Had to include the second part of the Scottish collection in this post, my apologies.

Now Irish folklore and history suffered not one but two devastating attacks, one at the hands of my own nations government and their vile predations, the other at the hands of the Church and their, as is always the case, subversion of the older lore of Ireland. Thusly I cannot begin to imagine what has been lost but it seems some valiant souls have attempted to record what they could none the less. The first and most accessable of the two suggestions for Irish history and folklore is the rather wonderful Heroic Romances of Ireland (1905-06) (two volumes) by A. H. Leahy. This is a delightful collection of Irish tales from Ireland's lost history and is thoroughly enjoyable to boot. The language can be a bit tricky to grasp on occasion but it shouldn't offer too much of a struggle for most. It also contains literal translations of the texts which also make for interesting reading and if one is inquisitive, perhaps even alternative ideas compared to the presented translation. This is one of those books that I would always suggest a physical copy of if possible although of course I have included a PDF for your convenience also.

Now this one is not so much scholarly but delves more into the odd folklore. Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry by W. B. Yeats (1888). Now two things of note concerning this. The first is this is less historical than other texts listed here and has a slightly light hearted bent here and there. The second is it's an amalgamation of work by other authors, an anthology of works concerning a specific topic of Irish mythology not directly attributable to Yeats. None the less it is an interesting read and worth a go if you fancy something a tad lighter than usual. Oh also do not mistake the mention of Faeries in the title to mean this is some children's book. Faeries in actual mythology are not the most pleasent of creatures if you believe the details concerning them, less Tinkerbell of the peadophilic depiction of Disneys Tinkerbell of Peter Pan, more an unknowable manifestation of nature.

Ok gentlemen, the hour grows late where I am so I will try pick up again tomorrow or Friday at the latest. I'll finish off the British isles and Western Europe in general then post some Nordic, Central European and maybe some Baltic and Russian folklore and history for good measure. If anyone has any further texts that might help bring one closer to their homelands, please do not hesitate to post, preservation of our culture and history is of the utmost importance.