Fairy & Folk Tales of Ireland

The leprechaun is one of the iconic symbols of Ireland. But for all the fantastical creature's popularity, the folk tales from which he emerged are largely unknown. In this anthology the masterful poet W.B. Yeats has collected and collated the enthralling stories of the Irish peasantry. One of Ireland's greatest writers, the Nobel-prize winner W. B. Yeats was fascinated by the myths and folklore of his native country. Compiled by Yeats in 1892, these stories were collected around the country by a variety of historians, including Lady Wilde, the mother of Oscar Wilde. Within these pages, you'll discover tales of greedy sons who get their comeuppance, canny priests, evil witches and demons alongside legends of heroic kings, giants and, of course, the good folk themselves - the fairies, the leprechauns and the cluricauns. By turns, charming and scary, these are yarns that have passed down through generations and which are still as entertaining and magical as when they were first recalled.