Speaker 1: You're listening to the Paranormal UK Radio Network, the best
in paranormal talk radio in the UK and around the world.
Scary Era Era is the Irish or Gaelic word for Ireland.
Paranormal means all the things that are impossible to explain
by no natural forces or by science, and Ireland is
steep and lower, ghosts, blood, sweat, tears, sacrifice, hunger, desperation
and charm. Oh and the paranormal. Welcome to Scary Era,
Mark Manning.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, a couple of things over the years. But
I've learned, well I don't. I suppose it's not learned.
I've just become accustomed to it. And I think it's
kind of it's it's it's maybe it's another sense or something.
But often when you go into places, you will get
a feeling for the place, and you'll get a feeling
of whether or not it's comfortable. And whatever cause is that,
who knows what causes that. But we have an intuition.
We have an inbuilt intuition. I can't describe what it
is or where it comes from, or the physics of
it or the chemistry of it, but it's there and
anybody will will tell you to stick with your intuition.
If you think something doesn't feel right, then don't hang around.
Speaker 3: Superb advice from regular contributor to Scary Era, David McGlynn
aka The Squire, and don't hang around either.
Speaker 1: If you've got an Irish.
Speaker 3: Paranormal tale to tell, simply email Paranormal Ireland at Proton
Male dot com and it'll be read out for you,
or you get to teletone air yourself. That's Paranormal Ireland
at Proton Male dot com. Oh yes, the Squire recently
took a very well deserved vacation down Sicily Way. I
believe him and the lovely on you David show's not
saying it out. You've gotta have your on again real soon. Well, folks,
what have you been up to since I've been away?
I've got a great guest lined up for you today.
We're going to be talking to him imminently. First off, though,
I really need your interaction. If the show is having
any resonance with you in your paranormal life, please get
in touch all as you've gotta do, and it doesn't
have to be an Irish story, all right.
Speaker 1: I welcome international interludes, all as you've gotta do is email.
Now listen to me. Here's the email address, Paranormal Ireland
at ProtonMail dot com. That's all you gotta do, and
I'll get you on the show or read out your
contribution whatever it is. So yeah, where have I been?
Speaker 4: Well?
Speaker 1: I had a very interesting thing happened to me last week.
I attended a reunion of people I sed to work
with and I probably hadn't most of them in about
thirty four years. My former colleagues in rank Xerox, Yeah,
Xerox Corporation. You probably know it as everywhere else. It
was ranked Xerox back in my day. And they were
great guys. I mean I was involved in sales there.
We all got together. I don't know, it might have
been about eight or nine of us. Do you know
what's amazing? Though, You get to a certain age and
you try and share your past experience, as with say
your children, and you can see their eyes glaze over,
as does anybody you try and share the past with.
But when you're in the environs sharing stories with your
former colleagues, it's amazing. It's like those thirty five years
didn't exist. We all just caught up and it's amazing
you can talk shop without being embarrassed about it, even
though it's irrelevant now at this point. But you can
laugh and share the happy memories as well. And that's
what life is really about. Having a nice dinner, a
few glasses of wine, beer or two afterwards, but having
the laugh and the old chin wag with people that
where and still are important to you in your life.
You had fun with people you worked with and I
don't get out enough. I'm always saying it. So it
really was a revelation to be able to just wipe
away the years like that and have a great time
as well. My thanks as always to Paranormal UK Radio
for hosting this show and putting it on multi platforms. Remember,
like and subscribe. That's the only way I can grow
this thing. Like and subscribe, whatever the platform you are
now listening on. Well, today's guest we're going to get
on the phone shortly. He's a fountain of knowledge of
all things Celtic and mythology and Irish censed in historic.
Very fine actor as well, I'll tell you what. Let's
just get on the blower to him, he looks like
a young Sean Penn. He's a filmmaker. Are you a
digital filmmaker? Hold that thought. He's got a great name,
which is like a film star name. Anyway, his second
name and his name is Bertie Brosnan. Bertie, How are
you welcome to Scary Era?
Speaker 4: Thanks? Mark, It's lovely to be here.
Speaker 1: So how would Bertie Brosnan describe himself on what's he
doing on Scary Era? Besides me inviting him?
Speaker 4: At the moment, I'm doing lots of social media content
all around Irish history, mythology and folklore. But my background
is enacting and filmmaking and writing. And I also have
a book out at the moment, Forgotten Prints, based on
the Battle of Cantaft byan brewis Son and Brodier. So
there is a lot of supernatural elements going on in
that novella. So I'm pretty sure Mark was attracted to
what I'm doing online, So that's why I'm here.
Speaker 1: We'll certainly go back to that book because it sounds interesting.
It's a novella, So what's that as short?
Speaker 4: Ist?
Speaker 1: Shit? What's a normal? A normal one is about one
hundred and twenty thousand words.
Speaker 4: Yeah, it's a short I tell you. The kind of
brief kind of background to it. It was meant to
be a short film. I actually had a film production
going with Timothy V. Murphy to play Brian Brew. My
dream was to bring Brian to the big screen and
start with the short. We had money in place, et cetera.
It's a long story, but in the end it kind
of fell through. So that's where the novella was born.
Because it's basically a novella, We're at work commissioned map
and it has the short screenplay at the back as well,
So it's a very kind of unique book in its
premium color print, so it's not like a normal short novel.
It's actually got a lot more packed into it as well.
Speaker 1: Where can people get it?
Speaker 4: They can there are all the links are actually on
my website, So if you go to ww dot Bertie
brosnanfilms dot com, there's a shop on there and it's
got all the links for all the different places you
can get it from paperback obviously Amazon, places like that, Lulu,
there's a few other options. Ten there's the ebook. You
can get it pretty much everywhere Amazon, Bands and Nobles.
There's plenty v book options on there as well.
Speaker 1: Fantastic So what comes first with Bertie Brosdon. Is it
the history the sense of Ireland, or is it the
or is the filmmaking it, or is the filmmaking just
a conduit for the interest in history.
Speaker 4: Well, the history mythology folklore aspect of me obviously came
first from my childhood and also kind of the supernatural elements.
I've always been interested in that as well. Growing up,
I just always never wanted to see a ghost, but
was always fascinated with the stories along ghosts and you know,
then the whole growing up on the west coast of
Kerry Dinger Peninsula and born in Free but we spent
all our summers in the Dinger Printva. So I was
surrounded by kind of myth and legends and you know,
folkkales and stuff. You know, in my own family, there's
a bunch of poets, there's a bunch of you know,
storytellers and things like that. So I kind of grew
up with that. But then later on I kind of
got obsessed with movies and I started kind of pursuing
a career in indie filmmaking and acting and stuff. But
that kind of over the years, kind of the realization
of how difficult it is and how much of a
lattery is at times, but I developed a bunch of
skills from that pursuit. So then it's kind of all
kind of amalgamated into this social media thing that I've
been doing for quite a quite a number of years,
and it's kind of taken off for me and I
just felt it. I mean, the whole thing just started
with me telling stories like the one from Scotia's Glenn
and Trolle, the daughter of the pharaoh that was killed
in the glen there. I just started telling stories like
that and they all just went viral and I kind
of haven't stopped since then.
Speaker 1: Do you know, I'm thinking you must be related to
Pierce Brasman because although he was from me, his father
I believe was a carry man.
Speaker 4: Well there is that's it's a bit of an urban legend,
but you're not far wrongs. He definitely was based intraally
for a very long time. The father, the father what
wasn't an actual tree man, but he was pretty much
a tree man because he was there for so long.
He was actually living in casements Avenue or across the road.
Someone was saying it was actually across the road, but
that's where a lot of my family would have lived
as well. But he fact, he thought it was actually
a mead Man. I'm pretty sure he was a meadman.
They didn't see a tur for a very long time,
and actually they had the reunion in Kerry, believe it
or not.
Speaker 1: Well, I thought they had it in a hotel in Dublin.
Speaker 4: Or maybe they did, but I'm not one hundred percent
sure because there's so many different variations to the story.
You could be right, Mac, but that's what I heard.
But maybe they went for a trip down there or
something like that.
Speaker 1: That well, you know, yeah, I think ye attend the lineage,
what with the acting and all.
