Taken from the Irish Folklore Commission 1937/1938 Tipperary Reel 4 pg 207:
The longstone according to this was originally part of a pair. It relates to the Diarmuid and Grainne story. Diarmuid carried this one on his back (The longstone) and Grainne carried a smaller one. Which is now gone.
Seemingly there is the print of a chain at the bottom of the remaining longstone. This was where Diarmuid used a chain to strap it on his back while carrying it.
|
Taken from the Irish Folklore Commission 1937/1938 Tipperary Reel 4 pg 207:
The Labba was made up of 3 "apartments". One room was 15ft long and 5ft wide and 4ft high. The mound around was 20 yds in diameter.
|
Some excerpts from the information board:
Labbacalle translates as "hags bed" and local folklore abounds with deeds of the old hag and her powerful husband the druid Mogh Ruith.
One story tells of a large boulder in the nearby river being thrown by the hag at her fleeing husband pinning him in the river.
A story related to the chamber is that four men went looking for gold in it. After they started to dig a strange cat appeared with fire coming out of its tale. Dazzled by the light they ran off and fell into the River Funshion. One man died in the river but they other three lived to tell the cautionary tale.
|
|
A friends dad told me a story about the lake near Ashley Park. One day people where cutting barley in the field where the lake is and they struck a spring. They thought great some fresh water. However the spring didnt stop flowing and this is how the lake was formed. Im not sure if this is folklore or whether it is meant to be true but there are crannogs in the lake so it is likely the lake is their for at least 1000 years. Intriguingly the name of the lake is Lough Eorna or the lake of barley.
|
|
When St. Paddy visited the hill a well sprang up where the horses' hooves touched the hillside as he jumped.
|
St. Brigid was seemingly born nearby and graveyard/abbey is where St. Brigid became a nun.
Underneath the hill was the Sli of Brí Ele.
From Mythic Ireland
"In early literature, Ele is represented as a maiden and goddess of awe-inspiring beauty. Every year one of Finn's young men went out from the Hill of Allen to meet her and was lost for ever, in her síd beneath Croaghan Hill.
The Dindshenchas stated that the source of the River Shannon was under Brí Ele at a well called Linn Mna Feile 'the Pool of the Modest Woman'."
It is also associated with the underworld and being sucked into the hill. The cairn on top is meant to have been the entrance to a volcano.
Brigits sister (part of the triple goddess), Begoibne had her smithy workshop beneath the hill and built beautiful cauldrons.
He also states that winter solstice sunrise is visible over Cloghan hill from the Hill of Uisneach.
|
There is a lot of myth and legend attached to the Hill of Allen, it is called the birthplace of Fionn MacCumhail and it is said to have been the mythical Fiannas main fort. It is also associated with the god Nuada and he built a white walled palace on it.
It was called the Island of Allen because it is surrounded by the bog of allen.
It is also know as Almu. Almu is associated with a goddess/beautiful woman.
Fionn MacCumhail is meant to have throw Punchestown Standing Stone from here.
It is associated with Cloghan Hill and every year Fionn is meant to have sent a young warrior to Bri Ele where he was taken into the underworld to meet Brigdit.
I seem to remember reading somewhere as well that the tower folly built on top of it used a wedge tomb for its foundations but I havent been able to find I reference for this again.
|
Taken from Sacred Ireland – Cary Meehan
"The Boyne is closely linked with the goddess Boand or Bó Fhinn, the White Cow Goddess who is part of the earliest Irish mythology. She is said to inhabit a sí or mound here where Newberry house now stands, at the source of the river Boyne. The well is described as having nine hazel trees overhanging it. When the nuts fell into the well, their magical properties went into the water. It was said that anyone drinking its water in June would become a poet. Boand was, among other things, the goddess of poetry.
Carbury used to be known as 'Sidh Neachtain' which means 'the Fairy Mound of Neachtain'. Neachtain is mentioned in the Annals of the Four Masters as a Tuatha Dé Danann leader and king of Ireland for one year in 45AD. He is variously known as Neachtain or Nuadha and also as the magical figure Neachtain, the water god, whose task was to care for the well and make sure its power was not unleashed in a destructive way. There are a number of versions of the following story.
