"It is better that we leave this place at once," said the same old

cleric. And his companions said to him:--

"We will go with thee whithersoever thou goest." So they departed from

that place; (and the crimson red bird went with them).

IX.

And as they went, they saw three wonderful streams, namely, a stream of

otters, a stream of eels, and a stream of black swans. Great flocks of

birds arose from these three streams and flew past the voyagers; and the

black swans followed close after, tearing and tormenting the birds. And

the crimson red bird said:--

"Marvel not, neither be ye sad of heart; for these bird-shapes that ye

see are the souls of people suffering the punishment of their crimes.

And the black swans that follow them, these are devils who are for ever

tormenting them; and the birds scream fearfully, and are for ever trying

to fly from the demons and to free themselves from their torment.

"And now as to me," continued the bird, "I am about to depart from you.

It is not permitted me to make known to you what is to befall you; but

in a little time another will tell you all that you need to know."

And the cleric said:--"Tell us, I beseech thee, what are those three

beautiful streaks on thy breast."

"I will tell you that," answered the bird. "When I was in the world I

was married; but I did not yield obedience to my husband, neither did I

fulfil my lawful homely duties as a wife. And when a grievous sickness

came upon him I left him to die. But thrice I went in pity to him:--once

to see him and ask after his illness; once to bring him such food as

befitted his state; and the third time when he was dead, to watch by the

body and see it buried. These three good deeds are the three beautiful

streaks that you see on my breast; and I should have been bright all

over like these streaks if I had not violated my lawful marriage

duties."

And having so spoken, the bird bade them farewell and flew away.

X.

They next discovered a very beautiful island. The grass was bright

green, and it was all over intermingled with pretty purple-coloured

flowers. Flocks of lovely little birds of many bright colours, and

myriads of bees, flew among the trees and flowers, humming and singing

harmonious music. The voyagers saw a venerable grey-headed old man with

a harp in his hand. He played this harp on the island continually; and

the music thereof was sweeter than any music they had ever heard. They

saluted the old man, who saluted them in return, with a blessing. But

immediately he bade them to depart.

XI.

So they rowed away till they came to another island, on which they saw a

man digging in a field; and his spade was all fiery, and the handle

thereof, which he held in his hand, was red hot. From the sea at one

side arose at times a mighty wave all flaming red with fire, which

flowed quite over the island and over the man. And ever when he saw the

wave coming he cried out with fear; and when the burning torrent covered

him, he strove to raise his head above the flames, and roared with his

great torment. Now when one of the waves had retired they spoke to him

and asked:--

"Who art thou, O wretched man?"

And he answered:--"Lo, this is my punishment for my misdeeds. For when I

lived on earth I always worked on Sundays, digging in my garden; for

which I am condemned to dig with this fiery spade, and to suffer the

torments of these fiery waves. And now, for the sake of God, offer up

your prayers for me, that my pains may be lightened."

And they prayed fervently; after which they departed from the island.

XII.

Soon after leaving this they saw a horseman of vast size riding on the

sea; and the horse he rode was made of fire flaming red. And as he rode,

great waves of fire came after him along the sea; and when a wave began

to roll over him, he yelled aloud with fear and pain. Then they asked

him why he was thus tormented; and he answered:--

"I am he who stole my brother's horse; and after I had gotten him I rode

him every Sunday. For this I am now undergoing my punishment, riding on

this horse of fire, and tormented with these great waves of fire."

XIII.

After leaving this they came in sight of another island, full of people,

all weeping and lamenting grievously. Great numbers of jet-black birds

with beaks of fire and red-hot fiery talons followed and fluttered round

about them, tearing and burning them with their talons, and rending away

pieces of flesh, the full of their fiery beaks. Then the crew said

aloud:--

"Who are ye, O miserable people?"

"We are dishonest smiths and artisans; and because we cheated while we

lived, we are punished by these hateful fiery birds. Moreover, our

tongues are burning, being all afire in our heads; for that we reviled

people with bitter words and foul taunts."

XIV.

Coming now to another place, they saw a giant huge in size, and of a

sooty black colour all over. His mouth was all on fire; and from his

throat he belched forth great flakes of fire, each flake as it came from

his mouth larger than the skin of a three-year-old wether. He held in

his hand an iron club larger than the shaft of a mill wheel; and on his

back he bore an immense faggot of firewood, a good load for a team of

horses. Now this faggot often blazed up and burned him; and he tried to

free himself from his torment by lying down so that the sea might flow

over him. But ever as he did so, the sea around him turned to fire, and

rose up in mighty burning billows, covering him all over, so that he

made the place resound with his bellowings.

"Miserable wretch, who art thou?" asked the crew.

And he answered:--"I will tell you truly. When I lived I used to cut

faggots and bring them home on my back every Sunday: and lo, here is my

punishment."

XV.

They came after that to a sea of fire full of men's heads, all black,

and continually fighting with each other. And many great serpents rose

up among the heads and came with fury to attack the curragh, so that at

one time they pierced through the outer hide. And one of the crew who

looked on cried out in great horror, and said:--

"It is enough to strike one dead to behold the fearful things I see!"

And the whole crew when they saw the heads and the serpents fell flat

with fear. But the elder (the bishop) comforted them, saying:--

"Be ye not afraid or troubled on account of these things; for God is

able to protect us, even though we were in a curragh of only one hide;

and if He wishes to save us, these monsters cannot hurt us, however

furious they may be to slay us."

And they took courage after this, and rowed out into the open sea.

XVI.

There was shown to them next another beautiful island, having in one

place an open wood. The trees were laden with fruit, and the leaves

dropped honey to the ground. The sides of the hills were clothed with

purple blossomed heather, mixed with soft, green grass to its very

centre. In the midst of the island was a pretty lake, whose waters

tasted like sweet wine. They rested for a week on the shore of this

lake, and cast off their weariness. And now, being about to leave the

island, as they turned to go to the curragh, a monstrous

reptile[CLXVII.] rose up from the lake and looked at them. And they

trembled with fear at the sight of this terrible beast; for each man

thought that he himself would be the first to be attacked. But after a

little time the reptile dived again into the water, and they saw no more

of him.

XVII.

From this they rowed away; and after a long time they came at midnight

to an island wherein was a community of Ailbe of Emly.[CLXVIII.] On the

beach they found two spring wells; one foul, the other bright and clear.

The gilla wished to drink of the clear well; but the elder (the bishop)

told him it was better to ask leave, if there was anyone living on the

island.

Then they saw a great light; and coming closer, they found the twelve

men of the community at their prayers; and now they perceived that the

bright light they saw came from the radiant faces of the twelve; so that

these holy men needed no other light. One of them, an old man, comes

towards the voyagers; and he bids them welcome and asks news of them.

They tell him all their adventures, and ask his leave to drink from the

well; whereupon he said to them:--"Ye may fill your pitchers from the

clear well, if your elder (_i.e._ the bishop) gives you leave."

"Who are ye?" asks the gilla.

"A community of Ailbe of Emly," says he: "and we are the crew of one of

Ailbe's curraghs. God has permitted that we live here till the Day of

Judgment, praying for everyone who is drowned at sea. And now leave this

land before morning," he added, "for your resurrection is not to be

here. And if ye have not left by the dawn, so much the worse for

yourselves; for if once ye get a view of this island in the light of

day, bitter will be your anguish of mind for leaving it (on account of

its surpassing loveliness). So it is better for you to go away during

the night."

And they did exactly all he told them to do.

"Shall we take away some of the pebbles of the strand?" said they

(talking among themselves).

"It is better to ask leave," answered the cleric. So the gilla asked

leave of the same old man.

"Yes, if you have the permission (of your bishop)," answered he.

"Nevertheless," he added, "those who take them will be sorry; and those

who do not take them will be sorry also."

They pick up pebbles, some bringing away one, some two, some three.

(After which they row away in the dark night from the island.) In the

morning they drank some of the spring water of the island from their

pitchers; which threw them into a deep sleep from that time till next

day. On wakening up, they examined their pebbles in the light; and some

were found to be crystal, some silver, and some gold. Then those who

brought some away were in sorrow that they had not brought more; and

much greater was the sorrow of those who had brought away none. So the

words of the old man came true.

XVIII.

After leaving this they came to a lovely island on which was a church

standing all alone: and when they drew nigh they heard the voice of a

cleric singing the psalms with a sweet voice. They came to the door and

struck it with the hand-wood; and straightway a beautiful

bright-coloured bird came to speak with them. When they had told him

who they were and what they wanted, he flew back to the cleric, who bade

him have the door opened for the pilgrims. And when they had come in,

they found the cleric--a very old man with white hair--who sang his

hymns continually. And they saluted each other; and the pilgrims stayed

there that night. And an angel came and brought them supper, and

ministered unto them. On the morrow the old priest bade them depart,

since that was not to be the place of their resurrection on the Judgment

Day. But before they went he foretold all that should happen to them

during the rest of their voyage.

XIX.

From that they came to an island in which was a disciple of Christ.

Glorious and beautiful was that island; and on it stood a church and a

kingly shrine. As they came near they heard some one singing the Pater

to God in the door of the church: whereupon one of the clerics said:--

"Welcome the prayer of our father and teacher, Jesus."

And the priest who stood praying at the door said:--

"Why say you so? Who are ye; and where have ye seen Him?"

And when they had told him that they were servants of Jesus, he spoke

again:--

"I too am one of His disciples. And when I first took Him for my Lord I

was faithful and steady; but after a time I left Him and came to sea in

my curragh, and rowed till I came to this island. For a long time I

lived on fruit and herbs; till at length an angel came from heaven to

visit me. And he said to me:--

"'Thou hast not done well: nevertheless thou shalt abide on this island,

eating the same food without either decay or death till the Judgment

Day.' And so I have lived here to this hour: and no daily meal is sent

to me, but I eat of the herbs and fruit that grow on the island."

Then they all went together into one house; and being very hungry, they

prayed fervently for food. And presently an angel came down from heaven;

and while they looked on he placed a supper for them on a flagstone hard

by the strand, namely, a cake with a slice of fish for each. And while

they ate, whatsoever taste each man separately wished for, that taste he

found on the food. In the morning, when they were about to bid the

cleric farewell, he foretold all that should happen to them, saying:--

"Ye shall go from me now on sea till ye reach the western point of

Spain. And as ye near the land, ye shall meet a boat with a crew of men

fishing, who will bring you with them to land."

Then turning to the bishop, he said:--"Immediately after leaving the

curragh, as soon as thou hast reached the land, prostrate thyself three

times to God. And the place on which thou shalt first set thy foot,

there a great crowd shall gather round thee from every quarter. And they

will treat thee kindly, and will give thee land on which they will

build a church for thee; and after this thy fame shall spread over the

whole world. And the successor of Peter (the Pope) shall bring thee

eastwards to Rome. Yonder priest thou shalt leave as thy successor in

the church, and the deacon thou shalt leave to be his sacristan. That

place and that church shall be revered, and shall be preserved for ever.

