Celtic fairy traditions
Connla
A fairy woman tells Connla that the immortals and his ancestors invite him. He enters her glass boat and vanishes across the water while his father watches in sorrow. In a later Otherworld encounter he holds an apple that does not diminish as he eats it and sits beside the woman who brought him there. Sustenance and companionship continue beyond his disappearance from Ireland.
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In the sources
Principal account
ReportedA fairy woman tells Connla that the immortals and his ancestors invite him. He enters her glass boat and vanishes across the water while his father watches in sorrow.
Further detail
ReportedIn a later Otherworld encounter he holds an apple that does not diminish as he eats it and sits beside the woman who brought him there. Sustenance and companionship continue beyond his disappearance from Ireland.
Context & interpretation
Evans-Wentz combines named informants, manuscript narratives, and his own psychical theory in a 1911 survey. This entry preserves those distinctions: collected belief and literary tradition do not establish the physical existence of an Otherworld.
Original passages
Source 1
The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries
message to him : — * The immortals invite you. You are going to be one of the heroes of the people of Tethra.Open this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: Celtic fairy traditions; active reader leaf 366
Exact passage checked against active scan text and original-leaf mapping; scan line breaks normalised.
- Edition
- IMJ-0045-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0045-E001-P0366
- Original scan leaf
- 367
- Recorded leaf number
- 367
- Current Reader position
- 362
- Reader verification
- Source-preserving update confirmed
Source 2
The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries
* In his hand he held a fragrant apple having the •^ hue of gold ; a third part of it he wouldOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: Celtic fairy traditions; active reader leaf 380
Exact passage checked against active scan text and original-leaf mapping; scan line breaks normalised.
- Edition
- IMJ-0045-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0045-E001-P0380
- Original scan leaf
- 381
- Recorded leaf number
- 381
- Current Reader position
- 376
- Reader verification
- Source-preserving update confirmed
Continue exploring
Mag Mell
The happy plain among the names for the Irish western Otherworld.
Same subject and traditionCú Chulainn
Ulster hero drawn into the conflicts and affections of the Sidhe.
Same subject and traditionFionn mac Cumhaill
Leader of the Fenians whose adventures connect hunting, fairy halls, and rebirth.
Same subject and traditionMongan
King whose concealed identity as Finn is exposed in a wager.