A pronunciation guide to the
major characters and places in

SHAPESHIFTER

Some names have an extra “half-syllable” tucked into them: a slight uh sound, for example, DER-uh-g instead of DERG. I’ve indicated this with a • symbol. Kh is pronounced as a soft k in the back of the throat.

PEOPLE

Bodb Dearg ( BOVE Der•g) One of the ancients of the Sidhe; Grian’s first husband and Daireann’s father

Caoilte (KWEEL-tyah) One of the Fianna, and Finn’s close companion

Cormac (COR-mac) The High King of Eire (Ireland)

Daireann (DAIR-en) Sive’s half-sister

Derg Dianscothach (DER•G Dee-an-SCUH-hakh) Derg of the Quick Speech, Grian’s husband and Sive’s father

Elatha (EL-a-tha) Sive’s first love

Far Doirche (Far DUR•kha) The Dark Druid or Dark Man; evil sorcerer of the Sidhe who pursues Sive. (The more common spelling is Fear.)

Fianna (Fee-AH-nah) Elite troop of warriors serving the High King of Ireland

Finn mac Cumhail (FINN moc COO-ul) Leader of the Fianna who protects Sive

Grian (GREE-an) Sive’s mother, daughter of the great Manannan

Lugh (LOO) Lugh of the Long Hand; one of the ancients of the Sidhe, related to Finn

Maine and Sarai (MAH-nyah, SAH-rye) Sive’s first hosts in Eire

Manannan (MAN-an-awn) One of the ancients of the Sidhe; his realm is the ocean

Murigen (MUR-ee-gan) Woman of the Sidhe associated with lakes; sometimes called a “goddess of lakes”

Niamh (NEE•V) Grian’s sister through Manannan; loves Oisin

Oisin (ush-EEN) Finn and Sive’s son; his name means “little deer”

Oran (OR-an) Far’s servant

Sceolan (Scyo-LAWN) Sceolan and Bram were born to Finn’s aunt when she was under a spell that changed her into a hound; they had human wits and were Finn’s favorite hounds

Sive (SIVE) Pronounced with a long I. I have taken pity on my readers and used the anglicized spelling; the older version is Sadbh!

Tanai (TAH-nee) Bard who teaches Oisin

Tuatha de Danaan (TOO-a-ha day DON-an) Children of Danu; humans call them the “People of the Sidhe.” Sidhe can refer to either the people or their settlements.

PLACES

Baile’s (BOLL-ya’s) Strand—Beach near present-day Dundalk

Ben Bulben (BEN BUL-ben) Mountain near Sligo

Cruachan (CROO•khan) Royal seat of the king of Connaught, in the modern County Roscommon

Eire (AIR•) Ireland. Used in this book to signify the Ireland of the Celts

Glendalough (GLEN-da-lokh) A valley in the Wicklow Mountains, with two interconnected lakes

Hill of Almhuin (ALL-vin) Finn’s fort and headquarters, now known as the Hill of Allen near Kildare Town

Loch Lein (LOKH LEEN) Lake near Killarney

Mound of Hostages—One of the most ancient monuments on the hill of Tara, the Mound of Hostages is said to be a passageway between mortal Earth and the Otherworld.

Mourne (MORN) Mountains—Mountain range on the northeast coast of Ireland

Sidhe Ochta Cleitigh (SHEE OKH-ta CLET-ee) Sive’s home sidhe

Tara (TA-ra) The Hill of Tara was the political and spiritual centre of ancient Ireland. The monuments on the site are pre-Celtic and are said in legend to have been left by the Tuatha de Danaan.

Tir na nOg (TEER na nog) The land of the Tuatha de Danann, also known as the Sidhe, which exists as a (normally) invisible parallel land to Ireland. (Actually it’s more complicated than that, with several seemingly different “countries” within the Otherworld, but I chose to keep it simple.) Also referred to as the Land of Youth, the Undying Lands and the Land of the Ever-Young.

Underwave—Used in this book to refer to Manannan’s kingdom. Manannan is often called the Celtic god of the sea.

Ventry—Now a village on the Dingle peninsula, on the southwest coast of Ireland.