Over Nine Waves: A Book of Irish Legends

by Marie Heaney (Editor)

Journalist Marie Heaney skillfully revives the glory of ancient Irish storytelling in this comprehensive volume from the great pre-Christian sequences to the more recent tales of the three patron saints Patrick, Brigid, and Colmcille.

Genres: Mythology, Ireland, History, Irish Literature, Folklore, Classics, Paganism

254 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1994

Reviews

[✨ jami ✨]

Bought it in Dublin :) cool collection of Irish legends and folkatales

[Michael Cahill · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thoroughly enjoyable read for anybody with Irish roots or an interest in Celtic mythology. Heaney's aim was to make these fantastic old stories come alive, and I for one think she hit the mark.

[Lulu (the library leopard)]

Irish mythology is 20% epic battles and tragic love stories, 20% incredibly random details that survived centuries, and 60% explanations of place names and I love it.

If you're looking for an introduction to Irish mythology, this would probably be a good place to start because I found it understandable yet faithful.

[Lanea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marie Heaney is married to Seamus Heaney, and definitely shares his interest in Irish mythology. I think it would serve as a good introduction to Irish mythology--it's not as stodgy as many of the direct translations, and leaves out some of my personal favorite tales, but it's enjoyable throughout.

[Zach Reading · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this on a trip to Dublin and I really enjoyed it. Some absolutely bonkers legends filled with incredible characters and so many randomly precise details.

[A. Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heaney's versions of the myths are extremely accessible, rather like a Good News Bible as compared to the King James. She includes a pronunciation key at the back, which is a wonderful bonus, given the importance of language to any culture. This is an excellent introduction to the myth cycles and also includes the patron saints.

[Kieran Fanning · Rating 5 out of 5]

A more palatable version of Lady Gregory's book. Excellent!

[Yazzy]

i read this for school... no thoughts

[Szuwaks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uwielbiam wszelkiego rodzaju mitologie i legendy. Od dłuższego czasu chciałem się na poważnie zagłębić w celtyckie, a zwłaszcza za irlandzkie. Wydaje mi się, że ta tutaj będzie idealna dla każdego, kto również chciałby ich spróbować.

Marie Heaney zebrała w tej książce najbardziej znane legendy z niezwykle bogatej kultury irlandzkiej. Opowieści podzieliła na cztery rozdziały, ze względu na źródła i tematykę. Pierwszy z nich "Za dziewiątą falą" opisuje najdawniejsze, mitologiczne czasy, w których Tuatha Dé Danann, piękny lud o nadprzyrodzonych zdolnościach, toczą walki o Irlandię najpierw z ludem Fir Bolg, a później ze straszliwymi Fomorianami. "Sława droższa niż życie" przedstawia historie z cyklu ulsterskiego, w którym Cú Chulainn wybiera dla siebie krótkie, ale za to pełne chwały życie. W "Muzyce dni minionych" poznajemy losy kolejnego bohatera, Finna, i jego przygody wśród wojowników Fianna. Ostatni rozdział "Troje świętych w jednej mogile" to legendy o trzech, już chrześcijańskich, patronach Irlandii - św. Patryku, św. Brygidzie i św. Columcille'u (Kolumbie).

Czytało mi się ją naprawdę dobrze i z zaciekawieniem śledziłem losy bohaterów - wojowników, poetów, druidów, królów, księżniczek, łotrów, itd. Wiele z tych postaci było wyidealizowanych, ale mimo to, nawet ci pozornie bez skazy mogli przemienić się w tyranów i łajdaków pod wpływem pychy, chciwości, gniewu czy "myślenia swoim przyrodzeniem". Mimo że większość uwagi skupia się na mężczyznach, to istotną rolę odgrywają w tych opowieściach również kobiety, często tak samo jak oni uparte, mądre, przebiegłe czy niebezpieczne (jak chociażby jedna z Tuatha Dé, Macha, która za upokorzenie jakiego doznała przeklęła mężczyzn Ulsteru tak, że gdy będą atakowani, przez 5 dni i nocy będą cierpieć takie bóle jak rodząca kobieta).

Jak już wspomniałem, myślę że będzie to świetna książka dla każdego, kto chce się zainteresować legendami irlandzkimi i poznać ten niezwykle barwny świat.