And thou shalt leave the Gilla in Britain, where he will live for the

rest of his life."

After this they bade the old man farewell and left the island. And all

fell out just as he had foretold. And the bishop went to Rome; and he

afterwards related these adventures to Saerbrethach bishop of West

Munster, and to Mocolmoc, one of the holy men of Aran, as we have set

them down here.

Thus far the Voyage of the Sons of O'Corra.

FOOTNOTES:

[CLV.] I translated this tale fifteen years ago (as mentioned in

Preface, page xiii) from two Royal Irish Academy MSS., 23. N. 15 and 23.

M. 50; and I subsequently made some modifications after I had an

opportunity of consulting the more correct text of the Book of Fermoy.

This last text has since been published, with literal translation, by

Dr. Whitley Stokes, in the _Revue Celtique_ (Jan. 1893). After comparing

my somewhat free version with Dr. Stokes's close translation, I have not

thought it necessary to make any changes.

A few of the adventures in this tale are identical with those described

in the Voyage of Maildun: the description of these I have omitted here.

Lochan, Enna, and Silvester, the chief characters in this extraordinary

fiction, are historical: they were saints of the primitive Irish church,

and lived in the sixth century.

[CLVI.] _Brugaid_, a sort of local officer who maintained a large

establishment as keeper of a house of public hospitality. See my "Short

History of Ireland," p. 57.

[CLVII.] Chess-playing was a favourite amusement among the ancient

Irish.

[CLVIII.] Cairderga: original _Caer-derg_, red berry.

[CLIX.] _Erenach_, the holder or _impropriator_ of a church and its

lands: usually a layman.

[CLX.] Clogher in Tyrone where there was a monastery.

[CLXI.] Tuam-da-Gualann, where was formerly a celebrated ecclesiastical

establishment: now Tuam in Galway.

[CLXII.] Greenan: original _grianan_, literally a sunny place: a

summer-house: the most lightsome, airy, and pleasant apartment of a

house. See this word discussed in my "Irish Names of Places," vol. i. p.

291.

[CLXIII.] For St. Finnen of Clonard in the County Meath, see my "Short

History of Ireland," p. 175

[CLXIV.] _Kenn-Mara_, now Kinvarra on Galway bay.

[CLXV.] _Curragh_, see note 17 at end. Some curraghs were made with

two--some with three--hides, one outside another, for the better

security.

[CLXVI.] _Crossans_: travelling gleemen: the clothes, musical

instruments, &c., were the property of the company. This word is the

origin of the Scotch and Irish family name MacCrossan, now often changed

to Crosbie. A company of crossans had always among them a _fuirseoir_,

i.e. a juggler or buffoon.

[CLXVII.] According to very ancient legends, which are still vividly

remembered and recounted all over the country, almost every lake in

Ireland has a tremendous hairy reptile in its waters. Some say they are

demons, sent by St. Patrick to reside at the bottom of the lakes to the

Day of Judgment.

[CLXVIII.] St. Ailbe, the patron of Munster, was a contemporary of St.

Patrick. He founded his great monastery and school at Emly in the County

Limerick.

THE FATE OF THE SONS OF USNA.[CLXIX.]

Avenging and bright fall the swift sword of Erin

On him who the brave sons of Usna betrayed.

MOORE.

FOOTNOTES:

[CLXIX.] The translation that follows is my own, and is of course

copyright, like all the other translations in this book. On this fine

story is founded the epic poem of "Deirdre," by Robert Dwyer Joyce, M.D.

CHAPTER I.

THE FLIGHT TO ALBAN.

Concobar mac Nessa, king of Ulaid,[CLXX.] ruled in Emain. And his chief

story-teller, Felimid, made a feast for the king and for the knights of

the Red Branch,[CLXXI.] who all came to partake of it in his house.

While they were feasting right joyously, listening to the sweet music of

the harps and the mellow voices of the bards, a messenger brought word

that Felimid's wife had given birth to a little daughter, an infant of

wondrous beauty. And when Caffa, the king's druid and seer, who was of

the company, was ware of the birth of the child, he went forth to view

the stars and the clouds, if he might thereby glean knowledge of what

was in store for that little babe.[CLXXII.] And when he had returned to

his place, he sat deep pondering for a time: and then standing up and

obtaining silence, he said:--

"This child shall be called Deir-dr[)e][CLXXIII.]; and fittingly is she

so named: for much of woe will befall Ulaid and Erin in general on her

account. There shall be jealousies, and strifes, and wars: evil deeds

will be done: many heroes will be exiled: many will fall."

When the heroes heard this, they were sorely troubled, and some said

that the child should be killed. But the king said:--"Not so, ye Knights

of the Red Branch; it is not meet to commit a base deed in order to

escape evils that may never come to pass. This little maid shall be

reared out of the reach of mischief, and when she is old enough she

shall be my wife: thus shall I be the better able to guard against those

evils that Caffa forecasts for us."

And the Ultonians did not dare to gainsay the word of the king.

Then king Concobar caused the child to be placed in a strong fortress on

a lonely spot nigh the palace, with no opening in front, but with door

and windows looking out at the back on a lovely garden watered by a

clear rippling stream: and house and garden were surrounded by a wall

that no man could surmount. And those who were put in charge of her

were, her tutor, and her nurse, and Concobar's poetess, whose name was

Lavarcam: and save these three, none were permitted to see her. And so

she grew up in this solitude, year by year, till she was of marriageable

age, when she excelled all the maidens of her time for beauty.

One snowy day as she and Lavarcam looked forth from the window, they saw

some blood on the snow, where her tutor had killed a calf for dinner;

and a raven alighted and began to drink of it. "I should like," said

Deirdre, "that he who is to be my husband should have these three

colours: his hair as black as the raven: his cheeks red as the blood:

his skin like the snow. And I saw such a youth in a dream last night;

but I know not where he is, or whether he is living on the ridge of the

world."

"Truly," said Lavarcam, "the young hero that answers to thy words is not

far from thee; for he is among Concobar's knights: namely, Naisi the son

of Usna."

Now Naisi and his brothers, Ainnli and Ardan, the three sons of Usna,

were the best beloved of all the Red Branch Knights, so gracious and

gentle were they in time of peace, so skilful and swift-footed in the

chase, so strong and valiant in battle.

And when Deirdre heard Lavarcam's words, she said:--"If it be as thou

sayest, that this young knight is near us, I shall not be happy till I

see him: and I beseech thee to bring him to speak to me."

"Alas, child," replied Lavarcam, "thou knowest not the peril of what

thou askest me to do: for if thy tutor come to know of it, he will

surely tell the king; and the king's anger none can bear."

Deirdre answered not: but she remained for many days sad and silent: and

her eyes often filled with tears through memory of her dream: so that

Lavarcam was grieved: and she pondered on the thing if it could be done,

for she loved Deirdre very much, and had compassion on her. At last she

contrived that these two should meet without the tutor's knowledge: and

the end of the matter was that they loved each other: and Deirdre said

she would never wed the king, but she would wed Naisi.

Knowing well the doom that awaited them when Concobar came to hear of

this, Naisi and his young wife and his two brothers, with thrice fifty

fighting men, thrice fifty women, thrice fifty attendants, and thrice

fifty hounds, fled over sea to Alban. And the king of the western part

of Alban received them kindly, and took them into military service. Here

they remained for a space, gaining daily in favour: but they kept

Deirdre apart, fearing evil if the king should see her.

And so matters went on, till it chanced that the king's steward, coming

one day by Naisi's house, saw the couple as they sat on their couch: and

going directly to his master, he said:--

"O king, we have long sought in vain for a woman worthy to be thy wife,

and now at last we have found her: for the woman, Deirdre, who is with

Naisi, is worthy to be the wife of the king of the western world. And

now I give thee this counsel:--Let Naisi be killed, and then take thou

Deirdre for thy wife."

The king basely agreed to do so; and forthwith he laid a plot to slay

the sons of Usna; which matter coming betimes to the ears of the

brothers, they fled by night with all their people. And when they had

got to a safe distance, they took up their abode in a wild place, where

with much ado they obtained food by hunting and fishing. And the

brothers built them three hunting booths in the forest, a little

distance from that part of the seashore looking towards Erin: and the

booth in which their food was prepared, in that they did not eat; and

the one in which they ate, in that they did not sleep. And their people

in like manner built themselves booths and huts, which gave them but

scant shelter from wind and weather.

Now when it came to the ears of the Ultonians, that the sons of Usna and

their people were in discomfort and danger, they were sorely grieved:

but they kept their thoughts to themselves, for they dared not speak

their mind to the king.

FOOTNOTES:

[CLXX.] Ulaid (pronounced _Ulla_), Ulster.

[CLXXI.] For Concobar and the Red Branch Knights, see note 15 farther

on: and for much fuller information, see my "Social History of Ancient

Ireland," vol. i, page 83; or the Smaller Soc. Hist., page 38.

[CLXXII.] The druids professed to be able to foretell by observing the

stars and clouds. See Smaller Social History, p. 98.

[CLXXIII.] "Deirdre" is said to mean "alarm."

CHAPTER II.

CONCOBAR'S GUILEFUL MESSAGE.

AT this same time a right joyous and very splendid feast was given by

Concobar in Emain Macha to the nobles and the knights of his household.

And the number of the king's household that sat them down in the great

hall of Emain on that occasion was five and three score above six

hundred and one thousand.[CLXXIV.] Then arose, in turn, their musicians

to sound their melodious harpstrings, and their poets and their

story-tellers to sing their sweet poetic strains, and to recount the

deeds of the mighty heroes of the olden time. And the feasting and the

enjoyment went on, and the entire assembly were gay and cheerful. At

length Concobar arose from where he sat high up on his royal seat;

whereupon the noise of mirth was instantly hushed. And he raised his

kingly voice and said:--

"I desire to know from you, ye Nobles and Knights of the Red Branch,

have you ever seen in any quarter of Erin a house better than this house

of Emain, which is my mansion: and whether you see any want in it."

And they answered that they saw no better house, and that they knew of

no want in it.

And the king said: "I know of a great want: namely, that we have not

present among us the three noble sons of Usna. And why now should they

be in banishment on account of any woman in the world?"

And the nobles replied:--"Truly it is a sad thing that the sons of Usna,

our dear comrades, should be in exile and distress. They were a shield

of defence to Ulaid: and now, O king, it will please us well that thou

send for them and bring them back, lest they and their people perish by

famine or fall by their enemies."

"Let them come," replied Concobar, "and make submission to me: and their

homes, and their lands and their places among the Knights of the Red

Branch shall be restored to them."

