The Children of Lir

By: Benedict Flynn

Narrated by: Marcella Riordan

Length: 37 mins

Publisher's summary

This is a story from the Tales of Irish Myths collection.

Three key stories from the mists of Irish legends retold by Benedict Flynn. It is a mysterious world that this selection of stories from the treasure house of Irish myths describes. Here, the line between the fantastical and the real is blurred: mortals and immortals lead entwined lives.

Public Domain (P)2000 Naxos Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"Brave heroes, powerful gods, and cunning women match brains and brawn in this collection of three classic Celtic myths retold here, much as they may have been around Irish peat fires of years ago. Listeners will become entranced by 'The Tale of Cu Chulainn,' 'The Children of Lir,' and 'The Tale of Finn Mac Cool.' With excellent narration by Dermot Kerrigan and Marcella Riordan, these tales still have the power to entice the imagination and stir the soul more than 1000 years after they were first told. Both narrators do a fine job of using just the right amount of brogue when pronouncing the multitude of Irish names that would tongue-tie many others. Although part of the Junior Classics Series, there is nothing in the telling that denotes these tales as being intended only for children since the Irish terminology is neither watered down nor explained, leaving listeners to infer the meanings of some words through the content of the story. Orchestral music is the only sound effect used, or needed, to accentuate particularly significant points in the stories. A brief history of Irish storytelling and of these three tales, in particular, is included." ( School Library Journal)

hard the rate

struggled to enjoy because the book juts drops you in with some characters you have no ideas who they are. then does nothing to explain them. I think the audience who the story so made for would have background of the needed information though. once you get a general idea of the main characters you can follow fine, but I couldn't help but feel like I was missing out.