Neachtain and Boand were married but she was never allowed to visit the sacred well with her husband. He and his brothers were the keepers of the well and even its location was kept a secret. They made regular visits there and on one occasion, overcome by curiosity, Boand followed them. Later she went back herl
self and tasted the forbidden water which then rose up and overwhelmed her, flowing out to sea and forming the sacred waters of the river Boyne, a watery embodiment of her spirit as the goddess Boand."
|
Taken from http://www.ucd.ie/envinst/envstud/mushroomstones/about02.html
In the townland of Clonkeen (in a field close to the road from Clonbullogue to Clonad House, in County Offaly) is a stone known as Finn Mac Cool's stone. According to legend this is a stone which the mythical Irish giant tried to throw from the top of Croghan Hill at another giant standing on the Hill of Allen in the Kildare hills. The stone however fell short of its target in Clonkeen, where it was spotted by a dog as it rolled along the ground; the dog is said to have stopped it with its paw. A credulous eye can still make out the mark of a dog's paw on one side of the stone and the giant's hand on the other.
|
|
I met a lovely sheep-farmer up here called Jim (I was hiding in the bushes, I think he must have thought I was a sheep-worrier). Nice guy he said that they were known locally as the Pipers Stones. The cup-marks he said were the feet of cuchalainns hound that jumped from here to the Bog of Allen to the north. A serious jump by anyones standards. He mentioned hooves so maybe it was cuchalainns steed rather than hound, I think that has a better ring to it.
|
Well the story goes that the Devil was flying over Ireland trying to steal the souls of the people and tempt them. However good old St. Patrick had done such a good job that the Devil couldn't tempt anyone so in a fit of rage he bit into the mountain here in Tipperary and spat it out all of the way down to Cashel in South Tipp. So this hunk of rock is said to be what makes up the Rock of Cashel.
Possibly this is a christained story of the usual giant story throwing rocks around.
|
Taken for Mythic Ireland
In legend the supernatural harper, Clíu, emerged from this mountain síd to make music on the stringed watercourses. He hoped thereby to attract a goddess of neighbouring Slievenaman, daughter of the pre-Celtic god Bodh Dearg.
This is a late variant on the myth where the Dagda comes from the síd to harp the seasons into being. His 'finger breezes' play across the gullet 'strings' where falling waters contribute to the melody.
|
|
I met the farmer at this one, he told me that some men from the village of Doon or Dun Bleisce (this is funnily enough is what it is called when u enter the village but on the OS map it is only called Dún) had tried digging around these stones looking for a tunnel which lead from them down to the bridge at the river below. He also mentioned something about a road leading the same way. He told me a local man in Doon tommy carew knows more about them.
|
Taken from Sacred Ireland by Cary Meehan
"is traditionally known as the 'Hill of Truth'. It is said to personify Donn Fírinne, the Celtic God of death and fertility. In folklore he is seen as a giant or the Fairy King. He is said to live at the bottom of a deep hole in the hillside called 'Poll na Bruinne' and anyone trying to investigate this entrance to the Otherworld will not come away unscathed and may even be drawn in, never to be seen again. There are many cautionary tales to deter the curious. However, good custodians are rewarded. One local farmer was granted temporary entrance to Donn's world under the hill where he met with a brother and sister, both of whom had died many years before.
Donn is closely associated with weather omens. He is said to collect the clouds on his hill and hold them there for a while to warn of approaching rain. Sometimes he is said to be in the clouds if the weather is particularly bad. He is also said to be flying abroad when someone dies.
There is a cairn on the top of Knockfeerina called 'Buachaill Bréige', meaning 'the false or lying boy' and it was the custom, and indeed the duty, of local people, to carry a stone up the hill to put on this cairn once a year. The hilltop has traditionally been a popular Lughnasa assembly site visited at harvest-time, and at this time freshly picked berries and flowers were strewn around the cairn as offerings for the hill's fairy inhabitants. On the eves of the festivals of Bealtaine and Samhain, young girls used to leave gifts high up on the side of the hill below the western ridge called 'the Stricken'.
Like the hills to the east, Knockfeerina is also associated with the adventures of the Fianna. On the Stricken is a large ring-fort called 'Lios na bhFian' or 'Fort of the Fianna'. One such adventure is named after the 'Palace of the Quicken Trees' where the Fianna become the victims of an act of revenge after being lured to a feast in an imaginary palace.
A little wary of the invitation, Fionn had left his son Oisin and a number of the Fianna behind. And sure enough, while they waited for the food to arrive, the fire began to send out black clouds of evil-smelling smoke. The palace around them disappeared and they found themselves sitting on the hillside and fixed to the ground, unable to rise.
