'Waking Maeve' By Seamus McGoldrick - A literary excavation of Sligo's landscape, myth & history.

A legend is stirring.
Stories 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. Along 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. Guided by the enduring spirit of the Neolithic people of the northwest, Queen Maeve and the poet W. B. Yeats, Seamus Mc Goldrick reveals the deep connections between past
and present, inviting readers to discover why Sligo continues to captivate, inspire and
surprise.

“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.”

Easkey Britton, author of Saltwater in the Blood

Seamus Mc Goldrick is a writer, musician, tour guide, surf coach and three-time Irish national bodyboarding champion. He grew up in Strandhill at the foot of Knocknarea, in the shadow of Queen Maeve’s Grave, surrounded by the landscapes, stories and traditions that would become the inspiration for his first book, Waking Maeve.
He spent his childhood bodyboarding Strandhill Beach under the watchful eye of Queen Maeve, establishing a lifelong relationship with the sea and the landscapes of the west of Ireland. Seamus studied physics at Trinity College Dublin before moving west to study Irish traditional music and folklore. He represented Ireland at European and world championships and was part of a new generation of Irish surfers who discovered the best and most frightening waves along Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way.
His writing has appeared in surfing publications such as Movement Magazine, Riptide, Surfer Today as well as in The Irish Times.

Waking Maeve: An Excavation of Sligo's Landscape, Myth and History carries you 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. Along 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. Seamus now runs Sligo Surf Experience at the National Surf Centre in Strandhill and continues to explore the landscape that inspired Waking Maeve.