• 
• 

Oct 28th – Nov 24th

There are no wolves remaining in Ireland now, bar in zoos so it’s hard to believe that they were once so numerous here, that outsiders often referred to Ireland as “Wolfland”. The name for Wolf in Irish is Mac Tíre which literally means son of the countryside which shows how the people considered this magnificent animal to be so integrated into the fabric of our land. They were feared however, and many of our early iron age forts were well guarded against wolves, as much as human enemies and the Irish Wolfhound was especially bred to hunt this fearsome predator There has always been a connection to wolves in Irish folklore. It is said that Cormac Mac Airt, one of the most famous of the High Kings, was raised by wolves and in the famous epic tale of the Táin Bó Cúallgne. There were stories of half man/half wolf men, such as the Laignach Faelad, a band of warriors who would fight with any king, but only for a terrifying price. Interestingly, there was also the concept of werewolves, such as the werewolves of Ossory (Laois/Kilkenny), who were a clan cursed by a holy man forcing a couple of the clan to live as a wolves for seven years, only to be replaced by another couple once that time had passed. . Unfortunately, the last wolf was killed on Mt. Leinster in 1786, hundreds of years after the last wolf in Britain and 100 years after the Scottish wolves became extinct.
The Wolf Oct 28th – Nov 24th. Tree Lore equivalent is the Reed..

illustration from an original by Margaret McKenna