26881, -8.35031
OPTIONAL The banks of Lough Gill by Inishfree
GPS Location: 54.215204, -8.350232
Narrator: W.B. Yeats (no kidding!)
NB: not recommended in an SUV! Best to see the famed isle via the waterbus.
The road down to this Point of Interest is signposted, but is about 4 kilometres along a windy road - there is parking once you get to the end of it. Listen to the voice of the great man himself, recorded by the BBC in 1932 reciting The Lake Isle of Inishfree. DIRECTIONS: After your time here, make you way back to the main road and follow the signposting for Dromahair.
GPS coordinates be brought to Dromahair by Google Maps:
54.220799, -8.297467
Dooney Rock
GPS Location: 54.239091, -8.42733
Narrators: Mary Murphy and Sean McMahon
You are now at Dooney Rock, a huge rock covered in foliage and trees. This was a favourite spot for dancing and romancing and Yeats would have seen a blind fiddler who regularly played here on Sundays. "When I play on my fiddle in Dooney, Folk dance like a wave of the sea." The panoramic views from the top of Dooney are well worth the stiff flight of steps, and show the magnificent brow of Benbulben in the straight distance, and to the left, Knocknarea.
When I play on my fiddle in Dooney,
Folk dance like a wave of the sea;
My cousin is priest in Kilvarnet, My brother in Moharabuiee.
I passed my brother and cousin:
They read in their books of prayer;
I read in my book of songs I bought at the Sligo fair.
When we come at the end of time,
To Peter sitting in state,
He will smile on the three old spirits,
But call me first through the gate;
For the good are always the merry,
Save by an evil chance,
And the merry love the fiddle
And the merry love to dance:
And when the folk there spy me,
They will all come up to me,
With a ˜Here is the fiddler of Dooney!'
And dance like a wave of the sea.
Next up, there's an option to make your way to the famed Lake Isle of Inishfree. Well, by the banks of Lough Gill and in full view of it at least! Be warned, it is at the end of a windy 4 kilometre narrow road, so don't do this in an SUV/Winnebago! There is parking on the right just before the slipway that is the closest vantage point of this hallowed spot. The waterbus option of seeing the lake isle is the more sensible and enjoyable option!
Turn off point for getting to the lake isle: GPS Location: 54.215204, -8.350232
Tobernalt Holy Well
GPS Location: 54.244666, -8.445053
Narrator: Sean McMahon
Non Yeats Point of Interest
Tobernalt Holy Well is a place of reflection and nurturing serenity. It predates the advent of Christianity to Ireland in the fifth century. Its importance as a meeting place and a sustainer of life predates our Celtic ancestors. Somewhat tenuously, there is a holy well in County Sligo with a Yeats connection called Hawk's Well - it is on Tullaghan hill near Coolaney 10kms south west of Ballysadare for those who really want to get all Yeats locations in the northwest!
At the Hawk's Well is a one act play by William Butler Yeats, first performed in 1916 and published in 1917. It is one of five plays by Yeats which are loosely based on the stories of Cuchulain, the mythological hero of ancient Ulster. It was the first play written in English that utilised many of the features of the Japanese Noh Theatre. The Hawk's Well, also called Tubber Scanavin, can be found on top of Tullaghan Hill near Coolaney. Like all wells in Ireland, it is attributed to St Patrick, and even though the Ox Mountains stretch between the well and the sea, its water level rises and falls with the tide. There is also a Hawk's Well theatre in Sligo Town, more of which can be found on our sister guide, the Sligo Town Guide.
Synopsis of the Play: The play is set by a dried up well on a desolate mountainside which is guarded by a hawk-like woman. An old man has kept camp there for fifty years, waiting to drink the miraculous waters from the well which occasionally rise up. Cuchulain arrives at the spot, having heard a story that the waters bring immortality. The Old Man urges Cuchulain to leave the well, telling of his wasted lifetime there and how, even when the waters did rise up, he was thwarted by a sudden urge to sleep. But Cuchulain is determined to stay and convinced that he shall soon drink the waters.
While they speak of a hawk which had attacked Cuchulain earlier in the day, and which the old man claims is a supernatural being which carries a curse of discontent and violence, the Guardian of the Well seems to fall into a trance, arises, and begins to dance with hawk-like motions. She then leaves the stage as the well waters bubble up. Cuchulain pursues her, but unable to find her he returns to the well to be informed by the Old Man he has missed the waters. Oblivious, he rushes out again to face the warrior women the Guardian of the Well has called out to battle, ignoring the Old Man's pleas to stay with him. (Source: Wikipedia)
DIRECTIONS: After the holy well, you will be continuing about 100m further on the Holy Well road before taking a sharp left to get you to Dooney Rock - as long as you have the lough close on your left, you are on course to find it.
Better still, be brought by Google Maps GPS Location: 54.239091, -8.42733
Lough Gill scenic brow
GPS Location: 54.250261, -8.45164
Narrators: Mary Murphy and Sean McMahon
Your first view of it is a spectacular panorama well worth stopping off to take some pictures. Park on the left just before the brow descends.
Directions: go down the brae and turn right at the sign for Tobernalt holy well which you will find further down the road on the right.
Ballysadare Bridge
GPS Location: 54.209507, -8.509383
Narrators: Mary Murphy and Sean McMahon
Ballysadare village, 7 miles south of Sligo is where the Pollexfen Company had extensive milling interests. You should be on the bridge where the Ballysadare river is. Facing north, you are now best placed to recall one of Yeats's better known poems, 'Down by the Sally Gardens'. Down by the sally gardens my love and I did meet; She passed the sally gardens with little snow-white feet. She bid me take life easy, as the grass grows on the weirs; But I was young and foolish, and now am full of tears.
The poet often stayed at nearby Avena House, just off the main street down from the bridge which remains a private dwelling. Salley rods were grown here, for basket making etc, and Yeats once heard a tinker woman sing the ballad he later reworded so delicately.
After Ballysadare, you'll be driving to Lough Gill and Dromahair by going under the N4 road onto the R290 traveling 3kms and turning right onto the R287. Get brought to brow showing spectacular Lough Gill via Google Maps: GPS Location: 54.250261, -8.45164
Another poem from Yeats's early work features the Crossways collection of 1889, published when he was 24. It references several nearby places.
The Ballad Of Father O'Hart
Good Father John O'Hart
In penal days rode out
To a Shoneen who had free lands
And his own snipe and trout.
In trust took he John's lands;
Sleiveens were all his race;
And he gave them as dowers to his daughters.
And they married beyond their place.
But Father John went up,
And Father John went down;
And he wore small holes in his Shoes,
And he wore large holes in his gown.
All loved him, only the shoneen,
Whom the devils have by the hair,
From the wives, and the cats, and the children,
To the birds in the white of the air.
The birds, for he opened their cages
As he went up and down;
And he said with a smile, 'Have peace now';
And he went his way with a frown.
But if when anyone died
Came keeners hoarser than rooks,
He bade them give over their keening;
For he was a man of books.
And these were the works of John,
When, weeping score by score,
People came into Colooney;
For he'd died at ninety-four.
There was no human keening;
The birds from Knocknarea
And the world round Knocknashee
Came keening in that day.
The young birds and old birds
Came flying, heavy and sad;
Keening in from Tiraragh,
Keening from Ballinafad;
Keening from Inishmurray.
Nor stayed for bite or sup;
This way were all reproved
Who dig old customs up.
Queen Maeve's Cairn, Knocknarea
GPS Location: 54.272091, -8.47533
Narrators: Mary Murphy and Sean McMahon
325 metres high overlooking Yeats country is this imposing megalithic tomb to the legendary Maeve, Queen of Connacht. The great mound of stones on top of Knocknarea's flat-topped summit is known as Miosgan Meadhbha or Maeve's Grave. Maeve is one of the primary characters in the Taín, one of Ireland's most famous legends which concerns Cuchulainn, who defends Ulster against Maeve's attack.
There are many indications that Maeve was in fact a goddess of sovereignty, one of the group of Irish female deities of war, territory and sexuality. The legend of her death is quite bizarre, as an 11th century text explains that she was killed by a sling-shot consisting of a lump of hard cheese, by her nephew on the shores of Lough Ree!
We reference Carrowmore in the audio and if it appeals, here are the GPS coordinates: Location: 54.250931, -8.51908
If skipping Carrowmore and going direct to Ballysadare Bridge, here are the GPS coordinates: GPS Location: 54.209507, -8.509383
Look out for the Yeats poem 'Red Hanrahan's song about Ireland' which references Knocknarea and Maeve's cairn. Yeats also penned the following poem about Maeve: -
Excerpt from The Old Age of Queen Maeve (from In the Seven Woods, Being Poems Chiefly of the Irish Heroic Age, 1903)
Maeve the great queen was pacing to and fro,
Between the walls covered with beaten bronze,
In her high house at Cruachan; the long hearth,
Flickering with ash and hazel, but half showed
Where the tired horse-boys lay upon the rushes,
Or on the benches underneath the walls,
In comfortable sleep; all living slept
But that great queen, who more than half the night
Had paced from door to fire and fire to door.
Though now in her old age, in her young age
She had been beautiful in that old way
That's all but gone; for the proud heart is gone,
And the fool heart of the counting-house fears all
But Soft beauty and indolent desire.
She could have called over the rim of the world
Whatever woman's lover had hit her fancy,
And yet had been great-bodied and great-limbed,
Fashioned to be the mother of strong children;
And she'd had lucky eyes and high heart,
And wisdom that caught fire like the dried flax,
At need, and made her beautiful and fierce,
Sudden and laughing.
Full version of the poem can be found here.
http://www.online-literature.com/yeats/792/
Sligo Tourist Office, Old Bank Building, O'Connell Street, Sligo
GPS Location: 54.272091, -8.47533
Narrators: Mary Murphy and Sean McMahon
The office is the nominal Sligo Town base from which you'll commence your two-day Yeats Country guide. The helpful staff will be able to provide you with a free map of Sligo and environs - best to get your bearings before embarking on the tour. Please review the various places featured on this guide and note the directions where indicated.
Outside of the tourism office, you will see that the neighbouring building on the right is the headquarters for the Yeats Society, which is the epicentre of all things Yeats during the annual Summer school. Across the river with the backdrop of the sandstone-coloured Ulster Bank, you will see Yeats himself, well his famous statue at least. All of the town sites associated with Yeats can be found in our Sligo Town tour.
A prevailing feature of Yeats Country and Yeats inspiration from this area comes from the Sídhe or faery folk. In our first piece, our wonderful narrators Mary Murphy and Sean McMahon tell us more about them. The first place you will be visiting on the guide is Queen Maeve's cairn on Knocknarea overlooking Yeats Country.
Be taken to Knocknarea car park on Google Maps. GPS Location: 54.272091, -8.47533
The Hosting of the Sídhe
The host is riding from Knocknarea,
And over the grave of Clooth-na-bare;
Caolte tossing his burning hair,
And Niamh calling, 'Away, come away;
Empty your heart of its mortal dream.
The winds awaken, the leaves whirl round,
Our cheeks are pale, our hair is unbound,
Our breasts are heaving, our eyes are a-gleam,
Our arms are waving, our lips are apart,
And if any gaze on our rushing band,
We come between him and the deed of his hand,
We come between him and the hope of his heart.'
The host is rushing 'twixt night and day;
And where is there hope or deed as fair?
Caolte tossing his burning hair,
And Niamh calling, 'Away, come away'
PULL OVER POINT #1 - Athleague
LOCATION: 53.569574, -8.261633
The old Protestant church opposite the mill has been converted into an Angling and Visitors Centre called the Riverside Cafe. Here one can get all the local tourist information - angling, walking, cycling and is a central booking office for local accommodation and tours. The Centre is open all year round and offers conference facilities. Opening Hours: June - September: Daily, 9.30am - 5.30pm Rest of year: Mon - Fri, 9.30am - 5.30pm Coffee and craft shop Here one can begin a stage of the "Suck Valley Way", a 100km long way-marked walk, which incorporates part of the famous O'Sullivan Beara trail. Ask at the Centre for a detailed map guide.
Location: 53.629072, -8.191069
This Protestant church is dedicated to the saint who gave his name to the town and the county and has us saluting one of the true heroes of the area before we get to the good stuff on the sinners!
The Suck river meanders ponderously as it makes it way down towards the Shannon. To the left is Galway and to the right is Roscommon. It's a valley that is renowned to fisherman across Europe, but it has some interesting historical facts associated with it. Did you know the finest ancient treasure in Ireland was made here, that this was destined to be the training hub for law and order or that Ireland’s greatest orator gave his last speech in these parts? Beyond this, there are tales regarding saints from St. Ciaran to St. Coman, of dastardly landlords and inventive publicans and of the serpentine-like river itself giving the trail its subtitle of the serpent, saints and sinners tour.
The good, the bad and the ugly has all passed through this area and we aim to tell you some of the more colourful stories from over the centuries in the hands of Eamonn Gleeson and a man who can both see and maybe even raise Eamonn on the talking stakes in the form of Fuerty farmer, Charlie Clarke. Join us on a journey that has scenery that is both haunting and ethereal in the hands of two great Roscommon raconteurs. Please note we would ask you to pull over and savour the full audio of the lads talking loquaciously at five pull-over locations along the way: - 1. Athleague 2. Castlestrange, 3. Fuerty 4. Castlecoote 5. Donamon Castle
Location: 53.63385, -8.305836
You may wish to observe the river up close by turning right at the T-junction. You will see about twenty fishing docks for the nearby Cuisle Holiday Centre a.k.a Donamon Castle. This is Ireland's leading wheelchair accessible resort and is the Irish Wheelchair Association's National Holiday Centre. It is located within the magnificent 50 acre site of Donamon Castle. Cuisle is a truly unique place where you can escape, unwind and relax. The centre has a fleet of wheelchair accessible transportation that guests can use to travel to and from their homes as well as on day trips, which they regularly organise.
After crossing the Suck once again, you may wish to park up and enjoy the river as it passes by. There are some ornate passing docks along the bridge to allow to fish or observe in comfort. Charlie Clarke's sister, Jane Clarke is a poet and was instrumental in making the audio pieces on this guide happen. Her hearty laugh can be heard with her mother, Dora, on many of the funnier pieces. Many of her pieces are inspired by the river itself:
The River
What surprises me now is not that you're gone
but how I go on without you,
as if I'd lost no more than a finger.
My hand still strong, perhaps stronger, can do what it must,
like carving your name on a branch from the beech by the Suck,
letting the river take you, so I can call myself free.
Only sometimes, like yesterday or the day before, last night or this morning,
the river flows backwards, uphill to my door.
Jane Clarke
Location: 53.620883, -8.320577
Turn right for Stonehams lough Stonehams is the place to go if you really want to get away from it all and get some peace and quiet. The area is partial to flooding so if traveling by car, park up where you see somewhere safe and walk the rest of the way.
There are a number of important coarse and pike fishing venues in the area where you will find suitable access and facilities to fish, many developed by the Inland Fisheries Ireland - Limerick over the years. The River Suck and its surrounding lakes offer some of Ireland's best pike fishing areas and are well worth considering on your itinerary of fishing venues to Ireland. The River Suck produces many fine double figure fish each year with numerous specimens verified by the Irish Specimen Fish Committee year in year out.
Location: 53.642628, -8.304913
The existence of the railway line you've just gone under is thanks to the efforts of Lord Crofton back in the 1860s as the audio piece explains.
There isn't an acre of land in Ireland that doesn't have place names. Here, Charlie Clarke rolls off just a few of the ones he can think of in the area.
After your stop off in Fuerty, you will be taking a left at the T-junction and making your way to Castlecoote. It's a short, but beautiful drive through some of the best countryside in Ireland all the while surrounded by the swooping Suck river. Take note of the old schoolhouse on the right. Here we present a poem by local poet, Jane Clarke, whose family still farm the lands you are traveling through right now and for whom the Suck is a recurring theme: -
Where the river deepens
Bewildered among pillows, tubes and drips,
she grips my hand with every kick of pain.
I ask if she remembers those days in June,
humming with sunshine and hoverflies in purple
loosestrife when she'd meet us at the mill gate
on our way home from school.
She carries a basket, heavy with sadness,
buttered scones, bottles of lemonade,
a crochet hook, balls of unravelled wool.
We run through flaggers to where the river deepens,
leap from low branches, stub our toes on stones, splash and scream.
She watches from the beech-shaded bank,
loops wool through her fingers, closes her eyes for a while.
Jane Clarke
From the sublime to the ridiculous, the accompanying audio piece also features Jane, this time enjoying Eamonn's wit.
PULL OVER POINT #2 La Tène stone
Location: 53.586747, -8.272093
On arrival, go through stone gates and find the stone some 50m on the right. Known as the Castlestrange Stone, this dramatic granite boulder displays the characteristic curvilinear ornamentation of Celtic flourishes called La Tène. These date from the Iron Age (c. 400 BC), and were named from the site in Switzerland where such designs were first noted in artefacts. Picnic table on site.
PULL OVER #3 Fuerty
Location: 53.610687, -8.269272
Just after the tree in the picture, there is parking space just before the church on the right. Pull over here to enjoy the audio pieces and to wander around this wonderful village. The graveyard here is one of the most interesting in the county. In it are the ruins of a Franciscan church in which 100 priests were massacred in Cromwellian times by Colonel Ormsby, the local tyrant. Some of the gravestones date back to 1720 and there are graves and tombs of many priests. Two headstones are of special interest. One, erected over the grave of a blacksmith, is carved to show anvil, bellows and smith's tongs. The other, over the grave of a shepherd, shows a sheep and shepherd's crook.
PULL OVER #5 Donamon Castle
Location: 53.631712, -8.318195
Donamon Castle is one of the oldest inhabited buildings in Ireland. There was a fort here from early times, but the first recorded reference is in the Annals of the Four Masters for the year 1154. It was the seat of the O'Finnaghys, the Chiefs of Clan Conway, who held the land for miles around. In 1232, Adam de Staunton, a Norman Knight, improved the buildings, but they were demolished by the O'Connors the following year. The rebuilt Castle was occupied in 1294 by de Oddingseles. He died the following year. The de Birminghams then took over but it was again destroyed by the O'Connors. 1307 saw the last of the O'Finaghys and the first of the Burkes. The McDavid Burkes occupied it for the next 300 years.
Eamonn Gleeson tells a story about how one canny publican got the better of the Gardaí one night, thanks to his pet cat!
According to Irish annals, supported by the inscriptions on the cross itself (which refer to known historical personages), the cross was made in County Roscommon. In the annals, the cross is sometimes called in the Irish language "an Bacall Buidhe", which translates as "the yellow staff" — a reference to its golden colour. The cross was commissioned by King Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair.
In A.D. 1123, according to the Irish annals, a small piece of the purported True Cross arrived in Ireland and was enshrined at Roscommon.[n 2] The cross then appears to have moved to Tuam. At an early date, probably in the mid-12th century, the cross was moved from Tuam to Cong Abbey, an abbey founded by the Augustinians on a much earlier Christian site. In later centuries, the exact location of the cross in the Cong area is uncertain but it appears to have been hidden by locals and ecclesiastics in their homes because of religious persecution against Catholics, which reached its peak in Ireland under the penal laws.
Source: Wikipedia
Find out more about it where it currently resides: https://www.museum.ie/en-IE/Collections-Research/Irish-Antiquities-Division-Collections/Collections-List-(1)/Early-Medieval/The-Cross-of-Cong
To see you back into town in style, Eamonn and Charlie tells us about their memories of cattle and cattle marts in days gone by.
PULL OVER #4 Castlecoote
Location: 53.613399, -8.290644
Our fourth Pull-Over point is Castelcoote picturesquely located beside the Suck River. Look out for possibly Ireland's smallest museum in the yellow phone box! The village of Castlecoote as it is known to-day got it's name from ‘Coote. Literally translated it means Cootes' Castle. The original name was Baile Mhic Oireachtaigh, which can still be seen over the Post Office in Castlecoote. Some traces of the castle still survive, the ruins were probably used to provide stones for the new residence which was built in the 1790's by the resident Coote family. Predecessors of these built the castle and one of these, Sir Charles Coote was the president of Connaught in the 1640's. The castle was the centre of much activity, being under attack and siege many times. In the vicinity stood a house lived in by Brian Gunning, grandfather of the famous Gunning sisters or "Hibernian Beauties" as they were known.
Location: 53.585474, -8.271482
Aleen Cust made history as the first female vet in either Ireland or Britain and faced great opposition despite females surely being infinitely more knowledgeable about giving birth than men!
Cust nevertheless went on to practise in County Roscommon with William Augustine Byrne MRCVS,[3] having received a personal recommendation from William Williams,[6] and lived at Castlestrange House (location of the Castlestrange stone, in the Suck Valley) near Athleague.[4] The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography states that there is reason to believe that Byrne and Cust "lived as man and wife and that she had two daughters, born in Scotland, who were later adopted".[1] In 1904 she was briefly engaged to Bertram Widdington, the son of her former guardian, but following objections from his family regarding her career, the wedding did not go ahead.[8]
Cust was later appointed as a veterinary inspector by Galway County Council under the Diseases of Animals Acts, an appointment that was denied by the RCVS due to her lack of professional recognition.[6] The post was advertised again, and when Cust was again selected for the post an agreement was reached under which she carried out the duties of the position with an amended title.[6] Upon the death of Byrne in 1910, Cust took over the veterinary practice.[4] She practised from Fort Lyster House near Athleague.[9] (Both Castlestrange and Fort Lyster were later demolished.[10])
Source: Wikipedia
Location: 53.278611, -8.046389
These fortifications are an outstanding example of early 19th century artillery fortifications, built following the 1798 rising, to guard against a further French invasion. Four guns were arranged along the front of the redoubt. Remains of the pivots and circular track indicate that they were mounted on traversing platforms. The roof of the barracks carried three guns. There is a newly opened looped walk adjacent to the fort. There is a restaurant in the fort and by arrangement with the local tourist office in Shannonbridge there are guided tours of the fortification.
Location: 53.345, -8.01004
Park beside the road. Known to the present day as "The Caoinna Marbh" (crying of the dead), this Wake house was frequently used in early Christian times to rest coffins and coffin carriers when funeral corteges passed through on their way to Clonmacnoise. The interior is furnished with a limestone funeral bearer intended to replicate the recumbent coffin position, the practices and customs of old time wakes in rural Ireland when snuff and clay pipes were much used during the waking period.
Location: 53.36842, -8.07234
The cemetery and the very fine Naghten mausoleum were both restored in 1997-1999 by Drum Heritage Group, as was the adjacent early Christian Church known locally as the Blind Church (no windows). Its interior wall carries a limestone plinth to the memory of the Forgotten Dead many of whose remains were interred within the surrounding one acre cemetery site. Thomastown House for several generations was the seat of the Naghten family who were owners of 5,000 acres of land in Drum right up to the twentieth century. The house is now demolished. Muddy approach so wellies needed!
Location: 53.39827, -8.03146
Drum Heritage Centre has a large display area containing one of the largest collections in the midlands of historic documents relating to Drum and the local area, including Mass Display paths. There is also a large collection of the literary works of Tadgh O'Neachtain including those of his son Sean, the papers of the old Gaelic family, the Naughten's, a display of all local families in the 1911 census and the Boston Pilot papers. There is a fine example of Holy Well adjacent to the Monastic Site which stands on an embankment within the Monastic enclosure. Known to locals as "The Monastery", the Abbey appears to have been the place of worship for a Community of Patrician Monks whose living quarters are located to the rear of the Abbey building. The Monastic site also contains the ruins of a Medieval Church and the remains of at least four small buildings believed to have been one-time solitary penitent places of prayer, in addition to three hundred and fifty well maintained memorials to the dead. Entry is free. Toilets in the Centre.
Location: 53.41071, -8.04632
Park on road beside school. Not many ruins of Hedge Schools are to be found today in rural Ireland. Described as a wretched cabin on the 1826 Survey of Schools, the records state Curraghaleen Hedge school had an attendance of 12 males and 4 females and the Hedge School Master was a Patrick Hawkins. The interior of the refurbished one-room school contains sixteen life-size models of barefooted pupils attired in dress of the period. The stern faced School Master is seated across from his class where he points to an old-time griddle which he uses as a blackboard. The Gaelic translation of the town-land points to Curraghaleen being originally known as the low-land of linen. Flax growing and homespun linen appears to have been a large scale farming activity in Curraghaleen during the 16th-17th Centuries. The interior of the restored old school-house contains Information Wall Panels depicting photos of the laborious task involved in flax growing and the tedious work of converting the crop for the making of linen. Drum Heritage Centre has the keys to the school. Tel 00353 87 9918966.
Location: 53.41188, -8.01972
Park at tomb sign beside road. The 300 metre long Bridle Pathway at Meehambee, Drum leads to the prehistoric monument, the 3500 BC megalithic burial tomb, Four separate information panels are presently in place at different locations along the pathway. The site of Lios na Dreoilin (Fort of Wrens) has now become a Bird Watchers Paradise and its peaceful surroundings attracts walkers to stop at the Wayside Sign and listen to the singing birds. The garlic patch when in full bloom over the summer months provides walkers with a sweet scented aroma. The descriptive information panel offers walkers a look back in time when garlic was extensively used for cures in humans and animals alike. Picnic table on site.
Location: 53.38421, -8.14489
Holy wells are sacred sites that have continued in use since prehistory. A bride might hope for good luck; an invalid might search for a cure. St Ronan's Well is reputed to have curative powers for eyesight. Often a special Mass is said. The prehistoric ritual of circumambulation or making structured rounds of the well continues. Rag trees are normally close to Holy Wells, as is the case on this site. Usually the rags are placed there, often by the traveller community, believing that if a rag from someone who is ill, or has a problem of any kind, is hung the symptoms will disappear.
Location: 53.45278, -8.08888
A superb example of a well-maintained holy well in the centre of the village. Good location for a refreshment break. This well is one of the earliest Christian sites in Ireland and has a traditional Pattern day on the last Sunday of July (Garland Sunday). Pilgrimage to this well helped Roman Catholics preserve their faith in the difficult years of the Penal Laws. Local folklore has it that the fine 17th Century coat-of-arms of Randall McDonnell, the Earl of Antrim, erected in 1625 and found beside the well, is in recognition of a favour granted. The water has no known curative powers but is visited infrequently by women for fertility purposes.
