Podcasts about jonny dillon

Patricia purchased a sofa bed from Homebase but it hasn't been delivered and is unable to get a refund. Canvassers share their experiences with Joe. Jonny Dillon explains the superstions that apparently predict the weather. Honor Heffernan talks about 'The Whistling Girl', a show based on the work of Dorothy Parker.

Fire Draw Near Episode XLII is a moody frontline assemblage of traditional folk adjacent magic with new tracks from Jonny Dillon, A Clatter and Drone, Áit Ait, Cormorant Tree Oh and Eliza Carthy, recently discovered tracks from M(h)aol and Perinne Bourel as well as old time classics from John Griffin (the 5th Avenue Bus Man), Stefan Shkimba & Co., Cyril Biddick, the Young Tradition as well as none other than the legendary J.R. R. Tolkien. Tracklist: Perinne Bourel – Rigodon du Château d'Ancelle A Clatter and Drone - The Day That Broke Winter Jonny Dillon – Rose Gardens & Requiems Áit Ait – Miss Brown Mhaol – Oró Sé Do Bheatha Bhaile J. R. R. Tolkien – Sam's Rhyme of the Troll Cyril Biddick – Old Daddy Fox The Young Tradition – Daddy Fox John Griffin – The Real Old Mountain Dew Stefan Shkimba & Co. – LemkoWedding pt 11 The Kossoy Sisters – Down in a Willow Garden Cormorant Tree Oh – All Of It Eliza Carthy & The Restitution – Whirly Whorl Jonny Dillon – The Corridor Of The Heart https://campsite.bio/firedrawnear

