Lugh Na Bua - Lugh The Deliverer

by Cathal Ó Searcaigh (Poet), Séan Ó Gaoithín, Sean Fitzgerald (Illustrator)

Two new tellings of a Donegal Folktale concerning the troublesome Balor and Lugh of the Tuatha Dé Danann. This is a bilingual book: English and Irish Gaelic.

160 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2017

About the author

Cathal Ó Searcaigh (born 12 July 1956) is an Irish poet who writes in the Irish language (specifically the Ulster dialect).

Ó Searcaigh was born in Gort a' Choirce, a town in the Gaeltacht region of Donegal, and lives at the foot of Mount Errigal. He is openly gay.

Ó Searcaigh was awarded the Seán Ó Riordáin Prize for Poetry in 1993 and the Duais Bhord na Gaeilge in 1995. He is a member of Aosdána and in 2006 won The American Ireland Fund Literary Award.

Reviews

[Evelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 - A book written first in English and then in Gaeilge giving us a new telling of the story of Lugh and Balor, drawing from old tales and myths from Donegal. It's a good telling of the myth, and is a useful introduction to Lugh's origins and some of the other figures surrounding his story (Cian, Balor, Eithne), although it is a bit short.

The illustrations by Sean Fitzgerald are gorgeous and perfect for the book, with the artist's style being a combination of modern and traditional stylizations. Even if you can't read the tale in Irish be sure to flip through that part of the book as well to see all of the illustrations, because the tale may follow the same path but the art is different.

[Isaac Davies · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exquisite illustrations of celtic folklore are the main draw to this delight of a book. Digestible translations alongside the original tongue attest to the authenticity. The tales of Lugh offer archetypal guidance from a mature culture of old.

[Patty Kiernan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely love this kid friendly retelling of my favorite stories. I especially enjoyed translating the Irish version into English.

[Dani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful telling of the origins of Lugh and how he defeated Balor. I also love that the second half of the book is the story in Irish. Since I’m learning that language I’ll be excited to reread the Irish language version of the story for practice!