Location: 53.48409, -8.11094
Located on East wall beside the road. A rare roadside pillar showing 6 Irish miles to Athlone. It was probably part of a turnpike or toll on the Curraghboy road. Tolls were abolished in1858. One Irish mile is equivalent to 2,240 yards or 1.27 statute miles and 2.048 kms.
Location: 53.49734, -8.24745
Park beside the entrance to the graveyard. Located in the ruined church. The sheela na gig (a figurative carving of a naked woman displaying an exaggerated vulva) can be found at the external apex of the gable end of the medieval church which is at the far end of the graveyard. Such 13th Century carvings are said to ward off death and evil and it is commonly said that they are there to keep evil spirits away and are often positioned over doors or windows, presumably to protect these openings.
Location: 53.5214, -8.19328
A tower mill built c.1750, and consolidated c.1990. A stone in door reveal is inscribed 'Sep 1818 IN' . It is enclosed by stone wall and survives as a reminder of the industrial heritage of the area. It has superb views of the surrounding countryside
Location: 53.58685, -8.27213
On arrival, go through stone gates. Stone is 50m on the right. Known as the Castlestrange Stone, this dramatic granite boulder displays the characteristic curvilinear ornamentation of Celtic flourishes called La Tène. These date from the Iron Age (c. 400 BC), and were named from the site in Switzerland where such designs were first noted in artifacts. Picnic table on site.
Location: 53.63446, -8.19239
Castle Park on road leading to the castle, beside Loughnameane Park. Built in 1269 by Robert de Ufford. Captured by Aodh O'Connor in 1272. Eight years later retaken by the English. Regained in 1340 by the O'Conor's who mostly held it until 1569 when seized by Sir Henry Sidney. Retaken in 1641 by Parliamentarians until Confederates captured it in 1645 and was partially blown up by Cromwellians in 1652. Burned in 1690. Well worth a visit.
Location: 53.63128, -8.19087
Park on road or in adjacent car park. Roscommon County Museum has a large range of unique items including a ninth century inscribed slab from St Coman's foundation, a replica of the Cross of Cong and a superb example of a 'Sheela na Gig' figure taken from Rahara Church. Open during the Summer months.
Location: 53.62912, -8.19103
For a site associated with St Coman (c. 750 AD) there are scant remains of ancient buildings, but some important pieces of sculpture from the Irish Romanesque (1000- 1169 AD) and the Joseph' stone of c.800 AD have been discovered. The church is an amalgam of different building styles from c.1600. The graveyard has some very fine headstones, especially those of the signs of the Passion.
Location: 53.62825, -8.19378
Park on road. The foundation stone was laid on St. Patrick's Day 1897 on land given by the Sisters of Mercy. It was barely 50 years after the famine and Roscommon town was incapable of giving much material help towards the building of the church. As a consequence funds were collected from the Irish abroad in England, Scotland, Argentina and USA. The dedication took place on 18th June 1903 and the eventual cost of the completed building was £40,000. Inside the church are fine stained glass windows and Mosaic decorations. Toilets beside the church.
Location: 53.62504, -8.19315
Also known as the Friary. Founded over 750 years ago by Felim O'Conor who was buried there in 1265. His effigy in the chancel dates from around 1300 and also has eight niches containing fifteenth-century figures of gallowglasses, Scottish mercenaries. Much of its existing fabric dates from the thirteenth century. A chapel was added in the fifteenth Century.
Location: 53.58971, -8.1425
There is no formal access but can be seen from the road. Entrance gate to former Mote Park demesne, c. 1800, consisting of a Doric triumphal arch surmounted by a lion with screen walls linking it to a pair of identical lodges possibly designed by James Gandon. The head and keystone of the arch appear to be of a later date.
Location: 53.57631, -8.09566
The village of Knockcroghery in South Roscommon has been famous for almost 300 years for its clay pipes. In the late 1800s, virtually the entire village was involved in the industry. Production of the claypipes ceased abruptly in 1921 when the village was burned down during the War of Independence. Today, with original moulds from the late 1800's, Ethel Kelly makes clay pipes using the same skills employed by artisans centuries ago. The Visitor Centre is located on the original site of the last pipe factory where you can see photographs and artifacts relating to this unique facet of Irish heritage. Entry is free.
Location: 53.55869, -8.116
Please note this site has no formal public access, but can be seen from road. Park in bay beside house. A ringfort is an early medieval farmstead enclosed by a circular stone or earth bank. It gave shelter and security to the family and its livestock. The size of the bank may serve as an indicator of the occupier's status. Brehony's ringfort is typical with a diameter of 25 m but has a rare high bank, especially to the North and East. The shed in the middle of the fort is an example of a De Valera era hen house erected during World War 2 to encourage food production in Ireland.
Location: 53.54772, -8.11187
Known locally as ‘The Cloghogle' this site has no formal public access but can easily be seen from road. This spectacular burial tomb has a large capstone with some grassy clay on top, supported by two low side stones and a smaller backstone. There is no sign of any circular kerb which is the norm for most passage tombs. Its date is imprecise. It may be contemporary with Carrowmore in Sligo and therefore date to approximately 4000 BC.
Direction: South west over the N72 blackwater bridge
Location: Lismore, Co. Waterford
Coordinates: 52.141127, -7.93067
Richard Boyle came to Ireland from England in 1588 with only twenty-seven pounds in capital and proceeded to amass an extraordinary fortune. After purchasing Lismore he made it his principal seat and transformed it into a magnificent residence with impressive gabled ranges each side of the courtyard. He also built a castellated outer wall and a gatehouse known as the Riding Gate.
The principal apartments were decorated with fretwork plaster ceilings, tapestry hangings, embroidered silks and velvet. It was here in 1627 that Robert Boyle The Father of Modern Chemistry, the fourteenth of the Earl's fifteen children, was born. The castle descended to another Richard Boyle, 4th Earl of Cork & 3rd Earl of Burlington, who was a noted influence on Georgian architecture (and known in architectural histories as the Earl of Burlington).
Lismore featured in the Cromwellian wars when, in 1645, a force of Catholic confederacy commanded by Lord Castlehaven sacked the town and Castle. Some restoration was carried out by Richard Boyle, 2nd Earl of Cork (1612-1698) to make it habitable again but neither he nor his successors lived at Lismore. The castle (along with other Boyle properties - Chiswick House, Burlington House, Bolton Abbey and Londesborough Hall) was acquired by the Cavendish family in 1753 when the daughter and heiress of the 4th Earl of Cork, Lady Charlotte Boyle (1731-1754) married William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire, a future Prime Minister of Great Britain & Ireland. Their son, the 5th Duke (1748-1811) carried out improvements at Lismore, notably the bridge across the river Blackwater in 1775 designed by Cork-born architect Thomas Ivory.
Direction: West on the N72
Location: On the Waterford bank of the Blackwater
Coordinates: 52.148869, -7.876854
See the 'Henley of Ireland' and the site of where the Lismore to London train used to cross the Blackwater - soon to be a walking trail.
Direction: northwest
Location: Cappoquin bridge
Coordinates: 52.148659, -7.854881
Site of that most famous dogleg where the river suddenly decides to head a sharp south after going 90 miles east.
Direction: northwest
Location: Cappoquin, Co. Waterford
Coordinates: 52.146341, -7.850418
Cappoquin nestles at the foot of the Knockmealdown mountains in the Blackwater valley. West Waterford is one of the unspoilt areas of Ireland, with beautiful scenery, a variety of amenities and a range of activities for visitors and locals alike. The town itself is full of characters and character. Ensure you try the famous fresh bread in Barron's bakery.
Direction: heading north towards Cappoquin
Location: Affane Lower, south of Cappoquin
Coordinates: 52.13275, -7.846298
Valentine Greatrakes (14 February 1628 - 28 November 1683), also known as 'Greatorex' or 'The Stroker', was an Irish faith healer who toured England in 1666, claiming to cure people by the laying on of hands. He hailed from this part of Waterford.
Direction: on a tributary east of the river
Location: Dromana Gate Lodge, Co. Waterford
Coordinates: 52.123688, -7.843895
Home to Ireland's only Hindu Gothic gate lodge from circa 1830 and also of the Battle of Affane in 1565, where the last private battle in Ireland took place between the Earls of Desmond and Ormond, Peter O'Connor tells us more about this fascinating heritage site.
Direction: heading north east
Location: Dromana House on the right
Coordinates: 52.110828, -7.864237
Nearby Dromana was home to Katherine FitzGerald, Countess of Desmond (died 1604) was a noblewoman of the Anglo-Norman FitzGerald dynasty in Ireland. English writers of the Tudor period, including Sir Walter Raleigh, helped popularise "the old Countess of Desmond" as a nickname for her. One estimate placed her age at death in excess of 120 years. Another ranged as high as 140.
Direction: heading north, castle on the left
Location: Strancally Castle, Co. Cork
Coordinates: 52.095011, -7.865353
With a fine view of Strancally castle, Peter tells us about how the locals thought the pike was the king of the fish. Strancally Castle was designed by James and George Richard Pain and built for John Kelly around 1830 and is now in private hands. It stands in front of the original ruin of a Desmond castle, which contained an infamous murdering hole, which dispatched those who incurred the wrath of a Desmond to the river below. We'll hear more about an Earl of Desmond being one part of the nearby battle of Affane at Dromana Gate.
Direction: on solid ground east of the river
Location: Villierstown, Co. Waterford
Coordinates: 52.088156, -7.850761
Villierstown was founded by the Villiers-Stuart family, from where the name is derived. The original village consisted of a church, a rectory, a school, 24 dwelling houses, a court, a police barracks and a quay on the river. Daniel O'Connell famously had a 'monster meeting' here in the 1830s with over 40,000 people attending.
Direction: on solid ground east of the river
Location: Kiltera, Co. Waterford
Coordinates: 52.075022, -7.847157
Not actually in view from the river are the Kiltera standing stones. With tongue slightly in cheek, Peter tells us about the stones and helps to clear up what all those signs saying 'Fogra' actually mean!
Direction: looking north towards the Knockmealdown mountains
Location: Dromore, Co. Waterford
Coordinates: 52.068269, -7.859259
Just inland from the river at this point, Peter describes the scene from Dromore - a panorama of the valley and its surrounding countryside with the Knockmealdown mountains in the background from this viewing area. Be transported back in time to 1842 when Thackeray marvelled at such unspoiled greenery.
Direction: north west
Location: just past Ballyphilip
Coordinates: 52.055446, -7.859001
Hear Peter tells us a bit more about how the river starts to meander here.
Direction: heading north east
Location: approaching the bend at Ballyphilip
Coordinates: 52.041207, -7.848573
Mick Hackett tells us about one of the curious superstitions connected with the river - indeed a one that is prevalent throughout the land.
Direction: heading north northeast
Location: north of Ballinaclash on the right
Coordinates: 52.023346, -7.851791
Tony tells us of how Walter Raleigh sold the Blackwater to Richard Boyle - how many a fisherman would love to get this as a present!
Direction: heading northeast
Location: past the bend
Coordinates: 52.008872, -7.857392
The course of the river has changed dramatically over the years. Hear Tony explain how a seismic change came in the 9th century to the river changing its route from flowing to nearby Ardmore to its present one of Youghal.
Direction: heading north
Location: Molana Abbey
Coordinates: 51.997327, -7.882004
We let Tony tell you about the Knights Templar's association in the area on the audio here. Meanwhile, the always excellent historian Turtle Bunbury explains the wonder that is Molana Abbey: - 'on the island that stands in the Blackwater, directly in front of present-day Ballynatray House, is one of the most important churches in early medieval Ireland.
Over 170 years after Patrick, an Irish missionary known as St Maelanfaid, or Molan the Prophet, founded an abbey here on an island known as Dairinis, the island of the oak-tree. It is known today as Molana Island. Maelanfaid's abbey soon became a great centre for learning and religious reform. By the early 8th century, Molana was a major stronghold of the Céili Dé (Servants of God), a monastic order determined to reform the church. Its abbots subsequently played a key role in the subsequent introduction of Continental ideas to Ireland.
Indeed, as Dr Dagmar Ó Riain-Raedel noted in her thesis on the island, the Abbey's greatest hour came in about AD 720 when its Abbot, Ruben Mac Connadh of Dairinis, working with Cu-Chuimne from the island monastery of Iona, produced the Collectio Canonum Hibernensis. This was a profoundly valuable and important book for the church, written in Latin, effectively dictating the first rules of Canon Law. Its very title reflects its origin as a compilation of over two hundred years worth of canon law and synodal decrees.
The text itself drew heavily upon previous ecclesiastical regulations and histories, all dating from the centuries prior to 725. It also included papal epistles, acts of synods, ecclesiastical histories, a definition by Virgilius Maro Grammaticus, a compusticial tract by Pseudo-Theophilus, spurious 'Acts' of the council of Caesarea, the so-called dicta of Saint Patrick and several quotes from all but one of the works of Isidore of Seville. Indeed, there is reason to believe that Molana Abbey may have been home to the first library in the south of Ireland.
Unfortunately, none of these original manuscripts have survived but copies can be found in archives all over the Continent. Collectio Canonum Hibernensis was circulated throughout Western Europe for the next four hundred years.
Direction: heading north
Location: Approaching Templemichael castle on your left
Coordinates: 51.991963, -7.879429
In 1183 Raymond le Gros established a Preceptory of Knights Templar at Rhincrew, an outpost of which was TempleMichael. The keep was built specifically to control the river crossing. The now ruined Church of Ireland parish church dates from 1823 it was built with a grant from the Board of the First Fruits, and until about twenty years ago was used for worship. TempleMichael is open to the public during the spring and summer.
Direction: heading north
Location: Youghal bridge/border of Cork/Waterford
Coordinates: 51.981061, -7.856212
Rarely has a bridge had such a colourful history as this one. Hear legendary local Mick Hackett tell you about just how awkward things got as greater transport needs caught up with the bridge. The picture shows you just how difficult it must have been for the poor driver!
Direction: heading north
Location: Blackwater river before the bridge
Coordinates: 51.967591, -7.843208
Mick Hackett tells us a bit more about the comings and goings of the flow itself and the full might of the Blackwater River.
Location: Youghal harbour
Coordinates: 51.95302, -7.844646
From your starting point, you can see Ferrypoint across the way - it may look close but Mick Hackett explains why swimming across to this promontory is not for the faint hearted - and is not recommended by this guide!
An ancient funeral ritual said to date right back to the Anglo-Normans is still to be found in existence today in the village of Kilmore. If you didn't know about its location, it would be easy to pass by without heed, but once you see it, it is hard to ignore.
On the outskirts of Kilmore, just before the graveyard is what the locals call 'the flat egg roundabout'. Across from the roundabout is a detached cottage and twenty metres down from it is a hazel tree festooned with wooden crosses. In our audio piece Rose Hurley tells us more about this unique custom.
Stories as to its origin include it being a tradition started by St. Fursa when he first landed by the banks of the Somme. More credence might be put in the story of Charlmagne paying tribute to 25,000 of his retreating soldiers ambushed by the Basques in 777 A.D at the Pass of Roncevalles. Thereafter, pilgrims on their way to do the shrine of St. James of Compostella in Santiago would pay tribute to the dead soldiers and the saint by leaving a small wooden cross under 'Charlmagne's Cross'. It became known as the first station on the St. James pilgrimage and the tradition made its way up to Normandy and Flanders in time. As can be seen in Tomhaggard to this day, St. James is still venerated having benignly usurped St. Mosacer, courtesy of the Anglo-Normans.
Besides the wooden crosses and relics of Yola in everyday speech, other old Forth and Bargy customs that survive to the present day include mumming, the singing of old Christmas carols and the survival of many of the thatched houses.
You will find another site on the way to Kilmore Quay known as Brandy Cross where wooden crosses were also left - this was for the old cemetery of Grange (which no longer has space for new graves). Since the new cemetery opened up in Kilmore in 1952, the custom moved to the location you are now standing at. The Brandy Cross stop is off the official Norman Way signposted route and is in a most precarious position on a bend - best to salute this station instead!
Narrators: Heather Hadrill, Rose Hurley, 2017
Text: John Ward
Our video of the place: https://youtu.be/0CjBu84mz3k
Narration: John Ward
The Norman Way, Wexford, Forth and Bargy
See https://www.racontour.com/the-norman-way/ for more content on south Wexford
Email info@racontour.com
A Church Within a Church' Large medieval churches, such as St. Mary's, were generally constructed in the shape of a cross with the shorter part, or ‘chancel', pointed toward the east. The short crossing arms pointing north and south are known as ‘transepts'. The longer base part of the cross is known as the ‘nave' and is where the congregation sat for six centuries of church services.
Today, although the medieval church is largely intact and well preserved, it is almost completely unroofed. This later church was constructed in the 19th century and is still in active use by the local Church of Ireland congregation. Because the medieval building has lost its roof, it is only within the later church that you can experience the scale and acoustic feeling of being inside a building. Although this church is much later in date than its medieval predecessor it is built on the footprint of the medieval nave and is therefore a similar size to the earlier building. Although St. Mary's was built in the 13th century as a place of Christian worship, its congregation was split by the 16th century reformation.
The reformation in Ireland had a divisive effect on church congregations with the majority of people remaining adherents of the unreformed Catholic Church and only a minority becoming members of the official Church of Ireland. By the late 18th century the medieval church was far too large for the local Church of Ireland congregation and a decision was made to construct a smaller, modern church resting on the foundations of the medieval nave. This church was finished in 1813 and its spire was finally completed in 1870. The church has a spacious and acoustically pleasing interior which, in keeping with the doctrines of the reformed faith, has a more austere interior design than the original medieval church would have had.
Audio and text: Catherine McLoughlin, 2017
www.staffordmcloughlinarchaeology.ie
The Norman Way, Wexford, Forth and Bargy
See https://www.racontour.com/the-norman-way/ for more content on south Wexford
Email info@racontour.com
William Marshall, New Ross, St. Mary's Church, The Norman Way
Hear about the legend that Isabelle Marshall's heart is in fact buried in St. Mary's Church, New Ross.
Narrator of this audio clip: Catherine McLoughlin, 2017
Find out more: www.staffordmcloughlinarchaeology.ie
The Norman Way, Wexford, Forth and Bargy
See https://www.racontour.com/the-norman-way/ for more content on south Wexford
Email info@racontour.com
The Earl of Musgrave, the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland was a man used to hearing speeches wherever he went. However, the speech he heard in Ballytrent, Co. Wexford in 1836 was unlike anything he had ever heard before.
There he received ‘The humble address of the inhabitants of the Barony of Forth, Wexford' or, as they put it, ‘Ye soumissive Spakeen o'ouz Dwelleres o' Baronie Forthe, Weisforthe.' The address, read by Edmund Hore, was neither Modern English nor Irish; the Lord Lieutenant was listening to one of the last speakers of an almost forgotten dialect – Yola. Its origins lie with the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland in the 12th century. As the newcomers established a foothold in Wexford and the south-east they brought their medieval Middle English language with them.
Yola was the unique, distinctive badge of the Norman culture as spoken by the isolated inhabitants of Forth and Bargy. As Richard Roche observed, 'there are elements of Norman French and Flemish in the dialect reflecting the presence of those nationalities among the early colonists and from the 16th century, when the English language was on the decline in Ireland Irish began to influence the dialect also. Yola helped preserve traditions, customs, a way of life for many centuries and to make Forth and Bargy a truly alien enclave in Ireland. The stay-at-home disposition of the people of the region and the fact that they rarely married outside their own districts helped to preserve the dialect'.
Brian Mathews tells us a bit more about this intriguing dialect in our audio piece with renowned historian, Nicky Furlong, giving a few further examples.
Anyone seeking further information on Yola should look for 'Poole's glossary of the old dialect of the English colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy' edited by T.P. Dolan and Diarmaid O'Muirthe. Ask for Celestine Murphy in Wexford Town library for further information.
Narrators of this audio clip: Heather Hadrill, Brian Matthews and Nicky Furlong, 2017
Text: John Ward
See https://www.racontour.com/the-norman-way/ for more content on south Wexford
Email info@racontour.com
An ancient crucifix was found in the Lady's Island lake in the vicinity of the church of St. Iberius (also known as St Ibar's) in the summer of 1887. When first discovered, a small portion of the left arm was missing. Acting on the instructions of the Parish Priest, the late Venerable Archdeacon Roche, the finder - a boy named Cogley - renewed the search and, strange to relate, succeeded in finding the missing part which was subsequently joined to the figure.
One further point of note is an historic relic of the area. The wording from the Our lady's Island website is so well crafted, we are reproducing it in full with thanks to the parish. The tradition regarding this interesting souvenir of the past runs as follows:-
'It once belonged to the old Church of St Ibar and was much venerated by the people. When, on that memorable October evening 1649, the alarm was given that Cromwell's troops were marching from Wexford to attack Lady's Island, a gallant effort was made by the people to save, from their vandalic fury, the sacred vessels and ornaments of the churches in south Wexford.
One young man named Duffy, rushed to St Ibar's Church and, seizing this Crucifix which rested over the Tabernacle, fled with it across the shallow part of the lake. But, alas, it was too late. He was shot down by the brutal soldiers before he could reach the other shore, and his martyred blood crimsoned the waters.
The sacred burden that he carried lay concealed in the mud of the lake for centuries, until, as above recorded, it was accidentally discovered in the year 1887. The Shrine was presented by the Rev. Thomas O'Byrne C.C., Tacumshane on August 15th 1910'.
Audio: Monica Crofton, 2017
Find out more: https://www.facebook.com/monica.crofton/
Text: John Ward
The Norman Way, Wexford, Forth and Bargy
See https://www.racontour.com/the-norman-way/ for more content on south Wexford
Email info@racontour.com
This seaside village is bustling with modern boats while the image above shows the kind of vessel the Normans would have used to cross the seas all those centuries ago.
The Graveyard of a Thousand Ships Norman ships weren't that different from Viking longships. They were fast moving and agile but the dangerous waters off the South Wexford coast proved a challenge even for them. In fact, the treacherous waters off Kilmore Quay and around the Saltee Islands are known locally as the ‘graveyard of a thousand ships'.
Guiding Lights Ballyteige Castle, just outside Kilmore Quay Village, and Ballyhealy Castle nearby may have been Norman ‘fire towers'. ‘Fire towers' were tall structures close to the coast that had a lit beacon at the top. Passing ships used them to navigate. There is evidence of promontory forts that may have been used as ‘fire towers' on both nearby Saltee islands too.
The Secrets of the Saltees The Saltee Islands are dotted with secret caves with names such as ‘Hell Hole' and ‘Otters Cave'. Smugglers and pirates would have hidden their treasure on the islands from medieval through to modern times.
Discover the Norman Way for Yourself A local tradition, believed to have been brought to this area by the Normans, is to place a small wooden cross in a particular tree after the funeral of a loved one. Look out for these trees, covered in tiny wooden crosses, as you explore the Norman Way, especially around Kilmore Quay.
Audio: Jim Hurley, 2017
Find out more: https://www.southwexfordcoast.com/about/
Text: John Ward
The Norman Way, Wexford, Forth and Bargy
See https://www.racontour.com/the-norman-way/ for more content on south Wexford
Email info@racontour.com
Stop here to read the signs informing the visitor of the wide variety of flora and fauna to look out in Lady's Lake lagoon. Long before the Anglo-Normans set foot in Wexford in 1169, invader of a winged variety had been arriving at these shores. It is home to the largest tern colony in the country with some 2000 nesting birds per year. See the sign for more information and listen to Jim Hurley, a member of the Wexford Naturalists Field Club tell us what to look out for here.
Audio: Jim Hurley, 2017
Find out more: https://www.southwexfordcoast.com/about/
The Norman Way, Wexford, Forth and Bargy
See https://www.racontour.com/the-norman-way/ for more content on south Wexford
Email info@racontour.com
If you are a budding twitcher, no trip to these parts would be complete with a visit to the Saltee Islands, regarded as one of the most important birdwatching sites in not just Ireland, but Europe with over 220 species of birds recorded. There are three main groups of birds on these islands: 1) breeding seabirds, 2) resident land birds and 3) migrant birds.
Birds are but one of the many travellers to these islands. Besides the Anglo-Normans, Celts and Vikings, the islands was home to pirates, monks, rebels, fishermen and farmers. Believed to be named by the Vikings (Norse Salt Ey meaning Salt island) from the phenomenon of the salty spray which sweeps across the islands at times of high winds and waves, especially during the winter.
On a more colourful note, the islands have had some flamboyant owners in recent times. In December 1943 the Saltees were purchased privately by the late Prince Michael the First. Since his death in January 1998 the islands are now owned by his five sons Michael, John Manfred, Paul, Richard and daughter Anne. He is buried in the family vault in Bannow Bay, Co.Wexford. His title was passed on to his eldest son Michael.
In around the year 1920, a nine year old boy named Michael Neale made a vow to his mother that one day he would own the Saltees and become their first Prince. Twenty three years later in December 1943 he realised his dream. However his coronation on the Great Saltee did not take place until July 1956. A throne, flag-staff and obelisk were shipped to the Great Saltee, the obelisk bearing a plaque with his likeness in profile. The throne is a memorial to his mother and features a coat of arms and the following inscription:
"This chair is erected in memory of my mother to whom I made a vow when I was ten years old that one day I would own the Saltee Islands and become the First Prince of the Saltees. Henceforth my heirs and successors can only proclaim themselves Prince of these Islands by sitting in this chair fully garbed in the robes and crown of the Islands and take the Oath of Succession" - Michael the First.
One of the first jobs undertook on the Great Saltee was the levelling of a field in the centre of the island as a landing strip for his private airplanes. He was taught to fly by Capt.Darby Kennedy (Weston Aerodrome) and regularly flew his Miles Messenger aircraft to the islands. Between 1945 and 1950 over 34,000 trees and shrubs were planted on the island. The most successful of these were Cordyline Palms, which are flourishing to this day.
Little Saltee, half the size of the main island, remained inhabited up until the end of the second World War. Then in 1977, Henry Grattan Bellew and his partner, Shirley, made the restoration of Little Saltee Island their active retirement project when they came back to Ireland from southern Africa. Grattan Bellew also put pen to paper with his account of his stay on Little Saltee and environs entitled 'A Pinch of Saltee' which by all accounts is quite a thrilling read.
To explore the Great Saltee, you'll need to take a boat there from Kilmore Quay operated by Declan Bates. Please note that there is no port on the Great Saltee and that you will be transferred to a dinghy to complete the trip. Be in good health, wrap up and wear appropriate footwear for the trip!
Image used from Wild ireland.
