For National Biodiversity Week we bring you stories of traditional farming and rural life and how they relate to biodiversity. There are very few direct references to biodiversity in the Cuimhneamh an Chláir archive since that concept has only become part of common language in more recent times. However there are stories of plant life and nature, cures, dyes, farming practices etc that tell us in subtle ways about biodiversity and environmental sustainability. Featured are Brendan...

Biddy Early (1798-1874) was born in Killanena and lived most of her life in Feakle in Co. Clare. She was a ‘bean feasa’ or wise woman (literally a ‘woman of knowledge’). She was famous as a woman of otherworldly knowledge and the power to cure people’s ills, whether physical, psychic, spiritual, or even economic. In more recent times she has been casually called a witch, but that word and concept belong to other cultures. This notion did not really exist in the Gaelic cultur...

Supernatural experiences abound in Irish Folklore. The veil is thin between the concrete world and the other dimensions especially in the dark part of the year. The stories are told by Teresa Flynn from Mountshannon, Paddy Murphy, Joe Jack Sexton and Martin Walsh from Mullagh, John Hastings from Quin, Bridie Mahony from Moughna, Peggy Hogan from Feakle, and Sean Crowe from Broadford. GLOSSARY OF TERMS Banshee or 'Bean sí' a female spirit in Irish and other folklores whose appeara...

In Part 2 of a public interview with 88 year old Kitty Leyden, she talks of being an emigrant in New York, returning home, emigrating to England, meeting her husband, her work in Bunratty Folk Park, making bread, family memories of eviction, her love of music and dance, traditional beliefs and 'piseogs'. Below are explanations of terms you might need help with: County Home: Institutions that replaced Workhouses in Ireland after 1922. Many subsequently became publicly funded nursin...

88 year old Kitty Leyden was the youngest of 11, born on a small farm in Clonina, Cree, West Clare. She spent her young adulthood in New York. She then settled in Tulla, and raised 8 children. Hers is the story of the ordinary joys and hardships of women’s lives in mid-20th century rural Ireland. But her natural storytelling ability and her powerful memory enable her turn the ordinary into the extraordinary. Below are explanations of terms you might need help with: Press bed: a bed that...

Episode 7 focuses on Robin O' Connell from Meelick, in South East Co. Clare - poitin maker, Gaelic football supremo, tradition bearer, free spirit. This episode is dedicated to the memory of Margaret O' Connor, who made lovely recordings of great people in O'Briensbridge, Co. Clare, and who gently insisted that we go meet Robin and record him. This episode is made with the support of Clare County Council through Clare County Library and Rethink Ireland. Follow the work of Cuimh...

Episode 6 features stories of life on the land in Co. Clare. There are stories of farming and of the crafts associated with it, of entertainment and of the rhythms of rural life in Co. Clare in times past. John Vaughan from Kilfenora tells us about the tradition of wintering out cattle in the magical Burren area of Co. Clare. Paddy Murphy from Mullagh tells us about cow doctors in the days before vets. John Queally from Cooraclare and Susan Williams from Kilfenora tell us about...

Episode 5 features stories of life in the towns of Co. Clare. Madeleine Killeen and Pat Foudy tell unusual stories of the lives of children and women in the town of Ennis. Frank Sheedy and Mary Angela Keane tell us of the eclectic mix of people who frequented the tourist town of Lisdoonvarna. Tomsie O' Sullivan paints a vivd picture of the resort town of Lahinch on Garland Sunday - exotic long before its Wild Atlantic Way image. Irene Doherty describes how a you...

Episode 4 features stories of Christmases past in Co. Clare in the West of Ireland. Stories of the magic of Christmas candles in the days before electricity, the hustle and bustle of decorating the house, what 'Santy' brought children, the aromas that remain forever in the memory of Christmas cooking and baking, and of course stories of The Wren! This podcast is based on a selection of stories contained in our CD of Christmas Memories from Co. Clare. If you would like a copy of t...

Episode 3 features stories of the working lives of women in Co. Clare. Susan Williams in Kilfenora and Maura McInerney in Killaloe talk of hard physical labour. Peggy Hogan in Feakle tells us of the magic of the washing machine. Susan Barrett in Inagh and Annie Corry in Tulla tell stories of childbirth. Nora McMahon in Ennistymon, Bridie Morgan and Mary Casey in Corofin all tell us about the work young girl-children were expected to do. Moira Garry in Cooraclare and Na...

Episode 2 features stories of the Clare coastline. John Daly and Michael Falsey tell us about the herring fishing industry around Quilty. Randal Counihan talks of ravenous seals and slaveships. Pa Joe Mahony and Senan Blunnie talk of turfboats and seaweed. Tommy Fahy on how a tsunami shaped the North Clare coast. Manuel di Lucia goes spear fishing. John Glynn explains how to land sharks using magic songs. And Tomsie O' Sullivan reveals the secrets of the se...

Episode One features great stories and great storytellers - not long folk tales or professional story tellers, just people who love language and know how to turn a phrase. -Paddy Malley from Feakle tells us about finding a 4,000 year old gold hoard in his field - Chris Droney from Bellharbour tells us about fairy music in a fort near his house. - Teresa Flynn from Mountshannon tells us about endemic racism in a Catholic hospital in Chicago. - Pat Flanagan from Doolin tells us about the death...