Famous Irish legends and myths

Ireland has a long history filled with countless ancient methodology and folklore. The ancient societies, the Druids and the Celtics, believed in the power of magic. That belief has spread over generations, evolving into legends told over and over to this day. Here are some of the most famous ones.

The Banshee

The Banshee translates to “Faerie woman.” There are many stories regarding the Banshee. One story states that she is a ghost of a young woman who was brutally killed and her spirit remained to wander the world. She watches over her family and warns them when there’s an imminent violet death. Another quite different story states that the Banshee appears as an old woman with blood red eyes. She is consumed with so much hatred because of what happened to her that she causes instant death via a torturing constant scream.

The Pooka

The Pookas are considered to be fairies or goblins bent on creating havoc in the mortal world. It is believed that on a good day they would only destroy some fences on farms or disrupt the animals. On a bad day though they would carry people away from their homes at night!

Dagda’s Harp

According to Irish mythology, Dagda was a priest who had a large beautiful harp. A rival tribe stole the harp during war and took it to an abandoned castle. Dagda followed them and called for the harp. It came to him and he struck the chords. The Music of Tears played and everyone in the castle began to cry. He struck it again and the Music of Mirth played, causing everyone to laugh constantly. Finally, when he struck it again the Music of Sleep played causing everyone to fall asleep. This provided enough time for Dagda to escape unharmed with his magical harp.

The Children of Lir

This particular myth comes from the Irish Mythological Cycle. Lir was the lord of the sea. He was married with four children. When his wife died, he married his wife’s sister, Aoife. Unfortunately, she was jealous of his relationship with his children. One day she took them to a lake as she desperately wanted to get rid of them. She performed an ancient spell on them while they were swimming and turned them to swans. The children will remain cursed until they heard the sound of a Christian bell. They swam years searching for the sound of the bell, which only came when St. Patrick arrived in Ireland, 900 years later!

Leprechauns

Leprechauns have been in Irish legends since medieval times. They are tall fairies that often appear to humans as an old man. They love to collect gold. They hide it in a pot and store it at the end of the rainbow. If humans catch them, they must grant them 3 wishes before they can be released.

Changelings

Legend has it that female fairies gave birth to deformed children so they kept swapping them with human babies. Although the changeling looked like a human baby, it was only happy when misfortune or grief happened in the house. The changeling legend lasted centuries. William Shakespeare talks of the popular legend in his play “A Midsummer’s Night Dream.”

By Amal Ahmed