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 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST.
 
 THE 
 
 STORY OF THE IRISH 
 
 BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 FROM THE MYTHICAL PERIOD TO THE INVASION 
 UNDER STRONGBOW. 
 
 LADY FERGUSON 
 
 Second Edition, with Maps, Revised and Enlarged. 
 
 DUBLIN: SEALY, BRYERS & ^VALKER, 
 
 LONDON: GEORGE BELL & SONS, 
 4 York Street, Covent Garuex. 
 
 EDINBURGH: W . BLACKWOOD & SONS, 
 
 1S97.
 
 PRINTED BY 
 
 SEALY, BRYERS & WALKER 
 
 (A. T. & C, L.>, 
 MIDDLE ABBEY STREET, DUBLIN.
 
 THE 
 
 STORY OF THE IRISH 
 
 BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 LADY FERGUSON. 
 
 ip^ 
 
 REVISED AND ENLARGED EDITION, 
 
 WITH MAPS AND INDEX.
 
 PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. 
 
 The kind reception accorded to this volume when it 
 first appeared, more than twenty years ago, encourages 
 me, now that it has long been out of print, to prepare 
 a new edition, all the more that it may now be enriched 
 from the ample stores of fresh material which have 
 accumulated since its first publication. 
 
 These stores include studies in History, Archaeology 
 Art, and Poetry. The historical and archaeological 
 contributions are to be found chiefly in Mr. Skene's 
 interesting volumes Celtic Scotland, A History of 
 Ancient Alba?t, published 1876-80; Dr. Anderson's 
 instructive works, Scotland in Early Christian Times, 
 1 88 1, and Scotland in Pagan Times, 1886; Sir Arthur 
 Mitchell's valuable contribution to Science and 
 Archaeology, The Past in the Present, published in 
 1880 ; The Tripartite Life of St. Patrick, edited by 
 Dr. Whitley Stokes for the Master of the Rolls' series, 
 1889; and Sir Samuel Ferguson's dissertation "On 
 the Patrician Documents," appended to The Remains 
 
 2061102
 
 IV PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. 
 
 of St. Patrick, Apostle of Ireland, 1888. The most 
 valuable contributions at once to Archaeology and 
 Art, are to be found in Edwin Earl of Dunraven's 
 Notes on Irish ArcJiitccture, edited by Miss Stokes, 
 which appeared in 1875, and in that accomplished 
 lady's Handbook of Early Christian Art in Ireland, 
 1887. Mr. Brash's Ecclesiastical Architecture of 
 Ireland to the close of the Tivelfth Century, 1875, gives 
 the result of a competent architect's examination of 
 existing remains, and the Rev. Canon O'Hanlon's 
 Lives of the Irish Saints, still in process of publication, 
 contribute largely to our knowledge of Early Ireland. 
 These books should be added to the list of learned 
 works named in the " Note on the Sources and 
 Nomenclature " which was appended to the first 
 edition. 
 
 Although the still unpublished Tain-Bo-Cuailgne 
 supplies more of " Dichtung " than of " Wahrheit," 
 it yet throws a vivid light on what I have ventured to 
 call the Heroic Period of Irish Story. A rendering 
 of the Tai)i by the late Mr. D. H. Kelly, which was 
 by him kindly placed at my disposal, enables me 
 in this edition to give further specimens of this
 
 PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. V 
 
 "Primeval Battle Chaunt of Erin's race." From Mr. 
 Aubrey de Vere's Foray of Queen Meave. published 
 in 1882, I have cited another of the legends of 
 Ireland's heroic age, the Fate of the Children of 
 Lir — one of the "Three Sorrows" of Celtic song 
 — as told by this delightful poet. My thanks are also 
 due to Mrs. Alexander for permission to give her fine 
 version of St. Patrick's Breastplate, and to Mr. 
 Larmonie for extracts from his recently published 
 volume, Glanlua and other poems. 
 
 Other poets from whom I have freely cited have 
 since I wrote, exercised their genius upon early Irish 
 material. Sir Samuel Ferguson's Epic C'cv/^rt'/ appeared 
 in 1872, and his Poems in 1880. The latest lyric 
 by the Hon. T. D. M'Gee, lona to Ireland, — in 
 which is expressed with tenderness and passion the 
 yearnings of an exile's heart — was penned a few days 
 before his death in 1868. 
 
 It may be open to question whether the " thread 
 of poetry" which I have woven into my narrative is a 
 merit or a defect. If I have erred it has been from the 
 desire to interest the young and imaginative not only
 
 VI PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. 
 
 in the history and antiquities but in the poetry illus- 
 trative of early days in the dear ancestral island. 
 
 I desire to dedicate this book to the beloved 
 memory of my husband. 
 
 M C. FERGUSON. 
 
 20 North Great George's Street^ Dublin. 
 November, 1889.
 
 PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION, 
 
 We are told, in the Senchus Mor, that, when Saint 
 Patrick had completed the arrangement of that Digest 
 of the Laws of the Gael of Ireland, his coadjutor, 
 Dubtach, who was a Bard as well as a Brehon, " put 
 a thread of poetry round it." So, the writer of this little 
 Digest of the Irish Historical Story has endeavoured 
 to intertwine, with the trite detail of names and succes- 
 sions already often chronicled, whatever more interest- 
 ing incidents can be drawn from the new sources of 
 heroic and picturesque material laid open to the 
 English reader by the labours of lately-deceased, and 
 of living, Irish scholars. If it be objected that a some- 
 what too favourable view is taken of a rude age and 
 savage manners, it may with truth be said that any 
 errors of sympathy are more than counterbalanced 
 by the undue contempts of which, for many ages, all 
 native Irish historic and legendary material has been 
 the object. And the writer believes that, in forming
 
 VUl PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. 
 
 an estimate of any national character, it is better to 
 err, if at all, on the side of sympathy and respect. 
 
 The Irish tradition, however rude, is the intellectual 
 food which has nourished in a long series of generations 
 the only literary life that has subsisted amongst them. 
 To the philosophic historian, no less than to the poet 
 and romance-writer, it is a material full of interest. 
 But the principal object to be hoped for in these pages 
 would be achieved, if the work should happily influence 
 refined and candid minds towards a more tolerant and 
 sympathizing view of the mental tastes and acquisitions 
 of several millions of their countrymen. 
 
 20 North Great George'' s Street, Dublin. 
 December, 1867,
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE MYTHICAL PERIOD. 
 
 Aborigines preyed on by African pirates — Colony of Partholan — Colony 
 of Nemed — Siege of Tor Conaing — Battle of the White Strand — 
 Arrival of the Firbolgs — Their works in stone — Arrival of the 
 Tuath-De-Danaans — Battles of Moytuve— Characteristic differences 
 in Arms — The " Fate of the Children of Lir," one of the "Three 
 Sorrows " of Celtic Song — Arrival of the Milesian Scoti — Chivalrous 
 conduct of the Scoti — Battle of Tailti — The Scoti conquer the island 
 — Its distribution — The laws and social polity of the conquerors — 
 The remains of these races — Their influence on the West of Europe 
 — Chronological Table. 1-26 
 
 CHAPTEPv II. 
 
 THE HEROIC PERIOD. 
 
 The alternate sovereignty of Kimbaoth and his brothers — Macha's claim 
 to succeed her father— Her conquests — Foundation of Emania — 
 Cova's usurpation — Story of Lavra Maen and Moria — Conor 
 MacNessa reigning at Emania — The Knights of the Red Branch— 
 The abdication of Fergus MacRoy — Maev, Queen of Connaught — 
 Story of the sons of Usnach — Story of the Tain-bo- Ctiailgne — The 
 " Pillow Conversation " of AHill and Maev — The "Boy Feats " of 
 Cuchullin — The "Naming of Cuchullin" — How he took arms — 
 His heroic conduct — His combat with Ferdiah — The heroes of the 
 Tain-bo- Ctiailgne — His courtship of Eimer — The story of Blanaid — 
 Cuchullin's combat with his unknown son — Story of Atharne— Story
 
 Table of Contents. 
 
 of Mesgedra and Conall Carnach — Chivalrous traits in both 
 characters — Death of Conor MacNessa — Story of the healing of 
 Conall Carnach— Chivalrous conduct of Bealcu — Deaths of Conall, 
 Fergus MacRoy, and Maev — Chronological Table. . . 27-101 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE ATACOTTIC PERIOD. 
 
 FROM CONARI MoR A.D. I, TO CORMAC MAC ART, 254. 
 
 Reign of Conari INIor — He banishes the sons of Donn Dessa — Their 
 attack on the king and his nobles at the Bruidin Da Z?«-^a— Death 
 of Conari — Reign of Crimthan — Revolt of the Atacotti {Ailheach 
 Tuathd), and massacre of the nobles — Usurpation of Carbri Cat- 
 head — Resignation of the crown by his son Morann to the exiled 
 legitimate heir — Restoration of the noble caste in the person of 
 Feredach — Second expulsion of the nobles — Second restoration in 
 the person of Tuathal the Acceptable — Crime of Eochaid, King of 
 Leinster, against Tuathal's daughters, leading to the imposition 
 of the Boarian tribute, or Bo7-ii of Leinster — Rise of the Northern and 
 Southern Dynasties — Con Hundred-Battle and Moh Nuad divide 
 the island — Lea Con and Lea Moha — Battle of Moy Lena — Chival- 
 rous trait of Goll MacMorna — OllioU Olum sovereign of Lea Moha — 
 His descendants — The dream of Eatach — Battle of Moy Mucrive — 
 Lugaid Laga and the three Ferguses — The Battle of Crinna — 
 The Clanna Moma— Chronological Table. . . 101-122 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE OSSIANIC PERIOD. 
 
 FROM CORMAC MAC ART A.D. 254, TO NIALL OF THE NINE 
 HOSTAGES, 379. 
 
 Reign of Cormac MacArt— Erects the Hall of Tara, and keeps kingly 
 state there — Story of Cormac and Ethni — The Fianua, or Militia — • 
 Finn iSIacCumhal — Story of Dermid and Crania — The death of
 
 Table of Contents. xi 
 
 Dermid— Oisin— The Ossianic Poems— King Cormac's water-inill- 
 His retirement at Cletty— The burial of King Cormac— Reign of 
 Carbri Lificar, slain in the battle of Gavra— Reigns of his son 
 Fiacliaid, and his grandson Muredach— Banishment of the Three 
 Collas— Their return, and failure to provoke King Muredach to 
 avenge his father's death— They destroy Emania— Descendants of 
 the three Collas— Crime, and disappointed ambition of Mongfinn— 
 Retrospect— Pictish origins- The sons of Umor, and the Firbolgs 
 in the West— Niall of the Nine Hostages— His expedition to Alba 
 (Scotland) — Chronological Table. . . . • • 123-150 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE PATRICIAN PERIOD. 
 FROM NIALL-NAOI-GHIALLACH, A.D. 379, TO DERMID 544. 
 
 Niall's expedition to Armorica— Captivity of Patrick— His occupations 
 and thoughts— His escape— Niall's expedition on the Loire, and 
 death there— His descendants, the Northern and Southern Hy-Niall 
 —King Dathi— His expedition into Gaul— Killed by lightning— 
 His body carried home and interred at Cruachan— Saint Patrick's 
 return as Apostle of the Irish— His autobiography, as told in his 
 authentic writings— His Easter eve at Slane— He preaches before 
 King Laery at Tara— Conversion of Laery's daughters, Ethna and 
 FeUmia— Saint Patrick's breastplate— Revision of the Laws, and 
 compilation of the Senchits A/bV— King Laery killed " by the Wind 
 and Sun "—Saint Patrick overthrows Crom Cruach and his twelve 
 sub-gods— Baptizes ^ngus. King of Munster— Diffuses the Gospel 
 throughout Ireland— Dies at Saul, and is buried at Down Patrick — 
 The clan system in the early Irish Monasteries— The three orders of 
 the holy men of Ireland— The burial of Owen Bel, King of Con- 
 naught— Succeeded by Kellach— Murder of Kellach- Avenged by 
 his brother Cucongelt— Final settlement of the Dalriads in Scotland 
 —Saint Brigid— Saint Kieran— Saint Finnian of Clonard— Saint 
 Finnian of Moville— Passion for Monastic seclusion— Story of Enda
 
 Table of Contents. 
 
 and Saint Fanchea — Monastic remains of Aran — Clonmacnoise 
 founded by Saint Kieran — Murkertach MacErca — Dermid MacKervil 
 — Remains at Clonmacnoise — Saint Kevin — Glendalough — Saint 
 Brendan of Clonfert — His Legend — Chronological Table. 151-198 
 
 CHAPTER VL 
 
 THE COLUMBAN PERIOD. 
 FROM DERMID MAC KERVIL, A.D. 544, TO AEDH MAC AINMIRE 599. 
 
