Podcasts about national folklore collection

Hello a chairde, and welcome to episode 40 of Blúiríní Béaloidis, the podcast from the National Folklore Collection. It would be remiss of me not to commence this episode of the podcast with long, grovelling apologies concerning the absence of signs of life regarding the series over the last year and a half. The good news is that the podcast still exists, the work of the NFC continues apace, and the bad news, well… there is no bad news really; just the reality of one individuals less-than-perfect attempts at keeping a variety of plates spinning while kicking cans down the road. Forgive me please! Forty episodes ago, we commenced our wanderings through the folklore furrow by asking 'what is folklore?' Now, having traversed some of the way together, we will stop to consider well, what is a folklore archive? Folklore archives, in actively setting out to document the traditional customs, practices and memories of ‘ordinary people', have tended to develop on the margins of the professional archival world. They offer unique cases for archival research, as the systems of classification and description they employ, along with the impulses that motivate them, pose questions regarding the relevance of formal archival ideas (which often developed in response to the needs or large and powerful government bureaucracies). In this episode we will explore the role and nature of archives generally, and will consider the form and nature of the folklore archive specifically. We'll hear from the visionary individuals who established the folklore archive in Ireland, will explore Ireland's troubled relationship with archives, look at the systems of classification and description which are employed in folklore archives, and consider what use this material offers us in these troubled times. I have many people to thank for helping me to create this episode; Cathal Goan, for his kind permission to use excerpts from his wonderful 1985 radio documentary 'Lest They Perish', Cormac O'Malley for permission to use recording of him reading account of the destruction of the Public Records Office of Ireland in his father Ernie O'Malley's memoir 'The Singing Flame', my colleague Kate Manning, Principal Archivist at UCD Archives for her alerting me to a fascinating 1935 government memorandum concerning the establishment of the Irish Folklore Commission, my colleagues at the National Folklore Collection for their assistance, support and good humour, and finally to yourselves, dear listeners, for your continued interest and support in our work. So, sin a bhfuil! We're already working away on a new series of interviews and episodes, and please God, will return with more next year. Beirigí bua agus beannacht! Jonny

Especially for púcaí season, listen to seven stories from míolseanchas na hÉireann – the lore of Irish creatures.You'll hear aboutna sióga – the fairiesan bhean sí – the bansheean púca – the pookaan chailleach – the witchan síofra – the changelingan mhaighdean mhara – the mermaidan fathach – the giantYou can find even more stories like this at dúchas.ie, the online home of the National Folklore Collection of Ireland.https://www.bitesize.irish/blog/scealta-samhna/Go to offer.irish for 10% discount from monthly or annual membership of Bitesize Irish.Support the showGo to www.bitesize.irish/links to find out more about courses and membership #GaeilgeGachLá

Send us a textIn this episode Jon shares the archive reference to  the fairy tree of Clogheen and shows that these places within the landscape of Ireland did not remain in local oral tales alone, but some made it into musical compositions which were performed around the world. Screen Share reference: The Schools' Collection, Volume 0573, Page 408Image and data © National Folklore Collection, UCD.Audio performance by John McCormack - The Fairy Tree (1930) https://youtu.be/HsFFMRdESBA?si=OT2Dr_yaQ5sVIlAM✨ FREE LEARNING RESOURCES FOR A YEAR! - https://irishpagan.school/free✨ Irish Pagan Resources Checklist available NOW - https://irishpagan.school/checklist/

The National Folklore Collection at University College Dublin includes stories as told by school children from the 1930s, which demonstrates the enduring tradition of story-telling in Ireland, and also gives us an interesting insight into historical events. Today we'll be discussing the Irish Folktale about the Murder of Kellagh and the reference to this story is: “The Schools' Collection, Volume 0147, Page 184” by Dúchas © National Folklore Collection, UCD is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0.

Today we're going to start a series exploring Irish folktales, beginning with the Banshee.  The word “banshee” comes from the Irish “Bean Sidhe” which has many translations including “Woman of the fairies”, “Lady of death,” and “Woman of sorrow.”  Banshees haunt the Irish landscape, wailing, screeching, and keening in sorrow. The screeching of the banshee can only be heard at night and is said to foretell the death of a family member if you hear her wail. Banshees have also been known to act as an omen of other tragedies or misfortunes as well. In different folk tales, banshees can be are portrayed in two ways, either as a spirit who mourns the dead and shares the sorrows of the family for whom they are warning or as a hateful creature whose cries are a celebration of suffering. The National Folklore Collection in Ireland has several stories about banshee's that have been collected from various sources, mostly from originating from the 1930s. One of these stories was called “The Banshee” and was collected in 1936 in County Wexford as part of an oral history project and it is part of the Main Manuscript Collection. “The Schools' Collection, Volume 0193, Page 357” by Dúchas © National Folklore Collection, UCD is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0.

