PODCAST · society
Racontour Archive 2008 - 2019
by Racontour and friends
Covering the years 2008 - 2019. Watch this archive expand in 2022 as we remix and update our audio material from these years. All we ask is that you share these clips on social media if you enjoyed them.
Episodes
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S1 Ep9: D1 YC Parkes Castle and Wild Rose waterbus
Non Yeats POI: Parkes Castle. GPS location 54.264611, -8.33396 A restored plantation castle of the early 17th century, picturesquely situated on the shores of Lough Gill, once the home of Robert Parke and his family. The Courtyard grounds contain evidence of an earlier 16th century Tower House...
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S1 Ep8: D1 YC Dromahair
Non Yeats P.O.I. Dromahair. GPS location 54.220799, -8.297467 Dromahair lies in the hilly north west of Leitrim amid some stunning unspoiled natural landscapes. The "Sleeping Giant" mountain formation (comprising Keelogyboy, Leean and Benbo) is visible on approaches to the village, as is Lough…
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S1: Welcome to Yeats Country
Tour curator John Ward welcomes listeners about to embark on a range of sites that inspired a young Yeats to conjure up his Celtic Twilight. All of the well-known sites, plus a few non-Yeats treats are included culminating in a visit to Yeats's grave at Drumcliffe. Please see the dedicated Yeats...
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S2 Ep9: D2 YC Rosses Point
Rosses Point GPS Location: 54.304105, -8.561783 Yeats loved Rosses Point and first experimented with the paranormal here, encouraged by his cousin's housekeeper who had the ˜second sight'. Today excellent restaurants and pubs meet all your needs, even if they can't predict your future! Yeats…
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S2 Ep8: D2 YC Rathcormack
Rathcormack GPS Location: 54.31955, -8.48289 Rathcormack is a small village at the base of a valley. You may wish to take note of an art installation honouring Countess Markievicz by the roadside. Rising on a brae from it towards Sligo, get ready to turn right at the top of the brae for Rosses...
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S2 Ep7: D2 YC Yeats's Grave
Location: Yeat's Grave, Drumcliffe Yeats's grave is marked in front of you with Ben Bulben visible through the cemetery trees. If the church is open, ensure you pay it a visit. If the excellent booklet by Derick Bingham entitled 'The Eye of the Heart' is still in print, it's well worth a read.…
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S2 Ep6: D2 YC Drumcliffe
Drumcliffe GPS Location: 54.325334, -8.493741 You are now in the village of Drumcliffe, firmly put on the map when W.B. Yeats was interred here some nine years after his death in France in January 1939. After a long and somber route back from Roquebrune where it lay in state both there and in…
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S2 Ep5: D2 YC Lissadell House
Lissadell House GPS Location: 54.344031, -8.57777 Please note that Lissadell House has a limited opening season. Best to check the Lissadell website when planning your visit closer to the time. One of the great coups for Lissadell is getting Leonard Cohen to play here in 2010. Thw riter was lucky...
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S2 Ep4: D2 YC Carney - Yeats pros and cons
Carney village GPS Location: 54.336437, -8.527212 Narrators: Pro Yeats Mary vs Anti Yeats Sean! You are driving through Carney, a small but well-serviced village, with two good restaurants and pubs, a Chinese take away and even a football team called Yeats FC! DIRECTIONS: Carry on to Lissadell...
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S2 Ep3: D2 YC Diarmaid of the love spot
By the shores of Glencar lake GPS Location: 54.33762, -8.404841 One of the many tranquil spots along the lake where the scenery is worth stopping for. In our audio piece, we move onto Irish mythology as under Ben Bulben is where the Fianna warriors hunted and where we tell you the story of…
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S2 Ep2: D2 YC Glencar Waterfall
Glencar lake and waterfall GPS location: 54.340271, -8.37323 We've guided you to the car park by Glencar lake. It's got clean WCs available and adequate parking for everything from buses to motorhomes. This car park may be the best place from which to do a proper walking tour of the area. The...
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S2 Ep1: D2 YC N16 to Glencar
DAY TWO Starting point is the N16 to Manorhamilton GPS Location: 54.282961, -8.45329 Narrators: Mary Murphy and Sean McMahon In our audio piece. Mary and Sean set the scene on Yeats's fascination with the Celtic twilight. Today's route encompasses its famous sites before coming to Yeats's resting...
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S1 Ep10: D1 YC The Song of Wandering Aengus
We finish Day One overlooking Lough Gill from a viewing point with good parking. Actor Neil O'Shea recites The Song of Wandering Aengus from 1899 The Wind amongst the Reeds collection. This is one of the pieces from his full length show, The Irish Writers Entertain which mixes verse, poetry…
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S1 Ep7: D1 YC The Lake Isle of Inishfree
OPTIONAL The banks of Lough Gill by Inishfree GPS Location: 54.215204, -8.350232 Narrator: W.B. Yeats (no kidding!) NB: not recommended in an SUV! Best to see the famed isle via the waterbus. The road down to this Point of Interest is signposted, but is about 4 kilometres along a windy road…
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S1 Ep6: D1 YC Dooney Rock
Dooney Rock GPS Location: 54.239091, -8.42733 Narrators: Mary Murphy and Sean McMahon You are now at Dooney Rock, a huge rock covered in foliage and trees. This was a favourite spot for dancing and romancing and Yeats would have seen a blind fiddler who regularly played here on Sundays. "When I...
