Myths and Folk Tales of Ireland

by Jeremiah Curtin

This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

Genres: Mythology, Irish Literature, Fairy Tales, Fantasy, Short Stories, Fiction, Folklore

232 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1890

Reviews

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stories are indeed fantastic, but many have a striking resemblance to other folktales, not just from across Europe, but also to each other. Another strange aspect of the stories is the language. The way they are written often involves the use of language I was not familiar with. I don't know if this was done to make them sound outdated, but sometimes it could be difficult to deduce the meaning and it would have taken nothing away from the stories themselves if they were written more clearly.

[Todd Howell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad but a lot of redundancy. Like 3 of the same exact stories with minor differences.

[KBurns]

For lit252

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5

[Maura · Rating 4 out of 5]

i've been reading a tale or two of this every night before going to sleep - they make very good bedtime stories!

these folk tales are a bit different from those from the continent (which i'm more used to). there's no obvious (to me) "moral" of the story. Fin, the big hero, seems to be fairly ineffectual when asked to use his brain or make a decision -- he's always trying to kill off servants that he likes and respects, because one of his men (obviously jealous of EVERYONE) wants him to. way to go, king of Ireland. little vignettes get dropped into the middle of the story that seem to have no connection or bearing on the rest of it -- it's like the storyteller had a good idea that he had to use RIGHT NOW or it would disappear forever. oh, and the rule of three? completely ignored here. repeat patterns as many times as you want -- four, five, even more!

all that said, it was nice to stretch my expectations a little. a big thumbs-up here.

[Nigel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fairy tales, or rather fairy stories, if that's a distinction meaningful outside of my own head, about sons and daughters and Fionn, who is a son, and the things they do, fighting giants, playing games of chance and always losing the third, stealing clothes from magician's daughters who change into swans, fighting the armies of the king of Spain, outwitting hags, getting a hell of a lot of wise and/or magical help to see them through their adventures, marrying up and making out like bandits. The repetitions and similarities grate at first, but soon the tales work their magic and you feel the rhythm and the cadences, the comfort of the familiar patterns and things that aren't so much repeated as shared. Alien to a modern audience, not really prose and certainly not poetry, artifacts of a different time and yet the very stuff our dreams are made of.

[Isabella · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was interesting in the beginning and got slow as it progressed. The contents of the book had similarities with Cinderella and other everyday story tales. Some of the stories were common and copied each other with different characters, so you kind of know what happens next. This book of forgotten Irish folk lore was a bit confusing, with it's old-time language, but otherwise, it was a great read!

[Ariel · Rating 4 out of 5]

There were some really interesting cultural notes in the introduction. It's also interesting to note the similarities of some of the stories between popular ones I read before like Cinderella, The Traveling Companion, and King Arthur. Having also read some stuff before on Irish literature and culture, it was pretty awesome reading it for myself rather than just references to the stories and themes.

[A. Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting collection of stories, and worth reading, but don't come to Jeremiah Curtin expecting an Irish cadence or tone to the stories. He is not a cultural insider, but a visitor to the island.

[A.R. Jarvis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an awesome book of Irish tales, including some typical fairy tales, and some stories based off the Fin McCool (however that's spelled) cycle. They didn't seem to be the...uh...canon stories for McCool, but they were pretty fun to read, if a bit repetitious in parts.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ireland

This book has alot of short stories about kings of Erin, the sons and daughters, giants, special swords, cloaks that help when needed, castles, humans transformed into animals.

[Jennifer Ware · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good fun for those researching thier Irish heritage.

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bloody odd, that was.

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the tales were more interesting than others. Overall, this was a light, easy read. I recommend to anyone that likes folk tales and myths.

[Karen Waller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful folk tales

Well told. Beware if you don't like stories written in old English or like an Irishman might tell it. I would recommend it