Blúiríní Béaloidis Folklore Podcast

It was said in tradition that 'there isn't an ailment or infirmity the cure of which doesn't grow in the fields or along the hedges', and indeed, our forebears employed a wide range of historical practices to drive out infirmity and illness. While a great deal of folk cures were entirely practical in their application, many others turned to the use of magic, sacrifice and the use of charms, rituals or prayer – modes of thought quite at odds with altogether more modern, secular perspectives.

Far from being casually forged in the half-light of ignorance, our folk cures reveal those measures which, being deeply concerned with human life and welfare, were called on in times of crisis, in order to provide reassurance and comfort in the face of insecurity, illness and anxiety.

For this episode of Blúiríní, Jonny examines definitions of folk medicine before taking a look at the healing deities of Classical European Paganism, and Irish mythology alike. Our explorations will then turn to consider the host of plagues, pestilences and infirmities outlined in our medieval chronicles, before we take a look at folk cures recorded in the archives of the National Folklore Collection University College Dublin.

As we presently accustom ourselves to life in varying degrees of 'lockdown', it is worth turning to the past, in order to draw on the endurance, strength and patience with which our forebears held themselves through hardship. As the saying goes, 'Ní neart go chur le chéile!' ('There is no strength without unity!')

Selected Readings of Interest:

Chapter Title: Talitha Qum! An Exploration of the Image of Jesus as Healer-PhysicianSavior in the Synoptic Gospels in Relation to the Asclepius Cult Chapter Author(s): Frances Flannery

Book Title: Coming Back to Life Book Subtitle: The Permeability of Past and Present, Mortality and Immortality, Death and Life in the Ancient Mediterranean Book Author(s): Bradley N. Rice Book Editor(s): Frederick S. Tappenden, Carly Daniel-Hughes Published by: McGill University Library. (2017) Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvmx3k11.22

Some Notes on Homeric Folk-Lore Author(s): W. Crooke Source: Folklore, Vol. 19, No. 1 (Mar. 30, 1908), pp. 52-77 Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. on behalf of Folklore Enterprises, Ltd. Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/1254711 Accessed: 20-03-2020 12:03 UTC

Indo-European Dragon Slayers and Healers and the Irish Account of Dian Céacht and Méiche: https://www.academia.edu/10246879/Indo-European_Dragon-Slayers_and_Healers_and_the_Irish_Account_of_Dian_Céacht_and_

Lying in overgrown fields, by churches and next to roadsides all over Ireland, are hidden holy wells and sacred springs which have for countless generations been visited as sites of pilgrimage and devotion. These wells are generally small bodies of water dedicated to a local patron saint, and were often renowned for the healing properties.

For this edition of Blúiríní, we shall trudge across the fields on pilgrimage to these sacred wells, commencing with an exploration of the early Irish literature, which describes the creation of Ireland's rivers when an otherworld woman breaks a taboo in visiting a secret well of knowledge, the rivers of which burst forth and engulf her. Moving on to consider Ireland's placenames in connection with holy wells, we will examine the changing attitudes of Christian tradition to these wells and to the Pattern day - those communal celebrations in honour of the patron saint to whom the well is dedicated, which degenerated into 'discreditable orgies' and scenes of drunken violence, being eventually put down by the Church. The curative (and malevolent) properties of these wells will also be explored, as will be the broader European context for veneration of sacred springs.

For this episode I was very lucky to have been joined by Eddie O'Neill and Rosaleen Durkin, who very kindly showed my some of Wicklow's Holy Wells and spoke of their significance. Eddie's family have tended Lady Well in county Wicklow for three generations, and each year on the 15th of August (the Feast of the Assumption) the the entire community would visit the well to offer devotions, and to engage in merriment together, dancing and playing sports. Rosaleen Durkin, a native of Mayo, now living in Wicklow, set up (along with some friends) the group 'Wicklow Wells' which aims to 'preserve and document all the local traditions and folklore and where possible make them more accessible to locals and visitors alike'.

For more, see the Wicklow Wells Facebook Page: https://bit.ly/2SRKeZt

For Rosaleen's site, see: https://irishsacredwells.com/

This episode features a beautiful piano piece titled 'the Five Daughters' by Richard Moult. For more of Richard's music and art please visit his site: http://starred-desert.com/

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 ‘inspired performer’ alike.

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/

The festival of Samhain has since ancient times been considered as a major turning point in the ritual year. In marking the threshold of darkness and the end of the season of light, the eve of Samhain (observed all over Ireland at sundown on the 31st of October) is characterised by heightened supernatural activity, a return of the ancestral dead, divination magic, mischief, ritual disguise and the suspension of normal modes and rules of behaviour.

