Myths, legends, and folk tales of Ireland: history of and some told in the author's voice. The author writes about storytelling in Ireland: The stories in Ireland were orally passed on long after Christianity came to Ireland and the Christian monks began to write them down in the scriptoriums of the monasteries that dotted the country. In Ireland the superstitions and pagan ceremonies did not die when Christianity arrived. The two beliefs existed side by side. Christianity was accepted easily in Ireland partly because it incorporated some of the pagan beliefs and ceremonies making the transition to Christianity very simple. Even now the Irish population often believes in fairies and leprechauns, and in the tales handed down to them from the past. Irish tradition does not die easily. Author reads four tales in Irish brogue (in italics).