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017 Brittany France Destinations with Wendy Mewes

Welcome to Episode 17 of the Thin Places Travel Podcast. This episode features Brittany France – an area of mystery and legend with one of the largest collections of pre-Christian monuments in Europe.  Our guest today is author and Brittany expert, Wendy Mewes. 

Brittany France, with expert Wendy Mewes

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THIN PLACES TRAVEL PODCAST
#017 Brittany France Destinations with Wendy Mewes
Host – Mindie Burgoyne
Guests – Wendy Mewes – Brittany Expert
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Brittany France Destinations

Welcome to Episode 17 of the Thin Places Travel Podcast. This episode features Brittany France – an area with one of the largest collections of pre-Christian monuments in Europe. And these monuments are the run of the mill dolmens or passage tombs. The monuments in Brittany, in many instances, predate those in Ireland and the UK. Many believe the people who created the first of the monuments in Ireland and the UK came from Brittany. It was the Breton culture that established this pattern of erecting these ancient monuments.

We are so lucky to have the Brittany expert, Wendy Mewes on the podcast today. If you search the internet for guides in Brittany or books written on the ancient Breton landscape, you will find Wendy’s name and her website…. Wendymewes.com

She is a prolific writer and lecturer. On her website, she has a quote that reads, “My personal identity lies in the landscape.” Her books and writing speak to the concept that the landscape is alive and that there is an inherent “sense of place” unique to the Breton landscape. Wendy lives in Finistere – with its deep forests, sweeping shorelines and ancient stones – an amazing place for walking. 
Continue reading “017 Brittany France Destinations with Wendy Mewes”

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016 Achill Island History and Things to Do – with Patricia Byrne

Welcome to Episode 16 of the Thin Places Travel Podcast. In this episode, we’ll be focusing on Achill Island History and things to do on the Island. Our guest is the writer, Patricia Byrne who is from County Mayo and has written extensively about Achill Island including two non-fiction books on Achill Islands recent history and most captivating historical characters. 

Patricia Byrne discusses Achill Island
Writer, Patricia Byrne discusses Achill Island

 

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THIN PLACES TRAVEL PODCAST
#016 Achill Island History and Things to Do 
Host – Mindie Burgoyne
Guests – Patricia Byrne – Writer from County Mayo
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Achill Island History and Things to Do

This episode is focused on the largest of Ireland’s islands – Achill Island. It lies off the coast of County Mayo and can be accessed by a bridge. It’s an island of stories, of sorrow, of powerful women, and it has some of the most beautiful scenery is all of Ireland with sheer cliffs, amazing mountains, bogland, sandy beaches, and historic villages.  Achill Island  – as my friend Ruth O’Hagan says, “… is one big, fat, giant amethyst sitting in the Atlantic Ocean. And it’s true that amethysts were mined here, and one can still see the veins of purple in the gray rock cliff faces.

Achill is old landscape. Inhabitants of the island are said to go back 5000 years.  The Belfast born painter, Paul Henry visited Achill Island with the intent of staying a few weeks but found that he couldn’t leave. He said of Achill Island, “Achill … called to me as no other place had ever done.” He ended us staying for years.

Patricia Byrne is a writer who currently lives in Limerick, but is from County Mayo and has Achill Island ancestors. The stories of Achill Island and her ancestors captured her imagination so strongly that she has spent years researching and writing narrative non-fiction about the island’s history and people.   She is a graduate of the NUI Galway writer program. Her most recently historical non fiction books are:

The Preach and the Prelate: The Achill Mission Colony and the Battle for Souls in Famine Ireland  

And

The Veiled Woman of Achill: Island Outrage and a Playboy Drama

In our conversation today, Patricia and I talk about the stories in her books, but also about Achill Island itself and many opportunities for travelers to the island.

Continue reading “016 Achill Island History and Things to Do – with Patricia Byrne”

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015 Celtic Spirituality and Thin Places with Dolores Whelan

Welcome to Episode 15 of the Thin Places Travel Podcast. In this episode, we’ll be talking to Dolores Whelan, an author, lecturer and pilgrimage leader from County Louth. Her new book, Ever Ancient, Ever New: Celtic Spirituality in the 21st Century, explores the wisdom of the Celtic tradition through the Celtic Year and has a strong focus on Celtic Spirituality as it relates to the concept of thin places. 

Dolores Whelan - Celtic Spirituality and Thin Places
Dolores Whelan at Loughcrew with Thin Places Tour 2017


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THIN PLACES TRAVEL PODCAST
#015 Celtic Spirituality and Thin Places with Dolores Whelan
Host – Mindie Burgoyne
Guests – Dolores Whelan – Author, Lecturer, Pilgrimage Leader
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Dolores Whelan on Celtic Spirituality and Thin Places

Dolores Whelan is a well-respected leader in the area of Celtic Spirituality and Thin Places. 

