Woohoo - got this Episode out a couple of hours early! The latest episode is a re-telling of one of Celtic Mythology’s most famous tales - the Wooing of Etain. Set in the time of the Kingship of the great Dagda, this tale tells the story of the birth of Aengus Mac Og and how his foster-father, Midir, fell in love with the most beautiful woman in all Erin. However, a jealous woman and a bitter King ensure that this love-affair is not all plain-sailing.

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MY grandfather, Andrew Coffey, was known to the whole barony as a quiet, decent man. And if the whole barony knew him, he knew the whole barony, every inch, hill and dale, bog and pasture, field and covert. Fancy his surprise one evening, when he found himself in a part of the demesne he couldn’t recognise a bit. He and his good horse were always stumbling up against some tree or stumbling down into some bog-hole that by rights didn’t ought to be there. On the top of all this the rain came pelting down wherever there was a clearing, and the cold March wind tore through the trees. Glad he was then when he saw a light in the distance, and drawing near found a cabin, though for the life of him he couldn’t think how it came there. However, in he walked, after tying up his horse, and right welcome was the brushwood fire blazing on the hearth. And there stood a chair right and tight, that seemed to say, “Come, sit down in me.” There wasn’t a soul else in the room. Well, he did sit, and got a little warm and cheered after his drenching. But all the while he was wondering and wondering.

“Andrew Coffey! Andrew Coffey!”

Good heavens! who was calling him, and not a soul in sight? Look around as he might, indoors and out, he could find no creature with two legs or four, for his horse was gone.

“ANDREW COFFEY! ANDREW COFFEY! tell me a story.”

It was louder this time, and it was nearer. And then what a thing to ask for! It was bad enough not to be let sit by the fire and dry oneself, without being bothered for a story.

“Andrew Coffey! Andrew Coffey! Tell me a story, or it’ll be the worse for you.”

My poor grandfather was so dumbfounded that he could only stand and stare.

“ANDREW COFFEY! ANDREW COFFEY! I told you it’d be the worse for you.”

And with that, out there bounced, from a cupboard that Andrew Coffey had never noticed before, a man. And the man was in a towering rage. But it wasn’t that. And he carried as fine a blackthorn as you d wish to crack a man’s head with. But it wasn’t that either. But when my grandfather clapped eyes on him, he knew him for Patrick Rooney, and all the world knew he’d gone overboard, fishing one night long years before.

Andrew Coffey would neither stop nor stay, but he took to his heels and was out of the house as hard as he could. He ran and he ran taking little thought of what was before till at last he ran up against a big tree. And then he sat down to rest. He hadn’t sat for a moment when he heard voices.

“It’s heavy he is, the vagabond.” “Steady now, we’ll rest when we get under the big tree yonder.” Now that happened to be the tree under which Andrew Coffey was sitting. At least he thought so, for seeing a branch handy he swung himself up by it and was soon snugly hidden away. Better see than be seen, thought he.

The rain had stopped and the wind fallen. The night was blacker than ever, but Andrew Coffey could see four men, and they were carrying between them a long box. Under the tree they came, set the box down, opened it, and who should they bring out but–Patrick Rooney. Never a word did he say, and he looked as pale as old snow.

Well, one gathered brushwood, and another took out tinder and flint, and soon they had a big fire roaring, and my grandfather could see Patrick plainly enough. If he had kept still before, he kept stiller now. Soon they had four poles up and a pole across, right over the fire, for all the world like a spit, and on to the pole they slung Patrick Rooney.

“He’ll do well enough,” said one; “but who’s to mind him whilst we’re away, who’ll turn the fire, who’ll see that he doesn’t burn?”

With that Patrick opened his lips: “Andrew Coffey,” said he.

“Andrew Coffey! Andrew Coffey! Andrew Coffey! Andrew Coffey!”

“I’m much obliged to you, gentlemen,” said Andrew Coffey, “but indeed I know nothing about the business.”

“You’d better come down, Andrew Coffey,” said Patrick.

It was the second time he spoke, and Andrew Coffey decided he would come down. The four men went off and he was left all alone with Patrick. Then he sat and he kept the fire even, and he kept the spit turning, and all the while Patrick looked at him.

Poor Andrew Coffey couldn’t make it all out at all, at all, and he stared at Patrick and at the fire, and he thought of the little house in the wood, till he felt quite dazed.

“Ah, but it’s burning me ye are!” says Patrick, very short and sharp.

“I’m sure I beg your pardon,” said my grandfather “but might I ask you a question?”

“If you want a crooked answer,” said Patrick; “turn away or it’ll be the worse for you.”

But my grandfather couldn’t get it out of his head; hadn’t everybody, far and near, said Patrick had fallen overboard. There was enough to think about, and my grandfather did think.

“Andrew Coffey! Andrew Coffey! it’s burning me ye are.”

Sorry enough my grandfather was, and he vowed he wouldn’t do so again.

“You’d better not,” said Patrick, and he gave him a cock of his eye, and a grin of his teeth, that just sent a shiver down Andrew Coffey’s back. Well it was odd, that here he should be in a thick wood he had never set eyes upon, turning Patrick Rooney upon a spit. You can’t wonder at my grandfather thinking and thinking and not minding the fire.

