Professor Ríonach uí Ógáin is Director of the National Folklore Collection/Cnuasach Bhéaloideas Éireann, University College Dublin. The output reflects the circumstances, hopes, anxieties, fears, beliefs, modes of entertainment, the blending of Christian and non-Christian ideas and sometimes the sense of mischief of Irish people, both urban and rural. The book is illustrated with numerous black and white photographs, many of them taken by the original collectors. The inclusion of contemporary performers alongside older archival material is testament to the fact that the National Folklore Collection continues to grow and remains the most important repository of Irish vernacular culture. Published by Comhairle Bhéaloideas Éireann and distributed by Four Courts Press, a variety of themes are addressed: the connection between the supernatural and excellence in the performance of music and song, the dangers inherent in engaging with the fairies, the fear of abduction or loss, benign supernatural encounters, the existence of otherworldly creatures such as the banshee or the leprechaun, and perceptions of landscape. Including commentary, snippets and biographical notes (some about the collectors themselves and their work), recorded sound and photographs, and lyrics and manuscript transcriptions, the material is drawn partly from commercial recordings but mostly from the National Folklore Collection/Cnuasach Bhéaloideas Éireann in University College Dublin as edited by Ríonach uí Ógáin and Tom Sherlock.
Aimed at both the general reader and scholars of folklore, the publication, according to the publicity material, ‘examines aspects of the enduring belief and fascination which the Irish imagination has with supernatural beings, encounters and occurrences as represented in song and music.’
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