Ever think to yourself “God this country makes me sick?” Course we mean things like politics, the weather, the news or just the general state of things. In Tudor Ireland though, English soldiers feared something more literal: that Ireland itself was making them sicken and die >

Today’s reading reminds us that no matter how embarrassed you were it wasn’t this “In the case of Nicholas Conyll, his wife’s suit for an annulment because of his alleged impotency led to a physical examination carried out by a panel of nine men who scrutinised his penis on behalf of the court” BUT

Free article on him here on my substack - open.substack.com/pub/medieval...

Doing my research for my Gráinne O Malley book I came across an old favourite, Rory Óg O More. A man whose success in guerrilla warfare drove the agents or Tudor Ireland quite mad with fury >

Doing my research for my Gráinne O Malley book I came across an old favourite, Rory Óg O More. A man whose success in guerrilla warfare drove the agents or Tudor Ireland quite mad with fury >

So maybe the 4am yowling is a attempt to frighten the spirits?

Love a cheeky Latin phrase, but this one, from the Scots poem Ratis Raving in CUL Kk.1.5, is a new one to me: qui culpat manum scriptoris lambiat anum I'll leave the translation to the reader, but M.R. James calls it "a very rude colophon"

People legally classified cats in medieval Ireland. There were 8 types and one of them was a cat who could frighten particular spirits. For those of us owned by cats this latter belief will not come as a surprise More on these, as well as other oddities here open.substack.com/pub/medieval...

People legally classified cats in medieval Ireland. There were 8 types and one of them was a cat who could frighten particular spirits. For those of us owned by cats this latter belief will not come as a surprise More on these, as well as other oddities here open.substack.com/pub/medieval...

I spent time in a Victorian pet cemetery recently and came away thinking about medieval Irish pets. This is what happens when you're a medieval historian. >

I spent time in a Victorian pet cemetery recently and came away thinking about medieval Irish pets. This is what happens when you're a medieval historian. >

A world where alcohol was good for you and dung was medicine… open.substack.com/pub/medieval...

A world where alcohol was good for you and dung was medicine… open.substack.com/pub/medieval...

I have GONE WILD on the 1926 Irish census and have made some fun discoveries: Trinidadian medical students, a Baháʼí couple in Donegal, the Irish widow of an emigré Cossack, and Egyptian sailors in Cork city - among many others.

www.widowedandyoung.org.uk/news/bereave... A lot of people assume that I am still in receipt of state benefits following Kieran's death, but in fact nowadays widowed parents receive financial support for only 18 months. This has huge financial implications! Kieran earned 60% of our household income.

Spare a thought please for my Dublin Mammy who found out her grandad was actually from Wexford thanks to the census. She’s been sure we’ve been Dubs since people decided to ford a shallow river there…

The 1926 census is published online today and if you’re one of the 80 million people who claim Irish ancestry I think you’ll be interested in this brilliant article on why this is so important and interesting from Professor Ciara Breathnach theconversation.com/80-million-p...

A place hard to beat most days but on a day like this…impossible Glendalough, as beautiful as ever

These families were translating Galen and Avicenna into Irish and I’ve been reading so much about them that this is the first in a short series on medicine, cures and even some magic on m’Substack You can read about the docs themselves first here open.substack.com/pub/medieval...

Are you a Cassidy or a Hickey or maybe an O’ Connor? If so your family may have been among the 50 or so hereditary medical dynasties of medieval Ireland >

Are you a Cassidy or a Hickey or maybe an O’ Connor? If so your family may have been among the 50 or so hereditary medical dynasties of medieval Ireland >

Medievalists waking up to the the news that a secular power is attacking the Pope…

To lighten the mood a little I wrote about my first historical crush. A lover AND a fighter and quite literally a legend. It’s Earl Gerald of Desmond. A man taught the dark arts by the devil himself and possibly turned into a goose by his mother. open.substack.com/pub/medieval...

A man who looked the (often just frankly horrendous) fourteenth century in the face and tipped a glass to it… Poet Earl Magician Possible goose

To lighten the mood a little I wrote about my first historical crush. A lover AND a fighter and quite literally a legend. It’s Earl Gerald of Desmond. A man taught the dark arts by the devil himself and possibly turned into a goose by his mother. open.substack.com/pub/medieval...

Looking at the news recently proper cursing may well be a viable option once more…

The Manuscript of the Week is RIA MS 23 E 29, the Book of Fermoy. Commissioned by David Mór Roche, it includes poems and prose relating to the medieval Roche family as well as a duanaire (poembook) containing copies of poems attributed to Gearóid Iarla, 3rd earl of Desmond (1338-1398).