She is a great spiritual teacher who lives at the foot of the Cooley Mountains in County Louth. She will talk to us about how the accessibility of the Otherworld dimensions within the sacred landscape.
Continue reading “015 Celtic Spirituality and Thin Places with Dolores Whelan”

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014 New Henge Discovery in Boyne Valley – Anthony Murphy

Welcome to Episode 14 of the Thin Places Travel Podcast. Coming up is the 2nd of two interviews with Anthony Murphy, an expert on the World Heritage Site known as Bru na Boinne or the Boyne Valley. In this episode Anthony talks about his recent, once-in-a-lifetime discovery made when doing some aerial photography. It appears to be an ancient henge.

Anthony Murphy guides a Thin Places tour at the Knowth monument
Anthony Murphy guides a Thin Places tour at the Knowth monument

THIN PLACES TRAVEL PODCAST
#014 New Henge Discovery in Boyne Valley – Anthony Murphy
Host – Mindie Burgoyne
Guests – Anthony Murphy – Mythical Ireland
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A Once-in-a-Lifetime Discovery 

Anthony Murphy and friend find a new henge near Newgrange

This episode is a follow up to episode 13 where I interviewed Irish ancient monument expert, Anthony Murphy. Anthony is a husband and father of five who currently works full time as a journalist. He spends a portion of his free time examining, studying and photographing the ancient monuments in the Boyne Valley – a World Heritage Site. This Valley is not too far from where Anthony lives and if you follow his facebook page – Mythical Ireland, you’ll see that he gets out quite often to photograph the area at various stages of daylight and twilight throughout the changing seasons of the year. Continue reading “014 New Henge Discovery in Boyne Valley – Anthony Murphy”

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013 Mythical Ireland – Boyne Valley with Anthony Murphy

Welcome to Episode 13 of the Thin Places Travel Podcast. Our featured guest for this episode is Anthony Murphy, an expert on the history and mysteries surrounding the ancient monuments in the Boyne Valley in Ireland. This is the first of two interviews. The second interview (Episode 14) follows this episode, and in that interview, Anthony discusses a once-in-a-lifetime discovery he and his friend made when they discovered new monuments in the Boyne Valley. Be sure to carry your listening through to the second interview. 

Anthony Murphy of Mythical Ireland
Anthony Murphy of Mythical Ireland

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THIN PLACES TRAVEL PODCAST
#013 Mythical Ireland – Boyne Valley with Anthony Murphy
Host – Mindie Burgoyne
Guests – Anthony Murphy – Mythical Ireland
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Mythical Ireland – Boyne Valley with Anthony Murphy

Newgrange, Henges and the Irish Mythology tied to the Ancient Monuments

Anthony Murphy is a historian, journalist and a remarkable photographer who lives in Drogheda, one of Ireland most ancient towns. Most of Drogheda is in County Louth, but a portion of it runs into County Meath – the ancient royal capital of Ireland where you find the Hill of Tara and the massive collection of ancient monuments in the Boyne Valley.

Continue reading “013 Mythical Ireland – Boyne Valley with Anthony Murphy”

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012 Kinsale Walks and Ghost Tour with Barry Moloney

Welcome to Episode 12 of the Thin Places Travel Podcast. In this episode, we’ll be talking about Kinsale Walks and the oldest Ghost Tour in Ireland. Our guest will be Barry Moloney, a tour guide with Kinsale Historic Strolls. He’ll tell about how Kinsale is a draw for artists and storytellers and a little bit about Kinsale history. We’ll also review the Kinsale Ghost Tour, a part of Kinsale performing events. 

 

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THIN PLACES TRAVEL PODCAST
#012 Artists and Storytellers in Kinsale with Barry Moloney
Host – Mindie Burgoyne
Guests – Barry Moloney – Don & Barry’s Kinsale Historic Strolls
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Kinsale Walks and Ghost Tour – County Cork

Kinsale – County Cork – off the coast of southern Ireland

Kinsale isn’t a thin place… sometimes you need to relax and rejuvenate and have fun. Most lovers of thin places and liminal spaces also love history and stories of local people – heroes, villains – and Kinsale is very rich in history that impacted the evolvement of society in the western world with the famous “Battle of Kinsale.”
Kinsale has two historic forts, Charles and James Forts. And so many other bits of interesting history.

Kinsale is of my favorite towns for relaxing. I love the vibe. The town is clean, vibrant It’s an art and foodie town. The people are friendly. It’s totally walkable and everywhere you look is color and light.

When you go to Kinsale a good way to get your bearings is to go on a tour guided by Don or Barry – on Don and Barry’s Historic Strolls. I was lucky enough to get an interview with Barry when I was in Kinsale recently.

Continue reading “012 Kinsale Walks and Ghost Tour with Barry Moloney”

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Carrowkeel and Sligo Thin Places – with Martin Byrne

Welcome to Episode 11 of the Thin Places Travel Podcast. In this episode, we’ll be talking to the sacred Ireland expert, tour guide, and musician, Martin Byrne from County Sligo. Martin will talk about Carrowkeel, the megalithic passage tomb complex in south Sligo and several other major thin places in Sligo that are a part of a chain of thin places that stretch straight across Ireland from eastern border to the west. 

