'The Wind Beneath the Stone' unearths the history of Irish stone lifting

WBUR

Published September 18, 2026 at 12:08 PM EDT

The cover of "The Wind Beneath the Stone. beside author David Keohan" (Courtesy of Chelsea Green)

Stone lifting is a piece of Irish history that was mostly lost to time.

Until David Keohan, a world kettlebell-lifting champion, came along and brought it to light. Keohan has spent the past few years rediscovering the buried history of stone lifting and picking up some heavy boulders along the way.

Now he’s out with a book: “The Wind Beneath the Stone: My Quest to Unearth a Piece of Ireland’s Folklore”

He speaks with Peter O’Dowd about what he’s learned on his journey – about himself, his culture, and his community.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.