Jonny Dillon is from Greystones, County Wicklow, Ireland. He works as an archivist at the National Folklore Collection, University College Dublin, is a research editor for the Collection's online platform Dúchas.ie, produces and hosts the Collection's podcast Blúiríní Béaloidis (Folklore Fragments) and is Honorary Treasurer to the Folklore of Ireland Society. He releases instrumental acoustic guitar music under his own name, and produces records of electronic music on analogue synthesisers and drum machines under the pseudonym of 'Automatic Tasty'." In this episode, we discuss so many things including how Walt Disney visited the National Folklore Collection, University College Dublin before he made Darby O'Gill and the Little People https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052722/ we discuss the Banshee, the Irish underworld, sweat lodges, the integration of science, the sacred and mythology, the changes in Irish culture, philosophy, conflict, psychedelics, fairy forts, music, Irish language and much more...... Links to pursue    Short videos Fairy Forts: A great insight into Fairy Forts in Ireland. This place is not far from where I grew up. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyuXi_jsPvg This video is entertaining and highly recommended.   Owneygat Cave Ireland https://youtu.be/ZB0vottAVWw   In Honour of Tradition - Jonny Dillon The past may be forgotten but it does not die, for the voice of the past is present, and speaks to us today. In the disordered confusion of the modern age this voice is often lost to us, but those who are still and who strain to listen, will hear it as it echoes to us through Time, for the voice of Tradition is never silent. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBI97Z0iud4   Additional audio material we discussed Uberboyo YouTube channel with a series of lectures on Aion https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvohnwo84dIluwLTzNB9xncnfg5SiadB0   The Almanac of Ireland Podcast https://www.rte.ie/radio/podcasts/series/32164-the-almanac-of-ireland/   Folklore Fragments podcast on fairy forts: In fields, valleys, and quiet places the country over can be found countless earthwork mounds, cairns, tumuli, and other signs of early human habitation in Ireland. These sites often garnered supernatural associations in the folk tradition, is commonly understood as the abodes of 'Na Daoine Maithe' (The Good People) or fairies. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2OjysP7ids   A Week in Darkness: The Purest Medicine, Aubrey Marcus Podcast https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ewq7r1s535c   People we discussed René Descartes 31 March 1596 – 11 February 1650 was a French philosopher, mathematician, and scientist who invented analytic geometry, linking the previously separate fields of geometry and algebra https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ren%C3%A9_Descartes   Heraclitus: A Greek philosopher who was active around 500 BCE, Heraclitus propounded a distinctive theory which he expressed in oracular language. He is best known for his doctrines that things are constantly changing (universal flux), that opposites coincide (unity of opposites), and that fire is the basic material of the world. The exact interpretation of these doctrines is controversial, as is the inference often drawn from this theory that in the world as Heraclitus conceives it contradictory propositions must be true. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/heraclitus/   Robert Gordon Wasson (September 22, 1898 – December 23, 1986) was an American author, ethnomycologist, and Vice President for Public Relations at J.P. Morgan & Co http://www.gordonwasson.com/   Books The Matter with Things ~ Iain McGilchrist Volume I and II here https://channelmcgilchrist.com/the-matter-with-things/   The Banshee The Irish Supernatural Death-messenger https://www.bookdepository.com/Banshee-Patricia-Lysaght/9780862784904   Irish Wake Amusementshttps://www.amazon.com/Irish-Wake-Amusements-Sean-Suilleabhain/dp/1856351734   Nihilism: The Root of the Revolution of the Modern Age https://www.amazon.com.au/Nihilism-Root-Revolution-Modern-Age/dp/1887904069   Finite and Infinite Games https://www.amazon.com.au/Finite-Infinite-Games-James-Carse/dp/1476731713>   The Crisis of the Modern World https://www.amazon.com.au/Crisis-Modern-World-Rene-Guenon/dp/0900588241>   The Reign of Quantity and the Signs of the Times https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-reign-of-quantity-and-the-signs-of-the-times-rene-guenon/book/9780900588686.html>   Places or items we discussed Newgrange is a Stone Age (Neolithic) monument in the Boyne Valley, County Meath, it is the jewel in the crown of Ireland's Ancient East. Newgrange was constructed about 5,200 years ago (3,200 B.C.) which makes it older than Stonehenge and the Great Pyramids of Giza. https://www.newgrange.com/   Axial Age (also Axis Age) is a term coined by German philosopher Karl Jaspers in the sense of a “pivotal age”, characterizing the period of ancient history from about the 8th to the 3rd century BCE. https://slife.org/axial-age/   Irish Sweathouses are small, rare, beehive-shaped, corbelled structures of fieldstones, rarely more than 2 metres in external height and diameter, with very small "creep" entrances which may have been blocked by clothing, or by temporary doors of peat-turves, or whatever came to hand. Most of those which survive could not have accommodated more than three or four sweaters. They resemble the small 'caves', built into banks, in which many Irish natives were reported to live in the seventeenth century http://irishmegaliths.org.uk/sweathouses.htm   Contact Jonny and follow his work The Folklore of Ireland Society https://www.ucd.ie/irishfolklore/en/folkloresociety/ and at https://www.duchas.ie/en nationalfolklorecollection on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/nationalfolklorecollection/   Bluiríní Béaloidis is the podcast from The National Folklore Collection, University College Dublin, and is a platform to explore Irish and wider European folk tradition across an array of subject areas and topics. Host Jonny Dillon hopes this tour through the folklore furrow will appeal to those who wish to learn about the richness and depth of their traditional cultural inheritance; that knowledge and understanding of our past might inform our present and guide our future. https://soundcloud.com/folklore_podcast Check us out at www.learningtodie.com.au  for all episodes and links to the YouTube video versions. The YouTube version of this episode has a video and some slides. Contact us at ian@learningtodie.com.au   or ciaran@learningtodie.com.au    

Insíonn Kathryn Ní Mhaoláin do Chaoimhe faoin sprioc taobh thiar den Sunrise Social. Faigheann Máire an scéala is déanaí ar Covid-19 sa Bhrasaíl, áit a bhfuil Alex Hijmans, iriseoir agus scríbhneoir, lonnaithe i gcathair Salvador. Agus, cluinimid ó Jonny Dillon as Cnuasach Bhéaloideas Éireann faoi Oíche Fhéile Eoin. Kathryn Mullan tells Caoimhe about the Sunrise Social. Alex Hijmans has the latest on Covid-19 in Brasil. And Jonny Dillon from the National Folklore Collection chats to Dáithí about St John's Eve.

Cartlannaí ó Chnuasach Béaloideas Éireann ag inse faoi nósanna agus pisreogaí na Bealtaine

In Episode #27 Dónal Dineen pays tribute to the legendary Simeon Cox whose band Silver Apples were responsible for electronic music’s Big Bang in 1969. Special guest is Jonny Dillon. He plays a selection of tunes from the LP ‘Songs for a One-String Guitar’ and introduces tracks from the Automatic Tasty record A Farewell to Reason, as well as discussing some influences and his work at the National Folklore Collection.

