Cover of From Cork to New York

From Cork to New York

From Cork to New York

By: Jim Brule
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"From Cork to New York" acts as a cross-cultural Story Bridge, stitching together the rich narrative traditions of Ireland and the United States while welcoming guests from a vast array of cultures around the world. By gathering these diverse international voices to share their unique crafts, the show creates a rich space where global perspectives meet, mingle, and find common ground. At its heart, the podcast explores the concept of transformational storytelling, delving into how narratives - both ancient and modern - can foster community healing and personal growth across the globe. It serves as a vital digital thread connecting distant shores, using the deep-rooted ties between Cork and New York as a foundation for a truly global conversation.Copyright 2026 Jim Brule Art Entertainment & Performing Arts Social Sciences Spirituality
Episodes
  • Demons, Trails, and Laughter

    Demons, Trails, and Laughter
    26 Oct 2026
    The Stories
    • "The Path to the Tree of Life" — Narragansett tradition, told by Hears Crow
    • "Finnegas McFartpants and Billy the Bully" — Contemporary childhood tall tale (co-crafted with Ryan Keane), told by Máire (Maria) Gillen
    • "Miriam and the Lantukh" — Slavic/Jewish household folklore, told by Jim Brulé

    The Guest

    Hears Crow, Nootauau Kaukontuoh, “she hears it from him, the crow”, is a woman of the Eastern Woodlands. She lives her life in the tradition of the Nanhigganêuck, the people known today as the Narragansett. She is a Storyteller of Longhouse Tales told in the oral tradition. She has twice been awarded publishing contracts for her book of poetry and is currently completing a Native children's novel. She brings to life the oral tradition at museums, schools, community centers, Indigenous gatherings, and wherever the stories lead her.

    Hears Crow is also an educator, published poet, and workshop leader. As a 'kuhkootomwehteâen' (one who shares knowledge), thirty-five plus years of telling in these different styles, she brings forth the culture of the Longhouse People, through their stories.

    Learn more at https://storyteller.eenantowash.org/

    The Hook

    What happens when old rituals slip away, grief clouds our vision, or childhood fears threaten to alienate us? In this luminous cross-cultural circle, Máire, Jim, and returning guest Hears Crow reveal how ancestral memory, restorative kindness, and belly laughs become the ultimate antidotes to modern fragmentation. Even when the prayer words are forgotten, the act of telling the story is always enough to bring the rain.

    The Chapters
    • [00:00] Welcome!
    • [00:24] Returning to the Forest Circle: Máire and Jim welcome back Narragansett elder Hears Crow to celebrate kinship under the canopy of trees.
    • [02:50] The Living Trail to the Tree of Life: Hears Crow shares a multi-generational legend about drought, remembrance, and the enduring power of sacred journeys.
    • [21:05] The Digestive Pace of the Bean Feasa: The hosts reflect on oral cadence, ancient parallel motifs, and the physical nourishment of spacious pauses.
    • [25:06] The Mischief of Finnegas McFartpants: Máire channels the vivid imagination of her five-year-old grandnephew to recount an exuberant Cork schoolyard lesson on empathy.
    • [36:20] Bloodlines Across Screens and Oceans: The circle explores how oral history anchors young minds across digital divides and pandemic isolation.
    • [38:38] Miriam and the Household Lantukh: Jim uncovers a tale from the Healing Monsters project about how unseen household terrors transform into gestures of quiet comfort.
    • [47:33] Buried Saints and Weather Charms: Máire and Jim swap folk practices—from inverted statues of St. Joseph to the Child of Prague beneath Irish hedges.
    • [52:12] Safe Travels on The Story Road: The trio exchanges gratitude across tribal and Celtic roots, bidding listeners farewell until the next crossing.

    Key Takeaways
    • The Story Is Always Enough: When sacred formulas or ritual words fade across generations, preserving the memory and spirit of the journey restores communal balance.
    • Reframing the "Monster": Destructive spirits and heavy grief often mask a desperate need for order, domestic nourishment, and quiet care.
    • Laughter as Restorative Medicine: Whimsical stories passed from child to elder disarm schoolyard cruelty and bridge multi-generational divides with pure joy.
    • Everyday Folk Magic as Relational Anchor: Small, eccentric domestic rituals ground communities in ancestral faith, turning anxiety into active hope.

