Irish Fairy Tales, Myths and Legends

by Kieran Fanning

A complete collection of much loved Irish fairy tales, myths and legends, bound into a beautiful new edition. Enjoy the rich mythical history of Ireland from the arrival of the Tuatha De Danann on the island and their great battles with the Fomorians, right up to the modern day fairy tales of Irish storytelling. Including the Ulster Cycle, The Fenian Cycle and featuring heroes such as Cúchulainn and Fionn Mac Cumhaill and many traditional favourites such as The Children of Lir.

Genres: Mythology, Folklore, Fiction, Ireland, Irish Literature, Fantasy, Fairy Tales

226 pages, Paperback

First published March 5, 2020

About the author

By day, Kieran Fanning is a primary school teacher who enjoys helping his pupils to write, illustrate and publish their own books. By night, he writes his own stories, and has published 7 books for young people.

Reviews

[Rick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent collection of tales from Ireland split into several parts with a small blurb beforehand giving insight into each section and story being told. I was unfamiliar with most of the stories beforehand, and found the small explainers to be immensely helpful and insightful. As with any fairy tales and myths, these stories do not always give a lot of detail into how or why things are happening. The reader is expected to dive in head first and go along for the ride. It was very cool to read about these places, heroes, and gods. It is a quick read, but I enjoyed every second of it. Be aware that, as in most older tales like these, there are moments of misogyny, fatphobia, and the like. I love seeing modern retellings that turn those things on their head, but also know it often comes with the territory when delving into the original material. I think Fanning manages not to dwell on these things, and writes them in a way that does not glorify or focus too much on it. But it is there.

[cinnamon girl ୨୧ · Rating 5 out of 5]

compelling, short and entertaining! I enjoyed reading these fairy tales ! ☘️🌞

[Chris Callaghan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magical tales, myths and legends retold with Kieran Fanning's trademark enthusiasm for storytelling. Bitesize Irish tales told with humour, style and pace.
Perfect for a new audience wanting to keep these stories alive.

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

The images on the cover of this beautiful book are recreations of the chapter headings. All a reader has to do to remember a tale, or choose one to read, is look at the cover. I find that incredibly charming and the potential for interaction with a child audience, very clever.

When I finished the book, I closed my eyes and tried to imagine being Irish and living in a country with thousand year old+ stories. How incredible to be able to reach back centuries in time and think that maybe, gods and giants and mermaids are a part of your past. If that doesn't stir a reader's imagination, especially a child's, nothing will.

I never liked to read fairy tales when I was a kid. They always seemed grim :), often mean-spirited, and unfair. As many books as I read to my children when they were young, not one was ever a fairy-tale. I wish I could have had this book then. Occasional bad things (battles and deaths) happen, but they are addressed quickly and delicately. The characters and their actions are all so dynamic and the storytelling so adroit, the wonder of the tale being told always shines through.

This book is an absolute must. Any child with a fraction of Irish blood in their veins is heir to this rich heritage and it is incumbent upon the adults in their lives to help them claim it. They should know these ancient magical and heroic ancestors belong to them.

And if you aren't Irish, this book will make you wish you were.

[Lenno Vranken · Rating 5 out of 5]

"He was a lonely man, and all he wanted was a wife and maybe a few children. Being unmarried, he felt like a dance without music, or a pair of scissors without one of its legs."
-'The Lady of Gallarus', from 'Irish Fairy Tales, Myths and Legends'

I have to admit, I do love me a good story collection from time to time. I've been wanting to pick up a copy of collected Irish fairy tales, but have only been able to do so very recently. How glad am I to finally have done this! Although I have to admit that I already knew some of these stories, I was pleasantly suprised by the rich worlds I found myself submersed in.
The stories in this book did read a little to easy for me, wich does mean that they must have been altered. I do see this as a plus for many other, more modern readers, but I did wish this copy held versions of these stories that are as close to the original versions as possible. However, I can't read a single word of old Irish script, so I don't have any right to do so much talking.

Five stars for the beautiful history and stories in this book!

[Sascha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice collection of stories from a different country

[Franka Helena Hammerschmidt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book in a little bookshop in Dingle, during my Erasmus in Ireland & ever when reading its stories, i fall in love with Ireland again and even more

[Lucie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m so happy that I picked up this cute little book at a store in Dingle <3 I read the majority of the stories while in Ireland and it was exactly what I was craving for my trip. It was a super easy read (despite the fact that I had to look up the pronunciation of all the Irish names lol) and the stories were so fun. I imagine that probably most of the lore and myths these stories are based on might have been a little diluted and simplified since this is a book for young/middle grade readers, so it would be interesting to read up on any gory details that could have been omitted

[Savanna Graves · Rating 5 out of 5]

oh I loved this. a few of these stories we witnessed in person at the leprechaun museum in ireland and were enthralled by the country’s stories and storytellers. this was no exception. I was glued to every page, in awe of how the stories were pieced together and how much they have inspired modern stories and fantasy. sigh. I love ireland.

