' 

 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 GAELIC FOLK 
 TALES 
 
 A SUPPLEMENTARY READER 
 
 By 
 
 MARY GRANT O'SHERIDAN 
 
 SOt 'Til M \lM-4 >N \\ISCi N>IN 
 
 KKV1S1 l> I DITION 
 
 HALL& McCREARY 
 CHICAGO
 
 COPYRIGHT 1909 
 
 BY 
 
 MARY GRANT O'SHERIDAN
 
 PZ 
 
 * 
 fl 
 
 Foreword 
 
 This little book is but a glimpse of a fairy structure 
 whose beauty has no peer, and whose antiquity antedates 
 all others of its kind, except the Hellenic. I have chosen 
 it out of that which Julius Pokarney calls "a fresh foun- 
 tain of lore and legend, almost inexhaustible, belonging 
 to the Gaels, to the Irish Gaels." To Mr. Michael O'Gal- 
 lagher and Mr. David Ryan Twomey of the Gaelic Soci- 
 ety of Chicago, I am indebted for kindest assistance in 
 writing the notes. My book is but a wee "chraoibhin," 
 yet I hope to see the time of its blossom and fruitage. 
 How can I better express myself than in the beautiful 
 lines of Ethna Carbery: 
 
 "O little green bud, break and blow into flower, 
 Break and blow through the welcome of sunshine and shower; 
 
 'Twas a long night and dreary you hid there forlorn, 
 But now the cold hills wear the radiance of morn! 
 
 O wind-drifted branch, lift your head to the sun, 
 For the sap of new life in your veins hath begun!" 
 
 MARY GRANT O'SHERIDAN. 
 
 Chraoibhin [Cree veen] : A branch. 
 
 490744 
 
 LIB SETS

 
 INDEX. 
 
 THE QUEST OF THE ERIC FINE 7 
 
 THE FATE OF THE CHILDREN OF LIR 60 
 
 THE ARD RICH OF EIRE 83 
 
 DEIRDRE, OR THE FATE OF THE SONS OF USNACH . . . 1 18 
 
 OISIN'S TALE OF TIR-NA-N-OG 154 
 
 THE PURSUIT OF THE GILLA BACKER 174 
 
 THE FAIRY PALACE OF THE QUICKEN TREES 211
 
 The Quest of the Eric Fine 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 IDDEN away in the hills of the beautiful 
 island of Eire, there dwell to-day a 
 fairy people called the Sidhe. In 
 olden times, before the enchantment 
 fell upon them, these people were 
 large of stature and comely of fea- 
 ture; skilled in the arts of war and peace; lovers 
 of beauty, of freedom and of song. 
 
 The name by which they were called was 
 Tuatha De Danann. They came with their king, 
 Nuada, to Eire and fought the Firbolgs, the peo- 
 ple who at that time inhabited the island, and 
 being victorious they took possession. But in 
 their last great encounter, the battle of Magh 
 Tuireadh, a Firbolg warrior cut off the hand of 
 Nuada the De Danann king. 
 
 The loss of his kingship went with that of his 
 hand; for no one with a personal blemish could 
 
 Eric: restitution. Eire [Ar'-ya]: Name of Ireland in the Gaelic lang- 
 uage. Sidhe [She] : Fairies. Tuatha De Danann [Thoo ' a h5 Da 
 Dan' ann] : The tribes of the God Danu ; the gods of the pagan Irish. 
 Nuada [Noo'ah]. Firbolgs [Peer' bolgs]. Magh Tuireadh [Maw 
 Tu' rah] : Battle fought, according to the annals of the Four Masters, 
 between the Tuatha De Danann and the Fomorians in the year of the 
 world 3330 on a field in the County Sligo. 
 
 7
 
 8 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 be a sovereign of the Tuatha De Danann. The 
 people chose in his stead Breas, whose mother 
 was a De Danann and whose father was Baler, 
 king of the Lochlanns, called by the Tuatha De 
 Danann "Fomorians" or sea robbers. 
 
 Now the Fomorians had a foothold in Eire, and 
 had for a long time exacted tribute from the peo- 
 ple and otherwise oppressed and harassed them. 
 Breas, on becoming king, proved a true Fomorian 
 outdoing all others in unjust and niggardly deeds ; 
 until so great was the burden imposed upon the 
 people by him that, after a year of secret meet- 
 ings and discussions on the part of eminent De 
 Dananns, he was deposed. Then Xuada, for 
 whom a silver hand had been made, was again 
 given the kingship. And thenceforth he was 
 known as Nuada of the Silver Hand. 
 
 At this time each year in the island of FJre, 
 the De Dananns were compelled to pay taxes to 
 the Fomorians. There were taxes on kneading 
 troughs, querns, and baking flags; and also an 
 ounce of gold for each one of their number. If 
 any one neglected or refused to pay, his nose was 
 cut off by the Fomorian tyrants. 
 
 \Yhen Nuada had again become ruler of Eire, 
 and the time of tax paying drew near, he called 
 
 Breas [Briss). Balor [Bah 'lor]. Loch'lanns: Scandinavian*. 
 Quern* [kwinw] : stone band mills for grinding com. The picture* 
 in Century Dictionary are taken from quern* in the Dublin Museum.
 
 QUEST OF THE ERIC FINE 9 
 
 a great fair-meeting on the hill of Usna, the place 
 where the people came to pay. Also, Nuada sent 
 for his friend and councillor, Lugha the Ildana, to 
 attend the fair-meeting. 
 
 And after a great multitude of people had as- 
 sembled from near and far, they saw a band of 
 warriors mounted on white steeds coming toward 
 them from the east. At their head rode a young 
 champion, tall and comely, with a countenance 
 bright and glorious as the setting sun. This was 
 the king's friend, the Ildana; and the troop 
 he led was the Fairy Host from the Land of 
 Promise. 
 
 He rode the steed of Manannan Mac Lir, 
 Enbar of the flowing mane. No warrior was 
 ever killed on the back of this steed, for she was 
 as swift as the clear, cold wind of spring; and, 
 she traveled with equal ease on land or sea. 
 -Lugha wore Manannan's coat of mail; no one 
 could be wounded through it, or above it, or be- 
 low it. He had on Manannan's breast-plate, 
 which no weapon could pierce. In the front of 
 his helmet were two glittering precious stones; 
 and one shone from the back. Also, at his left 
 side hung Manannan's sword, "The Answerer"; 
 
 ^^x 
 
 Usna[Oos'na]: This hill is in Westmeath, about ten miles from Ath- 
 lone, the center of Eire. Lugha the Ildana [Loo' ah the El dan 'ah]: 
 The All-Knoving-One ; the Gaelic Apollo. Manannan Mac Lir 
 [Man'-na-nan Mac Leer]: Son of the Sea; the Gaelic Neptune.
 
 10 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 and whenever he took off his helmet his face 
 glowed like the sun on a dry day in summer. 
 
 Hardly were the greetings of the king and the 
 I Man a over when another company was seen ap- 
 proaching the hill of Usna. Nine times nine 
 surly, Fomorian tax-gatherers were coming to 
 demand their yearly tribute from the men of Eire. 
 
 When they reached the place where the king 
 sat, the entire assembly the king included rose 
 up before the tax-gatherers. Then the Ildana 
 spoke to the king and said: "Why hast thou, 
 O King, arisen before this hateful looking com- 
 par 
 
 "We dare not do otherwise" answered the king, 
 "for if even an infant a month old should remain 
 seated before them, they would deem it good 
 cause for killing us all." 
 
 Lugha, the Ildana, brooded over this in silence 
 for a while, and then he said : "Of a truth, I feel 
 a great desire to kill all these n 
 
 "Thy deed would only bring evil upon us," 
 King Nuada, "for then the Fomorians would 
 send an army to destroy us all." 
 
 Nevertheless the Ildana, vowing that the peo- 
 ple should no longer be oppressed, started up and 
 rushing upon the Fomorians dealt red slaughter
 
 QUEST OF THE ERIC FINE 11 
 
 among them. Neither did he hold his hand until 
 he had slain them all except nine. These he 
 spared because they had implored the protection 
 of the king. 
 
 After Lugha had put his sword back into its 
 scabbard, he said to the nine living tax-collectors : 
 "I would slay you also ; did I not wish you to go 
 and tell your king and all the nations what you 
 have seen this day in Eire. 
 
 The nine men then returned to their own coun- 
 try. When they had told their story, King Balor 
 of the mighty Blows asked them the name of the 
 warrior who had wrought such woe to his 
 Fomorians. 
 
 "Behold, O King," said they, "on the hill of 
 Usna, in Eire, by the hand of a single man hath 
 our number been thus diminished; but the name 
 of the champion we cannot tell thee." 
 
 But Kethlenda, the Queen, said: "This must 
 be the Ildana. It has been foretold that he would 
 oppose our sway in Eire." 
 
 King Balor then called a council of the Fomor- 
 ians. Among those who came to his palace of 
 Berva were Luath, the story teller; Sotal of the 
 large heels, Tinna of Triscadel; Loskina of the 
 bare knees; Lobas the Druid; and also the nine 
 
 Kethlenda [Kell'yan] ; Inniskillen is named for this Queen. Berva 
 [Bar'vah]. This place is constantly spoken of in Irish Folk Tales 
 as the chief stronghold of the Lochlanns. It is believed by some to 
 be the same as the modern Bergen in Norway. Luath [Loo" ah].
 
 12 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 prophetic poets and philosophers of the Fomor- 
 ians. 
 
 They could not decide what to do until Breas, 
 the son of Balor, bitter with the thought of his 
 banishment from the throne of Eire, arose and 
 said: "I will go to Eire with seven great battal- 
 lions of the Fomorian army; and I will give battle 
 to Ildana ; and I will bring his head to the palace 
 of Berva." 
 
 All the chiefs agreed to have him go. 
 
 Ships were made ready for the ocean voyage. 
 Their seams were calked with pitch, and filled 
 with sweet smelling frankincense. Abundant 
 food and war stores were also provided. 
 
 When the fighting men had been gathered to- 
 gether, they arrayed themselves in battle dress 
 and set out for Eire. 
 
 As they were about to embark, Balor said: 
 "When your work of conquest is over, put your 
 cables around this island of Eire and tie it to the 
 sterns of your ships, and take it to the northern 
 side of Lochlann and there leave it. Then will it 
 give us no more trouble." 
 
 Breas and his batallions hoisted their many col- 
 ored sails, loosed their moorings and were wafted 
 out upon the wide sea. They did not slacken 
 
 Sotal [Sut'tle]. Tris'cadel. Loskina [Lus' kin na]. Druid, 
 in Gaelic Draoi [Dhree]; Tree worshipers; a class set apart and con- 
 secrated to religion and the preservation of genealogies. All civil 
 rights were based on the patriarchal system.
 
 QUEST OF THE ERIC FINE 13 
 
 speed until they reached the harbor of Eas Dara. 
 Here they landed and immediately began to spoil 
 and waste the province of Olnecmacht, where 
 Bove Derg was king. 
 
 Eas [Ahs] : Waterfall. Harbor of Eas Dara is found on Ptolomy's map. 
 See New Ireland Review, Vol. 26. Olnecmacht: Very ancient 
 name of Connacht.
 
 14 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 The news of what they had done came to the 
 Ildana at Teamhair; so the following morning 
 early, when the point of night met day, he de- 
 parted on his steed, Enbar of the flowing mane, 
 and rode westward toward the palace of Bove 
 Derg. 
 
 He had not traveled far when he saw, at a 
 distance, three warriors fully armed riding 
 toward him. These men were Kian, Ku and 
 Kethen, the sons of Canta. Kian was Lugha's 
 father, and when they met they saluted each other, 
 and Kian asked his son why he was thus speeding 
 toward the west. 
 
 "I am going to give battle to the Fomorians, 
 for they have wasted the kingdom of Bove Derg." 
 
 When the warriors heard this they said: 
 "We will go to battle with you, and each of us will 
 ward off a hundred Fomorians." 
 
 "But first," said the Ildana, "I wish you to sum- 
 mon the Fairy Host to fight with me." 
 
 This the sons of Canta with one accord con- 
 sented to do, and forthwith they separated. Ku 
 and Kethen fared south; while Kian rode north- 
 ward until he came to Magh Murthemna. 
 
 Teamhair [Tmy'er]: present Tara. Kian [Key' an]. Ku [Kuhj. 
 
 Kethen [Ka' yenn]. Canta [Kant 'yah]. Magh Murthemna: 
 [Maw Mur hev' na].
 
 QUEST OF THE ERIC FINE 15 
 
 As he journeyed over the plain he met the three 
 sons of Tuireann: Brian, Ur and Urcar, who 
 were at deadly feud with the three sons of Canta. 
 
 "If my brothers were with me now, we should 
 have a brave fight, but as I am only one against 
 three it is better to avoid the combat," thought 
 Kian. Looking around he saw a herd of swine 
 near by, so he struck himself with a golden, druid- 
 ical wand, and turned himself into a pig. 
 
 No sooner had he done this than Brian said 
 to his brothers : "Tell me, my brothers, what has 
 become of the warrior that we saw just now ap- 
 proaching us on the plain?" 
 
 "We have seen him" they answered, "but we 
 know not whither he has gone." 
 
 "Well, I can tell you what has happened to the 
 warrior, "said Brian. "He has changed himself 
 by a druidical spell into a pig; and is now among 
 yonder herd ; and, whoever he may be, one thing 
 is sure: he is no friend of ours." 
 
 "This is an unlucky matter," said the brothers, 
 "for even if we should kill the entire herd of 
 pigs, the enchanted one might escape." 
 
 "There is but one thing to do," said Brian, and 
 then he struck his brothers with his golden, druid- 
 ical wand, and turned them into two fleet, slender 
 
 Tuireann [Ther'an]. Brian [Bree' an].
 
 16 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 sharp-nosed hounds. The moment he had done 
 this, the hounds put their noses to the earth and 
 set off toward the pigs. 
 
 When the druidical pig saw them coming, it 
 made toward a thick spinney that grew near by. 
 But Brian was there before him and drove a spear 
 through its chest. The pig screamed and said: 
 "You have done an ill deed to cast your spear at 
 me, for you know very well who I am." 
 
 "Your voice, methinks, is the voice of a man," 
 said Brian, "but I know not who you are." 
 
 "I am Kian, the son of Canta," said the pig, 
 "and I pray you give me quarter." 
 
 Brian's brothers had regained their own shapes 
 by this time and they said: "Quarter you shall 
 have indeed, and we are very sorry for what has 
 happened you." 
 
 But Brian stepping between them said: "I 
 swear by the gods of the air, that if your life re- 
 turned to you seven times, yet would I take it 
 from you seven times." 
 
 "Then," said Kian, "since you will not grant 
 me quarter, allow me first to return to my own 
 shape." 
 
 "That I will grant you," said Brian, "for I 
 often find it easier to kill a man than to kill a pig."
 
 QUEST OF THE ERIC FINE 17 
 
 Kian, accordingly, took his own shape. Then 
 he said to the sons of Tuireann : "You are indeed 
 about to slay me; but, even so, I have outwitted 
 you. If you had slain me in the shape of a pig 
 you would have had to pay only the eric-fine for 
 a pig, whereas, now that I am in my own shape 
 you shall pay the full eric-fine for a man. And 
 never has there been so great a fine as that which 
 you shall pay." 
 
 Nevertheless, Brian and his brothers slew Kian 
 and they buried him a man's height in the earth. 
 But the earth, being angry at their wicked deed, 
 refused to keep the body. Not until they had 
 buried it the seventh time did it remain in the 
 ground. When the last turf was laid, and they 
 turned to go away, a voice spoke from the earth 
 saying : 
 
 "The blood you have spilled, 
 
 The hero you have killed, 
 Shall follow your steps 'till the doom be fulfilled." 
 
 Lugha, the Ildana, meanwhile, had traveled 
 westward until he reached Ath-Luan; and then 
 the Curlieu hills; and finally came to the 
 mountain of Kesh-Corran and the great plain of 
 the assembly, where the foreigners were en- 
 
 Ath Luan [Aw Loo ' an] : Present town of Athlone. Curlieu hills : 
 in County Sligo.
 
 18 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 camped with the spoils of Olnecmacht around 
 them. 
 
 As Lugha drew near the Fomorian encamp- 
 ment, Breas, the son of Balor, arose and said he : 
 "A wonderful thing has come to pass this day, 
 for the sun, it seems to me, has risen in the west !" 
 
 "It would be better were it so," said the Druids, 
 "but the light you see is the brightness of the 
 face, and the flashing of the weapons of Lugha, 
 the Ildana, our deadly enemy; he who slew our 
 tax-gatherers." 
 
 By this time the Ildana had come up to them, 
 and he peacefully saluted them. 
 
 "How comes it that you salute us," said they, 
 "since you are, as we well know, our enemy?" 
 
 "Enemy though you think me, I am now come 
 in peace and good will to ask you to send back to 
 the people of Bove Derg all the milch cows which 
 you have taken from them." 
 
 "May ill luck follow thee until thou get one of 
 them," said the Fomorian leaders in loud, angry 
 voices. 
 
 But, nevertheless, the Ildana straightway put 
 a druidical spell upon the plundered cattle and 
 sent every milch cow home to the door of her 
 owner's house.
 
 QUEST OF THE ERIC FINE 19 
 
 Before the Fomorians could recover from their 
 surprise, the Fairy Host arrived. They placed 
 themselves under the Ildana's command; and they 
 made ready for the fight. 
 
 The Ildana put on Manannan's coat of mail 
 and his breast-plate. He took also his helmet 
 which is called Cannbar; and his broad, dark- 
 blue shield he slung from one shoulder. His 
 sword hung from his thigh; and, in his hand he 
 grasped his two spears, tempered in the blood 
 of adders. 
 
 When the chiefs and men were all arrayed in 
 battle rank, hedges of glittering spears rose high 
 above their heads. Their shields, placed edge to 
 edge, formed a firm fence around them. They 
 advanced against the Fomorians, and the Fomor- 
 ians, in no degree dismayed, answered their on- 
 set. 
 
 Clouds of whizzing javelins flew through the 
 air; spears were shivered; and, from the gold- 
 hilted swords a forest of bright flames arose, as 
 they clashed above the helmets. 
 
 When finally Breas was compelled to sue for 
 quarter from the Ildana, all the Fomorians 
 dropped their arms and came to him to ask him 
 to spare their lives,
 
 20 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 The Ildana said to them: "I do not wish to 
 slay you ; return, you and your leader to your own 
 country; and there relate the deeds of prowess 
 you have seen in Eire." So they departed. 
 
 Lugha missed his father, Kian, in the fight. 
 "My father is not alive," said he, "for if he lived 
 he would surely have come to help me in the bat- 
 tle. And now I swear that neither food nor 
 drink will I take until I find his slayer and the 
 manner of his death." 
 
 Accordingly he set out with a small band, and 
 hastened to the plain of Murthemna, where Kian 
 had been forced to take the shape of a pig. 
 
 And it chanced that they came to the very spot 
 where Kian had been slain. Then the stones of 
 the earth spoke beneath their feet saying: "Here 
 lies thy father, O Ildana! Grievous was Kian's 
 strait when he was forced to take the shape of a 
 pig, on seeing the three sons of Tuireann. 
 And on this very spot they slew him in his own 
 shape. 
 
 "The blood they have spilled ; 
 The hero they have killed, 
 Shall darken their lives 'till the doom be fulfilled." 
 
 Then the Ildana caused a stone to be raised
 
 QUEST OF THE ERIC FINE 21 
 
 above his father's grave, and his name engraved 
 in Ogham. After this his lamentation lays were 
 sung and his funeral games performed. 
 
 Then the Ildana and his followers went to 
 Teamhair. They entered the banqueting hall 
 where the king and his nobles were assembled. 
 The Ildana, looking around the hall, saw the 
 three sons of Tuireann seated among the others. 
 He hastened to exchange greetings with Nuada, 
 the king. Then he asked the royal permission 
 that the chain of silence might be shaken. When 
 the silver music of the bells had died away, and all 
 were listening, Lugha, the Ildana, stood up and 
 said : "O gracious nobles of the De Danann race, 
 I perceive that you have given me your attention ; 
 and now, I have a question to put to each man 
 here present: 'What vengeance should be taken 
 for the murder of a father ?" 
 
 All were filled with amazement to hear the 
 Ildana ask this question. Then the King's voice 
 broke the deep silence: "Explain thy meaning. 
 Why hast thou put this question to us? Surely, 
 as we all know, thy father has not been killed." 
 
 "My father has indeed been killed," said the 
 Ildana, and I now see here in this hall those who 
 slew him. And furthermore, I know the manner 
 
 Ogham [O'am]: The most ancient manner of writing or making records 
 known to Gaels of Eire. There are many stones inscribed in Ogham 
 still extant.
 
 22 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 in which they put him to death; even as they 
 themselves know it." 
 
 The sons of Tuireann hearing all this said 
 nothing. But the king declared that if anyone 
 had willfully slain Kian he should atone for the 
 deed with his life. 
 
 Each noble said the same; as did also the sons 
 of Tuireann. 
 
 "The persons who slew my father are here 
 present, and are joining with the rest in this judg- 
 ment" said the Ildana. "Let all bear witness 
 that my claim is just and honorable when I de- 
 mand, not their lives, but that they shall pay to 
 me a certain eric-fine." 
 
 Then Brian arose and said: "It is of me thou 
 speakest, O Ildana, for it has been said that the 
 three sons of Tuireann have been at enmity with 
 the three sons of Canta. We shall not say 
 whether we have slain thy father or not ; but, we 
 are willing to pay an eric-fine even as if we had 
 killed him." 
 
 "I shall accept the eric-fine from you" said the 
 Ildana, "and I now name before this assembly the 
 fine I ask: The first part is three apples; the 
 second part, the skin of a pig; the third part a 
 spear; the fourth two steeds and a chariot; the
 
 QUEST OF THE ERIC FINE 23 
 
 fifth seven pigs; the sixth a hound whelp; the 
 seventh a cooking- spit, and the eighth three 
 shouts on a hill. This is my eric-fine O sons of 
 Tuireann, and it will be for you to set about 
 paying it without delay." 
 
 "We do not deem thy eric-fine too great, Ildana, 
 but we fear some hidden snare in what you ask," 
 said Brian. 
 
 "The fine I have named, and that only, will sat- 
 isfy me for the death of my father" replied the 
 Ildana. "Moreover, I demand that we enter into 
 a covenant, namely : I not to increase my claim ; 
 thou to pay the full fine required of thee." 
 So they bound themselves on either side ; and the 
 king and nobles of Eire were witnesses and sure- 
 ties of the bond. 
 
 Then the Ildana, arising, said : "Listen, O sons 
 of Tuireann, the three apples I ask are the three 
 apples of the garden of Hisberna in the western 
 end of the world and no other will I have. Their 
 color is the color of burnished gold, and they have 
 the taste of honey. A champion possessing one of 
 them may perform with it any feat he pleases, by 
 merely casting it from his hand. Nor will he lose 
 the apple for it will return again to him of it- 
 self. The pig's skin I seek belongs to the king of 
 
 Hisberna: Hesperides.
 
 24 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 Greece. This magical skin will turn water into 
 wine. It will also heal all the sick and wounded 
 people who touch it. The spear which ye must 
 bring me is the venomed spear of Pezar, king of 
 the East. In the time of peace, its blazing, fiery 
 head is always kept in a caldron of water to pre- 
 vent it from burning down the king's palace. In 
 time of war its bearer is invincible. The two 
 steeds and the chariot belong to Debar, king of 
 Segar. \Yith these steeds and chariot, one travels 
 as well on the sea as on the land. The seven pigs I 
 demand belong to the king of the Golden Pillars. 
 Though these pigs should be killed and eaten to- 
 day, they will be alive and well tomorrow. The 
 hound whelp belongs to the king of Iroda. His 
 name is Failinis; and all beasts of the forest fall 
 powerless before him. The cooking spit belongs 
 to the warlike women of Fincara. They are thrice 
 fifty in number, and each of them is a match for 
 three good warriors in single combat. These 
 women of Fincara have never been known to 
 give a cooking spit to anyone without being first 
 overcome in battle. The hill on which you must 
 give three shouts is the hill of Midkenna in the 
 north of Lochlann. Midkenna and his sons al- 
 ways guard this hill, and are under geasa to 
 
 Failinis [Fawl'een ish]. Iroda [Er'oo ah]: Norway. Midkenna: 
 The ungentle; Gaelic: Meochavin [Mee' 5 keen]. Geasa [gas'sah]: 
 mystical bonds or obligations, corresponding to the obligations under 
 which the knights of the middle ages placed themselves.
 
 QUEST OF THE ERIC FINE 25 
 
 allow no one to shout on it. And should you 
 procure all things that I have mentioned you 
 shall not, I think, succeed in shouting on the 
 hill; for, Midkenna and his sons were my fa- 
 ther's friends and loved him very much; and 
 they will be sure to avenge on you my father's 
 death." 
 
 The sons of Tuireann were so much astonished 
 on hearing this eric-fine, that they spoke not one 
 word; but arose and left the meeting and repaired 
 to the house of their father.
 
 26 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 Tuireann heard their story to the end ; then he 
 said: "Your tidings are very bad, my sons. It 
 was an evil thing to kill Kian, and I fear you 
 are doomed to meet your death in seeking what 
 the Ildana demands. In the Boyne river, near 
 the palace of Angus, lies Manannan's canoe, 
 'The Wave Sweeper." Secure this canoe and 
 by its aid you may be able to reach Hisberna and 
 obtain the magic apples. So they set out for 
 Bruga of the Boyne; and with them was their 
 sister Eithne. 
 
 They found the canoe lying in the river. 
 Brian, stepping into it said: "It seems to me 
 there is room for but one more person beside my- 
 self in the canoe." He began to complain bitterly 
 of its size; but ceased when Eithne told him that 
 the canoe would assume larger dimensions when 
 they came to try it. Eithne was aware that it 
 had the power- of becoming large or small 
 according to the number of people who were to 
 sail in it. 
 
 After all preparations were over, the three 
 brothers bade their sister farewell and entered 
 the canoe. They found it large enough to hold 
 
 Bruga [Broo' ah]: A palace; Bruga of the Boyne: The residence of 
 the chiefs of the Tuatha De Danann. Eithne [A 'nah] Canoe: 
 Gaelic [Kur' rah]. Manannan's canoe: A cloud which becomes 
 larger or smaller, according to the number of raindrops in it.
 
 QUEST OF THE ERIC FINE 27 
 
 themselves and their arms, and everything else 
 they wished to take with them. 
 
 As they quickly sped across the deep sea 
 chasms and green-sided waves on their way to 
 Hisberna, they held council as to what course 
 they would pursue in their quest for the golden 
 apples. 
 
 Brian spoke; and said he: "Let us take the 
 shape of strong, swift hawks; then, as we ap- 
 proach the garden, let us have a care for the 
 light, sharp lances of the guards. These lances 
 the guards will certainly hurl at us. We must 
 avoid them actively and cunningly; and when 
 they have no more left to throw, let us swoop 
 down and fetch away an apple each/' 
 
 To this they all agreed. Changing themselves 
 into three beautiful hawks they flew swiftly over 
 the tops of the trees. 
 
 The sharp-eyed guards perceived them, and 
 with great shouting and clamor hurled venomed 
 darts at them. But the hawks escaped, every one. 
 
 When there were no more darts to throw, 
 fluttering their wings above the baffled guards, 
 the hawks flew into the trees. After resting a 
 moment, they rose in the air again unhurt and 
 happy, The younger brothers carried off an
 
 28 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 apple apiece; but Brian brought two with him; 
 one in his talons, and one in his beak. 
 
 The king of Hisberna and his people were very 
 angry, on discovering that the hawks had car- 
 ried off their apples. A council, was called to 
 consider how best the deed might be avenged. 
 
 Now the king's three daughters were skilled 
 in magic; and cunning in council. So it was 
 finally determined that they should transform 
 themselves into three swift, winged griffins and 
 pursue the hawks over the sea. 
 
 Immediately then, they hastened away. From 
 their eyes and beaks they let fly bright flashes 
 of flame to blind and scorch the hawks. 
 
 "Evil is our state," now said the two younger 
 brothers as they beheld their most beautiful wing 
 feathers crisping and crumbling in smoky dust 
 through the heated air "evil indeed is our state 
 and we will surely perish if we do not get 
 relief." 
 
 "It is my good fortune still to have power to 
 change our forms," said Brian. Then, by his 
 druidical magic, he instantly turned himself and 
 his brothers into swans, and they all dropped 
 down on to the sea. 
 
 The griffins, no longer beholding the hawks
 
 QUEST OF THE ERIC FINE 29 
 
 before them, gave up the chase, and the sons of 
 Tuireann, without further delay, went to their 
 canoe fetching their apples with them. 
 
 Then they set sail again and glided swiftly and 
 smoothly over the waters until they came to 
 Greece. And when they had landed, Brian said 
 to his brothers: "In what shape, think you, 
 should we go to the king's court?" 
 
 "We think it best to go in our own shapes," 
 answered the others, "that is to say as three bold 
 champions." 
 
 "Not so," said Brian, "to me it seems best that 
 we should go in guise of learned poets from Eire, 
 for poets are held in much honor by the nobles 
 of Greece." "How shall we do that?" asked the 
 brothers, "for as to poems, we neither have any 
 with us, nor do we know how to compose them." 
 
 But Brian would not have it any other way, 
 so they consented, though unwillingly. They 
 tied up their hair after the manner of poets and 
 going directly to the palace knocked at the door. 
 The door-keeper asked who was there. "We are 
 skillful poets from Eire," said Brian, and have 
 come to Greece with a poem for the king." 
 
 The door-keeper departed to give the message. 
 
 "Let them be brought in," said the king, "for
 
 30 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 it is to seek a good and bountiful master, whom 
 they may serve faithfully that they have come so 
 far from Eire." 
 
 So they were shown into the banquet hall, 
 where the king sat surrounded by his nobles. 
 Bowing low they saluted him; and he in turn 
 saluted them. They joined the feast at once 
 and made merry as did the others. And they 
 thought they had never seen a banquet hall more 
 grand or a household so numerous and mirthful. 
 s At the proper time the king's poets arose, and 
 according to custom recited their poems for the 
 company. When they had finished, Brian re- 
 quested attention for his poem, and, forthwith, 
 in clear, musical accents spoke the following 
 lines : 
 
 "To praise thee, O Tuis, we've come to this land. 
 Like an oak among shrubs, over kings thou dost stand. 
 The honor be ours thy great deeds to rehearse 
 And claim but a pig skin in pay for our verse. 
 Two neighbors shall war with an O to an O ; 
 A bard unrequited how dreadful a foe ! 
 Thy bounty shall add to my wealth and thy fame, 
 And the imnocta fessa is all that we claim." 
 
 "Your poem would doubtless be thought very 
 good, if one were able to judge of it," said the 
 
 Tuis (TSosh).
 
 QUEST OF THE ERIC FINE 31 
 
 king. "But it is unlike all other poems I have 
 ever heard, and I do not in the least understand 
 its meaning." 
 
 "Listen, while I unfold it then," said Brian. 
 
 "To praise thee, O Tuis, we've come to this land ; 
 Like an oak among shrubs, over kings thou dost stand." 
 
 "This means that as the oak excels all other 
 trees of the forest, so dost thou excel all other 
 kings of the world for greatness, nobility and 
 generosity." , 
 
 ' 'Imnocta f essa' Imnocta means skin ; fessa 
 means pig; that is to say, O King, thou hast the 
 skin of a pig which I desire to obtain from thee 
 as a guerdon for my poetry." 
 
 "Two neighbors shall war with an O to an O ; 
 A bard unrequited how dreadful a foe." 
 
 "O means an ear ; that is to say, O King, thou 
 and I shall be ear to ear fighting with each other 
 for the skin, if thou give it not of thy own free 
 will. And this, O King, is the meaning of my 
 poem." 
 
 "Thy poem would have been a very good one,
 
 32 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 and I should have given it due meed of praise, if 
 my pig skin had not been mentioned in it. It is 
 a foolish request of thine, O Ferdana, for even if 
 all the poets and men of science in Eire, and in 
 the whole world beside, were to demand that skin 
 from me I would refuse it. Nevertheless," con- 
 tinued the king, "thou shalt not pass unrewarded, 
 for I will give thee thrice the full of the skin 
 of red gold: one portion for thyself, and one for 
 each of thy brothers." 
 
 "Thy ransom is a good one, O King," said 
 Brian, "but I am a near-hearted and suspicious 
 man, and I pray thee let me see with my own 
 eyes thy servants measure the gold ; lest they deal 
 unfairly with me." 
 
 The king granted his request, and the three 
 sons of Tuireann went with the servants to the 
 treasure room. 
 
 But no sooner had they begun to measure the 
 gold, than Brian, suddenly sprang toward them. 
 He dashed them fiercely to the ground; and 
 snatching the pig skin bound it hastily over his 
 shoulders. 
 
 Then the three sons of Tuireann drew their 
 keen swords and rushed into the banquet hall. 
 The king's nobles seeing how matters stood, sur- 
 
 Ferdan'a: Man of Poetry; Fer: man; Latin Vir; dan: poet.
 
 QUEST OF THE ERIC FINE 33 
 
 rounded and attacked them. But the sons of 
 Tuireann, nothing daunted by the number of 
 their foes, hewed down the foremost and scat- 
 tered the rest. 
 
 Scarcely one of the party escaped death or 
 deadly wounds. At last Brian and the King met 
 face to face and fought as great champions fight; 
 fought until the king of Greece fell by the over- 
 powering valor of the sons of Tuireann. 
 
