Note: First published in The Bookman, November 1893, with the title "The Stolen Bride" and the following note: "I heard the story on which this ballad is founded from an old woman at Balesodare, Sligo. She repeated to me a Gaelic poem on the subject, and then translated it to me. I have always regretted not having taken down her words, and as some amends for not having done so, have made this ballad." The title "The Host of the Air" was used in the 1950 Collected Poems and is how the poem is usually referred to subsequently.