Tim publishers of Legends of Ireland rightly draw attention to
a curious feature of the book: 'a kind of deprecatory self-conscious- ness which occasionally appears as a mild burlesque of the narrator's own art.' Mr. Campbell writes of Cuchullain, of Deirdre, and of Diarmuid and Grainne in what at first appears to be a tiresome imitation of the Simple-Simon manner affected by old legend- spinners; but as the stories unfold it becomes obvious that the method is surprisingly well- suited to the telling. So are Louis le Brocquy's engaging illustrations.
Mr. Leask's book serves as a reminder of what a magnificent treasure-house Ireland is for the antiquary; and also of the neglect that her remaining architectural monuments suffer from the lack of a vigorous national publishing industry to publicise them. The Dundalgan Press has done well to produce this admirable work, with its twenty plates and a hundred illustrative drawings, so cheaply.
IVOR BRIEN
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