Chuaigh Sinéad agus Siún chomh fada leis an Seomra Caidrimh in UCD le labhairt le Jonny Dillon atá ag obair i gCartlann Chnuasach Bhéaloideas Éireann.

While rooted in the earth, trees ascend towards the firmament of the Heavens. They likewise renew themselves through the eternal rhythms that govern all living things (those cycles of growth, maturation, decay and rebirth) as they blossom, flower, give fruit and eventually shed their leaves before being reborn anew each spring. Certain of these proud intermediaries between heaven and earth were treated with great veneration by our forebears, and echoes of the worship of sacred trees survives in folk tradition to this day. For this 19th edition of Blúiríní Béaloidis, hosts Jonny Dillon and Claire Doohan consider their culture born of nature. From sacred trees under which kings of Ireland were inaugurated in times long ago, to the holy woods inhabited by both madmen and saints, and from votive offerings left hanging on the branches of trees growing beside holy wells, to those trees treated with fear and trepidation, understood as they were, as dwellings of the otherworld spirits which live alongside us in the natural landscape. Stay with us for an hour then, as we shelter beneath the branches of tradition, which gift to us the fruits of memory and meaning. Jonny and Claire would like to send their thanks to Landless for permission to include the song 'The Trees Grow Tall' from their 2018 LP Bleaching Bones (played at 38 minutes, 12 seconds into the podcast). For more information about the group, and to support their work go to: https://landless.bandcamp.com https://www.facebook.com/landlessmusic/ https://www.instagram.com/landless_music_dublin/ We likewise send thanks to Richard Moult, for allowing us permission to include a beautiful piece of his piano music titled 'Star Filled Tree, Blacksburg' to close the podcast (the piece is played at 58 minutes, 48 seconds). If you would like to learn more about Richard's art, and to support his work, please go to: https://starred-desert.com

St. Brigid’s Day falls on the first of February, and is traditionally understood as marking the beginning of spring in Irish custom. Dedicated to the saint nicknamed Muire na nGael or the ‘Mary of the Irish’ (a designation given to her on account of the adoration and high regard in which she has long been held by the people of this island), St. Brigid's Day is a period full with emblems of regeneration, renewal and propagation. For the first in the 2019 series of Blúiríní Béaloidis, hosts Claire Doohan and Jonny Dillon explore the feast of St. Brigid by examining her pre-Christian roots; tracing her spread across Europe and exploring links with early Vedic literature and the Indo-European tradition before considering the role and function of Ireland's patroness, along with contemporary attitudes held towards her in folk custom. So, sit a while with us as we welcome in the dawn of a new season. Brigid, spring, you are welcome. Come in!

From Jul 28, 1914 until Nov 11, 1918 the iron dice of war rolled across the fields of Europe with a ferocity and magnitude the likes of which the world had never seen. In the smoke filled trenches of Guillement, and on the shell-illuminated wastes of Ypres a hellish vision of mechanised death manifested itself. In this, the 17th episode of Blúiríní Béaloidis, Claire Doohan and Jonny Dillon commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the Armistice of November 11, 1918, the date which marks the cessation of hostilities between the Allies and Germany. In a break from their usual format, Claire and Jonny explore the war by focusing on the memoirs of those who lived through the experience first hand - either on the front, or back at home. Drawing on material from Coningsby Dawson's 'Glory of the Trenches', Mrs. Victor Rickard's 'The Stand of the Munsters at Etreux', Vera Brittain's 'Testament of Youth' and Ernst Jünger's 'Storm of Steel', along with selections of poetry and archival recordings from the National Folklore Collection, University College Dublin, this edition of Blúiríní Béaloidis honours the heroism and bravery of all of those men and women who were lost to this war. Suaimhneas síoraí orthab! Claire and Jonny send a special note of thanks to Luke Murphy for his diligent and careful work in editing the NFC archival recordings used in the episode.

