Episode 2

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Published on:

7th Feb 2026

Stories Across Time and Space

In this episode of 'From Cork to New York,' Maria Gillen and Jim Brule share stories and reflections that traverse continents and emotions. They explore the connection between physical distance and emotional closeness, neuroscience, and the bond between people and places. Maria recounts a profound experience on Spike Island and shares a mystical Irish story about the She Wolf, while Jim tells a heartwarming Jewish tale about faith, generosity, and divine intervention. Themes of nature, connection, and ancient traditions weave throughout, making this episode a rich tapestry of storytelling and human experience.

00:00 Welcome

07:41 Jim's Story - Silver and Gold

22:58 Maria's Story - Si Mac Tire

36:33 Discussion

Transcript
Maria:

Hello from Cork.

Jim:

Hello from New York.

Maria:

Is mise Maire, an Seanchai Corcaigh.

Maria:

It's Maria the Cork-based storyteller.

Jim:

It's me, Jim here in Fayetteville, New York.

Maria:

We can't wait to tell you a few stories.

Jim:

You know, I think we share a lot of weather because it's been

Jim:

gray and rainy; it's also been warm enough to walk in the rain and

Jim:

sometimes it's a really nice thing.

Maria:

Yeah,

Jim:

to be able to do.

Maria:

Yeah, Jim, I've just had the most magnificent weekend courtesy of a

Maria:

fellow called Barry McCormick of Achru, you know, and Spike Island in Cork.

Maria:

Mm-hmm.

Maria:

So this is a little island right next door to our naval base, Jim,

Maria:

and just across from Cove, which was the last sighting of land for the

Maria:

Titanic, the Lusitania went down there, the first signatory in the Book of

Maria:

Immigrants went out of Cove, you know.

Maria:

So we're sitting there looking across at Cove and we're on an

Maria:

island that once was a monastery.

Maria:

That's how it started life.

Maria:

And then it became a prison, and now nature is beginning

Maria:

to take it back, you know?

Maria:

So, I'm in a different plane.

Maria:

I'm in a different mindset right now.

Maria:

Than we were the last time we spoke.

Maria:

Mm-hmm.

Jim:

You know, I love to read about stories and

Jim:

neuroscience and in fact, grief.

Jim:

Those are big things for me, and I've, this reminds me of something.

Jim:

There's a part of our brain that forms a sense of distance

Jim:

in three different dimensions, and the third one is surprising.

Jim:

The first is how close is something in space to me.

Jim:

Another is how close is something in time to me.

Maria:

Mm-hmm.

Jim:

And the third is how close is something to my heart?

Jim:

The brain, trying to be efficient, uses the same part of the brain and

Jim:

the same neurological structures for those three things, and it

Jim:

forms them all at the same time.

Jim:

I was reading about this in the sense of how is it that we still

Jim:

stay close to someone who's no longer with us in a very physical way?

Jim:

Even though space at least, has a greater distance.

Jim:

I think there's something really beautiful about the notion that the closeness that

Jim:

people feel is actually reflected in the structure of our brains, and that

Jim:

is something that is very, very real.

Jim:

This is something we know spiritually, but it's nice to know that it also

Jim:

comes to us in this very physical way, and we don't have to unlearn it.

Jim:

Uh, we can still be close to people who aren't physically with us, or maybe

Jim:

they're in a different time than us, but that closeness can still be as palpable as

Jim:

sitting next to someone in, in the moment.

Jim:

So.

Jim:

I just thought of that and as you were talking,

Maria:

well, you know, the way they say we communicate in the space between us, Jim.

Jim:

Mm-hmm.

Maria:

That feels so important to me right now because when I was on the

Maria:

island, mm-hmm, on the 7th of June, which was the Saturday, my father had gone

Maria:

from us 10 years, so it was 10 years.

Maria:

Oh, yeah, yeah,

Jim:

yeah.

Maria:

And in that place of nature, it reminded me so much of the place

Maria:

that he would bring me, the Holy Well in Sligo, that he would bring

Maria:

us to where there was nature and trees and I sat on my own, you know?

Maria:

And there was space to do that in this place, the pace load, you could

Maria:

feel the space, you could be on your own and you could be with people.

Maria:

And there was a few times when I sat on a rock on my own and I looked

Maria:

at the water and I looked across to Cove, and I could feel him.

Jim:

Mm-hmm.

