AIRMID'S JOURNAL #5

TITLE - AIRMID'S JOURNAL #5 - SUMMER SOLSTICE 2022 

EDITED BY - LUCY O'HAGAN & SEAN FITZGERALD 

GENRE - CELTIC LEGENDS | FOLKLORE | IRISH MYTHOLOGY | FORAGING |  MAGIC | REMEDIES | REWILDING 

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN - IRELAND 

A5/30 PAGES/COLOUR-BLACK & WHITE/PAMPHLET

PRICE - £9.00 + SHIPPING FROM  WILD AWAKE | 10% OF PROFITS WILL GO TO MASI - THE MOVEMENT OF ASYLUM SEEKERS IN IRELAND

It’s always a pleasure to return to the world of “Airmid’s Journal”, one of the most authentic folklore zines on the market: it has quickly become one of my favourite zines. Having just published their fifth issue, the first to have a colour cover, (you can read my review of issue 4 here) the editorial team of Lucy O’Hagan and Sean Fitzgerald take the Journal to new heights.

Starting with the themes of community and of “lifting the flagstone” to see what lies underneath our normal world, the content, as always, is of a very high standard. Lead article “The Hare in the Irish Tradition” by Sorcha Ní Chionaoith explores the history and mythology of the Irish hare, a creature that permeates that country’s folklore in many ways, and also graces the zine’s striking front and back covers.

"The Sea is the Tether” by Sharon Arnold is a deep and emotive search for a common ground between the varied indigenous peoples of the world, especially those of the many diasporas. Andrew Clarke’s Tanistry project seeks to make Irish history more accessible and takes its name from the often complex succession process of the Kings of Ireland in the early mediaeval period. His extremely interesting article gives an overview of his project and the difficulties in disentangling the knotty bits of early history.  Students of early Irish history should give the Tanistry blog a browse. Other articles include “Sowing the Seed” by Edwina Guckian, a celebration of the “Strawboys” mummering tradition, and in “Rescuing our Sealskins”, Jen Murphy looks at the mythical sea creatures “Selkies”.

FLORENCE "GOODY" NEWTON BY SEAN FITZGERALD

Sean Fitzgerald illustrates the zine with his excellent folky art and has created the striking centre-spread which features a tribute to Florence “Goody” Newton who was accused of witchcraft in 17th century Cork. Fitzgerald also contributes the essay “Coracle of the Nine Waves”, a study of that simple yet sturdy fisherman’s boat. This was particularly interesting to me as a Welshman, as we’ve been using them for centuries!

“Airmid’s Journal” continues to go from strength to strength with diverse content from knowledgeable contributors and a strong, coherent style. Never a quick or throwaway read, this is a zine to be treasured.