Also called Murúch, Moruadh, mermaid.
The tale
The merrow is the Irish mermaid, who needs a little red cap, the cohuleen druith, to travel between the sea and the land. If a man steals her cap, she must stay with him as his wife, but she will return to the sea if she finds it. Male merrows were said to be ugly but friendly. In Croker's tale The Soul Cages, a merrow keeps the souls of drowned sailors in lobster pots beneath the waves.
When they are met
- on the shore
- before storms
Staying on their good side
- leave her cap where you find it
- respect the sea
- treat any bride with honour
Honouring them, or keeping safe
- Walk the shore and give thanks for the sea.
- Remember those drowned at sea, whose souls the merrow was said to keep.
What their tales teach
- the tales teach respect for the sea
- love and loss
- freedom
Symbols
- the cohuleen druith (enchanted red cap)
- the comb
- the soul-cages
Sources
- Croker, Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland
- Yeats, Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry
More Celtic folklore
- The Banshee The keening woman of the fairy mound
- Selkies The seal folk who come ashore
- The Púca The shape-shifter of November
- The Aos Sí The people of the fairy mounds
- The Kelpie The water horse of the lochs
- The Tylwyth Teg The Fair Family of Wales
- Leprechaun The solitary fairy shoemaker
- Clurichaun The fairy of the wine cellar