 After the victory the three brothers rested in 
 the palace, and healed their wounds by means 
 of the apples and the pig-skin. 
 : , At the end of three days and three nights they 
 started on their next adventure.- 
 
 They went on board the canoe, and soon left 
 behind them the lovely shores of Greece. Across 
 the wide seas they swiftly sped, and finally landed 
 near the palace of Pezar, king of the East. 
 
 Having fared so well in their last undertak- 
 ing, they resolved to put on the guise of poets 
 this time also. 
 
 They tied their hair in the poet's knot; and, 
 passing through the outer gate, knocked at the 
 door of the palace. 
 
 The door-keeper asked who they were; and 
 from what country they had come.
 
 34 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 "\Ye are poets from Eire," answered Brian, 
 "and we have brought a poem for the king." 
 
 The door-keeper admitted them, and they were 
 conducted to the presence of the king. The king 
 welcomed them and seated them among the 
 nobles of his household. They joined in the 
 revelry of the banquet hall, and when the proper 
 time came, the king's poets arose and chanted 
 their songs. 
 
 After all the poems had been rehearsed, and 
 the sounds of applause had ceased, Brian arose. 
 The king and nobles seeing him were silent and 
 listened while he recited his poem: 
 
 "In royal state may Pezar ever reign ; 
 Like some vast yew tree monarch of the plain. 
 May Pezar's mystic javelin, long and bright, 
 Bring slaughter to his foes in every fight. 
 
 When Pezar fights and shakes his dreadful spear, 
 Whole armies fly ; and heroes quake with fear. 
 What shielded foe, what champion can withstand 
 The blazing spear in mighty Pezar's hand !" 
 
 "Your poem is a good one," said the king, "but 
 why do you make mention of my spear, without 
 having first obtained permission of me? Were
 
 QUEST OF THE ERIC FINE 35 
 
 you not aware that it is not permitted to even 
 the greatest in my kingdom to speak of my spear, 
 unless I have first given him the privilege?" 
 
 "This I knew not, O Pezar, and thy telling it 
 hath but increased the ardor of the wish which 
 hath inspired my song. For I desire thy blazing 
 spear, O Pezar, as a reward for my poem." 
 
 "Your wish is a very foolish one," said the 
 king. "No man ever escaped punishment if he 
 asked me for my spear. The highest reward I 
 could now grant you, and the greatest favor these 
 nobles could now obtain for you, is that I should 
 spare your life." 
 
 Thereupon, Brian and his brothers started up 
 in great wrath and drew their swords. In like 
 manner, the king and his nobles drew their 
 swords, and they fought a deadly fight. But 
 Brian in the midst of the combat, drawing forth 
 one of his apples, cast it at the king, and he fell 
 pierced through the brain. 
 
 Then the frightened nobles fled, until no one 
 remained in the banquet hall but the sons of 
 Tuireann. They searched the palace for the 
 room where the spear was kept. At last they 
 found it with its head down deep in a great 
 caldron of water which hissed and bubbled
 
 36 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 around it. Brian, seizing it boldly in his hand, 
 drew it forth. Then the three brothers left the 
 palace and went to their canoe. There they re- 
 joiced together, because they had now succeeded 
 in securing three parts of the eric-fine. 
 
 After resting some days, they set out to seek 
 for the steeds and the chariot of the King of 
 Segar, for this was the next part of the Ildana's 
 eric fine. 
 
 Obedient to their command, the canoe glided 
 rapidly and smoothly over the green waves. At 
 last they landed on the wished-for shore; and 
 then Brian said: "In what shape, think you, 
 should we go to this court?" 
 
 "Let us go," said the others, "in our own 
 shapes, as three hostile champions, who have 
 come to get the chariot and steeds either by force 
 or by good will." 
 
 "That is not what seems best to me," said 
 Brian. "My council is that we go as soldiers 
 from Eire, willing to serve for pay. Then, should 
 the king take us into his service, it is likely we 
 shall find out where the chariot and the steeds 
 are kept." 
 
 So, forthwith, as soldiers from Eire they went 
 to the palace.
 
 QUEST OF THE ERIC FINE 37 
 
 There the king was holding a fair-meeting on 
 the broad, level green of the palace park. When 
 the three warriors came near, the people made 
 way for them. They bowed low to the king; 
 and he asked them who they were and from 
 what part of the world they had come. 
 
 "We are valiant soldiers from Eire," they an- 
 swered, "seeking service and pay among the 
 great kings of the world/' 
 
 "Do you wish to enter my service?" asked the 
 king. 
 
 "It is with that desire we have come to Segar," 
 said they. 
 
 So they made a covenant with each other: 
 The king to place them in a post of honor and 
 trust. They to serve him faithfully and to name 
 their own reward. 
 
 They were placed in the ranks of King Dobar's 
 body-guard. For a month and a fortnight they 
 remained in the palace, looking around, and care- 
 fully noting everything. However, they saw 
 nothing of the chariot and the steeds. 
 
 At the end of the fortnight, Brian said to his 
 brothers : "It fares ill with us here, my brothers, 
 for we know no more about the chariot and 
 steeds than we did the day we first came thither.
 
 38 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 Let us put on our travelling array and take our 
 arms of valor in our hands. In this fashion, let 
 us go before the king, and tell him that unless he 
 shows us the chariot and steeds we shall leave 
 his service." 
 
 This they did without delay. 
 
 When they were come before the king, he 
 asked them why they had come into his presence 
 thus armed and in travelling guise. 
 
 "Of that we have come to tell thee, O king," 
 answered Brian. "Heretofore the kings whom 
 we have served have trusted us with their secret 
 councils. We have been made the guardians of 
 their rarest jewels, and of gifted arms of victory. 
 But thou, O king, hast not even shown us thy 
 chariot and steeds, which we have heard exceed 
 in magnificence all the chariots and steeds in the 
 world." 
 
 "A small thing it is that has caused you to 
 prepare for departure," said the king, "and there 
 is, moreover, no need that you should leave my 
 service. You shall see the steeds this very day; 
 and you should have seen them before had I 
 known of your desire, for I have never had in 
 my service more trustworthy soldiers." 
 
 The king then sent for the steeds and had them
 
 QUEST OF THE ERIC FINE 39 
 
 yoked to the chariot. Those steeds that were as 
 fleet as the clear, cold wind of March, and that 
 traveled with equal speed on land and on sea! 
 
 Brian, viewing them narrowly, said: "Hear 
 me, O King of Segar! We have served thee 
 faithfully up to this time, and now we wish to 
 name our own pay, according to the covenant 
 thou hast made with us. The guerdon we de- 
 mand is yonder chariot and steeds. Give us these 
 and we shall ask for nothing more." 
 
 But the king in great wrath, said: "Foolish 
 and luckless men, ye shall certainly die because 
 ye have asked for my steeds." 
 
 The king and his warriors then drew their 
 swords and rushed toward the sons of Tuireann, 
 thinking to seize them. The attack was ex- 
 pected and a sore fight began. Suddenly, Brian 
 sprang with a bound into the chariot and, dash- 
 ing the charioteer to the ground, seized the reins 
 in his left hand. Then, raising the venomed 
 spear of Pezar in his right, he smote the king 
 with its fiery point, so that he fell to the ground 
 and expired. And when the red slaughter of the 
 fight was over, there was no one left to dispute 
 with the three brothers the possession of the char- 
 iot.
 
 40 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 Ur and Urcar asked where they should go 
 next. 
 
 "We shall go" said Brian, "to Asal, the king 
 of the Golden Pillars to ask for his seven pigs: 
 for this is the next part of the eric-fine." 
 
 Therewith they started. As they drew near to 
 the land of the Golden Pillars they saw that the 
 shore was lined with men all armed, for the fame 
 of the deeds of the great champions of Eire 
 was being noised abroad through many lands: 
 How they had been forced to leave Eire by the 
 hard sentence of the Ildana, and how they were 
 seeking and bearing away the most precious 
 things of all the world's kingdoms to pay the 
 Ildana's eric-fine. 
 
 On account of these reports, the king of the 
 Golden Pillars had armed his people; and had 
 sent them to guard the harbors. 
 
 The king himself came down to the beach to 
 meet them. As soon as they were come within 
 speaking distance, he bade them stay their course. 
 Then he asked in angry tones if they were the 
 three champions from Eire; they who had over- 
 come and slain so many kings. 
 
 Brian answered: "Be not displeased with us, 
 O king, for in all this matter we are not to blame.
 
 QUEST OF THE ERIC FINE 41 
 
 We must pay the eric-fine promised to the Ildana. 
 If the kings to whom he sent us had given us 
 peaceably the precious things we demanded, we 
 would have departed always in the same good 
 will as that in which we came. But, meeting ill 
 will and opposition, we have been compelled to 
 fight for the attainment of our end. Unwillingly, 
 indeed, have we fought, yet none so far have been 
 able to withstand us." 
 
 "Tell me now" said the king, "What has 
 brought you to our country?" 
 
 "We have come for thy seven pigs" said Brian, 
 "for they are a part of our fine. Thou perchance 
 wilt have pity on our hardships, and give us these 
 pigs in token of kindness and friendship and not 
 compel us to fetch them away by force." 
 
 On hearing this, the king and his people 
 went into council. After debating the matter, 
 they thought best to give the pigs peaceably, for 
 they feared they might not be able to resist the 
 power of the sons of Tuireann. 
 
 So the king invited the three champions to 
 his palace. They ate and drank and slept on 
 downy beds. When they arose the next morn- 
 ing, they were brought into the king's presence, 
 and the pigs were given them. Then Brian, bow-
 
 42 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 ing low before the king spoke these words: 
 
 "Thanks for the guerdon thou hast given, 
 
 Great king of Sicily ; 
 Thy welcome unto Tuireann's sons 
 
 Shall long remembered be. 
 And when our deeds in happier days 
 
 Shall bring us praise and fame 
 In Eire green shall poet lays 
 
 Commemorate thy name." 
 
 'Whither go ye next, ye sons of Tuireann?" 
 asked Asal. 
 
 "We go." answered Brian, "into Iroda, for 
 Failinis, the king's hound whelp." 
 
 "My daughter is the king's wife," said Asal, 
 "and I will go with you to Iroda, and may be able 
 to persuade him for her sake to give you the 
 hound whelp freely and without battle." 
 
 "It gives me joy, O King, to accept your prof- 
 fered aid, for often in the struggles which I have 
 had heretofore in the quest for the eric-fine, I 
 have wished for the help of a strong and friendly 
 hand." 
 
 King Asal wished the journey to be made in 
 his own ship; so he commanded his soldiers to 
 get it ready. Then all went on board, taking 
 with them much wealth.
 
 QUEST OF THE ERIC FINE 43 
 
 And it is not told how they fared until they 
 reached the kingdom of Iroda. 
 
 When they arrived, the shores were lined with 
 fierce, armed men, who were there by order of 
 the king to guard the harbor. These men 
 shouted to the crew of Asal's ships a warning 
 to come no further. They well knew it could 
 be no other than the sons of Tuireann, bent on 
 acquiring that part of their eric-fine which was 
 the property of the king of Iroda. 
 
 "Stay here for a while and await my return," 
 said King Asal, to the sons of Tuireann. "It is 
 best that I should go on shore alone and meet 
 my son-in-law." 
 
 Accordingly he landed and went to the king, 
 who, after he had welcomed him, asked what had 
 brought the sons of Tuireann to his country. 
 
 "They have come for your hound whelp," 
 answered King Asal, "and I beg you to give it 
 freely and without battle." 
 
 "It was an evil council you followed when you 
 came with these men to my shores," said the 
 king, "for no champions in all the world have 
 ever received from the gods strength and favor 
 sufficient to enable them to obtain possession of
 
 44 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 my hound whelp either by force or by my own 
 free will." 
 
 "It will be unwise of you to refuse them/' re- 
 plied King Asal. "They have gifted arms, that 
 no warrior, however powerful, can withstand. 
 Numbers nor power can daunt them ; and, having 
 your welfare at heart, I have come thither to ad- 
 vise you to give them your hound whelp in 
 peace." 
 
 But King Asal's words were only thrown away 
 on the king of Iroda and he angrily refused Asal's 
 request, and spoke with scornful words of the 
 sons of Tuireann. 
 
 Asal, very much troubled because of the re- 
 sult of his talk with the king of Iroda, returned 
 to the ship where the sons of Tuireann were 
 anxiously awaiting him. 
 
 When they heard how matters stood, without 
 delay they put on their battle dress; and, taking 
 their arms in their hands, challenged the king of 
 Iroda and his people. 
 
 Then began a fierce and bloody battle. Though 
 nothing could stand before the sons of Tuireann, 
 yet the warriors of Iroda were many and very 
 brave. 
 
 During the course of the fight, the two younger
 
 QUEST OF THE ERIC FINE 45 
 
 brothers became separated from Brian, and he 
 was completely surrounded by hostile champions. 
 But, when he wielded the blazing spear of Pezar 
 with its deadly point, his foes fled before him. 
 Well they knew it would be useless to resist the 
 venom of that dreadful spear. 
 
 At length, Brian spied the king of Iroda. 
 Bravely he was fighting; hedged round-a-bout by 
 shining spears. 
 
 Brian rushed through the thick of the battle 
 straight toward him, striking down spears and 
 swords and men as he went. The king saw him 
 coming, and commanded his men to fall back. 
 Then he and Brian fought like valiant warriors 
 hand to hand. Powerful, alert and fierce were 
 both, and it was long before any advantage was 
 gained on either side. 
 
 Brian seemed the more wrathful of the two; 
 yet he held back his hand, for he sought to tire 
 out his foe, not to slay him. The end of it all 
 was that Brian succeeded in seizing the king in 
 his strong arms. He lifted him off the ground 
 and bore him to where Asal stood. Then setting 
 him down he said: "Behold thy son-in-law. It 
 would have been easier three times over to have
 
 46 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 killed him than to have brought him to thee 
 alive." 
 
 When the people saw their king a prisoner, 
 they ceased fighting and peace was made. Also, 
 the hound whelp was given over to the sons of 
 Tuireann. They then took their leave and sailed 
 away from the shores of Iroda in peace and 
 friendship with the King; and with Asal, his 
 father-in-law. 
 
 Meanwhile the Ildana was preparing for an- 
 other battle with the Fomorians; a battle which 
 should be known as the second battle of Magh 
 Tuireadh. 
 
 The great Leech, Diancecht ; the skillful smith, 
 Goibnu; the Dagda and Ogma, these were the 
 ones who met secretly with the Ildana to prepare 
 the plan of battle. They left nothing undone 
 which might help them to a victory over their 
 strong and vengeful foe. 
 
 By this time, Ku and Kethen, the sons of Canta 
 had returned. With them came the Fairy Host, 
 which they had marshalled together from every- 
 where in Eire. 
 
 But one thing more remained to be done: It 
 had been revealed to Lugha, the Ildana, that the 
 sons of Tuireann had now obtained all those 
 
 Diancecht [Dee' yan Ka'yacht]. Goibnu [Goin' [coin] yu]. Dagda 
 [Daw' dah]. OgmafO'ma]: gods of the Tuatha De Danann, the 
 chief of whom was the Dagda.
 
 QUEST OF THE ERIC FINE 47 
 
 parts of the eric-fine which he deemed necessary 
 to insure success in the approaching conflict. 
 
 So he sent after them a druidical spell, which 
 caused them, soon after they left Iroda, to for- 
 get the cooking spit and the three shouts on 
 Midkena's hill, and filled them with great long- 
 ing to return to their native home. 
 
 Accordingly, they set sail without delay for 
 the shores of Eire, taking with them the parts 
 of the fine which they had already secured.
 
 48 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Now it happened that the Ildana was with the 
 king at a fair meeting on the plain before Team- 
 hair. And it was made known to him secretly 
 that the sons of Tuireann had landed at Bruga 
 of the Boyne. 
 
 He left the assembly, telling none, and went 
 directly to the fortress of Rath-ree; and, closing 
 the gates and doors after himself, he put on the 
 smooth, Greek armor of Manannan MacLir and 
 the enchanted mantle of Flidas. 
 
 Soon after this the sons of Tuireann were seen 
 approaching. The multitude which was gathered 
 together at the fair-meeting flocked out to greet 
 them, and gazed with wonder at the many mar- 
 velous things they had brought. 
 
 When they had come to the royal tent, the 
 king joyfully welcomed them, and asked them if 
 they had brought the eric-fine. 
 
 "We have obtained it after much hardship and 
 danger, O King," said they, "and now we wish 
 to know where Lugha is that we may deliver it 
 to him." 
 
 The king told them that the Ildana was at the 
 
 Rath-ree [Raw ra']. Flidas [Flee'yhas]: one of the gods.
 
 QUEST OF THE ERIC FINE 49 
 
 assembly; but, though they searched everywhere 
 for him, he could not be found. 
 
 "I can surmise where he is," said Brian, "It 
 has been made known to him that we have 
 come to Eire, bringing with us charmed, gifted 
 weapons that none can withstand, and he has 
 gone to one of the strongholds of Teamhair to 
 avoid us, fearing that we might use them against 
 himself." 
 
 Messengers were then sent to the Ildana to 
 tell him that the sons of Tuireann had arrived, 
 and to ask him to come to the meeting, in order 
 that they might give him the fine. 
 
 But the Ildana said to the messengers : "I will 
 not go to the meeting yet awhile ; but go ye back 
 and tell the sons of Tuireann to give the fine to 
 the king for me." 
 
 When the messenger returned with this 
 answer, the sons of Tuireann gave into the keep- 
 ing of the king all the wonderful things they had 
 collected in their journeys. After this the entire 
 company went into the palace, and in a little 
 while Lugha, the Ildana, having heard how mat- 
 ters stood, came also and the king gave him the 
 fine. 
 
 Lugha looked narrowly at everything that had
 
 50 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 been given up to him and said: "Here, indeed, 
 is an eric-fine sufficient to pay for any one that 
 ever yet was slain; or, that shall be slain until 
 the end of time! Vet, there is one kind of fine 
 that must be paid to the last farthing, namely: 
 an eric-fine for it is not lawful to hold back 
 even the smallest part. And, moreover, O King, 
 thou and the Dedannans whom I see here present 
 are guarantees for the full payment of my eric- 
 fine." Again Lugha looked narrowly at the 
 wonderful things which had been brought to 
 him from many lands, and said he: "I see here 
 the three apples; and the skin of the pig; and 
 the fiery headed spear; and the chariot and 
 steeds; and the seven pigs and the hound whelp. 
 But where, ye sons of Tuireann, is the cooking 
 spit of the women of Fincara? And I have not 
 heard that ye have given the three shouts on 
 Midkenna's hill." 
 
 On hearing this, the sons of Tuireann fell into 
 a faintness, like unto the faintness before death, 
 and when they had recovered they answered not 
 one word; but left the assembly and went to 
 their father's house. 
 
 To their father and to their sister Eithne they 
 told all that had befallen them. And how now
 
 51 
 
 they must set out upon another quest because 
 through the spells of Lugha they had forgotten 
 two parts of the eric-fine. 
 
 On hearing this Tuireann was overwhelmed 
 with grief and wept in great fear and sorrow. 
 
 The next morning, when the point of night 
 met day, Brian, Ur and Urcar accompanied by 
 their father and Eithne stood by the shore from 
 which they were once more to sail. 
 
 When their farewells were spoken, they em- 
 barked, determined never to return, unless bring- 
 ing with them the two forgotten parts of the fine. 
 
 It was no longer their privilege to use Manan- 
 nan's canoe. In their own slower sailing, less 
 commodious yet trustworthy ship they set sail 
 and sped forth over the green, billowy sea, in 
 search of the island of Fincara. 
 
 For four full moons they wandered hither and 
 thither; sailing with the billows; and against 
 them. On many shores they landed and inquired 
 of all they met; yet, they were unable to get the 
 least tidings of the island where the war-like 
 women dwelt. 
 
 At last they met a very old man, who told 
 them that he had heard of the island of Fincara 
 in the days of his youth. He said it lay not on
 
 52 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 the surface; but down deep in the waters, for it 
 was sunk beneath the waves, by a druidical spell, 
 in times long past. 
 
 Then Brian put on his water dress, with his 
 helmet of transparent crystal on his head. Tell- 
 ing his brothers to await his return, he leaped 
 over the side of the ship; and sank at once out 
 of sight. 
 
 He walked about for a fortnight down in the 
 green, salt sea, before he found the island of 
 Fincara. 
 
 He noticed that among many houses on the 
 island, one was larger and grander than the rest. 
 Straightway, he bent his steps toward this; and 
 finding it open entered. 
 
 In a large apartment, hung with gorgeous 
 tapestries, he saw a great number of beautiful 
 ladies busily employed at all sorts of embroidery 
 and needle work: and in their midst was a long, 
 bright cooking spit, lying on a table. 
 
 Without speaking a word, he walked straight 
 to the table; and, seizing the spit in one hand, 
 walked toward the door. The women neither 
 spoke nor moved. But each one had her eyes 
 fixed upon him from the moment he entered; ad-
 
 QUEST OF THE ERIC FINE 53 
 
 miring his manly form, his beauty and his fear- 
 lessness. 
 
 But when they saw him about to walk off with 
 the spit, they all burst out laughing! One, who 
 seemed the chief among them said: "Thou hast 
 attempted a bold deed, O son of Tuireann. Dost 
 thou not know that there are thrice fifty war-like 
 women here ? Dost thou not know that the weak- 
 est among us would be able of herself alone to 
 prevent thee taking this cooking spit even if 
 thy brothers were here to help thee ?" 
 
 "Thou art a brave and noble champion; else, 
 thou wouldst not have attempted to take the spit 
 by force and without the help of anyone, for the 
 danger is not unknown to thee. So, for thy bold- 
 ness and valor, and for the comeliness of thy 
 person, we will let thee take this one for we have 
 many others beside." 
 
 It was with great joy that Brian listened to 
 these words. Thanking the women of Fincara, 
 he took the spit and hastened to find his ship. 
 
 Ur and Urcar had remained in the same spot 
 waiting for Brian. As day after day went by 
 and he came not, they began to fear that he 
 would never return. They were about to leave 
 the place, having given up all hope, when down
 
 54 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 deep in the water they saw the glitter of Brian's 
 crystal helmet. A moment afterward, he arose 
 to the surface with the cooking spit in his hand. 
 
 His brothers helped him on board and they all 
 rejoiced together over his success. 
 
 Then they sailed away toward the north of 
 Lochlann, and never abated speed until they had 
 moored their vessel near the hill of Midkena. 
 
 From its smooth, green height, Midkena saw 
 them approaching. 
 
 He knew them at a glance, and coming toward 
 them, armed for battle, spoke to them in loud 
 and threatening tones: "You it was who slew 
 Kian, my friend and pupil, and now come hither 
 and fight, for you shall not leave these shores 
 until you answer for his death." 
 
 Brian, in no wise daunted by the fierce look 
 and angry speech of Midkena, sprang ashore and 
 the two heroes attacked each other with great 
 fury. 
 
 The three sons of Midkena heard the clash of 
 arms, and rushed forth to aid their father. But 
 just as they arrived at the shore Midkena fell 
 dead, cloven through the helmet by the heavy 
 sword of Brian. 
 
 Now began a fight, three on each side.
 
 QUEST OF THE ERIC FINE 65 
 
 And if men were afar off, even in the land of 
 Hisberna, at the western end of the world, they 
 would willingly come the whole way to see this 
 battle. So fierce and haughty were the minds of 
 those mighty champions; so skillful and active 
 were they in the use of their weapons ; so numer- 
 ous and heavy were their blows; and so long did 
 they continue to fight without either party giving 
 way, that the most valiant of warriors must have 
 looked on with admiration. 
 
 The three sons of Tuireann were at last dread- 
 fully wounded; wounded almost to death. But, 
 neither fear nor weakness did this cause them. 
 The more they were wounded, the more their 
 valor and their fury arose, and with one mighty 
 onset they drove their spears through the bodies 
 of their foes. 
 
 And the sons of Midkena fell before them into 
 the long sleep of death. 
 
 When the fight was ended, and the battle fury 
 gave place to calm within the breasts of the 
 victors, they began to feel the direful effects of 
 their wounds. They threw themselves full length 
 on the blood-stained sward ; and it was as if they 
 were dead, for a heavy curtain of darkness fell
 
 66 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 over their eyes. And thus they remained with- 
 out moving or speaking. 
 
 Then Brian called to his brothers for he sought 
 to know if they still lived. 
 
 They answered him feebly, and he said: "My 
 dear brothers, let us now arise and give the three 
 shouts on the hill, while yet there is time; for I 
 feel the signs of death." 
 
 Then Brian exerting himself to the utmost, and 
 disregarding the blood which flowed copiously 
 from his wounds, stood up and giving a hand to 
 each of his brothers enabled them to rise. 
 
 The three sons of Tuireann then gave, though 
 feebly, the three shouts that Lugha required of 
 them. 
 
 Without further delay they sailed for Eire. 
 
 While they were yet far off, Brian gazing over 
 the sea toward the west, suddenly cried out : "Lo, 
 I see yonder Ben Edar, rising above the waters. 
 And I see also Dun Tuireann toward the north." 
 
 Then Urcar spoke from where he reclined with 
 Ur upon the deck: "If we could but get one 
 glance of Ben Edar, methinks we should regain 
 our health and strength. As thou lovest us, and 
 as thou lovest thine own renown, my brother, 
 come and raise our heads and rest them on thy 
 
 Ben Edar: Hill of Howth. Dun [Doon]: a fort.
 
 QUEST OF THE ERIC FINE 57 
 
 breast, so that we may see Eire once more. After 
 that we shall welcome either life or death. 
 
 "Let us, once more, behold our father's home ; 
 
 On winding Liffey, down by Athaclee. 
 Old Frevin's hill ; or Teamhair's regal dome ; 
 Then welcome life or death, which'er may be." 
 
 So Brian raised their heads and rested them 
 on his breast, and they gazed on the rocky cliffs 
 and green slopes of Ben Edar, while the ship was 
 wafted slowly toward the shore. 
 
 Soon they landed near the northern side of 
 Ben Edar, and from there made their way, little 
 by little, to Dun Tuireann. When they had 
 reached the green in front of the house, Brian 
 cried out: "Father, dear father, come forth to 
 thy children." 
 
 Tuireann came and saw his sons, all wounded 
 and pale and feeble, and his heart was filled with 
 sorrow. Brian after greting him said : "Go, be- 
 loved father, go quickly to Teamhair; and as 
 quickly return. Fetch this cooking spit to Lugha, 
 and tell him that we have given the three shouts 
 on Midkena's hill. Say that we have now paid the 
 entire eric-fine and bring from him the apples 
 
 Athaclee [Aw'haw clee] : Ford of the Hurdles; present city of Dublin. 
 Frevin [Fra'win]: Hill in Westmeath on the west shore of Loch 
 Owel. Here, in the ninth century resided Turgesius, the Danish 
 tyrant who met death by drowning in the above mentioned Loch.
 
 58 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 from the garden of Hisberna to heal our wounds; 
 else we die." 
 
 "Alas, my children," said Tuireann, "I know 
 the stern Ildana's mind. Far rather would he 
 see you in your tomb, than that he should possess 
 all the treasures this great world can show." 
 
 "Oh, father," then said Brian, "linger not here 
 to mourn ; go straight to Lugha's home. Tell him 
 we pay full eric for his parent's death. Is not the 
 great Ildana just ? Speed like the wind, nor tarry 
 long, lest we die before thou return." 
 
 Tuireann set out and traveled like the wind, 
 until he reached Teamhair. There he found 
 Lugha. He gave him the cooking spit and said: 
 "Behold, O Ildana, my three sons have now paid 
 to thee full eric fine, for they have given 
 the three shouts on Midkena's hill. But they are 
 wounded unto death; and now give me, I pray 
 thee, the three apples from the garden of His- 
 berna to cure them; else will they die." 
 
 "In vain dost thou seek to restore thy sons, O 
 Tuireann; they committed a wicked and pitiful 
 deed when they slew my father, and nothing 
 could avert their punishment." 
 "For the blood they have spilled, 
 For the hero they have killed. 
 The penalty is paid and the doom is fulfilled."
 
 QUEST OF THE ERIC FINE 59 
 
 "Return, O Tuireann, to thy home; take with 
 thee the apples if thou wilt; yet powerless their 
 magic, and powerless all human effort in behalf 
 of those who, ere your request was made, lay 
 cold as did their victim on Murthemna's plain." 
 Heavy was Tuireann's heart as he set out from 
 Teamhair, knowing full well he never again 
 should hear the voices of his sons. 
 
 Eithne, her golden hair unbound about her 
 shoulders, her dark eyes dim with weeping, met 
 him at the gateway of Dun Tuireann. With her 
 he hastened to where Brian lay with Ur and 
 Urcar on either side of him; for, together they 
 departed this life. Lamenting over their lifeless 
 forms, father and sister stood hand in hand, 
 while Tuireann spoke this lay: 
 
 O pulseless is my heart this woful hour ; 
 
 My strength is gone, my joy forever fled ; 
 Three noble champions, Eire's pride and power, 
 
 My three fair youths, my children, cold and dead ! 
 Lo, hear ye Tuireann, your unhappy sire, 
 
 Mourning with feeble voice above your grave ! 
 Not wealth nor life nor honors I desire ; 
 
 A place beside my sons is all I crave. 
 
 After this lamentation, Tuireann and Eithne 
 fell on the bodies of the three young heroes and 
 they were all buried in one grave,
 
 The Fate of the Children of Lir 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 i 
 
 AND AILBE lived in a beautiful 
 palace called Sidhe Finneachaidh. 
 They had four children whose names 
 were Finula, Aodh, Fiachra and 
 Conn. Their mother Ailbe was the 
 daughter of Oilell Arann; and foster child of 
 Bove Derg, the king. While the children were 
 still very young their mother died. Their father 
 Lir loved Ailbe and her death caused him great 
 anguish ; indeed, he too would have died of grief, 
 were it not that his mind was turned from his 
 sorrow by his love for his four little motherless 
 children. 
 
 When the time of mourning for Ailbe was 
 over, Bove Derg, the King said : "We mourn with 
 you, O Lir, for our foster child and, lest the bond 
 of alliance and friendship existing between us on 
 her account should be broken, I will give you for 
 a wife Ailbe's sister, Aoife." 
 
 Lir [Leer) Ailbe [Awl ' vah]. Sidhe Finneachaidh [She Fin $' 
 ha]_ Aodh [A]. Oilell Arann [Awl'yeel ^.h'ran]. Aoife 
 
 [E'fa]. 
 
 60
 
 THE CHILDREN OF LIR 61 
 
 So Lir, glad with the thought that Aoife would 
 give a mother's loving care to his little ones, went 
 to the palace of Bove Derg and espoused her 
 and brought her back with him to Sidhe Fin- 
 neachaidh. 
 
 At first Aoife was a very kind stepmother to 
 Finula, Aodh, Fiachra and Conn and seemed to 
 love them almost as much as did their father Lir. 
 Every one loved them; even Bove Derg, the 
 King, went many times a year to Sidhe Finneach- 
 aidh to visit them, and he often brought them to 
 his palace and was always sorry when the time 
 came for their return home, it gave him such 
 pleasure to have them with him. 
 
 It was the custom of the Dedannans to cele- 
 brate the feast of age at the houses of the differ- 
 ent chiefs in turn ; and whenever the festival hap- 
 pened to be held at Sidhe Finneachaidh the step- 
 children of Aoife were the delight and joy of all 
 the Dedannans, so gentle and beautiful were they. 
 This should have pleased Aoife ; but instead, when 
 she saw the children of Lir receive such attention 
 from their father and from all the people who 
 came to his house, she fancied that she was 
 neglected on their account and bitter jealousy 
 entered her heart and turned her love into hatred.
 
 62 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 For a whole year Aoife plotted against the chil- 
 dren, and planned to rid herself of them. Then, 
 one day, she ordered her horses yoked to her 
 chariot, and she set out for the palace of Bove 
 Derg, taking the children with her. Finula did 
 not wish to go, for she had dreamed that Aoife 
 was about to bring some harm upon herself and 
 her brothers. But she was unable to avoid the 
 fate that awaited her. 
 
 As they were passing through a dark and 
 lonely wood on their way to the palace, Aoife said 
 to her attendants: "It is my desire that these 
 children be destroyed, and it is for this I have 
 brought them with me. I cannot endure to have 
 them live any longer, for their father has neg- 
 lected and forsaken me on account of his great 
 love for them." But the attendants listened with 
 horror to Aoife and said: "The children of Lir 
 shall never be harmed by us; fearful is the deed 
 thou hast contemplated, Aoife, and evil will surely 
 befall thee for having even thought of destroying 
 these beautiful children entrusted to thy care." 
 
 And so they continued on their way; the wicked 
 Aoife still plotting mischief in her heart At last 
 they came to the shores of Lake Darvra ; and then 
 Aoife commanded the attendants to unyoke the
 
 THE CHILDREN OF LIR 63 
 
 horses and let them rest. She alighted with the 
 children from the chariot and led them to the edge 
 of the lake and bade them go and bathe. One by 
 one as they entered the pure, limpid water, she 
 struck them with a druidical, fairy wand and 
 turned them into four beautiful snow-white 
 swans. Waving the mystical wand she said : 
 
 "The words of doom are spoken ; 
 Your home is now the wave; 
 The charm cannot be broken, 
 From fate no power can save." 
 
 When she had ceased speaking the four chil- 
 dren of Lir turned their faces toward her and 
 Finula said: "Thou hast ruined us without a 
 cause; false has thy friendship been, and evil is 
 the deed which thou hast done; but we will be 
 avenged and the doom that awaits thee is worse 
 than ours." 
 
 "At last thy wicked work is done ! 
 Aoife, false and cruel one, 
 With fairy wand and fearful words 
 To change us into snow-white birds ! 
 Upon the waters evermore 
 To sail and sail from shore to shore !"
 
