The sun., 1893-06-11
FAIRY TALES OF IRELAND
e,Il.risi h the Original lrlsh from The Lips
Of Irish StaH TelIsrs.
.p,rss. 1884 - J~sri.A ov,fA

l.
N. ANAL group Of fsl ~ tales. the flrst Of
,hish appeared in THE Sun on March 19. we're
snt,In.d west OF Killarney Mountains and
,,r. connected with the peninsula between the
nv, al Dingie and Trnlee. The following tales
..r, taken down west Of the same mountaina
hat between Dingle Bay and Kenmare River.
"a relate to the southern half Of Kerry.
IN this region Of mountains the daelio Ian
su.se Is spoken generally BY the older inhab-
w.nt. and 10 many places ancient ways OF
sslnking are we'll preserved among people Of
st,y years and upward. Persons between
thirty and nfty. though they know the old
tins IDEAS do not live in them altogether. As
A people OF the rising generation. their minds
s>sn turned in another direction They are
,os settled anywhere yet; some Of them are
ssehing. others are drifting.
In general. the region 10 not one Of rapid
movement. and In many hooks and corners Of
n the past Is we'll represented. The present
tales touching fairies ghosts. and various per-
sonsges outside ordinary human life refer to
stusl teliefs. Some persons hold to these be-
lisis as firmly as possible: indeed. they are
among the main articles OF faith for good
number Of tho old people
There are persona in the educated world
Who consider fairy tales a. mere sources Of
amusement: there are others who look on
them as too frivolous to be read BY serious
psops Both views are erroneous Fairy teles
contain the remnants OF religious system
prior to Christianity. When these tales are
collected and compared with each other and
with that mass Of Kettle literature extending
from tho twelfth to the present century. and
which remains In manuscript in Dublin. Lon
nd Ua mi
expect to find o certain religious system, o
certain philosophy Of life and death. exhibited
to Us with tolerable degree OF distinctness.
In the fairy tales which have collected 90
lar. and In the conversation Of the men who
told thsm to me. dnd remarkable freedom
efintercourse between the visible and the un-
seen worlds. between what We call the dead
and the livinG-e certain intimate communion
bstveen what has been and what is. Unless
10 the case OF old people. 1t can hardly be said
that there IL any such thing as death In the
Kettle fairy philosophy. Children and young
persons are removed: other bodies. diseased
or dying. are put In their placea The persons
removed are taken to she fairy mansions; II
they eat they are lost: II they refrain they
have seven years In which return Is possible.
This Is only one item in the system of extra
human forces In Heltic belief AL that we
End so far In Hero Tales or Fairy Tales In Ire
land Is In close connection with that pre-
Christian religion which covered the earth
AID included ell races OF men. which. in its
boundiess variety. was essentially the same.
whether We consider tho Greeks and Hindoos
or the Indians Of North and South America
For this religion, raising the dead. travelling
on tho water. running through the air. are not
exceptional or wonderful; they are Of daily oc-
currenee and comnson the7 are not merely in
cid ants In it. but paFt OF its machinsry. This
cid universal religion iad many other ideas
which acquired new associations after the
Christian ora and took on new names- 1t IL
most interesting to note how much OF It sur
WINS ses. not only among the uninstructed
hus among the leaders Of mankind.
I found two tales of st. Martin. which are
given here The hrst 10 curious rs containing
the nan-eatinG ghost. which II common
enough among the slaves. but which now
End In Ireland for the fret time.
The gray COWS from the sea. In the second
St Martin story. seem OF the Same breed as
GIas Gainach and the Glas Gavlen stolen by
Ba'or Of Tory Island
Ths sacredness OF the plough chains II An
Interesting bit Of agricultural lore In the story
OF John Reardon. The heated coulter OF
pl3ugh il used In Ireland to force confession
from witch who prevsnts butter from ap-
pearing when milk is ehurned.
The ocular illusion by which one thing seems
another. which causes Tom Connors 10 think
that an old horse Is his COW Cooby. 10 common
snong all peoples. I found some excellent
Illustrations Of 1t In the stories OF the Modoc
IndiAns OF Oregon.