Exploring Celtic Mythology: Children of Lir

So, this is really more a story from Irish Mythology rather than the broader Celtic Mythology, but I would never do this story otherwise.
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[@vallgron]

I remember being told this story as a child and then shortly afterwards was out in the country side by the river Lee and I was so convinced the 3 swans I saw were the children of Lir

[@thefvguy5648]

That sounds so innocent and adorable.

[@shafuse1106]

I did the same thing when I’d go fishin back in Dublin with the hopes of catchin the Salmon of Knowledge hahaha I thought it was like a rare spawn in a video game...

[@connorc6293]

Shafuse the rarest one is the shiny knowledge salmon it is said that the shiny one can use its brain power to make hyper energy beams of death

[@drmahlek9321]

I love this series. I’m part Irish but know very little of the old mythology

[@77wolfblade]

As a child I was told this story, never understood it till now.

[@drmahlek9321]

Tesla-Effect indo-European connection, I love finding these similarities

[@ruth540]

Even us in Ireland know next to nothing. There's different iterations of Irish mythos, but I suggest reading all of them.

[@J0SH832k11]

@@drmahlek9321 do you live in the states? US people always say "part irish"

[@nicotinejeans9310]

Josh IsBaws because the irish immigrated to the US en masse and thus more generations of irish americans grew up

[@faelan1950]

Loving this series! I'm from Ireland myself, (I grew up in Connacht and I now live in Leinster) and I knew some of this story already, although, I didn't know it nearly as detailed as this video! Thanks for this series!

[@Andrew-xv5tf]

Great video. Each Celtic video you make makes me want to watch more.

[@Snakie747]

I love this series because unlike most of the other series in this channel I have absolutely no base knowledge about any of this.

[@VirtuesOfSin]

Children of Lir depresses me every time I hear it...

[@stiofanmcareavey1697]

Don't listen

[@VirtuesOfSin]

​@@stiofanmcareavey1697 Why? Just because a story is depressing or makes me sad doesn't mean it holds no value. Children of Lir is part of my cultural heritage. I just can't agree that I should deafen myself to cultural stories of my ancestors to it to make myself feel better. I'd rather learn and be sad than to pretend it never existed.

[@stiofanmcareavey1697]

@@VirtuesOfSin don't listen to it then? Easy.

[@VirtuesOfSin]

@@stiofanmcareavey1697 You... seem to have completely missed the whole point of my statement... Oh well, no point arguing to a person with negative iq.

[@DoctorCymraeg]

In Welsh mythology, Branwen, the daughter of Llŷr (Lír) marries Matholwch of Ireland. She is mistreated and eventually teaches a bird to speak to send help from her brother. The link to talking birds is facinating.

[@DoctorCymraeg]

It’s said that Branwen’s torrid time in Ireland substitutes for the ‘underworld’ - possibly linking to the curse placed on her by her step-mother. Further in the Welsh myth, Branwen has a step-brother, Efnisien, who is portrayed as a cruel character.

[@jennyaskswhy]

The effort put into retelling these stories from the Fair Isle is truly appreciated.

[@fizziz_1035]

Ahhhh hearing this takes me back

[@qwertyTRiG]

This is a story I know well, being Irish, but you had some back story about Aoife which I had forgotten. One version has it that it was the sound of church bells which made them human again, but I have also heard the version with the gold collars.

[@qwertyTRiG]

@Michael Halligan Yes. I actually remember asking a school teacher what the original, non-Christan, ending to the tale was. She didn't know.

[@lallyoisin]

If you go to fourknocks passage mound in knowth and look at the layout of the tomb you will see the similarity between it and Cygnus. Constellation represented by a swan. In nearly all Irish folklore the numbers 3 and 9 will appear somewhere (sacred geometry/vortex maths) if you need to look those numbers up; look no further than Tesla (the scientist! Although I'm sure the car designer didn't ignore!)

[@plewelly]

This reminds me of The Six Swans German fairy tale. There are probably some common roots there.