 Saint Columba — His noble birth — A pupil of Saint Finnian — Companion 
 of Kieran — Kieran's jealousy rebuked — Columba's copy of Finnian's 
 Psalter — King Dermid's judgment in favour of Finnian's copyright 
 — Leads to the Battle of Cuildrevne — The MS. still in existence — 
 Formerly the battle-standard of the O'Donnells — The bell of Saint 
 Patrick the battle-standard of the Kinel-Owen — The crozier of Saint 
 Grellan the battle-standard of the O'Kellys — Story of the emigrants 
 of the Clan Colla and Saint Grellan — Poem ascribed to Saint 
 Columba — He goes into exile to Hy ; I-colm-kill (lona), in penance 
 for his part in the battle of Cuildrevne — TheColumban Rule — Their 
 time of celebrating Easter — The existing MSS. ascribed to Saint 
 Columba — His metrical dialogue with Cormac — He returns to 
 Ireland to attend the Synod of Drumceat — Objects of King Aedh 
 in convening that assembly — The exactions of the Bards — Stoiy of 
 King Guary and Sancan, and the quest for the Tain — Saint Columba 
 intercedes for the Bards — Legend of the bird blown from Ireland to 
 lona — The Saint aids the Dalriad king Aidan in establishing his 
 independence — His death — His burial at lona — His shrine — Clan 
 system in the Columban monasteries — Successors of Columba — 
 Prince Oswald of Northumbria educated at lona — Sends for instruc- 
 tors for his people— St. Aidan of lona settles at Lindisfarne — Synod 
 ot Whitby — Chronological Table 199-22S
 
 Table of Contents. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE SCHOLASTIC PERIOD. 
 FROM AEDH MAC AINMIRE, A.D. 572, TO DONNCHAD 770. 
 
 Intellectual progress of the Irish between the convention of Drumceat 
 and the arrival of the Danes — Comparative paucity of details in the 
 local annals— Ampler information from continental notices — Great 
 reputation of Ireland for its Schools and Scholars — Defeat and death 
 of King Aedh at Dunbolg — His son Maelcova resigns the crown to 
 become a cleric — Sweeny Menn Ard-Righ — Assassinated by Congal 
 Claen at the instigation of Donall — Dream of King Donall — His 
 feast at Dun-na-n'geadh — Rebellion of Congal Claen and battle of 
 Moyrath— King Donall's address to his army — Combat of Conal 
 with Congal Claen — Story of Cuanna, who gives his death wound 
 to Congal Claen — His death — Donall's favour \o the church — He 
 founds the Abbey of Cong — Saint Fechin's church and Mill at Fore 
 — His ecclesiastic establishment on High Island — Bnidhe Chonnaill, 
 "yellow plague" — Other epidemics — Saint Adamnan visits Ireland 
 — His account of the Holy Places, from the narrative of the pilgrim- 
 bishop Arculf— Expedition of Egfrid, King of Northumbria, to 
 ravage the coasts of Leinster — Saint Adamnan visits York and 
 obtains the release of Irish captives — His ecclesiastical foundations in 
 Scotland — The Cain AdJiajiiIuiain — Death of St. Adamnan, A.D. 704 
 — Story of Kenfalla — Great schools of learning in Ireland — Armagh 
 — Prince Aldfrid's itinerary — Testimony of the Venerable Bede to 
 the learning and hospitality of the Irish — Poem of Donatus, Bishop 
 of Fiesole, illustrating the state of Ireland in his day — Testimony of 
 Eric of Auxerre- — Sweeny of Clonmacnoise assists at the foundation 
 of Oxford — His bell in the Museum of the Royal Irish Academy — 
 Irish "wisdom sellers" at the court of Charlemagne — School of 
 Lismore — Saint Carthagh — School of Bangor — Saint Columbanus — 
 His foundations in Burgundy and Italy — His letters — Pre-eminence 
 of Ireland as the seat of scholastic education, even after the Danish 
 inroads — Testimony of the author of the life of Sulgen^Opinion of 
 Camden — Chronological Table 229-259
 
 xiv Table of Contents, 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE DANISH PERIOD. 
 FROM DONNCHAD, A.D. 770, TO DOMNAL O'NEILL 956. 
 
 Invasions of the Northmen— Rise of the Southern Hy-Niall — Generous 
 devotion and death of King Niall Caille— Story of Turgesius — 
 Tyranny of the Danes — Their foundation of the seaport towns, and 
 progress in commerce — Norse influence on the local nomenclature — 
 Intermarriages between the Northmen and Iri^h — St. Olaf — Norse 
 cruelties in the propagation of the faith contrasted with the mild 
 course of the gospel in Ireland — Ancient tumuli on the Boyne 
 rifled by the Danes — King Malachy I. desires to make a pilgrimage 
 to Rome — King Aedh Finnliath — King Flann of the Shannon — 
 Story of his daughter Gormley — Cormac MacCulinan, King-arch- 
 bishop of Cashel — His Glossary — His Psalter — Rivalry between the 
 Eugenian and Dalcassian Septs of Munster — State of Munster — 
 Cormac instigated to war with Leinster by the Abbot Flaherty — 
 Makes his will — Battle of Ballaghmoone and death of Cormac — 
 Honourable conduct of King Flann — Penance of Flaherty — After- 
 wards King of Cashel — Succeeded by Lorcan, father of Kennedy, 
 father of Brian Boru — Kennedy admits the claim of alternate suc- 
 cession, according to the will of OJlioll Olum, and yields the throne 
 of Cashel to Callaghan— Stratagem of the Danish chieftain Sitric — 
 Callaghan taken prisoner — Kennedy marches the Munster troops to 
 his rescue — Gallant conduct of Falvy Finn — Death of King Flann 
 —Niall " Black-knee"— Donogh—Murkertach "Pell-Cloak" — 
 His circuit of Ireland — Callaghan's second imprisonment — Donall 
 O'Neill, son of Murkertach, Prince of Aileach, becomes Ard-righ 
 — Surnames introduced — The great Sept of O'Neill descendants of 
 Donall — Cruelties of the Danes — Destruction by them of works of 
 art — Skill of the Irish in artistic metal work, shrines, bells, croziers, 
 etc. — Their architecture and sculptured stonework— Their MSS. — 
 The Book of Kelts — The Book of Deer — lona devastated by the 
 Danes — Its Abbots subsequent to St. Adamnan — Abbacy transferred 
 to Kells in the ninth century — Martyrdom of St. Blathmac at lona —
 
 Table of Contents. xv 
 
 Kenneth MacAlpin, King of Scotland — Removes the shrine of St. 
 Columba to Dunkeld, and makes its abbot Bishop of Fortrenn — 
 The Bishopric transferred from Dunkeld to Abernethy, and subse- 
 quently to St. Andrews — The monastery of lona restored by Queen 
 Margaret of Scotland — The Western Isles, including lona, ceded by 
 King Malcolm to Norway — Mr. Skene on the decay of the old 
 Celtic Church — Chronological Table. .... 260-293 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE DALCASSIAN PERIOD. 
 
 FROM MALACHY II., A.D. 980, TO THE DEATH OF BRIAN BORU, IOI4. 
 
 Reign of Malachy II.— Defeats the Danes at Tara, and at Dublin — 
 His proclamation — Rivalry with Brian Boru — Rise of the Dalcassian 
 tribe under the leadership of the sons of Kennedy — Struggles of 
 Mahon and Brian with the Danes — Interview of these princes — 
 Assembly of the Dal-Gais — Batlle of Sulcoit — Sack of Limerick — 
 Song of triumph for Mahon — His murder — Brian avenges his death 
 — Rules Munster from Kincora — Battle of Glenmama— Alliances 
 of Brian — Aspires to the sovereignty — Malachy deserted by the 
 Northern princes — Submits to Brian — Generous conduct of the 
 rivals — Administrative genius of Brian — His magnificence — Mael- 
 murra. King of Leinster, insulted at Kincora — Conspires with the 
 Danes — Battle of Clontarf— Brian's army — Chivalrous conduct of 
 the deposed King Malachy — Muster of the Northmen at Clontarf — 
 Brian's address to his army — Encounter between Plait and Domnall 
 — Interview between Murrogh, son of Brian, and Dunlang 0'Har« 
 tigan — Conflict of Murrogh and Anrud — Death of Murrogh — His 
 son Turloch drowned — King Brian in his tent — Is killed by Brodar 
 —Chronological Table 294-316
 
 xvi Table of Contents. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE EVE OF THE CONQUEST. 
 
 King Brian and his son Murrogh interred at Armagh — Retreat of the 
 Dal-Gais — The Eugenian tribes separate from the Dal-Gais — The 
 men of Ossory demand hostages — Heroic conduct of the wounded 
 Dalcassians — The men of Ossory afraid to attack them — The remnant 
 of the Dal-Gais reach Kincora — Results of the Battle of Clontarf — 
 Malachy II. reascends the throne — Donogh O'Brien — Flaherty 
 O'Neill — Makes a pilgi'image to Rome — Rise of the Leinster family 
 of MacMurrogh— Turlogh O'Brien deposes his uncle Donogh, who 
 retires to Rome and dies there— Turlogh sends Irish oak to King 
 William Rufus— Murkertach Mor O'Brien — Rise of the family of 
 O'Conor in Connaught — Laxity of ecclesiastical dicipline— Synods 
 held by Celsus, Glllibert, and St. Malachy — Malachy's conversations 
 with Pope Innocent II. about the state of Ireland — Pope Adrian IV. 
 an Englishman — His Bull authorizing the invasion of Ireland by an 
 English King — Henry Plantagenet unable at the time to avail him- 
 self of the donation — Abduction of Derv'orgilla by Dermid MacMur- 
 rogh, King of Leinster — He is deposed— Seeks the protection of 
 King Henry II., who gives him letters of aid — Richard de Clare, 
 Earl of Pembroke (Strongbow), embraces his cause — The sons and 
 grandsons of the beautiful Nesta — Henry FitzHenry — Meyler 
 FitzHenry — FitzGerald^FitzStephen — FitzBernard — De Barry — 
 Giraldus Cambrensis — His description of Dermid MacMurrogh — 
 Effects of the Conquest. ....... 317-331 
 
 Note on the Sources and Nomenclature. .... 332-338 
 
 Index . . . : 339
 
 IRELAND IN PAGAN TIMES. 
 
 Lea Con and Lea Moi 
 aiaJi. Uhlcr. 
 
 iiiU, Dnnegal. 
 
 . I^nilli aitU Armngh. 
 
 .I/H»-Mrt/«.', a (liiltici orLoulh- 
 
 I 7Jr-/w^irt. Sligoatid Mnyo. 
 //,-A/.7>iy. 0'Kclly'> coiiniiy, Calw, 
 
 ni/e and OJit/ey, Wicklow i 
 
 Royal Forts, Lea Con. 
 
 Forts of Kitip of 
 
 Aileach, Jort of Norlbem Hy-Nia 
 Kings, between Lniiehs Sivillv an 
 Fojlc, Lont _ 
 
 Dun-na-sgnith, Fort of Souther 
 Niall Kin 
 
 of Southern Hy 
 Lou^h Enovfl, 
 
 Red T3r.inch Kniglils, 
 
 DuKs OF Chieftai.ns in Lea Con. 
 
 Dintii<lga, Dundalk, Fort of Cuchultin, 
 
 now Casllclown. 
 Jtali Kitlar. DoHnpatricfe. 
 
 RoVAL Forts, Lea Moha. 
 
 liia-ltth-glat, Downpalrick. 
 '■/.mad, Belfast. 
 '-rathain, Coleraioe. 
 