Now Concobar was mightily enraged at the marriage and flight of Naisi

and Deirdre, though he hid his mind from all men; and he spoke these

words pretending forgiveness and friendship. But there was guile in his

heart, and he planned to allure them back to Ulaid that he might kill

them.

When the feast was ended, and the company had departed, the king called

unto him Fergus mac Roy, and said:--"Go thou, Fergus, and bring back the

sons of Usna and their people. I promise thee that I will receive them

as friends should be received, and that what awaits them here is not

enmity or injury, but welcome and friendship. Take my message of peace

and good will, and give thyself as pledge and surety for their safety.

But these two things I charge thee to do:--That the moment you land in

Ulaid on your way back, you proceed straight to Barach's house which

stands on the sea cliff high over the landing place fronting Alban: and

that whether the time of your arrival be by day or by night, thou see

that the sons of Usna tarry not, but let them come hither direct to

Emain, that they may not eat food in Erin till they eat of mine."

And Fergus, suspecting no evil design, promised to do as the king

directed: for he was glad to be sent on this errand, being a fast friend

to the sons of Usna.

Fergus set out straightway, bringing with him only his two sons, Illan

the Fair and Buinni the Red, and his shield-bearer to carry his shield.

And as soon as he had departed, Concobar sent for Barach and said to

him:--

"Prepare a feast in thy house for Fergus: and when he visits thee

returning with the sons of Usna, invite him to partake of it." And

Barach thereupon departed for his home to do the bidding of the king and

prepare the feast.

Now those heroes of old, on the day they received knighthood, were wont

to make certain pledges which were to bind them for life, some binding

themselves to one thing, some to another. And as they made the promises

on the faith of their knighthood, with great vows, in presence of kings

and nobles, they dared not violate them; no, not even if it was to save

the lives of themselves and all their friends: for whosoever broke

through his knighthood pledge was foully dishonoured for evermore. And

one of Fergus's obligations was never to refuse an invitation to a

banquet: a thing which was well known to King Concobar and to Barach.

As to Fergus mac Roy and his sons: they went on board their galley and

put to sea, and made no delay till they reached the harbour nigh the

campment of the sons of Usna. And coming ashore, Fergus gave the loud

shout of a mighty man of chase. The sons of Usna were at that same hour

in their booth; and Naisi and Deirdre were sitting with a polished

chessboard between them playing a game.

And when they heard the shout, Naisi said:--"That is the call of a man

from Erin."

"Not so," replied Deirdre, "it is the call of a man of Alban."

And after a little time when a second shout came, Naisi said:--"That of

a certainty is the call of a man of Erin!"

But Deirdre again replied:--"No, indeed: it concerns us not: let us play

our game."

But when a third shout came sounding louder than those before, Naisi

arose and said:--"Now I know the voice: that is the shout of Fergus!"

And straightway he sent Ardan to the shore to meet him.

Now Deirdre knew the voice of Fergus from the first: but she kept her

thoughts to herself: for her heart misgave her that the visit boded

evil. And when she told Naisi that she knew the first shout, he

said:--"Why, my queen, didst thou conceal it then?"

And she replied:--"Lo, I saw a vision in my sleep last night: three

birds came to us from Emain Macha, with three drops of honey in their

beaks, and they left us the honey and took away three drops of our

blood."

"What dost thou read from that vision, O princess?" said Naisi.

"It denotes the message from Concobar to us," said Deirdre; "for sweet

as honey is the message of peace from a false man, while he has thoughts

of blood hidden deep in his heart."

When Ardan arrived at the shore, the sight of Fergus and his two sons

was to him like rain on the parched grass; for it was long since he had

seen any of his dear comrades from Erin. And he cried out as he came

near, "An affectionate welcome to you, my dear companions": and he fell

on Fergus's neck and kissed his cheeks, and did the like to his sons.

Then he brought them to the hunting-booth; and Naisi, Ainnli, and

Deirdre gave them a like kind welcome; after which they asked the news

from Erin.

"The best news I have," said Fergus, "is that Concobar has sent me to

you with kindly greetings, to bring you back to Emain and restore you to

your lands and homes, and to your places in the Red Branch; and I am

myself a pledge for your safety."

"It is not meet for them to go," said Deirdre: "for here they are under

no man's rule; and their sway in Alban is even as great as the sway of

Concobar in Erin."

But Fergus said: "One's mother country is better than all else, and

gloomy is life when a man sees not his home each morning."

"Far dearer to me is Erin than Alban," said Naisi, "even though my sway

should be greater here."

It was not with Deirdre's consent he spoke these words: and she still

earnestly opposed their return to Erin.

But Fergus tried to re-assure her:--"If all the men of Erin were against

you," said he, "it would avail nought once I have passed my word for

your safety."

"We trust in thee," said Naisi, "and we will go with thee to Erin."

FOOTNOTES:

[CLXXIV.] That is 1665. This inverted method of enumeration was often

used in Ireland. But they also used direct enumeration like ours.

CHAPTER III.

THE RETURN TO EMAIN.

Going next morning on board their galleys, Fergus and his companions put

out on the wide sea: and oar and wind bore them on swiftly till they

landed on the shore of Erin near the house of Barach.

And Deirdre, seating herself on a cliff, looked sadly over the waters at

the blue headlands of Alban: and she uttered this farewell:--

I.

"Dear to me is yon eastern land: Alban with its wonders. Beloved is

Alban with its bright harbours and its pleasant hills of the green

slopes. From that land I would never depart except to be with Naisi.

II.

"Kil-Cuan, O Kil-Cuan,[CLXXV.] whither Ainnli was wont to resort: short

seemed the time to me while I sojourned there with Naisi on the margins

of its streams and waterfalls.

III.

"Glen-Lee, O Glen-Lee, where I slept happy under soft coverlets: fish

and fowl, and the flesh of red deer and badgers; these were our fare in

Glen-Lee.

IV.

"Glen-Masan, O Glen-Masan: tall its cresses of white stalks: often were

we rocked to sleep in our curragh in the grassy harbour of Glen-Masan.

V.

"Glen-Orchy, O Glen-Orchy: over thy straight glen rises the smooth ridge

that oft echoed to the voices of our hounds. No man of the clan was more

light-hearted than my Naisi when following the chase in Glen-Orchy.

VI.

"Glen-Ettive, O Glen-Ettive: there it was that my first house was raised

for me: lovely its woods in the smile of the early morn: the sun loves

to shine on Glen-Ettive.

VII.

"Glen-da-Roy, O Glen-da-Roy: the memory of its people is dear to me:

sweet is the cuckoo's note from the bending bough on the peak over

Glen-da-Roy.

VIII.

"Dear to me is Dreenagh over the resounding shore: dear to me its

crystal waters over the speckled sand. From those sweet places I would

never depart, but only to be with my beloved Naisi."

After this they entered the house of Barach; and when Barach had

welcomed them, he said to Fergus: "Here I have a three-days banquet

ready for thee, and I invite thee to come and partake of it."

When Fergus heard this, his heart sank and his face waxed all over a

crimson red: and he said fiercely to Barach:--"Thou hast done an evil

thing to ask me to this banquet: for well thou knowest I cannot refuse

thee. Thou knowest, too, that I am under solemn pledge to send the Sons

of Usna this very hour to Emain: and if I remain feasting in thy house,

how shall I see that my promise of safety is respected?"

But none the less did Barach persist; for he was one of the partners in

Concobar's treacherous design.

Then Fergus turned to Naisi and said:--"I dare not violate my knighthood

promise: what am I to do in this strait?" But Deirdre answered for her

husband:--"The choice is before thee, Fergus; and it is more meet for

thee to abandon thy feast than to abandon the sons of Usna, who have

come over on thy pledge."

Then Fergus was in sore perplexity; and pondering a little he said:--"I

will not forsake the sons of Usna: for I will send with them to Emain

Macha my two sons, Illan the Fair and Buinni the Red, who will be their

pledge instead of me."

But Naisi said: "We need not thy sons for guard or pledge: we have ever

been accustomed to defend ourselves!" And he moved from the place in

great wrath: and his two brothers, and Deirdre, and the two sons of

Fergus followed him, with the rest of the clan; while Fergus remained

behind silent and gloomy: for his heart misgave him that mischief was

brewing for the sons of Usna.

Then Deirdre tried to persuade the sons of Usna to go to Rathlin,

between Erin and Alban, and tarry there till Barach's feast was ended:

but they did not consent to do so, for they deemed it would be a mark of

cowardice: and they sped on by the shortest ways towards Emain Macha.

When now they had come to Fincarn of the Watch-tower on Slieve Fuad,

Deirdre and her attendants stayed behind the others a little: and she

fell asleep. And when Naisi missed her, he turned back and found her

just awakening; and he said to her:--"Why didst thou tarry, my

princess?"

And she answered:--"I fell asleep and had a dream. And this is what I

saw in my dream:--Illan the Fair took your part: Buinni the Red did not:

and I saw Illan without his head: but Buinni had neither wound nor

hurt."

"Alas, O beauteous princess," said Naisi, "thou utterest nought but evil

forebodings: but the king is true and will not break his plighted

word."

So they fared on till they had come to the Ridge of the

Willows,[CLXXVI.] an hour's journey from the palace: and Deirdre,

looking upwards in great fear, said to Naisi:--"O Naisi, see yonder

cloud in the sky over Emain, a fearful chilling cloud of a blood-red

tinge: a baleful red cloud that bodes disaster! Come ye now to Dundalgan

and abide there with the mighty hero Cuculainn till Fergus returns from

Barach's feast; for I fear Concobar's treachery."

But Naisi answered:--"We cannot follow thy advice, beloved Deirdre, for

it would be a mark of fear: and we have no fear."

And as they came nigh the palace Deirdre said to them:--"I will now give

you a sign if Concobar meditates good or evil. If you are brought into

his own mansion where he sits surrounded by his nobles, to eat and drink

with him, this is a token that he means no ill; for no man will injure a

guest that has partaken of food at his table: but if you are sent to the

house of the Red Branch, be sure he is bent on treachery."

When at last they arrived at the palace, they knocked loudly with the

handwood: and the door-keeper swang the great door wide open. And when

he had spoken with them, he went and told Concobar that the sons of Usna

and Fergus's two sons had come, with their people.

And Concobar called to him his stewards and attendants and asked

them:--"How is it in the house of the Red Branch as to food and drink?"

And they replied that if the seven battalions of Ulaid were to come to

it, they would find enough of all good things. "If that is so," said

Concobar, "take the sons of Usna and their people to the Red Branch."

Even then Deirdre besought them not to enter the Red Branch: for she

deemed now that of a certainty there was mischief afoot. But Illan the

Fair said:--"Never did we show cowardice or unmanliness, and we shall

not do so now." Then she was silent and went with them into the house.

