Articles on Irish folklore

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The Irish Homespun Society, a female-led craft advocacy group, set out to ‘keep women spinning in their homes’ in the 1930s and 40s in the decades after textile labour shifted towards industrial production. (The Photographic Collection, B063.29.00014/by Dúchas © National Folklore Collection)

‘We knew she was a fairy when we saw her:’ How Irish folklore around spinning instructed women artisans

Brandi Goddard, University of Alberta

A look at Irish folklore surrounding women’s craft in time for Halloween, a time of the year when boundaries between worlds are said to be thin.
Northern European folklore had different ways of referring to distant lights known to spontaneously appear on peatlands, including will-o’-the-wisp, and the more familiar jack-o’-lantern. (Shutterstock)

Peatland folklore lent us will‑o‑the‑wisps and jack‑o‑lanterns, and can inspire climate action today

Derek Gladwin, University of British Columbia

Peatlands have been central to how northern European folklore has explored fear and a sense of the supernatural for hundreds of years. Their persistence is also key to slowing down climate change.

Related Topics

  1. Climate change education
  2. Gothic literature
  3. Halloween
  4. Ireland
  5. Irish
  6. Jack o Lantern
  7. Oral history

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