Unveiling Secrets with Manchán Magan

To kick off our new series no better man to have than the wise
monk himself - Manchán Magan. And guess what, it was in person!
Whoop! Genuinely what a treat, and you can really tell!


His name, Manchán, literally means ‘little monk’ and if you were
to meet him, there really is no better fitting name - Even how he
holds himself has an air of soft wise intellect.


We began thinking we were going to dive deep into the Irish
language and all its nuances but wow did we get so so much more.


Manchán, is the type of person who will keep even the most highly
strung business person on edge listening!! We navigate through
this conversation from his time on the TG4 travel show taking him
to all kinds of weird and wonderful tribes, to mingling with “The
Screamists” (a cult who literally spend their time whaling and
screaming), to mysterious forgotten histories, and his adventure
to beat the mortgage ladder and find 10 acres for 10 grand.


Manchán is a writer, a poet and a deep thinker. His latest book
32 words for a field, has instilled in us a whole new passion for
the Irish language. Give him 5 minutes of your time and I swear
you’ll be downloading Duolingo beginner Irish!


According to Manchán the Irish language not only holds the
secrets to the best places to find fish in the Irish countryside,
or how to predict the weather, but also how to really connect. To
connect us to this earth, to the people and inevitably to
sustainable living.



“During the dark ages Europe lost all of its libraries,
all of it was destroyed, all of its central regal systems. A new
sort of violent force was taking over, all the philosophy and
wisdom was gone, but Ireland still had it in their libraries
because they were never part of that. Now that Christianity was
male focuses, it was hierarchal, but it had a key. It had a
beautiful visionary voice in terms of Jesus Christ at the beginning
of it, and particularly Irish Christianity, because when St Patrick
came in 430 AD, we took on some of that, just like the Taro Oman
mountain runners in Mexico, took on some of the Jesuits stuff
(their clothes etc..) but they kept their connection to the
landscape. We did the same in Ireland, we took some of the rules of
Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary, but look at our Holy Wells… Our
Holy Wells and our Holy Rivers, we realised that nature was sacred,
so we brought some of this knowledge back to Europe. You can find
it still in Monasteries in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the
teachings of Irish Monastic figures.”




A really wonderful episode from a phenomenal character. 


Let us know your thoughts on social media and if you like what
you hear, please support this podcast by subscribing and sharing.


Big Love,


Dave and Steve x


REFERENCES


Manchán's Book: Thirty-Two Words for a Field


Zach Bush MD


Taro Oman mountain runners - Book Born To Run


Richard Heinberg - Our Previous Podcast Episode


Helena Norberg-Hodge


Moy Hill Farm in County Clare


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