Susan Hated Literature

The Story of the Tain
Author: Morgan Llywelyn
ISBN: 0749302054 DDC: 813.54
Read for the Once Upon A Time challenge.
See also: LibraryThing ; Táin Bó Cúalnge

The atmosphere surrounding the little boy vibrated with tension. He could not see the stifled anger and baffled desire, but he sensed their residue accumulating like dustballs in the corners of the fort. Unspoken recriminations crowded the silences; bitter glances were hurled like spears over small Setanta’s head.

When I first read this book I wrote the month and year inside the cover, so I know that I first read it in February 1994, but I’ve reread it plenty of times in the past 13 years. It has been one of my favourite books ever since. That might possibly be because it is based on the Irish legend of the Táin Bó Cúalnge, or Cattle-Raid of Cooley. The Táin is made up of a collection of stories, based around the heroes of the Red Branch, the warriors of Ulster, and especially Cúchulainn.

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Author: Calo Gebbler
ISBN: 1405212551
This is a YA book based on the Irish legend of The Táin. Cúchulainn is the legendary Ulster warrior who is forced to defend the province from the Connacht invasion, and all over one brown bull.

I suppose I should mention that The Táin is my favourite of the Irish myths, and I’ve read a few verions of this story. Kinsella’s translation is probably the most accurate, but Morgan Llywelyn’s On Raven’s Wing is my favourite novelisation of the legend. And this book does very little to change my mind.

There is little by way of characterisation. Setanta/Cuchulainn only appears when he is doing something, there is little realistic motivation, and I didn’t buy any of the characters.

The myth is a tale of romance, magic, of honour, duty and friendship. Little of this appears in the book. The fight between Ferdia and Cuchulainn should be emotive and upsetting, here I really didn’t care.

Then again, it is a YA book so maybe Gébler felt he shouldn’t go too much into the emotions prefering to stick to the adventure and the heroics. If so he did an okay job.

Carlo Gébler | Táin Bó Cualgna - translation |

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Memoirs of a Folklorist
ISBN: 1856352064
Author: Bríd Mahon
DDC: 398.092

As the subtitle says this book is mainly concerned with the life of Bríd Mahon while she worked for the Irish Folklore Commission. In it Mahon lists many of the tales that the commission collected, as well as the lives of the people who collected the stories, customs and songs.

It is a very readable book, I finished it in one sitting on a three hour train journey, and while never spectacular it is very enjoyable for anyone who might have an interest in folklore. In this book Mahon covers almost every topic from Raftery the poet to the Famine, from the oldest folktale in the world to Georgian Dublin. In the years she spent at the Folklore Commission she met with many famous names; Kavanagh, Tolkien and Disney for example.

Sean O’Suilleabhain and the Folklore Commission | UCD’s folklore dept. | Amazon’s list of books by Mahon

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