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Tourism in the Irish/Oirish Otherworld

Posted on August 14, 2023 by - Blog

This murky image was taken at Uaimh na gCait (often bastardised into English as Oweynagat) located at Cruachain in Roscommon and its one of the more famous ancient ‘crossing points’ to the Otherworld – a list predominantly derived from literary (i.e. not historical) sources. The site is definitely worth a visit as long as you also visit the nearby Rathcroghan Visitor Centre, and you’re nimble enough to get through the narrow entrance and clamber down into the main cavern.

Over the last forty years or so however, it’s worth noting the development of misinformed fantasy-style narratives around the site and its function (e.g. the Entrance to Hell, the home of the Morrigan, dun-dun-dun!). As a result, you have to take most of the online references with liberal doses of salt.

This pattern of what we generically call ‘Tourism Mythology’ is one that we’re seeing increasingly across the country and its probably something you should keep an eye out for if you’re interested in authentic Irish culture.

I’ll probably be covering the issue in Vóg (the Irish Imbas newsletter) at some point in the near future.  

Corto Maltese in Ireland

Posted on August 2, 2023 by - Blog

Despite a measure of artitistic self-indulgence, I’ve actually come to enjoy Hugo Pratt’s books (some of them at least) but his representation of Ireland during the war of independence is amusingly uninformed.

When his laconic anti-hero (the nautical Corto Maltese) ends up in Ireland, he meets the hilariously named ‘Banshee O’Danann’.

I sometimes wonder whether Pratt was actually very sly, and this was all just part of some obscure joke.

I wouldn’t put it past him.

Fionn: The Betrayal

Posted on July 24, 2023 by - Blog, My Writing

Now that I’m back in the office, I’ve started work on ‘FIONN: The Betrayal‘ – the fifth book in the Fionn mac Cumhaill Series. At this stage, this is intended to be the second last book in the series.

The current chapter one (these things tend to change) involves a conversation around a game of fidchell between Demne (Fionn) and his aunt, Bodhmhall. This approach allows some development of the Fionn character but it also provides a helpful recap of the story so far and sets the scene for the rest of the book.

More importantly, it’s also quite fun writing the conversation dialogue between the young/eager Fionn and the much more worldly Bodhmhall.

I’ll make this first chapter available in the ‘paid’ section of my newsletter once I’ve advanced the story a little further.

Re-release of an old Irish Classic

Posted on July 20, 2023 by - Blog

My first encounter with Reefer and the Model (Joe Comerford’s independent thriller and Ireland first arthouse ‘western’) was in 1989 when I moved to France. Moving around the city, I was surprised to discover several posters advertising an Irish comedy-thriller that consisted of an odd ‘line -up’ style photo displaying a priest, a bearded woman, and a labourer.

Reefer and the Model tells the story of an odd foursome. Reefer (Ian McElhinney) and his two comrades (Spider and Badger) are men with a violent past now eking a living on a battered trawler that operates as a ferry along the Galway coast. When Reefer picks up a hitchhiking pregnant woman (Carol Scanlan) who’s struggling with drug addiction, an odd sort of romance develops, and she comes to live on the trawler. The newly bound, but financially desperate, foursome must now resort to a heist to survive.

When it was released, although relatively little known in Ireland, the movie was being lapped up by European audiences (it won the Europa Prize at the Barcelona Festival, Best Feature at the Celtic Film Festival in Wales and was nominated for Best Young Film at the 1988 European Film Awards), who were entertained by, but didn’t entirely know what to make of, this west of Ireland style adventure. The American market also struggled with how to approach this indigenous production and it had a relatively low profile there.

The 1988 movie languished in the archives for decades but was recently restored through the IFI and Screen Ireland Digitisation Project and a new Director’s Cut was released with a premiere screening at the Galway Film Fleadh this month.

The movie is 80 mins long but if you get a chance to see it. I was very influenced by it when I first saw it and fell in love with its clever dialogue (which now sounds slightly stilted to my ears) and the theme song from Delores Keane.

There’s very little video of the movie available online apart from a report on its making from the RTE archives whihc you can find here: https://www.rte.ie/…/21282626-reefer-and-the-model…/

Battle Scenes

Posted on July 16, 2023 by - Blog

An ‘early medieval batte scene’ from Polish artist Aleksander Karcz.

As a general rule, I tend to avoid large scale battle scenes in my books, except where they’re the culmination of some important plot point or otherwise a necessary contribution to the story I’m writing.

Fantasy entertainment has probably set a few unrealistic expectations when it comes to Irish battles – cartainly in pre-history times (i.e. pre 5th century). During that period, there was no real warrior class in the Irish society of the time and the low population density meant tribal warfare would have been more ‘skirmish’ than ‘pitched battle.’

The Quiet One

Posted on July 6, 2023 by - Blog, My Writing

Still a few more days to go back here in Ireland and my mind’s already overflowing with sensations, memories, thoughts, and concepts that I’m desperate to get down on paper.

At this stage, I have plans for three new series I want to start – on top of the series I’m currently running – so the remainder of this year looks like it’s going to be absolutely chocker.

This is an image for another Liath Luachra short story I’ve been playing with (which absolutely has to be short as my last ‘short story’ morphed into the full’length book ‘The Great Wild’).

Excerpt from ‘Liath Luachra: The Great Wild’

Posted on June 3, 2023 by - Blog, My Writing

There was one morning when the world dissolved, obliterated in a downpour that melted the distant islands, then the immediate surroundings as well. Preceded by a cluster of unusually threatening, blue-bruised clouds, the incoming deluge had given plenty of warning. As a result, the girl was comfortably settled under a solitary oak at the tip of the inlet outcrop, cloak tugged tight around her shoulders as she waited to watch the clouds unload their burden.

The downpour rattled the lake’s surface with a startling intensity that she’d not seen before, a ferocious hail that scattered white-foamed eruptions across the water around her. Mirrored by countless ripples on that shuddering surface, the resulting kaleidoscope of movement was giddyingly, but terrifyingly, beautiful.

Tethered to the island by nothing but a thin strip of rock, the girl felt a swell of panic when even that link disappeared, and her existence reduced to the tree above and three paces of the rocky outcrop. Conscious that there was nothing beyond the fusillade of rain, she was struck by a sudden, shocking sense of absence. Terrified at the prospect of being cut adrift, she peered desperately through the deluge for any hint of physical substance, for any trace of natural solidness, for … anything.

To her trembling relief, the downpour eased soon after, and although it seemed to take far too long a time, the outline of the island took substance through the rain. Whole and expansive, the Great Mother’s bulk emerged from the surrounding murk. Slowly, ponderously, it reached across the thin strip of stone, embraced the girl in her fulsome whole and, soothingly, reassuringly, brought her home.

Liath Luachra: The Great Wild was released on 2 June 2023. You can find the details here: The Great Wild

An Chailleach Bhéara

Posted on May 22, 2023 by - Blog

There’s a lot of misinformation online about this rock in Kilcatherine on the Beara peninsula. So much so, that the rock is now regularly polluted by votive ‘offerings’ left by visitors and ‘seekers’ who don’t really understand the context or the evolution of its fame.

This year, I’m hoping to make a start on the next Beara novel in which An Chailleach BhĂ©ara plays a large part. Hopefully, at the same time, I can make it a bit easier for those who come to Beara to actually understand what they’re looking at.

Changes in Creative Output

Posted on May 17, 2023 by - Blog

It’s been three years since I released the first official ‘Irish Imbas Catalogue’ (to much hoorah!) back in May 2020. One of the problems with catalogues, however, is that they really are a snapshot in time of creative work and output and, often, they don’t reflect creative or professional changes that have occurred over a particular period.

Last year, I instigated a slow-moving change in response to patterns that I was picking up around Irish culture and what people mistakenly call ‘Irish mythology’. Some of that involves an increase in non-fiction work – on top of my fiction work – the results of which should become more evident towards the end of this year or the start of next year.

At the moment, therefore, the current Irish Imbas catalogue doesn’t provide information on the following:

‱ LIATH LUACHRA: The Great Wild (book release 4 June 2023)

‱ LIATH LUACHRA SERIES: Screen Bible and Script (Aug 2023)

‱ The IRISHNESS Conceptual Model– Cultural Work (Oct 2023)

‱ THE FENIAN PROJECT – Cultural Work – (Oct 2023)

‱ How MYTHOLOGY works– anticipated release Dec 2023)

‱ FIONN 5– book release – anticipated release Dec 2023)

‱ BEARA SERIES: Screen Bible/ Script (Dec 2022)

Fortunately, it does still offer a good summary of what Irish Imbas does and why. If you’re interested you can find that here: Catalogue

Woe and Woe

Posted on May 12, 2023 by - Blog

Each year An Post runs a programme of special and commemorative stamps on behalf of the Irish Government.

Deirdre of the Sorrows was part of the mythology series produced a few years ago and illustrates the legendary love story of Naoise and Deirdre and the jealous rage this caused in Conchubar mac Nessa.

The story is one of Ireland’s classic tragedies where the pair flee to safety in Scotland but are subsequently tricked into returning to Ireland where Naoise ends up being killed by Conchubar. Stricken with grief, Deirdre then kills herself as well.

Pretty much, a run of the mill love tragedy that’s very similar to other tales like TĂłraĂ­ocht Dhiarmada agus GhrĂĄinne and other tales.

Irish ‘Mythology’ in Pictures

Posted on April 19, 2023 by - Blog, Uncategorized

Oisín and Niamh galloping towards Tír na nÓg.

Or is it?

Is this an authentic reproduction of the classic Fenian tale or something else entirely?

“How we picture Irish mythology” – the next in-depth post from Vóg (subscriber edition) on 30 April.

You can find the ‘free’ and ‘paid’ sign-up to the newsletter HERE

What is the Sweetest Sound?

Posted on April 7, 2023 by - Blog, My Writing

What is the Sweetest Sound?

The music of what happens next.

In terms of what happens next, I’ve got my head down on a number of separate IRISH IMBAS projects, most of which won’t see the light of day until later this year (and some later still).

Most of these are in varying stages of completion and although, in some regards, I’m champing at the bit to get them out, I also know they won’t taste anywhere as sweet if I rush them.

Key amongst these projects are:

  • LIATH LUACHRA: The Great Wild (book release for 4 June 2023)
  • LIATH LUACHRA SERIES: Screen Bible and Script for Pilot Episode (Aug 2023)
  • The IRISHNESS Conceptual Model – Cultural Work – anticipated release Oct 2023)
  • THE FENIAN PROJECT (working title) Cultural Work – anticipated release Oct 2023)
  • How MYTHOLOGY works – anticipated release Dec 2023)
  • FIONN 5 – book release – anticipated release Dec 2023)
  • BEARA SERIES: Screen Bible and Script for Pilot Episode (Dec 2022)

I’m back home in Beara and travelling around Ireland during June and July, catching up with family and friends and carrying out some additional research.

If you’re seeking an interview or have a mutually interesting project you’d be keen to work on together, feel free to email before I get back.