Pisrógs

In this episode Luke reads from three of the myths most associated with Samhain. That good old time, just gone by, where the otherworld and our human world kiss and hold hands and which leads us into the crisp embrace of winter. The Boyish Exploits of Finn :- A trail of mysterious deaths leads Fionn to a fairy mound, where a murderous secret, a doomed love affair and a spear thrown into the Otherw...

If you are going to take a shortcut home this Halloween, you might encounter the Púca, and if you do, make sure to bring your spurs. There's something deeply unsettling about a talking horse that appears out of nowhere in the dead of night and insists you get on its back. This Halloween, we're getting acquainted with the púca: Ireland's shapeshifting troublemaker, known to appear as ev...

One for Sorrow, Two for Joy, Three for a Girl, Four for a Boy, Five for Silver, Six for Gold and Seven for a Secret Never to be Told. You have heard the rhyme, you've waved superstitiously at the singular flapping corvid, but now learn about why the Magpie carries such a weight in Irish folklore. Death Prophecies, Cromwelian Invasion, Enchanted Feathers, Crucifixions and MORE.

Supping Fairies, a Ghost Cat, a Drunken Mule, Revenue Men...and a very unfortunate genet. Poitín! This episode dives into the strange and wonderful stories that grew up around Ireland’s illicit spirit. Poteen makers outwit the Revenue men, fairies drink from golden cups, its all in there boys.

The Slasher House, Banshees, Count Tornado, Highkick Jack, The IRA, Headless Horseman and Cures upon Cures upon Cures. The boys set up a confessional booth at Electric Picnic and ye blurted out your best folk stories from all around the country!

You walk on an ordinary patch of grass and suddenly become so violently hungry that you can barely make it home. The Hungry Grass, or Féar Gortach, cursed patches of ground said to bring on an overwhelming, almost fatal hunger, sometimes only moments after a person has eaten. A single crumb of bread could save you… but in some tales, people were reduced to chewing boot laces, raw meat, or whatever...

If you went back in time to an Irish village or settlement the first place you should go was surprisingly, the forge. The village forge was the ancient internet, the pub, the pharmacy, and occasionally the battlefield briefing room. It's where you would get the weekly news. The blacksmith dealt in Iron, Information and Anvils, but also Fairies, Cures and Curses. Cathal and Luke tell tales of fairy...

PRIEST HUNTERS, during Ireland's Penal Laws these were bounty hunters paid to track down Catholic priests, going from village to village looking for the rewards offered for their holy heads. Haunted houses, swarms of black beetles, priests disguised as gardeners, bloodhounds chasing clergy across the countryside, highwaymen turned heroes, and assassinations which quite literally backfire. Whilst M...

Míol mór, whales! In irish it literally tanslates to large beast. Luke and Cathal dive into the folklore of the whale: Adventurers swallowed by whales, Townsfolk hunting for whales, Churches made of whales and whales mixed with cows. It's all in this brand new episode of Pisrógs! Whales! Wanna know what spermaceti is? Hit that play button sailor. Link to Oregon Whale Explosion: https://www.youtube...

Piracy, sea serpents, fairy women, gun-slinging priests. A fun little episode for a fun little island! Cathal and Luke are on their way to Sherkin Island (which allegedly boasts its own micro-climate), just off Baltimore, Cork. Inis Arcáin means 'Isle of the Piglets' , but not for the reason you may expect.

A horse veterinarian/kinesiologist casually informed us that a mythical white horse once appeared on the Benaughlin mountains every 'Billberry Tuesday.' As you do. This week, new-cohost Cathal Bergin joins Luke and together they descend into one of the strangest corners of Irish folklore: fairy cattle markets on the Play-Bank, ghostly aristocrats in knee breeches, warriors vanishing into m...

In Kildallan lies the Relic, an ancient graveyard where two trees wrapped around eachother above the graves of two forbidden lovers. Luke and his Mam share memories of their tight knit rural community of Kildallan. The pair read the stories of some of their community's oldest residents. Uncovering stories of Cock Fights, Cursed Families, Pig Gangs and Riverside Hags. Anna shares tales of her u...

