John Creedon on An Irish Folklore Treasury and his interest in placenames, history, language and lore.

John Creedon talks to Dave Macardle about his book An Irish Folklore Treasury and explains the roots of his love of place names, history, language and lore. The book is a people’s history of Ireland and introduces a fascinating collection of stories from the Schools’ Collection. This treasure trove of old stories, ways and wisdom, which could have been lost for ever, was collected by schoolchildren as part of a nationwide project set up in the 1930s to preserve Irish folklore. Published here for the first time, this ‘best of’ selection includes chapters on ghost stories, agriculture, forgotten trades, schooling and pastimes. The result is an incredible arc of folk history that tells us about ourselves and how we lived long ago. Click to listen and drink deep....