Faoladh, the Irish Werewolf

The Faoladh, also known as Conroicht, features heavily in The Slipworld Chronicles, so it’s worth giving them a spotlight.

The word, pronounced “fway-lah”, approximately, comes from the word ‘faol’, meaning ‘wolf’.

Interestingly, there’s some debate about whether they come from folklore or if they’re a more modern invention - a kind of fan-fiction of the old tales.

Most likely, they’re inspired by the Werewolves of Ossary, descendants of a legendary figure in Irish history called Laignech Fáelad. According to legend, Laignech could transform himself into the shape of a wolf to hunt, an ability he passed on to his children. According to medieval genealogies, he was the brother of Feradach mac Duach, the king of Ossary and ancestor of all the Ossary kings that followed, until they were deposed by the Normans.

And, according to legend, the kings of Ossary had the power to go forth as wolves and devour people. Much like modern billionaires. <snicker>

There is also an account of tribes able to turn themselves into wolves. In one particularly fun encounter, St Patrick himself attempted to teach Christianity to a clan stubbornly opposed to it. Whenever he preached, they howled like wolves. St Patrick responded by praying to God and, allegedly, all members of the clan were changed into wolves for a period - but not permanently. Again, these wolves were said to be terrible because they had the wit of men and would destroy both man and beast. They were forced to transform every seventh winter and would live as wolves for seven years. If they survived, they either never transformed again - or they could do it at will.

But it’s the story of Gerald of Wales that gives us the modern version of the Faoladh.

There is a Norse account recorded by Gerald that tells of an unnamed priest who travelled through Ossary and encountered a wolf. To the priest’s surprise, the wolf tells him not to be afraid - he had come to ask for the priest to offer the last rites to another, a female wolf. The priest agrees, but the male wolf has to pull down the wolfskin of the female first, revealing an elderly human woman beneath, so the priest knows he is not committing blasphemy.

Afterwards, the wolf and the priest chat, and the wolf gives him a number of prophecies about Ireland and the English invasion, which saved many lives.

From there, the Ossary werewolves were not seen as vile, aggressive creatures but as intelligent protectors.

Of course, the Christian interpretation of this legend is that the Irish are bestial people but redeemable through the Christian sacrament and are the image of God beneath it.

Interestingly, neither the word “faoladh” nor “conroict” appears in any of the texts regarding the werewolves of Ossary, except as a translation for the word “wolfman”. It seems that’s where the modern legend of the helpful, protective werewolf emerged from.

There are those who say that modern folklore isn’t folklore, which meant I could have at the legend of the Faoladh all I wanted! And I have.

I have many characters in the Slipworld that are Faoladh, with their own rules and lore, and they are among my absolute favourites. I hope you like them too! 🐺🖤