And the company, when they had come in, sat them down so that they

filled the great hall: and alluring viands and delicious drinks were set

before them: and they ate and drank till they became satisfied and

cheerful: all except Deirdre and the Sons of Usna, who did not partake

much of food or drink. And Naisi asked for the king's chessboard and

chessmen; which were brought: and he and Deirdre began to play.

FOOTNOTES:

[CLXXV.] This and the other places named in Deirdre's Farewell are all

in the west of Scotland.

[CLXXVI.] Irish name, _Drum-Sailech_; the ridge on which Armagh was

afterwards built.

CHAPTER IV.

TROUBLE LOOMING.

Let us now speak of Concobar. As he sat among his nobles, the thought of

Deirdre came into his mind, and he said:--"Who among you will go to the

Red Branch and bring me tidings of Deirdre, whether her youthful shape

and looks still live upon her: for if so there is not on the ridge of

the world a woman more beautiful." And Lavarcam said she would go.

Now the sons of Usna were very dear to Lavarcam: and Naisi was dearer

than the others. And rising up she went to the Red Branch, where she

found Naisi and Deirdre with the chessboard between them, playing. And

she saluted them affectionately: and she embraced Deirdre, and wept over

her, and kissed her many times with the eagerness of her love: and she

kissed the cheeks of Naisi and of his brothers.

And when her loving greeting was ended, she said:--"Beloved children,

evil is the deed that is to be done this night in Emain: for the three

torches of valour of the Gaels will be treacherously assailed, and

Concobar is certainly resolved to put them to death. And now set your

people on guard, and bolt and bar all doors, and close all windows; and

be steadfast and valorous, and defend your dear charge manfully, if you

may hold the assailants at bay till Fergus comes." And she departed

weeping piteously.

And when Lavarcam had returned to Concobar he asked what tidings she

brought. "Good tidings have I," said she: "for the three sons of Usna

have come, the three valiant champions of Ulaid: and now that they are

with thee, O king, thou wilt hold sway in Erin without dispute. And bad

tidings I bring also: Deirdre indeed is not as she was, for her youthful

form and the splendour of her countenance have fled from her."

And when Concobar heard this, his jealousy abated, and he joined in the

feasting.

But again the thought of Deirdre came to him, and he asked:--"Who now

will go for me to the Red Branch, and bring me further tidings of

Deirdre and of the sons of Usna?" for he distrusted Lavarcam. But the

Knights of the Red Branch had misgivings of some evil design, and all

remained silent.

Then he called to him Trendorn, one of the lesser chiefs: and he

said:--"Knowest thou, Trendorn, who slew thy father and thy three

brothers in battle?" And Trendorn answered:--"Verily, it was Naisi, the

son of Usna, that slew them." Then the king said:--"Go now to the Red

Branch and bring me back tidings of Deirdre and of the sons of Usna."

Trendorn went right willingly. But when he found the doors and windows

of the Red Branch shut up, he was seized with fear, and he said:--"It is

not safe to approach the sons of Usna, for they are surely in wrathful

mood: nevertheless I must needs bring back tidings to the king."

Whereupon, not daring to knock at the door, he climbed nimbly to a small

window high up that had been unwittingly left open, through which he

viewed the spacious banquet hall, and saw Naisi and Deirdre playing

chess. Deirdre chanced to look up at that moment, and seeing the face of

the spy with eyes intently gazing on her, she started with affright and

grasped Naisi's arm, as he was making a move with the chessman. Naisi,

following her gaze, and seeing the evil-looking face, flung the

chessman with unerring aim, and broke the eye in Trendorn's head.

Trendorn dropped down in pain and rage; and going straight to Concobar,

he said:--"I have tidings for thee, O king: the three sons of Usna are

sitting in the banquet hall, stately and proud like kings: and Deirdre

is seated beside Naisi; and verily for beauty and queenly grace her peer

cannot be found."

When Concobar heard this, a flame of jealousy and fury blazed up in his

heart, and he resolved that by no means should the sons of Usna escape

the doom he planned for them.

CHAPTER V.

THE ATTACK ON THE SONS OF USNA.

Coming forth on the lawn of Emain, King Concobar now ordered a large

body of hireling troops to beset the Red Branch: and he bade them force

the doors and bring forth the sons of Usna. And they uttered three

dreadful shouts of defiance, and assailed the house on every side; but

the strong oak stood bravely, and they were not able to break through

doors or walls. So they heaped up great piles of wood and brambles, and

kindled them till the red flames blazed round the house.

Buinni the Red now stood up and said to the sons of Usna:--"To me be

entrusted the task to repel this first assault: for I am your pledge in

place of my father." And marshalling his men, and causing the great door

to be thrown wide open, he sallied forth and scattered the assailants,

and put out the fires: slaying thrice fifty hirelings in that onslaught.

But Buinni returned not to the Red Branch: for the king sent to him with

a secret offer of great favours and bribes: namely, his own royal

friendship, and a fruitful tract of land; which Buinni took and basely

abandoned the sons of Usna. But none the better luck came to him of it:

for at that same hour a blight fell on the land, so that it became a

moor, waste and profitless, which is at this day called Slieve Fuad.

When Illan the Fair became aware of his brother's treason, he was

grieved to the heart, and he said:--"I am the second pledge in place of

my father for the sons of Usna, and of a certainty I will not betray

them: while this straight sword lives in my hand I will be faithful: and

I will now repel this second attack." For at this time the king's

hirelings were again thundering at the doors.

Forth he issued with his band: and he made three quick furious circuits

round the Red Branch, scattering the troops as he went: after which he

returned to the mansion and found Naisi and Deirdre still

playing.[CLXXVII.] But as the hireling hordes returned to the attack,

he went forth a second time and fell on them, dealing death and havoc

whithersoever he went.

Then, while the fight was still raging, Concobar called to him his son

Ficra, and said to him:--"Thou and Illan the Fair were born on the same

night: and as he has his father's arms, so thou take mine, namely, my

shield which is called the Ocean, and my two spears which are called

Dart and Slaughter, and my great sword, the Blue-green blade. And bear

thyself manfully against him, and vanquish him, else none of my troops

will survive."

Ficra did so and went against Illan the Fair; and they made a stout,

warlike, red-wounding attack on each other, while the others looked on

anxious: but none dared to interfere. And it came to pass that Illan

prevailed, so that Ficra was fain to shelter himself behind his father's

shield the Ocean, and he was like to be slain. Whereupon, the shield

moaned, and the Three Waves of Erin uttered their hollow melancholy

roar.[CLXXVIII.]

The hero Conall Carnagh, sitting in his dun afar off, heard the moan of

the shield and the roar of the Wave of Tuath: and springing up from

where he sat, he said: "Verily, the king is in danger: I will go to his

rescue."

He ran with the swiftness of the wind, and arrived on the Green of

Emain, where the two young heroes were fighting. Thinking it was

Concobar that crouched beneath the shield, he attacked Illan, not

knowing him, and wounded him even unto death. And Illan looking up said,

"Is it thou, Conall? Alas, dreadful is the deed thou hast done, not

knowing me, and not knowing that I am fighting in defence of the sons of

Usna, who are now in deadly peril from the treachery of Concobar."

And Conall, finding he had unwittingly wounded his dear young friend

Illan, turned in his grief and rage on the other, and swept off his

head. And he stalked fierce and silent out of the battlefield.

Illan, still faithful to his charge, called aloud to Naisi to defend

himself bravely: then putting forth his remaining strength, he flung his

arms, namely, his sword and his spears and his shield, into the Red

Branch; and falling prone on the green sward, the shades of death dimmed

his eyes, and his life departed.

And now when it was the dusk of evening, another great battalion of the

hirelings assailed the Red Branch, and kindled fagots around it:

whereupon Ardan sallied out with his valorous band and scattered them,

and put out the fires, and held guard for the first third of the night.

And during the second third Ainnli kept them at bay.

Then Naisi took his turn, issuing forth, and fought with them till the

morning's dawn: and until the sands of the seashore, or the leaves of

the forest, or the dew-drops on the grass, or the stars of heaven are

counted, it will not be possible to number the hirelings that were slain

in that fight by Naisi and his band of heroes.

And as he was returning breathless from the rout, all grimy and terrible

with blood and sweat, he spied Lavarcam, as she stood watching the

battle anxiously; and he said:--"Go, Lavarcam, go and stand on the outer

rampart, and cast thine eyes eastwards, if perchance thou shouldst see

Fergus and his men coming."

For many of Naisi's brave followers had fallen in these encounters: and

he doubted that he and the others could sustain much longer the

continual assaults of superior numbers. And Lavarcam went, but returned

downcast, saying she saw nought eastwards, but the open plain with the

peaceful herds browsing over it.

FOOTNOTES:

[CLXXVII.] These champions, as well as their wives, took care never to

show any signs of fear or alarm even in the time of greatest danger: so

Naisi and Deirdre kept playing quietly as if nothing was going on

outside, though they heard the din of battle resounding.

[CLXXVIII.] The "Three _Tonns_ or Waves of Erin" were the Wave of Tuath

outside the mouth of the river Bann, off the coast of Derry; the Wave of

Rury in Dundrum Bay, off the county Down; and the Wave of Cleena in

Glandore Harbour in the south of Cork. In stormy weather, when the wind

blows from certain directions, the sea at those places, as it tumbles

over the sandbanks, or among the caves and fissures of the rocks, utters

a loud and solemn roar, which in old times was believed to forebode the

death of some king.

The legends also tell that the shield belonging to a king moaned when

the person who wore it in battle--whether the king himself or a member

of his family--was in danger of death: the moan was heard all over

Ireland; and the "Three Waves of Erin" roared in response. See "Irish

Names of Places," Vol. II., Chap. XVI.

CHAPTER VI.

DEATH OF THE SONS OF USNA.

Believing now that they could no longer defend the Red Branch, Naisi

took council with his brothers; and what they resolved on was this:--To

sally forth with all their men and fight their way to a place of

safety. Then making a close, firm fence of shields and spears round

Deirdre, they marched out in solid ranks and attacked the hireling

battalions and slew three hundred in that onslaught.

Concobar, seeing the rout of his men, and being now sure that it was not

possible to subdue the sons of Usna in open fight, cast about if he

might take them by falsehood and craft. And sending for Caffa, the

druid, who loved them, he said:--

"These sons of Usna are brave men, and it is our pleasure to receive

them back into our service. Go now unto them, for thou art their loved

friend; and say to them that if they lay down their arms and submit to

me, I will restore them to favour and give them their places among the

Red Branch Knights. And I pledge thee my kingly word and my troth as a

true knight, that no harm shall befall them."

