Karina Tynan is a writer, playwright, and psychotherapist. She was born in Kilkenny, Ireland, though most of her life was spent in Dublin where she raised her two children, Kathy and Luke.
A fascination with mythology, and Irish mythology in particular has accompanied her throughout her life. Her two collections, TÁIN and SÍDH are written from the perspectives of the women.
Myth
Myth is great theatre holding endless wisdom and insight. To quote the Irish poet Eavan Boland, from her poem, The Pomegranate, “And the best thing about the legend is/ I can enter it anywhere. And have.” Here she speaks about the Greek myth of Ceres and Persephone. In the poem she shows how that same myth held her experiences as the mother of a daughter through the many stages of her mothering.
Karina says, “That is how I understand myth. Over my life, along with my journey as a psychotherapist myth has harrowed me, taught me, accompanied me and held me. My experiences with these great stories led me to a greater empathy for the woman, or maybe it was for myself.”
Then she began to retell them and so, to now:
Writing
TÁIN: The Women’s Stories from the Ulster Cycle of Irish Mythology is Karina’s first publication, released in December 2021. Her second publication, SÍDH : Stories from the Women in Irish Mythology will be ready for sale in November 2023
And patiently waiting for the right stage, three plays:
- Aoife – from the Irish Myth, The Children of Lir
- Midir and Etain – one of the lesser known stories from the Irish pantheon
- Ariadne’s Rethreading – inspired by the Greek Ariadne’s Thread