Orkneyology Podcast

In this special episode of the Orkneyology Podcast, Tom Muir and Rhonda are joined by Canadian historian, journalist and author Ken McGoogan, marking the 25th anniversary of his acclaimed book Fatal Passage and returning to the remarkable story of Orcadian Arctic explorer Dr John Rae.

For anyone interested in John Rae, Orkney history, Arctic exploration, the Franklin expedition, the Northwest Passage, or the history behind Ken McGoogan's Fatal Passage, this is a conversation full of stories, personal memories and a very strong sense of place.

Ken first came to Orkney in 1998 while researching Rae's story and was struck by something he found at the Orkney Museum: Orcadians already knew what he was beginning to discover—that John Rae had played a crucial role in the discovery of the Northwest Passage.

The conversation explores Rae's extraordinary achievements, including his discovery of the final link in the first navigable Northwest Passage and his investigation into the fate of the lost Franklin expedition of 1845. It also looks at why Rae's findings were so fiercely resisted in Victorian Britain, and how Lady Franklin's campaign helped shape the way his story was remembered.

Ken and Tom discuss the importance of Inuit knowledge to Arctic exploration, the difference between visiting the places where history happened and simply reading about them, and the changing historical understanding of Rae, Franklin and the Northwest Passage. They also talk about the documentary Passage, based on Fatal Passage, in which Ken and Tom both took part.

After Ken has to leave, Tom and Rhonda continue the story with a look at John Rae in Orkney: his grave at St Magnus Cathedral, the memorial inside the cathedral, his birthplace and the remarkable collection of Rae artefacts at Stromness Museum. They also remember Rae's extraordinary physical endurance and his modest character.

The episode ends with a personal conversation about the RNLI and Orkney's seafaring heritage, including the Longhope lifeboat tragedy of 1969.

• John Rae and his extraordinary Arctic career
• The 25th anniversary of Ken McGoogan's Fatal Passage
• The Franklin expedition and what happened to its final survivors
• John Rae and the first navigable Northwest Passage
• Why Rae's achievements were overlooked for so long
• Lady Franklin and the campaign against Rae
• Inuit knowledge and Arctic survival
• Charles Dickens and the Victorian response to Rae's findings
• Ken's journey from journalism to writing Arctic history
• Visiting the places where history actually happened
• John Rae's connection with Orkney
• Rae's grave and memorial at St Magnus Cathedral
• John Rae artefacts at Stromness Museum
• Lady Franklin's Revenge and the changing view of Lady Franklin
• The film Passage
• Orkney's continuing connection with John Rae
• The Longhope lifeboat tragedy and the RNLI

Buy Fatal Passage and all of Ken McGoogan’s books: https://kenmcgoogan.com/

Donate to the brave volunteers at the RNLI: https://rnli.org/support-us/give-money/donate

More about John Rae: https://www.orkneyology.com/john-rae.html

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What can archaeology, old songs, parish churches, sagas and folk memories tell us about the people who lived in Orkney hundreds of years ago?

On a night of a full blood moon, Orcadian historians Dr Sarah Jane Gibbon and Tom Muir settle down for a friendly blether about the stories, songs, beliefs and archaeological remains that help us understand how Orkney became the place it is today.

From the Christianisation of Norse Orkney and the mysterious little churches found beside ancient settlements and “watery places”, to the contested question of where St Magnus was originally buried, Sarah Jane brings archaeology and historical research together with the living traditions of the islands.

They talk about Orkneyinga Saga, parish churches, medieval power and status, healing wells, the trauma of the Reformation, the Orkney witch trials, and the ways that folk memory can continue to influence historical research.

And then the conversation turns to song.

Sarah Jane tells us about The Big Orkney Song Project, which has uncovered and preserved more than a thousand traditional Orkney songs. She explores why songs of loss and grief have endured so strongly in seafaring communities—and sings two remarkable examples: the original tune of The Great Selkie of Sule Skerry, and the old New Year song “We Are All Saint Mary’s Men.”

Along the way, there are stories of archaeological adventures, midges, middens, trolls, ghosts, a mysterious stone with a double footprint, and what it might mean to look at medieval Orkney through medieval eyes rather than our own.

This is a conversation about Orkney history, archaeology, folklore, Norse heritage, St Magnus, traditional song and the people who shaped these islands—and about the many different ways the past continues to speak to us.

