Irish Wolfhounds
Irish and Celtic myths and legends, Irish folklore and Irish fairy tales tales of Ireland
Who hunts the hunters
The majestic Irish wolfhound, known as the Cú Faoil in Irish, famed in history and mythology, is one of the largest and strongest dog breeds in the world. It is certainly is one of the tallest, reaching over seven feet in height when standing on its hind legs!
As it was known in ancient times, the great Irish hound was held in such high regard that by ancient Brehon law only kings, chieftains and nobles were allowed to own them, or a poet could have two. If a dog was stolen, it might be cause for a battle or even a war, and they wore chains and collars of gold and silver, often being given to notables as valuable gifts.
They were used to protect property and livestock from thieves and predators, and if brought to battle would pull warriors down from chariots or horseback! Their ferocity in war was notorious, and the war-chief of the High King and leader of the Fianna, Fionn Mac Cumhaill, owned more than five hundred of them, three hundred adults who fought alongside his men as well as two hundred puppies.
As it was written in the legends, Fionn’s favourite hound, whose name was Conbec, could head off and bring back any elk in Ireland to Fionn’s feasts. It was said that “no hound but Conbec did ever sleep in the one bed with Finn.”
There was no beast they would not hunt, from wild boar to stag to giant Irish elk and even to wolves. It was said that Irish Wolfhounds were the only dogs fast enough to run down a wolf and strong enough to kill it afterwards, tracking mostly by sight and speed. And rumours persist that they hunted more than wolves, warriors and wild beasts in the dark and gloomy forests of ancient Ireland... they hunted creatures akin to wolves and men both!
The Cú Faoil originally came to Ireland about nine thousand years ago. When Celtic tribes attacked and laid waste to Delphi in the third century BC, horrified survivors spoke in hushed tones of the great hounds that had fought alongside their masters.
Julius Caesar wrote of them in his book, “Gallic Wars”, and the Consul Symmachus received seven of them as a gift from his brother at the end of the fourth century, which "all Rome viewed with wonder”.
Cú Chulainn got his name when he slew a mighty guard dog watching a smith's house and swore to take the dog's place until a replacement could be found. At that time it wasn't unusual for a king or hero to place the word cú, meaning “hound”, before his name, to show they were worth respecting.
Two of the most famous hounds in Irish mythology were Bran and Sceolán, among Fionn's favourites. Legends tell that they were originally human but their mother Tuirrean was turned into a hound by their father's jealous fairy lover.
They were so tall that their heads reached the height of a man's chest. Bran was described as “ferocious, white-breasted, sleek-haunched, with fiery deep black eyes that swim in sockets of blood”. Sceolán wasn't quite as large, being “small-headed, with the eyes of a dragon, claws of a wolf, vigour of a lion, and the venom of a serpent”. Their adventures are told alongside those of the Fianna themselves, and with as much honour.
“I will give thee a dog which I got in Ireland. He is huge of limb, and for a follower equal to an able man. Moreover, he hath a man’s wit and will bark at thine enemies but never at thy friends. And he will see by each man’s face whether he be ill or well disposed to thee. And he will lay down his life for thee.”
From "The Icelandic Saga of Nial”
Their lithe bodies and slender heads were depicted in many places in Irish knotwork and decorative design, always ending in infinite interlacing convolutions. They featured on the coats of arms of early Irish kings, and remain strongly linked to the old Irish royal lines.
As to the enemy for which they were named – wolves were very common in old Ireland, stalking through the thick and almost impenetrable darkling forests and across misty moors. One of the reasons ring forts were built was to protect livestock from their depredations, and Brehon law insisted that they must be hunted. So many were they that the town of Coleraine was attacked by a giant pack of hungry wolves in the hard winter of 1650!
Travellers were attacked by packs of wolves near Lisburn and Drogheda around the same time, and some began to refer to Ireland as "Wolfland". As late as a century afterwards there were tales of marauding packs of wolves in Wexford and close to Cork.
