One of our storytellers follows in the footsteps of Cúchulainn in aid of worthy cause.
Hi!
Anthony here - Storyteller at the Leprechaun Museum.
I've decided to take time out of my busy schedule of telling stories about Leprechauns and the Fairyfolk to retrace the mythical footprints of one of Ireland greatest heroes - Cúchulainn (and being a Dundalk man myself, I'm going to get a particular kick from this - any of you who have already been to the museum might have noticed my fondness for telling Cúchulainn and Fianna stories!).
I'm doing the Oxfam Trailtrekker on September 4th & 5th. This is a 36hr 100km walk around the Cooley/Mourne mountains in aid of Oxfam.
I will be spending these 2 days (through the night) trekking through the landscape made famous by the most epic Irish story - The Táin Bó Cuailnge.
We’ve been doing a lot of training leading up to it and on Saturday, we did a 4hr walk up Slieve Gullion - which is as mythical a place as you can get. It is hinted that Cúchulainn lived in this area as a child and it features in the Táin Bó Cuailnge.
There are also stories told about a witch called Cailleach Beara (who can transform into a hare). Fionn MacCumhail is tricked into jumping into the Mountain's lake by the Cailleach Beara. He emerges from the lake an old and withered man and he remains this way until the Fianna force the Cailleach Beara to restore the erstwhile hero back to his former self. But Fionn never regains the true color of his hair, with it remaining white as an old man for the rest of his life.
After 4hrs of mountain walking, I could feel my hair turning a bit white myself ... so I know how poor auld Fionn felt!
We all know this is a great cause - sending much needed funds to Pakistan & Haiti and to many other places in dire need of help
I'm doing this as part of Clan Kinahan - so myself, my Dad, my 2 brothers & my sister-in-law are putting on our hiking boots and getting out the foot blister cream, all for this good cause.
Please help us make this a worthwhile venture!
We have already raised in excess of €2,000 in sponsorship… but would love to raise even more for this worthy cause.
If you would like to sponsor us in the footsteps of Cúchulainn this weekend, please follow this link to the Clann Kinahan Team Page and click 'donate now' on the right hand side of the page.
Thanks for your support, and I promise to report back next week with photos, updates and, most importantly, more stories!
Anthony