The Legends & Lands of Ireland


Book Description

From sinister spells to healing wells, this illustrated collection of 43 traditional Irish yarns brings forth the magic of a proud people and their lyrical landscapes. While you may know of the Blarney Stone or St. Patrick, you've probably never heard the saga of Lia Lfail, the ancient stone said to confirm a king's legitimacy by shrieking under the weight of his footsteps, or the legend of Dublin's haunted Hell Fire Club, where the devil himself was once believed to have paid a visit. Saturated with the colors of the Emerald Isle, the photos that grace these pages will transport you to a world of heroic deeds, violent deaths, and otherworldly adventures. Through these fanciful tales that have survived over the centuries, you'll glean fascinating facts on Irish genealogy, etymology and history. So suspend disbelief and step into a world steeped in storytelling and rich with lore.




Ireland's Mysterious Lands and Sunken Cities


Book Description

The Emerald Isle of Ireland has inspired a vast number of legends about lost or sunken lands and cities. These legends predate Roman and Christian influences. This book examines the intriguing nature of these legends and reviews anthropological and geological evidence supporting them. Was these indeed a Tir-fo-Thuin, the Land Under Wave, a combination of the dead and a paradise? Reviewed in Ireland of the Welcomes , Vol. 50, No. 6, November - December 2001, p.54 by Mary OSullivan Stories of sunken cities, monasteries, churches and royal palaces are scattered hither and yon across the broad landscape of Irish folklore. The fishermen of Lough Neagh believe that their huge lake conceals the proud remains of palaces and temples more firmly than the inhabitants of Scotland accept the existence of the Lough Ness monster. Hy Brazil or Hy Breasail, the legendary sunken paradise island is, of course, somewhere off the western seaboard, and thanks to its frequent reappearances on the surface, it persists on maps into the sixteenth century. The great Thomas Westropp reports personal sightings, one evening after sunset in 1887 off the Clare coast and again in 1910, this time on the Mayo coast! There are persistent stories of the image of a stately city clearly visible set in the sky above Galway bay, usually during spells of warm calm sunny weather`Come over next summer with an open mind. You never know your luck!










The Origin Legends of Early Medieval Britain and Ireland


Book Description

The inhabitants of early medieval Britain and Ireland shared the knowledge that the region held four peoples and the awareness that they must have originally come from 'elsewhere'. The Origin Legends of Early Medieval Britain and Ireland studies these peoples' origin stories, an important genre that has shaped national identity and collective history from the early medieval period to the present day. These multilingual texts share many common features that repay their study as a genre, but have previously been isolated as four disparate traditions and used to argue for the long roots of current nationalisms. Yet they were not written or read in isolation during the medieval period. Individual narratives were in constant development, written and rewritten to respond to other texts. This book argues that insular origin legends developed together to flesh out the history of the insular region as a whole.




The Legend of Being Irish


Book Description




Legends, Charms and Superstitions of Ireland


Book Description

Nowhere in the nineteenth century did interest in folklore and mythology have a more thorough revival than in Ireland. There, in 1887, Lady Francesca Speranza Wilde, Oscar Wilde's mother and a well-known author in her own right, compiled this collection of charming, authentic folk tales. Collected from among the peasantry and retaining their original simplicity, the myths and legends reveal delightfully the Irish people's relationship with a spiritual and invisible world populated by fairies, elves, and evil beings. Included in Lady Wilde's collection, among others, are eerie tales of "The Horned Women," "The Holy Well and the Murderer," and "The Bride's Death-Song," as well as beguiling accounts of superstitions concerning the dead, celebrations and rites, animal legends, and ancient charms. The first book to link Irish folklore with nationalism, Legends illustrates the mythic underpinnings of the Irish character and signals the country's cultural reemergence. It remains, said the Evening Mail, "an important contribution to the literature of Ireland and the world's stock of folklore."




The Irish Monthly


Book Description




Castles of Ireland: Some Fortress Histories and Legends


Book Description

In this book by Constance Louisa Adams, we explore some of the greatest landmarks in Ireland. "The Castles of Ireland are far too numerous for any single volume to contain their separate histories," but Adams does an amazing job of recounting the history and construction to the ones named within this volume.




Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland


Book Description

"Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland" by Lady Wilde (the pen-name for Jane Wilde) is perhaps one of the best compilations of Irish lore ever published. Yet, it was almost lost to time. Ireland is a country full of myths and magic, and Wilde has managed to write an engaging and yet still succinct summary of the most important aspects of it. With a culture as rich as that of the Irish, it's a truly remarkable feat to be able to have it all at one's fingertips the way it is thanks to Lady Wilde's work.




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