The Enchanted Bay
About
- Runner-up, 2025 Katharine Briggs Award
- Shortlist, 2024 An Post Irish Book Awards, Best Irish-Published Book of the Year
It is a little-known fact that Ernie O’Malley, renowned for his role in Ireland’s revolutionary struggle, was also a passionate collector of Irish folklore.
Centered on O’Malley’s native Clew Bay and its environs and transcribed by his son Cormac, The Enchanted Bay is a rich tapestry of tales that showcases the enduring power of the oral tradition in Ireland. From the entertaining exploits of the Gobán Saor, mythical master builder, to the Clare Island man who married a selkie, this collection offers a glimpse into the heart of Irish storytelling.
A testament to O’Malley’s multifaceted legacy, several of the stories in this compilation were gathered while he travelled Ireland as an IRA organiser. The insights he gained through folklore collecting would later inform his ambitious project of recording testimonies from former comrades, solidifying his place as a pivotal figure in the preservation of Irish history and culture.
The tales in these pages maintain the unique voices of local communities, conjuring an arcane, fascinating world that is slipping further from memory.
Praise for this book
"A compilation of over 100 stories that are as authentic as the Atlantic waves that give them their uniqueness...The book is a rich tapestry of incredible stories of myth and legend, from changelings and fairy forts to mysteries of the sea, religious tales, rural traditions and stories of the supernatural."
"[The Enchanted Bay] is an inspiring example of the importance of preserving local folklore and the profound impact that such work can have. This anthology will appeal to a diverse audience, from folklorists to students, and historians to general readers. It may hopefully inspire readers who are passionate about the heritage and history of their own areas to record, preserve, celebrate and engage with the folklore of their own local communities."
"The folklore stories relayed in this book were largely collected from people O’Malley knew in County Mayo but they are of as much national significance and as important as the contribution W.B. Yeats and Lady Greggory made in their book 'Visions and beliefs in the West of Ireland'."