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The Quick and the Dead: Selected Stories
A collection of the finest stories from the Irish author of The Dirty Dust , published fifty years after his death
“Every sentence is packed with explosive power, not a word wasted, and the whole is almost unbearably moving.”—Hilary Mantel
These colorful tales from renowned Irish author Máirtín Ó Cadhain (1906–1970) whisk readers to the salty western shores of Ireland, where close‑knit farming communities follow the harsh rhythms of custom, family, and land, even as they dream together of a kinder world. In this collection, the resilient women and men of the Gaeltacht regions struggle toward self‑realization against the brutal pressures of rural poverty, and later, the hollowing demands of modern city life.
Weaving together tradition and modernity, and preserving the earthy cadence of the original language, this rich and heart-rending collection by one of Ireland’s most acclaimed fiction writers is a composite portrait of a country poised at the edge of irreversible transformation.
“Every sentence is packed with explosive power, not a word wasted, and the whole is almost unbearably moving.”—Hilary Mantel
These colorful tales from renowned Irish author Máirtín Ó Cadhain (1906–1970) whisk readers to the salty western shores of Ireland, where close‑knit farming communities follow the harsh rhythms of custom, family, and land, even as they dream together of a kinder world. In this collection, the resilient women and men of the Gaeltacht regions struggle toward self‑realization against the brutal pressures of rural poverty, and later, the hollowing demands of modern city life.
Weaving together tradition and modernity, and preserving the earthy cadence of the original language, this rich and heart-rending collection by one of Ireland’s most acclaimed fiction writers is a composite portrait of a country poised at the edge of irreversible transformation.
352 pages, Hardcover
Published October 26, 2021
8 people are currently reading
136 people want to read
About the author
Máirtín Ó Cadhain
28 books54 followersMáirtín Ó Cadhain (1906 – 18 October 1970) was one of the most prominent Irish language writers of the twentieth century.
Máirtín Ó Cadhain was born in Cois Fharraige in the Connamara Gaeltacht in 1906. He is best known for his major novel, Cré na Cille (Dublin, Sáirséal agus Dill, 1949). It has been translated into English as Graveyard Clay, and into many other languages, including Danish and Norwegian. However, it was not published in English until 2015.
His short story collections include Idir Shúgradh agus Dáiríre, 1939, and An Braon Broghach, 1948, from which Eoghan Ó Tuairisc translated stories published under the title Road to Bright City (Dublin, Poolbeg Press, 1981); An tSraith ar Lár, (1967); and An tSraith Dhá Thógáil (1970).
A national school teacher in his early life, he was interned for his activities in the IRA during World War II. He became a lecturer in Irish in Trinity College Dublin in 1956, and became Professor of Irish there in 1969.
He died in 1970.
Máirtín Ó Cadhain was born in Cois Fharraige in the Connamara Gaeltacht in 1906. He is best known for his major novel, Cré na Cille (Dublin, Sáirséal agus Dill, 1949). It has been translated into English as Graveyard Clay, and into many other languages, including Danish and Norwegian. However, it was not published in English until 2015.
His short story collections include Idir Shúgradh agus Dáiríre, 1939, and An Braon Broghach, 1948, from which Eoghan Ó Tuairisc translated stories published under the title Road to Bright City (Dublin, Poolbeg Press, 1981); An tSraith ar Lár, (1967); and An tSraith Dhá Thógáil (1970).
A national school teacher in his early life, he was interned for his activities in the IRA during World War II. He became a lecturer in Irish in Trinity College Dublin in 1956, and became Professor of Irish there in 1969.
He died in 1970.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 18, 2025
It’s been a hot minute since I read a short story collection, so wish me luck!
JOURNEY TO THE BRIGHT CITY - 2
Off to a mediocre start. This was truly about a women trying and failing to hitchhike
THE HARELIP - 0
nope what was that
THE YEAR 1912 - 3
Full faith this short story was the inspiration for the scene in Father of the Bride where he tries but fails to say anything to his daughter during the wedding.
FLOODTIDE - 2
If my mans made me collect seaweed like this, let’s just say he wouldn’t be my mans for long
PUSHING ON - 4
This is how you write a captivating short story!!! Why can’t they all be like this
THE EDGE OF THE BOG - 1
The amount of ellipses in this short story should be illegal…
KNOWING - 1
I love that they refer to one character as Piss Artist
THE STRANGER - 3
Most entertained I’ve been reading thus far, but the ending…?????
ANOTHER COUPLE - 1
I did not care about the first couple to begin with, so I can’t find the need to care for another one.
THE BLOSSOMING, THE WITHERING - 3
I enjoyed the juxtaposition of life and death in this hearse
THE QUICK AND THE DEAD - 2
Finally at the title short story, and it’s about Micil (either every male character of his has the same name or he’s writing about the same boring ass man). Anyway, crazy way to rizz someone up while her aunt’s corpse is in the same room.
WHATEVER THE CASE MAY BE - 4
never thought so much would unravel from houses fighting (yes physically fighting, don’t ask me how)
THE KEY - 5
Reminds me so much of “The trial” by Kafka in the best way possible. Wish this story wasn’t one long paragraph but definitely the best of the bunch
RELEASE - 3
it's totally valid to be scared of drowning
BECOMING PAPER - 1
i'm sorry but what the fuck
MARBLING - 1
i am just so glad to be done with this you have no idea
JOURNEY TO THE BRIGHT CITY - 2
Off to a mediocre start. This was truly about a women trying and failing to hitchhike
THE HARELIP - 0
nope what was that
THE YEAR 1912 - 3
Full faith this short story was the inspiration for the scene in Father of the Bride where he tries but fails to say anything to his daughter during the wedding.
