This week we're talking to Alan Titley - emeritus professor, scholar, author, dramaturg, teacher, folklorist, journalist, seanchaí (storyteller) - about the stories that shaped him. This discussion was fascinating; we could have listened to Alan all day! Come with us and hear him talk about his earliest days of being told stories by a pipe-smoking teacher, right up to the scholarly work that went into creating his edition of the ancient Irish battle epic. Táin Bó Cuailgne (published as 'The Táin', illustrated by Eoin Coveney, published by Little Island, 2023). Alan's Storyshaped life has a unique depth and breadth, and it was a privilege to get a window into it. Come and join us!

Books mentioned in this week's episode include some of Alan's own:

Amach (An Gúm, 2004)

The Táin, ill. Eoin Coveney (Little Island, 2023)

Leabhar Nóra Ní Anluain (Cló Iar-Chonnacht)

And the stories that shaped him include:

The New Testament of the Bible

Don Quixote, by Miguel de Cervantes

Comics including The Beano, The Dandy, Topper, Rupert the Bear

Black Beauty, by Anna Sewell

The work of Jack Kerouac

The work of DH Lawrence

The short stories of Frank O'Connor

The Touch/An Teagmháil, by Liam O'Flaherty

The Majesty of the Law, by Frank O'Connor

The work of Seosamh MacGrianna

The work of W.M. Thackeray

The work of Jane Austen

The work of Pádraic Ó Conaire

The work of Seamus Delargy and the Irish Folklore Commission, including:

Leabhair Seán Uí Chonaill/Seán O'Connell's Book

The work of W. Somerset Maugham

The work of Thomas Kenneally

Cré na Cille, by Máirtín Ó Cadhain

(Alan's translation: The Dirty Dust, Yale University Press, 2015)

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