Speaker 4: And anyway, we're all kinsmen anyway, you know, the way
I look at it, the Brazening Plan since you know,
really getting in researching history and stuff like that, it's
something that's lasted Irish people. We're clansmen like we're klans
clans people, kinsmen and kinswomen like you know, we're all
from the same branch. Like if I'm a Brasman, he's
a Brasman. There's not many Brazlans around actually, in fact,
but we're a very old plan. So we're probably not
that far away from mature, you know, in terms of
you know, you know, the family tree, like you know,
it's not it's not that, you know, we're definitely not
third or four puzzons, but you know, you never know,
maybe six or seventh, you know, Well.
Speaker 1: You might try reaching out to him. He's on Instagram
as well, by the way, and.
Speaker 4: He's a bit of a legend himself, brilliant. Whenever he's
asked a question about Ireland's his accent it rises. It's
amazing to watch, you know, do.
Speaker 1: You know in his latest movie And we'll get back
in kilter in a minute, folks, don't worry. But in
his latest movie, I heard him interviewed about it and
he's he's playing an Irish character and the director said, Irish,
it up, Irish, Irish, give me more, you know, and yeah,
he certainly went, I know, the perfect Irish accent is
a Kerry accent. Because he said it was so varied.
He said, it can have a threat to it, it
can have a lyrical lilt to it. Yeah, and that's
what he did. He did a Kerry accent for his
latest movie.
Speaker 4: It's interesting you say that because in the interview I'm
relating to I put up one of the jows that
I interviewed. You can hear his accents is quite kerry.
It's quite strong, probably carrying it over a little bit
since then, you know, since his.
Speaker 1: Performance listen coming left the field. You're probably too young
for this. Do you remember a song by a band
called The Orb and the song was called Little Fluffy Clouds?
Speaker 4: It rings it bell? But I don't remember too.
Speaker 1: It's a loaded question. I'll tell you why, because the
opening to it is quite unorthodox. It's a guy interviewing.
I can't remember her name. She was an American country singer. Actually,
I think she sued the Orb afterwards for using our vote.
I can't I don't quote me on that. But the
opening question was what were the skies like where you
grew up?
Speaker 3: What were the skies like when you were young?
Speaker 4: They went on forever when we lived in Arizona, and
the skies always had little fluffy.
Speaker 1: Clouds in You mean, I believe the skies around where
you grew grew up are pretty spectacular. Is that correct?
Speaker 4: That's an interesting one because where I spent a lot
of time growing up was by the photo Mount Brandon
which is the second highest peak in Ireland. And I
always noted that actually the mountain was very ominous on
the side we were because it was very steep, and
actually the sky around it was always very dark, like
with clouds and stuff like that. But you might have
you might actually have a nice day around you, but
for some reason bind the mountain always had these dark
clouds around us. So I think that was kind of
I don't know why that stuck with me, but there
is something kind of poetic about that, you know, because
that area itself was noted and kind of studied by
by a bunch of people that have seen, say there's
a lot of mental illness and things like that, but
then there was there was a lot of unbelievable artists
living in the area as well, and of course Saint
Brendan would have sailed out from there as well on
the other side of them. So it's a very interesting place.
It's one of the most beautiful places in the world.
But it can also be a very dark place for
people because it's so remote, you know. So it's an
interesting kind of thing, you know that I have more.
Speaker 1: Anybody emails me, by the way. I think the lady
in question who was interviewed was Ricky Lee Jones. Now
I was listening to you. Can we just bring it
out a little bit further, What were the skies like
at night around Kerry?
Speaker 4: And quite credible, very intuitive questioning, I have to say,
because it definitely it brings up a lot for me.
Oh I've had I'll say this, and I don't mind
saying this because I've said this on I'm Short and
things that before that. I've had spiritual experiences looking at
the night sky in Kerry, like because it's a carry
in carry the dark sky reserves, and you know that
means basically less very very little light pollution from from
villages and towns and things like that, and actually night
sky in the summer. I've experienced that a number of
occasions where you literally just see the cosmost like you
know pretty much, you know, and it's just incredible and
it's hard to not it's hard not to believe in
something after seeing those skies, you know, And that's always
happened in Kerry. Never anywhere else do.
Speaker 1: You just lie down on the grass or something and
look up.
Speaker 4: Yeah, we did that, I think with an ex girlfriend
of mine. We did that on the beach.
Speaker 1: I would not have been looking at the stars, but
on well so we we it.
Speaker 4: Was the summer's night and we were down there and
well I have another girlfriend concern, right, we were not.
But anyway to make to make a long story short,
it was just no, there was there was a beach.
I can't where exactly was this.
Speaker 1: No, this was.
Speaker 4: Just beyond Waterville, kind of close enough to Waterville. There's
a beach there. There no cattle on the beach. And
you know, just I mean there were shooting there were
so many shooting stars and stars moving the class. I
don't know much about the about astronomy like, but it
just felt very strange because there was so many moving
stars like and they weren't playing because I know the
planes are planes are a lot different there there's a
flashing lights and things like that. But this was it
was just I can't describe it like it's it's it's
something that you have to experience, like, you know, you get.
Speaker 1: A good look at the Milky Way.
Speaker 4: I did, and I kind of remember I did. And
the ones that I remember is the plow. Oh, I
always remember the plow that that's the one that was
taught to me. First, and I think I always look
for that, and then there's there's there's a b. I
guess this for me, this was the old religion, like
you know, this was the night sky, was the mass,
like it was the mass of the ancients. You know,
That's how they that's how they kind of predicted things.
That's how they they designed their their days. There there
the years around around them, the movement of the stars,
around the movement of the sun, the moon, and you
know this that's that's another thing I think as well.
It's happening. You're getting in touch with the ancient part
of your of yourself, your DNA, you know, and how
the people used to think, because nowadays we're so caught off,
we're electrified, out of out of the supernatural, like you know,
you know, the power we've harnessed the powers of the
world to kind of create this cocoon. Like. But yet,
when you're in these scenarios where you're looking at the
night sky and you're away from all that nonsense, like
you know, even though it is perfect to have these things,
but like I mean, when you're away from the nansense
of it all, the kind of the facad of it all,
you're kind of in touch with something like automatically. I
think even if you're a complete devout atheist, you surely
have a tinge of something there, like you.
Speaker 1: Know, yes and thinking as well of and just hold it.
It's not hippie tippy Fungi. Fungi the dolphin.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 1: Did you ever see him?
Speaker 4: I did when I was when I was when I
was young, and it was very sad to hear when
he when he passed or when he disappeared and stuff.
He was very much a friend of friend of carrying.
I remember one time. I remember one time as Ready
had a friend for a summer or two. This friend
was male and I and it was around besides yeah, yeah,
and it was kind of around the time when things
were changing in Irelands around that. I just thought that
was very funny, like but like it was kind of
you know, there's still other dolphins and whales and things
like that now, not not not like Fungi, but in
that day or just beyond the bay you have the
wild dolphins and stuff. But he was the most unique.
He was interesting. He was believable.
Speaker 1: For those of you who don't know when are listening
outside of Ireland, Funk the dolphin was as its name
to Jest one of our watery friends. But he came
to Dingle in he became synonymous with Dingle and Kerry years.
Speaker 4: Isn't even a statue of him there now?
Speaker 1: Yeah, really, year in year out there until he passed
or disappeared or something.
Speaker 4: Did he or he probably passed, but he'd hardly I
would say it's unlikely that he just went. But maybe
he did, or maybe he did to die. You just
don't know. But he definitely, but he was there. Was
he there forty years? He must have been well, he
was there a couple of decades anyway, for sure, we
need to I remember see him when I was a kid,
Like I'm running forty so I mean I saw him
definitely when I was an only six or seven.
Speaker 1: Life begins at forty so here, grant you've got loads
of yeah does though I'm kind of thinking, God, you know,
I have to be honest with you. Turned well, I'll
be sixty two if the Lord's spare me in a
few months time. And let's just say, I'm I'm thinking
about stuff I never thought about before. How about that?
You know?
Speaker 4: I tell you, you know, I know people turning thirty
that have just turned thirty, and I remember turning thirty
and it was horrible turning thirty, but turning forty feel
for me that was me.
Speaker 1: Listen, what I want to do is just hit the
pause button there because you said something interesting a while ago.
You said you were on record about speaking about spiritual experiences.