 Ireland in Pagan Times. 
 
 ofQuecnl 
 of Knockn: 
 
 vn-Ca'6haiii, Dunganaa. 
 rt Lairgf, Watctford. 
 mwH, Wwford. 
 tfJ/oH/tfiw. Wicklow. 
 
 Duns in Lea Moha. 
 
 LilTey, sepulchral mound 
 rea, Co Slifio. 
 
 H, Slieve Gultion, Co. 
 f«, Carliogford Mts., 
 
 The Fews Mts., Co. 
 
 t Tralee, Co. Keny. 
 
 Sliev£ 
 
 , Co. 
 
 on the middle Island of 
 r. on the middle Island of 
 ■■ Co. Kerry. 
 
 e Old Head of Kinwle. 
 
 ra. Bnllysadare. 
 
 1, Dungiven, Co. Deny. 
 
 <tt Antrim. 
 
 Battle Fields. 
 
 Tor /nil, Tory Island, off Donegal 
 
 «urlhMoytur<f, N.W. M-iyo. 
 
 loulh Moyiun^. on the sliore of Lough 
 
 Corrii.. near Cong. 
 rrnigA EiyhaiU, on the shore at Bally- 
 
 chial tumuli, Co. Meaih. 
 
 
 
 1 Dingle. 
 
 I Ventry, 
 
 -c
 
 THE 
 
 IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE MYTHICAL PERIOD. 
 
 FROM PARTHOLAN TO KIMBAOTH B.C. 354. 
 
 Aborigines preyed on by African pirates — Colony of Partholan — Colony 
 of Nemed— Siege of Tor Conaing— Battle of the White Strand — 
 Arrival of the Firbolgs — Their works in stone — Arrival of the 
 Tuath-De-Danaans — Battles of Moyture— Characteristic differences 
 in Arms — The " Fate of the Children of Lir," one of the "Three 
 Sorrows " of Celtic Song — Arrival of the Milesian Scoti — Chivalrous 
 conduct of the Scoti — Battle of Tailti — The Scoti conquer the island 
 — Its distribution — The laws and social polity of the conquerors — 
 The remains of these races — Their influence on the West of Europe 
 — Chronological Table. 
 
 No race which has left its impress on the history of our 
 globe has preserved its primitive traditions with the same 
 care as the Celtic, that early swarm from the Japhetic hive 
 which, the bardic traditions tell us, reached Europe long 
 before the dawn of authentic history. 
 
 Even then, the Celtic story affirms, there wandered through 
 the pine forests of lerne an aboriginal people. The traces 
 of a population ignorant of the use of metals and of the 
 practice of agriculture have been found over all the west 
 of Europe. In Gaul and Britain the record of their existence 
 is the bone-cave and the drift-bank, where Nature has sealed 
 up their knives and hatchets of stone, along with the half
 
 2 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 fossil remains of the elk, the cave-bear, and the elephant. 
 In addition to similar evidence in Ireland, bardic tradition 
 tells us that the leader of these mitochthones, on the arrival 
 of Partholan with the first Gaelic swarm from the East, was 
 named Cical. 
 
 Of Cical and his hunter tribes the varied lay began, 
 And how in Grecian galleys borne Maeonian Partholan, 
 Sire of great Slange on a day, with sight of sail and oar, 
 Amazed the dwellers of the woods by Inverskene's shore, 
 "Where first invasion first brought in the arts of life ; and how 
 Erin untill'd till then, from him received the spade and plough.* 
 
 And who was Partholan? and how came he to be dignified 
 v/ith Greek associations? the reader will ask. The name 
 whencesoever derived, is imprinted in the old local nomen- 
 clature of the country. The traveller, taking the direction 
 of Blessington from Dublin, about five miles out of the 
 city, passes a decayed village called Tallaght ; and this 
 name Tarn lacht, signifying a " plague sepulchre," has been, 
 from time immemorial, understood to be the Tam-lacht of 
 the people of Partholan. For the tradition is, that the 
 whole colony brought into Ireland by this chieftain perished 
 in a great plague, and that a multitude of them were buried 
 in a common tomb at this spot ; and that this plague had 
 pursued Partholan as a punishment for the guilt of parricide, 
 under the sting of remorse for which he had become a 
 voluntary exile. Similar stories are told of Brutus, the 
 fabled progenitor of the Britons, and of other mythical 
 leaders and founders of nations ; and the reader will 
 
 * From Congal, by Sir S. Ferguson.
 
 THE MYTHICAL PERIOD; 3 
 
 remember that in this chapter the subject belongs altogether 
 to the Mythical Period. 
 
 It is observable, however, that local tradition also had, 
 from immemorial time, given the name of Slange, son of 
 Partholan, to the highest peak of the Mourne mountains in 
 Down, up to the time when Slieve Donard acquired its 
 present name, from Domangart, a holy person of the sixth 
 century, whose hermitage occupied the site of the cairn of 
 the buried warrior on the mountain summit. 
 
 Forg-otten Partholan himself lies 'neath his royal mound 
 
 On green Moynalty, hushed at eve by drowsy ocean's sound ; 
 
 And clangorous song of tlocks by night, when through the wintry 
 
 air 
 The wide-winged wild geese to their pools by Liffey's side repair. 
 But promised Slange, tombed aloft on that great mountain's 
 
 head, 
 Which now, since Domangart hath used the chamber of the dead 
 For cleric rites, no longer owns its name of old renown, — 
 Slieve-Slange, — but Slieve-Donard sounds, awaits his calling 
 
 down.* 
 
 However apocryphal the name of Partholan may now 
 appear, we must recognise the voice of a remote antiquity 
 in favour of the story of the parricide ; of the aborigines 
 whom he invaded and civilized ; and of the avenging plague 
 before which his race, though not his memory, has been 
 obliterated. 
 
 Even thus early the shores of our Island are said to have 
 been the resort of organized sea-plunderers, or pre-historic 
 Vikings, who made their descents from Africa. 
 
 From Congal, by Sir S. Ferguson.
 
 4 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 They are known in the recollection of our ancestors 
 under the name of Fomorians. Critical scholars have sur- 
 mised that this is but another name for Pomerania, and that 
 for Africa we should read the shores of the Baltic. In the 
 glossary, however, of King Corrnac of Cashel, compiled not 
 long after the age of Alfred, in the ninth century of our 
 era, the word Fomorian is said to signify "under sea," in 
 the sense of their ships being descried on the horizon, 
 rising, as it were, from beneath the rim of the ocean, and 
 indicating their approach from the Atlantic rather than 
 the narrow seas. From whencescevc they came, they 
 were expert navigators, and had a fortress upon Tor Inis, 
 or Tory Island, which, from its name of the Glass Castle, 
 may possibly have been a vitrified fort. Round its walls, 
 and on the strand beneath, was waged, we are told, 
 one of the earliest of the many " Battles of the White 
 Strand," which supjjly the place of the " tale of Troy 
 divine " in early Irish and Welsh bardic history. Nemed, 
 of the same race as Partholan, was the next invader, and 
 subjected to the servile toils of tillage and building, the 
 remnant of the former population. But the galleys of the 
 "under sea" invaders still rose on the horizon, and poured 
 their troops of Fomorian pirates on the thinly-peopled 
 shores. The tower of Tor Inis was the great stronghold 
 of the strangers. Nemed with his chief warriors crossed the 
 turbulent straits and laid siege to the wonderful castle. 
 
 Fierce conflicts were waged upon the shore. The com- 
 batants in their fury disregarded the rising tide v/hich 
 overwhelmed them, the crew of one ship only of the 
 Nemedians escaping. Amongst those saved were three
 
 THE MYTHICAL PERIOD. 5 
 
 chieftains of Nemed's blood, who, though now abandoning 
 the country, were, we are told to believe, destined to re- 
 people Ireland at a subsequent period. 
 
 They fought ere sunrise at Tor Conainn, 
 
 All day they fought on the wild sea-shore ; 
 The sun dropp'd downward, they fought amain, 
 
 The tide rose upward, they fought the more. 
 The sands were cover'd, the sea grew red, 
 
 The warriors fought in the reddening wave ; 
 That night the sea was the sea-king's bed, 
 
 The land-king drifted past clift" and wave. 
 
 Great was the rage in those ancient days, 
 
 (We were pagans then) in the land of Eire ; 
 Like eagles, men vanquish'd the noontide blaze, 
 
 Their bones were iron, their nerves were wire. 
 We are hinds to-day ! The Nemedian kings, 
 
 Like elk and bison of old stalk'd forth ; 
 Their name — the sea-kings — for ever clings 
 
 To the "Giant Stepping Stones" round the north.* 
 
 We must endeavour to imagine the island during these 
 vicissitudes, under successive conditions of populousness 
 and desertion, rude wealth and steriHty, until a third swarm 
 of adventurers came upon the scene, making their entrance 
 also by the common avenue of Greece. These are the 
 Firbolgs, exiles from Thrace. They had been slaves, com- 
 pelled, under the lash of task-masters, to cultivate the 
 terraces on the steep sides, it may be, of Pindus or Haemus. 
 Each man was provided with a leathern bag, in which he 
 carried up soil to these hanging gardens. Hence, say the 
 Irish traditions, the name of Firbolg, men of the bag. 
 They conspired, rose, and fled together, and a new infusion 
 • From Inisfail by Aubrey De Vere.
 
 b THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 of Greek characteristics was thus imparted to the Isle of 
 Destiny. Traces of the Firbolgs remain, not only in the 
 names given by them to different localities, which are yet 
 retained, but in the Duns and earthworks which they erected. 
 The western isles of Aran contain, in admirable preserva- 
 tion to this day, the great stone fortresses of Dun Conor 
 and Dun .^ngus, built at a subsequent period by chieftains 
 of this race, who, as will be seen in the sequel, were them- 
 selves destined to become a servile population under the 
 sway of succeeding invaders. 
 
 Dun ^ngus is a marvellous dry-stone erection. On a 
 promontory which slopes gradually upwards from the land- 
 ward side, and terminates in an abrupt cliff which frowns 
 over the Atlantic, a considerable space of ground has been 
 enclosed by a massive cyclopean wall. This consists of 
 three concentric rings of building, each complete in itself, 
 yet in immediate juxtaposition, and well fitted for defence. 
 The sloping landward side is thickly studded with pillar- 
 stones, firmly fixed in the soil, intended, apparently, to act 
 as a kind of chevaux-de-frise^ and embarrass the advance 
 of an enemy on the only avenue of approach. 
 
 It is inaccessible from the sea. The cliff rises grandly 
 above the wild Atlantic waves, which dash themselves 
 against its base, and threaten its total destruction ere long. 
 It has evidently been largely undermined already. Part of 
 the vast edifice has tumbled into the deep water beneath. 
 That which yet stands overhangs the ocean abysses. A 
 more grand and impressive scene can scarcely be imagined. 
 The utter solitude of the spot : the boundless expanse 
 of ocean, dark-heaving and sublime : the old, old, strong-
 
 THE MYTHICAL PERIOD. 7 
 
 hold — more ancient probably than any building now standing 
 in western Europe, counting its age not by hundreds, but 
 by thousands of years — powerfully impress the imagination. 
 The feeling is enhanced by the loneliness of these rarely- 
 visited and inaccessible islets of the far west, which contain 
 at present the huts only of simple peasants, and ruins of the 
 cells and churches of the earliest Christian ecclesiastics. 
 These are touching in their simplicity and antiquity, yet 
 appear insignificant and comparatively recent, when com- 
 pared with Dun w^ngus and Dun Conor, pagan strongholds 
 of Firbolg chiefs. 
 
 These erections belong, as we have said, to thellatest 
 period of Firbolg history, when the colony was closely 
 pressed by their conquering kinsmen, and forced from the 
 rich provinces of the south and east, to seek refuge in more 
 remote and inhospitable districts. The Firbolg blood to 
 this day exists to an appreciable extent in Connaught, and 
 the outlying isles of the west. They were a dark-haired and 
 dark-skinned race, small in comparison with their fair-haired 
 foemen, whose superior physique, no less than their higher 
 civilization, and knowledge of arts and metals, assured them 
 a speedy supremacy. 
 
