Book Series Guide

Author guide

Padraic Colum Books in Order

Padraic Colum (1881–1972) was an Irish writer and a major figure in the Irish Literary Revival. He wrote poetry, plays, novels, children's literature, folklore retellings, travel writing, biography, memoir, and essays. His early plays were produced at the Abbey Theatre, while his later career in the United States centered increasingly on children's books and world mythology. His notable works include Wild Earth, The King of Ireland's Son, The Children of Odin, Castle Conquer, The Flying Swans, Our Friend James Joyce, and Ourselves Alone.

poetrydramafictionchildren's literaturefolklorenonfictionbiographymemoir

Catalog record updated .

Not sure where to begin?

Start with one of these

Wild Earth: A Book of Verse

Best entry point to Colum's early poetry and his place in the Irish Literary Revival.

Cover of The King of Ireland's Son

The King of Ireland's Son

A representative and highly accessible collection of his Irish folklore retellings.

Castle Conquer

His principal early novel and a useful introduction to his prose fiction.

Our Friend James Joyce

A distinctive collaborative memoir illuminating Colum's literary friendships and career.

Outside the series

Bibliography by category

Novels (4)
  1. My Irish Year

    nonfiction · 1912

  2. Castle Conquer

    novel · 1923

  3. Three Men

    novella · 1930

  4. The Flying Swans

    novel · 1957

Nonfiction (4)
  1. The Road Round Ireland

    travel · 1926

  2. A Half-Day's Ride: Or, Estates in Corsica

    travel · 1932

  3. Our Friend James Joyce

    memoir · 1958

  4. Ourselves Alone!: The Story of Arthur Griffith and the Origin of the Irish Free State

    biography · 1959

Short fiction (3)
  1. The Big Tree of Bunlahy: Stories of My Own Countryside

    short-story-collection · 1933

  2. Story Telling, New and Old

    short-story-collection · 1961

  3. The Stone of Victory and Other Tales of Padraic Colum

    short-story-collection · 1966

Essays and speeches (6)
  1. Talamh

    poetry-pamphlet · 1906

  2. Heather Ale

    poetry-pamphlet · 1907

  3. Studies

    poetry-pamphlet · 1907

  4. Cross Roads in Ireland

    essay-collection · 1930

  5. The Jackdaw

    poetry-pamphlet · 1939

  6. Ten Poems

    poetry-pamphlet · 1957

Children's books (19)
  1. A Boy in Eirinn

    children's fiction · 1913

    It was part of the "The Children of Nations" series which was designed to acquaint English children with children from different parts of the world, or more specifically, the British Empire. The goal was to describe in detail the daily…

  2. The King of Ireland's Son

    children's fiction · 1916

  3. The Boy Who Knew What the Birds Said

    children's fiction · 1918

  4. The Adventures of Odysseus and the Tale of Troy

    children's fiction · 1918

  5. The Girl Who Sat by the Ashes

    children's fiction · 1919

  6. The Boy Apprenticed to an Enchanter

    children's fiction · 1920

  7. The Children of Odin: The Book of Northern Myths

    children's fiction · 1920

    Padraic Colum retells the full cycle of Norse mythology starting with their creation myths, through the rise of the AEsir and Vanir gods, and their many adventures, which culminate in Ragnarok (a battle between good and evil), and, the…

  8. The Golden Fleece and the Heroes Who Lived Before Achilles

    children's fiction · 1921

    A man in the garb of a slave went up the side of that mountain that is all covered with forest, the Mountain Pelion. He carried in his arms a little child.

  9. The Children Who Followed the Piper

    children's fiction · 1922

  10. The Six Who Were Left in a Shoe

    children's fiction · 1923

  11. The Arabian Nights: Tales of Wonder and Magnificence

    children's fiction · 1923

  12. The Island of the Mighty: Being the Hero Stories of Celtic Britain

    children's fiction · 1924

  13. The Peep-Show Man

    children's fiction · 1924

  14. The Forge in the Forest

    children's fiction · 1925

    A retelling of eight myths and folktales within the framework of shoeing a wild horse at the forge in the forest.

  15. The Voyagers: Being Legends and Romances of Atlantic Discovery

    children's fiction · 1925

  16. Creatures

    children's fiction · 1927

  17. The Fountain of Youth: Stories to Be Told

    children's fiction · 1927

  18. The White Sparrow

    children's fiction · 1933

  19. Where the Winds Never Blew and the Cocks Never Crew

    children's fiction · 1940

Poetry (12)
  1. Wild Earth: A Book of Verse

    poetry · 1907

  2. Broadsheet Ballads: Being a Collection of Irish Popular Songs

    poetry · 1913

  3. Dramatic Legends and Other Poems

    poetry · 1922

  4. Old Pastures

    poetry · 1930

  5. Poems

    poetry · 1932

  6. The Story of Lowry Maen

    poetry · 1937

  7. Flower Pieces: New Poems

    poetry · 1938

  8. The Vegetable Kingdom

    poetry · 1954

  9. Irish Elegies

    poetry · 1958

  10. Garland Sunday

    poetry-broadsheet · 1958

  11. The Poet's Circuits: Collected Poems of Ireland

    poetry · 1960

  12. Images of Departure

    poetry · 1969

Plays (8)
  1. The Saxon Shillin'

    play · 1902

  2. Broken Soil

    play · 1903

  3. The Land

    play · 1905

  4. The Fiddler's House

    play · 1907

  5. Thomas Muskerry

    play · 1910

  6. The Desert

    play · 1912

  7. Balloon: A Comedy in Four Acts

    play · 1929

  8. Moytura: A Play for Dancers

    play · 1963

Other (7)
  1. At the Gateways of the Day

    folklore · 1924

    Hawaiian myths and legends

  2. The Bright Islands

    folklore · 1925

  3. Orpheus: Myths of the World

    folklore · 1930

  4. The Legend of Saint Columba

    folklore · 1935

  5. Legends of Hawaii

    folklore · 1937

  6. The Frenzied Prince: Being Heroic Stories of Ancient Ireland

    folklore · 1943

  7. A Treasury of Irish Folklore

    folklore · 1954