A Tale from Ireland’s Mythological Cycle

The Children of Lir is often thought of as a children’s tale. Indeed, many versions of it are, and the tale has been told to children in Ireland for many centuries.

But the story is far more than that. It is a poignant tale with much literary merit. It is thought by some to be the inspiration or source of William Shakespeare’s King Lear and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake.

 It is one of the many stories of Ireland’s Mythological Cycle, tales of the god-like people who first settled Ireland. As one might expect, there are many, many versions of this story. The version with the pdf link on this page is my version, taken from many others, told in a way that makes it the most fascinating – at least to me.

I hope you enjoy it!

Illustrations

The illustration at the top of the page is from A Book of Myths by Jean Lang, published in 1915.

The illustration on the left is an Irish postage stamp, designed by P. J. Lynch.

The illustration at the bottom of the page is by an artist unknown, at least to me.