While the lough is well-known for its lakeside walks, angling and
boating, it is probably most associated with the Irish myth of the Children of Lir.
The story goes that when Bodb Derg was elected king of the Tuatha
Dé Danann, Ancient Ireland’s supernatural answer to Charlie’s Angels, all of his
rivals consented to this except King Lir. Rather than just tell him to suck it up,
Bodb Derg decided to set Lir up with his daughter Aoibh. This was a success and
together with her, Lir had four children: Fionnuala, Aodh, Fiachra and Conn. Unfortunately,
Aoibh soon died in a horrible BBC mispronunciation accident. Bodb Derg, sensing
Lir’s sadness, decided to arrange a second marriage with his other daughter Aoife
and it was from this that things went down-hill.
Aoife, jealous of the affection that Lir showered onto his children,
plotted to get rid of them. However, neither she nor her servant could perform the
gruesome task of murder so instead she turned the children into swans and set them
out into the neighbouring Lough Derravaragh.
While this was obviously disastrous for the kids (there were very
few job opportunities in Ireland at the time for swans), what was even more tragic
was that the children had to then spend the next 300 years on Lough Derravaragh,
300 years in the Sea of Moyle, and finally 300 years on the Isle of Innihglora in
Mayo before a pagan druid would be able
to bless them and break the spell. To add insult to injury, by the time 900 years
were up, St Patrick had converted all of Ireland to Christianity and there were
no pagan druids left!
As to how the story ends, there are several endings to the Children
of Lir:
1.
Some say the
Christian monk Mochua in Mayo took pity on the children and was able to break the
spell, thus turning them back into withered old people who they lived out their
final days.
2.
Others talk
of a failed attack by Lairgean, the King of Connacht, on Mochua’s sanctuary to capture
the swans. During this raid, a silver chain that had previously been unremarked
upon but now linked them together broke and the swans turned back to humans and
promptly died.
3.
Others
still tell of how St Patrick met the swans, who told him their story. Bringing them
back to his house, they heard Christian bells toll and were turned back to humans,
at which point St Patrick baptised them. However, because they were now 900-year-old
humans they died soon after. Good job St Patrick! Finally, in the Director’s Cut,
after 900 years in the wilderness, they met that last remaining pagan druid who
changed them back to humans, at which point Fionnuala is said to have uttered ‘I've seen things you people wouldn't
believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams
glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser Gate. All those moments will be lost in
time ... like tears in rain ... Time to die.’
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