Blúiríní Béaloidis Folklore Podcast

While rooted in the earth, trees ascend towards the firmament of the Heavens. They likewise renew themselves through the eternal rhythms that govern all living things (those cycles of growth, maturation, decay and rebirth) as they blossom, flower, give fruit and eventually shed their leaves before being reborn anew each spring. Certain of these proud intermediaries between heaven and earth were tr...

St. Brigid’s Day falls on the first of February, and is traditionally understood as marking the beginning of spring in Irish custom. Dedicated to the saint nicknamed Muire na nGael or the ‘Mary of the Irish’ (a designation given to her on account of the adoration and high regard in which she has long been held by the people of this island), St. Brigid's Day is a period full with emblems of regener...

From Jul 28, 1914 until Nov 11, 1918 the iron dice of war rolled across the fields of Europe with a ferocity and magnitude the likes of which the world had never seen. In the smoke filled trenches of Guillement, and on the shell-illuminated wastes of Ypres a hellish vision of mechanised death manifested itself. In this, the 17th episode of Blúiríní Béaloidis, Claire Doohan and Jonny Dillon commemo...

Native European and Irish Tradition posits the existence of an Otherworld realm lying beyond the furthest reaches of the horizon; an island of plenty and abundance, where happiness lasts forever, and where one hundred years pass as one day. The Greek Elysium, King Arthur's Avalon, the Odainsakr of the Norse and the Irish Land of the Living all point to a long-held corpus of beliefs regarding a par...

Irish communities have been sustained for centuries by the fruits of our seas, rivers and lakes, from which both physical and economic subsistence was drawn. In this regard, this month’s Blúiríní Béaloidis episode sees Jonny and Claire focus their attention on the noble salmon. From the practical and economic to the abstract and symbolic, the 'silvery fellow', 'the king', the 'plum of the sea' has...

The birth of a child is among the most important moments in the life of the individual, and of the community of which they are a broader part. Small wonder then, that there should exist so large a body of folk belief and custom regarding the protection of infants and the unborn. A darker body of tradition concerns those children who fail to thrive, who are sickly, and who appear wizened or otherwi...

The idea of the existence of a soul or life-force which exists independently of the body is of considerable antiquity. In folk tradition, the soul was understood to depart the body, not just at the moment of death (where it was said to leave through the crown of the head), but during sleep (where it departed the body via the mouth in the appearance of a small creature or insect). For this 13th edi...

The 17th of March sees countries the world over celebrate Saint Patrick's Day - a day which is commonly marked with large parades and revelry held in honour of the Ireland's patron saint. But what do we know of the historical figure of Patrick, and how is he viewed in folk tradition? What relation does he bear to the Pagan order that preceded him, and how is he represented in the early literature?...

Betrothal and marriage are among the most central and important rites of passage in any community, and in Irish tradition one was not seen as an adult (regardless of one's age) until they were married. In this month's edition of Blúiríní Béaloidis, hosts Claire Doohan and Jonny Dillon turn their attention to ideas around love, magic and marriage as represented in Irish tradition: from Shrovetide h...

Cattle have been central to Irish farming since the Neolithic period, and in early Ireland were even used as a unit of currency. In this month's edition of Blúiríní Béaloidis, hosts Jonny Dillon and Claire Doohan explore material relating to the cow in tradition; from native breeds which were hailed by Sir William Wilde as resembling 'in the most remarkable manner, the ox-heads carved upon the fri...

Séamus Ó Duilearga (James Hamilton Delargy), founder of the Irish Folklore Commission, speaking of his 'burning urge to save' the traditions and customs of the Irish people in the face of a rapidly shifting cultural landscape. It was this urge that led him to found the Irish Folklore Commission, and to surround himself with the brilliant men and women whom he tasked with gathering the rich trove o...

For this month's edition of Blúiríní Béaloidis, hosts Claire Doohan and Jonny Dillon set out to take a critical look at traditional practices relating to that most beloved of calendar custom celebrations; the midwinter festival of Christmas. Combining practices from the Nordic festival of Yule, the Roman Saturnalia and Christian tradition, Christmas is a time of feasting, goodwill and excess; a pe...

Owing to their impact on human affairs, weather occurrences of all sorts were a source of preoccupation for our forebears, who would look to the natural world around in the hope of interpreting and predicting these climactic manifestations. Explanations given to account for sudden gusts of wind and storms in many instances made reference to supernatural forces; to the powers of the fairies, of wit...

The Ulster Cycle consists of a corpus of tales forming one of the main branches of early Irish Literature, which have come down to us across countless generations; existing first as part of an oral tradition in Ireland until it was later chronicled by early Christian monks in the manuscripts that survive to this day. The most well known series of narratives within the Ulster Cycle - Táin Bó Cuailg...

In fields, valleys and quiet places the country over can be found countless earthwork mounds, cairns, tumuli and other signs of early human habitation in Ireland. These sites often garnered supernatural associations in folk tradition, being commonly understood as the abodes of 'Na Daoine Maithe' (The Good People) or fairies. Quite unlike the genteel 'Tinker Bell' of contemporary culture, the fairi...

The arrival of the harvest was for our forebears a time of great celebration, for it marked the point at which the lean months of June and 'Hungry July' (when the year's stores were traditionally at their lowest), gave way to a period of profusion and plenty. In this month's edition of Blúiríní Béaloidis / Folklore Fragments, your hosts Jonny Dillon and Claire Doohan take to the fields to consider...

In the traditional dwelling is found a well of spiritual, cultural and material information. Through it many things are revealed, from the ways in which our forebears used materials from the natural environment to meet their own specific needs, to the symbolic and spiritual concerns at play as they choose sites upon which to build. In this month's podcast Claire and Jonny explore some of the custo...

Since the earliest times, Man has sought to come to terms with the unknown powers and forces that act upon life and wellbeing. It is natural therefore, that our forebears looked to the natural world, and to the heavens, for interpretable signs and symbols by which they could increase well being and banish misfortune. The Moon has long been our old companion, and has gazed down silently upon all th...

The first of May is marked in Ireland (and across Europe more broadly), as a day on which the summer is welcomed in; where garlands of flowers decorate the houses, in which young women of the locality bring cattle up to higher summer pastures to graze, in which the community re-asserts its boundaries, and the family unit aims to garner for itself prosperity and good luck for the coming summer. In...

Welcome to Blúiríní Béaloidis, the new podcast from the National Folklore Collection, University College Dublin. In this introductory episode, hosts Jonny Dillon and Claire Doohan delve into definitions of folklore to dispel some common misconceptions surrounding this area of interest, as well as tracing the cultural and political context of the interest in folk-tradition, which saw it arise as an...