Herein are 14 Popular Tales collected from the people of Ireland and retold by D R McAnally. Here are tales of ghosts, giants, pookas, demons, leprechawns, banshees, fairies, witches, widows, old maids, and other marvels of the emerald isle. Celtic lore holds a wealth of colorful characters which extend far beyond the island’s famed leprechauns. Celtic folklore not only preserves the island’s cultural history, but is also richly entertaining, especially to young minds. This volume is infused with flavours that are uniquely Celtic. Celtic folklore overflows with vivid stories that fire the imagination. In Jacobs’ own words, “The Celts went forth to battle, but they always fell. Yet the captive Celt has enslaved his captor in the realm of imagination.” In this gathering of traditional folk tales brings together the best of the Emerald Isle's fabled dwellers. Tales like Taming the Pooka, About The Fairies, The Enchanted Isle, the Banshee, The Henpecked Giant, and, of course, The Leprechaun and more. All weave their spellbinding magic in the classic tradition of Irish storytelling in the pages of this enchanting treasury. Illustrated by H R Heaton with 65 beautiful pen-and-ink drawings plus the sheet music to a few Celtic folk songs which brings a new life to these wonderful stories. TAGS: Irish Wonder Tales, folklore, fairy tales, myths, legends, children’s stories, bedtime stories, Celtic, Irish, Ireland, Emerald Isle, popular tales, celtic folklore, The Seven Kings Of Athenry, Taming The Pooka, The Sexton Of Cashel, Satan's Cloven Hoof, The Enchanted Island, How The Lakes Were Made, About The Fairies, The Banshee, The Round Towers, The Police, The Leprechawn, The Henpecked Giant, Satan As A Sculptor, The Defeat Of The Widows

Brigit ceased to sing, and there was silence for a little space in Tir-na-Moe. Then Angus said: "Strange are the words of your song, and strange the music: it swept me down steeps of air--down--down--always further down. Tir-na-Moe was like a dream half-remembered. I felt the breath of strange worlds on my face, and always your song grew louder and louder, but you were not singing it. Who was singing it?" "The Earth was singing it." "The Earth!" said the Dagda. "Is not the Earth in the pit of chaos? Who has ever looked into that pit or stayed to listen where there is neither silence nor song? " "O Shepherd of the Star-Flocks, I have stayed to listen. I have shuddered in the darkness that is round the Earth. I have seen the black hissing waters and the monsters that devour each other--I have looked into the groping writhing adder-pit of hell." The light that pulsed about the De Danaan lords grew troubled at the thought of that pit, and they cried out: "Tell us no more about the Earth, O Flame of the Two Eternities, and let the thought of it slip from yourself as a dream slips from the memory." "O Silver Branches that no Sorrow has Shaken," said Brigit, "hear one thing more! The Earth wails all night because it has dreamed of beauty."

This is a critical survey of the fiction and non-fiction written in Ireland during the key years between 1880 and 1920, or what has become known as the Irish Literary Renaissance. The book considers both the prose and the social and cultural forces working through it.