How many spiritual experiences would you say you've had in
your life thirty?
Speaker 4: Are you just talking about like so, are we kind
of leaning towards paranormal stuff now.
Speaker 1: Or you know, things that make it go mmmm right?
Speaker 4: You know where I mean? Those Those are definitely the
top in terms of like knowing that there's something going
on and actually a lot of it as well that
we in terms of religion, you know, even though I
am kind of religious at times, you know, I kind
of leaned towards my religion as well, my faith, but
there is thing bigger than the kind of man made
kind of logic of it all, you know. But anyway,
but in terms of actual experiences, let's say, potentially with
supernatural events and stuff, many there was many experiences that
happened over the years in a particular house in hand.
I've talked about this quite a number of times where
I didn't see things, but I definitely experienced weird scenarios
with my brother and also with my uncle in this
particular house that was probably haunted.
Speaker 1: And was it an old house, Yeah, it was.
Speaker 4: And it was in the same kind of area that
I've been talking about. So nearly everything spiritual happened to
me within these areas. And actually I've heard a lot
of other stories well, but I won't go into them
because it's all in different places. But anyway, in this
particular house, to make long story short, this the thing
that freaked me out the most about it was that
there was always this talk about an old Diarrati man
that used to own the house and he used to
be one of the old bailiffs or something to that effect. Okay,
so over the years the kind of story kind of changed,
but it was something to that effect that there was
an old Diarrae man that used to hold the house
and this was like the old old diarraye. Now one
of the ones of you know, traditional time or sorry
in modern times, traditional Irat and my uncle had this
experience during the day. Now, this was after me hearing
things go bump at the night, people walk up and
down the stairs when there was no one there. My
father was out working. I'm sure simpler times then we
were left there, like you know, he was out working
and there it was. It was simpler times, you know.
So it was my father's job because he was a
fishery bailiff in this particular village and we lived there
during the summertime, so we were we were in we
were in ownership of the house while he was working there,
like you know what I mean. So it was our house.
So and there was like literally footsteps in the stairs
when there was no one there. We used to have
the music on loud because you were terrified. My mother
was absolutely gobsmack. But she heard all of this lay
years later, like like what you know, we've had all
these experiences. But anyway, it all kind of culimated in
this experience my uncle had during the day when he
was on the toilet going for number two without sounding
to vulgar upstairs. And I remember it lunchtime.
Speaker 1: One account anyway for something to.
Speaker 4: There was not there was nothing he could do, let's
just say that. So anyway, but I remember everything because
they were down and they kind of there was this
part part of it was like the kind of a garage.
But we used to sell bait. We used to sell
the permits for the river and things like that, right
because we were just kids making a little bit of money.
Blah blah blah. And anyway, he came down the stairs
as white as the ghost, true story. And he came
into me, he goes, and he was very kind of angry.
He was an Englishman, right, so like my mother was
born in England. They were Irish parents emigrated, and so
he was. They were like, we used to say plastic pat.
Apparently that's a terrible thing to say, you know. But anyway,
he came in. He London. Actually, he was like, what
did you just come up and say something to me? Bertie?
And I said no, I've been here the whole time
and there was no one else there, like, and he
was like, no, I'm being really fucking serious. Now did
you come up and say something? And I goes, no,
I didn't. He goes, I've just heard something say something
to me in the bathroom. And I goes back to
Jay and he said get up. He did that voice?
Speaker 1: How original?
Speaker 4: And I was just like, I was just like, are
you kidding me? And he was as serious as anything
I've ever seen. It scared the life out of me
because he was not making it up. And I was
saying to myself because I heard all of this kind
of in hindsight, it was kind of put together this
whole story. Of course, he's been told to get out,
did the old Ira man. He was the guy that
owned the house.
Speaker 1: And maybe Britt stepping on his toilet.
Speaker 2: And.
Speaker 4: There was one other thing very quickly that kind of
cou Yeah, there was one other thing. There was a
This is why I believe I believe there was something
going on in the house, right, because he never really
the thing never really appeared to us. It was always
to outsiders. There was a Dublin doctor and this was
a kind of a well to do guy. What we
used to do was rent the house the rest of
the house out as well, so people would stay each summer,
different people and things, so we ud get to know
him and everything. We'd have lunch with them, and it
was kind of a big enough place and this Dublin
doctor were sitting down having lunch again. It kind of
a lunchtime thing like, and I was, you know, it
seemed to be always at lunchtime. These scary stories happened.
He turned around to my father. I couldn't believe and
I still to this day cannot believe the conversation that
was said. He goes Bertie turned down very post Dublin guy.
You know, he goes to my father and my father's party.
So he goes the most peculiar thing happened to me
last night, And he's like maybe. I was like, what
what he goes just woke up in the middle of
the night and there was something in the room and
it was like a man who was standing in the
corner of the room. And I'm just looking and I
remember what I was eating. I was eating John West
crab or something out of a tint.
Speaker 1: John West enjured the worst to bring you the best.
Speaker 4: Everything was it lacked in my mind. I can see
the whole area, and because I was only a kid,
like her mind. And he's like and then I just
kind of just blinked and it was gone, and I
was just like. My father just laughed at off, but
I was saying, of course that's the man. That's the
same guy, that's the same guy, that's my uncle. To
get out, like, you know, it never happened to us
you know, but it always happened to other people. So
for me, what we experienced was to kind of walk
into the footsteps up and down because there was one
of those staircases where if you walked up at the
whole house kind of heard like you know, and things
like that and just weird. So yeah, that that helps
is definitely. That was definitely the biggest kind of supernatural
thing that's ever happened to make for sure, there's no
doubt about that.
Speaker 1: What was the land like around that house?
Speaker 4: It was basically on a river, so it was literally
two doors down from a river. It was a bog
land kind of marshy land, you know, basically river land
and mountainous kind of you know. The Branda Mountain was
just about two kilometers away. The sea was right out
in front, so basically the Brandon Bay sea would come in.
It was like a big, big kind of tidal plane,
so that the tiple go right out it be kind
of completely dry, and next thing, the tile come right in,
like you know what I mean. So it was it
was a fairly unique place.
Speaker 1: Like yeah, because I used to live in a place
and I have I still do, but I used to
have really bad dreams, and later on I discovered there
was an underground river right nearby, and I think can
affect what. I don't know, whether it's tides and not
so much tides with rivers, but still just water in
general and elements like that. Did anything else happened to
you that that sticks in your mind? Paranormal supernatural?
Speaker 4: Wise, let me think they're now, So I think they're
they're that's the biggest thing. I mean, there was one.
I could tell you one story about my father and
Bally cd Castle, please do if that was any interest.
Speaker 1: He he he.
Speaker 4: Bally City Castle is the castle just into the tree,
the tree town lands sort of the beautiful wood there
and we used to kind of be there, you know
literally as kids, like playing and everything, like we grow
and dawn and come back at sunlight as sunset that
kind of thing. But anyway, the castle is a very
old castle now it's very much done up in recent years.
And if you go into the barger and actually ask
the people there, they will tell you the ghost stories,
like you know, that's a part of the lower of
the castle. You know, they don't write it. And so
my father used to do security. We've kind of been
involved in security of the idea, a bit of security
as a job as well, just to pay the bills.
My father had a big, huge security business at one point,
and Kerry and he but he started out of the
night and night stared the man with a dog because
he was a dog man, like you know, the Alsatian dog.
So they used to have him there at night time
to go into the basement, you know, just to protect
the lands, et cetera. And he went in with the
dog into the basement, which is kind of the dungeon area.
And now there's rooms down there. Wouldn't fancy staying in
those rooms, to be honest. But anyway, he went down
there one night and he I don't know if he
had a flashlight on him. I can't remember that part
of the story, but I'll presume he did. But anyway,
he was walking along next to the dog stopped stopped dead,
completely dead, couldn't wouldn't move, and he noticed that the
dog's here. There was a long hair salvation. The dog's
hair rose up off his back and he stood and
he was just staring exactly and he was staying right
into the act, as my father said. My father and
now will tell you he still doesn't believe in ghosts,
even though he has ghost stories. He's wanted the conflict.
