An Irish Legend, a photo from Antrim, Northern Ireland

Photographer's Note

This wall mural depicting the story of The Children of Lir from an old Irish legend was taken in the North Antrim village of Cushendall.

The story of the Children of Lir is one of the best known tales of Ireland. This story tells of Lir and his wife Aobh and their four children called Aodh, Fionnghuala, Fiachra and Conn. Lir's wife died and he married again. His new wife was called Aoife and she became the children's stepmother. At first she loved them dearly but after a time she grew jealous of their father's affection for them.

One day she cast them away and put them under a spell. They were turned into four white swans at Lake Derravarragh in County Westmeath. They remained there for four hundred years. Then they flew away and settled on the Sea of Moyle between Ireland and Scotland, where they stayed for three hundred years in cold and misery. From there they spent three years in Erris, County Mayo where they endured even further sorrow.

At the end of that time they returned to their old home at Sídh Fionnachaidh in County Armagh. Their father was long dead and the place was desolate and empty. They flew off again to Erris and there met the Christian Missionary, St. Mochaomhóg who treated them with great kindness.

At last their period of enchantment came to an end and they were turned into three withered old men and an old woman. The saint baptised them and they died peacefully. They were buried together.

lousat, ikeharel, Royaldevon, mcmtanyel, Cricri, pajaran, ourania, adramad, jhm ha puntuado esta nota como útil.

Critiques | Translate

lousat (139332) 2013-11-27 1:14

Hi Arthur,Ireland is full of nice legends,maybe its landscapes are the best places to imagine fairy tales....very interesting pic and history,good capture with excellent details,maybe only a bit oversaturated.Have a nice day and thanks,Luciano

ikeharel (113427) 2013-11-27 1:57

A fabulous sight of the painted wall, Arthur.
Vivid colors mostly green and blue, no "hot" tones, almost a 3D effect.
Fine taken the place on picture.
Regards,
Ike

No_One (4) 2013-11-27 2:21

hi Arthur,
One of my favorite of Irelands legends, and this is a lovely vision of it. Its amazing how many places in Ireland this subject comes up, in fact only yesterday evening I was looking at the statue of it in your galley, that is one of my main targets for places to get to. I've seen the one in Dublin, and I really want to see the one you posted with those beautiful sweeping curves of steel.
I really like how you presented this too, by filling the upper part of the frame only with the artwork, it has the appearance of hanging in a gallery, but the slight inclusion of the path and road give it a sense of place and shows this as a very creative piece of public art.
What better way to brighten the streets than with art works of cool ancient legends!
All the best
Noel

Royaldevon (85932) 2013-11-27 12:08

Hello Arthur,

What a sad story!
I must say, I always expect such stories to have a happy ending. Though things did eventually turn around, it wasn't a happy ending to become all withered and die, after such a miserable life! I think I'll stick to Cinderella! Just joking; these stories carry an awful lot of meaning for the communities where they belong.
The mural is sharply captured with enough f/g details to set a context for the picture. A strong f/g triangle was always considered a plus element for good photographic composition!

My warm regards,
Bev :-)

mcmtanyel (68623) 2013-11-27 16:50

Hi Arthur,
A great mural and a great accompanying note educating us on Irish folklore. A precious addition to TE, TFS!
Regards,
MT

fabbs99 (17179) 2013-11-27 22:10

Hello Arthur,

I love the colors and framing of this painting.Excellent pov and colors.Very well done,TFS.

Regards
Farhat

Miguel82 (47110) 2013-11-27 23:55

Arthur,
What a beautiful mural with an excellent light and colors, charming swans!
high resolution
have a nice day

Cricri (176) 2013-11-28 11:11

Hi Arthur
Très jolie légende d'Irlande et une très belle peinture murale fait artistiquement, c'est vraiment très joli
Belle soirée
cricri

pajaran (115989) 2013-11-29 6:54

Dobar dan, popodne.
Interesantan i dobar tekst, lepa legenda ...
Dobar trenutak snimka i kontrast, lepe boje.
Dobar rad, lepo pokazan mural.
Lep mural sa labudovima.
Lepo popodne i sve najbolje za vikend, srecno.
Paja.

Good afternoon, this afternoon.
An interesting and good text, a beautiful legend ...
Good time recording and contrast, beautiful colors.
Good work, beautiful mural shown.
Nice mural with swans.
Nice afternoon and all the best for the weekend, good luck.
Paja.

ourania (51103) 2013-11-29 8:41

Hello Arthur,
the story of the Children of Lir, is so familiar now from your and Noel's photos of sculptures dedicated to this ancient legend. This story of suffering and redemption seems to be very inspiring and the mural is a fine illustration of it. I like the perspective you gave to your point of view, it enhances the dynamism of the painted scene and enriches your composition with the colour and context it provides. Sharpness and definition of colours is excellent. Congratulations and thank you! Thank you so much for your warm and encouraging words, I really appreciate them!
All the best, have a great weekend,
Ourania

adramad (73006) 2013-11-30 7:37

Hello Arthur.
Very well told in a note this sad story of the legend of Lir, but it serves as an introduction to a better understanding of this wonderful mural, theaters have been painted in beautiful and elegant forms.
Great colorful natural.
A bright image with optimum clarity.
Enjoy the weekend.
All the best.
Luis.

jhm (211736) 2013-12-02 3:09

Hello Arthur,

Thank you very much for your interesting notes.
A lovely story but also a nice painting on the wall with bridge and swans
Nice depth and perspective picture.
Very well composition, good presentation too. TFS.

Best regards,
John.

macjake (98456) 2013-12-03 12:48

Hi Arthur
yes, we have seen many references to these swans and children here on TE, most recently from Noel.

there seems to be a never ending supply of references in Ireland to this story, nice to see this one too.
thanks for the post
cheers
craig

claudeD (47754) 2013-12-04 6:21

Hello Arthur,

wonderful mural painting from Cushendall showing this amazing scenery.Very fine contribution to TE.TFS.

With regards from Luxembourg

JC