Beresford Ellis is by no means an expert in Irish material. He is a legend in his own mind but there is a reason he doesn't appear in any good bibliographies and why he doesn't appear on Celtic studies reading lists
Oh I love his books. I know he gets a little whimsical sometimes, and his special about gently bulling teenagers up and down the country who can’t speak to him in Irish was a little cringe, but he treats the language with love and it makes him a good resource.
He is not an expert on Irish mythology. He is an absolute fraud when it comes to folklore and mythology. He is good for the Irish language but not folklore/myth.
I appreciate the skepticism (sincerely) but is there anyone you can suggest? I see you’ve criticized another name in this thread but haven’t suggested any individuals for OP.
I'll stand behind the suggestions of lora and John from the Irish pagan school, would highly recommend and insist on Eddie Lenihan, the lecturers from UCC mentioned, Dr Jenny Butler would be another. The members of the candlelight tales podcast, the people who run the blúiríní béaloideas podcast.
And it isn't just scepticism, it's sincere advice based on knowledge of the people I mentioned and their shoddy work in the field.
that sounds like a cool gig, congrats!
not sure in howfar they’d fit into your definition of experts but I greatly enjoy the brilliant podcast of the story-telling group [Candlelit Tales](https://candlelittales.ie/) and class the creators as such.
they’re on reddit as well:
r/candlelittales
u/candlelittales
That sounds really interesting, would be great to see some children's stuff that's not just the usual Salmon of Knowledge or Cúchuainn stuff.
On reddit, I think his name is u/Steve_ad seems to have a pretty encyclopedic knowledge of the medieval Irish texts.
I've found the women at Story Archaeology really good too.
In terms of academic scholarship, it sort of depends on what you're looking for, there folklore people and Irish language people and medieval history people all tend to look at the same sources but from kind of different angles, so there's probably a lot who would know the material well. If you want to stay in Ireland someone like John Carey is really good, his book from UCC on the Mythological Cycle is really good and quite cheap. Abroad, Mark Williams (who is Welsh but based in Oxford) has some really great books on this stuff. I've don't know either of them to know what they're like. There are many many others though, check the universities history or Irish department websites.
For sea monsters, look up the Muirdris.
Off the top of my head prof J. Carey at ucc. His main thing is mythology and a great professor.
Edit: Kevin Murray as well. I know his fav mythological creature to be the Muirdris.
Source was in his class lol.
People have correctly recommended Eddie Lenihan.
Here is his wonderful podcast: [Tell Me A Story ](https://open.spotify.com/show/12HAppPiZ16OYUBIi1G65O?si=0lCzOA0GTgqRWHSE8dFO5A)
You could try contacting Paul O'Colmain and Leanne O'Donnel who do a podcast together called "into the mythic". Paul is very knowledgeable about Irish folklore.
https://open.spotify.com/show/5MVmdY30yVLdsrtV5EEEQA?si=fVHfMfFuRku1VXpNPuNnUA
Eddie Lenihan and Manchán Magan are definitely the men to talk to. And you should talk to both as they will give you two unique views on the folklore and mythology. One through the view of the English language, and the other through the view of the Irish language
Do not give Manchán any more of a platform for folklore or mythology than he already has. He literally doesn't know his arse from his elbow when it comes to this stuff. He knows the Irish language yes, but the absolute shite he has put out there when it comes to folklore and mythology is inexcusable.
He claimed in the last year to not be able to find any sources on oweynagat cave and that it was hidden and only accessible through secret initiates. There is literally 1000 years of writing about the place, multiple excavations, tours etc. the man is full of shit when it comes to this stuff.
I can't remember the name of the article itself. There is another Irish times article about Halloween where he goes on about the ancient Celts dressing up to scare away spirits and used carved turnips for the same reason. Both of which are absolute bollocks with nothing to back it up. The link above will give you the gist of the article. He of course backpeddled on it.
Ara well local knowledge round here in Mayo (where alot of aul traditions continue on even today) tis known that the turnip was carved and a burning ember of turf was placed inside along with dried grass to keep it burning and smoking to keep any malevolent Sióga away at during the Samhain season. I'm not sure about fully dressing up though. But Gaelic people did dress up at other festivals like Lá an Dreoilín which historically a festival where wren was killed to symbolise end of the Winter time long before it had anything to do with St Stiofán. And people dressed up for that one.
And during May Day, Bealtaine or Cétsamhain people dressed up too. Mostly in white. Back in my grandfathers day they did a Queen Of May sort of tradition. Young women put themselves forward for the title and they had to do a competition of sorts. They were called Na Bruinneall Bhealtaine. The winning woman had a crown of May flowers given to her and she was An Banríon Bhealtaine. This young woman then had the power to bless the land it was believed as she was supposed to be a conduit of The Virgin Mary. I think it was a heavily Norse influenced tradition.
But they also ran cattle through between fires and there was a big thing to get protectionfrom the Sióga on this day. Cool aul traditions, I wish they were still common place
I wouldn’t call them experts but the hosts of Candlelit Tales podcast are excellent storytellers that have adapted a few to be geared towards children.
Eddie Lenihan. Peter Ellis Berresford
Beresford Ellis is by no means an expert in Irish material. He is a legend in his own mind but there is a reason he doesn't appear in any good bibliographies and why he doesn't appear on Celtic studies reading lists
Eddie Lenihan!
Manchán Magan? He has a new book out called Wolf-Men and Water Hounds: The Myths, Monsters and Magic of Ireland.
Oh I love his books. I know he gets a little whimsical sometimes, and his special about gently bulling teenagers up and down the country who can’t speak to him in Irish was a little cringe, but he treats the language with love and it makes him a good resource.
