Donegal Folk Tales

Donegal Folk Tales brings together traditional stories associated with County Donegal, placing legends within the landscapes that shaped them. Joe Brennan’s collection ranges from Balor of the Evil Eye and stories of St Colmcille to accounts of seals, changelings, witches, fairies and encounters with ghosts.

The settings extend from Tory Island and the Atlantic coast to Errigal, Muckish, Ramelton and Greencastle, linking local places with inherited beliefs and storytelling traditions. Alongside tales gathered from oral storytellers, Brennan includes material drawn from folklore collections and earlier publications, including stories connected with the Irish Folklore Commission, Seamus MacManus and W.B. Yeats. The result is a varied record of Donegal’s legendary past, where landscape, memory and folklore remain closely intertwined.