Pisrógs

After the Plantation of Ulster in 1606, three McDonnell brothers, dispossessed, made their way south.

One of them settled on swampy uncontested land in Dublin, claiming themselves as its monarch.  

Welcome to MUD ISLAND.

A refuge at the fringes of Dublin Society, Aran and Luke seek to learn of its colourful history of Smugglers, Highwaymen and MORE.

From secret passages to the bloody pirate escapades of Art Granger, its hard to believe what is now Ballybough and Fairview was a muddy slobland soundtracked by savage fights between the Mud Islanders and the Revenue Men, and stories of banshees and Collier the Robber.

Unbeknownst to Luke when we started recording this episode, it was going to be dominated by Rat stories. There are Bananas too. Some may say we had too much fun recording this one, I say there's never such a thing. Join us in the fun backed by the beautiful ambient music of Gareth Quinn Redmond

GAELS - Forest People.

THIS episode will follow Irish trees through time from:

The temperate rainforest which existed before humanity's arrival on the island, to the 1% of tree cover that remains in our wake.

FROM the celts who venerated trees, to the Normans who cut them down liberally and the continued negligence by the Free State all the way to the current practice of forestry in Ireland today.

INTERESTINGLY, language can be used to plot the changing relationship between humankind and forests here in Ireland.

FROM Ogham, a language based on the natural world around us, to the present day where the word 'forest' can prove harmful in its vaguity.

PLUS, learn a possible scientific reason why the hawthorn (or fairy tree) might be such a feared bush.

MERFOLK - Irish Mermaids - The Merrow (Murúch), Selkies & Siren.

IN this week's episode the lads travel from our seas, rivers and lakes through GALWAY and LEITRIM to KERRY and ROSCOMMON in search of MERFOLK - half-human half-aquatic beings which litter the mythology of almost every country.

THE BOYS are tracing the myth of Merfolk in Ireland from the source of our earliest mythology to the mouth of more recent folk tales. With the anatomy of the mermaid and the means of its aquatic abilities changing with time from story to story. 

EXPECT yarns from 11th century monks and recollections from Tommy down the road.

MERMAIDS have long been associated with their allure, with tales of men selfishly kidnapping the poor creatures, or even drowning to death in awe of their beauty. This leads to wider discussion of mermaids as a symbol of the expectations of women.

THE LEGEND of children born here as the product of mermaid/human relations. 

SO, depending on your second name, you too could be just a little bit fishy!

(ALSO we have fairy news chock full of cures and ferrets and all sorts)

Come dive in! Waters fine.

In this episode, Luke and Aran fill your mug with all the seasonal delights you can gulp down. Join the boys by the toasty fire as they warm you up for a delightfully festive season.

If you have any stories you'd like to share please message us @pisrogspodcast on Instagram or email us on [email protected]

We would only love to hear any stories or tidbits you have relating to folklore, mythology, traditions, customs and all such matters.

Delightful music of Gareth Quinn Redmond featured in part of this episode.

LOCALLY sourced IRISH FOLKLORE, stories, cures and laughs based on the words YOU, the listener, chose via our instagram: @pisrogspodcast (God help us)

THE boys titter their way through tales of:

GEESE screaming down children's necks,

WEASELS jumping down horses ears,

GIANTS stealing cows,

EELS eating loved ones! 

ALL served with piping hot tea and the musical styling of Gareth Quinn Redmond.

REVENGE, biscuits, CRYSTAL BALLS, biscuits, THE PÚCA and tea....

TIS ALL in there and it's all sourced directly from the National Folklore Collection's Dúchas Archive.

THE first Irish witch burning, and the first known record of a Coven in the world.

PETRONILLA de Meath was tortured, interrogated and eventually burnt at the stake on the 3rd of November 1324, in Kilkenny.

HER charge? Witchcraft.

"AND though she was indeed herself an adept in this accursed art of theirs, she said she was nothing in comparison with her mistress, from whom she had learned all these things and many more."

DE Meath was maidservant to Alice Kyteler, a woman whose Husbands all had the unfortunate habit of dying . . . soon after marrying her.

WAS Kyteler: INNOCENT? MONEY-GRABBING? A WITCH?

CULTURALLY, Irish witches are more commonly associated with Goddess figures, such as the Cailleach Beara (Learn more in our previous episode) than the iconic and horrific witch burning that plagued Europe and America from the 15th Century.

IN FACT, for a superstitious nation, witch burning barely reached double digits in Ireland compared to the hundreds in continental Europe.

WHY? The boys attempt to find out just THAT.

Guess what? Aran is back....... And he's broke; shoes, wallet, the whole lot. So no better man to find than that Leprechaun with his fat crock of gold. In this episode Aran and Luke pull together stories from the ages to find the origins of the Leprechaun. How did all the tropes come to be? Hop in and found out with some gorgeous ambient music accompaniment by Gareth Quinn Redmond and plenty of hearthy chuckles. Hup