Caffa, by no means distrusting him, went to the sons of Usna, and told

them all the king had said. And they, suspecting neither guile nor

treachery, joyfully threw their swords and spears aside, and went

towards the king to make submission. But now, while they stood

defenceless, the king caused them to be seized and bound. Then, turning

aside, he sought for some one to put them to death; but he found no man

of the Ultonians willing to do so.

Among his followers was a foreigner named Maini of the Rough Hand, whose

father and two brothers had fallen in battle by Naisi: and this man

undertook to kill the sons of Usna.

When they were brought forth to their doom, Ardan said:--"I am the

youngest: let me be slain first, that I may not see the death of my

brothers." And Ainnli earnestly pleaded for the same thing for himself,

saying that he was born before Ardan, and should die before him.

But Naisi said:--"Lo, I have a sword, the gift of Mannanan mac Lir,

which leaves no remnant unfinished after a blow: let us be struck with

it, all three together, and we shall die at the same moment."

This was agreed to: and the sword was brought forth, and they laid their

heads close together, and Maini swept off all three with one blow of the

mighty sword. And when it became known that the sons of Usna were dead,

the men of Ulaid sent forth three great cries of grief and lamentation.

As for Deirdre, she cried aloud, and tore her golden hair, and became

like one distracted. And after a time, when her calmness had a little

returned, she uttered a lament:--

I.

"Three lions of the hill are dead, and I am left alone to weep for them.

The generous princes who made the stranger welcome have been guilefully

lured to their doom.

II.

"The three strong hawks of Slieve Cullinn,[CLXXIX.] a king's three sons,

strong and gentle: willing obedience was yielded to them by heroes who

had conquered many lands.

III.

"Three generous heroes of the Red Branch, who loved to praise the valour

of others: three props of the battalions of Quelna: their fall is the

cause of bitter grief.

IV.

"Ainnli and Ardan, haughty and fierce in battle, to me were ever loving

and gentle: Naisi, Naisi, beloved spouse of my choice, thou canst not

hear thy Deirdre lamenting thee.

V.

"When they brought down the fleet red deer in the chase, when they

speared the salmon skilfully in the clear water, joyful and proud were

they if I looked on.

VI.

"Often when my feeble feet grew weary wandering along the valleys, and

climbing the hills to view the chase, often would they bear me home

lightly on their linked shields and spears.

VII.

"It was gladness of heart to be with the sons of Usna: long and weary is

the day without their company: short will be my span of life since they

have left me.

VIII.

"Sorrow and tears have dimmed my eyes, looking at the grave of Naisi: a

dark deadly sickness has seized my heart: I cannot, I cannot live after

Naisi.

IX.

"O thou who diggest the new grave, make it deep and wide: let it be a

grave for four; for I will sleep for ever beside my beloved."

When she had spoken these words, she fell beside the body of Naisi and

died immediately. And a great cairn of stones was piled over their

grave, and their names were inscribed in Ogham, and their funeral rites

were performed.

This is the sorrowful tale of The Fate of the Sons of Usna.

FOOTNOTES:

[CLXXIX.] Slieve Cullinn, now Slieve Gullion mountain in Armagh.

NOTES.

NOTE 1.--_The Dedannans._

According to the old bardic legends, the first man who led a colony to

Ireland after the Flood was Parthalon. Next came Nemed and his people;

and after these the Firbolgs, who were conquered and succeeded by the

Dedannans.

The legend relates that the Dedannans, in the course of their

wanderings, spent some time in Greece, where they learned magic and

other curious arts. From this they migrated to Lochlann, in the north of

Europe (see note 6), from which they came through Scotland to their

final resting-place, Ireland.

From the three queens of their three last kings, Ireland got the three

names, Erin, F[=o]la, and Banba.

After the Dedannans had held sway in Ireland for about two hundred

years, they were in their turn conquered by the last and greatest colony

of all, the people of Milèd or Milesius, who are commonly known by the

name of Milesians, and who are the ancestors of the leading Gaelic

families of Ireland. The Milesians defeated the Dedannans in two great

battles: one fought at _Tailltenn_, now Teltown, on the river

Blackwater, between Navan and Kells, in Meath; and the other at

_Druim-Lighean_, now Drumleene, about three miles from Lifford, in

Donegal.

In the legendary and romantic literature of Ireland, the Dedannans are

celebrated as magicians. By the Milesians and their descendants they

were regarded as gods, and ultimately, in the imagination of the people,

they became what are now in Ireland called "fairies."

After their defeat by the Milesians, they seem to have retired to remote

and lonely places; and their reputation as magicians, as well as the

obscure and mysterious manner in which they lived, gradually impressed

the vulgar with the belief that they were supernatural beings.

The notion was that they lived in splendid palaces in the interior of

pleasant green hills. These hills were called _sidh_ (pronounced

_shee_); and hence the Dedannans were called _Daoine-sidhe_

(_Deena-shee_), or people of the fairy hills; _Marcra-sidhe_

(_Markra-shee_), fairy cavalcade; and _Sluagh-sidhe_ (_Sloo-shee_),

fairy host.

Of this mysterious race, the following are the principal characters

mentioned in these tales.

Mannanan Mac Lir, the Gaelic sea-god. In "Cormac's Glossary" (written

A.D. 900), we are told that he was a famous merchant who resided in, and

gave name to, _Inis-Manann_, or the Isle of Man; that he was the best

merchant in Western Europe; and that he used to know, by examining the

heavens, the length of time the fair and the foul weather would last.

The Dagda, whose name some interpret to mean "the great good fire," so

called from his military ardour, who reigned as king of Ireland from

A.M. 3370 to 3450.

Angus or Angus Oge, the son of the Dagda, who lived at _Brugh_ or Bruga,

on the north shore of the Boyne, a little below the village of Slane.

Angus is spoken of as the wisest and the most skilled in magic of all

the Dedannan race.

Nuada of the Silver Hand. (See note 4.)

Lir of Shee Finnaha, the father of the four "Children of Lir," and Bove

Derg of Shee Bove, of whom we know little more than what is told of them

in the "Fate of the Children of Lir." Shee Finnaha is supposed to have

been situated near Newtown Hamilton, in Armagh; and Shee Bove was on the

shore of Lough Derg, on the Shannon.

Luga of the Long Arms, who imposed the eric-fine on the three sons of

Turenn for slaying his father Kian. (See note 7 for a further account of

this Luga.)

Dianket, the great physician, of whose powers of cure extraordinary

stories are told. He had a son Midac, and a daughter Armedda, more

skilful than himself. The old legend relates that Midac took off the

silver arm which his father Dianket had put on Nuada (see note 4), and,

having procured the bones of the real arm, he clothed them with flesh

and skin, and fixed the arm in its place as well as ever "in three

moments." Dianket was so enraged at being outdone by his son that he

slew him. After Midac had been buried for some time, three hundred and

sixty-five healing herbs grew up from his grave, one from every joint

and sinew of his body--each herb to cure disease in that part of the

human body from which it grew--all which were gathered by his sister

Armedda, and placed carefully in her cloak in their proper order. But

before she had time to study their several virtues fully, her father

Dianket mixed them all up in utter confusion. (O'Curry, _Atlantis_, vii.

and viii. 158.) Were it not for this churlish proceeding, Armedda would

have found out, and we should now know, the exact herb to cure each

particular disease of the human frame.

NOTE 2.--_The Feast of Age._

This was also called the Feast of Gobnenn the Dedannan smith. It was

instituted by Mannanan Mac Lir, and whoever was present at it, and

partook of the food and drink, was free ever after from sickness, decay,

and old age.

NOTE 3.--_The Druids._

The ancient Irish druids do not appear to have been _priests_ in any

sense of the word. They were, in popular estimation, men of knowledge

and power--"Men of science," as they were often designated; they knew

the arts of healing and divination; and they were skilled above all in

magic. In fact, the Irish druids were magicians, neither more nor less;

and hence the Gaelic word for "druidical" is almost always applied where

we should use the term "magical"--to spells, incantations,

metamorphoses, etc. (See O'Curry, "Lectures on the Manners and Customs

of the Ancient Irish," Lecture ix.)

NOTE 4.--_Nuada of the Silver Hand._

Nuada of the Silver Hand was king of Ireland, according to the

chronology of the Four Masters, from A.M. 3311 to 3330. He commanded the

Dedannans in the first battle of Moytura (see note 11), where his arm

was cut off with a sword-blow by Sreng, the great Firbolg champion.

Afterwards Credne the artificer made him a silver arm with a hand, which

was fixed on by Dianket, the physician (see note 1). Nuada was slain in

the second battle of Moytura, by Balor of the Mighty Blows (see note

11).

NOTE 5.--_The Fomorians._

"Fomor," the simple form of this word, means, according to the old

etymologists, a sea-robber, from _fo_, on or along, and _muir_, the sea.

The word is also used to denote a giant, or a gigantic champion.

The Fomorians of Irish history were sea-robbers, who infested the

coasts, and indeed the interior, of Ireland, for a long series of years,

and at one time fortified themselves in Tory Island. They are stated to

have come to Ireland from Lochlann, in the north of Europe (for which

see next note); but they were originally from Africa, being, according

to the legend, the descendants of Ham the son of Noah.

NOTE 6.--_Lochlann: The Lochlanns._

Lochlann was the Gaelic designation of the country from which came the

people who are known in European history as Danes, _i.e._ the country

round the southern shores of the Baltic, including the south part of

Sweden. The Lochlanns, or Lochlannachs, or Danes, it need hardly be

said, make a very conspicuous figure in our early history, and in our

mediæval romantic literature.

In the Gaelic tales, the chief city of Lochlann is always Berva; but

whether this represents a real name, or is merely an invention of the

old story-tellers, I cannot tell.

NOTE 7.--_Luga of the Long Arms: The Ildana._

Luga of the Long Arms was the son of Ethlenn, daughter of the Fomorian

king, Balor of the Mighty Blows (see note 9). His father, Kian (who was

slain by the three sons of Turenn), was a Dedannan; so that Luga was

half Fomorian and half Dedannan. But he always took the side of the

Dedannans against the Fomorians.

Luga is often called The Ildana, the Man of many sciences, to signify

his accomplishments as a warrior and a man of general knowledge.

It had been foretold that Balor would be slain by his own grandson.

Accordingly, when Luga was born, Balor sent him off to be drowned. But

Luga escaped, and lived to revenge the unnatural conduct of his

grandfather, whom he slew in the second battle of Moytura (see note 11),

after Balor had slain the Dedannan king, Nuada of the Silver Hand. Luga

succeeded Nuada as king of Ireland, and reigned, according to the

chronology of the Four Masters, from A.M. 3330 to 3370.

