Front cover of the book.
Ray Cashman is a professor of folklore at Indiana University. He first visited County Tyrone in August 1998. He initially stayed there for one year, conducting ethnographic fieldwork. In subsequent years, he made return trips to the area, usually for one or two week periods. Over the years, he made 65 hours of audio recordings of local man, Patrick James (Packy Jim) McGrath. He also took 5 hours of video recording.
The book recounts Cashman's encounters with Packy Jim and his tales of local legends and family history. He also recites poems and sings ballads relating to the area. Cashman is full of praise for his interviewee, hailing him as "a master of tradition" (p. 5) and "one of the best storytellers I am ever likely to meet" (p. 24). The book was first published by University of Wisconsin Press in 2017. See here for more information on the book.
This 3.5 minute clip of Packy Jim gives us a flavour of his storytelling abilities.
This is not the first time that folklore has been gathered in this part of rural Ireland. In the 1930s, the Irish Folklore Commission collected folklore (oral history, sayings, folktales, legends, riddles, proverbs, games, etc.) from school children in Lettercran, County Donegal. They were encouraged to collect folklore from their parents / relatives and neighbours in the area. This now forms part of The Schools' Collection.
One of the copybooks from Lettercran. Source.
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