Returning guest, Naas-born visual and performance artist Rónán Ó Raghallaigh. Rónán’s work moves between indigenous Irish art and ritual action, and after a few years it was time for Luke to catch up with an old friend. Fire throwing Fairies , Swords from Arabia, Headless horsemen and Faction Fights. This episode goes far beyond the Naas Ball. In his new work Turais Taibhsí (“Haunted Pilgrimages”)...

This week on the podcast, Luke is joined by Irish professional wrestler Conor Brady Lee — better known as CBL, or simply The Bull . Luke and CBL wander through the strange backrooms of Longford folklore old and new: The Burning of Granard, Mermaids, Fairy Horsemen, Local Characters and Teen Disco Scraps. A Longford native and rising force in Irish wrestling, CBL carries himself with the grounded p...

Join us for a trans-dimensional Sweeney family reunion. Musician, DJ, producer and Mafia Don - Rory Sweeney is part of a long Irish tradition of artists who go somewhere when they make work, and the Sweeney name has been going somewhere strange for a very long time. Rory’s music effortlessly straddles heavenly dreamscapes and noisy dystopia, and his deep affection for Irish myth and landscape has...

Before saunas were a lifestyle brand, Ireland had sweat houses. Luke traces the forgotten history of the teach allais . Stone sweat huts used in Ireland from at least the early 1600s, centuries before cold plunges and wellness retreats became fashionable. Built into riverbanks and hillsides, sealed shut and fired with turf, these places pushed the body to its absolute limit in the name of cure. Bu...

Carmen joins Luke in his hovel today. A keen internet historian, Quigley had been updating her instagram followers on the recent invasion of Asian hornets to Ireland (yes this episode was recorded a long time ago) and thus the pair dive into an episode on the weird and wonderful world of Ireland's native stinging buzzball- THE BEE. There are a whole host of strangely intricate and intricately stra...

Hidden Treasure, Supernatural Bulls and Circus Tigers on this first episode of a brand new season of Pisrógs! Oh and frogs too. Conor Campbell is an artist and architect from Cappamore Co. Limerick. If you don't know him, chances are you know his artwork. Ye Vagabonds, Junior Brother, The Chieftains, Alannah Thornburg, Gareth Quinn Redmond, Lemon Cello and more. Campbell's distinctive styl...

PISRÓGS is back with a little makeover and more guests. In this seven episode season Luke will chat to artists, musicians, elders and more about the folklore close to their area, close to their interests and close to their hearts. Or whatever is funniest. Lets jump in!

Looking for charms to steal your neighbours butter? We got 'em. Looking for ways to keep your pesky neighbours from stealing your butter? We got 'em. Songs to better churn the butter? Got those too. Join Aran and Luke as they dive head first into the world of Irish Butter folklore and superstition. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll call the parish priest, but he can't help you now. Accompanied by t...

His name is celebrated as an important figure of parliamentary democracy in the United Kingdom. Cromwell dispatched a tyrannical king, was the first Republican and an advocate for democracy. In Ireland his lasting effect is one of a genocidal tyrant. His consideration of the Irish people as inhuman and was self-professed , and the inhumanity for which he inflicted arguably places him in a position...

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 escapa...

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

ARAN and Luke turn to the Irish National Folklore Collection's Duchás Database and Irish mythology to read you the most effective bedtime story known to man. FROM spooky bedtime stories about witch's sleep charms, TO the Goddess of Sleep Caer and her lad, Aengus, NOT to mention some folk cures on how to get a good night's rest, IT'S all a dreamy doozy. SPONSOR this week is: DRY-LINE - Boring you t...

THE black stuff, stout, porter. IT'S synonymous with Ireland, but why? WHAT'S the difference between stout and porter? PISRÓGS barrels into an episode of songs, stories and accounts all about the substance we love to make us silly. MOST importantly we look at GUINNESS. YOU probably know all of the tremendous work that Guinness has done for Ireland, Dublin and it's workers. BUT there's a darker sid...