John Shaw has been documenting Cape Breton's Gaelic traditions since the 1960s. In The Blue Mountains and Other Gaelic Stories from Cape Breton he presents thirty tales recorded between 1964 and 1989. The collection includes popular tales such as The Dragon Slayer, hero-tales of Fionn Mac Cumhail and his warrior band, accounts of the famed carpenter Boban Saor, stories of robbers and thieves, comic tall tales, historical legends, and accounts of clan traditions brought over from the western Highlands.
Shaw provides both the Gaelic texts and English translations. When possible, he identifies both the original Gaelic storyteller and the local reciters. Reciters in the collection include Joe Neil MacNeil, a major Canadian storyteller, as well as others whose stories have never before been published. The Blue Mountains and Other Gaelic Stories from Cape Breton showcases a unique and neglected storytelling tradition.
Review quotes
"Shaw is the leading expert on Cape Breton Gaelic storytelling. This splendid collection of tales helps maintain a remarkable legacy, bringing an awareness of Cape Breton heritage to a wider public." Diarmuid Ó Giolláin, senior lecturer, folklore, University College Cork
John Shaw is the editor and translator of Tales Until Dawn: The World of a Cape Breton Gaelic Story-Teller and Brigh an Òrain: A Story in Every Song. He is a senior lecturer in Scottish ethnology at the University of Edinburgh.
