What happens when stories refuse to stay penned within physical or political borders? In this luminous gathering, guest storyteller and musician Colin Urwin joins Maria and Jim to trace the migratory magic of folktales - from the wind-scoured cliffs of Antrim to the Gaeltacht of Ballyvourney and the star-strewn gardens of Armenia. Through shape-shifting grandmothers, protective swarms of bees, and a blossom that demands love rather than force, this episode explores the art of boundary-keeping and what it truly means to attain immortality.

The Stories

• "The Hunting Party and the Hare" - A Rathlin Island folktale from the Tommy Cecil Archive, told by Colin Urwin.
• "St. Gobnait and the Nine White Deer" - A West Cork legend of dreams, bees, and sacred boundaries, told by Maria Gillen (Seanchaí Chorcaí).
• "The Anahakan Rose" - An Armenian teaching tale of tyrannical longing and cosmic stewardship, told by Jim Brulé.
• "The Hare's Lament" ("The Hare's Dream") - Traditional Ulster hunting ballad sung unaccompanied by Colin Urwin.

Guest: Colin Urwin

Colin Urwin is Seanchaí to the Chief of the Antrim McDonnells Randal, 15th Earl of Antrim at Glenarm Castle. He is also a folksinger, songwriter, storyteller, author and workshop facilitator. For over 25 years, he has been the caller and singer in the award-winning 'Haste to the Wedding' ceilidh band. He serves on the committee of the Storytellers of Ireland and the Glens of Antrim Historical Society, and is the Storyteller-in-Residence at The Courthouse, Shared Space and Creative Hub, Bushmills.

Steeped for a lifetime in the language, folklore and traditions of his beloved Glens of Antrim, Colin has long been influenced by traditional Irish and Scottish music, song and story. He is inspired by the people and places, the history and legends, and the sheer, rugged romance of the northeast coast of Ireland. From these, he conjures up many of his beautiful ballads, magical rhyming monologues and delicately woven tales of wonder.

Links:

Website: https://colinurwin.com

Ceilidh Band: http://hastetothewedding.com/

The Chapters

• [00:00] Welcome to The Story Road Maria and Jim open the hearth from Cork to New York and warmly welcome Antrim storyteller, author, and musician Colin Urwin.
• [01:03] The Glens of Antrim & The Coast of the Gael Colin unpacks the porous, ancient relationship between Northeast Ireland and Argyll, Scotland - a threshold land shaped by Gaels, Scots, and Norse settlers.
• [03:45] Tales with Legs: The Migrating Fairy Midwife The trio explores how folktales travel along merchant routes and traveling communities, noting identical fairy midwife motifs appearing across Ireland, Scotland, Northumberland, and North America.
• [06:01] Dakar to Dublin: Polygenesis & The Price of Magic Jim introduces the Senegalese counterpart to the fairy midwife tale, contrasting Western narratives of punishment with African motifs of reward, trade routes, and spiritual boundary-keeping.
• [08:22] The Celtic Heart: Honoring Everyday Belfast Colin reflects on his hit Waterfront Hall stage production, The Celtic Heart, exploring working-class resilience, ancestral grief, and uplifting redemption in post-conflict Northern Ireland.
• [13:06] Story: The Hunting Party and the Hare Colin Urwin shares a classic Rathlin Island tale of a haughty landlord, a silver half-crown, an outsmarted pack of hounds, and a grandmother whose hearthside scratches reveal a clever secret.
• [25:26] Lúnasa, Hares, and Shape-Shifting Sovereignty The hosts reflect on the Irish hare’s folkloric association with women's autonomy, harvest season magic, and shared Celtic variations from Wales to Kerry.
• [27:26] Story: St. Gobnait and the Nine White Deer Maria Gillen recounts the journey of an Inishmaan girl led by prophetic dreams and her woven hive across Galway and Limerick to Baile Mhúirne, where healing honey and gentle strength turn back cattle raiders.
• [36:03] Apples, Stings, and Two Kinds of Sweetness Inspired by Gobnait’s bees, Jim connects the healing sting to Rosh Hashanah traditions - differentiating between surface sweetness and the profound sweetness won through enduring pain.
• [38:08] Story: The Anahakan Rose Jim Brulé shares an Armenian tale of a grasping king, doomed gardeners, and a young caretaker named Samvel whose patient lullabies and dancing awaken a dying bush and unlock cosmic eternity.
• [47:30] Storytelling as Communal Medicine The circle discusses how bringing ancient archetypes into shared presence fosters deep kinship, healing, and cultural cross-pollination.
• [48:35] Song: The Hare's Lament Colin sings a moving, unaccompanied traditional Ulster ballad voiced by the hunted hare herself, followed by reflections on rhythmic songs, rowboats, and shapeshifters.
• [54:36] Safe Travels on The Story Road Maria and Jim close the episode with traditional blessings until the next threshold crossing.

Key Takeaways: Transformational Insights

1. Stories Are Living Migrants, Not Static Relics Folklore does not belong to single geographic points; it moves through human trade routes, sea-crossings, and traveling communities. Whether in Cork, Antrim, Wales, or Senegal, tales naturally adapt their outward scenery while preserving their core emotional medicine.
2. The Underdog’s Art of Shape-Shifting From the Rathlin grandmother slipping the bounds of an oppressive landlord to the hare voicing her own plea against the hounds, folklore grants the marginalized the ultimate weapon: cunning, agility, and kinship with the wild.
3. True Sweetness Must Acknowledge the Sting Just as St. Gobnait’s honey cures wounds while her bees defend the community's boundaries, the deepest sweetness in life cannot be separated from the pain that birthed it. Healing demands both tenderness and the fierceness of protection.
4. Immunity vs. Immortality: Love Outlasts Dominion In "The Anahakan Rose," the king seeks immortality as a trophy of possession and ends in bitter decay. Samvel achieves timelessness through relationship, devotion, and song. The garden does not belong to the ruler who claims it, but to the soul who tends it and dances with its mystery.

Closing & Communities

Thank you for traveling with us along the winding borderlands of memory and myth.

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