Darby O'Gill and the Little People

Irish folktales have always been a treasure trove of tradition and popular wisdom, rooted in the ancient and mysterious Celtic civilization. The stories you are about to read are not the classic tales of evil goblins and mischievous fairies that readers are accustomed to. As you will see, the characters and themes typical of Irish legends take on a new, meaningful depth and value. After spending six months in captivity in the heart of Sleive-na-mon, the mountain of the Little People, Darby O'Gill will find himself experiencing a series of daring and terrifying adventures that will test not only his courage but also everything he thought he knew about the fair folk and the terrible spectral host that dwells in the gloomy mountain of Croaghmah. So who better than Darby, a man who has lived with the Little People and boasts a friendship with none other than Brian Connors, the King of all the fair folk, to speak to us or unravel the mysteries surrounding these supernatural beings? Where do the Little People come from? How do their powers work? Are they evil and mischievous beings as some claim, or do their actions conceal agendas seemingly incomprehensible to mankind? Darby, along with Machiavellian kings, ghosts, headless coachmen, incredulous priests, uncompromising angels, deaf tinkers, haunted mills, and mischievous goats, will answer your every question and lead you on a series of adventures beyond the ordinary even by the standards of Irish folklore. Nothing is impossible when you're in the company of the Little People, and if you don't believe it, these surprising and wise creatures will change your mind.

A man is never more courageous than when he sits by his own cozy fire, a bowl of boiling stew on his chest, a steaming bowl of aromatic punch in his hand, and a well-filled pipe between his teeth. At such moments he thinks back on the valiant deeds of ancient heroes and decides that they were not so valiant after all. Those heroes merely had an opportunity to prove their worth, that's all, and that's the only difference between him and them. But when that man is suddenly snatched from that comforting environment—as Darby was—and thrust into the darkness where unknown and unseen dangers lurk, much of that courage evaporates.

The Author

Herminie Templeton Kavanagh (1861–1933), born Minnie Allen McGibney, was an Anglo-Irish-American writer. The second of seven children, Minnie was born in Aldershot, England, to an Irish father and an English mother. In 1872, the family moved to Quebec, Canada, and then to New York, USA, where Minnie married vaudeville performer John Templeton. After their separation, Minnie moved to Chicago and began working as a stenographer. In 1900, she adopted the name Herminie, and in 1901, she began publishing her first short stories in McClure's Magazine, a very popular newspaper of the time. In 1903, these stories became Darby O'Gill and the Good People, her first book of short stories. She became Herminie Templeton Kavanagh after her second marriage to Judge Marcus Kavanagh (1859–1937), born in the United States to Irish immigrants. Her second book, Ashes of Old Wishes and Other Darby O'Gill Tales, was published in 1926 and is in fact dedicated to her second husband. In 1959, Walt Disney, fascinated by Kavanagh's tales, made a film loosely based on her book, Darby O'Gill and the Little People, a masterpiece of cinematic mastery for its time and a tribute to a writer unique in the field of folklore tales. Although less well-known than authors such as Yeats, Lady Gregory or Stephens, her contribution to the Irish tradition is undeniable, not only for having brought an ancient subject alive and relevant, but also for the attention she paid to the Irish languages. In fact, in the original language, her two books of short stories are entirely narrated in Hiberno-English (Anglo-Irish) with the addition of some Gaelic terms.