[@freyathorvald6490]

Me too! I'm Dutch. I think it's based on this

[@paulhenr1]

Heey, would you kindly make a video about the fomorians? Thanks, great content

[@Earendilgrey]

I love this series. I hope you do a video on Eriu, Banba & Fodla someday.

[@alisonuibhroin3109]

Thank you for sharing, this brings back childhood memories of been told this story in school. Much love from Ireland 🇮🇪

[@kingdomkreep]

This story kinda reminds me of the tale of the three ravens which I first learned through the tv show “the storyteller”.i can’t remember off the top of my head as to what the Nationality to that tale was though. Great vid nonetheless

[@vtheawesome]

I'm so glad someone else made that connection

[@AshenDruid]

I thought of that episode too! Great show

[@debodatta7398]

Bruh your thumbnails are fantastic but your actual content and videos are even better 11/10 keep it up hope you do tamil/hindu mythology sometime in the future.

[@bridhouston3292]

this helped me a lot with world book week I'm now a swan for life XD loved it

[@brunofranco4416]

I presume earlier versions had a pagan god or goddess rather than Saint Patrick.

[@ruth540]

I grew up being told they were left that way, forever stuck being a swan and forever in sorrow.

Nope. In the original versions they remained as swans forever... as Aoife said earlier in the story "there is no force in this world or the otherworld that can undo this curse" Christians were just really good at adapting and changing local mythologies to suit themselves. Even the part about how they came back as withered old people after being swans for 900 years is taken from the story of Tír na Nóg, where time doesn't exist and you don't age... but once you come back to this world the years will instantly catch up with you...

[@lallyoisin]

Saint Patrick liked celebrity status. Let one American cast the first stone!

[@pauledwards5076]

I wish the Christians hadn’t corrupted the story.

[@elgranlugus7267]

Aoife's personality resembles that of the goddess Méabh.

[@geribaldi2]

I am also part Irish (Dad's side). Thank you for posting this (Seriously), thanks

[@DawnArrives]

There are real spiritual beings that exist today that are said to be part of the Tuatha de Danaan. Lir is also said to be part of this tribe, and I believe these beings can appear in our dreams and communicate. Perhaps the dream world is the realm they have banished themselves to. Also im curious about this “Mist.” I’ve previously seen this mist and beings within this mist before.

[@AntiQris]

I’m exploring the spirit guided hystory now and I’m getting “Mystra” as where the mist is and banished is coming in as banu shed or watershed from banu. Bot-swana and I’m getting a reversal read of Bot and alteration of letters due to sound and letter changes and it’s a coming as dov-swana. I just paused to look up Mystra and apparently there is a way of writing egypt as “m-s-r.” According to Egyptian consonant syllabary this would make sense of Mystra. Leaving out only the “t” but I have noticed a curios use of letters like t in history as a designation of lineage crossing rather than a letter to stress. Botswana has clear links to the Irish it looks like in wiki and they are the place where the out of Africa dna theory comes from for the birthplace of cro-magnon. Cro? Hmmm the obvious would seem a link to the bird family but also playing with letter we get “cor” this is also the prefix of a bird species the crows are in but also a very important word as “4” to the Peruvian ancient royals whom at one time was thought to have dwelt on an island and broke the world down into 4 parts which to this day is still seen in symbology around the royal places of the world. Hope that helps! The veil is thin today, answers come as easy as the question is to ask on days of these.

[@lara-yc6iq]

Researching for my book. This is so helpful, thanks!

[@mrbabyhugh]

this connects with me, Irish ancestry. My middle name is Hugh, whish is Aodh/Aedh, one of the names of the sons of the Children of Lir. Fascinating story.

[@Dannyc1468]

Honestly I can’t sleep but this is actually very interesting

[@mishaladara]

I cried so badly, beautiful tragic story 🦢

[@ruth540]

This was one of my favourite storied as a child. My nan used it to tell me & Finn McCool's story all the time. (Aka where my name derives from)

[@Illstatefishing]

This was a beautiful story

[@stuartrees8340]

Please do a series on Buffy/Angel lore!

