Irish Werewolves and their Tales

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

• 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

• Cathal the King
• Connor and the Wolf Men

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

For Fear of Little Men

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?

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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

Mermaids, Merrows and Selkies

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

• Mermaids
• Merrows
• Selkies

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

The Old Cures

When disease swept through a community, people would try anything that might help to save the ones they loved. In times before modern medicine, illnesses rarely seen today, like measles, pox and whooping cough, were killers, and traditions were passed down by families desperate for anything to give them the luck they needed to survive through the crisis.

But putting your trust in superstitious actions and legends of past cures could also lead to some very strange results...

With thanks to Con Ryan, my grandfather, for his unique and fascinating insight on these traditions.

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Sources And Further Reading

Thinking Critically About Coronavirus

• How to Spot Coronavirus Fake News
• Coronavirus: How Bad Information Goes Viral
• Coronavirus: The Fake Health Advice You Should Ignore
• Do Onions Fight Off The Flu Virus?

Old Cures

• Nosanna Agus Piseoga na nGael by Sean Ó Súilleabháin
• Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland by Lady Wilde
• Old Cures on Dúchas.ie

Minor Monuments by Ian Maleney

Music

• The Butterfly by Sláinte
• The Lark in the Clear Air by Shake That Little Foot
• Northern Lullaby by Sergey Cheremisinov
• The Irish Washerwoman by Howie and Ann Mitchell
• Lovely Maria by Aislinn

Did St Patrick Banish Snakes from Ireland?

St Patrick banished snakes from Ireland forever, and none have since dared to touch the land he charmed. But is the story really as simple as that?

Or could the legends of snakes, saints and Ireland’s beginnings stretch much further, with many more twists and turns?

• https://unrealpodcast.com/
• https://twitter.com/unrealpod
• https://www.facebook.com/UnrealPod/

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SOURCES AND FURTHER READING

General Introductions to Serpent Symbolism and Folklore

• Ireland’s Animals: Myths, Legends and Folklore by Niall Mac Coitir
• Serpent Symbolism

St Brigid and Snakes: Carmina Gadelica, Volume 1, by Alexander Carmicheal

Gaedil Glas: Lebor Gabála Érenn, translated by R. A. B. MacAlister

Fionn and Snakes: The Ballad of Sliabh Truim from Duanaire Finn, translated by John Mac Neill

Cónán and the Caorannach

• The great folly, superstition, and idolatry, of pilgrimages in Ireland by John Richardson
• ‘Underwater Worlds of the Donegal Bay Area’ by Helen Meehan
• Hesione and Heracles

St Patrick

• The Life and Acts of St Patrick, by Jocelin, translated by Edmund L Swift
• The Festival of Lughnasa by Máire Mac Neill

MUSIC

• The Butterfly by Sláinte
• Patrick was a Gentleman by Christy Moore
• Patrick’s Arrival by Christy Moore
• Sliabh – Cathal by Aislinn
• Drops of Brandy – The Mountain Kid by Aislinn
• Toss the Feathers – Otters Holt by Aislinn
• Lunassa by Aislinn

The Wren, The Wren, the King of the Birds

“The wren, the wren, the king of the birds,
On St Stephen’s Day was caught in the furze..."

Traditions surround this tiny bird in winter - but does the Wren Hunt have much more ancient roots?

https://unrealpodcast.com/

Who’s the Fastest of them All?

For the warriors of Ireland, speed was an important trait in a wife, tested in gruelling contests. But when you marry a fast, strong woman against her will, you can bet that the running she will do will be far and long away from you…

https://unrealpodcast.com/

https://twitter.com/unrealpod

Sheela na Guira, The Tyrant Queen

Crumbled and overgrown, Cullohill Castle is no longer the seat of great deeds , But local legends tell of a tyrant queen who killed lovers nightly, and terrorized the area. The legend may now be almost forgotten – but people nearby still recall. For who could forget the rule of Sheela na Guira?

https://unrealpodcast.com/

Alice Kyteler: The First Witch Trial in Ireland

In 1324, Dame Alice Kyteler of Kilkenny became the first woman tried for witchcraft in Ireland. But things did not go according to plan...

https://unrealpodcast.com/

https://twitter.com/unrealpod

Kidnapping at the Circus