The sorrows

This book includes three stories that symbolically portray Ireland's cultural heritage. They tell the stories of: three brothers who must pay for murdering an enemy; an evil stepmother who turns her husband's four children into swans; and a king who tries to force a princess to marry him. The first story, "The Fate of the Children of Tuirenn," is the Irish equivalent of the Greek legend of Jason and the Argonauts. It's the story of three brothers who must pay a "blood-fine" for murdering an enemy of their clan. This tale reflects the great sorrow of civil war, which has plagued Ireland for centuries. The second story, "The fate of the children of Lir ," which tells of an evil stepmother who turns her husband's four children into swans for 900 years, after which they are released from their fate. This story symbolizes the triumph of Christianity over paganism as well as the tragedy of the Irish being driven from their homeland. The third story, "The exile of the sons of Usnech," is more commonly known as "The Story of Deirdre." In this tale, Conchobor, the Red Branch King, tries to force Deirdre to be his wife, symbolizing England's attempt to force the Irish into servitude and rendering Deirdre a tragic symbol of both ancient and modern Ireland.