Candlelit Tales Irish Mythology Podcast

It is mid-January and we’re all missing the festive season just gone by. So, to look back at feasts and the glorious fighting that takes place over them, (in Irish feasts at least) we are releasing a two-part episode of a story known as ‘The Champions Portion’. The first part of this deals with Bichru of the Bitter tongue, and his attempt to host a feast. This section of the story is also known as...

Ending our death series on a lighter note with the post show chat we had about the death of Conall Cearnach, the second greatest hero of Ulster. Our holiday bubble came to a sudden end early in January, and just before Sorcha returned home to Dublin, we had a chance to chat about the death of this great hero. We also enjoyed the deepening of her Cork accent and generally shite talked about how enj...

Ending our death series on a lighter note (can you have a lighter note in a Death series?) is the story of Conall Cearnach, the second greatest hero of Ulster. Always the runner-up to his younger cousin, Cúchulainn, Conall was spectacular in his own way. Crooked necked and touched with an otherworldly beauty, he was vicious in battle and boasted that he never went to bed without the severed head o...

The penultimate story in our Death Series is the death of one of the greatest of all heroes: Cúchulainn. This story and discussion was recorded in early 2020, though we thought the better of releasing tales of glorious death at the time… turns out now is as good a time as any. Cúchulainn’s death was long foretold. From the moment he took up arms as a boy, he knew that his life would be brief, and...

The penultimate story in our Death Series is the death of one of the greatest of all heroes: Cúchulainn. This story and discussion was recorded in early 2020, though we though the better of releasing tales of glorious death at the time. Cúchulainn’s death was long foretold. From the moment he took up arms as a boy, he knew that his life would be brief, and full of pain. But he knew that his story...

We are talking about the Death of Medbh in this episode and we also talk about our online storytelling course. The storytelling course is 2 hours per week, Saturdays from 3-5 pm over 6 weeks, starting on the 9th of January. Each session will start with a short lecture on the day's theory topic, and the rest of the session is interactive practical exercises, exploring that aspect of storytelling th...

Fourth in our Death Series is the death of the Woman King herself, Medb of Connaught. Medb’s family was a strange one, and her infamous sister Clothru cast a long shadow. In later days, the kings of Ireland made every effort to trace their lineages back to her, however much her actions came under question. For her part, Medb chose to retire, as many great rulers did, passing on the throne of Conna...

Third in our Death Series is the strange and prolonged death of Conchubar Mac Nessa, King of Ulster, and in this episode we chat about the connection he had with the one and only Jesus Christ. Timely too seeing as its just gone Christmas and the celebration of the birth of the same man… but this episode is dedicated to a boy born on the 26th of December 2020, and that boys name is Anthony Nahual H...

Third in our Death Series is the strange and prolonged death of Conchubar Mac Nessa, King of Ulster. Conchubar is a wily king and remembered as a great leader. As well as sound judgement, he was a man of great beauty, and great vanity. Over the years, we’ve come to wonder at his wonderful reputation, but there’s no doubt that he left a lasting legacy. At some time in the retelling of this tale, Co...

The second in our Death series, this story and discussion was recorded in early 2020. We decided at the time that stories of glorious death might not be the thing to be releasing, so we shelved them for a while. He has to have one of the greatest names in Irish mythology: Celtchar Mac Uthechar. A lesser-known hero of the Ulaid, Celtchar appears in some of the stories of the Ulster Cycle, but his g...

He has to have one of the greatest names in Irish mythology: Celtchar Mac Uthechar. A lesser-known hero of the Ulaid, Celtchar appears in some of the stories of the Ulster Cycle, but his greatest story is the story of his death. A quest to rid Ulster of its three greatest pests, this story is one of the most determined to ignore linear time of any story in Irish mythology, and that’s saying someth...

He captured Blaned and clearly raped her, yet she “betrays” him and the moral of this story was “never trust women?”... what? Link to a bigger meaning, cultural context - how relevant are these stories.

The first of our Death Series to round out what has been a hell of a year! Death Stories are their own genre in Irish mythology and the last chance anyone has at what our ancestors thought of as immortality: to be talked about, as long as there were people to talk about you and storytellers to tell your tale. Cú Roi Mac Daire is a powerful, enigmatic figure around the fringes of the Ulster Cycle....

