{"product_id":"waking-maeve","title":"Waking Maeve","description":"\u003cp\u003eA legend is stirring.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eloca\u003cbr\u003eStories of Queen Maeve have lingered across Connacht and the Atlantic coast since her death two thousand years ago. A Sligo surfer has heard whispers on the tide that this ancient Irish warrior is waking from her slumber. From the mysterious passage tombs of Knocknarea and Carrowmore to the enormous swells that break at Mullaghmore, Waking Maeve carries readers on a rolling wave from the Stone Age to the era of rock ’n’ roll, tracing the myths, landscapes and people that shaped Ireland's northwest.\u003cbr\u003eAlong the way, you'll meet kings and queens, saints and Vikings, poets and rebels, shipwrecks, surfers and dreamers who left their mark on one of Ireland's most extraordinary landscapes.\u003cbr\u003eGuided by the enduring spirit of the Neolithic people of the northwest, Queen Maeve and the poet WB Yeats, Seamus Mc Goldrick reveals the deep connections between past and present, inviting readers to discover why Sligo continues to captivate, inspire and surprise.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“An evocative journey through myth, memory and marine identity, Waking Maeve reconnects us with the ancient relationship between people, place and sea. Seamus Mc Goldrick brings Ireland’s northwest vividly to life through story, landscape and the enduring power of the feminine. Here, Queen Maeve emerges as both wave-rider and warrior of the sea, stirring as if from an ancient slumber beneath the Atlantic tide.”\u003cbr\u003e— Easkey Britton, author of Saltwater in the Blood\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom giant waves to ancient graves: Sligo surf champion explores 6,000 years of Irish mythology and history\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSeamus Mc Goldrick’s new book lifts the lid on some of Ireland’s most intriguing landscapes, legends and people\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHe has tackled the towering waves of Mullaghmore and represented Ireland in top-level surfing competition. Now Seamus Mc Goldrick is exploring the mysteries of a landscape he has known since childhood.\u003cbr\u003eThe Sligo surf pioneer and three-time national champion has brought together 6,000 years of local history in his new book, Waking Maeve: an excavation of Sligo’s landscape, myth and history.\u003cbr\u003eFrom Stone Age tomb builders to surfers, saints and rebels, the book tells the story of a county whose past is as dramatic as its Atlantic coastline.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFor Seamus, who studied physics at Trinity College Dublin before building a life around the sea and surfing, the journey began on his own doorstep.\u003cbr\u003eHe grew up at the foot of Knocknarea in Strandhill, Co Sligo, beneath the huge cairn known locally as Queen Maeve’s Grave, and learned to surf on the world-class waves on his doorstep.\u003cbr\u003eWhile the waves became his livelihood, the ancient monuments overlooking them continued to fascinate and left him with questions he wanted to answer.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“I grew up in the orbit of Knocknarea in a village that was the hub of nineties surfing in Ireland,” says Seamus. “The landscape was as extraordinary as the waves, but I became hungry to know more about the mysterious cairns built by my ancestors at Knocknarea, Carrowmore and Carns Hill.\u003cbr\u003e“Writing Waking Maeve led me to better understand the people who built these monuments and how they shape how we see Sligo today. Now it is time to share these stories.”\u003cbr\u003eAt the heart of the book is Queen Maeve, the formidable warrior queen of Irish mythology whose name has become inseparable from Knocknarea.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLocal tradition places her grave beneath its great summit cairn, Meascán Méadhbha. Thought to conceal a passage tomb, the enormous Neolithic monument remains unexcavated.\u003cbr\u003eBut the story stretches far beyond the mountain. In Irish mythology, Maeve ruled from\u003cbr\u003eRathcroghan in County Roscommon, around 60 kilometres away. Her association with\u003cbr\u003eKnocknarea is one of the threads Seamus follows through a landscape rich in archaeology\u003cbr\u003eand legend.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe concentration of ancient monuments is remarkable. Around 70 of Ireland’s\u003cbr\u003eapproximately 250 passage tombs are found on the Coolera Peninsula, according to the\u003cbr\u003ebook. Knocknarea, Carrowmore and nearby Carns Hill offer clues to the lives and beliefs of\u003cbr\u003ethe people who built them thousands of years ago.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe writer explores what these monuments reveal about Sligo’s place in ancient Ireland,\u003cbr\u003eand how the same landscape later helped fire the imagination of W.B. Yeats.\u003cbr\u003eThe story moves through the centuries, introducing kings and queens, saints and Vikings,\u003cbr\u003epoets and rebels. Shipwrecks, surfing and the era of rock ’n’ roll also feature in a book that\u003cbr\u003econnects the county’s distant past with more familiar chapters of its history.\u003cbr\u003eThe writer wants to stir the pot of ancient Sligo stories and help awaken the spirit of the\u003cbr\u003efierce Maeve of Connacht in the reader to help Ireland blaze a trail through troubled times,\u003cbr\u003elike the queen blazed a trail from west to east during the Cattle Raid of Cooley, the most\u003cbr\u003efamous saga of the Gaelic world.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSeamus’s own story is rooted in that changing coastal life. He joined the Irish surfing team at\u003cbr\u003e15 and went on to become a pioneering figure in Irish surfing. He established Sligo Surf\u003cbr\u003eExperience, based at the National Surf Centre in Strandhill, and has ridden some of the Wild\u003cbr\u003eAtlantic Way’s most challenging waves, including the huge swells at Mullaghmore Head.\u003cbr\u003eHe sees a clear connection between his life in the ocean and his interest in what lies on\u003cbr\u003eshore.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Surfing teaches you to look closely at the environment and embrace it, rain or shine. You\u003cbr\u003elearn to read the sea, the wind, the tide and the coast. Writing this book was another way of\u003cbr\u003elearning to read the Sligo landscape. Like surfing, my study of local history has given me a\u003cbr\u003edeeper knowledge, which I am keen to share.”\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"McLoughlin's Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":59495767540047,"sku":null,"price":24.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0476\/8104\/4641\/files\/IMG_20261113_164018.jpg?v=1794588331","url":"https:\/\/mcloughlinbooks.com\/en-de\/products\/waking-maeve","provider":"Mcloughlin's Bookshop ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}