Native European and Irish Tradition posits the existence of an Otherworld realm lying beyond the furthest reaches of the horizon; an island of plenty and abundance, where happiness lasts forever, and where one hundred years pass as one day. The Greek Elysium, King Arthur's Avalon, the Odainsakr of the Norse and the Irish Land of the Living all point to a long-held corpus of beliefs regarding a paradise across the ocean. For the 16th instalment of Blúiríní Béaloidis, hosts Jonny Dillon and Claire Doohan set forth upon the waves to Teach Duinn (The House of Donn), to which the souls of Ireland's heathen dead were said to travel with the setting of the sun. Continuing their voyage, Claire and Jonny venture onwards over the seas 'flowery plains' visiting 'thrice fifty islands' with the great Connle, Mael Dúin, Bran and St. Brendan as their companions. Our ships are coursing over the sea; strange panoramas and otherworld islands await: 'There is a distant isle, Around which sea-horses glisten: A fair course against the white-swelling surge, -Four feet uphold it. A beauty of a wondrous land, Whose aspects are lovely, Whose view is a fair country, Incomparable is its haze. Wealth, treasures of every hue, Are in Ciuin, a beauty of freshness, Listening to sweet music, Drinking the best of wine.’

The birth of a child is among the most important moments in the life of the individual, and of the community of which they are a broader part. Small wonder then, that there should exist so large a body of folk belief and custom regarding the protection of infants and the unborn. A darker body of tradition concerns those children who fail to thrive, who are sickly, and who appear wizened or otherwise deformed. In such instances, it was often believed by our forebears that the fairies - the supernatural race who exist unseen alongside us - had taken the healthy child and replaced it with a wizened and decrepit creature which was in fact one of their own. This creature was known as the changeling, and many drastic (and often violent) steps were taken in order to cast out and banish such creatures. Join hosts Claire Doohan and Jonny Dillon for this month's edition of Blúiríní Béaloidis as they explore a body of lore and custom borne out of deformations and disorders, in which the supernatural permeates and punctures the ordered safety and shelter of the family unit, and in which drastic steps are taken to restore order in the home.

The idea of the existence of a soul or life-force which exists independently of the body is of considerable antiquity. In folk tradition, the soul was understood to depart the body, not just at the moment of death (where it was said to leave through the crown of the head), but during sleep (where it departed the body via the mouth in the appearance of a small creature or insect). For this 13th edition of Blúiríní Béaloidis (marking one year on the air!) hosts Jonny Dillon and Claire Doohan explore popular conceptions of the soul in folk tradition; from offerings left by our forebears to the souls of their departed ancestors, to those souls who return from the otherworld in need of help (or to exact revenge). From the lovers whose bonds transcend death, to tobacco spirits in need of prayer, join Claire and Jonny as they turn their thoughts to those who have gone before, and to those lost souls who wander among us still, between nightfall and cock-crow. And a special word of thanks this month to our colleagues Mícheál and Réiltín at Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge, Doirí Beaga, who kindly allowed us to use an audio sample from the bealoideasbeo.ie project, for which we are extremely grateful.

The 17th of March sees countries the world over celebrate Saint Patrick's Day - a day which is commonly marked with large parades and revelry held in honour of the Ireland's patron saint. But what do we know of the historical figure of Patrick, and how is he viewed in folk tradition? What relation does he bear to the Pagan order that preceded him, and how is he represented in the early literature? Join hosts Claire Doohan and Jonny Dillon for this month's edition of Blúiríní Béaloidis as they consider the figure of St. Patrick, the pilgrimages still made in his honour and the impact he had, not only in Ireland, but further afield all over Europe. From Skerries in the east to Croagh Patrick in the west, from Duhallow in the south to Lough Derg in the north, join us in breaking our Lenten Fast as we give honour Ireland's patron saint. We dedicate this edition of Blúiríní Béaloidis to the memory of our late friend and colleague Finbar Boyle - suaimhneas síoraí air!

Betrothal and marriage are among the most central and important rites of passage in any community, and in Irish tradition one was not seen as an adult (regardless of one's age) until they were married. In this month's edition of Blúiríní Béaloidis, hosts Claire Doohan and Jonny Dillon turn their attention to ideas around love, magic and marriage as represented in Irish tradition: from Shrovetide harassment of singletons to Lenten prohibitions on matrimony, and from divinatory pancake tossing to hard-bargained dowries, join us as we consider those matters of the heart that are never far from the mind.

Cattle have been central to Irish farming since the Neolithic period, and in early Ireland were even used as a unit of currency. In this month's edition of Blúiríní Béaloidis, hosts Jonny Dillon and Claire Doohan explore material relating to the cow in tradition; from native breeds which were hailed by Sir William Wilde as resembling 'in the most remarkable manner, the ox-heads carved upon the friezes of Grecian temples', to the mythical cattle of the Glas Gaibhneach, and the goddess Bóinn - figures representative of fertility, abundance and plenty, who place the Irish material regarding cattle in the context of the broader European (and Indo-European) tradition. From the Hindu Govinda to the Norse Auðumbla, and from Inis Bó Finne (Island of the Bright Cow) to Dublin's Cluain Tarbh (Meadow of the Bull), cattle have left their imprint on a landscape both physical and metaphysical that stretches from Ireland to India. Join us then as we give praise to that great 'rejuvenator of the world', the humble cow!

