FYNODEREE: The lovesick fairy cursed to roam the Isle of Man as an ugly beast
AI-generated illustration of the satyr-like Fynoderee & icon of Satyr by Grégory Montigny from Noun Project (CC BY 3.0)
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The tragic tale of a fairy boy who fell in love with a mortal maiden and was cursed by the fairy king.
What is the folklore about the Fynoderee?
Somewhere between satyr and beast-man, the Fynoderee (or Phynodderree) is a humanoid creature, who was once said to have roamed the Isle of Man.
Local legends from this independent nation nestled between Ireland and the British Isles tell of a strong, stocky creature, the size of a large human. He was said to be covered in long, shaggy hair all over his body.
Although he may sound like a daunting fellow to encounter in a field in the middle of the night, tales about the Fynoderee actually describe him as a friendly creature. In fact, he loved to help humans in need with their labours, especially farmers.
According to local fairy tales, he hated wearing clothes so much that he was insulted by anyone who attempted to gift him some and would never help them again. So it was lucky for the inhabitants that he preferred to wander the island in search of good deeds to do for humans at night.
Where did the Fynoderee come from in Manx mythology?
"Triumphal March of the Elf-King" by Richard Doyle. Public Domain.
The story of how the Fynoderee came to be is actually quite a sad one.
This melancholy creature is the only one of his kind because he wasn’t born but created through a fairy curse. The Isle of Man is a treasure trove of fairy lore, where these otherworldy beings are called the “Mooinjer Veggey” or the “Little People”. Like in Scotland and Ireland, they may also be referred to as “the Good People”, the “Other Ones”, or simply “Themselves”. It was only later, in Victorian times, that the name “fairy” became popularised in the many illustrations of cute, little girls in flower hats and butterfly wings.
Up until the last century and the beginning of industrialisation on the British Isles, belief in elemental “fay” beings who inhabited the land known as “Faerie” was the widespread norm across the countryside for hundreds of years. Even for those folks who didn’t believe in them, it was customary to, at the very least, be respectful of them. Since they were invisible most of the time, except for in special circumstances, like during the twilight hours, in changing seasons, or in certain places, you never knew when the Fay might be listening.
Why would it matter if they were listening? Well, the Fay were pretty easily offended. They were known to be capricious, delighting just as much in helping weary travellers, as kidnapping them and holding them hostage in Faerie for 200 years. They could even steal your children and replace them with a monstrous changeling creature of their own, or cause your cattle to get sick and your crops to fail with their magic, leaving your family to starve.
It is precisely this kind of malicious fairy curse that created the poor Fynoderee.
Cursed by an angry Fairy King
"A crowned fairy king seated on a hedgehog" from the Wellcome Collection. Public Domain.
According to a tale recounted in “The Shadow of Ellan Vannin” by J. W. Russell, the Fynoderee was once one of the “Little People”. He was a handsome, young Fay lad, who caught the attention of many of the girls of the fairy kingdom with his deep violet-coloured eyes, dark hair, and flowing beard. He was even 2-foot tall - a giant among the “Little People”. The girls would try to lure him into joining a dance or playing games, but he always refused, remaining on the sidelines, looking melancholy and distant. He was madly in love.
But not with a fairy.
The young fay lad had fallen in love with a human girl in Glen Auldyn. Ever more frequently, he would fly the great distance from his home in Glen Rushen, either on a bat’s back or “on the wings of love” (whatever that means), to see her in the dawn hours. When he arrived at her cottage, he would wait with anxious longing, until the smoke began to curl out of the chimney. Soon after, the door would swing open and reveal the prettiest maiden, who filled the fresh morning air with a cheery song.
Until she spotted the fay lad.
“What! You here again, little man?” she yelled at him. “I want naught to do wi’ ye.”
The lad pleaded with her to listen to his vows of love and his promises of a charmed life, but it was all in vain. Perhaps unsurprisingly, not even resorting to threats of dire misfortune could persuade the girl to listen to him. Every day he turned up, she told him to get lost and never come back.
Downtrodden and disheartened each time, the fairy would return to his home in Glen Rushen. But this humiliation wasn’t sad enough for this lovesick dreamer. It wasn’t long before the other fairies started to notice his frequent absences from the fairy court, especially the King. He started to ask questions about where this boy kept disappearing off to. Famously fickle as the Fay are, they quickly revealed he had been sneaking off to woo a human girl.
The Fairy King was furious. That the boy dared to chase after a mere mortal girl was deemed a crime worthy of a severe, magical punishment.
In a typically capricious act of fairy spite, the King cast a spell that was so ancient that no one has ever known how to reverse it. The lad was transformed into a humanoid beast resembling a satyr. He was now as big as a human man, but covered in long, shaggy hair. All his former beauty was gone. It was a cruel irony that he was now almost human but too hideous to ever find the love of a mortal maiden.
The King then expelled him from the Faerie realms of Glen Rushen and banned him from having any contact with his former friends and family.