 A fourth and fifth invasion remain to be chronicled. 
 The Tuath-De-Danaans, like their kinsmen the Firbolgs, 
 are said to be descended from Nemed through Ibath, his 
 great-grandson, one of the chieftains who, with the ancestor 
 of the Firbolg, escaped from the battle of Tor-Conaing. It 
 is claimed for this people also that they came from Greece, 
 but by way of Scandinavia. We may imagine them to have 
 pursued the course of the rivers which flow to the Baltic,
 
 8 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 unless — as their traditions seem to indicate, and for which 
 some slight probability may be traced in the features of the 
 country between the Don and the Vistula — that part of 
 Europe was then under water, and the western portion, from 
 the Carpathian mountains, virtually an island, and the 
 passage effected, as the Argo is fabled to have performed 
 it, by sea. The present form of our continent would thus 
 result from the gradual elevation of the soil on the low-lying, 
 flat, alluvial plains of Poland and Russia. 
 
 Nuad of the Silver Hand was chieftain of the Tuath- 
 De-Danaans, when they encountered Eochaid, the reigning 
 Firbo^ monarch, in the battle of Southern Moyture. The 
 scene of the engagement is supposed to be identified near 
 Cong. The fugitive Firbolg king was pursued, overtaken, 
 and slain, at Ballysadare, in the county of Sligo. His cairn 
 still exists on the strand there, and was formerly deemed 
 one of the " Wonders of Erin." Indeed the whole of this 
 district of Sligo, as well as the field of Moyture itself, 
 abounds with stone monuments — archaic enough to be 
 co-eval with the scenes and actors of whom we treat. The 
 conquering Nuad is said to have lost his hand in the battle, 
 and to have used a silver substitute, framed by the skill of 
 Credne Cerd, that is, the Smith. The mutilation, however, 
 incapacitated him for the throne, in accordance with a law 
 which, in Ireland, debarred any one who had a personal 
 blemish from exercising regal functions. The story indicates, 
 at least, the mechanical skill possessed by the Tuath-De- 
 Uanaans, which was so inexplicable to the vanquished 
 Firbolgs, that they considered their conquerors to be 
 necromancers or demons.
 
 THE MYTHICAL PERIOD. 9 
 
 " The Battle of Moyture " has come down to us from 
 a period long prior to the twelfth century in the form of a 
 bardic tale ; one of those romantic pieces which every 
 well-instructed poet was expected to have in readiness when 
 called on to entertain an assembly with song or recitation. 
 It is one of a large class of similar compositions, but dis- 
 tinguished from most others by affording tangible evidence 
 on a question of archaeological interest. In our great 
 museums the visitor may observe two classes of bronze 
 weapons, one being of broad, short and comparatively 
 clumsy proportions ; the other slender, elegant, and of the 
 leaf-bladed or classic form. The Tale of the Battle of 
 Moyture affords an unsuspected proof that, at whatever 
 time it was composed, the popular belief among the Irish 
 was, that weapons of the former class were peculiar to the 
 Firbolgs, and of the latter to the Tuath-De-Danaans. It 
 describes an interview between the scouts of the adverse 
 armies, who encounter one another in a solitude. They 
 plant their shields in the ground, and, from behind the'se 
 defences, commence their colloquy. Acquiring greater 
 confidence, they then proceed to examine one another's 
 arms, when the distinction we have mentioned is referred 
 to and commented on. Now it is a remarkable fact, that 
 in all the sepulchral mounds of the kindred Belgic tribes 
 of Britain, the broad, trowel-like blades only have been 
 found, while the classic form of weapon is common in 
 North Britain, through which Irish tradition brings the 
 De-Danaan invaders. 
 
 Two kings of the Tuath-De-Danaan race — Lir and Bove, 
 have been celebrated in bardic song. The Fate of the
 
 lO THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 Children of Lir^* one of the "Three Sorrows of Song," has 
 inspired a poet in whose rendering of the legend the story is 
 given in modern form — not without an infusion of modem 
 sentiment — yet with exquisite tenderness and beauty. We 
 are told of the happy life led by King Lir, his queen, and 
 their children. 
 
 "Beings they seemed reserved for some great fate, 
 Mysterious, high, elect and separate." 
 
 The mother dies. Lir devotes himself to his children, but 
 after some time re-marries. His bride, the beautiful daughter 
 of King Bove, is possessor of magical power, and, jealous of 
 Lirs love for his children, changes them into swans. 
 
 " That night in dream King Lir had anguish sore, 
 And southward, ere the dawn, rode far away 
 With many a chief to see his babes once more 
 Beside Lough Derg ; and lo, at close of day 
 Nighing to Darvra's lake, the westering sun 
 In splendour on the advancing horsemen shone. 
 
 Straightway from that broad water's central stream 
 Was heard a clang of pinions and swift feet — 
 
 Unchanged at heart those babes had caught that gleam ; 
 Instant from far had rushed, their sire to greet, 
 
 Spangling the flood with silver spray ; and ere 
 
 That sire had reached the margin they were there. 
 
 Then, each and all, clamorous they made lament. 
 Recounting all their wrong, and all their woe ; 
 
 And Lir, their tale complete, his garment rent, 
 Till then transfixed like marble shape ; and lo. 
 
 Three times, heart-grieved, that concourse raised their cry, 
 
 Piercing the centre of the low-hung sky. 
 
 * The Children of Lir, from " The Foray of Queen Meave," by 
 Aubrey De Vere.
 
 THE MYTHICAL PERIOD. II 
 
 But Lir knelt down upon the shining sand, 
 
 And cried ' Though great the might of Druid charms, 
 
 Return and feel once more your native land, 
 
 And find once more and fill your father's arms ! ' 
 
 And they made answer : ' Till the Tailkenn come 
 
 We tread not land ! The waters are our home ! ' 
 
 But when Finola saw her father's grief 
 
 She added thus : ' Albeit our days are sad, 
 
 The twilight brings our pain in part relief : 
 
 And songs are ours by night that make us glad : 
 
 Yea, each that hears our music, though he grieve. 
 
 Rejoices more. Abide, for it is eve.' 
 
 So Lir and his, couched on the wave-lipped sod 
 All night ; and ever as those songs up swelled 
 
 A mist of sleep upon them fell from God, 
 And healing spirits converse with them held. 
 
 And Lir was glad all night : but with the morn 
 
 Anguish returned ; and thus he cried, forlorn : 
 
 ' Farewell ! The morn is come ; and I depart : 
 Farewell ! Not wholly evil are things ill ! 
 
 Farewell, Finola ! Yea, but in my heart 
 
 With thee I bide : there liv'st thou changeless still ; 
 
 O Aodh ! O Fiacre ! the night is gone : — 
 
 Farewell to both ! Farewell, my little Conn.' " 
 
 The doom of the children is that they must be tossed 
 about the stormy waters of the Irish seas, till Christianity 
 should prevail over Paganism, and bells should sound over 
 the land to summon the Irish to Christian virorship. Before 
 this blessed consummation three hundred years had to be 
 passed on the waters of Lake Darvra ; three hundred more 
 on the stormy seas of Moyle, which separate Scotland from
 
 12 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 Ireland ; and the last three hundred in the Atlantic waters 
 on Ireland's western coast : 
 
 " The years ran on : the centuries three went by : 
 Finola sang : ' The Second Woe is ended ! * 
 Obedient then, once more they soared on high ; 
 
 Next morn on Erin's western coast descended, 
 While sunrise flashed on misty isles far seen, 
 Now gold, now flecked with streaks of luminous green. 
 
 And there for many a winter they abode, 
 Harbouring in precincts of the setting sun ; 
 
 And mourned by day, yet sang at night their ode 
 As though in praise of some great victory won : 
 
 Some conqueror more than man ; some heavenly crown 
 
 Slowly o'er all creation settling down. 
 
 So thus those babes, in God's predestined hour, 
 Through help of Him, the Lord of Life and Death, 
 
 Inly fulfilled with light and prophet power. 
 
 Believed ; and perfect made their Act of Faith ; 
 
 And thenceforth all things both in shade and shine, 
 
 To them came softly and with touch benign. 
 
 Thenceforth they roamed no more, at Inisglaire 
 Their change awaiting. In its blissful prime 
 
 That island was, men say, as Eden fair. 
 
 The swan-soft nursling of a changeful clime, 
 
 With amaranth-lighted glades, and tremulous sheen, 
 
 Of trees full-flowered on earth no longer seen. 
 
 There dwelt those swans ; there louder anthems chanted ; 
 
 There first they sang by day — rapt song and hymn, 
 Till all those birds the western coast that haunted 
 
 Came flying far o'er ocean's purple rim, 
 Scorning thenceforth wild cliffs and beds of foam ; 
 And made then first, that sacred isle their home."
 
 THE MYTHICAL PERIOD. 13 
 
 At last the great missionary Saint enters on his work and 
 Erin becomes a Christian land. 
 
 " Saint Patrick stretched above the wave his hand 
 
 And thus he spake— and wind and wave were stilled — 
 ' Children of Lir, re-tread your native land, 
 
 For now your long sea-penance is fulfilled ! ' 
 Then lo ! Finola raised the funeral cry : 
 ' We tread our native land that we may die ! ' " 
 
 The Fate of the Children of Lir forms the subject of one 
 of Moore's Irish Melodies, " Silent, oh Moyle." Finola is 
 the speaker : 
 
 " Sadly, oh Moyle, to thy winter-wave weeping. 
 
 Fate bids me languish long ages away ; 
 Yet stil! in her darkness doth Erin lie sleeping. 
 
 Yet still doth the pure light its dawning delay. 
 When will that day-star mildly springing, 
 
 Warm our Isle with peace and love ? 
 When will Heaven, its sweet bells ringing, 
 
 Call my spirit to the fields above ? " 
 
 A belief in the magical powers of these " God Tribes," as 
 the Tuath-De-Danaans were entitled, lingers in the country, 
 where the fairies are still supposed to be their repre- 
 sentatives. To them tradition ascribes the bringing in of 
 the Lia fail, or stone of destiny, on which the kings 
 of Ireland were inaugurated at Tara. The Lia fail is 
 commonly believed to exist at the present time, under the 
 coronation chair of the Sovereigns of the United Kingdom 
 in Westminster Abbey, having been brought thither from 
 Scone, where it has fulfilled a similar purpose for the 
 Scottish monarchs. Fergus, king of Scotland, of the
 
 14 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 Dalriadic (Irish) dynasty, sent for it from Tara, desiring to 
 be crowned on this stone of destiny, which secured, that 
 a sovereign of the Scotic race should never fail to sit on 
 the throne founded on it. The prophecy has not hitherto 
 failed in its accomplishment ; for Queen Victoria is a true 
 descendant of the Scotic line. Some of our antiquaries, 
 however, maintain that the Lia fail still remains at Tara, 
 and point to a standing pillar stone on a mound yet 
 remaining as the veritable Stone of Destiny. 
 
 For the name of the Green Isle itself, we are indebted to 
 this people, Eri being the name of a daughter of their race 
 — forming Erin in the genitive. Ogma, another of the same 
 family, is presumed to have given name to that species of 
 writing — called ogham — formed by notches on the edges of 
 stones : a form of record which certainly was in use about 
 the lime of the introduction of Christianity ; while to the 
 D.agda, one of their kings, is ascribed the great barbaric tomb 
 on the banks of the Boyne, known as the mound of New 
 Grange. This monument still exists in perfect preservation. 
 It was opened and pillaged by the Danes, in the ninth cen- 
 tury of our era, in common with its neighbour tumuli of 
 Knowth and Dowth, and many other sepulchral munuments 
 iii different parts of the country. The gold ornaments which 
 the ancient Irish buried with their illustrious dead, were, no 
 doubt, the temptation to the Viking freebooters. This vast 
 mound, covering nearly two acres in extent, and consisting 
 of a conical grass-covered cairn of small stones, and still 
 partly surrounded by a ring of majestic megaliths, is entered 
 by a passage formed of standing stones of considerable size, 
 guarded by a beautifully carved cill at the entrance. This
 
 THE MYTHICAL PERIOD. 15 
 
 passage measures sixty-three feet in length, and leads to a 
 dome-roofed chamber. Almost every stone employed in the 
 construction of this, and of the smaller chambers which 
 open from it, is not only wonderful from its bulk, but is 
 carefully ornamented with carvings in spirals, lozenges, and 
 other rude, but not ungraceful figures. The plan of the 
 sepulchre is analogous in general design to the Egyptian 
 pyramids. The cairn of stones and clay covering the 
 chambers and passage, corresponds, in the Celtic tomb, with 
 the angular sloping mass of the pyramid. Bardic tradition 
 indicates this as the grave of The Dagdaand his three sons. 
 This powerful monarch, " The Great Good Fire," is said to 
 have ruled for seventy years. His death is stated to have 
 been the result of a wound received long before at the battle 
 of the Northern Moytur6. His grandsons, called MacCoil, 
 MacKeact, and MacGrene, because they are said to have 
 worshipped the hazel-tree {Colt), the ploughshare {Kedd), 
 and the Sun {Griaji), had for their respective wives, Banba, 
 Fola, and Eri, from whom our island obtained the names by 
 which it is known to the Bardic historians. The objects of 
 worship ascribed to the husbands of these ladies may 
 indicate an advancing civilization and practice of the arts of 
 agriculture. 
 
