Clare Folk Tales

Ruth Marshall’s collection gathers traditional stories from across County Clare, linking its landscapes with tales of legendary people, heroic figures and otherworldly beings. Biddy Early, the county’s renowned wise woman, appears alongside Brian Boru, Finn MacCool and St Senan, who is said to have banished a ferocious sea serpent from the Shannon waters around Scattery Island.

The stories also introduce Lon Mac Liofa, a three-handed, one-legged smith of the Tuatha Dé Danann, as well as Máire Rua, Mong Finn and various fairies. Mermaids, underwater worlds and lake legends feature among accounts rooted in Clare’s woodlands, drumlin country, Atlantic coastline and waterways. Marshall presents these local traditions as lively tales shaped by place, memory and storytelling.