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S1 Ep5: D1 YC Tobernalt Holy Well
Tobernalt Holy Well GPS Location: 54.244666, -8.445053 Narrator: Sean McMahon Non Yeats Point of Interest Tobernalt Holy Well is a place of reflection and nurturing serenity. It predates the advent of Christianity to Ireland in the fifth century. Its importance as a meeting place and a sustainer…
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S1 Ep4: D1 YC Lough Gill scenic brow
Lough Gill scenic brow GPS Location: 54.250261, -8.45164 Narrators: Mary Murphy and Sean McMahon Your first view of it is a spectacular panorama well worth stopping off to take some pictures. Park on the left just before the brow descends. Directions: go down the brae and turn right at the sign…
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S1 Ep3: D1 YC Ballysadare
Ballysadare Bridge GPS Location: 54.209507, -8.509383 Narrators: Mary Murphy and Sean McMahon Ballysadare village, 7 miles south of Sligo is where the Pollexfen Company had extensive milling interests. You should be on the bridge where the Ballysadare river is. Facing north, you are now best…
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S1 Ep2: D1 YC Queen Maeve's Cairn
Queen Maeve's Cairn, Knocknarea GPS Location: 54.272091, -8.47533 Narrators: Mary Murphy and Sean McMahon 325 metres high overlooking Yeats country is this imposing megalithic tomb to the legendary Maeve, Queen of Connacht. The great mound of stones on top of Knocknarea's flat-topped summit is...
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S1 Ep1: D1 YC The Sídhe
Sligo Tourist Office, Old Bank Building, O'Connell Street, Sligo GPS Location: 54.272091, -8.47533 Narrators: Mary Murphy and Sean McMahon The office is the nominal Sligo Town base from which you'll commence your two-day Yeats Country guide. The helpful staff will be able to provide you with a…
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3. SVT Athleague
PULL OVER POINT #1 - Athleague LOCATION: 53.569574, -8.261633 The old Protestant church opposite the mill has been converted into an Angling and Visitors Centre called the Riverside Cafe. Here one can get all the local tourist information - angling, walking, cycling and is a central booking…
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2. SVT St. Coman's church and graveyard
Location: 53.629072, -8.191069 This Protestant church is dedicated to the saint who gave his name to the town and the county and has us saluting one of the true heroes of the area before we get to the good stuff on the sinners!
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1. SVT Suck Valley introduction
The Suck river meanders ponderously as it makes it way down towards the Shannon. To the left is Galway and to the right is Roscommon. It's a valley that is renowned to fisherman across Europe, but it has some interesting historical facts associated with it. Did you know the finest ancient…
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22. SVT - An amenable river
Location: 53.63385, -8.305836 You may wish to observe the river up close by turning right at the T-junction. You will see about twenty fishing docks for the nearby Cuisle Holiday Centre a.k.a Donamon Castle. This is Ireland's leading wheelchair accessible resort and is the Irish Wheelchair...
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14. SVT - Stoneham Fishing
Location: 53.620883, -8.320577 Turn right for Stonehams lough Stonehams is the place to go if you really want to get away from it all and get some peace and quiet. The area is partial to flooding so if traveling by car, park up where you see somewhere safe and walk the rest of the way. There are…
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20. SVT Roscommon Railway
Location: 53.642628, -8.304913 The existence of the railway line you've just gone under is thanks to the efforts of Lord Crofton back in the 1860s as the audio piece explains.
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21. SVT Roscommon Place Names
There isn't an acre of land in Ireland that doesn't have place names. Here, Charlie Clarke rolls off just a few of the ones he can think of in the area.
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10. SVT Murdered by tea!
After your stop off in Fuerty, you will be taking a left at the T-junction and making your way to Castlecoote. It's a short, but beautiful drive through some of the best countryside in Ireland all the while surrounded by the swooping Suck river. Take note of the old schoolhouse on the right. Here...
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8. SVT La Tène Stone
PULL OVER POINT #2 La Tène stone Location: 53.586747, -8.272093 On arrival, go through stone gates and find the stone some 50m on the right. Known as the Castlestrange Stone, this dramatic granite boulder displays the characteristic curvilinear ornamentation of Celtic flourishes called La Tène....
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12. SVT Fuerty Flax
Fuerty raconteur Charles Clarke solves a riddle where he once took a piddle!