 But a fresh invasion of Erin by another swarm of Celto- 
 Scythic wanderers was impending, and the Tuath-De-Danaan 
 were now to be superseded as a dominant race, by the 
 Milesian immigrants, after they had ruled in Ireland for nigh 
 two hundred years. 
 
 The Scoti or Gael, according to their traditions, like the 
 previous colonizers of Erin, traced their descent from IMagog,
 
 l6 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 son of Japhet. Unlike the Firbolgs and Tuath-De-Danaans, 
 who passed through Greece on their western route, this 
 wave of Celtic immigrants from their common home in 
 Central Asia, claim to have come by way of Scythia, Egypt, 
 and Spain. Under leadership of Breogan, they won for 
 themselves a footing in Spain, and founded, say the bards, 
 the city of Brigantium, near Corunna, in Galicia. These 
 adventurers, according to their descendants' story (for we 
 must remember we are still in the region of tradition), im- 
 pelled by famine, which at that time ravaged Spain, resolved 
 to seek a new country, and as a preliminary step, sent forth 
 Ith, son of Breogan, to visit Ireland. He is said to have 
 seen the island, like a cloud on the horizon, from the watch- 
 tower of Brigantium. The solitary vessel of Ith, with its crew 
 of one hundred and fifty men, landed in the north of Ireland. 
 He found himself able to converse with the people of the 
 country in their common Gaelic tongue. He informed them 
 that he had landed from stress of weather only, without any 
 intention of settling in the country, but hearing that the three 
 grandsons of the Dagda, of whom we have already spoken, 
 were quarrelling among themselves, and desired his services 
 as umpire, he advanced to meet them, and having made his 
 award, reproved them for their strife, praising the fruitfulness 
 of the soil of Erin, and its happy temperature. 
 
 Ith had set out on his return to his ship, when the Tuath- 
 De-Danaan kings, alarmed by his praises of their country, 
 which they thought indicated a probable return to their shores 
 with a larger armament, followed, and attacked him on the 
 shores of Lough Foyle. Ith placed himself in the rear of his 
 little army, and bravely protected their retreat to the ship,
 
 THE MYTHICAL PERIOD. I? 
 
 He was, however, mortally wounded in the fight, but his 
 people carried his corpse to Spain, where his kinsmen, the 
 sons of his nephew Golamh, better known by his bardic name 
 of Miled, the grandson of Breogan, excited by the outrage, 
 resolved to avenge his death, and this is the tale of their 
 expedition as told us by the bards. 
 
 The Milesians, with a fleet of thirty ships, each ship carry- 
 ing thirty warriors, their wives, and attendants, eight of the 
 leaders being sons of Miled, n eared the Irish coast. The 
 magical lore of the Tuath-De-Danaans was employed to raise 
 a mist, and the spell-bound voyagers were compelled to sail 
 round the island before they were able to land. This 
 accomplished, they marched on Tara, and there encountered 
 the three sovereigns, attended by their magicians. They 
 demanded quiet possession of the country, or battle. 
 MacColl, MacKeact, and MacGrene, unprepared for either 
 alternative, offered to abide by the decision of Amergin, one 
 of the sons of Miled, who pronounced that the Milesians 
 should again put to sea, for a distance of nine waves or tonus, 
 and then attempt a landing. Should the Tuath-De-Danaans 
 fail in preventing this, they were bound by the award of 
 Amergin to yield the sovereignty of Ireland to the invaders. 
 The Gael were no sooner on the ocean than their fleet was 
 scattered by a storm raised by the magicalarts.of the Tuath- 
 De-Danaans. The greater number of their ships were 
 wrecked, and their leader perished in the waves. Eber and 
 Eremon, surviving sons of Miled, however, effected a land- 
 ing, and in an engagement at Tailti (supposed to be Teltown 
 in Meath), completely subdued the Tuath-De-Danaan princes, 
 
 who perished with their wives, Eri, Banba, and Fola. Two 
 
 c
 
 1 8 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 chieftains of the victorious Gael fell in the pursuit, whose 
 deaths we record, as they gave names to districts long 
 celebrated in Irish heroic story ; Cuailgne (now Cooley), in 
 Louth, and the mountainous tract Slieve Fuad (now the 
 Fews), in the county of Armagh. Such is the story of the 
 Milesian or Scotic immigration ; obviously not so old, in its 
 present form, as the events which it purports to relate, but 
 still a tale of very high antiquity ; and characterized by one 
 of the earliest traits of that chivalrous spirit which has so 
 strongly marked the Romantic school of European literature. 
 From these invaders the Irish historians deduce the whole 
 series of their kings, with one temporary interruption only, 
 down to the end of the native Irish monarchy in the person 
 of Roderick O' Conor a.d. 1172. 
 
 The victorious leaders of the Scoti partitioned the island. 
 Munster was assigned to Eber, Leinster and Connaught to 
 Eremon, while Ulster was given to Eber^ son of Ir, who had 
 survived the shipwreck in which his father was drowned. 
 Lugaid, son of Ith, the pioneer of the Milesians, had a 
 territory in Munster assigned to him. It is from these suc- 
 cessful adventurers that most of our native Irish familes claim 
 to trace their descent. But it is singular that while these 
 Milesian representatives abound, and families with Firbolgic 
 ancestors are not unknown, no race, clan, or family existing 
 at the present time are reputed to have Tuath-De-Danaan 
 blood in their veins. 
 
 Of the early kings of the Scotic race, the principal are 
 Eremon, in whose time a body of Picts, a cousin-tribe of 
 the Firbolg, arriving in Ii^land obtained wives of the ruling 
 race for their new settlements in the north of Britain on the
 
 THE MYTHICAL PERIOD. 1 9 
 
 Stipulation that their monarchy should thenceforth descend 
 in the female as well as in the male line. 
 
 Tiernmas, of the race of Eremon, was a prominent king. 
 He is said to have introduced the public worship of idols. 
 Crom Cruach, a hideous idol, surrounded by twelve smaller 
 divinities, was worshipped with cruel rites on the plain of 
 Moy Slaght, in that part of the ancient territory of Breffny 
 which now constitutes the county of Cavan. Tiernmas 
 was the introducer of those parti-coloured garments now 
 represented by the tartan of the Scottish Gael. The dress 
 of a slave was limited by him to one colour ; a peasant was 
 permitted to have two; a soldier or a noble, three ; while 
 four colours were allotted to the keeper of a house of hos- 
 pitality; five to a chieftain, and six might adorn the robes 
 of a king or a queen. It is recorded that this sovereign 
 possessed among his household a refiner of gold, and we 
 may not improbably trace to this period some part of that 
 excellence of workmanship in the precious metals f6r which 
 the Irish were so long celebrated, and of which such 
 numerous and varied specimens exist in our National 
 Museum. 
 
 A more advanced state of civilization is indicated by the 
 character of legislator ascribed to Olav Fola, a prince of the 
 race of Ir, who instituted the Convention of Tara. This 
 national assembly was held every third year, and to it were 
 summoned the classes illustrious in rank and learning. The 
 monarch entertained all comers for six days, endeavouring, 
 in the exercise of this frank hospitality, to promote good 
 feeling and friendly relations among his subordinate chief- 
 tains. An examination and verification of laws, pedigrees
 
 2 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 and annals is said to have been one dutyperformed by the 
 antiquarians, bards and sages who assenabled at the Feis of 
 Tara, but whether these were recorded in writing or orally 
 recited does not. appear. Other assemblies of the same 
 character were held at stated periods throughout the 
 subordinate territories. Of these the most noted were the 
 great fairs of Tailtin in Meath, and Carman in Wexford. 
 Vast multitudes resorted to these CE?iach''s, as they were 
 called, for the sake not only of commerce and amusement, 
 but for the purpose of having new laws promulgated, local 
 annals, titles and pedigrees examined, and rival bardic poems 
 rehearsed. As in Greece, many of these assemblies had 
 their beginnings in funeral games celebrated at the obsequies 
 of distinguished personages, as at Tailtin, dating back to the 
 time of the Tuath-De-Danaan King Lugaid, who established 
 those games in honour of his deceased Queen Tailti. These 
 " Lug-nasa " or "games of Lugaid" were celebrated on 
 the ist of August, which hence takes its designation of 
 " Lammas " day. 
 
 It may readily be supposed that a people, with whom the 
 transmission of property, and indeed their entire social 
 system, depended on genealogical accuracy, would guard, 
 by every possible means, against the intrusion of error or 
 corruption into the pedigrees, which were the title-deeds of 
 every freeman. The invariable custom of naming the father, 
 grandfather, and even more remote ancestor, of each in- 
 dividual who is the subject of the bard or senachie's pen, 
 shows how important family descent was held by the Gael. 
 Their usage of gavelkind, too, while it divided the property 
 of a deceased parent equally among all his sons, and resulted
 
 THE MYTHICAL PERIOD. 21 
 
 in that minute subdivision which has been, on the whole, 
 injurious to the progress of civilization and centralization, yet 
 promoted the free development of the individual, and that 
 consciousness of equality which has borne fruit in the cour- 
 teous consideration for others, resulting from self-respect, 
 which to our own day is so striking in the Celtic races. 
 Michelet, in speaking of this law of equality and equitable 
 division, which characterized the Celts of France as well as 
 those of Ireland and Scotland, observes : " As this law of 
 precious equality has been the ruin of these races, let it be 
 their glory also, and secure to them at least the pity and 
 respect of the nations to whom they so early showed so fine 
 an ideal." 
 
 While the Norman genius developed the feudal' system, 
 the Celtic developed that of the clan, which was. formed on 
 the family type. Their kings were head of the family, and 
 held in patriarchal fashion their council-courts in the open 
 air, with the advice and assent of their clansmen, who in the 
 lands belonging to the tribe had their equal and indefeasible 
 rights ; nor could the sovereign resort to war without their 
 aid and concurrence. The sovereignty was elective in person, 
 though hereditary in blood. When vacant, it was to descend, 
 according to their law of Tanistry, to " the oldest and most 
 worthy man of the same name and blood." The Taiiist, or 
 heir-apparent, was generally, but not necessarily, the eldest 
 son of the reigning monarch, while the younger members of 
 the family were designated Hoy da in na, ox "king-material." 
 The Tanist was generally named at the time when the chief 
 king was elected. To this law of Tanistry may be ascribed, 
 in part, those violent deaths which closed the career of so
 
 2 2 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 many Irish kings. This, with that tendency to subdivision 
 which spUt the country into several petty states, each with 
 its separate ruler, who rendered very equivocal allegiance 
 to the Ard High, or supreme monarch, resulted in that 
 turbulence and incessant party strife which, to so great an 
 extent, form the subject of the Irish and other early West- 
 European annals. 
 
 The professions of Druid, Bard, and Brehon were, in the 
 main, hereditary. The former combined the offices of priest 
 and physician; the Bards were the poets and historians; 
 while the Brehons transmitted and administered that code 
 of laws which is known by their ngime, and which, in its 
 modes of procedure, is found to bear an unexpected re- 
 semblance in many points to the Common Law of England, 
 both being probably to a great extent sprung from the same 
 primitive original. 
 