Join Sarah Jane and Tom for a fascinating and very Orcadian journey between saints, sandstone and selkie songs.

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In this episode of Ower Wi’ the Moon, Tom is joined by his dear friend and fellow storyteller, Fran Flett Hollinrake — Curator of St Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall, Orkney — to talk about her forthcoming book, Folk Tales of Scottish Saints (The History Press).

From the brutal destruction of the Scottish Reformation to the booming modern popularity of pilgrimage, this conversation ranges across some of the strangest, funniest, and most moving saints' legends in Scottish folklore — including a blind girl guarded by a flock of angry magpies, a monk sacrificed into the walls of Iona Abbey and two men eaten by wolves and miraculously restored by St Magnus himself. Fran also shares a personal story about a stubborn eye infection that mysteriously cleared up after a visit to a ruined chapel on Papa Westray, Orkney.

🕯️ In this episode:

• The Reformation's destruction of Scotland's cathedrals — and why St Magnus Cathedral survived
• The legend of St Triduana and Fran's own "cured by a saint" story
• St Columba and the sacrifice of Oran at Iona Abbey
• The Camino de Santiago, the scallop shell, and the ancient business of pilgrimage
• St Magnus's wildest miracles (wolves, dice, and more!)
• Margaret Sinclair — Scotland's next saint?
• Cathedral ghost stories from St Magnus Cathedral
• St Obert of Perth — the forgotten baker's saint revived for the modern age
• 
  

📖 Fran's book, Folk Tales of Scottish Saints, will be published by The History Press early in 2027.

   Art by Paul Dews, created for Fran’s upcoming book, Folk Tales of Scottish Saints.

🎙️ Ower Wi’ the Moon is a podcast of storytelling, folklore, and conversation from Scotland’s Orkney Islands.

#ScottishFolklore #StMagnusCathedral #Orkney #FolkTales #Saints #Pilgrimage #ScottishHistory #Podcast

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If you love Viking and Scottish history, folk stories and archaeology, this episode is for you! Tonight, Orcadian historian and storyteller Tom Muir and Norwegian scholar Ragnhild Ljosland have a far-reaching conversation covering these things and more:

• Discovering Orkney through studies; marrying an Orcadian, becoming a scholar, archaeologist and author
• Getting to know people who lived thousands of years ago through names, folk tales, runes ...
• Why didn't the educated classes listen to the old farmers?
• Setting saga poems to ancient tunes and new
• Ancient conversations in runes in Maeshowe tomb
• "Pict's hooses" in Orkney and the possible connection with strong home brew
• The "half-corpse" hogboon
• How names tell the legends of the people
• The Spanish Armada wrecks, the Jacobites and the Covenentora, and how they figure into the stories of Orkney
• Orkney "driftwood" settlers; the relationship to Norse mythology and where we all came from
• The naming story of "Archie Angel", survivor of a shipwreck of the ship Archangel
• Being given a new name by your new community
• Local stories about decendents from kings in disguise
• Place names with folk tales attached, like "Cubbie Roo's Burden"
• Thr Brough of Bigging and the "Armada men's graves"; "the Harray men's graves" and the seven standing stones - anchoring true stories to landscape
• The fin king, and the tale of how Snoosgarth got its name - learn how to distract a sea monster!
• Orkney tales and Norse mythology similarities
• The Westness Viking walk in Rousay - when stories and archaeology agree
• Where are the St Olaf stories and the black death stories in Orkney?
• Time traveling in Orkney with Raggie: Orkney Time Travel

Links:

Raggie's paper for Folklore journal, Like Driftwood Taking Root: Folk-Onomastic Origin Legends from the Orkney Islands: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0015587X.2026.2638700

Raggie's upcoming book for Orkneyology Press: https://www.orkneyology.com/Ragnhild-Ljosland-Orkneyology-Press.html

Raggie's website: https://brodgar.co.uk/

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The Orkneyinga Saga continues …

In Part 4 we explore the conclusion of the dramatic Viking history of Orkney — from rival jarls and political intrigue to legendary figures like St Magnus — as recorded in the Orkneyinga Saga.

Orcadian storyteller Tom Muir guides us through the historical events behind the saga, bringing Norse-era Orkney vividly to life with "a storytelling version" of Orkneyinga Saga.

If you're searching for:

• Orkney history
• Viking Scotland
• Norse sagas explained
• St Magnus Orkney
• Scottish island history

This episode is for you.