Jim:

Mm-hmm.

Maria:

You know, so it's amazing that this day you share that with me.

Maria:

And then also: no coincidences, you know,

Jim:

No coincidences.

Jim:

Yeah.

Jim:

None.

Jim:

And that's true for you and me.

Jim:

Mm-hmm.

Jim:

Um, that, that we, we have this great physical distance between us.

Jim:

Not always; we were blessed to actually be next to each other for many days.

Maria:

Yes, in Marrakech!

Jim:

But still that closeness is there and grows and, uh, it

Jim:

doesn't depend on space or time.

Jim:

Really.

Jim:

Really.

Jim:

Mm-hmm.

Jim:

Yeah.

Maria:

Yeah.

Maria:

And we, we spoke at the weekend about how the tone of a voice can bring you close.

Jim:

Hmm.

Maria:

Push you away.

Maria:

Yeah.

Jim:

Mm-hmm.

Jim:

Yeah.

Maria:

So it's a, it's a really space, you know, leveler, it decides, do you

Maria:

want someone to come in when you have the soft voice, can you put people in,

Maria:

or do you shout, get back, you know?

Maria:

Yeah.

Jim:

Yeah.

Maria:

So, yeah,

Jim:

You know, that reminds me many, many years ago in my, my

Jim:

first real professional job.

Jim:

I was a family therapist, but I was working in an institution

Jim:

for, uh, teenage boys.

Jim:

I had this supervisor who was brilliant in so many ways.

Jim:

He taught me that when someone is speaking over you, which was always

Jim:

a problem with, with within the people, that you lower your voice.

Jim:

You don't stop talking, you keep going.

Jim:

And until finally the other person is so out there by themselves that they stop.

Jim:

And then you, you just continue with what you were trying to say and you finish

Jim:

what you wanted to say, and then you go back to that person and call them by

Jim:

name and say, so Michael, it seemed like there was something you wanted to say.

Jim:

Maybe you'd like to talk now about what it is.

Jim:

It's a brilliant move, but yeah.

Jim:

Yes.

Maria:

I love it.

Maria:

Boy.

Jim:

Well, I have a story I'd love to share.

Jim:

I'll say, I have this ambivalence about telling so many Jewish stories

Jim:

because I have a bigger repertoire than that, a much bigger repertoire.

Jim:

But somehow, sometimes those are the ones that speak to me

Jim:

and this is one of those times.

Jim:

And I won't tell you anything about the story other than, than

Jim:

it involves a great rebbe, but mostly the story's not about him.

Jim:

And his name was the Kotzker Rebbe, and that's 'cause he

Jim:

lived in the, the city of Kotz.

Jim:

But he had this disciple and his disciple's name was Eliezer.

Jim:

And Eliezer was just the sweetest, nicest person you could ever hope to meet.

Jim:

But he was very, very poor.

Jim:

I mean, even poorer than most people around him, who were poor to begin with.

Jim:

He was married and he had a daughter, and they just managed to scrape by and

Jim:

things were okay, but hard, very hard.

Jim:

Well, until the point where it came time for her to get married.

Jim:

Now, of course, this was in the day when you paid a dowry: the father of

Jim:

the bride paid a dowry to have his daughter married, and there was a

Jim:

real effort to find both the right person for your daughter, but also an

Jim:

affordable person for your daughter.

Jim:

In other words, that was what was kind of going on.

Jim:

And it wasn't up to the daughter as to who she got married to.

Jim:

This was something that the parents would decide and negotiate for.

Jim:

Eliezer was such a nice guy.

Jim:

He realized that his daughter had fallen in love with someone who was

Jim:

also a very wonderful fellow, in fact, a really wonderful fellow.

Jim:

So wonderful that he was very much in demand.

Jim:

So there was a lot of bidding going on for him to be the husband.

Maria:

I love it!

Jim:

So Eliezer went to this fellow's parents and said, you know, my

Jim:

daughter, I'd like to arrange a match between your son and my daughter.

Jim:

And they looked at him and his poverty, and these folks were not

Jim:

poor, and they said, That was absurd.

Jim:

And he said, no, please, just what's the number?

Jim:

There must be a dowry.

Jim:

They made up this number of a thousand rubles, which was more than he

Jim:

would probably see in his lifetime.

Jim:

Just an unreasonable amount of money.

Jim:

And he was heartbroken because he wanted the right man for his daughter.

