Pisrógs

His name is celebrated as an important figure of parliamentary democracy in the United Kingdom. Cromwell dispatched a tyrannical king, was the first Republican and an advocate for democracy. In Ireland his lasting effect is one of a genocidal tyrant. His consideration of the Irish people as inhuman and was self-professed , and the inhumanity for which he inflicted arguably places him in a position of contempt higher than any royal.In Irish folklore this contempt is plain to be seen, Cromwell is written as the personal assistant of the satan, if not the devil incarnate. 'An cogadh a chriochnaigh Éire' - The war that finished Ireland. This is what a conquest of the country during the War of the Three Kingdoms was dubbed. An ethnic cleansing headed by one man. In 1641 when all was said and done, total excess deaths for the entire period was estimated by Sir William Petty, the 17th-century economist, to be 600,000 out of a total Irish population of 1,400,000 - that is around 42% of the population. 42%

After the Plantation of Ulster in 1606, three McDonnell brothers, dispossessed, made their way south. One of them settled on swampy uncontested land in Dublin, claiming themselves as its monarch.   Welcome to MUD ISLAND. A refuge at the fringes of Dublin Society, Aran and Luke seek to learn of its colourful history of Smugglers, Highwaymen and MORE. From secret passages to the bloody pirate escapades of Art Granger, its hard to believe what is now Ballybough and Fairview was a muddy slobland soundtracked by savage fights between the Mud Islanders and the Revenue Men, and stories of banshees and Collier the Robber.

Unbeknownst to Luke when we started recording this episode, it was going to be dominated by Rat stories. There are Bananas too. Some may say we had too much fun recording this one, I say there's never such a thing. Join us in the fun backed by the beautiful ambient music of Gareth Quinn Redmond

ARAN and Luke turn to the Irish National Folklore Collection's Duchás Database and Irish mythology to read you the most effective bedtime story known to man. FROM spooky bedtime stories about witch's sleep charms, TO the Goddess of Sleep Caer and her lad, Aengus, NOT to mention some folk cures on how to get a good night's rest, IT'S all a dreamy doozy. SPONSOR this week is: DRY-LINE - Boring you to Sleep.