Irish Myths and Legends

by Lady Gregory

A reproduction of the author's classic retelling of the heroic tales of Celtic mythology, Gods and Fighting Men, includes the original preface by poet William Butler Yeats and a pronunciation guide to Gaelic names and places.

Genres: Mythology, Ireland, Folklore, Irish Literature, Fiction, Fantasy, Historical Fiction

446 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1904

About the author

Irish playwright Lady Isabella Augusta Persse Gregory wrote a number of short plays, including Spreading the News (1904) for the Abbey theater, which she founded and directed from 1904 to 1928.

This Irish dramatist and folklorist with William Butler Yeats and other persons co-founded the Irish literary theatre and wrote numerous short works for both companies. Lady Gregory produced a number of books retelling stories taken from Irish mythology.

Reviews

[Marko Vasić · Rating 5 out of 5]

As the role of Lady Charlotte Guest was pivotal for the Welsh legends and myths to be assembled in The Mabinogion, thus Lady Augusta Gregory (along with W. B. Yeats) was paramount for Irish myths and legends to be translated and collected into a coherent volume(s). It is well known from myriad textbooks regarding the Irish mythology that its core is, according to the matter, divided into three major cycles: divine (The Mythological cycle), heroic (The Ulster cycle with Cú Chulainn as a hero of the tribe and a central figure) and The Fenian. The fourth cycle – The Historical was established afterwards. Being quite extensive and incoherent, the legendary, sacred book Lebor Gabála Érenn: The Book of the Taking of Ireland, dated from XI century, scribed by Christian clergymen, ought to be translated and properly redacted as would be manageable to a wider population of the readers, albeit is marked as pseudo-history of Ireland and mere amanuensis. Lady Augusta Gregory managed that. Therefore, the “Irish Myths and Legends” is an comprehensive and well organised chrestomathy comprised of The Mythological and The Fenian cycles. The first one explains the arrival of the six tribes into Ireland (Cessair, Partholon, Nemed and Fir Bolgs), their clashes and the final supremacy of the Tuatha de Danan, the tribe of the goddess Dana, from which originated all the deities known to the written part of the Celtic mythology (for archaeological data concerning the deities are a bit different): Dagda, Oengus, Lugh, Lir, Manannan mac Lir, Morigna, Macha etc. The second part of the book regarding the Fenian cycle is organised into eleven chapters, and each chapter is of different theme concerning the Finn mac Cumhal and his people of the Fianna tribe – his son Oisin, this hounds Bran and Sceolan and his companions – Conan the bald, Caoilte, Osgar etc. This part is of fantastic, surreal and unnatural occurrences in which the Fianna heroes were involved, where the gods are meddled as well and the other beings from the Sídh realms. The most tragic saga and my favourite of the entire Fenian cycle is the chapter of Diarmuid and Grania. Tragic, as well, is the very end of the Fianna tribe and the obvious involvement of the Christianity in the myths, for the uttermost chapter is of the return of Oissing, the son of Finn from Tír na nÓg – the Land of Eternal Youth, one of the Sídh realm and his argumentation with St Patrick that persuaded him to receive the word of the God. Regardless all this “Christianity” matter, I consider this manuscripts as a valuable gem of the Celtic lore, and combined with archaeological records concerning Celtic religion, rituals and the remains of the shrines, relics and the traces of the possible Celtic deities carved in stone or hewed in stone, it complements the impression and the cognition of the Celts and their marvellous lore.

[JD Waggy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll say this for this little morsel--it does make me want to track down the book from which it was clipped, Gods and Fighting Men by Lady Gregory.
In this incarnation, though, I see only a teasing appetizer. The four stories of the stalwart Fianna are presented with zero context, so it felt a little like reading old children's classics--you feel sure there must be more explanation to be had somewhere, because the pieces are just a hair off of fitting.
And while I appreciate the inclusion of photos of Ireland, I do wish their color and placement had been better thought out. As to placement, it is one of my editorial pet peeves when an inserted photo cuts across a sentence--and most of these do so. I realize that sometimes it can't be avoided, but I believe only one or two managed to find a page that wasn't in the middle of a thought. Also, all the pictures are in black and white, which cheats the magnificently surreal nature of Ireland. I've been there; the colors can be so intense it feels unreal, and to take those away makes for some rather dull and unimpressive images.
I'll let you know if the expanded version is better, but this seems of best use occupying time waiting on line at the bookstore check-out. Even if it does have a rather lovely ribbon bookmark attached.

[Nikki · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5

I wish I could say I enjoyed this more, especially given my Irish ancestry and my love of Ireland, but I just could not enjoy this one. The book is translated into English which at times is blatantly clear as the sentence structures and word choices are odd. The numerous difficult names, with no real substance to the characters, made it nearly impossible to follow the action/story appropriately. There is also much "son of " inclusions, which just bog down the book all the more. For such a short book it was rather packed with mythology and with no true background to what they are speaking of you become lost rather quickly. Perhaps the full-length book these passages come from are more informative and enjoyable, but this preview was not.

[R.L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

English review below the Greek one...