[Jamie Smyth · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an incredibly fun book.
I left this in a bag on a hiking trip and ruined it washing the bag. Took months to dry out. So worth the wait.

Irish Mythology is so interesting and just so much fun. My god they were so amazingly dramatic about everything. I need a drag group to do a series on each story in this book because it would fit so well. The Cattle Raid of Cooley being one of the most important Irish stories, and being caused by a man slagging his wife about her shite cows is so Irish and so funny.

Heaney does an excellent job in balancing accessibility and depth. A kid can enjoy this as much as an adult.
You can also see all the influences on later Irish stories here (Flann O'Brien in particular).

Really interesting, really fun.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whether you're interested in Irish legends or are familiar with them and want to read them over again, this book provides a decent handful of such tales. From the infamous stories of Cuchulainn and his short life, to the stories of Finn, and the tales that came before of the Tuatha De Danaan, the inhabitants of Ireland before men, and even a brief representation of the lives of the Saints that so changed the religion of Ireland to Catholicism, all are contained in this volume.

They are easy reads, and even has a handy-dandy pronunciation guide since the names are notoriously Gaelic and even more notoriously hard to pronounce. There are some slight spelling errors and continuity errors, but Marie Heaney can't be charged for the latter of these offenses. If there are continuity errors it is because of the structure of the legend, not so much her. As these tales were often passed from one generation to another by word of mouth, many minor things changed throughout until they were written down. Mistakes often happened this way.

Regardless, the stories are about jealousy, revenge, lust, and power as most stories are, and provide for a decent glimpse of what helped to make Ireland's culture and background what it is.

For my feminists out there, don't be surprised to see many women in the stories as rather vindictive witches. There are some other women who are strong warriors with nothing but pride on the line, but many of these stories were created in a very different time where society was based on masculinity and dominance. You'll be pleased to find, however, that there are very similar, vindictive, jealous men in the stories as well who are wild with temper often and quick to be brash which often means their doom. So, it's easy to see two sides of the fence in these stories from a sexuality stand point.

[Alison Lang · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book in preparation for some quasi-academic research, and was therefore frustrated by the lack of references. Yes, there is a bibliography, but it isn't clear which parts of the text draw on which sources. I was looking for less of a lightweight layman's read and more of a critical analysis. However, as soon as I moved on from "Over Nine Waves" to J.F. Campbell's scholarly "Leabhar na Feinne", I realised that you can have too much of a good thing, and I immediately forgave Marie Heaney for going light on the notes and references. So if you want the stories and just the stories, not an argument about sources and authenticity and appropriation, there's nothing wrong with Heaney's book at all. She makes these legends accessible, all about plot and unburdened by detours, although to my mind they lack some of the flavour you'd expect from folklore.

[Scott Pomfret · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a delightful modern but faithful retelling of the main legends of Irish literature. Heaney has a breezy, action-driven approach to the tales that still has a certain emotional resonance (often involving wounded pride). Madness, vengeance, sorrow, teamwork, courage abound, as well as some wonderful descriptions of beauty and Ireland and Tir Na nOg. The Tuatha de Danaan, the Children of Lir, Cuchulainn, and the Fianna are all included here. There is perhaps less focus on certain characters (e.g., Maebh). The tales of Saints Patrick, Brigid, and Columcille that are the last three sections of this book seemed a bit out of place compared to the largely pre-Christian material with which they are grouped. Had I been editor, I would have excluded them--not least of which because, other than Patrick's, the lives described don't have a lot of narrative oomph.

[Maeve · Rating 5 out of 5]

An enjoyable and poetic abridged selection of tales from the three major mythological cycles, as well as three stories of the saints who were equally influenced by the pagan tradition. Perfect as an introduction to the mythology of Ireland, though certainly not a complete and definitive collection.
Serves very well as an entry to medieval Irish manuscripts such as Leabhar Buidhe Leacáin and could also compliment critical/academic studies on the subject.
One star deducted for its brevity, though this also works to the books favour.

