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Reading Part A "More Celtic Tales"

Ruins in Ireland (Source)

The first story in this reading is called "The Fate of the Children of Lir" and is about how they are changed into swans by their jealous stepmother.  I may be rewriting the story, so it will be helpful to list the names of the characters and locations.  They are:King Lir, his first wife Ove, second wife Oifa.  His firstborn daughter was Fingula, followed by her twin brother, Aod.  Two smaller children followed, named Fiachra and Conn.  King Lir is the minor king, and King Dearg is the king of all the land.  Much of the action is taking place at the Lake of the Red Eye.
Lir goes out to find his children upon hearing of their disappearance, and discovers that they have been turned into swans by his wife Oifa.  King Dearg turned her into an air demon, and she flew away forever.  The swans are near Erin, a town, which comes to love them and their beautiful singing and resolve to never kill a swan.
The swans sing quite frequently in the story, and their songs are written in italics, like a short poem.  The songs themselves do not rhyme, and are not arrhythmic.
The story of the swans end with them flying away to the Glory Isle of Brandan the saint and settling there.  Finally, the prophesied wedding is about to take place, between Lairgnen, prince of Connaught, and Deoch, princess of Munster.  Lairgnen goes to hear the beautiful songs of the swans, and upon arriving, they turn back into humans, but they are old and withered and about to die.  They request to be baptized (of course), and then they die after their baptism.


Story Source: More Celtic Fairy Tales, by Joseph Jacobs (1895)
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  1. UnknownNovember 14, 2017 at 4:25 PM

    Hi Blake,
    I've seen a lot of reading notes about the Celtic Fairy Tales, and it makes me wish I had chosen those readings for this unit instead of Beowulf. You make it sounds really interesting. I hope all goes well for your story tellings this week!

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