Story Archaeology

Join Chris on her ramble through the landscape of early Irish story and discover why many of the best stories contain the environmental messages which are still highly relevant today.

Moytura 2000

Links for this ramble.

Circling the Táin: seven Story Archaeology podcast episodes.

Cath Maige Tuired: six Story Archaeology podcast episodes.

Stories in the Landscape Conversations: A conversation with Professor Patrick Nunn.

Moytura 2000

The Isle of Harris. Yes, the sea can be this blue!

Every community has folk tales to share, but do some of these stories encode ancient memories of climate change? This short podcast conversation with Professor Nunn focuses on stories from the North west coast of Ireland and Scotland that may have been told far longer than we might imagine. Listen, and then discover more in Professor Nunn's recent paper 'First a wudd, and syne a sea:' recently published in the Scottish Geographical Journal.

Lough Gill, Sligo / Leitrim

Read Professor Nunn's paper:

First a wudd, and syne a sea: postglacial coastal change of Scotland recalled in ancient stories

Today I was fortunate enough to attend a webinar presented by Professor Nunn and hosted by the University of the Highlands and Islands. Here is the You Tube link to the webinar..

Islands Matter Webinar 2 'First a wudd, and syne a sea: Scottish stories of memorable landscape change in their global context' with Professor Patrick Nunn. Recorded on the 20 October 2022.

Patrick Nunn was a Lead Author of the 5th Assessment Report (Working Group I) of the IPCC and a Lead Author for its 6th Assessment Report (Working Group II). His 2021 book, Worlds in Shadow: Submerged Lands in Science, Memory and Myth, is published by Bloomsbury Sigma.

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Patrick Nunn is the Professor of Geography at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia. He is a leading climate change scientist, author, and a specialist on how stories from oral traditions may have encoded memories of geological and oceanic change from around seven thousand years ago. Join Chris and Patrick as they discuss, remarkable oral story transmission, illustrated by 'climate change' stories from Australia, the Pacific Islands, and, Ireland. And, at last, I get to hear scientific evidence of the, highly probable, antiquity and importance of the dindshenchas story of Sinann. I have been looking forward to this conversation since 2015!Links for this episode

Patrick Nunn is the Author of Edge of Memory and Worlds in Shadow, both books I very highly recommend.

Listen to The Story Of Sinann podcast.

Some reflections on a journey to discover Irish stories.

Join Chris as she explores Irish oral story transmission and wonders if even stories sometimes need careful map makers to prevent them them from being lost.

Links for this episode

If you would like to find out more about the infamous Giraldus Cambrensis

Find out about his 'map making'.

Find out a bit more about his opinion on Ireland

Or just join in and tell him yourself!

Read Edge of Memory: The Geology of Folk Tales and Climate Change by Patrick Nunn

I will be sharing a Stories in the Landcape conversation with Professor Nunn very soon.

And from the Story Archaeology Archive

Colmcille and the Youth at Carn Eolairg

Manannán's Prophecy of Mongán

Listen to the podcast: Immrám Brain Mac Febul

Join Chris and Ralph, professor of Statistical Physics and enthusiastic comparative mythologist, as they enjoy discussing the ongoing ÉIRÍ project, 'Evoking Ireland's Resiliant female Icons', and discover how you, too, can add to some exciting and unusual research as well as discovering more about Ralph's upcoming Myths and Maths projects.

Links for this episode.

Find out how to enter the arts competion and add your own research.

Read the articles from the Irish Post.

Support pack for schools.

Celebrating Women in Irish Mythology. - Who will you choose?

Find out more about these new posts, 'Chris' Rambles'.

Join Chris as she sets off, aided by an unusual sixteenth century map, encounters an excentric English polymath with big ambitions, and with the help of a medieval Irish monk, discovers a fresh view of the arrival of the Tuatha Dé Danann.

And a good ramble is always best shared so please feel free to join in.

Supporting links for this episode.

Explore the map in an easily searchable format

The Beauty of Maps: The programmes are not currently available on BBB i-player but there are trailers.

View a short You tube video about the map from the Map House of London.

John Dee, King Arthur, and the Conquest of the Arctic by Thomas Green Institute of Archaeology, University of Oxford published in the Journal, 'The Heroic Age'.

A Letter Dated 1577 from Mercator to John Dee by E. G. R. Taylor This is a Jstor paper requiring sign in to access but limited numbers papers can be read online without cost.

The Battle of Motura: The Arrival of the Tuatha Dé Danann

Further information on Hugh of Ireland and the map

by Éamonn O'Doherty.

Ardagh hill, in County Longford, Ireland is a very special 'Stories in the Landscape' location. This is the legendary Bri Leith, where much of the Tocmarc Étaíne is set. The Ardagh Heritage and Creative Centre, managed by story teller and educator, Ann and her colleague Annette, nestles at the foot of this beautiful hill. Join Chris and Ann,as they explore the centre, and how to best present and adapt the, complex, Tocmarc Étaíne for a modern audience.

