A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

Overview

While Daniel falls from the moon, a flock of wild geese passes near him. The old gander leading them recognizes him, and Daniel identifies the bird as an old acquaintance from Ballyasheenough. It offers rescue by telling him to catch its leg. The episode presents speech, leadership and the ability to carry a man in flight; it gives no bodily transformation or special plumage. Daniel accepts despite distrusting another bird after the eagle’s trick.

The flock flies over the ocean toward Arabia rather than turning toward Daniel’s home. When a ship appears, Daniel insists it lies directly beneath them and demands release. The gander warns that he will miss it and fall into the water, then yields to his insistence. The warning proves correct. Daniel’s imagined plunge and encounter with a whale give way to his wife splashing him awake. Unlike the eagle, the gander states its route and the danger before releasing him; the tale does not assign it the same revenge motive.

Human speechLeads a migrating flockCarries Daniel by the leg
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Origins & earliest records

Daniel O’Rourke, XV, printed pp. 105–111, in T. Crofton Croker’s Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland, new edition, Philadelphia, Lea and Blanchard, 1844. The opening narrator claims to have heard the elderly Daniel near Hungry Hill on 25 June 1813; the tale ends with Daniel waking beneath Carrigaphooka’s walls.

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Records & interpretation

The selected complete narrative gives this figure speech and a specific role in Daniel’s journey. Its closing awakening frames the journey as a dream after drinking; the opening collector-style date is part of the published narrative frame, not independent corroboration of the adventure.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

  1. 01

    Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland, Daniel O’Rourke, XV, pp. 105–111

    T. Crofton Croker; narrative attributed in its frame to Daniel O’Rourke · 1844 selected edition

    Complete tale through Judy’s waking-water intervention; the edition’s preface describes a condensed forty-tale selection from earlier volumes.

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

  1. Primary textCroker, 1844 selected edition: Daniel O’Rourke, XVResearch access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

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