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

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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?

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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

• 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

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“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?

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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…

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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?

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

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Giants sculpted our landscape. They are strong, and fierce, and can be terrifying if you're unprepared. But anyone can defeat a giant - if you are clever enough to trick them...

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The mythical world, beautiful storytelling and devastating conclusion of The Fate of the Children of Lir has left its mark on all who have heard through the years.

But even one of Ireland's best known legends has a few surprises left in store...

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Hello there, and welcome to Unreal, a podcast about Irish history, stories and tradition.

I’ll be releasing fortnightly episodes, starting Sunday 15/09/2019.

Written and created by Ruth Atkins

UnrealPodcast.com

Theme music: "The Butterfly" by Sláinte

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