A magical Irish-language folktale: A first translation and analysis

This paper provides a translation, structural analysis and commentary for an Irish-language wonder-tale in Ireland's National Folklore Collection; the story describes the marvel-laden adventures of Neart ("Strength"), the only son of a southern Irish king. The complex yet coherent tale consists of eight largely independent narrative modules split over four levels (a frame-tale plus three levels of nesting) in which the deepest in-tale level is accessed three times, using a different module each time. The narrative, which has a dream-like quality, incorporates an impressively large selection of the classic tropes found in Irish folktales. The episodes that make up modules 5-8 have partial or complete cognates in other Irish folktales, while the earlier modules lack obvious matches. The overall construction of this enchanting "super-tale" is both organic and unique.