 The custom of fosterage was general, families of rank 
 undertaking the nursing and training in manly exercises of the 
 children of their chiefs. The mutual attachments which 
 sprang up between the foster parents, brothers, and sisters, 
 and the scion of noble race who had passed his childhood 
 with them, was one of the strongest feelings of the Irish 
 heart, and led to innumerable instances of devotion which 
 are scarcely intelligible to us at the present day. 
 
 But it may be inquired, what tangible remains still exist 
 of these ancient times? They are not few nor unsuggestive. 
 In addition to the bardic traditions which have so far occupied 
 us, we possess in the Celtic tongue itself, the oldest spoken 
 language in Europe, a means whereby we can " repeople 
 the past." Its importance, in a philological point of view,
 
 THE MYTHICAL PERIOD. 23 
 
 is second only to that of Sanscrit, a kindred tongue ; for we 
 must not forget that the Hindus are a primitive emanation 
 of that Aryan race, moving southwards from their cradle in 
 central Asia, of whom the Celts are the earliest western off- 
 shoots. Sanscrit ceased to be a spoken language some 300 
 years before the Christian era, very much about the period 
 to which we have now brought the history of the Celts of. 
 Ireland. But the valuable knowledge to be gained from the 
 Irish tongue is not lost to us, for its written literature exists 
 to our day, and is now, for the first time, diligently studied 
 by competent scholars, both native and continental. Few, 
 indeed, are the men qualified to explore the mine of wealth 
 which belongs to us in the Western Gaelic language. Its 
 greatest Irish interpreters have recently been removed by 
 death. But other labourers daily arise amongst us. German 
 and French scholars are now pioneering the way for Con- 
 tinental inquiry, and even taking up their abode in Irish- 
 speaking districts to familiarize themselves with the use of 
 this new key to philological and ethnological knowledge. 
 Let us hope that among ourselves prejudices, ignorances, 
 and apathetic indifference to Irish subjects may pass away, 
 and in their stead the desire to do noble work for home 
 and country inspire in the breasts of Irishmen strenuous 
 efforts to learn more and do more for the honour of their 
 native land. 
 
 In Ireland, also, to a greater extent than elsewhere, exist- 
 ing remains, such as raths, forts, duns, cashels, cairns, and 
 cromlechs, abound on all sides, to instruct the antiquarian 
 inquirer. Our National museums and libraries, too, are rich 
 in objects of interest illustrating this early period : — stone,
 
 24 THE, IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 bronze, and iron weapons, gold and silver ornaments, speci- 
 mens of work in metals, together with manuscripts of great 
 importance, and among these the most exquisite examples 
 which Europe can show of illuminated art. On Irish soil 
 may yet be examined the very oldest erections of western 
 Europe, from the rude cranogues, or lacustrine habitations, 
 . built on piles artificially planted in shallow lakes, to the 
 earthern forts and stone cyclopean duns, of the pagan period, 
 such as we have already described ; the frequent cromlech, 
 also, of unhewn stones, sometimes of enormous bulk ; the 
 tumulus, with its central stone chamber, often adorned with 
 hieroglyphical carvings, pillar-stones with ogham insc;rip- 
 tions ; Christian churches, cells, stone huts, and graceful 
 round towers; and sculptured crosses, all works of a 
 primitive time, and claaracteristic of a pure, unmixed, and 
 isolated race. 
 
 And not on Irish soil only have the Gael of Ireland left 
 their traces. From the sixth century of the Christian era, 
 Irish missionaries have been the evangelizers of Scotland and 
 of France; have laboured in the spiritual harvest, in England, 
 Germany, Switzerland, Scandinavia, and Italy. The Irish 
 saint, Columba, was the founder of the monastic establish- 
 ment on Hy, or lona ; " that illustrious island, once the 
 luminary of the Caledonian regions, whence savage tribes 
 and roving barbarians derived the benefits of civilization — the 
 blessings of religion." From lona went forth Saint Aidan, 
 the converter of the Northumbrian kingdom of his day, and 
 founder of Lindisfarne. Saint Columbanus, another Irish- 
 man, evangelized eastern France. His disciple. Saint Gall, 
 instructed the Swiss in the truths of Christianity. Cohim-
 
 THE MYTHICAL PERIOD. 25 
 
 banus established not only the early seats of piety and 
 learning at I^uxeuil and elsewhere, in Burgundy, but the 
 Irish monaster}^ also of Bobbio, in Italy. It would be tedious 
 to extend this enumeration of ill-ustrious names ; the dee is 
 of these, and other benefactors of the world, will occupy us 
 in due time, when we have first considered that earlier and 
 most picturesque period of Irish story, whose pagan tra- 
 ditions, with "tramp of heroes in them," fill and delight 
 the imagination. 
 
 These enchanting themes, partly true, partly fabulous, 
 but wholly heroic, poetic, noble, and naive, will form the 
 subject of succeeding chapters. The race whose deeds we 
 would chronicle, have been named by the classic writers, 
 Celts. They did not so designate themselves ; both in Ire- 
 land and Scotland they called themselves Gael, and have 
 ever been distinguished by a strong sentiment of nationality. 
 We shall take leave of them for the present with tliis 
 " Salutation " : * 
 
 Hail to our Celtic brethren, wherever they may be. 
 In the far woods of Oregon, or o'er the Atlantic Sea — 
 Whether they guard the banner of St. George in Indian vales, 
 Or spread beneath the nightless north experimental sails. 
 
 One in name and in fame ■t/' 
 
 Are the sea-divided Gaels. 
 
 Tho' fallen the state of Erin, and changed the Scottish land, 
 Tho' small the power of Mona, the' unwaked Llewellyn's band; 
 The' Ambrose Merlin's prophecies degenerate to tales, 
 And the cloisters of lona are bemoaned by northern gales, 
 
 One in name and in fame 
 
 Are the sea-divided Gaels. 
 
 By the Hon. T. D. M'Gee.
 
 26 
 
 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 In northern Spain and Brittany our Brethren also dwell, 
 Oh ! brave are the traditions of their fathers that they tell ; 
 The eagle and the crescent in the dawn of history pales, 
 Before their fire that seldom flags, and never wholly fails. 
 
 One in name and in fame 
 
 Are the sea- divided Gaels. 
 
 A greeting and a promise unto them all we send — 
 Their character our charter is, their glory is our end— 
 Their friend shall be our friend, our foe whoe'er assails 
 The past or future honours of the far-dispersed Gaels. 
 
 One in name and in fame 
 
 Are the sea-divided Gaels. 
 
 Great discrepancies of date exist in the earlier successions. 
 This will appear the less surprising when it is remembered 
 that the annalist Tigernach, a writer of the earlier part of the 
 nth century, declares at the commencement of his work, 
 that before the date of Kimbaoth all the records of the 
 Scots were uncertain. For this reason the present chapter 
 embracing the mythical period, ends with his accession. In 
 the appended list of the principal events of this early period 
 the chronology of O'Flaherty is adopted. 
 
 Arrival of Partholan 
 
 „ Tlte Nemedhians 
 ,, The Firbolgs 
 „ The Tuath-De-Danaan 
 „ The Scoti, Gael or Milesians ) 
 reign of Eber and Erimon > 
 „ Reign of Tiernmas 
 „ Reign of Olav Fola 
 „ Reign of Aedh Ruidh (Hugh Roe) > 
 Dithorba and Kimbaoth > 
 
 B.C. 
 198;. 
 1711 
 1293 
 1213 
 
 1015 
 
 939 
 714 
 368 
 354
 
 THE HEROIC PERIOD. 27 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE HEROIC PERIOD. 
 
 FROM KIMBAOTH B.C. 354, TO CONARI MOR, A.D. I. 
 
 Tlie alternate sovereignty of Kimbaoth and his brothers — Macha's claim 
 to succeed her father— Her conquests — Foundation of Emania — 
 Cova's usurpation — Story of Lavra Maen and Moria — Conor 
 MacNessa reigning at Emania — The Knights of the Red Branch — 
 The abdication of Fergus MacRoy — Maev, Queen of Connaught — 
 Story of the sons of Usnach — Story of the Tain-bo-CtiailgiU — The 
 " Pillow Conversation " of Ailill and Maev — The "Boy Feats" of 
 Cuchullin — The "Naming of Cuchullin" — How he took arms — 
 His heroic conduct — His combat with Ferdiah — The heroes of the 
 Tain-bo- Cuailgne — His courtship of Eimer — The story of Blanaid— 
 Cuchullin's combat with his unknown son — Story of Atharne — Story 
 of Mesgedra and Conall Carnach — Chivalrous traits in both 
 characters — Death of Conor MacNessa — Story of the healing of 
 Conall Carnach — Chivalrous conduct of Bealcu — Deaths of Conall, 
 Fergus MacRoy, and Maev — Chronological Table. 
 
 We have sketched the mythical period of Irish story as far 
 as the reign of Olav Fola. This wise lawgiver and ruler was 
 of the race of Ir, that son of Miled or Milesius, who perished 
 in the storm evoked in the magical arts of the Tuath-De- 
 Danaans. It will be remembered that, according to the 
 decision of Amergin, the invaders had again put to sea, and 
 retired to the distance of " nine waves " from the Irish 
 coast, when the storm evoked by the magical incantations of 
 the De-Danaan Druids assailed them. 
 
 Ir, we are told, was buried on the Skellig rocks, off the 
 coast of Kerry. There the cairn which bears his name — 
 probably one of the oldest sepulchral monuments in the
 
 28 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 westera world — may be seen to this day. His posterity, in 
 common with the descendants of his more fortunate brothers 
 Eber and Eremon, gave kings to Ireland. From these 
 three sons of Miled, and their cousin Lugaid, son of Ilh, 
 the great Irish families trace their pedigrees. From Lugaid 
 claim to descend the O'Driscolls, and other families in the 
 south of Ireland. Eber is the progenitor claimed by the 
 Munster Clans, the ISIacCarthys, O'Briens, &c. From 
 Eremon, the O'Donnells, O'Neills, O'Conors, MacMurroughs, 
 and other great races in Ulster, Connaught and Leinster 
 claim descent : while the Magenises and their kindred who 
 ruled in that part of Ulster constituting the present counties 
 of Antrim and Down, then called Uladh or Ulidia, derive 
 their genealogy from Ir. 
 
 About 400 years before Christ, three princes Aedh Ruidh, 
 or Hugh the Red, Dithorba, and Kimbaoth, the sons of 
 three brothers, claimed equal right to the throne. A com- 
 pact, by which it was stipulated that they should rule 
 alternately for seven years, was confirmed we are told, by 
 the guarantee of seven Druids, seven Poets, and seven 
 Champions; "the seven Druids to crush them by their 
 incantations, the seven Poets to lacerate them by their 
 satires, the seven young Champions to slay and burn them, 
 should the proper man of them not receive the sovereignty 
 at the end of each seventh year." This compact prevailed 
 till each had reigned three times in his turn. Aedh Roe 
 was drowned in the cataract of the Erne at Ballyshannon, 
 where the falls at Assaroe still preserve his name. 
 
 His daughter, Macha, the red-haired, claimed her turn of 
 the sovereignty in his stead, but Dithorba and Kimbaoth
 
 THE HEROIC PERIOD. 29 
 
 refused to recognise any claim of succession in a woman. 
 Macha, an Amazonian princess, raised an army, and defeated 
 her opponents in battle. Dithorba was slain, and his sons 
 exiled. Macha, in her turn rejected their claims to the 
 succession ; she married Kimbaoth, and so disposed of all 
 competitors except the exiled princes. She again defeated 
 them in battle, enslaved and compelled them to erect for 
 her the great fort of Emania. This spot adjoins Armagh 
 on the west, and is now called the Navan fort. She 
 marked out the site for her stronghold, says the tale, with 
 her golden brooch, from whence one fanciful derivation of 
 the name Eo-muin, a pin of the neck. After a lapse of more 
 than two thousand years, the remains of this noble fort — 
 for part of it has been destroyed by neighbouring farmers, 
 who coveted the soil for agricultural purposes — still exist, 
 and cover upwards of eleven acres of land. This space is 
 enclosed by a rampart of earth, and deep fosse and dry 
 ditch. On the summit of the elevated and fortified ground 
 stands a smaller circular fort. Another may also be traced 
 on a slope of the hill, being both protected by the great 
 rampart. The spot well repays a visit. From its elevated 
 position an extensive prospect of the fine country around 
 Armagh, stretching far away to the Fews mountains, may be 
 obtained. Here we stand on a fortress of the Celt, which 
 has had a history for upwards of two thousand years. The 
 adjoining townland of Creeve Roe preserves the name, 
 and designates the site, of the " House of the Red Branch," 
 a species of military college in which the Ulster warriors 
 were wont to assemble in those old heroic days, and were 
 trained to deeds of prowess and daring.
 