    Closing Call to Action

    Explore the transformative power of folktales and discover how to befriend the monsters within. Subscribe to Jim Brulé's Healing Monsters Substack for weekly mythic medicine, storytelling workshops, and archetypal deep-dives: healingmonsters.substack.com.
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    53 min
  • The Waters of Truth

    The Waters of Truth
    12 Oct 2026
    The Waters of Truth: Hoarded Wells, Sacred Rivers, and the Magic of Spoken WordsWhat happens when sacred water is hoarded by power, or unleashed through supreme sacrifice? From the sun-baked plains of Yorubaland to the ancient limestone springs of Cork, Máire and Jim sit by the hearth fire to explore how rivers mirror human longing, how myth preserves real history, and why our spoken words still hold the ancient magic of spells.The StoriesThe Legend of the River Olu (Yoruba Folklore, Nigeria) — Told by Jim, gifted to him by Nigerian storyteller Titi Ogunnaike. A story of drought, maternal sacrifice, and a transformative river whose waters bestow the power of inescapable, world-shaping truth.The Formation of the Lough of Cork (Cork Folklore, Ireland) — Told by Máire (Maria). An ancient Irish tale of an arrogant king, a hoarded healing well, a salty feast, and the princess Fíor-Uisce whose fall beneath the water reclaimed life and joy for an entire community.The River Olu - on YouTube, as told by the Priest of the River: https://youtu.be/GJSVlyIA8OcThe Chapters[00:00] The Intimacy of the HearthMáire and Jim welcome listeners into a cozy, two-host conversation, reflecting on the spaciousness of sitting together around the metaphorical hearth fire to trace the threads of folklore.[01:08] The Transcriber’s Dream: Meeting Titi OgunnaikeJim recounts how an early podcast led him to connect with Nigerian transcriber Titi Ogunnaike, whose yearning to preserve her grandmother’s vanishing Yoruba folklore launched a cross-continental storytelling journey.[03:26] The Legend of the River Olu: Sacrifice in the DroughtJim narrates the woman’s version of the River Olu myth: a desperate mother who, after days of fruitlessly searching for water to save her dying children, shatters her empty calabash against the earth in holy grief, transforming her body into a living, healing river.[08:00] The Gift of Truth & Descendants of the StreamExploring the sacred law of River Olu: those who drink its first drop can speak only truth, and whatever they speak becomes real. Jim explains how water is still bottled and sent across the globe for newborn Children of the River.[09:00] River Goddesses and Shared SoilsMáire draws vibrant parallels to Ireland’s female river spirits (such as the River Bandon / Bandia) and the diaspora tradition of carrying sacred earth across oceans to root new generations.[10:30] The Two Halves of the River: Male and Female TellingsJim reveals what happened when Titi traveled with filmmakers to meet the King and Chief Priest at River Olu: uncovering a contrasting men’s version featuring a transformed father and a cursed calabash.[16:05] The King of Cork and the Hoarded Healing WellMáire introduces the story of the Lough of Cork (Teach Rí), where a wealthy clan leader walled up a communal healing well (Tobar Leighis) to keep the suffering townspeople from partaking in its life-giving waters.[21:26] Spiced Beef, Salty Feasts, and Princess Fíor-UisceThe King hosts a thirsty young suitor prince with salty chips and Cork spiced beef, sending his daughter Fíor-Uisce ("Pure Water") into the moonlit courtyard with an oversized crystal pitcher to draw from the fortified well.[25:33] The Flooding Lough and the Submerged FeastOverbalanced by the weight of the pitcher and the high walls, the young lovers tumble into the deep spring. The water erupts over the castle turrets, restoring water to the singing people and creating Cork’s legendary lake, where an eternal banquet still whispers beneath the surface.[27:56] Chipper Chips, Salt & Vinegar, and Cultural MemoryA lighthearted, warm interlude on Canadian vs. Irish foodways, exploring salt, vinegar, chipper chips, and how simple sensory memories tie communities together.[30:05] The Architecture of Magic: Words as SpellsMáire recalls her grandmother’s revelation about the root of "spelling" as casting spells. Jim bridges the thought to the ancient Hebrew concept of D'var: a word that is simultaneously a thing, bringing reality into being through utterance.[33:23] Living Without 'Yes' and 'No': The Action of the Irish TongueMáire explores the linguistic wonder of the Irish language (Gaeilge), which historically lacked standalone words for "yes" and "no," grounding all truth in direct, embodied action rather than abstract absolutes.[34:46] Blessings on The Story RoadJim and Máire bid their warm farewells from New York and Cork, sending listeners back out onto the path until the hearth fire is stoked once again.Key Takeaways (Transformational Insights)Water Cannot Be Owned; It Can Only Be SharedBoth Yoruba and Cork traditions remind us that hoarding essential life - whether literal water, communal joy, or healing - inevitably brings calamity. Life belongs to the commons; attempts to lock it behind high stone walls will only invite the flood.The Duality of Myth: Honor Both Halves of the StoryThe divergent male and female accounts of the River Olu ...
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    36 min
  • The Hare, the Hive, and the Star Dancer