Audio: Jim Hurley, 2017
Find out more: https://www.southwexfordcoast.com/about/
Text: John Ward
The Norman Way, Wexford, The Saltee islands, birdlife
Local wildlife expert Jim Hurley tells us a bit more about a renowned hotspot for wildlife along The Norman Way, Tacumshane lake.
Audio: Jim Hurley, 2017
Find out more at: https://www.southwexfordcoast.com/about/
The Norman Way, Wexford, Forth and Bargy
See https://www.racontour.com/the-norman-way/ for more content on south Wexford
Email info@racontour.com
If at all possible, try and catch some of the stellar amateur dramatics that is rife in south county Wexford, another tradition that the area is steeped in and with stellar result. Pictured is the Bridge Drama Group from Castlebridge outside Wexford Town accepting the All Ireland Best Drama award in 2016 - the lady in the blue and gold dress is Heather Hadrill who won the Best Actress award and is our voiceover artist on the tour.
Audio: Breda Hayes, 2017
Text: John Ward, 2017
The Norman Way, Wexford, Forth and Bargy
See https://www.racontour.com/the-norman-way/ for more content on south Wexford
Email info@racontour.com
Once the Anglo-Normans had consolidated their military occupation, they started to build their stone castles with some 365 being built between the 13th and 16th centuries. While many lie derelict shadowing many farmyards, Sigginstown was renovated by its new American owners in 2017. In our audio clip, stonemason Patrick Hickey tells us with ghoulish glee about the dreaded machicolations that helped fend off invaders from such castles.
The content below appears on the Norman Way interpretive panel at Sigginstown Castle: -
This tower house is a wonderful example of the sheer building height that was made possible after the Normans introduced their expert stone construction techniques to the area.
Norman Skyscrapers The Norman way of building allowed for multi-storey stone structures that towered over the beautiful green countryside for the first time in Ireland. This changed the country's visual landscape forever. A perfect example is the tower at Lady's Island, another site along the Norman Way in Wexford. In the centuries that followed, these same building techniques were used to construct tower houses such as Sigginstown. There is another impressive tower house on the Norman Way at Ballyhealy. As you travel along the Norman Way, you may spot several Norman inspired tower houses with more modern extensions built on to the side like this one.
Discover the Norman Way for Yourself See if you can spot the long, enclosed ‘machicolation' on the outside of this tower. A ‘machicolation' is an opening in the battlements of a Norman tower or castle. This opening allowed for stones, hot oil, or other unpleasant things to be dropped down on to unlucky enemy attackers below.
Audio: Pat Hickey, 2017
Text: John Ward, 2017
The Norman Way, Wexford, Forth and Bargy
See https://www.racontour.com/the-norman-way/ for more content on south Wexford
Email info@racontour.com
Master stone mason Pat Hickey explains how the richer families that settled in Forth and Bargy were able to choose a more discerning stonework for their castles.
Audio: Pat Hickey, 2017
The Norman Way, Wexford, Forth and Bargy
See https://www.racontour.com/the-norman-way/ for more content on south Wexford
Email info@racontour.com
In the late 12th century, the kingdom of Uí Chennselaig, what is now modern county Wexford, was the first part of Ireland to be invaded and subinfeudated by the Anglo-Normans. This feudal hierarchy came to replace an island shaped by Gaelic culture over the centuries. While the rest of Gaelic Ireland fought against this imposition, the baronies of Forth and Bargy that you'll be cycling through to Kilmore Quay quickly assimilated into this new order. Forth and Bargy is a 50 square mile area stretching from Wellingbridge in the west to Wexford Town in the east with the N733 being a rough guide to its border. In our audio piece, Ronan O'Flaherty tells us more.
Audio: Ronan O'Flaherty, 2017
http://www.cranebag.ie/home.html
The Norman Way, Wexford, Forth and Bargy
See https://www.racontour.com/the-norman-way/ for more content on south Wexford
Email info@racontour.com
In the ruin of the ancient parish church in Grange cemetery, Kilmore lies a site of special historical significance - the marble Whitty memorial, erected in 1647. It is the only surviving memorial to an Anglo-Norman family in the country. Its Latin inscription translates follows:
'Here lies Walter Whitty, of Ballyteigue, Esquire, who died 9th November in the year of Lord 1630, and Helen, his wife, daughter of Hammon Stafford, of Ballyconnor Gentleman, who died 27th April, in the year of the Lord 1646, and Catherine, first wife of Richard Whitty, Esquire, daughter of Philip Devereux of Ballymagyr, Esquire, who died 18th of August, in the year 1646, in whose honour the same Richard, the first born of the aforesaid Walter and Helen, with his won second wife, Catherine Eustace, daughter of Oliver Eustace, of Ballymurray, Esquire, cause me (this monument) to be erected, 29th January 1647'.
Grange refers to a monastic grange which was a manor or other centre of an outlying farming estate belonging to a monastery and used for food production in Great Britain, Ireland, or Austria. Though initially just a description of the area of land used for food production, in Ireland, the word 'Grange' often evolved into the name of the townland or parish, replacing an earlier name. One of the original Normans to the area was Strongbow Earl of Pembroke. His uncle was Hervey de Monte Marisco, who had been sent over to watch his nephew's interests. When Hervey became a monk in 1179, he bestowed all his lands in south Wexford to his abbey in Canterbury which in time was transferred to the abbey at Tintern with the surrounding lands being used for food production for this nearby abbey.
Audio: Willie Murphy, 2017
Our video piece of the Whitty monument: https://youtu.be/Z90oejwaFeQ
Narration: John Ward
The Norman Way, Wexford, Forth and Bargy
See https://www.racontour.com/the-norman-way/ for more content on south Wexford
Email info@racontour.com
Local historian Willie Murphy tells us the story of the martyred priest Fr. Meyler killed in 1653. As you’ll hear, his memory is preserved in a custom every Christmas with a relic that dates back to those penal law days.
Narrators: Heather Hadrill and Willie Murphy, 2017
The Norman Way, Wexford, Forth and Bargy
See https://www.racontour.com/the-norman-way/ for more content on south Wexford
Email info@racontour.com
Audio clip from the free Norman Way GPS audio tour: http://thenormanway.com/audio-tour/
You don't need to have any faith to appreciate the peaceful serenity of this beautifully preserved park in the picturesque village of Tomhaggard on The Norman Way in south Wexford. However, its Catholic pedigree is beyond question. Addressing the Old Wexford Society some forty years ago, noted Irish writer, Stephen Rynne, observed the following: - 'I can think of no other place in Ireland where Catholic continuity is so clearly preached. Within a small compass, there are holy wells dedicated to SS. Anne and James, the ruins of a medieval church, a Mass Rock, a penal chapel and an early 19th century church in present use. If there is any tenacity to the Faith, Tomhaggard monumentalises it, all the links are in place. it ought to be treble starred in the guide books and written in letters of gold on the maps'.
The Norman Way, Tomhaggard, Wexford
This area was known as ‘Little Flander’s on account of its many windmills introduced by the Anglo-Normans. Gerry Meyler is happy to allow patrons gain access to the well-preserved windmill at the side of Meyler’s pub. Just ask him for the key. In our audio piece, Gerry and local expert James Maloney tell us about the area’s most famous son, Commodore John Barry, father of the US navy
Our audio piece tells us about the origins of the curious name, Tacumshane, in Irish 'teach cun Sean' or 'house of John'. The YouTube video on the Racontour.com link below follows up on the area's most famous son, that same John, Commodore John Barry, father of the American navy.
Audio: Heather Hadrill, James Maloney and Gerald Meyler, 2017
The Norman Way, Wexford, Forth and Bargy
See https://www.racontour.com/the-norman-way/ for more content on south Wexford
Email info@racontour.com
It's a subtle difference, but this point of interest is known formally as Lady's Island, but by pilgrims as Our Lady's Island in devotion to the Virgin Mary and the annual pilgrimage that has existed here for well over a millennium. So far back are its roots in fact that Ptolemy refers to the place in his first century map. In a list of Irish place-names published in Iris-Leabhar na Gaeilge in 1903, the Irish name for Our Lady's Island is given as Cluain-na-mBan - 'the meadow of the women'. Considering that this locality was once the centre of druidical worship, it is fair to assume that Our Lady's Island was in pre-Christian times inhabited by female druids.
The racontour.com link below offers some great archival footage of the place.
Audio: Jame Maloney, 2017
The Norman Way, Wexford, Forth and Bargy
See https://www.racontour.com/the-norman-way/ for more content on south Wexford
Email info@racontour.com
Audio clip from the free Norman Way GPS audio tour:
https://www.racontour.com/the-norman-way/
Renowned author and historian Nicky Furlong gives us some colourful examples of the Yola dialect. With tongue firmly in cheek, Nicky gives us a short masterclass on both an extinct dialect, but also the sharp Wexford sense of humour!
Audio: Nicky Furlong, 2017
The Norman Way, Wexford, Yola
Audio clip from the free Norman Way GPS audio tour: https://www.racontour.com/the-norman-way/
Dr. Caimin O'Brien tells us about how the Normans concocted what sounds very like a mulled wine to keep themselves warm from those prevailing south west winds in Forth and Bargy.
Audio: Caimin O'Brien, 2011
The Norman Way, Wexford
Hear possibly the finest description you'll ever savour of the night sky as read by Mary Murphy. The setting is Shroove just north of Greencastle on the Inishowen peninsula in north Donegal, Ireland. The mysterious fireball described at the end is believed to be an early eye-witness account of the Rockytown Light which we have covered in more detail, but with perhaps less eloquence here: - https://audioboom.com/posts/2335837-the-rockytown-light
Audio: Mary Murphy, 2009
Text: John Ward
Inishowen, Rockytown Light, Star Wars, Donegal, Wild Atlantic Way
Cashel's legendary Denis Heffernan tells us the fascinating true story of how Guinness was discovered by accident in 1740. Denis was the barman in the legendary bar of the Cashel Palace Hotel who saw everyone from Grace Kelly to Charlie Haughey party into the night. Find out a bit more about Denis in this interview: http://12bottlebar.com/2011/03/12-rounds-with-denis-heffernan/
Audio: Denis Heffernan, 2010
Text: John Ward
Guinness #stout #Cashel
Acclaimed Irish chef John Relihan heads a delicious line-up, serving up an array of Irish-themed street food at this year’s Bord Bia food market, part of the Saint Patrick’s Day celebrations in London’s Trafalgar Square, on Sunday March 13th.
Relihan, one of Jamie Oliver’s original ‘Fifteen’ chefs, will be cooking on ‘live fire’ to tempt the crowds with slow-cooked Irish Beef Stew and smoked Irish pulled pork wraps.
He’ll be joined on the day by The Pie Cart, Salt Beef Bros., Butchies and Eat The Farm, who have all created delicious Irish-flavoured street food for the event.
An Irish craft beer tent serving drinks from Rye River Brewing Co. (McGargles) and Carlow Brewing (O’Hara’s) will keep the estimated crowd of over 70,000 people refreshed, as they enjoy the delights of the food menus:
• John Relihan’s Irish Beef Bar: slow-cooked Irish beef stew and smoked Irish pulled pork wraps with Kitty O’Byrne’s turf BBQ sauce and slaw
• The Pie Cart: Irish slow-cooked beef and Guinness pies, Irish lamb and potato shepherd’s pies, Irish black pudding scotch eggs and Irish classic pork Scotch eggs
• Salt Beef Bros: Irish brisket, which is salt-cured and then slow-cooked until tender and served in a sandwich with pickle and mustard or Ballymaloe relish
• Butchies: London's ultimate Irish fried chicken sandwich, made with free-range Irish chicken marinated in Avonmore Irish Buttermilk, served in soft Kerrygold Irish butter toasted buns
• Eat The Farm: American style burgers, dry aged Irish beef, unpasteurised artisan cheeses, handmade brioche buns and homemade sauces. Classic Irish ingredients include Ballymaloe relish, Guinness, Teeling Single Grain Whiskey and Cashel Blue Cheese
The event is part of the Mayor of London’s St Patrick’s Day celebrations.
For more information go to www.london.gov.uk.
London #StPatricksDay #Food
Speaker: John Ward
Welcome to the Donegal's Hallowed Sites tour, originally designed for National Heritage Week, but good to do anytime of course.
We've added a further 25 bonus tracks and Donegal-related tunes to the Spotify playlist bringing it up to eight hours of stories and song and this is the best way to enjoy the tour by far. Simply cut and paste the location details for each into Google Maps and off you go.
So why did we choose these 25 places in such a vast county? They have all been special places where people have gathered for an event of some description over the centuries. This is a chance to retrace the steps of those early 'pilgrims' and perhaps capture some of the magic these places offer.
I first came up with the idea in 2012 when it was called 'Donegal's Greatest Shrines', but as you'll see it, is a tour that does not take itself too seriously, so a softening of the name to 'Donegal's Hallowed Site's was made. I'd been putting together a lot of Spotify playlists from my archive in 2021 and thought that my favourite of the eight tours from the Donegal App deserved an upgrade for National Heritage Week.
There is a wide range of styles and takes from the audio clips - this 'zoo style' adds to the overall effect and yes, many were recorded via Zoom in a global pandemic, so bear with that and the occasional wobble in bandwidth.
The bonus hallowed sites were added as gathering places that should also be savoured and will in time become part of the proper list, as will others hopefully. The additional audio material was alluded to in either the earlier audio clips, the text that came with those clips or because it gives an added flavour of Donegal wit or occasions. We've ensured the supernatural has been included as these beliefs would have formed an important part of the culture of the county, if going back a fair bit to their heyday!
Finally, but most importantly, I'm very grateful to all of the contributors who help make this a useful cultural compass for the county. They are all great ambassadors for the county and a big thank you goes to them for sharing their knowledge and wit. A special thanks goes to Mullaghduff's Jacqui Sharkey and Carrick's Noel Carr for their help in making things happen.
If you enjoyed it, please pass on the word and let folk know via social media.
Thanks,
John Ward
Racontour Productions
15th August 2021
Original introduction wording from June 2012: -
Two of the great sacred cows of 20th century Ireland seem to be inextricably linked to Donegal, the Irish language via Gaeltacht schools and penitence via Lough Derg. They may well have cast a cloud over the appeal of the county and God knows we have enough clouds up here already. There are other places in Donegal that could rightly be called ‘sacred’ where the mind, body and heart are devoted to and where people faithfully return to as sites to encourage and inspire.
We could have mentioned atmospheric places like the Maghera caves or Lough Altan, scenic splendour like Creevy pier or Glenveagh, but the places we have chosen stand out for being just that little bit special for some and have entered a pantheon that others should seek and enjoy. Each has an aura stretching from the sacred to the salutary. Anticipation and belief occur in some, for others pure enjoyment and spontaneity and the rest are iconic sites of what we are and where we came from. ‘To each their own’ we say.
We bring you a handful of exceptional places where man has been edified, enlightened, enthroned and enraptured. These are places that have made innumerable lives that little bit richer and will perhaps be just the sort of places you need to find and savour, if only for a short while. For completely different reasons, each of these places has been singled out as somewhere that has at some stage in history made a difference – all aspects of culture are covered, from the historic to the celebrity age. From the very southern tip of the county to its pinnacle, the top ‘shrines’ of sorts are here, some secret, some known the length and breadth of the county and the country.
As for your recollection of Donegal, consider this an overdue 21st century reboot for there is nowhere in Ireland quite like it. If you can appreciate the fact that its remoteness serves as its strength, then you too will be rewarded for travelling the extra road time to get here with this guide; regard it as a pilgrimage, a chance to remove any lingering prejudice and to rejuvenate the spirit.
Ensure you familiarise yourself with the route beforehand. There are some breathtaking scenes along the way with plenty of stops required. As you are covering the full county, it would be best to do this drive over a few days, with plenty of sightseeing along the way. Come back revitalised.
Portnoo and Narin golf course is one of the most beautiful courses you'll find in Donegal, but spare a thought for the golfers of the 60's and 70's who had a few strange hazards to confront. #Donegal #Golf
Audio: Bart Whelan
Travelling along the road in the Croaghs valley, Donegal's famous postman, Michael Gallagher, tells us about the House of Cats deep in the heart of the Bluestack Mountains. #Donegal #Cats
Audio: Michael Gallagher and John Ward, 2011
A night celebrating the great Charles Macklin takes place on Friday 20th November 2015 at 7.30, doors open 6.45pm. Full details on the events and where to get tickets can be found here: http://www.racontour.com/macklin/
theatre #drama #westend #London #macklin
Charles Macklin, nee McLaughlin in English, was an Irish actor and dramatist who performed extensively at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Macklin revolutionised theatre in the 18th century by introducing a "natural style" of acting. He is also famous for killing a man in a fight over a wig at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.
Born in County Donegal in Ulster in the north of Ireland, brought up in Dublin, where he attended school in Islandbridge after his father's death and his mother's remarriage, Macklin became known for his many performances in the tragedy and comedy genre of plays. He gained his greatest fame in the role of Shylock in The Merchant of Venice. Macklin enjoyed a long career which was often steeped in controversy before dying aged 97.
Source: Wikepedia
Macklin: Method and Madness
By Gary Jermyn and Michael James Ford
An historical comedy about the strolling player from Donegal who survived a murder charge to become a giant of the London stage.
Special London performance at St Paul’s Church, Covent Garden, Charles Macklin’s burial place. Friday, November 20th, 2015.
Doors open 6.45pm, Performance starts at 7.30 pm
Tickets: £15 Booking: Eventbrite https://www.eventbrite.com/e/macklin-method-and-madness-tickets-19243765621
It is February 1941. London is being ravaged by the Blitz.
In the basement of the BBC, a radio play is about to be broadcast to celebrate the life of the legendary 18th century actor, Charles Macklin, who rose from humble origins in Donegal to a triumphant career on the London stage. Quarrelsome and hot-tempered, Macklin was dogged by controversy, including an infamous backstage killing.
Valentine’s Day, 1941, marks the bicentenary of Macklin’s greatest success - his debut as Shylock in The Merchant of Venice. His performance was the sensation of the age and thrilled and terrified royalty and commoners alike. “ This was the Jew that Shakespeare drew“ declared Alexander Pope, and for 50 years Macklin made the role his own.
On this anniversary night, despite the air raid warnings, the show must go on.
Macklin: Method and Madness is written and performed by Gary Jermyn and Michael James Ford, with a guest appearance by Elliot Moriarty as The Producer.
theatre #westend #London #Donegal #Macklin #drama #comedy
Seumas Gildea gives a generous compliment to his friend Dr. Sean Beattie on being honoured with a degree from the National University of Ireland.
Seamus Gildea discusses local man Patrick MacGill's poetry before moving on to Seamus Heaney with refreshing candour!
Local historian Seumas Gildea recalls the early years of the famous Glenties Summer school.
Unfortunately the museum's curator retired in 2015 so the museum no longer exists, but enjoy a sample of what they offered in this audio clip.
Rather than simply discard such a fine piece, I'm hoping it will find a new audience as I add it to the 'Best of Racontour' collection. With thanks to Pat Lynch, a true gent and a great ambassador of another age, here's the original piece:
Pat and Ann Lynch's museum is the ultimate hidden gem of Youghal. Come and see how your great-grandparents coped with day-to-day living before the invention of indoor plumbing, electricity, and the automobile.
Located in the historic town of Youghal, Fox's Lane Museum is a small, privately-run museum, providing a fascinating display of some 600 beautifully restored gadgets that trace the evolution and development of household conveniences and appliances used in the home, during the 1850's to the 1950's.
Displays feature manually operated vacuum cleaners, washing machines, and sewing machines dating back to the 1860's, the Edison Phonograph and early gramophones. See some very interesting telephones, typewriters and radios, as well as a very wide selection of food preparation and cooking equipment.
The collection also includes old razors, blade sharpeners, Kodak cameras and stereoscopes, unusual obsolete items like button hooks, glove stretchers, curling tongs, sugar crushers, sausage makers, the cucumber straightener, hat iron, egg topper and much more.
Each item on display is clearly labelled - usually with some additional background information. To enhance the educational experience, knowledgeable tour guides are available to provide demonstrations and answer visitor questions.
There are interpretive display panels showing the historical background on items like washing machines, sewing machines, razors etc. They also have a small reference library on antique domestic appliances on site, which can be accessed if visitors require further information on any item.
Children are especially welcome when accompanied by parents or supervised by a teacher. A special questionnaire is available to help guide the tour and reinforce the learning experience for both young and old alike.
Here's Padraic Colum's poem that Pat refers to: -
Old Woman of the Roads
O, to have a little house! To own the hearth and stool and all! The heaped up sods against the fire, The pile of turf against the wall! To have a clock with weights and chains And pendulum swinging up and down! A dresser filled with shining delph, Speckled and white and blue and brown! I could be busy all the day Clearing and sweeping hearth and floor, And fixing on their shelf again My white and blue and speckled store! I could be quiet there at night Beside the fire and by myself, Sure of a bed and loth to leave The ticking clock and the shining delph! Och! but I'm weary of mist and dark, And roads where there's never a house nor bush, And tired I am of bog and road, And the crying wind and the lonesome hush! And I am praying to God on high, And I am praying Him night and day, For a little house - a house of my own Out of the wind's and the rain's way.
Audio: Pat Lynch, 2011 Text: Pat Lynch, Padraic Colum and John Ward
Find our Youghal audio travel app by scrolling down:
https://www.racontour.com/racontour/native-audio-apps/
museum #youghal #cork #heritage #Ireland
At the bottom of the road leading up to Grianan of Aileach is the site to the famous Liam McCormack's award-winning church, frequently cited as Ireland's favourite building. The RIAI citation from 1965 stated "It is not often that a building is found, such as this little country church, which speaks so clearly of the loving care which has been lavished on by architect, builder, client, artists, craftsmen and everyone connected with it. This church is as perfect an example of integration with its magnificent site as it is, probably, possible to achieve."
architecture #Inishowen #Donegal
North West Words is a monthly get-together of poetic souls in Letterkenny's wonderful Cafe Blend. A distant admirer of the event for some time, I finally managed to catch up with it last night and everything from start to finish about the night was a treat. And bar the excellent food, it was all free.
North West Words promotes the best of spoken word, art and music in the north west and if last night was anything to go by, it is a must-see when coming to Donegal. The Errigal Singers and the Gateway Writers Group were the main performers and carried off their respective tasks with deft aplomb. In the build-up to the performances, the room was full of giddy chatter and a palpable sense of anticipation. The staff were completely on top of things and some complementary mince pies and cream copper-fastened my promise to return soon.
The Errigal Singers were a sensation whose enthusiasm was infectious. Elegant, talented and versatile, these ladies knew what they were doing. Even when they put the 'err' back into Errigal over a minor mistiming, a spontaneous laugh and some banter had them back on track with their ebullient leader, Lorna McLaughlin, of The Henry Girls fame.
The Gateway Writers group were next up and read a remarkable series of self-composed verses. With an equal mix of mischief and wonder, the women used all of their wisdom and insight to great effect. I particularly enjoyed a poem called Rain Drops by Anna Greene, which made good use of pathetic fallacy. They said 'goodbye' to their facilitator, Denise Blake, and after a gracious speech by their chairman, presented Denise with flowers.
The night then went into open-mike mode and we were treated to a few new poems by their authors. All poems were well received, being wryly original and in one case, deliciously sardonic to none other than Santa a.k.a. 'Satan' (you had to be there!). The last poem of the night was read by M.C. Eamonn Bonner who then wrapped things up with a few words of thanks.
I then managed to get Eamonn, Denise Blake and Maureen Curran to say the words you'll hear in the audio piece. A bit like the night itself, they nailed it in one go by simply saying it like it is. This was a delightful occasion, full of charm and warmth and eloquence; how lovely to see two groups of people celebrating the arts in both song and verse while having some great fun at the same time, It is everything Racontour salutes and we're pleased to say our sister site, Donegal App, will be adding North West Words to its Hidden Gems in the 2015 edition. Keep up the good work folks - you're on to a winner.
http://northwestwords.com/
Letterkenny #Donegal #poetry #northwestwords
John MacNaghten (1722–1761) or "Half-Hung MacNaghten" was an Anglo-Irish land owner, gambler and convicted murderer. The more romantic versions of the tale portray MacNaghten's victim Mary Ann as his lover whose marriage was forbidden by her over-bearing father.
MacNaghten was born into a landed Anglo-Irish family and attended Raphoe Royal school in County Donegal. In 1740, he inherited his family estate worth £500 a year and that same year entered Trinity College, Dublin. MacNaghten married the sister-in-law of the first earl of Massereene. However, he was quickly enamoured of the extravagant lifestyle of Ascendancy Dublin where he became a popular and colourful character. He developed an addiction to gambling and squandered away a large part of his inheritance, running up substantial gaming debts and by 1750 was threatened with arrest.
Following the death of his wife in childbirth, he was appointed to the lucrative post of tax collector for Coleraine but gambled away £800 of the King's money. His estate was sequestered and by 1760 he was penniless.
He gained support trying to help overcome his addiction from a childhood friend, Andrew Knox. Knox was a wealthy land-owner and MP for Donegal who lived on an estate at Prehen about 2 miles outside the City of Derry. Mary Ann was Knox's 15 year-old daughter, she was already a substantial heiress having received some £6,000 and would have collected a further legacy if her brother died without issue. MacNaghten and Mary Ann developed a relationship as the former visited Prehen regularly. Nonetheless by 1761 their relationship had run into difficulties.
In November 1761, an attempt by MacNaghten and his followers to abduct Mary Ann from a carriage on a family journey to Dublin Parliament and elope with her failed, when he shot and mortally wounded her by mistake. He was taken to Lifford Courthouse in Donegal, where a court found MacNaghten guilty of murder and he was sentenced to execution by hanging. MacNaghten hurled himself from the gallows with such force that the rope broke. He had the sympathy of the crowd who believed this was divine intervention for a man distraught with grief over the death of his love. Despite the belief that MacNaghten could not be hanged a second time, he failed to use the cover of a sympathetic crowd to make good his escape and was hanged successfully at the second attempt, on 16 December 1761.
The tale is one which is encased within the Ascendancy of 18th century Ireland. Tradition portrays John MacNaghten as the heroic rogue of Irish folklore who rebelled against the authority of the landowning class and, in challenging them, was seen to have fought against them. His immense loyalty to his servants and followers, especially his manservant John Dunlap who was hanged immediately after MacNaghten, has presented him in the myth as a champion of the under-class.
