Celtic Myth Podshow
This is a huge show all about that magical seal-people of Celtic myth, the Sekies. You'll hear five fantastic pieces of music, two old stories, and one lovely modern story from the Faerytale Apothecary. It also includes some fascinating Selkie folklore from Morgan Daimler's New Dictionary of Fairies.
info_outline The Assembly of the Wondrous Head CMP054Celtic Myth Podshow
The Saga of Branwen reaches its conclusion The Saga of Branwen reaches its conclusion in the company of the Head of Bran on the mystical island of Gwales. This time out of time is known as the Assembly of the Wondrous Head. This episode is the 12th and final episode of the Second Branch of the Mabinogi. Full Show-notes, with sources and credits, can be found on our main Website at Running Order: Intro 0:38 News and Views 1:05 Recap 2:47 Story 4:22 These Hollow Hills (Once More) - 15:20 We hope you enjoy it! Gary & Ruthie x x...
info_outline The Bed of Branwen CMP053Celtic Myth Podshow
Sorrow upon sorrow as the seven lonely knights return to Anglesey with their dying King...
info_outline Betrayal and Redemption CMP052Celtic Myth Podshow
Efnissien comes to an important decision and war breaks out amongst the celebrants in the Great House. The war between the Irish and the Welsh takes on a drastic turn as the Irish use the mystic Cauldron of Regeneration to bolster their numbers.
info_outline The Two Temptations CMP051Celtic Myth Podshow
Matholwch offers to build Brân the Blessed a house large enough to house him and offers him loyalty in exchange for peace. As a Client King of Brân's, Brân would become the King of the Two Islands.
info_outline The Hosting of the Island of the Mighty CMP050Celtic Myth Podshow
King Brân gets some very disturbing news about Branwen and gathers the Host of Prydein to avenge the insults done to his sister. A long and bloody war ensues but will Branwen be rescued?
info_outline Of Kitchens and Kings CMP049Celtic Myth Podshow
Matholwch and Branwen set up home in Ireland and a son is born to them. After a while, the King hears whispers from his people and Branwen suffers a terrible fate.
info_outline The Cauldron of Rebirth CMP048Celtic Myth Podshow
Matholwch accepts the honour price that Bran offers him but Bran soon realises that the Irish King is still not truly happy. The Welsh King comes up with an honour price higher than any ever paid before to ease the heart of the Irish King.
info_outline Blood on the Land CMP047Celtic Myth Podshow
Nissien and Efnissien arrive home from Rome and Efnissien discovers that the marriage between Branwen and the Irish King Matholwch has been arranged without his knowledge or presence. He feels he has suffered a great insult and exacts a most horrific revenge.
info_outline The Price of Peace CMP046Celtic Myth Podshow
Is Matholwch going to be the right husband for Branwen? Will Bran and Matholwch agree on a policy of mutual aid should either the Kingdom of Erin or the Island of the Mighty be invaded? And if they do, will Branwen be happy and what exactly will be the Price of Peace.
info_outlineSecond half of our summary of the Irish Mythological Cycle
In this show, we finish off our summary of the Irish Mythological Cycle as we've met it so far in the first 29 story episodes. Not only is this show finishing off a whole branch of Celtic Mythology, but it also celebrates the Autumn Equinox for 2011, so we've made it a real cracker and split it into two halves. In the first half, you heard an epic poem, 4 great songs and we took a look at the Origins of the Manuscripts which these stories come from and highlight some of the the themes we've noticed in the stories.
We conclude our examination of the Irish Mythological Cycle in this Second Part of this show by looking at the main characters in the stories, finishing the epic saga of Greenwood the Bard's epic poem, and yes, another 5 great pieces of music!
We also introduce you to the newest member of the team, play another Pentacle Drummers track to let you know that the deadline for competition entries is the 20th Novembers
Full Show-notes, with all credits, can be found on our main Website at http://celticmythpodshow.com/irishsummary2
Running Order:
- Intro 0:44
- News & Views 1:08
- The Old Man & the Fairy Queen by The Bards of Mystic 2:07
- The Book of Invasions Pt.3 by Greenwood the Bard 13:26
- Elven Home of the Chapel Halls by David Helfand 23:10
- Main Characters in the Myth Cycle 28:16
- I'll Meet You in Ireland by Kray Van Kirk 39:18
- The Book of Invasions Pt.4 by Greenwood the Bard 43:07
- Rumblin' Thunder by The Pentacle Drummers 56:22
- Competition End-date 58:02
- Land of the Ever-Young by Damh the Bard 59:17
We hope you enjoy it!
Gary & Ruthie x x x
Released: 2nd Oct 2011, 1h 10m
It's always great to hear from you! Email [email protected], or leave us a message using Speakpipe
The Old Man & the Fairy Queen
by the Bards of Mystic
William Widmaier is the “Captain” of the Bards of Mystic. William is the founder and the driving force behind the Bards. He is also the writer of all the stories, and that's his voice you hear narrating.
Find out more about the Bards of Mystic on Myspace. More details will also be found on our Contributor page.
The Book of Invasions, Pts. 3 & 4
by Greenwood the Bard
Greenwood the Bard, aka Stephen Cole, has written much wonderful poetry and we're very privileged to bring you his "Book of Invasions" epic saga that re-tells the story of the Invasions of Erin.
"After a lifelong love of myth and magic, fairytale and folklore, and brought up in a family where faith and a Godly lifestyle were more important than religion, I was named as a Bard at a Gorsedd in Glastonbury. I am deeply in love with my Creator and His Creation, I have a passion for music, poetry and storytelling, and I live to build bridges between Christian and Pagan."
That is such a wonderful quest and so sad that any bridges need to be built. Good luck, Stephen!
Check out his Facebook page for more of his wonderful poetry, the poetry pages on paganspace.net and mysticchrist.co.uk where we're waiting for his posts to start appearing.
Elven Home of the Chapel Halls
by David Helfand
David Helfand composes and performs original and traditional music on Celtic Harp, mandocello, guitar, keyboards and percussion. Many of David's compositions were born through improvisation and drawn on the inspiration found in the power of music from many wondrous cultures.
"As I returned from my maiden voyage from the land of Britain full of awe, unspeakable joy and deep reservoirs of inspiration, slowly the music started to speak. From the high craggy cliffs where the ruins of Tintagel castle lay overlooking the dark waters off Cornwall's shore, to the ancient majestic ruins of Glastonbury Abbey and the dark mysteries of the Tower of London, the swirling maze of the city's streets and the magic of the standing stones on Salisbury Plain, I swam deep in the waters of imagination.
"Shortly after returning home and embarking on creating "At the Edge of the Cornish Sea", I soon shared with the world, dark grief and immense sadness as the two towers crumbled to the earth creating it's deep grave of shattered lives and dreams. What once seemed important became insignificant against the dark clouds of sorrow."
This wonderful track comes from his At the Edge of the Cornish Sea album. You can find out more details about David on his website or on his Contributor Page on our website.
by Kray Van Kirk
"I have a different approach now to writing and performing music. I no longer record CDs, as I want to reduce the waste headed to our landfills, and I don't charge money for my songs as a deliberate movement away from the bottom line that seems to govern so much of our daily lives. Every now and then someone asks me how I am ever supposed to make a living as a musician when I don't make CDs and I give my songs away, since most performers make more money on sales than concert fees. I confess: I have no idea! Footsteps in the dark.
"So I keep writing my songs, and I sing them when I play a show, and I give them away to anyone who wants them. My graduate work takes me to interesting places on rather short notice sometimes, and I try to plan concerts around that travel, although the short notice can make it difficult. But if I don't make it to where you live, or even if I do, the Downloads page on my website is full of little digital penguins waiting to march their way across the world, leaving no footprints in the snow."
About this track, I'll Meet You in Ireland, he says: "One of my favorite poems is Yeats' Song of Wandering Aengus. All of us get old, but inside there is a place that never changes. We may wake up in bodies long gone frail, but the person who looks out is golden-eyed, barefoot in the grass, heady with the light and smells of a Spring that is endless, and generally wondering what the hell happened."
Find our more about Kray on his website or check out his Contributor Page to find out a little more about him.
Competition (Chatterbox Show)
We then talk about the Competition about the Pentacle Drummers we set in the Chatterbox Show SP24 and set an ending date of the 20th October 2011 for competition entries.
