Berry, who lived his entire life in the West of Ireland, collected these tales from the people of Mayo and Galway. Mainly handed down by word of mouth, they tell of poor communities in a bleak and beautiful countryside where secret societies, man-hun

A collection of folk history from County Mayo.

Here are 125 magnificent folktales collected from anthologies and journals published from the mid-nineteenth century to the present day. Beginning with tales of the ancient times and continuing through the arrival of the saints in Ireland in the fifth century, the periods of war and family, the Literary Revival championed by William Butler Yeats, and the contemporary era, these robust and funny, sorrowful and heroic stories of kings, ghosts, fairies, treasures, enchanted nature, and witchcraft are set in cities, villages, fields, and forests from the wild western coast to the modern streets of Dublin and Belfast. Edited by Henry Glassie With black-and-white illustrations throughout Part of the Pantheon Fairy Tale and Folklore Library

Here is the full story of the Irish immigrants and their decedents whose hard work helped make the West what it is today. Learn about the Irish members of the Donner party, forced to consume human flesh to survive the winter; mountain men like Thomas Fitzpatrick, who discovered the South Pass through the Rockies; Ellen “Nellie” Cashman, who ran boarding houses and bought and sold claims in Alaska, Arizona, and Nevada; and Maggie Hall, who became known as the “whore with a heart of gold.” A fascinating and entertaining look at the history of the American West, this book will surprise many and make every Irish American proud.

Excerpt from Children of the Hills: Tales and Sketches of Western Ireland in the Old Time and the Present Day The messenger, who during this speech had been gasping inarticulate words and groping blindly with his hands, now seized the other's skirt, plucking at it feverishly, while he stammered: For the love of God, and His Mother, let you bring me to the ard-file; my story presses, my friend. It concerns the lives of you all, and my strength fails. The door-keeper seemed impressed by this. He turned pale, and looked curiously at the gaunt figure before him. Then he said. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.