INTERESTING IRISH MYTHS      

Myths are not associated with Greek and Roman only, Ireland has its own interesting myths and folklore. The ancient societies of Ireland use to believe in magic and supernatural deities. Later, their believe later took the form of Irish’s legends which is being carried from generation to generation. In this article, we will discuss some of the most interesting and well-known Irish myths.

Leprechauns

The most known believed myth of Irish people is none other than Leprechauns. The legend of Leprechauns is as old as medieval period. Leprechauns are male fairies which appear to human as an old man. Legend has it that Leprechauns use to collect gold at the end of the rainbow and if a human catches one, then the captivated leprechaun must grant him three wishes to get the freedom.

Finn MacCool

Finn MacCool, appearing in many Irish legends, is the great worrier with extraordinary powers. With immense physical power, it is said the Fin also had some extraordinary intellectual power.  By using both, brain and body, this great Irish worrier fought his fearsome enemies, the Scottish giants.

The Shamrock

As legend holds, Shamrock, the three heart-shaped green leaves, is considered as a lucky charm. It is also a very well known but unofficial symbol of Ireland. The ancient Irish societies believed that the shamrock is a sacred plant and it can wipe out the evil and ill-fate from anyone’s life.

Children of Lir

According to Irish mythological cycle, Lir was the god of sea. He wife died young leaving behind her four children. In order to raise his four children, Lia married his late wife’s sister, Aoife. Aoife resented Lia’s children; therefore, she plotted against them. One day she took them to a lake with the motive of getting rid of them. There she spelled them and turned them into swans. The children remain swans for almost 900 years.

Changelings

Changeling, the deformed child of fairies, exists in many Irish myths. It has been said about changeling that their fairy mothers use to swap them with healthy human children. Changelings used to look like human babies but they had different emotional characteristics. They use to get happy when something ill-fate and adversity struck the house.

Banshee

Banshee was considered as a demon of death. She was very famous mythological creature of Irish myth. She sometimes disguises her as an old woman or sometimes as a beautiful woman. It has been said that her cry use to bring death to its listeners.