A creel of Irish stories

audiobook

A creel of Irish stories

by Jane Barlow

EN·~5 hours·11 chapters

Chapters

11 total

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE

0:25

THE KEYS OF THE CHEST

1:52:16

A DESERTED CHILD

31:48

AN ACCOUNT SETTLED

33:25

M‘NEILLS’ TIGER-SHEEP

33:49

THE SNAKES AND NORAH

27:11

THREE PINT MEASURES

21:11

THE SURREE AT MAHON’S

22:20

THE SHORTEST WAY

17:20

THE STAY-AT-HOMES

31:02
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Description

In the remote valley of Letterglas, the landscape rolls in endless green, broken only by an oddly shaped limestone block that looks like a forgotten chest. The narrative opens with a quiet, almost reverent description of this secluded place, its winding, half‑overgrown road and the mysterious “Nick of Time” gap that slices through the hills. As a lone guide leads the narrator through the terrain, the story gently introduces the old stone’s puzzling presence, hinting at ancient glacial forces and the slow, steady claim of nature over human attempts at progress.

Through vivid, lyrical prose, the tale invites listeners to linger on the subtle signs of past labor—a rusted shovel, an abandoned wheelbarrow—while feeling the timeless hush that envelops this Irish countryside. The gentle curiosity it stirs about the stone’s origin and the valley’s lingering solitude sets a contemplative mood, promising a collection of quiet, reflective episodes that celebrate landscape, memory, and the small mysteries that linger beneath the grass.

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Details

Language

en

Duration

~5 hours (340K characters)

Release date

Mar 11, 2025

Rights

Public domain in the USA.

About the author

Jane Barlow

Jane Barlow

1856–1917

An acclaimed Irish novelist, poet, and short-story writer, Jane Barlow brought the voices and hardships of rural Ireland vividly to life. Her best-known collection, Irish Idylls, became an international success and established her as one of Ireland’s most popular writers of the 1890s.

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