Find more Orkney Islands history and lore on our website https://www.orkneyology.com

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On this full blue moon, Orkney Islands storyteller Tom Muir has a blether with an old friend. You'll hear about these things and more:

•  Colin's life in the Glens of Antrim
• The story of a wreck at the Giant's Causeway - a Spanish Armada story, and other shipwreck tales
• Queen Elizabeth I, the greatest killer of English sailors
• Shipwreck treasure stories in Papa Westray and Graemsay (Orkney)
• Mythologized history
• Folk tales in Ireland: the wee folk, the fairy thorns (hawthorn), leprachauns and pots of gold ... misfortune and bad luck to thrawn, and how to be forgiven by the fae
• Why are there more mermaids than selkies in Antrim
• An Inuit/selkie/finfolk connection in Ireland and Scotland?
• A celebration of David Thomson's People of the Sea, (selkie stories collection/travelogue) with Colin Urwin and Ruth Kirkpatrick
• About "Mary Beans", fairy darts and axe heads - their beauty and powers
• Colin tells the story of the Rathlan farmer, off the County Antrim coast, including singing "She Moves Through the Fair"
• Colin's Orkneyology Press book, The Madman's Window: making fleshed-out stories out of folklore scraps
• Colin's other books: The Iron Hag, and The Man who Talked to the Wind and other stories from the Tommy Sessle archive - nominated for the Catherine Briggs award - Dal Raiada Folktales; Tales of the Irish Coast and Sea
• Iron, magic and the fairy folk
• Being introduced to the world of professional storytelling by Irish storyteller Liz Weir
• Colin sings us out with "The Parting Glass"
• 
  

Links:

The Madman's Window:

print: https://shop.orkneyology.com/collections/orkneyology-press-books/products/the-madmans-window-other-tales-of-the-antrim-coast-1

ebook: https://shop.orkneyology.com/collections/orkneyology-press-books/products/the-madmans-window-other-tales-of-the-antrim-coast-ebook

Colin's website: colinurwin.com

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The Orkneyinga Saga continues…

In Part 3 of this special series, OrcadianTom Muir MBE brings us deeper into the dramatic world of Viking Orkney — where rival jarls, shifting loyalties, and legendary figures shaped the islands' history.

If you're curious about the Orkneyinga Saga, Viking Scotland, or the real stories behind St Magnus and the Norse earls of Orkney, this episode offers an accessible and atmospheric introduction to one of the most compelling medieval sagas.

In this episode:

• The next chapter of the Orkney jarls

• Rivalries, alliances and betrayals

• Viking-age Orkney history

• Storytelling rooted in landscape and place

• How the Orkneyinga Saga connects to modern Orkney

Perfect for listeners interested in:

Orkney history • Viking Scotland • Norse mythology • Scottish islands • Medieval history • Storytelling

• Part 3 of 4 — listen to Parts 1 & 2 to follow the full saga. (Part 1 is episode 14; Part 2 is episode 16)

History

Scottish History

Viking History

Norse

Orkney

Storytelling

Cultural Heritage

Scotland

Medieval History

Folklore

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Tonight on this full March sap moon, Orkney Islands storyteller Tom Muir has a blether with an old pal, well-known storyteller and harpist Heather Yule. This episode is a deep dive into the Scottish oral tradition, which Tom calls "a free class in great storytelling".

You'll hear this and more:

• How Heather ended up in Scotland from Chicago, and was raised deeply immersed in traditional storytelling

• Scottish caleighs as early training for storytelling

• How Heather met some legendary Scottish Traveller storytellers as a child

• Tom's memories of Traveller folk in Orkney, and the specter of racism

• Influences of different cultures on folk tales

• Travellers' stories and Jack Tales

• Anecdotes about the great Shetland storyteller, Lawrence Tulloch

• A PhD on Jack Tales from Appalachia

• Heather Yule tells a spooky Stanley Robertson story!

