Irish Sagas and Folk-Tales by Eileen O'Faolain
"Irish Sagas and Folk-Tales" by Eileen O'Faolain is a retelling of traditional Irish mythological and folklore narratives organized into four thematic sections. Each part explores distinct cycles of Irish mythology, including the Mythological Cycle, the Ulster Cycle, the Finn Cycle, and various folktales, making the collection accessible to general readers. Notably, O'Faolain employs standard English to convey these tales, steering clear of stylized dialects that may confuse modern audiences.
The stories feature legendary figures such as the Tuatha De Danaan, Cuchulain, and Finn Mac Cool, highlighting epic quests, love stories, and moral lessons. For instance, tales like "The Quest of the Children of Turenn" and "The Cattle Raid of Cooley" depict themes of honor, valor, and the consequences of jealousy. The collection also includes whimsical folktales that offer insights into character and virtue, underscoring the richness of Irish cultural narratives. O'Faolain's work aims to preserve these timeless stories for younger generations, blending entertainment with educational value.
On this Page
Irish Sagas and Folk-Tales by Eileen O'Faolain
First published: 1954
Subjects: Coming-of-age, friendship, love and romance, the supernatural, and war
Type of work: Short fiction
Recommended Ages: 13-18
Form and Content
Eileen O’Faolain did not write the stories in Irish Sagas and Folk-Tales; rather, she retells them. The book is not one story, or simply a collection of stories; it is organized into four parts that correspond to accepted thematic divisions of Irish mythology and tales. The stories in each section are arranged in a loose chronological narrative when possible and, most important, are written for general readers. O’Faolain, while maintaining idioms, uses standard English dialect instead of a stylized dialect, a practice in some collections that can be confusing.
In the first section, O’Faolain relates tales from the Mythological Cycle whose protagonists are the Tuatha De Danaan, or the people of the Goddess Danu. In later stories, these people become known as the Sidhe, or Faeries who live in the otherworld (usually underground) after their defeat by the Milesians. The Sidhe, a race of gods and their children, interact freely with mortals. In “The Quest of the Children of Turenn,” three mortal brothers must complete what seems to be impossible tasks in order to atone for killing the father of a De Danaan, Lugh of the Longbow. They travel through many countries to battle and kill many kings before they complete their quest, only to perish in their last task. Ultimately, they regain honor in death.
The next tales, “Midir and Etain” and “The Children of Lir,” are also about the De Danaan. In the former story, a Faery prince, Midir the Proud, falls in love with a mortal woman, Etain. They wed, but Midir’s jealous Faery wife, Fuamnach, has Etain turned into a butterfly who is blown away by the wind. Etain is whisked around Ireland until one day Angus of the Birds, the Irish God of love, sees her. He realizes that the butterfly is a beautiful woman and marries her. Through a series of events, Etain is reborn and marries a king, but Midir finds her and changes Etain and himself into swans so that they may fly away and be together forever. “The Children of Lir” also features a jealous wife. Eva’s niece and nephews become her children when she marries her brother-in-law, Lir, following her older sister’s death. Eva turns them into swans. After many years, the children, now old men and an old woman, are freed from the spell and thankfully die in one another’s arms.
In the next section, O’Faolain recounts tales of the Ulster Cycle that detail the exploits of the Ulstermen and their primary hero Cuchulain (Hound of Culann). The main portion of this section, “The Cattle Raid of Cooley,” relates the epic battle of Cuchulain and the Ulstermen against Queen Maeve of Connacht. The war begins when Maeve and her husband, King Ailell, boast about who has the most riches and treasures. They are equal in almost everything, but Ailell owns a famous white-horned bull. Maeve cannot be outdone; she and her warriors go to battle to capture the Brown Bull of Cooley from the Ulstermen, so that she will possess equal wealth.
At the time of the attack, the Ulstermen are asleep under a spell, so it is up to Cuchulain to defend the province. The tale tells of Cuchulain’s feats of courage during battles against the army of Connacht. Cuchulain wins them all, and, although the Ulstermen finally awake and defeat Maeve and her army, she does escape with the Brown Bull. The tale ends with the Brown Bull and the white-horned bull in epic battle; Irish place-names resulting from this battle are explained.
Also included in this section is the epic love story of Deirdre and Naisi. When Deirdre is born, druids predict that the kings and heroes of Ulster will fight and die for her love and that she will ultimately bring great ruin and evil to Ulster. Many want her killed, but King Conor vows to marry her and sends her off with three women—a nurse, a teacher, and a poet—to be reared in the woods. When she is old enough, he will send for her and they will be married. Before Conor arrives, Deirdre and one of Conor’s great warriors, Naisi, fall in love. For many years, Deirdre, Naisi, and his two brothers flee from Conor, until he says that he forgives them and asks them to return. They do and the prophecy comes true—the kingdom is tarnished by Conor’s treachery and actions.
In the third section, “In the Time of Finn and the Fianna,” O’Faolain narrates tales of the Finn Cycle about the legendary Finn Mac Cool. These southern Irish stories are in many ways similar to the Ulstermen tales, although they occur much later. The warriors, the Fianna of Erin, are great heroes who perform remarkable feats and deeds, such as defending themselves from spears with only sticks and shields, running as fast as deer, and killing giants. O’Faolain tells of Finn’s rise to lead the Fianna and of his great deeds. Also, she recounts his pursuit of Dermot and Grania in a tale similar to Conor’s pursuit of Naisi and Deirdre. “Oisin in the Land of the Ever Young” relates the feats of Finn’s grandson, Oisin, the great warrior-poet in the land of the Sidhe. Oisin is one of the few Irish heroes who makes the journey to the otherworld. He returns to Ireland three hundred years later, only to see that the Fianna and his world have been replaced with a tarnished and weak Ireland.
In the last section of the book, O’Faolain turns to a few Irish folktales from the same time period as the sagas. There is a short tale about how Finn Mac Cool defeats giants with the help of small men and a tale about the Sidhe called “The Palace in the Rath.” There also are folktales about the Black Thief and his near escapes from death and the journeys of three princes in “The Three Sons of the King of Antua.” These folktales are short and usually have a moral, such as “The Haughty Princess,” in which a princess must learn humbleness and modesty before she can marry a prince.
Critical Context
Eileen O’Faolain’s Irish Sagas and Folk-Tales is one of her many books that relate Irish myths and folktales to young readers. She also wrote Miss Pennyfeather and the Pooka: An Irish Fairy Story (1944), Children of the Salmon and Other Irish Folktales (1965), and The Little Black Hen (1989), to name a few. These works demonstrate the author’s commitment to keeping the storytelling tradition alive for another generation of Irish children and young adults. While most books about Irish mythology are written for scholars and are either direct translations of manuscripts or scientific studies of myths and their relation to culture, O’Faolain presents these tales for the enjoyment of all readers.