Irish Stories and Folklore: A Collection of Thirty-Six Classic Tales

by Stephen Vincent Brennan (Editor)

Ireland's Finest Writers Together in an Entertaining and Humorous Anthology

For a comparatively small country, Ireland’s contributions to the world of literature have been enormous. From the older tradition, Irish writers have inherited a sense of wonder in the face of nature, a narrative style that tends toward the deliberately exaggerated or absurd, and a keen sense of the power of satire. These themes carry through the entire canon of Irish literature, up until modern times. Stephen Brennan brings us this collection of classic stories, essays, and fairytales that inform the past and therefore, the present, of our most beloved fiction.

In Irish Stories and Folklore , the reader can revisit old favorites, like Oscar Wilde's short story "The Canterville Ghost," and discover lesser-known treasures such as "The Orange Man, or the Honest Boy and the Thief" by Maria Edgeworth. The imaginative stories contained in this volume are sure to engage the mind and delight readers looking to enhance their knowledge of the rich history of Ireland.

Genres: Fantasy, Mythology, Short Stories, Irish Literature, Ireland, Folklore, Research

312 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2016

About the author

Stephen Brennan is the co-author of The Adventurous Boy's Handbook and The Adventurous Girl's Handbook, and editor of The Best Pirate Stories Ever Told and The Best Sailing Stories Ever Told. He has worked as a circus clown, teacher, cabaret artist, actor, director, shepherd, and playwright. He lives in New York City and Woodstock, New York.

Reviews

[Kellie O'Connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐ rating from me.

This was a fun book that I really enjoyed. Some stories I heard before, such as the Canterville Ghost and others were new to me. In one story called The Keening Woman, I found a passage that described how my Dad told us Irish myths and tales. It's a sweet memory:

" He was a sweet storyteller. It's often I'd think that there was music in his voice; a low, deep music like that in the bass of the organ in Tuam Cathedral. It's hard not to listen to my Father." 💚🎶🎶

I enjoyed learning about the Fomor, they are giants, The Isle Of Sheep and Jasconius the giant sea creature!! Jasconius was so big that sailors often mistook him for an island!! If he liked the sailors, he let them stay until they found there destination, if he didn't like them...well, he hurled them into the sea 😂!!


You don't need to be Irish to enjoy this book, anyone could have a wonderful time reading these stories. I highly recommend this fun book and you'll enjoy it too!! 💚🍀☘️

Enjoy and Happy Reading 💫✨💚☘️🍀

[Lemar · Rating 5 out of 5]

These stories are essential, they bridge the gap, connecting us to earlier times in a way no history alone could.
“The Pursuit of Gilla Daker” by Patrick Weston, “The Enchanted Cave of Cesh Corran” by James Stephens, these are gems new to me. The collection has morality tales to frighten even the worst child onto the straight road, powerful poetry by Yeats and some hilarious inclusive humor by Jonathan Swift and one called “An Essay On The Noble Science Of Self-Justification” by Maria Edgeworth,

“You have heard of the established belief in the infallibility of the sovereign pontiff, which prevailed not many centuries ago:- if man was allowed to be infallible, I see no reason why the same privilege should not be extended to woman”

There are excellent short stories by James Joyce (He’s not so hard after all! Wait, hold up, just a minute, tried again to get a foothold on his novels). The stories by Wilde struck me as more snarky than funny but my expectations were too high.
Overall these stories glow with the knowledge these authors had that they stood at a crossroads. There are many passages in Irish Gaelic and many references to the old Gods and legends that make their appearance as naturally as a text lands on out iPhones.

[J.S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I seem to always have a book in my hand so that whenever I get a moment I've got something to read. And while I normally don't read short stories, I find them nice when I'm between books or just want something different for a few minutes or a Sunday afternoon. And this is a nice collection of mostly stories I had never heard before.

Stephen Brennan has pulled together a collection of stories from Irish authors - some old and from famous authors and some newer. You'll probably notice a number of them here - Oscar Wilde (4), Jonathan Swift (4), James Joyce (3), and W.B. Yeats (2) were the names I recognized. And the stories seem to run the spectrum from old folklore to classic short stories, amusing to sad, short at a couple of pages to long at around 20. The only one I think I'd read before was Wilde's The Canterville Ghost, but I find them to be a pleasant read - and my Irish ancestry is only a small part of my heritage (much much more on my wife's side).

Overall, a nice collection for those afternoons and evenings when I just want a short story.

[Marinela · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really don't know how to rate this book - it had some amazing stories in it, but most of them were not my cup of tea. What is my main takeaway from this book - Oscar Wilde should have taught a masterclass in writing, because I loved all of his stories.
Honestly, I don't think I actually found another author that I'd like to discover more of their works.

[Susan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Loved the Oscar Wilde’s. Most of these I just had no idea what the point was—no frame of reference. It must be a cultural thing.

[Toni Stoyanova · Rating 2 out of 5]

BG and ENG:
Доста трудно ми беше да довърша тази книга. Когато я купувах, звучеше доста обещаващо, представях си приказни разкази, а повечето се оказаха остарели за времето си легенди, които биха били разбрани само от местни. Въпреки това някои от разказите бяха страхотни, като например тези на Оскар Уайлд.

I had a hard time finishing this book. When I bought it, it sounded promising, I imagined fairy tales, and most of them turned out to be outdated legends that only locals would understand. However, some of the stories were great, like those by Oscar Wilde.

[Sherry C · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is as expected. A nice collection of stories in which some will be more engaging than others. I flipped through only a few of the stories out of lack of interest; and enjoyed 90% of the material. I especially enjoyed the Oscar Wilde stories.

This gives one a good understanding of the lore that helps to shape the culture of the country.

A collection of short stories is always good to read in short bursts; as opposed to a novel that you read exclusively from start to finish.

[Atlin Merrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure if it's me or the style of folklore in Ireland but…well…I was bored. The book does include a wide range of writers, which I welcome, but mostly I just couldn't get into the tales. Like reader lack. A plus is that there are many short-short stories to give you a taste of things if time is precious.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took me a bit to read through the collection, as I've found novels to be faster to read through. But overall this was a very nice collection of pieces! I got to read some authors I've been meaning to read for some time, and found one or two new favorites.

[Renee · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a worthy read with some short stories of favorite authors such as James Joyce, Oscar Wilde and Jonathon Swift. Full disclosure, I didn't read all 36 from beginning to end as the dialect often befuddled me but I read most of them and enjoyed the Irish folklore.

[Lynne · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stories written by Oscar Wilde were wonderful and some of the others were also enjoyable, but there were quite a few that were forgettable.

[Meghan L · Rating 3 out of 5]

To be honest, I skipped three of the stories. They were so dry. On the other hand, some of them were beautiful, some funny, some confusing.
I loved the Oscar Wilde pieces, especially The Young King, and The Canterville Ghost. I also really enjoyed Patrick Pearse's The Thief.
Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal confused me. I had to Google it later, to see if he was serious or if it was satirical.
There's such a variety of written work in this book, and it was interesting to go through it and hear some of the traditional and not so tradition tales from Ireland.