The Enchanting Fairies of Celtic Lore | Monstrum

Want to learn more about Celtic history and folklore? University College Dublin's National Folklore Collection (www.ucd.ie/folklore/en/).

I live in Ireland and it’s a fact when the government we’re building a motorway 🛣 years ago they built part of it around a fairy ring because they did not want to destroy it. True.

The Fae have always reminded me of this Quote from the late, great Sir Terry Pratchett “Elves are wonderful. They provoke wonder. Elves are marvelous. They cause marvels. Elves are fantastic. They create fantasies. Elves are glamorous. They project glamour. Elves are enchanting. They weave enchantment. Elves are terrific. They beget terror. The thing about words is that meanings can twist just like a snake, and if you want to find snakes look for them behind words that have changed their meaning. No one ever said elves are nice.” - Prologue of Lords and Ladies Great video, as always!!!

Changlings were sometimes also used to explain cot deaths. it comforted grieving mothers to think the cold little body in the crib was actually a log, glamoured with magic to look like her baby, and her real child was spirited away to live an eternal life amongst the fae as one of their own. Also used an an explanation for autism or other neurodivergent conditions that are not immediately apparent. one day you have a bright and giggly toddler, and the next they seem off, and as they grow they are detached or acting strange etc. It was once possibly believed that they were a fae child who did not know how to act amongst humans

I'm Irish (real, I live here) and a lot of people are turning back to these stories as a way to try and understand our identity without reference to the Catholic Church. This doesn't mean literally believing in fairies but getting an understanding of what Ireland was like from when the first people arrived. It is also easy to see ecological lessons in a lot of the stories, even if it's just the fact that in the stories humans weren't the be all and end all and more powerful forces helped keep us in check :)

5:50 a real-life and very dark incident involving this belief was the death of Bríd Uí Chléirigh (bridget cleary). She was a very independent, outspoken, and industrious woman for her time, whose husband, Michael Cleary, came to believe that, after she had recovered from a bout of bronchitis, was actually a changling that replaced her. He got several people, included some of her own relatives, to abuse her with so-called 'fairy remedies' (which involved slapping and pouring urine on her, among other abuses), and eventually they burned her alive and then waited outside a nearby sídhe believing that the real Bríd would emerge from it riding a grey horse. All the perpetrators were arrested, and Michael received 15 years hard labor, where afterwards he disappeared to Canada. This gave birth to a morbid Irish nursery rhyme that went "are you a witch, or are you a fairy, or are you the wife of Michael Cleary'

The Morrigan and her sisters would be great to have an episode on. Although since theres a lot of Sidhe stories maybe a mini-series could work?

Its worth noting that the fairies of Ireland, Scotland, Shetland & The Orkney Isles, Wales, England, and Cornwall are all related but unique - For example, Shetland & The Orkney Islands have the Trow, and an eternal battle between two Trow in particular - the Sea Mither, who protects the isles during the summer and spring but has to rest in winter, when her enemy the Nuckalavee, returns to cause storms and terrorise the lands. In Scotland, they are called the Daoine Sidhe and they are often divided into the two courts - The Seelie, or benevolent Fae, and the Unseelie, or malicious Fae. In the Isle of Man, they are called the Sleih Beggey the "Little Folk". In Cornwall, you find Pixies. And in northern england, the Brownies. And many many more unique fairy creatures. Irish fairies get the most attention these days - but all areas of the British isles have fascinating fairy lore to discover.

Fun fact: Sean Quinn was formerly declared Ireland's richest man in 2008 but after moving a megalithic burial tomb, he wound up bankrupt by 2011, doesn't stop eejit farmers ruining ringforts instead of making a quick buck turning them into tourist attractions or paths to them, in this economy, it make far more than beef does these days unfortunately

For anyone wondering: The "TH" consonant structure in Irish is silent, so, it would be pronounced "Two-ah-day-dannan." In Welsh and Scottish, the "h" is a pronounced at a quarter-breath. So, Dr. Zarka's pronunciation here is more-or-less on point.

One of my favorite interpretations of aspects of Irish mythology comes from Neil Gaiman’s “American Gods”. His character, Mad Sweeney, is a six-foot tall “leprechaun” who drinks, fights, fucks, and does coin tricks with a gold coin engraved with the image of the sun. In the show, he is plagued by “The Madness” which causes him to forget his past, forcing him to abandon his family and his kingdom to roam the wilds. It turns out that Mad Sweeney’s character is based on “Bhuilne Sweeney” a pagan Irish king who was cursed by a catholic priest and driven mad. Mad Sweeney is also revealed to be Lugh Lamfadha, the Long-Hand, the god of many skills, the god of the Sun, and a skilled warrior-king who leads the Tuatha Dé Danann to victory against the monstrous Fomorians, led by Lugh’s own grandfather, One Eyed Balor, or Balor of the Evil Eye, who IN THE SHOW is made analogous to One Eyed Odin of Norse mythology. He remembers how he fought off waves of gods trying to invade Ireland before “Mother Church” came and turned all the Irish gods into “fairies and saints and dead kings without so much as a by-your-fuckin’-leave.” His particular subplot is a great example of how mythology, religion, and history are linked, and how they change and evolve over time as our cultures do. Anyway, great video! Thanks!

Tolkien really loved these stories, and you can tell how much he pulled from them to create the history of the elves. They also arguably inspired Martin's Children of the Forest.

As an AfricanAmerican This & Norse mythology are my favorites of indigenous European mythology/religion. It’s just so cool how these stories deal with other worlds and magical humanoids, long before we even get to the gods. The Tuatha De Danann are so interesting because they are a legit ancient race of magic people not simply gods, it sounds like something from D&D but it’s a real belief. They kind of remind me of the Orishas, obviously there are major differences, like the fact Ifa & Ifa denominations are active world-religions (edit: specifically across Latin America). The Orishas are benevolent & rely on their monotheistic god/creator Olodumare. And the Orishas, minus Eshu, aren’t tricksters. (Eshu not to be confused with the Lwa Elegba of Vodou). Yemoja - mother of all Orishas & waters and the Ibeji - representations of twins/multiple births. Being some of my favorite Orishas.

Fun fact: The character of Asling from the 2009 film "The Secret of Kells" is a Tuatha Dé Danann

Fae myths are one of my favourite myths. It's truly fascinating how weird the fae really were.

Please do a Fate & Fabled episode on the origins of the Tuatha Dé Danann or the Book of Invasions! There is so much material to cover and it is absolutely fascinating

They always reminds me of folklore about yokai especially with the kidnapping, the bewitching, and the interactions that lead to the person getting tricked.

I'm from Ireland and my grandmother still believes in the cunning folk and would tell stories of a woman who was known to mutter curses onto cattle. I personally don't believe in it but I still love the Mythology behind it. When I was in primary school we were always told NEVER go to a fairy ring because you never know what could happen, it was as bad as playing with a Ouija board

If you enjoyed this then I highly recommend Eddie Lenihan's podcast. He is one of the Seannachai referenced here (see the description box). I had the pleasure of seeing Eddie spinning a yarn when I was a child and have grown up with his stories. It is absolutely absorbing stuff handed down in the oral tradition in Ireland.

I see a lot of parallels between the Fair Folk, the Greek Gods (especially lesser immortals like nymphs) and Japanese Yokai. I guess it's just human nature to believe in unseen forces who command the natural world