S Farrell - Holder of Lightning

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

First printing, January 2003 123456789

DAW TRADEMARK REGISTERED U.S. PAT. OFF. AND FOREIGN COUNTRIES MARCA REGISTRADA

HECHO EN U.S.A.

PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.

My appreciation to Padraic Lavin, Treasa Lavin, Daragh O'Reilly and Johnny Towey, who comprise the musical group OSNA, whose self-titled CD Osna (Celtic Note, CNCD 1002) I purchased while in Ireland. When-ever I wanted some special inspiration or needed to fall into the mood of the novel, I put their CD in the player. I've been unable to find any other recordings by this group in the U.S., but this is one fine effort. Thank you for the sonic inspiration! You can find Celtic Note at http://www.celticnote.ie on the internet.

And while I'm mentioning the music which was always playing in the background, I should also give a nod to Capercaillie and Cherish The Ladies, both groups which also found quite a lot of time on the CD player during the course of the writing.

THE CELTIC WAY OF LIFE by the Curriculum Development Unit (The O'Brien Press Ltd., 1998), is a small but interesting book giving an overview of daily life among the Celtic people of Ireland, and it served as a quick source of inspiration for some of the aspects of life in the fictional Talamh an Ghlas.

For a more detailed and in-depth look, THE COURSE OF IRISH HISTORY by Professors T.W. Moody and F.X. Martin (Roberts Rinehart Publishers, 1995) proved invaluable. The book is essential reading for anyone interested in a detailed and well-researched overview of the history of Ireland.

My apologies in advance to speakers of Irish Gaelic. Through the book, I have borrowed several terms from Irish and though I've made my best attempt, any mistakes in usage are my own and are due to my limited understanding of the language.

Many thanks to Sheila Gilbert for seeing the story and loving it, and for making me part of the "family" at DAW.

If you're connected to the internet, my web page can be accessed from www.farrellworlds.comyou're always welcome to browse through.