Gods Don't Cry: Unsung Stories of Ireland's Forgotten Immortals

by Ellen Ryan, Conor Merriman (illustrator)

The ancient gods of Ireland were once worshipped throughout the land. Powerful and brave, they were unafraid to show their vulnerability, reject violence, or lean on others for support. Sadly, their stories – passed down by our ancestors – are all but forgotten. Gods Don’t Cry reawakens these gods, whose ancient tales redefine modern ideas of what it means to be a hero. From Mannanán, who uses his neurodiversity to discover the Otherworld, to Méiche, who finds the courage to accept his illness, Fer Maisse, a monster slayer who gives up glory to become a healer, and Cnú Deróil, who overcomes bullies with his musical talent. Hurlers and warriors, academics, and activists – these are gods of many abilities, sizes, and skin shades, from every corner of Ireland. Follow their adventures as they perform magic, battle demons, overcome struggles and find the courage to be true to themselves. You might even see yourself in their stories and discover, that you too, are a hero.

Genres: Mythology, Anthologies, Irish Literature, Fantasy, Ireland

264 pages, Hardcover

First published October 26, 2023

Reviews

[LaurenHartwellWhite · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting history of Irish gods.

[Jack Potter · Rating 1 out of 5]

To summarise my review, modern ideas forced into mythology to give these ideas more credence in the modern day.

I found this book in my local library and wanted to read it as I wanted to see the various ways that Irish history is being introduced to children. I have been reading various sources and wanted to see how this one would do. This book is obviously aimed at children and I am definitely outside of that age range but this books does a horrible job of getting children into Irish mythology. Not only is it poorly written but it is clear that this book is a re-writing of Irish mythology to be more inclusive and push 'the message', a clear attempt at indoctrination. Even the blurb of this book admits as much talking about redefining modern ideas of a hero.

From portraying various gods as 'dark-skinned' or neurodivergent. The insertion of dark-skinned gods into Irish history follows a worrying trend of inserting some groups into various areas of history that they were not. I do not want to see children being indoctrinated into thinking a outright lie. I have read many books on the topic of Irish mythology and, while being far from an expert, can find no text that says Manannán was dark skinned with an Afro. I can only imagine the source that the author uses was 'because I want it to be to be inclusive'. It is a colonisation of Irish history and mythology by modern ideals that have been imported from America. The same treatment is suffered by Gilla Decair, who also becomes dark-skinned but this time with dreadlocks. I do not want to see race bending characters as it does a disservice to both races. I loved learning about the myths and legends from Africa, Egypt, Asia and any other country that I could get my hands on. This books reinforces the idea (to me at least) that myths, legends and stories in generals only have value if they are white and European, the only way to have interesting stories with black people is to steal the characters and stories from them.

By talking about characters as neurodivergent or any other such way completely ignores the historical and cultural context that these stories were written in. Neurodivergent is not something that they would have been aware of. This does not mean that it did not exist in these times but that any assumptions are made from a modern view point and are almost entirely without basis. Especially considering this was a culture that wouldn't allow someone to ascend to being a king/leader unless they were physically perfect.

[Mark Kielty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gods Don’t Cry by Ellen Ryan is a collection of short stories/accounts of gods from Irish mythology. These entertaining stories makes for an accessible read and each story is accompanied with a fantastic illustration of the god in question and a few facts about them at the end. It’s the type of book that doesn’t need to be read consistently and is designed so that you can dip in and out of whenever you feel like.

This book deals with what it means to be Irish, and the different ways one can be Irish, whether born in Ireland or came from abroad. Even at the time of the gods, immigration was a key factor of what makes Ireland and I think Ryan delivers this message very well.

I found the gods relatable, even though they are figures from thousands of years ago, and I believe that this book will spark an interest in the old Irish gods among young people. I discovered some gods I didn’t know about before which I enjoyed.

The one criticism I have with this book is that Ryan describes with Tuatha De Danann as gods and the Fomorians as demons which I think is an oversimplification of two races of Irish gods. I understand that the book prioritized accessibility here for young people, but I think the above terms should have been more prevalent within the book.

With that said, I really enjoyed this book, and the above criticism is small. I highly recommend for those interested in Irish mythology, young or old.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Similar to her previous book. Don't like how some of the stories are changed but still worth checking it out, specially for younger readers

[Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful companion to Girls Who Slay Monsters. Highly recommend

[Jbondandrews · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I enjoyed reading this book, I enjoyed reading Girls Who Slay Monsters more.