 64 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 Aoife answered them: "Three hundred years on 
 Darvra's lake ; three hundred more on the sea of 
 Moyle; and on the sea of Glora in the west three 
 hundred years ; until the union of the prince of the 
 north with the princess of the south; until the 
 Taillkenn come and the voice of the Christian 
 bell is heard in Eire; and there is no power can 
 free you until thrice three hundred years be 
 past!" 
 
 But no sooner had she finished speaking than 
 she was sorry for what she had done. The fairy 
 wand dropped from her hands as she stretched 
 them out toward the snow-white swans and said : 
 "O children of Lir, since I may not now afford 
 you any other relief, I shall allow you to keep 
 your own sweet, Gaelic speech; and you shall be 
 able to sing plaintive, fairy music ; melodies more 
 beautiful than any the world has ever listened to, 
 and all who hear them shall be lulled to sleep. 
 Moreover you shall retain your human reason, 
 and your lives shall be preserved until the time 
 comes for you to resume again your human 
 form." And then she chanted: 
 
 "Until thrice three hundred years are gone, 
 
 You shall keep the form of snow white swan ; 
 Your palace shall be the pearly cave 
 
 Moyle; Gaelic: Srath na Maoile [Sruh na MweeTah]: Sea between 
 Eire and Alhan. Sea of Glora is off west coast of Mayo. 
 Taillkenn [Tal ' ken] : A prophesied Deliverer Saint Patrick.
 
 THE CHILDREN OF LIR 65 
 
 Your couch the crest of the crystal wave. 
 And though Lir shall call his loved ones long 
 
 His only answer shall be the song 
 Of white swans under the night star pale 
 
 Singing together a mournful tale." 
 
 Then she ordered her steeds yoked to her char- 
 iot and departed westward, leaving the four white 
 swans swimming upon the lake.
 
 66 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 When Aoife arrived at the palace, the chiefs 
 bade her welcome; and Bove Derg, the King, 
 asked her why she had not brought the children 
 of Lir with her. "Because," she replied, "Lir no 
 longer loves thee, and he does not wish to intrust 
 his children to thee, lest thou shouldst harm 
 them." 
 
 The king was greatly astonished and troubled 
 to hear this, and he said: "This cannot be; Lir 
 knows that I love those children as dearly as I 
 love my own." 
 
 He could not help thinking that Aoife had been 
 guilty of some treachery; so he sent messengers 
 in haste to Sidhe Finneachaidh to ask about the 
 children and request that they might be sent to 
 him. 
 
 When Lir heard the message from Bove Derg 
 his heart was very sad, for he felt sure that Aoife 
 had destroyed his four lovely children. Early 
 next morning his chariot was yoked for him and 
 he set out with his attendants for the king's pal- 
 ace ; and they traveled with great speed until they 
 arrived at the shore of lake Darvra. The children
 
 THE CHILDREN OF LIR 67 
 
 of Lir saw the cavalcade approaching, and Finula 
 chanted these words : 
 
 "I see the shields and gilded mail 
 
 Of warriors coming down the vale. 
 I see their chariots advance, 
 
 While swords and helmets brightly glance. 
 Too well I know what brings them here : 
 This Dannan host and royal Lir." 
 
 When Lir reached the shore he heard the birds 
 speaking and wondering greatly he asked them 
 how it came to pass that they had human voices. 
 
 "O father Lir," said Finula, "we are thy four 
 children, and the jealousy of Aoife has caused 
 her to turn us into birds." When Lir and his 
 people heard this they uttered three long cries of 
 grief and lamentation, and after some time passed 
 in silence Lir said: "Alas, dear children, great 
 is my sorrow to find you thus ; yet I hope it is pos- 
 sible to restore to you your human forms, and 
 this I shall seek to do without delay." 
 
 But the swans answered him: "There is no 
 power, O Lir, can break the spell of the druidical 
 charm by which Aoife has changed thy children 
 into snow-white swans. For three times three 
 centuries we must sail the waves of Dar-
 
 68 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 vra, Moyle and Glora. We may not take our 
 human shapes again until the union of the prince 
 of the north with the princess of the south; and 
 until the Tailkenn has come and the sound of the 
 Christian bell is heard in Eire." Hearing this the 
 people again raised three great cries of sorrow. 
 
 Then Finula spoke again: "But the wicked 
 Aoife has allowed us to retain our Gaelic speech ; 
 and we have also the power to chant plaintive, 
 fairy music; so sweet that those who listen to us 
 could not wish for any greater happiness. Re- 
 main on Darvra shore tonight and we will chant 
 for you." 
 
 So Lir and his people remained on the shore of 
 the lake, and the swans sang their fairy music for 
 them ; and it was so sweet and sad that the people 
 as they listened fell into a calm, gentle sleep. 
 
 At the first glimmer of dawn, Lir arose and 
 bade his children farewell: 
 
 "The time has come for us to part 
 No more, alas, my children dear, 
 Your rosy smiles shall glad the heart 
 Or light the gloomy home of Lir." 
 
 Then Lir went to seek Aoife and when he had 
 come to the king's palace, Bove Derg reproached
 
 THE CHILDREN OF LIR 69 
 
 him in the presence of Aoife for not bringing the 
 children. 
 
 "Alas!" said Lir, "It was not I but your own 
 foster child, Aoife, who prevented them from 
 coming. She has placed them under cruel spells ; 
 and changed them by her sorcery into four white 
 swans on the lake of Darvra." 
 
 The king listened with astonishment to this sad 
 news, and when he looked at Aoife he knew by 
 her countenance that Lir had told him the truth. 
 In fierce and angry tones he spoke to her and said : 
 "Thy cruel deed shall be worse for thee than for 
 the children, for there shall be an end to their suf- 
 ferings but not to yours." And still more fiercely 
 he spoke and asked her what form of all upon the 
 earth, or above the earth, or beneath the earth she 
 most abhorred; and she answered: "A demon of 
 the air." 
 
 "That is the form you now shall take," said 
 Bove Derg and as he spoke he struck her with a 
 druidical, magic wand and turned her into a de- 
 mon of the air. She opened her wings and flew 
 with a scream upward and away through the 
 clouds. And she is still a demon of the air, and 
 shall be until the end of time. 
 
 After this Bove Derg and the Dedannans went 
 
 Demon of the air: Gaelic: Deamhan Aedhir [Dune Ar]. Milesian: 
 Same as Phoenician ; the people of Mile, the last of the ancient colon- 
 ists of Eire ; they came from Spain ; but, first from the East Mile ; 
 Latin Miletus, a soldier.
 
 70 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 to the shore of lake Darvra where they encamped, 
 and the Milesian people came also and encamped 
 in like manner. For three hundred years the 
 people in their encampments, and the swans on the 
 lake conversed together sweetly during the day, 
 and at night the swans chanted their fairy music ; 
 the most delightful that was ever heard by men. 
 And all who listened to this music forgot their 
 grief and pain and fell into a gentle sleep, from 
 which they awoke bright and happy. 
 
 At the end of the three hundred years, Finula 
 said to her brothers : "Do you not know, my dear 
 brothers, we have come to the end of our time 
 here, and have but this one more night to spend 
 on lake Darvra?" 
 
 When the three sons of Lir heard this they 
 were very sorrowful, for now they must bid their 
 father and their friends farewell and go to live on 
 the dismal, tempestuous sea of Moyle far away 
 from all human society. Early the next morning 
 they came to the margin of the lake to say fare- 
 well and Finula chanted this lay: 
 
 "Our father dear and friends farewell, 
 
 The last sad hour is near ; 
 On stormy Moyle we go to dwell 
 In loneliness and fear."
 
 THE CHILDREN OF LIR 71 
 
 The four swans then spread their wings and 
 rose from the surface of the water in sight of all 
 their friends until they had reached a great height 
 in the air. Then resting and looking downward 
 for a moment they flew to the north, and alighted 
 on the sea of Moyle between Eire and Alban. 
 With sad hearts the people watched their snowy 
 wings disappear in the far, blue heaven; and im- 
 mediately thereafter they made a law, and pro- 
 claimed it throughout the land, that from that 
 time forth no one should kill a swan in Eire. 
 
 Miserable indeed was the plight of the children 
 of Lir on the sea of Moyle. The sight of the dark, 
 wild waves and steep, rocky coast filled them with 
 fear and despair ; and not only were they sad and 
 lonely, but they were also cold and hungry. 
 
 And so they lived until one night a great 
 tempest fell upon the sea. Finula when she saw 
 the sky darkening over with great rolling clouds, 
 said to her brothers : "Beloved brothers, we have 
 made no preparations for this night, and it is cer- 
 tain that the coming storm will separate us; let 
 us now appoint a place of meeting or it may hap- 
 pen that we may never see each other again." 
 
 "Dear sister," they answered, "you speak truly 
 and wisely. Let us arrange to meet at Carrick- 
 
 Alban ; Scotland. Car' rick na rone' : Rock of the fur seals.
 
 72 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 narone as that is a rock we all know very well." 
 So they appointed Carricknarone for a meeting 
 place. 
 
 At midnight a wild, rough wind swept over the 
 dark sea; the lightnings flashed, and the roar of 
 the great billows was almost as loud as the 
 thunders of the sky. The unhappy swans were 
 scattered over the waters so that not one of them 
 knew in what direction the others had been 
 driven. Toward morning the storm abated and 
 Finula swam to Carricknarone, but she did not 
 find her brothers there ; neither could she see any 
 trace of them when, from the summit of the rock, 
 she looked all around over the wide face of the 
 sea. She feared she might never again see her 
 brothers, and began to lament them singing : 
 
 "The anguish and woe of this life 
 
 No longer I'm able to bear. 
 My wings are benumbed with the pitiless frost; 
 
 My three little brothers are scattered and lost 
 And I am left here to despair. 
 
 Return, O my brothers, return ! 
 Sail over the dark waves to me. 
 
 Once more let me shelter you close to my breast, 
 And soothe all your sorrows and lull you to rest ; 
 
 Return, O my brothers, to me."
 
 THE CHILDREN OF LIR 73 
 
 But hardly had she ceased singing, when she 
 saw Conn coming toward the rock with his head 
 drooping, and his feathers all drenched with the 
 salt spray. With joyful heart she welcomed him, 
 and together they anxiously scanned the waters in 
 hope of seeing their brothers. Soon Fiachra 
 came so faint, after his long struggle against the 
 stormy waves, that he was hardly able to answer 
 the affectionate greetings of his brother and sis- 
 ter. Finula spread her wings over him and Conn 
 and said: "If Aodh were here now how happy 
 we would all be!" And how happy they were a 
 short time afterward to see him coming with head 
 erect and feathers dry and radiant. 
 
 Many another tempest the children of Lir lived 
 through upon the briny waters of the sea of 
 Moyle. Sometimes they visited the shores of Eire 
 and the headlands of Alban; but they could re- 
 main away for only a short period of time, as the 
 fetters of the fairy charm bound them to return 
 again to the sea stream of Moyle. One day they 
 came to the mouth of the Bann, on the north coast 
 of Eire, and looking inland they saw a troop of 
 horsemen coming from the southwest. They were 
 mounted on white steeds and clad in bright col-
 
 74 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 ored garments; and as they moved toward the 
 shore their arms glittered in the sunlight. 
 
 The swans swam toward the shore in order to 
 find out who the strangers were. It happened 
 also that the cavalcade espied the swans and di- 
 rected their course toward them, until they were 
 within speaking distance. These mounted men 
 were a third part of the Fairy Host and were 
 commanded by the two sons of Bove Derg: Aed, 
 the keen witted; and Fergus, the chess player. 
 They had been searching for the children of Lir 
 along the northern shores of Eire, and they were 
 very joyful when they found them. Tender words 
 of greeting were exchanged by them and the 
 snow white swans, and the chiefs gave to the un- 
 happy children of Lir tidings of their father and 
 their friends. But soon they bade each other 
 farewell, for the swans could not remain longer 
 away from Moyle. As the fairy cavalcade moved 
 away their heard the sweet, sad voice of Finula 
 chanting: 
 
 "Ah, happy is Lir's bright home today, 
 
 With mead and music and poet's lay ; 
 
 But gloomy and cold his children roam 
 
 Forever tossed on the briny foam. 
 On Moyle's dark current our food and wine
 
 THE CHILDREN OF LIR 75 
 
 Are sandy sea weed and bitter brine. 
 Lonely we swim on the billowy main 
 
 Through frost and snow; through storm and rain; 
 But rich was our raiment, long, long ago; 
 
 Mantles of purple and furs of snow ; 
 And gaily we feasted in days of old 
 
 And drank sweet nectar from cups of gold." 
 
 As soon as the Fairy Host had returned to 
 Sidhe Finneachaidh they related all that had hap- 
 pened, and described the condition of the children 
 of Lir. Then the Dedannan chiefs said: "We 
 would gladly help them were it in our power, but 
 it is not. Still we may find comfort in the thought 
 that the enchantment will at length be broken, 
 and the white swans once more resume their 
 human forms." 
 
 When the three hundred years on the sea of 
 Moyle were ended, the swans flew westward to 
 the sea of Glora. And it happened that a young 
 man named Ebric, who lived near the sea, ob- 
 served the birds and heard their singing. He 
 took great delight in listening to them, and al- 
 most every day he walked down to the sea to 
 look at them and converse with them. And they 
 grew to love each other very much; and it was
 
 76 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 he who in the old days wrote down the story of 
 the snow-white swans. 
 
 The children of Lir sailed, as they were 
 destined to do, for three hundred years on the sea 
 of Glora ; and, when at last the time was past, Fin- 
 ula said : "Come brothers, our time upon the seas 
 is over ; let us now go to visit our father and our 
 people." How glad the brothers were to hear 
 this ! They all spread their snowy wings and ris- 
 ing lightly from the face of the water flew east- 
 ward to Sidhe Finneachaidh. But when they 
 alighted, they found the place deserted and sol- 
 itary. Its halls were ruined and overgrown with 
 rank grass and forests of nettles. All was dark, 
 and lonely, and nowhere was there anything to 
 show that human beings dwelt there. 
 
 The four swans drew close together and ut- 
 tered three loud, mournful cries of sorrow; and 
 Finula sang: 
 
 "The house of my father is joyless and lone ; 
 
 Its halls and its gardens with weeds overgrown. 
 No warrior noble nor beautiful maid, 
 
 In bright silken garments and jewels arrayed. 
 No shield nor keen sword on the dark lofty walls; 
 
 No music to brighten its desolate halls." 
 
 All that night the swans sang together mel-
 
 THE CHILDREN OF LIR 77 
 
 odies so sad and beautiful that the very trees 
 around the deserted palace wept as the strains vi- 
 brated through their branches.
 
 78 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Early next morning the children of Lir left 
 Sidhe Finneachaidh and flew westward to a small 
 lake near Innis Glora. They alighted on its 
 waters and began to sing so sweetly that all the 
 birds of the forest near by gathered on the shores 
 to listen ; and the little lake came to be known as 
 the lake of the bird-flocks. 
 
 During the day the birds used to fly to distant 
 points on the coast in order to find food: now to 
 Achill; now to Inniskea of the lonely crane and 
 sometimes southward to Bonn's sea rocks. But 
 every night they returned to Innis Glora. In this 
 manner they lived until the Taillkenn brought 
 the Christian faith to Eire, and Saint Kemoc 
 came to Innis Glora. 
 
 When first the swans heard Saint Kemoc ring- 
 ing his bell at early matin time, they trembled at 
 the strange sound, and did not know whether to 
 be joyful or afraid, until Finula said: "My 
 brothers, this faint, sweet sound we hear is the 
 voice of the Christian bell ; and now the end of our 
 suffering is near for with the ringing of this bell 
 comes freedom from Aoife's spell."
 
 THE CHILDREN OF LIR 79 
 
 "Listen, O swans, to the sound of the bell, 
 
 The sweet bell we've dreamed of for many a year, 
 Its tones floating by on the night breezes tell 
 That the end of our long day of sorrow is near. 
 
 Oh trust in the glorious Lord of the sky; 
 
 He will free us from Aoife's magical spell. 
 Be thankful and glad that our freedom is nigh, 
 
 And listen with joy to the sound of the bell." 
 
 When Kemoc, the cleric, had finished his 
 matins the swans chanted a low, sweet strain of 
 fairy music in praise of the great high King of 
 heaven and earth. Kemoc heard it and listened 
 with great wonder, and while he listened it was 
 revealed to him that it was the children of Lir 
 whom he had heard singing. So, as soon as it 
 was dawn, he went to the shore of the lake and 
 there he saw the four white swans swimming on 
 the water. "Are you not the children of Lir?" 
 he said to them. 
 
 "We are indeed Lir's children," said they. 
 "Long ago we were changed into swans by our 
 jealous stepmother." 
 
 "I give God thanks that I have found you," 
 said Kemoc. "It is on your account that I have 
 come to this little island in preference to all other 
 islands in Eire. Come now to land and trust in
 
 80 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 me, for it is in this place that you are destined to 
 be freed from your enchantment." 
 
 It filled their hearts with joy to hear Kemoc 
 speaking thus, and they swam to shore and placed 
 themselves in his care. He brought them to his 
 own home and, sending for a skilful workman, he 
 directed him to make two bright slender chains 
 of silver and he put one between Finula and 
 Aodh ; and one between Fiachra and Conn. And 
 so they lived with him, listening to his instruc- 
 tions, and joining in his devotions. And the holy 
 cleric loved them with all his heart and the mem- 
 ory of all the misery they had suffered caused 
 them neither distress nor sorrow. 
 
 At this time Largnen, the son of Colman, was 
 king of Connacht; and, his queen was Decca, 
 daughter of the king of Munster, the same king 
 and queen of whom Aoife had spoken so long be- 
 fore in her prophecy. Queen Decca heard of the 
 wonderful, speaking swans, and their sad story 
 filled her heart with love and sympathy; and she 
 desired very much to have them with her at the 
 royal palace. She besought the king to get them 
 for her, but Largnen said he did not wish to ask 
 them from Kemoc. Decca, however, was de- 
 termined to have the swans ; so she left the palace
 
 81 
 
 that very hour and fled southward toward her 
 father's home. 
 
 Largnen, when he found that she was gone, 
 sent messengers after her to say that if she would 
 return he would ask Kemoc for the swans. The 
 messengers overtook her at Killaloe, and she re- 
 turned with them to the palace, happy with the 
 thought of having the snow white swans for her 
 own. 
 
 But Kemoc refused Largnen's request for the 
 birds ; and this made him very angry. He set out 
 at once for the cleric's house, and being very 
 wroth he seized the swans and hurried away with 
 them, intending to bring them by force to the 
 queen. He had gone but a little way when the 
 swans' beautiful, white feathers seemed to melt in 
 the air and then entirely vanished ; and, although 
 nobody could tell after beholding it how it came 
 to pass, the swans regained their human shapes. 
 But not as children did they appear; on the 
 contrary, they were feeble, white haired and 
 wrinkled. 
 
 The king, on beholding them thus, started with 
 affright and instantly left the place without 
 speaking a word. Kemoc, looking after him, re- 
 proached him bitterly ; but Finula said : "Do not 
 
 Largnen [Larn ' yen].
 
 82 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 grieve for us, O Kemoc, but baptize us without 
 delay; for the time is near for our departure from 
 this life. Make our grave on this spot and bury 
 us together. Place us as we have often nestled 
 together when we were swans: Conn standing 
 near me at my right side ; Fiachra at my left and 
 Aodh looking into my face. So then the holy 
 cleric, Saint Kemoc, baptized them, and they 
 closed their eyes in the long sleep from which 
 they would never awaken in this world. And 
 Kemoc, looking up, saw a vision of four lovely 
 children, with luminous, silvery, wings and faces 
 radiant with joy. The children smiled at him and 
 then slowly disappeared from his eager gaze. 
 
 Kemoc was very happy for he knew the swans 
 had gone to dwell in a kingdom where no treach- 
 ery could touch them, and where all would be 
 love and happiness. 
 
 He buried the bodies of the children of Lir ac- 
 cording to their wish ; and raised a grave mound 
 over them, and above it a stone on which their 
 names were engraved in Ogham. 
 
 And this is the sorrowful story of the children 
 of Lir as told by Ebric of the lake of Glora. 
 
 Ogham [O'am]: The most ancient manner of writing or making 
 records known to the Irish. There are many stones inscribed in 
 Ogham still extant.
 
 The Ard Righ of Eire 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 NE day, as Eochaid Feidlech, Ard 
 Righ of Eire, was going over the fair 
 green of Bri Leith he saw near a 
 well a woman wearing a beautiful, 
 purple cloak with silver fringes and a golden 
 brooch. Her dress was of green silk with a long 
 hood embroidered in red gold, and on her breast 
 and shoulders were cunningly wrought clasps of 
 gold and silver. Her hair was in two plaits, and 
 in each plait were four strands, and at the end of 
 each strand was a bead. Also she wore a comb 
 of gold and silver. The color of her hair was like 
 that of the yellow ailestars in summer, or like red 
 gold after it is rubbed. 
 
 She had brought with her a silver basin, in 
 which to wash her hair. The basin had four 
 golden birds on it and little, bright-purple stones 
 set in its rim. After preparing to wash her hair 
 she let it down with her soft hands, white as the 
 
 Ard Righ of Eire [Ard Ree of Ar'ya]: The High King of Ireland. 
 The Ard Righ of Eire : The original manuscript is one of the old- 
 est specimens of written Gaelic now extant. Eochaid Feidlech 
 [Och'ee Fay'lach]. Bri Leith [Bree Leh]: Property of Leith. 
 Ailestar [A lest ar], the iris or fleur de lis. 
 
 83
 
 84 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 snow of a single night. Her eyes were blue as 
 any blue flower, and her lips as red as the berries 
 of the quicken tree. The brightness of the moon 
 was in her face; the arch of pride in her eye- 
 brows ; a dimple of delight in each of her cheeks ; 
 the light of love in her eyes and her walk was 
 that of a queen. Of all the women in the world 
 she was the loveliest and best, and King Eochaid 
 and his people thought that she came from the 
 hills of the Sidhe, and they said of her : "All are 
 dear and all are beautiful until they are put be- 
 side Etain." 
 
 So Eochaid sent messengers to bring her to 
 him, and when she had come he said "Who are 
 you and where do you come from ?" 
 
 "That is easy to tell," she said. "I am Etain, 
 daughter of Etar, king of the Riders of the Sidhe. 
 "Ever since I was born, twenty years ago, I have 
 lived in this place. Kings and great men from 
 among the Sidhe have asked for my love, but I 
 have not wasted a thought on them, for even 
 when I was a child I loved you, because of the 
 tales I heard of your goodness and valor. When 
 I saw you just now, I knew you by all I had heard 
 of you and was glad to have found you at last." 
 
 "It is a good friend you have been looking for," 
 
 Etain [Et'yan]. Etar [A 'tar].
 
 THE ARD RICH OF EIRE 85 
 
 said Eochaid, "and he bids you welcome." From 
 now on no other woman shall hold my love." And 
 so they were wedded and lived together until 
 King Eochaid died. 
 
 They had one daughter and she was named 
 Etain after her mother. She married Cormac, 
 king of Ulster, and like her mother she had one 
 daughter. But Cormac was vexed because he 
 wished for a son instead of a daughter; and he 
 bade two of his serving men take the child out of 
 his sight, and put her in a pit to die. So they 
 brought her to the pit, but when they were putting 
 her in she smiled at them so sweetly that they had 
 not the heart to harm her. They then brought 
 her to a calf-shed belonging to the herders of the 
 cattle of Etercel, great grandson of lar, king of 
 Teamhair. The herders cared for her with love 
 and kindness and no king's daughter was more 
 beautiful or virtuous than she, the maiden Etain, 
 to whom Cormac had denied a father's love and 
 protection. And the herders made for her a little 
 house of wicker work. The little house had no 
 door; only a large, high window. 
 
 King Etercel's people thought that the herders 
 stored provisions in the wicker house. But one 
 day a man from among them got up and looked 
 
 Etercel [Ef er kel].
 
 86 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 in through the window and instead of a store 
 of provisions, he saw the best behaved and most 
 beautiful young girl of the whole world. 
 
 When King Etercel heard this he sent the 
 noblest of all his warriors to break into the wicker 
 house and bring Etain away, without asking per- 
 mission of the cowherds. For King Etercel 
 thought she must be the woman who it had been 
 foretold would be his wife. 
 
 But early in the morning, before the king's 
 messengers reached the house, a bird flew in 
 through the window, and it left its bird-skin on 
 the floor and stood before Etain changed to a 
 man, and he said to her: 
 
 "The king is sending messengers to bring you 
 to him for he wishes to make you his wife. And 
 you will have a son whose name will be Conaire, 
 son of Mess Buachall, that is, 'son of the cow- 
 herd's foster-child.' And there will be geasa on 
 him, that is bonds, never to kill a bird for I will 
 be his father." With that he disappeared in his 
 bird-skin and flew out of the window, and the 
 king's messengers came and breaking down the 
 wicker house brought Etain away to the king. 
 
 W T hen her son Conaire was born, Etain asked 
 that he might be brought up between three house- 
 
 Conaire [Con'er ry]. Buachall [Bs'kell].
 
 THE ARD RICH OF EIRE 87 
 
 holds; the household of the herders, the house- 
 hold of the Maines and her own household. 
 
 So Conaire was reared as his mother wished 
 and there were five other boys reared along with 
 him: Ferger, Fergel, Ferogian, Ferobain and 
 Lomna Druth, the jester of the house of Dond 
 Dessa, who was champion of the army from Mu 
 Muclesi. And they all were given the same food, 
 and their clothing and armor and the color of 
 their horses were the same. 
 
 Maines [Mawn'yahs]. Lomna Druth [Lum'na Droo]. Life: 
 
 River at the mouth of which Dublin is located. Ath Cliath [Aw 
 Clee'ah]: Same as Athaclee, page 57.
 
 88 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 And, while Conaire was yet quite young, king 
 Etercel died ; and after his death a bull feast was 
 made ready at Teamhair, for the custom was to 
 find out by means of a bull feast who was the best 
 man to succeed to the kingship. 
 
 This is the way in which a bull feast was made. 
 A white bull was killed and his flesh was boiled 
 in a great caldron, and one man would eat of the 
 meat and drink of the broth until he was fully sat- 
 isfied. Then he would sleep; and a charm of 
 truth would be said over him by four Druids, and 
 whoever he would see in his sleep would be king. 
 And when he awoke he would describe to the peo- 
 ple the appearance of the man he had seen in his 
 sleep, and if he told anything but the truth his 
 lips would perish. This time the dreamer saw in 
 his sleep a young man who did not have sufficient 
 clothing to keep him from being scorched by the 
 sun and chilled by the wind. The young man had 
 a stone in his sling and was hurrying along the 
 road to Teamhair as if looking for something to 
 wear. 
 
 Conaire at this time was playing games near
 
 THE ARD RICH OF EIRE 89 
 
 the Life river with his foster brothers, and the 
 cowherds who had reared him came and bade 
 him go to Teamhair to the bull feast. 
 
 So Conaire left the others to play their games 
 without him and started in his chariot for the bull 
 feast. And as he fared on his way he came to Ath 
 Cliath, where he saw some white speckled birds ; 
 the largest and finest he had ever seen. He fol- 
 lowed them until his horses were tired but could 
 not come up with them, for they always kept just 
 beyond his reach. So he got down from his char- 
 iot and taking his sling followed them to the 
 shore of the sea. When the birds reached the sea 
 they swam away on the waves and Conaire went 
 after them and tried to seize them. Then they 
 left their bird-skins on the water, and rose up in 
 the likeness of men before Conaire, and turned 
 to face him with spears and swords. 
 
 But one of the birds stepped to Conaire's side 
 in token of protection, and said to him: "I am 
 Nemglan, king of your father's birds. You are 
 under geasa never to cast a stone at birds and 
 there is great reason why all birds should be dear 
 to you." 
 
 "I have never heard of the geasa before," 
 said Conaire dropping the stone from his 
 
 Nemglan [Nev'glanj.
 
 90 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 sling. Then Nemglan said: "We have a mes- 
 sage for you and it is this: Go to Team- 
 hair tonight to the bull feast. By doing so 
 you will be made king; for the kingship is to be 
 given to a man who will go along one of the roads 
 to Teamhair, toward the end of the night, and 
 whose clothing is not sufficient to keep his body 
 from being scorched by day and chilled by night." 
 
 "I will go," said Conaire, "for I have a right 
 to be king when my father and grandfather have 
 been king before me." 
 
 "You will be king, indeed," said Nemglan, 
 "and your bird-reign will be renowned, but there 
 are geasa, that is bonds, on you not to do these 
 things which I shall name: 
 
 "Do not go right-hand-wise around Teamhair 
 nor left-hand-wise around Bregia. Do not hunt 
 the evil beasts of Cerna. Do not go out beyond 
 Teamhair every ninth night. Do not settle the 
 quarrel of two of your own people. Let no rob- 
 bery be done in your reign. Do not sleep in a 
 house from which you can see the firelight shin- 
 ing after sunset. Do not let one man nor one 
 woman come into the house where you are after 
 slunset. Do not let three Reds go before you to 
 the house of Red." 
 
 Bregia [Braw] : Plain on which Teamhair stands. Cerna [Kar'na].
 
 THE ARD RICH OF EIRE 91 
 
 As soon as Nemglan had finished speaking, he 
 and his companions resumed their bird-shapes 
 and flew rapidly away. 
 
 Then Conaire, remembering what had been 
 told him, left his raiment lying on the strand and 
 picking up another stone for his sling set out for 
 Teamhair. And on each of the four roads to 
 Teamhair three kings were waiting; and they had 
 with them clothing for the king whose coming 
 had been foretold at the bull feast. And the three 
 kings on the road Conaire was traveling when 
 they saw him coming went forth to meet him, and 
 they put royal clothes on him and brought him in 
 a chariot to Teamhair. 
 
 But the people of Teamhair when they saw him 
 said: "Our bull feast and our charm of truth 
 were of little worth when they have brought us 
 only a young, beardless lad." 
 
 But Conaire said: "My youth does not unfit 
 me to be your king, for my father and my grand- 
 father have both held the same place. "That is 
 true," said they ; and then they gave him the king- 
 ship. And Conaire said to them: "I will be a 
 just king to you and I will learn of wise men, that 
 I also may be wise." 
 
 And during Conaire's reign there was peace
 
 92 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 and plenty throughout Eire. Seven ships at a 
 time came into Inver Colpa, and there were corn 
 and nuts up to the knees in every harvest, and 
 trees bending from the weight of fruit and the 
 Buais and the Boinne were full of fish every sum- 
 mer. And among the people there was such good 
 will that they thought each others voices as sweet 
 as the strings of harps. Even the wolves them- 
 selves were held by hostages not to kill more than 
 one calf in every pen. 
 
 During all Conaire's reign there was no 
 thunder nor storm, and from Baal Tinne until 
 Samhain there was not as much wind as would 
 stir the rushes in the water. And the cattle were 
 without herders because of the greatness of peace. 
 And his reign crowned Eire with three crowns: 
 the crown of flowers ; the crown of acorns and the 
 crown of wheat ears. 
 
 Inver [Estuary]. Inver Colpa: Estuary of the Boyne river at 
 Drogheda [Draw'dah]. Tinnee [Tin'neh]. Baal Tinne: Baal 
 Fire; Month of May. Samhain [Soj>-'nah] : Month of November.
 
 THE ARD RICH OF EIRE 93 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 But after awhile the sons of Dond Dessa grew 
 discontented, because they were hindered from the 
 robbery and killing which used to be in the old 
 time. And to vex the king, and to see what he 
 would do, they stole three things : a pig, a bullock 
 and a cow from the same countryman every year 
 for three years. And every year the countryman 
 went to the king to make complaint and every 
 year the king said: "It is to the sons of Dessa 
 you should go, for they took the beasts." But 
 when the countryman went to the sons of Dond 
 Dessa he received no satisfaction, but insults and 
 threats were added to his injuries. And he was 
 afraid to go back and tell the king for fear of vex- 
 ing him. 
 
 So the sons of Dond Dessa continued their 
 depredations and three times fifty other young 
 men, sons of the great men of Eire joined them. 
 
 And one time when they were doing their 
 wicked work in Connacht they followed a swine- 
 herd, who ran from them and called for help, and 
 the people came in haste when they heard the 
 cry; and they caught the robbers and brought
 
 94 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 them back to Teamhair. King Conaire was 
 then called upon to give judgment and this is 
 what he said : "Let every father of a robber put 
 his own son to death, but let my foster-brothers 
 be spared." 
 
 "Give us leave/' said the people, "and we will 
 put them to death for you." 
 
 "I will not consent to that," said Conaire, 
 "Their lives shall be spared ; yet if they must con- 
 tinue in their robbery let them go across the sea 
 to Alban." 
 
 Thereupon the sons of Dond Dessa were driven 
 out of the country, and some of the Maines went 
 with them, and the sons of Ailell and Maeve and 
 three great fighting men of Leinster, who were 
 called the Three Red Hounds of Cualu ; and they 
 also brought with them a troop of wild, restless 
 men. 
 
 And when they were out in their ships on the 
 rough sea, they met the ship of Ingcel, the One- 
 Eyed grandson of Cormac of Britain. They 
 were going to make an attack on him but Ingcel 
 said "Instead of fighting let us come to an agree- 
 ment for you have been driven out of Eire and I 
 have been driven out of Britain. Let us unite," 
 said Ingcel, "come you with us and we will spoil 
 
 Ailell [Awl'yeel]. Maeve [Mave]: Same as Queen Mab of Shake- 
 speare. Ingcel [Ing'kel].
 