[@Namehjeff]

never heard ben shapira speak before the ad that played ur vid (I get u have nothing to do with it) but holy shit his voice in it omg

[@louietheswan9689]

My favourite Irish legend

[@corettaha7855]

Typical stepmother in my experience

[@raf1ter2345]

where is the image at 2.10 pulled from? Had a book of mythology once which used it

[@davenathan2002]

We were taught this in school at age eight. Always felt unjust.

[@jackiesantos2121]

Yeah let's feels like a fairy tale story well every mythologies similar like that it's kind of interesting help Celtic answers like that

[@alexiathecringemaster4332]

I remember reading a book based on the Children of Lir but it obviously changed a lot from the source material. It's set in the perspective of Lir's only daughter and the plot is basically the same except for how they turned back into humans. Once they have completed their journey they had to hear a bell toll from a Christian church I believe? And the ending doesn't see them turn into withered elderly people, but full grown, strongs adults whom the princess's betrothed and his men tremble at the sight of.

[@drapetomaniadrapetomania5998]

Thanks

[@crazyhuman7541]

does this mean that there was a crossover between religions and gods?

[@ashertheprophet9601]

Soon

[@green_plad]

your voice is so nice man

[@ourlordandsaviordio5695]

Late night squad

[@Aleister_E.]

That had a very unexpected ending. O_O

[@stiofanmcareavey1697]

You're as funny as cancer.

[@Aleister_E.]

If you say so? O_o I legitimately wasn't expecting a story about Celtic mythology involving the children of ancient gods to wind up ending with a conversion of those children to Christianity.

[@freyathorvald6490]

I want to call my baby Nuala. ♡

[@ShogunOrta]

These fables are cool to hear, but man.... Sometimes it just feels like the lesson sums up as, Eh, crap happens.

[@ste7en777]

i don't trust st. patrick

[@KingBearmane]

You should do Konahrik from skyrim

[@Double_0_11]

The tuath de danáinn is pronounced two-a de Dan-on

[@whitiemarsh3671]

RTE (Ireland national broadcaster which is paid for by the Irish people by law) has created a version of the Children of Lir that portrays the Lir family as being made up by a mixed race couple. The King is a full on African and when they show a typical Irish warrior of the time and he was also African. Our Irish culture and heritage is under attack by the Irish state in the name of wokeness. Absolutely disgusting.

[@FresnoBoy6star]

I'm black and that sucks that they're messing with your shit like that.

[@TheNN]

The children of Lir? You mean the leader of Omicron Persei 8?

[@henryjohnston6452]

TheNN I don’t think this one eats hippies

[@connorc6293]

Close enough

[@vishnurodondo4200]

The Christianisation of Europe is literally saddening to me as a lover of culture and mythology.

[@AshenDruid]

Curse Patrick

[@traynorbus]

Lol

[@grimala]

I can barely stand religions that have tales of gods dying. If you’re a god you should be immortal

[@fabplays6559]

Immortal doesn’t always mean invincible.

[@grimala]

Colossal Fossils immortal means that you live forever regardless if you win or lose your battles

[@abdqs853]

@@grimala according to a version I read after dying they went back to the land of their father in the spirit world

[@RemusKingOfRome]

Sad tale . Bet the real tale is the children were murdered and their bodies thrown into the lake, while the murderer claims that swans over there are the children ... and religious people believed it ..

[@AshenDruid]

Citation?

[@stiofanmcareavey1697]

What shite are you talking?

[@acnoligiahunter7552]

Im not a catholic but i love your videos

[@fabplays6559]

Nunquam Non Paratus What makes Christianity more real than any other religion, though? How come Zeus isn’t real to you? Why don’t you believe in Anubis? 🤨

[@zoemeow7677]

This isnt the story smh

[@stiofanmcareavey1697]

Yes it is.

[@connorc6293]

Doesn’t have enough burgers or red white and blue or freedom or MURICA