logo
episode-header-image
Jun 2023
1 h

Medieval Irish Folklore (Live)

Bbc Radio 4
About this episode

In this special live episode, recorded at the Hay Festival, Greg Jenner is joined by Dr Gillian Kenny and comedian Seán Burke to learn about medieval Irish folklore.

We’re focusing on the lore and stories from Gaelic Irish culture. Gaelic culture remained the dominant set of cultural and societal beliefs on the island of Ireland well into the 17th century until it was destroyed by a succession of English invasions.

But what were these beliefs and how did the Christianisation of Ireland from the 5th century onwards amalgamate pre-Christian stories into it?

From fairy darts to banshees, through some unusual ways of warding off the evil eye, this is a jovial jaunt across some ancient myths and legends.

Research by Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow Written by Emma Nagouse and Greg Jenner Produced by Emma Nagouse and Greg Jenner Assistant Producer: Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow Project Management: Isla Matthews Audio Producer: Steve Hankey

You’re Dead To Me is a production by The Athletic for BBC Radio 4.

Up next
Aug 22
Kellogg Brothers: a family feud and the creation of a cereal empire
Greg Jenner is joined in nineteenth-century America by historian Dr Vanessa Heggie and comedian Ed Byrne to learn all about the feuding Kellogg Brothers. John and Will Kellogg were born into a large family in Battle Creek, Michigan, in the middle of the 1800s. Following a childho ... Show More
59m 9s
Aug 15
Alexandre Dumas: author of The Three Musketeers
Greg Jenner is joined in nineteenth-century France by historian Professor Olivette Otele and comedian Celya AB to learn about acclaimed novelist Alexandre Dumas. Alexandre was born to an innkeeper’s daughter and a legendary Black general who fought for Napoleon. After his father’ ... Show More
56m 7s
Aug 8
Empress Matilda: civil war in medieval England
Greg Jenner is joined in twelfth-century England by Dr Gabrielle Storey and comedian Cariad Lloyd to learn all about Empress Matilda and the medieval civil war known as the Anarchy. A granddaughter of William the Conqueror, Matilda was born into England’s new Norman royal family. ... Show More
57m 16s
Recommended Episodes
Jan 2024
The First Irish
Over 10,000 years ago, many believe Ireland was a place where hunter-gatherers roamed. A place where the earliest human communities exchanged prizes of the hunt and crafted primitive tools to aid their survival. But what if their interactions with each other were more sophisticat ... Show More
40m 53s
Feb 2021
The Irish War of Independence Part I - World War I
This is the first episode in a 24 part series on the War of Independence. Today's show focuses on the First World War and how it destablised Irish society, following the lives of several people in one Irish town - Castlecomer, Co Kilkenny (where I grew up). It includes never befo ... Show More
42m 6s
Sep 2022
[Ep 2/3] Ireland's Last Aristocrat - The Life of Olive Packenham Mahon
Olive's unpublished diary and letters reveal a story of war, revolution and scandalous relationships in Ireland during the War of Independence. After being raised in splendour with servants taking care of her every need (see part I), this episode follows Olive Packenham Mahon thr ... Show More
40m 41s
Mar 2024
Exiled: Irish Writers in the 1930s
The 1930s stood out as one of the most dramatic decades in modern history. Fascism was on the rise, and Europe was hurtling towards the Second World War.However, it was a peculiar time in Ireland. The Revolutionary Era was firmly in the rearview, and the optimism and hope it once ... Show More
28m 1s
Dec 2023
Forgotten: The Irish in the American West
New York, Boston, and Chicago dominate the history of Irish migration to the United States. However by 1900 one of the most Irish cities in the US was Butte Montana. Situated high in the Rocky mountains, Butte was just one of hundreds of Irish communities dotted across the Americ ... Show More
31m 10s
Jan 2023
The Story of Irish Coffin Ships Part I
Between 1845 - 1855 over two million people left Ireland to escape hunger, poverty and disease during the Great Hunger. The experience of these emigrants was often harrowing. The term Coffin Ship has became synonymous with their journeys across the Atlantic.  While the term conve ... Show More
28m 22s
Oct 2013
The Top 5 Turning Points in Medieval Ireland: (Part II) The Battle of Athenry
This podcast concludes our journey through the Top 5 turning points of Medieval Ireland. This show focuses on one of the most intriguing events of our medieval past, the Battle of Athenry in 1316. This conflict occured during one of the most fascinating wars in Irish history - th ... Show More
24m 56s
Feb 2022
The War of Independence Finale (Endgame III)
We've made it! This is the final episode in the War of Independence series. The episode begins as Michael Collins and an Irish negotiating team lock horns with Lloyd George and Winston Churchill in London. When a controversial treaty is agreed we return to Dublin to see how it is ... Show More
39m 41s
May 2024
The Real Carrie Jade: Trailer
Long before anyone ever heard of this story, 3yrs ago, in 2021, a 32-year-old English woman approached us with a heartbreaking story. She was dying from a terminal illness. But she thought she might have a lifeline through lifesaving brain surgery, and she'd like us to record her ... Show More
3m 47s
Nov 2023
Viking Yule: The Norse Winter Holiday & the Wild Hunt w/ Dr. Terry Gunnell
Support this podcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/historyofvikingVisit my friend and Swedish blacksmith, Philip Lufolk: https://lufolk.comMedieval Scandinavians and other Germanic peoples celebrated a holiday called Yule during the time of year when days became longer and ... Show More
43m 43s