Front cover of 'Galway Bay Folk Tales'. My main intention with my new book Galway Bay Folk Tales was to bring a vividness and immediacy to the stories of the west.
My aim was to create a collection that honoured and celebrated not only the stories, but also the times and imaginations that formed them as well as the times and imaginations of people living and struggling in Ireland today. In order to do that I needed to not only step into the stories, but to go deeper and endeavour to unearth hidden seams of colour and tone.
To prepare myself for my journey through the substrata of the tales I looked around for the equipment I would need. It came as no surprise that the necessary machinery took the form of words; spoken words, written words, words in books, articles, websites and news paper clippings. Without all these words written and spoken by men and women, dead and alive and from all corners of Island earth, my book would have been very different.
The articles, books, essays and websites are listed below. Reading them was a wonderful journey, that often took me to strange times and places. Some of what I read dealt with matters very far from Galway and its stories, but they all helped shape my book, and I owe the authors of them all a huge thank you:
Cantarino, Geraldo, ‘An Island Called Brazil’, History Ireland, Vol. 16, Issue 4 (2008)
Corfield, Richard, Lives of the Planets (New York, 2007)
Cunningham, John, ‘A Town Tormented by the Sea’: Galway, 1790–1914 (Dublin, 2004)
Dennehy, Emer, ‘A Hot Property: The Morphology and Archaeology of the Irish Fulachta Fiadh’, JKAHS, Series 2, Vol. 8 (2008)
Douglas, M.S.V., Smol, J.P., Savelle, J.M. and Blais, J.M., ‘Prehistoric Inuit whalers affected Arctic freshwater ecosystems’, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 101, No. 6 (2004)
Ford, Patrick K., ‘Aspects of the Patrician Legend’, in Ford, Patrick K. (ed.) Celtic Folklore and Christianity (Santa Barbara, 1983)
Galway Arts Festival archives, Hardiman Library, National University of Ireland, Galway:
Geddes & Grossets, Celtic Mythology (based on text by Charles Squire ) (Lanark, 2000) original text available at sacred texts
Heaney, Marie, Over Nine Waves: A Book of Irish Legends (London, 1994)
Higgins, Jim ‘Mesolithic Finds in Oughterard’
Hood, A.B.E., St. Patrick: His Writings and Muirchu’s life (London, 1978)
Hughes, Harry. Croagh Patrick: A Place of Pilgrimage. A Place of
Beauty (Dublin, 2010)
James, Simon, The Atlantic Celts: Ancient People or Modern Invention? (London, 2000)
Kenny, Tom ‘Some Galway Fires’, Galway Advertiser (24 June 2010)
Kinsella, Thomas, The Táin (Dublin, 1969)
Korff, Anne and O’Connell, Jeff, Kinvara: A Rambler’s Guide (Galway, 1985)
Kyne, Mary, ‘Orbsen – Ancient name of Lough Corrib’.
McGarry, Patsy, ‘Church stance on abortion and soul of child has varied over time’, The Irish Times (20 November 2012)
McKie, Robin, ‘Enceladus: Home of Alien Lifeforms?’The Observer (29 July 2012)
McLean, Malcolom & Dorgan, Theo (eds), An Leabhar Mòr: The Gaelic Tradition Behind The Book (Gaillmh, 2005)
MacMullen, Ramsay, Changes in the Roman Empire: Essays in the Ordinary (Princeton, 1990)
Mac Niocaill, Gearóid, Ireland before the Vikings (Dublin, 1972)
Mitchell, Stephen, A History of the Later Roman Empire, ad 284–641 (Oxford, 2007)
Montefiore, Simon Sebag, Jerusalem: The Biography (London, 2011)
Mullal, Erin, ‘Letter from Ireland: Mystery of the Fulacht Fiadh’, Archaeology Magazine, Vol. 65 (2012)
Ó Riordain CSsR, John J., Early Irish Saints (Dublin, 2001)
Rice, Eugene F., Jr, The Foundations of Early Modern Europe, 1460–1559 (London, 1970)
Robinson, Tim, Oileáin Árann: A Companion to the Map of the Aran Islands (Galway, 1996)
Ross, Anne, ‘Ritual and the Druids’, in Green, Miranda J. (ed.)The Celtic World (London, 1995)
Thomson, David, The People of the Sea (Edinburgh, 1998)
Walsh, Paul, Discover Galway (Dublin, 2001)
Wentz, W.Y. Evans, The Fairy-faith in Celtic Countries (New York, 1911).
Westropp, Thomas Johnson, ‘A Study in the Legends of the Connacht Coast, Ireland’, Folklore, Vol. 28, No. 2 (1917) (JSTOR). Online at http://www.jstor.org/stable/1255026
Westropp, Thomas Johnson, Ring-Forts in the Barony of Moyarta, Co. Clare, and Their Legends. Online at www.clarelibrary.ie
Westropp, Thomas Johnson, County Clare Folk-Tales and Myths. Online at www.clarelibrary.ie
Westropp, Thomas Johnson, ‘A Study in the Legends of the Connacht Coast, Ireland. Part II’, Folklore, Vol. 28, No. 4 (31 December 1917), (JSTOR). Online at http://www.jstor.org/stable/1255489
‘The Warden of Galway (The Execution of Walter Lynch)’,Dublin Penny Journal, Vol. 1, No. 29 (12 January 1833). Online at http://www.jstor.org/stable/30003107
CERN: Accelerating Science
Mebh’s palace rathcrogan
Rathcrogan
Knockma
www.loophead.ie
The Oghil Wedge Tomb (Leaba Dhiarmada agus Ghrainne)
Oughterard heritage
‘Public Art in Lawrencetown: Diarmaid and Gráinne’
Inchagoill Island:
My aim was to create a collection that honoured and celebrated not only the stories, but also the times and imaginations that formed them as well as the times and imaginations of people living and struggling in Ireland today. In order to do that I needed to not only step into the stories, but to go deeper and endeavour to unearth hidden seams of colour and tone.
