Eochair: A Riddle Decoded

by Nuria Daly

Eochair (Mac Rí in Éirinn) is the young son of the Irish King and a noblewoman. Mac Rí in Éirinn was under a Binding Spell to go to the Land of Syria and confront the giant King there. It is the Hero’s journey, where he meets All, his Beloved, the first daughter of the King of Syria. She gives him three powerful gifts to help him.
The story spirals through time from mythology through history, culture, language, and the music of the Irish people. It is both an outer and an inner mystical journey. Eochair is given three tasks - to battle brute beasts (conquest, banishment, famine, migration, and poverty to get the Giant’s Tongue (language) from the Western lands (the Gaeltacht); he must fight great giants and monsters to retrieve the songbird (Sean Nos music). Finally, he must travel to Land-under-Sea to give the Giant King a ring.
There are three binding spells, three giants, and three aspects of the Feminine.
Once Eochair arrives at the Source (Syria) he must journey to the mysterious realm of Land-under-Sea, where he must fight the Giants in three great battles. Left-behind-Land is an inner realm he then finds himself in, where he must confront his demons of pride, arrogance, and depression to heal and transform.
Mac Rí in Éirinn meets All as a swan at Imbolc. The first battle with the Giants was at Beltane, a time of fertility; the second battle was at the Summer Solstice, with the death of the Oak King and the birth of the Holly King. The final battle at Yuletide was the great battle of Light over Darkness at the Winter Solstice.
When he meets All in early Spring, they are bound to one another in a great Love, never spoken.

188 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 21, 2025

About the author

The only child of Jewish parents who fled Vienna in 1939, Irene was born into a small community of refugees who found sanctuary in Londonderry, N. Ireland. From her early teens, she searched for a spirituality she could relate to. After her divorce in 1972, Irene migrated to Melbourne, Australia with her twin sons, and it was there that she discovered CG Jung. This opened up a whole new world for her and led to her doing a Psychology degree as a mature age student, part time, while working in IT and bringing up her teenage sons. It took her eleven years. During this time Irene underwent almost seven years of analysis with a Jungian analyst and also became a hypnotherapist. She eventually found the Universal Sufism of Hazrat Inayat Khan. This was what she had been longing for. After being initiated as a Sufi she was given the name Nuria.
Nuria has given talks at the CG Jung Society in Melbourne, leads meditation groups, retreats and leads a Sufi Group in Melbourne. She is the national representative of the International Sufi Movement in Australia and has written articles for the Sufi Journal, Towards the One, which is unfortunately no longer published (since the GFC).

Reviews

[Braylon Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eochair: A Riddle Decoded is a significant contribution to the study of myth and oral tradition. Nuria Daly deciphers an Irish origin tale recorded in 1938, situating it within a broader Indo-European and Mesopotamian context. Daly’s exploration of triadic patterns—three spells, three realms, three giants—stood out to me, especially in how she links them to both Irish and Sumerian cosmologies. Her comparison of Eochair’s journey with the Epic of Gilgamesh provides a compelling argument for shared ancient archetypes. At the same time, Daly highlights the preservation of esoteric truths through oral storytelling, treating fairy tales as coded wisdom rather than mere entertainment. While dense in places, the scholarship is balanced by narrative clarity, making it accessible to both academics and general readers. This is essential reading for those interested in mythology, cultural origins, and the intersection of story and history.

[Caroline Newcomb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eochair by Nuria Daly is a beautifully woven tale that blends Irish mythology, history, and mysticism into a powerful hero’s journey. At its heart, it follows Mac Rí in Éirinn, the young son of a king, who sets out on a quest shaped by binding spells, giants, and the mysteries of the Land of Syria. Along the way, he encounters All, the beloved daughter of the Syrian King, whose gifts guide him through battles against beasts, famine, and inner demons.

I was especially taken with Daly’s seamless transitions between myth and metaphor. The story is more than a fantasy—it feels like a meditation on language, music, love, and the cycles of life and seasons. Readers who enjoy Celtic mythology, epic quests, and layered symbolism will find this book deeply rewarding. It’s lyrical, timeless, and filled with meaning.

