Show Notes
Grianstad an Gheimhridh, the winter solstice is that special moment when the year turns and the hours of daylight, begin slowly to increase. This time of year has long been a cause for reflection and celebration. So, join Chris on yet another ramble, as she explores an Irish Winter Solstice journey.
Links for this episode
Links on Story Archaeology
The Craneskin Bag
A Christmas card from the Archaeologists.
Extolling the Holly
A Satirical Tale of Extreme Gastronomy
Fair’s Fair
The Dagda’s Cauldron
The Dagda’s Cauldron ~ A home-brew supplemental
Some Questions answered by the Story Archaeologists This one covers both a discussion of poets' grades and titles as well as , 'Who were the Celts?'
A Conversation with Patrick Nunn
Edge of Memory and Worlds in Shadow, (information On Patrick Nunn's books.)
Read Candles in the Window an anthology of Longford Christmas memories
An Archdruid in his Judicial Habit
from Costume of the Original Inhabitants of the British Isles (1815) by Samuel Rush Meyrick and Charles Hamilton Smith.
Useful External Links
Images of Newgrange in the past, before the excavations
Mythical Ireland website
Newgrange: The Winter Solstice reports, image and videos of Winter Solstice sunrises over the last twenty years.
Information about Iron age burials in earlier tomb structures.
More from Story Archaeology
The story of Sinann, who gave her name to the river Shannon, was first recorded, in written form, in the Metrical Dindshenchas, 'the Lore of Prominent Places'. Such tales morph and shapeshift as they are retold through time yet still retain unexpected applicabilities. Join Chris as she traces her own meandering journey in Sinann's company.
William Robinson: Tallanbanna with cloud front. 1988
Animal companions have played a variety of important roles in human societies over the millenia. Join Chris as she explores how dogs, cats and even the occasional crane, have been regarded and regulated both in the comprehensive early Irish law texts and Irish stories, mythology and folklore.
Recent DNA testing on a long ignored jawbone fragment has opened a viewpoint on the distant past to when and how animal companions began to alter the everyday lives of human communities. Join Chris as she explores this new research and wonders, on the way, what 'pet' names might they have chosen!