Standish O'Grady; selected essays and passages

12 STANDISH O GRADY
preceded the destruction of the feudal order of Gaelic
Ireland. Red Hugh O'Donnell was the last of the
line of heroes whose exploits had fired and fascinated
the author of the bardic Histories. Before achieving
the masterpiece of The Flight of the Eagle he had
etched a few smaller sketches of the same figure in
The Bog of Stars, which had appeared in 1893.
This work, and Finn and his Companions, were for
many years the only books of O'Grady wliich were
easily procurable, and W. B. Yeats pronounced the
latter his best, a judgment not usually endorsed by
his admirers. The truth is that for some time after
the launching of the so-called Irish lyiterary Movement,
Standish O'Grady responded to the demand for his
works by writing historical, or semi-historical novels
which were sometimes revisions of portions of the
famous Histories, sometimes new inventions. The
Coming of Cuculain was the most noteworthy of the
former, while Ulrick the Ready (1896) may be men-
tioned as an example of the latter. Technically
considered, this is perhaps his best written book, the
construction is simpler and clearer ; he is no longer
hampered by the details of his extraordinary knowledge
o£ the sixteenth century achieves. But by that time
he had acquired great facility, having previously
published two books of boyish adventure Lost on
Du Corrig (1894) and The Chain of Gold (1895), not to