[Paisley Kincaid · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eochair: A Riddle Decoded by Nuria Daly is not your typical Irish hero tale. What drew me in was how different Eochair’s journey feels compared to traditional folklore. Instead of the familiar “youngest of three sons” trope, Daly presents a singular heir, the only son of a king and noblewoman. His path doesn’t stop at external battles; it becomes a mystical voyage that moves across lands and inward into spiritual realms. From Ireland to Spain and Syria, then on to the Land-under-Sea and the Left-behind-Land, his odyssey merges myth, history, and psychology with surprising depth. This layering makes the narrative stand out from standard oral traditions, offering a story that feels both timeless and fresh. Readers who enjoy myth retellings with a philosophical edge will find this book rewarding.

[Gabriel Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found the character of All—the Syrian king’s daughter—especially compelling in Eochair: A Riddle Decoded. She is so much more than a side figure—she embodies Sophia, the divine feminine at the heart of the tale. Her very name, “All,” carries a sense of unity and completeness, and Daly weaves that meaning beautifully into the narrative. All is not just a guide; she is the one powerful enough to lead Eochair to Syria and beyond. Her symbolic gifts—the horse, tablecloth, and ring—represent nourishment, guidance, and light, grounding her role in spiritual significance. What I love is how she balances the masculine quest with a feminine principle of wisdom and wholeness. This story isn’t just myth retold; it’s myth deepened, reminding us of the essential harmony between masculine and feminine energies.

[Skylar Jennings · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Eochair: A Riddle Decoded, I found the giants particularly compelling because they are more than just monstrous obstacles on the hero’s path. Daly presents them as layered symbols, representing both inner and outer demons—arrogance, pride, famine, migration, and even the weight of patriarchal dominance. The battles aren’t just physical contests; they’re metaphors for the struggles we all face, personally and culturally. I loved how the act of severing the giants’ heads becomes a striking symbol of breaking free from destructive patterns and complexes. Even more powerful is the detail of kicking the heads far away, which underscores the vigilance needed to maintain transformation. This imaginative blending of myth and psychology makes the tale resonate on a deeper level, showing how ancient stories still mirror our modern challenges.

[David Tolliver · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up Eochair: A Riddle Decoded during my late-night reading sessions I’m always drawn to stories that layer myth with deeper meaning, and this one does so beautifully. The three gifts from All—the bridle, the tablecloth, and the ring—were especially striking. Each gift isn’t just practical; it carries powerful symbolism. The bridle summons a magical flying horse, representing mastery over inner forces. The tablecloth offers endless nourishment, a reminder of abundance even in times of trial. The ring shines with light in the darkness, symbolizing divine guidance and hope. Together, these gifts are more than tools for survival—they’re keys to spiritual initiation. Daly has a gift for transforming myth into a profound exploration of growth, making this story feel timeless yet personal.

[Anthony Thornton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I tend to reach for myth-inspired books on quiet Sunday mornings, when I want something reflective but still full of adventure. Eochair: A Riddle Decoded turned out to be the perfect choice. One detail that really fascinated me was the repeated use of the number three—three binding spells, three giants, three realms. Daly explains how this isn’t just coincidence but rooted in ancient traditions. In Irish culture, triads signified completeness and divine structure, reflected in figures like the triple goddess Brigid. Similarly, Sumerian myths, including Gilgamesh, often unfold in threefold patterns. Even the story itself was recorded over three nights in three sections, mirroring cycles of life, death, and rebirth. It gave the tale a rhythm that felt both ancient and deeply symbolic, weaving myth into meaning at every turn.