 THE ARD RICH OF EIRE 95 
 
 the people of my country." So to this they 
 agreed ; but they cast lots as to where they should 
 go first and it happened that, according to lots, 
 they should first go to Britain with . Ingcel. So 
 they wrought great ravages in Britain, and then 
 set out for Alban, repeating their destruction and 
 robbery. At last they turned back again to Eire. 
 
 Now at this time the peace of ire had been 
 broken by the two Cairbres, who were at war with 
 one another in Tuamumain of Munster, and no 
 one was able to put an end to their quarrel until 
 Conaire himself went to Tuamumain for that 
 purpose. But in doing this he broke two of the 
 geasa put on him by the Man of the Waves. On 
 his way back to Teamhair, when he was passing 
 Usnach in Meath, he and his people thought they 
 saw fighting from east to west, and from north 
 to south, and armies of savages and the country 
 of the Ua Neills like a cloud of fire around them. 
 
 "What means this?" said Conaire. "It is 
 easy to answer that," said the people. "The king's 
 law has been transgressed and the country is on 
 fire." 
 
 "What way is the best way for us to go?" said 
 Conaire- 
 
 "To the northwest" said his people. 
 
 Tuamumain [Too 'ah moon]. North Munster, modernized: Tho- 
 mond.
 
 96 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 So they went right-hand-wise around Team- 
 hair and left-hand-wise around Bregia; and by 
 doing this Conaire again broke his bonds. Also 
 they hunted wild beasts, which they encountered 
 on their way, and Conaire did not know until 
 afterwards that they were the evil beasts of 
 Cerna. 
 
 It was the Sidhe who had put that Druid mist 
 of smoke about Conaire, because he had begun 
 to break his bonds. Great fear came over him 
 and, hardly knowing what to do, he and his peo- 
 ple traveled south by the sea coast on the road 
 of Cualu. As evening came on Conaire said: 
 "Where shall we go to spend the night?" 
 
 Then MacCecht, one of Conaire's fighting 
 men, who kept three of the Fomor as hostages 
 at the king's, court so that their people would not 
 spoil corn or honey in Eire during his reign, 
 answered the king: "This much I can truly say, 
 O king: It is oftener the men of Eire have quar- 
 reled to entertain you, than you have strayed 
 about looking for a lodging." 
 
 "I have a friend not far from this," said Con- 
 aire, "if we but knew the way to his house, we 
 could go there." 
 
 "What is his name?" asked MacCecht. 
 
 The houses of the ancient Gaels were made of wood. Mac Cecht 
 [Mac Kay'acht].
 
 97 
 
 "Da Derga of Leinster ; it is he who keeps the 
 great inn," said Conaire. "He came once to ask 
 a gift of me, and I did not refuse, but gave him 
 horses, cattle and swine; cloaks of fine cloth, 
 swords, spears and red-gilded brooches; good 
 brown ale and white hounds in silver chains. 
 And I would do the same by him again should 
 he come to me. Surely he would not be- 
 grudge me anything should I go to his house to- 
 night" 
 
 "As I remember," said MacCecht, "the house 
 of Da Derga has seven doorways and seven 
 sleeping rooms between every two doorways; 
 and, we are now going directly toward it." 
 
 "Let us continue on this road until we come 
 to the house you speak of," said Conaire. 
 
 "If you wish to do that," said MacCecht, "I 
 will go on before you and light a fire in the 
 house." 
 
 So Conaire and all his people went on toward 
 Ath Cliath and presently a man with hair cut 
 short and with but one hand, one foot, and one 
 eye and an altogether dreadful appearance over- 
 took them. In his hand he held a forked pole of 
 black iron ; on his back he carried a black-bristled, 
 
 Da Derga : Its location was a few miles South of Dublin. The road 
 thither has the same name it had in the first century. Boher Na 
 Breena.
 
 98 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 singed pig which squealed vociferously; and after 
 him hurried a large-mouthed, ugly woman. 
 
 "Welcome to you, my master Conaire," he 
 said. 
 
 "Who gives this welcome ?" said Conaire. 
 
 "Per Coille, the Man of the Wood," said he, 
 giving Conaire an uncanny glance of his one 
 great eye. "I offer you the shelter of my house 
 tonight; and my black pig is a surety that you 
 shall not go fasting, but feast and sleep as be- 
 comes the best king in the world." 
 
 "I will not go to your house tonight," said 
 Conaire, "but any other night it pleases you I 
 will accept your hospitality, only leave me now 
 and go your own way." 
 
 "That we will not do," replied Fer Coille, "but 
 we will spend the night with you in whatever 
 place you may be, O fair little master, Conaire." 
 
 So he went on toward the inn; his wife be- 
 hind him, and his black pig squealing on his 
 back. 
 
 Soon afterward Conaire saw three horsemen 
 going toward the inn. They had red cloaks ; red 
 shields and red spears in their hands and they 
 were mounted on red horses. 
 
 "What men are these riding before me?" said
 
 THE ARD RICH OF EIRE 99 
 
 Conaire, "I am under geasa not to let them go 
 before me: three Reds to the house of Red, that 
 is the house of Derga. Who will overtake them 
 and bid them come back and follow me?" 
 
 "I will overtake them," said Lefriflaith, Con- 
 aire's son, and speaking to his horse he gal- 
 loped away. 
 
 But however fast he rode he could not overtake 
 the three red horses and their red-clad riders, 
 so he called to them to turn back and not con- 
 tinue riding before the king. To his first and 
 second call they did not reply, but the third time 
 one of the three men looked back and said : "Dire 
 news awaits us, my son, wetting of swords; de- 
 stroying of life; shields with broken bosses after 
 the fall of night! We ride the horses of the 
 Sidhe, and although we are alive we are dead." 
 With that the three red riders vanished, and 
 Lefriflaith went back to his father. 
 
 "You did not keep back the men," said Con- 
 aire. 
 
 "I have failed indeed," said Lefriflaith, "but I 
 could do no more than I have done." And then 
 he told the king and his people what the red 
 horseman had said. This gave them all great un- 
 easiness, and Conaire said: "All my bonds are 
 
 Lefriflaith [Lef 'ri flah]. Flaith : Prince.
 
 100 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 broken tonight, and those three Reds before me 
 are sent by the Sidhe." 
 
 Now while Conaire and his people were on 
 the road of Cualu, going toward the inn, Ingcel 
 and the outlaws of Eire were come in their ships 
 to the coast of Bregia opposite Etair. And the 
 sons of Bond Dessa said: "Furl the sails now, 
 and send a light-footed messenger on shore to 
 find out what prospect there is of keeping our 
 bargain with Ingcel; we must give him spoil for 
 spoil." 
 
 "Let some man go" said Ingecel "who has the 
 gifts of keen hearing, far-sight and judgment." 
 
 "I 'have the gift of keen hearing," said Maine 
 Milscothach. "And I have the gift of far-sight 
 and judgment" said Maine Andoc. 
 
 "Then it is well for you both to go," said the 
 others. 
 
 So they landed and fared on until they came to 
 Beinn Etair, and there they stopped to see and 
 hear. 
 
 "Be quiet; listen," said Maine Milscothach. 
 
 "What do you hear?" said Maine Andoc. 
 
 "I hear the coming of a king," was the reply 
 "Look now and tell me what you see." 
 
 "I see," said Maine Milscothach, "a great 
 
 Milscothach [Mils ko'hah]: Honey-blossoms Andoc [An '6k]: 
 
 Youthful Beinn Etair [Ben Edar]. Proper names and names 
 of places are often spelled differently in different texts.
 
 THE ARD RICH OF EIRE 101 
 
 company of men traveling over hills and rivers. 
 They have clothes of every color, grey spears 
 over their chariots, and swords with ivory hilts 
 and silver shields. And I swear by the gods of 
 the air the horses they have with them are the 
 horses of some great chief." 
 
 "It is my opinion," said Maine Andoc, "that 
 the king you see is Conaire, son of Eterscel, 
 traveling with a great company of men of Eire." 
 
 With that they went back and told their com- 
 rades what they had heard and seen. So the sons 
 of Dond Dessa and Ingcel had their boats 
 brought to shore and landed on the strand of Fur- 
 buithe. 
 
 Just at this moment Mac Cecht was strik- 
 ing a spark to kindle a fire in the inn before the 
 High King. 
 
 And Conaire and his people when they ar- 
 rived at the inn entered and seated themselves; 
 and so did the three red men, and the Man of the 
 Wood, the swineherd of the Sidhe, with his 
 squealing pig. 
 
 And when they were seated Da Derga came to 
 greet them. With him were three times fifty long 
 haired fighting men. Each one of them wore a 
 
 Furbuithe [Fur bwee'hah].
 
 102 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 short cloak and carried a great blackthorn stick 
 with bands of iron. 
 
 "Welcome, my master Conaire," said Da 
 Derga, "and if you were to bring all the men of 
 Eire with you there would be a welcome for them 
 all." 
 
 When twilight shades had fallen, a lone woman 
 came to the inn. She was wrapped in a grey 
 woolen cloak over which fell the tangled masses 
 of her long hair. Her mouth was drawn to one 
 side of her head and she leaned against the door- 
 post and threw an evil eye on the king and the 
 young men about him. 
 
 "Well, woman," said Conaire, "if you have 
 the Druid sight, what is it you see for us?" 
 
 "This is what I see for you," said she, "nothing 
 of your skin; or, of your flesh, will escape from 
 the place you are now in, except what the birds 
 will bring away in their claws. And now let me 
 go into the house," she continued, attempting to 
 enter. 
 
 "I am under geasa," said Conaire, "not to let 
 one lone woman enter the house after the setting 
 of the sun." And turning to the servants he 
 said: "Bring this woman a good share of food
 
 THE ARD RICH OF EIRE 103 
 
 from my own table; but see that she spends the 
 night under some other roof than this." 
 
 "If the king is no longer hospitable, and it has 
 become his custom not to let one lone woman 
 come into his house to be fed and lodged, I will 
 go elsewhere and seek hospitality 'from some bet- 
 ter man." 
 
 "Let her in regardless of my bonds," said 
 Conaire when he heard that. 
 
 So they let her in, but none of them felt easy in 
 their minds after what she had said. 
 
 While all this was happening, the outlaws were 
 on their way to the inn. And when they came to 
 Leccaibcend Slebe they saw the great light which 
 was shining from the inn through the wheels of 
 the chariots that were outside the doors. 
 
 "What is that great light yonder in the dis- 
 tance?" said Ingcel to Ferogain. 
 
 "I think it must be the fire of Conaire, the 
 High King," said Ferogain, "and I fear if he is 
 there tonight that harm will come to him, or his 
 life be shortened ; and he a branch in its blossom !" 
 
 "And I count it good luck if he is there" said 
 Ingcel. "Spoil for spoil! Should Conaire fall 
 into our hands it would be no worse for you, than 
 
 Leccaibcend Slebe [Lack' av kin Schlav].
 
 104 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 it was for us when we lost our people and our 
 our king!" 
 
 "That is true! That is true!" said all the 
 others. 
 
 Then every man of them brought a stone from 
 the strand to make a cairn, as was their custom 
 before making an attack on any place, for 
 by this they could determine how many men had 
 been lost. For every man that would come from 
 the fight would take his stone from the cairn and 
 the stones of all that had been killed would be left 
 there. 
 
 After the cairn was made they held a council, 
 and it was agreed that Ingcel should go as a 
 spy to the inn. So he went and spent some time 
 looking in through the seven doors of the house. 
 But at last one of the men inside caught sight 
 of him, and Ingcel, seeing that he was found 
 out, made his way back to where his comrades 
 were sitting, with their leaders in the middle, 
 waiting to hear his tidings from the inn. 
 
 "Did you see the house, Ingcel?" said Fero- 
 gain?" 
 
 "I have looked through the seven doors of it," 
 said Ingcel "and whether there is a king in it or 
 
 Cairn [Karn]: A hill.
 
 THE ARD RICH OF EIRE 105 
 
 not it is a royal house, and I will take it for my 
 share when the spoils are divided." 
 
 "You may do that," said Conaire's foster 
 brothers, "but we will not go against it before we 
 know who is in it." 
 
 "The first I saw" said Ingcel, "was a large 
 man of good race with bright eyes and hair like 
 flax; his face was wide above and narrow below 
 and he had no beard. His mien was modest and 
 frank. He had a five barbed spear and a shield 
 with five gold circles on it. There were nine men 
 round-about him, all fine looking and so much 
 alike that you would think that they had the same 
 father and mother. Who were those men, Fero- 
 gain?" 
 
 "It is easy to answer that," said Ferogain. 
 "They were Cormac Conloingeas and his nine 
 comrades. These men have never put anyone to 
 death because of poverty, nor spared him because 
 of riches. It is a good leader they have, for Cor- 
 mac is the best fighter behind a shield in all Eire. 
 I swear by the gods of the air, it is no small 
 slaughter they will make before the inn tonight." 
 
 "If I had my way," said Lomna Druth, the 
 jester, "an attack on the inn should never be made 
 
 Conloingeas [Koon ling'ahs]. Conall Cearnach [Con'nal Kar'nach].
 
 106 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 if it were only for the sake of that one man, the 
 comely and gracious Cormac Conloingeas." 
 
 "Your wishes will have no weight in this mat- 
 ter. It is not of Cormac, but of yourself you are 
 thinking, I know you well, you are but a poor 
 fighter and the mists of weakness are darkening 
 round you. No one, either old man or story teller, 
 will be able to say that I drew back from this 
 fight before I had gone through it." 
 
 "That is all well enough for you to say, Ing- 
 eel," said Lomna. "You will live to take part in 
 many another fight ; and you will bring away the 
 head of a strange king with you from this one; 
 but, as for me, my head will be the first to be 
 tossed to and fro tonight." 
 
 "What did you see after that?" said Ferogain 
 to Ingcel interrupting the conversation. 
 
 "I saw a room in which were three tender 
 youths, wearing cloaks of silk with golden fasten- 
 ings. Their golden hair was as curly as a ram's 
 head. A golden shield and the candle of a king's 
 house was over each one of them, and they were 
 favorites of the entire household. Can you tell 
 me who they were Ferogain ?" 
 
 But Ferogain was weeping so that the tears 
 ran down the front of his cloak, and it was a long
 
 THE ARD RICH OF EIRE 107 
 
 time before he could control himself sufficiently 
 to speak. "O little ones!" he said then, "I 
 have good reason for weeping. Those three fair 
 youths are the king's sons Oball, Obline and 
 Corpre Findmor." 
 
 "Ah, grief is ours if that story be true," said 
 the other sons of Dond Dessa, "for none are 
 more worthy of love than the king's sons. They 
 are mannerly, brave and kind. All who have 
 been with them regret parting from them. 
 Shame on him who would destroy them!" 
 
 "I saw after that," continued Ingcel, "a man 
 with a golden bush of hair the size of a reaping 
 basket. A long, heavy, three-edged sword was in 
 his hand, and he carried a red shield speckled 
 with rivets of white bronze between plates of 
 gold." 
 
 "That man is known to all men of Eire," said 
 Ferogain, "He is Conall Cearnach, son of 
 Amergin ; of all the men in the world he is dear- 
 est to Conaire. The shield he carries is the 
 Lam-tapaid. When the attack on the inn is made 
 Conall Cearnach with his Lam-tapaid will be at 
 every one of its seven doorways. What did you 
 see after that, Ingcel ?" 
 
 "I saw" he said, "a big brown man with short 
 
 Amergin [Ow'er gin]. Lam-tapid [Lav-tap 'pee J: The Quick-Hand.
 
 108 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 brown hair, who wore a red speckled cloak and 
 his shield was black with clasps of gold. With 
 him were two chief men, in their first greyness, 
 and black swords hung at their sides. One of 
 them had in his hand a great spear with fifty 
 rivets through it. He shook the sword over his 
 head and struck the haft against the palm of his 
 hand three times and then plunged it into a great 
 pot that stood before them, and when he was put- 
 ting it in, there were flames on the shaft. \Yho 
 were those men, Ferogain?" 
 
 "That brown man is Muinremar, son of Geir- 
 gind, one of the champions of the Red Branch. 
 One of his companions is Sencha, the beautiful 
 son of Ailell. The man with the spear is Du- 
 ach, the Beetle of Ulster, and the spear in his 
 hand is Celthair's Luin. It was in the battle of 
 Magh Tuireadh, and was brought from the East 
 by the three children of Tuireann. \Yhen the 
 hour of battle is near, it flames up of itself, and 
 it must be kept in a caldron of water or it will 
 pierce whoever grasps it." 
 
 "And after that", said Ingcel, " I saw a room 
 in which were nine fair haired men with speckled 
 cloaks. Above them were nine bagpipes, and the 
 ornaments they wore emitted a brilliant light." 
 
 Muinremnr [Win row' [cow] er]. Geirgind [Gar 'gin]. Sencha 
 
 [Shan'cha]. Celthair's Lain [Keif yher's Lin].
 
 THE ARD RICH OF EIRE 109 
 
 "Those are the nine pipers from the hill of the 
 Sidhe at Bregia," said Ferogain, "They came to 
 Conaire because of his great fame. They are 
 the best pipers in the whole world. They are 
 good fighters; but to fight with them is to fight 
 with a shadow ; for they kill, but cannot be killed, 
 because they are from Sidhe." 
 
 "And next I saw three very large men, terrible 
 to look at. Their clothing was made of rough 
 hair, and each one of them held a club of iron in 
 his hand. They stood alone sad and silent ; every 
 one in the house avoiding them. Who were 
 those men Ferogain?" 
 
 Ferogain was silent for a while and then he 
 answered : "I do not know who these men can be 
 unless they are the three giants Cuchulain spared 
 the time he took them from the men of Falga. 
 He would not let them be killed because of their 
 strange appearance. Conaire bought them from 
 Cuchulain after that and they are with him yet." 
 
 "I saw nine men in the north part of the house," 
 said Ingcel, "having manes of very yellow hair, 
 and short linen dresses and purple cloaks without 
 brooches, broad spears, and red curved shields." 
 
 "I know those men:" said Ferogain, "they are 
 three royal princes of Britain; Oswald, Osbrit 
 
 Cuchulain [Kooh' nl Ian]: The most renowned of the Red Branch 
 Knights, A Pagan order which flourished in the first century of the 
 Christian era. Cuchulain was called the mightiest hero of the 
 
 Scots. Scots : A name by which the ancient inhabitants of Ire- 
 land were known in history and song.
 
 110 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 of the Long Hand, and Lindas, and their foster 
 brothers, all of whom are with the king." 
 
 "And three Red Men I saw after that" ; Ingcel 
 continued, "red shields above them, red spears in 
 their hands and their three red horses were 
 bridled in front of the inn." 
 
 "These are three false and deceitful champions 
 from the Sidhe," said Ferogain. "They were sen- 
 tenced by the king of the Sidhe to be thrice de- 
 stroyed by the king of Teamhair, and Conaire 
 is the last king through whom they will be 
 destroyed. It is to work out their own destruc- 
 tion they are come. What more did you see? 
 Tell us more, O Ingcel of Britain, for with thy 
 one eye thou hast seen more than most other 
 men could see with two." 
 
 "I saw a white haired man, partly bald and in 
 his ears were rings of gold. In his hands were 
 nine swords, nine shields, and nine golden apples. 
 He kept throwing each one of them upward and 
 not one would fall on the ground, but all would 
 rise and fall past each other like bees on a sunny 
 day. But when I looked at him he let everything 
 drop to the ground, and the people about him 
 cried out in amazement; and the king, who was
 
 THE ARD RICH OF EIRE 111 
 
 sitting near by, said to him: 'We have been to- 
 gether since I was a little boy, and your tricks 
 never failed until tonight.' ' 
 
 "'My grief/ he said, 'Fair master Conaire, 
 good cause there is for failure; an unfriendly 
 eye looked at me, and there is some bad thing in 
 front of the inn !' " 
 
 "When the king heard this he said: This re- 
 minds me of a dream I had a while ago: In my 
 sleep I heard the howling of my dog Ossar; the 
 groans of wounded men ; and felt the bitterness of 
 a wind of terror on which was wafted the caoin- 
 ing which overcomes laughter/ ' 
 
 "The man with the earrings was Taulchinne, 
 Conaire's juggler," said Ferogain. "And tell me 
 now, what was the appearance of the king?" 
 
 "Stately and handsome is Conaire, the king/' 
 said Ingcel "and though young, wisdom and 
 power speak in his glances. His hair was purest 
 gold; the cloak about him the mist of a May 
 morning, changing from color to color, fading 
 and brightening with beauty untold. The brooch 
 he wore was a wheel of gold reaching from his 
 chin to his waist, and within his reach lay his 
 golden hiked sword." 
 
 "That was Conaire, the High King indeed," 
 
 Taulchinne [Tawl kin'na].
 
 112 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 said Ferogain. "Of all the kings of the world he 
 is the greatest and best and comeliest. In wisdom 
 bravery and eloquence he excels all men. A sim- 
 ple man peaceable and affectionate; but, when his 
 anger is aroused, and he would right a wrong, 
 not all the champions of Eire and Alban will win 
 their battle while he is against them. And I 
 swear by the gods of the air, unless overcome by 
 thirst or sleep, that man alone would hold the inn 
 until help could gather to him from the wave of 
 Cliodna in the south, to the wave of Easruadh in 
 the west." "It is time for us to arise," said 
 Ingcel then, "and proceed to the inn." 
 
 So with that the outlaws rose and went on to 
 the inn, and the clamor of their voices was heard 
 round-about it. 
 
 Conaire was the first to hear them. "Listen," 
 he said, "what is that noise without?" 
 
 "The shouts and challenges of fighting men." 
 said Conall Cearnach. 
 
 "There are fighting men to meet them here!" 
 exclaimed the king. 
 
 "They will be wanted tonight!" added Conall, 
 raising his voice above contentious cries and 
 clash of weapons. 
 
 Cliodna [Clee'nah]. Easruadh [Ahs roo'ah]: The three "tonns" 
 or waves of Eire were the wave of Truagh beyond the mouth of the 
 river Bann, the wave of Ruraigh in Dundrum Bay and the wave 
 of Cliodna in Glandore harbor in the South of Cork.
 
 THE ARD RICH OF EIRE 113 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Then Lomna Druth, the jester, ahead of all 
 the others, broke into the house, and the door- 
 keepers struck off his head, and it was tossed 
 three times in and out of the inn, just as he had 
 foretold. 
 
 And one man attacked another until all were 
 in the fray, and Conaire, the king, went out with 
 his people and many of the outlaws fell by his 
 hand. Three times the inn was set on fire and 
 three times the flames were extinguished, and. 
 after that Conaire made his way back to where 
 his weapons lay, for he had been without them 
 through the first of the fight; then, fully armed, 
 he went out again and drove the outlaws back 
 with great slaughter. 
 
 "I told you" said Ferogain, "that all the men 
 of Eire could not take the house from Conaire, 
 the king!" 
 
 But the druids, who were along with the out- 
 laws, said: "His hour of triumph will soon end, 
 and the day of victory be ours !" 
 
 And by means of their druidical enchantments 
 Conaire became very thirsty, and went into the 
 inn for drink.
 
 114 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 "A drink for me, MacCecht!" he cried. 
 
 "It is not such a command as that, MacCecht 
 is used to taking from Conaire, the king," an- 
 swered MacCecht. "My duty is to keep you from 
 the men who seek to slay you ; but ask a drink of 
 your steward or your cup-bearers." 
 
 Then Conaire called to his cup-bearers for 
 water. 'There is none" they answered, "for 
 every drop in the house was thrown on the fire 
 to put it out" 
 
 "Get me a drink," said Conaire, speaking 
 again to MacCecht. "I may as well die by an 
 outlaw's hand as for the want of water." 
 
 Then MacCecht asked the champions of Eire 
 who stood near the king which they would rather 
 do: go out and find him a drink or stay in the 
 house and defend him. Conall Cearnach replied : 
 "Leave the defense of the king to us, and go 
 yourself for the water, for it was of you the king 
 asked it." 
 
 So MacCecht went to look for a drink and 
 he took Conaire's great golden cup with him 
 and he armed himself with the iron cauldron 
 spit. And as he sped through the outlaws he de- 
 fended himself with the spit; and many an out- 
 law died from a blow of it. And finally holding
 
 THE ARD RICH OF EIRE 115 
 
 his shield before him, he made a round with his 
 sword above his head and cutting down all before 
 him made his way past chiefs and champions. 
 
 And all that happened after that would make 
 too long a story. The people of the inn came out 
 to meet the attack of the outlaws; and, though 
 some died in the fight, many escaped. At last 
 there was no one left in the inn with Conaire 
 but Conall, Sencha and Duach. 
 
 Now Conaire from rage and fighting had 
 brought a fever of thirst upon himself ; which so 
 overcame him that after hours of suffering he 
 died. 
 
 When the other three men saw that the high 
 king was dead they went out, and, cutting their 
 way through their enemies, wounded and dis- 
 heartened escaped with their lives. 
 
 And Conall Cearnach, when he had sufficiently 
 recovered his strength, went on to his father's 
 house. But half his shield was left in his hand, 
 and his two spears were bent and broken. 
 
 He found Amergin, his father, out before his 
 dun in Tailltin. "Those are fierce wolves that 
 have hunted you, my son," said Amergin. 
 
 "I am not wounded by wolves but by fierce 
 fighting men," said Conall. 
 
 Tailltin [Tel ' tin] : Now called Telltown. Fairs were held here from 
 earliest times until the twelfth century. Tailltin is the Olympia of 
 the Gael.
 
 116 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 "What news have you brought from Da 
 Derga's inn?" said Amergin. "Is Conaire, 
 your king, still living?" 
 
 "The king no longer lives." answered Conall. 
 
 "I swear by the gods the great tribes of Ulster 
 swear by, he is but a coward, who came out alive, 
 leaving his king dead among his enemies." 
 
 "My own wounds are not white, my hero 
 father." said Conall, showing his right arm cov- 
 ered with frightful gashes. 
 
 "That arm has indeed been in the fight," said 
 Conall. 
 
 "There are many now lying in front of the inn 
 to whom it dealt dark death last night," said 
 Conall. 
 
 Now, as to MacCecht: after he made his way 
 through the outlaws, he hurried to the well of 
 Ceasair, which was near by in Crith Cualann;but, 
 there was not so much as the full of the cup of 
 water in it. On through the night he went from 
 lake to lake, and from river to river, but he could 
 not find the full of the cup of water in any of 
 them. At last he came to Uaran Garad on Magh 
 Ai, and it could not hide itself from him and so 
 he filled his cup and retracing his steps, reached 
 the inn before morning. And when he arrived 
 
 Ceasair [Kay'sar]. Crith [Creh]. Uaran Garad [Uo'ran Gaw' 
 rah] Magh Ai is in Roscommon.
 
 THE ARD RICH OF EIRE 117 
 
 there he saw two men in the act of striking off 
 Conaire's head. 
 
 With a sure blow MacCecht struck one of 
 them, and severed his head from his body. Mean- 
 while the other man made haste to get away with 
 King Conaire's head; but, MacCecht picking up 
 a stone threw it and wounded him unto death. 
 
 Then he stooped and poured the water from the 
 golden cup into Conaire's mouth. And, after the 
 water was poured in, MacCecht heard the voice 
 of Conaire say: "A good man and a great 
 champion, brave of heart and hand is MacCecht. 
 It is he who found a drink of water for a thirsty 
 king. Gallantly he fought; no fear had he of 
 furious foes ! Would that I were alive once more 
 to honor MacCecht of the great name." 
 
 After that MacCecht brought the body of the 
 high king to Teamhair and buried him there as 
 befitted a king. Then he went away to his own 
 province of Connacht, and the place he chose to 
 live in was called Magh Bron-gear, because of 
 his bitter grief. 
 
 And for many years after that no Ard Righ 
 was chosen to reign over Eire. 
 
 Bron-gear: Sharp sorrow.
 
 Deirdre or the Fate of the 
 Sons of Usnach 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 EDLLMID, the son of Doll, was 
 harper to king Conchubar. One 
 day when Cathbad, the druid, was 
 at Fedlimid's house he foretold 
 that a daughter would be born to 
 him. This was unexpected news 
 to Fedlimid. "I do not believe such a thing can 
 come to pass, Cathbad," said he. 
 
 "Nevertheless," said Cathbad, "I see by Druid 
 signs that on account of a daughter of yours, who 
 is not yet born, much blood will be shed in Eire, 
 and great heroes and candles of the Gael will lose 
 their lives because of her." 
 
 "If that is your foretelling, you would better 
 keep it to yourself ; and, moreover, I do not believe 
 a word of it." said Fedlimid, for the druid's 
 prophecy angered him. 
 
 "But you will live to know my foretelling is 
 
 Deirdre [Dar'drah]. Usna [Oos'nah]. Felimid [Fa'llmeh]. 
 
 Doll [Dholl]. Conchubar [C6n' a choor]. Cathbad [Caw 'fa J. 
 
 118
 
 DEIRDRE 119 
 
 true, Fedlimid," replied Cathbad, "for I have 
 seen it all clearly in my mind." And with that 
 he went away. 
 
 Though Fedlimid pretended not to believe what 
 the druid had said, still he pondered over it night 
 and day and feared in his heart it might come 
 true. And he determined that if the child should 
 be born, as foretold, he would hide her away 
 where no eye could see her, and no ear could 
 hear of her, and thus prevent the woe and war- 
 fare which Cathbad had said should be in Eire 
 for her sake. 
 
 And it happened in due course of time that the 
 prophecy came true, and soon after the child was 
 born Cathbad went to Fedlimid's house and Fed- 
 limid was ashamed when he saw him and remem- 
 bered how he would not believe his words. 
 
 But the druid looked at the child and said : "Let 
 Deirdre be her name ; disaster will come through 
 her." 
 
 Then he took her in his arms and said "O 
 Deirdre, fair daughter of Fedlimid, there will be 
 trouble in Ulster for your sake! O flame of 
 beauty, you shall kindle deeds of wrath in Emain ; 
 heroes will fight for you, and the sons of kings 
 meet banis'hment and death! Woe and warfare 
 
 Emain [Aw 'win] : Emain Macha, the residence of the kings of Ulster. 
 The remains are about two miles west of Armagh. They consist of 
 a great circular rath, with a deep trench outside of it, and a high 
 mound. The space within the rath is about thirteen acres. Emain 
 Macha was founded about three centuries before the beginning of 
 the Christian era by Macha of the Golden Hair, queen of Ulster.
 
 120 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 are in your fate, O fairest child! You will have 
 a little grave apart to yourself; you will be a tale 
 of wonder forever, Deirdre." 
 
 Then Cathbad went away, and Fedlimid still 
 seeking to avert the fate foretold for Deirdre 
 gathered together his men, and brought them 
 away with him to a great, lonely mountain, and 
 there he bade them make a little house by the 
 side of a round, green hillock and plant a garden 
 of apple trees behind it and build a wall about it. 
 And over the house he bade them put a roof of 
 green sods so that passers-by could not distin- 
 guish the house from the hillock, nor think that 
 any one lived there. 
 
 And Fedlimid chose Levarcham, daughter of 
 Aedh, to care for Deirdre, and sent her and his 
 child to live in the sod-covered house on the great, 
 wild mountain. And he made everything com- 
 fortable for them, and gave them a store of pro- 
 visions, and he told Levarcham that she should 
 never want for anything as long as she lived. 
 
 And so Deirdre and her foster mother lived on 
 the lonely mountain and no stranger discovered 
 their whereabouts for fourteen years. And 
 Deirdre grew as straight and trim as a rush in a 
 bog; and she was as graceful as the swan on the 
 
 Levarcham [Low' [cow] er kam]
 
 DEIRDRE 121 
 
 wave; and fleet as the deer on the hill. And no 
 maiden in Eire was more beautiful or gentle. 
 
 And all the knowledge that Levarcham had 
 she imparted to Deirdre. There was not a blade 
 of grass, nor a bird singing in the wood, nor a 
 star shining from heaven but Deirdre knew the 
 name of it. There was one thing however which 
 Levarcham denied to Deirdre and that was the 
 friendship of any other person than herself. 
 
 But one cloudy, winter night a hunter lost his 
 way on the mountain, and as he wandered on he 
 was overcome with weariness and sleep, and lay 
 down on the side of the green hillock near 
 Deirdre's house. And while he was lying there 
 he dreamed that he was near a house of the Sidhe, 
 and could feel the warmth which radiated from 
 it; and hear the suantraigh of the sidhe within. 
 And he called out in his dream : "Let whoever is 
 inside bring me in also, in the name of the sun 
 and the moon." 
 
 Deirdre heard the voice and asked Levarcham 
 its meaning. "It is only the birds of the air who 
 have gone astray, and are trying to find one 
 another" said Levarcham, "but let them go 
 back to the branches of the wood." Soon the 
 hunter cried out again in his dream, and again 
 
 Suantraigh [Shoon' three]: Sleep, music.
 
 122 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 Deirdre wished to know whence the sound came. 
 And again Levarcham answered: "The birds of 
 the air are looking for one another, let them go 
 past to the branches of the wood." 
 
 Then the third time the hunter called: "Let 
 whoever is inside bring me in also, in the name 
 of the elements, for I am perishing with cold and 
 hunger." 
 
 "Oh tell me what is that, Levarcham?" said 
 Deirdre. 
 
 "Nothing for you to see, my child," answered 
 Levarcham, "nothing but the birds of the air; 
 they are lost to one another. Let them go past 
 to the branches of the wood ; there is no place nor 
 shelter for them here tonight." 
 
 "O, Levarcham," said Deirdre, "the bird asked 
 to come in in the name of the sun and the moon ; 
 and you have told me we must never refuse what 
 is asked like that. If you will not let in the bird 
 that is perishing with cold and hunger, I must 
 do it myself." 
 
 So Deirdre drew the bolt from the leaf of the 
 door, and let in the hunter. And she offered him 
 a seat, and food, and drink. 
 
 "Come now and eat," then said Deirdre "for 
 you must be very hungry."
 
 DEIRDRE 123 
 
 "Hungry and cold, indeed, was I when I came 
 into this house" said the hunter, "but, by my 
 word, the first glance from your bright eyes made 
 me forget it all." 
 
 "How little you are able to curb your tongue," 
 said Levarcham to him. "You are given the shel- 
 ter of a house and the warmth of a hearth on this 
 dark, winter night and the only thing asked in 
 return is that you keep quiet." 
 
 "I am thankful for your kindness," said the 
 hunter, "and surely I shall strive to talk as little 
 as possible; but, I swear by the oath my people 
 swear by, that if some of the people of the world 
 whom I know saw the loveliness that is hidden 
 away here they would soon take it from you." 
 
 "Who are they?" said Deirdre. 
 
 "I will tell you," said the hunter; "they are 
 Naoise, son of Usnach, and Ainnle and Ardan, 
 his two brothers." 
 
 "Describe these men to me," said Levarcham, 
 "BO that if we should ever meet, I would know 
 them." 
 
 "I can describe them no better than this:" 
 said the hunter, "their hair is black as the raven's 
 wing; their skin is white as the swan's. Their 
 cheeks are like the blood of the speckled, red calf 
 
 Ainnle [Ahn'leh]. Ardan [AwrMhan']. Naoise [Nee' sha].
 
 124 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 and the salmon of the stream or the deer of the 
 grey mountain cannot out-leap them. And the 
 head and shoulders of Naoise are above those of 
 all the other men of Eire." 
 
 "That may all be" said Levarcham, instead of 
 thanking him for his description, "but do you go 
 away from here as fast as possible, and take 
 another road from that you came; and, by my 
 word, I have small thanks for you or for her who 
 let you in." 
 
 "You need not send him away for saying what 
 he did to me," interposed Deirdre, "for I already 
 knew about those three men; I saw them in a 
 dream last night, and they were hunting upon a 
 hill." 
 
 But the hunter did not seek to tarry longer in 
 Levarcham's house; and as he walked away he 
 kept thinking how lonely Conchubar, the Ard 
 Righ of Ulster, must be; for he had no wife to 
 greet him night and morning. And he thought 
 that if Conchubar could see the beautiful maiden 
 of the mountain he would bring her home and 
 make her his queen. "And," he said to himself, 
 "I will get the good will of the king by telling him 
 where there is a maiden worthy in every way to 
 be his wife."
 
 DEIRDRE 125 
 
 So 'he went directly to the palace at Emain 
 Macha, and sent word to king Conchubar that he 
 had news for him, and begged him to hear it. 
 
 The king sent for him and asked him the 
 reason of his journey to Emain Macha. 
 
 "I have come to tell you, O King," said the 
 hunter, "that I have seen the most beautiful 
 maiden that ever was born in Eire." 
 
 "Who is this maiden?" said the king, "and 
 where did you see her ? It is strange indeed that 
 no one has told me of her before. Are you sure 
 it was not in a dream you have seen her ?" 
 
 "I am not telling you a dream, O king, but no 
 other man has seen this beautiful creature, nor 
 can anyone see her unless I tell him of her dwell- 
 ing place." 
 
 "If you will bring me where she is, you shall 
 have a good reward," said the king. 
 
 "I will bring you there," said the hunter. 
 
 "Remain with my household tonight," said the 
 king, "and early tomorrow morning I and my 
 .people will go with you." 
 
 "I will stay," said the hunter. And he stayed 
 that night in the household of king Conchubar. 
 
 Then Conchubar sent word to Fergus and 
 other great men of Ulster what he was about to
 
 126 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 do. And though it was early when the songs of 
 the birds began in the woods, it was earlier still 
 when Conchubar, the Ard Righ of Ulster, arose 
 with his little company of friends in the fresh 
 May morning. And the dewdrops were glisten- 
 ing on bush and flower as they journeyed along 
 toward the green hill where Deirdre was living. 
 
 And many a young man who had set out in the 
 morning with a glad, light step walked wearily 
 and slowly before the end of the day ; so long and 
 craggy was the way. 
 
 They were all happy when the hunter said, 
 pointing to a little valley on the side of the mount- 
 ain : "The maiden you seek lives in yonder vale, 
 and may no wind of misfortune blow your foot- 
 steps aside before you reach it ; but, as for me, I 
 will go no nearer it than this." 
 
 Conchubar and his friends then hastened to 
 the green hillock, and they knocked at the door of 
 Deirdre's house. Levarcham called out that 
 neither answer nor opening would be given to 
 anyone whatsoever, and that she did not wish to 
 be disturbed. 
 
 "Open," said Conchubar, "in the name of the 
 Ard Righ of Ulster." 
 
 When Levarcham heard Conchubar's voice,
 
 DEIRDRE 127 
 
 she knew it would be impossible to conceal 
 Deirdre any longer; so she hastened to let in the 
 king and as many of his people as could follow 
 him. 
 
 The king, when he beheld Deirdre, thought 
 that never in the course of the day, or in the 
 dreams of the night, had he seen so beautiful a 
 creature; and there and then he gave her his 
 heart full of love. And he put Deirdre up on the 
 shoulders of his men and she and Levarcham 
 were brought away to Emain Macha. 
 
 And Deirdre promised that, after a year and 
 a day had gone by, she would become the wife of 
 Conchubar and queen of Ulster. Conchubar 
 gave her for companions pleasant, modest maid- 
 ens of her own age and a teacher from whom she 
 learned the things most useful for young girls to 
 know. And she became wise and skillful, and 
 more beautiful, and Conchubar loved her more 
 than anything in the world.
 
 128 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 One day, when Deirdre and her companions 
 were walking on a hill near Emain Macha in the 
 pleasant sunshine, they saw three men coming 
 toward them. And as they came nearer Deirdre 
 remembered what the hunter had said, and 
 thought of the three men she had seen in her 
 dream, and she said to herself: "These men I 
 now see are the three sons of Usnach, and the 
 tallest one is Naoise, he who is head and 
 shoulders above all the men of Eire." 
 
 The three brothers passed by without turning 
 to look at the young maidens on the hill side. 
 They were singing as they walked and the sing- 
 ing of the sons of Usnach was enchantment and 
 sweetest music to all listeners. And when 
 Deirdre heard it, so great a love for Naoise came 
 into her heart, that she could not help calling 
 him, and her voice rang clear : "Naoise, Naoise, 
 son of Usnach, take me with you." 
 
 Now Ainnle and Ardan, when they heard her 
 call, knew it was the beautiful young maiden from 
 the court of Conchubar; and they feared that if 
 Naoise, their brother, should see her he would 
 want her for his wife ; for she was not yet mar-
 
 DEIRDRE 129 
 
 ried to the king. So they said to each other : "Let 
 us hasten our steps for the road is long and the 
 dusk of evening coming on." They wished to 
 get out of sight and hearing of Deirdre before 
 Naoise should see her. But he had heard her and 
 he said: "What cry was that? It seems to me it 
 is not well for me to answer, and yet it is not easy 
 for me to refuse." 
 
 "It was but the cry of Conchubar's wild ducks" 
 said his brothers. "Let us quicken our steps for 
 we have a long road to travel and the dusk of 
 evening is coming on. " 
 
 They did so, and were speedily widening the 
 distance between Deirdre and themselves when 
 again she called : "Naoise, Naoise, son of Usnach, 
 take me with you." 
 
 "What cry is this that strikes my heart? 
 I do not know whether to answer it, or to dis- 
 regard it," said Naoise. 
 
 "It is the honking of Conchubar's wild 
 geese," answered his brothers, "let us not tarry 
 to listen, but make the best of our time for the 
 darkness of night is coming on." 
 
 So they hurried along, and the distance be- 
 tween themselves and Deirdre grew wider and 
 wider, and again her call came fainter and
 
 130 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 sweeter: "Naoise, Naoise, son of Usnach, take 
 me with you." 
 
 "Someone is calling me," exclaimed Xaoise 
 "so sweet a voice my ears have never heard, but 
 it strikes my heart like steel." 
 
 "You have heard but the scream of Conchu- 
 bar's lake swans," said his brothers. 
 
 "It is a human cry I have heard," replied 
 Naoise, "and I swear by my hand of valour I will 
 go no further until I find the one who has given 
 it." 
 
 So Naoise turned back and met Deirdre and 
 he thought he had never seen a woman so beauti- 
 ful; and there and then he gave her a greater 
 love than he had ever given any vision, or living 
 creature. 
 
 And he lifted her high on his shoulder, and 
 said to his brothers: "Now indeed we may hasten 
 our steps, and end our journey while yet some 
 light is left in the sky." 
 
 "Leave the maiden here," said Ainnle and 
 Ardan, "it will bring disaster upon us thus to 
 take her away." 
 
 "Nevertheless, she shall go with us," said 
 Naoise, "and we will leave Conchubar's kingdom 
 before he has a chance to take her from us."
 
 DEIRDRE 131 
 
 So the sons of Usnach called their people 
 together and that night they set out with three 
 times fifty men; three times fifty women, and 
 three times fifty wolf dogs, and in their midst was 
 Deirdre. 
 
 And they traveled from one part of Eire to 
 another; from Essruadh in the south, to Beinn 
 Etair in the east, and they were often in danger 
 of being destroyed by Conchubar's devices. 
 
 One time the Druids raised a thick and thorny 
 spinney before them, but Naoise and his brothers 
 cut their way through it. Another time, while 
 they were crossing a ford, through the spells of 
 the Sidhe the waters rose around them and they 
 barely escaped drowning, one and all. 
 
 And finally they sailed away to the island of 
 Alban, and settled in a lonely place. And when 
 hunting failed them they fell upon the cattle in 
 the fields about them. And the men of Alban, in 
 order to avenge themselves for the destruction of 
 their cattle, gathered together to make an end of 
 the sons of Usnach and their people. 
 
 But they called upon the king of Alban for aid, 
 and he lent them a friendly hand in all their en- 
 counters and difficulties. 
 
 All this time the king of Alban knew nothing
 
 132 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 of Deirdre nor had the sons of Usnach let any 
 stranger see her. But it happened that early one 
 morning the king's steward made his way into 
 the house where Naoise and Deirdre lived; and 
 waiting but for one glimpse of her wonderful 
 beauty, he hastened back to the king and said: 
 "O King, I have done what has never been done 
 before: I have found a woman who would make 
 a fitting wife for you. She dwells on the shore 
 of Loch Ness, and is well worthy of you, O king 
 of Alban. But before she can be queen, Naoise 
 must die ; for it is his wife of whom I am speak- 
 ing." 
 
 "I will not harm Naoise," said the king, "but 
 go you secretly to the beautiful woman and bid 
 her come to see me." 
 
 The steward brought the king's message to 
 Deirdre, but she sent him away, and told all he 
 had said to her, to Naoise. So the king sent the 
 sons of Usnach into every hard fight, hoping they 
 would meet their death, but they won every 
 battle and came safe again home. And they 
 moved to Loch Eitche near the sea and for a 
 while lived there in peace and comfort. And for 
 food they caught the salmon of a spring-fed 
 stream, from the door of their dwelling; and, 
 
 Etcha : In present glen Etive in Scotland.
 
 DEIRDRE 133 
 
 from their windows, they killed the deer of the 
 grey hills. 
 
 And when Naoise went to the court of Alban's 
 king, none of the great men there were more 
 splendidly attired. He wore a bright purple 
 cloak of finest fit, trimmed with fringe of gold. 
 His coat had fifty hooks of silver, and a brooch 
 on which were a hundred polished gems. His 
 weapons were a gold-hilted sword; two blue- 
 green spears with bright points and a dagger, 
 the color of yellow gold, which had a hilt of 
 silver. 
 
 And the two children of Naoise and Deirdre 
 were named Gaiar and Aebgreine; and were 
 given into the keeping of Mannanan MacLir, the 
 sea god, and were reared by him with greatest 
 care in Emain of the Appletrees. And Man- 
 nanan had Bobaras, the poet, come to impart 
 learning to Gaiar; and when Aebgreine of the 
 Sunny Face was grown to womanhood she be- 
 came the wife of Rinn, son of Eochaidh luil of 
 Tir-na-n-og. 
 
 Gaiar [Gay'ar]. Aebgreine [Av gra'nah]. Eochaidh luil [Och' 
 ee Yule], Tir'-na-n-og ' : Land of the young.
 
 134 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 And Conchubar still reigned in Ulster. And 
 he gave a splendid feast for the greatest of his 
 nobles ; and at the feast were Cathbad the druid ; 
 Geanan, son of Cathbad; Ferceirtne; Sencha, 
 son of Ailell; Conall Cearnach; Fergus and 
 Cuchulain of Muirthemne, Knight of the Red 
 Branch of Ulster, and many other poets and 
 heroes. And songs were sung, poems recited, 
 and branches of kinship were traced by an- 
 nalists and never was there a merrier feast until 
 Conchubar, the king, raised his voice and said: 
 "I desire you to tell me: have you ever seen a 
 better house than this house of Emain, or a better 
 hearth than my hearth in any place you have ever 
 been?" 
 
 "We have never seen better house nor hearth 
 than that of Conchubar, the king," they answered 
 with one accord. 
 
 "But can you not think of something that is 
 wanting?" 
 
 "We know of nothing from the loss of which 
 we suffer" said they. "I do not think as you do." 
 said Conchubar. "I know of something that is 
 wanting and that is the presence of the three best 
 
 Geanan [Gan'nan]. Ferceirtne [Far kart'nah].
 
 DEIRDRE 135 
 
 candles of the Gael; the three noble sons of 
 Usnach : Naoise, Ainnle and Ardan. No woman 
 in the world should be able to keep them from us, 
 they are sons of a king and they would defend the 
 high kingship against the best men of Eire." 
 
 "We would have said that long ago, if we had 
 dared." said they. "These three alone could de- 
 fend the province of Ulster, for they are lions of 
 endurance and bravery." 
 
 "If that is so," said Conchubar, "let us send a 
 messenger to Alban to ask them to come back 
 again." 
 
 "Whom will you send with the message?" 
 asked they all together. 
 
 "There is only one way to decide that," said 
 the king. "Naoise is under geasa not to return 
 with any man but one of these three: Conall 
 Cearnach, Fergus or Cuchulain; and now I will 
 find out which of these three loves me best." 
 
 Then the king called Conall aside, and asked 
 him: "What would you do with me if I should 
 send you for the sons of Usnach, and they were 
 destroyed by me a thing I do not mean to do?" 
 
 "As I am not going to bring them," said 
 Conall, "I will say that any Ulster man who
 
 136 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 harmed the sons of Usnach would get shorten- 
 ing of life and sorrow of death from me." 
 
 "I see well enough," said Conchubar, "that you 
 are no friend of mine." 
 
 Then he called Cuchulain to him and asked him 
 the same that he had asked Conall. "I give you 
 my word as I am not going," said Cuchulain, 
 "that if the sons of Usnach were killed in Ulster, 
 it is not to one person only, but to every Ulster- 
 man I thought unfriendly to them, I would give 
 shortening of life and the sorrow of death." 
 
 "I see, indeed," said Conchubar, "that you are 
 no friend of mine." And he sent Cuchulain away. 
 
 Fergus was the next to be called, and he was 
 asked the same question as were the other two. 
 
 "Whatever may happen," answered Fergus, 
 "your blood will never flow by my hand; but, if 
 any other man should seek to harm the sons of 
 Usnach, I hope it may be in my power to give 
 him shortening of life and sorrow of death." 
 
 "I see it is you, Fergus, who must go for them," 
 said Conchubar, "and do not delay but set out by 
 sunrise tomorrow. And when you return, I put 
 you under geasa to let the fort of Borach, son 
 of Cainte, be your first stopping place and as soon 
 
 Borach [Bawr'ach]. Cainte [Kant 'yah].
 
 DEIRDRE 137 
 
 as you arrive there, be it day or night, send on the 
 sons of Usnach to Emain." 
 
 The king and Fergus went back to the com- 
 pany together and Fergus told them that it was 
 he who had been chosen by Conchubar to fetch 
 the sons of Usnach back to Emain Macha. 
 
 Then Conchubar went to Borach and told him 
 to prepare a feast for Fergus on his return from 
 Alban with the sons of Usnach. "And," said 
 Conchubar, "he is under geasa not to refuse to 
 partake of your feast." 
 
 Fergus set out at sunrise the next morning, and 
 he brought with him no guard nor helpers, but 
 only his sons : Fair-Haired lollan, Buinne Ruadh ; 
 and Cuillan, the shield-bearer, bringing with him 
 his shield. 
 
 They journeyed on until they reached the 
 dwelling place of the sons of Usnach in Alban. 
 They had three houses: The house where the 
 food was prepared ; the house where they ate ; and 
 the house where they slept. 
 
 When Fergus came to the harbor of Loch 
 Eitche he gave a great shout. Naoise and 
 Deirdre were playing chess, and Naoise heard the 
 shout and said to Deirdre : "That is the shout of 
 a man from Eire." 
 
 lollan [E'lan]. Buinne Ruadh [Bun 'yah Roo'ah].
 
 138 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 "I think it is the cry of a man of Alban," said 
 Deirdre. 
 
 A second shout from Fergus sounded from the 
 harbor. "That is, indeed, the shout of a Gael 
 from Eire," said Naoise again. 
 
 "It is not," said Deirdre, "let us go on play- 
 ing." 
 
 But a third shout was heard, and by that time 
 the sons of Usnach knew that it was the shout of 
 Fergus, and Naoise asked Ardan to go out and 
 meet him. 
 
 Then Deirdre told Naoise that she knew when 
 she had heard the first shout who gave it. 
 
 "Why did you not say so then, my queen?" 
 said Naoise. 
 
 "Because of a vision: Last night I saw three 
 birds who came to us from Emain Macha with 
 three drops of honey in their mouths. They left 
 the honey with us and took away with them three 
 drops of our blood." 
 
 "What is your interpretation of the vision, my 
 queen ?" 
 
 "My interpretation is this: Fergus is coming 
 from Conchubar with a message of peace for us, 
 for honey is not sweeter than a message of peace 
 sent from a false heart."
 
 DEIRDRE 139 
 
 "Do not attach such importance to your vision, 
 Deirdre," said Naoise, "it signifies nothing but 
 troubled sleep and gloomy thoughts. It is a long 
 time since Fergus came into the harbor, go to 
 meet him, Ardan, and bring him here at once." 
 
 So Ardan went to meet Fergus, and his two 
 sons : "My love to you, dear comrades," said he. 
 
 "My fondest love to you Ardan," said they. 
 
 "And what news have you brought from 
 Eire?" asked Ardan. 
 
 "The best news I have for you" said Fergus, 
 "is this: Conchubar, Ard Righ of Ulster, has 
 sworn by the earth beneath him, by the heaven 
 above him, and by the sun that travels to the west, 
 that he will not rest by day nor sleep by night 
 until the sons of Usnach come back to the coun- 
 try of their birth ; and he has sent us to ask you 
 there." 
 
 But when they had come to Naoise's house 
 and delivered their message to him, Deirdre said : 
 "It is better for the sons of Usnach to remain 
 here, for they have greater sway in Alban than 
 Conchubar has in Eire." 
 
 "Even so," said Fergus, "one's own country is 
 better than all things else ; no pleasure is so great 
 as that of living in your own home; and no sor-
 
 140 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 row can equal the sorrow of having to dwell in 
 an alien land." 
 
 "That is true/' said Naoise, "Eire is dearer to 
 me than Alban, though here I have greater riches 
 and power than I had there." 
 
 So Naoise consented to return with Fergus, 
 but it was greatly against Deirdre's will that he 
 did so. "Remain in Alban O Naoise, my hus- 
 band! I know by my dream the sons of Usnach 
 will meet only treachery from Conchubar." 
 
 "Lay down your dream, Deirdre, on the 
 height of the hills, lay your dream on the sailors 
 of the sea and the rough, grey rocks ; for in peace 
 we will go and in peace we will be received by 
 Conchubar of the Red Branch." 
 
 But Deirdre spoke again: "I see Conchubar 
 merciless in his dun; I see Naoise without 
 strength in battle ; I see Ainnle and Ardan with- 
 out shield or breastplate; I see the falseness of 
 Fergus ; and Deirdre weeping, weeping bitterly !" 
 
 "Do not be swayed by the dream of a woman," 
 said Fergus to Naoise, "Do not slight the friend- 
 ship of the Ard Righ, but come at once to Ulster." 
 
 So Naoise consented to go, and Fergus 
 promised him protection, if necessary against all 
 the men of Eire.
 
 DEIRBRE 141 
 
 And when they were in their ships upon the 
 sea, Deirdre looked back to Alban and said: 
 
 "My love to you, O land to the east! 
 It is with grief I leave your pleasant bays, your 
 
 flowery plains and heathery hills. 
 Dear to me is the land to the east, I would not have 
 
 come away from it, but that I came with Naoise. 
 Glen Masan, my grief! We were rocked to pleasant 
 
 sleep over the wooded harbor of Masan ! 
 Glen Eitche, my grief! The home of the sun is Glen 
 
 Eitche ! 
 Glen-da-Rua, my grief! Sweet is the voice of the 
 
 cuckoo on the bending branch of the hill above 
 
 Glen-da-Rua ! 
 Dear to me is Droighin, dear are its waters over the 
 
 clean sands! 
 I would never have come away from it but that I came 
 
 with Naoise!" 
 
 Droighin [Dri' yeen].
 
 142 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 It was not long until they reached Dun Borach, 
 and Borach greeted them in the friendliest 
 way, and told Fergus he had a feast prepared for 
 him. And when Fergus said he could not delay 
 for a feast but must hasten to Emain Macha, 
 Borach said: "There are geasa on you Fergus 
 not to leave Dun Borach until you have partaken 
 of the feast. And it is Conchubar's wish that you 
 send the sons of Usnach ahead of you to Emain 
 Macha." 
 
 Fergus was very angry when he heard this: 
 "You have done an evil thing, you and Conchu- 
 bar, thus putting me under geasa," said he; and, 
 turning to Naoise, asked whether he should go 
 or remain. 
 
 Deirdre was the one to answer : "It should be 
 easy for you to choose whether to refuse the feast 
 or forsake the sons of Usnach." 
 
 "I will not forsake them," said Fergus "for I 
 will send my sons lollan and Buinne with them." 
 
 "By my word," said Naoise, "you speak as if 
 we sought protection, but up to this time we have 
 always protected ourselves and we shall do the 
 same now."
 
 DEIRDRE 143 
 
 Then Naoise and his brothers, and Deirdre, 
 and the sons of Fergus 'went away, leaving 
 Fergus with a sad heart at Dun Borach. 
 
 Naoise and his companions journeyed on and 
 when they were near Emain Macha, Deirdre 
 said: "I will give you a sign by which you will 
 know whether Conchubar is dealing fairly with 
 you or not.'* 
 
 "Tell me your sign, my queen," said Naoise. 
 
 "If Conchubar invites you into his own house 
 where the nobles of Ulster are, then he will deal 
 fairly with you ; but, if he sends you to the house 
 of the Red Branch, then beware of treachery," 
 answered Deirdre. 
 
 They soon arrived at Emain Macha, and 
 Naoise took the hand-wood and struck the door. 
 The doorkeeper asked who was there, and when 
 they told him he brought word to Conchubar. 
 
 Conchubar then called his stewards and serving 
 men to him and asked them if the house of the 
 Red Branch was well supplied with food and 
 drink, and they replied that if the seven armies 
 of Ulster should come there hungry and thirsty 
 they would find plenty to satisfy them. 
 
 "If that is so," said Conchubar, "bring the sons 
 of Usnach to the House of the Red Branch."
 
 144 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 Then Deirdre said: "Let us return to Alban; 
 even yet it is not too late." 
 
 But the sons of Usnach and the sons of Fergus 
 said it would be a cowardly thing to return. So 
 they went on to the House of the Red Branch, 
 and with them went Conchubar's stewards and 
 serving men. And all except Deirdre and the 
 sons of Usnach ate and drank and were glad and 
 merry. 
 
 Meanwhile Conchubar was seeking for some- 
 one to bring him word whether Deirdre was as 
 beautiful as she had been when he first saw her. 
 "And if she is," he said, "I will bring her to 
 Emain Macha with edge of blade and point of 
 spear; in spite of the sons of Usnach, however 
 brave they may be." 
 
 "I will go to the House of the Red Branch," 
 said Levarcham, "and I will bring you word of 
 Deirdre's appearance." 
 
 Levarcham loved Deirdre better than anyone 
 else, and since the time when she had gone 
 with Naoise to Alban, Levarcham had often 
 visited her; bringing messages from Eire to 
 Deirdre and from Deirdre to Eire. And she 
 went now to the House of the Red Branch, and 
 near it she saw a troop of strange, armed men;
 
 DEIRDRE 145 
 
 and she knew they must have been brought 
 thither to aid Conchubar in battle. 
 
 And when Levarcham found Naoise and Deir- 
 dre they were playing chess and resting after 
 their long journey from Alban. She greeted them 
 fondly, and said: "You should not spend your 
 time playing chess, there are greater things to be 
 done. Conchubar has sent me to bring him word 
 whether Deirdre is as beautiful as she used to 
 be ; and great is my grief to think of the treacher- 
 ous deeds which will be done in Emain tonight, 
 to quench the three brightest candles of the Gael." 
 
 And Levarcham wept at parting with Naoise 
 and his people and she went back to Conchubar 
 and he asked her what tidings she had brought 
 of Deirdre. 
 
 "I have good news and bad news for you" said 
 Levarcham. 
 
 "Tell me both," said Conchubar. 
 
 "The best news is this: The sons of Usnach, 
 the bravest and mightiest men of all the world, 
 have come to you and beside them your kingdom 
 will need no other defense. And the worst news 
 is this : She who was the loveliest of women when 
 she left Emain, has lost the beauty which she used 
 to have."
 
 146 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 At first Conchubar believed Levarcham, but 
 after thinking the matter over he concluded to 
 send another messenger ; and he sent Gelban, the 
 son of the king of Lochlann, to bring him word 
 concerning Deirdre. "For," said he, "if she has 
 the same appearance she used to have, there is 
 not on the ridge of the earth nor the waves of the 
 sea a more beautiful woman." 
 
 So Gelban went to the House of the Red 
 Branch, and through an open window he saw 
 Naoise and Deirdre, and near them was the chess 
 board on which they had been playing. And as 
 Gelban stood there Deirdre caught a glimpse of 
 him and told Naoise someone was watching them 
 through the window. And Naoise the moment 
 he heard this threw a chessman, which he hap- 
 pened to have in his hand, and put out one of Gel- 
 ban's eyes. 
 
 Then Gelban went back, as best he could to 
 Conchubar. "You were merry and pleasant go- 
 ing away; but you are sad and cheerless coming 
 back" said Conchubar to him. 
 
 Then Gelban told his story, and Conchubar 
 said: "The man who made that throw will be 
 king of the world, unless his life is shortened. 
 But tell me is Deirdre still beautiful?"
 
 DEIRDRE 147 
 
 "No woman could be more beautiful than Deir- 
 dre," said Gelban, "and, although Naoise put out 
 one of my eyes, I would have stayed to look at 
 her with the other, had you not bidden me hasten 
 back again." 
 
 Gelban's story filled Conchubar with envy, and 
 he commanded the men of his army to take Deir- 
 dre from the sons of Usnach. 
 
 So they went to the House of the Red Branch 
 and they gave three great shouts around it, and 
 they put red flames of fire to it. And fierce was 
 the fight between the sons of Usnach and their 
 people, and Conchubar, and the men of Ulster. 
 Buinne, the son of Fergus, fought with great 
 valor until three fifths of the fighting men out- 
 side fell by his hand. Then Conchubar sought 
 out the man by whose hand so many of his heroes 
 had fallen, and said to him: "I will make you a 
 good gift if you will leave off fighting." 
 
 "What gift is that?" said Buinne. " A hun- 
 dred cantreds of land," said Conchubar. 
 
 "What beside?" said Buinne. 
 
 "My own friendship and counsel," said Con- 
 chubar. 
 
 "I will accept your gift," said Buinne. 
 
 It was a beautiful, fertile mountain which the
 
 148 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 king gave him but it turned barren that same 
 night, and nothing green ever grew on it again, 
 and it was called the Mountain of the Share of 
 Buinne. 
 
 And Conchubar's son, Fiacra the fair, and 
 lollan met in the fight around the House of the 
 Red Branch. And Fiacra carried Conchubar's 
 shield, the Ochain, and his two spears, and his 
 sword, the Gorm Glas, and lollan threw Fiacra 
 down under his shield; and the shield roared, as 
 it always did when the person who carried it was 
 in danger. And the three waves of Eire, the 
 Wave of Truagh, the Wave of Cliodna and the 
 Wave of Rudraigh roared in answer to it. 
 
 And Conchubar and the sons of Usnach met in 
 the fight and Ainnle said to Conchubar: "Al- 
 though we took white-handed Deirdre from you, 
 we have done you many kindnesses at other 
 times ; and now you should remember them. The 
 day your ship fjull of silver and gold was going 
 to wreck upon the sea, we gave you our own 
 ship while we went swimming to the harbor." 
 
 "No thanks do I give you for that," said Con- 
 chubar, "nor for fifty times that." 
 
 Then Ardan said : "We did another deed of 
 kindness, and now is the time for you to remem- 
 
 The Fews mountain in Armagh, as far as is known it has always been 
 barren. Ochain [O'kawn]: The Roarer. Gorm Glas [Gurm 
 
 Glas] : The Blue Green.
 
 DEIRDRE 149 
 
 her it. The day your speckled horse failed you 
 on the green of Dundealgan we gave you our 
 grey horse to bring you swiftly over the road." 
 
 "No thanks do I give you for that, nor for fifty 
 times that," said Conchubar. 
 
 And then Naoise said: "Now is the time for 
 Conchubar, the king, to remember how the sons 
 of Usnach came to his aid in the seven battles 
 of Beinn Etair." 
 
 "For fifty times that service you should get 
 no thanks now," said Conchubar. 
 
 And then more terrible became the fight, and 
 the sons of Usnach linked their shields together 
 around Deirdre, and they made three leaps over 
 the walls of Emain, killing three hundred men. 
 
 Conchubar was filled with fear when he saw 
 this, so he went to Cathbad, the druid, and said 
 to him: "Go, Cathbad, to the sons of Usnach, 
 and work enchantment on them, or they will 
 destroy the men of Ulster forever ; and I give you 
 the word of a true hero that I do not seek to 
 harm them, but only to make terms with them." 
 
 Cathbad believed the king, and he forthwith 
 used all his arts and power to hinder the sons of 
 Usnach. Through his enchantment the sem- 
 blance of a dark sea rose around them, and they 
 
 Dundealgan : Gaelic name of Dundalk.
 
 150 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 dropped their swords and attempted to swim with 
 Deirdre through the boisterous billows. So it 
 was that the sons of Usnach fell into the hands 
 of Conchubar's men. And it is too sorrowful 
 to tell how Maine of the Rough-Hand, son of the 
 king of Norway, when asked to do so by Con- 
 chubar, slew the sons of Usnach with the sword 
 which Mannanan MacLir had given to Naoise. 
 
 As for Deirdre, they left her to herself. And 
 she wept and tore her fair hair and throwing 
 herself on the ground near the grave which they 
 were digging for the sons of Usnach she lamented 
 bitterly: 
 
 "Long is the day without the sons of Usnach ; 
 three hawks of Slieve Cuilenn ; three lions of the 
 fort of Conrach; three heroes not good at 
 homage; their fall is a cause of sorrow! 
 
 "Long is the day without the sons of Usnach : 
 three pillars in the breach of battle ; three pupils 
 that were with Scathach three dragons of Dun 
 Monad; grief for the three brightest candles of 
 the Gael! 
 
 "My sight is gone from looking at the grave 
 of Naoise; dig not the new grave narrow; I am 
 Deirdre, the unhappy; I would lie in the grave 
 with mighty Naoise." 
 
 Slieve [Schlev]: Mountain. Scathach [Skaw'haw]: Protection. 
 
 Monad [Mo'nah].
 
 DEIRDRE 151 
 
 After this caoin, Deirdre kissed the body of 
 Naoise three times; and then she arose and fled 
 through the night until she came to where waves 
 were breaking on the strand of a little loch. And 
 a fisherman and his wife saw her, and they 
 brought her into their cabin and offered her food 
 and drink. But she would not eat, nor drink, nor 
 sleep; but, with her head upon her knees, she 
 kept weeping for the sons of Usnach. 
 
 And when Conchubar found that Deirdre was 
 gone he sent Levarcham to look for her and bring 
 her back to the palace, that he might make her 
 his wife. 
 
 Levarcham found her in the fisherman's cabin 
 and bade her return to Emain Macha, where she 
 would have riches and protection and whatever 
 she might desire. And Levarcham gave her this 
 message from Conchubar: "Come up to my 
 house, O beautiful branch, with the dark eye- 
 lashes; come, and have no fear on your fair face 
 of hatred, jealousy or reproach." 
 
 But Deirdre said, "I will not go up to his 
 house, I do not desire gold nor silver, nor horses 
 nor lands ; but only leave to lie in the grave with 
 the sons of Usnach." 
 
 And again Deirdre lamented: 
 
 Caoin [Keen] : A lament.
 
 152 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 "Delightful to Conchu'bar, the king, are pipes 
 and trumpets; but the singing of the sons of 
 Usnach was more delightful to me. 
 
 "The deep sound of waves was in their sing- 
 ing; dear were their pleasant words; dear their 
 grey eyes searching the forest; and their steps 
 were pleasant on the high, dark hill. 
 
 "Do not break the strings of my heart, Con- 
 chubar ; though Naoise is dead my love is strong 
 to live." 
 
