Blúiríní Béaloidis 30 - The Stray Sod by Blúiríní Béaloidis / Folklore Fragments published on 2021-04-09T07:31:10Z There are numerous accounts in tradition of wayfarers who suffer fits of confusion and disorientation while traversing the natural landscape. Such bouts were at times attributed to the influence of the fairies (who would set wanders astray for their own amusement) or the power of the stray sod (an enchanted sod of earth which set those who trod upon it astray). While the accounts vary, these occurrences involve situations in which individuals are forced to navigate a landscape characterised by its sudden shift into unfamiliarity and strangeness. Tilled fields that are worked by day become unnavigable and impassable by night. Well-worn and intimately known paths, crossroads and laneways are rendered odd, unknown and eerie all at once. The landscape at times becomes unrecognisable, indefinite and nameless. Landmarks are erased, inverted or otherwise replaced with new and unidentified features. Grand residences and strange houses appear on the side of hitherto barren hills. Impenetrable fogs, mists and coloured hazes descend and disorientate. Rivers, ditches, woods and walls appear to block all progress through the land. Lights rise and float in the distance and familiar reference points fall away, leaving the experiencer to navigate strange and foreign scenery which is at once indeterminate and unknown, with disenchantment coming at the dawn, leaving the exhausted wayfarer to suddenly realise their location, often only short distance from their homes. For episode 30 of Blúiríní Béaloidis Jonny traverses fields, hedges, ditches and heights examining narratives concerning stray sod and 'seachrán sí' (fairy straying) traditions; from the graves of unbaptised children to illusions and phantasms appearing in the natural landscape, and from spirits of the dead refused entry to either heaven or hell, to workings of the fairy host, join us as we explore the liminal personae who inhabit those isolated and unknown portions of the landscape. Genre Learning Comment by user890977427 Keep these podcasts coming Jonny or we'll all end up on a stray sod in search of our ourselves, our people and our place. 2021-07-22T13:39:13Z Comment by Brian In Fingal Really interested in that first audio account played on the programme from Mattie Seaver because I actually know that road he's talking about. I never really thought about North Dublin (Fingal) as having much in the way of belief in Fairies, and Mattie seems to confirm that, but it makes me wonder if anyone had similar experiences in that spot. How did that interview come about, I wonder, and what was the wider nature of the topics brought up? 2021-04-11T20:10:18Z Comment by Pat Neville Fascinating, though the the focus on folklore to the exclusion of all else is frustrating. In 1975, then 18, I had a bizzare experience similar to several described here during broad daylight. I was crossing a field that I crossed twice daily over several years. I had no knowledge at all of the 'stray sod' nor belief in anything at the time. No alcohol nor anything else taken. A very strange experience. 2021-04-11T07:32:37Z Comment by timto Dia Duit! 2021-04-09T16:22:34Z Comment by timto Faeries FTW! 2021-04-09T16:22:16Z