The Children of Lir

There are many stories that originate from Ireland that would be described as an tragedy. But none more so than, the story of “The Children of Lir”.

The story begins with King Lir taking a new Queen, called Aoife. She was young, beautiful and a talented sorceress. She would become the stepmother to the king’s 4 children. He had a daugther called Fionnghuala and three sons called Aodh, Fiachra and Conn. The king loved his children very much and showered them with love and affection.

After a while, the new Queen Aoife began to grow jealous of the children and then affection that the king had for them. So she hatched a plan to get rid of them so she would have the king’s full attention and love. She planned to turn them into swans and lured them out with trip. She took them to a lake, where they played in the water. But once they were in the water, she began her spell of transformation and they changed into four beautiful white swans. They were cursed to spend 900 years as swans in three different lakes across Ireland. The spell would only be broken when children heard the ringing of a bell, and the arrival of St. Patrick in Ireland.