FLOODTIDE - 2
If my mans made me collect seaweed like this, let’s just say he wouldn’t be my mans for long
PUSHING ON - 4
This is how you write a captivating short story!!! Why can’t they all be like this
THE EDGE OF THE BOG - 1
The amount of ellipses in this short story should be illegal…
KNOWING - 1
I love that they refer to one character as Piss Artist
THE STRANGER - 3
Most entertained I’ve been reading thus far, but the ending…?????
ANOTHER COUPLE - 1
I did not care about the first couple to begin with, so I can’t find the need to care for another one.
THE BLOSSOMING, THE WITHERING - 3
I enjoyed the juxtaposition of life and death in this hearse
THE QUICK AND THE DEAD - 2
Finally at the title short story, and it’s about Micil (either every male character of his has the same name or he’s writing about the same boring ass man). Anyway, crazy way to rizz someone up while her aunt’s corpse is in the same room.
WHATEVER THE CASE MAY BE - 4
never thought so much would unravel from houses fighting (yes physically fighting, don’t ask me how)
THE KEY - 5
Reminds me so much of “The trial” by Kafka in the best way possible. Wish this story wasn’t one long paragraph but definitely the best of the bunch
RELEASE - 3
it's totally valid to be scared of drowning
BECOMING PAPER - 1
i'm sorry but what the fuck
MARBLING - 1
i am just so glad to be done with this you have no idea
January 6, 2022
If you're a fan of Irish literature, do yourself a favor and check out The Quick and the Dead: Selected Stories by Máirtín Ó Cadhain.
Some of these stories are absolutely heart breaking (like the one of a woman who fights through the grief of having multiple stillbirths and her belief that those children will be stuck in purgatory for all eternity), while other ones are wild and over-the-top (such as the story about a Sodom-like town where sex is rampant and even the buildings physically fight each other!)
There's a Kafkaesque story about a civil service worker who gets locked inside of an office and nobody will get him out because of pointless bureaucracy. Then we have a story about a man at a relative's wake who can't stop thinking about how awkward and out of place he is among the other people (especially the girls) his age.
This collection has such a variety of original, sad, hilarious, and thought provoking stories that I can't recommend it enough.
Some of these stories are absolutely heart breaking (like the one of a woman who fights through the grief of having multiple stillbirths and her belief that those children will be stuck in purgatory for all eternity), while other ones are wild and over-the-top (such as the story about a Sodom-like town where sex is rampant and even the buildings physically fight each other!)
There's a Kafkaesque story about a civil service worker who gets locked inside of an office and nobody will get him out because of pointless bureaucracy. Then we have a story about a man at a relative's wake who can't stop thinking about how awkward and out of place he is among the other people (especially the girls) his age.
This collection has such a variety of original, sad, hilarious, and thought provoking stories that I can't recommend it enough.
March 7, 2022
The world has needed a fresh collection of Máirtín Ó Cadhain's short stories in English for quite some time. The Gaeilgeoirí have been keeping Ó Cadhain's best work to themselves for far too long. The last substantial such collection was Eoghan Ó Tuairisc's translations in 'The Road to Brightcity,' which has long been out of print. Louis de Paor manages to give us a wonderfully balanced sampling of Ó Cadhain's short fiction spanning the length of his career. The only thing that could possibly be better is if someone were to publish his entire collected works in translation.
October 21, 2022
This is a short story collection I would really only recommend to a few people. It was very good but if you’re not use to the way Irish people talk, Irish literature and folk tales, and experimental fiction, I can see this being an extremely difficult read to get through.
I preferred some stories more than others. Either I really loved them or was just a little bored. Overall, glad I read and definitely read the introduction to get context for the author and his works.
I preferred some stories more than others. Either I really loved them or was just a little bored. Overall, glad I read and definitely read the introduction to get context for the author and his works.
May 24, 2022
Some of these are absolutely stunning, but some are way, way, WAY too long. I appreciate a lot of the experimentation that takes place in the later stories, but the earlier stories did much more for me. They had more life to them.
December 4, 2022
cool female characters and discussion of life in rural Ireland
December 17, 2024
i loved all of these short stories
January 10, 2023
A great collection of stories, ranging from straightforward tales of Irish farmhands to Gogol-esque farce to metafictional abstractions. Great credit has to be given to the translators for their remarkable ear--the prose took my breath away in places.
I was particularly fond of some of the earlier stories, which mostly focus on the earthy troubles of women in a still mostly unindustrialized Ireland. O Cadhain doesn't romanticize the the agrarian life here--he understands the drudgery that comes with scratching one's existence out of an unforgiving earth, in an insular community eager to judge and slow to forgive. It makes for an honest, bracing fiction.
I was particularly fond of some of the earlier stories, which mostly focus on the earthy troubles of women in a still mostly unindustrialized Ireland. O Cadhain doesn't romanticize the the agrarian life here--he understands the drudgery that comes with scratching one's existence out of an unforgiving earth, in an insular community eager to judge and slow to forgive. It makes for an honest, bracing fiction.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews