Moll MacTíre

## Móll MacTíre

* Human
* Wolf

**Móll MacTíre** is the overarching protagonist of *Wolfwalkers*. She is a wolfwalker, leader of the Kilkenny wolf pack and Mebh's widowed mother. Her disappearance drives Mebh to find her and draws Robyn into the quest.

## History

### Early life

The history of Móll is never shown or discussed but we know that before the arrival of Bill and Robyn Goodfellowe, she lived in the woods with her daughter outside the town Kilkenny. It's unclear if Móll was married earlier in her life but having a daughter suggests she did have a mate of some kind. The presence of a broken down gypsy wagon in front of the wolf's den suggests that she traveled to Kilkenny a long time ago and was living peacefully in the forest with her wolfpack. When the town began expanding into the woods on the orders of the Lord Protector to increase the amount of farmland, Móll took issue with their intrusion and used her wolfpack to frighten and intimidate the wood-cutters who were destroying the forest.

## Personality

Móll is a wise and mysterious woman, kind and compassionate, as seen when she helps Seán Óg. She was using her wolfpack to frighten and intimidate the wood-cutters to chase them off but when Seán stands his ground and fights, the wolves inflict some deep cuts on his chest. Móll takes pity on him and comes out of the woods to heal his wounds and silently tells him to return home.

She seems to be a caring and concerned mother, with a strong relationship with her daughter, Mebh. So much so that she would rather Mebh to stay safe and leave her behind.

She also seems to be merciful, as shown when she aids Seán and forgives Bill Goodfellowe for shooting her in wolf form even kindly asking him to stay and be recognized as a part of the pack.

## Physical Appearance

Móll is a tall and stout 33 year old woman with a wild and mysterious beauty. She has a head of large and voluminous long ginger red hair, green eyes with no apparent brows, three dots tattooed below each eye, and she wears a purple and green dress along with golden earrings and a purple shawl around her shoulders held together by a golden clasp. Like Mebh, Móll walks barefoot resulting her feet being very dirty.

As a wolf, she is much, much larger than a normal wolf with ginger brown fur, darker around her neck, on her head, and her tail, and has the same green eyes and dot markings below them as in her human form.

## Role in the Film

Her first appearance is when Seán Óg is cutting down trees with his fellow woodcutters and the wolves from the forest attack. His escape is cut off by the wolves and he stands his ground to fight but the axe he holds in defense was snapped in half in a wolf’s jaws. Sean Og receives two deep slashes on his chest before Móll stops them from hurting him further.

She called the wolves back to her side then walked over to the injured woodcutter carrying Mebh. With her help, she uses her healing powers undo the damage done by the wolves then sends him back toward Kilkenny. Móll flees back into the forest as the Lord Protector's soldiers storm out of the city. At some point, Móll decides it's time to move away from Kilkenny's destruction of the forest and leaves her human body in the wolf den under Mebh's watch while her wolf form goes out to find a new place for the wolfpack to live. Although she promises to be back soon, Móll is captured in her wolf form and remains caged inside Kilkenny Castle leaving Mebh to worry why she still hasn't returned.

Robyn, after she was bitten by Mebh, was sent to work in the scullery and hears a faint voice calling her from within the Lord Protector’s chamber. Before she can investigate fully, Robyn is ushered out by an older maid since it is forbidden to be in there. Later that night Robyn returns to town after experiencing her first night as a Wolfwalker, she catches Móll’s scent and follows it back toward the castle narrowly avoiding being injured by her father and the town guards who are alarmed that a wolf is inside the city.

Robyn finds Móll locked in a big cage in the Lord Protector’s chamber who questions how Robyn came to be a Wolfwalker. Knowing that Mebh was the only one who could have done it she frantically asks if that wolf is still nearby. Robyn realizes this is Mebh's mother and she tells Móll that her daughter is alright but Móll is distressed to learn she is still in the area. While Robyn tries to figure out how to free Móll, she begs for Robyn to flee, return to her body and tell Mebh to get away to safety. Their conversation is interrupted by the Lord Protector who enters the chambers and discovers that Robyn is there too. She is forced to flee when the Lord Protector starts shooting at her even as Móll again yells for Mebh to lead the pack to safety.

The following day Móll is presented to the townspeople muzzled, caged and chained. When a torch is used to silence her growling protests, an enraged Mebh storms the stage. Móll breaks free from her muzzle when Bill tries to restrain her daughter, biting him on the arm. Móll is forced back into the cage as Mebh flees promising to bring the back the wolves to rescue her mother.

As Móll has no further value to him, the Lord Protector orders Bill to kill her and turns his attention to preparing to wage war on the wolves. Robyn stands in the way of her father’s crossbow and frees Móll from the cage. With Robyn on her back, she dodges several attempts to stop them before jumping the walls of Kilkenny where she arrives just in time to stop Mebh who had rallied the pack at the edge of the forest. Unfortunately, their happy reunion is short lived as Bill arrives and, believing his daughter to be in danger because of the monstrous wolf beside her, he shoots Móll in the chest. Her wolf form turns into a spirit that returns to her human form in the den. Mebh does her best to heal her mother’s critical injury on her own as Robyn fights the army with the pack.