Jim:

Well, at that time there was one fellow, his name was Avram.

Jim:

And Avram was the wealthy man in the community.

Jim:

And how did he get to be wealthy?

Jim:

He got to be wealthy because he never gave any money away at all.

Jim:

He held onto everything tight fisted.

Jim:

We have a saying that he would hold a penny so tight that he

Jim:

would rub all the words off of it.

Jim:

And so this was Avram.

Jim:

I think if you had looked back across his history, the most he had ever

Jim:

given to anybody was 10 rubles.

Jim:

And that was amazing.

Jim:

So, so the idea of Eliezer going to Avram and asking for a thousand rubles

Jim:

was just unthinkable, but it was his daughter, so he approached Avram.

Jim:

Well, Avram sees Eliezer coming, this very poor guy, and he knows he's

Jim:

gonna beg him for money, you know?

Jim:

And he, he says, don't even, don't even start.

Jim:

I'm not giving you a single penny.

Jim:

Eliezer, in a moment of inspiration says, Well, I'm not

Jim:

asking you to give me any money.

Jim:

I'm asking you to loan me money because for my daughter's dowry.

Jim:

And Avram looks at him and he says, I'm not gonna loan you any money.

Jim:

You're so poor.

Jim:

How would you ever pay it back?

Jim:

And Eliezer persisted.

Jim:

Just a loan.

Jim:

You, you know, it'll be okay.

Jim:

Avram finally says, how much?

Jim:

And he says, A thousand rubles, A thousand rubles?

Jim:

You're insane!

Jim:

You, you, you can't possibly pay me back.

Jim:

And it went back and forth and back and forth.

Jim:

And Eliezer said, Look, I, I've got to do this because this young man is so popular.

Jim:

Somebody else is gonna marry him.

Jim:

Really!

Jim:

He's the right one for my daughter.

Jim:

And Avram said, Look, there's just no way.

Jim:

First of all, I'm not gonna loan you a thousand rubles.

Jim:

Even if I were gonna loan you a thousand rubles, you'd have to have

Jim:

a guarantor for that loan who could afford to pay it when you won't pay it.

Jim:

And if you knew of such a person who had a thousand rubles to loan you, you

Jim:

would've gone to him instead of me, 'cause everybody knows I don't do this.

Jim:

And Eliezer saw a crack and he said, Look.

Jim:

I'm sure I can find somebody to be a guarantor for my loan.

Jim:

If I can find somebody to be a guarantor, would you then loan me the money?

Jim:

And Avram said, only if I trust that he has the money.

Jim:

So don't, don't even waste your time.

Jim:

And Eliezer said, No, no, no, no.

Jim:

Write me a contract, so that you will loan me the thousand rubles and I'll

Jim:

fill in the name of the guarantor and if you agree with the guarantor,

Jim:

then you'll loan me the money.

Jim:

And Avram thought, this is completely absurd, but he also knew he wasn't

Jim:

gonna be able to come up with somebody to guarantee that the loan.

Jim:

So he said, sure, 'cause his heart just softened a little bit.

Jim:

So they wrote up the contract.

Jim:

And Eliezer went off somehow thinking that he's gonna do this, but no idea.

Jim:

And Avram went into the marketplace, just kind of shaking his head

Jim:

at the absurdity of this,

Jim:

and his heart softened just a little bit more.

Jim:

And he said, Well, there's no way I'm gonna loan him a thousand rubles.

Jim:

Maybe I could give him a little bit of it and make his job a little easier.

Jim:

So he thought, Well, when he comes back, I'll, I'll give him a little bit of money.

Jim:

Well, Eliezer went home and suddenly the despair hit.

Jim:

I mean, how is he ever gonna find this guarantor?

Jim:

And so he does what a lot of good hasidic Jews do.

Jim:

When he is faced with a problem, he goes and studies a text.

Jim:

And his eyes fall on one little phrase that leads him to believe that

Jim:

maybe God would guarantee the loan.

Jim:

So with that inspiration, he writes God's name in the place of the guarantor

Jim:

and he thinks, Yeah, this will work.

Jim:

And he goes back to Avram.

Jim:

Avram sees him coming and he, he doesn't expect he's got a guarantor.

Jim:

He is, you know, that he's gonna try and negotiate some more, but when he sees the

Jim:

light on his face, he can't believe it.

Jim:

And he says, I've got a guarantor.