Although they were considered to be evil creatures, wolves also formed an important part of early medicine, which involved eating a dish of wolf meat to prevent a person seeing phantoms, and sleeping with a wolf’s head under the pillow to prevent nightmares.
But many kingdoms of old had wolves without the need for wolfhounds – was there something deeper and darker yet abroad in the twilight of ancient Ireland?
The medieval script Cóir Anmann or “The Fitness of Names” contains mysterious tracts which speak of a shapeshifting Lord by the name of Laignech Fáelad, like the old Sidhe skinchangers, from whom sprung a line and clan of werewolves who hunted throughout the Kingdom of Osraí in the east and south of Ireland.
He would go a'wolfing, changing himself into the shape of a wolf to slaughter the herds and sometimes the families of his rivals, using ancient secrets passed down to the Gaelic peoples from those who came before, and who left their marks in the caves of continental Europe, shadowy cults that ruled the wilderness when the world was covered in ice.
A poem written in the thirteenth century about the Wonders of Ireland speaks of these fearful traditions...
De hominibus qui se vertunt in lupos
Sunt homines quidam Scottorum gentis habentes
Miram naturam majoram ab origine ductam,
Qua cito quando volunt ipsos se vertere possunt
Nequiter in formas lacerantum dente luporum,
Unde videntur oves occidere saepe gementes;
Sed cum clamor eos hominum seu cursus eorum
Fustibus aut armis terret, fugiendo recurrunt.
Cum tamen hoc faciunt sua corpora vera relinquunt,
Atque suis mandant ne quisquam moverit illa;
Si sic eveniat, nec ad illa redire valebunt.
Si quid eos laedat, penetrent si vulnera quaeque,
Vere in corporibus semper cernuntur eorum.
Sic caro cruda haerens in veri corporis ore,
Cernitur a sociis, quod nos miramur et omnes.
Which as translated by Professor Montague Summers in 1933, meant
“There are certain men of the Celtic race who have a marvellous power which comes to them from their forebears.
For by an evil craft they can at will change themselves into the shape of wolves with sharp tearing teeth, and often thus transformed will they fall upon poor defenceless sheep, but when folk armed with clubs and weapons run to attack them shouting lustily then do they flee and scour away apace.
Now when they are minded to transform themselves they leave their own bodies, straitly charging their friends neither to move or touch them at all, however lightly, for if this be done never will they be able to return to their human shape again.
If whilst they are wolves anyone hurts or wounds them, then upon their own bodies the exact wound or mark can plainly be seen. And with much amaze have they been espied in human form with gobbets of raw bleeding flesh champed in their jaws.”
The fourteenth century Book of Ballymote also speaks of “the descendants of the wolf” in Osraí, a clan who had the power to change themselves into strange beasts and hunt people by the carious light of the moon.
The Gaelic belief in werewolves may also be connected to the strange practices of the Fianna, who spent much of their time in the wilderness as roaming warrior bands on the fringes of society, living close to the world of the spirits. The donning of wolf-skins and masks could well have been part of a ritual transformation before they went into battle, calling themselves wolf-warriors or luchthonn, which meant “wolf skins”.
Against such dread creatures, most people would probably feel safer with a giant wolfhound at their side!
Although the last of the Irish wolves died out in 1786 at the teeth of a pack of wolfhounds, rumours still persist of strange doglike beasts crossing country roads late at night and howling in the most remote corners of Ireland. In 2012 some hikers in County Fermanagh reported a sighting of nothing less than prehistoric dire wolves in their rambling – stocky wolves with wide heads and short ears!
With the ending of the time of the wolf in Ireland, the need for wolfhounds also decreased and they almost followed their wild cousins into extinction. We owe their survival to the Scottish Deerhound breeder, Captain George Augustus Graham, who collected over three hundred pedigrees which he then published and bred.
Oliver Goldsmith wrote at the end of the eighteenth century, “The last variety and most wonderful of all that I shall mention is the great Irish Wolfdog, that may be considered as the first of the canine species...bred up to the houses of the great... he is extremely beautiful and majestic in appearance, being the greatest of the dog kind to be seen in the world… they are now almost worn away and only very rarely to be met with.”
Today the Irish wolfhound is one of the most cherished symbols of Ireland, representing Irish culture and tradition in a way that few others do, and you can meet a couple of live Irish wolfhounds at Bunratty castle on the map below!
Further Folk and Faerie Tales of Ireland
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The majestic Irish wolfhound, known as the Cú Faoil in Irish, famed in history and mythology, is one of the largest and strongest dog breeds in the world. It is certainly is one of the tallest, reaching over seven feet in height when standing on its hind legs! As it was known in ancient times, the great Irish hound was held in such high r ... [more]
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There was a farmer in County Kerry who had a nice little cottage for himself and his wife, but the thatched roof was in a terrible state of disrepair and unlikely to last another winter. Unlike the stone houses and cottages in the west, Kerry cottages were less sturdy, and so he knew he had to build himself another place to live. He searched thr ... [more]
Long ago in Ireland, at the dawn of the Christian age, Irish monasteries and schools were famed throughout Europe and the world for the depth of their knowledge and the quality of the education they gave to princes, lords and nobles who travelled from all parts to attend them. One of the most famous early Christian theologians who taught in thes ... [more]
The people of Ireland before the time of Saint Patrick had many strange customs, and some of these survive even to this very day, often mixed and combined with Christian rites and beliefs! One of those traditions was the sunwise walk. What this meant was, in order for good luck to attend an event, you had to walk around it sunwise or deiseal, pr ... [more]
We have a saying in Ireland, that it's the only place in the world where you can get all four seasons in the one day – well there's truth in that, but Irish weather can be even stranger than most people realise! So it is with the Gaoth Sidhe, which means “the fairy wind,” and is pronounced “gwee sheeha”. Oft ... [more]
One upon a time in Ireland, in the farthest west of County Clare, there lived a brave young chieftain whose name was O'Quinn. A kindly enough man was he, and fair to behold, of ruddy locks and clean limbs, and he made his Dún on a flat plain near to a clearwater spring, the purest in all of Ireland and perhaps all the world. He was co ... [more]
Cursing of various sorts has a history as long and rich as Ireland's own, stretching from the very earliest tales of the first settlers in Ireland all the way to the modern day. Whether a quick muttered malediction on someone who had crossed you or an elaborate, lengthy poem intended to satirise and ruin the legacy of a king, the mallacht, or c ... [more]
Much has been said but little written of the old Irish piseóg, the word of the curse. Now the same term is often used to refer to general traditions and superstitions in Ireland, things like if you're ever lost, turn your socks inside out to find your way home, or opening the back door if you hear a knock at the front door, to let the fa ... [more]
Dotted around Ireland in many places can be found bullán stones, meaning “bowls”, which are stones, large and small, with a depression or bowl in them, often filled with water. These are usually of great antiquity, stretching back before the time of St Patrick and before the time of Cú Chulainn and Fionn Mac Cumhaill, and ... [more]
There's a common misconception some might have about fairies, which is the idea that fairies are nice friendly little spirits, trailing pixie dust and turning pumpkins into luxury vehicles. As any of the old folk of Ireland could tell you, nothing could be further from the truth, for a fairy in wrath is more dangerous than a hive of wasps or a ... [more]
Sometimes when out and about travelling the lesser known byways of Ireland, you might come across a little stone arrowhead or piece of flint shaped by hands long gone, and people would tell you not to touch it for fear it might carry the tinneas sióg, the sickness of the fairy mounds! For it was that fairies, the sidhe, were known to hurl ... [more]
The sinister crone of the woods, the wishing thorn, there are as many tales told of the blackthorn trees of Ireland as there are spiky thorns on its branches. The people who came before, whose blood still runs in some, planted them around their tombs and sacred places and bound the lunantisidhe, or moon fairies to protect them, save only on the ful ... [more]
Once upon a time there was a poor woman with three daughters, and one day the eldest decided to seek her fortunes in the world. “Mother,” she said, “bake me a cake and kill my chicken, for I am away to the wide world.” And so her mother did just that, and when all was ready, her mother asked “which will you have ... [more]