The 1st episode of our 6th season features a conversation between Irish author and 2024 Heimbold Chair Emilie Pine, Villanova creative writing professor Adrienne Perry, Villanova student Charlotte Ralston and Center Director Joseph Lennon. They have a wide-ranging discussion about the writing process, flow and the role of the reader. - - - Emilie Pine is an award-winning Irish creative writer and scholar. Dr. Pine is professor of Modern Drama in the School of English, Drama and Film at University College Dublin. She has published widely as an academic and critic, including The Politics of Irish Memory: Performing Remembrance in Contemporary Irish Culture (Palgrave, 2011), and most recently The Memory Marketplace: Witnessing Pain in Contemporary Theatre (Indiana University Press, 2020). Dr. Pine served as editor of the Irish University Review from 2017 to 2021. Widely regarded as a leading scholar of Irish cultural memory, Dr. Pine led Industrial Memories, an Irish Research Council funded project to witness Ireland's historic institutional abuse. She continues to run the ongoing oral-history project Survivors Stories with the National Folklore Collection. As a writer, Dr. Pine collaborated with ANU Productions on the Ulysses 2.2 project in 2023, creating All Hardest of Woman at the National Maternity Hospital. Her first play, Good Sex, was a collaboration with Dead Centre Theatre Company, and was shortlisted for Best New Play and Best Production at the 2023 Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards. She is the author of the bestselling essay collection, Notes to Self, which won the 2018 Irish Book of the Year award and has been translated into 15 languages. Her novel Ruth & Pen (2022) won the 2023 Kate O'Brien First Novel Award. Adrienne Perry, earned her MFA from Warren Wilson College, and her PhD in Literature and Creative Writing from the University of Houston. From 2014-2016 she served as the Editor of Gulf Coast: A Journal of Literature and Fine Arts. In 2020, Adrienne received the inaugural Elizabeth Alexander Prize in Creative Writing from Meridians journal. Adrienne's work has appeared or is forthcoming in Copper Nickel, Black Warrior Review, Indiana Review, Ninth Letter, and elsewhere. She is an Assistant Professor of literature and creative writing at Villanova University. Charlotte Ralston recently graduated in 2024 with a BA English and Psychology with minor in Irish Studies.

Please Support Our Show on SubstackLove KnotWork Storytelling? Support the show, find the in-depth show notes, and get even more stories on our Substack, Myth Is Medicine.Our StoryAs the film, the Banshees of Inisherin receives awards across the world, we explore stories of the bean sí, the Irish fairy woman who was considered a harbinger of death. Our guest, Caoimhe Nic Giollarnáith, brings us stories from Ireland's Schools Collection as well as and stories her own childhood.Our GuestCaoimhe Nic Giollarnáith is originally from County Kildare. She has always had a keen interest in Irish folklore and mythology and grew up listening to her father tell stories in Irish about the féar gortach and bean sí. She attended Irish language medium schools and graduated from University of Galway, with BA and MA degrees in Modern Irish. While studying at University of Galway, Caoimhe took Irish Folklore courses taught by Dr. Lillis Ó Laoire. She has over 10 years of teaching experience as an Adjunct Professor and recently earned the Certificate in teaching Irish to adults from Maynooth University. Caoimhe currently teaches Irish language and literature undergraduate courses at Lehman College, City University New York and Irish language classes for adults at the Irish Arts Center, Manhattan and New York Irish Center in Queens. She also teaches one-to-one classes. Her clients include the families of Irish diplomats working at the United Nations and Irish Consulate, New York. In the past, she has taught Irish language courses at Fordham University, Manhattan College and Rosetta Stone. In February 2020, she received a Top 40 Under 40 award from The Irish Echo. Caoimhe is a regular guest on Irish language radio shows on BBC, RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta and featured in the Irish Film and Television Academy (IFTA) award nominated documentary series GAA USA broadcast on TG4. In June, Caoimhe will be launching her own Irish language classes online and in-person in Manhattan. Our ConversationThe wealth of folklore found at Duchas.ie, the database of Ireland's National Folklore Collection. Find the story from this episode here.The Irish language“talkie” film: Oidhche Sheanchais, from 1935 which features a night of storytelling and keening on the Aran Islands.Death in Ireland and the culture of large funerals and how it differs from the USMeeting the Badb, another face of the bansheeReclaiming the legacy of Peig Sayers, the Irish storyteller whose memoir was required reading for generations of Irish students Work with MarisaMarisa offers 1:1 coaching for writers & creative entrepreneurs, as well as 1:1 intuitive tarot sessions called Healing for Heroines sessions.Find more of Marisa's writing and get a copy of her book, The Sovereignty Knot www.marisagoudy.comFollow the show on Substack, Instagram, Facebook, and

Lying in fields and ditches, at the edge of old and overgrown graveyards and in lonesome places all over Ireland rest forgotten echoes of our past. Large and unwieldy stones; blocks of granite and sandstone flags which, used in former times as tests of strength, still reverberate with the memory of heroic feats. The tradition of stone lifting, while well-attested in Scotland, Iceland and other parts of Europe, is a topic about which very little is known in Ireland. For the past year, David Keohan, multiple national European and world champion in kettlebell sport, world record holder, avid strength historian and self-described stone-lifting fanatic, has been (literally) unearthing this little-known aspect of traditional Irish physical culture. Guided by material relating to the practice of stone lifting as found in the archives of the National Folklore Collection, David has been travelling the country identifying lifting stones mentioned in manuscript sources gathered by folklore collectors, and has been talking to locals who remember the lifting of these stones in former times. It has been an honour to assist in shining further light on this topic, and I was delighted to be joined by David for this episode of Blúiríní as he discusses his adventures to date. Join us as we attempt to set out the scope of the tradition as it existed in Ireland, drawing on NFC collection to examine the occasions on which these stones were lifted, their connection to funeral games and the dead, the role of lifting stones as rites of passage or method of settling dispute as well as their associations with hags, giants and mythical champions. The richness of our archival collections now serve to assist in the regeneration and reanimation of this once widespread custom, and should serve as a source of inspiration and pride; linking us with the past, with our birthplaces and with those who have gone before us. David's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/irish_move_athlete/?hl=en David's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@davidindianakeohans3566 Two highly recommended and very beautiful Rogue Fitness documentaries were mentioned at the outset of the episode. They are available here: Stoneland (Scottish stone lifting tradition): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhQlNwxn5oo&ab_channel=RogueFitness Fullsterkur (Icelandic stone lifting tradition): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79Tcsg2Yac8&ab_channel=RogueFitness Website here dedicated to the memory of Scotsman Peter Martin (mentioned in this episode). Peter held a special affection for the Gaels, and his research into Gaelic strength culture and traditional stone lifting was without equal: https://www.oldmanofthestones.com/