“ANDREW COFFEY, ANDREW COFFEY, IT’S THE DEATH OF YOU I’LL BE.”

And with that what did my grandfather see, but Patrick unslinging himself from the spit and his eyes glared and his teeth glistened.

It was neither stop nor stay my grandfather made, but out he ran into the night of the wood. It seemed to him there wasn’t a stone but was for his stumbling, not a branch but beat his face, not a bramble but tore his skin. And wherever it was clear the rain pelted down and the cold March wind howled along.

Glad he was to see a light, and a minute after he was kneeling, dazed, drenched, and bedraggled by the hearth side. The brushwood flamed, and the brushwood crackled, and soon my grandfather began to feel a little warm and dry and easy in his mind.

“Andrew Coffey! Andrew Coffey!”

It’s hard for a man to jump when he has been through all my grandfather had, but jump he did. And when he looked around, where should he find himself but in the very cabin he had first met Patrick in.

“Andrew Coffey, Andrew Coffey, tell me a story.”

“Is it a story you want?” said my grandfather as bold as may be, for he was just tired of being frightened. “Well if you can tell me the rights of this one, I’ll be thankful.”

And he told the tale of what had befallen him from first to last that night. The tale was long, and may be Andrew Coffey was weary. It’s asleep he must have fallen, for when he awoke he lay on the hill-side under the open heavens, and his horse grazed at his side.

Celtic Fairy Tales
by Joseph Jacobs
Illustrations by John D. Batten
[1892] Continue Reading »

Pic: novopress

Ancient dolmen in Louth points towards Slieve Gullion for Summer Solstice Sunset It is known as the ‘Giant’s Load’ and, when you stand under the great capstone of Proleek Dolmen, it’s not difficult to see why. This huge boulder is reputed to weigh around 40 tonnes, yet it sits comfortably on top of three upright stones as if it was a sheet of paper and not a giant rock.

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Pic: gary

Episode 14, The Children of Lir, is now available and on the feed for download. The Children of Danu choose Bodb Dearg as a new High King for themselves much to King Lir’s displeasure. To bring the clans together, Bodb’s foster-daughter marries Lir and bears four beautiful children to him. Sadly she dies and Lir marries her sister, who in jealousy curses the Children and turns them all into swans.. This is the second and final part of two episodes telling the story of the Children of Lir which has to be one of the most famous of all Celtic tales. We discover the tragic end of the beautiful children.

We join the story as the Children of Lir are forced to flee their homeland and venture onto rough and icy seas.The Episode is available for subscribers on the feed, or you can download it or listen to it from our Episodes page. You can find the Shownotes for this episode in the Shownotes section.

If you come to the site and listen or listen from one of our players - have you considered subscribing? It’s easy and you automatically get the episodes on your computer when they come out. If you’re unsure about the whole RSS/Subscribing thing take a look at our Help page.

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The Irish Times reports that a new project to protect the landscape and improve planning decisions nationally is to be piloted in the Tara Skryne valley, Co Meath (Ireland). The project, which will be carried out by the Heritage Council in conjunction with Meath County Council, will develop a landscape management plan and designate a landscape conservation area. Initial funding of €25,000 is being provided by the Heritage Council and the local authority. Further funding is expected from the Department of the Environment next year. The end cost is expected to be about €125,000.

The project will begin in the autumn and is expected to be completed in 18 to 24 months. It will examine current and potential land use and develop a plan for the area. The project will have community input and will be led by the county council. Heritage Council chief executive Michael Starrett described the project as an important step towards the realisation of a national landscape strategy. Continue Reading »

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Irish myths are the inspiration for the name of a new web search engine that aims to rival Google reports BBC Northern Ireland. Husband-and-wife team of Stanford professor Tom Costello and former Google search architect Anna Patterson have launched rival search engine Cuil. The search engine, www.cuil.com,  began processing requests for the first time on Monday.

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IN SEARCH OF ANCIENT IRELAND journeys 6,000 years to separate fact from fiction. The program will provoke surprise among some viewers as they discover little-known facts, including: the Irish people may not even be Celtic; St. Patrick was a minor missionary who had very little impact on the nation’s conversion to Christianity; scholarly monks in the seventh century re-invented Ireland’s heroic, mythical past — the stories we know today — in order to convert its pagan peoples; Ireland actually benefited from the Viking invasion.

IN SEARCH OF ANCIENT IRELAND spans the centuries, from the Stone Age world of mound-building farmers whose gods ruled the forces of nature to the 12th-century Norman invasion, when Ireland first came under English rule.

The DVD is available here

Source

Episode 13, The Wings of Tragedy, is now available and on the feed for download. This episode is the first episode after we finished the Book of Invasions and we can begin to tell the isolated tales that are found in the Mythological Cycle.You can expect another dozen or so of these before we move on to our listener’s choice of subject wihtin Celtic Mythology, although looking at the poll it looks like we’ll be covering some more Irish Mythology. If we do, then it’ll be the Ulster Cycle with CuChulainn. If the choice goes for Welsh Myth then it’ll have to be the beginning of the Mabinogion.

