Legends and Stories of Ireland

Legends and Stories of Ireland is a book by Samuel Lover, first published in 1831. It gathers a lively collection of traditional Irish tales, sketches, and rural anecdotes rendered in Lover’s warm, conversational prose and often illustrated by the author himself.

The volume presents popular legends, local characters, and moral and comic episodes drawn from the countryside and cottage tradition, preserving the texture of everyday speech and the narrative rhythms of oral storytelling. Far from an antiquarian compendium, the work helped popularise Irish folklore in the nineteenth century by bringing rustic tales to a wider Victorian readership.

Its blend of humour, pathos, and local colour influenced later anthologies and the broader appreciation of Irish popular culture. Ideal for readers of Irish folklore, collectors of classical folktales, and anyone seeking a spirited introduction to nineteenth-century Irish storytelling, the book remains a useful source for those studying vernacular narrative, social customs, and the ways local tradition was framed for metropolitan audiences.