This episode I chat with Jonny Dillon, an archivist at the Irish National Folklore Collection at University College Dublin. We discuss the history of the Folklore Collection, his podcast, Blúiríní Béaloidis / Folklore Fragments, and the deep need for folk tradition in modern life. The Irish National Folklore Collection is one of the largest folklore collections in Europe, and has just this month been ascribed to the UNESCO Memory of the World Register. Blúiríní Béaloidis / Folklore Fragments Podcast: https://soundcloud.com/folklore_podcast The National Folklore Collection: https://www.ucd.ie/irishfolklore/en/ Music: Intro: "Forest March" by Sylvia Woods "Amhráin na Trá Báine" by Fiachra O'Regan "Aisling Gheal" by Fiachra O'Regan "An Leanbh Sí" by Fiachra O'Regan Image: An Irish family outside thatched cottage: Eason Photographic Collection, National Library of Ireland

For this month's edition of Blúiríní Béaloidis, hosts Claire Doohan and Jonny Dillon set out to take a critical look at traditional practices relating to that most beloved of calendar custom celebrations; the midwinter festival of Christmas. Combining practices from the Nordic festival of Yule, the Roman Saturnalia and Christian tradition, Christmas is a time of feasting, goodwill and excess; a period marked by the suspension of normal social codes, and where all is mirth and merriment. Now, as the winter solstice approaches, and with the sun coursing low across the December sky, we fill the house with symbols of regeneration and light to celebrate the return of 'Sol Invictus'; the Unconquerable Sun. Our candles are lighting in the window to guide the weary traveller on their way, our house is decorated with evergreens of holly, ivy and mistletoe, and so we bid our listeners Io Saturnalia, God Jul, Merry Christmas and Nollaig Shona!

Owing to their impact on human affairs, weather occurrences of all sorts were a source of preoccupation for our forebears, who would look to the natural world around in the hope of interpreting and predicting these climactic manifestations. Explanations given to account for sudden gusts of wind and storms in many instances made reference to supernatural forces; to the powers of the fairies, of witches, wizards, the clergy and even freemasons. In this edition of Blúiríní Béaloidis, hosts Jonny Dillon and Claire Doohan explore traditional beliefs regarding wind and storms in folk tradition; from the varying methods utilised by sailors in order to raise and control the wind to aid them on their journeys, to those curses and magical practices used by witches to bring revenge to against those who had wronged them, and the historic accounts in which such attacks were attributed to particular individuals. From storm-inducting stone effigies to magical basins of water, join Claire and Jonny as they invoke the powers of the air! Resources of Interest: An example of a 'Furl Blast' or 'Fairy Wind' of the sort which would come rushing through harvest fields, sending newly harvested crops high into the air: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FSsSN2JJAw Sailors purchasing knotted ropes with which they might raise wind. Woodcut from Olaus Magnus' 'Description of the Northern Peoples' (1555): https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/30/Olaus_Magnus_-_On_Wizards_and_Magicians_among_the_Finns.jpg 'The Ship Sinking Witch', woodcut from Olaus Magnus' 'Description of the Northern Peoples' (1555): https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/Olaus_Magnus_-_On_Women_Skilled_in_Magic.jpg Ranulf Higden's Polychronicon (1387): http://chester.shoutwiki.com/wiki/Polychronicon The Night of the Big Wind, 1839: https://www.met.ie/climate-ireland/weather-events/Jan1839_Storm.PDF Oíche Nollaig Na mBan (The Night of Women's Christmas) - Seán Ó Riordáin Bhí fuinneamh sa stoirm a éalaigh aréir. Aréir oíche Nollaig na mBan, As gealt-teach iargúlta 'tá laistiar den ré Is do scréach tríd an spéir chughainn 'na gealt Gur ghíosc geataí comharsan mar ghogallach gé, Gur bhúir abhainn slaghdánach mar tharbh, Gur mhúchadh mo choinneal mar bhuille ar mo bhéal A las 'na splanc obann an fhearg Ba mhaith liom go dtiocfadh an stoirm sin féin An oíche go mbeadsa go lag Ag filleadh abhaile ó rince an tsaoil Is solas an pheaca ag dul as, Go líonfaí gach neomat le liúirigh ón spéir, Go ndéanfaí den domhan scuaine scread, Is ná cloisfinn an ciúnas ag gluaiseacht fám dhéin, Ná inneall an ghluaisteáin ag stad. (English Translation) There was power in the storm that escaped last night, last night on Women’s Christmas, from the desolate madhouse behind the moon and screamed through the sky at us, lunatic, making neighbours’ gates screech like geese and the hoarse river roar like a bull, quenching my candle like a blow to the mouth that sparks a quick flash of rage. I’d like if that storm would come again, a night I’d be feeling weak coming home from the dance of life and the light of sin dwindling, that every moment be full of the screaming sky, that the world be a storm of screams, and I wouldn’t hear the silence coming over me, the car’s engine come to a stop.

