This is an element of a side project on the Irish Fenian narratives that I’ve been working on, on and off over the past year or so. It’s still at a conceptual level for the moment so I’m undecided as to whether I’ll commit the time needed to complete it next year.
Not many people are aware of the fact, but Napoleon Bonaparte was a serious fan of Fionn mac Cumhaill and it was often claimed that he slept with a copy of the Fhiannaíocht tales beneath his pillow at night [but that’s pretty unlikely].
Sadly, much of Napoleon’s interest stemmed from a fondness for a work known as ‘Ossian’ – (a Gàidhlig spelling of ‘Oisín’). This was a controversial work published in 1761 by John McPherson, a Scottish writer and politician) and which McPherson claimed to be a translation of a lost saga he’d discovered among the Gaelic-speakers of the Scottish highlands.
From its initial publication, scholars questioned the authenticity of McPherson’s work and the fact that he was never able to produce the original manuscript or any material on which he’d worked to make the translation.
Despite McPherson’s poem being rejected outright by Gaelic speakers and academics, his influence and connections meant it caught on with famous figures of the day outside of the British Isles, figures such as Napoleon, Thomas Jefferson and Voltaire.
Napoleon apparently liked the book so much, he commissioned an official painting called “Ossian receiving the Ghosts of French Heroes”. He also designated ‘Oscar’ (the name of Fionn’s grandson) as a regal name.
One wonders what he could have done with the genuine article.
It’s been seven years today since I published “Liath Luachra: The Swallowed” so I celebrated by creating a brief scene from the woman warrior’s adventures.
I’m still being asked when I intend to do the follow up to Liath Luachra: The Metal Men and the simple answer is “Once the Fionn mac Cumhaill Series is completed”. That’s due to the narrative overlap between the two stories that you may – or may not – have noticed.
Did you know that:
Nope. Me neither.
So what’s actually happening? You might want to read on.
Working in the Irish culture, history and ‘mythology’ sector over the past three decades, I’ve come across some pretty crazy notions and claims on the internet, of which the above are just the tip of the iceberg. Some of the claims made by self-proclaimed internet experts on ‘Irish Mythology’ and/or ‘Celtic Mythology’ can be very amusing but the sheer level of ignorance and intentional misrepresentation of Irish culture (particularly with respect to ‘Irish mythology’) is becoming more and more of a concern.
The key reason it’s a concern is that misrepresentation of Irish culture on such a global scale (the type that occurs over the internet) has the long term effect of diminishing and eroding our culture. In effect, that means that all those sites and all those individuals who post inaccurate or misinformed claims about Irish culture, history, ‘mythology’ etc., are, unfortunately destroying it by a thousand cuts. I don’t believe they’re doing this intentionally (they only know what they think they know) but the long-term impact remains the same.
Much of the main Irish cultural misinformation out there tends to originate from non-Irish writers who use W.B. Yeats as a source of information or who produce fantasy books in the dubious “Celtic Mythology” genre. That said, there’s also plenty of inaccuracies and falsification from mar dhea ‘pagan’ and ‘spiritual’ sites, and from overseas entertainment companies as well.
Fortunately, over the past five or six years, there’s also been an increasing trend of Irish people standing up to criticise and call out the worst offenders. That’s definitely something to be thankful for.
It’s important, therefore, to call out inaccurate cultural representation when you see it. The problem, of course, is that unless you work in academia, cultural studies, or have a very good working knowledge of Irish history and culture, its quite hard to tell when the outrageous claims being made are correct or not.
For that reason, I thought it might be useful to develop a set of basic ‘criteria’ to help work out the authenticity of the Irish/ Gaelic/ Celtic article/ post you’re reading/watching. The criteria are quite simplistic but, hopefully, will go some way to helping you determine if what you’re reading/looking at, is fact or fantasy.
This week I’m scoping out some of the details for the last book in the Fionn mac Cumhaill Series which is provisionally title ‘FIONN: Return to Almu’.
Cnoc Almhain (the Hill of Almu) in County Kildare was the reputed base of Fionn’s grandfather (Tadg mac Nuadat) and the area where his mother Muirne Muncháem was raised. It seemed like an apt place to bring the story of Fionn’s youthful adventures to a close.
Provisionally, I’m looking to write and release this in 2026.
At the moment, I’m working on ‘Beara 3’, ‘Irish Mythology 101’ (a non-fiction work), and another project I’m not going to make any announcements on yet.
Just a brief heads up on the proposed Beara Series.
I’m breaking the Beara Trilogy into a series of 6 books (each book in the Beara Trilogy = two books in the Beara Series).
