#18 | Nathan Featherstone | Irish Martial Mystique, Myths, and Fairies | "He Shouldn't Have Been Fighting, His Skull Was Far Too Thin"

Embark on a captivating expedition into the heart of Irish martial arts with our guest Nathan Featherstone, an enthusiast of combat sports and all things Irish. Nathan, also known as the Rambling Kern, takes us down the road less traveled, sharing his profound knowledge of Ireland's native martial traditions and their influence within the British military. Prepare to be enthralled as we discuss everything from the metaphysical to the mythological, including the revival of Irish Collar and Elbow wrestling and tales that trace back to the Giant's Causeway and beyond.

With Nathan's guidance, we journey through his evolution in martial arts, the environmental contrasts he observed between Ireland and the United States, and his thoughts on the shifting cultural landscape of his homeland. His reflections touch upon social reforms, solo camping in Ireland's storied countryside, and the challenges of preserving Irish traditions in the face of modernization. Whether dissecting cryptic conspiracy theories or comparing the serenity of Irish forests to Florida's wildlife management, Nathan's unique perspectives offer a rich tapestry of cultural and environmental insights.

Finally, we navigate the complex currents of Ireland's modern identity, from the impact of immigration to the intricacies of civil unrest. As we unravel the threads of folklore that bind communities, Nathan weighs in on the controversial politics of a potentially united Ireland and how ancestral heritage can redefine personal identities. So enjoy the conversation that's as much about unearthing the mysteries of the past as it is about understanding the cultural tides shaping Ireland's future.

Nathan Featherstone - The Rambling Kern YouTube

Transcript

"Sawbuck" Mike: 0:01

The Nephilim sightings are going to start soon.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 0:04

Consciousness is being enslaved.

"Sawbuck" Mike: 0:06

Your consciousness does not need your physical body to survive. It's the thing that's necessary. It has to be there. It's the coding that projects this world we currently live in. So I want you to read the Bible.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 0:19

We got reptilians on just outside of our frequency zone.

"Sawbuck" Mike: 0:22

Six dimensional beings, the ancient builder race. Ideas are the highest form of intelligence, and that leads you to truth and clarity. The Nephilim sightings are going to start soon.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 0:32

Consciousness show this obvious to aliens our guide fees and fatal huge were just born to planet. They would have needed a minimum of six feet of lead shielding in order to get through the 25,000 mile thick of NL and radiation belt. This is real. They really did fit the moon at it. The world is infinitely older than that, and I mean the world with human beings in it, skull and bones, is like one of the villains in the Legion of Doom.

Nathan Featherstone: 0:56

I said I want you to read the Bible.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 0:58

The biblical flood, the tartaria mud flood conspiracy and chill. The Nephilim sightings are going to start soon. The bull god ball. I said I want you to read the Bible. There's magnets in the basketballs. There was a political party, a third party called the Anti-Masonic Party at a point in the United States.

"Sawbuck" Mike: 1:17

The global pandemic treaty.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 1:20

The conspiracy and chill podcast. All right, so we are here with Nathan Featherstone, aka the rambling Kern. He is a YouTuber, a martial artist, a martial arts coach, a Irish history enthusiast and a historical martial arts enthusiast. We've got a little bit in common with being part of the Irish Collar and Elbow revival, so this is definitely a brother of mine. We were supposed to meet up while I was in Ireland. Unfortunately it didn't happen, but I will be making my way back there and we will definitely link up how you doing, brother, I'm good Thanks for having me on, guys.

Nathan Featherstone: 1:59

I look forward to finally getting the trains in and meet up, Tom. Yeah, thanks for having me, guys. It's a nice little intro for me there. I appreciate it.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 2:09

Absolutely. Thank you for coming on, dude. So if we were going to start anywhere, I guess what was some of the first things that got you intrigued and deep dive in Irish history and everything you know like Irish martial arts, because your channel is very deep and extensive. Like most people you know, they've heard of the fighting Irish, the stereotype or whatever, and that's about as surface level as it gets. But yours is very deep when it comes to just all aspects of ancient history, warfare, the martial arts side of it.

Nathan Featherstone: 2:42

So where did that all start? I mean, I can even touch on the conspiracies behind that term fighting Irish.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 2:47

But we'll get there eventually.

Nathan Featherstone: 2:49

I'm sure. But yeah, I mean like I've been, I mean the classic, like nerdy kid was super interested in martial arts and you know, growing up watching like Jackie Chan, bruce Lee films, all that sort of stuff. And then I'd say, like in high school I started to wonder like was there Irish martial arts or was there like an equivalent of it? Because I was at that time there was like a big push for like European fencing, I'm sure, like you guys have seen, like long sword and all that sort of stuff. Oh yeah, I was really wondering like, is there like an Irish equivalent? And it turns out there is and there was like a few living traditions that are out there and so a few of the people are, like you know, colin Hubbell, attempting to revive and you know there are other styles of fencing that were done here. I mean people don't really understand that like during the like 17th, 18th, 19th century, I think at one point about 70% of the British military was made up of Irish people. So you know we were pretty, pretty martial culture, as is well known. So I kind of did like big deep dive on that. I found I think it was like Yahoo groups or like Geo cities or some, some like weird martial arts forums no longer there. And I got real lucky. It turned out to be like a load of really like knowledgeable people in there who were able to point me in the direction of the stuff that I wanted to do.

Nathan Featherstone: 4:15

And yeah, I think like stick fighting was like the big one that really caught my attention to start off, mainly because I was a really poor kid. Sticks are cheap, so it was like the cheap one to do. Like longsword is like 1000 bucks if you really want to get into it. Yeah, armor kit and everything, yeah, it's. It's a lot like. So sticks was like the big one.

Nathan Featherstone: 4:38

And then once I left like high school and college, I kind of a friend of Brazilian, brazilian Jiu Jitsu and MMA and started like training and competing and I kind of took that mindset into like stick fighting. And then I was like, oh, I wonder, is there grappling and then ruin McFadden is amazing work on Colorado and helps kind of push that out to the forefront. And then, yeah, with the stick, find stuff. I the first thing I did was like, oh, I wonder, is there people out there who do MMA or like an equivalent with that after learning some of the Irish stick stuff and joined up with the dog brothers, started fighting with those guys and, yeah, the kind of the rest is history, as I say.

"Sawbuck" Mike: 5:20

How old are you, Nathan?

Nathan Featherstone: 5:22

Good question 33,. I think yeah, yeah, 33.

"Sawbuck" Mike: 5:26

Okay, yeah, just for, just so I can put it into perspective. You know, like as you were growing up, what the culture was like and whatnot. So, very good man, continue. Sorry to interrupt you, yeah, no, no, no it's a.

Nathan Featherstone: 5:36

it's actually like that's gonna be interesting one too. Like I think everyone now but he, like you know, for most of your listeners are probably from the States and growing up boxing, like combat sports here were very much viewed as like that's what the thugs and gangsters did. So it was like now we have likes a Katie Taylor, like one of the greatest women boxes of all time, if not one of the greatest boxes of all time, and then obviously you have kind of a Gregor. So like combat sports were super, super niche. Like when I started I was training with, you know, conrad Greger's gym. They kind of opened like their second facility in the city center but I mean they were training in like an old like car, like mechanic shop which was like mats on the floor that they kind of decked out and the nether and you know state of the art facilities like the.

Nathan Featherstone: 6:27

The culture around martial arts was really really changed here. I mean Ireland itself in the past 30 years has changed an insane amount. I think people outside of the country don't really get an insight as to how much has changed Like in my lifetime. I mean being gay has been legalized, pornography has been legalized, contraception, abortion, gay marriage, like all of that stuff in my lifetime, which is crazy. Like to think that when I was born you couldn't even like buy a playboy.

"Sawbuck" Mike: 6:57

Or suck another man's wiener.

Nathan Featherstone: 6:59

Exactly.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 7:01

So calling it was illegal in Ireland. It's at a point.

Nathan Featherstone: 7:03

Oh yeah, up until, like I think, the mid 90s. Like you can even buy condoms in the in the mid 90s.

"Sawbuck" Mike: 7:08

Come on.

Nathan Featherstone: 7:09

Yeah, yeah, people have to like go across the border into the north and like smuggle them back, damn, just like you know. That's why there was so many Irish people there, just you know. What else are you going to do? Have you ever been to the States? Yeah, yeah, it was the first time there was teaching in Orlando in October. So over there in the 70s, what did you think? It was great. I was really lucky to have well, all right, I'll preface it with like my impressions of Orlando. To me it's like somewhat of a hellscape, but outside of Orlando is really, really cool and I'm so impressed by, like, how you guys manage your wildlife Because it's like even just flying across America there's so much green and forestry and, like when I was the friends I was staying with down in Orlando, like the all the swamp land and the actual like wildlife parks you guys have are just phenomenally cool. I think Ireland has like the lowest forest in all of Europe. I think next to like Iceland.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 8:14

Well, yeah, that's a shame too, because I know that some of that was intentional and some of that was agriculture growing there too. But do you think there was a deliberate attempt by, like the English when they were trying to fight the Irish, like that the, the curns and the, the warriors were using the forest as cover and they were kind of kicking their ass and the tree.

