show notes s02 e06
Irish Mythology Podcast

Meitheamh 30, 2021

Episode 16

The Wooing of Étaín (Part 4): Midir and Étain

Thank you for listening to this episode!

Here you’ll find our notes, links to research and some personal highlights from your hosts. 

Welcome | fáilte 

In this episode we hear about Midir and Étain’s return to Brí Leith after their honeymoon and how Midir’s first wife, the powerful sorceress, Fuamnach reacts to the arrival. 

We ask:

• Was there polygamy in medieval Ireland?
• What kind of marriages were described in the Brehon law tracts?
• What was the story with Divorce?
• Who was Fuamnach and were here actions justified?
• What do flies represent in Mythology?
• What does the Tao te Ching say about water and what is Wu Wei?

It’s time for Midir to face the music. He and Étain have been enjoying an extended honeymoon at Brú na Bóinne as guests of Aengus, but now he must return to Brí Leith where Fuamnach, the wife he left behind waits. Did we mention that Fuamnach is a powerful sorceress?

Starring: Midir, Étain, Fuamnach.

Co-Starring Aengus, The Dagda, Ogma, Lugh.

We talk polygamy in early medieval Ireland, Brehon Law, sorcery , flies in mythology, story adaptation, and what the Tao te Ching has to say about water.

Oh, and you might want to listen to the very end.

A cautionary tale on why you should consult your first wife before bringing home a second one. 

Resources

• The Wooing of Étain 
• Ireland’s Immortals, A History of the Gods of Irish Myth – Mark Williams
• Fuamnach’s Rage – Ann Egan
• Fuamnach’s Pool – Ann Egan
• Tao te Ching – Lao Tzu (Ursula Le Guin translation)
• Claire Connolly Poetry 
• In the World of “WandaVision,” It Has Been Grief All Along
• A Guide to Early Irish Law – Fergus Kelly
• What’s this Tao all about?

credits

Written, presented and produced  by Marcas Ó hUiscín and Stephanie Ní Thiarnaigh. 

Music – Celtic Warrior by Damiano Baldoni (licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 public licence 

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode

All sounds cc licence from freesound.org