Old Irish beliefs/superstitions about building on possibly haunted land

MrMojoRisin wrote: »

Just to reply to your post from before, Aoife. AFAIK, the only public speaking Paul O'Halloran seems to do is when he rarely speaks on the radio (he was on with Neil Prendeville on 96fm a few times), or when he conducts workshops (if you'd call that public speaking). He can certainly articulate himself well anyway. Good storyteller.

That's an awful shame!! He's very interesting, such brilliant experiences!

MrMojoRisin wrote: »

I think she has a tendency to state something as a fact and, because she is probably so clued-up herself on why it apparently is a fact, or whatever, she overlooks that others are probably completely clueless about it.

It seems that way! She can come across as a balmpot when she's talking about something passionately and the audience haven't a notion! :P

MrMojoRisin wrote: »

Someone forwarded a link to me earlier of the following video of her speaking about witchcraft in 2010 :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kz8kCDd57f0

Great stuff!

MrMojoRisin wrote: »

That is a classic. All the scrying using her crystal ball didn't reveal an image of a banjaxed washing machine and a flooded kitchen, ha, ha.

Something that gets told at family gatherings. Yeah, it was quite funny. They never did get a reading from her after, I'd say she'd curse my dad if she saw him again! :P

MrMojoRisin wrote: »

That's right - I forgot about that. :rolleyes: Realistically, I don't think we'll be out of the recession for at least another 15 years. Unless a miracle happens..

She did predict oil being found off the coast of Cork (can't recall the date, if any, that she gave), and there was a fair bit of oil found there back in March or early April, if I remember rightly. White Witch - une point.

Touché. Maybe she doubles as a geologist in her spare time. :P

MrMojoRisin wrote: »

Tradition holds that placenames like that are associated with ringforts. 'Lios' has been anglicised in many areas' names in more recent times - such as Lisdoonvarna or Lismore. Same thing with rath (with a fada over the a) - now Rathmines, Rathdrum, etc., minus the fada. Apparently 'lios' was the enclosed living area of the fairies. Both names - Lios and Rath - would describe forts with predominantly earth banks forming the enclosure.

As for 'Dun' - traditionally, any place beginning with that name referred to a stone-built, defensive structure of some kind. So again, linking in with forts.

Explains a lot about place names.

MrMojoRisin wrote: »

You were sort of wondering initially whether or not land that had fairies inhabiting it could have cattle grazing on it. Well, apparently, according to some, fairy forts and ringforts are considered to be interchangeable names for the same thing, and, interestingly, ringforts were built, and lived in, by cattle farmers during the Middle Ages.

Also, it's been found that ringforts were never constructed anywhere where the land was considered unsuitable for farming to start with. So, there may be a connection there somewhere.

Huh. Very interesting! I speaking with someone at the weekend who believed that any land that had hawthorns on it should never be used for cattle grazing, as faeries can not abide the sight of cattle, or so he said. Ditto land bordering on very old woodland, over 300 years or more, as these are typically fairy woods and should be regarded as scared land. He didn't appreciate me pointing out that cows are sacred in India.

byhookorbycrook wrote: »

My mother would still hold with not touching any kind of lios/rath/cairn. She also firmly believes in "hungry grass."This was where famine victims died and unless you had some kind of food on you when you cross it ,you would die too.

Really? That's really interesting too. I've never heard of hungry grass, what exactly is it? I live near an old famine graveyard so this is of real interest! Never heard of anybody not touching any lios/rath/cairn.

My dad just reminded me that my nan always warned me and my cousins against picking bluebells and other flowers in a woodland kind of meadow, that we used to play in as kids. She believed it would upset the faeries, though she never told us that as kids! :P Which I now know is a ~.4 miles away from a ringfort. Funnily enough, there's a housing estate starting with 'Dun' built on the outer fringes of the meadow now.

AngelLight wrote: »

Hi guys I am very interested in the lore of the faerie forts and trying to source a few in Cork for a group to visit. I've done my Shamanic training with Paul O' Halloran and he used to tell us some fabulous stories about the land and the spirits of the land. Aoife the place you mention sounds ideal as there is woodland nearby also and a famine graveyard? Now that would be the ideal place to take a small group of students. Would be most grateful if you would let me know please so I can seek permission of whomever owns the land there.
Much Thanks
AngelLight:o

Hi, sorry I'm afraid I haven't done much research into it in the three years since it was posted. The famine graveyard near where I live is the very famous one on Carrs Hill. I'm not sure where you're based but if you can get your hands on ordnance survey maps of County Cork and Carrigaline, you'll find no shortage of ringforts marked. I know that UCC Archeology department were doing some surveying on a ringfort in the Ballea/Kilmoney area of Carrigaline last year. There may also be ringfort structures near Currabinny Woods, though I imagine they're on private property and you would have to speak to the land owner. I hope that helps!