As for the attempted kidnap of Mary Ann, the practice of abduction and marriage was prevalent in 18th century Ireland among young men of social standing but with little property. And, within their society, it was tolerated. The practice was the subject of the 2002 romantic comedy “The Abduction Club” starring Daniel Lapaine and Sophia Myles.
McNaughton is buried at Patrick Street graveyard, Strabane, Co. Tyrone.
Source: Wikipedia
A trip with noted historian Dr. Bob Curran to Ballycastle inevitably lead us to the local friary and its most famous resident, known as the Black Nun, where he eloquently tells us more about her activities. Julia McQuillan was the reclusive mystic known as "the Black Nun"who is supposed to have lived in Bunamarghy Friary. The Black Nun lived and died at this spot during the 1600's. Her last wish was to be buried near the entrance to the church so that all who entered the friary would tread on her grave as a token of her humility. Legend has it that she is buried under the noteworthy holestone cross of which Bob tells us more about.
The friary was built in the early 1500's and was occupied by the Third Order of Franciscans until roughly the mid-17th century. It is now a ruin in State care under the wing of the Environment and Heritage Department of the DoE. The Friary lies south of Ballycastle on the Cushendall Road. Apologies for the sound quality at times on the recording.
Ballycastle, #BlackNun #BobCurran, #Antrim
Of all of the stories we gathered during our Rambling House radio series, this story recorded in September 2009 as part of our border smuggling episode stands out - it still sends a shiver down my spine. Told with passion and clarity by the late #seanchai Bertie Brice of Inch Island, this is the harrowing story of a mother who felt the full brunt of the economic war in #Donegal back in the 1930's. #storytelling
http://www.ramblinghouse.ie/Episode_3.html
storytelling #Inishowen #Donegal #smuggling
This is a great overview on what an Irish Rambling House was about from Inishowenians Tony McLaughlin and J.P. Bradley. Known as a Ceilidhing House having Big Nights up in Inishowen, other parts of Ireland would have had Oíche Airnéals or Scoraíochts - whatever way you call it, they were houses in rural Ireland that became the entertainment centres of the locality for that night with stories, music and maybe some newspaper reading, card playing or dancing taking place.
In 2021, we've rebooted the rambling house concept for the lockdown - go to http://www.ramblinghouse.ie to see how you can organise your own rambling house storytelling evening with ease for free.
Donegal #Inishowen #RamblingHouse #storytelling #Ireland
Brian McDermott a.k.a. the No Salt Chef is everywhere these days from radio on BBC Foyle to countless cookery demonstrations nationwide to his soaring bromance on RTE with Daithi O'Sé! But just like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, Brian knows that there's no place like home and here he is back in Moville with his old buddy, Paddy McCartney, the very day his own cookery cabin was completed back in 2011. The two boys chew the fat as the cabin is finally completed as you'll hear!
http://www.thenosaltchef.com/
nosaltchef #cookery #moville #inishowen
There are those who think that Led Zeppelin headlining Glastonbury would be the apogee of rock and roll. Sadly, with the demise of the force of nature that was John 'Bonzo' Bonham, anything else would be a tribute band. Talk of a Led Zeppelin reunion after the once off O2 2007 gig was rife, but ultimately it amounted to nothing, mainly due to the fact that lead singer Robert Plant was busy touring with Alison Krauss after the release of their exceptional album, 'Raising Sand'. Also, as far as Plant was concerned, Zeppelin was done and dusted. Page and Plant revisited some of the old hits and rebooted them in the 1990's and so fans couldn't complain too much about never hearing the voice and guitar that so many followed in the 1970's.
What was so refreshing about Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters at Glastonbury Abbey last night was that this was an artist who was still vibrant, who was coming up with new and exciting music while placating die hards with a few of the old hits, albeit with a new twist. And what's best of all, the man does not appear to be jaded or faking it or going through the motions - he enjoys performing, he's good at it and he still has something to say. Where poor Bonzo burned out, Plant is certainly not fading away - he's having too much fun.
The set list* you'll see the link to below was a wonderful mix of past and present. The Sensational Space Shifters are by no means space fillers - they were a tight, well-oiled machine with some great musicians and great new tunes. The song does not remain the same to Percy Plant - we moved from north Africa to the Mississsipi delta to the Black Country with ease last night. It was a short gig due to the location of the venue in the heart of the town, in the wonderfully evocative abbey.
No, I won't see Zeppelin headline Worthy Farm Glastonbury, but I did have have the privilege to hear the voice and driving force of the band headline a smaller, more intimate and consequently enjoyable venue nearby. In the audio piece you will hear a tongue-in-cheek Plant finishing off the anthem 'Rock and Roll' with what would be sacrilege to anyone else as he repeats the word 'lonely' until he runs out of breath. I've seen McCartney headline Glastonbury and lose the crowd with his mock Jamaican accent banter, I've seen Suede go to the other side and not say so much as 'thanks' to a crowd, but with Plant, we had Goldilocks porridge - it was just right. 'Plantations', as his ad libs are called, abounded; from mocking the audience's singing skills to telling us tales of Michael Eavis crashing a Zeppelin gig in the early 70s, this was a headline show that was low key, but immensely entertaining.
The Sex Pistols partly came about due to the likes of Led Zeppelin and what the Pistols felt was a jaded, formulaic offering to rock. Where the Pistols got back together for the money and Johnny Rotten is doing butter ads on TV, Plant, the supposed dinosaur, has had the last laugh. Passing on $200m for a Zeppelin reunion**, he's still going strong with something to say and as far as I'm concerned, rock's finest icon headlined at Glastonbury last night, and I was lucky enough to be there with 10,000 others for one short, but sweet, musical extravaganza. No hype, no bombast, no passing of a sell by date; just some great rock and roll from a master and his band.
JW 10/8/14
http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/robert-plant/2014/glastonbury-abbey-glastonbury-england-13cef9bd.html #glastonbury #plant #ledzeppelin #robertplant *http://www.justpressplay.net/articles/3001-robert-plan-turns-down-200-million-for-led-zep-reunion-tour.html
Glám dícenn was a poet's execration; a special curse declaimed by a poet that required him to stand much like a crane on one leg, to close one eye, and to extend one arm. No mere expression of opinion, the glám dícenn is a potent weapon of war, capable of blistering an opponent's face or of costing him his life. The victim of glám dícenn would be shunned by all levels of society. Comparable to a power wielded by early Arab poets called hija. In this audio piece, the wonderful Bob Curran, walking encyclopedia on the weird and wonderful in ancient Ireland tells us more about the Glám dícenn or Poet's Curse.
The tale of the burglar boy in print will seem far from amusing, being a short piece about larceny and a death threat no less. In the mouth of a master storyteller, it transcends into a hilarious, salutary tale to bring the house down. The late Bertie Bryce from Inch Island in Inishowen told stories for nine decades and it shows. His timing, his intonation and his verbal dexterity all made him the outstanding storyteller of his area. I heard this story told in many settings, with differing crowds and the result was always the same - Bertie stole the show every time.
"Silk of the kine and poor old woman" are both names given to Ireland "in old times". It is a device used in James Joyce's Ulysses at various stages of the book when Stephen is thinking of the old milkwoman as a mythical representative of the nation.
A more comprehensive read on the subject in the novel can be found in this excellent link: - http://www.joyce-irish-gaelic.net/part2.pdf
Image: Silk of the Kline by Coco Berkman - a print of which can be seen at the Dublin Writers' Museum.
A topical look back at what a portion of this island thought about gay rights - and a humorous retort at such bigotry! Appropriately enough, I can't help but see the bully Biff from 'Back to the Future' when I look at a young Paisley...
Ulster #Gayrights
Mary and Sean tell us about the song that has become synonymous with Kilkenny All Ireland hurling team victories every September - they even sing some of it for our delight!
Anna Johnston was born in Ballymena, County Antrim. Her father was Robert Johnston, a timber merchant and prominent Fenian organizer. Her mother came from County Donegal.
From the age of fifteen, when she had her first piece published, she contributed poems and short stories to a number of Irish periodicals, including United Ireland, Young Ireland, the Nation and the Catholic Fireside.
She participated in the nationalist commemorations of the 1798 Rising and with Alice Milligan, Maud Gonne and others toured the country delivering lectures on the United Irishmen. In 1900 she was a founder-member of Inghinidhe na hÉireann, the revolutionary women's organisation led by Maud Gonne. She was elected a vice-president of the association, along with Jenny Wyse Power, Annie Egan and Alice Furlong. She and Milligan wrote and produced plays as part of its cultural activities.
She and Alice Milligan published two nationalist publications, The Northern Patriot and (later) The Shan Van Vocht, which was published from 1896 monthly until 1899. Its contributors included Katherine Tynan, Nora Hopper, Seumas MacManus and Alice Furlong, and it contained some early writings of James Connolly.
In 1901 she married poet and folklorist Séamus MacManus (1869–1960) and moved with him to Revlin House just outside Donegal Town in County Donegal. It was then that she began writing under the pen name of Ethna Carbery because once she took the last name of MacManus she didn't want to be confused with her husband (also a writer). She died in Revlin House of gastritis the following year, aged 35. Her husband, who was three years her junior, outlived her by 58 years. Although MacManus and Johnston were only married for one year her impact on his life ran deep. Seamus MacManus never remarried in his 58 years after Anna and even wrote a memoir dedicated to her.
Her poetry was published by her husband after her death in the The Four Winds of Erin, which was phenomenally successful over the next few years. Some further volumes followed.
She is buried in Frosses cemetery beside her husband, their grave having a huge Celtic cross above it.
Works by Ethna Carbery: -
The Four Winds of Eirinn (1902) - poems The Passionate Hearts (1903) - stories In the Celtic Past (1904) - hero tales We Sang for Ireland: Poems of Ethna Carbery, Séamus MacManus, Alice Milligan (1950) - poetry
An overview of the county and town of Donegal.
Narrator: Mary Murphy
A proper introduction and how to use this guide can be found in the next audio piece called 'Donegal's Hallowed Sites'.
This audio clip with an overview of County Donegal comes from Mary Murphy whose silky voice is peppered throughout the tour. Mary tells us about the origin of the name as well as who the Conal was in Tirconaill, who the foreigners were in the 'Fort of the Foreigners' translation of Donegal and a bit about Donegal Town itself, home to the O'Donnell clan and where the Annals of the Four Masters was mainly written.
The Donegal crest’s colours of green and gold corresponds to its green hills and many golden strands. The shield and red cross relate to King Conall and St. Patrick’s early pact. Patrick needs no introduction, but Conall might.
Conall Gulban (died c. 464) was an Irish king and eponymous ancestor of the Cenél Conaill or kindred of Conall, who founded the kingdom of Tír Chonaill in the 5th century, comprising much of what is now County Donegal. He was the son of Niall of the Nine Hostages. He is significant in the history of Irish Christianity as he was the first nobleman baptised by St. Patrick, thus opening the way for the conversion of the ruling classes of Ireland.
According to 'Life and Acts of Saint Patrick', St. Patrick lifted his sacred crozier, the 'Bachall Íosa' and upon hitting Conall’s battle shield with it, caused the royal shield to become engraved with the sign of the Cross. St. Patrick then gave Conall the popular Latin motto of the ancient Roman Emperor Constantine "In Hoc Signo Vinces", meaning 'In this sign is your victory'. By following the sign of the Cross and Christ’s teachings, victory to the kindred of Conall was assured from that day onwards.
Audio taken from Donegal's Hallowed Sites on the Racontour Archive.
Spotify URL: Donegal's Hallowed Sites playlist on Spotify
Speaker: Sean McMahon RIP
Every Christmas, the Mummers would show up at houses with a plethora of mischievous characters in tow including Buck Sweep, Prince George, Beelzebub, Johnny Funny, Big Head, Master Man and Oliver Cromwell no less. One of them was Wee Devil Doubt who used to chant the following lines: - "Here comes I, wee Devil Doubt, The biggest wee devil ever came out Money I want and money I crave, If I don't get money I'll sweep you all to your grave. And if you do not believe what I say, Enter in, Buck Sweep, and he'll clear the way".
© 2021-2022 Racontour Productions. This clip forms part of the Celtic Calendar audio archive from Racontour Productions. Feel free to share if enjoyed, but with a credit or a social media tag to Racontour Productions please.
SPOTIFY: This platform has allowed us to be creative in ensuring you can access it on your smart phone with ease. Below are the Spotify options: -
Celtic Calendar playlist - no music, just audio of all four festivals.
Samhain folklore - music and lore for Samhain
Imbolc folklore - music and lore for Imbolc
Bealtaine folklore - music and lore for Bealtaine
Lughnasa folklore - music and lore for Lughnasa
N14/0722
Swift's Epitaph as rendered by W.B. Yeats:- Swift has sailed into his rest; Savage indignation there Cannot lacerate his Breast. Imitate him if you dare, World-Besotted Traveler; he Served human liberty.
The original Latin version of Swift's epitaph Hic depositum est Corpus IONATHAN SWIFT S.T.D. Hujus Ecclesiæ Cathedralis Decani, Ubi sæva Indignatio Ulterius Cor lacerare nequit, Abi Viator Et imitare, si poteris, Strenuum pro virili Libertatis Vindicatorem.
Obiit 19º Die Mensis Octobris A.D. 1745 Anno Ætatis 78º.
Literal Translation Here is laid the Body of Jonathan Swift, Doctor of Sacred Theology, Dean of this Cathedral Church,
where fierce Indignation can no longer injure the Heart. Go forth, Voyager, and copy, if you can, this vigorous (to the best of his ability) Champion of Liberty.
He died on the 19th Day of the Month of October, A.D. 1745, in the 78th Year of his Age.
Source: Wikipedia
William Allingham writing in his diary made some prescient observations about 'calamity water': 'what a country is Ireland; her chief manufacture is calamity water, a name too of her own devisal'.
Speaker: Sean McMahon RIP
The old hag of Beara, believed to be the harbinger of Winter. This is where we leave things on this audio archive of the seasons, but let's not forget, if Winter comes, can Spring be far behind? Thanks for listening.
© 2021-2022 Racontour Productions. This clip forms part of the Celtic Calendar audio archive from Racontour Productions. Feel free to share if enjoyed, but with a credit or a social media tag to Racontour Productions please.
SPOTIFY: This platform has allowed us to be creative in ensuring you can access it on your smart phone with ease. Below are the Spotify options: -
Celtic Calendar playlist - no music, just audio of all four festivals.
Samhain folklore - music and lore for Samhain
Imbolc folklore - music and lore for Imbolc
Bealtaine folklore - music and lore for Bealtaine
Lughnasa folklore - music and lore for Lughnasa
N14/0722
This is a great slang word derived from the peat bogs of Ireland. It perfectly captures the state you can get your clothes into with ease - Mary and Sean nail the noisome nature of the term in their hilarious podcast.
From the House of Commons, February 16, 1922, Winston Churchill stated: - "The whole map of Europe has been changed ... but as the deluge subsides and the waters fall short we see the dreary steeples of Fermanagh and Tyrone emerging once again."
Speaker: Mary Murphy
Mary tells us a bit more about a phrase that is synonymous with celebrating St Patrick's feast day in the 17th March. Slainté!
© 2021-2022 Racontour Productions. This clip forms part of the Celtic Calendar audio archive from Racontour Productions. Feel free to share if enjoyed, but with a credit or a social media tag to Racontour Productions please.
SPOTIFY: This platform has allowed us to be creative in ensuring you can access it on your smart phone with ease. Below are the Spotify options: -
Celtic Calendar playlist - no music, just audio of all four festivals.
Samhain folklore - music and lore for Samhain
Imbolc folklore - music and lore for Imbolc
Bealtaine folklore - music and lore for Bealtaine
Lughnasa folklore - music and lore for Lughnasa
Sean McMahon gives us his hilarious take on how the 'hi' is used in Northern Ireland more as dictation than as vernacular!
My Aunt Jane she brought me in, she gave tea out of her wee tin Half a bap, a wee snow top, three black lumps out of her wee shop Half a bap, a wee snow top, three black lumps out of her wee shop
My Aunt has a bell on the door, a white stone step and a clean swept floor Candy apples and hard green pears, conversation lozenges Candy apples and hard green pears, conversation lozenges
My Aunt Jane she's awful smart, she baked three rings and a apple tart And when Halloween comes round, for next that tart I'm always found And when Halloween comes round, for next that tart I'm always found
My Aunt Jane she can dance a jig, sing a ballad for a sweety pig Wee red eyes and a cord for a tail, hanging in a bunch from a farthing nail Wee red eyes and a cord for a tail, hanging in a bunch from a farthing nail
My Aunt has a great wee shop, with luck bags and lime juice rock Cinnamon buds and yella man, and brandy balls in a bright tin can Cinnamon buds and yella man, and brandy balls in a bright tin can
Speaker: Mary Murphy and Sean McMahon
Mary Mallon from just outside Cookstown in County Tyrone became infamous in America where she was known as Typhoid Mary. She was correctly identified as the carrier of the organism causing typhoid fever where she spread the disease in her work as a cook. She refused to wash her hands before cooking or to acknowledge her role as a spreader with some 51 people becoming infected by her with three deaths. Born in 1869, she died in 1938 after being confined by authorities for 26 years on North Brother Island in the East River.
Speakers: Mary Murphy/Patsy McNulty
An Ulster idiom for completing the tricky task of saving the turf or indeed the hay. Mary introduces the piece and Patsy gives an eye witness account of the long summer struggle to win that precious turf!
Photo by John Ward: Turf stacks under Carnaween
© 2021-2022 Racontour Productions. This clip forms part of both the Bluestack Way and the Celtic Calendar audio archives from Racontour Productions. Feel free to share if enjoyed, but with a credit or a social media tag to Racontour Productions please.
SPOTIFY: This platform has allowed us to be creative in ensuring you can access it on your smart phone with ease. Below are the Spotify options: -
Celtic Calendar playlist - no music, just audio of all four festivals.
Samhain folklore - music and lore for Samhain
Imbolc folklore - music and lore for Imbolc
Bealtaine folklore - music and lore for Bealtaine
Lughnasa folklore - music and lore for Lughnasa
The colourful phraseology of Ireland salutes one of its great political heroes several times a day.
Imbolc is strongly associated with Saint Brigid (Old Irish: Brigit, modern Irish: Bríd, modern Scottish Gaelic: Brìghde or Brìd, anglicised Bridget). Saint Brigid is thought to have been based on Brigid, a Gaelic goddess. The festival, which celebrates the onset of spring, is thought to be linked with Brigid in her role as a fertility goddess.
On Imbolc Eve, Brigid was said to visit virtuous households and bless the inhabitants. As Brigid represented the light half of the year, and the power that will bring people from the dark season of winter into spring, her presence was very important at this time of year.
Families would have a special meal or supper on Imbolc Eve. This typically included food such as colcannon, sowans, dumplings, barmbrack and/or bannocks. Often, some of the food and drink would be set aside for Brigid.
Brigid would be symbolically invited into the house and a bed would often be made for her. In the north of Ireland a family member, representing Brigid, would circle the home three times carrying rushes. They would then knock the door three times, asking to be let in. On the third attempt they are welcomed in, the meal is had, and the rushes are then made into a bed or crosses. In 18th century Mann, the custom was to stand at the door with a bundle of rushes and say "Brede, Brede, come to my house tonight. Open the door for Brede and let Brede come in". The rushes were then strewn on the floor as a carpet or bed for Brigid. In the 19th century, some old Manx women would make a bed for Brigid in the barn with food, ale, and a candle on a table. In the Hebrides in the late 18th century, a bed of hay would be made for Brigid and someone would then call out three times: "a Bhríd, a Bhríd, thig a stigh as gabh do leabaidh" ("Bríd Bríd, come in; thy bed is ready"). A white wand, usually made of birch, would be set by the bed. It represented the wand that Brigid was said to use to make the vegetation start growing again. In the 19th century, women in the Hebrides would dance while holding a large cloth and calling out "Bridean, Bridean, thig an nall 's dean do leabaidh" ("Bríd Bríd, come over and make your bed"). However, by this time the bed itself was rarely made.
Before going to bed, people would leave items of clothing or strips of cloth outside for Brigid to bless.Ashes from the fire would be raked smooth and, in the morning, they would look for some kind of mark on the ashes as a sign that Brigid had visited. The clothes or strips of cloth would be brought inside, and believed to now have powers of healing and protection.
A Brigid's cross In Ireland and Scotland, a representation of Brigid would be paraded around the community by girls and young women. Sometimes the representative was a girl, but usually it was a doll-like figure known as a Brídeóg (also called a 'Breedhoge' or 'Biddy'). It would be made from rushes or reeds and clad in bits of cloth, shells and/or flowers. In the Hebrides of Scotland, a bright shell or crystal called the reul-iuil Bríde (guiding star of Brigid) was set on its chest. The girls would carry it in procession while singing a hymn to Brigid. All wore white with their hair unbound as a symbol of purity and youth. They visited every house in the area, where they received either food or more decoration for the Brídeóg. Afterwards, they feasted in a house with the Brídeóg set in a place of honour, and put it to bed with lullabies. When the meal was done, the local young men humbly asked for admission, made obeisance to the Brídeóg, and joined the girls in dancing and merrymaking. In many parts, only unwed girls could carry the Brídeóg, but in some places both boys and girls carried it. In the late 17th century, Catholic families in the Hebrides would make a bed for the Brídeóg out of a basket. Up until the mid-20th century, children in Ireland still went house-to-house asking for pennies for "poor Biddy", or money for the poor. In County Kerry, men in white robes ...
Piseogs were charms or spells that when executed could lead to devastating results on their victims. Examples include the planting of eggs or meat on a neighbour's boundary that subsequently rotted or the stealing and burying of the treasured last sheaf of a neighbour's harvest. They were said to be at their most potent around May Day, particularly between May Eve dusk and dawn on May Day. Custom had it that this was a liminal time when the Otherworld's presence was closer and when either the Sí/faeries or the mortal charm setters with evil intent were at the height of their power. Sean McMahon tells us a bit more about this form of rural voodoo in his audio piece.
August 1966; A photo of a ring of eggs to demonstrate a piseog to Don O'Higgins of Associated Press.
Sean McMahon tells us a bit more about these objects that can still be found scattered around the country, usually in remote locations for good reason.
An immram (/ˈɪmrəm/; plural immrama; Irish: iomramh, IPA: [ˈʊmˠɾˠəw], voyage) is a class of Old Irish tales concerning a hero's sea journey to the Otherworld (see Tír na nÓg and Mag Mell). Written in the Christian era and essentially Christian in aspect, they preserve elements of Irish mythology.
The immrama are identifiable by their focus on the exploits of the heroes during their search for the Otherworld, located in these cases in the islands far to the west of Ireland. The hero sets out on his voyage for the sake of adventure or to fulfill his destiny, and generally stops on other fantastic islands before reaching his destination. He may or may not be able to return home again.
The immrama are generally confused with a similar Irish genre, the echtrae or "adventure". Both types of story involve a hero's journey to an "otherworld", whether a Christian paradise, a fairyland, the land of the gods or a utopia. They are distinguished by date; echtrai are older, dating from the 7th century, while the earliest immram dates only to the 8th century. David Dumville argues that the immrama include more Christian thinking than the more pagan genre of echtrae and that, whereas the purpose of the echtrai is to enhance understanding of the old gods and the land in which they live, in an immram these pagan elements occur as a challenge to the hero's faith. In an echtrae the protagonist only ever goes to one location and may arrive in the otherworld with no explanation of the journey, whereas in an immram the hero always has multiple adventures on several islands.
Stories Originally there were seven officially recognised Immram listed in a list of ancient texts[citation needed]. Of those seven only three survive: the The Voyage of Mael Dúin, The Voyage of the Uí Chorra, and The Voyage of Snedgus and Mac Riagla. The Voyage of Bran is classified in these same lists as an echtrae, though it also contains the essential elements of the immrama. The later Latin Voyage of St. Brendan also contains a voyage across the sea to various otherworldly islands.
Origins Immram were first recorded as early as the 7th century by monks and scholars who fled Continental Europe before the barbarian invaders of the fifth century. These monks carried the learning of Western Europe and became the vanguard of the Christianizing of Europe. On this account it is expected that Immram have their origins in pre-existing Christian voyage literature, pre-existing Celtic legends, or classical stories the monks would have known. The origins of these stories are attributed to three sources of preexisting stories: Irish myths, Christian genres, and Classic Stories.
The Otherworld in The Voyage of Bran is a distinctly Celtic feature but this is easily overlooked because the concept of the Christian paradise and the British and Irish otherworld are closely related. This difference is highlighted in the difference between sinless and sexless in the native and Christian mindset. In the existing translation where an author may have turned the "Isle of Woman" into a chaste society, with some difficulty. Such an example was with a passage that described a man and woman playing under a bush without sin or blame. This passage in light of several others emphasises a Christian effort to create a sinless and sexless Otherworld.
Immrama may have borrowed heavily from preexisting Christian genres, such as the sanctae vitae (saints' lives), the peregrinatio (pilgrimage stories), and the vision tales. As early as the 5th century Irish monks would go on a pilgrimage, a peregrination, sailing from island to island seeking isolation where they would meditate and purge themselves of their sins. The source of inspiration behind the Immram may also be the Christian punishment of sending people adrift for their crimes to be judged by God.[8] Perhaps the largest piece of evidence that immram are Christian works is that the characters in the story are generally wandering pries...
Speaker: Sean McMahon RIP
Brasil, also known as Hy-Brasil or several other variants, is a phantom island which was said to lie in the Atlantic Ocean west of Ireland. In Irish myths it was said to be cloaked in mist, except for one day every seven years, when it became visible but still could not be reached. It probably has similar roots to other mythical islands said to exist in the Atlantic, such as Atlantis, Saint Brendan's Island, and the Isle of Mam. Source: Wikipedia.
© 2021-2022 Racontour Productions. This clip forms part of the Celtic Calendar audio archive from Racontour Productions. Feel free to share if enjoyed, but with a credit or a social media tag to Racontour Productions please.
SPOTIFY: This platform has allowed us to be creative in ensuring you can access it on your smart phone with ease. Below are the Spotify options: -
Celtic Calendar playlist - no music, just audio of all four festivals.
Samhain folklore - music and lore for Samhain
Imbolc folklore - music and lore for Imbolc
Bealtaine folklore - music and lore for Bealtaine
Lughnasa folklore - music and lore for Lughnasa
The word shrove is the past participle of the English verb to shrive, which means to obtain absolution for one's sins by way of confession and doing penance. During the week before Lent, sometimes called Shrovetide in English, Christians were expected to go to confession in preparation for the penitential season of turning to God. Shrove Tuesday was the last day before the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday, and noted in histories dating back to 1000 AD.