Jim:

I've got a guarantor!

Jim:

And surely you will accept this guarantor.

Jim:

Avram opens the contract and he sees God's name

Jim:

and his heart just broke open.

Jim:

And he said, Okay.

Jim:

And he gave him a thousand rubles,

Jim:

fully expected that he would never see it again.

Jim:

I mean, there's just, it was the absurdity had reached its peak.

Jim:

Well, of course Eliezer was thrilled and he, he went off and he paid the

Jim:

dowry and his daughter was married and oh, it was the wonderful time.

Jim:

But there's a thing in, in Jewish law that says, if I loan you something,

Jim:

and I don't specify a date by which it's supposed to be paid back, it's

Jim:

due in 30 days, it's due in a month.

Jim:

Avram hadn't put a date in it 'cause he didn't expect to ever

Jim:

see the document again, and Avram himself had written off the loan.

Jim:

But Eliezer was a good man.

Jim:

He was really, really bothered by the fact that he didn't know how to pay

Jim:

off this loan and the time is ticking.

Jim:

So the 30th day arrives, and in the morning of the 30th day,

Jim:

and Eliezer's just quaking.

Jim:

There's a knock at Avram's door, and Avram's servant comes to open it,

Jim:

and there's a man standing there with an envelope, and on the envelope is

Jim:

written In payment of Eliezer's loan.

Jim:

And the man says to the servant, Is your master at home?

Jim:

I'd, I'd like to give him this envelope.

Jim:

And the servant says, No, he's off in the marketplace.

Jim:

He'll be back in a while.

Jim:

And the man says, well, here, would you be sure to give this to them?

Jim:

And the servant says, of course.

Jim:

And the man walks away and the servant goes back in the house.

Jim:

And a little more time goes by and Avram comes back.

Jim:

And the servant says, we, oh, we had a visitor, and he hands him the envelope:

Jim:

In payment of Eliezer's loan.

Jim:

And he opens it up and there's a thousand rules in there.

Jim:

And, and he can't understand how this could possibly have happened.

Jim:

He looks at the envelope.

Jim:

There it is.

Jim:

It's written.

Jim:

That's who's it for, and the rubles are, are legitimate rubles.

Jim:

And

Jim:

he looks up and here comes Eliezer, whose heart is broken because

Jim:

he knows he has to tell Avram that he can't pay back the loan.

Jim:

And Avram runs over to him, says Eliezer!

Jim:

Eliezer!.

Jim:

I'm so glad I, I'm so thankful!

Jim:

I never expected to see this money.

Jim:

And Eliezer says, What are you talking about?

Jim:

I didn't pay you back!

Jim:

And he holds the envelope, says, look Here it is!

Jim:

Here it is!

Jim:

Here's for your payment!

Jim:

Well, the other thing that hassids do when they don't know what to do is they go talk

Jim:

to the rabbi and figure out what to do.

Jim:

So they go to the Kotzker Rebbe, and finally he returns to the story, and

Jim:

they take the envelope to the Rebbe.

Jim:

And they say, what do we do?

Jim:

Avram says, I forgave the loan so there is no loan.

Jim:

And Eliezer, well, he had the money and he spent it.

Jim:

What do we do?

Jim:

How did it happen?

Jim:

And the Kotzker Rebbe says, You know, you know.

Jim:

The Holy One paid off the loan,

Jim:

and when you, Eliezer, signed God's name to that, there was

Jim:

a huge commotion in heaven.

Jim:

And Eliezer said, Oh, I'm so sorry.

Jim:

I'm so sorry.

Jim:

They said, No, no, no, no, that's not the problem.

Jim:

The problem was everybody was arguing about who was gonna get

Jim:

to be the one to pay it back.

Jim:

They all wanted to pay it back for you.

Jim:

And finally, finally, finally, Elijah, the precursor of the

Jim:

Messiah said, it should be me.

Jim:

And the Holy One agreed.

Jim:

And so he came down and he delivered that envelope to your servant.

Jim:

And Avram says,

Jim:

Oh!

Jim:

If I hadn't gone to the marketplace, I would've met Elijah!

Jim:

And the Rebbe said, Well, yes, but you know what?

Jim:

You didn't have enough faith in God.

Jim:

What do you mean?

Jim:

He said, Well, you forgave the loan.

