The High Deeds of Finn, and Other Bardic Romances of Ancient Ireland

Ancient Irish kings, warriors and fairy beings share the pages of T. W. Rolleston's collection of bardic romances. Retold in English as works of imaginative storytelling, the tales draw on Gaelic sources while allowing some compression and reshaping. Finn, presented as the captain of a military order serving Ireland's High King, gives the collection its central figure. Stories of his boyhood and companions appear alongside the Children of Lir, Etain and Midir, and King Cormac.

The collection moves across several cycles of legend, arranged roughly by the periods in which their events take place. Its middle section brings royal ceremony and richly described clothing into the story of Etain, whom King Eochy seeks as his queen. Source notes and a guide to pronouncing names support readers interested in the older literature behind these retellings. It offers an approachable introduction to Irish legendary storytelling and its blend of human courts and enchanted worlds.