Alison Campfield
Professor Kerrane
English 351
October 9, 2003
Thomas Crofton Croker and Merrows
Thomas Crofton Croker is well known for being the first to collect Irish folklore. His initial compilation of folktales is entitled Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland, which appeared in 1923. The book includes stories of changelings, banshees, merrows, and more. The merrow is a type of water fairy that is allegedly common in Ireland. Croker uses the traditional description of merrows in his tales, although he bypasses the negative Irish opinion of them and focuses only on good aspects. Croker also ties in a common theme of religion in his stories, playing off of the concept that merrows, because they are fairies, are not allowed to enter the church. Three prominent Croker tales are The Lady of Gollerus, The Wonderful Tune, and The Soul Cages, all of which occur in Ireland and are based on the idea of the merrow. The last of these stories is rare because it discusses the less common male merrow.
Female merrows are said to be beautiful and very wealthy, whereas the males, are depicted as somewhat grotesque. It is no wonder that female merrows are often linked with human males. This is a concept that is used in the stories The Lady of Gollerus and The Wonderful Tune. Croker describes both the female merrows in these stories with similar descriptions while using similes. In both tales he describes them as beautiful and young. In The Lady of Gollerus, Croker describes the hair of the merrow as “a sea-green colour” and with “the salt water shining on it, appeared, in the morning light, like melted butter upon cabbage.” He also describes the merrow in A Wonderful Tune’s hair as sea green, but he furthers the imagery in detail. Croker goes on to say that “her teeth were like rows of pearl; her lips for all the world looked like red coral; and she had an elegant gown, as white as the foam of the wave, with rows of purple and red sea weeds settled upon it.” In The Soul Cages, which focuses on a male merrow, Croker suggests that its hair is green as well. The male is portrayed as “a thing” with “ long green teeth, a red nose, and pig’s eyes.” Its body, unlike the human shape of its female counterpart, has “a fish’s tail, legs with scales on them, and short arms like fins.”