Jim:

If you hadn't forgiven the loan, you would've been home to meet Elijah at

Jim:

the time that he came to repay the loan.

Jim:

So Avram and Eliezer said, Well, okay, amazing, but, but

Jim:

what do we do with the money?

Jim:

And the two of them looked at each other and they said, You know, rabbi,

Jim:

you should take the money 'cause you'll put it to good use no matter what.

Jim:

And the Kotzker Rebbe said, Okay, but if you'll let me have the envelope.

Jim:

And they said, of course.

Jim:

Now there are no stories that talk about how the thousand rubles was used, but we

Jim:

do know that when the Kotzker Rebbe was on his deathbed, his primary disciple came

Jim:

up to him and he gave him the envelope.

Maria:

Amazing.

Maria:

What a great story.

Maria:

Oh my God.

Maria:

So I love the red thread of story, and over the weekend, we had this discussion

Maria:

about currencies, because money is a currency, but time is a currency.

Jim:

Mm-hmm.

Maria:

Happiness is a currency.

Maria:

Connection is a currency.

Maria:

So I love the fact that there's a bit of a, a red thread of story and coming

Maria:

to me, out of the many of that, out of the, the steamy pot of Story in

Maria:

Heart Connection to your story is a story that coalesced for me last year.

Maria:

It's called Si Mac Tire, which means the She Wolf.

Maria:

And the first part of it came to me in a dream, and I'm going

Maria:

to tell that through the story.

Maria:

Is Misha Ra.

Maria:

Is Isha, si, si, Warooooooh...

Maria:

Brendonn could not close his eyes and go to sleep because when

Maria:

he did, he'd hear those words.

Maria:

He'd feel the beat beneath his feet, whether he was lying down

Maria:

or whether he was standing up.

Maria:

If he closed his eyes and allowed himself to go to that mid space, the drums would

Maria:

start and he'd hear those words and he wondered, why are they coming to me in an

Maria:

teanga triachta, in the Irish language, when I haven't spoken a word of Irish

Maria:

since I left school, and it was never one of those subjects that I loved.

Maria:

He was a scientist to his bone and he had a great job in the university

Maria:

hospital and he wanted to make sure that there was no disease left by

Maria:

the time he'd finished his work.

Maria:

But this kept happening.

Maria:

And who could he tell?

Maria:

Who in the scientific minds around him would understand this

Maria:

ancient beat and these old words.

Maria:

And then she came.

Maria:

The university hospital, in line with the best practices, were

Maria:

bringing in these weird people.

Maria:

The people who did yoga, the people who said you had to breathe in a box.

Maria:

And now they were bringing in the storyteller.

Maria:

He remembered when she walked through the door, and how all the air seemed

Maria:

to lighten and how there seemed to be a breeze in that place with no air,

Maria:

and how even under the harsh light of the hospitals, she looked magical.

Maria:

She looked mystical.

Maria:

Despite himself, he found himself going to the lecture theater

Maria:

where she would tell the stories.

Maria:

She entranced them.

Maria:

She brought them away to worlds where Silkies lived, where capaill

Maria:

bhana an mara, the white horses of the sea, that were not made of

Maria:

blood and bone and marrow, who were made of sea and spray and spirit.

Maria:

Where they lived and where they were as real as you or I.

Maria:

And in the middle of the telling of the tales, she found his eyes and she

Maria:

looked at him, deep into his soul.

Maria:

He was sure that she could see all of his secret feelings.

Maria:

And when that magical hour of stories came to an end, and the people began to

Maria:

reluctantly file out of that room, he hung back until there was only herself and

Maria:

the people that had invited her and him.

Maria:

And he came up and she put out her hands and he put his hands into hers

Maria:

and there was a feeling of electricity.

Maria:

And she looked at him with those storytelling eyes that saw everything.

Maria:

You are hearing it, aren't you?

Maria:

she asked him, no need for explanations here.

Maria:

I am, he said.

Maria:

What are you hearing and who are you hearing it from?

Maria:

Is mise mac tire; si mac tire.

Maria:

He resonated, counting it out to her like precious gems.

Maria:

And her eyes lit up and the smile couldn't leave her face.

Maria:

She lives in the ceo draiochta, she said she lives in the magical mist of

Maria:

Ireland, the She Wolf, she's calling you.

Maria:

Go out and find her.

Maria:

He delayed, of course he did.