LOCALLY sourced IRISH FOLKLORE, stories, cures and laughs based on the words YOU, the listener, chose via our instagram: @pisrogspodcast (God help us) THE boys titter their way through tales of: GEESE screaming down children's necks, WEASELS jumping down horses ears, GIANTS stealing cows, EELS eating loved ones! ALL served with piping hot tea and the musical styling of Gareth Quinn Redmond. REVENGE, biscuits, CRYSTAL BALLS, biscuits, THE PÚCA and tea.... TIS ALL in there and it's all sourced directly from the National Folklore Collection's Dúchas Archive.

This episode asks how we can take the natural themes of the month and separate them from the contexts that have framed and sometimes twisted them, so we can use them to empower all beings – especially, this month, foxes and geese. It surveys November droving and pannage traditions, Guy Fawkes Day on November 5th, fox hunting and its complex legacy, St. Martins day on November 11 and its entanglement with goose lore, and St. Catherine's day on November 25th, which opens the season of the Germanic winter goddesses, whose later folklore connects spinning and wheels, snow, wild animals, flying, geese, and children. Join the Mailing List: view.flodesk.com/pages/62d72c01da642d55a9868141 Listen to the November Almanac playlist on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/094rCk7NZWNOSLmoHHPqc2?si=83d27558f563416b Fair Folk's Patreon: www.patreon.com/fairfolkcast Songs featured in this episode: “The Fox” by Laura Viers Buy Laura Viers' music on Bandcamp: https://lauraveirs.bandcamp.com/track/the-fox “Kadrilaul” by Collage / Choir of Tallin University of Technology Buy Collage's music: https://music.apple.com/gb/album/kadriko/1100185926 “Martinmas Time” by James Yorkston Buy James Yorkston's music digitally: https://jamesyorkston.bandcamp.com/ Buy James Yorkston's records: https://www.jamesyorkston.co.uk/shop/ “Goose and Common” by the Askew Sisters Buy the Askew Sisters' music: http://www.askewsisters.co.uk/ Opening theme: Forest March by Sylvia Woods Buy Sylvia Woods' music: www.harpcenter.com/category/harp-cds Some sources for this episode: The Year in Ireland by Kevin Danaher, 1972. Folk-Lore and Folk-Stories of Wales by Marie Trevelyan, 1909. https://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/book//lookupid?key=olbp54204 Article: “The Winter Goddess: Percht, Holda, and Related Figures” by Lotte Motz https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HDXoKGBG3PojPXDJrJXZ3Ae2A7HQCCA7/view?usp=sharing Article: "Perchta the Belly-Slitter and Her Kin: A View of Some Traditional Threatening Figures, Threats and Punishments" by John B. Smith https://drive.google.com/file/d/1280qQAcXA-p0bbrF3_zujAbB0tJMr0Bo/view?usp=sharing Frau Holle in the Grimm's Fairy Tales: https://sites.pitt.edu/~dash/grimm024.html An article about enclosure: https://medium.com/@daveuwakwe/what-a-poem-about-a-goose-teaches-us-about-property-3dfe6f7972ec St. Martin Lore from County Kerry ℅ the National Folklore Collection of Ireland: https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4666609/4666442 (Search the vast collection for more!)

Críostóir Mac Cárthaigh shares memories of Halloween traditions from Ireland's National Folklore Collection.

Dr Ríonach uí Ógáin, former director of the National Folklore Collection, on a new collection of music associated with Na Blascaodaí.

On this episode of Talking History, Patrick and his guests reflect on the life and work of Kerry storyteller Peig Sayers and why we as a society may not have the full picture of her - featuring Dr Katie Mischler from the Museum of Literature Ireland and a curator of their Peig exhibition, Lorcán Ó Cinnéide, Manager of the OPW Blasket Centre, and Dr Críostóir Mac Cárthaigh, Director of the National Folklore Collection at UCD.

