Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 27, 1916.djvu/127

 COLLECTANEA.

Folk Lore and Legends from the Coasts of Counties Mayo and Galway.^

Thk following collection made during scattered and hurried visits is, at best, mere rough material available for other workers. No task is so difficult for an occasional visitor as collecting folk-lore ; the people are nervously shy about disclosing their beliefs, even to clergy and gentry living among them, and it is rare that one can gain their confidence during a visit of even a week. A fear of ridicule is perhaps the strongest obstacle ; incredulity in the stranger is a hopeless deterrent ; accordingly I have always done my best to break down these barriers first. Friendly conversation, letting them introduce the subjects, is the first step; showing an interest in matters of local interest the next, and, what I have rarely found ineffectual, a candid talk about one's own aims and interests, and a bending of conversation to beliefs and wonders in other places. My family being endowed with a banshee and "headless coach," I have found a decent pride in these advan- tages useful in establishing a belief m my being a sympa- thetic listener. Once the ice is broken there is but little difficulty about getting information. I do not pretend to even the com- parative completeness that some forty years' experience gave to my Co. Clare studies, but perhaps these Connacht notes may be of use to others. I do not hesitate to give (indicating the sources) folk-lore collected by the workers of other generations, or tales of various ages, from the T.ives of the Saints and the heroic sagas to

^ In this paper I have been careful to retain the variant forms of the name used by the various records and books utilized. The map names (as usual) are corrupt and inaccurate (whether as Irish or phonetic forms) in the majority of cases.