N14/0722
We're hoping with our Rambling House Lockdown Edition, we'll foster and encourage some budding young seanchaís along the way in the tradition of Eamon Kelly. Hear a bit more about what exactly a seanchaí is from our audio archive. Voice: Seán McMahon
Sam Henry (1870–1952) was an Irish folk-song collector, photographer and folklorist, best known for his collection of ballads and songs in Songs of the People. His collection is the largest and most comprehensive collection of folk-songs from Northern Ireland between the wars.
Songs of the People was a series which ran from 17 November 1923 to 1939 in the Coleraine newspaper The Northern Constitution. For twelve of those years the editor was Sam Henry who contributed upwards of 500 songs of high quality. The first song printed was "The Flower of Sweet Dunmull", collected from Nancy Harbison, Ballywillan, Portrush. Although the songs were collected in a single district around Coleraine, there is a great amount of diversity, which includes native Irish songs and songs of foreign origin: Scotland, England and North America. Henry continued to collect and annotate songs after the newspaper series finished.
Audio: Sean McMahon, 2009 Text from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mary Murphy tells us about a forgotten about custom in the West of Ireland that takes place on the first Monday of Lent.
© 2021-2022 Racontour Productions. This clip forms part of the Celtic Calendar audio archive from Racontour Productions. Feel free to share if enjoyed, but with a credit or a social media tag to Racontour Productions please.
SPOTIFY: This platform has allowed us to be creative in ensuring you can access it on your smart phone with ease. Below are the Spotify options: -
Celtic Calendar playlist - no music, just audio of all four festivals.
Samhain folklore - music and lore for Samhain
Imbolc folklore - music and lore for Imbolc
Bealtaine folklore - music and lore for Bealtaine
Lughnasa folklore - music and lore for Lughnasa
customs #Ireland
N14/0722
Speaker: Sean McMahon RIP
Puss is surely one of the better examples of onomatopoeia used by the Irish. Sean McMahon tells us of the various uses including the little heard Puss Sunday, the last Sunday before Lent.
customs #Ireland
© 2021-2022 Racontour Productions. This clip forms part of the Celtic Calendar audio archive from Racontour Productions. Feel free to share if enjoyed, but with a credit or a social media tag to Racontour Productions please.
SPOTIFY: This platform has allowed us to be creative in ensuring you can access it on your smart phone with ease. Below are the Spotify options: -
Celtic Calendar playlist - no music, just audio of all four festivals.
Samhain folklore - music and lore for Samhain
Imbolc folklore - music and lore for Imbolc
Bealtaine folklore - music and lore for Bealtaine
Lughnasa folklore - music and lore for Lughnasa
Mary Murphy gives us an excellent overview of the Otherworld. In Gaelic and Brittonic mythology it is usually described as a supernatural realm of everlasting youth, beauty, health, abundance and joy The Otherworld is similar to the parallel universe, usually elusive, but various mythical heroes visit it either through chance or after being invited by one of its residents. They often reach it by entering ancient burial mounds or caves, or by going under water or across the western sea.
Source of wording: Wikipedia
From our Samhain lore playlist: https://audioboom.com/playlists/4634161-samhain-lore
Samhain #Halloween #Otherworld #Supernatural #Paralleluniverse
© 2021-2022 Racontour Productions. This clip forms part of the Celtic Calendar audio archive from Racontour Productions. Feel free to share if enjoyed, but with a credit or a social media tag to Racontour Productions please.
SPOTIFY: This platform has allowed us to be creative in ensuring you can access it on your smart phone with ease. Below are the Spotify options: -
Celtic Calendar playlist - no music, just audio of all four festivals.
Samhain folklore - music and lore for Samhain
Imbolc folklore - music and lore for Imbolc
Bealtaine folklore - music and lore for Bealtaine
Lughnasa folklore - music and lore for Lughnasa
Mary Murphy voices the last of our audio clips from Donegal's Hallowed Sites on the epic Spotify playlist before honorary Donegal man, John Prine and his Ardara wife, Fiona, sing us out with a flourish of happiness and romance. In the audio clip, we really like the sign-off motif of the two Harvest lovers forever gathering, for this has been a tour of gatherings of all shapes and sizes. And lest we forget, without stories we are lost, but without love, we are doomed! Safe home and come back soon.
Speaker: Mary Murphy
Mary gives a simple overview of the harvest festival of Lughnasa to start us off on our final cross-quarter day.
© 2021-2022 Racontour Productions. This clip forms part of the Celtic Calendar audio archive from Racontour Productions. Feel free to share if enjoyed, but with a credit or a social media tag to Racontour Productions please.
SPOTIFY: This platform has allowed us to be creative in ensuring you can access it on your smart phone with ease. Below are the Spotify options: -
Celtic Calendar playlist - no music, just audio of all four festivals.
Samhain folklore - music and lore for Samhain
Imbolc folklore - music and lore for Imbolc
Bealtaine folklore - music and lore for Bealtaine
Lughnasa folklore - music and lore for Lughnasa
Speaker: Mary Murphy
Mary tells us of the once widely-held belief that certain parcels of Irish land could strike a walker down with death from hunger simply by walking over it. Here she explains the reason for such a superstition.
© 2021-2022 Racontour Productions. This clip forms part of the Celtic Calendar audio archive from Racontour Productions. Feel free to share if enjoyed, but with a credit or a social media tag to Racontour Productions please.
SPOTIFY: This platform has allowed us to be creative in ensuring you can access it on your smart phone with ease. Below are the Spotify options: -
Celtic Calendar playlist - no music, just audio of all four festivals.
Samhain folklore - music and lore for Samhain
Imbolc folklore - music and lore for Imbolc
Bealtaine folklore - music and lore for Bealtaine
Lughnasa folklore - music and lore for Lughnasa
There is no superstition stronger in Ireland than a belief in the curative power of the sacred wells that are festooned across the country; fountains of health and healing some saint had blessed, or by which some saint had dwelt in ancient times. But it is noted that well-worship is even older than Christianity being essentially an early ritual of humanity, brought from the Eastern lands by early Aryan tribes.
Ireland has some 3000 of these wells. Each and every one of them has a different origin, with different lore and customs growing up around them, different saints and different followers. They are an overlooked phenomenon that would be hard to explain to a visiting alien, but to the ardent followers, their supernatural vitality remains. In an increasingly sophisticated and secular world, these wells are one of the last great connections to another time and another belief system.
Speaker: Mary Murphy
Bilberry Sunday is a charming old feast day that deserves to be brought back to life. Celebrated on the last Sunday in July, it was a day when people went to hillsides and peat lands in groups to collect bilberries, and sometimes find a spouse. These tiny, intensely dark blue berries, are related to the blueberry though they’re only about half as large. They thrive in acidic soils, have a sweet/sour flavour, and when you squash them up, the insides are yellow.
Pencil in the last Sunday of July and if the weather is good, why not make your way to the nearest area where they grow in abundance locally for some fine views, some fresh berries & maybe some romance?
customs #heritage #bilberry #Ireland
© 2021-2022 Racontour Productions. This clip forms part of the Celtic Calendar audio archive from Racontour Productions. Feel free to share if enjoyed, but with a credit or a social media tag to Racontour Productions please.
SPOTIFY: This platform has allowed us to be creative in ensuring you can access it on your smart phone with ease. Below are the Spotify options: -
Celtic Calendar playlist - no music, just audio of all four festivals.
Samhain folklore - music and lore for Samhain
Imbolc folklore - music and lore for Imbolc
Bealtaine folklore - music and lore for Bealtaine
Lughnasa folklore - music and lore for Lughnasa
As we approach Hallowe'en, hear Mary Murphy tell us about the ancient practice of divination, when Irish women used unorthodox methods to help them find a suitor.
From our Samhain lore playlist: https://audioboom.com/playlists/4634161-samhain-lore
Samhain #Halloween #Otherworld #Supernatural #Divination
© 2021-2022 Racontour Productions. This clip forms part of the Celtic Calendar audio archive from Racontour Productions. Feel free to share if enjoyed, but with a credit or a social media tag to Racontour Productions please.
SPOTIFY: This platform has allowed us to be creative in ensuring you can access it on your smart phone with ease. Below are the Spotify options: -
Celtic Calendar playlist - no music, just audio of all four festivals.
Samhain folklore - music and lore for Samhain
Imbolc folklore - music and lore for Imbolc
Bealtaine folklore - music and lore for Bealtaine
Lughnasa folklore - music and lore for Lughnasa
Speaker: Mary Murphy
Mary tells us about the preternatural phenomenon that was a fetch or phantasm that was seen by a close relative of the would-be deceased.
© 2021-2022 Racontour Productions. This clip forms part of the Celtic Calendar audio archive from Racontour Productions. Feel free to share if enjoyed, but with a credit or a social media tag to Racontour Productions please.
SPOTIFY: This platform has allowed us to be creative in ensuring you can access it on your smart phone with ease. Below are the Spotify options: -
Celtic Calendar playlist - no music, just audio of all four festivals.
Samhain folklore - music and lore for Samhain
Imbolc folklore - music and lore for Imbolc
Bealtaine folklore - music and lore for Bealtaine
Lughnasa folklore - music and lore for Lughnasa
Speaker: Mary Murphy
The banshee (or banchee) (/ˈbænʃiː/ ban-shee), from Irish: bean sí bʲæn ˈʃiː is a female spirit in Irish mythology, usually seen as an omen of death and a messenger from the underworld.
In legend, a banshee is a fairy woman who begins to wail if someone is about to die. In Scottish Gaelic mythology, she is known as the bean sìth or bean nighe and is seen washing the bloodstained clothes or armour of those who are about to die. Alleged sightings of banshees have been reported as recently as 1948. Similar beings are also found in Welsh, Norse and American folklore. Source: Wikipedia.
Hear more about banshees in Ireland from our tour of Sliabh Ban mountain down in County Roscommon as told by Merrily Harper from our Samhain lore playlist: https://audioboom.com/playlists/4634161-samhain-lore
Samhain #Halloween #Otherworld #Supernatural #Banshee
For a really good article on the Banshee, see Leo Bowes's great piece from Moville Inishowen's website: - http://www.movilleinishowen.com/history/mythology/legendofthe_banshee.htm
Image of Banshee (c) www.arthurquinn.ie
© 2021-2022 Racontour Productions. This clip forms part of the Celtic Calendar audio archive from Racontour Productions. Feel free to share if enjoyed, but with a credit or a social media tag to Racontour Productions please.
SPOTIFY: This platform has allowed us to be creative in ensuring you can access it on your smart phone with ease. Below are the Spotify options: -
Celtic Calendar playlist - no music, just audio of all four festivals.
Samhain folklore - music and lore for Samhain
Imbolc folklore - music and lore for Imbolc
Bealtaine folklore - music and lore for Bealtaine
Lughnasa folklore - music and lore for Lughnasa
Speaker: Sean McMahon RIP
Bealtaine is the Gaelic May Day festival. Most commonly it is held on the 1st May, or about halfway between the spring equinox and the summer solstice and while technically that means 05.36 on Wed morn in 2021 when the Bealtaine section was recorded, we stuck with the 1st of May for that show!
Historically, it was widely observed throughout Ireland, one of the four Gaelic cross quarter days—along with Samhain, Imbolc and Lughnasa. It marked the beginning of summer and was when cattle were driven out to the summer pastures. Rituals were performed to protect the cattle, crops and people, and to encourage growth. Special bonfires were kindled, and their flames, smoke and ashes were deemed to have protective power.
© 2021-2022 Racontour Productions. This clip forms part of the Celtic Calendar audio archive from Racontour Productions. Feel free to share if enjoyed, but with a credit or a social media tag to Racontour Productions please.
SPOTIFY: This platform has allowed us to be creative in ensuring you can access it on your smart phone with ease. Below are the Spotify options: -
Celtic Calendar playlist - no music, just audio of all four festivals.
Samhain folklore - music and lore for Samhain
Imbolc folklore - music and lore for Imbolc
Bealtaine folklore - music and lore for Bealtaine
Lughnasa folklore - music and lore for Lughnasa
Speaker: Mary Murphy
All Souls' Day is a day of prayer for the dead, particularly but not exclusively one's relatives. In Western Christianity the annual celebration is now held on 2 November and is associated with All Saints' Day (1 November) and its vigil, Halloween (31 October). In the liturgical books of the western Catholic Church (the Latin Church) it is called The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, and is celebrated annually on 2 November, even if this date falls on a Sunday. In Anglicanism it is called Commemoration of All Faithful Departed and is an optional celebration. In the Eastern Orthodox Church and the associated Eastern Catholic Churches, it is celebrated several times during the year and is not associated with the month of November.
Beliefs and practices associated with All Souls' Day vary widely among Christian churches and denominations. Source: Wikipedia. Image: (c) Chris Johnston
© 2021-2022 Racontour Productions. This clip forms part of the Celtic Calendar audio archive from Racontour Productions. Feel free to share if enjoyed, but with a credit or a social media tag to Racontour Productions please.
SPOTIFY: This platform has allowed us to be creative in ensuring you can access it on your smart phone with ease. Below are the Spotify options: -
Celtic Calendar playlist - no music, just audio of all four festivals.
Samhain folklore - music and lore for Samhain
Imbolc folklore - music and lore for Imbolc
Bealtaine folklore - music and lore for Bealtaine
Lughnasa folklore - music and lore for Lughnasa
The Gáe Bulg (also Gáe Bulga, Gáe Bolg, Gáe Bolga), meaning "spear of mortal pain/death spear", "gapped/notched spear", or "belly spear", was the name of the spear of Cúchulainn in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. It was given to him by his martial arts teacher, the warrior woman Scáthach, and its technique was taught only to him.
It was made from the bone of a sea monster, the Coinchenn, that had died while fighting another sea monster, the Curruid. Although some sources make it out to be simply a particularly deadly spear, others—notably the Book of Leinster—state that it could only be used under very specialized, ritual conditions:
“ The Gáe Bulg had to be made ready for use on a stream and cast from the fork of the toes. It entered a man's body with a single wound, like a javelin, then opened into thirty barbs. Only by cutting away the flesh could it be taken from that man's body.” In other versions of the legend, the spear had seven heads, each with seven barbs. In the Táin Bó Cuailnge, Cúchulainn received the spear after training with the great warrior master Scáthach in Alba. She taught him and his foster-brother, Ferdiad, everything the same, except she only taught the Gáe Bulg feat to Cuchulainn. He later used it in single combat against Ferdiad. They were fighting in a ford, and Ferdiad had the upper hand; Cúchulainn's charioteer, Láeg, floated the Gáe Bulg down the stream to his master, who cast it into Ferdiad's body, piercing the warrior's armor and "coursing through the highways and byways of his body so that every single joint filled with barbs." Ferdiad died soon after. On a separate occasion, Cúchulainn also killed his own son, Connla, with the spear. In both instances, it was used as a last resort, as once thrown it proved invariably fatal.
Cú Chulainn's use of the Gáe Bulg in the Táin Bó Cuailnge exemplifies its deadliness and the gruesome nature in which it leaves its victims. This can be seen in the fact that after it is utilized, one must literally cut into the victim to retrieve it. This was the case in Cú Chulainn's slaying of Fer Diad. As it is stated in Ciaran Carson's translation of The Táin:
“ Láeg came forward and cut Fer Diad open and took out the Gáe Bolga. Cú Chulainn saw his weapon bloody and crimson from Fer Diad's body... ”
Etymology Traditionally, the name has been translated as "belly spear", with the second element of the name, bulga, being treated as a derivative of Old Irish bolg "belly, sack, bag".
Several notable Celtic scholars, including Joseph Loth and Kuno Meyer, have preferred to derive it rather from Old Irish bolc "gap, breach, notch" (cognate with Welsh bwlch), suggesting a linguistic link with the second element in the name of Fergus mac Róich's sword, Caladbolg and King Arthur's sword Caledfwlch.
Linguist Eric Hamp derives the second element, bulga, from a Proto-Celtic compound balu-gaisos meaning "spear of mortal pain/death spear" (comparable to Old Irish fogha "spear, dart", from Proto-Celtic uo-gaisu-). Once the second element *gaisos "spear" was no longer recognizable to Irish speaker, its Old Irish cognate, gáe, was reattached to the beginning for clarification, forming a new, tautological compound.
Source: Wikipedia
Táin Bó Cúailnge, "the driving-off of cows of Cooley", commonly known as The Cattle Raid of Cooley or The Táin is a legendary tale from early Irish literature, often considered an epic, although it is written primarily in prose rather than verse. It tells of a war against Ulster by the Connacht queen Medb and her husband Ailill, who intend to steal the stud bull Donn Cuailnge, opposed only by the teenage Ulster hero Cú Chulainn.
Traditionally set in the 1st century AD in an essentially pre-Christian heroic age, the Táin is the central text of a group of tales known as the Ulster Cycle. It survives in three written versions or "recensions" in manuscripts of the 12th and later centuries, the first a compilation largely written in Old Irish, the second a more consistent work in Middle Irish, and the third an Early Modern Irish version.
The Táin is preceded by a number of remscéla, or pre-tales, which provide background on the main characters and explain the presence of certain characters from Ulster in the Connacht camp, the curse that causes the temporary inability of the remaining Ulstermen to fight and the magic origins of the bulls Donn Cuailnge and Finnbhennach. The eight remscéla chosen by Thomas Kinsella for his 1969 translation are sometimes taken to be part of the Táin itself, but come from a variety of manuscripts of different dates. Several other tales exist which are described as remscéla to the Táin, some of which have only a tangential relation to it.
Source: Wikipedia
Navan Fort, in Modern Irish Eamhain Mhacha is an ancient monument in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. According to Irish mythology, it was one of the great royal sites of pre-Christian Gaelic Ireland and the capital of the Ulaidh. It is a large circular enclosure—marked by a bank and ditch—with a circular mound and the remains of a ring barrow in the middle. Archeological investigations show that there were once buildings on the site, including a huge roundhouse-like structure. The site is believed to have had a pagan ceremonial purpose. According to the Oxford Dictionary of Celtic Mythology, "the [Eamhain Mhacha] of myth and legend is a far grander and mysterious place than archeological excavation supports".
The name Eamhain Mhacha is thought to mean "the pair of Macha" or "the twins of Macha". 'Navan' is an anglicisation of the Irish An Eamhain.
Source: Wikipedia
Nessa, or Ness, is a princess of the Ulaid and the mother of Conchobar mac Nessa in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. Her father is Eochaid Sálbuide, king of the Ulaid.
According to one version of the legend, she asks the druid Cathbad what that day is a good day for, and he replies that it is a good day to conceive a king. There are no other men around, so Ness takes Cathbad to bed, and Conchobar is conceived.
In other versions, Ness was brought up by twelve foster-fathers, and was originally called Assa ("easy, gentle"), because she was such a pleasure to foster. Cathbad, who is a leader of a band of fianna (landless warriors) as well as a druid in this version, attacks her foster-fathers' house, killing them all. Because the culprit cannot be identified, Eochaid is powerless to do anything about it, so Ness forms her own band of 27 fianna to track him down, and becomes known as Ní-assa ("not easy, not gentle"), or Ness. However, one day, when she goes off on her own to bathe, Cathbad comes upon her alone and unarmed and demands her as his wife. She has no choice but to agree.
Eochaid gives the couple land in Crích Rois (a region covering parts of the modern counties of Louth, Monaghan and Meath), near the river Conchobar. One night Cathbad is thirsty, and Ness brings him a drink of water from the river, but when he sees two worms floating in it he makes Ness drink it. Although the story specifically denies this is what makes her pregnant, there are many Irish stories in which significant characters are conceived when their mothers swallowed a tiny creature in a drink. Here, the father of her child is said to be Fachtna Fáthach, the High King of Ireland, who is Ness's lover in spite of Cathbad.
While Ness and Cathbad are travelling to visit Fachtna, Ness goes into labour on the bank of the river Conchobar. Cathbad prophesies that if she can wait until the following day before giving birth, her son will share a birthday with Jesus Christ. She sits on a flagstone by the river, and the following day gives birth to a son, who is named Conchobar after the river. The baby tumbles backwards into the river, and Cathbad lifts him out. Cathbad makes a prophecy in verse of his future glory, in which he refers to him as "my son and my grandson", suggesting there was once a tradition that Cathbad was Ness's father, and that Conchobar was born of incest between them.
By the time Conchobar is seven, Fergus mac Róich is king of Ulster, and he falls in love with Ness. She consents to marry him on one condition – that he abdicate his kingship for a year in favour of Conchobar, so that his sons will be able to call themselves the sons of a king. Fergus consults with his nobles, and they advise him that the boy will be king in name only, so he agreed. But Conchobar, advised by his mother, is so crafty at distributing wealth and gifts that when the year is up, the Ulstermen won't have Fergus back, and Conchobar keeps the kingship.
According to some traditions Ness is the mother of Cormac Cond Longas by incest with Conchobar (although in other traditions, Cormac's mother is Conchobar's wife Clothru). She is also the mother of Conchobar's sisters Deichtine and Findchóem.
Source: Wikipedia
Hear about an Irish king with not one, but two very big secrets tnat will result in death to anyone who discovers the truth!
Mary Murphy tells us the placename in English, Sean McMahon tells us how it is pronounced in Irish, then Mary tells us what that Irish wording means thus giving the etymology of the place. Starting with Inishowen, we finish the piece with Urris as it was the place Brian Friel had in mind for his 1981 masterpiece, Translations, which dealt with Britain's attempts to remove the Irish placenames and replace them with new English versions.
Gráinne (Irish pronunciation: [ˈɡɾˠaːn̪ʲə]) is the daughter of Cormac mac Airt in the Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology. She is one of the central figures in the Middle Irish text Finn and Gráinne and most famously, in the 17th-century tale The Pursuit of Diarmuid and Gráinne, which tells of her betrothal to Fionn mac Cumhaill, leader of the Fianna, and her subsequent elopement with Fionn's warrior Diarmuid Ua Duibhne.
In The Pursuit of Diarmuid and Gráinne, Gráinne was promised in marriage to Fionn, but repulsed by his age, she forms a relationship with Diarmuid at their betrothal party. At first he refuses out of loyalty to Fionn, but she places a geis upon him to run away with her. Their long flight from Fionn is aided by Diarmuid's foster-father Aengus Óg. Eventually, Fionn pardons Diarmuid after Aengus intercedes on their behalf; the pair settle in Kerry and produce five children. Years later Diarmuid is wounded by a boar while hunting with Fionn, who stalls in healing him until it is too late; texts vary on Gráinne's subsequent actions. In some versions she mourns her husband until she dies herself, while in others she swears her sons to avenge their father's death on Fionn. In still others she forgives Fionn, or even marries him.
According to historian Peter Berresford Ellis, "[Fionn Mac Cumhail] had many loves during his career but none is better known than his unrequited love for Gráinne. He was elderly when [the High King] Cormac Mac Art gave his daughter Gráinne to him in marriage. But before the ceremony, Gráinne eloped with one of Fionn’s warriors, Diarmuid Ua Duibhne. ‘The Pursuit of Diarmuid and Gráinne’ is one of the classic love tales and a major epic of the Fenian Cycle." Ellis goes on to note: "Gráinne’s character is always drawn with consistency in the myths. She is a shallow person, wilful, ruthless and passionate, and what in modern terms would be described as a neurotic."
The story of Gráinne and Diarmuid is one of a number of instances in Irish mythology of a love triangle between a young man, a young woman and an aging suitor, the other most famous instance being between Naoise, Deirdre and Conchobar mac Nessa in the Ulster Cycle. The same theme also shows up in other cultures, notably in the Arthurian legend, itself of Celtic origin. The Pursuit of Diarmuid and Gráinne shares a number of similarities with the story of Tristan and Iseult, and to a certain extent the love affair of Lancelot and Guinevere.
Source: Wikipedia
Speaker: Mary Murphy
The Morrígan ("phantom queen") or Mórrígan ("great queen"), also written as Morrígu or in the plural as Morrígna, and spelt Morríghan or Mór-ríoghain in Modern Irish, is a figure from Irish mythology who appears to have been considered a goddess, although she is not explicitly referred to as such in the texts.
The Morrígan is a goddess of battle, strife, and sovereignty. She sometimes appears in the form of a crow, flying above the warriors, and in the Ulster cycle she also takes the forms of an eel, a wolf and a cow. She is generally considered a war deity comparable with the Germanic Valkyries, although her association with a cow may also suggest a role connected with wealth and the land.
She is often depicted as a trio of goddesses, all sisters, although membership of the triad varies; the most common combinations are Badb, Macha and Nemain, or Badb, Macha and Anand; Anand is also given as an alternate name for Morrigu. Other accounts name Fea, and others.
Word source: Wikipedia
Samhain #Halloween #Otherworld #Supernatural #Morrigan
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Fionn mac Cumhaill transcribed in English as Finn McCool or Finn MacCoul, was a mythical hunter-warrior of Irish mythology, occurring also in the mythologies of Scotland and the Isle of Man. The stories of Fionn and his followers the Fianna, form the Fenian Cycle (or Fiannaidheacht), much of it purported to be narrated by Fionn's son, the poet Oisín.
"Fionn" is actually a nickname meaning "blond", "fair", "white", or "bright". His childhood name was Deimne literally "sureness" or "certainty", and several legends tell how he gained the nickname when his hair turned prematurely white. The name "Fionn" is related to the Welsh name "Gwyn", as in the mythological figure Gwyn ap Nudd, and to the continental Celtic "Vindos", an epithet for the god Belenus.
The 19th-century Irish revolutionary organisation known as the Fenian Brotherhood took its name from these legends.
Source: Wikipedia
Fianna (singular fian) were small, semi-independent warrior bands in Irish mythology and Scottish mythology. They are featured in the stories of the Fenian Cycle, where they are led by Fionn mac Cumhaill. They are based on historical bands of landless young men in early medieval Ireland known as kerns.
The historical institution of the fian is known from references in early medieval Irish law tracts. A fian was made up of landless young men and women, often young aristocrats who had not yet come into their inheritance of land. A member of a fian was called a fénnid; the leader of a fian was a rígfénnid (literally "king-fénnid).