We are 6 years old and we are having a party online! Join us to chat about the Táin on Sunday 6th December at 7pm. We will be talking about the latest episodes where we released a special edition Táin recording. Check it out if you missed it. Here we will be going LIVE ON YOUTUBE to chat about this epic myth and all the madness of 2020. Sorcha read somewhere once upon a time, that An Táin Bó Culai...

Part 3 of our special edition birthday telling of the Táin. This episode focuses on the aftermath of the havoc that the armies of Ireland deal on Ulster. Cuchulainn awakes after a healing sleep to see the hills burning. The boys troop stood in his place, buying time for the heroes of the Ulster Red Branch to awake… Sorcha read somewhere once upon a time, that An Táin Bó Culaigne was the tale that...

Part 2 of our special edition birthday telling of the Táin. Episode two focuses on Ferdia and Cuchulainn fighting at the ford. Sorcha read somewhere once upon a time, that An Táin Bó Culaigne was the tale that should be told after dark and in the dark half of the year. So, six years ago, in a small pub in Dublin we started telling the Táin. There were about 10 people there at the time. Each week t...

Part 1 of 3 of our special edition birthday telling of the Táin. This episode focuses on the build up of the army of Ireland, led by Queen Medbh, as they march on Ulster to get the Brown Bull of Cooley. Sorcha read somewhere once upon a time, that ‘An Táin Bó Culaigne’ was the tale that should be told after dark and in the dark half of the year. So, six years ago, in a small pub in Dublin we start...

Join us online as we chat live about the creepy creatures, the shadow side of folk tales, the mystery and the metaphors behind some of Irelands darkest tales. This month we have been releasing lots of folk tales, and we will be talking to Ruth Atkins from UNREAL Podcast about all of this months tales. https://open.spotify.com/show/0Tbfp98DAeDMmq4kM3jVM5?si=TfrgoNZPQEm01HlusnwGBw Support for this p...

Another of our spooky folktales for Samhain, the Merrow takes us under the waves to the home of one of Ireland’s oddest creatures. Not exactly good, and not exactly wicked, you never quite know where you stand with a Merrow. Support for this podcast comes from our patrons. Find out more, or become a patron by going to: https://www.patreon.com/candlelittales http://candlelittales.ie/ https://open.s...

We’re continuing our spooky folktales for Samhain with this tale of the Taking of Biddie Purcell, a changeling story with a difference. This story, adapted from “Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland” by Thomas Crofton Croker, tells of a winning girl who catches the eye of the good folk, and her younger sister Peggy, determined to save her. Support for this podcast comes from our pa...

Another special live performance recording this time of "The Fear Dearg - Brewery of Eggshells" Support for this podcast comes from our patrons. Find out more, or become a patron by going to: https://www.patreon.com/candlelittales http://candlelittales.ie/ https://open.spotify.com/show/2102WuUUe9Jl6cGXNwQEKf https://soundcloud.com/candlelittales https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/candlelit-tale...

Ooops I uploaded the wrong file last time this one has the ending.....Oisín Another special live performance reccording this time of "The Piper and The Puca" Support for this podcast comes from our patrons. Find out more, or become a patron by going to: https://www.patreon.com/candlelittales http://candlelittales.ie/ https://open.spotify.com/show/2102WuUUe9Jl6cGXNwQEKf https://soundcloud.com/candl...

Before Dracula there was the Dearg Due, this is her story...... Support for this podcast comes from our patrons. Find out more, or become a patron by going to: https://www.patreon.com/candlelittales http://candlelittales.ie/ https://open.spotify.com/show/2102WuUUe9Jl6cGXNwQEKf https://soundcloud.com/candlelittales https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/candlelit-tales-irish-mythology-podcast/ https...

Special live performance of the Storyteller and why everyone needs at least one story to tell.... Support for this podcast comes from our patrons. Find out more, or become a patron by going to: https://www.patreon.com/candlelittales http://candlelittales.ie/ https://open.spotify.com/show/2102WuUUe9Jl6cGXNwQEKf https://soundcloud.com/candlelittales https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/candlelit-ta...

This is a special version of Stingy Jack recorded live during a streamed performance...... Support for this podcast comes from our patrons. Find out more, or become a patron by going to: https://www.patreon.com/candlelittales http://candlelittales.ie/ https://open.spotify.com/show/2102WuUUe9Jl6cGXNwQEKf https://soundcloud.com/candlelittales https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/candlelit-tales-iri...