Roscommon Folk Tales

Legend has it that the magical Tuatha Dé Danann came on the wind from Tír na nÓg (The Land of Youth) and landed in Roscommon, on the Curlew Mountains. It was from here that they spread throughout Ireland and some say that it is they who created the soul of the Irish and who imbued all who came after with the Irish Spirit. They were hot-tempered, strong, brave, daring and often rash and many of their deeds are captured in this collection of tales from across the country. Also featured here are intriguing stories of a vanishing lake, Oileán na Sioga (The Fairy Island), and the miracles of St Kieran, along with darker tales of the battles of Queen Méabh, the Monster of Lough Rea, and the story of Betty of Roscommon, Ireland’s first (and only) hang woman – not to mention the fantastical accounts of encounters with leprechauns, pookas, giants and banshees. Roscommon has as many stories as there are people travelling its roads, passed down from generation to generation, and a wealth of them are gathered together here in this unique volume.