A fair witch crept to a young man's side, And he kissed her and took her for his bride. But a shape came in at the dead of night, And filled the room with snowy light. And he saw how in his arms there lay A thing more frightful than words may say. And he rose in haste, and followed the Shape Till morning crowned an eastern cape. ... [more]
Once upon a time, not so long ago, a lovely young couple had just gotten married in the Irish countryside. It was a wonderful ceremony and all had remarked on how beautiful the bride looked, when suddenly their festivities and dancing were interrupted by the groom, who rushed into the crowd shouting that his Margaret was missing! Well they ... [more]
They do say that once upon a time, long ago, there lived a lady of great beauty in a castle on a lake, and her hair was fair as gold, shining in the summer sun. She had been promised to a king's son, the lord of a nearby kingdom, but as he was coming to see her one dark November evening, who should come upon him but the warriors of a jealous lo ... [more]
One evening in late November, which is the time of year when the spirits of Ireland have the most power, the prettiest girl in all the land was going to the ancient well for water. Then, as chance would have it, her foot turned on a loose stone, and she fell. It was bad luck, but when she got back to her feet, it seemed as though she was in a stran ... [more]
Baile the son of Buan was renowned through Ulster and all of Ireland for his tale-telling, and loved for his his kindly nature, but most of all by by Aillinn, daughter of Lughaidh. From afar they shared sweet messages and poetry, and as time passed she grew to love him more and more, and he in kind. Everyone spoke well of them and looked forward to ... [more]
In the olden days there was a man who played the pipes, but he was not famous for it, or if he was it was for the wrong reasons, since he had but the one tune, a jaunty jig called The Black Rogue. Now it happened one dark night that he was on his way home after entertaining the gentlemen, and with a few pence in his pocket and a few drinks under hi ... [more]
Times were hard in Ireland back years ago, and while some might say they've had it tough today, it was not a patch on the hardships people endured in times gone by. And so it was with Michael McGovern, a poor farmer with hardly an acre of stony soil to rent, who looked upon his three young sons with love for the life of them and fear for their ... [more]
There was a prince in Ireland a long, long time ago, back when Ireland still had princes, and O'Donall was his name. A brave fellow he was, and powerful, but given to risk and heedless thrills in his hunting and leaping and running and swimming, all the better to impress his friends. He was lord of a wide land, and he wasn't hard on the poo ... [more]
A woman was out one day looking after her sheep in the valley, and coming by a little stream she sat down to rest, when suddenly she seemed to hear the sound of low music, and turning round, beheld at some distance a crowd of people dancing and making merry. And she grew afraid and turned her head away not to see them. Then close by her stood a you ... [more]
They say that in Ireland you will enjoy all four seasons in a day, but on this day the four seasons were high and glorious summer, or so it seemed to Tom Fitzpatrick as he walked along a narrow road between two tall hedges in harvest time. As he walked, he chanced to hear a strange ringing like a tiny bell, and he paused, puzzled as to what it migh ... [more]
Connla of the Fiery Hair was one of the sons of Conn of the Hundred Battles, and his favourite son, a swift and agile warrior with a voice that could make the mountains tremble. Himself and his father climbed the heights of Usna on Samhain, when he saw coming towards them a slender maiden of great beauty, clad in strange clothes. “Where do ... [more]
Strange are the ways of the Fairies of Ireland, and strange the look about them, but for all their wild and untamed manner they follow rules written in the ripples of willow-branches on still ponds, and laws murmured by the echo of birdsong in deep wells. Once there was a woman sitting in her cottage, a humble enough abode, and she was making wo ... [more]
There are many types of fairy in Ireland, some more risky than others, and some to be avoided due to their habits rather than out of any particular malevolence. Such a one is the Gan Ceanach, whose name means “Without Love”. Although you might think such a title would indicate a friendless creature of a lonely nature lacking in socia ... [more]
