The Madness of Sweeney

A re-release of the second ever episode of Unreal, while I recover from illness. A new episode will come soon once my voice is back at full strength! Giants sculpted our landscape. They are strong, and fierce, and can be terrifying if you’re unprepared. But anyone can defeat a giant – if you are clever enough to trick them… READ THE PODCAST SCRIPT SOURCES AND FURTHER READINGThe Story of Fionn and the GiantThe Giant’s Causeway, Dublin Penny JournalA Legend of Knockmany, by William Carleton (and the original article)Joe Moore’s Story of Finn Macooilly and the Buggane, Manx Fairytales by Sophia MorrisonVersions from the School’s Folklore Collection at Duchas.ie: 1, 2, 3, 4 The very rude Scottish poem featuring the giant-sized descendants of Fionn Other Tales MentionedThe fall of the Viking chieftain TurgesiusMaoil a ChliobainJack and the BeanstalkJack the Giant-killerStingy Jack MUSICAll by Slainte from The Free Music ArchiveTheme Song – “The Butterfly”The Lark in the Morning / The Atholl HighlandersThe Banshee / The Gravel Walks / The Old Copperplate Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Banshee is one of Ireland’s most famous folkloric figures. A supernatural woman with a cry that foretells of death and devastation to those who hear it, stories about banshees have been terrifying listeners for hundreds of years. But has she always been this way? Read the Podcast Script Sources and Further ReadingA Folklore Survey of County Clare by Thomas Johnson WestroppThe Triumphs of Turlough translated by Standish Hayes O'GradyThe Hostel of Da Choca translated by Whitley StokesAnnals of Loch CéThe Memoirs of Lady Ann FanshawePersonal Sketches of His Own Times by Sir Jonah BarringtonKeening Tradition"The Irish Funeral Cry" in The Dublin Penny Journal O'Brien's Irish-English Dictionary MusicThe Butterfly – SláinteReturn Home - Moorland SongsThe White Birch - Moorland SongsMountain Solitude - Moorland Songs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hi everyone, Ruth here, and apologies for the slightly sporadic uploads to Unreal this season – I’ve just been having quite a busy time outside of podcasting. I’m actually going to take mid-season break and come back in two weeks with a special Halloween episode, and finish out the second half of the season then, hopefully with more regular uploads for those last few episodes. I hope that sounds ok, and wishing you a folklore-filled few weeks in the meantime. Go n-éirí an bóthar leat. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What happens when a king goes mad? When he leaves his home, his wife and lands, and goes wandering in the woods and the wild? Such a strange frenzy came on Sweeney, an Irish king long ago. The life he came to live was a harsh and a wild one – but, as the story shows, still one where breathtaking beauty could be found . . . Read the Podcast Script Sources And Further Reading Buile Suibhne. (The frenzy of Suibhne) by O'Keeffe, J. GThe King's MirrorMyrddin WyltWild Man   Music The Butterfly – SláinteThe Elfin Knight - TraditionalI'm Missing Ennis - Philip AyersEverything We Built - Christian AndersenIt All Went Away So Quickly - Christian Andersen Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There once was born a cursed girl. She was beautiful, and strong-willed, and would do anything for the man she loved. But in her name, evil came to Ireland, bringing war and fighting that left hundreds dead in its wake. Her name was Deirdre, and stories told about her live on, as one of Ireland’s most sorrowful legends.   Read the Podcast Script Sonder MagazineLet's Talk About the Arts episode (my story is at about 28:30)   Sources and further Reading Story Sources The Exile of the Sons of Uisliu by Vernam HullDeirdre, or, The Exile of the Sons of UsnechDeirdre, in The Three Sorrows of Storytelling by Douglas HydeThe Trí Truaighe na Scéalaigheachta by Eugene O'Curry   Background reading Kingship Made Real? Power and the Public World in Longes Mac nUislenn by Elva JohnstonSatire in Medieval IrelandLeabharchamMilesiansHow Ronan Slew His SonCano meic GartnáinDiarmuid & Gráinne MusicThe Butterfly  by SláinteOur Green Lands by Bonn FieldsCalling on the Hill by Moorland SongsRed as a Rose by Rune DaleTurnpikes by Rune DaleFarewell to Ennerdale Water by Moorland Songs   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For every death, a price must be paid. Life is precious, and blood is costly, and when you take the life of a man, you do not know how high the penalty will be. This is a story about three brothers, and a life they took, the price they paid, and the devastation that followed them to their deaths. Read the podcast script Sources and Further Reading Story Sources The Fate of the Children of Tuireann from The Society for the Preservation of the Irish Language"The Quest of the Sons of Turenn" by T. W. Rolleston"The Fate of the