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/
I recently stumbled upon your podcast, the first episode about St Patrick which I very much enjoyed. I have attempted to find the next one but cannot see the link to play the actual podcast, only the resources. Is there not a list, with links, anywhere for each of the podcasts you have produced? I would like to listen to the whole series in succession. A great body of work I am really looking forward to hearing here in Hobart Tasmania. Many thanks in anticipation of your direction.
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Hi Sheelagh,
You can find all our episodes here with links to all the podcast platforms you can find it on.
https://anchor.fm/irishmythology
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