William Butler Yeats was the son of a well-known Irish painter, John Butler Yeats. He studied painting as a young man but quickly discovered he preferred poetry. Yeats became involved with the Celtic Revival, a movement against the cultural influences of English rule in Ireland during the Victorian period, which sought to promote the spirit of Ireland’s native heritage. His writing drew extensively from sources in Irish mythology and folklore. Also a potent influence on his poetry was the Irish revolutionary Maud Gonne, whom he met in 1889, a woman equally famous for her passionate nationalist politics and her beauty. Though she married another man in 1903 and grew apart from Yeats, she remained a powerful figure in his poetry
Thomas Crofton Croker [1798-1854] was an Irish antiquary who was born in Cork and devoted himself largely to the collection of ancient Irish poetry and Irish folklore. He and his wife's testimonies about funereal customs, particularly the tradition of keening the deceased are among the earliest and most significant contributions to the understanding of the Irish language lament and the accompanying traditions. His work Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland went to six editions, and was translated into German by the Brothers Grimm..jpg)
Ivor Ben McIvor may not actually be the real name of the writer of this beautiful little book but never mind it's a nice piece of Celtic history which needs to be preserved.
The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is a novella by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, first published in 1886. London lawyer Utterson is driven to investigate Edward Hyde, the unlikely protege of his friend Dr Henry Jekyll, suspecting the relationship to be founded on blackmail. The truth is worse than he could have imagined. Jekyll's 'full statement of the case', the final chapter of the book, explores the idea of dual personality that led him to his experiments, and his inexorable and finally fatal descent into evil.
The Tinker's Wedding is a two-act play written by Irish playwright J. M. Synge. The author's only comedy, it is set on a roadside near a chapel in rural Ireland.
Crossways [1889] was the first collection of poetry by Irish-born poet William Butler Yeats. Many decades before his mysterious and austere Modernist verse earned him a nobel prize, Yeats achieved renown as one of the last major poets in the High Romantic tradition. These poems showcase his Celtic imagination, his love for Irish folk-tales, and his commitment to the Romantic ideal of love.
Katharine Tynan, was born at Whitehall dairy farm, Clondalkin, County Dublin. She was one of 12 children of Andrew Cullen Tynan and Elizabeth Reilly Tynan. She attended the Dominican Convent of St Catherine of Siena, Drogheda for 6 years [to age 14] and considered a religious novitiate. She first met W. B. Yeats in 1885 and formed a lifelong friendship,and Yeats himself selected the poems for this particular anthology. Tynan besides poetry also wrote more than 100 novels, 12 collections of short stories, 3 plays, and anthologies, as well as innumerable articles on social questions such as poor children and women’s working conditions. Anyone unfamiliar with her might well recognize "The Wind that Shakes the Barley". A well known song encompassing her poem as lyrics.
W.B Yeats never made a secret of his fascination and even belief in the world of the occult and the existence of faeries. His passion in these tales comes forth through the pages and adds a new dimension to these age-old tales. Willie B. is definitely the Go to many for Celtic Mythology.
William Butler Yeats was an Irish poet and one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature. He studied poetry in his youth and from an early age was fascinated by both Irish legends and the occult. The Wind Among The Reeds published in 1902, is in many critics opinion the main achievement of his early works. Imagery of Yeats' poetry at this time is filled with characters from Celtic Mythology and Folklore..jpg)
The Celtic Twilight consists of 42 Irish and Celtic folklore tales. Read by Shakira Searle; Arie; Russell Hughes; Jordan Heron; John O'Riordan; Luna Pierson; KHand; Tim Rainey; Anusha Iyer; Robert Dixon; John Van Stan; Simon Smoke; Kathy Wright; JamesMcAndrew; Glenn O'Brien; MaryAnne; ImkeStevens; Max Wainer; MaryAnn; and Erin B. Lillis.
Joseph Mary Plunkett [21 November 1887 – 4 May 1916] was an Irish nationalist, poet, journalist, and a leader of the 1916 Easter Rising. Plunkett was one of the original members of the IRB Military Committee that was responsible for planning the Easter Rising, and it was largely his plan that was followed. Shortly before the rising was to begin, Plunkett was hospitalised following a turn for the worse in his health. He had an operation on his neck glands days before Easter and had to struggle out of bed to take part in what was to follow. Still bandaged, he took his place in the General Post Office with several other of the rising's leaders such as Patrick Pearse and Tom Clarke, though his health prevented him from being terribly active. His energetic aide de camp was Michael Collins.
Seumas MacManus [1869–1960] was an Irish author, dramatist, and poet known for his ability to reinterpret Irish folktales for modern audiences. Born into a poor farming family in Mountcharles, County Donegal, he became a teacher, and in the 1890s began contributing articles and stories to newspapers in the US. Seamus MacManus is considered by many to be the last great seanchaÃ, or storyteller of the ancient oral tradition. He wrote down and interpreted traditional stories so that they would not be lost to future generations. In one book he encourages the reader to read the stories aloud and to others. "These tales were made not for reading, but for telling. They were made and told for the passing of long nights, for the shortening of weary journeys, for entertaining of traveler-guests, for brightening of cabin hearths. Be not content with reading them… And grateful be to the shanachies who passed these tales to me, for you.
The Land of Heart's Desire is a play by Irish poet and dramatist William Butler Yeats. First performed in the spring of 1894, at the Avenue Theatre in London, where it ran for a little over six weeks, it was the first professional performance of one of Yeats' plays. In this theatrical lament on age and thwarted aspirations, a faery child encounters the newlyweds Shawn and Mary Bruin at their home, shared with Maurteen Bruin and Bridget Bruin, Shawn's parents. The child, who at first is thought of by the Bruins as of gentle birth, denounces God and shocks Father Hart. She expounds on the ephemeral nature of life, in a bid to entice the newly-wed Maire to leave with her to the world of faery:
Thomas MacDonagh [1 February 1878 – 3 May 1916] was an Irish political activist, poet, playwright, educationalist and revolutionary leader. He was one of the seven leaders of the Easter Rising of 1916, a signatory of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic and Commandant of the 2nd Battalion, Dublin Brigade of the Irish Volunteers, which fought in Jacob's biscuit factory. He was executed for his part in the Rising at the age of thirty-eight. Below is a copy of one of his four poetry books Songs Of Myself [by Thomas MacDonagh][1910].
Francis Edward Ledwidge [19 August 1887 – 31 July 1917] was an Irish war poet from County Meath. Sometimes known as the "poet of the blackbirds", he was killed in action at the Battle of Passchendaele during World War I..jpg)
Margaret Letitia Josephine Kermode [1852–1937] was a Manx poet and playwright better known by the pen name "Cushag". A native Manx Gaelic speaker and an expert collector of Celtic Folklore her 2nd anthology Ellan Vannin [Ellan Vannin being the Manx Gaelic name for the Isle of Man] was published in 1911. The poems draw heavily on Manx and Celtic Folklore.