• "Burker stories", relating to the horrible days of Burke and Hare, and the dangers to Travellers in particular

• Press gangs, and the relationship to "disappearance" stories

• Stanley Robertson - storyteller, seer, fortune teller, and how Tom's "fortune" worked out; and second sight

• Christianity and how it was woven together with the ancient Scottish/Celtic traditions

• The most haunted and evil house in Shetland - the true story of the sadistic laird

• Telling other people's stories as a way of continuing the connection and honoring the memory of the teller

• Hearing the voice of the storytellers no longer with us - "Kist o' Riches" online

• The anglicizing of Scottish place names by incomers and map-makers, and re-learning the original meanings

• Harps, harp-makers; playing the harp while telling a story

• The beginnings of The International Scottish Storytelling centre, The Netherbow and the storytelling festival

• Bursary for young storyteller: Meeting with Lawrence Tulloch and shadowing David Campbell

• Heather pays a beautiful piece of harp music in the manner of the old tradition

• Working with children and stories

• Heather tells a Lawrence Tulloch Shetland story with a harp

• Bouncing stories off other storytellers, like being around the kitchen table

Links to mentioned:

A Jack story: Silly Jack and the Princess - find it near the bottom of this page, under tales especially for the bairns. https://www.orkneyology.com/tales-from-tom.html

Heather's website/TRACS https://tracscotland.org/storytellers/heather-yule/

Heather's commission art: https://www.heatheryulepapertales.co.uk/paperdesigns

Story Harvest ~ revered Scottish storyteller David Campbell's book of traditional stories and tips for telling stories: https://www.orkneyology.com/David-Campbell-Orkneyology-Press.html

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On this full snow moon, Tom Muir has a fascinating fireside chat with Simon Heywood, Doctor of Philosophy and Senior Lecturer at University of Derby, who is also an authority on Arthurian stories and an elegant storyteller.

If you're inspired to do so, you can buy us a dram on Ko-fi, with our hearty thanks: https://ko-fi.com/orkneyology

Join the conversation to find out such things as ...

• Who was King Arthur? Was he a real person?
• The time when the English were unwelcome invaders who came into Britain by boat (ironically)
• What was the first written account of Arthur and his court?
• King Arthur, the national hero of Wales
• The French connection: where did Lancelot come from?
• Was Arthur an "English" king?
• What if such a magical thing as an honourable king really did happen?
• The tragedy when those trying to do right fail
• Cornwall and King Arthur
• The return of the king
• Glastonbury and Avalon
• The Holy Grail and the Spear of Destiny
• The dark genius behind Arthur: Merlin and his terrible crimes
• Tennyson's act of evasion in his Arthurian vision, and how he was made a "freeman" of Kirkwall
• Vortigern's last stand; who keeps tearing down his tower? The story of the two drgons of Wales
• The sword in the stone - is it Excalibur?
• Morgan leFay
• Lot (Earl Lyot of Orkney?) and his wife, the powerful Morgause; Lot's sons, knights of the Round Table
• The moving circle of stones at Stonehenge
• Are any of the details based in historical fact?
• Camelot and Guinevere
• Mordred the "monster"
• Arthur's birth and the Questing Beast
• Who is in the boat, coming to fetch the wounded Arthur to take him to Avalon?

About Simon: https://shonaleigh.uk/about/simon-heywood/

Simon's books: https://www.waterstones.com/author/simon-heywood/1465389

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Tonight, Tom Muir and his wife Rhonda have a cozy winter storytelling session, with readings from Tom's books published with The History Press ... including his new Scottish Folk Tales of Love, gorgeously illustrated by artist Hester Aspland.

If you're inspired to do so, you can buy us a dram on Ko-fi, with our hearty thanks: https://ko-fi.com/orkneyology

Winter is for stories. As we round the bend of a new year, Tom will tell us some stories in their entirety, as well as sharing selected readings from his History Press books. So snuggle in and draw closer to the fire, even if it's an imaginary one. Happy New Year to you all, friends.

Along with readings from stories of sea witches, second sight, doomed lovers, the devil, lovers returned from the dead and runaway princesses ... full stories Tom will tell are:

• The Three Questions
• The Selkie's Revenge
• The Three Gifts

Mentioned in the episode:

Hjorliefur Helgi Steffanson: podcast episode 10; Ailsa Dixon: podcast episode 9 - https://www.orkneyology.com/orkneyology-podcast.html

The Green Man of Knowledge, told by Tom: https://www.orkneyology.com/tales-from-tom5.html

Tales for Troubled Times folktale storytelling archive: https://www.orkneyology.com/tales-from-tom.html

History Press books by Tom: https://thehistorypress.co.uk/contributor/tom-muir/

Anthologies: https://thehistorypress.co.uk/publication/the-anthology-of-scottish-folk-tales/

https://thehistorypress.co.uk/publication/the-anthology-of-scottish-folk-tales-volume-ii/

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