ISBN 9780762404513
Αυτό το βιβλίο είναι μία έκδοση μινιατούρα με διαστάσεις μικρότερες από 3.5Χ3 εκατοστά (!) και περίπου 120 σελίδες, κάποιες εκ των οποίων φωτογραφίες. Περιέχει συνοπτικά την εισαγωγή του Yeats για το κλασσικό βιβλίο της Lady Gregory, Gods and Fighting Men και ουσιαστικά είναι μία περίληψη του συγκεκριμένου βιβλίου.

Η Ιρλανδική Μυθολογία είναι πάντα ενδιαφέρουσα και αυτό το βιβλιαράκι ήταν ένα πολύ γρήγορο ανάγνωσμα, ωστόσο εκ των πραγμάτων είναι τόσο περιληπτικό που ο αναγνώστης δεν γίνεται πολύ σοφότερος για το αντικείμενο...


This is a tiny book featuring a very abridged version of Lady Gregory's original book. Obviously you can't fit the content of a 450+ pages' book into 120 pages of a 3.5X3 CM book (some pages been photos too!) and lots of things were missing, but it serves as a decent read to pass some time and Irish Mythology is always interesting.

[Nicola · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read.

Fiction: fantasy, mythology, folklore, myths, legends, cultural, reference, Irish, Celtic, European Literature

Irish Myths and Legends
by Lady Augusta Gregory

Combining Gregory's works GODS AND FIGHTING MEN and CUCHULAIN OF MUIRTHEMNE. Gregory retells the myths and legends of the ancient Celts and reveals the roots of Ireland's literary tradition. Contains an index of characters and a pronunciation key to Gaelic names and locations.

[T P Kennedy · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a beautiful edition of what's a second rate retelling of some of the classic Irish myths. It's an odd book - she retells the Fenian cycle in its entirety but only dips into the Ulster cycle. These are competent, pedestrian accounts of the classic tales. The book is marred by a touches of Kiltarten, stage Irish dialogue. On the other hand Jillian Tamaki's illustrations are stunning and worthy of a greater work.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good stuff. Not your straightforward, easily untangleable mythology like the Greeks with a pantheon of gods gathering in the one place. Lady Gregory's compilation is a head-stealing romp of fights and cows and great feats and an eye-gouging array of letters making up each name that graces the page.

[Don · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a neat little pocket book. Enjoyed the story. It was a full tale from start to finish, just broken into chapters with different names. Told the story of The Great Ones and their fight against the outsiders and their adventures.

[Peter Hession · Rating 2 out of 5]

As an Irish I wanted to like this. Unfortunately, I found it hard to get along with. Perhaps of its origins in the oral culture, it was repetitive. None of the stories developed much beyond the first gem of an idea.

[Ash C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautifully written but it can be hard to understand and follow

[Ben Weaver · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's no odyssey

[cris · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5
ireland is a land i hold dear to my heart. i enjoyed certain passages of this book, and found a couple characters interesting. however, most of the battle passages i found a bit boring.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part One of this book details many little stories with the names of countless characters that are emphasized with incredible importance only to never be mentioned again, but I appreciate them nonetheless. These little stories really capture the voice of folklore in the most local sense, stories I'd expect told before a fire at night or even a bedside tale with lessons to be learned. I have some favorites there, most notably about the children of Lir being cursed into swans with the most beautiful birdsong, but it really isn't until Part Two that I get really invested in the chronicles of Finn and the saga of the Fianna.

Every named character in these stories is unique, and Lady Gregory does an amazing job re-crafting dozens of translated manuscripts from various academic and traditional sources from over the span of several hundred years into a coherent tale for someone as clueless about Irish myth as me to follow along and understand. The language used is dense and strange as I believe it follows the way these stories were transcribed in Irish, but it doesn't fail to deliver with scenes of ridiculously comedic shenanigans as much as gut punching drama. Among my favorite chapters include the frustrating tale of Diarmuid and Grania, and the arguments between Oisin and St. Patrick- the former being a bit too on the nose story of a man being blessed to be too attractive for his own good, and the latter giving voice to the bold opposition of the arrival of Christanity to Ireland. A definite must-read for anyone wanting to dive into Irish myth as it is just as interesting as the more famously known Greek and Norse myth.

[Michele · Rating 3 out of 5]

There seems to be some confusion as this book has a miniature version. I would like to make it clear that I read the full version, in the larger hardcover size. Having said that, I wish I could say I enjoyed this more, but I couldn't. The book is translated into English which at times is blatantly clear and other times the sentence structures and word choices seem odd. There are numerous difficult names, no real substance to the characters, and this made it nearly impossible to follow the action/story appropriately.

[Dione Sage · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book by accident, however I enjoyed this little pocket gem. It obviously is not a huge book so took hardly any time to read but I was able to pass time with snipits of Irish Myths and Legends on a recent trip. It has made me want to learn more. The Great Fight was my favorite out of this book.

[Paula Soper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Could I love my Irish myth class reading this book any more? I don't think so!

[Carl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent

[Shell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cool.

[Donal Walsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reminds me of reading this as a child. Fantastic- literally.