FAIRY LEGENDS
and
TRADITIONS
of
THE SOUTH OF IRELAND.
"Come l' araba Fenice
Che ci sia ognun lo dice;
Dove sia, nessun lo sa. "
Metastasio
LONDON:
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET.
MDCCCXXXIV.
London :
Printed by A. SPOTTISWOODE,
New-Street-Square.
PREFACE.
THE erudite Lessing styles a preface "the
history of a book." Now, though there can
be no necessity for a preface in that sense of
the word to the reprint of a work of mere
whim, which has been nearly ten years before
the public, yet a few words are requisite to
prevent the present condensed and revised
edition from being considered an abridgment.
However compact may be the mode of
printing adopted, the act of compressing into
one volume the three in which the " Fairy
Legends" originally appeared, involved to a
certain extent the necessity of selection, per-
haps the most difficult of all tasks judiciously
to perform; but the following statement will
show the system proceeded on.
Forty tales descriptive of Irish supersti-
tions now appear instead of fifty. All super-
fluous annotations have been struck out, and
a brief summary at the end of each section
substituted, explanatory of the classification
adopted, and in which a few additional notes
have been introduced, as well as upon the
text. It is therefore hoped that this curtail-
ment will be regarded as an essential im-
provement; some useless repetition in the
tales being thereby avoided, and much irre-
levant matter in the notes dispensed with,
although nothing which illustrates in the
slightest degree the popular Fairy Creed of
Ireland has been sacrificed. At the same
time, the omission of a portion of the ten
immaterial tales will sufficiently answer
doubts idly raised as to the question of au-
thorship.
CONTENTS.
The Shefro.
I. The Legend of Knocksbeogowna
II. ----------------
Knockfierna
III. ---------------- Knockgrafton
IV. The Priest's Supper
V. The Brewery of Egg-shells
VI. Legend of Bottle Hill
VII. The Confessions of Tom
Bourke
VIII. Fairies or no Fairies
Note on the Section
The Cluricaune.
IX. The Haunted Cellar
X. Master and Man
XI. The Little Shoe
Note on the Section
The Banshee.
XII. The Bunworth Banshee
XIII. The M'Carthy Banshee
Note on the Section
The Phooka.
XIV. The Spirit Horse
XV. Daniel O'Rourke
XVI. The Crookened Back
Note on the Section
Thierna na Oge.
XVII. Fior Usga
XVIII. Cormac and Mary (Ballad)
XIX. The Legend of Lough Gur
XX. The Enchanted Lake
XXI. The Legend of O'Donoghue
Note on the Section
The Merrow.
XXII. The Lady of Gollerus
XXIII. Flory Cantillon's Funeral
XXIV. The Lord of Dunkerron (Ballad)
XXV. The Wonderful Tune
Note on the Section
The Dullahan.
XXVI. The Good Woman
XXVII. Hanlon's Mill
XXVIII. The Death Coach(Ballad)
XXIX. The Headless Horserman
Note on the Section
The Fir Darrig.
XXX. Diarmid Bawn, the Piper
XXX I. Teigue of the Lee
XXXII. Ned Sheehy's Excuse
XXXIII. The Lucky Guest
Note on the Section
Treasure Legends.
XXXIV. Dreaming Tim Jarvis
XXXV. Rent Day
XXXVI. Linn-na-Payshtha
Note on the Section
Rocks and Stones.
XXXVII. The Legend of Cairn Thierna
XXXVIII. The Rock of the Candle
XXXIX. Clough-na-Cuddy
XL. The Giant's Stairs
APPENDIX - Letter from Sir Walter Scott
To The
DOWAGER LADY CHATTERTON,
CASTLE MAHON.
Thee, Lady, would I lead through Fairy-land
(Whence cold and doubting reasoners are exiled),
A land of dreams, with air-built castles piled;
the moonlight SHEFROS there, In merry band
With artful CLURICAUNE, should ready stand
To welcome thee - Imagination's child!
Till on thy ear would burst so sadly wild
The BANSHEE'S shriek, who points with wither'd hand,
in the dim twilight should the PHOOKA come,
Whose dusky form fades in the sunny light,
That opens clear calm LAKES upon thy sight,
Where blessed spirits dwell in endless bloom.
know thee, lady-thou wilt not deride
such Fairy Scenes.-Then onward with thy Guide.
T. CROFTON CROKER