On this full blue moon, Orkney Islands storyteller Tom Muir has a blether with an old friend. You'll hear about these things and more:

• Colin's life in the Glens of Antrim
• The story of a wreck at the Giant's Causeway - a Spanish Armada story, and other shipwreck tales
• Queen Elizabeth I, the greatest killer of English sailors
• Shipwreck treasure stories in Papa Westray and Graemsay (Orkney)
• Mythologized history
• Folk tales in Ireland: the wee folk, the fairy thorns (hawthorn), leprachauns and pots of gold ... misfortune and bad luck to thrawn, and how to be forgiven by the fae
• Why are there more mermaids than selkies in Antrim
• An Inuit/selkie/finfolk connection in Ireland and Scotland?
• A celebration of David Thomson's People of the Sea, (selkie stories collection/travelogue) with Colin Urwin and Ruth Kirkpatrick
• About "Mary Beans", fairy darts and axe heads - their beauty and powers
• Colin tells the story of the Rathlan farmer, off the County Antrim coast, including singing "She Moves Through the Fair"
• Colin's Orkneyology Press book, The Madman's Window: making fleshed-out stories out of folklore scraps
• Colin's other books: The Iron Hag, and The Man who Talked to the Wind and other stories from the Tommy Sessle archive - nominated for the Catherine Briggs award - Dal Raiada Folktales; Tales of the Irish Coast and Sea
• Iron, magic and the fairy folk
• Being introduced to the world of professional storytelling by Irish storyteller Liz Weir
• Colin sings us out with "The Parting Glass"
• 
  

Links:

The Madman's Window:

print: https://shop.orkneyology.com/collections/orkneyology-press-books/products/the-madmans-window-other-tales-of-the-antrim-coast-1

ebook: https://shop.orkneyology.com/collections/orkneyology-press-books/products/the-madmans-window-other-tales-of-the-antrim-coast-ebook

Colin's website: colinurwin.com

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The Orkneyinga Saga continues…

In Part 3 of this special series, OrcadianTom Muir MBE brings us deeper into the dramatic world of Viking Orkney — where rival jarls, shifting loyalties, and legendary figures shaped the islands' history.

If you're curious about the Orkneyinga Saga, Viking Scotland, or the real stories behind St Magnus and the Norse earls of Orkney, this episode offers an accessible and atmospheric introduction to one of the most compelling medieval sagas.

In this episode:

• The next chapter of the Orkney jarls

• Rivalries, alliances and betrayals

• Viking-age Orkney history

• Storytelling rooted in landscape and place

• How the Orkneyinga Saga connects to modern Orkney

Perfect for listeners interested in:

Orkney history • Viking Scotland • Norse mythology • Scottish islands • Medieval history • Storytelling

• Part 3 of 4 — listen to Parts 1 & 2 to follow the full saga. (Part 1 is episode 14; Part 2 is episode 16)

History

Scottish History

Viking History

Norse

Orkney

Storytelling

Cultural Heritage

Scotland

Medieval History

Folklore

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Tonight on this full March sap moon, Orkney Islands storyteller Tom Muir has a blether with an old pal, well-known storyteller and harpist Heather Yule. This episode is a deep dive into the Scottish oral tradition, which Tom calls "a free class in great storytelling".

You'll hear this and more:

• How Heather ended up in Scotland from Chicago, and was raised deeply immersed in traditional storytelling

• Scottish caleighs as early training for storytelling

• How Heather met some legendary Scottish Traveller storytellers as a child

• Tom's memories of Traveller folk in Orkney, and the specter of racism

• Influences of different cultures on folk tales

• Travellers' stories and Jack Tales

• Anecdotes about the great Shetland storyteller, Lawrence Tulloch

• A PhD on Jack Tales from Appalachia

• Heather Yule tells a spooky Stanley Robertson story!

• "Burker stories", relating to the horrible days of Burke and Hare, and the dangers to Travellers in particular

• Press gangs, and the relationship to "disappearance" stories

• Stanley Robertson - storyteller, seer, fortune teller, and how Tom's "fortune" worked out; and second sight

• Christianity and how it was woven together with the ancient Scottish/Celtic traditions

• The most haunted and evil house in Shetland - the true story of the sadistic laird

• Telling other people's stories as a way of continuing the connection and honoring the memory of the teller

• Hearing the voice of the storytellers no longer with us - "Kist o' Riches" online

• The anglicizing of Scottish place names by incomers and map-makers, and re-learning the original meanings

• Harps, harp-makers; playing the harp while telling a story

• The beginnings of The International Scottish Storytelling centre, The Netherbow and the storytelling festival

• Bursary for young storyteller: Meeting with Lawrence Tulloch and shadowing David Campbell

• Heather pays a beautiful piece of harp music in the manner of the old tradition

• Working with children and stories

• Heather tells a Lawrence Tulloch Shetland story with a harp

• Bouncing stories off other storytellers, like being around the kitchen table

Links to mentioned:

A Jack story: Silly Jack and the Princess - find it near the bottom of this page, under tales especially for the bairns. https://www.orkneyology.com/tales-from-tom.html

Heather's website/TRACS https://tracscotland.org/storytellers/heather-yule/

Heather's commission art: https://www.heatheryulepapertales.co.uk/paperdesigns

Story Harvest ~ revered Scottish storyteller David Campbell's book of traditional stories and tips for telling stories: https://www.orkneyology.com/David-Campbell-Orkneyology-Press.html

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