Look across the sea to an island of myth and legend. Ireland’s tales of fairies, ancient kings, and heroes of old have captivated people for centuries. Even in modern times, Irish folklore provides inspiration for many fantasy writers and tabletop roleplayers. But have you ever wondered just how old the stories were, and where the inspirations may have come from? This article offers a look at Irish folklore and the connection it has to the culture of Ireland. Be sure to take a look at books on Ireland in your library’s collection while you read it!
Time of the Tuatha: Ireland’s Mythic Peoples
Ireland has long been inhabited by humans for so long that the Celts knew they were not the first to walk the Emerald Isle when they arrived by ship. The first people arrived in Ireland roughly 9,000, opens a new window years ago (7,000-6,800 BC) and left their mark on the landscape with massive stone tombs, opens a new window. Exactly when the Celts arrived in Ireland is a topic of much debate, with various studies suggesting anywhere from 1,000 BC to 300 BC for a settlement date. The process of settlement was most likely gradual, opens a new window, and the influence of Celtic culture took time to build, with a slow push westward by the Celts. Because of this lengthy settlement period, the Celts encountered both ruins of older civilizations and populations of earlier peoples as they explored. Over time, tales of what the Celts thought the older peoples of Ireland were like developed.
The Irish believed that two races once battled for control of the island before their arrival. The first of these were the Fomorians, opens a new window, a race of chaotic, violent giants. Unlike humans, the Fomorians did not have a consistent form for their bodies. Some of them were born missing arms, opens a new window, legs, and eyes. Others were born with the heads of goats or other animals in place of a human head. The most powerful of all the Fomorians was Balor of the Evil Eye, opens a new window, a giant so vast that his full body was rarely seen, but could turn any foe to ash with terrible light from his vast single eye. Their power was associated with storms, massive tidal waves, and the vanishing of the sun. The Fomorians did not live on the surface of Ireland, but were believed to inhabit both the sea and the dark places within the earth.
The foes of the Fomorians were the Tuatha Dé Danann, a race of Celtic deities skilled in magic and the ways of war. Their chieftain was The Dagda, opens a new window, who resembled a tall, massive man with a beard and hooded cloak. He wielded a magical staff, opens a new window that could give life with one end and take it with another. Among his many magical artifacts were a cauldron that never ran empty, a harp that could be summoned by calling its name, and a pig that was forever roasting. His wife was The Morrígan, opens a new window, a goddess who could stir warriors to fury on the battlefield. During battle, she took the form of a crow who could cause confusion among her enemies with harsh cries. The Morrígan was a crafter of fates and shaper of the course of battles. The Dagda fathered many children with her and his lover Boann,, opens a new window goddess of the River Boyne.
The line between the Tuatha and the Fomorians was thinner than it may seem at first. One Fomorian, Elatha, opens a new window, was said to be beautiful and had a son named Bres with the Tuatha Ériu. Ethniu, opens a new window, the daughter of Balor, was as beautiful as her father was hideous and conceived a son named Lugh with the Tuatha Cian. Both Bres and Lugh would play an important role in the Second Battle of Mag Tuired, the final battle between the Tuatha and the Fomorians.
Bres, opens a new window was the most beautiful of all the Tuatha and was chosen as their king, but proved a cruel and oppressive leader who lacked any hospitality or generosity. Though Bres was thrown off the throne and sent into exile, he appealed to his grandfather Balor to help restore him. Nuada of the Silver Arm, opens a new window, king of the Tuatha after Bres, desperately needed warriors to help him fight off the Fomorian forces.
Lugh, opens a new window travelled to Nuada’s court some time before the battle and impressed him so greatly that he was made general of the Tuatha army. In the battle, Lugh threw his mighty spear all the way through Balor’s eye, slaying him and forever earning Lugh the title Lámfada (of the Long Arm). Most of the Fomorians were slain or driven deep into the icy northern sea, but Bres was allowed to remain on the condition that he teach the Tuatha the secrets of agriculture. Through this, the Tuatha learned the ways of civilization and became the masters of Ireland.