The Ulster Cycle consists of a corpus of tales forming one of the main branches of early Irish Literature, which have come down to us across countless generations; existing first as part of an oral tradition in Ireland until it was later chronicled by early Christian monks in the manuscripts that survive to this day. The most well known series of narratives within the Ulster Cycle - Táin Bó Cuailgne or 'The Cattle Raid of Cooley' - relates the adventures and exploits of the mythic champion and heroic demigod Cú Chulainn, as he single-handedly defends his people against the advancing armies of Queen Meadhbh and King Aillil. From the unlikely origins of its principle characters, to similarities with ancient Greek and Indo-European tradition; and from warp-spasms and beheadings to more tender moments, join your hosts Claire Doohan and Jonny Dillon as they take up arms to explore this bloody epic, themselves engaging in bitter dispute on the nature of heroic spirit along the way! Further reading: (Online) Táin Bó Cuailgne Recension 1: https://celt.ucc.ie/published/T301012/index.html Táin Bó Cuailgne; Adaptation from Dunn & Windisch: http://adminstaff.vassar.edu/sttaylor/Cooley/ (Print) Kinsella, Thomas (1969)The Táin: Translated from the Irish epic Táin Bó Cuailnge, London, Oxford University Press. Carey, John (1999). 'Cú Chulainn as Ailing Hero' in Ronald Black, William Gillies; Roibeard Ó Maolalaigh. Celtic Connections: Proceedings of the Tenth International Congress of Celtic Studies, Vol. 1. East Linton: Tuckwell. pp. 190–8. Nagy, Joseph Falaky (1984) 'Heroic Destinies in the Macgnímrada of Finn and Cú Chulainn'. Zeitschrift für Celtische Philologie. 40: 23–39. Ó hÓgáin, Dáithí (2006). The lore of Ireland : an Encyclopaedia of Myth, Legend and Romance. Doughcloyne, Ireland : Rochester, N.Y. ; Boydell & Brewer,Collins Press.

In fields, valleys and quiet places the country over can be found countless earthwork mounds, cairns, tumuli and other signs of early human habitation in Ireland. These sites often garnered supernatural associations in folk tradition, being commonly understood as the abodes of 'Na Daoine Maithe' (The Good People) or fairies. Quite unlike the genteel 'Tinker Bell' of contemporary culture, the fairies in folk tradition were understood as an archaic otherworld community living alongside us in the natural landscape, and were held in a mixture of trepidation and respect by our forebears, on account of the power of their influence over human affairs (for good or bad). Join your hosts Claire Doohan and Jonny Dillon in this month's edition of Blúiríní Béaloidis, as they aim to dispel some of the common misconceptions about the fairies in popular culture while also examining their origins, abodes, and customs attached to them. From fallen angels to pre-Christian deities, and from nature spirits to the mortals who learnt songs and music from them; sit with us for an hour as we set out into the natural landscape in the hope of coming to a deeper understanding of our unruly otherworld neighbours and the wisdom and knowledge they offer us today!

