Fairy Tales. Retold by Sinéad De Valera. Illustrations by Eileen Coghlan. Dublin: C.J. Fallon, 1948. First Edition. Pictorial wrappers in marching dust jacket. Light wear to jacket, otherwise fine bright copy.

Signed by the Sinéad de Valera on the title page.

The Author’s first book, a collection of seven Irish fairy tales.

Sinéad de Valera (1878-1975) published over thirty books for children in both Irish and English. She wrote fairy tales and folktale to help build a specifically Irish national identity, complemented by her teaching of the Irish language. A lifelong patriot, she was a founding member of Inghinidhe na hÉireann (Daughters of Ireland).

“In her first book Fairy Tales Mrs de Valera retold traditional narratives which she had heard in childhood in Fingal. For her later books, she has written original stories and has succeeded in preserving much of the atmosphere of the old North-Leinster Folk Legends.”