IRELAND: A LAND OF LEGENDS

Legends and myths are a very interesting part of a culture. As you may already know, there are lots of folktales in Ireland. Today we are going to learn a little bit about selkies (also called selchies, silkies, or roanes), one of the mythical creatures from Ireland.

Selkies are similar to mermaids since they both can be considered a mixture between human and sea creature. However, while mermaids are half-human and half-fish, selkies are seals that can take human form by shedding their skin.  

There are several versions of the myth: in some regions they say that selkies are the souls of drowned people, reborn as sea spirits who help sailors when there is a storm at sea. Others say that they are deceiving creatures that come onshore to seduce men and women so they can take them away from their families. Both could be ways of rationalizing the deaths of people who drown at the sea.  

However, the most commonly heard stories are those in which a selkie turns into a beautiful woman and is found by a man, usually a fisherman. In some versions they both fall in love and she stays willingly in the land with him. However, in most versions the selkie is forced to stay because the man has found her seal skin and she can’t return to the sea without it. Also, the man has power over her because he keeps the seal skin hidden, so she becomes her wife and usually has children. She is unhappy because she loves both her children and the sea equally, and she is torn between them. Almost every version has a similar tragic ending, though: the woman finds the seal skin and goes back to the sea, abandoning her family.

A few versions also include male selkies. You can see one of them in this song, which also has a rare ending:

If you want to know more about selkies, you can visit these websites, where you will find songs, legends and poems: 

A Home for Selkies

The Selkie-folk

Also, I would recommend you The Secret of Roan Innish, a beautiful film in which a young girl discovers the folktales about the seals that live around the Irish shores:

Click here for more information about the movie!

Had you ever heard of selkies? Do you know any other Irish legends or mythical creatures? 

Feel free to share some of them with us by leaving a comment! Also, if you have any doubts you can always ask us too, of course.