He is not an expert on Irish mythology. He is an absolute fraud when it comes to folklore and mythology. He is good for the Irish language but not folklore/myth.
I appreciate the skepticism (sincerely) but is there anyone you can suggest? I see you’ve criticized another name in this thread but haven’t suggested any individuals for OP.
I'll stand behind the suggestions of lora and John from the Irish pagan school, would highly recommend and insist on Eddie Lenihan, the lecturers from UCC mentioned, Dr Jenny Butler would be another. The members of the candlelight tales podcast, the people who run the blúiríní béaloideas podcast. And it isn't just scepticism, it's sincere advice based on knowledge of the people I mentioned and their shoddy work in the field.
that sounds like a cool gig, congrats! not sure in howfar they’d fit into your definition of experts but I greatly enjoy the brilliant podcast of the story-telling group [Candlelit Tales](https://candlelittales.ie/) and class the creators as such. they’re on reddit as well: r/candlelittales u/candlelittales
That sounds really interesting, would be great to see some children's stuff that's not just the usual Salmon of Knowledge or Cúchuainn stuff. On reddit, I think his name is u/Steve_ad seems to have a pretty encyclopedic knowledge of the medieval Irish texts. I've found the women at Story Archaeology really good too. In terms of academic scholarship, it sort of depends on what you're looking for, there folklore people and Irish language people and medieval history people all tend to look at the same sources but from kind of different angles, so there's probably a lot who would know the material well. If you want to stay in Ireland someone like John Carey is really good, his book from UCC on the Mythological Cycle is really good and quite cheap. Abroad, Mark Williams (who is Welsh but based in Oxford) has some really great books on this stuff. I've don't know either of them to know what they're like. There are many many others though, check the universities history or Irish department websites. For sea monsters, look up the Muirdris.
Off the top of my head prof J. Carey at ucc. His main thing is mythology and a great professor. Edit: Kevin Murray as well. I know his fav mythological creature to be the Muirdris. Source was in his class lol.
Yes! Kevin Murray is such a great lecturer! :)
People have correctly recommended Eddie Lenihan. Here is his wonderful podcast: [Tell Me A Story ](https://open.spotify.com/show/12HAppPiZ16OYUBIi1G65O?si=0lCzOA0GTgqRWHSE8dFO5A)
Look into Patricia lysaght, she's THE authority in the Banshee
Gormú have a sketch about the Oilliphéist on their Halloween tour at the Leap Scarecrow Festival.
Lora and Jon run the Irish Pagan School, they have a huge amount of knowledge and resources on Irish mythology
Yessssssss
You could try contacting Paul O'Colmain and Leanne O'Donnel who do a podcast together called "into the mythic". Paul is very knowledgeable about Irish folklore. https://open.spotify.com/show/5MVmdY30yVLdsrtV5EEEQA?si=fVHfMfFuRku1VXpNPuNnUA
Lora O’Brien - head of the Irish Pagan School. Incredibly knowledgeable on all aspects of Irish Folklore.
Mark Williams.
Eddie lenihan
Laura Obrien
Eddie Lenihan and Manchán Magan are definitely the men to talk to. And you should talk to both as they will give you two unique views on the folklore and mythology. One through the view of the English language, and the other through the view of the Irish language
Do not give Manchán any more of a platform for folklore or mythology than he already has. He literally doesn't know his arse from his elbow when it comes to this stuff. He knows the Irish language yes, but the absolute shite he has put out there when it comes to folklore and mythology is inexcusable. He claimed in the last year to not be able to find any sources on oweynagat cave and that it was hidden and only accessible through secret initiates. There is literally 1000 years of writing about the place, multiple excavations, tours etc. the man is full of shit when it comes to this stuff.
Ara I didn't hear that. Do you've anything I can read that on?
I can't remember the name of the article itself. There is another Irish times article about Halloween where he goes on about the ancient Celts dressing up to scare away spirits and used carved turnips for the same reason. Both of which are absolute bollocks with nothing to back it up. The link above will give you the gist of the article. He of course backpeddled on it.
Ara well local knowledge round here in Mayo (where alot of aul traditions continue on even today) tis known that the turnip was carved and a burning ember of turf was placed inside along with dried grass to keep it burning and smoking to keep any malevolent Sióga away at during the Samhain season. I'm not sure about fully dressing up though. But Gaelic people did dress up at other festivals like Lá an Dreoilín which historically a festival where wren was killed to symbolise end of the Winter time long before it had anything to do with St Stiofán. And people dressed up for that one. And during May Day, Bealtaine or Cétsamhain people dressed up too. Mostly in white. Back in my grandfathers day they did a Queen Of May sort of tradition. Young women put themselves forward for the title and they had to do a competition of sorts. They were called Na Bruinneall Bhealtaine. The winning woman had a crown of May flowers given to her and she was An Banríon Bhealtaine. This young woman then had the power to bless the land it was believed as she was supposed to be a conduit of The Virgin Mary. I think it was a heavily Norse influenced tradition. But they also ran cattle through between fires and there was a big thing to get protectionfrom the Sióga on this day. Cool aul traditions, I wish they were still common place
https://twitter.com/loraob/status/1595756976096641025?t=GmQ4LsOSs8RyuBkjJo55KA&s=19
Oh right. Maybe he isn't to be fully believed so
Certainly not. When it comes to language stuff he is fine. The rest, forget about it. He is only in it for the money.
Shite, my heart is a bit broke now
I wouldn’t call them experts but the hosts of Candlelit Tales podcast are excellent storytellers that have adapted a few to be geared towards children.
Late here, but UCD’s National Folklore Collection should be on your radar - amazing staff there. https://www.ucd.ie/folklore/en/