Our Favourite Irish Legends

	Tír na nÓg by Katie

	Oisín by Laura C
	Oisín is my favourite Irish legend. He was a young man from Tara who one day found himself with a beautiful blond young lady from Tír na nÓg and she gave him a choice of going to Tír na nÓg or she gave him a choice to stay in Tara. He thought about it and spoke to his father and after a day he said yes. So off they went across the sea to Tír na nÓg. Soon after Niamh and Oisín got married and Oisín wanted to go back to Tara for one last visit but could not touch the ground, but he did and transformed into a three hundred year old man and died soon after.

	Tír na nÓg by Máire

	The Salmon of Knowledge by Enda
	Fionn was walking along a dusty road after his father was killed in a battle. He spotted a man fishing in a deep lake. 'What are you doing? You would get better fish in that shallow river over there.' 'I am looking for no ordinary fish I am looking for the Salmon of Knowledge.' So Fionn became the man's servant, he received food and shelter in return for helping with the chores. One day, the man came back with a giant fish with golden scales that enthralled Fionn. 'Put this fish on the spit and roast it, do not eat it, I am off to wash my hands.' So Fionn put the fish on the spit. He noticed that there was a boil on its scales so Fionn burst it, his finger burnt so he put it in his mouth. And that is how he obtained the knowledge from the Salmon of Knowledge.

	Fionn and the Scottish Giant by Paul
	Once there was a man called Fionn and he was the leader of the Fianna. One day he heard that a Scottish giant was coming to Ireland and wanted to fight him. For once Fionn was scared because this giant was supposed to be fifty feet tall and as strong as one hundred bulls. Fionn had a plan - he would pretend to be a baby. A few days later the giant arrived at Fionn's house. His wife dressed Fionn up as a baby and then invited the giant in. She had just baked some scones and offered them to the giant. Fionn's wife had put stones in the scones which she had given to the giant but had not put any in Fionn's. When the giant bit the scone he broke two of his back teeth and the giant. "It's the only bread my husband and son will eat." "But how could a baby eat this bread?" and the giant put his finger in Fionn's mouth and he bit it off. The giant ran back to Scotland and was never seen in Ireland again.

	Children of Lir by Sarah

	Children of Lir by Sinéad M
	Long time ago there was a chieftain named Lir. He had four children, Fionnuala, Aodh, Fiachra, and Conn. The children's mother died and Lir remarried to a lady called Aoife. Aoife got on fine with the children but soon became aware that Lir loved the children more, so she grew more and more to hate them. One day she took the children to Lough Derravaragh. When the children played, Aoife cast a spell on the them. She changed them into four swans. She said: "You will spend 300 years on Lough Derravaragh, 300 years on the Sea of Moyle and 300 years on the Sea of Erris." The only thing she left them was their own voice and the gift of song. When Lir passed the lake he couldn't believe that swans were calling his name. Fionualla told him. "Our nasty stepmother has changed us into four swans for 900 years altogether on different seas." Lir was very sad about this. He decided to live by the lake. He loved hearing their sweet voices. After 300 years they moved to the Sea of Moyle. It was very cold here and they were often hungry. Another 300 years past and they went to the Sea of Erris. Slowly they waited until the spell broke. Then one day they heard the ringing of a church bell. They were delighted to find the spell had ended. Kemoc, a monk, blessed them and they returned back to themselves. They were very old now. They got baptised by Kemoc, for they knew death was coming. And when they died, four beautiful children went to heaven.

Brown Bull of Cooley by Hannah

	Queen Maeve and her husband Ailli ruled Connacht. One night they began to argue with each other about their riches and possessions. Maeve had many beautiful jewels, but so had Ailli. On and on they went comparing their possessions. Then Ailli remembered his white bull Finnbhennach. Meave was jealous of Ailli. Then she asked her druids "Where can I find a bull like Ailli's?" she demanded. "The bull you seek is in Cooley"replied the druids. Maeve sent her messenger to Cooley. When Maeve's messenger told Daire this (Daire was the owner of the bull), he was fuirious."Tell your Queen she may not have my bull " snapped Daire. Maeve's army and the Red Branch Knights fought. Maeve sent men to capture the bull . When Maeve put the bull in the pen with Ailli's, the brown bull was impaled. And the brown bull drove its horns into the white bull. And with its last inch of strength, the white bull drove its horns into the brown bull. And they where both killed instantly.