Rumblin' Thunder
by the Pentacle Drummers
"The Pentacle Drummers from Eastbourne, East Sussex were a small group founded in 2001 to perform at the Lammas Festival to accompany the Eastbourne Giants, 'Herne the Hunter' and 'Andred', Saxon Goddess of the Weald. We have since grown from a small group to a troupe in excess of twenty. The Pentacle Drummers actively support Eastbourne Bonfire Society at bonfires throughout Sussex but are happy to appear on our own or in support of other Bonfire Societies when invited!"
You can hear the thundering track Rumblin' Thunder, which is from their album Life in Tatters! You can find out more about The Drummers on their website at The Pentacle Drummers or on their Contributor Page.
Land of the Ever-Young
by Damh the Bard
We can do no better than finish the show with Damh singing us out with his song about the realm of the Celtic Gods, the Land of the Ever-Young, Tir na nOg, from his superb album The Hills They Are Hollow.
You can find out more about Damh on his website at You can find out more about Damh on his website at Pagan Music or on our Contributor Page. You can find out more about the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids that he represents on their website at druidry.org.
Get EXTRA content in the Celtic Myth Podshow App for iOS, Android & Windows
Contact Us: You can leave us a message by using the Speakpipe
Email us at: [email protected].
Facebook fan-page http://www.facebook.com/CelticMythPodshow,
Twitter (@CelticMythShow) or Snapchat (@garyandruth),
Pinterest (celticmythshow) or Instagram (celticmythshow)
Help Spread the Word:
Please also consider leaving us a rating, a review and subscribing in iTunes or 'Liking' our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/CelticMythPodshow as it helps let people discover our show - thank you :)
If you've enjoyed the show, would you mind sharing it on Twitter please? Click here to post a tweet!
Ways to subscribe to the Celtic Myth Podshow:
- Click here to subscribe via iTunes
- Click here to subscribe via RSS
- Click here to subscribe via Stitcher
Special Thanks
Kevin Skinner for From the Time Before, Shaman's Night and At The Gates of Dinas Afferon from his album Fire Walk With Me. See his website for further details of check out his Contributor Page.
John Burge for his entrancing Celtic rhythms from his Echoes album. See his Contributor Page for more details.
Diane Arkenstone The Secret Garden. See her Contributor page for details.
Kim Robertson The Hangman's Noose. See her Contributor page for details.
Jigger Time Ticks Away. See her Contributor page for details.
For our Theme Music:
The Skylark and Haghole, the brilliant Culann's Hounds. See their Contributor page for details.
Extra Special Thanks for Unrestricted Access to Wonderful Music
(in Alphabetic order)
Anne Roos Extra Special thanks go for permission to use any of her masterful music to Anne Roos. You can find out more about Anne on her website or on her Contributor page.
Caera Extra Special thanks go for permission to any of her evocative harping and Gaelic singing to Caera. You can find out more about Caera on her website or on her Contributor Page.
Celia Extra Special Thanks go for permission to use any of her wonderful music to Celia Farran. You can find out more about Celia on her website or on her Contributor Page.
Damh the Bard Extra Special thanks go to Damh the Bard for his permission to use any of his music on the Show. You can find out more about Damh (Dave) on his website or on his Contributor page.
The Dolmen Extra Special thanks also go to The Dolmen, for their permission to use any of their fantastic Celtic Folk/Rock music on the Show. You can find out more about The Dolmen on their website or on our Contributor page.
Keltoria Extra Special thanks go for permission to use any of their inspired music to Keltoria. You can find out more about Keltoria on their website or on their Contributor page.
Kevin Skinner Extra Special thanks go for permission to use any of his superb music to Kevin Skinner. You can find out more about Kevin on his website or on his Contributor page.
Phil Thornton Extra Special Thanks go for permission to use any of his astounding ambient music to the Sonic Sorcerer himself, Phil Thornton. You can find out more about Phil on his website or on his Contributor Page.
S.J. Tucker Extra Special thanks go to Sooj for her permission to use any of her superb music. You can find out more about Sooj on her website or on her Contributor page.
Spiral Dance Extra Special thanks go for permission to use Adrienne and the band to use any of their music in the show. You can find out more about Spiral Dance on their website or on their Contributor page.
We'd like to wish you 'Hwyl fawr!', which is Welsh for Goodbye and have fun, or more literally Wishing a Good Mood on you!