[Christopher Thackeray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Back in college, I remember being fascinated by the Epic of Gilgamesh—it felt like a window into the earliest human stories. Reading Eochair: A Riddle Decoded gave me that same thrill but through an Irish lens. Daly brilliantly highlights how Irish mythology and Mesopotamian tales share deep-rooted connections. Both traditions feature giants, floods, sacred marriages, and the complex dynamics of the feminine. I found it especially striking that Gilgamesh himself was described as a giant, while Eochair’s Syrian journey parallels the Levantine setting of Gilgamesh. The shared motifs—binding spells, floods, and the loss or restoration of the divine feminine—suggest a cultural memory carried across lands and centuries. For me, it made the story feel not just Irish, but universal, linking mythologies into a larger human narrative.

[Noah Shelby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found myself talking about it to friends the next day without even meaning to — it just stuck with me. Eochair: A Riddle Decoded isn’t just a story; it feels like a vessel of wisdom carried across centuries. Nuria Daly explains that tales like this were coded riddles, passed down through oral tradition, safeguarding layers of mythological, historical, and spiritual meaning. What impressed me was how even when audiences didn’t consciously grasp the full depth, the tradition itself preserved these truths faithfully across generations. Reading it, I felt as though I was tapping into something timeless—entertaining on the surface but deeply symbolic underneath. It’s rare to find a book that entertains while also feeling like encoded guidance, bridging the gap between ancient storytelling and modern readers.

[Zachary Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nuria Daly’s Eochair: A Riddle Decoded is a captivating blend of Irish mythology and ancient history. The parallels Daly traces between the Irish origin story and Gilgamesh add surprising depth and resonance.The hero’s journey of Mac Rí in Éirinn isn’t just about slaying giants; it’s about confronting inner demons and rediscovering the sacred feminine. The recurring symbolism of three—the spells, giants, and realms—felt deeply meaningful, adding layers to the story. I especially loved the connection to seasonal rituals like Beltane and Yuletide, which ground the tale in cycles of nature. Daly’s writing balances scholarship with storytelling, making it both intellectually rich and emotionally resonant. If you enjoy myth, spirituality, and cultural roots, this book offers a rare, thoughtful exploration of all three.

[Nicholas Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most fascinating aspects of Eochair: A Riddle Decoded is how the hero is referred to for most of the tale—not by his name, but as Mac Rí in Éirinn, “a king’s son in Ireland.” At first, I wondered why Daly withheld his name, but the choice makes perfect sense. It emphasizes his archetypal role, showing him as a figure larger than one individual, a symbol of the king’s son on a path to becoming. His true name, Eochair (meaning “key”), is only revealed once he proves himself worthy through trials, transformation, and sacred union with the feminine. I loved this detail because it made the story feel layered and symbolic, reminding us that nobility is not inherited—it is earned. It’s myth and psychology beautifully entwined.

[Penelope Alden · Rating 5 out of 5]

I usually read a few chapters before bed, and this book quickly became the kind that kept me turning pages long past midnight. A highlight of Eochair: A Riddle Decoded is the way it balances outward adventure with inward struggle. Eochair doesn’t just face beasts and giants—he also confronts himself. His trials in the Left-behind-Land focus directly on his pride, arrogance, and even depression, which felt surprisingly modern in their relevance. The story makes it clear that true heroism isn’t just about martial victories or slaying enemies, but about transforming from within. Daly weaves myth and psychology seamlessly, reminding us that these ancient tales carried lessons about the human spirit as much as they did about culture or history. It’s both epic and intimate at once.

[Aubrey Ziegler · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I traced my own family roots a few years ago, I was fascinated to see how stories of migration and movement shaped who we are today. That same theme drew me deeply into Eochair: A Riddle Decoded. Daly presents the tale not just as a myth but as an Irish origin story, linking mythology with cultural history. Eochair’s journey—beginning in Syria, moving through Spain, and finally reaching Ireland—mirrors the migrations of the Irish people from the Fertile Crescent. One highlight for me was Daly’s use of DNA evidence to connect Ireland with Spain and Sardinia in a way that felt both natural and illuminating. The myth becomes more than a story; it’s a symbolic record of heritage, migration, and identity. It made me reflect on how myths carry truths about where we come from.

