Irish Fairy Tales

This 2008 edition published by Fall River Press

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher.

All illustrations reproduced with kind permission of the Arthur Rackham family and The Bridgeman Art Library.

Cover and interior design by Christine Heun

Fall River Press
122 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10011
ISBN: 978-1-4351-0887-5
Sterling eBook ISBN: 978-1-4351-3724-0

1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2

To
Seumas and Iris
and to
Helen Fraser

In a forked glen into which he slipped at night-fall
he was surrounded by giant toads

Contents

The Story of Tuan mac Cairill

The Boyhood of Fionn

The Birth of Bran

Oisín's Mother

The Wooing of Becfola

The Little Brawl at Allen

The Carl of the Drab Coat

The Enchanted Cave of Cesh Corran

Becuma of the White Skin

Mongan's Frenzy

List of Colour Illustrations

In a forked glen into which he slipped at night-fall he was surrounded by giant toads
Frontispiece
(
♣
)

“Wild and shy and monstrous creatures ranged in her plains and forests”
♣

“My life became a ceaseless scurry and wound and escape, a burden and anguish of watchfulness”
♣

He might think, as he stared on a staring horse, “a boy cannot wag his tail to keep the flies off”
♣

How he strained and panted to catch on that pursuing person and pursue her and get his own switch into action
♣

A man who did not like dogs. In fact, he hated them. When he saw one he used to go black in the face, and he threw rocks at it until it got out of sight
♣