Writing about Ireland in the 2nd century can sometimes be a bit of a challenge because the country was so very different to what it looks like nowadays. Back in 195 AD, most of the island was still covered by dense forest and the centre of the country was undrained marsh and swamp. The population at the time was also far lower than today with some estimates putting it at around 100,000 to 200,000 people or so. Most of these would, most likely, have been living around the coast or along the inland waterways as much of the ‘Great Wild’ was impenetrable.
To research my books I do a lot of forest walks and tramps as that really helps to give a sense of how people lived back then. Their lifestyle was far more immediate, far more physical and their lives very much depended on their ability to interact successfully with their environment. Unless you get up close and personal with the forest you really miss a lot of the routine dynamics that they’d have had to deal with and incorporating such details really adds a level of authenticity to the books that they wouldn’t otherwise have.
Sometimes, during these tramps I come across some beautiful (or dramatic) spots that are incredibly evocative in a creative sense. This is one of my most recent favourites, a spot I discovered deep in the bush less than half an hour from where I live. I call this place Folcadán Bodhmhall (Bodhmhall’s bath) – named after a woman that the ancient literature describes as Fionn mac Cumhaill’s aunt and his main guardian as a child. This individual is mentioned briefly in the 12th century manuscript Macgnímartha Finn (The Boyhood Deeds of Fionn) where she and her comrade, Liath Luachra, raise the young Fionn in secret in the forested hills of Sliabh Bladhma.