[hilly · Rating 5 out of 5]

elke keer als er plaatsen werden genoemd waar ik ben geweest voelde ik me 🦋🦋🥰🥰⭐️⭐️

[Odile · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The people of Tir na n-og were all young and healthy. Nobody got old, nobody got sick, nobody died. There was no war, murder or crime of any sort. It was truly a paradise in every way.” (221)

[Theodora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Out of all tales and legends from Ireland I have read, this is the most easy and entertaining one.

[Eve McDonnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Story-telling at its best: This book was a huge hit in our house – 18 stories of perfect length for reading out loud. Kieran has brought old tales of yesteryear bang up to date with brilliant touches of Irish humour. We loved it so much we even incorporated it into our home-schooling routine! Perfect for 8+

[lauwisteria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most pleasant #SummerReading surprise: "Irish fairy tales, myths & legends" by Kiera Fanning. Came for folklore and myths, stayed for the legendary tales of the Druids. I'll keep this book with me for a very long time. Highly recommend!

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Had me laughing out loud at points and emotional at others. A magical set of stories.

[Thea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely written for kids but I kind of loved the simplicity. Such incredible stories I will keep coming back to!

[Heidi Lancaster · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly just a beautifully uncomplicated retelling of Irish myths for people who are unfamiliar, or children who you wish to share them with.

[Lina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love other country's Fairy Tales. The cover is absolutely gorgeous as well!

[Siobhan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bought this book as an introduction to Irish mythology, and it's definitely a good choice! A nice mix of stories split into clear sections and it's interesting to see parts of the stories still around today
Would recommend

[Books from Faeries · Rating 5 out of 5]

✶⋆ “𝘔𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘬𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘺 𝘍𝘰𝘭𝘬, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘔𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮”.

This little anthology has folk tales and myths from Ireland. It is accessible to children, and it has some simple explanations before each story, with some bibliographical notes, which I found very interesting.

The first part of the book collects folk tales, that include faeries (that's the Good People, the Sidhe, the original not cute fairies, but the respected ones); Druids; witches; merrow; magic and so on.

The second part is a very general introduction to mythological Irish stories. Like Fionn Mac Cumhaill; Cúchulainn; and the Children of Lir, among others.




[Photo is mine and published in my bookstagram ᛒᚠ @booksfromfaeries Instagram ]

[Anna Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of Irish tales was such a heartwarming read. I liked the fact that the stories were interconnected and always referred to characters mentioned in previous chapters.
I definitely want to delve more into Irish mythology because I feel like it’s so underrated even though the myths are unique and engaging.
Plus, it’s the first book I finish in my 5 month slump so let’s celebrate that 🎉

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Myself and the kids loved these bitesize tales. Easy to read out loud and gives a great overview of some of Ireland's myths and fairy tales. Mr Fanning has a great understanding of storytelling and his book (for me at least) evoked old oral fireside tales.
With a gorgeous cover by David Wardle, I can highly recommend this book for all ages but definitely one to share.

[Colin McArdle]

Read this with my ten year old and we both absolutely loved it. There's a genuine fireside feeling to the tales. Traditional stories told in a fresh voice. A beautiful link to the past. I recommend this book to everyone, young and old.

[Sinéad O'Hart · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this collection of Irish tales, written with spirit and flair by the talented Kieran Fanning. A great compendium to dip into at storytime, or an engaging volume to simply get lost in, this book should be pride of place on every bookshelf.

[Simone McKenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a beautiful and relaxing read, full of magical fairy tales that were really engaging to read, either being takes on well-known classic tales or original! Being of irish descent this was particularly interesting to me as well!

[Patricia Forde · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book. I really enjoyed this retelling of ancient Irish sagas. Some I knew from my childhood but others were new to me. Kieran makes all of them seem new and fresh. Highly recommend.

[Emer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charming stories and the cover is just stunning

[Kayleigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful story collection. I really enjoyed reading it. The cover is beautiful as well.

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved how the stories built upon each other. Really enjoyed reading this whilst on a trip to Dublin.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well researched and written stories. Essential in a classroom or school library. Perfect accompaniment to story strand in history curriculum.