The first book in the Beara Trilogy is Beara: Dark Legends
The first two books in the Beara Series are:
The third book in the Beara Series (Beara: Cry of the Banshee – Part One) is planned for release towards the end of 2025, although this – of course – may be subject to change depending on workloads.
Irish people used to be in the unique, if somewhat unenviable, position of having our cultural ‘mythology’ and history (in particular, our prehistory) regularly misrepresented in narratives by overseas entertainment interests. Fortunately, the recent shift to Scandinavian culture means that, in that respect at least, we now have some company.
It’s an interesting phenomenon but whatever story-telling entertainment medium you look at (literary, film, television, etc.), you’ll inevitably find Irish (Oirish) prehistory portrayed in there somewhere, usually inaccurately and out of context, despite the creators’ best intentions. One story-telling sector where Irish ‘mythology’/prehistory hasn’t been so poorly represented, however, is the graphic storytelling industry (comics/graphic novels/animation).
As an industry, commercially produced graphic narratives are a relatively recent innovation, commencing as an art form with comics sometime in the late 1950s. Initially sneered at as an amusement for children (which, admittedly, they did target), nowadays graphic narratives are very much an adult-targeted, multi-billion-dollar industry. Stories told in a complex melding of visual and narrative forms, when done correctly, they have the emotional punch and intellectual grunt to equal any other form of storytelling.
Historically, most of the English-speaking graphic narrative market has always been dominated by American companies, in particular the two publishing behemoths; Marvel and D.C. As a result, between the fifties and the nineties, when Irish culture or Irish stories were portrayed in this format, it was often as a means to add colour or exoticism to existing American storylines (i.e. Irish culture was incorporated into other countries’ stories as opposed to having Irish stories being produced by Irish creators). This occasionally led to some amusing unintentional cultural gaffes such as:
The graphic storytelling industry has changed dramatically over the last twenty years or so, mainly as a result of new technology that allows artist/writers to distribute their work far more widely and through a broader range of media. In the past, graphic stories could only be distributed through printed paper in the form of comic strips, comic books or individual graphic novels (and, much more rarely, in animation). Nowadays, creators can distribute their stories through a wider range of receivers outside of paper (computers/e-readers/ipads etc. but also through their own websites and internet services such as Youtube, etc.).
Ireland has its own share of graphic story creators of course but the native industry is very small by international standards. In the past, most of the graphic stories in Ireland were produced by individuals who laboriously published, printed and distributed their own work or who somehow managed to achieve that holy grail of achievement, publication by a national publisher. Other Irish creators, taking a different path, ended up working for overseas companies as illustrators or writers.
‘Mythology’ is a prehistoric framework of cultural beliefs that often contains elements of what most contemporary audiences would think of as ‘fantasy’ or ‘make believe’. This is the reason so many people mistakenly believe that ‘mythology’ and fantasy are the same thing. Graphic creators, meanwhile, driven by ambition and ability to push the boundaries, often end up creating spectacular visual works of exotic grandeur and dramatic interpretation that work very well in the fantasy genre.
This draw towards fantasy means that it’s almost a natural progression for an artist of Irish background (or for those with an interest in Irish ‘mythology’) to portray those stories in graphic style.
This is also the reason, so many graphic creators have tended to focus on tales from An Lebor Gabála Érenn and, in particular tales from the Ulster Cycle (that body of Irish mythological stories with the most fantastical elements). Generally speaking, it’s only native Irish creators who delve beyond these more well-known and well-hashed tales.
The following are probably the most famous (and most successful) representations of Irish ‘mythology’/prehistory that I’m aware of to date. No doubt, there are several that I’ve missed so feel free to correct me at info@irishimbas.com with any omissions.
Irish artist, Jim Fitzpatrick, first came to major public attention with his series Nuada of the Silver Arm, which was published in the Sunday Independent from 1974 to 1975 and featured his trademark intricate scrollwork/knotwork and fantasy-style influences. The series concerns the adventures of a character called Nuada (a Conan the Barbarian styled version of Nuada Airgetlám (Nuada Airgetlám was actually the mythological leader of the Tuatha de Danann, a character that Guillermo del Toro subsequently turned into an elf [WTF!!!?] in the film Hell Boy II). During Nuada of the Silver Arm’s run, many people complained about the strip’s fantasy style violence and scantily-clad women (this was 1970’s Ireland, remember) and it was eventually cancelled.
Undaunted, Fitzpatrick subsequently went on to publish The Book of Conquest in 1978. This wasn’t a typical graphic novel for the time but its dramatic illustrations and glorious use of colour meant it was a major inspiration for any subsequent graphic representation of prehistoric Ireland from that point forward.