Nathan Featherstone: 8:36

Yeah, I mean, it's kind of like a weird back and forth, especially at that time. So like, obviously, if you listen to you don't know, like the name of my channel and current is like an old Irish word for like a soldier or warrior, which kind of became like a distinct term for the way the Irish fought. But like the forests in Ireland I would have loved to have seen what they were like. I think Pacific Northwest was for you guys would probably be the closest to what Ireland was like and you know, just like really heavily forested, like temperate rainforest is basically what it would have heard it described us. Now there's, like I say there's nothing left, maybe maybe like a handful of like industrial forest, but pretty, pretty crap.

Nathan Featherstone: 9:17

But yeah, my big critique of the states is you guys need 10 centers. It's a real pain in the ass having to get a car everywhere, like cycles and walks everywhere. It's a real pain in the ass around. Like I just want to go to a shop but like I'm scared to jaywalk because that's not like a law. Here Is the problem, or?

"Headhunter" Higgins: 9:36

the drastic difference in the weather from Ireland to Florida was probably miserable.

Nathan Featherstone: 9:41

I hate it.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 9:42

I hate the hot, humid weather. I really loved my time in Ireland due to my favorite weather being, you know, the cooler, misty or cloudier type of terrain.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 9:55

So I loved it, the forest I went to I think it was in Oma in Northern Ireland and there was a little forest preserve there and that was honestly one of the coolest forests I've ever been to. In general, like we definitely have some nice scenery here in the Midwest when it comes to just like woodlands and stuff, but honestly like the little bit that was left, yeah, it left me wondering like how epic and almost like fantasy Ireland had to have looked like hundreds of years ago when it was largely forest cover.

Nathan Featherstone: 10:22

So yeah, if you ever get an opportunity I mean next time you're back over, I'll show you some of the stepbugs like up on the mountains, like those are pretty kind of wild terrain in themselves. The one big thing that I would say, which is like the heat I can kind of put up with, because sometimes we have, like you know, ireland almost feels like Florida in the middle of summer because we have that, you know, humid and it's starting to get warmer and warmer over the past few years. But the insects, man, they kill me. I don't know what it is about. My love, I don't know if it's all the potatoes or something, but my God, they just destroy me the bugs and all that terrain.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 11:00

I know on your channel that you did like solo camping and solo hiking and stuff like that, with just the equipment that would have been available to like a 17th century soldier and whatnot, right, yeah, yeah, it's something that you want to do more of, but we can have a weird like.

Nathan Featherstone: 11:18

We have pretty weird laws around the world camping here where it's technically legal, but technically kind of legal, so trying to find spots to do it is difficult. And I think the big issue I've actually run into of trying to like plan some of future hikes is that lack of forest. The Irish at the time would travel super light and they were known to basically like as a good account from the Spanish guy and like the 1600s, where there's a bunch of Irish guys fighting in Spain and he thinks they're all dead. They're just like lying on the ground. They're like, oh, I guess they've like chosen to death and they should get up the next morning and they're like right, where are we going? They just like rolled up in their cloaks and just like slept on the ground and the Spanish guy being like, yeah, they seem to absolutely fine with that. That just seemed to be like part and parcel for what they do.

"Sawbuck" Mike: 12:07

When you're out there doing like a solo camp in terms of like wildlife, what predators or what animals do you have to like really be aware of? In Ireland? Very little, very, very little.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 12:19

Ghosts was the big problem with most of where I go.

Nathan Featherstone: 12:22

Yeah, yeah, people, people is the big one, especially like. I am lucky that, like when I go camping, I'll always do it like midweek, because any place where you can kind of get away with camping in Ireland it's usually just filled with people drinking beer and absolutely destroying the place. And that's usually the problem, especially when you're solo camping. You don't want to run into a lot of people who are taking the piss yeah, that's what to say that like everywhere is like that. But because I'm like near the, you know, the biggest city, any place that I can kind of drive to, generally, that's what you end up running into.

"Sawbuck" Mike: 12:55

And you bust them in the head with a shillelie. I saw some of your videos hitting the coconut man. That's cool stuff. I love it.

Nathan Featherstone: 13:03

Yeah, man, that was always like a big, a big like push for the channel to like actually showcase, like, what the stuff is and what it does. I mean, obviously, like Tom, you're a martial artist yourself, but there's so much like bullshit in the martial arts world and there's, like I think, weapon arts especially there's like this really weird like idea that it's so deadly you can't test it. People have all these weird opinions, are like no, you got to do it this way, you got to do that way. And like I mean I know you guys are in the States, but I get comments all the time like well, I just pulled out my 45 or I pull out my nine mils. You're like, yeah, that's, that's good for you guys, but it's not an issue I'll ever run into.

Nathan Featherstone: 13:44

But testing out the likes of the shillelies, like what I really wanted to showcase for those as well. I mean the one I have apologies, I don't know him imperial too well, but like the one I use is pretty light, like 300 grams, and like that thing you've seen it like blows coconuts apart and got hold like some ballistic testing schools and like ballistic shell to do the same thing. You know, people always think that if you're swinging these clubs around that they got a way like a steel bar. Absolutely break things apart. But it's like boxing, like you know. You don't. Big heavy swings are not near as effective as quick ones. Same weapons, you know, same with swords people think that they're big heavy lumps of iron on that. They're really not.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 14:27

And when it comes to the shillelies, it's like the weapons were banned when the Irish were, you know, under control of the English, or they were trying to prevent them from being able to rise up and revolt. So the shillelies was kind of like a clever way of them hiding a weapon as a walking stick, if I'm not mistaken right.

Nathan Featherstone: 14:46

Yeah, yeah, it's spot on. Yeah, like we had the, the penal laws which I mean there was kind of different versions of them thrown across loads of English colonies over there. You know the hundreds of years that they were in place, but in Ireland they eroded loads of different things of your religion and obviously weapons, which is a main thing that I focus on. But I mean that's why I was joking with the fight about this recently of like rising of the moon that you know gathering with the pikes and going to fight the Brits, and that seems crazy. But I mean up until even on the Easter Rising, which, like 1916, there's pictures of British soldiers confiscating pikes that guys were using. I mean this is when you know, like after or sorry, during World War One, these guys were literally like running it like soldiers and machine guns just swinging pikes at them.

Nathan Featherstone: 15:42

So like weapons were one of the first things to be kind of curtailed and I think going better was like the big one. Obviously I didn't want anybody to get hold of it, because they had the big issue that because so many Irish were in the army that a lot of them would bring weapons home. But you know, if you got caught with them. It was a seriously big deal. And then you add in well, we make sure they can't get hold of gunpowder, because that's, you know, what makes them work. So that was a big way of making sure that they could control the Irish population pretty easily.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 16:14

So, yeah, no, it's not my weapon, it's just my walking stick. What are you talking about? Just called this guy over the head.

Nathan Featherstone: 16:20

And that's the thing with it too. Like people think it's actually pretty interesting to look to a lot of like I've trained a lot of stick arts over the years. I think something that people kind of miss out with the Irish stuff is like it's one of the few arts I've done that's like mainly based around stick. Like all the film piano stuff that I've done it's like based around using swords and knives, Whereas with the Irish stuff it's specifically that type of stick.

Nathan Featherstone: 16:46

So like the swings are quite different, but a lot of it I think it's a weird misconception people have with it is that they like expect all these guys were trying to kill each other constantly. Now, there was like depths, trust me, there was a lot of people like got skulls cracked open, but a big focus was like to not kill each other because a lot of the events that these would happen at were, like you know, festivals, and like they didn't want these to get stopped because anytime a festival happened with them, well, the police would get called and the police at that time was the army, so they just come in and shoot everybody, which was just prevent it happen again.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 17:22

I guess. So yeah, it was kind of a recreational, violent, fun sport for them to just kind of spar with sticks and beat each other up. So that definitely. I mean, like you said, the it's a very martial culture and the fight for independence over all these different invasions from all these different places, whether it's the Vikings or, you know, the Normans, the English, like pretty much everyone has tried to lay their claim to Ireland and, yeah, many different armies and stuff have consisted of Irish soldiers and it makes sense that these rough people would have enjoyed a rough activity. And I know you said the conspiracy of the fighting Irish name. So, even though it seems like it has some merit, what is your, what is your conspiracy to that?

Nathan Featherstone: 18:07

Well, it's not even really a conspiracy Like the like. Obviously you guys would know, like the fighting Irish, what's it like a college football team? Yeah, Notre.

"Sawbuck" Mike: 18:13

Dame, notre Dame, that's the one.

Nathan Featherstone: 18:16

Yeah, so like that term was used in what would it be like late 1800s they just used like, like, as a slur, basically like oh, you can't trust the Irish, they're like constantly fighting. Have you guys ever seen like the punch cartoons?

"Headhunter" Higgins: 18:32

It's called just punch.