This episode of Blúiríní Béaloidis was recorded in the beautiful surrounds of the Museum of Literature Ireland, in the historic UCD Newman House on St Stephen's Green in the heart of Dublin - and, I might add - for the first time, in front of a live studio audience. This was a great pleasure for me personally, so thanks to Ian, Benedict, Katie and Simon at MoLI for their kindness and hospitality in having us along. This aim of this podcast is to present listeners with the richness, artistry and depth of vision to be found in our folk traditions, and to this end, each episode to date has taken a singular fragment of that tradition as its primary focus; holy wells, sacred trees, rites of passage, calendar observances, the house, and so on. This format, while useful for our purposes, is necessarily somewhat artificial as an approach, for in our own lives, tradition rarely compartmentalises itself so neatly, instead manifesting as a tapestry of many threads, and a chorus of many voices which serve to keep to the past present. For this episode however, instead of focusing on one aspect of tradition, we for the first time dedicate our explorations to one individual; Mairéad ‘Peig' Sayers who, by her artistry and mastery as a storyteller in the oral tradition, skilfully managed to express the ‘wisdom of the many in the wit of the few', and yet whose printed autobiographies, as Irene Lucchitti notes in an article in Folklore and Modern Irish writing: ‘experienced a decline in reputation, suffering critical disdain and schoolyard ridicule in equal measure'. Now, nearly sixty-five years after her death, we hope to provide a platform through which her tales might find a new audience, one which, it is hoped, may find in her a source of inspiration and insight. It is a pleasure then, to announce that quite apart from this podcast, our friends and colleagues at MoLI, having worked in collaboration with ourselves at the NFC, will host a nine month exhibition on Peig Sayers called 'Thar Bealach Isteach' / 'Into the Island', on the Blasket Island storytelling tradition, and the context in which priceless fieldwork collections of oral literature held today in the archives of the National Folklore Collection at UCD, were recorded from that community by the Irish Folklore Commission. With me to explore Peig's stories for this episode, I am hugely honoured to have been joined by Dr. Pádraig Ó Héalaí and Dr. Éilís Ní Dhuibhne. Pádraig is a retired Senior Lecturer in Modern Irish at NUI, Galway. His area of specialisation is Irish folklore and he has published on many aspects of this topic, including religious tradition, Blasket heritage and beliefs and practices associated with the supernatural. He is a former editor of the journal Béaloideas and with Bo Almqvist, he edited with Peig Sayers: Labharfad le Cách / I Will Speak To You All and Níl Deireadh Ráite (both of which were recently republished by New Island). Recently, he edited An Blascaod Trí Fhuinneog na Scoile (2015), a young teacher's account of her experience of life on the Great Blasket when it was still home to a vibrant community. Éilís Ní Dhuibhne was born in Dublin. Author of more than thirty books, her works include The Dancers Dancing, The Shelter of Neighbours, Cailíní Beaga Ghleann na mBláth and Hurlamaboc, among others. Her most recent books are Twelve Thousand Days: A Memoir, Little Red and Other Stories (Blackstaff 2020), and Look! It's a Woman Writer; Irish Literary Feminisms 1970-2020 (ed.) (Arlen House, 2021) As well as being a writer, she is a folklore scholar and has written extensively on aspects of traditional narrative. She has been the recipient of many literary awards, most recently the Pen Award for an Outstanding Contribution to Irish Literature. In Autumn 2020 she held the Burns Scholarship at Boston College. She is a member of Aosdána, and President of the Folklore of Ireland Society.

On this episode of the Irish History Show, John Dorney was joined by Dr. Críostóir Mac Cárthaigh to discuss the Civil War Memory Project, an oral history project in association with the National Folklore Collection (UCD), RTÉ and Scratch Films. For many years the Irish Civil War of 1922-23 was a taboo topic in Ireland, rarely raised in public, except in a partisan manner. Now 100 years on a project is underway to collect family and local memories of the conflict to recover how it was remembered at the local and family level. The National Folklore collection is mounting a major project to collect such memories and these will also be recorded in a documentary, currently in production by Scratch films. Those who are interested in the project and who wish to contribute can contact the National Folklore Collection at bealoideas@ucd.ie or Scratch films at history@scratchfilms.com Críostóir Mac Cárthaigh is an Archivist for the National Folklore Collection at University College Dublin. His research interests are vernacular architecture, traditional boats and fishing, the cultural landscape (especially those of Atlantic island communities), as well as folk drama and oral literature. He is joint editor of New Survey of Clare Island: v. 1: History and Cultural Landscape (1999). Intro / Outro music “Sliabh” from Aislinn. Licensed under creative commons from the free music archive.

The Civil War was a schismatic moment in Irish history, and the fault lines it left split families, tore apart communities and turned former comrades in arms against one another in a bitterly divisive period of violence and conflict. According to historian Anne Dolan, ‘The memory of the Irish Civil War has been assumed, distorted, [and] misunderstood. It has been manipulated, underestimated, but most of all, ignored'. Now, 100 years on, in marking the centenary of this period, The Civil War Memory project is currently underway (a collaboration between The National Folklore Collection, University College Dublin and award winning documentary filmmakers Scratch Films) to document and preserve oral testimonies, reminiscences and accounts concerning the Civil War. The collecting project will result in a body of archival material which will be deposited at the NFC for posterity, with two documentaries covering the collecting process being aired on RTÉ this autumn. If you would like to contribute to the project, please reach out to us at bealoideas@ucd.ie To take me through the project, and to discuss this phase of our history in more detail I'm honoured to be joined by my friend and colleague Dr. Críostóir Mac Cárthaigh, Director of the National Folklore Collection. Join us as we discuss silence, memory and the trauma of war. Audio timecodes: 10:58: Commandant Horgan in conversation with Séamas Mac Philib, 20 May 1980. Horgan explains how he and his brother were on opposite sides of the conflict, and how his mother would keep them separate when they would visit the family home. 14:36: Kathleen Farell in conversation with Séamas Mac Philib, 6 March 1980. Kathleen describes how IRA men were hidden in her house. 16:10: Patrick Galvin in conversation with Séamas Mac Philib, 10 January 1980. Patrick describes how he was unable to return to his job after the Civil War, and was fired when it was learnt that he had fought on the anti-Treaty side. 32:22: Patrick Galvin in conversation with Séamas Mac Philib, 10 January 1980. Patrick relates how it was difficult to shoot against former friends and comrades. Describes the 'great boys' he fought alongside in 1916 and in the 'Tan War' (the War of Independence) but states that everyone has a certain principle by which they must stand. 39:03: John O'Brien in conversation with Séamas Mac Philib, 04 November 1979. John relates local information concerning the assassination of Michael Collins. Is reluctant to share what he has heard out of respect for local families, and remarks that it could be dangerous. Thanks to Tiernan Gaffney for editing these pieces from our sound archive!

