Ireland's Animals

by Niall Mac Coitir

Niall Mac Coitir provides a comprehensive look at the folklore, legends and history of animals in Ireland, and describes their relations with people, being hunted for food, fur, sport, or as vermin, and their position today. A final section, inspired by stories of animal transformation, looks at twelve animals and how we can enrich our lives by visualising ourselves with their special qualities. This fascinating and beautifully illustrated compilation of folklore, legends and natural history will delight all with an interest in Ireland’s animals.

Genres: Nonfiction, Ireland, Folklore, Animals, Nature

357 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 28, 2010

Reviews

[Tina]

DNF at 100 pages
Fairly dry, with way too many poems and songs for my liking. I don't think this is meant to be read so much cover to cover, but to have on the shelf and used as reference for a particular animal when the curiosity strikes. Most of the Irish cultural references went over my head.

[Laura McCarter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining and fascinating for an American recently moved to Ireland. I loved the mix of folklore and natural history. The moralistic ending was stupid and really is the reason it lost a star from me; it is fascinating enough stuff without trying to apply it as a sermon.

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely lovely book, the cover and even the quality of the paper, not to mention the wonderful animal watercolors and charming folklore/history. I'm in love with the old Irish relationships to animals...never speak to a horse as if he is not a Christian, if you meet a weasel on the road take care to greet him politely, always inform bees of their masters death...oh, and on Christmas Eve be sure to give the cows in the barn an extra treat since at midnight they acquire the gift of speech in honor of the special role they played being present at Christ's birth. These are few examples from this book, also included are the ways these animals were included in the myth of other cultures as well as a historical perspective when necessary. Many notes and nice bibliography too.

[Grace Tierney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I rarely read folklore books, despite being interested in such things. I find them a little heavy going as there's so much folklore and authors try to cram it all in. This book doesn't struggle with that quite so much and I loved the illustrations of the various animals of Ireland. Lovely to see everything from the humble field mouse and bee up to the majestic stag included.

I'll be keeping this one as a reference book for my own writing about etymologies and histories of words. I was primarily reading this one for weather lore research.

The final chapter threw me a bit though - a series of suggestions on how you could channel the strengths of the various animals in your own internal life. Very New Age and somewhat unexpected. But hey, it's bound to help some readers.

[Zoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading this book. The information is good, but the writing style is accessible and non-academic (which is a nice break for someone like me). An easy but educational read that made me want to read the other books in this series.

[Minna Mäkinen · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fantastic read! Perfect mix of myths and folklore, facts and history. Wonderfully illustrated and well researched book, providing great insight into old traditions and beliefs. That inauguration ceremony of the Kings of Ulster will certainly stay with me for a while...