Seminar Abstracts

30th May 2007

Speaker :Prof. Annraoi de Poar

Title: The career of Lugh Lámhfhada: magic and engineering in ancient Irish folklore.
Abstract

In a spirit of whimsy, some famous magical episodes in ancient Irish folklore, set almost 4000 years ago, are interpreted as engineering achievements. The illustrations are centred around the legendary Lugh Lámhfhada, seer, general and later king. Some of the items considered are the marvellous prosthesis designed for Nuadha Airgeadlámh after loss of an arm, so that he could resume the kingship; the revenge of Lugh on the sons of Tuireann, featuring among other marvels a voice-
controlled ship with adaptive capacity; the epic battle of Lugh with his grandfather Balor, highlighting Balor's death ray. Other folklore about Lugh is interwoven to give a more complete picture of this remarkable man who was deified after his death, rematerialised 2000 years later to father Ireland's greatest hero and again about 250 years after that to father a tiny musician and seer who served Fionn Mac Cumhaill.

Last Update: Wednesday, 16-May-2007 11:39:51 IST