Irish Werewolves: The Faoladh

Illustration by Mr.Nostalgic, public domain

To be honest, I hadn't heard of this Irish folklore until a few weeks ago when my husband and I watched the animated masterpiece WolfWalkers, which was made by Irish film studio Cartoon Saloon.

I've been obsessed with Irish mythology lately; that's why I wanted to watch WolfWalkers in the first place. The film is amazing, and I highly recommend checking it out!

Anyway, on to the Faoladh!

The Faoladh is essentially a type of werewolf in Irish mythology.

However, unlike the typical vicious, man-eating werewolves we're familiar with today, the Faoladh was usually considered a creature with a great capacity for good.

Many believed that the Faoladh were the guardians of children, and that they protected wounded people and lost souls. There are even some sources that say the Faoladh were called upon by kings for aid during war.

According to my research, if a Faoladh was attacked, they usually just ran away because being injured could cause them to switch back into their weaker human form. And if they were wounded, the injury would be on their human body as well.

The most well-known Faoladh are the Werewolves of Ossory (modern-day Kilkenny). Their stories are still told today - a fact made evident even to me, someone who lives in the USA - because of the film WolfWalkers, which takes place in Kilkenny during the year 1650.

I hope you enjoyed May 2023's favorite folktale!