Mebh lacks the strength to heal such a severe wound by herself and it takes the combined efforts of Robyn, Mebh, Bill in wolf form, and the entire pack to finally heal her injury. Móll rubs noses with her daughter upon waking up in human form. Despite being shot by Bill, she asks him to stay and join their pack. By the epilogue, all four Wolfwalkers are seen in the restored gypsy wagon traveling with the wolf pack to find a new home. Bill appears to have been forgiven for shooting Móll earlier probably because she realizes he was only defending his child as well as her feeling responsible for making him a Wolfwalker. In their final scene together, Bill is shown putting a flower in Móll's hair and sharing a smile with her suggesting that some feelings of affection have grown between the two.

## Abilities:

In the film Móll displays abilities from two sources. One is from the blessing/curse of being a Wolfwalker, the other is because she came from an ancient pagan tribe with skills commonly seen in druidic magic.

### As a Wolfwalker

* **Transformation** : When she's asleep, Móll’s spirit is released from her body and physically assumes the form of a wolf. If she bites someone in her wolf form, they will become a Wolfwalker too.
* **Speed** : Móll can run at greater speed in her wolf form and was able to leap up the walls of the castle.
* **Increased Smell and Hearing** : In her wolf form, Móll can see and smell smells much better than her human self. Her hearing is also superior, being able to hear noises and vibrations at several meters around her. She was able to detect Robyn was in the chamber with her.
* **Command Of Wolves:**Wolfwalkers are able to howl and they eyes of nearby wolves will glow and they will run to their side and they are able to command them as needed.

### As a Druid

* **Healing** : Móll comes from an ancient pagan tribe that had the power to heal. Becoming a Wolfwalker enhances this ability as she can draw strength from the wolf pack to heal wounds faster.
* **Control of Plants**:Móll enchanted the plants at the entrance to the wolf den to twine together to form a nearly impassable barrier. The enchantment was cast so that if any creature identified as a "wolf" approached, the plants would automatically unfold and allow free passage into the den. When Móll is critically wounded and returns to the wolf den, the plant enchantment is broken and the plants die as her spirt form passes over them.
* **Control of Weather:** A great deal of magical energy was summoned when Mebh, Robyn, Bill and the wolfpack were working to heal Móll’s injury. Their focus on healing also summoned a rain storm to put out the fires in the forest and allow it to start healing.

## Relationships

### Mebh Óg MacTíre

Mebh is Móll’s daughter and the only other WolfWalker. She would rather sacrifice her freedom to keep her daughter safe and alive, by telling Robyn that Mebh needs to leave with the Wolves, without her. They later reunite as her life is saved by Mebh, Robyn, Bill, and the rest of the Pack.

### Robyn Goodfellowe

Móll first encounters Robin when she senses her presence outside the Lord Protector's chambers and calling to her. They have a stronger meeting when she returns in wolf form and Móll learns that Robyn knows Mebh and she tells Robyn to tell Mebh to leave the area and get the pack to safety. They met again while she is in the cage on display in the town square where Robyn prevents her father from killing her and helps her escape the city. She's present when Mebh finally reunites with her mother who senses the falling out the two had back in the city and encourages her daughter to make amends. Finally, at the climax of the story, Robyn helps Mebh heal her mother's near fatal wound resulting in the four Wolfwalkers Móll, Mebh, Robyn and Bill settling down as a pack.

### Bill Goodfellowe

Bill's main interaction with Móll is when she is in her wolf form, primarily on the stage where the Lord Protector was trying to demonstrate she had been tamed. Mebh interrupts and tries to free her. When Bill manages to grapple Mebh to the ground and tries to collar her, Móll becomes very defensive of her daughter and bites Bill. Later, after the Lord Protector is defeated, Móll invites Bill in wolf form to stay and join the pack. By the epilogue, Bill appears to have been forgiven for shooting Móll. In their final scene together, Bill is shown putting a flower in Móll's hair and the two share a smile suggesting that some feelings of affection have grown between the two.

### Wolves

Móll treats the Wolves like a family and functions as the pack alpha to protect them from the Town’s People. The Wolves also answer her call like Mebh and seem to be happy to see her reunite with them.

### Lord Protector

He doesn't know Móll as anything other than a very large wolf that needs to be tamed. He attempted to show the population of the town that she was no longer a threat, but Mebh and Robyn's interference ruins his plan. As soon as she was no longer useful to him, he orders Bill to kill the wild beast and he last sees her escaping from the city with Robyn on her back.

## Books

* *The Art of Wolfwalkers*
* *WolfWalkers: The Graphic Novel*

## Trivia

* Móll may be an homage to the Irish mythology figure known as **The Morrígan** who often turns into a giant red wolf.
* "MacTíre" is an old Irish Gaelic word for "wolf", which means "son of the land."

## Gallery

The **Wolfwalkers Wiki** has a collection of images related to ***Moll MacTíre/Gallery***.

## Quotes

*“Stay please. You’re one of us now.”*

”*Girl… Girl..”*

*”Only another WolfWalker can make another. When did it happen to you? Where? Is the wolf that bit you near? Is she alive? Is she alright? Where is Mebh?”*

*”You’ll be killed like this! Listen girl, get back to your human body right away!”*

*”You mean she’s still here in the woods? No, no! She must go!”*

*”She shouldn’t h-have bitten you! Get Mebh and leave! It’s not safe for our kind.”*

*”She must not come for me. She must not wait for me. She should run, and so should you girl. Now!”*

## References

1. ↑ The Art of Wolfwalkers by Charles Solomon, page 17