Geoffrey Keating, in his 17th-century History of Ireland, says that during the winter the fianna were quartered and fed by the nobility, during which time they would keep order on their behalf, but during the summer, from Beltaine to Samhain, they were obliged to live by hunting for food and for pelts to sell. Keating's History is more a compilation of traditions than a reliable history, but in this case scholars point to references in early Irish poetry and the existence of a closed hunting season for deer and wild boar between Samhain and Beltaine in medieval Scotland as corroboration.
Legendary depiction Some legendary depictions of fianna seem to conform to historical reality: for example, in the Ulster Cycle the druid Cathbad leads a fian of twenty-seven men which fights against other fianna and kills the twelve foster-fathers of the Ulster princess Ness. Ness, in response, leads her own fian of twenty-seven in pursuit of Cathbad.
However, the stories of the Fiannaíocht, set around the time of Cormac mac Airt, depict the fianna as a single standing army in the service of the High King, although it contains two rival factions, the Clann Baíscne of Leinster, led by Fionn mac Cumhaill, and the Clann Morna of Connacht, led by Goll mac Morna, and lives apart from society, surviving by hunting.
War cry and mottos The Diord Fionn was the war-cry of the Fianna, and they frequently employed its use prior to and amid battle, either as a mode of communication or to put fear into their enemies. In the legend "The Death of Fionn", Fionn raises the Diord Fionn when he sees his grandson Oscar fall in battle (Battle of Gabhra) against the armies of Cairbre Lifechair, and proceeds to strike back at the enemy with great furiosity killing many dozens of warriors.The Battle of Gabhra also marked the demise of the Fianna.
They had three mottoes:
Glaine ár gcroí (Purity of our hearts) Neart ár ngéag (Strength of our limbs) Beart de réir ár mbriathar (Action to match our speech)
Emer, in modern Irish Éimhear, or, Eimhear, Éimear or Eimer, daughter of Forgall Monach, is the wife of the hero Cú Chulainn in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology.
Main article: Tochmarc Emire The Ulstermen searched all over Ireland for a suitable wife for Cú Chulainn, but he would have none but Emer. He visited her at Forgall's house at Lusk, County Dublin, and wooed her by trading cryptic riddles with her. Emer would accept Cú Chulainn as a husband, but only when his deeds justified it.
However, Forgall was opposed to the match. He came to Ulster in disguise and suggested that Cú Chulainn should train in arms with the renowned warrior-woman Scáthach in Scotland, hoping the ordeal would be too much for him and he would be killed. Cú Chulainn took up the challenge. He learned all the arts of war from Scáthach, and while he was there slept with her rival Aoife, or Aífe, leaving her pregnant.
In the meantime, Forgall offered Emer to Lugaid mac Noís, a king of Munster. However, when he heard that Emer loved Cú Chulainn, Lugaid refused her hand.
Cú Chulainn returned from Scotland fully trained, but Forgall still refused to let him marry Emer. Cú Chulainn stormed Forgall's fortress, killing twenty-four of Forgall's men, abducted Emer and stole Forgall's treasure. Forgall himself fell from the ramparts to his death. An ally of Forgall's, Scenn Menn, tried to stop the fleeing couple, but Cú Chulainn killed him in single combat at a ford. Having proved his prowess, Emer now agreed to marry him.
Conchobar mac Nessa, the king of Ulster, had the "right of the first night" over all marriages of his subjects. He was afraid of Cú Chulainn's reaction if he exercised it in this case, but would lose his authority if he didn't. A solution was found - Conchobar would sleep with Emer on the night of the wedding, but Cathbad the druid would sleep between them.
Emer's only jealousy Main article: Serglige Con Culainn Though Cú Chulainn had many lovers, Emer's only jealousy came when he was entranced into love with Fand, wife of Manannán mac Lir, the king of the great sea, as recounted in the narrative Serglige Con Culainn ("The Wasting Sickness of Cú Chulainn"). She decided to kill her rival, but when she saw the strength of Fand's love for Cú Chulainn she decided to give him up to her. Fand, touched by Emer's magnanimity, decided to return to her own husband. Manannán shook his cloak between Cú Chulainn and Fand, ensuring the two would never meet again, and Cú Chulainn and Emer drank a potion to wipe the whole affair from their memories.
Other stories When Aífe's son Connla came to Ireland in search of his father, Emer realised who he was and tried to persuade Cú Chulainn not to kill him, but to no avail.
Emer was said to possess the six gifts of womanhood: beauty, a gentle voice, sweet words, wisdom, skill at needlework and chastity.
Emer is the subject of William Butler Yeats' play, The Only Jealousy of Emer. This play is one of his five famous Cú Chulainn pieces and is written with heavy stylistic influences from the Japanese Noh theatre. The story is taken with some liberty from Lady Augusta Gregory's saga-story of the same name in her collection, Cuchulain of Muirthemne (1902). Jealousy premiered in 1922 in Amsterdam under the direction of Albert van Dalsum with masks created by the sculptor Hildo Krop. It did not play on the Irish stage until May 1926, when it was staged by the Dublin Drama League at the Abbey Theatre.
Emer is mentioned in Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt as "The Greatest Pisser" in how she came to win Cuchulain's hand for marriage. Emer is also referenced as part of Táin based imagery in Máirtín Ó Cadhain'sThe Withering Branch.
Diarmuid Ua Duibhne or Diarmid O'Dyna (also known as Diarmuid of the love spot) is a son of Donn and one of the most famous Fianna's member in the Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology (traditionally set in the 2nd to 4th century). He is most famous as the lover of Gráinne, the intended wife of Fianna leader Fionn mac Cumhaill in The Pursuit of Diarmuid and Gráinne. Aonghus Óg or Aengus is Diarmuid's foster father and protector. Diarmuid is a highly skilled warrior and well-liked and much valued member of the Fianna, he single-handedly slew 3400 warriors in a battle and he saved Fionn and the Fianna.
Aengus owned a deadly sword named Moralltach or Nóralltach, it translates as the great and fierce one, given to him by Manannán mac Lir. In The Pursuit of Diarmuid and Gráinne it is said of Moralltach that it left no stroke nor blow unfinished at the first trial. Aonghus gave this sword to his foster-son Diarmuid, in addition to a sword named Beagalltach, the Little Fury. Along with these two swords, Diarmuid is known to have wielded two spears, Gáe Buidhe ("Yellow Spear") and Gáe Dearg ("Red Spear"), which caused wounds that could not be healed. Diarmuid used Gáe Dearg and Moralltach for adventures which were matters of life and death. Diarmuid also used Gáe Buidhe and Beagalltach for lesser adventures.
Vicious curse His father, Donn, was a warrior of the Fianna. At a dinner party, Donn, feeling jealous because of the attention given to the son of Aengus' steward, killed the steward's son when no one was looking. Aengus resurrected the steward's son in the form of a boar, but the steward still required Fionn to find out the truth and, upon learning the truth, put a curse upon Diarmuid: He was to be killed by the steward's transformed son.
Magical love spot Diarmuid is also famed for his love spot, a birthmark, that makes him irresistible to women. Diarmuid, while hunting one night, met a woman who was the personification of youth. After sleeping with him she put a magical love spot on his right cheek that caused any woman who looked at it to fall in love with him.
Loathly Lady and Cup One freezing winter's night, the Loathly Lady brazenly entered the Fianna lodge, where the warriors had just gone to bed after a hunting expedition. Drenched to the bone, her sodden hair was snarled and knotted. Desperate for warmth and shelter, she knelt beside each warrior and demands a blanket, beginning with their leader Fionn. Despite her rants and temper tantrums, the tired men only rolled over and ignored her in the hope that she would leave. Only young Diarmuid, whose bed was nearest to the fireplace, took pity on the wretched woman, giving her his bed and blanket. The Loathy Lady noticed Diarmuid's love spot and said that she had wandered the world alone for 7 years. Diarmuid reassured her and told her she can sleep all night and he that he would protect her. Towards dawn, he noticed that she had become a beautiful young woman.
The next day, the Loathly Lady rewarded Diarmuid's kindness by offering him his greatest wish—a house overlooking the sea. Overjoyed, Diarmuid asked the woman to live with him. She agreed on one condition: he must promise never to mention how ugly she looked on the night they met. After 3 days together, Diarmuid grew restless. The Loathy Lady offered to watch his greyhound and her new pups while he went hunting. On three separate occasions, Diarmuid’s friends, envious of his good luck, visited the lady and asked for one of the new pups. Each time, she honoured the request. Each time, Diarmuid was angry and asked her how she could repay him so meanly when he overlooked her ugliness the first night they met. On the third mention that he had promised never to speak of, the Loathly Lady and the house disappeared and his beloved greyhound died.
Realizing that his ungratefulness has caused him to lose everything he valued, Diarmuid set out to find his lady. He used an enchanted ship to cross a stormy sea...
Cú Chulainn, also spelt Cú Chulaind or Cúchulainn, Irish for "Culann's Hound") and sometimes known in English as Cuhullin is an Irish mythological hero who appears in the stories of the Ulster Cycle, as well as in Scottish and Manx folklore. The son of the god Lugh and Deichtine (sister of Conchobar mac Nessa), his childhood name was Sétanta.
He gained his better-known name as a child after he killed Culann's fierce guard-dog in self-defence and offered to take its place until a replacement could be reared. At the age of seventeen he defended Ulster single-handedly against the armies of queen Medb of Connacht in the epic Táin Bó Cúailnge ("Cattle Raid of Cooley"). It was prophesied that his great deeds would give him everlasting fame, but that his life would be a short one. For this reason he is compared to the Greek hero Achilles. He is known for his terrifying battle frenzy, or ríastrad (translated by Thomas Kinsella as "warp spasm" and by Ciaran Carson as "torque", in which he becomes an unrecognisable monster who knows neither friend nor foe. He fights from his chariot, driven by his loyal charioteer Láeg and drawn by his horses, Liath Macha and Dub Sainglend. In more modern times, Cú Chulainn is often referred to as the "Hound of Ulster".
Cú Chulainn shows striking similarities to the Persian epic hero Rostam, as well as to the Germanic Lay of Hildebrand and the labours of the Greek epic hero Hercules, suggesting a common Indo-European origin, but lacking in linguistic, anthropological and archaeological material.
Source: Wikipedia
Conchúir or Conchobar mac Nessa (son of Ness) was the king of Ulster in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. He ruled from Emain Macha (Navan Fort, near Armagh).
There are several versions of how Conchobar was conceived. In the earliest, Ness, daughter of Eochaid Sálbuide, the then king of Ulster, asks the druid Cathbad what it is an auspicious time for. Cathbad replies, "for begetting a king on a queen". There are no other men around, so Ness takes Cathbad to bed and conceives a son. In a later version, Ness is brought up by twelve foster-fathers, and while all twelve are at a feast, Cathbad, leading a fian or landless war-band, attacks the house and kills them all. Eochaid is unable to avenge them as the culprit cannot be identified, so Ness forms her own fian to hunt Cathbad down. But while she is bathing alone in a pool, Cathbad appears, stands between her and her weapons, and bares his sword. He spares her life on the condition that she becomes his wife. They settle near a river called Conchobar, and Ness soon conceives a son, but in this version the father is the High King Fachtna Fáthach, who is Ness's lover. As she and Cathbad set out to visit Fachtna, Ness goes into labour. Cathbad tells her if she can manage not to give birth until the following day, her son will be a great king and have everlasting fame, for he will be born on the same day as Jesus Christ. Ness sits on a flagstone by the river Conchobar, and the following morning gives birth. The baby falls into the river, but Cathbad lifts him out, names him Conchobar after the river, and brings him up as his own son.
Conchobar becomes king By the time Conchobar is seven, Fergus mac Róich is king of Ulster, and falls in love with Ness. She agrees to become his wife, on one condition: that Fergus allows Conchobar to be king for a year, so his children will be called the sons of a king (under Medieval Irish law inheritance passed through the male line, and only those who had a king as a male-line ancestor were eligible for kingship). The nobles of Ulster advise Fergus that this will not affect his standing with them, as the boy will be king in name only, so he agrees. But Conchobar, advised by his mother, rules so well that by the end of the year it's decided he should be king permanently. Fergus makes an alliance with the new High King, Eochu Feidlech, and they make war on Ulster. After a series of bloody battles, Conchobar makes overtures for peace. Fergus is offered land, the Champion's Portion at Emain Macha, and the position of Conchobar's heir. Conchobar demands compensation from Eochu for the killing of his father, Fachtna Fáthach, and is granted land, status and the High King's daughter in marriage.
Marriages and family Conchobar marries several of Eochu's daughters. Medb, later queen of Connacht, is the first. She bears him a son called Amalgad, but soon leaves him.
Her sister Eithne conceives a son by him, but Medb murders her by drowning her in a stream. Her son Furbaide is delivered by posthumous Caesarian section.
Mugain bears him a son called Glaisne and remains his chief wife.
The mother of Conchobar's eldest son, Cormac Cond Longas, is either Eochu's daughter Clothru or Conchobar's own mother Ness. Cormac is given to Fergus mac Róich to foster.
His other sons include Cúscraid Mend Macha and Folloman. His daughter Fedelm Noíchrothach marries Cairbre Nia Fer, King of Tara, and they have a son, Erc, and a daughter, Achall.
Conchobar has two sisters, Findchóem [8] and Deichtine. Findchóem marries the poet Amergin, and they have a son, Conall Cernach. Deichtine is the mother of Cú Chulainn, by either her mortal husband Sualtam or the god Lugh.
Anna Connolly tells us how Lough Foyle came into being - well according to myth in Harry Swan's book, 'Romantic Inishowen', at any rate!
Located just off Burt church on the way to the village of Burt, Slob Road is indeed a place. Sean wrote impeccable sentences, but he certainly was game for reading out some of my more unusual sights of Inishowen - here's one such example where he is working with slight material, but still manages to add a flourish to it.
Few may know that Monty had a bit of a lisp, but needless to say the Oracle of Derry, the late Sean McMahon did. Here, he mildly takes the mick out of the notoriously pompous general with his great take on Monty's reminiscences!
Shrine Nineteen: a parent's farewell.
Location: 55.377184, -7.367148
Ireland's most northerly point overlooks the crashing waves of the Atlantic. Far removed from any city lights, this is the best place in Ireland to witness the full spectacle of the night sky and of a chance to see the Northern Lights. Salute the stars and marvel at this jewel of the north for nowhere else on the island are you more connected with the cosmos than here.
Historically, it is from this lonely point that all major news events from our American cousins reached Europe; from the Yukon gold rush to the assassination of Lincoln, the Lloyd's tower mast on Banba's Crown received the news first. it is also where families bid a final farewell to the many emigrant boats to America, where bonfires were lit and boats sounded their horns in recognition before sailing over the horizon and to a new future.
As such, this site is a shrine to the lost generations who waved frantically back at their loved ones, watching the fires burn on this hill until they were out of sight. An area rich with flora and fauna and the freshest air in Ireland, ensure you walk from the Napoleonic tower on Banba's Crown hill to Malin Head itself taking in such curious sights as Hell's Hole and Devil's Bridge along the way. Good sea angling, hillwalking and birdwatching.
Find it with ease on the Donegal's Hallowed Sites GPS tour: http://donegalapp.com/tours/donegals-hallowed-sites/
In our audio piece, Sean reminds us of this desolate location's pivotal role in the build up to World War II. Along with Fort Dunree, this was the last parcel of land to be handed back by the British to Eire (as it was then) on the 3rd October, 1938.
Inishowen
Malin Head local Tony McLaughlin expertly describes the many sights from left to right when you are parked up at Knockamany Bens - look out for those wild goats! Photo: Mark Nolan
The late Bertie Brice tells a great story about two women doing a spot of smuggling on the Derry/Donegal border in years gone by.
We've removed the offending four letter word at the end, but you'll still get the wonder of Johnny getting one up on the law from this story!
Bertie brings the house down as a wee boy tries to explain why he was late to class once again.
Shrine Sixteen: the forgotten dynasty.
Location: 55.02526, -7.424698
Grianan of Aileach, the stonehouse of the sun. According to legend, it was built by Daghda, an ancient King of the Tuatha de Danann. A hillfort that once was at the historical centre where 18 high kings ruled over Ireland. During that time, the acts of its kings, warriors, tribes saints and sages dominate many of the pages of Ireland's history but with scarcely any acknowledgement of the particular place from whence they sprang.
Many gifted writers have waxed lyrical regarding the glories of Royal Meath, but as Harry Percival Swan puts it "none have thought fit to mention Royal Inishowen which has an equal if not better right to regal appellation." Legend has it that Fionn McCool and his warriors lie asleep under this mountain and at Ireland's moment of need, they will rise up and reclaim their ancient land. Anytime now would be good lads! As you look across a vast expanse, consider that this site was once the epicentre of power on this island. It's a fact long forgotten and one that the wording on the nearby rather dull signage won't tell you, but what Swan wrote is well documented and deserves to be remembered for here is a sacred site, a stonehouse of the sun. Grianan of Aileach - turn off by the iconic Burt church Burt Inishowen URL:Grianan
Find it with ease on the Donegal's Hallowed Sites GPS tour: http://donegalapp.com/tours/donegals-hallowed-sites/
Image courtesy of our good friend, Seoirse O'Dochartaigh: http://www.seoirse.com/ Grianan of Aileach - turn off by the iconic St. Aengus's church at Burt. https://audioboom.com/boos/2803556-st-aengus-s-church?t=0 #Burt #Inishowen
Shrine Seventeen: the lost souls.
Location: 55.197781, -7.553101
Fort Dunree and its surroundings are possibly the richest site from which to reflect on several momentous events in not just local history, but in our national heritage. Hear more in this audio piece from racontour founder, John Ward.
Certain landscapes, such as the Boyne valley or Kinsale harbour, have borne witness to seminal dates in Irish history. Lough Swilly, whose name appropriately derives from the Gaelic for eyes, "suile" on account of St. Colmcille slaughtering a beast with many eyes on its shores, must rank highly amongst such sites. It is said that when the human memory has been outlived, the landscape remembers; peering across Lough Swilly from Dunree Head, feeling the Atlantic breeze upon one's face, take a few minutes to sense the redolence of momentous events that helped shape Ireland's destiny. To the left of the lough beyond Fahan lies the ancient seat of the high kings of Ireland at Grianan of Aileach.
On the right of the lough is the port of Rathmullan, where the old Gaelic order came to an end with the Flight of the Earls on the 14th September 1607. In the garrison town of Buncrana, the Irish patriot Wolfe Tone's crusade for Irish freedom came to an end on November 3rd 1798 after his boat The Hoche foundered and he was arrested. On the 18th September 1914, the inhabitants along the shore awoke to find the lough filled with warships, becoming the main base of the British fleet under Admiral Jellicoe in World War One. Finally, consider the very soil of Dunree itself and neighbouring Leenan fort, the last parcels of land to be handed back by the British to the Irish on the 3rd October 1938.
Consider the thousands of souls that have passed between Dunree and Saldanha Head across the lough: the forlorn hopes of Wolfe Tone before being apprehended; the despondency of the chieftains fleeing these shores, never to return; the imminent death of 274 people on the H.M.S. Saldanha on the 4th December 1811; the relief of an incoming British battleship at escaping the German mines or the gratitude of the wary traveller such as John Newton arriving on the 8th April 1748 from a tempest, immortalised in his song, Amazing Grace.
Download the GPS tour that goes with this at: http://donegalapp.com/tours/donegals-hallowed-sites/
Donegal, #Inishowen, #HeritageWeek, #FortDunree,
J.P. Bradley from Inishowen has a great gravelly voice that is perfect for telling a funny story.
The view from Craignamaddy viewpoint overlooking both the Atlantic and Foyle estuary is so stunning, we've recruited Beethoven himself to help Sean McMahon tell us what you are looking at from left to right. Best enjoyed early on a clear day!
Sean McMahon tells us the unfortunate episode of how the only living survivor of a nearby naval disaster met his end due to mistaken identity!
Inishowen fiddle maestro, Dinny 'White Harra' McLaughlin, hosted the Rambling House radio series on the 1st October 2009. Here our director, Seoirse O'Dochartaigh, asks Dinny how exactly certain homes in Ireland became known as rambling houses to their local community. As always, Dinny gave a comprehensive and colourful response, including the less than exotic honeymoon destination for a newly married couple he knew well!
Sean McMahon welcomes you all to the peninsula of Inishowen right at the northern tip of Donegal.
Shrine Eighteen: All's well that ends well.
Location: 55.2338, -7.49924
At the top of Mamore, you should stop off to view St. Eigne's Holy Well, renowned for its healing qualities and situated beside shrines to the Virgin Mother and St. Padre Pio. There's a small tin jug by the well and you are encouraged to fill a bottle of holy water to bring home and cure ailments from the eyes to the limbs. By the grottos, you will notice relics of deceased, often young people, left by their families.
Despite the inhospitality of the terrain, you'll notice how all of the mementos are remarkably well preserved. They are traditionally cleared on the 15th of August , the Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, the day on which Christ's mother was brought up to Heaven 40 days after her earthly death. St Padre Pio is a saint particularly close to the Irish. This Italian monk died in 1968 was believed to have both stigmata and the ultimate party piece, bilocation, the power to be in two places at once.
Find this hidden gem with the panoramic view on our Donegal's Hallowed Sites tour - http://donegalapp.com/tours/donegals-hallowed-sites/
Holywell #Assumption #Inishowen #Donegal #Eigne
Listen to a fascinating account from Reverend Sir Henry Montgomery of what life was like in 19th century Inishowen, County Donegal, Ireland.
Sean McMahon gives us an overview of the work done here by Thomas Colby in the 1820s and how it served as the inspiration for arguably the most important Irish play of the last 50 years, Translations by Brian Friel. Photo: author's own looking over to Magilligan Point where the baseline is - The Point Bar being to the immediate left of the pier.
Shrine 21: when Inishowen became Paris.
Location: 55.037622, -7.302966
Pedants out there may note we're into another jurisdiction, but as we are five fields from Donegal and in light of the fact that the concept being honoured - human endeavour and bravery - is far bigger than a border, we'll let it stand.
On the morning of May 20, 1932 the flight pioneer set off from Harbour Grace, Newfoundland with the intention of flying to Paris in her single engine Lockheed Vega 5b to emulate Charles Lindbergh's solo flight. After a flight lasting 14 hours, 56 minutes during which she contended with strong northerly winds, icy conditions and mechanical problems.
To cap all this, petrol had started to trickle down her neck so Earhart made an emergency landing in a pasture at Ballyarnett near the banks of Lough Foyle, a far cry from her intended landing site of gay Paris. In a masterly stroke of understated smalltalk, a farm hand who'd witnessed the landing asked, "Have you flown far?" Amelia replied crisply "From America". The site now is the home of a small museum, the Amelia Earhart Centre, but it's now shut (and it looked it when last checked) so read up on this fascinating woman before making the pilgrimage here. Earhart was to be declared dead in absentia on the 5th of January 1937 after another courageous flight ended in mystery when it disappeared without trace.
Narrator: the late Sean McMahon tells us of of not one, but three sets of aerial visitors to Derry from 1931 to 1941, two benign, one murderous!
Late April and the early part of the month of May is the time to visit the wood to see the bluebells and other spring-flowering plants, such as primroses, wood anemones, early purple orchids, etc. It is must see when in the area - added to this is the exquisite birdsong from the trees above. Best enjoyed in early morning sunshine.
Narrator Richard Collins owns nearby St. John's House B&B with his wife, Liz. Together they offer a wonderfully intimate and relaxed break by the banks of the Shannon in beautiful Roscommon. See their website for more details: http://www.stjohnshouse.biz/
bluebells, #bluebell, #nature, #Roscommon, #Rindoon,
Beltaine or Beltane (/ˈbɛlteɪn/) is the Gaelic May Day festival. Most commonly it is held on the 1st May, or about halfway between the spring equinox and the summer solstice. Historically, it was widely observed throughout Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man. In Irish it is Bealtaine ([ˈbʲal̪ˠt̪ˠənʲə]), in Scottish Gaelic Bealltainn ([ˈpjaul̪ˠt̪ˠɪɲ]) and in Manx Gaelic Boaltinn or Boaldyn. It is one of the four Gaelic seasonal festivals—along with Samhain, Imbolc and Lughnasadh—and is similar to the Welsh Calan Mai.
Beltane is mentioned in some of the earliest Irish literature and it is associated with important events in Irish mythology. It marked the beginning of summer and was when cattle were driven out to the summer pastures. Rituals were performed to protect the cattle, crops and people, and to encourage growth. Special bonfires were kindled, and their flames, smoke and ashes were deemed to have protective powers. The people and their cattle would walk around the bonfire, or between two bonfires, and sometimes leap over flames or embers. All household fires would be doused and then re-lit from the Beltane bonfire. Doors, windows, byres and the cattle themselves would be decorated with yellow May flowers, perhaps because they evoked fire. In parts of Ireland, people would make a May Bush; a thorn bush decorated with flowers, ribbons and bright shells. Holy wells were also visited, while Beltane dew was thought to bring beauty and maintain youthfulness. Many of these customs were part of May Day or Midsummer festivals in other parts of Great Britain and Europe.
Beltane celebrations had largely died-out by the mid-20th century, although some of its customs continued and in some places it has been revived as a cultural event. Since the latter 20th century, Celtic neopagans and Wiccans have observed Beltane, or something based on it, as a religious holiday. Neopagans in the Southern Hemisphere often celebrate Beltane at the other end of the year (~1 November).
Source: Wikipedia under 'Beltane'.
Beltaine, #Beltane, #MayDay, #Customs, #Pagan,
Speaker: Sean McMahon RIP
Mussenden Temple is a small circular building perilously located on cliffs near Castlerock in County Derry, high above the Atlantic Ocean on the north-western coast of Northern Ireland. Below it lies Benone Strand, more of which features in our audio.
It was built in 1785 and forms part of the estate of Frederick Augustus Hervey, the 4th Earl of Bristol, Bishop of Derry. Built as a library and modelled from the Temple of Vesta in Italy, it is dedicated to the memory of Hervey's cousin Frideswide Mussenden.
Over the years the erosion of the cliff face at Downhill has brought Mussenden Temple ever closer to the edge, and in 1997 the National Trust carried out cliff stabilisation work to prevent the loss of the building.
