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Author
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Comment
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Lycoris
Unregistered User
(8/7/06 11:25 am)
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Irish fairies and folklore
Well this is my first time posting at Surlalone but I must say this
is an amazing site! The funny thing is a I came across this site
because it was mentioned in the fiction book "The
blue girl" by Charles De Lint.
In anycase I'm half irish and have always loved fairy tales and in return been fed a steady diet of them, but when my grandmother died most of the irish tradition our family toned down since she was basicly the soul of it all, and now I seem to miss it more then before.
Well back on topic I was wondering if any of you had any good celtic/irish folklore, I'm usually into darker stories (Of course never horror) that explain the world around you or just plain leave you hanging and yearning for more.
Also I have one last question, the color red is supposed to attract faires correct? But my grandmother once told me that it actually works as a replellent... does it differ from culture to culture?
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Veronica Schanoes
Registered User
(8/7/06 5:02 pm)
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Re: Irish fairies and folklore
Hi Lycoris,
W. B. Yeats actually did more than one great collection of Irish folk and fairy tales, and so did his friend/colleague/patron Lady Gregory. They were part of the Irish cultural nationalism revival at the turn of the century, and Yeats ended up basing a sequence of his plays on the Cuchulain myth. Anyway, those collections are good places to start. Good luck!
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korin
Unregistered User
(8/7/06 10:23 pm)
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irish fairytales
The Irish Fairy Book by Alfred Perceval Graves has a decent basic assortment of Irish legends and poetry from various sources, including a couple poems by Yeats. The famous book 'Fairies' by Brian Froud and Alan Lee is an exquisite compilation of artwork and 'facts' about fairies as they're depicted in mythology and folklore. Since Irish folklore is probably one of the most fairy-rich in the world, there are a lot of Irish stories in the book. There are also 'profiles' of specific fairies that have appeared in folk stories, such as the Irish Bean-Nighe, phooka, etc., plus a 'Fairy Flora' section containing the various flowers and trees associated with fairies and their significance in folklore.
If you're interested in novels dealing with Irish folklore, O. R. Melling is an Irish writer of children's books whose novels are full of creatures and motifs from Irish mythology.
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May
Unregistered User
(8/9/06 5:12 am)
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Irish Folklore
A Chara,
Speaking as an irish person and as someone who has come through the irish school system, I think one of the greatest sources of folklore are the Primary School history books for (roughly) 2nd to 4th classes. Im not joking, you'll find all the most loved ones in them. They're a great starting point and will probably be the ones which your grandmother told you. Yeates and Lady Gregorys collections are great but some are relativly obscure and to really appreciate many you'll need a heads up on some irish language words.
This is not so helpful as Im not sure if you'll be able to get access to these books (Im jumping to the conclusion that you're american) and I cant think of their names off hand but I do know that the main publishers for educational books in ireland are either Fallons or Gill and McMillan.
Trinity College Dublin have an extensive collection of Celtic tales, im not sure how many of them are in Irish though but their website might be worth a browse www.tcd.ie
Hope this helps a bit
PS Also, (this is for everyone!) when you do get your hands on Irish folklore please please please try use the irsh spellings not the anglisised versions! Lets try do our bit to keep the language alive!
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Lycoris
Unregistered User
(8/9/06 9:52 am)
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Many thanks,
Now that's a thought, thank you so very much for your help! (And this goes to everyone else of course,) Yes I am american (Unfurtantly,) But my family makes regular visits to Ireland and we're also in the publishing company so I think I may be able to get my hands on these books you were speaking off. With help from the gods of course.
Once again thank you everyone, I hope to keep the tradition alive!
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aka Greensleeves
Registered User
(8/9/06 2:53 pm)
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Re: Irish
The Yeats IRISH FOLK- AND FAIRY-TALES is still in print, and should be readily available at any large bookstore. I found it very accessible, and a really lively and enjoyable read.
Irish-American author-slash-priest Andrew M. Greely recently edited an anthology called EMERALD MAGIC: GREAT TALES OF IRISH FANTASY, featuring short stories by Tanith Lee, Ray Bradbury, Judith Tarr, and Charles de Lint. They dip often and freely into the Irish folklore well, with interesting results. You may enjoy it.
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