Podcast Episodes

Fionn and the Old Man's House

As I mentioned at the start, this one’s a real beauty of the Fenian Cycle. So much to unpack in just a few short minutes.

The story does of course tak…

2 months, 1 week ago

Saint Ciarán of Clonmacnoise

These stories likely seem silly today.

They’re not real, right? Like, did they really happen? What does the historical record say?

My answer to these a…

2 months, 2 weeks ago

Fionn and the Raven

Check out more of Joe Heaney’s storytelling on his website.

I, too, have met the Short Little Man.

He didn’t look anything like Fionn’s companion, of …

2 months, 3 weeks ago

Snake Woman's Treasure

Weird story, right? Was the woman some kind of witch, or princess under an enchantment? What finally got into the bones of the old man to take to the…

2 months, 4 weeks ago

The Red Silk Ribbon

There’s a lot in this story I like to sit with.

For starters, I wonder if anyone out there can relate to the fisherman father. Actually, no I don’t. I…

3 months, 1 week ago

The Gospel Written for the Mead-Hall

Hey, happy Good Friday! I have something I’d like to read for you that I think you might find interesting. Let me know if anything here sounds famili…

3 months, 1 week ago

Fionn Meets Scathach, the Shadowy One

The fun thing about myths is that they’re great for visual thinkers. You aren’t to narrow them down and flatten them into any lesson or actionable ta…

3 months, 1 week ago

Simon Greene and External Imagination

My daughter’s got this chart in her classroom.

It’s a two-column thing that teaches kids the difference between fiction and non-fiction. According to …

3 months, 2 weeks ago

Ireland's First Satire

To commemorate the feast day of the Shamrock Saint, I figured I’d share this story with you. Please do send it to the poets you know if they haven’t …

3 months, 3 weeks ago

Fionn mac Cumhaill and Aillèn Mac Midgna

It was a bad line from the start, that much was obvious.

We had been good about setting the raft square into the rapids, but this approach looked bad…

3 months, 3 weeks ago