Created by British writer Pat Mills, Sláine was one of the titles published in the ground-breaking British comic, 2000 AD. This series (running in different forms from the eighties up to a few years ago) concerns the adventures of an Irish warrior called Sláine mac Roth. Like Fitzpatrick’s Nuadu, this series is very much a mish-mash of Conan the Barbarian-style fantasy and the more fantastical elements of An Lebor Gabála Érenn. A kind of prehistory anti-hero, Sláine is directly modelled on the mythological hero Cú Chulainn in that he has a spear called An Gae Bolga and the unfortunate habit of breaking into An ríastrad (a berserker-like combat frenzy) during battle. Sláine is probably one of the longest enduring graphic representations of Irish ‘mythology’/prehistory and although the core story remains consistent, the visual representation varies dramatically depending on the artist used.
Colmán Ó Raghallaigh, an award-winning Irish author was the first person to produce and publish a graphic novel in Ireland (through his own publishing house, Cló Mhaigh Eo). An Sclábhaí/ The Slave – told the story of a young St. Patrick and won several awards but Ó Raghallaigh subsequently followed that up with a number of other gorgeous graphic novel adaptations of Irish ‘mythology’ (in Irish) that included:
The Táin Bó Cúailnge, unsurprisingly, also turns up in a number of other innovative graphic stories, all offering very different renditions of the epic tale.
Belfast illustrator Paddy Brown serialised his epic webcomic The Cattle Raid of Cooley on his own website from 2008 to 2015 (winning Best Irish Webcomic in 2011) and it really is an exceptional feat. Brown’s version of the story is realistic, extremely well researched and avoids all the fantasy clichés by focussing on the characters and their motivations, effectively capturing the violent reality of inter-tribal warfare and feuds.
M.K. Reed’s webcomic About a Bull took a much more ‘cartoon’ approach to An Táin, through the use of more simplistic drawings, bright watercolors and humour. Although she tells the same story that many others have done before her, she does so from the perspective of Meabh Leathdearg (usually portrayed as the villainess of the piece). Her version cleverly incorporates the remscéla (the side stories or set-up stories to the core narrative) through the use of guest artists who offer a very different visual interpretation. Stylistically, this creates a somewhat inconsistent approach to the story that could be considered jarring, however, in the context, it’s effective. Sadly, the online story stopped in 2012 and doesn’t seem to have continued since.
Cork artist Will Sliney’s The Legend of Cú Chulainn was a graphic novel published by The O’Brien Press in 2013 and it remained high in the Irish Times bestseller list for a time. For his adaptation, Sliney used a very “heroic-fantasy” style and also changed a few core elements of the story such as the character of Meadhbh Leathdearg. Sliney’s illustrations display the influence of working for American comics but there’s no denying his storytelling talent.
This one scrapes in as there’s limited representation of Irish ‘mythology’ and prehistory and most of the story is set in 20th century Dublin. Nevertheless, it deserves inclusion. Written by Rob Curley and drawn by Barry Keegan, The League Of Volunteers is set during the Irish Emergency (the period just after Ireland became a Republic) and concerns a group of contemporary and mythological Irish heroes assembled by De Valera to protect the country against the threat of Nazi enemies (and a demon called Bocanach). The Volunteers include ‘The Glimmerman’ (an anti-Nazi street fighter), a human/demon called Blood Rose, Fionn mac Cumhaill, Lúgh Lamhfada from the Tuatha Dé Danann etc. etc.
This series is very much based on the American comic staple of superhero team ups (where a team of superheroes join forces to confront some great challenge) along the lines of The Avengers or Alan Moore’s ‘League of Extraordinary Gentlemen’, but then twists that model and adapts it to an Irish setting. In that regard, you’ve really got to admire its sheer ballsiness and ambition.
Irish artist/writer Leann Hamilton is one of the few people in the Irish graphic storytelling industry (with the possible exception of Ó Raghallaigh and Curley) to venture into mythological ground outside the well-trampled stories of the An Lebor Gabála Érenn and The Ulster Cycle (in this case, delving into the Fenian stories instead). Initially self-published by Hamilton in 2010, Finn and Fish is a contemporary and more humorous retelling of the old Salmon of Knowledge tale. It won several awards in 2013 and 2014.
The Cartoon Saloon is an Irish animation film and television studio based in Kilkenny which has been producing short films, cartoon series and other services since it was first set up by Paul Young, Tomm Moore and Nora Twomey in 1999. It’s probably best known however, for the beautifully animated feature films, the Secret of Kells and Song of the Sea, both of which incorporate strong elements of Irish ‘mythology’ and history with innovative design and storytelling.
