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The Romans never made it to Ireland, so the stories and tales that we call mythology today are different than anything else in Europe. Children in Ireland, both in the public and parochial schools, are taught these tales from the third grade on. However, they are not passed on as mythology, as something strange or peculiar. They are allied and taught as a very real part of Irish history.

The Mórrígan, appears to humans in the form of a hooded crow and represents the war-fury supreme. She is descended from Anu, mother of all Irish Gods, and she and her sisters Macha and Badb form a trinity of war/fertility sorceresses. Having the gift of prophecy, The Mórrígan foretold the coming of wars and the results of battles. She often sent forth a mist to aid one army over another and once cast a furious rain of fire and blood upon the hill at Tara. The Mórrígan often entered the battle herself, pursuing all who fled and feeding on the corpses of those who did not survive.

It is a matter of written record that The Mórrígan appeared before the battle of Mag Rath in A.D. 637, "gray-haired, in the form of a lean, nimble hag, hovering and hopping about on the spears tips of the royal army who she said were to be victorious." Her last recorded appearance came from one of Brian Boru’s lieutenants at the battle of Clontarf in A.D. 1014. Her name is all but forgotten today, although Irish farmers will tell you that it is an ancient goddess, in the form of the hooded crow, which feeds on battlefield corpses. They say the crow is all but impossible to trick or capture, and just about everyone has a tale to tell about how this sinister bird has fooled a human or harasses living cattle and sheep, especially when they are stranded or left immovable on their back or sides. They are indeed a very wary bird owing to the tendency of farmers to shoot them for their nasty practices. When living in Ireland, it took me nearly three months to trick this creature into a photograph. I then found myself looking over my shoulder every time I heard the caw of a crow.