~4.5

[Liwia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is really hard to rate.
The first part about Tuatha De Danaan is really interesting and fun to read, while the second one has Cuchulainn who has to be the most annoying and despise-worthy character in history of literature. The third part is simply boring and full of forgettable characters. The book ends with a short stories about Irish saints, but nothing one wouldn't find on Wikipedia.
I'd recommend reading it up to the tale of Macha and then moving on to something else.

[Initially NO · Rating 5 out of 5]

When you have words in your language and you've never known the stories behind them, it's eye-opening to read the old symbolic stories compiled so well, that give the etymology of those words you've been using without realising the full context.

The book also has endnotes that give the Irish pronunciation of words/ names used in the stories.

[Randee Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative, accessible and absolutely a must-read if you want to know about the Irish "cycle" stories and myths. I've also read The Tain, which has more of a straight-from-the-source style, and can be difficult to follow. Not so here: Heaney has laid out the stories in a way that makes chronological and thematic sense.

[Jonathan Spencer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really enjoyable, readable narrative of early Irish mythology. Not the definitive version of the tales, but what is?

[Christine Stobbe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was exactly what I was looking for: a retelling of Irish mythology in modern language and a readable format. The author has chosen the more popular stories and refrained from embellishments. This means that many of the stories have more of a "tell" than "show" feeling, but to show might have allowed the author to insert too much of herself and turned the stories into recreations rather than retellings.

A pronunciation guide in the back was hugely helpful. I didn't remember the pronunciations of the Irish names for very long, but I used the guide frequently, and if I ever read this aloud to anyone for some reason, it will save me much embarrassment.

An extensive bibliography is a great guide for further reading.

Highly recommend for anyone wanting a readable dive into Irish mythology.

[William Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really great introduction to Irish myth and legend. It goes through the original four invasions of the island, and then into the larger cycles such as the Ulster and Finn cycle.
Although this has been edited to make a more coherent set of stories, it is told in a very matter-of-fact way. I would have preferred a little of the setting and description that comes with legends. Many of the ones here end up pretty dry, I think simply to compress the total length.
But overall, this is a great way to get into Irish legends!

[Alpineee _thewolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gave this one generous 4 stars. It was not that bad…but not very outstanding either. Despite the repetitive plot in each legend and myth book I have read so far this one had, how should I put it in words? ‘A certain charm to it’. As far as I remember the myths were divided into 3 different cycles each coming with different stories somehow interconnected to each other (ex: the characters from one cycle were the ancestors or relatives or descendants of a character from another cycle) bla bla bla I could go on forever like this. In the end I recommend this book to readers who are getting started with celtic mythology and want an easy start, as the stores are relatively easy to follow

[Sofia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Certain books, such as this one, leave me conflicted when it comes to rating. If I'm gonna be honest it was quite a dreadful read, but at the same time I'm sure it's a good book. It's not you, it's me, maybe? I guess I just find irish mythology a bit boring? or did the author not do a good job at making it entertaining? Maybe I shouldn't have gone into it expecting a irish version of Stephen Fry's Mythos...

[Jericho · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty neat series of retellings! I was only vaguely familiar with a couple of the myths going in but this felt like a very clean introduction.

This is also how I found out that Fionn Mac Cumhaill is actually a lot worse than my “Irish folktales for kids” books made him out to be. I thought he was just a nice large man…

[Fionnuala Callan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book!

This book brought Irish legends to life like I've never experienced before. Legends that I was already familiar with, but here they seemed to dance in their true form, full of the original embellishments and outlandishness that had been censored from tamer, shorter, saner versions.

A must.

[PS Conway · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heroes and legends brought to life for those interested in mythology, Ireland, or both. Heaney's writing is literate without sounding overly academic. She invigorates our imaginations and ties us to the tales that shaped both ancestry and modern culture. A highly recommended read.

[Michael Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Published in 1994, this book is still one of the most engaging retellings of Irish tales available. It’s beautifully written and remains faithful to the original versions of these extraordinary stories, where the boundary between fact and fiction is misty.

[Jack Wyss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting retelling, wish it explained some of the nuances of Irish mythology a little more but you get the gist from reading this book

For a guy with the last name Mac Cool, Finn repeatedly gets triggered for no reason

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly readable, and collected from various translations and combined to create coherent versions for the lay reader.

[Izzy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh

[Angela Natividad · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid survey of the Irish legends, organized by story cycle, and not too long.