The Hounds of the Morrigan
Encyclopedia
The Hounds of the Morrigan
Morrígan
The Morrígan or Mórrígan , also written as Morrígu or in the plural as Morrígna, and spelt Morríghan or Mór-Ríoghain in Modern Irish, is a figure from Irish mythology who appears to have once been a goddess, although she is not explicitly referred to as such in the texts.The Morrigan is a goddess...

is a novel by Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 writer Pat O'Shea. It was published in 1985, having taken O'Shea ten years to complete. The novel centers on the adventures of 10-year-old Pidge and his younger sister, Brigit. Many characters in the book are culled straight from Celtic mythology
Celtic mythology
Celtic mythology is the mythology of Celtic polytheism, apparently the religion of the Iron Age Celts. Like other Iron Age Europeans, the early Celts maintained a polytheistic mythology and religious structure...

. The book is intended for younger readers.

Plot summary

Pidge buys a book entitled A Book of Patrick's
Saint Patrick
Saint Patrick was a Romano-Briton and Christian missionary, who is the most generally recognized patron saint of Ireland or the Apostle of Ireland, although Brigid of Kildare and Colmcille are also formally patron saints....

 Writing
and discovers that the book he bought is actually a prison for the evil serpent Olc-Glas.

The Morrigan wants the book so that she can absorb the evil of Olc-Glas and take over the world.

Characters from Celtic myth who appear in the novel

  • Queen Maeve
    Medb
    Medb – Middle Irish: Meḋḃ, Meaḋḃ; early modern Irish: Meadhbh ; reformed modern Irish Méabh, Medbh; sometimes Anglicised Maeve, Maev or Maive – is queen of Connacht in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology...

    , her husband, Ailill
    Ailill
    Ailill a popular male given name in medieval Ireland and may refer to:* Ailill mac Máta, legendary king of Connacht and husband of queen Medb* Ailill mac Slanuill, legendary High King of Ireland of the 12th century BC...

    , and their seven sons, the Maines
  • Cathbad
    Cathbad
    Cathbad or Cathbhadh is the chief druid in the court of Conchobar mac Nessa in the Ulster Cycle of Irish Mythology.In his younger days he was a warrior, leading a landless band of twenty-seven men. Once he led a raid on the house where the Ulster princess Ness was brought up, killing all twelve...

  • The goddess Brigid
    Brigid
    In Irish mythology, Brigit or Brighid was the daughter of the Dagda and one of the Tuatha Dé Danann. She was the wife of Bres of the Fomorians, with whom she had a son, Ruadán....

  • Angus Og
    Aengus
    In Irish mythology, Óengus , Áengus , or Aengus or Aonghus , is a member of the Tuatha Dé Danann and probably a god of love, youth and poetic inspiration...

  • The Morrigan
    Morrígan
    The Morrígan or Mórrígan , also written as Morrígu or in the plural as Morrígna, and spelt Morríghan or Mór-Ríoghain in Modern Irish, is a figure from Irish mythology who appears to have once been a goddess, although she is not explicitly referred to as such in the texts.The Morrigan is a goddess...

    , a triple goddess, and her two counterparts:
    • Bodb
      Badb
      In Irish mythology, the Badb or Badhbh —meaning "crow" or "vulture"—was a war goddess who took the form of a crow, and was thus sometimes known as Badb Catha . She often caused fear and confusion among soldiers in order to move the tide of battle to her favoured side...

      , the Scald Crow
    • Macha
      Macha
      Macha is the name of a goddess and several other characters in Irish mythology.Macha can also mean:*The LÉ Macha , a ship in the Irish Naval Service, named for the goddess*The Macha crater in Russia, less than 7000 years old...

      , the Queen of Phantoms
  • Saint Patrick
    Saint Patrick
    Saint Patrick was a Romano-Briton and Christian missionary, who is the most generally recognized patron saint of Ireland or the Apostle of Ireland, although Brigid of Kildare and Colmcille are also formally patron saints....

  • The Dagda
    Dagda
    The Dagda is an important god of Irish mythology.Dagda can also refer to:*Dagda, Latvia, a city in eastern Latvia*Dagda , an Irish New Age band...

  • Cúchulainn
    Cúchulainn
    Cú Chulainn or Cúchulainn , and sometimes known in English as Cuhullin , is an Irish mythological hero who appears in the stories of the Ulster Cycle, as well as in Scottish and Manx folklore...


Reviews

A review that was originally published in the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...

's ‘’The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books’’ states that, "The prose is rather relentlessly ornamented, but the images are always concrete and, like the narrative, have vigorous strength."
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