The Stories Beneath: Recent Episodes
Margaret Mckenna
Beneath our feet and all around us here in Ireland, there is a wealth of stories of an ancient past. Our place names hold an insight into a world of Goddesses and Heroes, battles, and descriptions of amazing land and seascapes. In a country where our old Irish names have been changed beyond recognition, this podcasts goes beneath, to the true meanings and tell the tales of where we live. Our aim is that the listener, no matter where they live, will open their eyes and question and learn the stories behind their own place names.
Loch Goir (Lough Gur) in County Limerick is an ancient site which includes our largest Stone Circle at Grange. Associated with the Goddess Áine, her hill being close by, this area is filled with stories, including that of a medieval Earl and the rather mysterious Crom Dubh.
Fore is a place most associated with St. Feichin, his monastery and the Seven Wonders of Fore but there are connections too, to a more ancient time and to a raider who had his castle on a nearby lake. A fascinating history of Myths, Celts, Vikings and Normans.
Don't forget to check out my website www.margaretmckenna.ie for lots of my images of our mythology and my blogs on our ancient places.
Loughcrew is particularly dear to me, and is associated with the Cailleach the sovereignty Goddess, builder of landscapes. A place of Neolithic cairns filled with art and aligned with the ancient calendar days, telling us of ancestors who knew how to read the cosmos.
The feast of Bealtaine, one of the four major fire festivals of the ancient Celtic an pre-Celtic world is said to have been celebrated at Uisneach, in the centre of Ireland and a place associated with the Goddess Ériu.
Navan/ An Uaimh is one of those places with a name that reflects an ancient past, perhaps associated with a Queen of the Milesians and of a Goddess who gave her name to the River Boyne which flows its centre. More art connected to our mythology can be found on my website www.Celticmyths.ie
Kilkenny or Cill Chainnigh in Irish, is a county awash with history, from ancient sites of mythological proportions, to a Medieval city where accusations of witchcraft resulted in probably tale of death by association.
In this podcast I talk about how that ancient Irish Kingdom of Airghialla (Oriel) came to be, as well as stories from around the town of Carraig Mhachaire Rois (Carrickmacross)
Slieve Gullion, the mountain in Armagh that is rich in archaeology and mythology with tales associated with legends of of our main Heroes and Goddesses, such as Fionn MacCumhaill, CúChullainn and the Cailleach, as well as being the site of some of our most ancient cairns.
March the 17th, St. Patrick's Day or Lá Fhéile Pádraig (in Irish) is celebrated in Ireland as our national day and by the Irish diaspora throughout the world. But who was he and was he the controversial figure who slew druids as an end to the means?
For international women's day, I've decided to talk about a person rather than a place and how her name came to be. Famous as the Pirate Queen Gráinne Mhaol is an enigmatic character around whom so many stories have been told. One thing for sure, she was a powerful woman of her time!
With a name of two meanings, this beautiful headland on the coast of north County Dublin is awash with stories and history.
Dundalk/ Dún Dealgan a vibrant town in County Louth, has a history and associated legends going back to Neolithic times. Here I talk a bit about some of those tales and delve a little into the world of the ancient Firbolg people.
The iconic mountain of An Earagail (Errigal) in County Donegal, in the north-west of Ireland, is central to our short podcast tonight. Along with the local village Dún Luiche (Dunlewey) and An Gleann Nimhe (the Poisoned Glen), this mountain is connected to the ancient God Lugh and his nemesis, Balor of the Evil Eye. Just one more instance of how mythology lives beneath our landscape. Check out my website margaretmckenna.ie for my images relating to our wonderful Celtic folklore.
The City of Armagh and nearby Navan Fort are steeped in history. These place names are meaningless however, till translated back to their original Irish of Ard Mhacha and Eamhain Mhacha. Only then do a wealth of stories and mythology emerge, and a connection to an ancient Goddess.
Place names abound with legends and stories, and no where more so than in Ireland where our old Irish names have been changed so that many of these meanings are lost. This Podcast tells those amazing tales of an past age, of Goddesses and Heroes, of legends beneath our feet! This episode tells the story of Kildare and Brigid, Goddess and Saint.