Unreal Irish Folklore Ruth A

A re-release of the second ever episode of Unreal, while I recover from illness. A new episode will come soon once my voice is back at full strength!
 
Giants sculpted our landscape. They are strong, and fierce, and can be terrifying if you’re unprepared. But anyone can defeat a giant – if you are clever enough to trick them…
 
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SOURCES AND FURTHER READINGThe Story of Fionn and the Giant
The Giant’s Causeway, Dublin Penny JournalA Legend of Knockmany, by William Carleton (and the original article)Joe Moore’s Story of Finn Macooilly and the Buggane, Manx Fairytales by Sophia MorrisonVersions from the School’s Folklore Collection at Duchas.ie: 1, 2, 3, 4 
The very rude Scottish poem featuring the giant-sized descendants of Fionn
 
Other Tales Mentioned
The fall of the Viking chieftain TurgesiusMaoil a ChliobainJack and the BeanstalkJack the Giant-killerStingy Jack 
MUSICAll by Slainte from The Free Music Archive
Theme Song – “The Butterfly”The Lark in the Morning / The Atholl HighlandersThe Banshee / The Gravel Walks / The Old Copperplate
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The Banshee is one of Ireland’s most famous folkloric figures. A supernatural woman with a cry that foretells of death and devastation to those who hear it, stories about banshees have been terrifying listeners for hundreds of years. But has she always been this way?
 
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Sources and Further Reading
A Folklore Survey of County Clare by Thomas Johnson WestroppThe Triumphs of Turlough translated by Standish Hayes O'GradyThe Hostel of Da Choca translated by Whitley StokesAnnals of Loch CéThe Memoirs of Lady Ann FanshawePersonal Sketches of His Own Times by Sir Jonah BarringtonKeening Tradition"The Irish Funeral Cry" in The Dublin Penny Journal O'Brien's Irish-English Dictionary 
Music
The Butterfly – SláinteReturn Home - Moorland SongsThe White Birch - Moorland SongsMountain Solitude - Moorland Songs
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Hi everyone, Ruth here, and apologies for the slightly sporadic uploads to Unreal this season – I’ve just been having quite a busy time outside of podcasting. I’m actually going to take mid-season break and come back in two weeks with a special Halloween episode, and finish out the second half of the season then, hopefully with more regular uploads for those last few episodes. I hope that sounds ok, and wishing you a folklore-filled few weeks in the meantime. Go n-éirí an bóthar leat.
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What happens when a king goes mad? When he leaves his home, his wife and lands, and goes wandering in the woods and the wild? Such a strange frenzy came on Sweeney, an Irish king long ago. The life he came to live was a harsh and a wild one – but, as the story shows, still one where breathtaking beauty could be found . . . 
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Sources And Further Reading
Buile Suibhne. (The frenzy of Suibhne) by O'Keeffe, J. GThe King's MirrorMyrddin WyltWild Man
 

Music
The Butterfly – SláinteThe Elfin Knight - TraditionalI'm Missing Ennis - Philip AyersEverything We Built - Christian AndersenIt All Went Away So Quickly - Christian Andersen

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There once was born a cursed girl. She was beautiful, and strong-willed, and would do anything for the man she loved. But in her name, evil came to Ireland, bringing war and fighting that left hundreds dead in its wake. Her name was Deirdre, and stories told about her live on, as one of Ireland’s most sorrowful legends.

 

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Sonder MagazineLet's Talk About the Arts episode (my story is at about 28:30)
 

Sources and further Reading

Story Sources

The Exile of the Sons of Uisliu by Vernam HullDeirdre, or, The Exile of the Sons of UsnechDeirdre, in The Three Sorrows of Storytelling by Douglas HydeThe Trí Truaighe na Scéalaigheachta by Eugene O'Curry
 

Background reading

Kingship Made Real? Power and the Public World in Longes Mac nUislenn by Elva JohnstonSatire in Medieval IrelandLeabharchamMilesiansHow Ronan Slew His SonCano meic GartnáinDiarmuid & Gráinne 
Music
The Butterfly  by SláinteOur Green Lands by Bonn FieldsCalling on the Hill by Moorland SongsRed as a Rose by Rune DaleTurnpikes by Rune DaleFarewell to Ennerdale Water by Moorland Songs
 


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For every death, a price must be paid. Life is precious, and blood is costly, and when you take the life of a man, you do not know how high the penalty will be. This is a story about three brothers, and a life they took, the price they paid, and the devastation that followed them to their deaths.

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Sources and Further Reading
Story Sources

The Fate of the Children of Tuireann from The Society for the Preservation of the Irish Language"The Quest of the Sons of Turenn" by T. W. Rolleston"The Fate of the Children of Tuireann" from The Three Sorrows of Storytelling by Douglas Hyde
Background reading

"The Grail and the English Sir Perceval" (V) by Arthur C. L. Brown"Fines under Brehon Law" by Laurence GinnellÉraic / eric
 

Music
The Butterfly - SláinteLúnassa - AislinnThe Road to Lisdoonvarna & Scollay's - PinnipiedThe Burning of the Piper's Hut - PinnipiedShady Grove - Shake That Little Foot

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