Pisrógs

Luke Pisrogs Conroy and Cathal Pisrogs Bergin
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Pisrogs podcast is an audio adventure of Irish myth, folklore, history and more. The podcast started with hosts Luke Conroy and Aran Reidy trawling through the Duchás Folklore Archives for the most spell-binding, peculiar, imaginative and funny Irish folk stories they could find. With Aran having emigrated to the plains of Tír na nÓg, Luke returns with a brand new season of interviews, investigations and oddities and a new co-host Cathal Bergin!

  1. Jul 28

    The Blacksmith's Forge

    If you went back in time to an Irish village or settlement the first place you should go was surprisingly, the forge. The village forge was the ancient internet, the pub, the pharmacy, and occasionally the battlefield briefing room. It's where you would get the weekly news. The blacksmith dealt in Iron, Information and Anvils, but also Fairies, Cures and Curses. Cathal and Luke tell tales of fairy warfare, three-legged horses, magical purses, enchanted forge water and Holy Women's curses. The blacksmith's power wasn't just in his physical strength, but in his skill of sorcery. They could cure illnesses, stop bleeding with secret charms, banish rats, break curses, and even bargain with the fairy world. From ancient gods like Goibniu the divine smith to the humble village forge where neighbours gathered for stories, craic and gossip, the forge stands at the precipice between the human world and the supernatural. Video References: Hands: Powers of the Metal: https://youtu.be/jUP8W3xfezY?is=-UNtfZVcmouHvhw_ Last of the Dublin Blacksmiths: https://youtu.be/FPMe73RgO4U?is=PuPwrdHsyHLyKzmT A Blacksmith Retires, Ballymahon Com Longford: https://youtu.be/uhorleq7C2s?is=HkfwStz2FILHRGkp

  2. Jul 14

    Priest Hunters

    PRIEST HUNTERS, during Ireland's Penal Laws these were bounty hunters paid to track down Catholic priests, going from village to village looking for the rewards offered for their holy heads. Haunted houses, swarms of black beetles, priests disguised as gardeners, bloodhounds chasing clergy across the countryside, highwaymen turned heroes, and assassinations which quite literally backfire. Whilst Mass Rocks (where people worshipped in secret) are widely discussed,  Cathal and Luke wanted to know more about the people they were hiding from.

  3. Jul 2

    Whales - Míolta Móra

    Míol mór, whales! In irish it literally tanslates to large beast. Luke and Cathal dive into the folklore of the whale: Adventurers swallowed by whales, Townsfolk hunting for whales, Churches made of whales and whales mixed with cows. It's all in this brand new episode of Pisrógs! Whales! Wanna know what spermaceti is? Hit that play button sailor. Link to Oregon Whale Explosion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6CLumsir34

  4. May 28

    Sherkin Island

    Piracy, sea serpents, fairy women, gun-slinging priests. A fun little episode for a fun little island! Cathal and Luke are on their way to Sherkin Island (which allegedly boasts its own micro-climate), just off Baltimore, Cork. Inis Arcáin means 'Isle of the Piglets' , but not for the reason you may expect.

  5. May 13

    Speaking Horses & Irish Balls

    A horse veterinarian/kinesiologist casually informed us that a mythical white horse once appeared on the Benaughlin mountains every 'Billberry Tuesday.' As you do. This week, new-cohost Cathal Bergin joins Luke and together they descend into one of the strangest corners of Irish folklore: fairy cattle markets on the Play-Bank, ghostly aristocrats in knee breeches, warriors vanishing into mountains, funerals chasing men through the bog, and a fairy fort fuelled entirely by dairy-based emotional support cows. There are ancient cairns that scream when disturbed, invisible armies helping clans win battles, and one very important historical mystery: what exactly were the “Irish balls” being hurled in combat… and why does nobody ever properly explain them? Fairies, ghosts, talking horses, giant stones, mysterious music in the hills, and an absolutely unreasonable quantity of Irish balls.

  6. Mar 31

    The Lover's Knot & The Frog Man - Anna (Luke's Mam)

    In Kildallan lies the Relic, an ancient graveyard where two trees wrapped around eachother above the graves of two forbidden lovers. Luke and his Mam share memories of their tight knit rural community of Kildallan. The pair read the stories of some of their community's oldest residents. Uncovering stories of C**k Fights, Cursed Families, Pig Gangs and Riverside Hags. Anna shares tales of her unusual childhood: selling frogs to ‘The Frog Man,’ exploring the fields around her home, and the rhythms of life at Kildallan National School, a tiny, a small schoolhouse over a century old.

  7. Mar 24

    Naas, Rónán Ó Raghallaigh - Fionn Mac Cumhaill, Haunted Pilgrimages & Faction Fights

    Returning guest, Naas-born visual and performance artist Rónán Ó Raghallaigh. Rónán’s work moves between indigenous Irish art and ritual action, and after a few years it was time for Luke to catch up with an old friend. Fire throwing Fairies , Swords from Arabia, Headless horsemen and Faction Fights. This episode goes far beyond the Naas Ball. In his new work Turais Taibhsí (“Haunted Pilgrimages”), Ó Raghallaigh translates personal pilgrimages to sacred Irish sites into layered painting and performance. Each work is rooted in on‑site research into folklore, place‑names and archaeology, and reflects how these landscapes have been altered - by colonialism, by religion and by industrial extraction. The boys discuss how the quarrying a sacred mount like the Hill of Allen isn’t just industrial change but a violation of a spiritually‑charged place...the burial ground of Fionn mac Cumhaill.

  8. Mar 17

    Granard, CBL - Wrestling, Bulls, Fairies & Teen Discos

    This week on the podcast, Luke is joined by Irish professional wrestler Conor Brady Lee — better known as CBL, or simply The Bull. Luke and CBL wander through the strange backrooms of Longford folklore old and new: The Burning of Granard, Mermaids, Fairy Horsemen, Local Characters and Teen Disco Scraps. A Longford native and rising force in Irish wrestling, CBL carries himself with the grounded presence of someone reared on beef nuts, pat the baker and parish halls as by ropes and rings. Recently earning a WWE tryout in New Jersey, his reputation is growing, but his roots remain planted firmly in his home soil.

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About

Pisrogs podcast is an audio adventure of Irish myth, folklore, history and more. The podcast started with hosts Luke Conroy and Aran Reidy trawling through the Duchás Folklore Archives for the most spell-binding, peculiar, imaginative and funny Irish folk stories they could find. With Aran having emigrated to the plains of Tír na nÓg, Luke returns with a brand new season of interviews, investigations and oddities and a new co-host Cathal Bergin!

Information

  • Creator
    Luke Pisrogs Conroy and Cathal Pisrogs Bergin
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    60
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Luke Pisrogs Conroy and Cathal Pisrogs Bergin
  • Show Website
    Pisrógs

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