Ireland’s Heroes of Old
Ireland became increasingly Christianized from the 5th century AD, opens a new window onwards. During the process of conversion, the gods and demons of old were not completely wiped from memory. A new pseudohistory of Ireland was created to recontextualize the older gods and demons as relating to characters from the Bible. No longer were the Tuatha the original inhabitants of Ireland; now multiple waves of settlers were said to have arrived on the island, with the first,, opens a new window arriving even before the Flood. The Fomorians were still present, but were now said to be the children of Noah’s son Ham, opens a new window, their hideous bodies a result of Noah’s ancient curse.
Cú Chulainn, the Hound of Ulster
Even after Christianity was the dominant religion of Ireland, stories of its legendary heroes remained popular among the bards and chroniclers of the island. Many of these mortal champions were descendants of the Tuatha. Perhaps the greatest of these heroes was Cú Chulainn, opens a new window, the mighty Hound of Ulster. Cú Chulainn was renowned for his fiery temper, which allowed him to fly into a berserk rage and destroy the armies of his opponents.
He was originally named Sétanta, but lost that name while visiting the blacksmith Culann with his uncle, King Conor. While walking towards the blacksmith’s house, he was attacked by a massive guard dog that towered over him. Even at a young age, opens a new window, Sétanta was amazingly strong and managed to slay the attacking dog in self-defense. Culann demanded compensation for the loss of his dog, so Sétanta vowed to serve him as the new “hound of Culann” (Cú Chulainn).
During his life as a warrior, Cú Chulainn took part in one of the great epics of Ireland, the Táin Bó, opens a new window (Cattle Raid of Cooley). He was tasked to save the sacred Brown Bull of Ulster from raiders led by Queen Medb of Connaught, and had to fight much of the Connaught army by himself, since the adult males of Ulster were cursed and unable to fight. He slew many foes in both single combat and in groups with his dreaded spear, the Gáe Bulg. He hurled the spear with his feet, and no enemy could live once they were struck by the terrible barbed weapon.
At one point Cú Chulainn was badly injured but was healed by Lugh, who revealed himself as Cú Chulainn’s true father. After the youth militia of Ulster was slain while he rested, Cú Chulainn became so enraged that his body took on a warp spasm, opens a new window, twisting him into a horrific inhuman form that could conquer anything. He fell upon the Connaught battle camp and killed their warriors by the hundreds.
After these and numerous other adventures, Cú Chulainn had made many enemies. Queen Medb survived her failure at Cooley and organized a conspiracy, opens a new window among them to kill Cú Chulainn. She had learned that his great strength was bound in a sacred geas: that he never eat a dog’s meat. One day, before a major battle, Cú Chulainn saw an old hag by a cooking fire preparing a foul-smelling meat. The hag offered him a piece, and he refused, knowing that it was dogmeat. When he did so, the hag reminded him that in Ireland, it was also considered sacred to never refuse an act of hospitality.
Eating the meat robbed the left half of his body of its amazing strength. In the following battle, Cú Chulainn was confronted by one of Medb’s co-conspirators, Lugaid, opens a new window. Lugaid was armed with three magic spears, enchanted to kill three kings. He hurled them at Cú Chulainn’s charioteer, his horse, and finally at Cú Chulainn himself. Even after being mortally wounded, Cú Chulainn still had the strength to tie himself to the massive stone Clochafarmore,, opens a new window so he could die standing up. Lugaid could only summon up the courage to take Cú Chulainn’s sword three days after his death, and, when he attempted to do so, it fell from the corpse and cut his hand off.
Fionn mac Cumhaill the Wise
The other great mythic hero of Ireland was Fionn mac Cumhaill, a man who was tall, strong, and incredibly wise. He was a great hunter, bard, and warrior who led the warbands called the Fianna, opens a new window. His father Cumall, who had once led the Fianna, was outlawed and killed, forcing Fionn into a life of exile when he was a baby. While he was being raised by the poet Finegas, he went on a fishing trip with him one day. As Finegas was fishing, he managed to hook a massive salmon, opens a new window that put up a long fight. Finegas was awed by the size of the salmon once he reeled it in and he believed it to be the Salmon of Knowledge, opens a new window, which had eaten nine hazelnuts from a magic tree. Finegas wanted to eat the salmon and learn all the wisdom accumulated in its body, so he had Fionn cook it for him.
