Introduction : It was the evening of *Samhain. The people of Ulster were gathered at*Muirthemne for a feast, when a flock of white birds came flying over the plains. It was put to the great hero Cú Chulainn to capture them for the women of the court, to compensate for how much they were all …
Come to Tír na nÓg with me, a retelling by Karina Tynan
Introduction: At a time when the Fianna of Ireland (a band of warriors led by the great Fionn Mac Cumhaill) were coming to their end, a woman called Niamh Chinn Óir (Niamh of the golden hair) came to the shores of Ireland from Tír na nÓg (The country of the young). She came because she was …
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The Second Coming, a retelling by Karina Tynan
Three hundred years after Ceasair’s people were gone, a second wave of settlers came to Ireland. These were Dealgnat, her husband Partholón and their people who came from Greece. This is Delgnat’s account of the first adultery, the first jealousy, how Tallaght got its name and who made the first pint in Ireland. The …
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Edict – a poem by Karina Tynan
I dreamed of a cow up to her knees in brown water and a bull on a high hill, hooves planted deep and able for all winds. Bulging from his forehead was a sacred horn full of rightness and foreboding; the enemy of all the mystics in …
The Talking Of The Rushes Has Begun By Fionn Mac Cumhaill
Introduction : I found this poem in Part II of Lady Gregory's God's and Fighting Men. The stories in that section are about the Fianna who were a band of warriors trained in the arts of fighting, oratory and poetry. Their leader was Fionn Mac Cumhaill who is said to have written the poem …
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Bard Summer School 2019 Clare Island, Co Mayo, Ireland
Green and Blue .. by Karina Tynan for Poetry Day 2019
Green and Blue … ...Are the colours of his bedroom painted up since he left for down under on the matching globe and the day today: a surreal three quarters blue light; a backdrop for the hedge taking it out of the ordinary or the dream I had last night; blue curtains pulled …
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Mór-Ríoghain’s Song by Karina Tynan
Introduction: The Mór-Ríoghain is a phantom Queen known to be the Irish Goddess of war often taking the shape of a crow. She features in the first and second battles of *Maige Tuired. The first between the *Fir Bolg and the *Tuatha Dé Danann and the second between the The Tuatha Dé Danann and the *Fomhóire. …
Against my Sister a Retelling by Karina Tynan
Introduciton : Scáthach was a warrior queen who lived on Skye, an island that is part of the archipelago called the Hebrides, west of Scotland. Young warriors from Ireland and other kingdoms nearby were sent to be trained by her in the arts of battle. But while Scáthach taught her pupils she also had to …
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The Boy with the Beautiful Name, a Retelling by Karina Tynan
Introducion: Dechtine daughter of Neas was the mother of the legendary Cú Chulainn whose birth name was Setanta. This is her account of the story of his conception, birth and early life before he left his home at Muirthemne to join the Court of her brother King Conchubar Mac Nessa. There was a cup, …
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