The text of the tales themselves has been reproduced from the Parlour Library edition, Simms & M'Intyre, London, 1851. Gerald Griffin's "Introduction" and "Conclusion" have been reprinted from the first edition of the work, published by Sauders & Otley Ltd., London, 1829 (3 volumes). The present reprinting, therefore, offers in a single volume the work substantially as it appeared in its original three-volume form. It makes available once again two of Gerald Griffin's most characteristic tales which were originally published just after his great success with his most celebrated novel, The Collegians. Dr John Cronin, Senior Lecturer in English at the Queen's University, Belfast, is the author of Sommerville and Ross, Bucknell University Press, 1972. his Gerald Griffin 1803-1840: A Critical Biography will be published in 1978 by the Cambridge University Press.