ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on two traditional songs that navigate the encounter with death metaphorically, and incorporate elements of both belief systems. References to the Otherworld abound in the Irish landscape through the presence of, for example, ancient dolmens (burial mounds) and ring forts, also known as 'raths', which provide evidence of early human settlement as far back as 4,000 years BCE. The two songs focus on metaphorical death but the emotional responses they evoke are similar to those elicited by the Keen. Having its origins in County Donegal, the song An Mhaighdean Mhara is sung throughout Ireland and is considered central enough to the traditional song corpus to be included in the national school music curriculum. Bhean Ud Thios probably dates from the 1500s, according to the song notes and commentary by Eugene O'Curry in George Petrie's 1855 collection, where the song appears.
