It’s always fun to look through the titles of submissions for the Celtic Mythology Short Story Competition and this year has been no exception. Since we first started the competition (back in the Dark Ages of 2015), I’ve got into a routine of running through the title list without the author names attached just to… Read more »
Back in the eighties in Ireland there was a famous ad going around from the Irish Development Authority (IDA), a government agency responsible for developing enterprise and attracting foreign investment. A component of one of their marketing campaigns, it consisted of a series of photos taken around some of our more famous prehistoric monuments (stone… Read more »
This year, I managed to sneak a quick visit to one of my favourite sites back in Ireland, the beautiful valley of Gleann Dá Loch (Valley of Two lakes), anglicized as Glendalough. The valley’s always been inhabited although, given the spiel at the local visitor centres and tourist offices, you’d be forgiven for thinking life… Read more »
I first came across a copy of The Tailor and Ansty about 25 years ago when I was dossing in the basement of a large house in Bath (England). I’d been visiting my girlfriend for the weekend and the whole event had taken on a surreal nature as we’d broken up during a burlesque circus… Read more »
It’s been a while since I provided an update about what we’re working on here at present (apart from the monthly updates in Vóg, of course). Despite two months of frantic activity and very ink-stained hands, very little is actually visible in terms of material release. If you’re a regular reader however, you’ll probably know… Read more »
Following three centuries of colonization and much brutal cultural repression, in 1922, Ireland had finally obtained independence and thrown off the yoke of British imperialism. With independence, there was an enormous resurgence of enthusiasm to resurrect Gaelic culture and regain the glory days of Gaelic culture. Unfortunately, it didn’t really happen as planned. To understand… Read more »
A weekly update of Irish fantasy-related news – from an Irish perspective! Dominated by GoT and Star Wars today!! Liam-Cunningham says Game of Thrones stars are not making millions [Aaah, c’mon Liam!] (Irish Independent) Impressive independent GoT Short Film (The White Wolf) by two Belfast men: (Irish News) Go mbeidh an fórsa leat! — May… Read more »
One of the most fascinating aspects of mythology is the fact that, at its most fundamental, the subject reflects the battle between cultural dominance and cultural repression, the difference between cultural independence and enforced colonization. When mythology first became an academic discipline towards the latter half of the nineteenth century, it generally involved the study… Read more »
A weekly update of Irish fantasy-related news – from an Irish perspective! David Freyne’s The Cured wins ‘Best Horror Feature’ at the Fantastic Fest, America’s largest genre film festival (IFTN) Liam Cunningham insists he doesn’t when the last Game of Thrones episode goes to air (ah, c’mon Liam!!) (UPI) A Fantasy Map of Ireland stirs… Read more »
With the 2017 Octocon kicking off this weekend, we decided it’d be timely for an update on Irish fantasy-related stories. An interesting insight to the ‘extras’ casting call process for Vikings: Season 6, much of which is shot in Ireland (Project Casting ) The trailer for Vikings: Season 6 – just a little bit of mayhem!… Read more »
Earlier this year, a database entitled The Atlas of Hillforts of Great Britain and Ireland was made available online but, unfortunately, this wasn’t without some controversy. In particular, a lot of people were unhappy with the term ‘hillfort’ because it’s quite an inaccurate term to use for many of the sites identified in the Atlas,… Read more »
Much of what people see as Irish folklore and Irish mythology today, is actually a confused muddle of snippets of fact, cultural misinterpretation, Chinese whispers, intentional and unintentional misinformation. Generally speaking, the latter tends to be disseminated by bloggers who aren’t Irish (but have an interest in Celtic mythology) however most people are surprised to… Read more »
LIATH LUACHRA : THE PURSUIT Depending on which side of the planet you’re on, the short story LIATH LUACHRA : THE PURSUIT is due for release tomorrow. Or,… er, the day after. This follows the adventures of the character best described as “The thinking woman’s warrior!”
When we set up the first Celtic Mythology Short Story Competition back in 2015, we were pretty clear with respect to our overall goal: improving the appreciation and comprehension of Gaelic/Celtic mythology. At the time, merging that goal with the ability to increase the visibility of new authors seemed like a win-win situation and, to… Read more »
Irish Imbas Books are pleased to announce the launch of the Irish Imbas: Celtic Mythology Short Story Competition 2017. This is the third of these annual competitions and digital copies of the previous collections can be obtained free from the Irish Imbas Bookshop or from all good ebook stores. Submissions will be accepted from midnight… Read more »
People are weird. Three days ago, a bunch of mindless individuals, mostly kids between the age of 17 and 22, attacked the city of Barcelona. Zealous and driven, it’s obvious their chains were being yanked by some manipulative figure in the shadows, nevertheless, one of them mounted a van onto the pedestrian walkway at La… Read more »
Heading north in County Sligo, the outline of Knocknarea is clearly visible in the distance. The origin of the hill’s Irish name has been lost to time but there’s no shortage of suggestions, varying from Cnoc na Rí (hill of kings – my preferred option) to Cnoc na Ré (hill of the ages, or possibly,… Read more »
During my visit home this week, I found myself in a surreal situation when I was shoulder-twisted into an extended family social occasion and ended up being cornered (literally) by a subgroup of religious zealots. Just for context, you probably need to understand that religion in Ireland has suffered a huge decline over the past… Read more »
