A History of the Supernatural in Ireland
Irish History Podcast
Fin Dwyer
4.7 • 1.8K Ratings
🗓️ 25 October 2023
⏱️ 28 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
As we prepare to celebrate Halloween, this episode is a timely exploration of the history of the supernatural in Ireland.
Ghosts have long played an important role in Irish history and culture. In this podcast I am joined by Dr Clodagh Tait, a historian of the supernatural. Our conversation focuses on a specific type of ghost referred to as a crisis apparition. These usually appeared far from home, often informing an emigrant about an imminent death in their family. We discuss where these stories and beliefs came from, why they were shared and how they have survived into the 21st century!
You can read Clodagh's article mentioned in the show here https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14780038.2023.2258606
Voice Actor Therese Murray also narrates a traditional Irish ghost story which took pace in Philadelphia in the late 19th century. This was taken from the book True Irish Ghost Stories by St. John Seymour which is available here https://archive.org/details/trueirishghostst14099gut
Sound by Kate Dunlea
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Halloween is often considered a celebration of the supernatural, however the increasingly |
| 0:08.6 | commercialized festivities are far removed from the important role ghosts played in daily |
| 0:15.0 | life in the past. |
| 0:17.2 | In this podcast which explores the history of the supernatural in Ireland, I'm joined |
| 0:22.2 | by Dr. Claude Tate, a historian in Mary-A-Machina College-Limric who's an expert on the history |
| 0:27.9 | of the supernatural. |
| 0:29.7 | Our fascinating conversation focuses on what are called crisis apparitions. |
| 0:34.5 | In laymen's terms, these are ghosts whose appearance usually hurled at an imminent death. |
| 0:40.4 | We also explore the Irish supernatural more generally, asking why ghost stories exist |
| 0:46.8 | alongside the role and place in our history. |
| 0:50.7 | The episode also includes a reading from an Irish ghost story that took place in Philadelphia. |
| 1:00.7 | Hello and welcome to the Irish history podcast. |
| 1:04.6 | My name is Finn DeWire. |
| 1:07.4 | The topic of today's show, a history of the supernatural in Ireland, is not something |
| 1:11.7 | I would have given much consideration or thought to, until I read a recent article by my |
| 1:16.4 | guest, Dr. Claude Tate, which detailed the intriguing role ghosts played in Irish society, |
| 1:23.5 | until relatively recent times. |
| 1:26.0 | This article where Claude elaborates on a lot of the ideas we discuss in this show, is |
| 1:31.1 | linked below so you can check that out after the episode. |
| 1:34.9 | Later in this podcast, I also have a reading from a voice actor, Thres Murray, of an |
| 1:39.6 | early 20th century account of a ghost that's worth waiting for alone. |
| 1:44.6 | Before we dive into what is a fascinating conversation, don't forget you can get your |
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