North Of Ireland Folk Tales For Children

How did a spider change the course of history? What would a body in the chimney want with a lonely old woman? And what terrible deed could make a Celtic warrior cry? North of Ireland Folk Tales for Children is full of mermaids and pishogues, haunted dolmens and plenty of ghosts, rude Celts and bloodthirsty warriors. This collection of weird, wonderful and irreverently told tales from award-winning storyteller Doreen McBride is not for the faint of heart – and certainly not appropriate for adults.

Presents seven folk and fairy tales from Ireland, featuring witches, fairies, and a land where no one ever grows old.

The special magic of the Irish imagination shines forth in these fourteen authentic folktales. These tales are filled with the mystery and adventure of a land of lonely country roads and isolated farms, humble cottages and lordly castles, rolling fields and tractless bogs. They tell of ghosts and giants, of strange happenings and wondrous deeds, of fairies and witches and of fools and kings. Above all in these stories there is a sense of the full wonder of a world where the marvellous and the unexpected can always happen, and nothing is ever quite as it seems.

How did a tiny wren manage to be crowned King of the Birds? Why did giant Finn McCool's favourite dogs change into mountains? What happened to turn a friendly cat into a cruel fiend who plotted to destroy mankind? Irish Animal Tales for Children is packed with ghostly goings-on, weird characters and wonderful animals. Irreverently told by award-winning storyteller Doreen McBride, these stories are not for the faint of heart!

Who knows the true nature of Knockma? What is God's new policy? What happened when the boy encountered a pooka? And what became of the soldier wounded in body and soul? This book contains the most thrilling of the West of Ireland's tales of immortals, fairies, fantastical creatures, witches, skeletons, spirits and headless bodies. These stories – specially chosen to be enjoyed by 7- to 11-year-old readers – burst with adventure and excitement, magic and mystery. As old as the mountains, forests and sea, these well-loved stories are retold in all their mythical glory by storyteller Rab Fulton.

And so it was that when he met Aoife, a stranger to those parts, he was struck by her beauty and blind to her evil.

The Celtic roots of Irish folklore are enriched with Nordic legend and colour. Here gathered in this collection are tales of giants and warriors, of old hags and fair maidens, and of the boyhood of the great hero Fionn Mac Uail (Finn MacCool).