THE WATER HORSE. Poems in Irish with Translations into English.

First edition, first printing. Signed by the author and the translators. Hardcover issue. Publisher's original black cloth with titles in gilt to the spine, in the Mary Fitzgerald illustrated dustwrapper. A fine copy, the binding square and firm, the contents are clean throughout, and without previous owners' inscriptions or stamps. Complete with fine original dustwrapper that is without fading, loss, or tears. Not price-clipped (£14.95 on the front flap).

Signed by the author and both translators in black and blue ink on the title page. The first edition was published in simultaneous paperback and hardback editions, on 28th October 1999. The title of this collection comes from the water spirit in Irish folklore 'Each-uisce', literally meaning 'water horse'. This shapeshifting figure usually first appears as a handsome young man whose true form is later revealed as a horse, similar to a kelpie, but is known for being far more vicious. The Each-uisce has a particular preference for devouring human women, a trope which features in Ní Dhomhnaill's poem (on p. 26 in this volume). Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill is a prolific and award-winning Irish language poet, and is internationally recognised as one of the few female Irish poets who write exclusively in Irish. She has been described as being a major influence in revitalizing the Irish language in modern poetry, with her works being translated into English by a number of well-known Irish poets, including Seamus Heaney, Paul Muldoon, Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin, and Medbh McGuckian (Wake Forest University Press, 2011; Poetry Foundation, 2025).