For this edition of Blúiríní, Jonny is joined by a special guest, Dr. Billy Mag Fhloinn. Billy is a folklorist, archaeologist, author and lecturer, whose book ‘Blood Rite: The Feast of St. Martin in Ireland’ was published in 2016, and who has contributed to international television productions by the BBC, PBS and the National Geographic Channel. For more information about Billy and his work, and to contact him directly please visit his site https://tradition.ie/

This edition of Blúiríní also features contributions from Aghast and Halo Manash

Aghast were an all-female group from Norway, whose haunting and atmospheric album 'Hexerei Im Zwielicht Der Finsternis' was released in 1995. For more information, see http://www.metaladies.com/bands/aghast/

Halo Manash hail from Finland, and aim to 'seek, explore, experience, study and decipher reflections of the ever-shifting shapes and spaces of different worlds', in order to 'revitalise one of the oldest subconscious forms of communication, to open the gates and widen the horizon of perception concerning states of otherness lying in-between the cardinal directions.' Our special thanks for their generosity in permitting us to include their music in this edition of the podcast. For more information, and to support them directly, please visit http://www.helixes.org/halomanash/about/

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!

While rooted in the earth, trees ascend towards the firmament of the Heavens. They likewise renew themselves through the eternal rhythms that govern all living things (those cycles of growth, maturation, decay and rebirth) as they blossom, flower, give fruit and eventually shed their leaves before being reborn anew each spring. Certain of these proud intermediaries between heaven and earth were treated with great veneration by our forebears, and echoes of the worship of sacred trees survives in folk tradition to this day.

For this 19th edition of Blúiríní Béaloidis, hosts Jonny Dillon and Claire Doohan consider their culture born of nature. From sacred trees under which kings of Ireland were inaugurated in times long ago, to the holy woods inhabited by both madmen and saints, and from votive offerings left hanging on the branches of trees growing beside holy wells, to those trees treated with fear and trepidation, understood as they were, as dwellings of the otherworld spirits which live alongside us in the natural landscape. Stay with us for an hour then, as we shelter beneath the branches of tradition, which gift to us the fruits of memory and meaning.

Jonny and Claire would like to send their thanks to Landless for permission to include the song 'The Trees Grow Tall' from their 2018 LP Bleaching Bones (played at 38 minutes, 12 seconds into the podcast). For more information about the group, and to support their work go to:

https://landless.bandcamp.com

https://www.facebook.com/landlessmusic/

https://www.instagram.com/landless_music_dublin/

We likewise send thanks to Richard Moult, for allowing us permission to include a beautiful piece of his piano music titled 'Star Filled Tree, Blacksburg' to close the podcast (the piece is played at 58 minutes, 48 seconds). If you would like to learn more about Richard's art, and to support his work, please go to:

https://starred-desert.com

St. Brigid’s Day falls on the first of February, and is traditionally understood as marking the beginning of spring in Irish custom.

Dedicated to the saint nicknamed Muire na nGael or the ‘Mary of the Irish’ (a designation given to her on account of the adoration and high regard in which she has long been held by the people of this island), St. Brigid's Day is a period full with emblems of regeneration, renewal and propagation.

For the first in the 2019 series of Blúiríní Béaloidis, hosts Claire Doohan and Jonny Dillon explore the feast of St. Brigid by examining her pre-Christian roots; tracing her spread across Europe and exploring links with early Vedic literature and the Indo-European tradition before considering the role and function of Ireland's patroness, along with contemporary attitudes held towards her in folk custom.

So, sit a while with us as we welcome in the dawn of a new season. Brigid, spring, you are welcome. Come in!

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.

Native European and Irish Tradition posits the existence of an Otherworld realm lying beyond the furthest reaches of the horizon; an island of plenty and abundance, where happiness lasts forever, and where one hundred years pass as one day. The Greek Elysium, King Arthur's Avalon, the Odainsakr of the Norse and the Irish Land of the Living all point to a long-held corpus of beliefs regarding a paradise across the ocean.

For the 16th instalment of Blúiríní Béaloidis, hosts Jonny Dillon and Claire Doohan set forth upon the waves to Teach Duinn (The House of Donn), to which the souls of Ireland's heathen dead were said to travel with the setting of the sun. Continuing their voyage, Claire and Jonny venture onwards over the seas 'flowery plains' visiting 'thrice fifty islands' with the great Connle, Mael Dúin, Bran and St. Brendan as their companions.

Our ships are coursing over the sea; strange panoramas and otherworld islands await:

'There is a distant isle,

Around which sea-horses glisten:

A fair course against the white-swelling surge,

-Four feet uphold it.

A beauty of a wondrous land,

Whose aspects are lovely,

Whose view is a fair country,

Incomparable is its haze.

Wealth, treasures of every hue,

Are in Ciuin, a beauty of freshness,

Listening to sweet music,

Drinking the best of wine.’

Irish communities have been sustained for centuries by the fruits of our seas, rivers and lakes, from which both physical and economic subsistence was drawn.

In this regard, this month’s Blúiríní Béaloidis episode sees Jonny and Claire focus their attention on the noble salmon. From the practical and economic to the abstract and symbolic, the 'silvery fellow', 'the king', the 'plum of the sea' has attracted a rich body of lore, tradition, custom and belief. Known to live between two worlds, freshwater rivers and saltwater seas, the salmon sits apart from its aquatic counterparts.

Join Jonny and Clare as they take in nefarious poachers and poisonous plants, superstitious fishermen and naming taboos. They'll uncover curious 15th century riddles, still echoing in the 20th century oral tradition. They'll discuss the Salmon of Life, Bradán na Beatha, as well as taking a fresh look at the well-known Salmon of Knowledge, reflecting 10th century Irish-Norse relations, and broader Indo-European narrative traditions.