Children of Tuireann" from The Three Sorrows of Storytelling by Douglas Hyde Background reading "The Grail and the English Sir Perceval" (V) by Arthur C. L. Brown"Fines under Brehon Law" by Laurence GinnellÉraic / eric   Music The Butterfly - SláinteLúnassa - AislinnThe Road to Lisdoonvarna & Scollay's - PinnipiedThe Burning of the Piper's Hut - PinnipiedShady Grove - Shake That Little Foot Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As strange as it is imagine, there are infinite worlds out there in the universe, far beyond our sight. But, if the stories are to be believed, a group of early Irish people came closer than most to contact with the world above our world, and the strange people who inhabited it. Read the Podcast Script Sources and Further Reading“Aerial Ships and Underwater Monasteries: The Evolution of a Monastic Marvel” - John Carey“Voyagers in the Vault of Heaven: The Phenomenon of Ships in the Sky in Medieval Ireland and Beyond” - Michael McCaughan“Lightnings VIII” – Seamus HeaneyCuriosities of Indo-European tradition and folk-lore – Walter Keating KellyOn Hail and Thunder - Agobard of Lyons“From flying boats to secret Soviet weapons to alien visitors – a brief cultural history of UFOs” – theconversation.com“Sometimes a flying boat is just a flying boat: Not everything has to be a UFO” – esoterx.comTailtenn Games“On the Identification of the Ancient Cemetery at Loughcrew, Co. Meath” - Eugene Alfred ConwellThe Aonac Tailteann and the Tailteann Games – T. H. Nally MusicThe Butterfly - SláintePeriwinkle Waters – Christian AndersenFree Form – Amaranth CoveSea of Space – Yi Nantiro Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There is something magical about snow, but it’s also deceptive, and deadly – the perfect ingredient for dark tales on a cold winter’s night . . .Read the Podcast ScriptSourcesWeather LoreCustoms, Beliefs and Superstitions of the Different Festivals – Dúchas.ieWeather-Lore – Dúchas.iePlucking Geese in Heaven – Dúchas.ieSigns of Snow – Dúchas.ieDerbforgaillThe Deaths of Lugaid and Derbforgaill – Carl MarstranderCuchulainn’s Ríastrad: The Cuchullin Saga in Irish Literature – Eleanor HullSaintsSt Molasius (Silva Gaedelica, S. H. O’Grady)St Comghan (Mac Dá Cherda and Cummaine Foda - J. G. O'Keeffe)St Patrick (The Tripartite Life of St Patrick – Whitley Stokes)DeirdreThe Exile of the Sons of Uisliu – Vernam HullSín and MuirchertachThe Death of Muirchertach Mac Erca – Whitley StokesInternational Stories of the SnowSnow Drop – The Brothers GrimmThe Snow Queen – Hans Christian AndersenSnegurochkaMusicDreams of the Brave – Trabant 33Sea of Clouds – Kai EngelArctica – Kai EngelKesh Jig, Leitrim Fancy – SláinteSomewhere Else – Kai EngelGander in the Pratie Hole, Morrison's Jig, Drowsy Maggie – SláinteAs Rainbows Fall – DeskantSurreal Forest – MeydänIn the Bleak Midwinter – Maya Solovey Stay up to date:https://unrealpodcast.com/https://twitter.com/unrealpodhttps://www.facebook.com/UnrealPod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

 Granuaile, Ireland’s Pirate Queen , was ahead of her time but remains with us in legend. Escaping the constraints of femininity, Gráinne risked everything she had to live life she wanted, and rule the seas.   Read the Podcast Script Sources and Further Reading Granuaile: Ireland's Pirate Queen by Anne Chambers"Eighteen articles of interrogatory to be answered by Grany ne Malley" (Granuaile in her own words!)Anthologica Hibernica: 1, 2Folktales from Dúchas.ieGranuaile folk songs from Dúchas.ie Music The Butterfly - SláinteShady Grove - Shake That Little FootThe Banshee, Gravel Walks, The Old Copperplate - SláinteCeltic Blessing - Bonnie GracePretty Little Dog - Shake That Little FootJig of Slurs, Dublin, Reel, The Merry Blacksmith, The Mountain Road - Sláinte Stay up to date:My guest episode on the Candlelit Tales podcasthttps://unrealpodcast.com/https://twitter.com/unrealpodhttps://www.facebook.com/UnrealPod    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The story of Oisín’s journey to Tír na nÓg with Niamh of the Golden Hair has become one of Ireland’s best-loved legends. But the history of how it came to be told may still surprise you . . . Read the Podcast Script Sources and Further Reading Lay of Oisín on the Land of Youth by Michael ComynSgéalta ó Ṫír Ċonaill by Énrí Ó Muirgheasa (translation at end)Sgéal ar Oisín agus na Fiantaibh (translation at end)The Colloquy with the Ancients translated by Standish H O'GradyLeabhar na Feinne, by J. F. CampbellCeltic Mythology by J. A. MacCullochUrashima TarōKing Herla   Music The Butterfly by SláinteBack to the Shires - Christian AndersenLovely Maria - AislinnFor a Lifetime - Yi NantiroThe Road Map - Jo WandriniThe Burning of the Piper's Hut - Pinniped Stay up to date:https://unrealpodcast.com/https://twitter.com/unrealpodhttps://www.facebook.com/UnrealPod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.