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Irish Folk Lore

         When Grimm and Anderson went through Europe recording old folk tales, they cleaned them up for public printing. Folk lore had endured because they were remembered and told generation to generation, and spread by traveling minstrel and actors The tales of Europe had died out sooner than Ireland's because of printing, and the availability of reading materials. Ireland was later coming into the literate age, so their folk tales were still alive much after the King Arthur stories had died. The King Arthur stories were the overlap between superstition and Christianity, and Tennyson cleaned them up even more.

         When the Irish stories were finally collected, long after Grimm and Anderson, the stories were still alive and lurid. None of them were intended for children alone, but were for all ages. So if you pick up a volume of Irish folk tales, don't plan on reading them aloud to the kids. They are much too scary and R-rated.

         Finn MacCumhail (pronounced Finn McCool) is the hero of many of these tales. He's sort of a cross between King Arthur and Robin Hood. None that I have read make him out to be quite so noble or so virtuous, but he does save many people, and is always a strong leader. The stories include odd animal tales, and tales of giants crossing the Irish waters to England. The ancient tales lasted intact until almost the 20th century.