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The People of the Sea
This is a record of a journey in search of the man-seal legends of the Celts. David Thomson's travels in the Gaelic world of the Hebrides and the West coast of Ireland brought him into contact with a people whose association wth the sea and its fertile lore runs deep. These simple people were gifted with the most ancient storytelling arts. They told of men rescued by seals in stormy seas, of babies suckled by seal-mothers, and of men who took seal-women for wives - stories centuries old, handed down to them by their forefathers.
From an early age, David Thomson was fascinated by the mysterious interaction between man and the sea. In the Selkie legends, he found the perfect expression of the Celtic world where truth and fiction intertwine. In his journey through Scotland and Ireland, he found the world of man and the world of the seals to be inseparable. This book reconstructs an integrated vioew of man and nature as an interdependent whole.
David Thomson won the McVitie's Prize for Scottish Writer of the Year in the 1987 and the NCR Book Award for non-fiction in 1988.
From an early age, David Thomson was fascinated by the mysterious interaction between man and the sea. In the Selkie legends, he found the perfect expression of the Celtic world where truth and fiction intertwine. In his journey through Scotland and Ireland, he found the world of man and the world of the seals to be inseparable. This book reconstructs an integrated vioew of man and nature as an interdependent whole.
David Thomson won the McVitie's Prize for Scottish Writer of the Year in the 1987 and the NCR Book Award for non-fiction in 1988.
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1954
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About the author
David Thomson
11 books10 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
David Thomson (1914 – 1988) was a writer and BBC radio producer. He was born in British colonial India to Scottish parents. As a child, he lived in Scotland, as well as in Derbyshire and London, where he attended University College School.
From 1943 to 1969 Thomson worked for the BBC as a writer and producer of radio documentaries. Many of these programs, which covered a range of topics in natural history of peoples and places also found a place in his written work, for example The People of the Sea (1954), on the lore and life of the grey seal in the coastal rural communities of Ireland and Scotland. In 1953-4 he was seconded to UNESCO to produce radio programs in France, Liberia and Turkey.
Among his most notable works are three moving memoirs: Woodbrook (1974), reflecting a ten-year period from 1932 when he visited Ireland regularly, tutoring Phoebe Kirkwood; In Camden Town (1983), describing his life and neighbors in London in the 1950s and 60's; and Nairn in Darkness and Light (1987), where he revisits his childhood years spent in his mother's home in Scotland.
David Thomson (1914 – 1988) was a writer and BBC radio producer. He was born in British colonial India to Scottish parents. As a child, he lived in Scotland, as well as in Derbyshire and London, where he attended University College School.
From 1943 to 1969 Thomson worked for the BBC as a writer and producer of radio documentaries. Many of these programs, which covered a range of topics in natural history of peoples and places also found a place in his written work, for example The People of the Sea (1954), on the lore and life of the grey seal in the coastal rural communities of Ireland and Scotland. In 1953-4 he was seconded to UNESCO to produce radio programs in France, Liberia and Turkey.
Among his most notable works are three moving memoirs: Woodbrook (1974), reflecting a ten-year period from 1932 when he visited Ireland regularly, tutoring Phoebe Kirkwood; In Camden Town (1983), describing his life and neighbors in London in the 1950s and 60's; and Nairn in Darkness and Light (1987), where he revisits his childhood years spent in his mother's home in Scotland.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 23, 2013
I bought this book some time ago, but it seemed destined to remain on my "to be read" shelf. Earlier this year, while on holiday in Scotland with a small tour group, I noticed one of my fellow passengers was reading this book and when I enquired about it, she was unable to tell me much, which of course piqued my interest. This was just one of a series of co-incidences in which the legend of the selkie were brought to my attention: just before, during and after the tour of Scotland.
As well as watching a few selkie-related movies when I returned from my trip, I resolved to read the book; however, being a member of a book club, I found myself reading other books, all the while " The People of the Sea: Celtic Tales of the Seal-folk ", though taken down from the shelf, remained in my satchel (unread) just waiting to be started. So last Friday I picked up this book and I only put it down three times: once to drive home, the next because I wanted to savour the last tale and then, finally, when I finished it on Saturday night. The book was so enchanting I didn't want it to end.
I knew " The People of the Sea: Celtic Tales of the Seal-folk " would be different when I read Seamus Heaney's introduction and I was not to be disappointed.