He's kind of the conflict of the Irishman, you know
what I mean? You know he won't admitt it light,
but he said he didn't even he didn't, He didn't
just turn around. He backed out of the dungeon. He
backed out of the dungeon. And I don't think he
went back in that night anyway, But that that story
put put the fear of God on me, because if
a dog, I just think when a dog gets that scared,
there's something serious going on. You know that's going on.
Speaker 1: Here's my intuition taken in And you can tell me
if it's erroneous. Right? What's going on with you and
the land? I get a sense of the land from you?
Am I imagining things? Are you really attached to the land,
the surrounding the land of Ireland?
Speaker 4: Yes?
Speaker 1: Why do I feel that? Am I imagining this? Is
that a bit too flowery? Is it?
Speaker 4: I'll say something to you now, and Jesus I might
sound like a mad man now, but I definitely think
there's something going on because I often if you look
at the the clant half the map of calant half
the Battle of calant Halfe where Brian tent is pitched.
I don't think I'm a minimile. I think I think
I'm very close where I'm actually living right now. I
think I'm actually very close to it. And I just
find it fascinating that this whole by and Brewting and
his whole story and he's done done, because story has
literally poured out of me, like you.
Speaker 1: Know, and isn't it? So are you in double now
that I take it to I'm.
Speaker 4: In Dublin, I'm in Beaumont, And actually I look at
the maps. I've looked at all the maps, and I'm
going to be honest with you, I genuinely think I'm
closer to it than most. I think there's a there's
a pub ub and fibsbread as I claim it.
Speaker 1: But so now you're you're in Beaumont. But look, I'll
tell you what that. Just hit the pause button and
all that for a minute, because it is very interesting
and you've done tremendous body of work on it, and
we're going to talk about that. Yeah, we just get
a few other names into throw at you. We've recently
had Saint Patrick's stay here internationally recourse as well, any
thoughts on him.
Speaker 4: I did a video about him, you know, around the
Patrick's Day, like I thought it would do a bit better,
but it's done okay. And my thoughts is that he
my thoughts is very basic in terms of like he
the legend and the mythology and the folklo around him
is a load of garbage. To be honest with you,
that's been kind of pretty much proven. He definitely was real,
but he wasn't the only one played This was there
before him, and there's actually pre practition issues that were
here before as well, are you know Christians that were
here before him, like you know what I mean? And
he he was. I think what actually happened to him
is that he was kind of nominated by later people
to be the kind of the savior of virons, you know,
the kind of person yeah, figure ahead, and of course
that that now it happens a lot in the Catholic
Church and stuff like that, So I won't say it's
unique to Ireland, but of course it will happen to
be someone for Britain that will be saving Ireland, you
know what I mean? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, But no
but listen, there was I don't believe in any of
this crack of him killing lords and drew that doesn't
it's just nonsense, to be honest with. There's no evidence
whatsoever about that, because I get a lot of that
from people, and people have zero evidence for it, like,
you know, because there there would be something. There would
be something like because the animals of Irelands were well
up and running like you know, and things like that,
there would be some sort of indication that he was
some sort of warlords and stuff. I think he was
a Christian missionary. He was someone that definitely knew the
court of the kings. He was a small guy. He
got involved with the court of the kings. And people
in those days, they see, people don't understand as well
that in those days you were welcomed into the court
of the kings if you were a stranger, like for instance,
they you know, they met you, and if you were
there and they say, like you know, who they knew,
you would give your story. What can you offer the king,
like in terms of entertainment, in terms of news from
the the you know, across the seas, what can you
what can you bring? You know? And of course they
were invited in and they were a guest, and then
they'd be talking, you know, and that's how it worked,
you know, That's how people people don't understand. The world
wasn't closed, we weren't insular in terms of news, and
then in terms of what was going on in Europe.
People think like, oh, Christianity came with Patrick. No, Christianity
was already in Ireland. People were already interested, people were
already practicing certain types of Christianity in Ireland. You know.
Patrick was just a part of the story, you know.
So yeah, that's kind of what I think. It's just
it just kind of broken down into like just the
very you know, the human level of Patrick Water than
the mythology of Patrick. You know, important to do that.
Speaker 1: I'm always interested in the kind of incumbent as well.
What what did you know about the druids or do
you know anything about them? Because they seemed they ruled
the roost for years for eons? Really didn't they do?
Speaker 4: You know what's interesting when you look at it, right,
So the Druids obviously, you know, and they're they're they're.
Speaker 1: Kind of prist with a priest class where they.
Speaker 4: And if you look at the early Irish Shane isn't
isn't it interesting that the early Irish Shaints were always
very magical and doing kind of magical things and doing
some really miraculous things. They were I believe they were
still druidic. They were still a hebrid of druids and
and the hybrid. I always say hybrid because I'm the
carey man. I like to make up work.
Speaker 1: You say, tomatow tomato. Yeah, okay, I've.
Speaker 4: Been kind of I like the sound of hebrid or vibrants.
But anyway, so I do think the druid, the druids.
It was none of this crack of killing druids of course,
not like they were well able to handle themselves. So
like the they basically it was conversion. So it was
a conversion over centuries, just like the Vikings. The Vikings
converted over time. The Vikings were as warring as ever,
but they converted. It was a cultural thing, you know,
it was a cultural thing over hundreds of years. So
the Druids would have converted over hundreds of years years.
And the Druids, in terms of them themselves before Christianity,
they were a part of the they were part there
were there was obviously druids that would live in the forest,
and they were very kind of insular druids. But then
there was the course the ones that were involved with
the Court of the Kings, and a lot of them
could be well well versed in bread and law, you know,
in medicine and astrology, and they could be all rounders,
you know, and you know, but but they're but they're
very mysterious as well, because it's not that not much documentation.
They didn't believe in documenting things at Bertie.
Speaker 1: Were they involved in sacrifices? Do you think I.
Speaker 4: Would say the human sacrifice element in Ireland wasn't huge.
It probably did happen, I would imagine, you know, with
any sort of people. They probably weren't extreme versions. I
just don't think there's enough evidence to say that it
was a huge thing in Ireland because it seemed to
be something in Europe. There probably was animal sacrifices and
things like that, but the human sacrifice doesn't. You see,
we do have enough evidence to show like that there
was that wasn't really the case. What we do have
is people certain people topagandizing it and just basically calling
us a bunch of savages. And stuff like that. That was
always from the outside, you know, that was usually from
Roman and British influences. Like so, I'd be very wary
of them because they didn't understand anything about Irish society,
a Gaelic society, which was very civilized for the most time.
Speaker 1: You know, just on that point, because I just want
to roll back. You mentioned the Breham laws for yeah,
those who don't know what they were have, can you
elaborate on that or it was just.
Speaker 4: Basically our own law system, you know, very you know,
our own created codified law system. A lot of it
would have been quodified by by comic Macart. I'm pretty
sure I'm right down by saying that. Cormack Macart, I
think pretty much put them all, you know, wrote them
all down. A lot of those books were destroyed. I
do believe there was a destruction of a lot of
our books on purpose, you know. But the Brendon law
system was a law system that would basically just keep
everybody in check, you know, because there was systems. There
were systems to the clans, there were systems to the provinces.
There were systems that were in place that you would
have to deal with things yourself within the clan. There
were certain laws that would that would protect the clan
and would keep everybody in check. And for instance, in
Breton law as well, women had a lot more power
than the rest of the world. And even to this
day there are certain women in certain areas of the
world we all know like that are treated terribly and
we never in our in our in our society, that
was not the case at all. Because women could divorce,
they could own property, they could you know, they could,
There's a bunch of other stuff that they could do.
So that's why it was a very unique system. I'm
not trying to say it was perfect. I'm not trying
to say, oh, we're better than everybody else, but I'm
already saying that because you hear a lot of this
top again, the stuff about us being savages at war
all the time, running around naked and battles.
Speaker 1: Known as the land of Saints and scholars, and we
also absolutely saved Christianity during the Dark Ages as well.
Speaker 4: Yeah, we were a center of learning and that that
actually something as well about the Druids. This is what
I believe about the Druids as well. It's not that
I believe it just out of no research or whatever.
But if you do enough research you'll get you come
to this conclusion. A lot of the early Christians were
literally just taking over from the practices of the Druids,
just with this new culture of Christianity. So if we
look at what the Christian Christians were doing, your early
they became the sense of learning. But actually Ireland was
already a place of learning with the Druids. And I
do think the Druids were traveling and traversing disease. For instance,
in Kerry there's evidence of navigation boats six thousand years ago.
