Celtic commercialism has made it almost impossible to rework old Irish material in new or interesting ways. Marie Heaney manages admirably by staying close to the mother lode, fashioning her text from the original gold. These are legends from a barbaric society with the collective consciousness of adolescence - immature, idealistic, passionate and courageous. Heaney does not whitewash or update the tales to suit modern sensibilities. She does not shy away from the blood and gore, unhappy endings, tragic twists and unjust fates. In short, she gives you the myths in their full and furious glory.
The stories chosen from the three branches of early Irish literature -the Mythological, Ulster and Finn or Red Branch Cycles - include the ever-poignant Children of Lir and heroic tales of Cuchulainn and Finn MacCumhaill. The collection concludes fittingly with the aged Oisin confronting Saint Patrick. The text is beautifully illustrated by master artist P.J. Lynch. Using watercolours and gouache, he works his own magic with sweeping landscapes, elegant women in fabulous fabrics, grisly battle scenes and a headless giant.
Creatively produced, this is a lovely gift book, a collector's item, not necessarily aimed at children. While the use of American spellings and a pronunciation guide confirm the intended over
seas audience, the high quality of words and image should satisfy the home market. The inclusion of the pastoral poem "Summer" translated from the Irish by Seamus Heaney seems rather odd amidst the prose, but who would complain? The book's title is from W.B. Yeats's On Baile's Strand, words spoken by Cuchulainn to Conor, " . . . you and I leave names upon the harp."
"Among his own people Balor's eye remained shut, but when he opened it against his enemies, they dropped dead at his fearsome stare . . . Balor had only one child, a daughter called Eithlinn, so he built a tower and shut the girl up in it with twelve women to guard her."