Several years ago, I came across a collection of tales at the local library called Turf Fire Stories and Fairy Tales of Ireland. It was originally published in 1890, and filled with tales I never saw anywhere else.
I knew at the time that I wanted to bring that book back into print, but like many projects, it was put on the back burner for a good many years. Until now.
Turf Fire Stories is again available in a new, unabridged edition as part of the Folklore and Mythology Archive. Tales include The Hag's Bed, The Gold Seeker, The Fairy's Purse, The Luckpenny, The Emigrants, The Hunchbacks, The Red Knight, Purcel the Piper, the Irish Chameleon, The Haunted Cliff, Smuggled Poteen, and more. Fifty-six tales in all.
Learn more about it here.
If you have a favorite old Irish folktale collection you'd like to see back in print, e-mail me.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Turf Fire Stories and Fairy Tales of Ireland
Monday, July 6, 2009
St. Patrick's Purgatory
For over a thousand years Lough Derg, County Donegal, Ireland, has been a place of pilgrimage, where the faithful come to walk in the footsteps of Ireland's beloved patron saint. Legend says that it was here St. Patrick spent forty days and nights in prayer and fasting and faced many temptations. In the end, he was given a vision of Purgatory that he might share with the Irish people. Throughout the centuries pilgrims came to Lough Derg, and after intense fasting and constant prayer, were led into Patrick's "Purgatory"-the cave where he prayed-and left there over night with hopes of achieving a vision. Although the cave has long since been filled in, pilgrims still visit Lough Derg to this day. In The Legend of St. Patrick's Purgatory, originally published in 1917, Shane Leslie has collected several tales surrounding the ancient pilgrimage site.
The Legend of St. Patrick's Purgatory is available here.
Friday, June 19, 2009
The Piper Came to Our Town--The Only Collection of Bagpipe-Related Folklore in Print!
Joanne, your blog host at Irish Recipes, has just released a new book of folklore and mythology that is all about bagpipes and pipers!
Barnes and Noble and Amazon are the first of the major booksellers to have The Piper Came to Our Town listed.
You can learn more about the book by visiting Bagpipe Folklore, Legends, and Fairy Tales. There you will find vintage photos, engravings, and other images of bagpipes and pipers from around the world, as well as stories, legends, and true-life tales related to piping.
