Episode Details

On this week's episode of Local Legends, Martin gathers round the campfire to chat about Cornwall, Medieval music, King Arthur, and so much more, with expert storyteller and author of Cornish Folk Tales Mike O'Connor.

A prizewinning competition fiddle player and a master of the concertina, Mike is the leading researcher of Cornish instrumental music anywhere in the world. He has been working as a musician since the 1970s and as a storyteller since the 1990s. He has been awarded the OBE, is a bard of the Gorsedh of Cornwall, and received the Henwood Medal of the Royal Institution of Cornwall, too.

Mike currently works at the Institute of Cornish Studies at Exeter University, has written for learned journals and popular magazines on subjects relating to folklore, and, as an advisor on traditional dances, tunes, folk songs and instruments, has worked on high profile TV and film projects, including, in recent years, Poldark, to which he contributed additional music and songs.

With tales varying from 5-minute fireside fancies to epics such as Tristan and Iseult, Imravoe, the Tales of the Holy Rood, and Loki, Mike is a master storyteller who has made many recordings and radio broadcasts.

Few people alive today have such a deep knowledge of Cornish legends and folk tales. And so we hope you enjoy our chat, which ranges from mermaids and giants to King Mark, the beauty of the Cornish landscape to the legacy of Cornwall's ancient mineral wealth, and far, far beyond.

Learn more about Mike and his work here: https://www.lyngham.co.uk/

About Three Ravens 🔮

Three Ravens is a completely independent English myth and folklore podcast where we share stories, celebrate folk culture, and fall backwards through the hedgerows of history.

Hosted by real-life couple Eleanor Conlon and Martin Vaux, and mostly recorded at our home in rural Sussex in southern England, Three Ravens is rated 4.8/5 from over 500 reviews and has grown by word of mouth care of our lovely listener community ‘The Conspiracy of Ravens.’

We release three episodes a week, on Mondays, Thursday and Saturdays, through which we explore folktales, folkways, fairy stories, folk songs, mythology, local heritage, seasonal customs and traditional beliefs.

Our research inspires our retellings of stories from across history and culture, with episodes standing alone but connected together across over 500 chatty, mostly light-hearted, swear-free installments driven by passion, kindness and curiosity.

Now ranked as an all-time Top 5 podcast across several categories by Goodpods, charting in the Spotify, Apple and Rephonic UK Fiction Top 10 across 2024, 2025 and 2026, if you’re interested in ghosts, monsters, regional beliefs, and the things that unite us all, then join us round the campfire and listen in…

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🌐 Official Website: Visit the Three Ravens Podcast Official Site to sign up for our mailing list, explore our episode catalogue, and enjoy our blog!

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