The King Lir and his wife Ove had four children, Fingula, Aod, Fiachra and Conn. Unfortunately after the birth of her last two sons, Ove died and Lir mourned bitterly. Lir later took her sister Oifa as his wife, and all was well till jealously crept into her heart for the king doted upon his children. After several tries to kill them, she forced them to bathe in a lake and struck upon them with a Druid's wand to change them into swans. They were to stay swans "until Lairgnen and Deoch come together, until ye are on the north-west of Red Erin" As swans they could still speak and told their father what had happened, and with the Druid wand he turned Oifa into an air demon.

The swan children left to the winds and where separated by a tempest, but they found each other again, cold and tired in the Lake of Seals. Fingula protected her brothers, Aod under her breast, Fiachra under her right wing and Conn under her left. Side by side they rested and then flew to the Bay of Erris till the time of their fate. When it reached that time they flew home only to realize it was in ruin and in sorrow they flew to the Glory Isle of Brandan upon which they were approached by Saint Mac Howg who had been looking for them. With chains of bright white silver he bound them together and lead them to the wedding of Prince Lairgnen of Connaught and Princess Deoch of Munster.

It was the princess who had read of their tale and called for them to be brought to the wedding by Mac Howg. Upon being brought to the alter the swans were transformed back to the children of Lir- but children they were no more. Old wither men and a woman stood before the alter, Fingula called for them to be baptized and thus they were and after which the breath of life left them. Buried together they were, by Fingula's request, Fiachra and Conn on either side of her and Aod before her face. Thus this was the fate of the children of Lir.

May 20, 2014
Materials: Color pencil, white gel pen on cardstock paper
References:
http://lokinststock.deviantart.com/art/Swan-03-Stock-204090015
http://castock.deviantart.com/art/Swan-wings-3-124905468
http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/view-image.php?image=15026
Art (c) Lionsong
Information from "Irish Fairy and Folk Tales" by: W.B. Yeats