" The People of the Sea: Celtic Tales of the Seal-folk " is somewhat of a memoir as the author, David Thomson, travels the western islands and coasts of Scotland and Ireland, in search of those who can tell the tales of the selchie (selkie) or sea-folk. First, Mr Thomson introduces the storyteller, he then sets the scene and atmosphere in which the story is being told and, finally, he recalls the conversation that illustrates the tale, bringing it fully to the light. There is not always a straight line from beginning to end with these stories, as someone will interject with their own version of events, and then another, but the main speaker provides a continuous thread weaving all the information together. I must admit that I felt myself sitting there in the closeness of that store/pub in County Mayo along with Michael the Ferry and his passengers as they gave up their hidden stories; just as I felt right there, with the author, as he (we) paid keen attention to every storyteller in the book.
As Mr Thomson travels through the lands from which these stories emanate, he clearly illustrates the loss of the (Seanchaí) storytellers along with their myths, tales, lore and legends as modernisation takes hold*, so that I was made to keenly feel the loss of the culture where once people lived between reality and the otherworld. Like all things celtic (what a loaded term), the tone is slightly melancholic, but the stories are so full of wonder I was loathe to read the last tale, for I knew I would be sad indeed to reach the end with no more tales to be told and my journey of wonder into the past over.
I must admit that despite the way some of the stories are delivered, oft times in conversational form, they do lend themselves to be performed at storytelling nights, where both adults and children can appreciate and enjoy them.
I cannot recommend this book enough: it is simply warming even if some of the stories are meant as warnings. I think I shall always treasure " The People of the Sea: Celtic Tales of the Seal-folk " and re-read regularly, more particularly when it's cold, wet and the wind is lashing at the windows. If you have any interest in folk tales, fairy tales, the legend of the selkie, or the transformative powers of magic, you will probably enjoy this book.
Read it!
*In the time the author is writing and recording, radio as much as television is taking hold of the minds of the young, causing the decline.
As well as watching a few selkie-related movies when I returned from my trip, I resolved to read the book; however, being a member of a book club, I found myself reading other books, all the while " The People of the Sea: Celtic Tales of the Seal-folk ", though taken down from the shelf, remained in my satchel (unread) just waiting to be started. So last Friday I picked up this book and I only put it down three times: once to drive home, the next because I wanted to savour the last tale and then, finally, when I finished it on Saturday night. The book was so enchanting I didn't want it to end.
I knew " The People of the Sea: Celtic Tales of the Seal-folk " would be different when I read Seamus Heaney's introduction and I was not to be disappointed.
" The People of the Sea: Celtic Tales of the Seal-folk " is somewhat of a memoir as the author, David Thomson, travels the western islands and coasts of Scotland and Ireland, in search of those who can tell the tales of the selchie (selkie) or sea-folk. First, Mr Thomson introduces the storyteller, he then sets the scene and atmosphere in which the story is being told and, finally, he recalls the conversation that illustrates the tale, bringing it fully to the light. There is not always a straight line from beginning to end with these stories, as someone will interject with their own version of events, and then another, but the main speaker provides a continuous thread weaving all the information together. I must admit that I felt myself sitting there in the closeness of that store/pub in County Mayo along with Michael the Ferry and his passengers as they gave up their hidden stories; just as I felt right there, with the author, as he (we) paid keen attention to every storyteller in the book.
As Mr Thomson travels through the lands from which these stories emanate, he clearly illustrates the loss of the (Seanchaí) storytellers along with their myths, tales, lore and legends as modernisation takes hold*, so that I was made to keenly feel the loss of the culture where once people lived between reality and the otherworld. Like all things celtic (what a loaded term), the tone is slightly melancholic, but the stories are so full of wonder I was loathe to read the last tale, for I knew I would be sad indeed to reach the end with no more tales to be told and my journey of wonder into the past over.
I must admit that despite the way some of the stories are delivered, oft times in conversational form, they do lend themselves to be performed at storytelling nights, where both adults and children can appreciate and enjoy them.
I cannot recommend this book enough: it is simply warming even if some of the stories are meant as warnings. I think I shall always treasure " The People of the Sea: Celtic Tales of the Seal-folk " and re-read regularly, more particularly when it's cold, wet and the wind is lashing at the windows. If you have any interest in folk tales, fairy tales, the legend of the selkie, or the transformative powers of magic, you will probably enjoy this book.
Read it!
*In the time the author is writing and recording, radio as much as television is taking hold of the minds of the young, causing the decline.
May 2, 2010
A thorough examination of the mythology behind the seal-folk; a great read for anyone interested in traditional tales.
August 24, 2012
Amazingly well put together. Wish there were more out there like this.
January 30, 2017
The author lovingly recounts, with perhaps some poetic license, their travels around the highlands of Scotland, the islands and the west coast of Eire, and the interactions with locals from whom they managed to collect tales of the Selchie, the seal people. When we hear the stories, we hear them in the context the author heard them. ComA recommended read.
March 1, 2025
Beautiful Book 🦭
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews