Lady Gregory's Complete Irish Mythology

by Lady Gregory

The myths and legends of pre-Christian Ireland overflow with giants and heroes, maidens, battles and brave deeds. The haunting love of Diarmuid and Grania, the epic war fought over the White Bull of Cuailgne, the enchanted world of Tir Nan Og and the boyhood deeds of Cuchulain and Finn Mac Cumhal - these are just a few of the forgettable tales in this superb collection. Translated from Irish by renowned folklorist and writer Lady Gregory, Complete Irish Mythology will give the reader immense pleasure, conjuring up a vanished world of magic, chivalry and song.

Genres: Mythology, Ireland, Fantasy, Irish Literature, Fiction, Classics, Folklore

560 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Irish playwright Lady Isabella Augusta Persse Gregory wrote a number of short plays, including Spreading the News (1904) for the Abbey theater, which she founded and directed from 1904 to 1928.

This Irish dramatist and folklorist with William Butler Yeats and other persons co-founded the Irish literary theatre and wrote numerous short works for both companies. Lady Gregory produced a number of books retelling stories taken from Irish mythology.

Reviews

[Briynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like pretty much everyone else I’ve read reviews by, I picked this up during my junior year abroad while I was living in Cork. It’s not necessarily something you read without a very good reason, and mine was that I fell blindingly in love with the country and suddenly wanted to know everything I could about it. I had just learned about Lady Gregory’s role in the Irish literary renaissance when I stumbled across this monster of a book and decided I had to read it. Five years later, I’ve officially finished it. Please excuse the essay, but here goes:

The Mythological Cycle:
This collection opens with a series of books introducing the Irish pantheon. They tell the story of the old gods, the Tuatha de Danaan, first coming to Ireland and their victory over the giants who had inhabited the land, and their eventual giving way to the Sons of Gael in turn. This part of the collection also gave individual accounts of the chief deities, if they can be called such. They don’t move the sun, throw lightning bolts, or create worlds – they are rather a semi-divine race of hunters, craftsmen, artists, and warriors who become the fairy people.

My favorite character was the Morrigu. She exists, along with Badb and Macha, as a sort of three-person goddess who stirs up turmoil among the men and gods of Ireland. She appears at times as a beautiful woman and various animals, but she seems the most in her element as a crow flying over the dead (or soon to be dead) of the battlefield. I find the representation of war as a bloodthirsty, shrieking woman much creepier and more apt than a coldly beautiful marble Ares.

The other stand-out of this book of the collection was “The Fate of the Children of Lir”, which has a distinctly fairy-tale feel to it. Lir’s beloved children are cursed by their jealous step-mother to live in the form of swans because she loses the nerve to murder them outright. They spend centuries morning the loss of their human selves and life with their father, singing beautiful laments in the lakes from the time of the gods to the time of Patrick.

The Finn Cycle:
This second section has a very different feel than the first, and it was probably my favorite of the three. By the time of Finn, the Tuatha de Danaan have largely relegated themselves to the sidhe, and only make occasional, if influential, appearances in the stories. Finn mac Cumhal and his warriors are very human, and very set apart from the ethereal god-people of the first cycle. They principally spend their time hunting, fighting, playing with dogs, and meeting pretty girls. The stories contain a healthy dose of Druid magic, enchantments, and transfigurations to keep the Fianna on their toes, as well as perpetual tiffs with the High King, various demi-gods, and the occasional evil hag. Finn and his men are really a sort of violent, Celtic version of Peter Pan and the Lost Boys.

For me, the happy-go-lucky mayhem reaches its turning point at the story of Diarmud and Gráinne. I was disappointed in this story as a romance, since I had expected a proto-Lancelot and Guinevere, but it shone as a tragedy. Basically, Gráinne is the daughter of the High King who accepts Finn’s proposal sight-unseen out of respect for his reputation. At the wedding she sees he is less the legend of his youth and more an aging man past his prime, and looses her taste for the match. And when the handsome Diarmud, who is Finn’s devoted friend and a favorite with the ladies, is assigned to keep an eye on her, it’s the end of the ballgame. She compels him to take her away during the middle of the wedding feast by “putting bonds on him” (i.e. making it a worse dishonor to not do what she wants than to run off with his friend and leader’s wife), and Finn is furious, betrayed, and murderous when he finds them gone. He and his army chase them from one side of Ireland to the other for about twenty years. Despite the fact that Gráinne constantly professes her love for him, Dairmud is horrified at his betrayal of Finn and completely miserable; he seems only to feel obligation toward Gráinne, and eventual sad acceptance of his fate. He is eventually killed by Finn, and it sounds the death-knell of the Fianna as a whole. I lost my respect for Finn as I watched his lack of pity and his vengeful murder of a former friend. He seemed at the last like a bitter, defeated old man and it was plain to see the cracks in the unity of the Fianna, which were torn open in subsequent chapters. I was appalled that Gráinne returned to Finn after he murdered the father of her four children but needless bloodshed at the will of women seemed to be a common theme throughout this collection.

The Finn Cycle concludes with slaughter, in-fighting, and the death of most members of Finn’s inner circle. My favorite of the later chapters is “Meargach’s Wife”, in which a queen named Ailne delivers a haunting lament for a husband and two sons killed at the hands of the Fianna. I loved the imagery of a solitary, keening woman in the midst of thousands of senselessly bloody men.

The Ulster Cycle:
The third and final book of the collection tells the story of Cuchulain of Muirthemne. I had expected this to be my favorite of the books, but it was a little disappointing in some ways. I had expected the most out of the primary story, “The War for the Bull of Cuailgne”, and I ended up fairly bored by the repetition of Cuchulain fighting guy after guy after guy and winning. There wasn’t a lot of story and there wasn’t a lot of storytelling to excuse it. But Cuchulain himself aside, there was some very good stuff.

The women in these stories are particularly fun; Maeve, the Queen of Connaught who instigates the war, is a force of nature. She rules in her own right and doesn’t care for her husband getting ahead of himself, and practically ends up getting half of Ireland killed in the course of proving her point. She offers her daughter Findabair to anyone who will kill Cuchulain with a sort of mercenary disregard for the girl that is appalling and fascinating; the poor girl dies of shame when she learns that over 700 men have gone to their death trying to win her.

Deirdre, from “The Fate of the Sons of Usnach”, is reminiscent of Gráinne, only much more sympathetic. The King of Ulster, Conchubar, has her brought up in isolation after a druid predicts that she will be an unparalleled beauty, so that he might marry her when she grows up. The druid also predicted that same beauty would be the cause of death and destruction, but the king is undeterred. Before he can marry her, she meets the king’s nephew Naoise, falls in love, and runs away with him and his brothers to Scotland. Conchubar treacherously lures them back to Ireland and hundreds of men, including the Naoise and the other sons of Usnach, are killed in the king’s attempt to get Deirdre for himself. She kills herself in her grief rather than go with Conchubar. It’s a wonderful, tragic story that has the emotion and passion that was lacking in the story of Dairmuid and Gráinne.

It took me just about forever to get through all these stories. But, I'm very glad that I did, even if that’s possibly because now this massive book can be put back up on the shelf after nearly a year on my end-table. I get that this is probably not going to be of interest to everyone out there, but it’s worth the effort if it is. Plus, anything with a preface by Yeats deserves a try.

[Caitlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful collection of early middle ages Irish mythology. The stories are full of vibrant hero characters who battle other tribes or the gods that interfere with their lives. The characters, especially in the first collection of "Gods and Fighting Men" are a direct result of the Irish environment. The stories and personalities and themes seem to spring from the very mystical landscape that is Ireland. I found the stories immensely entertaining. Amazing feats of strength and valor, a deep, almost absurd sense of chivalry, a struggle against fate, and trying to undo the usually bad influence of the Sidhe, (pronounced Shee) the gods of Ireland.

Some of the stories are deeply moving, such as the "The Fate of the Children of Lir" which is about an evil stepmother who curses her stepchildren. It is beautifully told and a special story that has stayed with me. There are stolen loves, tragedy, comedy, journeys, all of the characteristics of mythology.

My favorite section was the section about the Fianna. They were a tribe of unruly men who spent their days hunting, roaming the forests and fighting with other Irish peoples. Finn is their leader and he is brave, self-centered, passionate, usually kind and generous, and he leads his people into and out of dangerous situations.

It is a shame that the colonization of Ireland went so deep as to try to stamp out the validity of Irish mythology as a national literature. A lot of British literature professors and people of that sort devalued the Irish folktale as not as good as say Greek or Roman mythology. One guy that Lady Gregory talks about in her afterword went so far as to say the stories lack creativity. I think that just as Gaelic survived the British attempt to annihilate it, these stories survived first their oral culture and then in written form because they are creative. They give a sense of meaning to the landscape and the struggles of life in the medieval times. I think they deserve a place in the canon of the world's mythology and literature. In fact, I felt like you got to know these characters better than in other mythologies I have read. The only reason I didn't give this book a full five stars is I think that in this particular edition there were very few explanatory notes and they were found hidden in the back in the afterword. Some of that information would have been more valuable as foot notes, like who the Morrigu was. I highly recommend these tales for anyone interested in native literature or mythology.

[Christie · Rating 3 out of 5]

while good to get the basic overview of Ireland's complicated and convoluted mythic past, this collection is just that: basic. I was going to use it for an analysis of the "Boyhood Deeds of Cu Chulainn" but discovered that versions of the tale translated directly from Irish were much better suited to my needs as they contained many nuances and wordplay not present in Lady Gregory's version. That being said, I can appreciate this book for what it is and will probably always use it sort of like wikipedia, the starting point for further, more in depth, more refined research.

I enjoyed her versions nonetheless, just don't try to use it for a deep analysis of the mythic tales.

[Bettie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will be more accurate than the scant blurb box here.

This compilation is by Lady Gregory and there is a preface by WB Yeats. The cover is stunning and I will take a fotie tomorrow.

[Erren Wolf · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the fairy tales and have many books on the subject. This is one of my favourites and have it in hardcover. There are many tales within it that captivate the imagination and make you wonder: are the fairies real? Was there a time long ago when people could actually see them? Why are there so few now that can see them, such as Dora van Gelder Kunz? This is a great book to read for children and adults alike.

[Susan]

Irish myths including Cuchlain. Left at JR's too heavy to take home. Buy in Can. nicely written

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

The project W.B. Yeats and Augusta Gregory took upon themselves with this volume is admirable. However, I encounter the same problem with these – presumably oral-based manuscripts, from the twelfth century-ish – stories as I do with all that had their origin in the oral tradition. They’re just very tiresome to read. They’d be better recited around a fire, or even better, on a screen. However, in this raw form, I was more bored that otherwise.

Yeats’ introductions have some gems.

“I have wished to become a child again that I might find this book, that not only tells one of such a country, but is fuller than any other book that tells of heroic life, of the childhood that is in all folklore, dearer to me than all the books of the western world.”

“While believing in the real objective existence of the Fenians as a body of Janissaries who actually lived, ruled, and hunted in King Cormac’s time, I think it is equally certain that hundreds of stories, traits, and legends far older and more primitive than any to which they themselves could have given rise, have clustered about them.”

“They created for learned and unlearned alike, a communion of heroes, a cloud of stalwart witnesses; but because they were as much excited as a monk over his prayers, they did not think sufficiently about the shape of the poem or story. One has to get a little weary or a little distrustful of one’s subject, before one can lie awake, thinking how one will make the most of it.”

I also found parallels with a lot of other world mythology, which I suppose is to be expected. However, the Irish tradition apparently pre-dates a lot of other culture’s, so go us! Maybe they stole from us.

Ethlinn, whose son fell into the water but was carried safely to his father Cian – reminds me of Moses, or a Zeus story. Diarmuid and Grainne’s story had elements of Cupid and Psyche, and any mythology that contains angels or gods in disguise. The fact that the Fianna went into a cave, to be called forth when “the Dord Fiann will be sounded […] and the Fianna will rise up as strong and as well as they ever were” is very Arthurian. Fergus cuts off the head of Uath, who cuts his in turn but is repelled by his virtue – like Gawain and the Green Knight!

“I am the last of the Fianna, great Oisin, son of Finn, listening to the voice of bells; it is long the clouds are over me tonight!”

Deirdre’s backstory reminds me of Paris of Troy’s. Etain’s story was similar to Helen of Troy’s.

“Her soft hands were as white as the snow of a single night, and her eyes were as blue as any blue flower, and her lips as red as the berries of the rowan-tree, and her body as white as the foam of a wave. The bright light of the moon was in her face, the highness of pride in her eyebrows, a dimple of delight in each of her cheeks, the light of wooing in her eyes, and when she walked she had a step that was steady and even like the walk of a queen.”

Best description in the collection.

I also appreciated the Hiberno-English:

“[…] some of them the size of eagles or of cranes, and they red with green heads on them, and the eggs they had were blue and pure crimson.”

Although not the lazy sexism:

“Then Cuchulain said to Emer: ‘It is little I mind you, woman, in spite of my affection for you, more than any other man minds a woman.”’

Miach who put the cat’s eye in his own head and it tormented him – serves him right.

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is long and quite difficult for casual reading. However that’s as far as my criticisms allow me to go. Lady Gregory’s Irish myth is is deeply compelling exploration of the under used and fascinating cultural legacy of the ancient Gaelic world. From Finn Mccool to the awesome wars of the Gods it is like reading a modern fantasy whilst knowing it’s deep connection to a pagan past. So if anybody loves learning about myths or fantasy this is a definite Recommend from me at least!

[K Ascalon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Provides an in-depth recounting of the old tales, but writes for an Irish audience. If you didn't previously know who Mannanan Mac Lir was previously, you don't get a full explanation here. Some, but it's not fully spelled out and therefore bred confusion. "Finn is a man . . . who can now turn into a deer . . . what?? Is he really a sidhe after all?"

[Charlotte Benson]

Soft DNF @ 5%

I'll probably use it as more of a reference than, but it is something that I do plan on reading it for shits and digs on my part since I do have a genuine interest within mythology, folklore, etc (which was the initial plan to begin with), but I'm not too worried about currently reading it at the time of writing the review. Especially with how HUGE it is as it's a 500+ page book.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good stuff. Not your straightforward, easily untangleable mythology like the Greeks with a pantheon of gods gathering in the one place. Lady Gregory's compilation is a head-stealing romp of fights and cows and great feats and an eye-gouging array of letters making up each name that graces the page.

[Kieran Fanning · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent resource for a scholar, but difficult to read.

[Mánas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent as an introduction to Irish myth, but quite bas

[Dave Mac · Rating 5 out of 5]

The one and only complete book about Irish myths and legends. Read this first, then all the others will be like, I remember that!

[Czarny Pies · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ce livre a joué le meme role dans l'Insurrection de paques de 1916 en Irlande qu'a joué Das Kapital dans la Révolution Bolchévique l'année d'après en Russie; c'est à dire, il a fournit la base intellectuelle nécessaire aux Insurrectionistes. Comme Das Kapital, la Mythologie de Lady Gregory est bourré de contes de fees.

Ce qui est à signaler est que cette edition contient une introduction par William Butler Yeates, laureat du prix Nobel 1923 et le plus grand collaborateur de Lady Gregory. En 1923, Yeates and Lady Gregory a fondé l'Abbey Theatre à Dublin. Liam Neeson, Saorise Ronan et Pierce Brosnan figurent parmi les acteurs qui ont joué à l'Abby Théatre.

Les étudiants au premier cycle en histoire doivent nécessairement lire un échantillon des contes dans ce volume qui a bel et bien marquee l'histoire du vingtième siècle.

[Kris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although Lady Gregory's approach to translation is not the most exact, this book is still very important because the author has attempted the impossible, which is to take most of the fragmentary mythological material from the various medieval manuscripts, and put it into a cohesive narrative order. Not only has she attempted it, she's done a fine job.

If you are interested in the stories of the gods and heroes of ancient Ireland, start here. This will give you context to go on and read more scholarly translation of various texts if you wish.

[Carlos Carneiro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uma grande bíblia da mitologia irlandesa, há versões/traduções mais actuais, mas não englobam toda a mitologia e dedicam-se a ciclos ou mesmo partes de ciclos específicos. Lady Gregory organizou uma compilação super completa, dando o seu toque como romancista às histórias de forma a estarem bem escritas e claras. A grande fonte de mitologia celta irlandesa.

[Rebecca Haslam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Slightly more long-winded than I thought it would be, this book took me a considerable amount of time to get through!