‘ÉIRÍ’ An international Arts Competition and Research Project

The Tocmarc Étaíne includes many fascinating female characters with intriguing and often complex motivations. Their stories still have much in common with current issues. Listen in to spark ideas for submissions to this exciting Arts competition, open to entries up to the close of October 22.

Links for this episode

Find out more about the Creative Ardagh Centre

Explore the craft shop

Heritage in Schools Scheme

Explore the Tocmarc Étaíne through the Story Archaeology Archive

Dindshenchas 09: Tocmarc Étaíne 1 - A Fly On The Wall

Listen to the podcast: A Fly on the Wall

Find Chris' story: Fuamnach

The Text of Tocmarc Étaíne Part 1 translation by Isolde

Brú na Bóinne and Cnogba - the Boyne Valley in the Metrical Dindshenchas: translation by Isolde

The Brú na Bóinne and Brí Leith: landscape exploration by Chris

Étaín, Eithliu, Vessels and Rebirth: article by Isolde

Dindshenchas 10: Tocmarc Étaíne 2 - The Re-Born Identity

.Listen to the podcast: The Re-Born Identity

Find the story told by Chris: A Prophecy

The Text of Tocmarc Étaíne Part 2: Translation by Isolde

Dindshenchas 11: Tocmarc Étaíne 3 - A Game of Fidchell

Listen to the podcast: A Game of Fidchell

Find Chris' telling of the story A Causeway Over Móin Lámraige

The Corlea Trackway

The Irish Dindshenchas The Lore of Prominent Places are a collection of origin stories which celebrate stories in the landscape. Yet, could they also inspire creative approaches to town planning? Join Chris and Jamie, a storyteller, genealogist and town planner, originally from Boston and now living in Seattle, as, together, they explore the broad and exciting scope of dindshenchas style stories.

mage of the rear of the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and the Cathedral Public Housing development, on the site of the Irish immigrant neighborhood my ancestors lived in until its ‘slum clearance’ demolition. The old elevated orange line train ran on Washington St, past the front side (not pictured) of the cathedral up until the 1980s.

Links for this episode

A link from Jamie: A story that inspired a beach name

Jamie's link to information on his mentor, Tunny Lee

Mythical Women re-visited: Discovering Sinann.

Information about the Corlea Trackway, Longford

Clare Millege

Join Chris and Clare, an artist from Sydney Australia, and an eloquant exponant of the art of landscape stories, as they discuss, art, ecology, the Australian landscape and, especially, Clare's recent installation Imbás: a well at the bottom of the sea at the Sydney Biennale 22. Take the opportunity to explore the installation as Clare leads us on a very special artist's personal walk, through the exhibiton.

View gallery Images and reviews

'Taste' the soundscape underlying the installation

Read the text of Clare's poem

Links to archive episodes relevant to this conversation

Mythical Women re-visited: Discovering Sinann.

Sinann in the Metrical Dindshenchas

More poems of Sinann

Chris' personal look at encounters with early Irish and Australian indigenous art. Dindshenchas and Dreamtime

Exploring the Longevity of Stories

Lee Fenlon

The second of a new Series of Story Archaeology podcast conversations on mythology and its

'Stories in the Landscape'.

Join Chris and Ralph, professor of Statistical Physics and enthusiastic comaparative mythologist, as they discuss the remakable possibilities of applying socio-physics to epic myth cycles;take an appreciative retrospective look at the International 'Arts for Sinann' competition which took place last year; and explore the exciting prospects of a new Arts and research project on 'Maths, Myths and Gender' to be launched, in conjunction with the Irish Post, in early May.

Susan Mannion

Find out about the Arts For Sinann Project and view the exhibition gallery

Morpheus-Ravenna-Carog

We covered a lot of stories in this conversation. Below you will find a small selection of relevant links to podcasts and articles connected to our conversation topics.

Find out more about Scathach

Find out more about Fuimnach

Find out more about Medb and her sisters

Find out more about oral tradition theory

Find out more about Emer

Applogies about any shortcomings in the recording quality at times. Ralph and I will be meeting up over the Summer months sometime and intend to have a futher non-remote recorded conversation. By that time we will have plenty to discussincluding the new art and reseach project to be launched in May.

Bill Rabinovitch

Coming soon: A conversation with Clare Milledge.

Clare is an Australian artist based in Sydney She is currently exhibiting at the Sydney Biennalle. The description of the installation reaads 'Imbás: a well at the bottom of the sea, draws on the Story of Sinann, an Old Irish story/dindshenchas about the forming of the river Shannon. '

The Sinann story and the postcast was a 'source' ideas for the installation. I, very much, look forward to talking with her sometime in May.