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Unreal is a podcast about Irish history, stories, folklore and tradition. Each episode searches for the origins of some of Ireland’s most famous myths and folklore, and takes a fresh look at exciting legends and history which have become almost forgotten in centuries past.
Episodes
Sunday Oct 25, 2020
Sunday Oct 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 . . .
READ THE PODCAST SCRIPT
SOURCES AND FURTHER READING
Main Sources
- The “Witch-Burning” at Clonmel – Folklore, Vol. 6, No. 4 Dec., 1895
- Belief in Fairies and Witches, in Five Years in Ireland, Michael J. F. McCarthy
Newspaper Accounts
- New York Times (1, 2, 3)
- The Pall Mall Gazette
- Bismark Daily Tribune
Other cases mentioned
- Witchcraft in Tipperary (1, 2), The Times, Sep 18, 1850
- Revelation from a Hamlet near Athlone, New York Times, March 22, 1896
- The Times, Tuesday March 10, 1896
MUSIC
- The Butterfly – Sláinte
- Capclear – Aislinn
- Evening Bells – Arnaud Coutancier
- Too Ra Loo Ra Loo Ral (Irish Lullaby) – Chauncey Olcott
- Lunassa – Aislinn
- Dark Alleys – Kai Engel
- Interception – Kai Engel
- Fragile Ice – Sergey Cheremisinov
- She Moved Through the Fair – Sláinte
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Sunday Oct 18, 2020
Sunday Oct 18, 2020
The story of the last and largest witch trial ever to take place in Ireland.
Sources and Further Reading
- Possessed by the Devil: The Real History of the Islandmagee Witch Trial, by Andrew Sneddon
- Witchcraft and Magic in Ireland, by Andrew Sneddon
- Account of the Trial of Eight Reputed Witches by William Tisdall
- Satan’s Invisible World Discovered, by George Sinclair
- Irish Witchcraft and Demonology, by St. John D. Seymour
Music
- The Butterfly – Sláinte
- By the Winds - Sergey Cheremisinov
- Paranoia – Kai Engel
- Dance with Me – Sergey Cheremisinov
- All of This – Ayla Nereo
Sunday Oct 11, 2020
Sunday Oct 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.
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
- The Butterflyby Sláinte
- Curtains are Always Drawn – Kai Engel
- Fog – Sergey Cheremisinov
- Run – Kai Engel
- Sea & Night - Sergey Cheremisinov
- Mindship - Sergey Cheremisinov
- Ivory Tongue - Ayla Nereo
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Sunday Oct 04, 2020
Sunday Oct 04, 2020
(Re-released episode from Season 1)
In 1324, Dame Alice Kyteler of Kilkenny became the first woman tried for witchcraft in Ireland. But things did not go according to plan…
SOURCES AND FURTHER READING
The Sorcery Trial of Alice Kyteler: A Contemporary Account, translated and edited by L. S. Davidson and John O. Ward
The History and Antiquities of the Diocese of Ossory by Rev. William Carrigan
Irish Witchcraft and Demonology by St. John D. Seymour
Witchcraft: A Very Short Introduction by Malcolm Gaskill
The Sorcery Trial of Alice Kyteler by Bernadette Williams
MUSIC
- "Beacon" by Ayla Nereo
- “The Butterfly” by Sláinte
- Churchbells, St. Nicholas Cossack Cathedral in Omsk, recorded by Zabuhailo
- “Global Warming” by Kai Engel
- “daemones” by Kai Engel
- “periculum” by Kai Engel
- "Wheel of Time" by Ayla Nereo
Sunday Sep 27, 2020
Sunday Sep 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!
Saturday Jun 20, 2020
Saturday Jun 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!
Sources and Further Reading
The Salmon of Knowledge Variants
- Salmon of Knowledge
- The Boyish Exploits of Finn – translated by John O’Donovan
- “Had I but eaten of the salmon of knowledge...” Cath Mhuighe Léana translated by Eugene O’Curry (p97)
- The High Deeds of Finn and other Bardic Romances – T. W. Rolleston
- My previous episode featuring Fintan mac Bóchra
Fionn / Enchanted Water Stories
- Fionn and Cúldub – translated by Kuno Meyer
- The Fountain of the Moon – edited by Nicholas Kearney
Sigurd and Taliesen
- Sigurd
- Hanes Taliesen, Taliesen, Ceridwen
- Intervention and Disruption in the Myths of Finn and Sigurd – Joseph Falaky Nagy
- Abstract Narrative in Ireland – R. Mark Scowcroft
- Reviewed Work: The Thumb of Knowledge in Legends of Finn, Sigurd, and Taliesin- Robert D. Scott (Review by: G. M.)
Sinnan and Boand
- Revue Celtique (Sinnan) – translated by Whitley Stokes
- Revue Celtique (Boand) – translated by Whitley Stokes
- On the Manners and Customs of the Ancient Celts – Eugene O’Curry
- The Well of Faery – translated by Kuno Meyer
- The Metrichal Dindsenchas – translated by Edward Gwynn
Music
- The Butterfly – Sláinte
- The Crosses of Annagh. The Humors of Tulla. The Cup of Tea – Sláinte
- Jig of Slurs. Dublin Reel - Merry Blacksmith. The Mountain Road – Sláinte
- Things you never known – Lobo Loco
- Relaxing Piano Music – Kevin MacLeod
- By the Wind – Sergey Cheremisinov
- Ladies Choice – Dance Hall – Lobo Loco
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Sunday May 31, 2020
Sunday 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.