 So Levarcham went back to tell Conchubar 
 what Deirdre had said, and Deirdre went out on 
 the strand of the little loch. The night was 
 dark and her eyes were dim with weeping, and 
 she walked into the water where it made a deep 
 pool by the shore ; and the turbid waves brought 
 her happiness as well as death, for she did not 
 wish to live after Naoise. 
 
 Conchubar, when he heard Deirdre's message 
 from Levarcham, went down to the fisherman's 
 cabin bringing five hundred men w r ith him. 
 And they found Deirdre's white, lifeless body 
 on the strand. Then remorse and sorrow came 
 to Conchubar because of the sad fate which 
 through him had befallen the sons of Usnach 
 and Deirdre. And they buried Deirdre near
 
 DEIRDRE 153 
 
 the sons of Usnach and they raised flagstones 
 over their graves and on them wrote their 
 names in Ogham. 
 
 And Fergus, son of Rogh, on the day after 
 the death of the sons of Usnach came to Emain 
 Macha and, when he found out what deeds of 
 treachery and terror had been done he, with 
 Cormac Conloingeas, Conchubar's own son, and 
 Duach, the Beetle of Ulster, made an attack 
 on Conchubar's house. And many of his men 
 were killed and Emain Macha was destroyed 
 by fire. 
 
 After that Fergus and his men went into Con- 
 nacht and took service with Ailell and Maeve at 
 Cruachan. And that is how they came to fight 
 with the men of Connacht in the war for the 
 brown Bull of Cuailgne. 
 
 Rogh [Roy]. Ailell [Awl'yeel] Cruachan [Crucawn']. Cul- 
 aigne [Cool 'yah].
 
 Oisin's Tale of Tir-na-n-og 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 SHORT time after the battle of 
 Gavra, in which many of our heroes 
 fell, and among them Carbri of the 
 Liffey, king of Eire, we were hunt- 
 ing on a dewy morning near the 
 shore of Loch Lein. The trees and 
 hedges near and far were fragrant with blos- 
 soms, and birds sang in the branches. We soon 
 raised the deer from the thickets, and as they 
 bounded over the plain our hounds followed in 
 full cry. 
 
 But the hunt was not more than well begun 
 before we saw a rider coming swiftly toward 
 us from the west, and we soon thereafter per- 
 ceived that it was a maiden on a white steed. 
 She reined in, as she approached, and we all 
 ceased from the chase on seeing her; for never 
 before had Finn or the Feine beheld so lovely 
 a maiden. A slender, golden diadem encircled 
 
 Oisin [Aw'sheen]. Loch Lein: Correct Irish name of the present 
 "Lakes of Killamey." Finn: Chief of the Feine [Fay'nah] or 
 national militia of Eire. The modern Fenian is derived from Feine. 
 
 154
 
 OISIN IN TIR-NA-N-OG 155 
 
 her head, and she wore a brown robe of silk 
 spangled with stars of red gold, which was 
 fastened in front with a golden brooch; and fell 
 from her shoulder until it swept the ground. 
 Her yellow hair floated like a sunlit cloud about 
 her. Her eyes were clear as drops of dew upon 
 the grass, and blue as the blossoms of the wild 
 ailestar. She sat more gracefully than the swan 
 upon Loch Lein, holding her bridle with her 
 small white hand and curbing her steed with a 
 golden bit. Her white steed was covered with 
 a smooth, flowing mantle; and shod with four 
 shoes of pure, yellow gold. And in all Eire 
 a better, or more beautiful, steed could not be 
 found. 
 
 As the maiden rode slowly into Finn's pres- 
 ence, he addressed her courteously in these 
 words : "Who art thou, O lovely princess ? Tell 
 us thy name and the name of thy court and re- 
 late to us the cause of thy coming." 
 
 She answered in a sweet and gentle voice: 
 "Noble king of the Feine, I have had a long 
 journey this day, for my country lies far off in 
 the western sea. I am the daughter of the king 
 of Tir-na-n-og and my name is Nia of the 
 golden hair." "And what is it that has caused
 
 166 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 thee to come so far across the sea? Has thy 
 husband forsaken thee, or has some other evil 
 befallen thee?" 
 
 "My husband has not forsaken me, for I have 
 never been married or betrothed to any man. 
 I love thy noble son, Oisin, and that is why I 
 have come to Eire. It is not without reason I 
 have given him my love, and undertaken this 
 long journey; for I have often heard of his 
 bravery and gentleness, and his noble bearing. 
 Many princes and high chiefs have sought me 
 in marriage, but I never consented to wed, for 
 my heart was indifferent to all men until it was 
 moved with love for thy gentle son, Oisin." 
 
 "When I heard these words; and when I 
 looked on the lovely maiden, with her dew-bright 
 eyes and glossy golden hair, I was all over in 
 love with her. I went to her and taking her 
 slender hand in mine, I told her she was a mild 
 star of brightness and beauty; and that I pre- 
 ferred her to all other princesses of all lands 
 whatsoever, and would gladly make her my wife." 
 
 "Then," said she, "I place you under geasa, 
 which true heroes never break through, to come 
 with me on my white steed to Tir-na-n-og, the 
 land of never ending youth. It is the most de-
 
 OISIN IN TIR-NA-N-OG 157 
 
 lightful and the most renowned country under the 
 sun. Gold and silver and jewels ; and honey and 
 wine are there in abundance, and the trees bear 
 fruit and blossoms and green leaves at the same 
 time all the year round. You will be given a 
 hundred swords, and a hundred robes of silk 
 and satin ; a hundred swift steeds and a hundred 
 slender hounds, of keenest scent. You will have, 
 for your own, cows without number; and flocks 
 of sheep with fleeces of gold; a coat of mail that 
 cannot be pierced ; and a sword that never misses 
 a stroke and from which no one ever escaped 
 alive. There are feastings and harmless pastimes 
 each day. Harpers shall delight you with their 
 sweet music. A hundred warriors fully armed 
 shall always await your call; and you may wear 
 the diadem of the King of Tir-na-n-og. This 
 diadem has never before been given to anyone 
 under the sun, and it will guard you day and 
 night in tumult, and battle, and danger of every 
 kind. Lapse of time shall bring you neither 
 decay nor death, and you shall be forever young 
 and gifted with unfading beauty and strength. 
 All these delights you shall enjoy, and many 
 others that I do not mention; and I, myself,
 
 158 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 will be your wife if you come with me to Tir- 
 na-n-og." 
 
 I replied that she was my choice above all the 
 maidens in the world, and that I would willingly 
 go with her to the land of youth. 
 
 When my father and his champions heard me 
 say this, and knew that I was going from them, 
 they raised three shouts of lamentation and 
 grief, and Finn came up to me and took my hand 
 saying sadly: "AYoe is me, my son, that you are 
 going away from me, for I fear that you will 
 never return!" 
 
 His noble countenance was dimmed with sor- 
 row; and, though I fully believed that I should 
 see him again, I could not repress my tears as I 
 kissed him farewell. 
 
 I then took leave of my dear companions and 
 mounted the white steed, while the lady kept her 
 seat before me. She gave the signal and the 
 steed galloped swiftly and smoothly toward the 
 west, until he reached the strand, and when his 
 gold j shod hoofs touched the waves he shook 
 himself and neighed three times. He made no 
 delay but plunged forward at once, moving over 
 the face of the sea with the speed of a cloud 
 shadow on a March dav. The wind overtook
 
 OISIN IN TIR-NA-N-OG 159 
 
 the waves, and we overtook the wind so that 
 we straightway lost sight of land; and saw noth- 
 ing but billows tumbling before us and billows 
 tumbling behind us.
 
 160 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 But after a while other shores came into view, 
 and we saw many wonderful things on our jour- 
 ney: islands and cities we saw; lime white man- 
 sions and bright grianans, and lofty palaces. A 
 hornless fawn once crossed our course, bounding 
 nimbly from the crest of one wave to the crest 
 of another, and close after her in full chase was 
 a white hound with red ears. We saw also a 
 lovely young maiden mounted on a brown steed, 
 with a golden apple in her hand. She passed 
 swiftly by, and a young warrior on a white 
 steed plunged after her. This warrior wore a 
 long, flowing mantle of yellow silk; and held in 
 his hand a gold-hilted sword. I understood 
 none of these things and, wondering greatly, 
 I asked the princess what they signified. 
 
 She answered: "Heed not what you see here, 
 Oisin, for all this is as nothing compared with 
 what you shall see in Tir-na-n-og." 
 
 At last we saw at a great distance a palace, 
 more splendid than all the others, rising over 
 the waves on the very verge of the sea. As we 
 drew near its front gleamed and glittered like 
 the morning sun. I asked the lady what royal 
 
 Grianans [Gree'ah nans]: Sun-bowers; summer pavilions.
 
 OISIN IN TIR-NA-N-OG 161 
 
 house this was, and who was the prince that 
 ruled over it. 
 
 " 'This country is the land of Virtues/ " she 
 replied. " 'Its king is the great Fomor of the 
 Blows, and its queen the daughter of the land 
 of Life. This Fomor brought the lady away by 
 force from her own country, and keeps her a 
 prisoner in his palace. But she has put him 
 under geasa, that he cannot break through, never 
 to ask her to marry him, until she can find a 
 champion to fight him in single combat. But 
 as yet no hero has come hither courageous 
 enough to meet the giant and rescue the lady 
 from bondage/ ' 
 
 A blessing on you, golden haired Nia, I re- 
 plied, I have never heard music sweeter than 
 your voice; and, although I feel pity for the 
 princess, your story is pleasant for me to hear; 
 and, moreover, I will go to the palace and try 
 to overcome the Fomor in single combat and 
 thus free the lady. 
 
 So we came to land, and as we drew nigh to 
 the palace, the lovely young queen met us and 
 bade us welcome. 
 
 She led us in and seated us on chairs of gold. 
 Choice food was placed before us, and drinking
 
 162 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 horns, and methers of mead, and golden goblets 
 of sweet wine were offered us. When we had 
 eaten and drunk, the mild, young princess told 
 us her story; while tears welled out of her soft, 
 dark eyes. She ended by saying: "'Alas, I can 
 never return to my own country and to my 
 father's house as long as this great and cruel 
 giant is alive.' ' 
 
 When I heard her sad words, and saw her 
 tears falling, my heart was again filled with a 
 desire to aid her; and bidding her cease griev- 
 ing, I gave her my hand as a pledge that I would 
 meet the giant and either slay him or fall myself 
 in her defence. 
 
 While we were yet speaking, we saw the giant 
 coming toward the palace, carrying a load of 
 deer skin on his back; and holding a great iron 
 club in his hand. He was large of body and ugly 
 and hateful in appearance. When he saw us he 
 threw down his load and turned a surly look 
 on the princess; then, without greeting us, or 
 showing the least mark of courtesy, he challenged 
 me to battle in a loud, rough voice. 
 
 It was not my wont to be dismayed by a call 
 to arms or to be terrified by the sight of an 
 enemy; and so I went forth at once without the
 
 OISIN IN TIR-NA-N-OG 163 
 
 least fear. But although I had fought many bat- 
 tles in Eire against wild boars, and enchanters 
 and foreign invaders, never before did I find it 
 so hard to preserve my life. We fought for three 
 days and three nights without food or drink or 
 sleep, for the giant gave me not a moment for 
 rest; and, neither did I at any time allow him 
 to desist from the fray. 
 
 At length when I beheld the two princesses 
 weeping in great fear, and when I called to mind 
 my father's deeds in battle, a furious valor arose 
 within me and with a sudden onset I felled the 
 giant to the earth and, instantly, before he could 
 recover from the blow I gave him, I cut off his 
 head. 
 
 When the maidens saw the monster lying dead 
 upon the ground, they uttered three cries of joy 
 and they came to me and led me into the palace. 
 
 I was covered with gory wounds and a sudden 
 dizziness of brain and feebleness of body siezed 
 me. But the daughter of the king of the land 
 of Life applied precious balsam and healing 
 herbs, to my wounds; and in a short time I was 
 healed and my cheerfulness of mind returned. 
 
 Then I buried the giant in a deep and wide 
 grave, and I raised a great cairn over him and
 
 164 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 placed on it a stone with his name engraved in 
 Ogham. 
 
 We rested that night, and at the dawn of the 
 next day Nia said to me that it was time for us 
 to resume our journey to Tir-na-n-og. So we 
 took leave of the daughter of the king of the 
 land of Life. Although the princess was joy- 
 ful when she thought of her release from the 
 cruel giant, she wept at our departure, and we 
 were not less sorry to bid her farewell. 
 
 When we had again mounted the white steed, 
 he galloped toward the strand; and, as soon as 
 his hoofs touched the waves, he shook himself and 
 neighed three times. We plunged forward over 
 the clear, green sea, with the speed of a March 
 wind on a hillside, and soon we saw nothing but 
 billows tumbling before us, and billows tum- 
 bling behind us. And once again we saw the 
 fawn chased by the white hound with red ears, 
 and the maiden with the golden apple passed 
 swiftly by, followed by the young warrior in 
 yellow, silken robe; mounted on his white steed. 
 And, as before, we passed many strange islands 
 and white palaces. 
 
 Dark clouds now hid the sky from view. A 
 storm arose, and the sea was illumined by con-
 
 OISIN IN TIR-NA-N-OG 165 
 
 slant flashes of lightning. But though the winds 
 blew up from every point of the heavens, and the 
 waves towered and roared around us, the white 
 steed kept his course straight on, moving calmly 
 and swiftly as before, through the foam and 
 blinding spray. 
 
 He was not delayed or disturbed in the least, 
 and he did not turn to the right nor to the left.
 
 166 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 When at length the storm abated and the sun 
 again shone brightly, I looked around and saw 
 a country, near at hand, all green and full of 
 flowers; with beautiful smooth plains, purple 
 hills, and bright lakes and water falls. Not far 
 from the shore stood a palace of surprising 
 beauty and splendor. It was everywhere adorned 
 with gold and gems of every color: blue, green, 
 crimson and yellow; and on either side were 
 grianans, shining with precious stones, and built 
 by artists the most skillful that could be found. 
 I asked Nia the name of that delightful country, 
 and she answered me: "This is my native coun- 
 try, Tir-na-n-og, and there is nothing I have 
 promised which you will not find in it." 
 
 As soon as we reached the shore we dis- 
 mounted, and as we did so we saw advancing 
 from the palace a troop of noble warriors, all 
 clad in bright garments who came forth to meet 
 and welcome us. Following these were a stately 
 glittering host with the king at their head, wear- 
 ing a robe of bright yellow satin, and a crown 
 that sparkled with gold and diamonds. The 
 queen came after attended by a hundred lovely
 
 OISIN IN TIR-NA-N-OG 167 
 
 young maidens. And in all the world could not 
 be found a king and queen who could excel these 
 in beauty and gracefulness and majesty. 
 
 After they had kissed their daughter the king 
 took my hand and said aloud in the hearing of 
 the host : "This is Oisin, son of Finn, for whom 
 my daughter Nia traveled over the sea to Eire. 
 This is Oisin who is to be the husband of Nia 
 of the golden hair. We give you a hundred 
 thousand welcomes brave Oisin. You will be 
 forever young in this land. All kinds of de- 
 lights and innocent pleasures are awaiting you, 
 and my daughter shall be your wife, for I am 
 king of Tir-na-n-og." 
 
 I thanked the king with all my heart, and I 
 bowed low to the queen after which we went into 
 the palace, and there we found a banquet pre- 
 pared. 
 
 The feasting and rejoicing lasted for ten days, 
 and on the last day I was wedded to gentle Nia 
 of the golden hair. 
 
 I lived in the land of youth more than three 
 hundred years, but at the end of that time it 
 seemed to me as if only three years had passed 
 since the day I parted from my friends.
 
 168 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 Nevertheless, I began to have a longing to 
 see my father, Finn, and my old companions. 
 
 So I asked leave of Nia and of the king to 
 visit Eire. The king gave permission; and Nia 
 said: "I will give consent; though, my heart is 
 sorrowful, for I fear you will never return to 
 me." I replied that I would surely return and 
 that she need not feel any doubt or dread; for 
 the white steed would bring me back in safety. 
 Then she spoke these words; and they seemed 
 very strange to me: 
 
 "I will not refuse this request, though the 
 thought of your journey afflicts me with great 
 grief and fear. Eire is not now as it was when 
 you left it. The great king Finn and the war- 
 rior Feine are all gone and you will find instead 
 an army of champions who do battle, not with 
 sword and plunder ; but, with deeds of mercy and 
 kindness, whose laws are of forgiveness not re- 
 venge, and whose king is the Tailkenn, the lord 
 of a country where the high places are accorded 
 to the meek and lowly, not to the proud and 
 powerful. 
 
 "Now think well on what I say to you and 
 keep my words in your mind: If even once you 
 alight from the steed, you can never come back
 
 OISIN IN TIR-NA-N-OG 169 
 
 to me. Again I warn you: If you place your 
 feet on the green sod of Eire, you will never re- 
 turn to this lovely land. A third time, Oisin, 
 my beloved husband, a third time I say to you: 
 If you alight from the white steed you will never 
 see me again!" 
 
 I promised that I would faithfully remember 
 every word she had spoken to me, and that on 
 no account would I alight from the white steed. 
 Then, as I looked into her gentle face and marked 
 her grief, my heart was weighed down with sad- 
 ness, and I could not restrain my tears. But 
 even so, my mind was bent on coming back to 
 Eire.
 
 170 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 When I had mounted the white steed, he gal- 
 loped directly toward the shore. We moved 
 swiftly as before over the clear, green sea. The 
 wind overtook the waves, and we overtook the 
 wind, so that we straightway left the land of 
 youth far behind us. 
 
 And as before we passed many islands and 
 cities, until at length we landed on the beautiful 
 shores of Eire. 
 
 As I traveled through the country I scarcely 
 recognized the old places for everything was 
 strangely altered. Nowhere was there any sign 
 of Finn and his host. I began to fear that Nia's 
 words were true. 
 
 At length, I espied in the distance a company 
 of little men and women all mounted on little 
 horses, and when I came near they greeted me 
 kindly and courteously. They looked at me with 
 wonder and curiosity, and marveled much at my 
 great size, and the beauty and majesty of my 
 person. I asked them about Finn and the Feine 
 warriors: if any of them were still living; or, if 
 any sudden disaster had swept them away. 
 
 And one replied : "We have heard of the hero
 
 OISIN IN TIR-NA-N-OG 171 
 
 who, three times three generations ago, ruled in 
 Eire; and who never had an equal for bravery 
 and wisdom. The poets of the Gael have sung 
 his deeds and the deeds of the Feine, and it is 
 related in their songs that Finn had a son named 
 Oisin. And the poets tell that Oisin, when he 
 had reached the height of manly beauty and 
 valour, went away with a young, fairy maiden 
 to Tir-na-n-og; and his father and his friends 
 sorrowed greatly for him; and sought him long 
 and in many places. But he was never seen 
 again." 
 
 When I heard all this, I was filled with 
 amazement; and my heart grew heavy with sor- 
 row. I silently turned my steed from the won- 
 dering people and straightway set out for Alvin 
 of the green hill slopes. As I journeyed along 
 I could not free my mind from forebodings of 
 further sorrows awaiting me. When I reached 
 Alvin I found my fears were justified; for I found 
 the hill deserted and lonely, and my father's 
 palace in ruins and overgrown with grass and 
 weeds. 
 
 Slowly and sadly I turned my face from the 
 home of my childhood, and fared through the 
 land in every direction in search of my friends. 
 
 The Gael: The race at present called Irish. Gaelic: The language of 
 the inhabitants of Ireland. The Gaels of Ireland are the oldest 
 branch of the Aryan race. Eirinn [Ar'yan]: Genitive of Eire; a 
 native of Eire. Alvin [Awl'lyn] : Headquarters of the Feine of 
 Leinster. Chief residence of Finn in Kildare.
 
 172 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 But I met only crowds of little people who re- 
 garded me with wonder. Nowhere did I meet 
 anyone who knew me or whom I knew. I visited 
 all the old time haunts of the Feine; but, like 
 Alvin, they were all solitary and in ruins. 
 
 Finally I came to Glenasmole where the beau- 
 tiful Dodder flows ; and where many a time I had 
 hunted with the Feine. There I saw a crowd 
 of people in the glen. As I approached one of 
 them came forward and said to me: "Come to 
 us, thou mighty hero, and help us out of our 
 strait for thou art a man of vast strength." 
 
 I went to them and found a number of men 
 trying to raise a large, flat stone. It was half 
 lifted from the ground. But those who were 
 under it were not strong enough either to raise 
 it further or to free themselves from its weight. 
 And they were in great distress, and on the point 
 of being crushed to death. 
 
 I thought it a shameful thing that so many 
 men should be unable to lift this stone which 
 Oscar, if he were alive, would take in his right 
 hand and fling over the heads of the feeble 
 crowd. After I had watched them for a little 
 while, I stooped forward and seized the flag with 
 one hand, and putting forth my strength, I flung 
 
 Glenasmole: The glen of the thrash. Dodder: small stream flowing 
 
 through Wicklow and Dublin. Oscar [Us ' kar] : Son of Oisin.
 
 OISIN IN TIR-NA-N-OG 173 
 
 it seven perches from its place, and relieved the 
 little men. But my action put great strain on 
 the golden saddle girth of the white steed under 
 me, and bounding forward to keep myself from 
 falling I suddenly came to the ground on my two 
 feet. 
 
 The moment the steed felt himself free, he 
 shook himself and neighed three times. Then, 
 starting off with the speed of a cloud shadow on 
 a March day, he left me standing helpless and 
 sorrowful. Instantly a woeful change came over 
 me. The sight of my eyes began to fade; the 
 ruddy beauty of my face vanished; my strength 
 left me and I fell to the earth, a withered old 
 man, blind, wrinkled and feeble. 
 
 The white steed was never seen again. I 
 never recovered my sight, my strength, or my 
 youth, but have lived sorrowing for my gentle, 
 golden haired Nia, and thinking back to Finn, 
 my father, and the companions of my youth all 
 lost to me now, yet hoping that sometime, some- 
 where I shall meet them again.
 
 The Pursuit of the Gilla Dacker 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 N La Baal Tinne, the feast of the 
 coming of good weather, Finn, the 
 son of Cumal, feasted the Feine and 
 the chief people of Eire at Allen of 
 the Green Hill Slopes. And when the feast was 
 over the Feine reminded Finn that it was time to 
 begin the chase through the plains and glens and 
 wildernesses of Eire. During the first half of 
 the year, that is from La Baal Tinne until La 
 Samnah, the feast of the close of good weather, 
 the Feine were accustomed to spend their time 
 in hunting; and during the second half of the 
 year, from La Samnah until La Baal Tinne, they 
 lived in the mansions and in the betas, or houses 
 of hospitality of Eire. 
 
 And this time when the Baal Tinne feast was 
 over, Finn and his chiefs chose the province of 
 Munster for the first chase; and they set out 
 with dogs and men and traveled through Offaly, 
 and by the twelve mountains of Evlinn, until 
 
 Gilla : Servant. Dacker [Dyak ' er] : Troublesome. Cumal [Cool]. 
 Finn: Same as in preceding story. Allen: Same as Alvin. La 
 Samnah [Law Sow'nah]: The first day of November. La Baal 
 Tinne: The first day of May; Day of the Baal fire. Offaly [O fahl' 
 yah]: District comprising portions of Queen's County and Kildare. 
 
 174
 
 PURSUIT OF THE GILLA BACKER 175 
 
 they came to Knockainey ; and they pitched their 
 tents on a level spot near its summit. Then the 
 chase was set in order and the hunters scattered 
 themselves over the broad plains of Munster. 
 They hunted over Keen Avrat of Sleive Keen, 
 and over Coil Na Drua; and, through the forest 
 fastnesses of the patrimony of Curoi MacDara 
 their fleet hounds followed the deer. By the 
 shores of Loch Lein, and along the blue-waved 
 Suir full many a quarry fell before them; and 
 ever with keener zest they fared onward, feast- 
 ing and singing by day; resting by night on 
 fragrant beds of fern and fir until they crossed 
 the speckled summit of Slieve-na-man. 
 
 But Finn, after a short chase over the plains 
 of Cliach, went back to rest on the hill of 
 Knockainey. With him was his son Oisin, Gaul 
 MacMorna of the Mighty Deeds, Finn's shield- 
 bearer, Skeabrac, Conan Mael and Ban Mac 
 Breasal. The sounds of the hunt came back to 
 Finn and his companions on the hill of Knock- 
 ainey, borne across the broad plains of Cliach; 
 and they listened with pleasure to the cheers and 
 shouts, the whistling and signaling of the mighty 
 heroes and to the cries of the sharp-nosed 
 
 Coil na Dnia [Wood of the Druids]. Curoi Mac Dara : a contempo- 
 rary of Cuchulain. Slieve-na-man: Mountain of the woman. 
 Conan Mael [Kaw nawn ' Mwal].
 
 176 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 dogs, as they routed the deer from their coverts 
 and the badgers from their burrows. 
 
 Then said Finn to Ban MacBreasal: "Thou 
 wast ever a skillful champion and a shrewd; un- 
 wearied in war or in the chase. Go, I pray thee, 
 to the highest point of this hill whose summit 
 shadows us and from there note narrowly the 
 progress of the chase, and watch for the safety 
 of the hunters, for I fear the Druidical spells of 
 the Dedannan." 
 
 As Ban MacBreasal stood on the high hilltop, 
 grasping his broad spears, and scanning the four 
 points of the sky, he saw a Fomor of great size 
 coming toward the hill leading a horse. This 
 Fomor was the ugliest looking giant Ban Mac- 
 Breasal had ever seen. His bloated body was 
 supported on clumsy, crooked legs and broad, 
 flat feet turned inward. His face was covered 
 with bushy hair and his thick lips opened over 
 long, crooked teeth. With his head poked for- 
 ward, and his face turned up, he stared straight 
 at Ban MacBreasal. A broad shield of a sooty 
 hue, rough and battered, hung over his back. 
 At his left hip was a long, heavy, straight sword; 
 and in his left hand two thick-handled, broad- 
 headed spears, old and rusty as if they had not
 
 PURSUIT OF THE GILLA DACKER 177 
 
 been used for years. In his right hand he held 
 an iron club, which he dragged after him upon 
 the ground; and as it trailed along it tore up a 
 track as deep as the furrow a farmer plows with 
 a yoke of oxen. 
 
 The giant's horse was even larger in propor- 
 tion than the giant himself, and every bit as 
 ugly. His tangled, scraggy hair was of a dingy 
 black; and his ribs and all the points of his big 
 bones could be counted through his hide. His 
 legs were crooked and knotty, his neck twisted; 
 and his jaws so long and heavy that they made 
 his head look twice as large as it should for his 
 body. The giant held him by a strong halter and 
 seemed to pull him forward by main force. 
 Every now and then the lazy beast stood still 
 and, when he did so, the giant struck him on the 
 ribs with his iron club ; and the blow sounded as 
 loud as the thundering of a great billow against 
 the rough rocks of the sea coast. 
 
 Ban MacBreasal was not a man to be easily 
 frightened, but, when he saw the giant and his 
 horse coming toward him, he sprang from his 
 seat and, snatching up his arms, ran down the 
 hill slope with his utmost speed to the place 
 where he had left the king and his companions.
 
 178 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 He found them sitting around a chess board, 
 deep in a game. When they saw Ban Mac- 
 Breasal's frightened mien, they started to their 
 feet and, looking in the direction that he pointed, 
 they saw the big Fomor leading his ungainly 
 horse slowly up the hill. They gazed in silent 
 wonder until at last he approached them; and, 
 bowing his head and bending his knee, saluted 
 the king. Finn returned his salute and after 
 giving him leave to speak, asked him to tell his 
 name and from which of the three divisions of 
 the world he had come; and, whether he be- 
 longed to the noble or the ignoble races. The 
 king also asked what was his profession or craft 
 and why he had no servant to attend to his horse. 
 "If indeed," said Finn, "such an ugly old spectre 
 of an animal can by courtesy be called a horse." 
 The big man answered him: "O King of the 
 Feine, whether I come of a noble or an ignoble 
 race I cannot tell, for I know not who were my 
 father and my mother. As to where I came 
 from; I am a Fomor of Lochlann in the north. 
 I have no particular dwelling place, but travel 
 about from one country to another, serving the 
 great lords and nobles of the world ; and, receiv- 
 ing wages for my services. I have often heard,
 
 PURSUIT OF THE GILLA BACKER 179 
 
 O King, of your greatness and royal bounty, 
 and I have come to ask you to take me into your 
 service for a year. You wish to know why I 
 have no servant for this great horse of mine? 
 It is because it is enough to provide for me with- 
 out having also to feed my servant ; for, at every 
 meal I eat, my master must give me as much food 
 and drink as would be sufficient for an hundred 
 men. My name is the Gilla Backer, and it is not 
 without good reason that I am so called, for there 
 never was a lazier or worse servant than I, or 
 one who grumbles more at doing a day's work 
 for his master." 
 
 "Well," said Finn, "I fear you are not a very 
 pleasant fellow, but as I have never refused any 
 man service, and wages, I will not refuse you." 
 Whereupon Finn and the Gilla Backer made 
 covenants and the Gilla Backer was taken into 
 service for one year. 
 
 "I see no one here worthy to put a hand to 
 my horse," said the Gilla Backer after the agree- 
 ment between Finn and himself was completed, 
 "so I will myself place him among your horses 
 for pasture. I value him very highly and it 
 would grieve me very much should any harm 
 befall him." Then turning to the King, he said:
 
 180 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 "I put him under your protection, O King, and 
 under the protection of all the Feine. 
 
 Every one of the Feine present burst out laugh- 
 ing to hear the Gilla Backer thus showing con- 
 cern for his miserable, old skeleton of a horse. 
 The big man, however, gave no heed to their 
 merriment; but, taking the halter off his horse's 
 head, turned him loose in the pasture. The 
 wretched looking old animal, instead of begin- 
 ning to graze as every one thought he would, 
 cocked his long, hard, switchy tail out straight 
 as a rod, and running among the other horses 
 threw up his hind legs and kicked about on this 
 side and on that. He tore through the thickest 
 of the herd, butting at them with his hard, bony 
 forehead; and, opening his lips with a vicious 
 grin, snapped at the Feine's high bred horses with 
 his sharp, crooked teeth; nor did he desist until 
 every animal in the herd bore some mark of his 
 injuries. At last he left them and ran toward a 
 small field where Conan Mael's horses were graz- 
 ing by themselves. Conan seeing this shouted 
 in great alarm to the Gilla Dacker to fetch away 
 his horse, and not let him work any more mischief. 
 
 "The only way to prevent my horse from join- 
 ing the others is to put the halter on him and
 
 PURSUIT OF THE GILLA DACKER 181 
 
 hold him," said the Gilla Backer. "This will 
 keep the poor beast from grazing and leave him 
 hungry at the end of the day; but," said he to 
 Conan, "there is the halter and if you are in any 
 fear for your animals, go yourself and fetch 
 my horse from the field." 
 
 Conan was in a mighty rage when he heard 
 this ; and, just as the big horse was about to cross 
 the fence into the small field, he snatched up the 
 halter and running forward with long strides 
 threw it over the animal's head and tried to lead 
 him back. But the horse refused to move. His 
 body and legs became as stiff as if they were 
 made of wood; and, though Conan pulled and 
 tugged with might and main, he was not able to 
 stir the beast an inch from his place. The Gilla 
 Backer looked on in a perfectly indifferent man- 
 ner, and the others laughed at Conan's perplex- 
 ity, but no one offered to relieve him. At last 
 Fergus, the poet, said "I never would have be- 
 lieved, Conan Mael, that you could be brought 
 to do horse service for knight or noble, in all the 
 world. But now indeed I see you have made 
 yourself horse-boy to an odious, foreign giant! 
 Would it not be better for you, if indeed you must 
 so debase yourself, to mount the old horse, and
 
 182 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 obtain revenge for all the trouble he is giving by 
 riding him across the country, over the hill tops 
 and down into the deep glens and valleys, and 
 through stones and bogs and all sorts of rough 
 places, until you have broken the heart in his 
 big, ugly body?" 
 
 Conan, stung by the words of the poet and the 
 jeers of his companions, jumped upon the horse's 
 back and began to beat him mightily with his 
 heels, and with his two big, heavy fists. But the 
 horse seemed not to take the least notice, and 
 stood as if he had been turned into stone. 
 
 "I know the reason he does not go," said 
 Fergus, "he has been accustomed to carry a 
 horseman far heavier than you, that is to say; 
 the Gilla Backer, and he will not move until he 
 has the same weight on his back as heretofore." 
 So Conan called to his companions and asked 
 which of them would mount with him, and help 
 avenge the damage done to their horses. 
 
 "I will go," said Coil Croda, the Battle 
 Victor, and up he went; but the horse did not 
 move. Dara MacMorna next offered to go, and 
 mounted behind the others; and, after him went 
 Angus MacMorna; and the end of it was that 
 fourteen men of the clans Baskin and Morna 
 
 Moma [Morn 'yah].
 
 PURSUIT OF THE GILLA BACKER 183 
 
 got on the horse's sharp, bony back and each one 
 added to the thrashing begun by Conan Mael. 
 When the Gilla Backer saw the Feine beating 
 his horse at such a rate he seemed very angry, 
 and addressed the King in these words: "I now 
 see very plainly that all the fine accounts which 
 I have heard of you and the Feine, O Finn Mac- 
 Cumal, are false and I will not stay in your serv- 
 ice no, not another hour. Judge for yourself 
 whether any one with the least regard for his 
 beast would allow such ill usage as your men are 
 giving my horse, and indeed without any cause 
 whatever. Though short the time since I en- 
 tered your service, I consider it far too long; so 
 pay me my wages and let me go my way." 
 
 But Finn refused to pay him until the end of 
 the year. 
 
