Magan interestingly weaves Irish mythology, local stories, personal experience, archaeology, geography and more together in a delightful narrative about our spiritual and cultural history.

Listen to the Land Speak: History and mythology meet in a Listen to the Land Speak: History and mythology meet in a

Only criticism is that it can be a bit much at times, and without some basic prior knowledge of certain mythological aspects/places it can make you lost. Sadly Magan, much moreso than in the previous book, far too often turns his attention away from deepening our understanding of Ireland's past and its traditions and towards making barbed polemical remarks. Over and over again he repeats strange laments for the loss of Pagan rituals in favour of Christianity (despite admitting, albeit hesitantly and begrudgingly, how plainly violent, unpleasant and superstitious many of them were). It's one thing to be saddened by the widespread ignorance of Ireland's pre-Christian history and folklore, and another thing to raise them up as the only valid element of Irish culture, and everything else as a foreign-born 'oppression' of some kind or another. Magan runs through the usual recycled finger-pointing at the British for everything wrong with Ireland and the Irish psyche today, and makes the usual errors of referring to pre-20th Century Ireland as 'colonised' and 'occupied,' neither of which is accurate no matter how badly brutalised the population was, nor how many of their old traditions lost. Having done this, he can then lazily borrow the tropes of 'postcolonial' literature and apply them clumsily to modern Ireland, no matter how much of a stretch this becomes. Every criticism rightly directed against successive Irish governments concerning the preservation of the nation's heritage is instead chalked up to the 'legacy of oppression,' whether religious, political, or cultural, and the inevitable effect that has on the blameless autonoma who are left behind once the evil colonial masters have left. This analysis is selectively applied, completely ignoring how Catholicism, supposedly the original 'oppressor,' was itself suppressed by the English for centuries. Magan fails to say anything original in this regard beyond slapping postmodernist and feminist ideas on the ancient past, as if our distant ancestors were just modern people with simpler technology and strange clothes. Pléann leabhar Mhanchán le aibhneacha, bailte, logainmeacha agus an cheangail atá idir béaloideas agus miotaseolaíocht na tíre seo. Manchán Magan is a writer and documentary-maker. He has written books in Irish and English on his travels in Africa, India and South America. His most recent books are Thirty-Two Words for Field, which explores the insights the Irish language offers into the landscape, psyche and heritage of Ireland; and Tree Dogs, Banshee Fingers and Other Irish Words for Nature, an illustrated book that delves into Irish words for nature. He writes occasionally for the Irish Times and presents The Almanac of Ireland podcast about the heritage and culture of Ireland for RTÉ Radio 1. He has presented scores of television documentaries on history and culture. Much of Manchán Magan’s work is concerned with loss and the retention of precious remnants. In his Tamagotchi projects, Magan sought to preserve Irish words slipping from the lexicon. In 32 Words for Field (2020), which began as a cult hit, becoming one of the most talked-about Irish books in recent times, the focus was on the wealth of beauty within the Irish language and how it connects us to place, spirituality, nature and each other.Bestselling writer and documentary-maker Manchán Magan presents a lecture entitled “ Listen to the Land Speak: Lost Wisdom of the Land and Language of Ireland,” based on his recently published book of the same title. Inspired by language, landscape and mythology, Magan explores the insight and hidden wisdom native Irish culture offers to the people of Ireland and the world. Introduced by Visiting Leonard L. Milberg ’53 Professor in Irish Letters and Chair of the Fund for Irish Studies Fintan O’Toole. Photo courtesy Manchán Magan Speaking about why rivers and important places were often feminine nouns despite surviving in a patriarchal society, Manchán suggests that when he scratched the surface of Irish myths and legends that he found women were often in a place of power. Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto my words, nor to my law, but rejected it. In this illuminating new book, Manchán Magan sets out on a journey, through bogs, across rivers and over mountains, to trace these ancestor's footsteps. He uncovers the ancient myths that have shaped Ireland's national identity and are embedded in the strata of land that have endured through millennia – from ice ages through to famines and floods. Irish Myths and Legends by Lady Augusta Gregory was first published in 1904 (then titled Gods and Fighting Men). It’s been re-released this year by New Island in a stunning new edition, truly a book which should be owned by every Irish household. Gregory was a founder of the Irish Literary Revival, as she turned from her Anglo-Irish roots towards Irish language and culture, and nationalism. This volume of Irish myths and legends – from the Fir Bolg to the Tuatha de Danann to Fionn and Diarmuid and Oisín – is an essential, energetic retelling of our foundation myths.

