This episode was called 'The Salt Bae' which we thought was an apt name for Irish lads who fall in love with women that were formerly seals. Yes, that's right this episode is all about the selkies, merrows and mermaids. We knew there was something fishy going on when Alex told us to get the mead and sherry in but as per usual the cocktail was delicious – check out our Instagram for the recipe where you can (responsibly) drink along! The briny taste transported us to the shores of our little island, which though small, is full of human-fish hybrid lore.
Though our more docile creatures won't drag you down to the depths of the Atlantic kicking and screaming – we always knew there were secrets behind those black eyes…our sources this episode were: https://www.wildernessireland.com/blog/irish-myths-legends-part-4-selkies/, Wikipedia, https://www.celtic-weddingrings.com/celtic-mythology/the-seal-people, https://talesfromthewood.ie/selkies-and-merrow-the-sea-folk-of-ireland/ , https://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends/legends-selkies-hidden-germs-sea-mythology-006409, http://www.elisabethgifford.com/blog/2014/5/3/the-secret-history-hidden-in-the-selkie-story, https://www.thebottleimp.org.uk/2016/12/selkies-sex-and-the-supernatural/, https://www.icysedgwick.com/selkies-folklore/ , https://etc.ancient.eu/education/summer-solstice-celtic-traditions/, https://punchdrink.com/recipes/jabberwocky/, https://www.liquor.com/slideshows/salt-cocktails/, https://www.sliabhliagdistillers.com/an-dulaman/, duchas.ie, Field Guide to Irish Fairies
Further reading for listeners:
Briggs, Katharine. 1976. An Encyclopedia of Fairies. Pantheon Books: New York.
Matthews, John and Caitlin. 2005. The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures. Barnes & Noble Publishing.
Monaghan, Patricia. 2009. The Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore. Arrow Books: UK.
Spence, Lewis. 1948. The Minor Traditions of British Mythology. Rider and Company: Towrie, Sigurd. “The Selkie Folk.” Orkneyjar: the heritage of the Orkney Islands. Accessed 1, August 2016. http://www.orkneyjar.com/folklore/selkiefolk/
Williamson, Duncan. 1992. Tales of the seal people: Scottish folk tales. Interlink Books: NY.
Jøn, Allan Asbjørn (1998), ‘Dugongs and Mermaids, Selkies and Seals’, in Australian Folklore: A Yearly Journal of Folklore Studies 13, pp. 94-98.
Silver, Carole G. (2005), “Animal Brides and Grooms: Marriage of Person to Animal Motif B600, and Animal Paramour, Motif B610”, in Jane Garry and Hasan El-Shamy (eds), Archetypes and Motifs in Folklore and Literature, New York: M.E. Sharpe.