 "Well, wages, or no wages, I will now seek 
 another master," said the Gilla Backer, and he 
 stood up as straight as a pillar and, turning his 
 face toward the southwest, he walked slowly 
 away. 
 
 The horse immediately followed his master 
 taking the fifteen men away on his back. When 
 the Feine saw this they raised a loud shout of 
 laughter, mocking them. The Gilla Backer,
 
 184 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 after he had walked some little distance, looked 
 back to see how it fared with his horse. Then 
 he tucked up his skirts. And if you know what 
 the speed of a swallow is flying across a moun- 
 tain side; or, the dry, fairy wind of a March 
 day sweeping over the plains, you can imagine 
 the swiftness of the Gilla Dacker, as he ran down 
 the hillside toward the southwest. And the 
 horse, although he carried a heavy load, galloped 
 after his master, plunging and bounding for- 
 ward as if he had nothing at all on his back. 
 The men now tried to throw themselves off but 
 could not, for they found that they were firmly 
 fastened on the horse's back. Conan looked back 
 and shouted to Finn and the Feine, asking them 
 if they were content to see their friends carried 
 off by sifch a horrible, old, spectre of an animal. 
 
 Finn and the others hearing this started in 
 pursuit of the Gilla Dacker; and away they all 
 went over the wide, heathy summit of Slieve 
 Luachra; and from there to Corca Divna. And 
 they ran along by Slieve Mish until they reached 
 Clogan Kincat, near the deep, green sea. 
 
 It was not until the horse had reached the 
 beach, just at the water's edge, that Ligan 
 Lumina, who had kept ahead of the other pur- 
 
 Luachra [Loch'ra]. Cloghan [Clok hawn']: Causeway. Cloghan 
 
 Kincat: Cat-head stepping stones. 
 Ligan: Jetsam; goods which sink when cast into the sea and remain 
 
 under water.
 
 PURSUIT OF THE GILLA DACKER 185 
 
 suers, succeeded in catching him by the tail with 
 his two hands. Ligan pulled with all his might 
 thinking to hold the horse until the rest of the 
 Feine should arrive. But his pulling was of no 
 avail for the horse plunged through the waves 
 dragging Ligan after him, thus making it im- 
 possible for him to either help his friends or free 
 himself, as his hands clung fast to the tail of the 
 horse.
 
 186 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 The great horse continued his course through 
 the sea, fetching the sixteen Feine with him, and 
 the waters retired before them leaving a dry, 
 firm strand under them; while behind them fol- 
 lowed close a wild, raging, sea, which seemed 
 ready at any moment to topple over their heads. 
 
 But although the billows were tumbling and 
 roaring all around them neither horse nor riders 
 were wet by so much as a drop of brine or a dash 
 of spray. Finn and the others, left behind on 
 Knockainey, watched the horse and men until 
 they lost sight of them in the sea. 
 
 After a long silence Finn spoke and asked the 
 chiefs what they thought best to do. But they 
 replied that he far excelled them in all knowledge 
 and wisdom; and they told him they would fol- 
 low whatever counsel he and Fergus, the poet, 
 should see fit to give. Then Finn told Fergus 
 to speak his mind, and Fergus said: "My counsel 
 is that we go straightway to Ben Edar, where 
 we will find a ship waiting ready to sail ; for our 
 forefathers, when they wrested the land from 
 the Dedannans, bound them by covenant to main- 
 tain this ship forever fitted with all things need-
 
 PURSUIT OF THE GILLA BACKER 187 
 
 fill for a voyage. They were to do this in return 
 for the privileges of Ben Edar ; and in order that 
 if, at any time, one of the noble sons of Gael 
 Glas wished to sail to distant lands from Eire, 
 there would be a ship lying at hand in the har- 
 bor ready for his voyage. 
 
 They all agreed to this counsel, and without 
 delay turned their steps northward toward Ben 
 Edar. They had not gone far when they met 
 two youths of noble mien, fully armed ; and wear- 
 ing over their armor beautiful mantles of scarlet 
 silk fastened with brooches of gold. After the 
 king had returned their salute and had given 
 them leave to converse, he asked who they were; 
 whither they had come; and, who the prince or 
 chief was that they served. Then the elder 
 answered: "My name is Feradach, and my 
 brother's name is Foltlebar; and we are the two 
 sons of the king of Innia. Each of us professes 
 an art, and it has long been a point of dispute 
 between us which art is the better, my brother's 
 or mine. We have heard there is not in the world 
 a wiser man than thou, O King, and we have 
 come to ask thee to take us into thy service, 
 among thy household troops for a year; and at 
 the end of that time to give judgment between 
 
 Innia: India.
 
 188 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 us in the matter." Finn then asked what were 
 the two arts they professed. 
 
 "My art," answered Feradach, "is this: If 
 at any time a company of warriors need a ship, 
 give me only my joiner's ax, and my crann-tavall 
 and I am able to provide it without delay. All 
 I ask them to do is this: cover their heads close 
 and keep them covered while I give the crann- 
 tavall three blows of my ax. Then I tell them 
 to uncover their heads, and lo, there lies the 
 ship in the harbor ready to sail." 
 
 Then Foltlebar spoke and said he: 
 
 "This, O King, is the art I profess: On land 
 I can track the wild duck over nine ridges and 
 nine glens and never lose track of her until I 
 drop upon her in her nest; and, on sea my skill 
 is to follow the same, if only I have a good ship 
 and crew." 
 
 "You are the very men I want/' said Finn, 
 and he told them the story of the Gilla Dacker 
 and his horse from beginning to end. "And," 
 he added, "we are now on our way to Ben Edar 
 to seek a ship, so that we may follow this giant 
 and his horse and rescue our companions." 
 
 "I will get you a ship that will sail as swiftly 
 as a swallow can fly," said Feradach. "And," 
 
 Crann-tavall [thowl]: Wooden fulcrum for the oar in rowing.
 
 PURSUIT OF THE GILLA BACKER 189 
 
 said Foltlebar, "I will guide your ship in the 
 track of the Gilla Backer until you shall have 
 laid hands on him, in whatsoever part of the 
 world he may seek to hide himself." Forthwith 
 they returned to the beach of Cloghan Kincat 
 and they covered their heads while Feradach 
 struck three blows of his ax on the crann-tavall. 
 And lo, when he bade them look, they saw a 
 ship fully fitted out with oars and sails, and with 
 all things needful for a long voyage riding be- 
 fore them in the harbor. Then Kylta MacRonan 
 went to the top of a high hill, and turning his 
 face inland gave three mighty shouts, which 
 were taken up by the people of the next valley, 
 and after them by those of the next valley be- 
 yond. And thus was the signal given in every 
 glen and valley and on every plain and hillside 
 of the two provinces of Munster. 
 
 When the Feine heard these shouts, they ceased 
 their sports for they knew their King was in 
 danger. And they formed themselves into ranks, 
 and troops, and battalions and began a march 
 toward Cloghan Kincat. After they arrived, 
 Finn told them the story of the Gilla Backer's 
 flight through the sea ; and he picked out fifteen 
 men: the bravest and best; the most dexterous,
 
 190 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 and the swiftest of foot among the Feine, to ac- 
 company him in the quest for their friends which 
 he was about to undertake in the ship provided 
 by Feradach. 
 
 Among those chosen to go with Finn, the chief 
 men were Dyna, of the Bright Face; Gaul Mac- 
 Morna; Fergus, the Poet; and, Feradach and 
 Foltlebar. Sad indeed was the leave-taking 
 when they sailed away ; for no one knew how far 
 the king might have to go through unknown 
 seas, or what spells and dangers he and his men 
 might have to encounter in this pursuit. 
 
 After a few days fair sailing on the cold, 
 bright sea, a great storm came from the west 
 and the black waves rose up against them, so 
 that they had much ado to keep their vessel from 
 sinking. But through the roaring of the tempest ; 
 through rain and blinding spray, Foltlebar, their 
 steersman, never stirred from the helm, or 
 changed his course; but kept close on the track 
 of the Gilla Backer. 
 
 At length the storm abated and the sea grew 
 calm; and when the darkness had cleared away 
 the ship's crew as they looked off to the west 
 saw not far away a vast, rocky cliff, towering 
 over their heads to such a height that its top
 
 PURSUIT OF THE GILLA BACKER 191 
 
 was hidden in the drifting clouds of the upper 
 air. It rose up sheer from the very water; and 
 in the distance appeared to be as smooth as glass. 
 Foltlebar, after looking to the four points of the 
 sky, could track the Gilla Backer as far as the 
 cliffs, but no farther. So he told the heroes 
 that he thought it was on the top of that rock 
 the giant lived, and that in some way or other 
 the horse must have made its way up the face 
 of the cliff with their unfortunate companions. 
 
 The words of Foltlebar filled the heroes' hearts 
 with sorrow and vexation, for they saw no way 
 of reaching the top of the rock, and feared that 
 they would have to give up the quest and return 
 to Cloghan Kincat. 
 
 When they had spent some time In silent 
 thought, Fergus, the poet, arose and said: "My 
 friends, we have here among us one who in his 
 youth was taught in Fairyland by Mannanan 
 Mac Lir ; and by Angus, the wisest of the Dedan- 
 nans. All that a warrior should learn, and much 
 druidical lore beside he is skilled in, and there 
 are none who excel him in manly arts and cham- 
 pion feats. But it seems that these accomplish- 
 ments of his go for naught; for, now when we 
 stand most in need of them, he sits idly here with
 
 192 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 us in our ship and never once offers to make an 
 attempt to scale the face of the cliff and bring us 
 tidings of our lost friends." 
 
 When Dyna, of the Bright Face, heard this 
 speech his cheek grew red with shame. "It is of 
 me you speak these words, Fergus," he said, 
 "and your reproaches are just." 
 
 And he arose, and girded on his armor, and 
 took his two long, deadly spears, the Crann-boi 
 and the Ga-derg, one in each hand; and the bat- 
 tle fury of a warrior descended on him, so that 
 he looked a dreadful foe to meet in single com- 
 bat. Leaning on the handles of his spears, he 
 leaped with a light, airy bound on to the nearest 
 shelf of rock. 
 
 Crann-boi [bwSe] : The yellow spear. Ga-derg: The red javelin.
 
 PURSUIT OF THE GILLA DACKER 193 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 He climbed from ledge to ledge while his com- 
 panions watched him eagerly from below. After 
 much toil he measured the soles of his two feet 
 on the green sod at the top of the rock, and 
 when he turned to look at his friends in the ship 
 far below, a feeling of dizziness and dread al- 
 most overcame him. Looking inland, he saw 
 spread out before him a lovely plain, bordered 
 with pleasant hills; and shaded with groves of 
 many kinds of trees. 
 
 It would bring happiness to the heart of any 
 mortal to behold the beauty of this country, and 
 listen to the warbling of the birds, the humming 
 of the bees among the flowers, the rustling of 
 the wind through the trees and the pleasant 
 voices of the streams and waterfalls. 
 
 Dyna set out to walk across the plain. 
 
 He had not gone far, when he saw before him 
 a mighty tree whose high branches, laden with 
 fruit, overtopped all the other trees of the plain. 
 This tree was surrounded at a little distance by 
 a circle of pillar stones; and, one stone taller 
 than the others stood in the center near the tree. 
 Beside this pillar stone was a spring with a large,
 
 194 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 round pool as clear as crystal ; the water bubbled 
 up in the center of the pool and flowed away 
 toward the middle of the plain in a slender 
 stream. 
 
 Dyna was glad when he saw the well, for he 
 was hot and thirsty after climbing the cliff. He 
 stooped down to drink ; but, before his lips touched 
 the water he heard the heavy tread of warriors, 
 and the loud clank of arms. He sprang to his 
 feet and looked around, but the noise had ceased 
 and he could see nothing of arms or warriors. 
 
 He stood a little while wondering then stooped 
 again to drink; and again, before he had wet his 
 lips, he heard the very same sounds nearer and 
 louder than before. A second time he leaped to 
 his feet but there was no way in which to ac- 
 count for the clank of arms, or the sound of the 
 tread of marching champions, which he had 
 heard. Astonished and perplexed, he stood be- 
 side the well, and happening to look at the tall 
 pillar stone near by he saw on its top a large, 
 beautiful, drinking horn, chased with gold and 
 enameled with precious stones. 
 
 "Ah," thought Dyna, "it is no doubt one of 
 the virtues of this well that no one may drink 
 of its waters except from the drinking horn. So
 
 PURSUIT OF THE GILLA BACKER 195 
 
 he took down the horn, dipped it into the well, 
 and drank without hindrance until he had slaked 
 his thirst. Scarcely had he taken the horn from 
 his lips, when he saw a tall grugach com- 
 ing toward him from the east. The grugach 
 was clad in a complete suit of mail and fully 
 armed with shield and helmet; sword and spear. 
 A beautiful scarlet mantle hung over his armor 
 and was fastened at his throat by a golden 
 brooch. A broad land of gold, bended across his 
 forehead, confined his yellow hair and kept it 
 from being blown about by the wind. 
 
 He came forward with long strides and soon 
 reached the well. He offered no greeting nor 
 courtesy to Dyna, but addressed him in a rough, 
 angry voice: "O, Dyna of the Feine, could you 
 not have drunk your fill from the crystal springs 
 of Eire? Why have you come to my island and 
 without my leave drank from my drinking horn 
 the waters of this well ? Never shall you leave this 
 spot until you have given me satisfaction for this 
 insult!" 
 
 So spoke the grugach and advanced on Dyna 
 with fury in his eyes. But there did not live a 
 grugach who could terrify Dyna. He met the 
 foe half way and like two enraged lions they 
 
 Grugach: A wizard. Land: A crescent of gold worn on the head.
 
 196 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 fought through all the long day, until the gloam- 
 ing; then the grugach suddenly sprang outside 
 the range of Dyna's sword and leaping up with 
 a great bound alighted in the very center of the 
 well. Down he went and disappeared in a mo- 
 ment from the sight of the wondering Dyna. 
 Whether the hero meant to drown himself or to 
 play some wizard trick, Dyna knew not. He 
 looked once more into the crystal waters of the 
 well ; all was as serene and quiet as when he first 
 beheld them. He was filled with amazement and 
 vexation because the grugach had so easily es- 
 caped from him and as he seated himself on the 
 green sward to think it over, he was sorely 
 chafed to think that he had not the least token 
 or trophy to show the Feine after his long fight. 
 Dyna was hungry and tired after the toil of 
 the day, so he set out to the forest near by to 
 see if he could find some game for food. And 
 as he neared the forest he saw a herd of speckled 
 deer running among the trees. He put his finger 
 into the silken loop of his spear and, throwing it 
 with unerring cast, brought down the nearest of 
 the herd. He lighted a fire under a tree and hav- 
 ing skinned the deer he fixed it on long, hazel 
 spits to roast. First, however, he went to the
 
 PURSUIT OF THE GILLA BACKER 197 
 
 well and fetched away the drinking horn full 
 of water. When the deer was cooked, he ate 
 until he was satisfied, and drank a refreshing 
 draft from the drinking horn, then he lay down 
 under the shelter of a tree, beside the fire and 
 slept until morning. Then he went again to the 
 forest and slew another deer for his breakfast, 
 for it was Dyna's custom never to eat any food 
 which had been left from a former meal. 
 
 After he had eaten of the deer's flesh and 
 drunk from the horn he went toward the well. 
 But the grugach was there before him, and stood 
 beside the pillar stone fully armed as before, and 
 looking more wrathful than ever. Dyna was 
 much surprised, but before he had time to speak 
 the grugach thus addressed him: "You have 
 now put the cap on all your evil deeds, O, Dyna 
 of the Feine, surely there are hunting grounds 
 in Eire of the green plains, deep forests with 
 plenty of deer in them, and you need not have 
 come hither to rob me thus and kill my speckled 
 deer. And now, O Dyna, hear me say : you shall 
 not go hence until I have taken full satisfaction 
 for all the injuries wrought me." 
 
 Then the grugach without waiting for Dyna 
 to reply attacked him, and the two champions
 
 198 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 fought until the dusk began to fall. Then the 
 grugach again leaped into the well and disap- 
 peared. 
 
 On the third day, everything was repeated as 
 on the two former days, and on the fourth morn- 
 ing, Dyna found the grugach standing as usual 
 by the pillar stone near the well; and his looks 
 were fiercer than ever. And once more without 
 exchanging a word the warriors fought until the 
 dusk of evening, and when Dyna, who was 
 watching the grugach narrowly, saw him about 
 to spring into the well as he had done each even- 
 ing before, he threw his arms around him and 
 held him in a mighty grip. The grugach tried 
 to free himself while moving all the time nearer 
 and nearer the brink of the well until finally he 
 plunged in and down they went, Dyna and the 
 grugach, clinging to each other; down, deeper 
 and deeper, where nothing could be seen but 
 darkness and shadows. At, length there was a 
 glimmer of light, then the full bright day burst 
 suddenly upon them. Presently, without feel- 
 ing any shock whatever they found them- 
 selves standing on solid ground. But that mo- 
 ment, the grugach, with a sudden effort, tore 
 himself from Dyna's grasp and ran away, leav-
 
 PURSUIT OF THE GILLA BACKER 199 
 
 ing Dyna prone upon the earth. He leaped to 
 his feet thinking to pursue the grugach, but the 
 beauty of the surrounding scene so distracted 
 his thoughts that he forgot the wizard-champion, 
 giving him time to escape. 
 
 Here was a lovely country, with green-sided 
 hills, and fair valleys between; groves of red 
 yew trees, and plains laughing all over with 
 flowers of every hue. Not far off was a city of 
 grand tall houses with glittering roofs, and a 
 magnificent royal palace. On the level green in 
 front of the palace were a number of knights, 
 all armed, amusing themselves with warlike exer- 
 cises of sword and spear. 
 
 It was toward this assemblage that the gru- 
 gach ran. Dyna looked just in time to see the 
 knights making way for him as he passed 
 through their ranks and inside of the palace gate. 
 Dyna was at a loss to know what to do next; 
 he seated himself to rest and think; and, he fell 
 into a deep sleep. After sleeping for some time 
 he was awakened by a smart blow. He opened 
 his eyes and saw standing over him a tall, young 
 man, with a comely countenance and long golden 
 hair. The young man, finding Dyna asleep in 
 such a dangerous place had struck him with the
 
 200 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 flat of his sword to awaken him. Dyna, thinking 
 him a foe, seized his arms. But the youth bade 
 him put them up. "I am no enemy, and have come 
 not to harm but to serve you," said he. "Come 
 with me, O Dyna of the Bright Face, and I will 
 give you a better place to sleep, and kindly enter- 
 tainment." Dyna thanked the young man and 
 went with him. After walking for some time they 
 came to a splendid house which they entered. In 
 the banqueting hall they found a noble company 
 of twelve score and ten knights, and almost as 
 many beautiful ladies with long, lustrous hair 
 falling over their shoulders; and eyes as blue as 
 the ailestar blossom. They wore mantles of 
 scarlet satin fastened with brooches of bur- 
 nished gold; and the sweet, wild lilies were not 
 more gentle and modest than were these noble 
 ladies in their looks and conversation. Both 
 knights and ladies sat at tables lining the walls 
 of the banquet hall ; some feasting, some playing 
 chess, and some listening to the music of harps. 
 
 All the knights and ladies arose and greeted 
 the heroes when they entered, and invited them 
 to join in the festivities. 
 
 But the golden haired prince, for such he was, 
 told them that first Dyna must have rest and re-
 
 PURSUIT OF THE GILLA BACKER 201 
 
 freshment. Then he ordered the attendants to 
 prepare a bath for him, and bring him rich gar- 
 ments so that he should be clothed like the 
 others. 
 
 After Dyna, refreshed and cheerful, had joined 
 the company once more he partook of food and 
 drink and made merry with his hospitable 
 friends. Harpers and poets; story tellers and 
 professors of divers arts and sciences vied with 
 each other in providing entertainment for the 
 guests. Poetry, song and sweetest music; tales 
 of the heroes of olden time; and, again music 
 sweeter than Dyna had ever heard stirred the 
 imagination and warmed the hearts of that 
 bright gathering. And to each and every poet, 
 harper, or entertainer of whatever kind the 
 knights gave gifts of gold, and silver, and jewels. 
 
 After the feast was over, Dyna was shown to 
 a couch, richly ornamented and soft with the red 
 feathers of wild fowl, and soon he fell into a 
 sound sleep. The next morning, when the com- 
 pany had again assembled, Dyna said to the 
 noble youth who had brought him thither: "I 
 am much surprised, O prince, at all that has be- 
 fallen me in this strange land. Tell me I pray 
 you what country is this? And who is king
 
 202 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 thereof? And tell me also the name of the cham- 
 pion who fought with me four days at the well; 
 and who at last escaped from me through the 
 palace gate?" 
 
 "You shall be told everything; so listen, O 
 Dyna of the Bright Face. This country is Tir- 
 fa-tonn. The hero who fought with you is called 
 the Knight of the Fountain, and he is the King 
 of Tir-fa-tonn. I am the king's brother, and am 
 called the Knight of Valour. Good reason have 
 I to be kind to you, Dyna, for I once spent a year 
 and a day in the household of Finn, the son of 
 Cumal. A part of this kingdom by right be- 
 longs to me, but the king and his son have seized 
 on my patrimony and have banished me from the 
 palace, forcing me to live here in exile, with a 
 few of my followers. I have here in my house- 
 hold seven score and ten heroes; and, if you will 
 consent to aid me in making war on the king of 
 Tir-fa-tonn these shall be placed under your 
 command. By day you shall fight, by night you 
 shall feast and rest in the palace." 
 
 So Dyna and the Knight of Valour made a 
 covenant, and placing hand in hand pledged 
 themselves to be faithful friends. 
 
 Tir-fa-tonn; Country under the waves.
 
 PURSUIT OF THE GILLA DACKER 203 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 It was now many days since Dyna had left 
 his companions in the ship, and they marvelled 
 much that he did not return with tidings of the 
 Gilla Backer. At length they determined to go 
 in search of him. Feradach and Foltlebar tied 
 all the cables and ropes they could find in the 
 ship together in hard, sure knots ; and when this 
 was done they had a rope long enough to reach 
 from the top of the rock to the bottom. Then 
 they clambered up the steep face of the cliff, 
 fetching with them the end of the rope, and one 
 by one they drew up Finn and the rest. 
 
 When they were all up, Foltlebar led the way 
 across the plain. And it chanced that they met 
 a young man of majestic mien, riding a. beauti- 
 ful chestnut steed with a bridle of twisted gold, 
 and a saddle of surpassing splendor glittering 
 with gold and jewels. He alighted; and putting 
 his hand on Finn's neck, kissed his cheek three 
 times and: "Welcome art thou, O Finn of 
 the famous deeds," said he, "to this, my kingdom 
 of Sorca." And while they were conversing, a 
 messenger came breathless into the presence of 
 the king, and bowing low, waited impatiently for 
 
 Sorca [Sur'cah]: Scholars do not agree as to place meant.
 
 204 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 leave to speak. And when the king asked him 
 what news he had brought, he replied : "Direful 
 news have I, O king, for a foreign fleet has come 
 to our shores, a fleet so great that until the stars 
 of heaven and the sands of the sea are counted 
 the hosts that are landing from their black ships 
 shall not be numbered. Already they are 
 plundering and slaying the people of our land." 
 
 Finn, when he heard this, without waiting to 
 be asked, proffered the assistance of himself and 
 his soldiers. 
 
 The King of Sorca was glad of heart when he 
 heard this offer, and he gathered his fighting 
 men together and after many days of dreadful 
 warfare the foreigners were overcome with 
 disaster and set their sails and left the harbor in 
 the night. 
 
 When the soldiers of Sorca and the Feinc 
 arose next morning, not a ship was in sight. And 
 while they were rejoicing with each other at be- 
 ing freed from invasion, they saw at a distance, 
 a troop of chieftains coming toward them, with 
 arms and banners, ablaze with the morning sun- 
 light 
 
 As they drew nearer, Fergus, the poet, recog- 
 nized Dyna Bainchre at the head of the troop,
 
 PURSUIT OF THE GILLA BACKER 205 
 
 and ran forward to meet him. With embraces 
 and shouts of joy the parted friends greeted each 
 other, and Dyna related all of his adventures 
 from first to last. ''And now," continued he, 
 bringing forth the Knight of Valour from 
 among the strange host, "this is he who was 
 formerly called the Knight of Valour, but who 
 is now the King of Tir-fa-tonn, for together 
 have we fought and won for him his patrimony 
 which was wrested from him by his brother, the 
 unjust and cruel Knight of the Fountain." The 
 chieftains in silence saluted the king and Dyna 
 continued telling of the Knight of Valour : "He 
 has given us tidings of the Gilla Dacker, for by 
 means of his druidical art he has found out that 
 he is no other than Avarta, the Dedannan, who 
 took the form of a grugach in order that he 
 might bring away with him the sixteen Feine to 
 the land of promise, Tir-na-n-og, and he now 
 holds them in bondage there. 
 
 Finn and the young king then made covenants 
 of friendship with each other, and after they had 
 rested a few days in the palace of the king of 
 Sorca, they set out again on their quest of the 
 Gilla Dacker with the skillful Foltlebar for their 
 helmsman.
 
 206 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 They sailed from island to island and from 
 bay to bay, over many seas and by many shores, 
 until at length they arrived at Tir-na-n-og 
 where in his youth Dyna of the Bright Face had 
 been nurtured by Mannanan Mac Lir of the Yel- 
 low Hair. It was Finn's intent to burn and spoil 
 the country, to avenge the outrage that had been 
 done his people, but Dyna would not hear of this 
 and he said: "O king, it is not well for us to 
 be at war with this people, for none are more 
 skilled in Druidic art. Let us send a trusty 
 herald to Avarta, that he may demand from him 
 the liberty of our companions; if he grants our 
 request we shall be at peace; if he refuses; then, 
 shall we proclaim war and waste this land with 
 fire and sword." 
 
 This advice was approved by all, and then 
 Finn said "But how shall heralds reach the 
 dwelling of this enchanter, for the ways are not 
 open and straight as in other lands ; but, crooked 
 and made for concealment, and the valleys and 
 plains are dim and shadowy and hard to be 
 traversed." 
 
 But Foltlebar, nothing daunted by the dangers 
 of the way, offered to go with but one trusty
 
 PURSUIT OF THE GILLA BACKER 207 
 
 companion, and Finn chose Gaul Mae Morna 
 to accompany him. 
 
 When the two heralds approached the man- 
 sion of Avarta they found their friends amusing 
 themselves on the green outside the palace walls ; 
 for though held captive they were treated with 
 great kindness by Avarta. When they saw the 
 heralds coming toward them their joy knew no 
 bound. They crowded round to embrace them 
 and ask them many questions about home and 
 friends. 
 
 And while they were greeting each other, 
 Avarta himself came forth and asked who the 
 strangers were. Foltlebar replied: "We are 
 heralds of Finn, the son of Cumal, and we are 
 sent by him to demand the release of our friends, 
 held in bondage by thy evil spells. At first 
 Avarta made no reply, but he called a council of 
 his chief men, and they conferred together and, 
 having much fear of the Feine, they decided to 
 restore Finn's people, and allow him to make his 
 own award in satisfaction for the injury done 
 him. 
 
 Avarta accompanied the heralds and they re- 
 turned to Finn, and the King of Tir-na-n-og 
 delivered his own message. And Finn and
 
 208 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 Avarta put hand in hand and made a league of 
 friendship. Then Avarta invited the heroes of 
 Eire to a feast, and for three days they ate and 
 drank and made merry. On the fourth day a 
 meeting was called to hear the award. When all 
 were gathered together, Finn was asked to name 
 his award, and this is what he said: "I shall not 
 name an award, O Avarta, neither shall I ac- 
 cept an eric from thee ; but, the wages I promised 
 thee, when we made our covenant at Knock- 
 ainey, that I will give thee, for I am thankful 
 for the welcome thou hast given us here, and I 
 wish peace and friendship between us for ever- 
 more." 
 
 But Conan was not so easily satisfied, and lost 
 no time in saying: "Little hast thou endured, 
 O Finn, and thou mayest well waive thy award; 
 but, hadst thou, like us, suffered from the sharp 
 bones of the Gilla Backer's monstrous horse in 
 a long journey across wide seas, through tangled 
 woods and over rough headed rocks, from Eire 
 to Tir-na-n-og, thou wouldst, methinks, name 
 an award." 
 
 Then Avarta, without waiting to hear more 
 said to Conan : "Name thy award and I will ful- 
 fill it every jot, for I have heard of thee Conan,
 
 PURSUIT OF THE GILLA BACKER 209 
 
 and I fear the taunts of thy mischievous 
 tongue." 
 
 "Very well, then," said Conan, "this is my 
 award: Fifteen of the best and noblest men 
 in your Land of Promise shall mount on the back 
 of the big horse that brought me and my com- 
 panions thither, and you yourself shall, take hold 
 of his tail and in this manner you shall fare back 
 'to Eire over the self same track by which we 
 came; through the same thick, thorny woods and 
 over the same islands and rough rocks ; and this, 
 O Avarta, is my award." 
 
 Now Finn and his people were rejoiced ex- 
 ceedingly when they heard Conan's award, for 
 they had greatly feared that he might ask for 
 treasures of gold and silver; and thus bring re- 
 proach on the Feine. Avarta promised that every- 
 thing required by Conan should be done, and 
 then the heroes took their leave. And they 
 launched their ship on the broad, green sea and 
 having sailed back to Eire, marched to their 
 camping ground at Knockainy, and rested in 
 their tents. Avarta then chose his men and after 
 they had mounted on the horse's back, he him- 
 self caught hold of the tail and it is not told how 
 they fared until they made harbor and landing 
 place at Cloghan Kincat. From thence they
 
 210 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 journeyed straight to Knockainy. Finn and his 
 people saw them coming, the Gilla Dacker, quite 
 as large and ugly as ever, running before the 
 horse, for he had let go of the tail at Cloghan 
 Kincat. 
 
 The Feine could not help laughing heartily 
 when they saw the plight of the fifteen chiefs on 
 the great horse's back; and they said with one 
 voice that Conan had made a fitting award. 
 
 When the horse reached the spot from which 
 he had at first set out the men began to dismount. 
 Then the Gilla Dacker suddenly stepped for- 
 ward, held up his arm and pointed earnestly over 
 the heads of the Feine towards the field where 
 their horses were grazing. This startled the 
 heroes and they turned round, every man, to 
 look. But nothing could they see, but the horses 
 grazing quietly inside the fence. 
 
 And when they turned back again, intent on 
 speaking to the Gilla Dacker and his men, they 
 were much astonished to find them all gone! 
 
 The Gilla Dacker and his spectral horse and 
 the fifteen nobles from the Land of Promise had 
 disappeared in an instant; and neither Finn nor 
 any of his chiefs ever saw them afterwards. 
 
 And thus ends the story of the pursuit of the 
 Gilla Dacker and his horse.
 
 The Fairy Palace of the 
 Quicken Trees 
 
 EYOND the border of the northern 
 sea, in his beautiful palace of Berva, 
 dwelt Colga of the Hard Weapons, 
 grandson of Mighty Balor and king 
 of the warlike Lochlanns. 
 
 Glorious and powerful was Colga yet some- 
 what there was to trouble him, and amidst all 
 the splendors of the palace he sat with bowed 
 head, pondering a way of relief. And he called 
 a meeting of his chief people on the broad green 
 plain before the palace. Wearing his lonar 
 braided with, precious stones and carrying his 
 two bright bronze-handled spears in his hand he 
 went forth to meet the people when they had 
 gathered together. Then, from his high throne, 
 he spoke to them and his voice rang clear in the 
 ears of the most distant: "My people," said he, 
 "have I been to you an unjust ruler, or have you 
 
 Bruighean Caorthainn [Breen Car'hyenn]: Gaelic for Palace of the 
 Quicken Trees. Quicken Tree: The mountain ash. lonar ; 
 
 Military cloak. 
 
 211
 
 212 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 found any cause for complaint against me, your 
 sovereign lord and king?" As with one voice 
 they answered: "O king, mighty and just, 
 Wielder of the Hard Weapons, thy people find 
 no fault with thee, command us and we obey." 
 
 Then spoke King Colga : "Know you not that 
 I am called king of the tribes of Lochlann and 
 of the islands of the sea? Yet there is one island 
 which acknowledges not my rule." 
 
 And the people, not knowing this, asked which 
 island. 
 
 "It is Eire, the island of the green hills. My 
 forefathers held sway over it, and many of our 
 brave warriors died there in battle. There fell 
 Balor of the Mighty Blows and Kethlenda, his 
 queen. There too fell Iran and Slana sisters of 
 the king and many others. Our hosts indeed 
 once held this land under tribute ; but the men of 
 Eire arose and drove them into the sea, which 
 even yet is red with their blood, and Eire no 
 longer owns the sway of the Lochlann king. 
 Once again, O men of Lochlann, we must subdue 
 that island and hold it subject as long as the 
 ends of the rushes are brown." 
 
 "Wise art thou, O King," said the chiefs of
 
 FAIRY PALACE OF QUICKEN TREES 213 
 
 Lochlann "and the council is worthy of our ac- 
 ceptance." 
 
 Then, swift scouts and couriers and estafets 
 mustered the king's fighting men, and they made 
 ready their white-sailed, curve-sided ships; and 
 chasing the white sea horses through the billowy 
 brine, made neither stop nor stay until they had 
 landed on the shores of Ulad. 
 
 Now this was three hundred three and thirty 
 years after the death of the King of Israel on 
 Calvary; and, at this time Cormac son of Art, 
 son of Conn the Hundred Fighter, was king of 
 Eire, and held his court at Teamhair-na-Righ. 
 
