Tuesday, May 12, 2026 · 天火 · tianmu.org
Irish
Irish myth, heroic saga, fairy belief, literary revival, and folk-religious imagination.
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Texts
Ancient Legends, Mystic Charms, and Superstitions of Ireland — Lady WildeAncient Legends, Mystic Charms, and Superstitions of Ireland — Lady Francesca Speranza Wilde's 1887 compendium of Irish folk belief: the fairy faith, banshees, changelings, the evil eye, charms and cures, death omens, spirit lore, and the living supernatural world of nineteenth-century Ireland.Beside the Fire — Douglas HydeBeside the Fire — Douglas Hyde's collection of Irish Gaelic folk stories, translated and annotated, the founding text of the Irish folklore movement (London, 1910, 2nd ed.).Cuchulain of MuirthemneCuchulain of Muirthemne — the story of the Red Branch champion, the Hound of Ulster, retold by Lady Augusta Gregory with a preface by W. B. Yeats (1902)Cuchulain of Muirthemne — Lady GregoryCuchulain of Muirthemne — Lady Gregory's 1902 retelling of the Ulster Cycle: the deeds of Cú Chulainn, the Táin Bó Cúailnge (Cattle Raid of Cooley), the tragic duel with Ferdiad, the fate of Deirdre and the Sons of Uisna, and the great heroes of the Red Branch.Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry — W.B. YeatsFairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry edited by W.B. Yeats (1888) — Yeats's first published book, an anthology of Irish folklore organized by creature type (fairies, leprechauns, banshees, death omens, witches, giants), drawing on Croker, Lover, Lady Wilde, and oral tradition.Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland — Thomas Crofton CrokerFairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland — Thomas Crofton Croker's 1825 collection: the first systematic record of Irish fairy belief, including the Cluricaune, Banshee, Merrow, Phouka, and the fairy changeling tradition.Gods and Fighting Men — Lady GregoryGods and Fighting Men — Lady Gregory's retelling of the great Irish mythological cycles: the Tuatha Dé Danann and the Fianna, with a preface by W.B. Yeats (1904).Heroic Romances of Ireland — A.H. LeahyHeroic Romances of Ireland — A.H. Leahy's two-volume translation (1905–1906): the major prose and verse tales of the Ulster Cycle — Bricrend's Feast, The Sick-Bed of Cúchulainn, The Wooing of Emer, The Phantom's Frenzy, and other key texts of the Irish heroic tradition.In the Seven Woods — W.B. YeatsW.B. Yeats's 1903 collection — Irish heroic verse and personal lyrics from the Coole Park years; turning point between early symbolism and the mature plain style.In Wicklow and West Kerry — J.M. SyngeIn Wicklow and West Kerry — J.M. Synge's essays on the Irish countryside and its people: vagrants, tinkers, the people of the glens, and the world of West Kerry (1911, posthumous).Irish Druids and Old Irish Religions — James BonwickA scholarly exploration of Druidism and pre-Christian Irish religion, weaving together mythology, anthropology, and folklore.Irish Fairy Tales — James StephensIrish Fairy Tales — James Stephens's retelling of nine tales from the Irish mythological and Fionn cycles, from the age-shifting voyager Tuan mac Cairill to the boyhood of Fionn mac Cumhaill (1920).Irish Witchcraft and Demonology — St. John D. SeymourA survey of witch persecution in Ireland, together with accounts of poltergeists, ghosts, apparitions, and other paranormal phenomena from Irish historical records.Later Poems — W.B. YeatsYeats's own anthology of his poetry 1894–1921 — The Wind Among the Reeds, Easter 1916, The Second Coming, The Wild Swans at Coole, and the complete arc from symbolism to the great late style.Legendary Fictions of the Irish Celts — Patrick KennedyLegendary Fictions of the Irish Celts — Patrick Kennedy's 1866 comprehensive collection of Irish folk tales and legends: fairy tales, hero tales, legends of the dead, ghost stories, religious legends, and the full range of Irish oral narrative tradition from Wexford and Leinster.Legends and Stories of Ireland — Samuel LoverLegends and Stories of Ireland — Samuel Lover's 1831/1834 two-volume collection of Irish folk tales, legends, and sketches: fairy tales, ghost stories, comic narratives, and the