Listen to the Land Speak: A Journey into the wisdom of what lies beneath us

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Magan is a magician with words and has a way of presenting even the most seemingly mundane information in a captivating way. I found his chapters on Ireland’s bogs, trees and roads particularly fascinating and frequently had to pause reading to do a deep dive online into some of the landmarks and stories he mentions, which is exactly the kind of curiosity that Magan set out to evoke in his readers. In Listen to the Land Speak, he offers a fractal version of Ireland, where myth overlaps with history, the fantastical with the practical, the superstitious with the scientific. “Just as a fractal can be limited to a finite area and yet is infinitely magnifiable,” he writes, “so too is Ireland host to an infinity of wisdom and wonder.”

land, land, land, hear the word of the LORD! Jeremiah 22:29 O land, land, land, hear the word of the LORD!

Per Princeton University policy, all guests must either be fully vaccinated, or have recently tested negative (via PCR within 72 hours or via rapid antigen test within 8 hours of the scheduled visit) and be prepared to show proof if asked, or wear a face covering when indoors and around others. Accessibility In 2019, once I finished university I seemingly started learning Irish for no reason, or at least the reason for learning it has been lost on me, and from that I started learning more about the history both actively out of my own curiosity having left unionism behind me years ago, and passively as my social circle expanded southbound online and my friends and mutual acquaintances shared tidbits of their cultural identity, and through the anger they have toward the current political climate in Ireland where the government plans to erase, evict and gentrify anything that doesn’t make money. Magan interestingly weaves Irish mythology, local stories, personal experience, archaeology, geography and more together in a delightful narrative about our spiritual and cultural history. Much of Manchán Magan’s work is concerned with loss and the retention of precious remnants. In his Tamagotchi projects, Magan sought to preserve Irish words slipping from the lexicon. In 32 Words for Field (2020), which began as a cult hit, becoming one of the most talked-about Irish books in recent times, the focus was on the wealth of beauty within the Irish language and how it connects us to place, spirituality, nature and each other.

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Pléann leabhar Mhanchán le aibhneacha, bailte, logainmeacha agus an cheangail atá idir béaloideas agus miotaseolaíocht na tíre seo. I’ve always been interested in old stories, in myths and legends, in folktales and fairytales. In stories of the Tuatha de Danann and Amergin and the exploits of Fionn, in tales of fairy forts, hawthorn trees, and banshees.

Listen to the Land Speak: A Journey into the Wisdom of What

Get directions and find venue information for the James Stewart Film Theater at 185 Nassau Street. COVID-19 Guidance + Updates I first heard Manchán Magan speak on the Blindboy podcast and found the way he spoke about the land and mythology so interesting. I then went on to listen to his own podcast The almanac of Ireland and also really enjoyed that. Listen to the Land Speak: A Journey into the Wisdom of What Lies Beneath Us by Manchan Magan – eBook Details

Listen to the Land Speak

Author and presenter, Manchán Magan spoke to Ryan Tubridy about his new book, Listen to the Land Speak. Our ancestors developed a uniquely nature-focused society, centred on esteemed poets, seers, monks, healers and wise women who were deeply connected to the land. They used this connection to the cycles of the natural world – from which we are increasingly dissociated – as an animating force in their lives. Great book which will particularly those interested in our Irish heritage, mythology and language, but also one accessible for those with less or no knowledge on these topics. Magan weaves his narrative around the land as we go through the centuries each chapter leading onto the next, meeting goddesses, hero’s and kings. Until we are hit with the reality of the famine, or the great hunger as it should be know. He is right that you cannot talk about the land and what it says to us without speaking about the effect this tragic time in history had on the land and it’s people and the effects that are still being felt, and as British person i can only apologise for the atrocities my country did to Ireland and many other places. Manchán[’s] … got some theories about the roots of the Irish language that are going to blow your head off … an incredible storyteller.' Blindboy Boatclub