This two-volume work is an edited version of O'Grady's great achievements: "History of Ireland: The Heroic Period," "History of Ireland: Cuculain and His Contemporaries" and "A History of Ireland: Critical and Philosophical." Professor McNamara has edited the works not only in order to provide the scholarly reader with insights into O'Grady's subjects and methods but also to help restore the lustre due to the progenitor of the Irish Revival (in the opinion of W.B. Yeats and many others). Original introductory material by Professor McNamara is included together with extensive notation and emendation. In nineteenth-century Ireland, Irish myth and legend were considered to be the interests of the uneducated poor living in remote rural areas. Standish James O'Grady, a young Anglo-Irish aristocrat, changed that. He complied fragmentary material into a comprehensive work and gave Irish legends a place of eminence and distinction they had lacked. Although he presented mythical/legendary/fictional events as historical fact, he reawakened in Irish people of all ranks an appreciation of the rich tradition and linguistic vitality of their native land. McNamara's editing and informative research will be indispensable for university and scholarly collections.