The inscription around the building reads, "Suave, mari magno turbantibus aequora ventis e terra magnum alterius spectare laborem." "Tis pleasant, safely to behold from shore / The troubled sailor, and hear the tempests roar." The quotation is from Lucretius De Rerum Natura, 2.1-2
Now part of the National Trust property of Downhill Estate & Mussenden Temple, the grounds encompassing Mussenden Temple, and its manor house (Downhill Castle) are open to the public all year, from dawn to dusk. The temple itself is open on certain days, and admission is free. The Temple offers views westwards over Downhill Strand towards Magilligan Point and County Donegal and to the east Castlerock beach towards Portstewart, Portrush and Fair Head.
Source for text and photo: Wikipedia.
Mussenden Temple #Downhill #Frederick Hervey
Speaker: Mary Murphy
The word shrove is the past participle of the English verb to shrive, which means to obtain absolution for one's sins by way of confession and doing penance. During the week before Lent, sometimes called Shrovetide in English, Christians were expected to go to confession in preparation for the penitential season of turning to God. Shrove Tuesday was the last day before the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday, and noted in histories dating back to 1000 AD.
© 2021-2022 Racontour Productions. This clip forms part of the Celtic Calendar audio archive from Racontour Productions. Feel free to share if enjoyed, but with a credit or a social media tag to Racontour Productions please.
SPOTIFY: This platform has allowed us to be creative in ensuring you can access it on your smart phone with ease. Below are the Spotify options: -
Celtic Calendar playlist - no music, just audio of all four festivals.
Samhain folklore - music and lore for Samhain
Imbolc folklore - music and lore for Imbolc
Bealtaine folklore - music and lore for Bealtaine
Lughnasa folklore - music and lore for Lughnasa
Pancake Tuesday #Shrove Tuesday #Courting #Lent
N14/0722
Speaker: Sean McMahon RIP
St. Patrick’s Purgatory is still used by thirty thousand pilgrims between June and August each year. The cave that started it all has been closed since the 25th October, 1632 and covered over by the Basilica. No longer is the ostensible mission to frighten the ignorant into submission, but rather to allow the converted to submit themselves to God through penance, suffering and reflection via all night fasting and prayer. The philosopher Alain de Botton observed that ‘the church has wisely insisted that we are inherently flawed, incapable of lasting happiness, beset by troubling sexual desires, obsessed by status, vulnerable to appalling accidents and always slowly dying’.
Read the full article on St Patrick's Purgatory on the Racontour blog piece.
© 2021-2022 Racontour Productions. This clip forms part of the Celtic Calendar audio archive from Racontour Productions. Feel free to share if enjoyed, but with a credit or a social media tag to Racontour Productions please.
SPOTIFY: This platform has allowed us to be creative in ensuring you can access it on your smart phone with ease. Below are the Spotify options: -
Celtic Calendar playlist - no music, just audio of all four festivals.
Samhain folklore - music and lore for Samhain
Imbolc folklore - music and lore for Imbolc
Bealtaine folklore - music and lore for Bealtaine
Lughnasa folklore - music and lore for Lughnasa
Hell #Gates of Hell #Halloween #Otherworld #Donegal #Ireland #myths #superstitions
30th October 2013: Five years ago this very evening, I was lucky enough to meet Bertie Brice in his house in Inch Island, Inishowen, County Donegal. Dermot McLaughlin (pictured above in glasses with Bertie) brought me along to the immaculately-kept house that widower Bertie lived in. From the off, weird and wonderful stories flowed from Bertie. For the week that is in it, I am playing a sample of some of the scarier stories he told us – tales of poltergeists, fairies, phantasms, levitations and witchcraft no less. Beat that for a Hallowe’en ghostfest!
I sadly learned of Bertie’s death earlier this week from his good friend, Dermot. I hope when you listen to his tales, you’ll appreciate the wonderful talent that he had and maybe agree the preservation of these tales will in some small way ensure his massive contribution to storytelling as an art form lives on. His turn of phrase, his innate timing, his devilish sense of humour, his mischief – it is all there to behold. I’d just met the man and there he was telling me these great stories like I was an old friend. I had to keep my laughing down to a Muttley-like wheeze, but Dermot is the perfect foil for Bertie’s banter. I remember that night like it was yesterday and find it hard that the great storyteller is gone and that five years passed in the blink of an eye.
Donegal #Inishowen #Inch #Bertie Brice #storytelling #Ireland #ghost stories #fairies #Halloween
Speaker: John Ward
In Dante’s Inferno, our hero passes through the Gates of Hell, which bear an inscription, the final line of which is the famous phrase "Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate", or "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here." No such ominous eloquence greets the visitor to pagan Ireland’s Gates of Hell.
The pagan festival of Samhain, now replaced by the Christian feast of Hallowe’en is the time at which one of these gates are said to open and evil has a free reign to lurk and snatch its victims as it sees fit before the dawn. From these portals spirits emerge from and wreak havoc. As landmarks go, having the Gates of Hell in your locality surely tops any list of undesirable adjoining properties. Neighbours from Hell how are you. Amongst some 240 or so ancient archaeological sites, here is a forlorn place called Owenynagat or 'the cave of cats' that ironically in its heyday was regarded as the most prestigious address in ancient Connaught being situated near Tulsk in County Roscommon, at what is now known as Rathcroghan.
See our full article on these gates here: https://www.racontour.com/samhain-and-the-gates-of-hell/
Samhain #Halloween #Otherworld #Supernatural #Hell #Gates of Hell #Roscommon #Ireland #myths #superstitions
© 2021-2022 Racontour Productions. This clip forms part of the Celtic Calendar audio archive from Racontour Productions. Feel free to share if enjoyed, but with a credit or a social media tag to Racontour Productions please.
SPOTIFY: This platform has allowed us to be creative in ensuring you can access it on your smart phone with ease. Below are the Spotify options: -
Celtic Calendar playlist - no music, just audio of all four festivals.
Samhain folklore - music and lore for Samhain
Imbolc folklore - music and lore for Imbolc
Bealtaine folklore - music and lore for Bealtaine
Lughnasa folklore - music and lore for Lughnasa
A lot has been written about the Irish pub, but there is no substitute for a visit to one. The sights, the smells and especially the sounds have to be witnessed first hand. Here's a brief recording of some characters in a rural pub in north Donegal where a controversial assertion is thrown to the mob with cacophonous results. Recorded at about 5.30pm on a wet Tuesday, it's a colourful expletive-heavy slice of good healthy debate that I reckon deserved a round of applause at the end!
Donegal, #Inishowen, #Irish pub, #pub #drink #pub talk, #Ireland
There’s a continuity presenter in Orr – Tee – Eee that really really gets up my goat. Yep, you know the one. Most major things on RTE One are at 9.35. For some reason, RTE have given the job of announcing these things to Ross O’Carroll Kelly’s little sister. Her perky shiny-happy-people south county Dublin voiceover smugly slots into most voiceovers we hear these days on the national broadcaster. Does anyone else out there in TV-land hear how annoying, how patronising, how thoroughly smug that faux cheer is? She peaks with the way she says ‘thurty-foive ‘and I for one and coming close to putting a boot through the box. Come on RTE, it's bad enough you regard Miriam O’Callaghan and Sean O’Rourke as the big guns of your A Team, but I for one have had enough of this Private Benjamin. Give us all a break, mix it up and if a show is on at 9.35, there’s no need to say it like you’ve just bought a new gúna and are showing it to the girls during a sleep over. Gen-uine-ly.
Charles Macklin’s long life bookended two pivotal points in Irish history. Born weeks after William of Orange's 1690 triumph by the banks of the Boyne, he died the year before the 1798 Rebellion, just shy of 107. A giant of the London stage, his life had all the ingredients for a great play – lust, greed, murder, envy, ambition and talent. Not the sort of fellow you might think should be honoured hundreds of years later, but thankfully he is.
In the Actors' church of St. Paul's in London's Covent Garden, all of the good and the great actors have plaques on the walls in their memory. On the right hand side of the church is one of the more prominent memorials to the 'father of the modern stage' no less. In theatreland, Macklin has both a street and a hallowed plaque to remember him.
His hometown of Culdaff puts on an annual festival in October saluting the man. Now in its 24th year, the current festival that finishes up today was a great success. Nearby Enniskillen has managed to establish an annual Samuel Beckett festival on a tenuous connection relating back to his time at school there. It has the money behind it, but Macklin has soul and what it lacks in big budgets and marketing, it makes up for in generous hospitality and a vibrancy that warms the heart.
At the centre of the festival is local historian Dr. Sean Beattie, a one man publishing machine who launched his latest book, 'Donegal in Transition' on the opening Thursday night. Weeks ago, he launched a monumental book called 'The Atlas of Donegal' which he co-edited and wrote several chapters on. The man is 73, but has the stamina and looks of a man in his early fifties and he shows no signs of slowing up. I’ll be very disappointed if there isn't another book from the good doctor by Christmas!
Another stalwart of the festival is Dessie McCallion. Another walking encyclopaedia, he literally becomes one on the Saturday of the festival with the Great Macklin Walk. It’s Dessie at his best – out in the open, explaining the flora, the fauna and the folklore as he ventures along with forty or so followers. Never didactic, just full of stories and mischief and good humour; he has been the peninsula’s best ambassador for years.
The backbone of the festival though firmly rests with the talents of the McGrory family who run the legendary McGrory’s of Culdaff. Anne is a networking supremo and has that natural welcoming charm that makes a visit there worthwhile. John ensures the music for which it is famous, keeps on coming in and Neil is the one who likes to go for detail, be it local heritage or rigging up the Backroom for a concert. It’s a formidable combination and together it ensures that the venue is known throughout the country. On Friday night alone, they had master guitarist Carl Verheyen of Supertramp fame playing with his band.
Another McGrory, Deirdre Devine, is a local artist who has written a book on local artist, Willie Doran. She was lucky enough to have known Willie in the years up to 1979 when he came back to live and work in his native Culdaff. Willie’s talent ranged from landscape to portraits, but also cartoons, signage and remarkably, converting sods of turf into resplendent Irish homesteads. All were on display in the Wee Hall in an exhibition called ‘101 Recollections of Willie Doran’. They’d missed the centenary in 2012, but this was no Room 101 – look out for the forthcoming Joe Mahon TV special on Willie’s talents.
On the Saturday of the festival, there were two creative workshops run by Maureen Boyle and Malachi O’Doherty respectively. Malachai’s morning slot entitled ‘Telling your own Story’ was on writing a memoir, something he is adept at doing having written four. The key question to be asked was ‘what lesson did I understand from such and such an episode happening to me?’. It made for a lively two hours which flew by in no time. Maureen’s class entitled ‘Building a Paper House’ focused on the notion of home and pl...
Amid the chatter and the buzz of the room, I discreetly asked my friend ‘any sign of him?’. ‘Nah, he’s not coming’ was the reply. The elusive Brian Friel was nowhere to be seen. The setting was the Backroom bar of McGrory’s of Culdaff in north Donegal at the commencement of the 24th Charles Macklin autumn school, an annual arts festival paying tribute to a local 18th century actor/playwright who achieved great success on the London stage and died aged close to 107. Friel’s 'The London Vertigo' was a reworking of Macklin’s original play.
The opening event was a book launch and its author, Sean Beattie, referred to Brian Friel by stating that the playwright had been good enough to have attended the first Macklin festival, eventually becoming its patron. ‘He usually makes an appearance at some stage over the weekend’ said Sean sheepishly alluding to the fact that Friel was still nowhere to be seen. Friel hadn’t been seen at his friend Seamus Heaney’s funeral in Dublin, nor at the MacGill Summer school in Glenties which he never misses. At 83 and in poor health, it looked as if the man had the good sense to stay put and get an early night.
A break in the formalities allowed more chat and some of Sean’s books to be sold and signed to the sounds of a local traditional group of musicians. At the recommencement, I looked around the room and there he was right in front of me. Looking frail and older than I’d remembered him, Friel sat across the room with his wife Ann, listening to the speeches. The first speaker ironically told the story of a woman who talked for longer than she should have at a theatre launch in Greencastle some years back. She talked about John Hume being on a mobile phone to a man named Bill beside her as that longwinded speech took place. Once off the phone, she asked Hume who that guy was – ‘Bill Clinton’ he responded ‘I should have put you on to him for the craic’ he added for good measure. ‘That was when I nearly became very famous!’ she declared and the crowd gave her a faint laugh at this tenuous aimless tale. Friel sat stoney-faced. I enjoyed his honesty – it was a dire story.
Friel didn’t have to be there. It was very much a courtesy to the organisers. He had travelled from Greencastle as he always had on the opening night without fail for 24 years. The speeches carried on and Friel combined listening to them with reading the copy of Sean’s book he had on his lap. More references were made to Friel and even a round of applause was offered at one point. Friel carried on reading, oblivious to it all. Just like Philadelphia's Gar, there is a public and a private persona at play here. In private, Friel is renowned as a great wit, full of stories and gossip and fun. In public, he runs a wary gauntlet, unsure of who will accost him or put him straight on how he should have done such and such.
The playwright has never enjoyed the limelight, nor is he prone to speeches, interviews or indulging in the fame game. His craft has made him world famous. Much and all as I’d always hoped he would win the Nobel Prize, I’m glad he hadn’t that day. Instead, new Nobel Laureate Alice Ann Munro was being harangued in Canada by the media frenzy while Friel was able to keep a long-standing appointment in Culdaff. Outside for some air, I heard the name-dropping earlier speaker telling the young publisher that she knew Friel well and would he like her to introduce him to the playwright.
Back inside, the last of the great Irish writers sat quietly after the speeches catching up with some well wishers he knew. My friend who had known him for years went to chat to him about Frank McGuinness’s new play on in Dublin for the Theatre Festival. The poker face had given way to animation about his fellow playwright and anecdotes galore. Health prevented him from getting around so hearing about what was going on in the Big Smoke was a real treat. My same friend had met him up in Malin Head the day after Heaney had died. Friel ...
Friday the 13th has elicited a lot of unnecessary fear over the years – it’s a day when we’re told to look out for omens of bad luck. Where did it all come from? To answer this, we have an extract from the comedy play, The Twilight Court in which an expert on omens, Mr. Damien O’Mannion is being questioned by both Counsel for Superstitions and (a slightly inebriated) Counsel for Common Sense. The piece shows us both the usefulness of paying attention to omens as well as lampooning some of the stranger omens out there.
The Twilight Court was a mock court trial under which superstition itself was on trial to be decided by the audience at the “court” on the evening of Friday 13th November 2009 in Carndonagh, County Donegal. The question being asked was “is there any room in a modern age for superstitions?” A number of common topics associated with superstitions and customs were examined with an “expert witness” such a seventh son of a seventh son being cross-examined by counsel.
Hear the full play here: http://www.ramblinghouse.ie/Episode_6.html
Friday13th #13th #omens #luck #superstition
At the launch of the 'Atlas of Donegal' on Saturday, Martin McGuinness told the audience about the power of Heaney’s words literally bringing opposite sides together. He recalled giving Ian Paisley a hand-written Heaney poem as a retirement present and his subsequent surprise at seeing it on the wall when visiting Paisley’s office some months later. It’s a simple anecdote, but it shows how the late poet and his words managed to be a great leveller. Apologies for the sound quality – I was down the back of the hall, but the good news is the poem itself is gloriously recited in stereo by Liam Neeson at the end.
In this audio piece, Liam Neeson reads Heaney's 'The Cure at Troy' from the 1998 album, Across the Bridge of Hope. All rights reserved http://www.amazon.com/Across-The-Bridge-Of-Hope/dp/B00000J875 Commenting on Heaney's death, Neeson said 'Ireland and Northern Ireland especially has lost a part of its artistic soul. He crafted through his poetry who we are as a species and the living soil that we toiled in. By doing so he defined our place in the Universe'.
Human beings suffer, They torture one another, They get hurt and get hard. No poem or play or song Can fully right a wrong Inflicted and endured. The innocent in gaols Beat on their bars together. A hunger-striker's father Stands in the graveyard dumb. The police widow in veils Faints at the funeral home. History says, don't hope On this side of the grave. But then, once in a lifetime The longed-for tidal wave Of justice can rise up, And hope and history rhyme. So hope for a great sea-change On the far side of revenge. Believe that further shore Is reachable from here. Believe in miracle And cures and healing wells. Call miracle self-healing: The utter, self-revealing Double-take of feeling. If there's fire on the mountain Or lightning and storm And a god speaks from the sky That means someone is hearing The outcry and the birth-cry Of new life at its term.
The map shows the location of Bellaghy Bawn, which was opened to the public in 1996. The centre has resources on site including a film made for the bawn as well as a collection of Heaney's broadcasts and poetry. Bellaghy lies in the heart of the County Derry countryside where Heaney grew up on a farm in Mossbawn, a place his wife Marie says holds the key to her husband. "It's his paradise, his Eden, all he's ever wanted to do is go back." On the 2nd of September, he had his wish granted when he was buried in the local cemetery beside his younger brother.
poetry #Heaney #seamusheaney #Ireland #Bellaghy #Derry #Seamus #poem
Details of the perfect Christmas present, the excellent new Atlas of Donegal can be found here: - http://www.irishbooksdirect.ie/irish-history-regional-history/irish-history-regional-history/atlas-of-county-donegal
Grainne from Metalman Brewing took time out from her busy schedule at the excellent Irish Craft Beer and Cider festival in the RDS on Sunday to big up the forthcoming Waterford Harvest festival. She also tells us a bit more about Metalman, what's on offer in their range and tells the ladies to give craft beer a chance no matter what the colour is!
http://metalmanbrewing.com/ http://waterfordharvestfestival.ie/programme/details/artisan_beerfest
"So she thoroughly taught him that one cannot take pleasure without giving pleasure, and that every gesture, every caress, every touch, every glance, every last bit of the body has its secret, which brings happiness to the person who knows how to wake it. She taught him that after a celebration of love the lovers should not part without admiring each other, without being conquered or having conquered, so that neither is bleak or glutted or has the bad feeling of being used or misused.” Hermann Hesse - Siddhartha
We all remember where we were when a momentous event occurs. Hearing a great song for the first time deserves to be held in the same regard; more so perhaps as it is an individual's history and its consequence takes on a profounder, more personal experience. Pottering about an attic back in '93 I first heard Radiohead - it was 'Anyone can play guitar' and I nearly fell out of the sky in my attempts to hear it emanating from the kitchen. It's a wonderful frisson of enjoyment and enlightenment to savour.
Lovers of proper rock music will have numerous such experiences. A famous example of a tune overwhelming a driver involves that legendary purveyor of top tunes, John Peel. The story goes that he had to pull over on first hearing 'Teenage Kicks', such was its magnificence as the gold standard of what rock was about - attitude and melody in perfect harmony. On a sunny evening driving over the border into County Tyrone at the end of August, I was listening to four lads from Donegal on the radio. No nonsense down-to-earth folk who knew how to play a song and with 'Carricktine' they had a wisdom beyond their years. I listened on with interest, through the sleepy town of Aughnacloy.
Coming towards Ballygawley roundabout, they were gearing up for their next song. I'd noted their name, In their Thousands and made a mental note to go see them. What came next was a John Peel moment. The song itself builds up slowly, deceptively drawing you in and then BOOM, it spears you and you are lost - the brae outside Ballygawley roundabout will forever be the place I'll recall as being where that musical epiphany occurred, where a sadness I had for two hours lifted instantly and perfect musical harmony in the form of 'The Pattern' gave way. The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa by Bernini in Rome wouldn't have a patch on it!
I got in touch with the writer of the song, Ruairi Friel, and he gave me a twenty five minute interview today that I could happily play most of, but the purpose of this piece is to hear a bit more about this great song, what his inspiration for it was and how it grew. 'It's a waltz about love and death I suppose' he tells me at the end and that makes a lot of sense the more you hear it. Listen to the song at the end of the interview (we only give you a flavour - buy it soon!) and if feeling brave, do a waltz while whispering those words to your muse: 'your flame never stays the same, your flicker just gets quicker, in the darkness of my room, I finally see the pattern...' Thank you Ruairi for sharing the song's provenance and how it developed. Look out for these lads; they too will have people falling out of the sky for some time to come. http://intheirthousands.com/
Audio: Ru Ó' Fríl
Text: John Ward
intheirthousands #Donegal #music #Ruairi #rockband #Ulster #Tyrone #rock #RTE #BBC #road #epiphany #Ireland #song #melody #pattern
2021 update: please note that the museum upstairs is no longer open.
Anyone passing through County Laois on the M8 is missing a lot. The nearby village of Durrow has many fine features going for it - Ireland's only Scarecrow festival, Castle Durrow, Sheppard's famous auction house and Bob's Bar run by the affable Bobby Campion (above on the right).
Bob's Bar features a little museum containing artifacts from years gone by out the back. The museum is a must-see on your visit to Durrow. However, it is upstairs that Bob has really 'gone to town' with his vintage bicycle museum. It's a very personal experience with each and every bike having a picture of its owner with their words on happy memories on that very bike. Other details in the museum include letters from locals who emigrated.
Not to rest on his laurels, Bob has set up a very active and congenial vintage bicycle club, complete with uniforms and regular meet-ups for cycling. Perhaps you'll be lucky enough to be about when they're next out? Even if you're not, click on his cycling guide app below and you'll get to sample some of the best places in the area on a high nelly! http://www.everytrail.com/guide/elephant-and-castle-bicycle-trail
Bob's the epicentre of this trail. To start it in earnest, you'll be taking the main N77 Kilkenny road, through the village, down the hill past the Durrow brick memorial and taking the left on the L1751 to Attanagh.
Telephone: (087) 6165484 or (057) 8736630. http://www.bobsbardurrow.com/
Audio: Boby Campion 2010
Text: John Ward
Ireland #bicycle #Laois #BobsBar #Cycling #Nelly #HighNelly #Durrow
Ireland's most beautiful county, Donegal has both a vast landscape and a fascinating past. Surprisingly for an area so rich in heritage and culture, there has been no one major work bringing together the great diversity of material written about the county’s history, landscapes and people. Until now that is. This magnificent 600 page book seeks to put Donegal on the map of contemporary Ireland. Contributors are drawn from a wide range of academic disciplines and interest as co-editor Sean Beattie tells us in the audio piece.
Beautifully illustrated with full colour photographs, paintings, charts and other informative illustrations, this would make an ideal present for the Donegal enthusiast be they in Dunedin or Dunkineely.
The launch took place at 6.30pm on the 7th of September in LYIT with Martin McGuinness MLA doing the honours to a capacity crowd. Sean tells us that all interested parties are welcome, but if you cannot make it, you can order the book from here: - http://www.irishbooksdirect.ie/irish-history-regional-history/irish-history-regional-history/atlas-of-county-donegal
Editors' Biographies
Jim Mac Laughlin B.A. (Hons.), M.A. (Hons), Ph.D. (Syracuse) is an author and geographer whose books include Reimagining the Nation-State; Ireland: The Emigrant Nursery and the World Economy; Travellers and Ireland: Whose Country, Whose History?; Donegal: The Making of Northern County, amongst others. He taught political geography at University College, Cork.
Seán Beattie, B.A., H.D. Ed.,M.Ed., Ph. D. is an historian and current editor of the Donegal Annual. He has written extensively for various historical journals and was conferred with an M.A. honoris causa in 2012 by the University of Ireland, Galway for his contribution to historical research.
Donegal #History #Beattie #Atlas #Ireland
30th August 2013: The sad news was announced today of Seamus Heaney's death. Airwaves and social media in Ireland are abuzz with kind words about this most generous and avuncular of Irishmen. A collective keening or mourning is taking place in Ireland and anywhere where there's an appreciate of language and its power to capture all the deep emotions that swirl through our beings on a daily basis.
Heaney's great friend, Ted Hughes, once said that the only thing that distinguishes what we call poetry from the other literary arts was that it arrived from 'the place of ultimate suffering and decision' in us. This statement became a sort of creed for Heaney's view on poetry. His easy eloquence, his warmth, his self-deprecation and his profound insight into the human condition will be sorely missed. Thankfully, he shared his thoughts through carefully crafted words for generations to savour. Go n-éirí an bóthar leat.
In this audio piece, Liam Neeson reads Heaney's 'The Cure at Troy' from the 1998 album, Across the Bridge of Hope. All rights reserved http://www.amazon.com/Across-The-Bridge-Of-Hope/dp/B00000J875 Commenting on Heaney's death, Neeson said 'Ireland and Northern Ireland especially has lost a part of its artistic soul. He crafted through his poetry who we are as a species and the living soil that we toiled in. By doing so he defined our place in the Universe'.
Human beings suffer, They torture one another, They get hurt and get hard. No poem or play or song Can fully right a wrong Inflicted and endured.
The innocent in gaols Beat on their bars together. A hunger-striker's father Stands in the graveyard dumb. The police widow in veils Faints at the funeral home.
History says, don't hope On this side of the grave. But then, once in a lifetime The longed-for tidal wave Of justice can rise up, And hope and history rhyme.
So hope for a great sea-change On the far side of revenge. Believe that further shore Is reachable from here. Believe in miracle And cures and healing wells.
Call miracle self-healing: The utter, self-revealing Double-take of feeling. If there's fire on the mountain Or lightning and storm And a god speaks from the sky
That means someone is hearing The outcry and the birth-cry Of new life at its term.
The map shows the location of Bellaghy Bawn, which was opened to the public in 1996. The centre has resources on site including a film made for the bawn as well as a collection of Heaney's broadcasts and poetry. Bellaghy lies in the heart of the County Derry countryside where Heaney grew up on a farm in Mossbawn, a place his wife Marie says holds the key to her husband. "It's his paradise, his Eden, all he's ever wanted to do is go back." On the 2nd of September, he had his wish granted when he was buried in the local cemetery beside his younger brother. The centre is now a dedicated Heaney Museum since the poet's death:
Audio: Liam Neeson, 1998
Audio text: Seamus Heaney, 1990
Text: John Ward, 2013
poetry #Heaney #seamusheaney #Ireland #Bellaghy #Derry #Seamus #poem
The year is 2041. From the balcony of a crumbling pile overlooking Margate, reclusive media mogul Simon Phillip Cowell sits heavily on his designer commode looking despondently down below at an ice cream van by the gates of his guarded mansion. The tinkling twirl of 'Hallelujah' echos up to the balcony for the hundredth time that day sending Cowell off into a reverie from years past. The image is as clear as the day he first saw it in the tabloids back in the summer of 2013. Ah yes, the callipygous magnificence of Cheryl's rosey cheeks had brought about a warm tumescence to the old timer as he softly whispered the words of that one other thing he never could get his hands on - a decent Christmas number one!
cherylcole #cheryl #simoncowell #rosebutt #rosebud #xfactor
Speaker: Sean McMahon RIP
The Auld Lammas Fair has been held in Ballycastle since the 17th Century. It takes place on the last Monday and Tuesday of August and traditionally marks the end of the summer and beginning of the harvest. Its exact origin is uncertain, but one theory is that it began as a result of the occupation of the area around Ballycastle by the MacDonnell's of the Isles in the early part of the 16th century.
