7 h 29 minAudiobook9 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 7 h 29 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
In these Irish tales, a deer may be a woman, and even a brave hero can be fooled.
James Stephens retells old Irish stories with humour, quick action and a poet's feeling for the land. Fionn mac Cumhaill and his warriors, the Fianna, hunt and fight across Ireland, where spells reach into family life. Courage matters here, but pride and jealousy leave heroes as open to trouble as anyone else.
The collection opens with Tuan Mac Cairill, who remembers many lives and shapes. The Boyhood of Fionn follows the hero's beginnings, while Oisin's Mother brings us close to a woman living under a spell. In Becuma of the White Skin, a banished fairy woman enters a human court, where her beauty and will unsettle a kingdom.
What you’ll discover
- Lives beyond one lifetime Meet Tuan Mac Cairill, an ancient survivor whose memories reach deep into Ireland's past.
- A hero's first steps Follow young Fionn toward leadership, with courage and sudden wisdom shaping his path.
- Kinship under a spell Discover Bran, Fionn's swift and loyal hound, whose strange birth binds magic to family.
- The woman in the woods Encounter Sadb in deer form, where enchantment gives a human story its sorrow.
- Laughter beside the wildness Find fools, tricksters and proud heroes in tales that laugh as often as they sigh.
Who will love it
For readers who love myths, folklore and the Irish landscape, and anyone who wants a gentle way into the Fionn stories. It also suits families reading aloud.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A man who remembers many lives
- A spell that makes hounds of kin
- A boy grows into the leader Fionn
- The deer woman and her lost son
- Strangers, kings and troublesome beauty
- Humor, wildness and a poet's voice
Who’s who
- Fionn mac CumhaillThe leader of the Fianna, a hunter and warrior who joins courage with sudden flashes of wisdom.
- OisinFionn's son, raised in strange circumstances, who becomes a warrior and a poet among the Fianna.
- SadbA woman placed under a spell by a dark druid, who lives in the woods in the shape of a deer.
- BranOne of Fionn's two famous hounds, swift and loyal, born under a spell and bound to his family.
- Tuan Mac CairillAn ancient survivor who remembers many lives and shapes, and who tells the history of Ireland to a holy man.
- BecumaA woman of the fairy people, banished from her own world, whose beauty and will unsettle a human court.
- FinegasAn old poet and teacher who waits by a river for a salmon that carries knowledge.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
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- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 7 h 29 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 9 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Cuentos de hadas irlandeses
by James Stephens · 1920
Meet Fionn and enchanted hounds in Irish tales where heroes face spells, jealousy and their own pride.
Medium level5–10 hours to read25 languages
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In short
Irish Fairy Tales is a collection of old Irish stories retold by the Dublin poet and novelist James Stephens. It was published in 1920, with pictures by Arthur Rackham.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A man who remembers many lives
The book opens with the story of Tuan Mac Cairill, an ancient being who has outlived his own time. In Stephens's telling, Tuan is an old man, perhaps the oldest in Ireland, who lives near a monastery. A holy man named Finnian comes to him and asks for the history of the land. Tuan agrees, and what he offers is not a list of kings but a record of his own strange life.
Tuan explains that he once belonged to a people who settled Ireland long ago. As the years passed, his people died around him, and he was left alone. Then he began to change. He became an animal, and then another animal, and each time he kept his memory of what had gone before. He knew the hills and rivers as a man, and later he knew them as a creature that lived off them.
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What is Irish Fairy Tales by James Stephens about?
It is a collection of old Irish legends retold by Stephens. The tales feature Fionn mac Cumhaill and his warriors, shape-changers, enchanted animals, fairy women and clever fools, in a world where magic is part of daily life.
Who is Fionn mac Cumhaill?
Fionn mac Cumhaill is a legendary Irish hero and the leader of the Fianna, a band of warriors and hunters. He is known for his strength, his hounds, and the wisdom he gains as a young man.
When was Irish Fairy Tales written?
James Stephens published it in 1920, with illustrations by Arthur Rackham. The stories themselves are much older, drawn from Irish oral and manuscript tradition and retold by Stephens in his own style.
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