BALLADS OF A COUNTRY BOY

Dublin: M. H. Gill & Son, 1905. 1st edition. Cloth. Good. 1st edition. A Good copy. 12mo., 100, (4) pp. Green cloth with gilt titles. The boards have edge wear and soiling. The text is very tanned. Good. Seamus MacManus is considered by many to be the last great seanchaí, 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 - Sean O'Hegarty, Mairghid Burns, Eoghain O'Cuinn, and the Bacach Ruadh. May God grant their souls rest.