Islay Folklore
Our Islay Folklore issue was released on 17th January 2022 - a set of six stamps retelling Islay folk tales.
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The artwork has been done by various members of our family, each inspired by a different folk tale from Peggy Earl's Tales of Islay: Fact and Folklore (first published in 1980 and available from the Museum of Islay Life, Port Charlotte).
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The stamps reimagine the following folk stories: The Salmon of Knowledge, Godred Crovan and the Dragon, Captain Gorry's Ride, The Islay Hilt, The Water Horses and The Brollachan.
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The main purpose of this issue is to retell these wonderful stories for a wider audience. To this end each stamp bears a QR code which, when scanned, will link to our own retelling of these historic traditional stories. These can also be accessed by clicking on the links below.
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Stamps are available via our online shop or on ebay.
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​​​THE FOLK TALES
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Please click on the stamps (below) to read the stories.
THE SALMON OF KNOWLEDGE
An ancient tale of a mystical fish
THE ISLAY HILT
A fairy tale - and not the nice kind
GODRED CROVAN AND THE DRAGON
A tale of legendary courage
THE WATER HORSES
The myth of the each-uisge
CAPTAIN GORRY'S RIDE
A story of a race with the Devil
THE BROLLACHAN
A tale of a fearsome beast