[Joseph Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Growing up near a lake, I was always mesmerized by swans—their elegance, the way they seemed to belong to two worlds, gliding on water yet ready to take to the sky. Reading Eochair: A Riddle Decoded brought that memory back vividly. Daly uses the swan as a profound symbol of transformation and the sacred feminine. In Celtic tradition, swans were psychopomps, able to move between worlds, and in the tale, All and her sisters appear as swans at Imbolc, connecting them to cycles of fertility, renewal, and the goddess Brigid. The imagery felt timeless—purity, grace, and the eternal bond between the human and the divine feminine. It gave the story a luminous quality, reminding me how myth and nature often reflect the same eternal truths.

[Brooklyn Yarborough · Rating 5 out of 5]

I once took up meditation to help quiet my mind, and I was struck by how sound—whether a chant, a hum, or even silence—can change the way you feel. That memory resurfaced while reading Eochair: A Riddle Decoded. Daly’s use of severed heads and sound as recurring motifs is rich with meaning. When Eochair severs a giant’s head, it symbolizes breaking free from destructive patterns. The whistle as the head rises and the hum as it falls echo spiritual vibrations, liberation followed by unity—much like the resonance of “Om.” I found it powerful that the simple gesture of kicking the head away represents the ongoing effort to resist ego’s snares. It’s a powerful reminder that true transformation requires both release and steady awareness.

[Lila Xenakis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ll admit, mythology usually isn’t my cup of tea—I tend to read more contemporary fiction—but Eochair: A Riddle Decoded completely captivated me. I was especially engaged by Daly’s depiction of women’s place in ancient Irish society. Instead of being confined to the background, women appear as queens in their own right, druids, and even warriors. A queen here is not just a king’s wife but an autonomous ruler, and the feminine principle is shown as magical, powerful, and essential to cosmic balance. Characters like All, the Spanish princess, and the noblewoman who is Eochair’s mother reflect this beautifully. Even outside my usual genre, I found the story enriching—reminding me that myth can still speak powerfully today about identity, balance, and the central role of women.

[Matthew Tarleton · Rating 5 out of 5]

The plot twists kept me guessing until the very end. I wasn’t expecting a myth-based tale to hold that kind of suspense, but Eochair: A Riddle Decoded surprised me in the best way. One of the most fascinating aspects is how Daly ties the hero’s journey to seasonal rituals. Each major turning point is anchored in the cycles of the year—Beltane brings the first giant battle, linked to fertility; the Summer Solstice marks death and rebirth of kingship with the second battle; and the final confrontation at Yuletide symbolizes light overcoming darkness. These alignments give the story a rhythm that mirrors agricultural, solar, and spiritual cycles. I found it both immersive and enlightening, as if the land and its seasons were characters shaping the myth alongside Eochair himself.

[Zoey Wainwright · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story unfolds at a steady pace, building tension beautifully. Rather than treating Syria as just another setting, the book frames it as the symbolic origin point of civilization and spiritual knowledge. Daly ties this to the Fertile Crescent, where agriculture, religion, and culture first took root. I found it fascinating how the tale connects Irish mythology and DNA evidence back to this region, suggesting that the Irish people’s origins trace to Syria and beyond. In that sense, Eochair’s journey eastward isn’t just a quest outward—it’s a return, a rediscovery of ancestral roots both spiritual and cultural. This layer of meaning gave the story incredible depth, blending myth with history in a way that made me rethink the roots of identity and tradition.

[Mia Eversley · Rating 4 out of 5]

What sets Eochair: A Riddle Decoded apart is how Nuria Daly connects myth with migration, DNA studies, and cultural history. The story doesn’t just entertain—it reminds us of Ireland’s deep ties to Spain, Syria, and the Fertile Crescent. I loved how Daly explained the giants not just as monsters but as symbols of famine, arrogance, and patriarchal power. The references to ancient festivals—Imbolc, Beltane, Solstice—show how storytelling and the cycles of life were inseparable in ancient times. For me, the most powerful part was realizing these “fairy tales” carried truths across thousands of years, preserved faithfully by oral tradition. It’s both a scholarly and spiritual book, offering readers insight into how mythology encodes memory, wisdom, and identity.