This is the first part of two episodes telling the story of the Children of Lir which has to be one of the most famous of all Celtic tales. A lot of cultures seem to have their version of the Swan Maiden myth, and this is the Celtic version. So what happens?

The Sons of Mil take possession of the Emerald Isle, leaving the Tuatha De Danaan to retreat underground. We join the story as the Children of Danu choose a new High King to guide them, and one of the Kings is not pleased with the choice… The Episode is available for subscribers on the feed, or you can download it or listen to it from our Episodes page. You can find the Shownotes for this episode in the Shownotes section.

If you come to the site and listen or listen from one of our players - have you considered subscribing? It’s easy and you automatically get the episodes on your computer when they come out. If you’re unsure about the whole RSS/Subscribing thing take a look at our Help page.

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You, our dear listeners, know how important Tara (Teamhair in the tales) is within the ancient myths of the Celts and now the full story has been revealed in an article published by the Epoch Times. They report that at the archaeological heart of Ireland, one of the most horrific acts of cultural desecration has been taking place for the last two years. Over 46 heritage sites and national monuments have already been destroyed,and the majority of us are oblivious, unaware that anything is happening.

The new M3 motorway is under construction in the Tara Skryne valley, Ireland. SIAC and Ferrovial road companies, with the support of the Irish government are building a motorway through valley. It has already cost more than 950 million euros (at the last count in March 2008), yet is only going to cut current journey time by a matter of minutes. The Navan Dublin rail link that has lain dormant for many years could have been re-opened for a fraction of the price or the existing N3 could have been expanded. This is an unnecessary and inexcusable desecration of heritage and waste of money.

The Irish government has gone against EU directives in building this road, destroying a site of world importance before it was properly researched or received the appropriate attention. The road builders are also contravening the human rights of the Irish people; the right to the protection of their archaeological and historical sites, religious and cultural sites.

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The Tara Skryne Valley is home to over 60 such sites, the oldest being more than 6,000 years old. The richness of the archaeology and history is practically unrivalled in Ireland. It is the land of Irish folklore, home of the Irish Kings, of the legendary Cu Chullain and Finn of the Fianna. The Hill of Tara holds the legendary Stone of Destiny. The dead from the Battle of Tara in the 1798 United Irishmen Rebellion lay in the valley; their bodies recently dug up and ploughed through in

one of the most disturbing acts of desecration in the road building to date. Daniel O’Connell held his monster meeting, the biggest ever gathering in Ireland, at Tara in 1843.

There were nine possible routes for the M3. The chosen route is the most archaeologically damaging. When looked at from a bird’s eye view it is a dot-to-dot of heritage sites, cutting through the highest concentrate of known archaeology in the valley. There has so far been no explanation for this choice of route, it being neither the cheapest nor the quickest. The current route is twenty minutes slower than the next slowest choice; a total of four believed to be quicker. For an expected saving of 100 million euros the route could have by-passed the valley completely.

Included in the sites already destroyed has been: a 6,000 year old grave yard; a 2,000 year old wood-henge housing a megalithic pattern-engraved stone; an ancient feasting ground of heroes and nobility; the first Christian settlement in Ireland and a set of twelve round-house style sou-terrains, largely intact and interconnected by a network of tunnels, representing the largest known complex of its kind in Ireland.

Pic: indymedia

The National Roads Authority has been lying continually in their official findings and covering up the discovery of important archaeological sites. The sou-terrain complex at Roes town was originally described by the NRA as a set of three and set of four roundhouses, of little archaeological value. Two days before evidence showing an intact group of twelve was published, their story changed, more closely representing true findings.

An archaeologist working on the Lismullen site was told for his first three weeks of work that there was no need for him to carry out any excavation but if questioned to say work was being done but nothing had been found. The archaeologist in question later joined the protest camp and has been involved in writing many of the archaeological reports published by the “Save Tara” campaign.

In July 2007, a royal feasting ground at Baronstown, was destroyed by diggers at 4am in the morning.

At Collierstown graves more than 6,000 year old, were left uncovered for months, open to the elements, with their bones eventually being plastered on the road and picked up by local school children.

Tara has lain for thousands of years as a sacred, spiritual place, it is sad this should be happening now, when we are finally beginning to realise the fragility of our land and importance of our past. When will we learn that there are things much more valuable than money? When it is too late?

The full text of various statements and petitions and more information can be viewed at www.archaeological.org and the “Save Tara” campaign’s website www.savetara.com .

Source

Pic: Mayo News

Those mythic worlds of Tir na nÓg and Hy Brazil are always proximate to the rural Mayo landscape. They teeter on the edge of its many alluring horizons. The cry of the tragic Children of Lir still echoes on Inishglóra, while the regal Celtic call of Danú and command of  Dagda are reincarnated in the rolling sun on ancient holy mountain, Crúachán Aigle – the pyramidal Croagh Patrick. The Mayo News reports on the 13th annual Bard Summer School.

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