Fionn put his thumb to his month, which he did when he wanted to see to the heart of things, and found that the spell that held them had been cast by the three kings of the Island of Torrent. These kings where marching on the palace to kill them and only the blood of these three kings could undo the spell.
When Oísín and the other Fianna came to see if they were alright, Fionn warned them not to come in. He explained what they must do to stop the kings. Evenutally the Fianna managed to intercept and then kill the three kings. They took their heads and sprinkled the blood around their companions. Thus the spell was broken.
Issues of revenge and death are common in Fianna stories. This particular story also illustrated the dark side of Knockfeerina and its reflection in the human psyche. On a lighter note, folk tradition has it that Donn and his followers fought battles on behalf of the countryside. They might take the form of a cross-country hurling match against the fairy people of Knockainy. The winner would take the best of the potato crop to their side of the county"
|
Taken from Sacred Ireland:This crag is traditionally the home of 'Aoibheal', meaning 'the glowing one' and goddess of this place. It is a powerful nature sanctuary. 'Carrickeevul' meaning 'Aoibheal's Rock' is a 20 feet high projecting rock. She was the goddess protectress of the Dál gCais clan and this was her power place, high above their ancient seat at Greenanlaghna. The story goes that Aoibheal appeared to Brian (Boru) on the night before his death at Clontard in 1014. In her role as 'bean sí' or 'banshee', she foretold his death. Towards the end of the battle the next day, when the king's attendants suggested to Brian that he move away from the fighting (he was 73 years old), he said no, he would stay because Aoibheal had already predicted his death. She is said to have left Craglea when the old woods were cut down. New forests have been planted, so she may have returned. The fort of Greenanlaghna down below is overgrown and dilapidated, but a special place none the less.
|
When this stone circle was being excavated by archaeologists an old woman in the area who was renowned for psychic powers happened to be on her way home from Limerick. She stopped at the site and immediately fell into a trance. In her trance she saw men sacrificing a woman at an altar. She awoke from her trance before they actually cut the woman.
No evidence has ever been found for sacrifice at this site so maybe she was just telling people what she thought they wanted to hear.
|
Lough Gur is packed full of folklore. Plus check out those fadas!
Taken from Sacred Ireland
"It is said that Lough Gur was formed by the goddess Áine who appears here in different forms as mermaid, young woman and hag. As mermaid she rises from her traditional home beneath the sacred waters of the lake, as maiden she empowers the land's human custodians, and as hag she defends her realm.
There was a stone bridge called Cloghaunainey on the Camoge river north of the lake, said to have been demolished in 1930. A story is told of her meeting by this bridge with the 1st Earl of Desmond, the local landowner. Traditionally, it was required of the tribal chief at his inauguration that he seek acceptance of the goddess of the landscape. This was ritualised in a ceremony in Celtic society called a 'feis' which literally means 'to spend the night'. A 'geasa' is a magical prohibition or taboo. When someone is put under a geasa, the penalty for breaking it is usually death.
The story goes like this: the Earl found Áine by the water combing her hair. He crept up on her and took her cloak which immediately put her in his power. She agreed to bear him a son who was be called Géaroid , but warned him that he must never be surprised by anything the son did. ('Iarla' means 'Earl' but 'iarlais' means 'changeling')
The child was born and given to the Earl and grew up excelling in everything. One evening there was a big gathering at the Earl's castle in Knockainy village. A very accomplished young woman appeared out of nowhere and engaged his son in a contest. She leapt right over the guests and the tables and called him to do the same. He hesitated, but his father, wanting him to be bested by a woman, persuaded him to show what he could do. However, he went even further than his father had expected and astonished everyone by jumping into a bottle and out again. His father was so surprised that he broke the geasa put on him before his son's birth. "Now you have forced me to leave you"said the son. And with that he disappeared into the fairy realm.
It is said that he lies sleeping beneath Knockadoon with his knights waiting for a time when they will ride forth and gain freedom for all Ireland. But for the moment he must content himself with riding across the surface of the lake on a milk white horse with silver shoes. According to legend, he must do this once every seven years till the silver shoes are worn away.
Another legend holds that once every seven years the enchanted lake dries up and then the sacred tree at the bottom of the lake can be seen covered with a green cloth. An old woman of the lake can be seen covered with a green cloth. An old woman (Áine as hag) keeps watch from beneath the cloth. She is knitting, recreating the fabric of life. One time a man came riding by just as the lake had disappeared. He snatched the cloth from the tree and rode away. The woman called out and the waters rose, pulling back the cloth and half the horse with it. So Áine continues to protect her realm helped by the waters of the lake."
|
Taken from Sacred Ireland
"It is said that when archaeologists removed the bones from this site, every banshee in Ireland could be heard wailing."