	Cúchulainn by Daniel
	Once upon a time, long, long ago there was a young boy named Cúchulainn. One night he was invited to a party. On the way he would hit the sliotar in the air and before it could hit the ground again, he would hit it back in the air again. He did this the whole way until a big ferocious dog jumped out in front of him. They were face to face in front of the party. He picked up the sliotar and hit it as hard as he could right into the dog's mouth and the dog choked. Everyone came out straight away. What happened? I'm sorry. From now on you are my bodyguard.

	Fionn and the Goblin by Vincent
	One night Fionn was invited to a ball with the King of Ireland and they were worried about the Tara Goblin that burnt the castle every year. So Fionn said he would slaughter the Goblin. Later his dad's friend gave him a magic spear that could resist that Goblin's magic sleeping music. The music started to play and Fionn held the spear to his head and threw the spear and the Goblin died and Fionn asked to be leader of the Fianna like his dad.

	Deirdre by Máire
	Long ago in Ulster, a baby named Deirdre was born. Her father, Feidhlim, asked the wise druids to tell him what the future held for her. "She will cause great trouble," answered the druids. "She will be very beautiful but she will cause the death of many of our men." King Connor sent for Feidhlim when he heard the news. "Deirdre will be brought up far away from here", ordered Connor. "When she is old enough I will marry her." Deirdre was taken away at once where a wise old woman, named Leabharcham cared for and taught her. As years passed Deirdre became beautiful. She had long golden hair and deep blue eyes. One day, Deirdre told Leabharcham about a dream she had had. It was about a handsome warrior. "He is Naoise," she replied when Deirdre had finished. "You must not mention him again. You will be married to King Connor soon." Deirdre begged Leabharcham to have her meet Naoise. Leabhercham eventually gave in to her pleas so Naoise and Deirdre met and fell in love instantly. "We must leave Ulster now," cried Deirdre. "I cannot marry Connor." So Naoise and Deirdre set sail for an island off the coast of Scotland. When King Connor heard of it he was in a frenzy of madness. They lived there for some time until one day a messenger arrived from the king. He reported that King Connor had forgiven them. Deirdre was reluctant to go back and did not trust the message but Naoise did. He set sail for Ireland. Deirdre was right. When they arrived back, they were both seized by Connor's knights and Naoise was then killed. Deirdre screamed in sorrow and fell dying to the ground beside the body of Naoise. Deirdre's father was so furious with Connor that he left Ulster to join the army of Queen Maeve. Many warriors accompanied him. This army was later to fight bloody battles against the Red Branch Knights. So Deirdre did bring sorrow to Ulster, just as the druids foretold.

	The Magic Pot by Leon
	My favourite legend is Páidín and the Magic Pot. It's a story about a poor family. One night Páidín was going out for a walk when he saw a ghost in a tree. The ghost asked Páidín to carry him to the king's feast. Páidín agreed. When they came to a wall, the ghost asked Páidín to climb over it. Páidín said "But that's the grave yard." The ghost said "All those people are dead. What harm could come over you?" So Páidín climbed the wall. When they got there, the king came over and greeted Páidín and the ghost. He told them to sit down at his table and have some food. After the meal the king gave Páidín a gift. Páidín was very pleased. It was a pot and a stick. But then Páidín thought this gift is not of any use. Then the king said "It's no ordinary pot. All you have to do is tap the pot three times and whatever you wish comes out of it. Páidín said "I only want one thing." The king said "What is it?" "I only want my sister to be able to see."The king said "You are a kind fellow. But remember you can only tell your family about the pot nobody else and you can not tell anybody that you were here tonight. Páidín swore he wouldn't tell anybody. At home he told his mam about the pot. She was very excited. The first thing he wished for was a nice breakfast. Then before his very eyes a fairy came out of the pot and said "What do you wish for?" And he said a nice breakfast. Then they saw a big table with very nice cutlery. After breakfast he wished that his sister Nora would be able to see. After he said those very words his sister was no longer blind. As time passed Páidín's house started to look better and their clothes looked better. Neighbours thought that they inherited lots of money. Others thought they stole it. Their landlord was very jealous. And if Páidín did not tell his landlord where he got the money, he would throw them in jail. When Páidín told him how he was getting all of this money, he didn't believe him and then huge men came out of the pot and trashed the landlord's home. And all of Páidín's stuff was gone and his sister was blind again and they found themselves poor again.
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