This beautiful painting is entitled “Oisin Rides to the Land of Youth”. Painted in 1936 by American artist Newell Convers Wyeth. it represents a more Anglophile view of Irish mythology that many non-Irish creators continue to produce today. You can’t fault Convers Wyeth however. A talented illustrator and painter, he produced a huge body of… Read more »
A great image from Cork-based illustrator and tattoo artist, Michael Nolan (who’s based in Cork under Arti Tattoo). This one really took my fancy for some reason.
I’ve yet to see the new LOTR series but the initial Irish Times review is actually quite funny and they summarized it with the following tagline: “De Lord of de Rings: The new hobbits are filthy, hungry simpletons with stage-Irish accents. That’s $1bn well spent“ I’ve always seen ‘Hobbits’ as having more of an upper… Read more »
The first book of the Irish Woman Warrior Series has been on a trial sale for the last two weeks but this will soon be coming to a close. Liath Luachra: The Grey One is probably the favourite book (and Liath Luachra is the favourite character) of readers who follow my mythological adventure stories, so… Read more »
I’ve been an enormous fan of Czech artist Satine Zillah for a few years now as I’ve always been impressed with the incredible amount of detail and cultural research she puts into her work (it really has to be seen to be believed). As a result, I was very pleased to learn that she’s still… Read more »
We’re spoilt for choice with gállain in Cork and Kerry. This one in the Cousane Pass doesn’t get much press because of it’s isolated location. Although gállain are usually there to commemorate or mark something, it’s very hard to know what they were intended for. If it was burial-related, for example, does it mark the… Read more »
‘Border Guardian’ by, always interesting artist, Vin Hill. A fictional concept, he describes it as follows: “The theme around the piece is very much based on the border between the land of the living and the land of the dead in British and Irish prehistorical landscapes. Places like stone henge are often dedicated to ancestors… Read more »
Although I’m close to finishing Chapter 8 of Fionn: Stranger at Mullan Ban, today I’m writing an outline for Chapters 1-3 of ‘Liath Luachra: The Great Wild’. The next book in the Liath Luachra Series, it’s actually a prequel to the current set of books. The character is much younger and far more feral and… Read more »
Some very strong portrayals of Gaelic culture in this image (the Tara broach, the tartan, the bodhrán etc.) but, in fact, this is from the Polish ‘Witcher’ Card Game. The talented artist was Anton Nazarenko but it aligns with Sapkowski’s borrowing of other culture’s constructs. The naming patterns in the Witcher, for example, often include… Read more »
Today, I’m scoping out a short series based around a little known Irish battle. At this stage, it’s looking like a limited series with only three books and I’m hoping to start writing it about mid-way through next year. This is so I can allow myself time to finish another Liath Luachra Series (and hopefully… Read more »
This bronze shield excavated from Lough Gur gives many ‘Cardboard Celts’ a frisson of excitement as they imagine the warriors who used it in battle. The truth of course is less violent but just as fascinating. Contemporary theory is that this was one of a number of votive offerings deposited in the lake and it… Read more »
I’ve been asked several times where the ‘look’ of Liath Luachra came from. I’d have to say, the main ‘look’ began with a canvas print from Luis Royo, a Spanish artist famous for his fantasy style images back in the 1980s and 1980s (although he’s still going). A lot of Royo’s work from that period… Read more »
For lovers of Irish mythology books, Irish historical fiction books, Irish historical fantasy books, Irish adventure books and Irish action books! Circumstances beyond my control mean I won’t be returning to the office until the end of July. As a result, the sale of our two bestselling Irish adventure books: Fionn: Defence of Rath Bladhma… Read more »
There’s a lot of fun to be had visiting the many old megaliths and cultural sites back home, particularly in Cork and Kerry where we’re absolutely spoilt for choice. With numerous ráthanna (avoid using the English term ‘ring-forts’), galláin and many others, most are located in beautiful locations that are often as worth visiting as… Read more »
The Abha Mháirtín/Martin River which flows through Blarney has a wide, flattish boulder a few hundred metres upstream from where it hits the village. Locally, there’s an old story about a tailor who was being chased by two policemen who managed to escape capture by leaping to that stone from the bank and then crossing… Read more »
It’s just about four years since I published the second Liath Luachra book and, keen to distinguish it from the Fionn mac Cumhaill Series, I had the action take place much further south in the area that was once called ‘Usraighe‘. I also incorporated a number of elements from ancient stories associated with Usraighe as… Read more »
A potential site of interest for those with a cultural history/mythology bent is Drogheda ( a port town on the eastern coast) that came up with an interesting artistic initiative over the course of the Covid pandemic. ‘Drawda’ (a very clever play on words) was a curated public arts programme that took take place in the… Read more »
This charming story is associated with Áed Uaridnard, who was one of the senior Northern Uí Neill chieftains. According to the source, he was passing through monastic land controlled by Saint Muru when he stopped to wash in the river flowing through the town. As he did so one of his men warned him not… Read more »
