Tales of Old Ireland: Retold

by Lora O'Brien

In Ireland, we have a wealth of old myths, legends, fairy tales and folk stories, which are presented here in an easy to read, authentic Irish storyteller's voice - retold for modern times. Our Tales of Old Ireland reach from the heroic warriors Fionn and the Fianna, to the curse of a Goddess, to an on-going battle of wits between the Connacht Queen Medb (Maeve) and her rival the King of Ulster. You'll see shape shifting sisters, fairy folk you'll want to watch out for, fights with monsters, and wise old women helping young maids.

Genres: Mythology, Irish Literature, Spirituality, Paganism, Ireland, Folklore, Fiction

204 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 24, 2018

About the author

Lora is an Author, Teacher, and Guide: born and raised in Ireland, with 25+ years personal and professional experience in our history, heritage, archaeology, mythology, and pre-christian Irish Spirituality.
Book publications include - Irish Witchcraft from an Irish Witch, 2004 (2nd Edition, 2020); A Practical Guide to Irish Spirituality, 2013; Rathcroghan - a Journey, 2015; Tales of Old Ireland - Retold, 2018; Harp, Club & Cauldron - A Harvest of Knowledge [editor, essay], 2018; Politics, Kinship and Culture in Gaelic Ireland [essay], (Wordwell) 2018; A Practical Guide to Pagan Priesthood, (Llewellyn) 2019; and The Irish Queen Medb, 2020.
She is a modern Draoí – a practitioner and priest of native Irish magic and spirituality. Lora has been consciously following a Pagan path since 1994, and dedicated specifically to the Irish Goddess Mórrígan in 2004.
She managed one of Ireland's most important sacred sites - Cruachán/Rathcroghan - for a decade, and is a co-founder and Reverend legal celebrant with Pagan Life Rites Ireland.
With her partner, Jon O'Sullivan (An Scéalaí Beag), she runs EelandOtterPress.net, and the IrishPaganSchool.com - an online learning environment where you can connect to the heritage, culture and spirituality of Ireland in an authentic and meaningful way, every day.
Lora has three children, one grandchild… but never enough plants in her life to keep her happy.
Though she’s not really one for a lot of responses to personal private messages - consider that your fair warning - you can find her in the comments section on her YouTube Channel content a couple of times a week, sending regular Irish Resources emails to her busy mailing list at LoraOBrien.ie, and personally moderating some very active community groups over on Facebook: The Morrigan’s Cave, Learn Ogham, Journeys in the Irish Otherworld, and the Irish Pagan School Community.
If you would like a personal consultation with Lora, to answer your questions on Irish spirituality, you can access that service here - https://irishpaganschool.com/p/lora-q-a

Reviews

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

A more accurate rating would probably be 3.5 if more nuanced options were allowed. A good starting place for Irish lore and very easy to read & understand. I'd recommend as an introduction to Irish mythology.

[Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essentially, a book of Irish myths and folktales, but re-written in modern language. There are a few other items included that are more creative in nature rather than simple re-tellings, but they are a lot of fun and makes the lore a bit easier to track.

[Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Generally, this is a collection of very short stories based upon Irish myth and folklore, though there are also a couple of creative writing pieces that are less re-tellings than extrapolation of mythological characters into a modern setting. Overall, I though it was fun, and the short lengths were easy to read between doing other things when I only had a few minutes. The stories that were re-told, so to speak, made the mythology a bit easier to process, though I would still encourage people to read the source material, as I believe O'Brien would, as well.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a series of stories based on Irish legends, but, as I understand it, re-worked and retold from the author's knowledge and experiences with historical legends. It appears that the last story is an original from the author, but told in the same style. Some stories I liked more than others. It seems that some of the stories were supposed to connect with other stories, but it wasn't always clear. The last story seems to be based on the author's own political/cultural beliefs about modern Ireland. At the end of the book, the author touches briefly on her Pagan beliefs.

[Keith Richards · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thee Old Irish Ways

I love hearing the old tales, my grandmothers father and mother got off of a ship in America and true to their Irish roots they had their first grandchild named Kelly( me) wild spirit, Auburn Ha͏i͏r and a Fire in the soul

[Cara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the folktales and the layout of the book. It was an easy read (though life kept getting in the way of me finishing it in a reasonable time frame). I think it’s a good Intro to Irish lore/mythology

[Betsy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was just what I needed and hoped it would be. As a beginner starting to sift through the folklore of Ireland, this is a wonderful collection of stories retold for today's ears. I only wish this had been around back when my daughter was little. I would have read her these stories everyday.

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great retelling of great stories

Being a subject I'm fairly familiar with I love Lora's presentation of. these stories. I will be reading these again.

[karen cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

Old Ireland retold

I have this book a 5* raiting. If you want to know more about Ireland then this book is so good. Lora O'Brien is a fantastic author

[George Noland II · Rating 4 out of 5]

Irish myths retold in short stories. A good starting point for any interest in Irish lore.

[Tomasina Ravenscroft · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very enjoyable

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

An easy, accesible read telling the ancient mythology of Ireland. Will be revisiting this one time and time again

[Catherine McClelland · Rating 5 out of 5]

A different take on Irish mythology. A very easy and nice read.

[Bailey Jean]

DNF

[Anwen · Rating 5 out of 5]

And beautifully retold they are, with humour, with feeling, and with an obvious and clear love of Ireland and the stories.