So people think that, oh, navigations are started with Brendan
and all that, You know what I mean, That's all nonsense.
They were they were traveling, not saying they were traveling
across the world, but they were certainly traveling in between
Britain and Europe, no doubt about it. Sure it only
takes for two days to come up from two or
three days to come up from Spain to Ireland. With
the stream that's involved. I can't remember the name of it,
but there's two or three days. Once you know the stream,
you can come up and down two or three days.
Speaker 1: Yes, you and vice versa. I can't be specific, but
I know I think there were connections between Egypt and
somewhere up and can be made.
Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, one hundred percent. So I do think that
the Druids were almost like they kind of there was
you know, to go back through Christianity, right back to
the earliest of Christians and you just go beyond this
the Ruths, So they were just carrying it on. There
was a cultural change, you know what I mean. And
people call us the Keels, but really we were Celtic culture.
We were influced by Celtic culture versus being because we
were actually really be Gails, you know what I mean. Ultimately,
that's who we are. You know, we weren't really health
from European because we were actually our own infra you
know people, you know. So yeah, I mean, look, I'm
no expert in all of this. I mean I do
a lot of reasons.
Speaker 1: Bertie, I mean, you know, I'm.
Speaker 4: Absolutely do you know what it is. I'm going to
be answer to you. You're on about the land and
being in touch with things, and you know that's what
it's all about. Because I feel I'm more I feel
as a person, I'm not saying everybody's into this, because
I get it. Not everybody's interested in this, and that's okay,
you know, there's no problem with that, Like you're interested,
why you're interested in But I do think that even
a vague interest in this can really get you in
touch with something a bit deeper, you know, you know,
and I think that, yeah, and people look at the
Native Americans and stuff, but that they kind of romanticize
the Native Americans because and I get it because they
talk about it now, but we kind of look at
it and say, oh, look at them, they're talking about that.
But really we can all do that about our own culture.
You know, you get you you kind of when you
start studying history and learning the stories and learning the
bits and pieces about your own land, your own townlands
and stuff like that, you actually do get in touch
with those places deeper because you realize that all of
these events took place in this in this area. So
then it becomes a different kind of experience. Even if
it is a bit of an esshole, if you're looking around,
it's a bit of a it's not really looking great
at the moment, you could still realize what this was
once where this happened. This is once where that happened,
This is where an importance, you know what I mean.
So it does get you grounded into places when you're
studying this stuff.
Speaker 1: It's amazing as well, how you can connect and have
something in common with someone thousands of miles away than
somebody across the road. Very quick story, many moons ago.
I won an incentive trip because I was a corporate
sales guy and I was over in Canada and we
were on this lake and there was a genuine red
Indian or whatever, I'm not sure what his tribe was.
His name was Larry, and Larry liked the al Fawater,
you know. And Larry though to be fair with sober
one day and he was given a lecture to all
these very disinterested no disrespect. Just when I say Brits,
I just mean British people, and I say it fondly
as well, because they were always great crack and great fun.
But I used to call them my Brits, you know,
because I'd go over with these guys and they'd have
no interest. They were interested in shagging and drinking and
having a good team. And he was there though, and
he was doing his best with this kind of rabble,
and I was sitting there and he said, you know,
does anybody know of a book called Bury My Heart
as Wounded Knee? And I went, yeah, I know about
that one, Larry, nobody else knew. They all blanked it,
you know, and it actually a document, a book which
which documented many of the sufferings and trials and massacres
of the Indians. And I had a little caravan, I think,
and Larry came over a bit juiced up. One night.
I bought a cooking book off a Canadian cooking book.
But he was impressed that I knew, and we got,
you know, just talking about stuff. And it's amazing how
much you could have in common because I respected his
culture and he respected mine. So it was kind of
hands across the ocean. I remember he even had that
he had the whole head dressed and everything. You know,
it wasn't just yeah.
Speaker 4: I lived in Los Angeles for a year, and you know,
I had a similar situation with actually a native. There
used to be this community place in Glendale and he
used to go in there cheap coffee, and there's loads
of these interesting people just hanging out there. There was
this different kind of vibe there. It was like a
very strong community and there was used to There was
different people in there, and I got to know everyone
because it was like a bit restaurant and it was
like they saw cheap kind of. I think a lot
of people were struggling, to be honest with you, there
may be some homeless people and things like that. And
of course I was acting over there. I was trying
to make my way make long story shot. There was
a Native American guy and they got to know me
as the Irish guy, you know, And there was and
the Native American guy was kind of single. He goes,
I want to talk to you, and he said something
very very weird to me. He said, my people can
relate to your people. And I was like, what you mean.
He goes, oh, as a Native American, we can relate
to your struggles as Irish, you know. And I'm not
kidding with you, right, And this guy was an alcoholic.
I'm pretty sure he was an arcoholic. I think there
was meetings and stuff going on in there as well.
And next thing, I I think it was a few
months later, a Black American guy and an African American
car salesman. He used to go in there all the time,
said the exact same thing to me, the exact same thing.
I couldn't believe it, like the exact same words. Because
our people can relate to your people, I have watched me,
because we can relate to your struggle as Irish, exact same.
It was like a weird moment, it did.
Speaker 1: But they were proactive because it was the Foot tribe
actually sent was it money or something over to the Yeah,
they did the famine during the.
Speaker 4: Great Family, Yes it is, yes, they did, they did, and.
Speaker 1: There recently it was reciprocated, I think finally after one
hundred and fifty years or something.
Speaker 4: Yes, yes, no, it's interesting. The Native Americans are fascinating
and there are as same you know, and as well
there are some folk tales as well in their tribes
and stuff like that of these Europeans. But actually think
there was potentially Irish. They used to call him like
the white the White club people, and they reckon that.
There's a lot of people that reckoned that. There was many, many,
many many people going over there before Brendan over to.
Speaker 1: And they weren't to be conquered. When we say Brendan
just for internationalists, the Irish monk who supposedly was well,
it's alleged that he may have discovered America. Was it
via Greenland or something like that, I'm not sure.
Speaker 4: So he went so basic, so Brendan navigated. He was
from the townland of True and Phoenix, so where I'm from, right,
so he would have failed out from that place of.
Speaker 1: Cora. Let's get germinology correct it.
Speaker 4: No, it was actual books. It was a book that
was replicated. Yeah, it was replicated by a guy called
Tim several.
Speaker 1: Seventy members in the seventies ages. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 4: And he did it. And you see, the thing is right,
I actually believed it happened because it wasn't a straight
shot over to Newfoundland with where he actually ended up.
It was actually going up to the next one. I
think I'm always getting these mixed up, but it's a
fair up to the Federal Islands, then over to Iceland,
then over to Greenland and then over to Newfoundland.
Speaker 1: Yes, right.
Speaker 4: And what's weird about all of this, and I think
this is a strange thing, is that there's actual people
in New Ferment to this day. And I'm not saying
they're connected, but I just think it's a weird sequence
of events. There's people in Newfoundland these that that actually.
Speaker 1: Have Irish act that's so true.
Speaker 4: Yeah, that's true. I met them. I mention the Los Angeles. Yeah, something,
it's weird. It's an amalgama. It's it's like an Irish
accent you never heard of before. It's weird that that sounds.
Speaker 1: Yeah. We we had Brinsleaton on from Weird Ireland a
week or two back. Yeah, and he was mentioning that
even as parts of Wexford that still used Yola, which
is an old it's an old English accent, and there
was an enclave there before. But I think before the
Vikings came along or something, we'd be talking about those Vikings.
That's how that thought very quickly. Filon McCool and all
that kind of mythical stuff. Any any thoughts.
Speaker 4: On that, I'm film McCool.
Speaker 1: Yeah, he was a giant or something, wasn't he or
a chief to that.
Speaker 4: Well again, it's like it's like the Patrick Stuffs. The
mythology is fit is nice, you know, there's nice stories
and stuff like that, But no, I'm sure Phil McCool
was a real person. He was written into the animals
of Ireland. His death was written into the Islands of
Ireland like, so he was around at the same time
as Comack mcart. The problem is that what people had
do is they've mythologized or they have been sold on
the mythologized version of it versus the real people. These
people were real people. They just were the stories grew
up around them, you know, and there's no control for that,
like you know what I mean, that just happened. The
actual film and the Fia were actually an army of
Cormack mcart They were real people, like, real people lived
in Ireland, like they didn't. We didn't just all just appear.