full range of Irish popular tradition as recorded in the early nineteenth century.Myths and Folk-lore of Ireland — Jeremiah CurtinMyths and Folk-lore of Ireland — Jeremiah Curtin's 1890 collection of Irish mythological tales: the Tuatha Dé Danann, the Fomorians, hero tales of Fionn and the Fianna, wonder tales, and the Irish mythological cycle recorded from oral tradition.Saints and Wonders — Lady GregorySaints and Wonders — Lady Gregory's retelling of the lives and legends of the Irish saints and the great wonder-voyages, drawn from Irish hagiographic and immrama tradition (1906).Tales of Fairies and the Ghost World — Jeremiah CurtinTales of Fairies and the Ghost World — Jeremiah Curtin's 1895 collection of Irish supernatural tales: fairy encounters, the living dead, ghost stories, and the full range of Irish otherworld belief recorded from Irish-speaking informants in Munster.The Ancient Irish Goddess of War — W.M. HennesseyThe Ancient Irish Goddess of War — W.M. Hennessey's 1870 study of the Morrigan: the triple war-goddess of ancient Ireland — Morrigan, Badb, and Macha — her appearances in the mythological cycle, the Ulster Cycle, and Cú Chulainn's death, with original Irish texts and translations.The Aran Islands — J.M. SyngeThe Aran Islands — J.M. Synge's account of his visits to the three Aran Islands off the Galway coast, 1898–1901: an immersion in the Irish-speaking world that formed the voice behind all his plays (1907).The Candle of Vision — A.E. (George William Russell)The Candle of Vision — twenty mystical essays on Celtic imagination, earth vision, and the nature of spiritual sight, by A.E. (George William Russell, 1918).The Cattle-Raid of Cooley — Joseph DunnThe central epic of the Ulster Cycle — Queen Medb's war to steal the Brown Bull of Cooley; Cuchulain's single-handed defence of Ulster. Translated by Joseph Dunn from the Old Irish, 1914.The Celtic Twilight — W.B. YeatsThe Celtic Twilight by W.B. Yeats (1893, enlarged 1902) — Yeats's collection of encounters with Irish supernatural tradition, narrating conversations with visionaries, accounts of fairy haunts and ghost places, and the poet's own experiences with the unseen world of County Sligo.The Crock of Gold — James StephensThe Crock of Gold — James Stephens's exuberant Irish prose-poem novel, in which two Philosophers, the god Pan, and Angus Óg of the Tuatha Dé Danann contend for the soul of a young peasant woman (1912).The Destruction of Da Derga's Hostel — Whitley StokesThe Destruction of Dá Derga's Hostel (Togail Bruidne Dá Derga) — Whitley Stokes' translation from Old Irish: the tragic tale of Conaire Mór, the sacred king whose violation of his royal taboos leads to the destruction of the hostel and his death — a masterwork of Old Irish narrative art.The Irish Sketch Book — William Makepeace ThackerayThe Irish Sketch Book — William Makepeace Thackeray's 1845 travel memoir of Ireland: Dublin, Wicklow, Killarney, Galway, Limerick, Belfast; social observation, political commentary, and vivid portraits of Irish life in the years before the Great Famine.The King of Ireland's Son — Padraic ColumThe King of Ireland's Son — Padraic Colum's 1916 retelling of Irish folk tales: the quest of the King's son through enchanted forests and fairy palaces, encounters with the Enchanter and the Witch of the Bog, woven into a continuous narrative of Irish folk imagination.The Second Battle of Mag Tuired — Whitley StokesThe Second Battle of Mag Tuired (Cath Maige Tuired) — Whitley Stokes' 1891 translation from Old Irish: the mythological battle in which the Tuatha Dé Danann under Lugh defeat the Fomorians — containing the origins of the gods, the magic of Lugh, and the Morrigan's prophecy.The Voyage of Bran — Kuno MeyerThe Voyage of Bran, Son of Febal — Kuno Meyer's 1895 critical edition and translation of the earliest Irish voyage-tale: the immortal realm of the sea, the Land of Women, and the Mongán cycle.Visions and Beliefs in the West of Ireland — Lady GregoryVisions and Beliefs in the West of Ireland — Lady Gregory's 1920 collection of supernatural lore from County Galway: fairy encounters, the second sight, death omens, ghost stories, cures and herb-women, and the living fairy faith of the west of Ireland.