Irish Fairy Tales by James Stephens

Irish Fairy Tales is a collection of ten stories mostly about the Fenian Cycle. The tales which feature Finn primarily, begins with the story of the settlement of different races in Ireland.

The rest of the stories are about the people related to Finn or about Finn himself. The following are the stories contained in this book:

The Story of Tuan Mac Cairill
The Boyhood of Fionn
The Birth of Bran
Oisin's Mother
The Wooing of Becfola
The Little Brawl at Allen
The Carl of the Drab Coat
The Enchanted Cave of Cesh Corran
Becuma of the White Skin
Morgan's Frenzy

Although most of the stories are related to the Fenian cycle, there was no mention of Oisin other than the story of his birth. There was no mention of Grania and Dermot too.

The stories are easy to understand even if the reader is not familiar with Celtic mythology in general. When Stephens used an unfamiliar term, he explained its meaning. Readers who are well-versed with the Fenian cycle however, will find that this book is not a chronological re-telling of Finn's story.

Stephens did a good job adding features to the the characters without having to sacrifice how they were typically portrayed in the myths. The messages of the stories are not lost. And although the stories are not necessarily interconnected, it was easy to follow the transition from one story to the next because he takes his time to introduce the characters and develop the tension in the story.

My favorite would have to be The Birth of Bran because dogs took the spotlight in this story. Fergus Fionnliath's conversion was very touching.

I'm giving this book a 10 out of 10 rating.