Hibernian Nights: Twenty-two Tales of Irish Mystery and Magic

A glorious part of Ireland, the enchanted land of myth and magic, is captured in these twenty-two stories, planned by the “last of the true Irish shanachies” as his final and definitive collection.Here are stories of the days when heroes trod the earth. There are giants to be outsmarted, witches to be scorned, hazardous journeys to make and impossible feats to accomplish. There are bargains to be made and promises to be kept, and always it is a bold and daring youth, perhaps with the help of a dazzling young damsel, who conquers all. Here you meet kings and queens (witty and witless), wizards and hags, enchanted animals and the “little people” of Ireland.These tales — newly revised and rewritten by Seumas McManus shortly before his death in 1960 — represent what he described as the “cream of my storylore.” Of Mr. McManus, The New York Times has said that he will be the favourite always of “the young in heart who have longed for a return to the imagery and make-believe of a good story in the hands of a craftsman who knows how to set a mood before he begins.” His stories speak to adults as well as children, for the gift of the born storyteller is in them — rich, musical narrative, crackling humour, the warmth of the fireside, magically poetic and true. Here is Irish folklore in the true tradition — perpetuated for our enjoyment by the greatest Irish storyteller of them all.