An Island of Myth and Magic

Ireland is often referred to as an Island of myth and magic. But how well do you know the folklore that gave birth to this claim? Irish folklore is not as common as in some other countries and is often confused with Scottish folklore, and why is not a mystery. When Christians set foot in Ireland, they set about systematically destroying the myths and legends of its people. The Irish people, more often than not, passed their stories down through spoken word rather than written histories and books, so when the Potato Famine killed vast numbers of the Irish, many stories and myths were lost. Some survived, however, including The Legend of the Selkie. Selkie folklore is similar to that of the Mermaid, however rather than being half fish, half human, Selkies were believed to be a seal while in the water and human on land. 

There were many stories of Selkies, especially among coastal and Island villages. One is the story of Thady Rua O’Dowd, a clan chieftain tasked with finding himself a bride upon rising to clan leadership. Choosing a wife was more difficult than he realized, and he could not make up his mind.

Walking on the beach to clear his head, Thady stumbled upon a beautiful maiden combing her hair. Though unclothed, she had a magical cape or coat next to her. Of course, all in Ireland knew of the sea people, the selkies, and Thady was no different. He quickly snatched up her selkie cloak to hide away, professing his love at first sight for her. Without her fishtail, the selkie called Eve had no choice but to return his love and marry him. Together, they ruled the lands and raised their seven children, but Eve always longed for the sea.

Legend has it that though the selkie cloak was well hidden, one of their children spotted Thady checking on it and told his mother of the “bag of gold.” When Thady was away from home, Eve checked the spot her child told her about—and lo and behold her fish tail. With the return of the fishtail, Eve could not resist the temptation of the sea.

So she left to return to the ocean with her children. But she could not take them all, so she turned five of them into rocks, swimming off into the waves with the remaining children under each arm.

It is not exactly clear what caused these tales of Silkies to begin. Still, some historians believe they resulted from ancient Irish coming into contact with Finnish and/or Sami travelers who used sealskin coats and kayaks. When the skins became waterlogged, the boats began to sink and had to be pulled out of the water and dried before the journey could continue. Coming upon someone drying their seal skins on a beach could have appeared that a transformation had just taken place, giving birth to the Selkie legends.

While you are not likely to encounter a selkie during your time on the Emerald Isle, you will most certainly come across the seals that inspired the myths. They are either bobbing off the coast so their heads are visible among the waves or sunning themselves on the rocks.