The Cailleach Of Sligo

A remarkable collection of myths and tales from the northwest of Ireland. For centuries these stories have been handed down from parent to child, from teacher to student, to explain life's eternal mysteries. All have an Irish content but a universal theme. Although ancient stories, they are told here in a new voice that is certain to enthrall and captivate readers of all ages.

Two plays for Tuppence consists of two plays written specifically for television. Both plays have an Irish setting and an Irish ambiance. The first play, A Most Civil Servant, deals with the manner in which its central character, Mr. Carmody stumbles into a position in the Civil Service in Dublin Castle. It is 1922. The War of Independence has ended and the Irish government is taking over from the British. During this transition period there is a good deal of confusion over the allocation of offices, which Mr. Carmody exploits to his advantage. The play was inspired by the short story They Also Serve by Mervyn Wall, first published in Harpers (1940) and included by Benedict Kiely in The Penguin Book of Irish Short Stories (1981). However, the play is not an adaptation of Walls story. It covers a much broader canvas and deals with events which are not in Walls famous short story, including a visit to Paris where Mr. Carmody and his mate Frank meet James Joyce. After many strange episodes in various parts of Dublin, the play reaches a dramatic climax in the final scene. The second play, Hobsons Choice, tells the curious tale of Clive Alexander Goode, a Dublin academic, who has endured twenty-five years of living hell with his wife, Beth. He plans and executes the perfect murder, believing that he is morally justified in ridding society of the evil one. Subsequently, he is charged with the unlawful killing of his wife and is committed to the Dundrum Mental Asylum, where he seeks enlightenment. The play illustrates how we fabricate our own morality and how we deal with our own demonsthe conflicts within ourselves. Clive professes a blind belief in the magical powers of the Sidhe, whom he first encountered when he was growing up in Sligo on the south side of Knocknarea. Like W. B. Yeats, he believes in the mystic world. There are twelve scenes that represent episodes in Clives troubled mind. We meet Clive in conversation with various people. The evil one, Clives malevolent wife, appears only at the beginning of the play, but she is the catalyst around whom the play revolves. The play straddles two worldsthe real and the unreal, the mundane and the mystical.

Stories from Irish History is a collection of 13 stories based on selected episodes in Irish history, some of which are unremembered. They are historical fiction, a popular modern genre which has great appeal for many readers. Even though the stories are partly fictional, they are based on extensive historical research. We have to go back in time in order to discover ourselves and our culture. We do not have to live in the past but neither should we deny it. Our history is all around us, in the very air we breathe, not only in our history books but in the hills and valleys, in our lore and literature, in our art and architecture, in our songs and poetry. We know that the past is never past. We need to know who we are and who we used to be. We need to know about our cultural heritage, our pre-history, our lore, our local history and the story behind placenames. Ireland is a nation of story-tellers and historical fiction keeps that tradition alive not only in Ireland but also among the Irish diaspora in the UK, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

The Dictionary of Hiberno-English is the leading reference book on Hiberno-English – the form of English commonly spoken in Ireland. It connects the spoken and the written language, and is a unique national dictionary that bears witness to Irish history, struggles and the creative identities found in Ireland. Reflecting the social, political, religious and financial changes of people's ever-evolving lives, it contains words and expressions not usually seen in a dictionary, such as 'kibosh', 'smithereens', 'Peggy's Leg', 'hames', 'yoke', 'blaa', 'banjax' and 'lubán'. It is a celebration of an irrepressible gift for the creative, expressive and reckless manipulation of the English language!

The Cailleach - goddess of the ancestors, wisdom that comes with age, the weather, time, shape-shifting and winter. Within the pages of this book Rachel Patterson gives the reader an introduction to the mysteries, myths, legends and magic of the ancient hag goddess The Cailleach, drawing upon ancient legends, stories told and her own experiences.

The archaeology of caves in Ireland is a ground-breaking and unique study of the enigmatic, unseen and dark silent world of caves. People have engaged with caves for the duration of human occupation of the island, spanning 10,000 years. In prehistory, subterranean landscapes were associated with the dead and the spirit world, with evidence for burials, funerary rituals and votive deposition. The advent of Christianity saw the adaptation of caves as homes and places of storage, yet they also continued to feature in religious practice. Medieval mythology and modern folklore indicate that caves were considered places of the supernatural, being particularly associated with otherworldly women. Through a combination of archaeology, mythology and popular religion, this book takes the reader on a fascinating journey that sheds new light on a hitherto neglected area of research. It encourages us to consider what underground activities might reveal about the lives lived aboveground, and leaves us in no doubt as to the cultural significance of caves in the past. Marion Dowd is Lecturer in Prehistoric Archaeology at the Institute of Technology Sligo, Ireland. Her doctoral research examined the role of caves in Irish prehistoric ritual and religion. She has directed excavations in many caves, and has published and lectured widely on the subject.

Here in one volume is the entire canon of Yeat's verse, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923. He was a poet and playwright, storyteller and visionary. The author also wrote "Yeats: Man and Poet".

In Ireland, the link between place and myth is strong, and there is no more enlightening way to understand the rich tapestry of Irish mythology, and its relationship to our true history, than by reading the landscape. Earthing the Myths is an engaging and exhaustive county-by-county guide to the vast number of fascinating places in Ireland connected to myth, folklore and early history. Covering the period 800 BC to AD 650, this book spans the Late Bronze Age, the Iron Age and the early Christian period, and explores the ways in which the land evolved, and with it our catalogue of myths and legends. Smyth chronicles sites the length and breadth of the country, where druids, fairies, goddesses, warriors and kings all left their mark, in tales both real and imagined. With over one thousand locations recorded, from Rathlin Island to the Beara Peninsula, Earthing the Myths breathes life into places throughout Ireland that find their origins in our pre-Christian and pre-Gaelic past, and shows that they still possess unique wisdom and vibrant energy.