Irish Folklore Coloring Pages
Most people meet Irish folklore through a leprechaun on a St Patrick's Day card, but the old stories go a lot further than that. There's a boy who fought off a giant guard dog, a fairy who only comes out to warn a family, and seals along the coast who might just be somebody's long-lost relative.
These Irish folklore coloring pages bring together the heroes, fairies and creatures people in Ireland have been telling stories about for hundreds of years. Some are brave, some are sneaky, and a couple of them you'd really rather not meet on a dark road home.
Balor of the Evil Eye
Balor was a giant king in the old Irish stories, and he had one enormous eye that he kept shut for a very good reason. Whatever that eye looked at was destroyed, so it took several strong men just to lift the heavy lid. A prophecy said his own grandson would be the one to bring him down, and Balor spent years trying to prevent it.
The Banshee
In Irish, her name means "woman of the fairies," and she belongs to old families, following them down through the generations. Nobody ever sees her coming. First comes a long, thin wail drifting over the fields at night, and the family knows that one of them is about to die.
Cú Chulainn
Cú Chulainn was born with the name Sétanta, and he was only a boy when he earned the name everyone remembers. A blacksmith named Culann owned a fierce guard dog, and when Sétanta arrived at his feast, the hound attacked. The boy defeated it, then promised to guard Culann's house himself until a new hound was ready. From that day on, everyone called him the Hound of Culann.
Fionn mac Cumhaill
Fionn mac Cumhaill was the leader of the Fianna, a band of Irish warriors, and he almost never went anywhere without his hunting dog Bran. He was said to have gained his wisdom by accident. As a young man, he was set to cook a magical salmon for his teacher, burned his thumb on it, and put the thumb in his mouth. That one taste gave him all the knowledge the fish held.
Fionn mac Cumhaill coloring pages
Iseult (Isolde)
Iseult was an Irish princess, and her family arranged for her to sail across the sea and marry King Mark of Cornwall. The king's nephew, a knight named Tristan, was sent to bring her safely there. Somewhere on that voyage, the two of them drank a love potion that was never meant for them, and nothing about the trip went the way anyone had planned.
Leprechauns
Before leprechauns went green for St Patrick's Day, the old Irish stories dressed them in red, with a little red coat and a cocked hat on top. The real leprechaun was a shoemaker who worked all by himself, tapping away at a single shoe, and he had a crock of gold hidden somewhere close by. Catch one and he'd have to tell you where it was, as long as you never took your eyes off him, which turned out to be a lot harder than it sounds.
Mac Tíre (The Irish Wolf)
Ireland once had so many wolves that visitors called it Wolf-land, and the Irish gave them a name that sounds almost fond: mac tíre, the son of the countryside. Wolves weren't always the villains in the old Irish stories, either. One of them raised a future king in her den, and one night another wolf walked right up to a priest's campfire and asked him for help, which isn't something a priest expects to hear from a wolf.
Merrow (Irish Mer-folk)
Ireland had its own mer-folk, and they were called merrows, half person and half fish. A merrow kept all her magic in a little red cap, which made that cap the most important thing she owned, because without it she couldn't go back to the sea. Hiding it seemed like a clever trick to anyone who wanted her to stay, but a merrow never really stopped looking.
Púca (Pooka)
Of all the creatures in Irish folklore, the Púca might be the hardest to spot, because it never looked the same twice. One night it was a horse, the next it was a goat or a rabbit, and every so often it was something big and hairy that could talk. Anyone walking home late kept an eye out, because there was nothing a Púca liked better than a midnight ride with a passenger who hadn't asked to come along.
Selkies (Irish Seal-Folk)
Along Ireland's rugged coast, people have always kept a friendly eye on the seals, just in case one of them turns out to be somebody's relative. The old stories say a seal can shed her skin and live on land as a woman, as long as nobody finds the skin she left behind.
Sidhe (The People of the Mounds)
Somewhere in Ireland there's a round green hill with a door in it that you can't see. The people living behind it are the Sidhe, and the old stories agree on one thing: it pays to be polite to them...
Tuatha Dé Danann (The People of the Goddess Danu)
Long before the fairy tales, it is said that a magical people ruled Ireland, and their name means "the people of the goddess Danu."
When a new group arrived, the Tuatha Dé Danann gave up the land above ground and moved into the hills, and in many later stories they're the very same folk as the Sidhe...
Tuatha de Danann coloring pages
Boann (River Boyne)
Boann is a prominent figure in Irish mythology, associated with the River Boyne in Ireland. She is considered a goddess of fertility, abundance, and the inspiration of poetic and artistic endeavors. According to myth, Boann defied a prohibition by her husband, Nechtan, and approached the sacred well of Segais. When she did so, the well overflowed and created the River Boyne, carrying her name. Boann's connection to water and fertility underscores her role in nourishing the land and supporting life.
Butterflies in Irish Folklore:
In Irish folklore, butterflies hold a mystical significance, often viewed as the souls of the departed waiting to move through Purgatory. This belief imbues the butterfly with a spiritual essence, linking it to the afterlife and the journey of the soul. Additionally, there are tales of witches transforming into butterflies. These stories typically involve witches using their butterfly forms to sneak into homes undetected to steal butter and milk. This aspect of folklore highlights the butterfly's dual symbolism in Irish culture--representing both the purity of the soul and the cunning of enchantment.
