Seumas MacManus was an Irish

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 author, dramatist, and poet known for his ability to reinterpret Irish folktales for modern audiences. Born into a poor farming family in County Donegal

County Donegal

County Donegal is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Donegal. Donegal County Council is the local authority for the county...

 he at first became a schoolteacher. He got started as a writer in the 1890s when he began contributing articles and stories to many newspapers in Ireland. In 1901 he married the poet Ethna Carbery

Ethna Carbery

Ethna Carbery was an Irish journalist, writer and poet. She is best-known for the ballad Roddy McCorley and the Song of Ciabhán; the latter was set to music by Ivor Gurney. Along with Alice Milligan she published two Irish nationalist magazines.-Life:Anna Johnston was born in Ballymena, County...

, who died the following year.

Quotes

• Many a man's tongue broke his nose.
  • Heavy Hangs the Golden Grain (1950)

Works

• In Chimney Corners: Merry Tales of Irish Folk‐lore (1899)
• The Bewitched Fiddle and Other Irish Tales (1900)
• Donegal Fairy Stories (1900)
• Tales that Were Told (1920)
• The Story of the Irish Race: A Popular History of Ireland (1921)
• The Donegal Wonder Book (1926)
• Tales from Ireland (1949)
• Heavy Hangs the Golden Grain (1950)
• The Bold Heroes of Hungry Hill, and Other Irish Folk Tales (1951).