Great Irish Tales of the Unimaginable: Stories of Fantasy and Myth

Ireland's ``rich heritage of mythology'' is in large part responsible for the genre well represented in this anthology. Each of these 24 stories is prefaced by a brief history of the legend that inspired it and a short biography of its author. In the section titled ``Gods and Heroes,'' Standish James O'Grady depicts Cuchulain, the legendary hero of Irish folklore, in ``The Hound of Ulster''; W.B. Yeats relates the tale of the Sidhe-``the people of the hills,'' also known as the fairies-in ``The Wisdom of the King''; and in ``The Call of Oisin,'' Lady Gregory tells of the great Fenian warrior/poet Oisin and his pursuit of a beautiful golden-haired stranger. Collected under ``The Romantic Sagas'' are stories by Sinead de Valera (wife of the former President of Ireland), who, in ``A Prince in Disguise,'' tells of Prince Cormac of Ulster and his courtship of Etain. Julia O'Faolain (daughter of writer Sean O'Faolain) writes of a fair lady being rescued from a dragon by a valiant knight in ``Legend for a Painting''; and Maurice Walsh's ``The Woman Without Mercy'' pits brother-against-brother in a quest for the love of a black-hearted woman. An episode from the ``Cyclops'' section of James Joyce's Ulysses is among the tales grouped under ``The Wonder-Quests.'' An interesting and varied collection, this volume will be of special interest to those interested in Celtic mythology. (Dec.)