A fairy tale for summer solstice

■ In Irish mythology, Tuatha Dé Danann, led by Manannán mac Lir, sea god and prankster, were a supernatural tribe with magical skills and attributes, who were defeated in battle by the Milesians. Their conquerors banished Tuatha Dé Danann to the under-world where they mutated into Leprechauns.

Manannán mac Lir settled at Cnoc na Sídhe in Kerry’s Iveragh Peninsula. Fairy Forts proliferate throughout Kerry where the fun-loving fairies drink, dance and make merry under cover of darkness.

As descendants of Tuatha Dé Danann, the fairies are a supernatural race and, reputedly, immortal. Brian O’Connor, king of the fairies and Kerry resident, is the mutation of Manannán mac Lir himself. King Brian is a mischievous trickster and a notorious rogue but a good neighbour. He is a benevolent benefactor to the people of Kerry particularly of physical beauty, conviviality and exceptional Gaelic football skills.

Because of his origins as a sea deity, King Brian declared summer solstice, which falls on Thursday, June 21, to be a significant night in the fairy world.

At midnight on summer solstice, the little people gather for an invigorating swim off the Kerry coast. Manannán mac Lir, also known as King Brian O’Connor, the god of the sea and king of the fairies, lavishes his bounty of minerals, iodines and nutrients on his people, thereby renewing their virility and immortality. Then the little people celebrate with abandon in the fairy forts until daybreak.

The dawn of summer solstice is the time when the fairies are most vulnerable. Many a fairy has been captured on the side of the road in a poteen-filled stupor and forced to grant three wishes to his captor for his freedom. But, on this summer solstice, if you waylay a fairy, be careful what you wish for from the devious rascal!

Billy Ryle Tralee, Co Kerry