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9. SVT Fuerty Abbey
PULL OVER #3 Fuerty Location: 53.610687, -8.269272 Just after the tree in the picture, there is parking space just before the church on the right. Pull over here to enjoy the audio pieces and to wander around this wonderful village. The graveyard here is one of the most interesting in the county....
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18. SVT Donamon Castle
PULL OVER #5 Donamon Castle Location: 53.631712, -8.318195 Donamon Castle is one of the oldest inhabited buildings in Ireland. There was a fort here from early times, but the first recorded reference is in the Annals of the Four Masters for the year 1154. It was the seat of the O'Finnaghys, the...
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17. SVT Dan and the cat
Eamonn Gleeson tells a story about how one canny publican got the better of the Gardaí one night, thanks to his pet cat!
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16. SVT Cross of Cong
According to Irish annals, supported by the inscriptions on the cross itself (which refer to known historical personages), the cross was made in County Roscommon. In the annals, the cross is sometimes called in the Irish language "an Bacall Buidhe", which translates as "the yellow staff" — a...
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15. SVT Cattle tales
To see you back into town in style, Eamonn and Charlie tells us about their memories of cattle and cattle marts in days gone by.
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11. SVT Castlecoote origins
PULL OVER #4 Castlecoote Location: 53.613399, -8.290644 Our fourth Pull-Over point is Castelcoote picturesquely located beside the Suck River. Look out for possibly Ireland's smallest museum in the yellow phone box! The village of Castlecoote as it is known to-day got it's name from ‘Coote....
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7. SVT Aleen Cust
Location: 53.585474, -8.271482 Aleen Cust made history as the first female vet in either Ireland or Britain and faced great opposition despite females surely being infinitely more knowledgeable about giving birth than men! Cust nevertheless went on to practise in County Roscommon with William...
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SRH 21. Shannonbridge Fortifications
Location: 53.278611, -8.046389 These fortifications are an outstanding example of early 19th century artillery fortifications, built following the 1798 rising, to guard against a further French invasion. Four guns were arranged along the front of the redoubt. Remains of the pivots and circular...
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SRH 20. Nure Wake House
Location: 53.345, -8.01004 Park beside the road. Known to the present day as "The Caoinna Marbh" (crying of the dead), this Wake house was frequently used in early Christian times to rest coffins and coffin carriers when funeral corteges passed through on their way to Clonmacnoise. The interior…
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SRH 19. Thomastown Mausoleum
Location: 53.36842, -8.07234 The cemetery and the very fine Naghten mausoleum were both restored in 1997-1999 by Drum Heritage Group, as was the adjacent early Christian Church known locally as the Blind Church (no windows). Its interior wall carries a limestone plinth to the memory of the...
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SRH 18. Drum Heritage Centre, Holy Well and Graveyard
Location: 53.39827, -8.03146 Drum Heritage Centre has a large display area containing one of the largest collections in the midlands of historic documents relating to Drum and the local area, including Mass Display paths. There is also a large collection of the literary works of Tadgh O'Neachtain...
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SRH 17. Curraghaleen Hedge School
Location: 53.41071, -8.04632 Park on road beside school. Not many ruins of Hedge Schools are to be found today in rural Ireland. Described as a wretched cabin on the 1826 Survey of Schools, the records state Curraghaleen Hedge school had an attendance of 12 males and 4 females and the Hedge…
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SRH 16. Meehambee Dolmen
Location: 53.41188, -8.01972 Park at tomb sign beside road. The 300 metre long Bridle Pathway at Meehambee, Drum leads to the prehistoric monument, the 3500 BC megalithic burial tomb, Four separate information panels are presently in place at different locations along the pathway. The site of…
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SRH 15. St Ronan's Holy Well and Rag Tree
Location: 53.38421, -8.14489 Holy wells are sacred sites that have continued in use since prehistory. A bride might hope for good luck; an invalid might search for a cure. St Ronan's Well is reputed to have curative powers for eyesight. Often a special Mass is said. The prehistoric ritual of...
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SRH 14. Brideswell Holy Well
Location: 53.45278, -8.08888 A superb example of a well-maintained holy well in the centre of the village. Good location for a refreshment break. This well is one of the earliest Christian sites in Ireland and has a traditional Pattern day on the last Sunday of July (Garland Sunday). Pilgrimage…
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Racontour Archive 2008 - 2019 have?
Racontour Archive 2008 - 2019 currently has 392 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Racontour Archive 2008 - 2019 about?
Covering the years 2008 - 2019. Watch this archive expand in 2022 as we remix and update our audio material from these years. All we ask is that you share these clips on social media if you enjoyed them.
How often does Racontour Archive 2008 - 2019 release new episodes?
Racontour Archive 2008 - 2019 publishes regularly with 392 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
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You can listen to Racontour Archive 2008 - 2019 on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Racontour Archive 2008 - 2019?
Racontour Archive 2008 - 2019 is created and hosted by Racontour and friends.
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