Nathan Featherstone: 18:33

No, I don't think I have yeah well it's like a, it's like a term used for like these specific type of like newspaper cartoons that were put out. I mean, if you guys, one of you guys, are near a computer, just put in like punch cartoon Irish and it's like those stereotypical, like super racist drawings you'd expect and some of the ones that the Irish are like, you know. I think there's one where it's like a monkey with drink, with like a whiskey bottle sitting on top of a barrel.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 18:58

Oh yeah, that's the first one.

"Sawbuck" Mike: 19:02

Yeah, he's got a chalely in his hand.

Nathan Featherstone: 19:04

Yeah. So this is like this is where, like my channel, kind of why I did what I did with it. Because when I say to Irish people like oh, there's Irish martial arts, immediately they go like no, there's not. Like fuck off, it's not a thing, because there was such a push in Ireland because of that to be like oh no, we're not that anymore. Like I'm sure you saw it when you were here, tom like Ireland now is pushing this very like metropolitan, western, like modern nation to the world. For sure I'm ditching a lot of their traditions because they don't want to be viewed as like drunken savages.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 19:45

With that being said, though, what is funny is the anecdote. So, like you know, I flew in, I got my rental car Like I was just getting settled, and I was having trouble, you know, adapting to driving on the other side of the road, finally figuring out where to park for my hostel that I was staying at. So as soon as I got like foot on the ground, like I parked and I was on my way walking to my hostel, within about two minutes, dude of walking in an alleyway, I see the end of a brawl happening and this guy is getting hit with a walking stick, not a shillelie, but more of like a stilt, like a metal stilt on the ground. Well, this guy just cracked a dude with a walking stick. I swear, like minutes into my you know touching down an island. I see this aftermath and then, yeah, this guy's like screaming and he was beating a dude with a stilt. I didn't see it actually happen. And then I see this mother like oh, don't look at that son, and I cover his son's eyes.

"Sawbuck" Mike: 20:35

Welcome to Ireland.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 20:37

I'm in Dublin, yeah.

Nathan Featherstone: 20:39

Yeah, that sums up Dublin pretty well.

"Sawbuck" Mike: 20:41

Hey, how's the how's the immigrant situation over there here in the West? We hear on the mainstream media. So you know, we don't know how much we can trust it, but we hear that you guys are just absolutely getting slammed with all these migrants.

Nathan Featherstone: 20:55

Yeah, so like, obviously this is going to be a touchy topic for many different people, but I mean, the actual truth of like what's going on is it's been a thing for a number of years and basically it's it's just pure ineptitude from our government across the board. Like housing is a good example, but this is just another one. And we have an election coming up soon and, like, all of the big parties are promising like, oh, we're going to sort out immigration, which is fine, but you know it's too little, too late sort of thing. And especially after the war in Ukraine, like we agreed to take on massive, massive numbers of refugees, which you know it's a good thing, but we don't really have the ability to do it. And that's not saying like, oh, we need to close our borders, but it's the case of like we're putting them in tents in the middle of winter in Ireland and we're running out of tents, like that's the level it's going to. Like Ireland definitely does need the influx of fresh blood into the country. That's no denying that.

Nathan Featherstone: 22:02

But we've very much got a case of like open borders and not really checking, like for people who, like for asylum seekers who are coming into the country. It's kind of known now. A lot of people are coming in, and some are legit, but a lot of the ones who aren't are just getting away with staying here or like disappearing out of the centers they're in. They're not being properly vetted oh, not at all. I mean a few cases now. How much is blown at a proportion, I don't know.

Nathan Featherstone: 22:30

But cases of like guys tearing up their passports and pretending they're from somewhere else Once they, once they land, so like the not even the issue of not getting vetted is the ones who are then vetted and said like, oh well, you shouldn't stay here. Then they just disappear off into Ireland and stay here, and I think that's really getting people's blood up. And I think as well, like, like I said, housing here is a crazy, crazy problem right now, and it's been, for I mean I go and say we had a housing crisis like 10 years ago. Nothing has changed, and I think that's really like lighting the fire under people. So I think that's just like it's kind of like a perfect storm, if you get me yeah, it's not, you know, the biggest country either.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 23:19

So, like, depending on the number of people you're going to bring in, that's going to back up, you know, healthcare or housing, like you said, and that's the problem.

Nathan Featherstone: 23:27

Like I mean, we we've had healthcare issues with people who are not in the healthcare system for the past 10 years as well and it's not been updated. Like I've seen similar with you guys in the States where like governments kind of go, oh, it's good enough and don't plan for the future. And that's been a big issue here for a long time, like we, I think. Only last year maybe we got back to like pre famine levels. So we can definitely like take more people into the country and grow the country, but when it's done so poorly and we're not looking after you know the country itself, it's it's not going to end well. We're seeing signs of it now.

Nathan Featherstone: 24:04

Like I mean there's been a few cases in the past few weeks with like landlords setting up, like closing down. And there's one where like a club with a hotel attached to it closed down. It's said to like everyone now we're just renovating it and then next day said, oh, actually it's going to be a refugee center or bring them in tomorrow. And then I think it's like you know some unknown person and like Petro Bomb the place which is like you know, eventually that will lead to someone getting hurt Because of that, like sneaky shit being done. It's really just like pushing people to do that sort of shit. I'm not saying it should be done, but you know it's. I think that's going to happen more and more if it's not being dealt with and managed properly.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 24:53

Mike and I's a point of view not to speak for more our listeners, but being more conspiratorial minded. It seems like a lot of times that I would believe that leaders purposely want civil unrest and, you know, divisive things, so that people kind of fight against each other instead of uniting and kind of causing a social change of some sort. Instead they're left to get angry at each other and kind of like stir division and stuff. Like it's crazy, those riots were going on over the immigration like a week or two after I had left.

Nathan Featherstone: 25:25

Ireland. Yeah, I mean that whole situation was dealt with again. That's really showing how badly our government deal with things, like for your listeners. There was a stabbing happened in the middle of the city and now it's like this weird kind of like. You know immediately the way the news reported where it was like unnamed male individual stabs people, including children, in the middle of the city and as soon as they don't release anything about the individual involved, you then know that it's going to be like you know, an immigrant or an asylum seeker or whatever. You know it's not to justify people's actions or whatever, but that then just fires people up because then they're like you know it feels like conspiracy side of things and I think a big part of what's going on here is the same as what's going on across a lot of Europe of just pure ineptitude from governments and most likely using like we have a lot of skilled like immigration that needs to happen in this country.

Nathan Featherstone: 26:26

I mean, we have like huge amount of tech companies here now, so we bring people in for that. But I think on the other end of the spectrum is like you also need people like unskilled labor, and I think a big part of what's going on is like a big push to get people in to fill those roles and a very cavalier attitude from the government, so like, well, fuck it, we'll get in whoever we can and we'll deal with it later, which is not going particularly well.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 26:53

No, that's to say the least, and definitely widespread for sure. And to kind of swing things a little bit into the martial arts slash conspiracy thing. So you and I both have the collar and elbow, like we're both working to revive an old wrestling style that kind of went out of practice due to the famine and other styles like pro wrestling and stuff kind of kicking up. So if anyone doesn't know what we're talking about, it's Irish collar and elbow wrestling which was one of the most popular wrestling styles, not just in Ireland. It originated in Ireland but it was popular in the States and like other places where you know there was a lot of Irish people and like one of the main spectacles you would go watch back then was either boxing or wrestling.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 27:38

Like before wrestling was fixed and you know, like more of a entertainment thing, there was collar and elbow, like even before catch wrestling, which is like WWE if it was real, like rolling on the ground for pins and submissions. The main combat sport you would watch if it wasn't boxing, was collar and elbow. It kind of died off due to the famine and I would think a lot of people don't even know that the famine was, I guess not really a conspiracy, but basically kind of manufactured or allowed to happen or, you know, like an attempt to kill off a lot of Irish people. Could you speak on that a little bit? Yeah?

Nathan Featherstone: 28:15

So I know like this is. I mean, this is the reason why I haven't put this on my channel, because it's such a topic that ruffles so many feathers. But I think one of the best explanations I've ever seen of the famine is that it was the free market gone wild. There was very much an attitude of, well, the Irish will have to eat something else then, and that was it.

Nathan Featherstone: 28:37

That was the solution to it. But I think one of the best examples I've ever heard of like why the famine was so bad was an account from a fishing town on the west of Ireland. So most people in Ireland at the time had an acreage, so in other words small house on an acre of land, and that would be easiest crop to grow was potatoes, because that could sustain you for the year. But that didn't mean that was all you did, so you plant your potatoes and then you go and work for the rest of the year. So, on the likes of the west of Ireland, these guys would, you know, go and fish, but come winter obviously you can't fish, so a lot of them would pawn their boats off and then buy them back once they had harvested their potatoes and sold those.

Nathan Featherstone: 29:15

So there's a kind of a guy who went to the west to see what was going on and you know how they were faring with it and he said these crowds of people watching, like Sholes and Mackerel, just swimming off the shore and like standing there with their clothes falling off and starving to death and not being able to go catch them because they pawned off all their boats and the potato crop had failed and they had no way to purchase their boats back, like that was the sort of thing that was going on in the country.

Nathan Featherstone: 29:41

You know people go like, oh, why didn't they eat other crops? Those other crops were being sold back into England and were being escorted back into England under armed guard. So it was definitely deliberate how deliberate is up to, you know, educated scholars to argue as long as they want but it wasn't a case of, oh, a crop failed and everyone died. It was a case of a crop failed, the powers that be pushed to make it a hell of a lot worse. The same thing happened in India and a lot of other British colonies and you know this was after a few almost successful attempts at, you know, irish people gaining independence and obviously Catholic Irish getting into like parliaments and you know other things that were starting to create issues for the British establishment, to put it nicely.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 30:32

Well, yeah, they were keeping the other food away once the potatoes had failed, like the grains and stuff, like you said, was being shipped to England still, and a lot of people don't know that. Like, yeah, like you put it that, oh well, their potatoes failed and then everybody died, but there was definitely other food to sustain them. It's just they weren't given access to it, they weren't allowed to have it, and that definitely weakened, you know, the population, with people either dying from starvation or having to flee to America or wherever it was. And that's a big reason why the collar and elbow wrestling died off, because you know you don't have people you know eager or strong or fit, you know, to wrestle when they're barely surviving and everyone around them is leaving or dying. So, like that was a big factor.

Nathan Featherstone: 31:16

It was a big reason why a lot of Irish culture died off, the main reason being is that most of I mean the US had the same thing in the States of like a lot of old traditions stay on in rural areas because those are the people who work to maintain those things, and it was mainly the rural population who are farmers. So a lot of the city population had, you know, middle class jobs, were able to stay. And I kind of put it into perspective like the estimate is the pre famine the population was about 8 million people and then after the famine it was somewhere between three and four. Now a big chunk of that was due to immigration, but you know, another big chunk of that was due to people dying. I think there's like a big result of the famine was a huge amount of Irish culture, both like the language, traditions and everything else in between, really rapidly died off and it was actually a this is a whole side tangent, but I think it's just a really cool thing that people should know of. So we have a folklore archive in our country which I think is like the coolest thing ever.

Nathan Featherstone: 32:17

That should get like a little film about it, because it was such a cool idea by whoever thought of this and, like the late 1800s, after the famine, a few people realized that this was going to be an issue.

Nathan Featherstone: 32:29

So they decided, well, we need to go and like interview these people and like get their traditions, because I forget most of our time like they couldn't read or write, so how are you going to find out what their traditions are if they can't write them down? Which is also a big issue for me and the likes of yourself and myself. Tom was like Colorado people expect like written books. You have the cancer, but you don't have the cancer. The guys who did it. So these guys got I think they're called ediphones it's like a massive recording box with like a wax tube and they would cycle all around the country and like interview people and she just sit in their houses and like ask them to tell them about stuff and you got everything like ghost stories to martial arts, to homes, such a such cool project, but people like had the bit of foresight to realize like this stuff was going to die away and sadly, a lot of it did.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 33:25

Right and kind of like you like being so into martial arts and fighting and stuff and admiring all these different cultures and kind of just being a nerd and studying all this stuff and being a wrestler myself, I was always kind of like, come on, there has to be.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 33:38

Like like the Irish weren't wrestling, like and I know even in some places like you'd see some street fight videos break out in Ireland and if the guys would start clenching people would even separate them on a street fight level. So I'm like maybe, maybe they really didn't, you know, like they wrestling just wasn't something they were into. But until Ruans work with the Colorado book and like his podcast and stuff, that was a huge shocker and like inspiring moment for me, like I never liked to train in the ghee really. But then you know, I figured out that Ireland had its own martial arts and all my great grandparents immigrated here from Ireland. My DNA is mostly entirely Irish so I felt very connected to it before Ruans did that. Had you ever heard of it? Like, with your digging and going through, like you said, the folklore and other stuff, did you ever come across anything related to Colorado before he had started that revival really?

Nathan Featherstone: 34:32

Yeah, yeah, like I read references to it, but it's one of those things where it kind of gets a little bit confusing looking at old wrestling styles. Like the research he did was phenomenal, but there's a lot of like people you'll see this in martial arts today like people who don't do martial arts reporting about martial arts, right, and then they'll say like, oh, was he there? How do you a bit of color and elbow? And then he pinned them to the floor and submitted them with a leg lock and like that, right, that doesn't sound like color and elbow, you know. So it's a. It was kind of hard to to sift through stuff and figure it out and but at least now, thanks to, like you know, the works are ruined and having access to the internet and being able to research this stuff is a hell of a lot easier than it was, and getting to actually train it and do it is a lot easier. A lot more people are interested in wanting to get out there and do it.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 35:24

Definitely, and I'm super thankful for Ruan. I would love to just have a chat with him again. He's a, he's a legend for that and definitely owe him a lot of thanks for giving me such a passion project to work on, for trying to get color and elbow kick started over here and, just you know, bring awareness to it, because I think that that's a badass cultural aspect and like, obviously your work deals with that a lot Like people thinking like no, they didn't have martial art, it was just drunk guys hitting each other or like just beating each other up. You know, like there was no formal martial art, just because it doesn't resemble, you know, maybe like the structure of Taekwondo or something like that. And like you said they were, it was like they were practicing in rural settings and like a family thing, like you were taught by your dad or you're taught by your grandpa, or like just with your friends or something that. But that doesn't make it any less legitimate practice. Look how many other sports start off that way.

Nathan Featherstone: 36:19

Look how many other sports are still done that way. Right, this is the argument I always have with people. It's like look at like wrestling in most of Eastern Europe, or look at like boxing even in Ireland today, or even like boxing for you guys.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 36:29

A lot of clubs have just been like family run for like decades 100% and can't be on conspiracy and chill without segueing into some crazy mystical stuff, and Ireland obviously has no shortage of weird folklore, whether it comes to fairies, leprechauns, ghost stories, stuff like that, and while I was out there I obviously made it a point to try and get into some of these kind of discussions with people. So, do you believe in fairies, do you have any unexplained ghost stories or whatever?

Nathan Featherstone: 37:01

and just throughout your life or during your To give your like audience a context to what you just asked me. Right, Fairies is not what you guys would think of. It's not Tinkerbell. Right, Fairies are like Not term. Yeah, Generally it's kind of viewed as like very mischievous spirits that could and did impart a lot of like potential good, but usually a lot of bad, upon you if you mess with them and like a lot of stuff will be attributed to them Like you know if your child was stillborn or you know, like severe stuff.

Nathan Featherstone: 37:39

So it wasn't a case of, oh, these just like fanciful Disney creatures, Like these are creatures that would really fuck up your life. So not saying I don't believe in them but I wouldn't fuck with them, I think most Irish people would have a very similar opinion. Like I mean, your viewers can look this up like we diverted a motorway because it was going to go through a ferry for it, which, again to explain what that is, it's like a mound that we attributed to like where fairies would come out from the underworld. So like, yeah, even our government took it serious enough to divert the building of motorway around one.

"Sawbuck" Mike: 38:16

Yeah. I just pulled the story up, the independent John Walsh on Monday Irish roadside track tracked by fairies right of way. Yeah, that's incredible, that's so you guys are for real about that.

Nathan Featherstone: 38:29

Yeah, yeah, and it's a I mean you might have seen this time when you go into the Irish countryside, like you'll see occasionally, just like a single random tree and like a full, you know, agricultural field. Now I should know this better, but I think it's like all thorn, the specific trees anyway attributed to fairies and you'd like you just don't cut them down or touch them.

Nathan Featherstone: 38:50

And I've heard like loads of stories you know how really are or not, I don't know, but like I've heard ones of like people going to cut them down the tree, falling on them and instantly killing the guy, or you know all sorts of you know superstitions around them. So it is one of those things of like are they real, I don't know, but I fuck with them. No, but as for like other weird traditions, I think like there's a lot of Ireland's like really fascinating, and like we have so many traditions that like overlap with Catholicism, that are like way, way older but then kind of get muddied into Catholicism, so it's like almost hard to know which is which.

Nathan Featherstone: 39:31

But I think like the big one that most people will be aware of would be banshees and like I know a lot of people who've, you know at least, said that they've had run-ins and the modern thing that people kind of attributed to like Fox's hailing. But you know I've had a few people who've said they've had, you know, some pretty spooky encounters with it.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 39:52

But any yourself, anything you can't explain or anything weird when you're out on your solo camps and Thankfully not, but I usually sleep with a knife when I'm in a pillow.

Nathan Featherstone: 40:04

So I'd say like the only weird one I've ever had was like something walking into my camp within a few feet of me and then like waking up hearing it there and not being able to see what it was, and like scrambling for a light source and then whatever was being gone. But that could have been anything, I could have been a sheep or whatever but those are the situations you get a bit like oh, what the fuck was that?

"Headhunter" Higgins: 40:26

Yeah, I'm sure how desolate, Like where were you at when that happened?

Nathan Featherstone: 40:31

I would cycle in the mountains, but when you're in like an area where there's no, you know the classic horror movie tropes of like no phone reception, no one around to hear you scream.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 40:41

Yeah, I would have been. I definitely would have been scared.

Nathan Featherstone: 40:44

Yeah, I didn't get a little bit spooky, but yeah, I think it's like a lot of the like, say, in Ireland a lot of the traditions are super old. So, like a lot of the, there's a lot of like really really ancient traditions that almost are like so old. People don't really know where they originated or why. But I mean you can, you can go to any town in the country and you'll have really crazy like traditions and folk all around. I mean, I know that the joke you probably hear from some Irish people in their chat to Americans is like there is legitimately pubs in Dublin that are like older than the nation of America, which is you know it's. It's pretty wild when you go and sit in places like oh yeah, this was around in 1100.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 41:30

Yeah that really is. Have you climbed Crow, patrick?

Nathan Featherstone: 41:35

No, my brother did a few years back. It's definitely on the list because we want to get up there, especially since some days you can get up there when the clouds are low and they get up a boom, which I'd love to go and do. I do want to do that one barefoot, but I've heard it's a bit of an ordeal.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 41:52

I had these barefoot sandals. They're just like bare minimum, like it's just a little small piece of like leather or rubber and then a strap. They basically look like Jesus. They're like Hercules sandals.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 42:03

So I was fortunate enough to be staying with a friend who lived literally like two minutes from Crow Patrick when I got out west for a couple of days and when I did climb it I've never climbed a mountain, mind you. So I didn't really know what I was in for and I was exhausted from traveling and competing and everything I had done. When I was first trying to go up it I was like, oh shit, what have I got myself into? I was getting a little lightheaded and exhausted and like this is a little more intense than I thought. But I saw some like older women and stuff doing it and I'm like, okay, I got to do this, let's go. Got no excuse.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 42:39

It was so misty and like cloudy that day that I was up there in October that like I was getting no views. You know, like I was even looking off the side as I was going up. I couldn't see a thing, like just pure cloudy, misty and whatnot. So, like when I got to the top, the feeling I had up there was intense, just I mean I can't really describe it Like they called that holy mountain of Ireland for a reason and it was. It was powerful, just the energy of the site and the experience. It was crazy.

Nathan Featherstone: 43:08

It was like I mean it was. There's so many spots like that in Ireland that are, if they have those traditions going back like thousands of years. That's kind of why they are revered in that way. You know, like I know, a lot of people go climbing quaff Patrick every year and it's, I mean it's become a pilgrimage for for a reason Like it's, it's definitely on the list, it's one I haven't I mean to get ran to for a while.

"Sawbuck" Mike: 43:33

Hey Nathan, do you guys have a lot of UAP or UFO sightings in Ireland?

Nathan Featherstone: 43:38

Not a huge amount. That I'm aware of. I know a few people who had them, but actually I know how it would make more sense. I guess I know a few who've. Quite a few have been spotted up in the the, the north of the country. But the demand of like back and forth of British military planes and whatnot, that wouldn't surprise me.

"Sawbuck" Mike: 43:57

What's your feeling on that?

Nathan Featherstone: 43:58

I mean the kind of name is is fairly self-expansion, like they're. They're unidentified, could be God knows what the fuck it could be. Um, why would they take much interest in Osiris? I doubt, but if it was something to interest you, but uh, yeah, I mean it's always like I always find it super interesting, for for especially like with you guys in the States, cause like I imagine, not even imagine.

Nathan Featherstone: 44:26

I know your you know your army has some pretty wacky shit that they fly through the skies, so it's always interesting to to kind of wonder what some of them are. Oh sure, I mean there's been a few like weird sightings over over a few of the cities, but generally they seem to be ones where you know the, especially up in the north of Ireland, where you know there is British planes and British military will be flying around. I mean, I think our Air Force is like a plane.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 44:55

People often associate you know any sort of other world entity whether, like, like we were saying, the fairies isn't necessarily just like a little tinker bell thing. It encompasses all types of you know, non-human entities or cryptids or whatever. So some people would think you know a gray alien or even just you know a strange light in the sky could be considered a fairy or something like that. And like when you get into the realm of talking aliens or Nephilim and stuff like that, like the giants. I know there's a ton of Irish folklore dealing with giants and if you're a savvy to the topic, often like when it comes to like people have found and it's often suppressed. I know there's probably some in Ireland and maybe you could speak on that, but in the States for sure there's been archaeological digs where they find like eight foot nine foot skeletons from a long time ago and they often have red hair preserved and stuff. And I feel like they found some in Northern Ireland too. Have you ever heard of any like weird archaeological finds or giant folklore?

Nathan Featherstone: 45:57

Yeah, like I think the I think there's a few cases of like the tallest recorded humans like you know, actual, like written down, I think were Irish. No, I needed like double checked on myself, but I remember someone telling me about it. It was like a couple who got married and then the child was like 22 pounds when it came out, which is that itself is crazy. But yeah, like we have a we have a really long tradition of giants in this country and as a finds for them I don't know, but there's so many traditions around them that really wouldn't surprise me.

Nathan Featherstone: 46:35

Actually, speaking of like ancestry and like bloodlines, in Ireland there's a good study done a few years back of a like a small rural town where they found a bog buddy which anyone's ever like interested. Those are really cool to look at because, like these perfectly preserved bodies from like thousands of years ago, there's a few of them that are like pretty grisly. But if one was like a town at West somewhere and they had a Like a lady who was found, I think something like 60% of the town were not like inadvertently but like directly related to this lady. So it's like some really really wildly ancient like a body's been discovered across the country. But as for like giants, not that I know of but I mean like the most famous one.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 47:21

I think you went up, there was a Giant's causeway, oh yeah, which is a really, really cool spot and the story is that in the cool right, an Irish giant trying to build a bridge over to Scotland to fight against a Scottish giant, and that's how they explain the. The weird, like hexagon and Whatever you want to call them rock formations that are coming out of the ground and there is a similar one like on the other side of Scotland, so they're the tail is that they had a bridge so they could fight each other.

Nathan Featherstone: 47:54

And you know how we got into the fight. I.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 47:58

Do know it, but go ahead and tell it.

Nathan Featherstone: 48:01

Yeah, you got it. He dressed himself up as a baby. So when the Scottish giant came over he saw Him was like oh my god, that's like guys baby. There's no way I'm fighting them. I'm sorry he's printed back to Scotland and tore all the stones out on the way.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 48:14

Yeah, I love that tale. There's so many, so many goofy and just silly folklore stories too, like it's just there's so much to go through. Do you have any Favorite or you know Any that are dear to your heart? When it comes to the just mythology or Superstitious stuff, yeah, I mean there's so many like old ones.

Nathan Featherstone: 48:38

Well, it's most two ones that I have to touch on. I mean, like the avatars is a cool one and that's like that old where, like a lot of people kind of consider the idea of Like vampires who originated from.

Nathan Featherstone: 48:52

Wow, he's like a story of a it's like fifth century that dates back to like the really real story of a just kind of like warlord or like chief and who had medical powers and Was kind of feared by his people and I think, if I remember this right, like they killed him, what he'd keep coming back and like looking for payment and like taking blood of locals in order to like give him power. And then I have to like keep appeasing him and, like you know, he keep doing it over and over. There's a few like different tellings of it, but it's a. It's a Kind of cool story. When you think of like the things that that potentially went on to influence. You know I feel like brown stoker, the guy wrote Dracula, being an Irish guy and that one I really, I really dig.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 49:39

Something I think I saw it on your channel and it's not really a you know more mystical or Mythology type of thing. It's to do with the, the faction fighting, that someone was killed in a faction fight and the judge or whatever, or the police had ruled like oh well, he had a thin skull. There was no he had no business being in a faction fight. If he has a thin skull, there's nothing to see you for real.

Nathan Featherstone: 50:02

Yeah, yeah, I'm gonna get the defense won the case. That's insane.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 50:07

I would talk.

Nathan Featherstone: 50:07

That one's hilarious. Yeah, you shouldn't have been fighting. School was far too thin. I mean, we have, we have some pretty wild like kind of ancient Like stories and traditions my mind's blank and there was one where I was like, oh yeah, that's a good one, but oh, I mean probably the the.

Nathan Featherstone: 50:23

Actually, this is a kind of a speaker of conspiracies.

Nathan Featherstone: 50:26

This is a kind of a cool one where, like, obviously you guys know the leprechaun, of course, now in Irish Tradition they were like these and this is kind of like a cool, I guess like semi conspiracy, but the idea being that the oldest stories that we have referring to leprechaun are really really old and one of the theories is that the leprechaun were actually the People who are in Ireland before the like later people arrived, so likely you know the Celtic people, and who were generally much shorter.

