Beside the fire/Where the Stories came from
WHERE THE STORIES CAME FROM.
The first three stories, namely, "The Tailor and the Three Beasts," "Bran," and "The King of Ireland's Son," I took down verbatim, without the alteration or addition of more than a word or two, from Seáġan O Cuinneaġáin (John Cunningham), who lives in the village of Baile-an-ṗuil (Ballinphuil), in the county of Roscommon, some half mile from Mayo. He is between seventy and eighty years old, and is, I think, illiterate.
The story of "The Alp-luachra" is written down from notes made at the time I first heard the story. It was told me by Seamus o h-Airt (James Hart), a game-keeper, in the barony of Frenchpark, between sixty and seventy years old, and illiterate. The notes were not full ones, and I had to eke them out in writing down the story, the reciter, one of the best I ever met, having unfortunately died in the interval.
The stories of "Paudyeen O'Kelly," and of "Leeam O'Rooney's Burial," I got from Mr. Lynch Blake, near Ballinrobe, county Mayo, who took the trouble of writing them down for me in nearly phonetic Irish, for which I beg to return him my best thanks. I do not think that these particular stories underwent any additions at his hands while writing them down. I do not know from whom he heard the first, and cannot now find out, as he has left the locality. The second he told me he got from a man, eighty years old, named William Grady, who lived near Clare-Galway, but who for the last few years has been "carrying a bag."
The long story of "Guleesh na Guss dhu," was told by the same Shamus O'Hart, from whom I got the "Alp-luachra," but, as in the case of the "Alp-luachra" story, I had only taken notes of it, and not written down the whole as it fell from his lips. I have only met one other man since, Martin Brennan, in the barony of Frenchpark, Roscommon, who knew the same story, and he told it to me--but in an abridged form--incident for incident up to the point where my translation leaves off.
There is a great deal more in the Irish version in the Leaḃar Sgeuluiġeaċta, which I did not translate, not having been able to get it from Brennan, and having doctored it too much myself to give it as genuine folk-lore.
The rest of the stories in this volume are literally translated from my Leaḃar Sgeuluiġeaċta. Neil O'Carree was taken down phonetically, by Mr. Larminie, from the recitation of a South Donegal peasant.
The Hags of the Long Teeth come from Ballinrobe, as also William of the Tree, the Court of Crinnawn, and the Well of D'Yerree-in-Dowan. See pages 239-240 of the L. S.