 When Cormac heard that a foreign fleet had 
 landed on the shores of his far north province 
 of Ulad, he sent messengers with tidings of the 
 invasion to Alvin of the green hill slopes where 
 lived Finn the head chieftain of the four clans of 
 the Feine, the brave and ever ready defenders of 
 the island of Eire. 
 
 Then Finn sent word to every part of Eire 
 where the Feine dwelt and bade them meet him at 
 a certain place near the coast where the Loch- 
 lann army were encamped. When the forces of 
 Finn had met together without delay they at- 
 tacked the foreigners, and fiercely the foreigners 
 
 Teamhair-na-Righ [Tow'-er-na-Ree'j: Tara of the Kings. Ulad Ool' 
 lah] : Ulster.
 
 214 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 met the onset. Now it seemed that victory was 
 for the fearless Lochlanns ; and now the shouts of 
 the sons of Eire rose triumphant above the din 
 of clashing spears. At last, Oscar, son of Oisin, 
 meeting king Colga closed in deadly conflict 
 hand to hand with him. Soon, his bright shield 
 rent, his helmet dinted with sword blows, the 
 blood from his deep wounds welling forth from 
 beneath his pierced armor, fell Colga of the 
 Hard Weapons, slain by Oscar, son of Oisin. 
 
 At sunset there remained not one of the 
 mighty men of Lochlann, except king Colga's 
 youngest son, Midac. Finn, returning to Allen, 
 brought Midac with him, and gave him a high 
 post as befitted a prince. While Midac was 
 growing to manhood, he hunted and feasted 
 with the Feine; and fought with them when they 
 fought, and all the while he made himself ac- 
 quainted with their haunts, and hunting 
 grounds, their palaces and fortresses ; and in par- 
 ticular with their manner of carrying on war. 
 
 And it happened one day in a council of the 
 Feine, that Conan Mael the son of Morna stood 
 up and said : "O king, have you not noticed that 
 the young prince Midac is silent and distant and 
 
 Midac [Mee'ach].
 
 FAIRY PALACE OF QUICKEN TREES 215 
 
 that he takes much pains to acquaint himself 
 with all matters pertaining to the Feine?" 
 
 "What you say, O son of Morna, is true," an- 
 swered the king, and then he asked Conan to 
 give his opinions as to what should be done. 
 
 Said Conan: "I advise that the Prince Midac 
 be given lands and a household of his own, apart 
 from the palace of Allen, where he can no longer 
 listen to our councils and learn our secrets and 
 our plans." 
 
 Then the king sent for the prince and said to 
 him: "Thou knowest, Midac, thou hast always 
 been dealt with as becomes a prince. It is not 
 meet that thou shouldst abide longer in the house 
 of another, choose therefore the two cantreds in 
 all Eire that please thee best, and they shall be 
 given to thee and thy descendants forever as a 
 patrimony." So Midac chose the rich cantred 
 of Kenri on the Shannon ; and the cantred of the 
 island lying next to it on the north, at the other 
 side of the river. Midac had good reason for 
 choosing these two cantreds, for the river opens 
 out between them like a great sea, and in the 
 sheltered harbors ships could anchor in safety, 
 and he hoped some day to bring a fleet and an 
 army into Eire to avenge on Finn and the Feine
 
 216 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 the defeat and death of his father and his coun- 
 trymen. For fourteen years Midac lived in his 
 new home, and there was no Brugaid in Eire 
 richer or more prosperous than he. One day 
 Finn and the Feine went to hunt in the district 
 of Fermorc, and over the plain of Hy Conall 
 Gavra. And when the chase was about to begin, 
 Finn and a few of his companions went to the 
 top of the hill of Knockfierna to see the sport. 
 There they pitched their tents and made soft 
 couches of rushes and heather, and dug cooking 
 places ; for they intended the hill to be a resting 
 place for the hunters. They had not been there 
 long before they saw a tall warrior coming 
 toward them. He wore a splendid coat of mail 
 of Lochlann workmanship, and over it a mantle 
 of fine satin, dyed in divers colors. A broad 
 shield hung on his left shoulder; and, in the 
 morning sun, his helmet glittered like polished 
 silver. A long sword, with golden hilt and en- 
 amelled sheath, hung at his left side, and he 
 held in his right hand his two sharp, death-deal- 
 ing spears. 
 
 Wonderfully majestic was his bearing; and 
 as he approached he saluted the king in digni- 
 fied and courteous words. To Finn's inquiry as 
 
 Brugaid [Broo'a]: A farmer or husbandman.
 
 FAIRY PALACE OF QUICKEN TREES 217 
 
 to whence he came, and what tidings he brought 
 he replied: "Of the place from which I have 
 come nothing need be spoken; and no tidings 
 have I except that I am a Ferdana, and I have 
 brought thee a poem, O King of the Feine." 
 
 "A mountain top is not the place for poetry." 
 said Finn. "Remain here with us until the chase 
 is ended, then you shall come with me to one of 
 our palaces, and there I will listen to your poem 
 and bestow on you befitting gifts/' 
 
 But the unknown Ferdana answered: "To 
 go to your palace is not my wish ; and I now put 
 you under geasa, which will compel you to listen 
 to my poem and explain its meaning." 
 
 So Finn was compelled to listen while the 
 Ferdana sang: 
 
 "I saw a house by a river's shore, 
 Famed through Eire in days of yore ; 
 Its Lord deep skilled in fairy lore. 
 No spoiler can rive its golden store ; 
 Safe it stands when the torrents pour. 
 Feasting and joy for evermore 
 To all who enter its open door." 
 
 "I can explain that poem!" said Finn, "the 
 house by the river's shore is the palace of Bruga, 
 where dwells Angus, a man more skilled in 
 magic arts than any in Eire." 
 
 Bruga [Broo ' ah].
 
 218 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 "Thou hast divined my meaning;" said the 
 stranger, "canst thou also explain this rann?" 
 
 "I saw to the south a bright faced queen, 
 
 With couch of crystal and robe of green ; 
 Slowly she moves ; and yet her speed 
 Exceeds the pace of the swiftest steed." 
 
 "The queen you speak of is the river Boyne, 
 which flows by the southern wall of the palace 
 of Bruga. Her couch of crystal is the river's 
 sandy bed; her robe of green, the grassy plain 
 through which it flows. The river indeed flows 
 slowly, but its waters traverse the whole world 
 in seven years, and that is more than the swiftest 
 steed can do." 
 
 "Truly hast thou spoken," said the Ferdana 
 grasping more tightly his polished spears. 
 
 And then Finn besought him to tell who he 
 was, and whence he came; but Conan Mael 
 spoke saying: "Wise art thou, O Finn, and 
 thou hast unravelled the mystical ranns; yet, in 
 this has thy wisdom failed thee; thou hast not 
 distinguished between friend and foe, for this 
 Ferdana is Midac, whom thou didst bring up with 
 much honor in thy own house; but who is now 
 thy enemy. Long has he enjoyed the patrimony 
 with which thou didst endow him, and though
 
 FAIRY PALACE OF QUICKEN TREES 219 
 
 he is one of the Feine, never has he offered the 
 hospitality of his palace to thee or them." 
 
 Said Midac : "My house has never been with- 
 out a banquet fit for either king or chief; and, 
 an invitation you did not need, for I was 
 one of you : But let that pass ; this night a feast 
 will be ready and I put you under geasa to come 
 and partake of it. Remember, tonight Midac, 
 the prince, awaits Finn and his Feine soldiers in 
 the Palace of the Quicken Trees." 
 
 "And having pointed out the way, the Fer- 
 dana turned to go saying he must hasten to have 
 all things in readiness when they should arrive." 
 
 Finn held council with his companions, and it 
 was agreed that the king's son Oisin and five 
 other chiefs with their followers should tarry on 
 the hill until the hunting party returned, while 
 Finn and the remaining chieftains went to . the 
 Palace of the Quicken Trees. And it was also 
 arranged that Finn should send back word as soon 
 as possible after his arrival telling how he fared. 
 It was also arranged that after the hunting 
 party returned Oisin and his companions were 
 to go likewise to partake of Midac's hospitality. 
 
 As Finn and his party neared the palace they 
 marveled greatly at its size and splendor; and
 
 220 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 they wondered that they had never seen it be- 
 fore. It stood on a green plain surrounded by 
 many quicken trees, on which hung thick 
 clusters of scarlet berries. A broad river flowed 
 through the green plain and its bank nearest the 
 palace was rocky and high, and a steep pathway 
 led down to a ford. 
 
 Everything was silent and lonely, and to their 
 surprise no one came to greet them. Finn, fear- 
 ing foul play, would have turned back had he not 
 bethought him of his geasa and his promise. 
 The great door of the palace was wide open, but 
 when they entered they found no one neither 
 host nor guests nor attendants. Never had they 
 seen a banquet hall more splendid. A huge fire, 
 burning brightly in the middle of the hall, gave 
 forth no smoke, but a sweet perfume which re- 
 freshed and delighted the heroes. Everywhere 
 were couches covered with rugs and soft, glossy 
 furs. The curved walls were of wood: close 
 jointed and polished like ivory. Each board was 
 painted differently from those above and below, 
 so that the sides of the room from the floor to 
 roof were all radiant with color. Without wait- 
 ing longer, the chieftains seated themselves on 
 
 The houses of the ancient Gaels were of wood.
 
 FAIRY PALACE OF QUICKEN TREES 221 
 
 the couches and rugs to await the coming of 
 their host. 
 
 Presently a door opened and Midac entered. 
 He looked at the heroes one after another, but 
 spoke not one word, only turned quickly and 
 went out, shutting the great door behind him. 
 
 Finn and his friends were unable at first to 
 speak for wonder at this strange proceeding ; and 
 they remained sitting in silence until Finn, when 
 he had somewhat recovered from his surprise, 
 said: "My friends, I know you are no less sur- 
 prised than I at the manner of our reception : our 
 host speaks us no word of welcome; and, al- 
 though we were invited to a feast, there is none 
 prepared for us." 
 
 "But is not this still more a cause for wonder ?" 
 said Gaul MacMorna, "the fire, which was clear 
 and smokeless when we first saw it and which 
 smelled more sweetly than the flowers of the 
 plain, now fills the hall with an offensive odor, 
 and sends up clouds of black, sooty smoke." 
 
 "And more wonderful even," said Dathkin, 
 the strong-limbed, "the boards in the walls of 
 this banquet hall which were smooth and close 
 jointed, and glorious all over with bright 
 colors, when we came, are now nothing but 
 
 Dathkin [Da 'kin].
 
 222 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 rough planks, clumsily fastened together with 
 quicken tree withes, and as rude and unshapen 
 as if they had been hacked and hewed with a 
 blunt axe. 
 
 "And behold," said Foilan, the son of Aed the 
 Lesser, "instead of the seven great doors of the 
 palace wide open and looking pleasantly to the 
 sunshine, as they were on our arrival, I see now 
 only one small, narrow door; close fastened and 
 facing straight to the north." 
 
 "Most wonderful of all," said Conan Mael, 
 "the rich rugs, and furs, and couches which 
 were under us when first we seated ourselves, 
 are all gone! Not a fragment remains, and we 
 are now sitting on the bare, damp earth; and it 
 feels as cold as the snow of one night !" 
 
 Then Finn spoke again: "You know, my 
 friends, that I never tarry in a house having only 
 one door. Let one of you then arise, and break 
 open that narrow door, that we may go forth 
 from this foul smoky den." 
 
 "That, shall I do," cried Conan; and, so say- 
 ing, he seized his long spear and planting it in 
 the floor, point downward, he attempted to 
 spring to his feet, but was unable to move. 
 "Alas, my friends," cried he with a groan of 
 
 Foilan [Fwee'lan]. Aed [A].
 
 FAIRY PALACE OF QUICKEN TREES 223 
 
 anguish, "this is most wonderful of all; I am 
 firmly fixed by some druidical spell to the cold 
 clay floor of the Palace of the Quicken Trees." 
 
 And all the others, likewise, found it impos- 
 sible to move from the place where they sat. 
 When Gaul had sufficiently recovered from sur- 
 prise to speak, he said: "It seems clear, O 
 king, that Midac has planned this treachery, and 
 that great danger lies before us. I beseech you, 
 place your thumb under your tooth of knowledge 
 and let us know the truth so that we may hasten 
 to consider how best to escape." 
 
 Whereupon Finn placed his thumb under his 
 tooth of knowledge and mused for a little while. 
 Then suddenly withdrawing his thumb, he sank 
 back in his seat and groaned aloud. 
 
 "May it be the will of the gods," said Gaul, 
 "that it is the pain of thy thumb that has caused 
 thee to utter that groan." 
 
 "Alas, not so," replied Finn, "I fear that my 
 death is near; and the death of my dear com- 
 panions. There is now no hope for our escape 
 from Midac's treacherous snare; for in the 
 palace of the island, there is at this moment an 
 army of foreigners, brought thither by Midac 
 for our destruction. Sinsar of the battles, with 
 
 Sinsar [Shin'shar]; The Elder.
 
 224 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 sixteen warlike princes under his command, has 
 come from Greece. His son, Borba the 
 Haughty, has come also commanding a band of 
 fierce and haughty knights. The three kings of 
 the Island of the Torrent are already on their 
 way, furious as dragons. It is they who by 
 their sorcery have enabled Midac to prevent our 
 leaving the palace; for this cold clay we sit on is 
 a part of the soil of the enchanted island of the 
 Torrent. It was brought by Midac to his palace 
 and placed here with fearful spells. Never can 
 our enchantment be broken, unless the blood of 
 those kings be first sprinkled on the clay. When 
 they heard these tidings, some of the heroes shed 
 bitter tears in silence; and others lamented 
 aloud. 
 
 But Finn again spoke, and said he: "It be- 
 comes us not, my friends, to weep and wail like 
 women, even though we are in danger of death. 
 Let us rather sound the Dord Fian, sweetly and 
 plaintively as we are wont to do, that it may be 
 a comfort to us before we die." 
 
 So the fated warriors sang: And while they 
 were singing, Ficna, the son of Finn, and Isna. 
 the son of Svena Selga, came from the hill of 
 Knockfierna for, as Finn had sent no messengers 
 
 Borba [Bur 'bah]: Fierce. Dord: Bass in music; Dord Fian: War 
 chant of the Feine.
 
 FAIRY PALACE OF QUICKEN TREES 225 
 
 to the Feine, whom he had left behind him on the 
 hill, they feared some evil had befallen him and 
 his companions. They waited until nightfall and 
 then set out to ascertain the true state of affairs. 
 When they neared the Palace of the Quicken 
 Trees, night had darkened around them, and al- 
 though they could not see the palace they heard 
 the Feine within singing the loud, slow strains of 
 the Dord-Fian. 
 
 "Things go well with our friends," said Isna 
 joyfully. 
 
 'But Ficna replied: "Alas, I cannot think so, 
 for it is only in time of trouble or danger that 
 Finn is wont to have the Dord-Fian sounded, in 
 a manner so slow and sad." 
 
 When the song was ended, Finn noticed the 
 low hum of conversation outside, and recogniz- 
 ing the voice of Ficna he said to him: "Come 
 not nearer, my son, for this place abounds in 
 dangerous spells, and here Midac holds us fast 
 in the sorcery of the kings of the island of the 
 Torrent." 
 
 But both Ficna and Isna said that never would 
 they return to safety leaving their much loved 
 chieftain in deadly danger. 
 
 Then said Finn: "In yonder palace of the
 
 226 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 island are gathered mighty hosts of foreigners, 
 plotting our destruction; but, to come thither 
 they must needs pass the ford under the shadow 
 of these walls. The ford is rugged and hard to 
 cross, and one good man standing in the steep, 
 narrow entrance at the hither side might dispute 
 the passage for a time against many. Go now 
 and defend this ford, and haply help may come 
 in time." 
 
 Then Ficna and Isna departed rejoicing to 
 think that they might perhaps be of assist- 
 ance to the brave but stricken chieftains who 
 were imprisoned in the enchanted palace. And 
 they agreed between them that Isna should 
 guard the ford alone, while Ficna set out 
 straightway for the palace of the island. 
 
 Here, all the day, had Midac and the foreign- 
 ers feasted and drank; and were merry in the 
 thought that Finn and his people were securely 
 bound, in the charmed durance of the palace of 
 the Quicken Trees. And at eventide spoke an 
 Irla of Sinsar of the Battles, and said: "I will 
 now go to the palace of the Quicken Trees and 
 bring hither the head of Finn, son of Cumal; 
 and I shall gain thereby much renown and be 
 honored by Sinsar of the Battles." 
 
 Irla [Earl]: Scandinavian word.
 
 FAIRY PALACE OF QUICKEN TREES 227 
 
 So he went taking with him a goodly number 
 of his own knights. When they reached the 
 ford near the palace of the Quicken Trees, the 
 Irla, looking through the darkness, thought he 
 saw a warrior standing at the other brink and 
 he called aloud to ask who was there, and 
 whether he belonged to the noble or the ignoble 
 races of the world. And Insa answered that he 
 belonged to the household of Finn, the son of 
 Cumal. 
 
 "Lo," said the Irla, "we are going to the Palace 
 of the Quicken Trees to bring Finn's head to 
 Sinsar of the battles, and thou shalt come with 
 us and lead us to the door." 
 
 "O champion of Sinsar," answered Isna, "I 
 guard this ford for Finn, and never, I warn you, 
 shall I allow a foe of his to pass." 
 
 "Force the ford," cried the Irla to his knights, 
 "then shall we see if yonder hero can fight as 
 well as he threatens." 
 
 So Insa defended the ford and when the con- 
 flict was over, the shore was heaped with the 
 bodies of the slain. Those of the combatants 
 who remained alive fled away and Isna was 
 fain to rest after the long hard fray. 
 
 But the Irla, seeing so many of his knights
 
 2-2S GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 slain, was mad with wrath, and snatching up his 
 sword and shield he attacked Isna. Now the 
 Irla was fresh and strong, while Isna was weary 
 and sore wounded ; and at length the young war- 
 rior fell in the ford, and the Irla beheaded him 
 and, exulting in his victory, brought the head 
 away. , 
 
 Finn and his companions, sitting in miserable 
 plight, in the Palace of the Quicken Trees heard 
 the clash of arms at the ford, and the shouts and 
 groans of warriors. After a time all was still 
 again and they knew not how the fight had 
 ended. 
 
 The Irla returning to the palace of the island, 
 overtook, Ficna, reconnoitering near the palace 
 gate. Ficna spoke to the Irla and asked him 
 whither he had come. 
 
 "I come," replied the Irla, "from the ford of 
 the palace of the Quicken Trees, and lo, I bring 
 with me the head of a young champion, who op- 
 posed our passage, and slew our knights, as we 
 were on our way to take Finn, the son of Cumal. 
 And lo, here thou mayest behold the head of the 
 defender of the ford; for him have I slain in 
 fierce and single combat, and I bring this gory 
 trophy to Sinsar of the battles, King of Greece/'
 
 FAIRY PALACE OF QUICKEN TREES 229 
 
 "Alas, dear youth," said Ficna, "only this 
 morning I saw the light of valor in those dim 
 eyes, and the bloom of youth on that pale cheek !" 
 
 Then wrathfully he spoke: "Knowest thou 
 to whom thou hast shown this ghastly witness 
 of thy triumph?" 
 
 "Art thou not one of the Knights of Sinsar?" 
 asked the Irla. 
 
 "I am not; and neither shalt thou be after this 
 hour," answered the Ficna, drawing his sword. 
 And they fought where they stood; and the 
 foreign Irla fell by the avenging hand of Ficna, 
 the son of Finn. 
 
 Ficna brought the Irla's head to the Palace of 
 the Quicken Trees and showed it to Finn, and 
 related all his adventures. And Finn, hearing 
 of the death of Isna, wept for his loved one slain 
 and then he said : "Victory and blessing be with 
 thee my son; nobly hast thou done, and now re- 
 turn and guard the ford, and peradventure our 
 friends may send help in time." 
 
 So Ficna went and sat on the brink of the 
 ford. 
 
 Now Kiaran, brother of the slain Irla, seeing 
 that he remained away so long from the palace 
 of the island, said to some of his followers : "It
 
 280 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 is a long time since my brother left for the palace 
 of the! Quicken Trees. I fear that he and his 
 people have fared ill in their quest." 
 
 And Kiaran went to seek his brother, tak- 
 ing with him a company of knights. When they 
 had come to the ford they saw Ficna at the far 
 side, and Kiaran called out and asked who he 
 was, and who had made such slaughter at the 
 ford. 
 
 "I am one of the household of Finn, the son 
 of Cumal!" answered Ficna, "and by his com- 
 mand I guard the ford. As to the slaughter of 
 yonder knights: I warn you come not to this 
 side of the ford, for I shall reply not in words 
 but in deeds." 
 
 Then Kiaran and his men rushed through the 
 water, blind with rage, and after a fearful con- 
 flict, only one man was left alive; and he sped 
 quickly back to the palace of the island to tell the 
 tale, leaving Ficna weary and wounded on the 
 river brink. 
 
 Midac, hearing the tidings, was very wroth 
 and he bethought him of a ruse: Said he: 
 "Among the companions of Finn is Conan Mnel, 
 a man who of all the men of Eire has the great- 
 est appetite and is fondest of eating and drink-
 
 FAIRY PALACE OF QUICKEN TREES 231 
 
 ing. To him will I go with a choice party of my 
 own brave men, and bring him savory food and 
 drink not indeed to delight him but to torment 
 him with the sight and smell of what he cannot 
 taste. 
 
 So it happened that Midac and his men were 
 trying to force the ford from Ficna when Fatha 
 and Dyna of the Bright Face were on their way, 
 from the hill of Knockfierna, to find out why 
 their companions lingered so long in the palace 
 of the Quicken Trees. And Fatha said : "I hear 
 in the distance the sound of single combat; the 
 combat of mighty heroes." 
 
 "And I too," said Dyna, "hear that sound 
 which quickens the blood in every warrior's 
 heart, let us hasten to the scene of the fray." 
 
 They ran like the wind until they reached 
 the hill-brow over the river, and looking across 
 in the dim moonlight, they saw the whole ford 
 heaped with bodies of the slain, and the two 
 heroes fighting to the death at the far side. 
 Dyna hastened to the spot and putting his finger 
 in the silken loop of his spear, threw a deadly 
 cast with unerring aim and struck Midac so that 
 the iron spear head went right through his 
 body and the length of a warrior's hand beyond. 
 
 Fatha [Faw' ha].
 
 232 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 And Midac, knowing that he was wounded to 
 death by the spear of Dyna, struck more fiercely 
 at Ficna, felling him to the earth, upon which he 
 too sank to rise no more. 
 
 Then said Dyna to Midac: "If I had found 
 thee dead, I would have passed thee untouched, 
 but now that I have overtaken thee alive, I must 
 needs behead thee, for thy head will be to Finn a 
 worthy eric for his son." 
 
 And Dyna, forthwith, left Fatha at the ford 
 and brought the head of Midac to Finn, and 
 Finn having listened to Dyna's account of this 
 last conflict said: "Victory and blessings be 
 with thee, Dyna, for what thou hast done; and, 
 I pray thee, continue to aid us well and faithfully 
 or we shall certainly perish. Here we sit, spell- 
 bound, and naught else but the blood of the three 
 fierce kings of the island of Torrent sprinkled 
 on this clay can release us. Guard the ford until 
 the rising of the sun, for then I know the Feine 
 will come to help you." 
 
 "O Finn, this arm shall never fail thee; and 
 faithful is Fatha to the king of Feine." And bid- 
 ding his friends farewell, Dyna was about to re- 
 turn to the ford when Conan Mael said with a 
 groan: "Miserable the hour in which I came
 
 FAIRY PALACE OF QUICKEN TREES 233 
 
 to this palace; cold and comfortless the clay on 
 which I sit; but, worst of all to be without food 
 and drink so long. There is plenty of wine and 
 savory food yonder in the palace of the island, 
 Dyna, and I beseech you, for I can no longer 
 bear this torture, bring me from the palace as 
 much food as I can eat, and a drinking horn of 
 wine." 
 
 "The wind of misfortune to one uttering such 
 selfish words" said Dyna. "It is not enough 
 that we must defend you from the foreigners; 
 but, also, food must be procured for the glutton- 
 ous Conan Mael!" 
 
 "Alas, Dyna-na-man, if a lovely maiden made 
 this request, you would fly to please her ; but you, 
 who have already crossed me four times in my 
 courtships, would now be pleased to see me die 
 of hunger in this dungeon." 
 
 "Cease your upbraiding, and I will bring you 
 food," said Dyna, "for it is better to face danger 
 than to suffer revilings." 
 
 So he went back to where Fatha was guard- 
 ing the ford, and said to him: "I needs must 
 go to the Palace of the Island in order to procure 
 food for Conan Mael." 
 
 But Fatha told him of the food which Midac 
 
 Dyna-na-man: Dyna, Favorite of women.
 
 234 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 had placed at the other side of the ford, and 
 urged him to bring a good meal of this to Conan. 
 
 "If I did that," said Dyna, "he would taunt 
 me with bringing him food taken from the hands 
 of dead men; and, from his blow one may re- 
 cover; but, not from the venom of his tongue." 
 
 Dyna then hastened to the palace and as he 
 drew near he heard the sound of revelry, and 
 peering warily through the open door, he >n\v 
 the feast-tables spread, and Sinsar of the Battles 
 and his son Borba high seated over all. Dyna 
 entered a dark passage way, near the door, and 
 standing silent and stern, with drawn sword, 
 watched his opportunity and when an attendant. 
 with a large, ornamented drinking horn filled 
 with wine, passed close to him he struck off his 
 head with a swift, sure blow and snatched the 
 horn from the man's hand, before he fell. So 
 deftly was it done that not a drop of wine was 
 spilt. Dyna was able also to obtain a dish of 
 food from near where the King sat at the table, 
 and get off without hindrance or harm of any 
 kind. 
 
 When he reached the ford he found Fatha ly- 
 ing fast asleep on the bank. This caused him 
 to wonder; yet knowing the young warrior was
 
 FAIRY PALACE OF QUICKEN TREES 235 
 
 worn out with watching and toil, he left him 
 undisturbed and went to the palace of the 
 Quicken Trees with the food for Conan. 
 
 "I have here a goodly meal of choice food; 
 how am I to give it to thee, Conan?" called 
 Dyna as, bearing the food with him, he stood 
 outside the palace under the low branches of the 
 Quicken Trees. 
 
 Said Conan: "Throw it towards me from 
 yonder little opening." 
 
 Dyna did so; and as fast as he threw the food, 
 Conan caught it in his large hands and ate it 
 ravenously. And when it was all gone, Dyna 
 said: "I have here a fine drinking horn of good 
 wine; how am I to give it to thee?" 
 
 Conan answered: "There is a place behind 
 the palace where with a light, airy bound 
 you will be able to reach the lower parapet. 
 Come from that directly over me, and break a 
 hole in the roof with your spear, and through 
 that you can pour the wine down to me." Dyna 
 did as Conan told him, and as he poured down 
 the wine, Conan, with upturned face, opened his 
 great mouth and swallowed every drop. 
 
 D.yna then returned to the ford. He found 
 Fatha still asleep but did not awaken him.
 
 236 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 When the Kings of the Island of the Torrent 
 heard that Midac and his knights were slain at 
 the ford they said: "The young King of Loch- 
 lann did wrong to make this attempt without 
 asking our council. To us alone belongs the 
 right to slay those who by our spells sit bound in 
 the Palace of the Quicken Trees." 
 
 Thereupon the kings with a strong party set 
 out, and soon reached the ford. Looking across 
 in the dim light they saw Dyna and greeted him, 
 saying: "The countenance of a pleasant moon 
 to you, O Chieftain/' and with fair words they 
 sought to beguile him into leaving the ford. 
 But Dyna stood up straight and tall as a pillar 
 and scowled across the ford : "The wind of mis- 
 fortune to you, perfidious foreigners! Attempt 
 not to approach the Palace of the Quicken Trees, 
 for I will defend the ford as long as life shall 
 last" 
 
 And then Dyna, seeking to awake Fatha, there- 
 with, cried: "Pharra! Pharra!" the battle cry 
 of the clans of Eire. 
 
 The hostile knights rushing toward Dyna im- 
 petuously assailed him, but the strong hero met 
 them as a rock meets waves and slew them when 
 they came within reach of his sword. The 
 
 Pharra ! Pharra ! Beware I Beware I
 
 FAIRY PALACE OF QUICKEN TREES 237 
 
 crashing of weapons and the riving of swords 
 awaked Fatha, and then he too turned and at- 
 tacked the foe and many a knight fell at his right 
 and at his left. 
 
 Long and furious was the fight; and at last 
 the three dragon-like kings lay slain upon the 
 fateful ford. Dyna, striking off their heads, re- 
 turned followed by Fatha to the Palace of the 
 Quicken Trees. As they drew near the door 
 Finn, knowing their voices and footsteps, called 
 loudly to know how it fared with them: "For," 
 said he, "the crashing and the din of that battle 
 exceeded all that we have yet heard, and we 
 know not how it has ended." 
 
 Dyna made haste to answer: "O, King of 
 the Feine, Fatha and I have slain the three 
 Kings of the Island of the Torrent: Lo, here are 
 their gory heads!" 
 
 "Victory and blessings be with thee, Dyna! 
 You and Fatha have fought a valiant fight, 
 worthy of the Feine of Eire. Now sprinkle the 
 door with blood." 
 
 Dyna did so, and in a moment the door flew 
 open with a loud crash. Pale and faint the 
 champions sat upon the cold, clay floor; but no 
 sooner was it sprinkled by the blood of the three
 
 238 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 kings than they sprang to their feet with exult- 
 ing cries. The spell was indeed broken, and joy- 
 fully embracing each other the freed heroes gave 
 thanks to Neid, the god of battle, for their re- 
 lease. 
 
 But danger still threatened, and Finn's first 
 thought was to provide against it. Said he: 
 "The venom of these odious spells has withered 
 our strength, so that we are not able to fight, 
 but at sunrise they will lose their power," and 
 returning to Dyna and Fatha he told them that 
 they must guard the ford until the rising of the 
 sun, when he and his knights should have re- 
 covered their strength. 
 
 A few who had escaped from the last battle 
 at the ford brought back tidings to Sinsar of the 
 fate of the Three Kings. But of the release of 
 those who had been spellbound in the Palace of 
 the Quicken Trees they could not tell, as they 
 did not know that it had taken place. 
 
 When Borba, the Haughty, had heard the ac- 
 count of defeat and death at the ford, he arose 
 and said : "Feeble warriors were they who tried 
 to cross this ford. Hither I shall now go, and 
 when I return will bring the head of Finn, the 
 son of Cumal, and place it at my father's feet." 
 
 Neid [Na].
 
 FAIRY PALACE OF QUICKEN TREES -239 
 
 And marshaling his warriors without delay 
 Borba marched forth ; and when Dyna and Fatha 
 saw the dark mass drawing nigh they longed in 
 their hearts for morning. Not of themselves 
 they thought, for they had never trembled be- 
 fore any foe, but they feared the danger for Finn 
 and his warriors. 
 
 Again an unequal fight was filling the ford 
 with slaughter. But soon the sun rose over the 
 broad plain of Kenri, and as its first rays glinted 
 from their lances the withering spell went forth 
 from the bones and sinews of the heroes who 
 had been imprisoned in the palace of the Quicken 
 Trees. Joyfully they snatched up their arms and 
 hastened down to the ford. But Dathkin, the 
 strong limbed, they sent to take the news to 
 Oisin at Knockfierna. 
 
 The beams of the risen sun now glittered 
 bright on helmet and sword-blade and as the 
 fight went on, Gaul, son of Morna, slew Borba, 
 the Haughty. 
 
 A messenger brought the news of his son's 
 death to Sinsar and his people. Cries of sor- 
 row went up on all sides; but the king conceal- 
 ing his grief, summoned his whole host and 
 marched them toward the battlefield of the ford.
 
 240 GAELIC FOLK TALES 
 
 When the messenger to Knockfierna had told 
 his story, the entire body of heroes there en- 
 camped set out for the Palace of the Quicken 
 Trees, and arrived on the hill-brow over the ford 
 just as Sinsar and his army approached from 
 the opposite side. 
 
 And now the fight ceased for a while and the 
 two armies were put in battle array; and, on 
 neither side was there any desire to avoid the 
 combat. 
 
 The Feine were divided into four battalions: 
 Clan Baskin; Clan Morna; Clan Smoil and I'lan 
 Navnan, and together they marched forward 
 under their silken banners. Their helmets were 
 bright with precious gems, their broad, beauti- 
 ful shields they bore on their left shoulders; 
 their keen edged swords hung at their left sides 
 and they held their deadly lances in their hands. 
 And when they closed in conflict such display 
 of valor had never before been seen in Eire. 
 
 Oscar, resting for a moment from the toil of 
 battle, looked around and saw Sinsar guarded 
 by his best warriors. Rushing through the op- 
 posing ranks he drew near the king. Sinsar 
 laughed grimly when he saw him, for he was 
 glad in his heart expecting to revenge his son's 
 
 Baskin: Gaelic, Baoiscene.
 
 FAIRY PALACE OF QUICKEN TREES 241 
 
 death by slaying with his own hand Finn's 
 grandson. 
 
 Then these two great heroes fought a deadly 
 battle and in the end, Oscar, with a blow that 
 no shield or buckler could withstand, swept the 
 head from Sinsar's body. Seeing this a shout 
 of triumph went up from the Feine, and the 
 foreigners instantly gave way pursued and slain 
 on every side. A few threw away their arms 
 and escaped to the shore; and, hastily unmoor- 
 ing their ships, sailed swiftly away to their 
 own country, and the winds of Eire blowing 
 across the waters bore to their ears the music of 
 a triumphant Dord Fian.
 
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