Is é príomhaidhm an tionscadail taighde seo eagarthóireacht agus anailís a dhéanamh ar chnuasach béaloidis a bhailigh an bailitheoir béaloidis páirtaimseartha, Seán Mac Mathúna (1876-1949), ó mhná agus faoi mhná i gceantar an Luaigh Thuaidh, Co. an Chláir chun ról agus léiriú na mban mar a rinneadh cur síos orthu san ábhar béaloidis a iniúchadh. Tá tuiscint theoranta ag béaloideasaithe ar rannpháirtíocht na mban agus ar a gcuid béaloidis sa cheantar seo. Léiríonn seanfhocal áitiúil gné de dhearcadh diúltach na ndaoine i leith na mban i lár na fichiú haoise: '[t]ráthaire circe nó fiannaí mná' (Ó Duilearga & Ó hÓgáin, 1981). Is fiú aird a tharraingt ar léiriú na mban chun faillí na mblianta a réiteach. Tugtar cuntas ar shaol agus ar shaothar an bhailitheora. Rinneadh innéacsú ar an gCnuasach chun lámhscríbhinní Mhic Mhathúna a ullmhú don fhoilsiú ar líne ar Dúchas.ie ar mhaithe le caomhnú agus comhroinnt an eolais a bhailigh sé ar ardán digiteach idirghníomhach. Baineadh leas as agallaimh le faisnéiseoirí in iarthuaisceart an Chláir agus as saothar na n-antraipeolaithe Conrad Arensberg agus Solon Kimball chun cúlra stairiúil an Chnuasaigh a mheas i gcomhthéacs shaol na mban sna tríochaidí agus sna daichidí. Déantar staidéar feimineach/feidhmiúlach ar an mbunábhar a bhaineann le mná i gCnuasach Mhic Mhathúna bunaithe ar theoiricí William R. Bascom (1954), Joan Radner agus Susan Lanser (1987) agus Aili Nenola (1999) maidir le feidhmeanna an bhéaloidis agus na teachtaireachtaí (feimineacha) códaithe a nochtann dearcadh na ndaoine, idir fhir agus mhná, i leith na mban. Léiríodh peirspictíocht na mban trí chomparáid a dhéanamh idir samplaí den ábhar béaloidis a bailíodh ó mhná agus ó fhir a léiríonn saol agus taithí na mban iontu. Faightear tuiscint nua ar ról (traidisiúnta) na mban sa cheantar agus ar an meon i leith na banúlachta 'idéalaí' sa tráchtas seo. ENGLISH: The primary aim of this research project is editing and analysing the folklore collection that part-time folklore collector, Seán Mac Mathúna (1876-1949), collected from women and about women in the area around Luogh North, Co. Clare to examine closely the role and representation of women as described in the folklore material. Folklorists have a limited understanding of women's participation and their folklore in this area. A local proverb illustrates one aspect of the people's attitude towards women in the mid-twentieth century: 'A crowing hen or a female storyteller' (Ó Duilearga & Ó hÓgáin, 1981). Attention must be given to the representation of women to make up for years of neglect. An account is given of the collector's life and work. The Collection was indexed to prepare Mac Mathúna's manuscripts for online publication at dúchas.ie for the sake of the preservation and sharing of the material he collected on an interactive, digital platform. Interviews with informants in north-west Clare and the work of the anthropologists Conrad Arensberg and Solon Kimball were used to evaluate the historical background of the Collection in the context of women's lives in the 1930s and 1940s. A functionalist/feminist study of the original material associated with women in Mac Mathúna's Collection was conducted based on William R. Bascom's (1954) and Joan Radner and Susan Lanser's (1987) theories regarding the functions of folklore and the secret feminist messages that reveal the people's attitude, both men and women, towards women. The perspective of women is shown through comparing samples of the folklore material collected from women and men that reflect women's life and experience. A new understanding of the (traditional) role of women in the area and of the attitude towards 'ideal' femininity is found in this thesis.