Maria:

He delayed and he tried to get on with his Excel spreadsheets, and he

Maria:

tried to get on with his projects.

Maria:

But the prodding and the insisting would not go away.

Maria:

So he made up a backpack, a little tent, a ground sheet, a sleeping bag,

Maria:

a flask of tea, the only hot thing that he would drink in the days to

Maria:

come, and a little bit of food, and he walked up those streets of Cork, those

Maria:

city streets with the yellow lights.

Maria:

And the cars everywhere and the beeping and the life of it.

Maria:

And he walked up Dublin Hill towards the old Black Man pub, and there were the

Maria:

road divides, he took the left hand road.

Maria:

And he found an old rusty gate and he pushed it open.

Maria:

And in the city he found himself in this wild place.

Maria:

He could almost hear the wolf's cry through the trees and he

Maria:

thought, I'm fancying things now.

Maria:

This is not true.

Maria:

He began to walk under the light of the moon, and the moon tickled his

Maria:

spirit down to the edge of the river.

Maria:

He took off his big boots and his socks, and he put his feet in the flowing

Maria:

waters of that river under the moonlight.

Maria:

And the ceo draiochta began to writhe, wisps at first, and he could

Maria:

feel the beat beneath his feet.

Maria:

Mise mac tire; si mac tire.

Maria:

And he gave into it, and he followed the river.

Maria:

It brought him to flat stones, and he stood up out of the water and he

Maria:

put his feet on the stone and it felt alive and warm under the moonlight.

Maria:

And then he realized he was at the edge of the forest.

Maria:

He could see fields and he could see for miles, for he had reached Murphy's Rock.

Maria:

Murphy's Rock of Cork.

Maria:

He could see Shandun in the distance, ancient Shandon.

Maria:

And then he felt the loss of the trees.

Maria:

As he looked at these fields, his soul remembered that this country once

Maria:

was a complete rainforest where a red squirrel could alight a tree in Cork

Maria:

and make her way all the way to the tip of Antrim, with ever having to come

Maria:

down outta the crowns of those trees.

Maria:

And as he remembered, a strange thing happened.

Maria:

He saw the ghost of those trees in the field.

Maria:

He felt the rightness of it.

Maria:

He knew that this land wanted tree, and when the trees were there, she could

Maria:

come back because she would have a home.

Maria:

Si mac tire.

Maria:

He didn't pause to think.

Maria:

He didn't pause for logic.

Maria:

He began to look for young shoots and old seeds, and he began to plant them.

Maria:

A strange thing happened.

Maria:

As he planted and as he made his life in those outdoors, others came hearing the

Maria:

call, helping him in his work, and they were alone and happy in their work for

Maria:

days and weeks, and months, and a precious few years until the trees took root.

Maria:

And a man in a yellow jacket came with a clipboard and a big yellow machine,

Maria:

and he wanted to dig up those trees.

Maria:

Brendon ran to the edge of them and he put his arms out, Leave the

Maria:

children of the forest alone, he said.

Maria:

And the man looked at him and he said, Here, boy.

Maria:

This is my job.

Maria:

I've been told to clear the land.

Maria:

No, said Brendon, don't do it.

Maria:

You'll have luck for it.

Maria:

And with those old words, You'll have luck for it, the scientist

Maria:

hit a part of that man's heart.

Maria:

And he turned around and he went home that night,

Maria:

but Brendon knew he would be back and so did the people.

Maria:

They would come to the edge of the trees every night and sing their old songs

Maria:

and hope for the trees' sake that they could get big enough to hold their own.

Maria:

But the man came back in the yellow jacket and a man in his suit next to him, and

Maria:

a clipboard with official writing on it.

Maria:

Not this night, said Brendon, for he knew not what else to say.

Maria:

And the people took up the chant.

Maria:

Not this night.

Maria:

Not this night.

Maria:

Not this night.

Maria:

And the man in the suit, and a man in the yellow jacket, and the yellow

Maria:

machine were turned out one more time.

Maria:

But they knew that it wouldn't stop there.

Maria:

And the next time that people came, they had chains.

Maria:

Official police and the man in the yellow jacket with his yellow

Maria:

machine, and the man in the suit with his official clipboard.

Maria:

We're done playing now, they said, we're done playing.

Maria:

Give up.

Maria:

We're taking the land back.

Maria:

And the people said, Don't do it.

Maria:

Not this time, not this time.

