Early Irish Lyrics

In a series of timeless and modern-day renditions, Maurice Riordan brilliantly introduces us to the poems that founded Ireland's rich literature. Memorable and accessible, these early lyrics are presented in their classic incarnations by literary giants from both sides of the Irish Sea: in examples by W. H. Auden, Flann O'Brien, Alfred Lord Tennyson, John Montague, Robert Graves and Frank O'Connor. But the anthology is much more than a survey of canonical texts; through a series of specially commissioned poems, fresh eyes are brought to bear on these ancient poems: by Seamus Heaney and Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin, by Paul Muldoon and Kathleen Jamie, by Ciaran Carson and Christopher Reid, and many others. The experience is enhanced still further by the enabling hand of Riordan himself, in a sweep of exquisite translations of his own made especially for this publication. Unforgettable and inspirational, a book for giving and for keeping: The Finest Music by some of the art-form's finest players.

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An examination of how the feminine was viewed in early medieval Ireland, through a careful study of a range of texts.

'Irish poetry is unique in the Middle Ages in freshness of spirit and perfection of form.' So writes Gerard Murphy in the introduction to this classic anthology. The first of the anthology's two sections contains thirty-three poems of monastic inspiration, including well-known works such as the poem of the Scholar and his cat Pangur ban; the second section is devoted to secular works, and features twenty-five poems containing lyrics mainly spoken by characters in the prose sagas. Reprint (3rd Printing)