Bringing Barley from the Fertile Crescent to Islay this is a story of the origins of Scotch Whisky.

“Once upon a time in a land far away and close to home three fierce girls dreamed around the fire”

Wake up! We must go! 

 Seachad an Eòrna / Beyond the Barley  is the thought expanding first graphic comic book from Rachel MacNeill and Raven River Publishing. 

Mil, navigates by the skin of her teeth with Bee under her hat. Speller, poetically weaves alchemical tales. Drumm, steers by the stars over stormy seas and tames wild animals as they chase adventure, influencing global history by the time the ice melts.

 Seachad an Eòrna / Beyond the Barley navigates the odyssey undertaken by three heroines bearing barley from the Fertile Crescent to Delphi, onwards to the Northlands, and ultimately West to the salt soaked edges of the Atlantic Ocean.  

Surviving storms, speaking with bees, learning to hunt and reciprocally respecting reindeer, The Girls navigate dangers with friends and foe. Honing and distilling their spirit, they encounter Beira, Goddess of Winter, and other magical folk. Compressing and expanding time, their journey West brings knowledge, and elements of what becomes distilling and the origins of whisky-making in Scotland.

Incorporating recent archaeological and anthropological evidence, along with Gaelic lore,   Seachad an Eòrna / Beyond the Barley  traces the history of the movement of peoples and agricultural production from North to South, challenging the conventional received narrative of the origins of Scotch whisky-making.