In this episode we talk about the acts of defiance by divine femine figures that lead to the creation of rivers, hills, mountains and valleys. Medieval and modern literature has created a pantheon of old Irish gods but we don’t really know how widespread worship of individual deities was.
Some seem intimately tied to place, and may not have been particularly well known beyond their locale. One such individual is the goddess Boann, who gives her name to the river Boyne which runs from near the village of Carberry in Co. Kildare, through Co. Meath to the sea at Baltray Co. Louth.
Resources
PROSE TALES IN THE RENNES DINDSHENCHAS (#19)
VERSION IN THE NATIONAL FOLKLORE COLLECTION
If you’re lucky enough to be in the area where Boann lived, we’ve put together a map for you to visit and take in the route of the Boyne River. You can follow Boann’s course from Carbury to Baltray using this map.
WARNING!!! If you happen upon any wells during your cycle, we strongly advise that you approach with caution, heed any warnings from individuals bearing cups at the well, and under no circumstances should you attempt to walk around the well in an anti-clockwise direction.
Credits
- Written, produced and presented by Marcas Ó hUiscín and Stephanie Ní Thiarnaigh.
- Celtic Warrior by Damiano Baldoni (licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 public licence https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode)
- Sounds from https://freesound.org/
Irish Mythology Podcast 