Though Fionn cooked it well, at one point some fat jumped off the salmon and burned his thumb. Fionn reflexively stuck his thumb in his mouth to cool the burn. When Finegas came to eat the salmon, he asked Fionn if he had eaten any of its flesh, and Fionn said, no. However, once Finegas had eaten the entire salmon and felt no wiser, he saw Fionn sucking on his slightly reddened thumb and realized that Fionn was fated to learn from the salmon rather than himself.
It was Fionn who was called upon to save the city of Tara from the dreaded Aillen the Burner. Aillen, opens a new window was a cruel Tuatha who was so skilled at playing the harp, he could cause anyone who heard it to fall asleep. For 23 years, he always appeared on the last day of Samhain, played a tune until all the guards were asleep, then incinerated the buildings with his fiery breath. This forced the city’s people to rebuild year after year. In desperation, the High King of Ireland turned to Fionn for help. Fionn agreed to vanquish Aillen in exchange for leadership of the Fianna.
Though Fionn knew that Aillen’s harp could put him to sleep as well as any other man, he sucked his thumb to use the knowledge of the salmon to devise a plan. He obtained a magical spear and heated its metal, opens a new window, then pressed it into his forehead so he could stay awake all night. When Aillen appeared, Fionn hurled the hot spear all the way through his body.
After ridding Tara of Aillen, he went on many adventures with the Fianna, creating the Giant’s Causeway, opens a new window and the Isle of Man, opens a new window along the way. Fionn was so huge and strong that he was said to have never fallen, opens a new window in battle, but instead sleeps in a cave surrounded by the surviving Fianna. One day, it is said, when Ireland truly needs him, he will rise once more, and the Fianna will begin their questing again.
Mythic Creatures of Ireland
Not content to tell tales of only men and demigods, the bards of Ireland spun stories of many supernatural fairies, beasts, and spirits that dwelled in the island. Some of the oldest legendary creatures in the Celtic tradition are connected to the sea, such as the shapeshifting selkies, opens a new window. In a natural sense, selkies represent the transitional point between the ocean and the land. They could take the form of both humans and seals but were much more comfortable in the water and always tried to return to their seal form. Unlike merfolk, selkies appeared as fully human when not in the water; their ability to change back to a seal was linked to the sealskins, opens a new window selkies wore. In human form, both male and female selkies were stunningly beautiful.
The nature of selkie tales varies between those of female and male selkies. Female selkie tales tend to be narratives of young men, opens a new window who discover the selkies sunbathing on a beach and steal the skins of a female selkies while they are distracted. Once he has the skin, the young man forces the selkie to marry him. The selkie is a good wife to the man and even has children with him, but she is usually melancholy and always seeks to return to the sea. Eventually, she either finds the hidden skin on her own or one of her children gives her the key to it. Once this happens, she is never seen again in human form, although her children may occasionally be greeted by a friendly seal at the seashore.
Male selkie stories are rarer and usually follow different narratives, opens a new window. Male selkies typically appear to young women who are either deeply unhappy in their marriages or about to be married to men they don’t love. The woman often has children by the selkie, who may be born with seal heads or webbed fingers. Young women who left their husbands or disappeared were said to have been taken by selkies, and children who disappeared, opens a new window were said to have been secretly fathered by male selkies who came to take them back. The selkie legends reflect the tragic longing for love in lives on the edge of the ocean and the fear of losing loved ones upon return from the sea.
Selkies are not the only shapeshifters in Irish folklore. The pooka, opens a new window (or púca) is a chaotic and unpredictable creature, sometimes bringing danger and misfortune, but other times good luck and success. Pooka can appear in both animal and human forms but can always be identified as a pooka in their animal form by their black fur. A favorite form (especially of evil pooka) is a black horse, opens a new window, although they may also appear as ravens, rabbits, cats, and goats. When pooka appear as humans, they are often betrayed by their animal features,, opens a new window such as rabbit ears or a bushy fox tail. They are most commonly associated with the rural mountain, opens a new window and hill country.
Pooka stories typically revolve around them finding ways to manipulate people and playing tricks on them. As horses, pooka may appear before drunk men on a moonlit night, opens a new window. The pooka horse will seem docile at first, allowing the man to easily mount it…before taking off on a high-speed, terrifying gallop. The rider is rarely injured severely but will end up miles away from home with a bad hangover. Pooka may also appear in the form of animals to frighten children on Samhain, opens a new window (October 31 or November 1, opens a new window), who try to eat rotten blackberries, their favorite food. Some farmers intentionally left blackberries on a bush or two as “the pooka’s share” to make sure the creatures were happy with them. In Padraic Colum's classic children's novel, The King of Ireland's Son,, opens a new window the pooka is said to ride a fierce black horse rather than assuming its shape.