Maria:

And it was answered by the clinking of chains, and the yellow

Maria:

machine making its way forward.

Maria:

And Brendon said, Don't you remember our old stories?

Maria:

Don't you remember our portals and how the land has a life of its own?

Maria:

And the man in the yellow jacket stopped the machine.

Maria:

You'll have no luck for digging it up here.

Maria:

Don't you know the stories of the si?

Maria:

The man jumped down off of his yellow machine and said, Yes, my uncle

Maria:

didn't have one day of luck after he put a fairy fort under his tractor.

Maria:

He began to walk down the road and the man with the suit and the clipboard

Maria:

said, Well, if you fall out, if you fall away, someone else will fall

Maria:

in and this land will be overtaken.

Maria:

The people's hearts went into their boots.

Maria:

But the ceo draiochta thickened at his words, and out of the

Maria:

mist came a silver snout.

Maria:

And above that silver snout came beautiful blue blazing eye.

Maria:

And in the thrum, in the beat under their feet, they felt the old song.

Maria:

And the people held hands and as if they had learned it, as if they

Maria:

knew the words, they began to chant,

Maria:

Is mise mac tire; si mac tire; Si!

Maria:

Si!

Maria:

Awrooooo...

Maria:

and the si mac tire sang to the sky, sang to the moon as she hadn't

Maria:

done in many years on Irish soil.

Maria:

Sin e mo sceal - that is my story.

Jim:

Oh, what a powerful story.

Jim:

And there's real power in that tongue that is not spoken by so many.

Jim:

Mm, thank you.

Maria:

Failte - Welcome.

Jim:

Mm. So this story came to you in a dream?

Maria:

Yeah, they, the words came to me and I was shocked, 'cause

Maria:

like, like the person in the story, Irish wouldn't be my first tongue.

Jim:

Mm-hmm.

Maria:

But it resonates in my bones and it comes up in the stories.

Jim:

Mm-hmm.

Maria:

So I looked up the verse and it doesn't exist anywhere.

Maria:

So I caught it.

Jim:

Oh

Maria:

yeah.

Maria:

Huh.

Jim:

Alright.

Jim:

You know, as I'm thinking about our podcast

Maria:

mm-hmm.

Jim:

When you first said the words, I thought, oh, we've gotta be sure

Jim:

to come back and translate them.

Jim:

And then I said, no, no, I don't wanna rob them of their power.

Jim:

Uh, no, seriously, seriously.

Jim:

In the Jewish tradition, most Jews don't speak Hebrew.

Jim:

It's an old language, at least in this country, and there are a lot of arguments

Jim:

about whether you should translate the prayers from Hebrew to English or not.

Maria:

Mm-hmm.

Jim:

And one of the sides of that argument is not knowing

Jim:

them gives them an extra power.

Jim:

That there's this resonance to them with our heart and our soul.

Jim:

I feel that way, what you've just told us that there's a real power to them that

Jim:

comes from them not being known to me.

Jim:

But

Maria:

yeah,

Jim:

it's still there.

Jim:

It's still there.

Jim:

Uh,

Maria:

I would like to tell you what they mean in English, and I

Maria:

came to the same conclusion as you.

Maria:

I was translating them in the story.

Maria:

Then I was thinking, no, it's too cumbersome.

Jim:

Yeah.

Jim:

Yeah.

Maria:

And it takes away from the rhythm.

Maria:

But what they mean is, um, I am the wolf.

Maria:

I am the she wolf.

Maria:

I live in Cork at the bank of the river.

Maria:

And I live in the middle of the fair folk of the good people.

Maria:

And then si, si at the end, SI fada means female.

Maria:

And S-I-D-H-E both said in the same word, in the same way.

Maria:

She and she.

Jim:

Mm-hmm.

Maria:

So s i fada means female, and then si means, of the fairies.

Jim:

Mm-hmm.

Maria:

Well, it's the female of the fairies and it's a wolf.

Jim:

Yes.

Maria:

You know, so.

Maria:

Wow.

Maria:

And you have, and you have to explain it in the English language, but in the

Maria:

Irish language, it's just, she, she, yeah.

Jim:

Yeah.

Jim:

Yeah.

Jim:

Wonderful.

Jim:

Mm-hmm.

Jim:

Good to know.

Jim:

But I agree with your choice there to not translate them in the, in the telling.

Jim:

Yeah,

Maria:

yeah, yeah,

Jim:

yeah.

