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    FAIRY LEGENDS AND TRADITIONS OF THE SOUTH OF IRELAND.

    BY

    T. CROFTON CROKER.


    A New Edition.

    WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS,
    AFTER DESIGNS OF THE AUTHOR AND OTHERS.


    "Come l'araba Fenice
    Che ci sia, ognun lo dice;
    Dove sia, nessun lo sa."--METASTASIO.


    Philadelphia:
    LEA AND BLANCHARD.
    1844.




PREFACE.


The erudite Lessing styles a preface "the history of a book." Now,
though there can be no necessity for a preface in that sense of the
word to the reprint of a work of mere whim, which has been nearly ten
years before the public, yet a few words are requisite to prevent the
present condensed and revised edition from being considered an
abridgment.

However compact may be the mode of printing adopted, the act of
compressing into one volume the three in which the "Fairy Legends"
originally appeared, involved to a certain extent the necessity of
selection, perhaps the most difficult of all tasks judiciously to
perform; but the following statement will show the system proceeded
on.

Forty tales descriptive of Irish superstitions now appear instead of
fifty. All superfluous annotations have been struck out, and a brief
summary at the end of each section substituted, explanatory of the
classification adopted, and in which a few additional notes have been
introduced, as well as upon the text. It is therefore hoped that this
curtailment will be regarded as an essential improvement; some useless
repetition in the tales being thereby avoided, and much irrelevant
matter in the notes dispensed with, although nothing which illustrates
in the slightest degree the popular Fairy Creed of Ireland has been
sacrificed. At the same time, the omission of a portion of the ten
immaterial tales will sufficiently answer doubts idly raised as to the
question of authorship.




            CONTENTS.


            THE SHEFRO.

          I. The Legend of Knocksheogowna,
         II. ---- Knockfierna,
        III. ---- Knockgrafton,
         IV. The Priest's Supper,
          V. The Brewery of Egg-shells,
         VI. Legend of Bottle Hill,
        VII. The Confessions of Tom Bourke,
       VIII. Fairies or no Fairies,
            _Note on the Section._

            THE CLURICAUNE.

         IX. The Haunted Cellar,
          X. Master and Man,
         XI. The Little Shoe,
            _Note on the Section._

            THE BANSHEE.

        XII. The Bunworth Banshee,
       XIII. The McCarthy Banshee,
            _Note on the Section._

            THE PHOOKA.

        XIV. The Spirit Horse,
         XV. Daniel O'Rourke,
        XVI. The Crookened Back,
            _Note on the Section._

            THIERNA NA OGE.

       XVII. Fior Usga,
      XVIII. Cormac and Mary (_Ballad_,)
        XIX. The Legend of Lough Gur,
         XX. The Enchanted Lake,
        XXI. The Legend of O'Donoghue,
            _Note on the Section._

            THE MERROW.

       XXII. The Lady of Gollerus,
      XXIII. Flory Cantillon's Funeral,
       XXIV. The Lord of Dunkerron (_Ballad_,)
        XXV. The Wonderful Tune,
            _Note on the Section._

            THE DULLAHAN.

       XXVI. The Good Woman,
      XXVII. Hanlon's Mill,
     XXVIII. The Death Coach (_Ballad_,)
       XXIX. The Headless Horseman,
            _Note on the Section._

            THE FIR DARRIG.

        XXX. Diarmid Bawn, the Piper,
       XXXI. Teigue of the Lee,
      XXXII. Ned Sheehy's Excuse,
     XXXIII. The Lucky Guest,
            _Note on the Section._

            TREASURE LEGENDS.

      XXXIV. Dreaming Tim Jarvis,
       XXXV. Rent Day,
      XXXVI. Linn-na-Payshtha,
            _Note on the Section._

            ROCKS AND STONES.

     XXXVII. The Legend of Cairn Thierna,
    XXXVIII. The Rock of the Candle,
      XXXIX. Clough-na-Cuddy,
         XL. The Giant's Stairs.

            APPENDIX--Letter from Sir Walter Scott.




TO THE DOWAGER LADY CHATTERTON.

CASTLE MAHON.


    THEE, Lady, would I lead through Fairy-land
      (Whence cold and doubting reasoners are exiled,)
      A land of dreams, with air-built castles piled;
    The moonlight SHEFROS there, in merry band
    With artful CLURICAUNE, should ready stand
      To welcome thee--Imagination's child!
      Till on thy ear would burst so sadly wild
    The BANSHEE'S shriek, who points with