There are a great many raths or fairy forts of old scattered throughout Ireland today, numbering in the tens of thousands, and it is here, the wise say, that the good people or fairy folk gather to hold their revels. Nobody would dare to cross, let alone build on a fairy dwelling in the past, marking as they did the boundary between our civilise ... [more]
Near to the town of Fermoy in Ireland lies the great stack of Cairn Thierna, not as wide about nor as tall as some mountains perhaps but feared and respected by the local people nonetheless. For all around it and along its flanks are tall heaps of stones they say are the work of the fairy folk, or the old people who lived here long ago. And you ... [more]
On the road going down to Cork there's an old set of four walls that used to once be called Ronayne's Court. Although there's little enough to see of it nowadays still the stack of the chimneys stands proud, and on it can be seen the coat of arms of the family that built it and used to live there. They were a fine couple and had one ... [more]
It was known in times past in Ireland that there were men and women who could talk to the fairies, ask favours from them, and even live among them, and some used this acquaintance to work their will on the world, for good or for ill. Most famous, perhaps, among these people were the fairy healers of old. Biddy Early is the best known of their ki ... [more]
James Mac Neill was as strapping a young fellow as you could hope to meet, and likely with it. Never did he walk away from a tussle or a drink, and never far from his hand was his shillelagh. He had no fears save the lacking of a pint, no cares except for who would pay for it, and not a thought in his head but how to have fun after it. One cold ... [more]
Maurice Mulreaney was well known for travelling about the countryside without fear of anything living or otherwise, as quick to cross a graveyard or fairy mound as you or I would be to cross the street, for he didn't believe in that which he couldn't see with his own two eyes or touch with his own two hands, and he didn't bother with ol ... [more]
It wasn't a bad life for Fergus O'Hara in Owenmore, for all that himself and his wife Rose had little, the little they had was enough for them. Some goats, pigs and poultry ranged far and wide about their few acres, and a field of oats and potatoes kept them busy for the harvest and brought in a few pennies. It so happened that there lay ... [more]
The children of De Danann once ruled the island of Ireland, before they departed back to their own lands in the farthest west or went below the earth in their fairy mounds to dance and sing forevermore, but if you're lucky – or unlucky! – you might still come across them in the wild places and those deep forests yet untouched. An ... [more]
Some of the Sidhe in times of old would take a fondness for one particular family, protecting it and helping it rise in the world, and so it was with the O'Briens, who were known as the Dál gCais, or the Dalcassians. Their fairy guardian was called Aoibhell, whose name means burning ardour or beauty, depending on who you ask. She had ... [more]
Irish legends from time immemorial have a great deal to say about the land of the fairies, the home of the Tuatha De Danann, or the world of the Sidhe. There are those who claim it lies beneath fairy mounds or on the other side of deep caves where Druids once held tryst and shared magical secrets, while other tales tell of heroes and adventurers, e ... [more]
It's well known among those who know of such things that fairies love to dance more than anything else, and they take it ill should anything interfere with their merriment. And if someone wanted to spoil a dance, they could come up with few better ways of doing so than to send a herd of cattle wandering through! The hill atop Knockshegowna w ... [more]
The cheerful Leprechaun is about as well known an emblem of Ireland as you could want, but what truth lies behind the stories? Well the truth is nobody really knows the truth, for leprechauns are are a cagey bunch at the best of times, not prone to gossip or holding forth on the important events of the day or the local hurling results, even after a ... [more]
After the Tuatha De Dannan were defeated in battle by the great race of Milesians, who held sway in Ireland long after, some of the Tuatha decided to leave and go elsewhere while some chose to stay in Ireland. Those that stayed agreed that they must live beneath the earth, and they were led by a great King in the west, Finnbhear son of Dagda, who i ... [more]
Some might wonder, who or what are the fairy folk? There are stories upon stories of them and their doings in many places, but most of all in Ireland, where it was said they lived longest and if they still walk the earth, where they can yet be found! The country folk claim they are fallen angels lacking the merit to stay in heaven while being kindl ... [more]