 30 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 Macha survived her husband, Kimbaoth seven years, ruling 
 Ireland in undisputed sovereignty, till she was slain by 
 Rectaid. Her death was avenged by her foster son, Ugaine 
 Mdr, or The Great, of the race of Eremon, whose long and 
 prosperous reign made his name illustrious in the native 
 annals. If we may credit their testimony, Ugaine levied 
 tribute in districts of Britain, and even of the continent of 
 Europe. Knowledge was cultivated in his time, and his 
 sons were " full of learning ; " one of them being "author of 
 many bard-maxims." Ugaine endeavoured to secure the 
 throne to his own family, exacting from his subjects an oath, 
 " by the sun and moon, the sea, the dew, and colours, and 
 all the elements visible and invisible," that the sovereignty 
 of Erin should not be taken from his descendants for ever. 
 For many generations his offspring, though. stained with the 
 blood of kindred, held the supreme authority ; but after the 
 lapse of about three hundred years, the races of Ir and Eber 
 again became paramount. 
 
 Leary Lore and Cova, sons of Ugaine Mor by Kesair, a 
 Gallic princess, succeeded him ; Cova obtained the sole 
 sovereignty by the assassination of his brother, which he 
 accomplished by treachery of a very base kind. Being at 
 Dinree on the Barrow, he feigned sickness, and was visited 
 by Leary, who received his death-blow from Cova's dagger, 
 as he leaned over the pretended sick man. Cova consum- 
 mated his cruelty by the murder of Leary's family, sparing 
 only Maen, who, being dumb, was incapable of reigning. 
 
 Maen passed his childhood at Dinree, under the guardian- 
 ship of Ferkertne the poet, and Craftine the harper of Cova. 
 As he grew into manhood he became distinguished for his
 
 THE HEROIC PERIOD. 3 1 
 
 personal beauty, and in a moment of excessive indignation 
 at an insult offered him by a companion, suddenly acquired 
 the power of speech. The Bards by a play on the words, 
 "Labhra Maen!" — (Maen speaks) — derive his subsequent 
 name of Lavra Maen from this supposed exclamation of the 
 bystanders who witnessed the scene. Cova having heard 
 of the event, summoned the young prince and his attendants 
 to Tara, and finding that he was dangerous from his popu- 
 larity and munificence sent him and his companions into 
 banishment. The Bards tell a romantic story of his subse- 
 quent adventures in which Ferkertne and Craftine aid his 
 fortunes by the combined powers of poetry and music. His 
 wanderings ended by his obtaining the services of a body of 
 Gaulish mercenaries at whose head he returned to Ireland, 
 and having stormed the stronghold of Dinree, to which Cova 
 had retired, put that cruel king to death, and reigned in his 
 stead. From his over-sea adventures he is also called 
 Lavra Loingsech, or " the mariner." 
 
 He is claimed as the ancestor of all the Lagenian, or 
 Leinster families of the race of Eremon, with the exception 
 of the O'Nolans, who descend from Cova. The province of 
 Laighen, Leinster, owes its name to him, being so-called 
 from the Laighne or Spears, with broad heads, which his 
 followers introduced. A story similar to that of King Midas 
 is told of Lavra. His ears resembled those of a horse; the 
 barber, who became aware of the fact, had his life 
 spared only on promise of inviolable secrecy. Unable to 
 remain silent, he whispered his tale to a willow. The willow 
 was cut down and formed into a harp, and the harp mur- 
 mured forth the secret, "Lavra Loingsech has, the ears of a
 
 32 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 horse." Other descendants of the great Ugaine, with 
 occasional successions from the Hnes of Ir and Eber, 
 occupied the throne after Lavra's death, of whom there is 
 nothing memorable to relate, until the advent of Rury, son 
 of Sitric of the Irian family whose posterity were afterwards 
 distinguished as the Rudrician Kings of Ulster. His grand- 
 son Fathna Fathach (the wise) having been slain by Eochaid- 
 Feliah, of the Eremonian race, was, according to the custom- 
 ary course of these times, succeeded by him in the monarchy. 
 At this epoch as we approach the Christian era, we enter 
 on events and find ourselves among personages of somewhat 
 more distinct outline and character. Eochaid having a 
 daughter Maev (Medf) — the future Semiramis of the Irish 
 story — who had already been espoused to Conor, King of 
 Ulster, wedded her afterwards to Tinne, a petty king whom he 
 set up over the provincial principality of Conn aught. He 
 erected a fort for her residence near the present village of 
 Tulsk to which, after the name of her mother Cruacha she 
 gave the name Rath Cruachain, the same E.ath Croghan which 
 may still be seen among the wide-spreading pastures of Ros- 
 common. The Gamauradii a remnant of the old Firbolg 
 population of the west of Mayo were the builders, an;; 
 afterwards supplied the levies of Maev with some of her 
 most puissant warriors. At the same time that Connaughi: 
 thus recovered its position as one of the parts of the old 
 Pentarchate, suppressed or obliterated for a time, by Ugainn 
 Mdr, Emania, the chief seat of Ulster, also became the 
 centre of renewed local power and rude splendour. Here, 
 after the death of l^.Iacha, a succession of petty kings had 
 conUnuously held the government of Ulster. Of these
 
 THE HEROIC PERIOD. 33 
 
 Fathna had left a beautiful widow, Nessa, and a youthful 
 son Conor, known by his mother's name as Conor 
 MacNessa, Fergus, also known by the name of his mother, 
 as Fergus MacRoy, elected to the succession after Fathna's 
 death, espoused Nessa, and ruled at Emania, until sup- 
 planted by the superior abilities of Conor under circum- 
 stances described in the following verses : — 
 
 The Abdication of Fergus MacRoy. 
 
 Once, ere God was crucified, 
 I was king o'er Uladh wide : 
 King, by law of choice and birth, 
 O'er the fairest realm of earth. 
 
 I was head of Rury's race ; 
 Emain was my dwelling-place ; 
 Right and Might were mine ; nor less 
 Stature, strength, and comeliness. 
 
 * * * * 
 
 Such was I, when, in the dance, 
 Nessa did bestow a glance. 
 And my soul that moment took 
 Captive in a single look. 
 
 * * * * 
 " Lady, in thy smiles to live, 
 Tell me but the boon to give. 
 Yea I lay in gift complete 
 Crown and sceptre at thy feet." 
 
 " Not so much the boon I crave : 
 Hear the wish my soul would have," 
 And she cast a loving eye 
 On her young son standing by.
 
 34 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 " Conor is of age to learn ; 
 Wisdom is a king's concern ; 
 Conor is of royal race ; 
 Yet may sit in Fathna's place, 
 
 '■ Therefore, king, if thou wouldst prove 
 That I have indeed thy love, 
 On the judgment seat permit 
 Conor by thy side to sit. 
 
 " That by use the youth may draw 
 Needful knowledge of the Law." 
 I with answer was not slow, 
 " Be thou mine, and be it so." * 
 
 Fergus, happy in the society of the beautiful Nessa, 
 allowed himself to be gradually superseded by his- youthful 
 substitute ; and ultimately Conor acquired too firm a hold on 
 the popular favour to be dislodged from the sovereignty. 
 
 Conor had taken for his first wife that Maev of whom we 
 have above spoken. From her he soon separated, and 
 Maev then united herself with Tinne, and afterwards with 
 OUiol, or Ailill, successive provincial kings of Connaught. 
 At Rath Croghan she was surrounded by warriors of the old 
 Firbolg race, who cherished an hereditary animosity against 
 the tribes of Ulster. Amongst them were Bealcu (Bayal-cu) 
 Keth son of Magach, a mighty slinger, and P'erdiah, from 
 western Erris, a champion of the Gamauradii versed in all 
 the warlike accomplishments of the period. These Ferdiah 
 had learned in the school of the Amazon Scathain the north 
 of Scotland where he had been a fellow-pupil of Cuchullin 
 
 * From Lays of The Western Gael, by Sir Samuel Ferguson.
 
 THE HEROIC PERIOD. 35 
 
 the most famous of Conor's heroes. To this band of 
 western warriors, Fergus MacRoy afterwards joined himself. 
 He had remained faithful to Conor until revolted by the 
 latter's violation of the guarantee of safe conduct which 
 Fergus had given to certain exiles whom Conor, had recalled 
 from banishment, in order to possess himself of the person 
 of Deirdre, a beautiful damsel, destined for himself, who had 
 eloped with their leader Naisi, son of Usnach. In the story 
 of the Sons of Usnach the heroic and pathetic elements are 
 admirably presented ; the characters are drawn with force, 
 delicacy and distinctness. Historically, however, it con- 
 tributes nothing to our knowledge, unless possibly some 
 explanation of the fact that in the battles which were sub- 
 sequently waged between Ailill and Maev on one side and 
 Conor on the other, Fergus and other Ulster warriors took 
 part against their former sovereign : Conor, on his side, is 
 represented as having the support of the military order or 
 brotherhood of the Knights of the Red Branch, a powerful 
 organization numbering in its ranks Leary Buadach (the Vic- 
 torious), Keltar son of Uitachar (whose stronghold of Rath- 
 Keltar still exists at Downpatrick), Conall Carnach, and, 
 most famous of all, Cuchullin, for whom we may fairly 
 claim an historic existence, as we find him recorded in the 
 authentic annals under the description of " fortissimus heros 
 Scotorum." 
 
 In the cycle of romance of which King Conor MacNessa 
 is the central figure, the first of the "woes " of Irish story is 
 the tale of the " Death of the Children of Usnach," which 
 " hath delighted more princes, and nobles, and honourable 
 audiences, then any other story of Milesian times." Its
 
 ;^6 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 heroine is Deirdre, the fair girl whom King Conor brought 
 up in seclusion for his destined bride. Her name, Deirdre, 
 signifying alarm, had been bestowed at her birth by the 
 Druid Cathbad, and was prophetic of the long train of con- 
 flict and disaster to which her charms gave rise. Notwith- 
 standing the precautions of Conor, she saw and loved Naisi, 
 the son of Usnach. He was sitting in the midst of the plain 
 of Emania, playing on a harp. Sweet was the music of the 
 sons of Usnach — great also was their prowess ; they were 
 fleet as hounds in the chase — they slew deer with their 
 speed. As Naisi sat singing on the plain of Emain he 
 perceived a maiden approaching him. She held down 
 her head as she came near him, and would have 
 passed in silence. "Gentle is the damsel who passeth by," 
 said Naisi. Then the maiden looking up, replied, " Damsels 
 may well be gentle when there are no youths." Then Naisi 
 knew it was Deirdre, and great dread fell upon him. " The 
 king of the province is betrothed to thee, oh dam.sel," he 
 said. " I love him not," she replied ; " he is an aged man. 
 I would rather love a youth like thee." " Say not so, oh 
 damsel," said Naisi, "the king is a better spouse than the 
 king's servant." " Thou sayest so," said Deirdre, " that thou 
 mayest avoid me." Then plucking a rose from a briar, she 
 flung it towards him, and said, " Now thou art ever disgraced 
 if thou rejectest me." "Depart from me, I beseech thee, 
 damsel," said Naisi. " If thou dost not take me to be thy 
 wife," said Deirdre, " thou art dishonoured before all the men 
 of thy country after what I have done." Then Naisi said no 
 more, and Deirdre took the harp, and sat beside him play- 
 ing sweetly. But the other sons of Usnach, rushing forth,
 
 THE HEROIC PERIOD. 37 
 
 came running to the spot where Naisi sat, and Deirdre with 
 him. " Alas ! " they cried, " what has thou done, oh 
 brother? Is not this damsel fated to ruin Ulster?" "I 
 am disgraced before the men of Erin for ever," said Naisi, 
 "if I take her not after that which she hath done." " Evil 
 will come of it," said the brothers. " I care not," said Naisi. 
 " I had rather be in misfortune than in dishonour; we will fly 
 with her to another country," So that night they departed, 
 taking with them three times fifty men of might, and 
 three times fifty women, and three times fifty greyhounds, 
 and three times fifty attendants : and Naisi took Deirdre to 
 be his wife. 
 