Listen to the Land Speak” with Manchán Magan “Listen to the Land Speak” with Manchán Magan

PDF / EPUB File Name: Listen_to_the_Land_Speak_-_Manchan_Magan.pdf, Listen_to_the_Land_Speak_-_Manchan_Magan.epub Author and presenter, Manchán Magan spoke to Ryan Tubridy about his new book, Listen to the Land Speak. In Listen to the Land Speak, he offers a fractal version of Ireland, where myth overlaps with history, the fantastical with the practical, the superstitious with the scientific. “Just as a fractal can be limited to a finite area and yet is infinitely magnifiable,” he writes, “so too is Ireland host to an infinity of wisdom and wonder.” Writer and broadcaster Manchán Magan, joined Kieran to discuss his new book, ‘Listen to the Land Speak’, a book that sets out to trace our ancestors, uncovering myths that have defined the Irish identity...Solid book looking at the relationship between cultural traditions, people, and the land to which we’re connected. Machán does a great job of putting in his own personal experiences and linking it to a greater discussion of how we relate to the natural world and each other. In this illuminating new book, Manchán Magan sets out on a journey, through bogs, across rivers and over mountains, to trace these ancestor’s footsteps. He uncovers the ancient myths that have shaped our national identity and are embedded in the strata of land that have endured through millennia – from ice ages through to famines and floods. I first heard Manchán Magan speak on the Blindboy podcast and found the way he spoke about the land and mythology so interesting. I then went on to listen to his own podcast The almanac of Ireland and also really enjoyed that.

Listen to the Land Speak by Manchán Magan | Waterstones Listen to the Land Speak by Manchán Magan | Waterstones

I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed. In this illuminating new book, Manchan Magan sets out on a journey, through bogs, across rivers and over mountains, to trace these ancestor's footsteps. He uncovers the ancient myths that have shaped our national identity and are embedded in the strata of land that have endured through millennia - from ice ages through to famines and floods. His latest book, Listen to the Land Speak, Manchán Magan takes a look at the Irish landscape and what it can tell us about who we are and were as a people. He says his childhood, some of which he spent in the West Kerry Gaeltacht, allowed him to meet with those who lived on the islands and witness their connection not only with the land but with the mythic elements of our culture. It's a very good book with some upsetting topics ranging from ancient celtic mythology about rape and slaughter, Christian conversion and abuse of pagan beliefs, destructions of bog lands and the environment, to oppression by the English, to famine and the killing of unbaptised children.I thoroughly enjoyed Thirty-Two Words for Field, which is a fascinating glimpse into the ancient knowledge and forgotten connotations of a language intimately tied up with folklore, mythology, and pre-history. My biggest complaint about that book is that it is woefully short and touched only fleetingly on so many facts and topics that I hoped would be explored in more detail in Listen to the Land Speak. In this book, Magan appears to set out on a related exercise, which is to tie elements of the Irish landscape, rather than the Irish language, to ancient mythology, religion, custom, and life. This had the potential to be just as if not even more interesting than his first book, but unfortunately it falls flat. Having been brought up in Dublin, with long periods spent in the West Kerry Gaeltacht of Corca Dhuibhne, Manchán now lives near Lough Lene, Co. Westmeath, surrounded by oak trees. Get directions and find venue information for the James Stewart Film Theater at 185 Nassau Street. COVID-19 Guidance + Updates Our ancestors developed a uniquely nature-focused society, centred on esteemed poets, seers, monks, healers and wise women who were immersed in the land. They used this deep connection to the cycles of the natural world – from which we are increasingly dissociated – as an animating force in their lives. A very beautiful book telling stories of the history of Ireland’s mythology and pre-Christian religious/spiritual tradition. Immediately connecting the reader with this history and the land from which the stories came.