Cú/Hound – Protector/Liberator /Defender are a trilogy of graphic novels created and drawn by Paul Bolger and co-written by Barry Devlin. One could yawn and say this is just another adaptation of the Ulster Cycle/Cú Chulainn, but what sets Cú apart from its predecessors is the sheer scale of ambition in terms of the artistry and the fact that it’s development was funded directly (through Kickstarter). Cú/Hound – Protector, the first in the series focuses on Cú Chulainn’s childhood and his travels to Skye to train with the woman warrior, Scatach. All three novels are beautifully illustrated in black and white but make dramatic use of red on occasion. Cú is also an excellent example of how much graphic storytelling has changed over the years in that the writers are also attempting to crowdfund for a movie version of the original graphic novels.
Given the above examples, it does seems as though Irish mythological and prehistory stories are more effectively represented in the graphic storytelling sector and it’s easy to see why. Mythological stories lend themselves extremely well to transmission through graphic media.
In addition, with recent technology, innovative Irish graphic creators are obtaining greater independent access to markets through their own webcomics, website sales or crowd funding. By consequence, this has also led to far more Irish creators producing their own adaptations of Irish mythological stories, thereby avoiding the fantasy excesses that occasionally result when such stories are told by people who aren’t genuinely familiar with Irish culture.
Either way, it continues to be an innovative and exciting sector to watch.
Note: If there are any Irish graphic creators of Irish ‘mythology’ and prehistory-related stories out there who’d like some reviews/exposure through Irish Imbas please feel free to email us at info@irishimbas.com. We’d be happy to help where we can.
A selection of some of the images I used while writing the character Liath Luachra in ‘Liath Luachra: The Great Wild.’
This particular set from Spanish artist/photographer Lídia Vives was very helpful in that it really captured the savage/feral aspect of the character and it was a good baseline to fall back on whenever I felt I was veering off the ‘character path’.
I’ll be using these for the a follow-up book called Liath Luachra: The Quiet One sometime in 2026.
There’s a lot of misinformation online about this rock in Kilcatherine on the Beara peninsula. So much so, that the rock is now regularly polluted by votive ‘offerings’ left by tourists and ‘seekers’ who don’t really understand its cultural context or the reason behind its evolution to fame.
Last month I started the next novel in the ‘Beara’ Series in which An Chailleach Bhéara plays a large part. Hopefully, at the same time, I can also make it a bit easier for those who come to Beara to actually understand what they’re looking at.
I’ll be giving an update on that in Vóg (the monthly Irish Imbas newsletter).
‘Tristan and Iseult‘ is a medieval romance that was adapted in the 12th century from earlier tales and tells of the illicit love affair between a Cornish warrior called Tristan and an Irishwoman called Iseult (in the stories she’s often described as a ‘princess’ – but that’s really a more modern English concept that didn’t exist in Ireland back then).
While escorting Iseult from Ireland in an arranged marriage with his uncle, Tristan starts an affair with her.
Obviously, the original story – now long lost – was adapted by the 12 century authors and then later absorbed into the Arthurian legends. In those, Tristan gets displaced by the knight Sir Lancelot (who has an illicit affair with Arthur’s wife, Guinevere and Tristan gets demoted to the lesser role of one of King Arthur’s knights.
It seems a bit odd but in March 2025, the United Kingdom’s ‘Royal Mail’ released a stamp featuring the legendary Irish figure, Fionn mac Cumhaill, as part of a series intended to capture legends from different parts of the ‘United Kingdom’.
The Fionn mac Cumhaill image (by artist Adam Simpson) was included in the series to represent Northern Ireland, based on a recent (by Fenian standards) tale around the creation of the Giant’s Causeway. Its presence is clearly part of an inclusive and positive initiative by the Royal Mail (for which, to be fair, they should be praised) however it does reveal some startling British ignorance around Irish/Gaelic culture and the Irish hero.
Fionn mac Cumhaill, for example, is far more connected to the Leinster region than the Ulster region – there’s several centuries of stories, tales and associations supporting that. Ironically, although the ‘Fionn and the Giant’s Causeway’ story was a single tale introduced in the 18th century, the ‘powers that be’ have decided to stick with it above any other local (and Gaelic) creation stories.
It seems that there’s still a bit of maturing needed when it comes to other cultures describing Irish culture.
‘Land of the Ever Young’, a depiction of Tír na nÓg by the English book illustrator Arthur Rackham (from back in 1920).
Rackham was an excellent artist and simply following the terms of reference he was given, but his anglicized, ‘fantasy-type’ representations of Irish culture set a detrimentally false ‘look’ and narrative that we’re still trying to deal with, a hundred years later.