In this episode Lora discusses some Fairy Folklore, found via the National Folklore Collection of Ireland on duchas.ie . This story related to Fairy Forts in Cork and Waterford, and Lora discusses some of the tree associations with the Irish Good Folk.  (This audio originally appeared as a video on Lora's YouTube channel, all Pagan focused content on YouTube is now available directly on the Irish Pagan School channel - https://www.youtube.com/c/TheIrishPaganSchool)Fáilte! Welcome to the Podcast, with your hosts - authors and co-founders of the Irish Pagan School) - Lora O'Brien and Jon O'Sullivan. If you enjoyed this podcast, please leave us a positive review in your podcast listener, then head over to IrishPaganSchool.com and enroll in one of our free or paid courses. Slán go fóill, and we will see you next time!Support the show

In this episode Lora shares and discusses a folk charm involving sheep that is recorded on the National Folklore Collection of Ireland's digitised archive online, on duchas.ie .  This is a really interesting look into the practice of charms and magic in folk tradition in Ireland. (This audio originally appeared as a video on Lora's YouTube channel, all Pagan focused content on YouTube is now available directly on the Irish Pagan School channel - https://www.youtube.com/c/TheIrishPaganSchool)Fáilte! Welcome to the Podcast, with your hosts - authors and co-founders of the Irish Pagan School) - Lora O'Brien and Jon O'Sullivan. If you enjoyed this podcast, please leave us a positive review in your podcast listener, then head over to IrishPaganSchool.com and enroll in one of our free or paid courses. Slán go fóill, and we will see you next time!Support the show

Cluineann muid ó Chian Ó Gríofa agus Aoife Moore ó na Gaeil Aeracha, club úr CLG don phobal LADT+ i mBaile Átha Cliath. Tá Feis Dhoire Cholm Cille 100 bliain ar an fhód i mbliana, labhraíonn Niamh Nic Oistigín le cuid de na daoine a bheidh páirteach sa cheiliúradh. Insíonn an Dr Críostóir Mac Cárthaigh, Stiúrthóir Cnuasach Bhéaloideas Éireann,dúinn faoi thionscnamh úr, The Civil War Memory Project, a cuireadh ar bun le béaloideas an phobail maidir le Cogadh na gCarad (1922-1923) a bhailiú. Cuireann Marcus Mac Ruairí ó Glór na nGael síos ar an tacaíocht atá curtha ar fáil do theaghlaigh le Gaeilge a bhfuil Úcránaigh ag fanacht leo. We hear from Cian Ó Gríofa and Aoife Moore from the new GAA club for the LGBTQ community in Dublin, Na Gaeil Aeracha. Derry Feis celebrates its 100th birthday this year and Niamh Nic Oistigín chats to some of those involved in this special event. Dr Críostóir Mac Cárthaigh, Director of the National Folklore Collection, tells us about The Civil War Memory Project which aims to collect the oral history of the community relating to the Civil War (1922-1923). Marcus Mac Ruairí from Glór na nGael speaks about the support available for Irish speaking families who have Ukranian families staying with them.

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    

The Anglo-Irish Treaty was signed on the 6th of December 1921, bringing an end to the 1919-1921 Irish War of Independence. To mark 100 years since the signing of the treaty, I joined my colleague at the National Folklore Collection, Ailbe van der Heide, to discuss her work in researching, editing and transcribing Urban Folklore Project recordings dealing with this tumultuous period of Irish history. The 1979-1980 Urban Folklore Project originated as a Government employment scheme to provide work for university graduates at a time of severe economic recession in 1979-1980. The project was undertaken by the Department of Irish Folklore, University College Dublin, directed by Dr Séamas Ó Catháin, and consists of over 700 tape recorded interviews which today form part of the Natinoal Folklore Collection, University College Dublin. Among the recordings are featured vivid contemporary accounts of the War of Independence as well as material concerning the Easter Rising of 1916 and the Irish Civil War. Join us as we listen to the combatants and bystanders who bore witness to the burnings, raids and guerrilla warfare of the War of Independence, and who worked as part of a hidden network operating under the watchful eye of the crown forces and intelligence services. On 6 December 2021, Ailbe van der Heide and Dr. Críostóir Mac Cárthaigh will be delivering a free online lecture titled 'War of Independence Memories' for the Folklore of Ireland Society. To register, please visit: https://ucd-ie.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_pHhotkMrSvuOK_JC4Eq5LQ

