An Irish Folklore Treasury

John Creedon (Creedo to his pals) has a way with words, as any listener of his radio programme can agree with.  Here, he turns his skill to a collection of essays about Irish folklore. Everything from the supernatural, including banshees and mermaids, to long-forgotten trades and crafts, folk medicine, religion, the weather, and many more. 

The real magic of this book, however, is the story of how it came together. In the 1930s, the Irish Government established the Irish Folklore Commission, to study and collect information on Irish folklore and traditions. They in turn set up the Schools Collection, where between 1937 and 1939, over 50,000 Irish primary school children conducted interviews with their friends, family, and neighbours. These precious snapshots of Irish life were collated into over 1,000 volumes, covering a wide range of topics.  

Now, nearly 90 years later John Creedon has collated his top picks from the collection and contributed a few essays of his own. This book is as much a celebration of the history of collecting folklore, as it is a loving retelling of the folklore itself.

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What size is it?
Hardback, 24 x 16.5 x 3 cm. 400 pages