Pooka could occasionally give humans a reward rather than a prank. In one famous story, “The Piper and the Pooka, opens a new window,” a pooka takes a drunk man to the court of the banshees and magically gives him the ability to play the most beautiful music in Ireland! The pooka here serves as a guardian who helps the man survive spirits far more dangerous than itself. Although the fey gold of the banshees proves short-lived, the man’s new skill with his pipes is not, and he remains a brilliant musical talent to the end of his days.
Ireland is also home to many different kinds of fairies. People around the world know the tales of leprechauns and their pranks and pots of gold, but a crueler and more unsettling relative of them is sometimes spoken of. The far darrig, opens a new window or “red man” is a short, fat fairy who wears a red cloak and hat and lives in swamps. Like the leprechaun, the far darrig is often associated with playing tricks on people but does not own or care about gold. What he does care about is his sense of humor, which can be morbid and frightening. The far darrig may force a person to try to make a corpse, opens a new window laugh, jump onto a person’s back and increase his weight until they can barely move, or steal a baby and replace it with a changeling, opens a new window. A far darrig’s presence can be felt even if he remains unseen by the human. People who have unusual dreams or nightmares are said to have been visited by far darrigs while asleep.
Not all Irish creatures have a sense of humor. The sluagh, opens a new window (or slúagh), spirits of the dead denied entry to both heaven and hell, are said to return to haunt the living on Samhain. They take the forms of gray, misty birds that fly in from the West, opens a new window to carry off anyone unfortunate to be outside at night. They are most strongly associated with Oweynagat, opens a new window, the “Hell Gate” cave in Roscommon. Depending on the tale, the sluagh may carry, opens a new window a person off on a strong wind, steal the soul of a sick or dying person, or eat someone alive. Particularly unlucky people may encounter the sluagh on nights other than Halloween, opens a new window and will always regret it…if they return alive.
One of the most infamous of Irish fairies is the dreaded banshee. Although not necessarily a malicious creature, the banshee is always a foreboding, opens a new window one, for her appearance is always linked to an imminent death. She typically appears as a short, old woman wearing a shroud. She always sings a song of lament, opens a new window when she appears that may sound like a common melody or harsh avian shrieking. Banshees were particularly drawn to announce the deaths of kings and other powerful men. Brian Boru,, opens a new window the High King who unified Ireland, was remembered as a devout man who died on Good Friday., opens a new window He was said to have been visited by the banshee Aibhill, opens a new window in his tent shortly before he was killed.
Ireland Into the Modern Age
The appeal of Ireland’s myths and legends endures today in the places linked to them across the island and beyond. The massive burial mound at Newgrange, opens a new window was believed to be an entrance to the Otherworld the Tuatha used after the Milesians (the Celtic people of Ireland today) claimed the surface. It seems to have been designed to catch a beam of sunlight at its rise on Winter Solstice,, opens a new window lighting up the chamber. Getting entrance to the tomb on that day is highly sought after, with a lottery, opens a new window admitting only a fixed number of people per year.
The Hill of Tara, opens a new window is another sacred place in Irish lore. This site in Meath, viewed as sacred since the Neolithic era, was the site where Ireland’s High Kings were once crowned.
Fionn mac Cumhaill was said to have built the Giant’s Causeway, opens a new window in northern Ireland to fight the Scottish giant Benandonner. These massive basalt columns mark one of the northernmost points of Ireland and are considered a geological heritage site, opens a new window. During his fight with Benandonner, Fionn was also said to have hurled a piece of Ireland into the sea, which became the Isle of Man, opens a new window. Although not under the same government as Ireland, it is relatively close and accessible by many cruising tours and maintains close ties to Ireland and Scotland.
Several places important in the stories of Cú Chulainn are open to tourists. You can visit Oweynagat, opens a new window (where he tamed deadly cats), Navan Fort, opens a new window (where he lived), and Clochafarmore, opens a new window (where he died).
Learn more about Irish legends and places you can visit with resources, opens a new window from your library.
