DEASE, Alice. Daughter of J. A. Dease, of Turbotstown, Co. Westmeath. Lives Simonstown, Coole, Co. Westmeath.—(Cath. Who’s Who).
⸺ THE BECKONING OF THE WAND. Pp. 164. (Sands). 3s. 6d.. Very tastefully bound. 1908. (N.Y.: Benziger). 1.00. Cheap edition, 1s. 6d. 1915.
We are used to having depicted with painful realism all our faults, all the defects of Irish life on the material side. This little book denies none of these, but it shows another side of the Irish character, the deep-rooted, intense Catholic faith, the union with the supernatural, that brightens even the most squalid lives. The anecdotes, which are true, are related with delicate insight by one who knows and loves the people. There is a vivid sketch of a Lough Derg pilgrimage.
⸺ OLD-TIME STORIES OF ERIN. Pp. 215. (Browne & Nolan). 2s. Illustr. by C. A. Mills. 1908.
Sixteen old Gaelic hero legends retold in simple, lucid style for children. Most of them are well known: “The Wise Judgment of Cormac Mac Art;” “The Neck Pin of Queen Macha;” “The Chivalry of Goll Mac Morna,” &c.
⸺ GOOD MEN OF ERIN. (Browne & Nolan). 2s. Six Illustr. 1910.
Stories of a quaint legendary kind connected with nine Irish Saints. Prettily told.
⸺ THE MARRYING OF BRYAN; and Other Stories. Pp. 83. (Sands). 7d. Coloured frontisp. (N.Y.: Benziger). 0.50. Second edition. 1911.
Six little tales, slight in theme, but delicately wrought. They are the poetry of real life, mostly Irish peasant life. A moral may be gleaned from each, but there is no irritating insistence on it. One tells how, through his love for birds and his fear of frightening them, a good old P.P. loses his chance of a canonry. Another tells of the beautiful neighbourly charity of the Irish peasant. Four are love stories. They are perfect of their kind.