'Hilariously Irish, shrewdly accurate and richly creative.' Irish Times'Creates a charming emotional map of a fictitious but authentic-seeming place.' Boston Globe 'John B.'s love of language was and is a joy to experience.' Brendan KennellyA collection of more than fifty tales by one of Ireland's liveliest and most popular story writers. Drawing on the rich folk culture of County Kerry, John B. Keane brings new life to old customs in his portrayals of the special holiday dreams and everyday shortcomings of not-so-ordinary country people during the Christmas season. With enough good cheer to warm the heart throughout the holiday season and all the long nights of winter, Keane's congenial volume revisits the Christmases celebrated by characters like Dotie Tupper and JohnnyNaile, the deaf Canon Cornelius Coodle, the amiable spendthriftAeniasMackson, and Hiccups O'Reilly, who disappears one Christmas Eve and is gone for seven years. Whether recounting 'The Miracle of Ballybradawn', 'The Great Christmas Raid at Ballybooley', or 'The Order of MacMoolamawn', whether telling the tales of 'The Magic Stoolin', 'A Tasmanian Backhander', 'The Fourth Wise Man' or the 'Last Christmas Eve of the Twentieth Century', Keane bears delightful witness to the trials and triumphs of the inhabitants of his eccentric corner of Ireland.

John B. Keane, one of Ireland's most prolific and respected literary figures was born in Listowel, County Kerry. He spent his literary career, running a pub which provided him with inspiration for his characters and ideas. He remains one of Ireland's best-loved and best-selling authors. His plays Sive, The Field and Big Maggie are widely regarded as classics of the modern Irish stage. Other plays include Sharon's Grave, The Year of the Hiker, Many Young Men of Twenty, The Man from Clare, Moll and The Chastitute. His novels include The Contractors, A High Meadow and Durango.