When when the Christians came some people, some people think
that just because the records, the historical records have fat
happening around the fifth century with with the Christians, is
that we are we kind of just came into existence.
Then there was actual people live in there, like you know,
so these people.
Speaker 1: For thousands of years, you know, and there like older
than the Pyramids, you know, New Grade.
Speaker 4: So yeah, so I think, yeah, the Christians that is
a great service in terms of transcribing the oral traditions.
But I think they also attainted the stories because they mythologized.
A lot of them kind of were very careful about
what they wrote down, you know, because of their own
faith and stuff like that, which is fair enough. But
the stories were probably a lot different to you know that,
you know, and and they were kind of just got
more and more fantastical as the years went on, you know.
And that's the problem with us, because now what you
hear is like because if you actually look at the
definition of mythology, it actually the proper definition is and
I'm paraphrasing a little bit, but the proper definition is
all about the oral histories of a culture. So now
it's kind of a little bit of a you know,
a paraphrase of that. But then there is the corruption
of the world where myth is if it means lie.
So actually our oral traditions weren't live there. They were
the oral histories handed down. The problem with them was
the problem was that they were they were learned through verse,
so that the people remembering and reciting them could actually
find it easier to remember and recite them the old
So for instance, let's you say, I'm Brian Brew, I
mean the course is okay, tell us about Fion now again, tonight,
I want to hear that story again. But then the
story would happened true verse, because that was the way
it was rembs. That's the way it would be most entertaining.
And of course with verse, with poems, things become poetic,
things become romantic, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1: And and hence I think probably the old Irish gift
of the gab.
Speaker 4: And exactly exactly, exactly exactly. But that doesn't mean I
don't believe that these people taught that these people were
just made up. They these people knew they were real.
It's just that the stories that grew up around them
were fantastical and mythical, and and you know that's and
even Brian Brew has this, and he was a real
starical character. Like as a fact, people can won't dispute
that even the legend around him has to be brought
down to earth. And that's what I do, and that's
what I'm going to be doing with Irish medieval history
at the weekend. We're going to go through his life.
We're going to go through all the bullshit as well,
like where it's not Irish versus Vikings, it's not this,
It's not not as simple as that everybody thinks. I'd
be often called out as well. Oh, Irish didn't wear
chain made into battle? Yes, it is, some of them,
did you know? I see there is this kind of
kind of they were.
Speaker 1: Some of them are mercenary as well. And Scott's descend
and and you know, yeah, you know, I can't there's
a name for them. There's a name for a particular
kind of mercenary and.
Speaker 4: Irish or you're talking about you're talking about the gallow Glass.
There's big with big, but that would be a little
bit later later, But what I'm talking about is the
old Gale. But what people would say is they would say, oh,
the warriors didn't wear change, they didn't wear a kind
of type of chain riveted chain riveted mail. That's true
because a lot of them didn't because they were it
was all the types of pactice they were using. But
there was definitely in the pitched battles there was definitely
chain mail used by you. You wouldn't go into a
war with Vikings without chain mail, you know what I mean?
Speaker 1: Sorry to cut across you as an actor. Have you
ever tried on chain mail?
Speaker 4: I did one time, I think I was and got
it we ton a weigh a ton all come com clearly.
I think the one I worn now was very closely
replicated replicated chamber, but it wasn't the real one. So
no ways the time, I mean, it's unbelievable stuff. But
my point is that the story that what actually happens,
even to like you know, any to any story, to
any character, to anyone, we do it even modern times.
We create legends, So doesn't mean the person didn't exist.
It just means that we created this legends out of
this out of it. So to go back to your think,
for me, I believe these people were real characters. I'm
not saying that every single person that we mentioned in
every story is real. I just think the prominent ones
are real. It's just that we create legends out of them.
But those legends are good, and those legends are important
for kids and for our entertainment. But the really we
have to remember that the real people existed as well.
And let's break that down. Let's find out what how
this war actually was. Because if you think about film
McCool he was in and around the second third century,
so that's like well after Christ. So like what you
know what I mean, like why why is it that
we have all this mythical, fantastical stuff two or three
hundred years after Christ? Even though people know that Christ
was a historical character. Why can't our characters be historical
people as well? You know what I mean?
Speaker 1: And for those who don't know, when we're talking about
Fion McCool and his Ilk, we're talking about stories that
are very like Marvel comic characters. Some of this exactly
fate up to. But look, I tell you, speaking of
which heroes, So who's your ultimate Irish hero?
Speaker 4: Brian Brew?
Speaker 1: Okay, so you know in the mix you have obviously
Michael Collins in more contemporary times, Michael Collins, Brian burw Connell.
But Brian Brew's demand for you, which there's you can
use that? Now, let's talk Brian Brew. Battle of Clontarf.
You essentially kind of have newly written a thesis on
it from what I can see. So here we have
a situation kind of reminiscent if I can pop it
a bit like a Vietnam and an American force. Okay,
So you've got this sophisticated technological force and the Vikings,
and then you've got this native not quite gorilla. We
didn't get there until Collins, I think with the Irish.
So okay, let's start first of all, so who were
the baddies the Vikings? What were way up to an Ireland.
Speaker 4: This was a very long, complex story, but to get
something very straight, and this is how Irish medieval history
has got a big YouTube channel has gotten interested in
me and wants me on board with these live streams
and stuff for the next few weeks. Is because there's
something we By the time Brian brew came around and
came and came to force, there was Irish Vikings. So
they were the North Scale. There's different names, Hypern and North.
So there's a lot of these guys were actually involved
in the cities of Ireland, and they were very much
kind of, you know, like foreigners that came here two
hundred years ago. Let's just say two hundred years time,
whoever's farn here now will pretty much be Irish by
they integrated. They integrated for sure. Now they were still
known as the foreigners because they were kind of kept.
The thing. The difference between say Vikings of Ireland and
the Vikings of Saint Britain. They never conquered Ireland, so
they were always kept to their cities. They tried many
times to do it, they they never succeeded. So what
actually happened over time from say the first raids of
the late eighth century, that's when they were the baddies,
by the way, they started raiding the shores. They were
literally a new foreign force in the late eighth century,
raiding monasteries, coming up the rivers. Raidings. That's when they
were pure out foreigners that we didn't know anything about,
completely foreign language.
Speaker 1: They were marauders, right, marauders.
Speaker 4: Raping, pillaging, the whole lot, the worst of the worst. Right. So,
but over time they started developing their own landforts and
they turned into little kind of urbanized kind of cities.
And the things that people get very upset over is
when I say, you know, they started our cities, which
they did because we lived in ring forts, and we
lived in these kind of big ring forts monasteries and
stuff like that. The Vikings brought this urbanized kind of
trading centers which we didn't have, Like it was bad
West for Dublin. Well let limit park. Now. People get
get very upset because when they hear that, they say, oh,
but we had a settment there. Yeah, No one's disputing
that we had a settlement there as well, but they
just started their own version of as near enough and
that became the actual settlement over time. For instance, but
in my yo are clear, which is the Dublin as
great for Dublin, it was called Dublin and then but
there was in Mario, but we call it I Maria
are clear, which our clear is actually the original settlement
of Dublin. But Dovelin was the actual Viking version Black
Blackpool exactly.
Speaker 1: Maya was town or something, isn't it town?