[Douglas Flores · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading Eochair: A Riddle Decoded felt less like picking up a book and more like entering a sacred space. Nuria Daly presents Eochair’s story as both an outer quest and an inner spiritual journey. The battles against giants mirror our own struggles with pride, fear, and despair. The role of All as the divine feminine struck me deeply—her presence reminded me of how love, wisdom, and balance guide us through darkness. The symbolic gifts she bestows (the horse, the ring, the tablecloth) resonated as spiritual tools we all need: guidance, light, and sustenance. This book is for anyone seeking meaning beyond the surface of myths. It’s mystical, profound, and written with reverence for ancient wisdom.

[Sofia Nethercott · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the book’s most impressive qualities is how Nuria Daly preserves the rhythm and feel of oral storytelling in written form. The phrasing, the rhythm, even the repetition of numbers and imagery—everything feels like it came straight from the voice of a storyteller by the fire. The story itself is rich and layered, but I kept noticing how Daly preserved words like “leap” or “throw,” which add energy and movement. It feels poetic and alive, almost like hearing the tale performed. While the symbolism runs deep, the cadence makes it approachable, like listening to an elder share ancient wisdom. This book reminded me that stories aren’t just read—they’re experienced, lived, and carried forward through generations.

[Draven Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading Eochair: A Riddle Decoded felt deeply personal to me. I didn’t expect a myth to speak so directly to struggles I’ve faced in my own life—battling pride, despair, and finding light when everything seemed dark. Eochair’s journey became a mirror for my own, and All’s role as the beloved resonated as a reminder of the importance of love and balance. The moments when Eochair receives the magical gifts—the horse, the tablecloth, the ring—brought me comfort, almost as if I was receiving them too. This book isn’t just about Irish history or mythology; it’s about all of us finding strength to move through trials and come home whole. I closed the final page feeling both grounded and uplifted, as though an old wisdom had been whispered back into my heart.

[Alexus Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

While reading Eochair: A Riddle Decoded, I kept noticing how the story’s themes still echo in our present time. Eochair’s battles with giants are symbolic of the struggles we all face—whether it’s overcoming fear, pride, or even the daily challenges of work and family. His journey reminded me of how each of us has “binding spells” in life, things that push us to grow even when it’s uncomfortable. The way Daly explains the symbolism of famine, migration, and hardship also made me think about current issues like displacement and cultural survival. Reading this book gave me a sense of connection to the past and hope for navigating the present. It’s not just myth—it’s guidance for modern living.

[America Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn’t expect an ancient Irish tale to speak so directly to my own life, but Eochair: A Riddle Decoded did just that. Eochair’s struggles with pride and despair echoed moments in my own journey where I had to confront my inner giants. The idea of receiving “gifts” along the way—like light in darkness or sustenance in hard times—felt familiar, as though Daly was reminding me to notice the small supports I’ve been given in real life. The love story between Eochair and All also resonated with me, not just as romance but as the balance we all need between strength and wisdom. This isn’t only a myth—it’s a mirror of personal transformation, and it left me inspired to face my own challenges with courage.

[Charlotte Fairbanks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn’t expect to get so swept away by Eochair: A Riddle Decoded. On the surface, it’s the story of a king’s son bound by spells, battling giants, and traveling to mystical lands. But the deeper I read, the more I realized it’s also about growth, love, and transformation. The character of All was unforgettable—her gifts to Eochair felt symbolic but also practical, and their unspoken love was beautifully written. I also appreciated the author’s effort to preserve the rhythm and lilt of Irish storytelling. At times, the detail can feel dense, but I found it worth slowing down for. This is not a light fantasy—it’s a layered, meaningful read that lingers in your mind long after finishing.