Blúiríní Béaloidis Folklore Podcast
Episodes
Blúiríní Béaloidis 43 - Indexing Folklore (with Steve Roud)
09 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Steve Roud is a Librarian, folklore scholar and creator of the Roud Folk Song Index, which contains upwards of 750,000 entries to around 45,000 Englis...
Blúiríní Béaloidis 42 - Passing the Time (with Henry Glassie)
27 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Video recording of this episode is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OcxwmDuUeU&ab_channel=UCD-UniversityCollegeDublin Henry Glassie i...
Blúiríní Béaloidis 41 - Food in Irish Tradition (with Máirtín Mac Con Iomaire)
02 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Regarding food in Irish tradition, Kevin Danaher, writing in 1964, noted that "Sometimes we get the impression that Ireland, in ancient times, was a l...
Bluiríní Béaloidis 40 - What Is A Folklore Archive
17 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Hello a chairde, and welcome to episode 40 of Blúiríní Béaloidis, the podcast from the National Folklore Collection. It would be remiss of me n...
Blúiríní Béaloidis 39 - Bees In Tradition (with Tiernan Gaffney)
09 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Bees have been cultivated in Ireland since early times. Of value for their wax and honey, there were also believed to be blessed creatures, as Dáithí...
Blúiríní Béaloidis 38: Stones Of Strength In Irish Tradition (with David Keohan)
06 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Lying in fields and ditches, at the edge of old and overgrown graveyards and in lonesome places all over Ireland rest forgotten echoes of our past. La...
Blúiríní Béaloidis 37: Peig Sayers (with Dr. Éilís Ní Dhuibhne & Dr. Pádraig Ó Héalaí)
07 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
"Long as the day is, night comes, and alas, the night is coming for me too... Someone else will have pastime out of my work when I'm gone on the way o...
Blúiríní Béaloidis 36: The Travellers (with David Joyce & Áine Furey)
24 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Irish Travellers, known in their own language as Mincéirs or Pavees and in Irish called ‘An Lucht Siúil or, ‘The Walking People’, are a nomadi...
Blúiríní Béaloidis 35 - The Civil War (with Dr. Críostóir Mac Cárthaigh)
24 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Civil War was a schismatic moment in Irish history, and the fault lines it left split families, tore apart communities and turned former comrades ...
Blúiríní Béaloidis 34 - The War Of Independence (with Ailbe Van Der Heide)
04 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Anglo-Irish Treaty was signed on the 6th of December 1921, bringing an end to the 1919-1921 Irish War of Independence. To mark 100 years since the...
Blúiríní Béaloidis 33 - Death (with David McGowan)
19 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In life, there is much which seems uncertain to us. Concerning death however, there can be no doubt. It was an honour to speak with funeral director, ...
Blúiríní Béaloidis 32 - Mushrooms In Tradition
30 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
With the coming of the cool wet weather of autumn, life begins to turn inward again . The fields lie fallow and bare, flowers wither, leaves decay, an...
Blúiríní Béaloidis 31 - The Púca (with Aidan Harte)
18 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
For this episode of Blúiríní I am joined by sculptor Aidan Harte, whose recent work 'The Púca of Ennistymon' was commissioned by Clare county Coun...
Blúiríní Béaloidis 30 - The Stray Sod
09 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
There are numerous accounts in tradition of wayfarers who suffer fits of confusion and disorientation while traversing the natural landscape. Such bou...
Blúiríní Béaloidis 29 - A Folk History Of Ireland's Protestants (with Dr. Deirdre Nuttall)
09 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Irish Folklore Commission (established in 1935) tasked itself with the documentation of the unwritten customs, beliefs and narratives of the Irish...
Blúiriní Bealoidis 28 - Land & Language (with Manchán Magan)
09 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
My guest for this edition of Bluiríní Béaloidis is writer and documentary maker Manchán Magan, whose recent book 'Thirty-Two Words For Field' is a...
Blúiríní Béaloidis 27 - The Banshee (with Professor Patricia Lysaght)
31 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Banshee is a well known supernatural figure in Irish folk tradition. In origin a patron goddess caring for the fortunes of her people, the banshee...
Blúiríní Bealoidis 26 - Seals In Folk Tradition (with Ailbe van der Heide)
09 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Seals have been an integral part of coastal life in Ireland for generations, and as such there exists a large body of tradition, belief and narrative ...
Blúiríní Béaloidis 25 - Midsummer
22 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Midsummer has long been observed as a period of jubilant celebration, with communal gatherings at bonfires and prayers, recitations, music, songs, dan...
Blúiríní Béaloidis 24 - Folk Medicine
06 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It was said in tradition that 'there isn't an ailment or infirmity the cure of which doesn't grow in the fields or along the hedges', and indeed, our ...
Blúiríní Béaloidis 23 - Holy Wells In Folk Tradition
14 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Lying in overgrown fields, by churches and next to roadsides all over Ireland, are hidden holy wells and sacred springs which have for countless gener...
