INTRODUCTION
It must have been on Synge\'s second visit to the Aran Islands that he
had the experience out of which was wrought what many believe to be his
greatest play. The scene of "Riders to the Sea" is laid in a cottage on
Inishmaan, the middle and most interesting island of the Aran group.
While Synge was on Inishmaan, the story came to him of a man whose
body had been washed up on the far away coast of Donegal, and who, by
reason of certain peculiarities of dress, was suspected to be from the island.
In due course, he was recognised as a native of Inishmaan, in exactly the
manner described in the play, and perhaps one of the most poignantly
vivid passages in Synge\'s book on "The Aran Islands" relates the incident
of his burial.