Despondent, the poor creature left all he had known behind and began to roam the island at night. But instead of becoming bitter and spiteful, he took his punishment with grace. He now had supernatural strength that he could use to help humans who were in great need.
Soon he became known among the people as the “Fynoderee” and was praised for his good deeds.
The miraculous and foolish good deeds of the Fynoderee in Manx mythology
The house that appeared overnight
Is this where the house the Fynoderee helped to build once stood? View across Tholt-y-Will. Own photo.
Long ago, a gentleman wanted to build a house at Tholt-Y-Will, a beautiful glen above the base of Snaefell Mountain. Of course, he needed plenty of stones, which could be quarried on the beach many miles away.
There was one big block of white stone the gentleman was very keen on for a particular part of the house. But it was so huge and heavy, that not even the whole group of men in the parish could shift it.
That night, the gentleman went to bed sorely disappointed that he couldn’t build his perfect house.
When he rose the next morning and returned to the quarry, he was astonished. The immense white rock and more than a hundred cartloads of quarried stones were gone.
He hurried up to Tholt-Y-Will and discovered that all his building materials had been carried up overnight from the shore to his homestead site on the mountain.
Baffled and overwhelmed with joy, the gentleman together with all the locals knew that the only one capable of such a miraculous feat was the tireless Fynoderee.
From the The Folk-Lore of the Isle of Man by A.W. Moore
The charlatan sheep
How the Fynoderee might have chased the 'little brown sheep' over the mountains. AI image.
One winter night, there was a great snowstorm on Glen Rushen. The Fynoderee had been working there for Juan Mooar (pronounced joo-an moor), cutting his hay and turf, and looking after his sheep.
Troubled by the terrible blizzard outside, Juan got out of bed to attend to his sheep. But the Fynoderee came to the window and told him not to worry because he’d already herded all the sheep into the fold. There was only one little brown one that was giving him more trouble than all the rest.
He said this little scamp had made him chase it two or three times around Barrule (or perhaps even as far as Snaefell Mountain in some accounts), but in the end he managed to bring it in with the rest.
When Juan went out in the morning to check on all his sheep in the barn, he found the little brown troublemaker curled up among them. It wasn’t a sheep at all, but a big brown hare.
Perhaps the Fynoderee was also robbed of either his wits or some decent eyesight by the fairy curse.
From the The Folk-Lore of the Isle of Man by A.W. Moore
The trouble with sieves
How the Fynoderee might have surprised the miller woman. AI image.
Although the Fynoderee was well-meaning, not everyone warmed to his large, beast-like appearance. When he unexpectedly appeared to a lady at the window of her mill at night, she was so frightened that she quickly thought of a way to get rid of him. She asked him away to collect water from the river, and in exchange, she promised to bake him a cake - the more water he brought, the bigger the cake. Then she handed him her sieve.
Eager to please and help humans, he went away with the sieve to collect as much water for her as he could.
Of course, he got very frustrated. He returned to the mill dejected, with only a few droplets on the sieve. The lights were out and the lady had long disappeared.
From the The Folk-Lore of the Isle of Man by A.W. Moore
What is the meaning of the Fynoderee in folklore?
The satyr-like Fynoderee. AI image.
I think the Fynoderee is a sad creature seeking redemption. He was punished and cast out by his own kind for foolishly falling in love with a mortal girl, who didn’t even return his affections. Perhaps he even longed to be part of the human world, but the fairy king’s curse ensured he would always be on the sidelines, never one of them.
His only way to way to be part of any kind of community without anyone being afraid or disgusted by his unclothed body, beast-like features and shaggy hair, was to remain in the shadows as an unseen, nighttime helper to those who would truly appreciate his help.
His sorrow and loneliness, matched with his physical strength could have turned him into a bitter monster. Instead, he chose kindness, never asking for anything in return for his good deeds.
I think his story is about having a noble spirit. No matter who or what you are, your good deeds are what matter.
When he finally decided to leave the mortal world behind and withdraw, those old locals who believed in him knew that he would be sorely missed, and said, “there has not been a merry world since he lost his ground.”
Gone but not forgotten - Fynoderee Gin and where to buy it
Even though the Fynoderee may be gone from the farmers’ fields, he remains on the Isle of Man in spirit… in the form of a delicious dry gin!
Fynoderee gin is available on the Isle of Man from various retailers, or directly from the distillery in person or at Fynoderee.com. It’s also stocked in a handful of shops across the UK. Find out more here where to buy Fynoderee gin*.
*These are not affiliate links, I just really enjoyed this gin 😋.
One of the many delicious, herby gin flavours made by Fynoderee on the Isle of Man. This was the one I tried and enjoyed for many months later back home.
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Further reading
Manx Fairy Tales by Sophia Morrison
The Folk-Lore of the Isle of Man by A.W. Moore
Shadow Land in Ellan Vannin; Or, Folk Tales of the Isle of Man by J. W. Russell