Martin Byrne plays his banjo at Drumcliffe
Martin Byrne plays his banjo at Drumcliffe

 

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THIN PLACES TRAVEL PODCAST
#011 Carrowkeel and Sligo Thin Places with Martin Byrne
Host – Mindie Burgoyne
Guest – Martin Byrne – Historian, Tour Guide and Musician
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Martin Byrne, sacred Ireland expert, tour guide and musician brings us Carrowkeel in South Sligo

Martin Byrne lives in Cliffony in north County Sligo, but he spent many years living at Carrowkeel, close to the shores of Lough Arrow.  Carrowkeel is a 5000-year-old megalithic complex of ancient buildings that served as tombs scattered across the summits of the  Bricklieve Mountains.  This area is in the close company of other megalithic sites that include Kesh Corran also known as the caves of kesh, the Heapstown Cairn, Creevykeel Court Tomb, Carrowmore Megalithic Cemetery, Knocknarea – the sacred mountain with the large cairn on top. 

Continue reading “Carrowkeel and Sligo Thin Places – with Martin Byrne”

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010 Awaken the Land with Mary Reynolds

Welcome to Episode 10 of the Thin Places Travel Podcast. In this episode, we’ll be talking to Mary Reynolds, reformed landscape designer and nature activist who wrote the book The Garden Awakening: Designs to Nurture Our Land and Ourselves, and who also is the subject of the movie Dare to be Wild.

Mary Reynolds - Thin Places Travel Podcast


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THIN PLACES TRAVEL PODCAST
#010 Awaken the Land – with Mary Reynolds
Host – Mindie Burgoyne
Guests – Mary Reynolds – Nature Activist, Garden Designer, Author
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Mary Reynolds – Reformed Landscape Designer and Nature Activist from County Wexford

I am so delighted to have Mary Reynolds on the podcast today. Mary is quite an extraordinary person. She’s a garden designer, a philosopher – a writer. She is the youngest woman to win a Gold Medal for garden design at the Chelsea Flower Show – since its inception over 100 years ago.

Mary grew up on a small mixed farm in Wexford, in the south of Ireland. 20 years ago she set up her own company designing gardens in Dublin. A few years later, having lost the will to live from constantly creating modern gardens, she realized that she could no longer continue shaping land in the same way and re-imagined her work to become nature rather than human-centered.
Continue reading “010 Awaken the Land with Mary Reynolds”

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009 Mysteries of the Burren – Tony Kirby

Welcome to Episode 009 of the Thin Places Travel Podcast.  Our guest today is Tony Kirby. He is a full-time tour operator offering walking tours through the Burren in West County Clare. He’s been offering these tours for 15 years through his company, Heart of Burren Walks

Tony Kirby offers Heart of Burren Walks

Tony Kirby – Heart of Burren Walks

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THIN PLACES TRAVEL PODCAST
#009 Mysteries of the Burren with Tony Kirby
Host – Mindie Burgoyne
Guests – Tony Kirby –Heart of Burren Walks
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The Burren in County Clare

The Burren in west County Clare is our featured destination in this podcast. Entire books are written about this 200 acres of rocky limestone that borders the Atlantic Ocean. It’s a landscape of myths and legends and sacred ground with archaeological remnants that date back thousands of years. It’s also a landscape of contrasts – the gray rock against the blue sky, mountains and hills that rise out of a seemingly endless flat bedrock. The contrasts are particularly powerful in the spring when the flowers of the Burren come into bloom. Tiny little orchids pop up in between the slabs of limestone Continue reading “009 Mysteries of the Burren – Tony Kirby”

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008 Fairy Worlds, Forts, Raths and the Fairy Knowe at Doon Hill

The Fairy Cottage at Doon Hill - the Fairy Knowe - Aberfoyle
The Fairy Cottage at Doon Hill – the Fairy Knowe – Aberfoyle

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#008 Fairy Worlds, Forts, Raths and the Fairy Knowe at Doon Hill
Host – Mindie Burgoyne
Guests – Carmel Costello – Spiritual Healer and kinesiologist
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The Fairy Realms

Today we’re talking about Fairies. There are many concepts about fairies. My only association with the word fairy was the Tinkerbelle sort in Peter Pan.  Sort of a Fairy Godmother.  The tooth fairy.  A good little angel. Fairies that I heard about growing up were good… and there was never any worry about a fairy causing mischief or harm.
 
But in the pre-Christian Celtic countries, the concept of fairies was different.  These beings were feared because they could curse you or bring you bad luck. You didn’t mess with the fairies.  You didn’t disturb their domain or their rath. You stayed away from fairy hills or forts. You didn’t cut down the lone hawthorn bush because it might be a fairy tree – a fairy domain. Continue reading “008 Fairy Worlds, Forts, Raths and the Fairy Knowe at Doon Hill”