Bodach an Chóta Lachna

A beautiful retelling for young people of the old Fionn mac Cumhaill story, Bodach an Chóta Lachna (the Churl of the Grey Cloak), masterfully adapted by Máiréad Ní Ghráda.

The story begins in Howth, when Fionn mac Cumhaill sees a boat coming ashore. A great, strong warrior jumps out of the boat and threatens to exact rent from Ireland unless someone beats him in a race. The Fianna warriors were in Tara at the time, and Fionn did not know where he could find someone to run a race for him. With that, a large, sallow-skinned man approaches him, his long grey coat trailing on the ground behind him. ‘I will run against him for you,’ said the Bodach, and so the story begins.