In this episode, we discuss climate change in the context of existential threats to our world. But before we do I go on a ramble about Irish folklore and the Irish language. The Irish National Folklore Collection https://www.ucd.ie/irishfolklore/en/ 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 https://soundcloud.com/folklore_podcast Sacred Cow book and documentary https://www.sacredcow.info/  The Great Barrington declaration https://gbdeclaration.org/ What is marine snow? https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/marinesnow.html  The Precipice by Toby Ord https://theprecipice.com/ Alan Robuck on Climate Consequences of Nuclear War http://climate.envsci.rutgers.edu/nuclear/  Future of Life Podcast  https://futureoflife.org/2019/09/30/fli-podcast-feeding-everyone-in-a-global-catastrophe-with-dave-denkenberger-joshua-pearce/ 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  

With the coming of the cool wet weather of autumn, life begins to turn inward again . The fields lie fallow and bare, flowers wither, leaves decay, and all life seems to return to the earth. It's in this period of fading light, that strange and beautiful forms begin to arise from the undergrowth in the temperate regions all over Europe. In woodlands, fields, gardens and along roadsides, colourful fungi and mushrooms of all shapes and sizes quietly spring forth and flourish as if from nowhere, while all else appears in a state of decline. A short entry in volume 1670 of the Main Manuscript Collection at the NFC contains information collected from around Ireland on the topic of mushrooms in folk tradition. The material contained in this volume, previously unpublished and explored in this podcast episode, explores traditional attitudes to mushrooms in Irish tradition and outlines their uses along with popular beliefs concerning them. Audio from the NFC sound archive also features, along with audio material from the collections of the Irish Traditional Music Archive and the singing group Landless. My thanks to archivist Danielle Castronovo at the Economic Botany Herbarium of Oakes Ames, Harvard University for her help in filling the gaps of some correspondence between R. Gordon Wasson and the Irish Folklore Commission. My thanks to archivist Maeve Gebreurs at the Irish Traditional Music Archive for forwarding Diane Hamilton's 1957 recording of Robert Cinnamond's rendition of the song 'Gathering Mushrooms'. Thanks likewise to Emmett Gill, archivist at Na Píobairí Uileann for pointing me in the direction of the collection of which this song is a part. Thanks too to Dónal Lunny, copyright holder, for permission to include this piece in the podcast. A variety of sources are consulted and discussed throughout, some links below: Prehistoric fungal representations in Tassili Algeria https://www.britannica.com/place/Tassili-n-Ajjer A Prehistoric Mural in Spain Depicting Neurotropic Psilocybe Mushrooms? https://www.jstor.org/stable/41242925 The Fungus Lore of the Greeks and Romans https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0007153614800077 Dioscorides: De Materia Medica https://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/aconite/materiamedica.html Mushroom Artwork of Otto Marseus van Shrieck https://bit.ly/3nEwy3n Plutarch: Essays and Miscellanies https://www.gutenberg.org/files/3052/3052-h/3052-h.htm#link2HCH0065 The Hypothesis on the Presence of Entheogens in the Eleusinian Mysteries https://www.researchgate.net/publication/327838578_The_hypothesis_on_the_presence_of_entheogens_in_the_Eleusinian_Mysteries Mircea Eliade - Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691210667/shamanism Nora Chadwick: Imbas Forosnai http://searchingforimbas.blogspot.com/p/imbas-forosnai-by-nora-k-chadwick.html An Irish Materia Medica: Tadhg Ó Cuinn https://celt.ucc.ie//published/G600005/index.html William Camden: Brittania https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/travellers/Camden/32 Seeking the Magic Mushroom: Life Magazine May 1957 (via MAPS.org) https://bibliography.maps.org/bibliography/default/resource/15048 Tina and R. Gordon Wasson - Russia, Mushrooms and History (vols. 1, & 2) [PDF] https://doorofperception.com/2015/04/r-gordon-wasson-seeking-the-magic-mushroom/ Audio featured from the Irish Traditional Music Archive: https://itma.ie Landless: https://landless.bandcamp.com/ National Folklore Collection online portal: https://dúchas.ie

[Gaeilge] San eipeasód seo, labhraíonn Stiofán Ó Briain le hAilbe van der Heide, scoláire béaloidis atá ag obair i gCnuasach Bhéaloideas Éireann, faoin mbéaloideas agus faoi bhéaloideas na hÉireann. Pléann siad a bhfuil i gceist leis an mbéaloideas, stair an Chnuasaigh, traidisiún an luchta sí, leigheasanna dúchais in Éirinn, béaloideas na rónta agus úsáid an ábhair bhéil mar ionsparáid chruthaitheach. [English] In this episode, Stiofán Ó Briain talks to Ailbe van der Heide, a folklore scholar who also works in the National Folklore Collection, about folklore and Irish folklore. They discuss what folklore means, the history of the Collection, Irish fairy-lore, traditional cures in Ireland, seal-lore and the use of folklore as a creative inspiration. Féach ar na háiseanna agus na saothair thíos le tuilleadh a fhoghlaim faoi bhéaloideas na hÉireann | Take a look at the resources and works below to learn more about Irish folklore: Máistreacht i mBéaloideas agus Eitneolaíocht UCD | Masters in Folklore and Ethnology UCD Blúiríní Béaloidis: Podchraoladh Chnuasach Bhéaloideas Éireann | Folklore Fragments: The National Folklore Collection's podcast Dúchas.ie Lámhleabhar Bhéaloideasa Éireann | Handbook of Irish Folklore ‘Oidhche Sheanchais' ‘Múscail, a Ghiorria' le hEithne Ní Ghallchobhair Séamus Ó Duilearga Anna Nic a' Luain Peig Sayers Tá an podchraoladh seo as Gaeilge. | This episode is in Irish It was recorded in April 2021. Links and notes also available on our blog here. Óstach | Host: Stiofán Ó Briain Aoi | Guest: Ailbe van der Heide Music | Ceol: “Kesh Jig, Leitrim Fancy” by Sláinte, CC BY-SA 3.0 US (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/), available from freemusicarchive.org. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/celticstudents/message

