The Oxford Book of Irish Short Stories

Ireland has long been a nation of story-tellers. What began as a lively form of entertainment has grown into an unrivalled literary genre. Although Ireland may mourn the loss of the seanchai, the old hearthside story-teller, the Irish art of story-telling is by no means lost. This varied anthology traces the development of the Irish short story from the early folk-tales of the oral tradition through Oliver Goldsmith, Maria Edgeworth, James Joyce, and Liam O'Flaherty, and on to the rising stars of the modern generation, such as Bernard Mac Laverty and Desmond Hogan.

William Trevor, novelist, short story writer, and dramatist, is the author of The Ballroom of Romance, Angels at the Ritz, The News from Ireland, and numerous other works.

Introduction
The Hour of Death
Fionn in Search of his Youth
Cromwell and the Friar
The Girl and the Sailor
The Four-leafed Shamrock and the Cock
The Cow that ate the Piper
Conal and Donal and Taig
Adventures of a Strolling Player, Oliver Goldsmith
The Limerick Gloves, Maria Edgeworth
The Death of a Devotee, William Carleton
The Brown Man, Gerald Griffin
Green Tea, Sheridan Le Fanu
Albert Nobbs, George Moore
The Sphinx without a Secret, Oscar Wilde
Philippa's Fox Hunt, E.E. Somerville and Martin Ross
The Priest, Daniel Corkery
The Weaver's Grave, Seumas O'Kelly
The Dead, James Joyce
My Little Black Ass, Padraic O Conaire
The Triangle, James Stephens
Bush River, Joyce Carey
The Pedlar's Revenge, Liam O'Flaherty
The Fanatic, Liam O'Flaherty
Her Table Spread, Elizabeth Bowen
The Faithless Wife, Sean O'Faolain
The Sugawn Chair, Sean O'Faolain
Guests of the Nation, Frank O'Connor
The Majesty of the Law, Frank O'Connor
Pastorale, Patrick Boyle
The Hare-Lip, Mairtan O Cadhain
The Poteen Maker, Michael McLaverty
The Ring, Bryan MacMahon
Sarah, Mary Lavin
Desert Island, Terence De Vere White
The Pilgrims, Benedict Kiely
Weep for our Pride, James Plunkett
Loser, Val Mulkerns
The Bird I Fancied, Aidan Higgins
Death in Jerusalem, William Trevor
The Diviner, Brian Friel
An Occasion of Sin, John Montague
Irish Revel, Edna O'Brien
First Conjugation, Julia O'Faolain
The Beginning of an Idea, John McGahern
Life Drawing, Bernard Mac Laverty
The Airedale, Desmond Hogan
Acknowledgements
Index of Authors