Nathan Featherstone: 51:02

And we're known for, like you know from archaeological plans, for like making them, like pottery and repairing things, and so it's a big tradition of like you leave things out like a leprechaun to come around and like repair them for you, hence, like they would have a crop of gold, where they just sort of all the golds that you know. People leave them little trinkets. I was like, thank you. So this is like idea that they were this like ancient race. Before you know, the Quote-unquote, celts showed up and took over. That's one that I really like, because the whole like imagery of the leprechaun is Quite a funny one and not like it was later used as like this racial stereotype of like oh, that's what they're like, these little ginger guys that dance around and have proxy gold.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 51:44

That leads me to think in. One of our previous guests was talking about this a lot and it was kind of unexpected the the two other day down in and I know Mike likes to say that at it's the tour data. Yeah, the stories, multiple races, you know, inhabiting Ireland at different times and a lot of them were like, like you said, the little people, the leprechauns or the Fomorians, that was like these demons or whatever that came from the sea, and then these elven type of races and, yeah, that that's just Wild.

Nathan Featherstone: 52:18

I mean, if anyone ever gets a chance to, it's called the Lauer Kovala Aaron.

Nathan Featherstone: 52:23

You ever get a chance to read that the book of invasions is basically what it translates to and there's loads of different versions of it. But it is such a cool story and it is kind of like the, the kind of unofficial history of Ireland, like it was written by kind of compiled compiled, combined together by a bunch of Unknown people in like the 11th century. It was kind of like the unofficial record of what was going on in Ireland pre Catholic Church or pre Christian Ireland. Like you said, it's like all these crazy, like conquering of this, like a group would come in and then this mysterious group would come in and speaking of like UFOs I mean, there's a lot of thoughts that some of those groups were potentially extraterrestrial of. Like these, if I'm getting this right, one of the groups came down on chariots of shining gold, was shining bright lights from the sky and like Basically gave the people off the land like technology to which they would conquer their enemies. So like really, really crazy, like Super interesting stories.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 53:30

It really is and it lines up with a lot of other you know, mythology or origin stories and stuff from Around the world. I think one of them is said to have come after like a great flood or something and landed in Ireland and then, like you said, that that story is of people coming down from the heavens, is all over whether it's the Sumerian or Other cultures talking about the same thing, or races coming out of the sea and stuff that. Yeah, I know that they consider it mythology, but at a time, yeah, like you said, it was considered the actual history of Ireland at a time. So who knows if even the ounce of that is true.

Nathan Featherstone: 54:02

That is some wild stuff, like even the, the great flood thing, like that was the first race to inhabit Ireland. They were fleeing the great flood. That was the reason why they landed here. Essentially, like the, it is wild all the overlap, like you know. Coincidence maybe once, but when it's across so many different things it's like you know it starts to kind of add up.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 54:25

Do you believe in Atlantis? So?

Nathan Featherstone: 54:28

Let me get the name of this right. Yes, I always say this wrong Hi Brazil, hi Brazil, that's the one. Yes, very much. I would really be surprised if there wasn't something like that out there at some point. Like it just seems too convenient for there to have not been. Like we have so many like lost Cities and civilizations over the course of mankind I mean, you have all these maps of high Brazil being out there and all these references to like things having happened on there and people seeing it and you know the king who lived out there. Like it seems too convenient for it not to have been a thing. In my opinion.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 55:05

So, yeah, anyone who doesn't know what we're talking about with high Brazil, that was, if I'm not mistaken, I think it was considered an island that was part of Ireland and it was either disappearing and reappearing or it was just it disappeared in general and it was lost. But yeah, there was maps and people who were. They said they went there and, yeah, they documented things happening. There was called high Brazil, each why, and then Brazil, just like the country, and it was supposedly a landmass out in the Atlantic Ocean and some people have speculated maybe that was Atlantis, that was a remnant of Atlantis, and maybe the people who Left Atlantis after it sank went there or went to Ireland after the fact, and just more crazy history.

"Sawbuck" Mike: 55:49

I think 100% it had to exist because I'm a big believer in the Perry Reese map and High Brazil is actually Indicated on the Perry Reese map as well as, like Nathan said, a lot of other maps, and I wanted to get your Opinion, nathan, on a couple of, I guess you could say, unknown Irish mysteries and see, see what you know about it or if it's still you know, conversed about or, like stula I guess, pondered about. The first one would be the bank robbery that happened in 2004. I think they stole like 27 million pounds or something like that.

Nathan Featherstone: 56:27

Hmm.

"Sawbuck" Mike: 56:27

Are you familiar with that one in Belfast?

Nathan Featherstone: 56:29

Yeah, yeah, it was a yeah, one of the heard of and I don't know the details too well, but, like I mean a lot of different series in and around it, but uh, yeah, I like the one that I've like heard of, but I've done really know a huge amount of it.

"Sawbuck" Mike: 56:46

What about the? I find myself going down these damn rabbit holes on YouTube about, like on unknown, unsolved you know, people going missing and whatnot, and one of the big ones was Peter Bergman. He was a gentleman that they have on all the cct footage walking around Ireland and he, he just went missing and I did you know anything of the Peter Bergman case.

Nathan Featherstone: 57:11

No, but One thing I would say and this is a, this is something that like Is a little bit of a, I don't know as opposed to somewhat more dark sides to like Irish history is like there is a huge amount of missing cases in the country and a huge amount of like pretty gritty murders that have happened over the years. But like I'm one of our national talk time like radio shows, I remember hearing interview with a like our police officers are called Gardie here and the whole Irish word for like Gardie, she calling it like a guardian of the peace. But I remember talking about them finding a murder in House and kind of like a just outside, like the city center, and I remember describing it like this ritualistic, like Satanistic murder. I am of like a won't go too deep into the details, but basically the guy saying that like yeah, it happened, it was like known about by the police, but then they just said like oh, it was a Action. The guy for them stairs, nothing happened.

Nathan Featherstone: 58:14

There's like a big thing in Ireland of I won't say cover-ups, but a Making things more palatable to the public, I guess would be a nice way of saying it and so missing persons is something that there's been a huge spate off over the years. I think one of the one of the big issues in Ireland of like people just assume all it's an island and people go Often do their own thing. But it wouldn't be surprised if certain people kind of turn up Many, many years later, hidden buried under something or open the mountains or in a bog. It's such a very world.

"Sawbuck" Mike: 58:49

Yeah right, for a small island, you know it's, it's surprising that there is such a you know, such a large amount of people. You know they do go missing and are never found until, or, you know, years later they turn up under something. Tom, I know that you are super in to Druids and whatnot, and one of the things that I wanted to to see if you guys could educate me on is St Patrick's Day. He was supposed to drive the snakes out of Ireland, but there was no snakes in Ireland from what I understand. That was kind of a code word. If you will, for something else, right?

Nathan Featherstone: 59:25

Yeah, yeah. So I mean the well again when those like scholarly things people argue about. I mean generally, it's kind of agreed upon that that was a way of saying the you know pagan devils out of the country and like the non-Christian believers.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 59:40

Yeah, I say there was no snakes here a lot of the mystery schools, whether it was in Ireland or Gaul or whatever else, like the, the Druids were, I guess you could say like one of the original secret societies, because they Didn't write things down, they had, you know, like strict initiation things you had to study for so long, you didn't know so much things and you know they were just kind of protective of their knowledge and a lot of even like Egypt and stuff, the snake was like One of the main symbols of that, so it would make sense that they were pointing to that instead. And yeah, he was here to convert people to Catholicism and he drove out the, the pre-existing tradition, because yeah, there was no records of snakes ever having been there. And have you, nathan, have you ever come across Tartaria? Like you know? That is yeah. So that's a like, it's like an all-encompassing Conspiracy and I guess it some people would tie it to Atlantis or lost civilizations, but it's something that's kind of like popped off in recent years about Lost civilizations that like the architecture around the world all resembles each other like too well and like it's very hard to have, you know, even replicate to this day, that like the very Roman looking or like Cathedral type of buildings and stuff like that, that it appears all over the world and that there was like a global empire at a point.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 1:01:07

And some people have speculated. You know, okay, yeah, there was Atlantis. There was this really advanced age. Atlantis fell.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 1:01:13

They kind of landed in Ireland, you know, like the west of Europe, ireland, spain and stuff, and that civilization spread From, you know, from the west, to the east, instead of where they tell us like it was the opposite, it was east to west, and that there was like this all-encompassing global empire that some, like I said, some people speculate that it started in Ireland and it had like free energy that would harness energy from the atmosphere and all these you know, stone Megaliths were on like lay lines around the earth to harvest energy and stuff like that and it's, it's got a lot.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 1:01:47

You know, like I said, it kind of just is a broad term to Cover a massive topic where people have all sorts of crazy theories and speculations about, like they call it the old world or whatever. But some people have tied that to Ancient Irish culture and like kind of credit if there was, like you know, a worldwide empire at a point that Some people think it started in Ireland and they kind of went out and spread, spread things around. Whether it was the Druids or Some other groups that you know has been lost a time and they don't tell us about. But yeah, that's definitely something I think you'd get a kick out of looking into.

Nathan Featherstone: 1:02:21

Oh, for sure it's a. It's definitely like, I mean, one of the Interesting things that I'm chatting this one about this recently, the way it's kind of like three major events across Any European country that like if it happened you'll kind of have a good understanding about them of like, did the Romans conquer it? Were they colonial power and were they involved in World War II? I think art of not having any of those things kind of makes it like really weird and unique. But she like not having the Roman Empire, like they were not.

