Episode 9
A Woman’s Quest for Knowledge: Boan’s Tears by Ali Isaac | S6 Ep9
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OUR STORY
The Irish goddess Boan has a sacred thirst for knowledge, and she is ready to claim her share. This classic story includes the sacred well with its salmon and hazelnuts, the good god Dadga and Aengus, the god of love, as well as the creation of the River Boyne and the Milky Way.
OUR GUEST
Ali Isaac lives in Ireland with her husband, two sons, and daughter, Carys. She graduated from Maynooth University as a (very) mature student in 2019 with a degree in English and History, with a Special Interest in Irish Cultural Heritage and followed this with a Master of Arts degree in English Literatures of Engagement.
BC (before children) Ali worked in retail management, with a short spell in the military. AD (after degrees) she worked as an education officer in her local county museum. But at heart, Ali is a writer. She has been blogging about Irish mythology since 2012, and now is the founder of H A G on Substack, a newsletter that braids female senescence with landscape - natural, archaeological, and mythical.
Her writing has been published in Irish literary journals, The Stinging Fly, Sonder, Paper Lanterns, and Catatonic Daughters. In 2020, she was awarded a mentorship with author Sara Baume by Words Ireland in conjunction with The Arts Council of Ireland. In 2021, she was the recipient of a Literature Bursary Award from The Arts Council of Ireland.
Her first book, Imperfect Bodies, will be published by Héloïse Press in March 2026.
Fing Ali: H A G on Substack and on Instagram
OUR CONVERSATION
- Ali has long been concerned with the way society seeks to control women, and she has a sense that “it’s all happening again,” particularly regarding the controversy over the removal of information about women’s contribution to STEM from the NASA website.
- At the same time, women are rising up and coming together, which is clear in the emergence of Brigid energy.
- The ravages of toxic masculinity and the craving for the beautiful care that is also part of the masculine. The power of Dagda’s love, and the way in which he was protective of women, holder of the cauldron
- Our past Bóinn stories by Laura Murphy Bóinn Re:membered and Brigid: Rebirth of the Mother
- A sense in Ireland that people want to move forward rather than look back. To many, the myths seem irrelevant, but that’s just further proof that we need to bring the stories back to the light.
- Boan is sometimes considered Ireland’s Eve because she reached for forbidden knowledge, but this story would have been told before Christianity came to Ireland. Her desire is older than that tree in Eden.
- The various elements that came together to inform Ali’s story of Boan including her thoughts about women’s power, as well as the willows and the waters of County Cavan.
Music at the start of the show is by Beth Sweeney and Billy Hardy: billyandbeth.com
WORK WITH MARISA
- 1:1 Writing Coaching: If you are working on a spiritual memoir or wellness professional or a creative entrepreneur who wants to use stories to build your business, book a free consultation with Marisa. Learn more at www.marisagoudy.com
- Learn about our global writing communities, the Authors’ Knot and the Writers’ Knot: www.marisagoudy.com/writing-groups