Blúiríní Béaloidis - 22 Invisible Worlds (With Eddie Lenihan)
05 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Our lives are built on the stories we tell. At both an individual and a communal level, they orient and mould us, shaping our perspectives and outlini...
Blúiríní Béaloidis 21 - Samhain / Halloween (With Dr. Billy Mag Fhloinn)
29 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The festival of Samhain has since ancient times been considered as a major turning point in the ritual year. In marking the threshold of darkness and ...
Blúiríní Béaloidis 20 - A Parting Glass (Claire's Final Episode!)
21 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
This twentieth edition of Blúiríní Béaloidis comes as something of a bittersweet occasion, with Claire raising a parting glass to 'gently rise and...
Blúiríní Béaloidis 19 - Sacred Trees In Folk Tradition
11 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
While rooted in the earth, trees ascend towards the firmament of the Heavens. They likewise renew themselves through the eternal rhythms that govern a...
Blúiríní Béaloidis 18 - Brigid In Folk Tradition
28 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
St. Brigid’s Day falls on the first of February, and is traditionally understood as marking the beginning of spring in Irish custom. Dedicated to t...
Blúiríní Béaloidis 17 - Rumours Of War
09 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
From Jul 28, 1914 until Nov 11, 1918 the iron dice of war rolled across the fields of Europe with a ferocity and magnitude the likes of which the worl...
Blúiríní Béaloidis 16 - Otherworld Islands In Folk Tradition
17 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Native European and Irish Tradition posits the existence of an Otherworld realm lying beyond the furthest reaches of the horizon; an island of plenty...
Blúiríní Béaloidis 15 - The Salmon In Folk Tradition
06 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Irish communities have been sustained for centuries by the fruits of our seas, rivers and lakes, from which both physical and economic subsistence was...
Blúiríní Béaloidis 14 - The Changeling In Folk Tradition
14 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The birth of a child is among the most important moments in the life of the individual, and of the community of which they are a broader part. Small w...
Blúiríní Béaloidis 13 - The Soul In Folk Tradition
16 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The idea of the existence of a soul or life-force which exists independently of the body is of considerable antiquity. In folk tradition, the soul was...
Blúiríní Béaloidis 12 - St. Patrick In Folk Tradition
12 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The 17th of March sees countries the world over celebrate Saint Patrick's Day - a day which is commonly marked with large parades and revelry held in ...
Blúiríní Béaloidis 11 - Love & Magic In Folk Tradition
12 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Betrothal and marriage are among the most central and important rites of passage in any community, and in Irish tradition one was not seen as an adult...
Blúiríní Béaloidis 10 - The Cow In Folk Tradition
15 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Cattle have been central to Irish farming since the Neolithic period, and in early Ireland were even used as a unit of currency. In this month's editi...
Séamus Ó Duilearga: 'A Burning Urge To Save'
06 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Séamus Ó Duilearga (James Hamilton Delargy), founder of the Irish Folklore Commission, speaking of his 'burning urge to save' the traditions and cus...
Blúiríní Béaloidis 09 - Christmas Customs & Traditions
04 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
For this month's edition of Blúiríní Béaloidis, hosts Claire Doohan and Jonny Dillon set out to take a critical look at traditional practices rela...
Blúiríní Béaloidis 08 - Wind & Storms In Folk Tradition
06 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Owing to their impact on human affairs, weather occurrences of all sorts were a source of preoccupation for our forebears, who would look to the natur...
Blúiríní Béaloidis 07 - Cú Chulainn & The Táin
02 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The Ulster Cycle consists of a corpus of tales forming one of the main branches of early Irish Literature, which have come down to us across countless...
Blúiríní Béaloidis 06 - Fairy Forts In Folk Tradition
04 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In fields, valleys and quiet places the country over can be found countless earthwork mounds, cairns, tumuli and other signs of early human habitation...
Blúiríní Béaloidis 05: The Threshold Of Plenty - Harvest Customs In Irish Tradition
28 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The arrival of the harvest was for our forebears a time of great celebration, for it marked the point at which the lean months of June and 'Hungry Jul...
Blúiríní Béaloidis 04 - The Luck Of The House
29 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In the traditional dwelling is found a well of spiritual, cultural and material information. Through it many things are revealed, from the ways in whi...
Blúiríní Béaloidis 03 - The Moon In Folk Tradition
24 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Since the earliest times, Man has sought to come to terms with the unknown powers and forces that act upon life and wellbeing. It is natural therefore...
Blúiríní Béaloidis 02 - May Day Folklore
27 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The first of May is marked in Ireland (and across Europe more broadly), as a day on which the summer is welcomed in; where garlands of flowers decorat...
Blúiríní Béaloidis 01 - What is Folklore?
18 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to Blúiríní Béaloidis, the new podcast from the National Folklore Collection, University College Dublin. In this introductory episode, ho...