Sources and Further Reading
Introductions
Kilstuiffeen
- Ordnance Survey Letters by John O’Donovan and Eugene O’Curry
- Ireland: its scenery, its character etc. by S. C. Hall
- Legendary Fictions of the Irish Celts by Patrick Kennedy
- A Folklore Survey of County Clare by Thomas John Westropp
- The Monks of Kilcrea by A. G. Geoghegan
Caher Linn
- @RostrevorRARE’s post
- Dúchas Stories
- Louth Folk Tales by Doreen McBride
- Carlingford Leaflet
Fintan Mac Bochra
- Lebor Gabála Érenn translated by R. S. Macalister
- The Hawk of Achill or the Legends of the Oldest Animals by Eleanor Hull
Liban
- Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland
- The Topography of Ireland by Giraldus Cambrensis
Mystical Islands
- The Topography of Ireland by Giraldus Cambrensis
- Speculum Regale translated by Laurence Marcellus Larson
The Voyage of Brendan
- Lives of Saints from the Book of Lismore translated by Whitley Stokes
- Brendan
- Cumann Comnae by Julianne Pigott
Music
- The Butterfly by Sláinte
- Drops of Brandy / The Mountain Kid by Aislinn
- The Burning of the Piper’s Hut by Pinnipied
- Pretty Little Dog by Shake that Little Foot
- Shady Grove by Shake that Little Foot
Sunday May 17, 2020
Sunday 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.
- Werewolf
- Wolves in Folklore, Religion and Mythology
- Bretha Crólige (Brehon Laws) translated by D. A. Binchy
Ossory Werewolves
- Leabhar Breathnach Annso Sis, translated by James Henthorn Todd
- Topographia Hibernia, by Gerald of Wales
- The Wonders of Ireland by Patrick Weston Joyce
- Werewolves of Ossory
St Ronan
- “Chronique IX” by By H. D’Arbois de Jubainville, in Revue Celtique (translation here)
- Ronan of Locronan
- stronans.co.uk
The Wolf Women of Cruachan Cave
- “The Story of the Three She-Wolves” in Irische Texte by Whitley Stokes
- “The Cave of Cruachan” in Gods and Fighting Men by Lady Augusta Gregory
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
- “Birth of Cormac Grandson of Conn” in Silva Gaedelica by Standish H. O’Grady
- “The Birth of Cormac” in The High Deeds of Finn by T. W. Rolleston
Music
- The Butterfly by Sláinte
- Magic Forest by Kevin MacLeod
- Hidden Past by Kevin MacLeod
- Surreal Forest by Meydän
- Smouldering by Kai Engel
Sound Effects
- Forest Day by sonidosreales245
- Dusk Wolf by killyourpepe
- Cooper Creek Solitary Wolf Howl by betchkal
- Wood of Wolves in the Rain by maurolupo
Saturday May 02, 2020
Saturday May 02, 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?
Read the Podcast Script
Sources and Further Reading
Leprechauns
- Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland, by Thomas Crofton Croker
- Irish Wonders, by D. R. McAnally
- Revue Celtique, by Whitley Stokes
- “Another Illusion Shattered: "leprechaun" not native Irish” in Language Log
King Fergus and the Wee Folk
- The High Deeds of Finn and other Bardic Romances of Ancient Ireland, by T. W. Rolleston
- Silva Gadelica, by Standish Hayes O’Grady
- The Saga of Fergus Mac Létí, translated by D. A. Binchy
Music
- The Butterfly by Sláinte
- The King of the Fairies – The Dubliners
- The King of the Fairies – Alan Stivell
- Lunassa by Aislinn
- The Banshee. Gravel Walks. The Old Copperplate – Sláinte
- Gander in the Pratie Hole, Morrison's Jig, Drowsy Maggie - Sláinte
Sunday Apr 19, 2020
Sunday Apr 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…
Sources and Further Reading
Introductions
Stories
- Lebor Gabála Éirenn, translated by Robert Stewart MacAlister
- Roth Mac Cithaing & Port Láirge, in the Rennes Dindsenchas translated by Whitley Stokes
- The Wonderful Tune / The Lady of Gollerus by Thomas Crofton Croker
- Orkney Folk-lore: Selkie Folk by William Traill Dennison
- The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Anderson
- The Fisherman and His Soul by Oscar Wilde
Essays
- The Testimony of Tradition by David MacRitchie
- The Motif of the Mermaid in English, Irish, and Scottish Fairy- and Folk Tales by Stephanie Kickingereder
- Supernatural Beings in the Far North: Folklore, Folk Belief, and The Selkie by Nancy Cassell MacEntire
Music
- The Butterfly by Sláinte
- Pure Water by Meydn
- Siren Song by Platypus VA
- Capclear by Aislinn
- Cobweb Morning by Kai Engel
- The Great Selkie of Sule Skerry by June Tabor
- Rain by Meydn
- O Come Ye by Ayla Nereo
- October by Kai Engel