It was by Luga that the celebrated yearly assembly of Tailltenn was

instituted, in honour of his foster mother _Taillte_, after whom the

place was called. (See note page 93, _supra._)

NOTE 8.--_The Land of Promise: Fairyland._

In ancient Gaelic romantic tales, mention is often made of _Tir

Tairrngire_, the Land of Promise, Fairyland, as being one of the chief

dwelling-places of the Dedannans or fairy host. In many passages this

Land of Promise is identified with _Inis-Manann_, or the Isle of Man,

which was ruled over by Mannanan Mac Lir, the sea-god, and named from

him.

NOTE 9.--_Balor of the Mighty Blows._

Balor was king of the Fomorians from Lochlann in the north; his wife was

Kethlenda; and his son, Bres. Balor is often called Balor of the Mighty

Blows; and also Balor of the Evil Eye, for he had one eye which would

strike people dead or turn them into stone, so that he kept it covered,

except when he wished to use it against his enemies. Balor is remembered

very vividly in tradition by the peasantry of Ireland, especially in

Donegal and in Tory Island, where a very high, tower-like rock is called

to this day Balor's Castle.

NOTE 10.--_Eric._

The eric was a fine paid as compensation for murder or homicide. The

friends of the murdered person might accept an eric, or they might

refuse it and seek instead the death of the murderer. An eric was often

paid for other crimes or injuries against the individual, as well as for

homicide.

NOTE 11.--_Battle of Moytura._

There were two great battles, each called the battle of Moytura.

_First Battle of Moytura._ When the Dedannans came to invade Erin, they

found the country occupied by the Firbolgs, who were by no means

inclined to give up quiet possession to the newcomers. After some

parleying and manoeuvring, a great battle was fought between them,

A.M. 3303, at Moytura, near Cong, in Mayo, lasting for four days, in

which the Firbolgs were defeated with great slaughter, and their king

slain; after which the Dedannans took possession of the country, leaving

Connaught, however, to a powerful remnant of the Firbolgs who survived

the battle. This is called the First Battle of Moytura, or the Battle of

the Southern Moytura. On the plain where it was fought, there are still

great numbers of mounds, cromlechs, and other sepulchral monuments. (See

Sir William Wilde's "Lough Corrib," page 210.)

_Second Battle of Moytura._ King Nuada, who led the Dedannans in the

first battle of Moytura, had his arm cut off by Sreng, one of the

Firbolg champions. He was under cure for seven years; during which time

Bres, the son of Elatha, who was a Fomorian by his father and a Dedannan

by his mother, ruled Ireland as regent. But at the end of the seven

years, Bres had to retire in favour of Nuada. Whereupon he repaired in

anger to his father in Lochlann; and at his instigation an army of

Fomorians was raised, after some years, for the invasion of Ireland, and

placed under the command of Balor of the Mighty Blows.

Luga of the Long Arms seems to have foreseen this invasion. He knew that

Bres would have to abdicate whenever Nuada's arm came to be healed, and

he conjectured truly that he would not resign the sovereignty without a

struggle. But the old tales would lead to the inference that Luga had

some preternatural foreknowledge of the battle. Anyhow, the legend says

that for many years he made preparations for the coming struggle; and it

was with this intention that he imposed the celebrated eric-fine on the

sons of Turenn.

The Fomorians landed, and were met by the Dedannan army at the Northern

Moytura, or, as it is often called, Moytura of the Fomorians, situated

in the parish of Kilmactranny, barony of Tirerrill, county Sligo. The

battle was fought on the eve of Samin, _i.e._ on the last day of

October, A.M. 3330; and the Fomorians were defeated with the slaughter

of their principal men and the best part of their army. In the course of

the battle, Nuada of the Silver Hand, the Dedannan king, was slain by

Balor; but soon after, Balor himself was killed by his grandson, Luga.

Luga, we are told, flung a stone at him from a crann-tavall or sling

(see note, page 240), and struck him in the evil eye with so much force

that the stone went clean through his head and out at the back.

The site of this battle, like that of the Southern Moytura, abounds to

this day in sepulchral monuments.

These two battles of Moytura form the subjects of two historic tales,

which are still in existence, though they have never been published.

NOTE 12.--_Gesa._

"Gesa" (pronounced _gessa_, the _g_ hard, as in _get_) is plural:

singular _geis_, plural _geasa_ or _gesa_. Gesa means solemn vows,

conjurations, injunctions, prohibitions. "I put you under gesa" means, I

adjure you solemnly, so solemnly that you dare not disobey. It would

appear that individuals were often under gesa or solemn vows to observe,

or to refrain from, certain lines of conduct--the vows being either

taken on themselves voluntarily, or imposed on them, with their consent,

by others. Thus Dermat O'Dyna was under gesa never to pass through a

wicket gate when entering or leaving a palace (page 282); Finn was under

gesa not to sleep at Allen more than nine nights in succession (page

337); Dermat put Oisin under gesa not to loose any one whom he bound

(page 312). It would appear, also, that if one person went through the

form of putting another under gesa to grant any reasonable request, the

abjured person could not refuse without loss of honour and reputation.

Thus Midac places Finn under gesa to come to the banquet in the Fairy

Palace of the Quicken Trees (page 189); and the witch-lady places gesa

on Finn to search for the ring in the lake (page 354). And sometimes, on

very solemn or urgent occasions, the gesa seem to have been imposed with

spells, so as to draw down ill luck as well as loss of honour on the

person who disregarded the injunction (page 281).

Geis or gesa also means a charm or spell.

NOTE 13.--_Tir-fa-tonn._

The Gaelic tales abound in allusions to a beautiful country situated

under the sea--an enchanted land sunk at some remote time, and still

held under spell. In some romantic writings it is called _Tir-fa-tonn_,

the land beneath the wave; and occasionally one or more of the heroes

find their way to it, and meet with many strange adventures (page 253).

Sometimes it is _O'Brasil_, that dim land which appears over the water

once every seven years--"on the verge of the azure sea"--and which would

be freed from the spell, and would remain permanently over water, if any

one could succeed in throwing fire on it. (See Gerald Griffin's

beautiful ballad, "O'Brasil, the Isle of the Blest.") The Island of

Fincara (page 87), and the beautiful country seen beneath the waves by

Maildun (page 147), are remnants of the same superstition.

This very old Celtic tradition is obviously the same as the legend of

the continent of Atlantis, mentioned by Plato, which at some remote time

was overwhelmed and sunk under the Atlantic Ocean. And it would seem

that they have the same shadowy tradition in the East; for in "Lalla

Rookh" Moore makes the Peri say, in her soliloquy:

"I know where the Isles of Perfume are,

Many a fathom down in the sea,

To the south of sun-bright Araby."

NOTE 14.--_The Enchanted Well._

Res autem sic revera evenit. Cum Angus magus equum giganteum Eochaidio

et popularibus traderet, monebat homines nec stabulandi neque omnino

requiescendi copiam equo faciendam; ne forte quiescendo urinam

demitteret, quod si fieret exitio omnibus fore. Postea vero quam at

Planitiem Silvulæ Cinereæ pervenissent, intenti adeo sarcinis ingentis

equi dorso detrahendis incumbebant, ut monitorum Angi obliviscerentur;

restitit autem equus, et subinde urinam demisit. Extemplo hinc fons

ortus; qui cum scaturiisset, submersit omnes, sicuti in historiâ

narratur.

NOTE 15.--_Conal Carna of the Red Branch._

The Red Branch Knights of Ulster, a sort of militia in the service of

the monarch, much like the Fena of later date (see note 23), flourished

in the first century of the Christian era. Their home was the palace of

Emania, near the city of Armagh; and they received their name from one

of the houses of the palace in which they resided, which was called

_Craebh-ruadh_, or Red Branch. They attained their greatest glory in the

reign of Conor Mac Nessa, king of Ulster in the first century; and Conal

Carna, mentioned in the story of "Liban the Mermaid," was one of their

most illustrious champions.

NOTE 16.--_Ecca the Son of Marid: Comgall of Bangor._

This Marid was king of Munster about the beginning of the second century

of the Christian era. St. Comgall, one of the greatest saints of the

early Irish Church, flourished in the sixth century, and was the founder

of the celebrated monastery of Bangor in the county of Down.

NOTE 17.--_Curragh._

It would appear that in Ireland, and indeed in England and Scotland as

well, navigation was carried on in ancient times chiefly by means of

curraghs. The curragh was a boat or canoe, consisting of a light

framework of wood, covered over with the skins of animals. Curraghs are

still used on many parts of the western coast of Ireland; but they are

now covered with tarred canvas instead of skins.

NOTE 18.--_Conn the Hundred-fighter._

Conn Ced-cathach or Conn the Fighter of a Hundred (not Conn of the

Hundred Battles, as the name is generally translated), was king of

Ireland from A.D. 123 to 158.

NOTE 19.--_Land of the Living: Land of Life, etc._

The ancient Irish had a sort of dim, vague belief that there was a land

where people were always youthful, and free from care and trouble,

suffered no disease, and lived for ever. This country they called by

various names:--_Tir-na-mbeo_, the land of the [ever-]living;

_Tir-na-nóg_, the land of the [ever-]youthful; _Moy-Mell_, the plain of

pleasure, etc. It had its own inhabitants--fairies; but mortals were

sometimes brought there; and while they lived in it, were gifted with

the everlasting youth and beauty of the fairy people themselves, and

partook of their pleasures. As to the exact place where Tirnanoge was

situated, the references are shadowy and variable, but they often place

it far out in the Atlantic Ocean, as far as the eye can reach from the

high cliffs of the western coast. And here it is identical with

O'Brasil, of which mention has been made in note 13.

I have already remarked (see note 1) that the fairies were also supposed

to live in palaces in the interior of pleasant green hills, and that

they were hence called Aes-shee or Deena-shee, i.e. people of the _shee_

or fairy hills; and hence also the word "banshee" _i.e._ a woman

(_bean_) of the fairy hills. Tirnanoge was often regarded as identical

with these bright, subterranean palaces. In my boyhood days, the

peasantry believed that the great limestone cavern near Mitchelstown, in

the county Cork, was one of the entrances to Tirnanoge.

NOTE 20.--_St. Brendan of Birra._

I have already, in the preface (page xiii.), spoken of the celebrated

voyage of St. Brendan of Birra (Birr, in King's County), undertaken in

the sixth century. He set out from near Brandon Mountain, in Kerry,

sailing westwards into the Atlantic Ocean, and, according to the belief

of some, landed on the shore of America. He had many imitators, who

ventured out on the great ocean in their curraghs as pilgrims; but none

were so enterprising as himself, or met with such a variety of strange

lands, if we except Maildun and the three sons of O'Corra, whose

adventures are quite as surprising as those of Brendan.

