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Great Irish Legends for Children
Six traditional Irish legends bring the culture and history of Ireland to young people.
64 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1997
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
June 11, 2019
Yvonne Carroll, whose
Irish Legends for Children
contained six traditional Irish tales in a simplified form that is ideally suited for younger readers, returns in this second collection, which is formatted in much the same way. Profusely illustrated, this time by Robin Lawrie, Great Irish Legends for Children also presents six tales, taken from the Ulster (an Rúraíocht) and Fenian (an Fhiannaíocht) cycles of Irish mythology, and from more recent Irish folklore. The selections include:
The King with Donkey's Ears, which follows the tale of a king who kills his barbers, one by one, to keep (what he imagines to be) a terrible secret, until, at the pleading of his latest barber's mother, he agrees to spare the man's life, if he promises not to reveal anything he sees in the king's castle. Naturally, not all goes quite as planned... This tale can be found in many collections, most recently in Batt Burns' The King with Horse's Ears and Other Irish Folktales .
The Brown Bull of Cooley, a very hastily sketched summation of the ancient Irish epic of the Táin Bó Cúailnge (the central part of an Rúraíocht), from Maeve and Ailill's argument about who is the wealthiest, to Maeve's efforts to obtain Daire Mac Fiachra's brown bull (in order to match Ailill's white bull, Finnbhennach), and her raid into Ulster, and conflict with Cú Chulainn. This telling concludes with the death of both bulls
The Giant from Scotland, a story combining elements of the two traditions of Fionn mac Cumhaill - the epic hero of an Fhiannaíocht, and the comical giant of later folklore - in which Fionn is challenged by the Scottish giant Angus, and, after building the Giant's Causeway, is aided by his clever wife Una in evading his enemy's grasp. This story, minus Fionn's companions in the Fianna, appears in such titles as Finn MacCoul and His Fearless Wife: A Giant of a Tale from Ireland and Mrs. McCool and the Giant Cuhullin: An Irish Tale , although the challenging giant in those retellings is named Cucullin/Cuhullin. Given that her collection also features a tale involving Cú Chulainn, the epic hero, rather than the later comical figure, perhaps Carroll changed the name deliberately, to avoid confusion.
Eisert, a tale in which the king's favorite poet, Eisert, angers his lord, and is dispatched to the land of giants he has described at court. This turns out to be Ulster, under the rule of King Fergus. I'm not familiar with this tale, and wasn't sure what to make of it. Is Eisert a leprechaun? One of the fairy-folk? Is Fergus, Fergus mac Róich?
The Beggarman, taken from an Fhiannaíocht, in which the Prince of Tír na nÓg, on his annual visit to the human world, assumes the shape of an old beggarman, and defends the honor of the Fianna, and of Fionn, when a foreign prince arrives to challenge their fastest runner to a race.
And finally, Oisín, also from an Fhiannaíocht, which follows the story of Fionn mac Cumhaill and Sadhb, of the Fear Dorcha: their short-lived time together, Sadhb's return to captivity, and Fionn's discovery, some years later, of his son, Oisín.
I cannot say, all things considered, that I enjoyed Great Irish Legends as much as Carroll's earlier collection, although I appreciate the fact that she is aiming her work at a younger audience. Somehow, though, the result of these tellings felt a little flat to me, and I wasn't very pleased, either with The Brown Bull of Cooley (all the men of Ulster are prevented from fighting by a "sea witch's" curse), or The Giant from Scotland (I prefer the heroic Finn, but if you're going to give us the comical one, just do so). Still, those looking for simplified retellings of these stories might want to take a look at this one, just to see if it suits their needs.
The King with Donkey's Ears, which follows the tale of a king who kills his barbers, one by one, to keep (what he imagines to be) a terrible secret, until, at the pleading of his latest barber's mother, he agrees to spare the man's life, if he promises not to reveal anything he sees in the king's castle. Naturally, not all goes quite as planned... This tale can be found in many collections, most recently in Batt Burns' The King with Horse's Ears and Other Irish Folktales .