An old woman is said to have lived in this wedge-tomb which is also referred to at the site. However this wedge tomb faces west and so the old woman could be the goddess in her hag form as the setting son. As far as I can recall Michael Dames refers to this idea in Mythic Ireland.
|
The Silvermines
The Twelve Mountains of Ebhlenn (Evelyn)
Dha Sliabh Deag Ebhlinne
Taken from Sacred Ireland by Cary Meehan
"Ebhleen was a mythological figure, married to a king of Cashel. She fell in love with her stepson and eloped with him.
Right in the heart of these mountains is a small peak called Mathair Shliabh or Mother Mountain which has a cairn of stones on top called 'the Terrot'. Those climbing the mountain would carry a stone from the bottom to add to this cairn. The cairn was said to cover the grave of a young man who refused to go to mass one Sunday and went hunting instead. Although it was June – June 29th to be exact – he was caught in a snow-storm and his body later found at the spot now marked by the Terrot.
There was a traditional outing up the mountain here until the 1920s. It involved the usual Lughnasa activities of berry-picking, singing and dancing, though the date was 29th June. The monks of Kilcommon were to have started it but it is more likely that they changed the date from Lughnasa to the earlier date which is the Feast of SS Peter and Paul (The Festival of Lughnasa)"
|
Cnoc Aine
Taken from Sacred Ireland by Cary Meehan
"According to Celtic tradition, this is the sacred hill of the goddess Aine and her place of power. To some people the hill itself is shaped something like a female form with three rings or barrows in her belly. The barrows represent the dwellings of the ancestors of the munster tribe, the Eoghanachta: Fer I, Eoghabhal and Eogan. In this particular context Aine is their daughter. To the Celts the cairn on the summit was her palace and the entrance to the Otherworld.
However, the cairn is Neolithic and the barrows probably Bronze Age, so this would have been a ceremonial site long before Celtic times. Aine's presence here is most likely a continuation of a much earlier sun deity tradition. By making her their daughter, and the barrows the dwelling places of their ancestors, the Eoghanachta tribe were creating a divine lineage for themselves. At certain times in the Celtic year, usually the night before the major festivals, the entrance to this Otherworld would open and human lives could be touched for good or ill by spirits or Faerie beings. This could, of course, happen at any time but the eve of
A festival such as midsummer was a particularly potent time.
As the inauguration site of the Eoghanacht kings, it was here that they came to be united with the spirit of their kingdom, Aine. While the king lived in harmony with the Otherworld, the kingdom was blessed, but when customs or taboos were broken, everyone suffered.
The following story explains how the king Ailill came to be called 'Ailill O-lom' or Ailill One Ear'. It has echoes of the inauguration rite described in the story from Lough Gur. Once again the rules are broken by human failing and not without repercussions.
The king was having a problem as, every night when he went to sleep, the grass would disappear. His Druidess, Ferchess, advised him to visit Knockainy the next Samhain Eve. He did as she suggested but fell asleep, lulled by the drowsy sound of the cows grazing on the hillside. Walking disoriented in the middle of the night, he saw a beautiful maiden coming from the cairn with her father, Eoghabhal. Forgetting all about why he had come, and overcome with lust, he raped her. She, in her outraged anger, bit off his ear and in doing so, maimed him. This meant that he could no longer, by Celtic tradition, be King (The Festival of Lughnasa)
While the king had an obligation to maintain harmony with the Otherworld, the people had responsibilities as well. Until 1879 men used to bring flaming bunches of hay or straw on poles to the summit of Knockainy on Midsummer's Eve. They would carry them clockwise round the three barrows which they called 'the Hills of the Three Ancestors'. Then they would take the brands and run around the cultivated fields and pastures in the area to bring good luck to the animals and crops. It was believed that they were emulating the fairies who also performed this rite under the direction of Aine as she impregnated the land with her solar energy once the humans had gone.
Sometimes people reported seeing her leading the human procession. She was seen on the hill as the 'cailleach' or wise woman and there are many stories of her taking human form. Those who treated her with kindness prospered."
|
|
Megalithic explorer from Co. Tipperary in Ireland. Travelling Munster in search of adventures.
Contact me at bawn79@yahoo.com
|
Log in |
Register
Previous 20 | Showing 21-40 of 43 folklore posts. Most recent first | Next 20 
Top of page