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Shaun O'Day of Ireland
SHAUN O'DAY OF IRELAND]
SHAUN O'DAY _of_ IRELAND
BY MADELINE BRANDEIS
_Producer of the Motion Pictures_
"The Little Indian Weaver" "The Wee Scotch Piper" "The Little Dutch Tulip Girl" "The Little Swiss Wood Carver"
Distributed by Pathe Exchange, Inc., New York City
_Photographic Illustrations made in Ireland by the Author_
GROSSET & DUNLAP PUBLISHERS NEW YORK _by arrangement with the A. Flanagan Company_
COPYRIGHT, 1929. BY A. FLANAGAN COMPANY
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
PREFACE
When I began to write these stories about children of all lands I hadjust returned from Europe whither I journeyed with Marie and Ref. Maybeyou don't know Marie and Ref. I'll introduce them: Please meet Marie, myvery little daughter, and Ref, my very big reflex camera.
These two are my helpers. Marie helps by being a little girl who knowswhat other little girls like and by telling me; and Ref helps bysnapping pictures of everything interesting that Marie and I see on ourtravels. I couldn't get along without them.
Several years have gone by since we started our work together and Marieis a bigger girl--but Ref hasn't changed one bit. Ref hasn't changed anymore than my interest in writing these books for you. And I hope that_you_ hope that I'll never change, because I want to keep on writinguntil we'll have no more countries to write about--unless, of course,some one discovers a new country.
Even if a new country isn't discovered, we'll find foreign children totalk about--maybe the children in Mars! Who knows? Nobody. Not evenMarie--and Marie usually knows about most things. That's the reason why,you see, though I sign myself
Madeleine Brandeis]
I am really only
Marie's Mother.
DEDICATION
To every child of every land, Little sister, little brother, As in this book your lives unfold, May you learn to love each other.
CONTENTS
PART I
Chapter I Isn't It a Great Wonder? 13
Chapter II Shauneen and the Leprechaun 32
Chapter III Come Away 48
Chapter IV The Strange Land 62
Chapter V The Frightened Giant 84
PART II
Chapter VI John 98
Chapter VII The Girl Fairy 111
Chapter VIII Over the Green Land 129
Chapter IX Wandering 152
Chapter X Because He Is Irish 176
WILL YOU WALK INTO MY STORY--?
Just because I think it may interest you to know it:--In thesephotographs Kit Wain posed for Shaun O'Day. Kit is a real Irish boy, buthe did not have the adventures that Shaun had in the story. He has hadmany other adventures, however, because Kit is a young actor. Dawn O'Daywas played by Mary Jo Desmond. Mary Jo is just a little schoolgirl likeyou. She looked so much like Dawn O'Day in the story that I asked her tobe Dawn for me. And because she is Irish and loves make-believe, she didit.
When Shaun grew older it was Maurice Murphy who posed. Maurice has had awonderful life for a young boy. He has played on the stage and in motionpictures and also on the piano! For he is a very talented youngmusician. Maybe you remember seeing him act in the film called "BeauGeste."
Little saucy Marjorie was posed by a little saucy miss who is known asCarmencita Johnson. I should say "well known" because Carmencita, thoughonly five, is already a picture star. She is a very interesting youngperson, and if I began to tell you all about her and her family ofsisters and brothers it would take up all the book and leave no room forthe story.
John O'Day, Shaun's son, is portrayed by another little film artist. Hisname is Gordon Thorpe. Gordon is only six. But he has appeared in morethan sixty motion pictures. Do you remember the little Prince in DouglasFairbanks' "The Iron Mask?" That was Gordon. And in "The Bridge of SanLuis Rey?" You surely recognized him.
Dick Good was the fighting boy who didn't believe that Marjorie was afairy. And of course I need not tell you that the scenes of cities andbuildings and places in Ireland were all played by those cities andbuildings and places _themselves_.
That is, when I was in Ireland I asked them to pose for me. And they didit willingly the way the children did. They posed very well, in fact.Very quietly.
Only the rain in Ireland is not willing. The rain does not wantphotographers to catch the beauty of the country. The rain tries tospoil everything for the poor photographers. But we forgive him becausehe makes Ireland so green.
Here are the names of the little children who helped me so nicely bycoming to Marjorie's birthday party and posing as her guests: Alice andHoward Bucquet, Caroline Kuhns, Barbara and Patrick Ford, Betty andStephen Kline, Marie Madeleine Brandeis and Dietrich Haupt.
The only grown-up in the story, John's girl-fairy, is Miss Alice White.Miss White is such a busy star that I think I should thank her forstopping long enough from her work to be John's girl-fairy in the pagesof this book. And I think I should thank all the rest of these goodpeople, even if they are only little people, for they too, are busy. Andit is sometimes hard to tear oneself away from the work of the world andwalk into a fairy tale.
But these in the photographs did it. And that is what I am going to askyou, young readers, to do now. Come along! See if you can!