NOTE 21.--_Brendan's Satchel._

The ancient Irish saints, when on their missionary journeys through the

country, kept their precious books, as well as the portable sacred

utensils, in leather satchels, which they brought with them from place

to place. These satchels were often highly ornamented, and, like other

relics, were held in extraordinary veneration after the death of the

owners. The Gaelic term for this kind of satchel is _polaire_. (See

Petrie, "Round Towers," page 336.)

NOTE 22.--_Cormac Mac Art._

Cormac Mac Art, the most illustrious of the Irish kings, who began his

reign A.D. 254, was the son of Art the Lonely, who was son of Conn the

Hundred-fighter. During his reign flourished the Fena or militia, spoken

of in the next note; and the old chroniclers never tire of dwelling on

the magnificence of his court at Tara, and the prosperity of the country

during his reign. He was renowned for learning and wisdom, and he wrote

a book called _Tegusc-righ_, or instruction for kings, copies of which

are extant in the Books of Leinster and Ballymote. He also caused the

records of the kingdom to be collected and written down in one great

book called the Psalter of Tara, but no portion of this book is now

known to exist; and he established three schools at Tara--one for

military science, one for law, and one for history and chronology. He

spent the last years of his life in retirement and study at Cletty on

the Boyne, and died A.D. 277, forty years after he had ascended the

throne.

NOTE 23.--_Finn and the Fena._

The Fena or "Fena of Erin" were a sort of militia or standing army,

permanently maintained by the monarch for the support of the throne, and

regularly trained to military service. They attained their greatest

glory in the reign of Cormac Mac Art (see previous note). Each province

had its own militia under its own captain, but all were under the

command of one general-in-chief. Their most renowned commander was Finn

the son of Cumal, who of all the heroes of ancient Ireland is most

vividly remembered in popular tradition. Finn had his palace on the top

of the Hill of Allen, a remarkable flat-topped hill, lying about four

miles to the right of the railway as you pass Newbridge and approach

Kildare, rendered more conspicuous of late years by a tall pillar

erected on the top, on the very site of Finn's palace. Before the

erection of the pillar, there were considerable remains of the old fort

on the hill, but at present nearly every vestige is obliterated, cleared

away partly to make room for the foundation of the pillar, and partly by

cultivation; for the land has been tilled and cropped to the very

summit. The whole neighbourhood, however, teems with living traditions

of Finn and the Fena.

The Fena were divided into distinct tribes or clanns, belonging to the

several provinces, each under its own commander. Of these, the Clann

Baskin of Leinster, under the immediate command of Finn; and the Clann

Morna of Connaught, commanded by Gaul Mac Morna, were rival tribes, and,

for reasons stated in note 27, regarded each other with hatred and

distrust.

The following are some of the principal characters celebrated in the

romantic literature of the Fena.

Finn the son of Cumal, commander-in-chief of the Fena under king Cormac

Mac Art (see note 22); brave, wise, and far-seeing, a man of supreme

military ability. His foresight seemed so extraordinary, that the people

believed it was a preternatural gift of divination, and the shanachies

invented a legend to account for it (see note 25). Like many great

commanders, he had a little of the tyrant in his character, and was

unforgiving to those who injured him. But in the story of Dermat and

Grania, he is drawn in too unfavourable a light. In his old age he was

killed by a fisherman at a place called Athbrea on the Boyne, A.D. 284,

as recorded in the Annals of Tighernach, of the Four Masters, and of

Innisfallen.

Oisin or Ossian, Finn's son, the renowned hero-poet, to whom the bards

attribute many poems still extant.

Oscar, the son of Oisin, youthful and handsome, kind-hearted, and one of

the most valiant of the Fena.

Dermat O'Dyna, noble-minded, generous, of untarnished honour, and the

bravest of the brave. He was as handsome as he was valiant, whence he is

often styled Dermat of the Bright Face, Dermat of the White Teeth, etc.

He was the idol of the ladies of Ireland, and hence he is often called

Dermat-na-man, or Dermat of the Women (page 210). The Munster

traditions represent him as a native of Kerry; but he was in reality a

Leinsterman, though his descendants migrated to Munster at a very early

period. Mr. O'Grady, in his edition of the story of Dermat and Grania

(page 294), has given an ancient poetical genealogy of Dermat. This hero

is equally celebrated in popular story in the Highlands of Scotland.

According to Highland tradition, the great and illustrious Clann

Campbell, represented by the Duke of Argyll, descend from him; and their

crest is a boar's head, in memory of the manner of Dermat's

death.[CLXXX.] Dermat O'Dyna is, on the whole, the finest type of hero

among the Fena--as fine indeed as can be found in any literature; and

his noble character is very well maintained throughout the Ossianic

tales.

Kylta Mac Ronan, Finn's nephew, renowned for his fleetness of foot.

Dering, the son of Dobar O'Baskin, who was not only a brave warrior, but

also "a man of knowledge," gifted with some insight into futurity.

Ligan Lumina, also celebrated for swiftness of foot.

Fergus Finnvel, poet, warrior, and frequent adviser of the Fena.

Gaul Mac Morna, the leader of the Clann Morna or Connaught Fena, one of

the mightiest of all the heroes. He served under Finn, but the two

chiefs bore no love to each other, for Gaul had slain Finn's father,

Cumal, in the battle of Knocka (see note 27).

Conan Mail or Conan the Bald, the best-marked and best-sustained

character in the Ossianic romances; large-bodied, a great boaster, a

great coward, and a great glutton. He had a venomous tongue, and hardly

ever spoke a good word of any one. He belonged to the Clann Morna, and

was always reviling the Clann Baskin. He was the butt for the gibes and

mockery of the Fena, but they dreaded his foul tongue. The story-tellers

never lose an opportunity of having a fling at Conan, and of turning him

into ridicule for his cowardice, his big talk, and his gluttony.

NOTE 24.--_Cooking-Places._

The Fena, as related in the beginning of the story of the Gilla Dacker,

were quartered on the principal householders during the winter

half-year; and maintained themselves chiefly by the chase during the

summer months. When they were on their hunting expeditions, we are told

that they ate only one meal a day; and for this meal they cooked the

flesh of the animals brought down in the chase, in the following manner.

They first dug a deep pit in the earth near their camping-place, and,

having lighted a great fire beside it, they heated a number of round

stones. They next covered the bottom of the pit with the hot stones, on

which they placed the meat, bound up with sedge and grass ropes, and on

this again they put another layer of heated stones; and, having closely

covered up the whole with branches, they let it stand till the meat was

sufficiently cooked. The remains of these old earth-ovens are still to

be seen, and are called by the peasantry _fulachta-na-bhfiann_, the

cooking-places of the Fena.

NOTE 25.--_Finn's Tooth of Knowledge._

It had been prophesied of old that a man named Finn would be the first

to eat of the salmon of knowledge, which swam in the pool of Linn-Fec,

in the Boyne (near the present village of Slane); and that he would

thereby obtain the gifts of knowledge and of divination. A certain old

poet named Finn, knowing this, hoped that he might be the lucky man; so

he took up his abode on the shore of Linn-Fec; and he fished in the pool

every day from morn till night, in the hope of catching the salmon of

knowledge. At this time, Finn the son of Cumal was a boy, fleeing from

place to place from his hereditary enemies, the Clann Morna, disguised,

and bearing the assumed name of Demna; and, happening to come to

Linn-Fec, the old poet took him as his servant.

After long watching and waiting, Finn the poet hooked the salmon at

last, and gave it to Demna to broil, warning him very strictly not to

eat or even taste of it. Demna proceeded to broil the fish; and soon the

heat of the fire raised a great blister from its side, which the boy

pressed with his thumb to keep it down, thereby scalding himself so

severely that he unthinkingly thrust his thumb into his mouth.

When the salmon was cooked, the poet asked Demna had he eaten of it.

"No," replied the boy; "but I scalded my thumb on the fish, and put it

into my mouth." "Thy name is not Demna, but Finn," exclaimed the poet:

"in thee has the prophecy been fulfilled; and thou art now a diviner and

a man of knowledge!"

In this manner Finn obtained the gift of divination, so that ever after,

when he wished to look into futurity, he put his thumb under his tooth

of knowledge, as he did when cooking the salmon of Linn-Fec, and the

whole future was revealed to him. There appears to have been some sort

of ceremony used, however (see page 339, _supra_); and it would seem

that the process was attended with pain (page 194), so that it was only

on very solemn and trying occasions he put his thumb under his tooth of

knowledge.[CLXXXI.]

NOTE 26.--_The Game of Chess._

Chess-playing was one of the favourite amusements of the ancient Irish

chiefs. The game is constantly mentioned in the very oldest Gaelic

tales; as, for instance, in the "Cattle-Spoil of Cooley," in "The Book

of the Dun Cow" (A.D. 1100). (See O'Donovan's "Introduction to the Book

of Rights," page lxi.)

NOTE 27.--_Battle of Knocka._

The battle of Knocka or _Cnucha_ (now Castleknock, near Dublin) was

fought in the reign of Conn the Hundred-fighter (see note 18). The

contending parties were, on the one side, Conn with his royal forces,

and the renowned hero, Gaul Mac Morna, with his Connaught Fena, the

Clann Morna; and on the other side, Cumal, the father of Finn, with the

Clann Baskin and the Leinster forces in general, aided by Owen More,

heir to the throne of Munster, with a large army of Munstermen. The

Leinster and Munster armies were defeated, chiefly through the valour of

Gaul, who slew Cumal with his own hand. This was the cause of the

irreconcilable enmity that existed ever after between the Clann Baskin

and the Clann Morna.

When Finn the son of Cumal grew up to man's estate, he succeeded to the

position held by his father as leader of the Fena. But though he made

peace with Gaul Mac Morna, and though Gaul submitted to his command,

there was always a feeling of ill-concealed hatred and distrust between

them.

NOTE 28.--_Battle of Gavra._

When Carbri of the Liffey, son of Cormac Mac Art, ascended the throne of

Ireland, one of his first acts was to disband and outlaw the Clann

Baskin; and he took into his service in their place their rivals and

deadly enemies, the Clann Morna from Connaught. Whereupon the Clann

Baskin marched southwards, and entered the service of Fercorb, king of

Munster, Finn's grandson, in direct disobedience to king Carbri's

commands. This led to the bloody battle of Gavra, celebrated in Ossianic

literature, which was fought A.D. 284, at Garristown, in the north-west

of the county Dublin, where the rival clanns slaughtered each other

almost to annihilation. In the heat of the battle, Carbri and Oscar met

in single combat; and, after a long and terrible fight, the heroic Oscar

fell pierced by Carbri's spear, and died on the evening of the same day.

But Carbri himself was dreadfully wounded; and, while retiring from the

field, his own kinsman, Semeon, whom he had previously banished from

Tara, fell on him, and despatched him with a single blow.