Speaker 4: Yeah, the town of all Hakia. I think it's something
to do with a ford as well. It's the ford
of the of the river. Yes, yeah, yeah, so that
that would have been all connected to the Battle of
Cantaft as well. But anyway, the point is that they
developed these and then what actually happened is with they
have battles with the provincial kings, the petty kings and stuff,
and they were just basically they were never they never
got beyond these places. But the kings of Ireland started
using the vikings in their own battles, you see, because
these vikings actually a lot of the time people get
misconscrewed and actually they deal for it in the show
as well. They were yeah, raiding and prillaging stuff, but
they actually looking for places to live because they were
having serious problems in their own Scandinavian lands, right, so
they actually were looking to settle down. So they actually
did start getting involved in politics. They started marrying into
the into Gaelic nobility, they started doing different things, they
started integrating, they started learning the language, and they started
converting to Christianity. So there was a lot of this,
But what actually happened over the next couple of hundred
years is that you get these kind of new fresh
For instance, it was first is the Norse. The first
Viking Age was the Norse Norwegian, and then the second
Viking Age was the Danish. So the Danish were the
ones of Dublin and stuff like that like that, you know,
and then there was the different versions of them around
the place. So you get every now and again you
get a Norse Gale king, say, for instance, Citric Silk
and Beard would rise up, Ivar of Limit would rise
up against the Gaelic the Gales, and they sometimes they'd
bring in mercenaries. But the biggest one, the biggest rise
and the last major one of fresh Vikings coming from
the Kingdom of the Isles off the Islands Isle of
Man et cetera, was the Battle of Camperth in a coalition.
Speaker 1: So the saying was said, we had the Irish led
by Brian Brew Was there a figurehead in charge of
the Vikings or a leader?
Speaker 4: So the coalition was Citric Silkin Beard of Dublin, who
was a North Gale king. There's a whole familial thing
as well there, because Brian was Brian was married to
this guy's mother before he'd married off his own daughter
to Citric. It was a big mess. And actually Donaka
the guy of my book, the productist my book, Brian's
son was actually son of Gorma who was in the city.
So it was a huge family thing. But anyway, I
won't go into big, huge complexities. We can buy the
book if they want. The coalition was a rebel alliance
of the Kingdom of Leinster under Male Mrda, who was
Cittric's uncle. Citric Silican Beard was king of Dublin North Gale.
He was son of all that current the last Viking
king of Dublin and Gernola. And then there you had
actual broadier of Man who was potentially high Burn or Norse.
I would lay, I would lean towards being more Norse
than high Burn or Norse. He probably did be Gaelic.
He was the commander of a certain contingency of mercenary
Vikings from Man. Then you had Broader, who was a
Norse Viking Norses, you get no high Burner a part
of him. He was here to collect whatever he could
out of this land. He was promised to law by Citric.
This is why I believe this was the last Viking
invasion of Ireland. For a lot of people will give
you a lot of bullshit and nonsense about oh it
was only Vikings were fighting on the side of Brian
as well. It's a load of nonsense, like they're talking
about Limnok, Limerick and Waterford, Northcale settled Vikings have been
there for two hundred years. Irish vikings they were, They
were more Viking than like they wouldn't have they wouldn't
have been going Viking in anywhere else. They were settled
in those in those cities, they were subjugated by Brian,
working for Brian. They were literally Brian Damley and there
was hardly any of them. There was a very small number.
Two thirds of Ireland was represented by Brian brew So
the battle took place in Clantaft, very close to where
I'm living and just kind of a couple of miles
from me is the shores of Plantaft basically leading into
the estuary of the Talca. Dublin Bay was a lot
different in those days. It was a tidal plane. There
was no Knockbull Island, it was completely different. Brian was
camped out in Dublin many times over because this guy,
Citric was kept rebelling against him, and he kept putting
him down, kept submitting him. But this was the last one.
The last fight is actually coming up on the one
thousand and eleven years ago.
Speaker 1: You know fourteen was the battle?
Speaker 4: Yeah yeah, exactly April twenty third ten in Easter weekends.
Yeah yeah yeah, so yeah, not only was the Easter
is in nineteen sixteen a part of our lore, we
have the battle a lot of people to death exactly.
So anyway, so the battle, the battle took place. There
was probably up to about ten thousand warriors fighting. It's
very likely actually planned. There's another crowd called clans and
Dynasties that by me Hall who is a very good,
good researchers scholar, and this he has proven that there
was probably two thirds of surnames from Ireland represented in
the Battle of Tantas under Bryant. So if anybody thinks
it's Vikings fighting on the side of Bryan, they need
to get to have you know, have a bit more research,
because two thirds of the gay plans are represented in
that battle under Bryan's army, under Bryant's banner. Sorry. So, yeah,
there was probably up to go two thousand Viking mercenaries
coming from the Kingdom of the Isles.
Speaker 1: And in a complicated where the armies in terms of arment,
armaments and technology would would there be they.
Speaker 4: Found Yeah, Like I mean, I've done a video on
this recent if anybody's listening and wants to go onto
Bertie Brazen and YouTube my recent video Wife's contast to
the matter of Brian Bruce last time. You can see
some pictures of the battle size and stuff, and you
can see some of the armor of the Vikings. It's
quite scary when you see the armor. They literally had
the steel helmets or the iron helmets. I can't I
don't want to remember the actual that's what Irish medieval history.
He's going to be brilliant on Saturday because he can
come in with the very specifics of the armor and stuff.
But they had their metal armor, they had their metal
chain mill and their metal swords, and they used to
deal with axes as well. So the biggest issue with them,
the biggest issue with Citric, and the biggest issue with
this coalition is they underestimated Brian because yes, he was
old and he wasn't fighting. He's commander. He was seventy three.
Speaker 1: Wow, I didn't know that.
Speaker 4: Yeah, he became high king only when he was six
one night. Yeah, you know, it's an unbelievable story. That's
an unbelievable story, like his rise to power and stuff.
It's a huge Land Bland complex story. But anyway, so
he didn't fight. It was his it was his first son, commander,
commander in chief, you know, and he was going to
take over high kingship. It's a very sad story in
the end, Murrach and his grandson was fighting in it,
and you know they basically they kind of pitched in
a certain way that the Vikings didn't and the people
that were fighting didn't understand the title plane. You see.
So although they were doing well and the and the
other thing that Brian did as well is he actually
this this is sounds very kind of dark and finister,
but it was actually a tactic that every kind of
commander with Jews or general would Jews our king they
would go around the lands of Dublin and basically burn
out the areas around Dublin. And the reason for that
was that if the Vikings won, they didn't have anywhere
to go afterwards. They just couldn't they nowhere to go, like, yeah,
you're just not going anywhere, like you know, you're not
You're not going any further than this site. Like so,
for instance, when they came out there on the shore,
all they could see is the burning, you know, the
places burnt out around. So they literally had to move
towards the gale, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1: A morale factor as well. I'm sure that.
Speaker 4: I'm sure even City Silk and Bear didn't even fight himself.
He staple in the walls and he said leave these
other lad's fight because he was a small guy, like
he was a smack very small guy. Probably a bit
of a coward as well, though, you know they call
the Great Survivor. He laid the foundations for christ Church.
Believe it or not, he converted. He converted in the end,
I became a Christian king, went to Rome and everything.
I think Ryan knocked the shit out of him. So
he never fought. He never he never rose up again
after this. But anyway, yeah, yeah, So anyway, they they
pitched in a certain way up and a kind of
a brow of a hit I think maybe slightly kind
of a hill, not not not so much, just maybe
a little bit of a rise on the land. So
they they were pitching a certain way that they would
let they let the lads come up a bit. So
imagine the Talca is kind of stay to They're say,
we're looking at them. Tarka rivers over on the right
inside leading into Dublin Bay, so they would have been
he would have been quite wide then, right, So the
lads are coming up, so they're coming up. We're kind
of letting them come up onto the show, come up
a little bit further, come up up the Vikings with
the coalition, with the other warriors.
Speaker 1: Yeah, the Irish, the browest hilucky thing exactly exactly.
Speaker 4: They're waiting and they're letting them come up, so they're
actually going back. The reason for that is because the
tide is coming in behind them. So the ships were
docked right and they didn't realize it by the time
they said, okay, we're kind of making a bit of
ground here, like this is looking good. But then the
minute they realized when they turned, when one of them
turned around and realized the tide was in behind them,
there was nowhere to go. They were literally trapped and
they sat a PanicIn and that's when the onslaught happened.
You know, this, this is the consensus. This is literally
the consensus of how the battle went, like you know,
and literally there was panic and they say that literally
down to a dozen was slaughtered.
Speaker 1: Wow, that river ran red with blood that day.
Speaker 4: And you know, I tell you because it's a supernatural
supernatural focused channel right and podcasts and radio station. There's
one creepy story and I got it from Morgan new
Wellen's great book on the Battle of Clontarfe, but it's
based in urban legend around Dublin. There's a certain bridge.
