43 enchanting poems and tales by William Butler Yeats, Joseph Campbell, Lady Jane Wilde, Jeremiah Curtin, Douglas Hyde, and other distinguished writers.

Irish Fairy Lore has well been called by Mr. Alfred Nutt, one of the leading authorities on the subject, ÒAs fair and bounteous a harvest of myth and romance as ever flourished among any race,Ó and Dr. Joyce, the well-known Irish scholar and historian, states: Òthat it is very probable that the belief in the existence of fairies came in with the earliest colonists that entered Ireland, and that this belief is recorded in the oldest of native Irish writings in a way that proves it to have been, at the time treated of, long established and universally received.Ó Colgan himself supplies us with the name and derivation of the Irish word for fairy, Sidh (shee), still used throughout the country. ÒFantastical spirits,Ó he writes, Òare by the Irish called men of the Sidh, because they are seen, as it were, to come out of the beautiful hills to infest men, and hence the vulgar belief that they reside in certain subterranean habitations; and sometimes the hills themselves are called by the Irish Sidhe or Siodha.Ó In ColganÕs time, then, the fairy superstition had passed from the upper classes, gradually disenthralled of it by the influence of Christianity to the common people, among whom it is still rife. But it is clear that in the time of St. Patrick a belief in a world of fairies existed even in the KingÕs household, for it is recorded that Òwhen the two daughters of King Leary of Ireland, Ethnea the fair and Fedelma the ruddy, came early one morning to the well of Clebach to wash, they found there a synod of holy bishops with Patrick. And they knew not whence they came, or in what form, or from what people, or from what country; but they supposedÊthem to be Duine Sidh, or gods of the earth, or a phantasm.Ó As suggested, the belief of the Princesses obtains to this very day amongst the peasantry of remote districts in Ireland, who still maintain that the fairies inhabit the Sidhe, or hills, and record instances of relations and friends being transported into their underground palaces. The truth is that the Gaelic peasant, Scotch and Irish, is a mystic, and believes not only in this world, and the world to come, but in that other world which is the world of Faery, and which exercises an extraordinary influence upon many actions of his life.

A collection of ten traditional tales of Irish heroes, kings, soldiers, magicians, poets, and madmen.

In the four provinces of Ireland there are thirty-two counties. Each county and its people have their own traditions, beliefs and folklore – and each one is also inhabited by the Sidhe: an ancient and magical race. Some believe they are descended from fallen angels, whilst others say they are the progeny of Celtic deities. They go by many names: the good folk, the wee folk, the gentle people and the fey, but are most commonly known as ‘the fairies’. These are not the whimsical fairies of Victorian and Edwardian picture books. They are feared and revered in equal measure, and even in the twenty-first century are spoken of in hushed tones. The fairies are always listening. Storyteller Steve Lally and his wife singer-songwriter Paula Flynn Lally have compiled this magnificent collection of magical fairy stories from every county in Ireland. Filled with unique illustrations that bring these tales to life, Irish Gothic Fairy Stories will both enthral and terrify readers for generations to come.

Twenty folk tales represent hundreds of years of the collective Irish imagination. Vivid descriptions of battles with giants, humans imprisoned in animals' bodies, heroes with incredible strength, and more.

Eight Punjabi tales, five from Armenia, 16 others. An enchanting world of flying dragons, ogres, fairies, and princes transformed into white foxes. 50 illustrations.

Irish poet and mythologist Ella Young recounts 14 age-old yarns of ghosts, banshees, haunted castles, and mischievous sprites. Imaginatively illustrated by noted Irish artist and patriot Maud Gonne, these exciting narratives of magical doings in the twilit world of Celtic legend will enchant readers of all ages. The tales include "The Earth-Shapers," "The Spear of Victory," "The Cow of Plenty," "The Great Battle," "The Golden Fly," "The Children of Lir," and eight others, all abounding in the sly charm, whimsy, and flights of fancy that give Celtic folklore its special appeal.