The arrival of the harvest was for our forebears a time of great celebration, for it marked the point at which the lean months of June and 'Hungry July' (when the year's stores were traditionally at their lowest), gave way to a period of profusion and plenty. In this month's edition of Blúiríní Béaloidis / Folklore Fragments, your hosts Jonny Dillon and Claire Doohan take to the fields to consider the harvest in tradition, discussing hilltop celebrations, naked horse-swimming races and the spirit of the crops itself, which appears all over Europe, in the form of a female nature spirit known broadly as the 'Corn Mother', as well as being symbolically represented by several animals. Join us then, as we ring in the harvest season, that we might enjoy and partake of its fruits and give thanks to the earth from which they have sprung; the earth to which we return harvest after harvest, generation after generation, unceasingly, and without end. * * * * * Visit duchas.ie (the project to digitise the holdings of the National Folklore Collection) to explore material relating to the harvest in traditon. Harvest: http://www.duchas.ie/en/src?q=harvest&t=CbesStory Sheaf Customs: http://www.duchas.ie/en/src?q=sheaf&t=CbesStory An introductory address by Jonny Dillon of the Folklore of Ireland Society, to open 'Coinleach Glas an Fhómhair'; a night of music, song, storytelling and dance pertaining to the harvest in Irish tradition, which was held in Dublin's Christ Church Cathedral, on the night of Friday the 29th of September 2016: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JlOHTiVoww The closing set to 'Coinleach Glas an Fhómhair' - a night of traditional music, song, dance and storytelling from Irish tradition, all of which pertained to the theme of the harvest, and which was held in Dublin's Christ Church Cathedral on the night of Friday the 29th of September 2016: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99pRom_8IcU Harvest Knot Images: https://www.google.ie/search?q=Harvest+Knot&client=safari&rls=en&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwit16LVn6zVAhUEBsAKHU9FBz8Q_AUICigB&biw=1504&bih=899 Last Sheaf Images: https://www.google.ie/search?client=safari&rls=en&biw=1504&bih=899&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=Last+Sheaf&oq=Last+Sheaf&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0i24k1.24868.26426.0.26555.10.10.0.0.0.0.149.657.9j1.10.0....0...1.1.64.psy-ab..0.10.656...0j0i10k1j0i10i24k1.IDmKFxUZSmI The image used for this podcast shows the process of reaping and binding (as carried out by two particularly diligent young ladies!) in Co. Louth, 1946.

Since the earliest times, Man has sought to come to terms with the unknown powers and forces that act upon life and wellbeing. It is natural therefore, that our forebears looked to the natural world, and to the heavens, for interpretable signs and symbols by which they could increase well being and banish misfortune. The Moon has long been our old companion, and has gazed down silently upon all that has passed here on earth since time immemorial. Similarly, in our looking beyond ourselves to the heavens, we have long looked to the Moon for guidance and blessing. It will come as no surprise then, that there should exist so great a body of folk belief and custom in Irish (and broader European) tradition regarding this luminary, some of which is explored in this episode of Blúiríní Béaloidis / Folklore Fragments by Claire Doohan and Jonny Dillon. From the idea that the moon is a place of habitation for banished spirits, to its influence on human affairs, in this edition of Blúiríní Béaloidis we look to the heavens and bid 'greeting to you new moon, kindly jewel of guidance!' For further information on this topic, visit duchas.ie, the project to digitise the National Folklore Collection. The Moon (English) - http://www.duchas.ie/en/src?q=MOON An Ghealach (Gaeilge) - http://www.duchas.ie/en/src?q=ghealach&t=CbesStory

The first of May is marked in Ireland (and across Europe more broadly), as a day on which the summer is welcomed in; where garlands of flowers decorate the houses, in which young women of the locality bring cattle up to higher summer pastures to graze, in which the community re-asserts its boundaries, and the family unit aims to garner for itself prosperity and good luck for the coming summer. In this edition of Blúiríní Béaloidis / Folklore Fragments, hosts Claire Doohan and Jonny Dillon discuss some of the traditions and customs popularly observed at this time; from hiring fairs and Booleying, to shapeshifting witches and May altars. For now, rough winter has gone, and flowers cover the world - therefore we bid you welcome, noble summer! This episode can be downloaded by clicking the '...' icon above.

Welcome to Blúiríní Béaloidis, the new podcast from the National Folklore Collection, University College Dublin. In this introductory episode, hosts Jonny Dillon and Claire Doohan delve into definitions of folklore to dispel some common misconceptions surrounding this area of interest, as well as tracing the cultural and political context of the interest in folk-tradition, which saw it arise as an expression of romantic nationalist thought across Ireland and Europe of the 19th century. The podcast can be downloaded by clicking on the '...' icon shown above.