The Brown Bull of Cooley, a very hastily sketched summation of the ancient Irish epic of the Táin Bó Cúailnge (the central part of an Rúraíocht), from Maeve and Ailill's argument about who is the wealthiest, to Maeve's efforts to obtain Daire Mac Fiachra's brown bull (in order to match Ailill's white bull, Finnbhennach), and her raid into Ulster, and conflict with Cú Chulainn. This telling concludes with the death of both bulls
The Giant from Scotland, a story combining elements of the two traditions of Fionn mac Cumhaill - the epic hero of an Fhiannaíocht, and the comical giant of later folklore - in which Fionn is challenged by the Scottish giant Angus, and, after building the Giant's Causeway, is aided by his clever wife Una in evading his enemy's grasp. This story, minus Fionn's companions in the Fianna, appears in such titles as Finn MacCoul and His Fearless Wife: A Giant of a Tale from Ireland and Mrs. McCool and the Giant Cuhullin: An Irish Tale , although the challenging giant in those retellings is named Cucullin/Cuhullin. Given that her collection also features a tale involving Cú Chulainn, the epic hero, rather than the later comical figure, perhaps Carroll changed the name deliberately, to avoid confusion.
Eisert, a tale in which the king's favorite poet, Eisert, angers his lord, and is dispatched to the land of giants he has described at court. This turns out to be Ulster, under the rule of King Fergus. I'm not familiar with this tale, and wasn't sure what to make of it. Is Eisert a leprechaun? One of the fairy-folk? Is Fergus, Fergus mac Róich?
The Beggarman, taken from an Fhiannaíocht, in which the Prince of Tír na nÓg, on his annual visit to the human world, assumes the shape of an old beggarman, and defends the honor of the Fianna, and of Fionn, when a foreign prince arrives to challenge their fastest runner to a race.
And finally, Oisín, also from an Fhiannaíocht, which follows the story of Fionn mac Cumhaill and Sadhb, of the Fear Dorcha: their short-lived time together, Sadhb's return to captivity, and Fionn's discovery, some years later, of his son, Oisín.
I cannot say, all things considered, that I enjoyed Great Irish Legends as much as Carroll's earlier collection, although I appreciate the fact that she is aiming her work at a younger audience. Somehow, though, the result of these tellings felt a little flat to me, and I wasn't very pleased, either with The Brown Bull of Cooley (all the men of Ulster are prevented from fighting by a "sea witch's" curse), or The Giant from Scotland (I prefer the heroic Finn, but if you're going to give us the comical one, just do so). Still, those looking for simplified retellings of these stories might want to take a look at this one, just to see if it suits their needs.
December 28, 2023
I great little introduction to Irish mythology! This was my first time reading Irish legends! I enjoyed the pronunciation guide in the back of the book!
January 26, 2012
I liked this book and the stories were okay I just wish that maybe they would of had a little more detail. The illustrations were good, and the writing level was good as well, however I just wish that maybe each legend would have been a bit more in depth and longer so that I could really grow to like the characters, and maybe found a connection with the stories.
April 18, 2023
Illustrations are very good in this book. The stories are all familiar, but the story The Giant from Scotland is the shortest version I've read thus far. The King with Donkey's Ears I've read as a legend too. There is always a slight variation to thia story as well.
July 26, 2025
really beautiful artwork, folklore is often retold without glamour or immersive, descriptive writing, and it's strange (in a good way, of course) to momentarily have that cold distance broken with mentions of familiar names and places in Irish
June 9, 2018
Better than the other one, but still not as good as other children's collections!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 10, 2019
Fantastic illustrations and a pronunciation guide in the back
April 18, 2023
Had read most of the legends before the only one that I hadn't was The Beggarman.
July 16, 2025
Great stories!
Read
February 13, 2017Has 6 Irish legends- Great book to use in discussing folktales.
August 29, 2012
This book was very cute! I enjoyed reading it. There were different stories among the one book. The book contained traditional Irish legends, and they were all very interesting! My favorite story was called "The Giant From Scotland." It was so cute how the wife decided to make her husband into a baby to scare the big giant away from him. Not only did the stories keep my attention, but they also have very good graphics that were fun to look at. The pictures filled up the whole page and left no white showing, which I loved. I like books that use up the whole page for the picture and to decorate the page. I think that children of all ages would enjoy a book like this, considering a 19 year old enjoyed it. It wasn't too long and it wasn't too short, it was just perfect.
January 4, 2013
Has a pronunciation guide at the back which is very helpful. Otherwise just a good re-telling of some great tales for children.
Good.
Good.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews