Spooky Irish Tales: A Ireland Year Event

Angela Carroll
Dr. Wilson
COM 360
11-20-11

At Reinhardt University, we celebrate a different culture every year by holding various events. For 2011, we are celebrating Irish culture and one of the events held , for the Halloween celebration, was the “Spooky Irish Tales”. Story-teller Betsy Doty, who has long told stories throughout her life, including in a homeless shelter, came to our school.

Besty Doty used an active, theatrical method in her story telling rather than simply speaking from her chair.

She stood and walked, used hand gestures, and changed her voice with each character. Her stories, like many stories, used repetitive phrases, rhythms, and hand motions. Doty told four Irish stories, each had their morals and could be used to obtain insight into the Irish culture, as myths typically do (Miller pg.213, 2010).

I will share the basics and some cultural insights for three of the stories with you.

The first story she told us was the tale of Mr. Fox, though, she admitted that it was a story with unknown origins. The phrases within it, including ‘much to do about nothing’, led many to believe it too be originally English, however, the Irish claim the tale to be stolen from the Gaelic tales(Doty, storytelling 2011).

“Mr. Fox” is known as a “Blue-beard tale” in that it is a tale about the dangerous of trusting a wealthy, seemingly God-fearing man you know little about. It is a story aimed primarily towards young female listeners.

In “Mr. Fox”, a young woman named Mary fell in love with a red haired man called Mr. Fox and they plan to marry after knowing one another for two weeks. While Mr. Fox is away, Mary journeys behind the church in search of the castle Mr. Fox told her they would move to after the wedding.

I’m not going to completely ruin the story for you, however, just know that Mary finds a grotesque secret and runs home(Doty, storytelling 2011).

It involved a barrel of blood

The story could reflect the patriarchal structure and the importance of family in Ireland. Mary, a female, wanders alone to Mr. Fox's castle and faces terrible danger. It is only when she returns to her family where she is safe (and Mr. Fox is dealt with by her brothers).

Then again, because it is Mary who turns the tide against Mr. Fox in the end, it could just easily reflect a wariness of red haired people who promise things which are ‘too good to be true’.

The second story was a result of the actions, as Doty informed us, by W.B. Yeats, Lady Gregory, and Lady Wilde during the late 1800s. Around the 1850s, development was occurring via the railroads. Gaelic language was in danger and so too was the Irish culture. A way the wealthy and educated sought to save the Irish ways was by going into the rural areas and finding stories. W.B Yeats published Fairy Tales of the Irish Peasantry .

Moo!

After asking the help of a priest and and a 'fairy woman', Brian is forced to go another night with the mystery of his sick cows another day. That night, however, he is visited by an old woman who he gives food and shelter to. She offers to help him, using witchcraft by asking him to get the first cow he sees and bringing it to her.
The old woman sings a song over a fire while the Brian and his wife churn butter out of the bad milk.

A person knocks on the door and the old woman says that this is the person who has placed a spell on the farm. When they open the door, Rachel Higgins, another farmer and their neighbor, is standing there. She owns fewer cows than Brian yet still has better business than all the other farmers.

After Brian helps Rachel Higgins, the old woman tells him to go to the field with dogs and other men and to chase whatever they find. Brian brings his other neighbors and their dogs to his field and they find a giant hare, sucking the milk from the cows... (Doty, storytelling 2011).

Rawr!

Again, I don't want to completely ruin the story, however, notice the repeat of themes. The tales are not only for entertainment, but for moral lessons. In both stories, there is an important lesson of: “ Don't trust appearances, evil can take many forms.”

Not this blatantly obvious...

Further, there is also a fondness for supernatural tales. The final story Doty told us was the tale of the Banshee.

A banshee travels the night, searching for another lonely soul to take with her back to the underworld. Once she stops by a nursery, finds a baby who has been left alone, and takes the infant.

Throughout the night, she continues to look for other souls to steal, however, each time she is forced to turn back because of kindness. For example, she approaches a blacksmith closing down shop and is about to take his spirit, yet, his cat enters the house and wraps herself around his leg.

I savz yur sol?

In the end, the Banshee must leave because of the coming light (Doty, storytelling 2011). Again, evil is beaten and light, both metaphorical and physical, save the day.

Works Cited
Doty, Betsy. (2011). Spooky Irish Tales. Storytelling. Reinhardt University.
Miller, Barbara D. (2010). Cultural Anthropology in a Globalizing World (2nd ed.). Prentice Hall: New York.