Nathan Featherstone: 1:02:53

You know, we had obviously the, the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland, but it wasn't the Roman Catholic Church, if that makes sense, like it was its own weird unique mishmash of the pre-existing religions which you know was like all the early records seems to have been really frowned upon Because they were just you know, the easiest way to appease a local people is like, yeah, we'll do your traditions and we'll just agarbe it on at the end. So I think there was a big Push after, like, the collapse of the Roman Empire for all of these people, with, you know, at one point Ireland being incredibly literate and well educated, for these people like spreading their ideas across the country or not the country, like the continent I should say. So I'd say there was definitely a, definitely a huge immigration in across Ireland. And actually one thing I mean just double check this, but it was in New Grange. There was a chimpanzee school, I believe it was.

Nathan Featherstone: 1:03:55

Oh yeah, and it's uh you know, people think, yeah, barbary, ape. People think that with like Ireland at the time or even Europe in general, that like these people didn't move around a lot and the thing is they did like I mean, I know of a there's a helmet fan like the says of England, and they know for sure that the rubies in the top of it and this time it's like Vendel periods of the even way, pre Viking, like that you know the angles, that they know that like those rubies came from one specific mine in India, because that's the only place that you can get them. So People have this like strange misconception of, like you know, people didn't travel around a lot and they did, I think, like ideas really did spread across a lot quicker and like a lot more back and forth and people kind of give Credit for you know, our water ancestors are doing at the time Definitely and, uh, people who don't know what New Grange is?

"Headhunter" Higgins: 1:04:52

that's a, like a mound in Ireland, and it's like a, a tomb, they speculate, and it's aligned to the solstice, where the inside of it lights up, just like once or maybe twice a year is it once or twice? But just for a couple of minutes during the solstice the sun shines through and illuminates the whole tomb, and that's it. So like it's older than the pyramids of Egypt and yeah, like, like you said, they had the, the monkey skull, so like there's definitely a lot of proof that people got around and who's to say, maybe you know whoever built New Grange? Like that was kind of like the prototype, and they end up in Egypt and all right, now we're going to perfect this. And they make much more extravagant things Down the line and align those with the stars or Astrologically. And yeah, it's, it's crazy stuff to speculate.

Nathan Featherstone: 1:05:39

Oh for sure, I mean the amount of sites all across the country that line up with like you know specific like daylight, or you know sun patterns to the skies, or you know lineup of stars and stuff. It's wild, especially like the size and scale of some of the the constructions themselves, like New Grange If anyone you know is ever in Ireland, or do you recommend them go over, look at it because it's impressive with how big it is as well. What major city do you live close to?

"Sawbuck" Mike: 1:06:07

What major city do you live closest to? Yeah, I'm in the south of Dublin, this south, okay, so south Dublin. I'm just looking at a map here. So I was wondering how close you were to a Roslyn Chapel in Scotland that of course, has so many ties to To the Freemasons and the Rose Crucians, and that you know if you've seen what's the movie I'm thinking of doing with Tom Hanks. And yes, yes, that that is heavily featured in that. Are you familiar with Roslyn Chapel at all?

Nathan Featherstone: 1:06:39

Yeah, yeah, like I heard of it through that, through the David Chico, yeah, yeah, I mean like Freemasonry is something that was like pretty big in Ireland. But from what I've heard of it now I don't remember who it was, but I think one of my relatives was a Freemason at one point. Um, from what I've heard from his wife, it was uh, very much a drinking club for him. So, so what they got up to, I don't know. But their adapters are a little different. But uh, like, definitely, with the, the secret societies across Europe, especially the ones that's tied in around the, the churches, I mean they were up to some really, really wild shit For the longest of times.

"Sawbuck" Mike: 1:07:19

The.

Nathan Featherstone: 1:07:19

Catholic Church is more than well known for the Madkins first season things that they've gotten up to over the well thousands of years.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 1:07:27

Some people credit Masonry to being formed in Scotland and maybe based off of druidry itself.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 1:07:33

And, you know, something that's interesting too that you said earlier was that it was never conquered by the roman empire, but they definitely wanted to, and whether they wanted to do it with religion and, like you know, they took over parts of britain and wales and it's, it's crazy that two of the the biggest, you know, imperial powers of all time, whether it's the English or the roman, they really had their sights set on Ireland, this small island, for a long time, or even, just, like you know the broad term, the Celts in general, like when it came to Caesar wiping out the Gauls, like the, the Celts on the continent you know, in, like france and spain, that whole area, and then, obviously, like Cornwall, wales, like the Celts that were in, uh, england Also got, you know, similar treatment of having their language wiped out, having their culture completely assimilated, having, you know, basically being stamped out of existence, to where people Really only consider, you know, the term Celtic related to Irish or Scottish, but that that broad term applied to A lot more people at a time.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 1:08:38

And like, even still, yeah, like Cornwall is not its own country, wales I don't think it's recognized as its own country either or britney and france, and like they have very similar you know, art, tradition, language, and Pretty much got stamped out by those powers, whether it was the english empire, the roman empire. It's just kind of crazy.

Nathan Featherstone: 1:08:58

Yeah, it's. Uh, it's actually one thing I've been meaning to do for video from my channel that one of the the big pushes here and it kind of ties into the like revival of Irish culture. It was like the movement called the Celtic revival and I think, like a lot of the I don't know how I'd say this right, but like a lot of the misconceptions about like Celtic history and, like you know, irish past come from this, where it was like kind of at a time where Irish identity was being eroded and these guys set out to try Make a Celtic identity. So you know, they were Basically like just grabbing at straws, being like well, the scots are kind of kelt, so maybe we could wear kilt's too, because they wear kilt's and that could be a hard thing, and they were actually just grasping at straws of like oh, that seems kind of Celtic, so I guess we're kelt, so they're kelt's too.

Nathan Featherstone: 1:09:52

Uh, and there's so much stuff. I was like you know, somebody tries to like educate people where Irish history was like, oh, this thing, you're like no, that wasn't us. I like, oh, this thing, like no, I wasn't gonna see that. But Like you really hit the nail on the head, like there's so much and even, uh even even get into like wrestling styles like corn, the Cornish wrestling, the Scottish back holds, I think, brittany, david or Goren Goren yeah, like really fascinating as well, like those same groups maintain like martial tradition as well.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 1:10:22

Yeah, and it's very similar like the jacket wrestling, or Like mainly centering around trips and no real groundwork.

Nathan Featherstone: 1:10:31

So not to be the, the Welsh being renowned the best archers in the world?

"Headhunter" Higgins: 1:10:36

Yeah and uh, something I didn't really realize either, like I knew it was based out of the west of England and like, as I got into catch wrestling too and that uh, the guy who kind of like laid the groundwork and rules for Catch wrestling was a Welshman and uh Wigan, where it's, like you know, sourced from, and that's even where I went to compete, is like 20 minutes north of Wales. So like, yeah, the the wrestling culture was extremely, you know, storied when it came to Celtic, uh People's for lack of a better turn and I definitely put uh A lot of uh passion and, you know, motivation to try and help bring that back as best I can, whether it's with irish wrestling over here or I taught the wrestling seminar when I was in Ireland and I definitely want to come back and Help teach some more and participate in some of those wrestling tournaments and just do whatever I can to help that become a thing again.

Nathan Featherstone: 1:11:31

It's a tough one like because, like I said, there's a weird cultural element to it and I don't have people wanting to modernize as such but, as a result, distance to them, to self and you know Irish traditions and the Irish past, which is it's a real shame because, like you know, we have one of the oldest languages in the world still spoken, but it's slowly being eradicated. It's the same thing for for all of these traditions that, like they really should be Held on to. Can you speak it? I mean, I have decent enough conversational Irish, but not as well as.

Nathan Featherstone: 1:12:09

I would like to. It's one of those things where I used to be able to speak it better than I can now, but not having people around that I can speak Irish to makes it more difficult to keep it up to par.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 1:12:21

I thought it was interesting that basically all the signs in public and stuff still have the Irish pronunciation, so that's cool. I couldn't read any of it, obviously, but it was nice to see yeah it's.

Nathan Featherstone: 1:12:32

One of my favorite silly things is to watch Americans try to pronounce Irish words and Irish names, because they're batshit crazy. Actually, one of my favorite things, just for all your listeners, is this will really summarize Irish people and Irish culture really well is that we have no word for no. There's no word in Irish for no. So, like you know, if someone asks you a question, you're almost always answered with either a statement or a question which, once you start to understand that, you really understand how Irish people talk to you.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 1:13:09

It's like oh, hey, don't I have a grand-hair yourself.

Nathan Featherstone: 1:13:12

It's always following up with a statement followed by a question, and the language itself is it's mental. It gives a lot of good context for the country.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 1:13:24

It could be a testament to the more positive stereotype of Irish hospitality and being generous and polite, that they didn't didn't even think to say no.

Nathan Featherstone: 1:13:35

That's a bit too kind.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 1:13:38

As we are winding this down here, one question do you think we're going to see a United Ireland anytime soon?