Maria:

Because in, in every other instance, when I tell in something

Maria:

in Irish, I always translate it.

Maria:

Mm-hmm.

Maria:

So it's an aberration from the rules.

Jim:

Oh, those are the best usually.

Maria:

Yeah.

Jim:

I won't tell the story that came to me.

Jim:

We'll save it for another time.

Maria:

Okay.

Jim:

But there's a story that touched me as you were telling yours, and it's

Jim:

about a couple who can't have children.

Jim:

And the reason they can't have children is that they built their house out of trees

Jim:

that were cut down before their time.

Jim:

And the pain of the forest from whom those children were taken

Jim:

drives away the angel of conception.

Jim:

So that until they repaired the damage and replanted trees and asked

Jim:

for forgiveness for what they had done, this was the price they paid.

Jim:

So it runs deep.

Jim:

It runs deep.

Maria:

Beautiful.

Jim:

Yeah.

Jim:

Yeah.

Jim:

Yeah.

Jim:

Well, I think this is a good place for us to,

Maria:

yeah, to

Jim:

draw things to a close.

Maria:

It seems like that this week, doesn't it?

Jim:

Yeah.

Jim:

Yeah, it does.

Maria:

Yeah.

Jim:

Uh,

Maria:

yeah.

Jim:

Sometimes

Maria:

the, the pace is different.

Jim:

The pace is different.

Jim:

And sometimes, you know, Maria, I love to just soak in the, in the

Jim:

energies, not try to explain them.

Maria:

Will we say goodbye from Cork?

Jim:

And goodbye from New York, but only for a while because we'll be

Jim:

back again with another episode.

Jim:

Absolutely.

Maria:

We can't wait to see you on the Story Road one more time, and from this

Maria:

time till that be safe on the Story Road.

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About the Podcast

From Cork to New York
A cross cultural story bridge connecting the narrative traditions of Ireland and the United States - and beyond.
"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.

About your hosts

Jim Brulé

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Jim Brulé is a transformational storyteller, death doula, teacher, and mentor, drawing on a unique background that encompasses advanced degrees in both clinical psychology and artificial intelligence. For the past seven years, he has directed Transformational Storytelling, an online school accredited by the National Storytelling Network. This global community trains spiritual storytellers from diverse traditions to craft narratives that inspire healing and foster spiritual growth.

Co-authored with Rebecca Lemaire, his book 'Stories of the Heart' presents 18 global tales for navigating life and death. https://StoriesOfTheHeartBook.com/

Jim is the recipient of the 2025 Oracle Regional Service & Leadership Award (Northeast Region), and participated in setting the Guinness World Record for the longest continuous oral storytelling at the 2025 Marrakech International Storytelling Festival.

Jim's classes, workshops, and communities embody his dedication to multicultural wisdom, grounded in the belief that true abundance arises from interconnected generosity and gratitude. You can learn more here: https://TransformationalStorytelling.org/

Maria Gillen

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Maria is the current Storyteller in Residence for the Kerry Writers Museum. She is a well known Bean An Tí (Irish Session Host) on the Irish Storytelling Circuit. She loves listening to stories and will tell a story at the drop of a hat. She loves co-creating stories with anyone ‘from the cradle to the grave’. She believes deeply in the power of stories to build communities, heal prejudice and to build resilience. She is a member of IACAT (Irish Association of Creative Arts Therapists). She is an award-winning storyteller, having won the longest-running Story Competition in Ireland - Finuge - twice and the Butter Roads Storytelling Competition.

Maria was the Irish Storyteller in Residence for Kerry Writers Museum from 2019 to 2022. She was the Artistic Director for the Listowel International Storytelling Festival 2020 to 2022. Maria is currently working as an archivist with Sheahan’s Storytelling Cottage in Finuge – a 300 year old traditional Rambling House in Finuge, Co. Kerry

She is a well-known popular storyteller on the storytelling circuit in Ireland and on the Cyberspace Platform. She is a well-known Bean An Tí (Irish Session Host) on the Irish Storytelling Circuit.

She is the preferred storyteller of Colette Travel Agency (the oldest existing travel agency based in the USA) for their premium storytelling experience in Cork. Maria delivers stories of Ireland’s Ancient East, Wild Atlantic Way, the Diaspora bond with America and the impressive history of Cork City and Cobh Harbour.