Dulse or dillisk or dilsk (from Irish/Scottish Gaelic duileasc/duileasg) red dulse, sea lettuce flakes or creathnach, is a red alga (Rhodophyta) previously referred to as Rhodymenia palmata (Linnaeus) Greville. Its a perennial favourite for some which grows on the northern coasts of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It is a well-known snack food first harvested by Colmcille and his monks 1400 years ago.
Yellowman is a chewy toffee-textured honeycomb sold in non-standard blocks and chips and is associated with the Auld Lammas Fair in Ballycastle, County Antrim, where it is sold along with other confectionery and often dulse. Yellowman, or Yellaman, is similar to Honeycomb toffee, except that the more solid 'rind' usually consists of at least half the quantity. The rind is hard, having a similar consistency to rock. Yellowman needs to be heated to high temperatures to get the golden syrup and sugar mixture to reach the ‘hard-crack’ (300 °C) – the temperature at which boiled sugar becomes brittle when cooled. It will also only acquire its unique bubbly and crunchy consistency when a reaction occurs between the vinegar and the baking soda, which vigorously adds carbon dioxide gas throughout the mixture.
Ingredients of Yellowman are commonly quoted as including brown sugar, golden syrup, butter, vinegar and bicarbonate of soda but there are many local variations in ingredients and recipes. Your teeth have been warned!
Audio and song: Sean McMahon, 2009
Text: Wikipedia
Ballycastle #Yellowman #Antrim #Lammasfair #toffee #Ulster
© 2021-2022 Racontour Productions. This clip forms part of the Celtic Calendar audio archive from Racontour Productions. Feel free to share if enjoyed, but with a credit or a social media tag to Racontour Productions please.
SPOTIFY: This platform has allowed us to be creative in ensuring you can access it on your smart phone with ease. Below are the Spotify options: -
Celtic Calendar playlist - no music, just audio of all four festivals.
Samhain folklore - music and lore for Samhain
Imbolc folklore - music and lore for Imbolc
Bealtaine folklore - music and lore for Bealtaine
Lughnasa folklore - music and lore for Lughnasa
On this day 45 years ago, the 23rd August 1968, George Yeats, wife of William Butler Yeats, passed away. They say that you should never meet your idols, nevermind marrying one. Iconic figures in literature from Joyce to Hemingway to Fitzgerald, not to mention Hunter S. Thompson have have difficult marriages that have been well documented. George Yeats had to put up with a snob, a bore and an absent-minded professor type. We saw the poetry, she saw the socks. Have a look at the excellent @MundaneBond on Twitter for a perfect ribbing of an icon during downtime.
With thanks to Padraic Dempsey of the RIA on RTE Radio 1 this evening, we learned just how much of a debt we owe to this woman. Yeats was indeed a genius and George went about dedicating her life after marriage to ensuring that Yeats would be allowed to focus on his poetry while she took care of the banalities of life from preparing meals, organizing his travel arrangements, taking care of the children and just about everything else that makes normal life possible.
Unlike Yeats, she was a very private individual; her own children did not even know where she was born until after her death. Indeed having worked in Fleet in Hampshire myself, I can't blame her. She was by no means a 'shrinking violet' though and was by all accounts the only woman who was not afraid of the redoubtable Lady Gregory.
On being asked what it was like to live with a genius, she wearily responded that she didn't tend to notice that she was. She did everything for Yeats including on one memorable occasion having to telegram a perplexed Yeats that the oil he needed to put in to his light at Coole Park was paraffin - what else could it possibly be, olive oil?
She put up with his countless affairs, which increased after they stopped having sex in 1928. On the audio, you'll hear how Yeats had monkey glands attached to improve his virility. It certainly affected his judgment. In 1936 when editing a poetry collection, his lover, the rather average poet Margaret Ruddock, had seven poems included with the likes of Auden only having three. George would write politely to Ruddock and the other lovers with details about Yeats taking his medication as directed by doctors.
With increasing frustration and little thanks, George carried out all these tasks and ensured that Yeats was able to dedicate his final years to writing some of his best work - a point Mary makes in the audio piece.
Georgie met Yeats in 1910. Seven years later, when she was 25 and he 52, he asked her to marry him. Only a few weeks earlier Iseult Gonne, the daughter of Maud Gonne whom Yeats had loved for many years, had rejected a marriage proposal from him. Georgie and Yeats married just three weeks later, on 20 October 1917, in a public registry office,witnessed by her mother and Ezra Pound. During the honeymoon, while Yeats was still brooding about Iseult's rejection, Georgie began the automatic writing which fascinated him. He wrote about it days later in what was to be A Vision, and it held the marriage together for many years. Within a year of marriage he declared her name of Georgie to be insufferable, and henceforth called her George. This says it all.
George would have known of Yeats's obsession with Maud Gonne and of the rejected proposal to her daughter. She shrewdly overlooked this as she did his affairs and saw the bigger picture. A 'sloppy second' she may have been to some, but in death as in life, he was fortunate to have such a capable partner. George was an assiduous and dedicated Literary Executor after his death in 1939. She'd a better knowledge of European literature than he did and she managed the estate fairly and with aplomb for the next 30 years or so. She is buried beside him in Drumcliffe; when next visiting, spare a thought for this unsung heroine with the patience of a saint.
The audio comes from our multimedia Yeats Country audio guide, available for free from the Donegal Bay and Yeats Country tour on the Donegal App: http://www.donegalapp.com
Audio: Mary Murphy and Sean McMahon, 2009
Text: John Ward
Yeats #Sligo #poetry #Treadsoftly
On the 3rd October 2014, National Potato Day, we celebrate the humble spud by trawling through our audio portfolio to reveal where it is thought Ireland cultivated its first potato. We fully understand that this by no means a scientific fact, but there's a great background story to the place and the man who (allegedly) planted it anyway.
The potato had reached Europe courtesy of returning Spanish explorers around 1570. How the potato came to be introduced into Ireland is not precisely known, though popular myth credits its introduction at Myrtle Grove, the home of Sir Walter Raleigh in the historic town of Youghal, Co. Cork. Other evidence has suggested it was washed up on the shores of Cork after the wreck of the Spanish Armada in the area, but we're sticking with what we known from the good folk of Youghal.
Find details of the Youghal audio tours halfway done this page:
https://www.racontour.com/racontour/native-audio-apps/
Audio: Clifford Windsor, 2011
Text: John Ward
potato #Youghal #Raleigh #spud #Cork
Wording below is from 2015. See the updated article for 2022 here: https://www.racontour.com/michael-collins-remembered/
On this day 99 years ago, the 22nd of August 1922, Michael Collins was shot and killed in a gun battle at Béal na mBláth. He was 31 years old when he died (this image incorrectly states 30). Half a million people attended his funeral in Dublin. All parties to the conflict, both British and Irish, were temporarily united in grief. In his brief lifetime he had fought the British Empire to a stalemate, negotiated the first Treaty of Independence for Ireland and overseen its transition to democracy. He died paradoxically in an attempt to finally remove the gun from Irish politics. Hear our fascinating audio piece on the man who pulled the fatal trigger and why he kept Ireland's biggest secret right to his grave.
Told by Nenagh Walking Guide's very own raconteur, Kevin Whelan, Sonny O'Neill surely kept Ireland's biggest secret for the rest of his life.
RIP Michael Collins: 16 October 1890 – 22 August 1922
Find this & many more fascinating podcasts on all things Irish at the Racontour Archive.
Ireland #MichaelCollins #Bealnablath #Nenagh #secret
There can be few better ambassadors for an area than locals with a talent and a passion. In this audio piece, you will hear several voices that have helped make the Roscommon Lamb Festival the great success it has become.
Everyone from Mary and Eamonn Gleeson to Dermot Molloy to Brendan Allen of Castlemine Farm to JJ Harlow's to Lawrence Fallon to Francis Green, the list goes on. What is important is that their message is one that will appeal to anyone who likes quality food in a good atmosphere. Here's a community working to bring that to you during a family friendly festival over the May Bank holiday weekend. Don't miss it.
http://www.roscommonlambfestival.com/
Roscommon, Roscommon Lamb Festival, Lamb, Food festival, Ireland, The Gathering 2013,
There can be few better ambassadors of a town than the likes of living legend, Paddy Joe Burke, the barber of Church Street, Roscommon Town. Here is his most eloquent ad lib on the wonders of the town recorded as he was leaving Gleeson's Restaurant recently - he's on the right of the picture with Eamonn Gleeson. Few people have the flourish and the flair that this man demonstrates with his wonderful endorsement of a place he is more than a little proud to call home. Find out why on this audio piece.
Roscommon, #Paddy Joe Burke, #Gleeson's Townhouse & Restaurant #barber #Ireland
Seeing as out next project is an innovative audio app for Roscommon, we're more than happy to promote this great event on during the May bank holiday. Always great fun & brilliantly organized - their family day by the castle was just magical in 2011 and 2012. Tastiest lamb in Ireland to boot! With only weeks left until Roscommon's Famous Lamb Festival for 2013, here is a sneak preview of what's in store!
http://www.roscommonlambfestival.com/
Roscommon Lambfest, Roscommon, Gleeson's Townhouse and Restaurant, St. John's House BB
From 2012 in Newtowncunningham, hear Seoirse O'Dochartaigh and Sean Beattie tell us a bit more about this most mysterious of Irish icons. Seoirse recites the ballad 'St. Patrick was a gentleman' followed by a discussion with Sean on St. Patrick's connections with the Inishowen peninsula.
Recorded in All Saints church in Newtowncunningham on the eve of St. Patrick's Day, it's lovely to find someone with material beyond the myth and to hear a few facts about the great man!
St. Patrick, Donegal
N1407/22
Much like the 'two vast and trunkless legs of stone' in Ozymandias, the Mote Park lion hasn't quite turned out the way his creator expected. Local historian, John Kerrigan, knows the estate like the back of his hand and with his canny mix of good humour and insight, he takes us around the old Crofton estate recreating a world that has long gone, but remains a significant chapter from our past.
John's audio is just part of the plethora of material recorded around Roscommon Town that will feature in Ireland's most colourful and original travel app. Coming soon - why not try it out over the Bank Holiday weekend when the Roscommon Lamb Festival is on? http://www.gleesonstownhouse.com/
Roscommon, Mote Park, Big House, Gleeson's Townhouse and Restaurant, navigatour, John Kerrigan
Elizabeth and Richard Collins run St. John’s House, a Georgian guesthouse by the shores of Lough Ree in County Roscommon, where you can really let yourself unwind in a true hidden gem of Ireland. Located right beside the national treasure that is Rindoon Anglo Norman medieval town, this is ideal for walkers and lover of nature and heritage. The affable hosts share what is on offer at St John’s House in this audio clip, which nicely captures their relaxed, good-natured character. Georgina Campbell B&B of the Year 2015. http://www.stjohnshouse.biz/south-roscommon-tourist-trail.html
St. John's House, #Rindoon, Lough Ree, #Medieval walled town, #Roscommon, #walking, #bluebell wood, #fishing, Rinn Duin, B&B, #guesthouse, #Ireland, Hidden Gem
In collating the amount of material for The Rambling House, we became aware of the density of material regarding superstitions, folklore and customs in the northwest of Ireland. In an effort to try and bring the full range of material to the attention of the listeners, we devised a method by which we could present as much information as possible in a short space of time that would be both fun and non didactic.
The result was 'The Twilight Court', which is a mock court trial under which superstition itself is on trial to be decided by the audience at the 'court' on any given evening. The question being asked is “is there any room in a modern age for superstitions?” A number of common topics associated with superstitions and customs are examined with an “expert witness” such a seventh son of a seventh son being cross-examined by counsel. The topics include good and bad omens, births and deaths, love and marriage, charms and cures as well as fairies and sprites. Each one is examined and counsel debates the pros and cons for Superstition for Common Sense respectively. Whilst counsel for superstition was showing how each area should be regarded as beneficial and helpful to us all, counsel for common sense emphasised some of the more unusual items and perhaps the ridiculous ritual that comes with them.
Audience participation was encouraged with any tales that they may have heard on the night. There was a delightful twist in the story to keep the “jury” on their toes and the tone of the night was one of good humour whilst delving into the deep treasure chest of strange and unusual lore out there. To the passing visitor or native, 'The Twilight Court' serves a helpful resource in knowing how generations dealt with issues from warts to weddings, piseogs to pookas! We hope you enjoy this innovative medium of telling you just some of the great lore of the north west of Ireland.
http://www.ramblinghouse.ie
In collating the amount of material for The Rambling House, we became aware of the density of material regarding superstitions, folklore and customs in the northwest of Ireland. In an effort to try and bring the full range of material to the attention of the listeners, we devised a method by which we could present as much information as possible in a short space of time that would be both fun and non didactic.
The result was 'The Twilight Court', which is a mock court trial under which superstition itself is on trial to be decided by the audience at the 'court' on any given evening. The question being asked is “is there any room in a modern age for superstitions?” A number of common topics associated with superstitions and customs are examined with an “expert witness” such a seventh son of a seventh son being cross-examined by counsel. The topics include good and bad omens, births and deaths, love and marriage, charms and cures as well as fairies and sprites. Each one is examined and counsel debates the pros and cons for Superstition for Common Sense respectively. Whilst counsel for superstition was showing how each area should be regarded as beneficial and helpful to us all, counsel for common sense emphasised some of the more unusual items and perhaps the ridiculous ritual that comes with them.
Audience participation was encouraged with any tales that they may have heard on the night. There was a delightful twist in the story to keep the “jury” on their toes and the tone of the night was one of good humour whilst delving into the deep treasure chest of strange and unusual lore out there. To the passing visitor or native, 'The Twilight Court' serves a helpful resource in knowing how generations dealt with issues from warts to weddings, piseogs to pookas! We hope you enjoy this innovative medium of telling you just some of the great lore of the north west of Ireland.
http://www.ramblinghouse.ie
Inishowen is nearly completely surrounded by water from the Swilly to the Fough and we felt that its maritime heritage deserved capturing for posterity in what is the area's leading fishing port. The Cairn theatre overlooking Greencastle was the location for the penultimate episode of Rambling House in Inishowen. The group gathered with locals to discuss everything from folklore to fishing quotas, boat building to borders, Spanish fleets to German u-boats.
http://www.ramblinghouse.ie
Inishowen is nearly completely surrounded by water from the Swilly to the Fough and we felt that its maritime heritage deserved capturing for posterity in what is the area's leading fishing port. The Cairn theatre overlooking Greencastle was the location for the penultimate episode of Rambling House in Inishowen. The group gathered with locals to discuss everything from folklore to fishing quotas, boat building to borders, Spanish fleets to German u-boats.
http://www.ramblinghouse.ie
Dinny 'White Harra' McLoughlin is a legendary fiddle player, teacher and composer living just outside of Buncrana who would be regarded as the doyen of the Inishowen fiddle tradition, a style that is fundamentally different from that played in the rest of Donegal. We were welcomed into his house in Shandrim to hear some of his own compositions, his musings and anecdotes in what was a famous 'Big Night' for Inishowen.
Sit back and relax as you hear White Harra in flow and enjoy your very own Big Night wherever you may be.
http://www.ramblinghouse.ie
Dinny 'White Harra' McLoughlin is a legendary fiddle player, teacher and composer living just outside of Buncrana who would be regarded as the doyen of the Inishowen fiddle tradition, a style that is fundamentally different from that played in the rest of Donegal. We were welcomed into his house in Shandrim to hear some of his own compositions, his musings and anecdotes in what was a famous 'Big Night' for Inishowen.
Sit back and relax as you hear White Harra in flow and enjoy your very own Big Night wherever you may be.
http://www.ramblinghouse.ie
How a border can cause so much agitation and ingenuity is explained in a way that will in time be regarded as a classic in Irish broadcasting. We don't use these words lightly - hear everything from the whimsical to the chilling, from chicken bones to Winter Willy, this is a programme that tells us how a line can alter the lives of everyone.
http://www.ramblinghouse.ie
How a border can cause so much agitation and ingenuity is explained in a way that will in time be regarded as a classic in Irish broadcasting. We don't use these words lightly - hear everything from the whimsical to the chilling, from chicken bones to Winter Willy, this is a programme that tells us how a line can alter the lives of everyone.
http://www.ramblinghouse.ie
Dan's Cottage in Urrismanagh in Inishowen was the setting for our programme on the subject of the Cratur. This region was famously known as The Poitín Republic due to the abundance and quality of the brew in the area. The Rambling House team were joined by some knowledgeable locals to produce a very entertaining and informative radio programme. Sit back with a glass of your favourite tipple - maybe even a drop of the Cratur and enjoy the craic at Dan's Cottage. http://www.ramblinghouse.ie
Dan's Cottage in Urrismanagh in Inishowen was the setting for our programme on the subject of the Cratur. This region was famously known as The Poitín Republic due to the abundance and quality of the brew in the area.
The Rambling House team were joined by some knowledgeable locals to produce a very entertaining and informative radio programme. Sit back with a glass of your favourite tipple - maybe even a drop of the Cratur and enjoy the craic at Dan's Cottage.
http://www.ramblinghouse.ie
Malin Head has seen its fair share of Mother Nature at her best – and at her worst. None worse perhaps than the Winter of 1947, when the headland was closed off for six weeks due to heavy snow. Far from foundering, the locals survived by helping each other and using their knowledge of the land and the sea around them to survive the ordeal. We used that incident to kick start our radio series, Rambling House, on how exactly folk lived off the land in Inishowen in days gone by.
http://www.ramblinghouse.ie
Malin Head has seen its fair share of Mother Nature at her best – and at her worst. None worse perhaps than the Winter of 1947, when the headland was closed off for six weeks due to heavy snow. Far from foundering, the locals survived by helping each other and using their knowledge of the land and the sea around them to survive the ordeal. We used that incident to kick start our radio series, Rambling House, on how exactly folk lived off the land in Inishowen in days gone by.
http://www.ramblinghouse.ie
Inishowen's eminent historian and editor, Sean Beattie, was recently awarded an honorary M.A. in history from the National University of Ireland, Galway along with the historian, Helen Meehan. Here, Donegal Historical Society member, Seumas Gildea, explains what makes Sean a cut above even the boffins of Oxford!
Hear Country Choice's Peter Ward describe the wonderful array of local produce served up to this hungry customer - you'd be tempted to jump in the car & drive to Nenagh tonight!
Johnny Ward was one of the most distinguished figures practising law in the north west with a career spanning seven decades. He died peacefully at home in the arms of his beloved wife, Marion, on the morning of the 20th of April 2012. At his funeral, his daughter, Kathryn, recalled her thoughts on what made this gentle giant of a man so special, and why we all should cherish our own memories and times with him. May he rest in peace.
'Never more will the wind cherish you again, never more will the rain.
Never more shall we find you bright in the snow and wind.
The snow is melted, the snow is gone, and you are flown:
Like a bird out of our hand, like a light out of our heart, you are gone'.
- Hilda Doolittle
Music: 'The Lark Ascending' by Ralph Vaughan Williams
A tribute to the poet, wit, father and husband that was George Fennell, 1924 - 2012.
- Hilary's introduction
- Resurrection
- Maura
- The Professor's Dream
- The Eye and Ear Hospital
- The Tavern
- Sybil's recollection
- Ivor's speech
- Macushla sung by John McCormack
Original preface to the poetry collection, 'Resurrection': -
These poems form an important part of Fennell’s canon. Up until now little has been known about this elusive figure, save for the fact that he is sometimes referred to as ‘The Bard of Donnybrook’. A modest man, a medical man, a man of immense talent – that much we knew – but details of his personal life remained shrouded in secrecy. Now, thanks to this collection, we are finally allowed a rare insight into the people, places and events that have helped to shape this artist’s life.
From the haunting lines of ‘Resurrection’, with its religious undertones (which hint at the possible suffering that Fennell may have endured during his time with the Jesuits) to the lyrical strains of ‘Athlone’, (which cleverly convey the conflicting emotions of both love and hate which Fennell holds for his birthplace of the title) this collection is as rewarding as it is revealing.
Fennell subtly alludes to the challenge which he faced as an artist when confronted with the semi-institutionalised world of modern medical science. Works such as ‘The Nose’ capture his passion for his profession but the mood darkens in ‘The Professor’s Dream’ and ‘A Surgeon’s Tale’ - flinging the reader into the Kafkaesque reality hidden behind the seemingly banal.
Things take on an even more blatantly autobiographical nature with the sublime ‘Maura’ - undoubtedly inspired by Fennell’s wife and muse. It is clear that he is strongly influenced by Coleridge and Kipling. A lesser man would try to hide this fact. Fennell is generous enough to acknowledge his debt.
However, Fennell never ceases to surprise. Just as things appear to be blending seamlessly together we are suddenly hit with the refreshingly frank ‘Feck off Bunny’. Another masterpiece, powerful in its directness, which clarifies the poet’s stance on environmental issues.
The words of another literary giant, Oliver Goldsmith, best express my thoughts on Fennell after studying this anthology - ‘And still they gazed and still the wonder grew, That one small head could carry all he knew.’ For what we have here is a veritable smorgasbord of knowledge, ideas and original views. Sheer genius.
H Llennef, December 2009 #GeorgeFennell #Resurrection #ByGeorge #poetry #DeathTribute
Here's a brief recording from the AIRPI meeting on the 3rd December 2011 when John Ward recorded a few members for AIRPI's first mass boo - some folk were very shy indeed, others not so....
Jerpoint Park is a must see visitor attraction in Thomastown, Co.Kilkenny. A national monument heritage site with footprints of 12th century medieval town & the tomb of St. Nicholas (Bishop of Myra and yes, the famed Santa Claus no less!). Afterwards, enjoy the tea rooms in the wonderful Belmore House serving homemade scones. Fishing on the river Nore for wild salmon & brown trout on a private fishery as well as pony & trap rides make this place quite unforgottable.
http://www.jerpoint.ie/
The indomitable Mag Kirwan took time out from running Goatsbridge Trout Farm to tell us about an event she has set up with Keith Bohanna for this year's Savour Kilkenny; a veritable Food Fight at 3:30, Newpark hotel, Kilkenny!
Chaired by John McKenna of The Bridgestone Food Guide who will pose this question:
“Traditional Irish Cuisine – an embarrassment of riches or just an embarrassment?”
On the embarrassment side are:
- Suzanne Campbell – Journalist, author and blogger
- Regina Sexton – Author
- Colman Andrews – Journalist and food writer
Speaking up for all that is good about our food heritage are:
- Birgitta Curtin – Burren Smokehouse
- Kevin Sheridan – Sheridan Cheesemongers
- Catherine Cleary – Journalist and food writer
Radio Four's Station Manager, Denis Nowlan, was in Dublin of Friday night at the invitation of AIRPI. He gave a highly informative overview of Radio Four with a view to letting Irish independent radio producers know what is required to get commissioned for documentaries.
His full talk will soon be available on airpi.ie to members, but for now, we are posting his wrap up gag about one of the many moaning letters that Radio Four receives. Thanks Denis.
Overview: Rapporteur Fiona McGaughey summarizes themes from the speeches and the salient points from the various workshops at the end of a conference on cultural tourism in County Donegal that took place on the 4th of October 2011.
Summary: A well run and well attended conference on cultural tourism in Donegal took place in the Villa Rosa hotel in Ballybofey, Co. Donegal today. Among the speakers were Shona McCarthy of Derry-Londonderry City of Culture 2013, Michael Starrett of The Heritage Council, Ian Brannigan of the WDC & Michael Wheeler of Rathmullan House. To get us in the competitive mood, we also had the siblings of two great sporting icons speaking in the form of Kevin Kidney of Failte Ireland and Hannah McGuinness of Donegal Designers Makers.
Star of the show though was polymath Philip King who deftly reminded us that where poetic champions compose, the ersatz Arthur's Day deserves to decompose. What we have to offer the world is a lot more than an annual marketing ploy, but we need to grow up, to learn to cope with failure by failing better, to collaborate more and to appreciate we have a lot to offer the world with our existing resources and innate musicality. He reminded us of Gabriel Conroy's words in Joyce's 'The Dead': -
"A new generation is growing up in our midst, a generation actuated by new ideas and new principles. It is serious and enthusiastic for these new ideas and its enthusiasm, even when it is misdirected, is, I believe, in the main sincere. But we are living in a sceptical and, if I may use the phrase, a thought-tormented age: and sometimes I fear that this new generation, educated or hypereducated as it is, will lack those qualities of humanity, of hospitality, of kindly humour which belonged to an older day."
The words are old, but the sentiment remains to this day; we have an authenticity and ingenuity that needs to be savoured in these changing times. Finally, all praise to Donegal County Council's Aideen Doherty for organising the event and for having the good sense to hire a rapporteur to remind us of the points we need to come away with*. Let's not have this event become a lip service lido or another talking shop. Everyone in the room needs to listen to Fiona's feedback and ask themselves how they can actively make those points come to life - we all must play a part.
2014 update: As we suspected on the day, the conference turned out to be nothing more than a lip service lido, a talking shop that when all is said and done, a lot more was said than done. The Donegal App was our response to what was said that day and what we could do to showcase the county and all that was best in it. We have developed a free state of the art multimedia cross-platform smart travel guide at our expense and on our own time. There is nothing quite like it anywhere else; it is truly a labour of love which deserves to be savoured slowly over time to see all of the features and all of the hidden gems of the region and indeed beyond Donegal.
A lot of people talked a good talk that day and did nothing else. A lot of people who are paid to promote Donegal know about this app and will steadfastly refuse to mention it or promote it in a simple fashion, such as a tweet or a Facebook posting. We may be a creative county, but we have a long way to go in terms of solidarity of purpose and where sadly the qualities of 'humanity, of hospitality, of kindly humour which belonged to an older day' are just that; a thing of the past.
*We were a bit too fulsome in our praise for Ms. Doherty and withdraw it in hindsight. She went through the motions of organizing the event and she is one of the many people from Donegal County Council who is aware of the app and that should at the very least have been sitting down with us to see how best to utilize the app now that it is up and running. Don't worry lads, just keep the heads down and hear this as a nasty white noise that will eventually go away; your pensions a...