Nathan Featherstone: 1:13:46

Well, if what's at Star Trek's at Towsonison, it'll be this year.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 1:13:50

Holy shit, is that like a? Is that a Star Trek thing?

Nathan Featherstone: 1:13:54

Oh, go, look up Star Trek Ireland 2024. Supposedly they predicted it would be this year. It was shown on the BBC once. I don't think it was ever shown in Ireland. They have one episode where they predicted it would be this year.

Nathan Featherstone: 1:14:07

Do you think to be in Ireland? Yes, but I think a lot of things would have to change. I think it would happen eventually. I think Brexit has done more to push that to happen than anything else.

Nathan Featherstone: 1:14:21

But I have a lot of friends in the north. I spend a lot of time in the north. They are more involved in politics than we are in the south, because they've had to be, because they've had a lot of bad shit happen to them and they you know the general public is a lot more aware of what happens in their politics and their local politics and their really on top of stuff. We aren't. I think there have to be a big change in our government for them to want to join us. I think there would be definite social changes that would need to happen, but I think, more than anything, it would be like a governmental change that would need to happen and I think there would have to be a want for people in the north to join. It would be that financial or whatever, I do think it would happen. I could see it definitely happening, but I think there would have to be, like I said, there would definitely have to be changes for them to want to join us.

"Sawbuck" Mike: 1:15:11

I just looked it up right here. It says in in 2366,. The Irish unification was noted by Lieutenant Commander Data as one of the numerous examples in history where terrorism was successfully used to bring about political change. Other examples he listed were the independence of Mexico from Spain and the Kenzie rebellion. So yeah, man, this is the year that's pretty good Predictive program, all right.

Nathan Featherstone: 1:15:43

One final bit before we head off. Obviously people have very mixed opinions on the IRA and the things that they did. Two things that they did to change the way things happened which both of them are kind of amusing is they'd always call before blowing up a bomb which I find quite amusing Call the authorities and be like we've got a little bomb here at this time, so just get it right out of there. They almost always target financial districts, which is really what forced the change. I think they caused more financial damage than like anything during the period of those bombings. But the biggest knock on effect that they've had and you'll see this, anyone who ever goes to England there's no public bins anymore. It's really frustrating when you're in a major city and there's no bins anywhere because they used to leave bombs in bins, so they hasn't taken them all away, just in case.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 1:16:33

I think that, again, a testament to the fairness and the politeness of the Irish people to at least notify before they're about to become a terrorist act.

Nathan Featherstone: 1:16:41

Exactly. That's great. You're far too kind.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 1:16:44

Mike, you got anything else for our boy Nathan, here?

"Sawbuck" Mike: 1:16:47

Yeah, working. Everybody. I know everybody's going to want to know more about what you have to offer. So where can everybody find all of your content?

Nathan Featherstone: 1:16:55

Yeah, so rambling, current, so rambling, and then K-E-O-N. You'll find me on YouTube and Facebook and Instagram. All that good stuff, thank you for coming on, bro.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 1:17:07

Everybody be sure to check out his channel. We'd definitely love to have you back on and chat again and I hope to see you in person later this year and we can have our historical meeting in Phoenix Park to do our part for Reviving Collar in Elbluff.

"Sawbuck" Mike: 1:17:21

Yeah, I look forward to it, bro, and I'll record the whole thing. Oh yeah, let's go.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 1:17:26

Let's do it. We might be back probably later in the summer or fall, so we are going to have to meet up this time, that's a deal.

"Sawbuck" Mike: 1:17:31

That was the rambling current, aka Nathan Featherstone, and let me tell you, nathan Featherstone is a pretty fucking cool name too. It sounds like a Dunder the Dragons character.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 1:17:42

Yeah, he's a badass he I mean it's in his name. We knew we were going to get a good episode. When the guy's name is rambling current and he's a good talker His YouTube channel is pretty much just all him, you know, sharing knowledge that he's acquired. So I knew he was going to be a good guest and definitely up my alley. Hopefully you and the listeners enjoyed some of the Irish deep dive stuff he was going into, because I know I definitely did.

"Sawbuck" Mike: 1:18:10

Yeah, I liked how we touched on a lot of different things. I mean, we really touched on a lot of different things, so I always liked that. I was like, well, we could have bounced around and kind of like a smorgasbord, if you will, have different ideas and conspiracies. And one of the things that I asked him about in our conversation was the immigration thing and how you know how in the West, it seems like, you know, the media is pumping us with all this propaganda that they're getting slammed, which you know. Nathan said yeah, it essentially is how it is, but the reason why that was so pressing on my mind is because this morning.

"Sawbuck" Mike: 1:18:46

I was out for breakfast with my wife and we were talking and she's like, oh, I forgot to tell you, you're going to be mad. I'm like what See? She has a part time job. She has a full time job that she does. You know, that's her main. She does like corporate analytics for Verizon, okay, but she also has a part time job where she goes to like one of the gambling places. You know how, in Illinois we have a lot of these slums, we have a lot of these slot machine plays, places where you could just go in and you know video poker, gamble on that. So she, she works at one of those for a few hours a week and for people I don't know. I live in Plano, illinois, which is about an hour and 10 minutes west of Chicago, about about an hour and 10 minutes south west, southwest of Chicago, and she was just explaining to me how she was told that the owner of the Montclair hotel over here, which is really it's the only fucking decent size motel- in you know, in a good area.

"Sawbuck" Mike: 1:19:49

Well, I guess the owner of this hotel is a real piece of work and he just took in a bus full of immigrants.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 1:19:58

No surprise to do that. That's what we're getting all over the place and, like we've touched on before, it's always, you know, fighting age males. It's never no one's. No one's going to be mad. Like who would be complaining if a family, you know, a mother and children and shit, are actually trying to seek a better life somewhere. And you know we can get into the whole welfare and like handouts thing and whatnot, but like no one's going to be complaining about that.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 1:20:23

Generally, it's more so like, okay, what is with the single man here, and many of them with criminal records and just being, you know, shipped in and accommodated? Like what is what is going to happen here? And when it comes to, you know, a place like Ireland, where it's much smaller and the population is much smaller, even a couple hundred thousand or a couple, you know, thousand and shit, that is, that's massive, that's huge. They don't have that many people over there. So you bring in a large number like that. That's going to offset things, especially if you know they're going to take up the health care, they're going to take up a housing, they're going to be put into places like that where there's, you know, people that could benefit from it that are already there.

"Sawbuck" Mike: 1:21:08

Yeah, no doubt, dude, and you know, out here, we're in fucking.

"Sawbuck" Mike: 1:21:12

We are in Trump country. Out here, where I'm at, jack, believe me, we are in Trump country. There's not a weekend that goes by that I don't see a pickup truck flying a fuck Joe Biden flag. So yeah, it's just crazy that we got that out here, and something that is kind of a recurring theme in this episode you just mentioned it right there. I know it was brought up a few times during the actual conversation with Nathan was just how small of an island Ireland is, and I just want to give a frame of reference for anybody who may not know Ireland from north to south, is 486 kilometers, that is, 302 miles from north to south.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 1:21:53

You can walk it in like a week. You can walk to the top and bottom of Ireland in like less than a week.

"Sawbuck" Mike: 1:21:58

You could. You could drive it in four fucking hours, four and a half hours. And then from west to east, east to west, it's 275 kilometers or 171 miles. Are you fucking kidding me? It's the size of the state of Indiana. I think Indiana is bigger.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 1:22:13

Probably. So. Just imagine you bring in I don't know, let's estimate 100,000. That's going to be a lot more, you know, impactful than doing that in the United States per se, because we have a lot more places that people could go to, but somewhere like that, yeah, that's, it's a lot more of an impact.

"Sawbuck" Mike: 1:22:33

Yeah, so Indiana is 270 miles from top to bottom, at 140 from east to west. So yeah, damn, fucking damn close it's. Yeah, it's basically the size, a little bit bigger, of Indiana. That is insane. When you really put it into perspective, that's not a lot of fucking land.

"Headhunter" Higgins: 1:22:50

And I'm biased. Obviously I love Ireland, I love Irish culture and it is crazy that such a small little place has produced so much rich and crazy history.

"Sawbuck" Mike: 1:23:00

So from Chicago to St Louis Missouri, it's four hours at 18 minutes, 297 miles. So yeah, just to give you, kind of you know, an idea of what we're talking about here. So I recently found out that I am Irish and Scottish and amongst you know, many other things, kind of a month. But I was always kind of taught growing up or told growing up that I was English and Italian.

"Sawbuck" Mike: 1:23:31

So I just find it funny that I don't think people really had a fucking clue what they were until you know the last decade or so, when 23 and me and Ancestry really became a thing, everybody was just kind of walking around based off of what you know they were told. And you know your mom told you hey, you're this because her parents told her they were this. And you know, my grandmother always said we're not Irish, we're English. And you know she was that proper. Guess what dude. I'm fucking more Cyprus than I am English. I'm 4% Cyprus, 3% English, so I'm mostly Irish and Scottish. And if she was alive today I don't think she would fucking believe it. She'd be like that's fucking bloody hell, bloody bullshit. I just think that's crazy. So stay away from pedophiles.