Irish Myths and Legends
When I was writing the four Wolf books I
found Irish myths and legends to be a great source of inspiration.
Ancient Well: All water features were sacred to the early Irish
people, but wells and springs were especially sacred.
Caves: Caves were considered as supernatural by the early Irish people.
They provided the entrance to the Otherworld and were considered as homes
for the gods.
Festival of Samhain: This festival marked the end of one year and the
beginning of another. It was a time when the Otherworld became visible to
mankind and a time when the spirits of the dead were let loose on the human
world. Halloween is the modern replacement of this festival.
Festival of Imbolc: This festival was sacred to the goddess, Brigid
(or Brigit) who was worshipped as the goddess of fertility. It was also a woman’s
festival and usually coincided with the birth of the first lambs and the first
milk for cheeses from the mother ewes. It was held at the beginning of February.
Festival of Beltaine: This festival was in honour of the god Bel
and was held at the beginning of May. Cattle used to be driven between two fires
and this was thought to ensure their well-being and fertility for the year. The
name Beltaine comes from the combination of the god’s name and the
Irish word for fire.
Festival of Lughnasa: This festival was celebrated even in the twentieth
century in Ireland. It was held in August and was in honour of the god Lugh.
It celebrated the harvest and often the festival ran for two weeks and fairs and
games were held during that period.
Frozen Mist & River of Ice: An Irish legend tells the story of Art,
the High King of Ireland, who had to undertake a great journey to win his bride.
In the course of his journey he encountered hideous toads, frozen mist, a
river of ice, a giant and, in the end, two cups, one containing poison.
Fountain of Knowledge: Art’s son, Cormac MacArt, had, in his turn, to
undertake a journey. He had to travel through the Land of Promise until he
reached the royal dun or fort. Inside was a shining fountain with five streams
issuing from it. Five salmon swam in the fountain and nine hazel trees grew
around it. Whenever a hazel nut dropped in the fountain, one of the salmon ate
the nut.
Nuts of Knowledge: When these were eaten by the salmon, they made the
salmon very wise. When Finn MacCumhall, as a young boy, cooked one of these
salmon for his master, the druid, he burnt his thumb on the hot fish and sucked
it. From then on, whenever Finn MacCumhall wanted to know anything, he just
sucked his thumb.
Ogham: Ogham is a way of writing letters by means of single strokes or
knife cuts, either against or through a middle line. It was used for writing on
either wood or stone. When used for writing on wood, small square-sided rods
were used. The edge of the rod or the edge of the stone sometimes was used as
the middle line. The vowels were cut diagonally through the middle line: one
stroke for A, two strokes for E, three for I, four for O, and five for U.
B (1 stroke), L (2), V (3), S (4), N (5) were straight strokes on the
right-hand side of the middle line.
H (1 stroke), D(2), T (3), C (4), Q(5) were straight strokes on the
right-hand side of the middle line.
M (1 stroke), G (2), NG (3), Z (4), F (5) were diagonal strokes
through the middle line.
This method of writing and of sending messages was mentioned in many of the
Irish and Celtic myths and legends and some examples of it have been found on
stones – burial stones or place-marking stones in Ireland and in Wales.
Otherworld: The Otherworld in Irish mythology was a place where the gods
lived and where people went after they had died. Legends tell of people going
and coming to and from the Otherworld and of great feasts and wonderful
adventures there. There was one definite place, a small rocky island called the
House of Donn – Donn was one of the gods of the dead – where only the souls
of the dead were to be found, but even there exchanges between the living and
the dead could be made.
Other parts of the Otherworld included the Tir na nOg (the land of youth)
where Oisin the son of Finn MacCumhall, was lured by Niamh, the daughter of the
sea-god. He stayed there for three hundred years and kept his youth, but when he
went back to Ireland he immediately turned into an old, old man.
On one night of the year, on the festival of Samhain, the gates to the
Otherworld were opened and the inhabitants were allowed to set out to wreak
vengeance on all living persons who wronged them when they were alive.
Perilous Plain: The Perilous Plain comes into the Cuchulainn adventures.
He had to cross this plain which was full of devouring wild beasts in order to
get the fortress of Scathach, the female martial arts champion who was going to
train him to defeat all of his enemies.
Sacred Numbers: The sacred numbers in Irish and Celtic mythology are:
3 (and its multiples), 5, 13 and 17. Many of the images
of gods that have been found are shown to have three heads. Five
is also very significant. There were five great roads in Ireland, five
celebrated hostels, five paths of law, five provinces in ancient
Ireland, Finn McCumhall counts in fives, Cuchulainn has five wheels
painted on his shield. Seventeen is mystic. Events in ancient Irish
legends are said to take place after seventeen days or seventeen
years.
Shape-changer: The evil genius in the Wolf
stories is the Shape-changer. Shape-changers and shape-changing
is a potent motif in Irish legends. The sons of Lir are shape-changed into
swans. The dark druid changes the goddess Sadbh, loved by Finn McCumhall, into a
fawn. The beautiful Aoife was changed into a crane, a heron-like bird, and in
that form was killed. The skin of the crane was made into a bag and it became
the treasure bag of the Fianna, the mythical band of ancient Irish warriors.
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