The Celtic Tales Chronicles Podcast

High Sea Slaughter (Part four)

In the final part of our series we discuss bloody murders down in the captain Steward's cabin. Please note this episode was recorded in January 2026, but it is finally here. Enjoy!
If you've enjoyed the series go check out our main source, 'The ship of seven murders: the tragic voyage of the Mary Russell', written by Alannah Hopkin and Kathy Bunney.
Correction: Rab mistakenly refers to Captain Smith when he meant Captain Steward.
Follow Rab on instagram @celtictalesgalway
Follow @TheKerryGraham on instagram and Substack. 
Follow the show on tiktok @celtictaleschronicles
Tickets to the Celtic Tales storytelling show from https://ie.powertik.com/events/celtic-tales-storytelling-show
Buy Rab’s books at https://ko-fi.com/celtictalesgalway/shop
Music: Achaidh Cheide by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Sources
'The ship of seven murders: the tragic voyage of the Mary Russell', written by Alannah Hopkin and Kathy Bunney.
'Forced from this world': massacre on the Mary Russell, by Helena Kelleher Kahn in History Ireland Magazine.
Charles Gibb Pirate on wikipedia
 

High Sea Slaughter (Part Three)

In part three of this series Rab and Kerry chat about the growing sense of horror on the good ship Mary Russell as the captain begins to capture and bind the crew...
Follow Rab on instagram @celtictalesgalway
Follow @TheKerryGraham on instagram and Substack. 
Follow the show on tiktok @celtictaleschronicles
Tickets to the Celtic Tales storytelling show from https://ie.powertik.com/events/celtic-tales-storytelling-show
Buy Rab’s books at https://ko-fi.com/celtictalesgalway/shop
Music: Achaidh Cheide by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
 
Primary Source
The ship of seven murders: the tragic voyage of the Mary Russell, written by Alannah Hopkin and Kathy Bunney.
 

BONUS EPISODE: Kerry and Jim and everything you need to know about Galway

In this bonus episode, Kerry chats to friend of the show Jim Ward about all things Galway. Enjoy!
Catch up with Jim's Galway Trails tours at  Galway Trails - Walking Tours of Galway
Follow Rab on instagram @celtictalesgalway
Follow @TheKerryGraham on instagram and Substack. 
Follow the show on tiktok @celtictaleschronicles
Tickets to the Celtic Tales storytelling show from https://ie.powertik.com/events/celtic-tales-storytelling-show
Buy Rab’s books at https://ko-fi.com/celtictalesgalway/shop
Music: Achaidh Cheide by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
 

High Seas Slaughter (Part Two)

In the second part of the story Rab and Kerry look at how the tension and madness ramped up on the good ship Mary Russell as she sailed across the Atlantic in 1828...
Follow Rab on instagram @celtictalesgalway
Follow @TheKerryGraham on instagram and Substack. 
Follow the show on tiktok @celtictaleschronicles
Tickets to the Celtic Tales storytelling show from https://ie.powertik.com/events/celtic-tales-storytelling-show
Buy Rab’s books at https://ko-fi.com/celtictalesgalway/shop
Music: Achaidh Cheide by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Primary Source
The ship of seven murders: the tragic voyage of the Mary Russell, written by Alannah Hopkin and Kathy Bunney.
 

High Seas Slaughter (Part One)

Over the next two episodes Rab and Kerry will be taking a look at a horrific mass murder that took place on the Mary Russell, an Irish cargo ship, in 1828.
Follow Rab on instagram @celtictalesgalway
Follow @TheKerryGraham on instagram and Substack. 
Follow the show on tiktok @celtictaleschronicles
Tickets to the Celtic Tales storytelling show from https://ie.powertik.com/events/celtic-tales-storytelling-show
Buy Rab’s books at https://ko-fi.com/celtictalesgalway/shop
Music: Achaidh Cheide by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
 
Primary Source
The ship of seven murders: the tragic voyage of the Mary Russell, written by Alannah Hopkin and Kathy Bunney.
Secondary Sources
Clare People: Daniel O'Connell (1775-1847) (clarelibrary.ie)
The 1798 Rebellion – a brief overview – The Irish Story
Cobh - Wikipedia
Cork Harbour - Wikipedia

Irish Dragons, Sea Serpents and other Cryptids

Kerry and Rab take a deep dive into the lives of Irish and Scottish dragons, mermaids, sea serpents and other cryptids.
Follow Rab on instagram @celtictalesgalway
Follow @TheKerryGraham on instagram and Substack. 
Follow the show on tiktok @celtictaleschronicles
Tickets to the Celtic Tales storytelling show from https://ie.powertik.com/events/celtic-tales-storytelling-show
Buy Rab’s books at https://ko-fi.com/celtictalesgalway/shop
Music: Achaidh Cheide by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
 
Sources
The Celtic dragon myth by J.F. Campbell, originally published in 1911.
Seventy Years of Irish Life, by W R Le Fanu, originally published 1893
( Curious fact W R Le Fanu is the brother of Sheridan LE Fanu)
Dido - Wikipedia
Brigid of Kildare - Wikipedia

Irish Women Pirates. Part Three - Anne Bonny & Mary Read

In this episode Rab and Kerry explore the life and world of Ann Bonny an Irish pirate in the Caribbean, and her swashbuckling buddy Mary Read. It is a tale of adventure, death and cursing women. Enjoy!
Follow Rab on instagram @celtictalesgalway
Follow @TheKerryGraham on instagram and Substack. 
Follow the show on tiktok @celtictaleschronicles
Tickets to the Celtic Tales storytelling show from https://ie.powertik.com/events/celtic-tales-storytelling-show
Buy Rab’s books at https://ko-fi.com/celtictalesgalway/shop
Music: Achaidh Cheide by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
 
Sources
Craton, Michael. “The Role of the Caribbean Vice Admiralty Courts in British Imperialism.” Caribbean Studies, vol. 11, no. 2, 1971, pp. 5–20. Accessed through JSTOR
Cuncic, Arlin "What Is the Mandela Effect? 20 Examples and Explanations", in verywellmind.com, Jan 2024
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Bonny
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_piracy 
 
Jeffries, Stuart. "Woke the plank! Were pirate ships actually beacons of diversity and democracy?", in The Guardian, April 2023.
 
