This is the first of two volumes, so rich are the story-mining seams taken from just the few Irish collections I have in my possession at the moment. These first stories have been taken from around one hundred and forty Irish tales, themselves taken from pretty well every tradition, including classic tales of Irish legend, fairy and folk beliefs, and tales in the vernacular, oral tradition.
For the most part these tales are as collected by Victorian and Edwardian enthusiasts, but there are one or two tales where I have amended the original to suit modern language tastes and norms.
There are also a few stories that clearly share a common root, and appear similar at first reading, but there always seem to be sufficient and interesting differences to keep the reader’s attention.
I hope you enjoy this ever-growing collection from a grand British and Irish heritage. These Irish tales have taken a lot of work to collect and sift and prepare, but as ever, I’ve loved putting this collection together.
Inhoudsopgave
PREFACE
A LEGEND OF KNOCKMANY
ANDREW COFFEY
BEWITCHED BUTTER
CLOUGH NA CUDDY
CONALL YELLOWCLAW
CUCHULAIN OF MUIRTHEMNE
DIARMID BAWN, THE PIPER
DONALD AND HIS NEIGHBOURS
FAIR, BROWN AND TREMBLING
FAR DARRIG IN DONEGAL
FIOR USGA
GOLD AND SILVER TREE
GULEESH
HOOKEDY-CROOKEDY
JACK AND HIS MASTER
KING IUBDAN AND KING FERGUS
KING O’TOOLE AND ST KEVIN
LAWN DYARRIG AND THE KNIGHT OF TERRIBLE VALLEY
LEGEND OF BOTTLE HILL
LOUGH LEAGH
MASTER AND MAN
MORRAHA
MUNACHAR AND MANACHAR
NED SHEEHY’S EXCUSE
OWNEY AND OWNEY-NA-PEAK
RENT-DAY
TEIG O’KANE AND THE CORPSE
THE ADVENTURES OF CIAD, SON OF THE KING OF NORWAY
THE AMADAN OF THE DOUGH
THE BANSHEE OF THE MAC CARTHYS
THE BIRTH OF BRAN
THE BOYHOOD OF FION
THE BREWERY OF EGGSHELLS
THE CARVING OF MAC DATHO’S BOAR
THE COUNTESS KATHLEEN O’SHEA
THE DEMON CAT
THE ENCHANTED CAVE OF CESH CORRAN
THE ENCHANTMENT OF GEAROIDH IARLA
THE FAIRY GREYHOUND
THE FATE OF FRANK M’KENNA
THE FIELD OF BOLIAUNS
THE GOOD WOMAN
THE HAUGHTY PRINCESS
THE HEADLESS HORSEMAN
THE HILL-MAN AND THE HOUSEWIFE
THE HORNED WOMEN
THE JACKDAW
THE KING OF THE BLACK DESERT
THE LAD WITH THE GOAT-SKIN
THE LAZY BEAUTY AND HER AUNTS
THE LEGEND OF KNOCKFIERNA
THE LEGEND OF KNOCKSHEGOWNA
THE LEGEND OF O’DONOGHUE
THE LITTLE WEAVER OF DULEEK GATE
THE MAD PUDDING OF BALLYBOULTEEN
THE PLAISHAM
THE PURSUIT OF THE GILLA DACKER
THE QUEST OF THE SONS OF TURENN
THE RED PONY
THE SECRET OF LABRA
THE SNOW, THE CROW, AND THE BLOOD
THE SPIRIT HORSE
THE STORY OF DEIRDRE
THE STORY OF THE CHILDREN OF LIR
THE STORYTELLER AT FAULT
THE THREE CROWNS
THE THREE WISHES
THE VENGEANCE OF MESGEDRA
THE WITCHES’ EXCURSION
THE WONDERFUL TUNE
THE WOOING OF BECFOLA
HISTORICAL NOTES
ABOUT THE EDITOR
Over de auteur
I was born in 1962 into a predominantly sporting household – Dad being a good footballer, playing senior amateur and lower league professional football in England, as well as running a series of private businesses in partnership with mum, herself an accomplished and medal winning dancer.I obtained a degree in History from Leeds University before wandering rather haphazardly into the emerging world of business computing in the late nineteen-eighties.
A little like my sporting father, I followed a succession of amateur writing paths alongside my career in technology, including working as a freelance journalist and book reviewer, my one claim to fame being a by-line in a national newspaper in the UK, The Sunday People.
I also spent 10 years treading the boards, appearing all over the south of the UK in pantos and plays, in village halls and occasionally on the stage of a professional theatre or two.
Following the sporting theme, and a while after I hung up my own boots, I worked on live TV broadcasts for the BBC, ITV, TVNZ, Euro Sport and others as a rugby ‘Stato’, covering Heineken Cups, Six Nations, IRB World Sevens and IRB World Cups in the late ’90’s and early ’00’s.
I try to combine my love of storytelling with a passion for information technology, and am currently Vice President – Technology with a major UK Fin Tech company.