October 25, 2020
Witch trials came to an end after 1711. But in the decades that followed, hushed into small, catholic communities in the Irish countryside, fear of the supernatural was growing. And 1895 brought the most infamous execution of a suspected fairy ever to take place – the burning of Bridget Cleary in County Tipperary . . .
SOURCES AND FURTHER READING
Main Sources
Newspaper Accounts
Other cases mentioned
MUSIC
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October 18, 2020
The story of the last and largest witch trial ever to take place in Ireland.
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Sources and Further Reading
Music
October 11, 2020
In 1661, rumours swept the town of Youghal about the deadly kiss of a woman named Florence Newton, a kiss that could bring terrible pain, claim lives, and that marked her out for what she truly was – a witch.
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Sources and Further Reading
Irish Witchcraft and Demonology, by St. John D. Seymour
‘Florence Newton’s trial for witchcraft, Cork, 1661: Sir William Aston’s transcript’, Edited by Dr Andrew Sneddon
‘Witchcraft belief and trials in early modern Ireland,’ Dr Andrew Sneddon
Witchfinders, by Malcolm Gaskill
Music
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September 27, 2020
Welcome to season 3 of Unreal a podcast about Irish history, stories and tradition. I’m doing something a little different this time around. For the month of October, I will be bringing you weekly true stories of Irish witches: their lives, their trials, their fates. Alice Kyteler. Florence Newton. The women of Islandmagee. Bridget Cleary. These women were part of our history. Their lives and what they went through are all unique, and their stories are a mark of who we were and how far we have come. But all of them deserve to be remembered.
So join me next Sunday, to begin a new Chapter of Unreal: The Season of the Witch.
Song: Beacon by Ayla Nereo
**** A note for my regular listeners - the first episode will be a repeat of Alice Kyteler's story which I previously hosted in Season 1, so you may want to give that one a miss and tune in from the week after. Or feel free to listen again!
June 20, 2020
The tale of the Salmon of Knowledge is one of the most famous and well-loved stories of Irish in mythology. It’s a story about becoming – of a hero before he was a hero. Everyone in Ireland knows the story. But you might be surprised by its roots!
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Sources and Further Reading
The Salmon of Knowledge Variants
Fionn / Enchanted Water Stories
Sigurd and Taliesen
Sinnan and Boand
Music
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May 31, 2020
Tales of mythical islands and enchanted cities have captivated our storytellers for generations. We are always searching, searching on the far horizon and in the depths of our lakes and rivers, for the worlds we have lost, and the promised lands we still have left to find.
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Sources and Further Reading
Introductions
Kilstuiffeen
Caher Linn
Fintan Mac Bochra
Liban
Mystical Islands
The Voyage of Brendan
Music
May 17, 2020
Early Irish forests were thick with wolves. Fierce, fast and predatory, it’s no wonder these animals inspired so many myths and stories before their extinction. The legend of the werewolf - men and women who could walk through the world in the shape of wolves - has captured imaginations for centuries.
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Sources and Further Reading
Ossory Werewolves
St Ronan
The Wolf Women of Cruachan Cave
Lady Jane Wilde’s Wolf Stories – in Ancient Legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland
Fiachna
“Fragmentary Annals” in Silva Gaedelica by Standish H. O’Grady
Cormac Mac Art
Music
Sound Effects
May 2, 2020
Down in the hollows, hiding just out of sight, the wee folk are watching our every move. And despite their size, these little beings can bring about an incredible amount of destruction.
But were the wee folk always thought of as so sinister? And do they think of humans as being just as magical as we think of them?
Sources and Further Reading
Leprechauns
King Fergus and the Wee Folk
Music
April 19, 2020
Far below the ocean waves live the strange and mysterious people of the sea. From ancient times to the modern day we have been fascinated by stories of the sea folk – the way they look, the songs they sing, and the great hold they have on us. But the merfolk are very different to humans, and when human and sea person meet, things rarely go according to plan…
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Sources and Further Reading
Introductions
Stories
Essays
Music
