Tales from Old Ireland

Tales from Old Ireland/”The Children of Lir”

By Malachy Doyle

Illustrated by Niamh Sharkey

Ages 6 and up

Grades 1-5

Genre: Multicultural/folktales

A great way to learn about different cultures is through literature. Moreover looking at folktales from that culture allows readers to learn about stories that may be unfamiliar to them.  The Tales from Old Ireland is a wonderful collection of rich and entertaining stories from Irish folk and fairy tales.  One story in particular in the book is the “The Children of Lir” which is the most well known and beloved Irish story.

In “The Children of Lir”, the story is about the children of Lir, who was King.  Lir and his wife had four lovely children, and all of them were very happy.  But that all changed, when the Queen died and Lir remarried.  Lir remarried Aoife, but she was pure evil, and hated the children.  After bringing the children to the Great Lake, she cast a spell on the children and turned them into swans and they would remain so for 900 years.  The only way that the curse could be broken was by the sound of a “bell ringing for prayer”.  After finding out what Aoife did to his children, Lir was furious and turned her into a demon.  Lir made a law that no one in Ireland should kill a swan for fear it might be one of his children. Finally, after 900 years passed, the children’s curse was finally broken when they were able to fly to an old church, and a monk poured some holy water on the swan’s heads, turning the children back to normal.

In my opinion, what makes this collection of stories so great especially this one in particular is the way that the author Malachy Doyle’s command of the stories. His retellings are not complex but even so Doyle is still able to create a musical and rhythm qualities that are which Irish tales are known for.  The illustrations in the book by Niamh Sharkey  are done with oil colors and in addition also have a simplicity to them by the way that the figures are displayed.

The book as a whole is one that is a great way for children to learn more about Irish folktales and their culture.  It is a book that would be very entertaining for the students to read aloud, and even act out in class.  Though some of the language could be confusing as there are words in old Irish dialect, there is in a pronunciation key in the beginning of the book that helps readers know how to pronounce some of the confusing words.  Another great aspect of this book is the inclusion of an introduction of Irish folktales, and sources for how the author retold these stories.  This can allow students more opportunities to learn more about the stories they have read including some background information. 

Some of the challenges that I could foresee with this book, is the type of stories that are presented could have themes or scenes that younger students maybe would not understand, therefore it would be important for the classroom teacher to decide which story would be best suited for their class.

This book as the features of a multicultural book as is allows students to learn about a different culture from their own.  Another great thing about this book is that students could try to compare and contrast the folktales from Ireland to ones that they have heard.  Finally, the book could be used as a good social studies lesson as students could learn more about Ireland and the different places that are described in the stories (like the lakes, and locations). 

ELA Standards

Grade 2 RL Key ideas and Details

2. Recount stories, including fables, and folktales from diverse cultures and determine their central message, lesson or moral.

Grade 3 RL Key ideas and Details

2.  Recount stories, including fables, folktales, and myths from diverse cultures; determine the central message, lesson or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text.

Grade 2 RL Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

9. Compare and contrast two or more versions of the same story (i.e. Cinderella) by different authors or from different cultures.