Clare County Library | Clare
Folklore |
Customs,
Lore and Legend of Other Clare Days: Folklore Collection in Ireland |
Among the first collectors of native lore in Ireland was Thomas Crofton Croker whose book Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland was published anonymously in 1825. Another pioneer was Patrick Kennedy who published Legendary Fictions of the Irish Celts, and Fireside Stories of Ireland which he had himself heard in his native Wexford when a boy. Lady Wilde ("Speranza") too, through her books: Ancient Legends and Ancient Cures, Charms and Usages, published towards the end of the century, contributed greatly to an appreciation of the richness of Irish folk tradition. Although these and other such publications could be said to have led the way in the recording of folk history they had many defects from a scientific point of view. They contained little apart from folk-tales collected mainly by people who had little knowledge of the Irish language. Recorded through interpreters, the folktales in particular lacked the imagery and fluency of the original oral narration. As Douglas Hyde has remarked, 'tales of this kind do not pass readily over linguistic frontiers. They belong entirely to the old Irish world and can never speak any language but their ownIn fact it was Hyde himself in his Leabhar Sgéulaigheachta, or 'Story Book' (1889) who gave us the first collection of folk-stories taken down from the lips of the peasantry and printed in the exact language in which they related them. In 1893 he helped to found the Gaelic League and went on to become one of the most prominent figures in the Irish Literary Renaissance. He published collections of folk-tales and folk-songs together with faithful translations. His writings introduced others in the revivalist movement to the ancient culture of Gaelic Ireland with which they were hitherto largely unacquainted. In particular his work had a profound effect on Yeats and Lady Gregory, both of whom quickly came to realise the value of going back directly to the active tradition for material to re-awaken the national spirit..' |
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