Also called Ler, Lear.
Their story
Lir, whose name means the sea, is chiefly known as the father of Manannán mac Lir. In the later tale of the Children of Lir, he is a lord of the Tuatha Dé Danann whose second wife Aoife, jealous of his four children, turned them into swans. They spent nine hundred years on Lough Derravaragh, the Sea of Moyle and the waters off Erris, keeping their human voices and singing. When the spell ended they were old and frail, and they were baptised before they died.
Best times to give to them
- Samhain
- when grieving
- at the shore
What they like being given
- a song sung by the water
- bread for waterfowl in moderation (seeds or oats, not white bread)
- a white feather
- a candle for lost family
How to honour them
- Remember family members who are far away or lost to you.
- Watch swans on a lake and send them your good wishes.
- Read the story of the Children of Lir aloud in winter.
How they can help you
- grief and separation
- family bonds
- endurance through long troubles
Symbols
- swans
- the waves
- the hill of Síd Finnachaid
The Children of Lir survives in early modern manuscripts and has a strong Christian ending.
Sources
- Oidheadh Chlainne Lir
- MacKillop, Oxford Dictionary of Celtic Mythology
More Celtic gods
- The Dagda The good god, father of all
- Lugh Master of all the arts
- Cernunnos The antlered one of the wild
- Manannán mac Lir Lord of the sea and the Otherworld
- Aengus The young god of love
- Nuada The king with the silver hand
- Dian Cécht Physician of the Tuatha Dé Danann
- Goibniu Smith of the gods and brewer of the feast