This battle is the subject of a poem which the bards ascribe to Oisin,

and which has been published, with translation, in the first volume of

the Ossianic Transactions. In this poem there is an affecting

description of the death of Oscar, surrounded by his few surviving

companions, and in presence of his father Oisin.

FOOTNOTES:

[CLXXX.] For a full account of the Highland traditions regarding Dermat,

and of the Highland monuments that commemorate his name, see "Loch Etive

and the Sons of Uisnach" (p. 255), a very valuable and interesting book,

recently published, which came into my hands after I had written the

above.

[CLXXXI.] The above legend is taken from "The Boyish Exploits of Finn

Mac Cumal," published, with translation, by John O'Donovan, LL.D., in

the fourth volume of the Ossianic Society's Transactions, from a MS.

_transcribed_ in 1453, now lying in the Bodleian Library at Oxford. But

the internal evidence of the language shows that the piece is far more

ancient than the fifteenth century. The legend of Finn and the Salmon of

Knowledge is still current among the peasantry; and a modern popular

version of it may be seen in the _Dublin Penny Journal_, Vol. I. page

110.

As to the process of putting his thumb under his tooth of knowledge,

even the English-speaking peasantry of the south still retain a

tradition that it was painful; for they say that Finn "chewed his thumb

from the skin to the flesh, from the flesh to the bone, from the bone to

the marrow, and from the marrow to the _smoosagh_."

LIST OF PROPER NAMES.

ALPHABETICAL LIST OF THE PRINCIPAL PROPER NAMES OCCURRING IN THIS

VOLUME, WITH THEIR ORIGINAL GAELIC FORMS, AND, IN MANY CASES, THEIR

MEANINGS.

Every writer who attempts to popularise the Gaelic literature of Ireland

and Scotland, finds the proper names a serious difficulty. If they are

given in their original Gaelic forms, they are not unfrequently

unpronounceable and repulsive to the English reader; if they are written

phonetically, they are often strange and barbarous looking. In this

book, I have not followed any general principle in reducing the names to

forms suitable to readers of English. I have dealt with each, as it

were, on its own merits. Sometimes--very often, indeed--I have given the

original spelling; sometimes I have given the names phonetically; and

frequently I have mixed the two modes. But all through I have avoided

any great departure from the original forms, as will be seen by a glance

at the following list.

In all cases the names occurring through the book may be pronounced just

as the letters would indicate to the English reader.

Aed, _Aedh_, a flame of fire.

Ahaclee, _Ath-cliath_, hurdle-ford.

Ailna, _Ailne_, beauty, joy.

Aina, _Aine_.

Allil, _Ailioll_, _Ailell_, or _Oilioll_.

Allil Ocar Aga, _Ailell Ochair Aga_.

Alva, _Ailbhe_.

Balor, _Balar_.

Baskin, _Baoiscne_.

Begallta, _Beagalltach_, little fury.

Ben-Damis, _Beann-Damhuis_.

Beoc, _Beóc_, _Dabheóc_, and _Beoán_.

Berva, _Berbhe_.

Borba, _Borb_, proud.

Bran, _Bran_, a raven.

Bres, _Breas_.

Brian, _Brian_.

Brickna, _Briccne_.

Bruga of the _Brugh-na-Boinne_.

Boyne,

Canta, _Cainte_.

Carn-Arenn, _Carnn-Airenn_.

Carricknarone, _Carraic-na-rón_, the rock of the seals.

Clann Navin, _Clann-Neamhuinn_.

Cloghan Kincat, _Clochan-chinn-chait_, the stepping-stones of

the cat's head.

Coil Croda, _Cael-crodha_, the slender valiant [man].

Colga, _Colga_.

Colman, _Colman_, little dove.

Comgall, _Comhghall_.

Conal Carna, _Conall Cernach_.

Conan Mail, _Conan Mael_, Conan the Bald.

Conang, _Conaing_.

Conn, the Hundred-fighter (not Conn of the Hundred

Battles, as it is usually translated),

_Conn-Cédcathach_.

Connla, _Connla_.

Coran, _Coran_.

Cormac Mac Art, _Cormac Mac Airt_.

Corr the _Coir Cos-luath_.

Swift-footed,

Cuan, _Cuan_ or _Cuadhan_.

Culand, _Culand_.

Curnan the _Curnan Onmit_.

Simpleton,

Curoi Mac Dara, _Curoi Mac Dáire_.

Dagda, _Dagda_.

Dara Donn, _Dáire Donn_.

Darvra, Lake, _Loch Dairbhreach_, the lake of oaks.

Dathkeen, _Dathchaoin_, bright-complexioned.

Decca, _Deoch_.

Dedannans, _Tuatha De Danann_.

Derdri of the _Deirdre Duibhshleibhe_.

Black Mountain,

Dering, _Diorraing_.

Dermat O'Dyna, _Diarmait O'Duibhne_.

Dianket, _Diancecht_.

Diuran Lekerd, _Diuran Lecerd_.

Dobar O'Baskin, _Dobhar O'Baoiscne_.

Dooclone, _Dubhchluain_, dark-coloured meadow.

Dord-Fian, _Dord-Fiann_.

Dryantore, _Draoigheantóir_.

Ducoss, _Dubhchosach_, black-foot.

Eas-Dara, _Eas-Dara_.

Ebb, _Eab_.

Ebliu, _Ebliu_.

Ebric, _Aibhric_.

Ecca, _Eochaidh_, a horseman.

Enbarr, _Aenbharr_, splendid mane.

Encoss, _Aenchos_, one foot.

Ethnea, _Eithne_, sweet nut-kernel.

Etta, _Eitche_.

Eva, _Aeife_.

Eve, _Aebh_.

Failinis, _Failinis_.

Fatha Conan, _Fatha Chonain_.

Femin, _Feimeann_.

Fena, _Fianna_.

Ferdana, _Feardána_.

Fergor, _Fearghoir_, manly or strong voice.

Fergus, _Fearghus_, manly strength.

Fiaca Findamnas, _Fiacha Findamnais_.

Ficna, _Fiachna_, little raven.

Ficra, _Fiachra_.

Fincara, _Fianchaire_.

Fincoss, _Finnchosach_, white-foot.

Finn, _Finn_ or _Fionn_, fair-haired.

Finnin, _Finghín_, fair offspring.

Finola, _Fionnghuala_, white shoulder.

Flidas, _Flidas_.

Foltlebar, _Folt-leabhar_, long hair.

Frevan, _Freamhainn_.

Ga-boi, _Ga-buidhe_, yellow javelin.

Ga-derg, _Ga-dearg_, red javelin.

Gael Glas, _Gaodhal-Glas_.

Garva, _Garbh_, rough.

Gaul Mac Morna, _Goll Mac Morna_.

Germane, _Germane_.

Gilla Dacker, _Giolla Deacair_, lazy fellow.

Glanlua, _Glanluadh_, pure-spoken.

Glas Mac Encarda, _Glas Mac Aeinchearda_.

Glore, _Glór_, a voice.

Ilbrec, _Ilbhreach_.

Ildana, _Ioldhanach_.

Inis Glora, _Inis Gluaire_.

Innia, _Innia_.

Innsa, _Inse_.

Inver-tre-Kenand, _Inbher-Tre-Cenand_.

Iraun, _Irann_.

Iroda, _Ioruaidhe_.

Irros Domnann, _Iorrus Domnann_.

Island of the _Inis Tuile_.

Torrent,

Kemoc, _Caemhoc_ or _Mochoemhoc_.

Kenn-Avrat, _Ceann-Abhrat_.

Kenri, _Caenraighe_.

Kethen, _Cethen_.

Kethlenda, _Ceithleann_ or _Ceithleand_.

Kian, _Cian_.

Kylta Mac Ronan, _Caeilte Mac Ronain_.

Largnen, _Lairgnen_.

Lavaran, _Lobharan_.

Liban, _Liban_.

Lidas, _Liadhas_.

Ligan Lumina, _Liagan Luaimneach_, Ligan the Bounding.

Lir, _Lir_.

Lobas, _Lobais_.

Lochlann, _Lochlann_.

Loskenn of the _Loiscinn Lomghlúineach_.

Bare Knees,

Luath, _Luaith_, swift.

Luga of the Long _Lugh Lamh-fada_.

Arms,

Mac-an-Lona, _Mac-an-Luin_.

Mac Luga, _Mac Luigheach_.

Mac-na-Corra, _Mac-na-Corra_.

Maildun, _Mail Duin_, chief of the fort.

Manissa, _Maighneis_.

Mannanan Mac Lir, _Manannan Mac Lir_.

Marid Mac Carido, _Mairid Mac Cairedo_.

Mergah, _Meargach_.

Micorta, _Miodhchuarta_.

Midac, _Miodhach_ or _Mioch_.

Midir, _Midhir_.

Midkena, _Miodhchaoin_.

Milucra, _Miluchradh_.

Modan, _Muadhan_.

Morallta, _Moralltach_, great fury.

Moyle, _Mael_, a bare hill.

Moy-Mell, _Magh-Mell_, plain of pleasures.

Moytura, _Magh-tuireadh_, plain of towers.

Muman, _Mumha_, gen. _Mumhan_.

Muridach, _Muridach_.

Murthemna, _Muirthemhne_.

Niam, _Niamh_, beauty.

Nuada of the _Nuadha Airgeatlaimh_.

Silver Hand,

Nuca, _Nuca_.

Oisin, _Oisin_ (pronounced _Isheen_ in Munster, and

_Osh'in_ in Ulster and in Scotland).

Oscar, _Oscar_.

Owenaght, _Eoghanacht_, descendants of Owen.

Pezar, _Pisear_.

Racad, _Rachadh_.

Rib, _Rib_.

Sencab, _Seanchab_, old mouth.

Sharvan, _Searbhan_, a surly person.

Shee Finnaha, _Sidh-Fionnachaidh_.

Skeabrac, _Sciath-bhreac_, speckled shield.

Skolan, _Sceolaing_.

Slana, _Slánach_, healthy.

Sorca, _Sorcha_.

Sotal of the Large _Sotal Sálmhór_.

Heels,

Taillkenn, _Tailcenn_.

Tinna the Mighty, _Tinne Mór_.

Tir-fa-tonn, _Tir-fa-thuinn_, country beneath the wave.

Tirnanoge, _Tir na n-óg_, land of youths.

Trencoss, _Treunchosach_, strongfoot.

Trenmore O'Baskin, _Treunmór O'Baoiscne_.

Triscadal, _Triscadal_.

Tuis, _Tuis_.

Turenn, _Tuireann_.

Ur, _Uar_.

Urcar, _Urchar_.

THE END

Transcriber's Notes:

Footnotes formatted in Roman.

Endnotes formatted in Arabic.

Italics shown as _Italics_.

Ligatures: [=o] o macron, [)e] e breve.

Inconsistent and archaic spelling retained.