Celtic Mythology: The Gods, Goddesses, and Heroes Handbook

by Sorcha Hegarty, Aron Hegarty, Anna Stead (illustrator)

Discover the gods, goddesses, heroes, and monsters from Celtic mythology with this beautiful book that captures the ancient stories and tales that captivated the Celts.

Prepare to be entertained as you learn about the many myths and legends of the Celtic people. From the storytelling duo behind the Candlelit Tales, this collection weaves together the stories of those heroes, deities, and monsters that make up the mythology.

Drawing together the mythology and tales of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales, this book is a comprehensive collection of the fascinating gods, goddesses, heroes, and monsters that make up the compendium of Celtic myths and legends. Celtic Mythology offers an accessible exploration of the rich tapestry of stories and characters that define Celtic culture and have fascinated people for centuries.

Genres: Nonfiction, Mythology

256 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 19, 2025

Reviews

[Rebecca]

This is a solid introduction to Celtic Mythology. I loved the illustrations. I also appreciated the pronunciation guides and glossary. The further reading section is nice as well. What is with the lack of citations, though? There is no real bibliography either. They do list the main sources for the stories, but the entire introduction and who are the Celts sections warranted citations and a bibliography. If it isn't accepted as a well-known fact, it needs a citation.

[Just]

3.5 Stars

Overall really good. A family tree would have made things a bit clearer as all the gods, goddesses and heroes were in some way or another connected.

I find it extremely fascinating that the Celtic mythology was so in love with shapeshifting and great weapons of power.

The art was lovely and I appreciate the effort in making the stories as clear and simple as they can with the stories being so interconnected.

Read: 30.01.2026
1st rating: 3.5 stars
Genre/tropes: Mythology/folklore
Cover: 3 stars
POV’s: Storytelling
Will I recommend: Yes

[Muriel (The Purple Bookwyrm)]

More accurate rating: 6.5-7/10.

Lovely illustrations, and a decent amount of information, decently presented/laid out. But there is no real bibliography to speak of in this book, no citations (and those are sorely needed in places); I found a few mistakes in the text and no effort whatsoever was made to touch upon the Continental Celts. You can't really write much about that stuff, I know that, but even just a couple of pages dedicated to that part of (ancient) Celtic culture and religion would've been welcome, cuz like sue me I guess but the book is titled Celtic Mythology, not Insular Celtic Mythology!

So, definitely a mixed bag for someone with an intermediate to advanced interest in, and knowledge of the topic at hand.

[Nathan Dehoff]

This a guide to the characters in this mythology, which provides a few pages on the key details of each one, and an lush illustration by Anna Stead. It also gives pronunciations and alternate names, and some examples of the use or influence of these characters in more recent media. Celtic mythology hasn't been as historically popular as Greek or even Norse, partially because there aren't as many written sources, but also because people thought they weren't as sophisticated. The book mentions that there was somewhat of a revival in the early twentieth century, and links it with the fight for Irish independence. The authors also make clear that the name "Mabinogion" is grammatically incorrect, as it's actually a double plural, sort of like "cherubims" (not their example). I had heard of many of these figures, but not all.

[Kara]

It was interesting to read the mythology. I think it's a hard topic to read about because it is so foreign to me. I also had issues following the stories because many of the versions were referenced and it was hard to keep things straight. I think I would have preferred to read a story and then read end notes or something indicating some of the variations instead of just narrative text explaining the story.

[Cheri]

This is a fun introduction to Celtic mythology. The pictures are wonderful and I really appreciate having a pronunciation guide. It's a good book for figuring out which mythological figures you want to learn more about, and going on from there.

THe going on from there is the problem, although it is admittedly a small issue, the bibliography and further reading are lacking, so readers wanting more will have to look up the gods, goddesses, and heroes they want to learn more about.

[Jamie Madden]

Solid introductory overview of the Irish and welsh pantheons. Concise and accompanied by lovely art.

[Michael]

Good, quick, introductions to characters from the myths.