The Irish legend of The Children of Lir

In May 2011, Queen Elizabeth II of England visited the Republic of Ireland. While there she visited the Garden of Remembrance in Dublin
where a statue of four swans flying upwards away from four people stands at the back of the garden. While the statue which was created
by Oisin Kelly) symbolises an nearly over 900 year struggle against the British and the rebirth of an independent Ireland, the statue is a piece
of art dedicated to an Irish legend.
Long ago, there was a king named Lir who married a woman named Aofie so his kids could have a new mother after their birth mother died. The children Lir had were Fionnuala who was the only daughter Lir and his first wife Aoibh had alongside three sons Aodh and twins Fiachra and Conn. However, Aofie did not like her stepchildren and the attention Lir gave them and she took them to a lake called Lough Derravaragh where she turned them into swans. She instructed them to stay in Derravaragh for 300 years, another 300 years on the Sea of Moyle and one more set of 300 years on Inish Glora's waters. Aofie also told them that the spell could only be broken by a Christian church bell.
Upset and enraged, Lir banished Aofie from the kingdom and for the rest of his life he would spend time at the Lough Derravaragh talking to his children-turned swans and listened to them sing.
During their time at the sea of Moyle (a body of water between Ireland and Scotland) the children of Lir found the water very cold and had grown old and tired by the time they flew to Inish Glora where it was warmer and there was lots of food. One morning, they heard a Christian church bell ring and swam to the shore where they were greeted by a monk named Caomhog who watched in shock as the swans transformed into elderly nomads right in front of him.
After he baptised them, the children of Lir died of old age and Caomhog had them buried in one grave. That night, Caomhog dreamt that he saw four children flying through the clouds and knew that Lir, Aoibh and their children were now reunited.
This beautiful legend forms the basis for the Tchaikovsky ballet Swan Lake albeit with one girl named Odette who is cursed with transforming into a swan during daylight and returning to her human form at night.