Irish Myths & Legends

by Ita Daly (Adapter), Bea Willey (Illustrator)

Ita Daly, the popular Irish novelist, collects myths and legends from his native land in this beautifully illustrated collection. Many of these stories were told to him as a child by his mother, who learned them from her mother. The oldest myths retold here belong to the Mythological Cycle;
they were copied by monks in the 11th and 12th centuries from earlier manuscripts. This cycle features the Tuatha De Danann, a handsome race descended from a goddess and endowed with many godlike qualities. The second group of stories, the Ulster Cycle, deal with the ancient Ulster king Conchubhar
Mac Nessa and his bravest warrior, Cuchulainn. The Fianna Cycle dates back to about 300 AD and recount the heroics of the warrior Fionn Mac Cumhaill and his band of fighting men, the Fianna. This collection includes other stories as well, all enchantingly retold in clear prose that convincingly
recaptures the beauty of language and times past.

Genres: Mythology, Fantasy

96 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2001

About the author

Ita Daly's short stories have won the Hennessy Literary Award and the Irish Times short story competition, and are collected in The Lady with the Red Shoes (1980). Her novels include Unholy Ghosts (1997), All Fall Down (1992), Dangerous Fictions (1991), A Singular Attraction (1987) and Ellen (1986). She has written two books for children, Candy on the Dart (1989) and Candy and Sharon Olé (1991). She was married to the author David Marcus until his death in 2009. She currently lives in Dublin.

Reviews

[Alix Anonymous · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this in the days leading up to St. Patrick's Day and it was fun. I've never read anything else on Irish mythology before so I really don't have anything to compare it to. It was a nice, quick read and it kept me entertained.

[Raquel Pilar · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found it quite boring to tell my students
... The stories are nice, but they way they are told... Pfffff.

[Vincent Fan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun to read, very incomplete

[Dean Buchanan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great stories. I want to read more.

[Miss Scarlett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great kids book. Beautiful illustrations.

[Sarah Huff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Balor of the Evil Eye was the legend I read in this book of 10 stories. It was a very interesting story. It was a typical legend of a hero named Lugh who triumphed over evil. The story was short and to the point and didn't contain many details. The characters were introduced and developed very well. I almost felt a sort of kinship to the Tuath De Danann people as they worried and struggled under the power of Balor. Ita Daly did a great job of allowing the readers to paint a picture in his or her head. There were a limited amount of illustrations but the details were just so that you could see the battles between the two kingdoms and the worry of the people. Of course the story had supernatural, mythical aspects to it. For example, King Balor only had one eye and if he looked at you with that eye you would instantly die. The supernatural/ mythic aspect is further evidence that this story is a legend. I did enjoy that there was a funny twist to the story. King Balor grows older and as he continues to age his eyelids gets flabby and hard to lift so he must fasten rings to eat side and pull the eyelid up with rope and strings. I can only imagine how ridiculous that looked! I really enjoyed reading this legend. and it was even more fun to read it in an Irish accent!

[Rosemary Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I checked this book out of the library because I was taking a class that involved learning about folklore. I had to choose one story that was from my own cultural background. These stories are intriguing because they must be among Ireland's most ancient stories, taken from oral traditions, dating back before the eleventh century. A pronunciation guide in the back is helpful for character names and places. Beautiful, colorful illustrations accompany the stories. These myths and legends have so much to stir the imagination, from the Sidhe or fairies to a monster at the bottom of a lake and an evil one-eyed-king with a fierce stare that could kill an enemy. One of my favorite stories is Iubdaan, King of the Leprechauns. It's an enchanting story about finding out you're a big fish in a small pond. In this case the fish would be a leprechaun.

[Sandy (WI girl at heart) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just finished another "Irish Myths & Legends" by Ita Daly. Yep I know it's a kid's book but sometimes you have to sit back, relax and read something simple and innocent. Takes me back to when I was a kid and re-reading some of these stories. I just finished another of this author's books with a similar name. This one was "cute" with illustrations galore that any kid would love.

Would I recommend it to others: Yes.
Would I read it again: No, once was enough but it's a great read for the youngster in everyone.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

After watching "The Song of the Sea" my interest was piqued in Irish mythology. Though there are no selkies here, there are many fun stories (though about heroes and fair ones, not gods or goddesses). The style was light and modern, and most helpfully the author included a pronunciation guide for us non-Gaelic speakers.

[Joy Gerbode · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun book of Irish stories ... fun to read, and great info for the geography paper I'm working on.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable collection of Irish myths and fairytales.

[Katherine Moody · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun little tales. Some of them were quite amusing. Easy and interesting read.