    The Hare, the Hive, and the Star Dancer
    28 Sep 2026
    What happens when stories refuse to stay penned within physical or political borders? In this luminous gathering, guest storyteller and musician Colin Urwin joins Maria and Jim to trace the migratory magic of folktales - from the wind-scoured cliffs of Antrim to the Gaeltacht of Ballyvourney and the star-strewn gardens of Armenia. Through shape-shifting grandmothers, protective swarms of bees, and a blossom that demands love rather than force, this episode explores the art of boundary-keeping and what it truly means to attain immortality.The Stories"The Hunting Party and the Hare" - A Rathlin Island folktale from the Tommy Cecil Archive, told by Colin Urwin."St. Gobnait and the Nine White Deer" - A West Cork legend of dreams, bees, and sacred boundaries, told by Maria Gillen (Seanchaí Chorcaí)."The Anahakan Rose" - An Armenian teaching tale of tyrannical longing and cosmic stewardship, told by Jim Brulé."The Hare's Lament" ("The Hare's Dream") - Traditional Ulster hunting ballad sung unaccompanied by Colin Urwin.Guest: Colin UrwinColin Urwin is Seanchaí to the Chief of the Antrim McDonnells Randal, 15th Earl of Antrim at Glenarm Castle. He is also a folksinger, songwriter, storyteller, author and workshop facilitator. For over 25 years, he has been the caller and singer in the award-winning 'Haste to the Wedding' ceilidh band. He serves on the committee of the Storytellers of Ireland and the Glens of Antrim Historical Society, and is the Storyteller-in-Residence at The Courthouse, Shared Space and Creative Hub, Bushmills.Steeped for a lifetime in the language, folklore and traditions of his beloved Glens of Antrim, Colin has long been influenced by traditional Irish and Scottish music, song and story. He is inspired by the people and places, the history and legends, and the sheer, rugged romance of the northeast coast of Ireland. From these, he conjures up many of his beautiful ballads, magical rhyming monologues and delicately woven tales of wonder.Links:Website: https://colinurwin.comCeilidh Band: http://hastetothewedding.com/The Chapters[00:00] Welcome to The Story Road Maria and Jim open the hearth from Cork to New York and warmly welcome Antrim storyteller, author, and musician Colin Urwin.[01:03] The Glens of Antrim & The Coast of the Gael Colin unpacks the porous, ancient relationship between Northeast Ireland and Argyll, Scotland - a threshold land shaped by Gaels, Scots, and Norse settlers.[03:45] Tales with Legs: The Migrating Fairy Midwife The trio explores how folktales travel along merchant routes and traveling communities, noting identical fairy midwife motifs appearing across Ireland, Scotland, Northumberland, and North America.[06:01] Dakar to Dublin: Polygenesis & The Price of Magic Jim introduces the Senegalese counterpart to the fairy midwife tale, contrasting Western narratives of punishment with African motifs of reward, trade routes, and spiritual boundary-keeping.[08:22] The Celtic Heart: Honoring Everyday Belfast Colin reflects on his hit Waterfront Hall stage production, The Celtic Heart, exploring working-class resilience, ancestral grief, and uplifting redemption in post-conflict Northern Ireland.[13:06] Story: The Hunting Party and the Hare Colin Urwin shares a classic Rathlin Island tale of a haughty landlord, a silver half-crown, an outsmarted pack of hounds, and a grandmother whose hearthside scratches reveal a clever secret.[25:26] Lúnasa, Hares, and Shape-Shifting Sovereignty The hosts reflect on the Irish hare’s folkloric association with women's autonomy, harvest season magic, and shared Celtic variations from Wales to Kerry.[27:26] Story: St. Gobnait and the Nine White Deer Maria Gillen recounts the journey of an Inishmaan girl led by prophetic dreams and her woven hive across Galway and Limerick to Baile Mhúirne, where healing honey and gentle strength turn back cattle raiders.[36:03] Apples, Stings, and Two Kinds of Sweetness Inspired by Gobnait’s bees, Jim connects the healing sting to Rosh Hashanah traditions - differentiating between surface sweetness and the profound sweetness won through enduring pain.[38:08] Story: The Anahakan Rose Jim Brulé shares an Armenian tale of a grasping king, doomed gardeners, and a young caretaker named Samvel whose patient lullabies and dancing awaken a dying bush and unlock cosmic eternity.[47:30] Storytelling as Communal Medicine The circle discusses how bringing ancient archetypes into shared presence fosters deep kinship, healing, and cultural cross-pollination.[48:35] Song: The Hare's Lament Colin sings a moving, unaccompanied traditional Ulster ballad voiced by the hunted hare herself, followed by reflections on rhythmic songs, rowboats, and shapeshifters.[54:36] Safe Travels on The Story Road Maria and Jim close the episode with traditional blessings until the next threshold crossing.Key Takeaways: Transformational InsightsStories Are Living Migrants, Not Static Relics Folklore does not belong to single ...
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    56 min
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