This article discusses the use of 'folklore' in the work of Sean O Riordain, mainly in his prose it must be said; and not so much the 'use' of it as the category itself, what did it mean, how did the great poet react to the contemporary perspective when the collection and combilation of folklore was at its height. It is interesting to reflect on the views of a major poet and intellectual of the time. An intellectual that, in spite of constant attempts to define him through his illness, has been unsurpassed.