AN Irish mercenary in the Spanish army trained in the art of war by Franciscan monks. EOGHAN Ruadh Ó Néill is one of the most famous members of the O'Neill Dynasty of Ulster, an Irish family which claim the lineage of Niall of the Nine Hostages, a legendary High King. HAVING only left Ireland as boy in the Flight of the Earls, O'Neill became known as an incredible defensive tactician, oftentimes fighting and winning with significantly fewer soldiers than the enemy. He quickly rose the ranks of the Spanish garrison. IT is often said that O'Neill's defensive capabilities could have changed the sequence of events that followed Cromwell's bloody tirade across Ireland. BUT this is not how the story goes. LUKE and ARAN discuss the unpredictable, fascinating and unfortunate rise and fall of Owen Roe O'Neill and read through a selection of tales sourced from the National Folklore Collection. (also it is a really hot day upon the recording and the boy's concept of whats going on hangs by a thread)

Host Andrew Martin is joined by David Ryan, an Irish family historian who discovered his passion for genealogy after studying for his MA in Medieval History. He'll be telling us how he made this transition, the challenges of researching family history in Ireland, and what it's like to work for Ancestry as one of their team of professional genealogists. Relatively Speaking: David has chosen to tell the life story of his Great Great Grandfather John Hyland. He'll explain the hardship that John was born into at the end of the devastating famine in the early 1850s, and the events that have since shaped Ireland in the 20th century - most of which were revealed by a chance discovery of a record in The National Folklore Collection.The Brick Wall: Family rumour has always said that David's paternal and maternal 3x Great Grandmothers - Honora and Bridget Williams, were sisters. They are both born in the 1820s, and both married in the 1840s, all in the village of Ballyporeen in County Tipperary, Ireland.  Were they sisters, or is it just a case of coincidence? Can you help David solve this old family story?David isn't sure whether Andrew's offer of help will come to much, but he's in for a surprise...- - -Credits: Series One, Episode Six. Andrew Martin (host, producer), David Ryan (guest), Eliot Lees (additional sound production).Show notes: familyhistoriespodcast.com

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.

Hello! The show returns on the heels of the Spring equinox to give you an update about Season 2 and to inform you of an exciting project. Finally we close with some recent podcasts recommendations on folklore and its peripheries. FOR ALL FOLKLORE SUBMISSIONS: folkwayschannel@gmail.com and attach your audio to email (feel free to use file transfer sites too for larger recordings) or alternatively type as text. ☕️ If you enjoyed, feel free to buy me a coffee https://bit.ly/3dxssVw

The Irish Folklore Commission (established in 1935) tasked itself with the documentation of the unwritten customs, beliefs and narratives of the Irish people; those ‘disiecta membra’ (as James Hamilton Delargy described them) of a rich heritage which it was feared was in danger of dying out and disappearing forever unless swift action was taken to gather up the fragments that remain, lest they perish. Delargy, and those with whom he worked, endeavoured to secure for future generations the sources of inspiration and pride which he saw as having languished in the ‘lumber room’ of history; those tales, traditions and songs of Ireland, cultural expressions he understood as representing ‘the State Papers of a forgotten and neglected people’. The work of the Irish Folklore Commission then, in recording the voices and ideals of the ordinary people of Ireland , aimed to represent those communities whose voice was not heard among the formal archival records of the state. But, there are silences in every archive, and the Irish Folklore Commission was no different, having its own particular biases and tendencies. Among these biases was an initial focus on the customs of rural people over those in towns and urban areas. Another, and one which is the subject of today’s discussion, was the absence of material collected from Ireland’s Protestant community. Thankfully, this has recently been addressed by Dr. Deirdre Nuttall, who, working with the National Folklore Collection between 2013 and 2017 conducted a folk history of Ireland's Protestants consisting of ninety eight interviews and seventy six questionnaire responses, the results of which she has recently published in her book ‘Different and the Same: A Folk History of the Protestants of Independent Ireland’. Join Jonny and Deirdre as they discuss 19th century conceptions of 'the Folk', examine Protestant origin stories and consider counter-narratives to Ireland's major historical events embedded in the communal memories of Ireland's Protestant community. 'Different and the Same' is published by Eastwood Books, and is available from the publisher directly at: https://eastwoodbooks.com/different-and-the-same/ The book is available in all good bookshops in Ireland, and online.