Feeling powerless, wronged? Furious at something you can’t fix? Well, Ireland has an ancient solution for that and it doesn’t involve a petition or a strongly-worded letter. Nah, I’m talking deadly curses >

Good Friday today so whatever you do, DO NOT shave your horse or go near water. DO save laid eggs for Sunday and feel free to spend hours not speaking. But DON’T do what Kerry people did on Easter Sunday I wrote about the folklore+ traditions of Good Friday here open.substack.com/pub/medieval...

Good Friday today so whatever you do, DO NOT shave your horse or go near water. DO save laid eggs for Sunday and feel free to spend hours not speaking. But DON’T do what Kerry people did on Easter Sunday I wrote about the folklore+ traditions of Good Friday here open.substack.com/pub/medieval...

The new Buffy got cancelled which is sad BUT it reminded me that medieval Ireland had its very own Hellmouth…https://open.substack.com/pub/medievalgill/p/irelands-hellmouth?r=1n49a3&utm_medium=ios

In 1586 rebel Burkes in Mayo made “most odious speeches against her majesty saying - what have we to do with that caliaghe?” Caliaghe meaning cailleach or hag. Not everyone loved Gloriana…

If anyone wants to know what a sixteenth century salesman sounded like, have a peep at this. I wrote about Robert Payne and his sales pitch for moving to Munster (of all places) in 1589. If he was around today you would not buy a car off this one.... open.substack.com/pub/medieval...

Delighted to say I’ll be online chatting about my research into Gráinne O Malley and about Tudor Ireland in general for my new biography of her on Sunday 29th March. More info here if interested - irishpaganschool.com/p/grainne

Happy Sheelah’s Day Everyone

Happy Paddy’s Day everyone. Thing is though, he traditionally had a wife named Sheelah and her feast day was 18th March. So, I don’t want to be too controversial here but why don’t we have tomorrow off as well in Ireland? I mean, we used to celebrate her. Thread

Happy Paddy’s Day everyone. Thing is though, he traditionally had a wife named Sheelah and her feast day was 18th March. So, I don’t want to be too controversial here but why don’t we have tomorrow off as well in Ireland? I mean, we used to celebrate her. Thread

It’s Friday the 13th and it’s Mother’s Day this weekend so…

The Luguaedon Stone • Inchagoill Island This small stone pillar stands close to the early church of Teampall Phadraig. It bears one of the earliest inscriptions of Irish in the Latin alphabet. It reads: LIE LUGUAEDON MACCI MENUEH THE STONE OF LUGUAEDON, SON OF MENUEH #Ireland #SpéirGhorm 🏺

It’s International Women’s Day. Luckily I am working on a new biography of an exceptional Irishwoman, Gráinne O Malley - you might know her as Granuaile or as The Pirate Queen in folklore > #InternationalWomensDay2026

Oooh lots of great stuff going on at @nmireland.bsky.social for International Women’s Day #InternationalWomensDay #WomensHistoryMonth www.museum.ie/en-IE/News/I...

I wrote about a couple of remarkable Irish women you likely haven’t heard of for #WomensHistoryMonth open.substack.com/pub/medieval...

I was thinking about this statue and what it says about family and love and loss. So I wrote a little piece on the glue that bound these boys together - their foster-mother, the warrior woman Scàthach and what fosterage meant. open.substack.com/pub/medieval...

I was thinking about this statue and what it says about family and love and loss. So I wrote a little piece on the glue that bound these boys together - their foster-mother, the warrior woman Scàthach and what fosterage meant. open.substack.com/pub/medieval...

Hello - I decided to start a Substack. It’s called Unruly Ireland and I’d love to see you there open.substack.com/pub/medieval...

Hello, I’m on today’s bonus episode of The Rest is History It’s called: Irish Kings, Medieval Magic, and the Norman Invasion of Ireland So if you’re a subscriber then I hope you enjoy 👍

This looks like it’s going to be a really fascinating talk.

My view today

Read a nice little blog on the Bonnacon today so thought I’d share. If you have never before heard of this mythical creature who attacked with its farts and poo then…enjoy blogs.getty.edu/iris/the-bon...

Anyway forget Paddy’s Day and get ready for Sheelah’s Day on 18th March. The campaign for another day off BEGINS Sheelah take a bow: St Patrick’s wife? Probably not – she was far more important than that www.irishtimes.com/culture/heri...