To prepare myself for my journey through the substrata of the tales I looked around for the equipment I would need. It came as no surprise that the necessary machinery took the form of words; spoken words, written words, words in books, articles, websites and news paper clippings. Without all these words written and spoken by men and women, dead and alive and from all corners of Island earth, my book would have been very different.
The articles, books, essays and websites are listed below. Reading them was a wonderful journey, that often took me to strange times and places. Some of what I read dealt with matters very far from Galway and its stories, but they all helped shape my book, and I owe the authors of them all a huge thank you:
Cantarino, Geraldo, ‘An Island Called Brazil’, History Ireland, Vol. 16, Issue 4 (2008)
Corfield, Richard, Lives of the Planets (New York, 2007)
Cunningham, John, ‘A Town Tormented by the Sea’: Galway, 1790–1914 (Dublin, 2004)
Dennehy, Emer, ‘A Hot Property: The Morphology and Archaeology of the Irish Fulachta Fiadh’, JKAHS, Series 2, Vol. 8 (2008)
Douglas, M.S.V., Smol, J.P., Savelle, J.M. and Blais, J.M., ‘Prehistoric Inuit whalers affected Arctic freshwater ecosystems’, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 101, No. 6 (2004)
Ford, Patrick K., ‘Aspects of the Patrician Legend’, in Ford, Patrick K. (ed.) Celtic Folklore and Christianity (Santa Barbara, 1983)
Galway Arts Festival archives, Hardiman Library, National University of Ireland, Galway:
Geddes & Grossets, Celtic Mythology (based on text by Charles Squire ) (Lanark, 2000) original text available at sacred texts
Heaney, Marie, Over Nine Waves: A Book of Irish Legends (London, 1994)
Higgins, Jim ‘Mesolithic Finds in Oughterard’
Hood, A.B.E., St. Patrick: His Writings and Muirchu’s life (London, 1978)
Hughes, Harry. Croagh Patrick: A Place of Pilgrimage. A Place of
Beauty (Dublin, 2010)
James, Simon, The Atlantic Celts: Ancient People or Modern Invention? (London, 2000)
Kenny, Tom ‘Some Galway Fires’, Galway Advertiser (24 June 2010)
Kinsella, Thomas, The Táin (Dublin, 1969)
Korff, Anne and O’Connell, Jeff, Kinvara: A Rambler’s Guide (Galway, 1985)
Kyne, Mary, ‘Orbsen – Ancient name of Lough Corrib’.
McGarry, Patsy, ‘Church stance on abortion and soul of child has varied over time’, The Irish Times (20 November 2012)
McKie, Robin, ‘Enceladus: Home of Alien Lifeforms?’The Observer (29 July 2012)
McLean, Malcolom & Dorgan, Theo (eds), An Leabhar Mòr: The Gaelic Tradition Behind The Book (Gaillmh, 2005)
MacMullen, Ramsay, Changes in the Roman Empire: Essays in the Ordinary (Princeton, 1990)
Mac Niocaill, Gearóid, Ireland before the Vikings (Dublin, 1972)
Mitchell, Stephen, A History of the Later Roman Empire, ad 284–641 (Oxford, 2007)
Montefiore, Simon Sebag, Jerusalem: The Biography (London, 2011)
Mullal, Erin, ‘Letter from Ireland: Mystery of the Fulacht Fiadh’, Archaeology Magazine, Vol. 65 (2012)
Ó Riordain CSsR, John J., Early Irish Saints (Dublin, 2001)
Rice, Eugene F., Jr, The Foundations of Early Modern Europe, 1460–1559 (London, 1970)
Robinson, Tim, Oileáin Árann: A Companion to the Map of the Aran Islands (Galway, 1996)
Ross, Anne, ‘Ritual and the Druids’, in Green, Miranda J. (ed.)The Celtic World (London, 1995)
Thomson, David, The People of the Sea (Edinburgh, 1998)
Walsh, Paul, Discover Galway (Dublin, 2001)
Wentz, W.Y. Evans, The Fairy-faith in Celtic Countries (New York, 1911).
Westropp, Thomas Johnson, ‘A Study in the Legends of the Connacht Coast, Ireland’, Folklore, Vol. 28, No. 2 (1917) (JSTOR). Online at http://www.jstor.org/stable/1255026
Westropp, Thomas Johnson, Ring-Forts in the Barony of Moyarta, Co. Clare, and Their Legends. Online at www.clarelibrary.ie
Westropp, Thomas Johnson, County Clare Folk-Tales and Myths. Online at www.clarelibrary.ie
Westropp, Thomas Johnson, ‘A Study in the Legends of the Connacht Coast, Ireland. Part II’, Folklore, Vol. 28, No. 4 (31 December 1917), (JSTOR). Online at http://www.jstor.org/stable/1255489
‘The Warden of Galway (The Execution of Walter Lynch)’,Dublin Penny Journal, Vol. 1, No. 29 (12 January 1833). Online at http://www.jstor.org/stable/30003107
CERN: Accelerating Science
Mebh’s palace rathcrogan
Rathcrogan
Knockma
www.loophead.ie
The Oghil Wedge Tomb (Leaba Dhiarmada agus Ghrainne)
Oughterard heritage
‘Public Art in Lawrencetown: Diarmaid and Gráinne’
Inchagoill Island:
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