Unfortunately due to Covid-19 restrictions in Dublin, us as a trio couldn't meet up this week! We will get an episode out as soon as we can but in the meantime please enjoy this interlude by Caoimhe Creed as she regales you with a ghost story from dúchas.ie - National Folklore Collection. Check out what Caoimhe is drinking on our Instagram page @irishspiritspodcast and of course please drink responsibly!Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/irishspirits)

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.

Director of the National Folklore Collection, Dr Críostóir Mac Cárthaigh (pictured) shares some of the fascinating stories about old death traditions in Ireland. From the banshee to fairies to the ancient practices of wakes and keening – he explains how the collection was put together and the incredible first-hand accounts gathered from an Ireland very different from the one today. duchas.ie https://www.ucd.ie/folklore/en/

Our lives are built on the stories we tell. At both an individual and a communal level, they orient and mould us, shaping our perspectives and outlining our reality. In an age where life can seem increasingly fettered by rules and regulations, where communication is drowned by endless jargon and noise demanding our attention, where the past is heaved overboard in order that we might more quickly race blindly towards the future, where places become zones, where endless change is automatically equated with progress, and where the sacred is replaced by the material, the stories we tell ourselves modernity seem increasingly to offer little by way of consolation, enchantment, wonder or joy. With this in mind, and in search of alternate perspectives for episode 22 of Blúiríní Béaloidis, I'm setting off from the National Folklore Collection, driving across Ireland to the village of Crusheen near Ireland's western coast, where I have arranged to meet a man who has been described as a ‘national treasure’, a ‘master storyteller’ and an ‘inspired performer’. Eddie Lenihan is an author and storyteller who has been collecting traditional stories and customs from an older generation for over 40 years. His 2003 book, Meeting the Other Crowd has been translated into many languages, and is dedicated by Eddie to ‘all those tellers now gone whose voices are not forgotten and to those still with us whose knowledge is more indispensable than ever’. As usual, throughout this episode you’ll hear a mixture of conversation along with original archival field recordings from the National Folklore Collection concerning the topics under discussion. For more information regarding these excerpts, see below. To learn more about Eddie, and to support his valuable work, please visithttp://eddielenihan.weebly.com/

I recorded this conversation last fall with the award-winning Irish storyteller Eithne Ní Ghallchobhair, who lives in Donegal, Ireland, and learned her craft from the last living traditional storytellers in Donegal. Get the Fair Folk tote at my new website www.fairfolkcast.com! Notes: *The book Eithne mentions at 39:00, Women Who Run With the Wolves is written by Clarissa Pinkola Estés. It’s available at used and new bookshops all over. *42:05 the "schools collection" she refers to is part of the National Folklore Collection of Ireland, at University College Dublin *This episode edited by Laura Hamill of Perennial Collective! http://www.perennialcollective.com/ Music: Intro theme: “Forest March” by Sylvia Woods “Carolan's Farewell to Music” by Julia Seager-Scott “Untitled” by Jean Christian “Carolan - Five Tunes By the Irish Harper: IV. Carolan's Farewell to Music” by Da Camera “When She Cam Ben” by Da Camera “Untitled” by Jean Christian “Carolan's Farewell to Music” by Julia Seager-Scott “The Great Silkie of Sule Skerry” by Ale Möller & Aly Bain Image: Eithne Ní Gullaher on St. Colmcille’s bed at Glencolmcille, Donegal

This twentieth edition of Blúiríní Béaloidis comes as something of a bittersweet occasion, with Claire raising a parting glass to 'gently rise and softly call - goodnight and joy be with you all', leaving the National Folklore Collection to embark on a new adventure! In their final episode together, Claire and Jonny highlight some of their favourite archival excerpts from previous editions of Blúiríní, reminiscing on the treasures of the Collection as they go. From song and story, to text and context, they give thought to those who have gone before us - to their nobility and artistry - noting the inspiration that absent friends and family can still provide us today. Jonny will return in the coming months with a new series of Blúiríní featuring interviews and field recordings, but in the mean time we fill up our glasses and bid fond farewell to our dear Claire 'For The Sake of Completeness' Doohan, wishing her a world of joy and every success in the new chapter opening up before her!

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.

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

14th September 2017 @ Cavan County Museum, Virgina Road, Ballyjamesduff, Co Cavan. When one thinks of folklore study and folklore collecting south of the border, the Protestant community is not normally the first sector of society to spring to mind. A major collecting project being undertaken by the National Folklore Collection, focusing on Irish Protestants as a cultural group, seeks to redress this imbalance. In this ‘decade of centenaries' what does it tell us about Protestants in independent Ireland? Did the new state live up to the non-sectarian ideals of the 1916 Proclamation (‘cherishing the children of the nation equally)? History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, was joined for a lively and enlightening round-table discussion by Deirdre Nuttall (National Folklore Collection), Niall Meehan (Griffith College), Críostoir MacCartaigh (National Folklore Collection), Malachy Hand (Loughcrew Megalithic Centre) and Ian D'Alton (TCD). This History Ireland Hedge School was supported by the Commemorations Unit of the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and hosted by Cavan County Museum.

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

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.

Hay, Straw and Rushes in Irish Folk Tradition with Anne O'Dowd on the publication of her book published by the Irish Academic Press. Bairbre Ní Fhloinn, Criostóir MacCárthaigh and Clodagh Doyle also contribute. Recorded in the National Museum of Ireland: Country Life Division and in the National Folklore Collection, UCD.