''The King of Ireland's Son'' is a children's novel published in Ireland in 1916 written by

Padraic Colum Padraic Colum (8 December 1881 – 11 January 1972) was an Irish poet, novelist, dramatist, biographer, playwright, children's author and collector of folklore. He was one of the leading figures of the Irish Literary Revival. Early life Co ...

, and illustrated by

Willy Pogany William Andrew Pogany (born Vilmos András Feichtmann (or Feuchtmann); August 24, 1882 – July 30, 1955) was a prolific Hungarian illustrator of children's and other books. His contemporaries include C. Coles Phillips, Joseph Clement Coll, Ed ...

. It is the story of the eldest of the

King of Ireland Monarchical systems of government have existed in Ireland from ancient times. This continued in all of Ireland until 1949, when the Republic of Ireland Act removed most of Ireland's residual ties to the British monarch. Northern Ireland, as p ...

's sons, and his adventures winning and then finding Fedelma, the Enchanter's Daughter, who after being won is

kidnap Kidnapping or abduction is the unlawful abduction and confinement of a person against their will, and is a crime in many jurisdictions. Kidnapping may be accomplished by use of force or fear, or a victim may be enticed into confinement by frau ...

ped from him by the King of the Land of Mist. The work is based in Irish

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

, described as "his great synthesis of fireside tales", and "a marvellous compendium of Irish folktales re-told". The 1916 edition published by Henry Holt is interleaved with plates of illustrations in full colour.

Stories

This work is considered a classic of Irish children's literature, featuring a collection of interwoven magical stories that form a lengthy and complex narrative. When the careless King of Ireland's son goes out, ''His hound at his heel,''
''His hawk on his wrist,''
''A brave steed to carry him whither he list,''
''The blue sky above him,''
''The green grass below him'' He meets an eccentric old man who invites him to a game of chess with the winner choosing the stakes. Characters such as Flann, also known as Gilly the Goat-Boy, the proud Lasarfhiona or Flame-of-Wine, the magical Spae-Woman, and the harsh farmer who employs Flann as a farmhand, contribute to making this story engaging and memorable. In the first segment, ''Fedelma, the Enchanter's Daughter'', the oldest son of the King of Ireland loses a wager against his father's enemy and should find him in a year and a day's time. He is advised by a talking eagle to spy on three

swan maiden The "swan maiden" () is a tale classified as Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index, ATU 400, "The Swan Maiden" or "The Man on a Quest for His Lost Wife," in which a man makes a pact with, or marries, a supernatural female being who later departs. The ...

s that will descend on a lake. They are the daughters of the Enchanter of the Black Back-Lands, the wizard the prince is looking for. The prince is instructed to hide the swanskin of the swan with a green ribbon, who is Fedelma, the Enchanter's youngest daughter. After arriving at the Enchanter's kingdom, he promises marriage to Fedelma, resisting her sisters', Aefa and Gilveen, advances, and is forced to fulfill three difficult tasks to the Enchanter. In the chapter ''The Unique Tale'', the Spae-Woman tells the heroes the following story: a queen wishes for a blue-eyed, blonde-haired daughter, and carelessly wishes her sons to "go with the wild geese". As soon as the daughter (named ''Sheen'', 'Storm') is born, the seven princes change into gray wild geese and fly away from the castle. It is later revealed that Sheen changed her name to ''Caintigern'' and became Queen when she married the King of Ireland, who, in turn, is the father of two of the main characters: the King of Ireland's Son and Gilly of the Goatskin ('' Gilla Na Chreck An Gour''). The seven wild geese are, thus, their uncles.Colum, Padraic. ''The King of Ireland's Son''. New York: H. Holt and Company, 1916. pp. 287-295

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Reception

Although the book was written in America in the years before 1916, Colum was a close friend and colleague of some of those who led the

Easter Rising The Easter Rising (), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the aim of establishing an ind ...

. The King of Ireland's Son was the ultimate calling-up of Irish mythology and legend, and, paired with James Stephens' '' Irish Fairy Tales'', made many happy hours for children curled up before glowing turf fires to read by the light of Tilley lamps in the long winter evenings of the new Ireland.

Adaptations

Another evolution from the original folktale was written by

Brendan Behan Brendan Francis Aidan Behan (christened Francis Behan) ( ; ; 9 February 1923 – 20 March 1964) was an Irish poet, short story writer, novelist, playwright, and Irish Republican, an activist who wrote in both English and Irish. His widely ackno ...

, published in Brendan Behan's Island, 1962, pp. 136–141.

External links

* * ''The King of Ireland's Son'' at Sacred Texts http://sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/kis/index.htm *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:King of Ireland's Son, The 1916 novels Irish children's novels Novels set in Ireland 20th-century Irish novels 1916 children's books Swan maidens Children's books set in Ireland Children's books about princes