The legend of Cormac Mac Airt and The Magic Branch has many messages. On one level it could be thought of as an ancient embodiment of the phrase, “be careful what you wish for.” A mysterious man appears before the king with a magic branch that can take away all sorrow. Cormac is enchanted by the branch and desperately makes a deal to get it. However, he soon discovers two things. The deal requires him to give up his family and the branch does not actually take away sorrow; it only temporarily hides it.

The second point raises an interesting question. If you had a way of hiding your sorrows from yourself, would you? Most of us do pretty much anything we can to avoid or escape sorrow. However, dealing with sorrow is a big part of what makes us who we are.

Would we want to hide this?  I’m not sure.

Flying

Flying Away

The inspiration for this song is the Cattle Raid of Cooley (Táin Bó Cúailnge). More specifically it comes from the part of the story where the bulls themselves fight. Eithne Massey’s telling of this story in The Battle of the Bulls beautifully highlights the fact that the bulls don’t actually want to fight each other. They only do so at the urging of the human warriors. This seems to be a universal truth about war. The ones doing the fighting are at the mercy of those in charge, who often treat them as disposable objects to be used as cannon fodder.

I like to imagine an alternative ending to the story where the bulls refuse to fight each other.

Cannon Fodder

The Children of Lir tells the story of a mother (Aoife) who turns her children into swans and dooms them to spend 900 years outside, exposed to the harsh weather of Ireland.  Aoife’s journey from a mother to a demon is primarily caused by the lack of love she receives from her father, husband, and children.  In this song Aoife, reflects on her transformation and wonders if she’ll ever really know who she is.

900 Years

I wrote this song after reading The Death of Suibhne. The song is from Suibhne's perspective and focuses on explaining why he behaves the way he does. Although he has gone mad and spends his time wandering the forest, leaping from tree to tree, I like to think he is actually wise. The true madness is our human capacity for violence. Although the legend explains that Suibhne’s madness was caused by the curse of Saint Rónán Finn, I prefer his wife’s explanation. She believes it was the horrors of battle that drove the king mad.

I also love the idea that multiple attempts were made to cure Suibhne of his madness, but none of them were successful.

The song is not about Suibhne's death but appreciating his approach to life.

The Fight at the Ford is the story of the epic battle between two ancient heroes: Cú Chulainn and Ferdia. To me, the interesting part of this story is that the heroes don't really want to fight each other. They grew up together and actually love each other. However, they are manipulated by other people to fight each other. This seems like a universal truth.

Into The Fray

Queen Maeve is one of the most famous characters from Irish mythology. She is fierce, independent, and powerful. This song is inspired by the story of the Pillow Talk between her and her husband Ailill mac Máta that ultimately leads to the Cattle Raid of Cooley (Táin Bó Cúailnge).

My favourite part of the story is when they start arguing about who has benefitted the most from their marriage and he starts to, “regret that he had started this conversation.” I think everyone can relate to that feeling of regretting a conversation they’ve started.

I wrote this song from Ailill’s point of view, if he finally built up the courage to confront Maeve directly. Of course, if he did, I don’t think it would have ended well for him.

Just About Done

When meeting someone you haven't seen for a long time, most people are surprised at how much that person has changed. Although we know that everybody is constantly changing, we can't help but only focus on the changes that we see directly. If we don't see someone changing, we assume they are staying the same.

This is the case in The Return of Oisin. Oisin is magically transported to a different world for 3 years. However, he thinks he has only been gone for 3 days. When he returns, he cannot understand why everything has changed.

Suddenly

When I first read The Revenge of Sin it seemed like a simple story about revenge. A mysterious woman (Sin) seeks to avenge the death of her family by enchanting and destroying the king (Muirchertach mac Muiredaig) who was responsible. However, each time I read the story, a different idea seemed to resonate with me.

Initially I was fascinated by Sin’s beauty being described as ‘a beauty without gentleness.’ I love that expression. Just like the king, we too are often attracted to (and obsessed with) things that are beautiful, but not gentle.

A similar idea is revealed when the king and his men are fed endless amounts of magical food that never satisfies their hunger. In fact, the food leaves them weaker and hungrier. To me, this seemed to reference all the things we crave and consume today that leave us hungry and wanting more (physically, spiritually, and emotionally).

However, the most poignant part of the story is when Sin reveals (after the king is dead) that despite her quest for revenge she has fallen in love with the king. She exclaims, “This is the revenge fate has had upon me” and she subsequently dies of grief. This suggests the idea that revenge is a living thing with a will of its own. In many ways I think this is true. History has repeatedly shown that revenge becomes uncontrollable and all consuming. It eventually destroys everyone and everything.

Revenge

The Vision of Aonghus is a love story. In the story, Aonghus drifts in and out of sleep with a sickness that no one can identify. In desperation, his family sends for the wisest druid they can find. The druid takes one look at him and announces the reason he is sick. Aonghus is dreaming of his beloved who visits him in his sleep and until he finds this girl, he cannot be well. This sends Aonghus on a journey to find his true love.

There are two aspects of this legend that I find very compelling, and which form the basis of the song. The first is that Aonghus doesn't know why he is sick until the druid tells him. Once the druid tells him, it becomes obvious to Aonghus. I believe this applies to many things in life. Sometimes something is so obvious we can't see it. It takes someone else to point it out before we understand. Only then does it become obvious to us.

The second part of the story that I find interesting is how Aonghus eventually finds his love. She can take the shape of either a Swan or a human. Initially, Aonghus doesn't recognize her in the shape of a Swan. It is only when he makes himself vulnerable and shares his true feelings that she reveals herself to him as a human. Again, I think this is a great life lesson. Sometimes you need to be vulnerable before you are able to see something.

Swans

On the surface, The Birth of Lugh is a fantastical legend. A young princess, Ethlinn, has been locked away by her father so that she never meets a man. In fact, Ethlinn is so sheltered, she doesn’t even know that men exist. Eventually her companions secretly introduce her to Cian with whom she falls in love and has three children. When her father discovers this, he tries to have the children killed. However, one of them, Lugh, survives. Ethlinn vows to bide her time until Lugh grows into a man and can kill her father, thus freeing everyone from her father’s wrath.

The frustration of seeing a friend suffer because they are controlled by someone else, is the part of the story that appealed to me. I wrote this song from the perspective of Ethlinn’s companions, trying to convince her to escape her situation. I know that making a change is always easier said than done, but sometimes the words of a friend can give you the strength to do it.

Wasting Away

JG Folsky is a musician from Courtice, Ontario, Canada.

JG Folsky

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