Dawdy, Shannon Lee, and Joe Bonni. “Towards a General Theory of Piracy.” Anthropological Quarterly, vol. 85, no. 3, 2012, pp. 673–99. Accessed through JSTOR

Irish Women Pirates. Part Two - Launching the Pirate Ship

In this episode Kerry and Rab have a look at belief systems of pirates, including the relationship between Saint Brigid and the Vodou faith. This episode was recorded live in Galway City Library on 1st February, St Brigid's Day, and features a caravan of (possibly) French Tractors rolling by the library...
Thanks to Caroline Rowan and all the city library crew for supporting the event.
Follow Rab on instagram @celtictalesgalway
Follow @TheKerryGraham on instagram and Substack. 
Follow the show on tiktok @celtictaleschronicles
Tickets to the Celtic Tales storytelling show from https://ie.powertik.com/events/celtic-tales-storytelling-show
Buy Rab’s books at https://ko-fi.com/celtictalesgalway/shop
Music: Achaidh Cheide by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
 
Sources
"Maman Brigitte, the Haitian Loa of Death and Life" in New York Latin Culture Magazine
Haitian Revolution - Wikipedia
François Mackandal - Wikipedia
Brigid - Wikipedia
Brigid of Kildare - Wikipedia

Irish Women Pirates. Part One - The Pirate Queen

In this first episode of Season Two, Rab and Kerry take a deep dive into The Pirate Queen herself, Granuaile, as she fights, loves, gives birth in the middle of a sea battle, and finally shows Queen Elizabeth Tudor who's the real boss.
Clarification: Rab gets his dates mixed up at one point and says 1856 instead of 1586. 
Follow Rab on instagram @celtictalesgalway
Follow @TheKerryGraham on instagram and Substack. 
Follow the show on tiktok @celtictaleschronicles
Tickets to the Celtic Tales storytelling show from https://ie.powertik.com/events/celtic-tales-storytelling-show
Buy Rab’s books at https://ko-fi.com/celtictalesgalway/shop
Music: Achaidh Cheide by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
 
SourcesChambers, Anne. Grace O’Malley: The Biography of Ireland’s Pirate Queen 1530–1603. Gill Books, 2019.
Chambers, Anne, and Slattery Williams, Emma. "Grace O’Malley: the fearless pirate queen of Ireland." History Extra, 2021 Grace O'Malley: The Pirate Queen Of Ireland – Biography & Facts | HistoryExtraEdwards, R. Dudley, and David B. Quinn. “Sixteenth Century Ireland, 1485-1603.” Irish Historical Studies, vol. 16, no. 61, 1968, pp. 15–32. Accessed via JSTORMurray, Theresa D. "Gráinne Mhaol, pirate queen of Connacht: behind the legend" History Ireland, vol. 13, Issue 2, 2005)
Tudor conquest of Ireland - Wikipedia
Parliament of Ireland - Wikipedia

Halloween Extravaganza

In this Halloween episode Rab and Kerry discuss all things Spooky including the origins of Halloween, a deadly fairy encounter, and the 1997 Corrib Park Poltergeist.
CONTENT WARNING This episode also includes discussion about slavery, infanticide and clerical sexual abuse.
Follow Rab on instagram @celtictalesgalway
Follow @TheKerryGraham on instagram and Substack. 
Follow the show on tiktok @celtictaleschronicles
Tickets to the Celtic Tales storytelling show from https://ie.powertik.com/events/celtic-tales-storytelling-show
Buy Rab’s books at https://ko-fi.com/celtictalesgalway/shop
Music: Achaidh Cheide by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
"Halloween Werewolf Intro" by miksmusic is licensed under CC BY 3.0.
 
Source material
Halloween https://www.britannica.com/topic/HalloweenSamhain https://www.britannica.com/topic/SamhainThe Origins of Halloween Traditionshttps://blogs.loc.gov/headlinesandheroes/2021/10/the-origins-of-halloween-traditions/#:~:text=Yet%2C%20the%20Halloween%20holiday%20has,costumes%20to%20ward%20off%20ghosts.
 
"The Kirwans of Castlehacket, Co. Galway: History, folklore and mythology in an Irish horseracing family", by Ronan Lynch. Published by. Four Courts Press, 2006
Galway Slave Traders & Sugar Planters in the Caribbean - Dr. Orla Power https://soundcloud.com/galwaycitymuseum/episode-6-galway-slave-traders
Galway Poltergeist - RTÉ archiveshttps://www.rte.ie/archives/2017/0513/873383-galway-poltergeist/A haunted house ; The Galway Ghost with Sandra Ramdhaniehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQ7zSs-e5XYSandra Ramghanie https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandra_Ramdhanie‘Every little bone’: How 796 babies at Tuam’s mother-and-baby homewill be exhumedhttps://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/social-affairs/2023/06/04/every-little-bone-the-difficult-exhumation-ahead-at-tuams-former-mother-and-baby-home/Eamonn Casey https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eamonn_CaseyFifteenth Amendment of the Constitution of Irelandhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifteenth_Amendment_of_the_Constitution_of_Ireland#:~:text=15%20of%201995