Irish Myths and Legends

 

Ireland has many excellent stories that were told by people in Ireland long ago. These old tales were told around the fire on winter nights, long before people could read or write. We do not know how much truth these stories contain or how much was made up by the story-teller. The heroes in these stories and the people who listened to them were called the Celts. From their stories we know the Celts believed in gods and magic.


These stories were eventually categorised into groups called cycles, each cycle dealing with a common group of characters. This website contains many of the popular legends, which are mainly from the Ulster Cycle and the Fenian Cycle.

 

The Mythological Cycle

The Children of Lir

The Fenian Cycle

The salmon of knowledge

Fionn and the Fianna

Oisín and Tír na Nóg

The Giant's Causeway

The Ulster Cycle

The story of Setanta

The Cattle raid of Cooley

Cuchulainn defends Ulster

The Bull Fight

The death of Cuchulainn