I'm pretty sure it's the second Bridge. I can't remember
exactly the name of. It's not the Anley Bridge. It's
one of the bridge smaller bridges over the Tulka and
they reckon. There's a huge amount of suicides that have happened.
I hate saying.
Speaker 1: Things like this because of cross Guns Bridge.
Speaker 4: Now it could be a little petro station right on it. Yes,
it's going into a tough enough area there, Okay, Yeah,
I'll find out for you afterwards. And it's kind of
I'm not a hundred it's one of these bridges. I'm
pretty sure it's this one though, because I have studied
the area and they said that the ambulance drivers have
been noted to say like or that there's been some
sort of investigation because there's a lot of suicides in
one particular spot. This may have been before when they
when you know the way, everything's a little bit different
in terms of the tobocraphy and the way the river
can be a little bit lower now a little bit
higher because I think they did a bit of work
on the river's bank.
Speaker 1: Do you know Bertie as well. It's just come to
my mind. I think there was I think there was
a suitcase body there a few years ago. At in
that facility.
Speaker 4: There's a lot of dark stuff and she she mentioned this,
and she's the reason why she mentioned this is because
it's likely the ford was around there, that's where they
used to cross, So probably a load of them were
basically fighting for their life to get a cross like
and the Gael didn't have any mercy whatsoever. But the
sad part of the whole thing is that murrall At,
the commander in chief, was actually killed and also his
grandson was apparently found in the river as well, so
a lot of Gae died as well. So if you
think about it right, I don't know if you've ever
sensed this, but there are certain parts I get this
Inrally a lot and Dublin. There's certain areas. You can't
just describe what it is, but there's darkness attached to
certain places and that place definitely has something to it.
Like I know.
Speaker 1: I would totally agree, there are areas and there are
areas in Dublin's well that they've never lost that kind
of medieval feel of them as well, you know, any
you know any time around Thomas Street or yeah, I
worked as I did hospital radio in James's Saint James's
Hospital which is in that area, which is near the
old wall of Dublin as well. And yet you know
you feel the cockles and muscles alive life. Oh and
whatever else went on when when you're in that neck
of the words.
Speaker 4: You know absolutely the old, the old, the old Dublin
like word Dublin, yeah, and all these It's unbelievable. It's
a very very unique city. I do love it, like
I think it's kind of it's we have a lot
of problems at the moment here obviously, but I do
love Dublin. It's that kind of great history and it's
it's a shame it for certain things. But anyway, but look,
you know, it's it's it's definitely true. I would imagine
there are certain areas of Dublin City that are very
haunted and lots of old ghouls and goblins going around
the place, for sure, you know.
Speaker 1: So very quickly then, so we had the Irish essentially
had the you know, they had the higher ground. These
guys were, you know, they were up for the fighter.
They were getting up the hill. They were probably making
some progress initially, and then somebody looked behind them and went,
oh here that you know, we've burnt our boats quite
you know, the tides come in so there was this
almighty panic is always a big thing as well. You know,
when people lose their nerve, that's when it all goes
to pot. And so they got they essentially got slaughtered.
How many people died on the day do you think.
Speaker 4: Said, there's definitely thousands.
Speaker 1: Turmoil.
Speaker 4: Yeah, it was the biggest, the biggest battle up until
that point. You know. And the other thing is as well,
the reason why we can we can safely say that
Brian had the upper hand and was a great practician
is because it's one hundred percent that he was camping
out in these areas for months at a time. He
actually only just camped out basically trying to starve Dublin
out the winter before because they Cric was rising against
him and this was the whole thing. But he last
Ctric lasted a fight, an actual battle happened in the
spring after So Brian, you imagine, imagine in those days,
what what would the king do? What would these guys do.
They would be around in the landscape, they would know
exactly how things were, of course anything there was no internet.
Speaker 1: Yeah, well these you know, the Vikings might have been
armed to the teeth, but any battlefield commander will tell
you that the terrain can also be used to great
effect and will probably win the day if you you know,
get the upper ground or you know the land, you
know the back lanes, you know that, as you say,
the lie of the land. And obviously if Brian brew
was out there, you know, of the land and camping
here and there, as you say, he would have used
that to his advantage.
Speaker 4: Of course, and he grew up on a river as well,
you see, so until Alu, he grew up on the
River Shannon, the mouth of the lock Derg you know,
so they grew up around this whole maraudering aspect because
they were the River Shannon was like the highway of Ireland.
So it was literally just the stones troll from Limus
Limericks on a boat like you'd be there in you know,
maybe an hour, like you know, not even less like
probably the.
Speaker 1: Bottom line anyway was and that was the end of
the Vikings as a military force.
Speaker 4: Yeah, well it was, yeah.
Speaker 1: Well I know, and they integrated that.
Speaker 4: Yeah. There were certain guys that no, no, there are
certain people that argue that it wasn't the last invasion.
I do believe it was the last invasion because Magnet
fair for people say there was no other time after
this where thousands of Vikings from different parts of the
Scandinavian world came into Ireland, like by Magnus bear Force
is compared, It's just not the same because Magnus Bearfoot
came around eleven the eleven eleven o one or something
like that. But he took over Dublin for a year
and he had some skirmishes and things like that. I
just I just don't think can be compared at all,
like you know, but no, this was the last. So
this was the consensus is that the Viking power. It
was literally they kind of accepted their faith and it
was just the Irelands was unconquerable. And and yeah, that
was the last.
Speaker 1: Last of the Well look, you know, it's a cliche
to say it's been fascinating talking to you, but it
has been, but even more fascin to get. I want
to know, tell me the the Forgotten prints your book?
What's it about for those who is a kind of
Game of Thrones thing? What? What what are we talking here?
Speaker 4: Well, we just we literally just talked about the Battle
of Plantaft. So as I said before, it's it's adapted
from the short screenplay. The short screenplay was going to
be about Brian in his tent waiting the phase of
Ireland waiting the face of his son's waiting, the phase
of the fantast but then I expanded that story out
because you can in in in in novel form. So
the story goes is that they leading into the Battle
of Plantaft, during the Battle of Clantaft, and after Clantaft,
So it is about Dunaka, his first son, who didn't
fight and because he was given different jobs to do,
about Brian in the you know, the commander and the king,
and then Brodier that's invading Ireland through the mercenaries. So
it's their three stories intertwining, but really donek is the protagonist,
the first son, so it really is a story of
the Battle of Clontarft, going into it, during and after,
and it's it's it's got lots of supernatural elements as well,
because in the animals of Ireland there was recorded fightings
and banshees on both sides, So in the Scandinavian Nile
sagas there was a record, there was very much this
stuff was very real for them. Night you know, and
so yeah, I have that stuff intertwined in it, and
you know, it's just it's just it's getting a lot
of good reviews. You had your artwork in it, you
have your script at the back, you have your commission
map in the beginning, so you know what you know
the lay of the land as well, you know what's
going on. So yeah, I would definitely recommend it to
anybody who's interested. And it also supports me and my
mission and preserving Irish history, mythology and folklore. I have
a trilogy planned, so this is I'm not spoiling anything
because we literally just not ending is the Battle of Cantatare,
so you know it will continue on with doing a
good story.
Speaker 1: It's pretty Prosnant's book, the Forgotten Prints, and you can
find I mean, als you've got to do is google
you and then you pop up. You've got some hell
of a following on Instagram, I see, and probably the
same i'd imagine on on YouTube or TikTok if you
if you, if you do such a.
Speaker 4: Thing, going well, so going well, yeah, and.
Speaker 1: Bertie Prosnant, listen, I'm at a time here, but thank
you very much for taking the time to visit Scary
Era and thank you very much.
Speaker 4: Take care, absolute pleasure. Thank you so much, going mere.
Speaker 1: Margaret Augustlan detain, Mark Manning, what an absolute a gentleman
and scholar and author as well. Don't forget that book
The Forgotten Prince. Go google Bertie Bronson. Thank you very much. Okay,
it's time for me to GIRDLD. No, you do GIRDLD,
but take a hike. Actually, I better take a hike now.
Remember if you want to get in touch with the show,
Paranormal Ireland at ProtonMail dot com. That's Paranormal Ireland at
ProtonMail dot com. Share whatever is on your mind with
me Urara detain, which means take care of yourself. See
you next time on Scary Era.