 After wandering throtigh various parts of Ireland, " from 
 Easroe to Ben Edar, and from Dundelgan to Almain," the 
 fugitives at length took shelter in Scotland, where they found 
 an asylum on the banks of Loch Etive. The loss of three 
 warriors of such repute soon began to be felt by the nobles 
 of Ulster, who found themselves no longer able to make head 
 with their accustomed success against the southern provinces. 
 They therefore urged Conor to abandon his resentment, and 
 recal the fugitives. Conor, with no other intention than 
 that of repossessing himself of Deirdro, feigned compliance. 
 But, to induce Clan Usnach (as the fugitives were called) to 
 trust themselves again in the hands of him whom their leader 
 had so outraged, it was necessary that the message of pardon 
 should be borne by one on whose warranty of safe conduct 
 the most implicit reliance could be placed. After sounding 
 some of his chief nobles who were of sufficient authority to 
 undertake the mission, among the rest Cuchullin, and find- 
 ing that any attempt to tamper with them would be unavailing^
 
 38 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 Conor fixes on Fergus, the son of Roy, as a more likely 
 instrument, and commits the embassy to him. But though 
 he does not so much fear the consequences of compromis- 
 ing the safe conduct of Fergus, as of Cuchullin or the others, 
 he yet does not venture openly to enlist him in the meditated 
 treachery, but proceeds by a stratagem which, in these days, 
 may appear somewhat far-fetched, yet probably was not 
 inconsistent with the manners of that time. Fergus was of 
 the order of the Red Branch, and the brethren of the Red 
 Branch were under vow not to refuse hospitality at one 
 another's hands. Conor, therefore, arranged with Barach, 
 one of his minions, and a brother of the order, to intercept 
 Fergus on his return, by the tender of a three days' banquet, 
 well knowing that the Clan Usnach must in that case proceed 
 to Emania without the presence of their protector. Mean- 
 while Fergus, arriving in the harbour of Loch Etive, where 
 dwelt Clan Usnach in green hunting booths along the shore, 
 " sends forth the loud cry of a mighty man of chase." Then 
 follows a characteristic passage :— " Deirdro and Naisi sat 
 together in their tent, and Conor's polished chessboard 
 between them. And Naisi, hearing the cry, said, ' I hear the 
 call of a man of Erin.' ' That was not the call of a man of 
 Erin,' replied Deirdre, ' but the call of a man of Alba.' 
 Then again Fergus shouted a second time. ' Surely that 
 was the call of a man of Erin,' said Naisi. ' Surely no,' 
 said Deirdre ; ' let us play on.' Then again Fergus shouted 
 a third time, and Naisi knew that it was the cry of Fergus, 
 and he said ' If the son of Roy be in existence, I hear 
 his hunting-shout from the loch ; go forth, Ardan, my 
 brother, and give our kinsman welcome,' 'Alas ! ' cried
 
 THE HEROIC PERIOD. 39 
 
 Deirdre, ' I knew the call of Fergus from the first.' *' For 
 she has a prophetic dread that foul play is intended them, 
 and this feeling never subsides in her breast from that hour 
 till the catastrophe. Quite different are the feelings of Naisi ; 
 he reposes the most unlimited confidence in the safe conduct 
 vouched for by his brother in arms, and, in spite of the re- 
 monstrances of Deirdre, embarks with all his retainers for 
 Ireland. Deirdre, on leaving the only secure or happy home 
 she ever expects to enjoy, sings a pathetic farewell to fair 
 Alba, the mountain, cliff, and dun, and her green sheeling on 
 the shores of Glen-Etive. 
 
 Harp, take my bosom's burthen on thy string, 
 And, turning it to sad, sweet melody. 
 Waste and disperse it on the careless air. 
 
 Air, take the harp-string's burthen on thy breast, 
 And, softly thrilling soulward through the sense, 
 Bring my love's heart again in tune with mine, 
 
 Bless'd were the hours when, heart in tune with heart, 
 My love and I desired no happier home 
 Than Etive's airy glades and lonely shore- 
 Alba, farewell ! Farewell, fair Etive bank! 
 Sun kiss thee ; moon caress thee ; dewy stars 
 Refresh thee long, dear scene of quiet days I * 
 
 Barach meets them on their landing, near Dunseverick on 
 the coast of Antrim, and detains Fergus, who reluctantly 
 assigns his charge to his two sons. Red Buine Borb and 
 
 * From " Deirdre," Poems by Sir S. Ferguson.
 
 40 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 Ulan Finn, to conduct them in safety to their journey's end. 
 Leirdre's fears are more and more excited ; she has dreams 
 and visions of disasters. She urges Naisi to go to 
 Dunseverick or to Dundelgan (Dundalk, the residence of 
 Cuchullin), and there await the coming up of Fergus. Naisi 
 is inflexible. It would injure the honour of his companion 
 in arms to admit any apprehension of danger while under 
 his pledge of safe conduct. The omens multiply. Deirdre's 
 sense of danger becomes more and more acute. Still Naisi's 
 reply is, " I fear not ; let us proceed." At length they reach 
 Emania, and are assigned the house of the Red Branch for 
 their lodging. Calm, and to all appearance unconscious of 
 any cause for apprehension, Naisi takes his place at the 
 chess-table, and Deirdre, full of fears, sits opposite. Mean- 
 while the king, knowing that Deirdre was again within his 
 reach, could not rest at the banquet, but sends spies to bring 
 him word " if her beauty yet lived upon her." The first 
 messenger, friendly to Clan Usnach, reports that she is "quite 
 bereft of her own aspect, and is lovely and desirable no 
 longer.'' This allays Conor's passion for a time; but grow- 
 ing heated with wine, he shortly after sends another 
 messenger, who brings back the intelligence, that not only 
 is Deirdre " the fairest woman on the ridge of the world," 
 but that he himself has been wounded by Naisi, who had 
 resented his gazing in at the window of the Red Branch, by 
 flinging a chess-man at his head, and dashing out one of his 
 eyes. This was all that Conor wanted ; he starts up in pre- 
 tended indignation at the violence done his servant, calls his 
 bodyguard, and attacks the Red Branch. The defence now 
 devolves on the sons of Fergus. Clan Usnach scorn to
 
 THE HEROIC PERIOD, 4I 
 
 evince alarm, or interfere in any way with the duties of their 
 protectors. But Deirdre cannot conceal her consciousness 
 that they are betrayed. "Ah me!" she cries, hearing the 
 soldiery of Conor at the gates, " I knew that Fergus was a 
 traitor." *' If Fergus hath betrayed you," replied Red Buine 
 Borb, "yet will not I betray you." And he issues out and slays 
 his " thrice fifty men of might." But when Conor offers him 
 Slieve Fuad for a bribe, he holds back his hand from the 
 slaughter, and goes his way. Then calls Deirdre, *' Traitor 
 father, traitor son!" "No," rephed Ulan Finn, "though 
 Red Buine Borb be a traitor, yet will net I be a traitor. 
 While liveth this small straight sword in my hand I will not 
 forsake Clan Usnach I " Then Ulan Finn, encountering 
 Fiachra, the son of Conor, armed with Ocean, Flight, and 
 Victory, the royal shield, spear, and sword, they fight "a 
 fair fight, stout and manly, bitter and bloody, savage and hot, 
 and vehement and terrible," until the waves round the blue 
 rim of Ocean roared, for it was the nature of Conor's shield 
 that it ever resounded as with the noise of stormy waters 
 when he who bore it was in danger. Summoned by which 
 signal, one of King Conor's nobles, coming behind Ulan Finn, 
 thrusts him through. "The weakness of death then fell 
 darkly upon Ulan, and he threw his arms into the mansion, 
 and called to Naisi to fight manfully, and expired." Clan 
 Usnach at length deign to lay aside their chess-tables, and 
 stand to their arms. Ardan first sallies out, and slays his 
 " three hundred men of might ; " then Ainle, who makes 
 twice that havoc ; and last Naisi himself ; and "till the sands 
 of the sea, the dew-drops of the meadows, the leaves of the 
 forest, or the stars of heaven, be counted, it is not possible to
 
 42 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 tell the number of heads, and hands, and lopped limbs of 
 heroes that there lay bare and red from the hands of Naisi 
 and his brothers on that plain." Then Naisi came again into 
 the Red Branch to Deirdre ; and she encouraged him, and 
 said, "We will yet escape ; fight manfully, and fear not." 
 Then the sons of Usnach made a phalanx of their shields, 
 and spread the links of their joined bucklers round Deirdre, 
 and bounding forth like three eagles, swept down upon the 
 troops of Conor, making great havoc of the people. But when 
 Cathbad, the Druid, saw that the sons of Usnach were bent 
 on the destruction of Conor himself, he had recourse to his 
 arts of magic and he cast an enchantment over them, so that 
 their arms fell from their hands, and they were taken by the 
 men of Ulster ; for the spell was like a sea of thick gums about 
 them, and their limbs were clogged in it, that they could 
 not move. The sons of Usnach were then put to death, and 
 Deirdre, standing over the grave, sang their funeral song. 
 
 The lions of the hill are gone, 
 And I am left alone — alone. 
 Dig the grave both wide and deep, 
 For I am sick and fain would sleep ! 
 
 The falcons of the wood are flown, 
 And I am left alone — alone. 
 Dig the grave both deep and wide, 
 And let us slumber side by side. 
 
 The dragons of the rock are sleeping, 
 Sleep that wakes not for our weeping. 
 Dig the grave, and make it ready, 
 Lay me on my true-love's body.
 
 THE HEROIC PERIOD. 43 
 
 Lay their spears and bucklers bright 
 By the warriors' sides aright ; 
 Many a day the three before me 
 On their hnked bucklers bore me. 
 
 Lay upon the low grave floor, 
 'Neath each head, the blue claymore : 
 Many a time the noble three 
 Reddened these blue blades for me. 
 
 Lay the collars as is meet 
 Of their greyhounds at their feet ; 
 Many a time for me have they 
 Brought the tall red deer to bay. 
 
 In the falcon's jesses throw 
 Hook and arrow, line and bow ; 
 Never again by stream or plain. 
 Shall the gentle woodsmen go. 
 
 Sweet companions ye were ever — 
 Harsh to me, your sister, never ; 
 Woods and wilds and misty valleys 
 Were with you as good's a palace. 
 
 Oh ! to hear my true-love singing, 
 Sweet as sound of trumpets ringing ; 
 Like the sway of Ocean swelling 
 Rolled his deep voice round our dwelling. 
 
 Oh ! to hear the echoes pealing 
 Round our green and fairy sheeling, 
 When the three, with soaring chorus, 
 Passed the silent skylark o'er us. 
 
 Echo now, sleep morn and even — 
 Lark alone enchant the heaven !— 
 Ardan's lips are scant of breath, 
 Naisi s tongue is cold in death.
 
 44 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 Stag, exult on glen and mountain — 
 Salmon, leap from loch to fountain — 
 Heron, in the free air warm ye — 
 Usnach's sons no more will harm ye. 
 
 Erin's stay no more you are. 
 Rulers of the ridge of war ! 
 Never more 'twill be your fate 
 To keep the beam of battle straight I 
 
 Wo is me ! by fraud and wrong, 
 Traitors false and tyrants strong, 
 Fell Clan Usnach, bought and sold. 
 For Barach's feast and Conor's gold I 
 
 Wo to Emain, roof and wall I 
 Wo to Red Branch, hearth and hall ! 
 Tenfold wo and black dishonour 
 To the foul and false Clan Conor ! 
 
 Dig the grave both wide and deep. 
 Sick I am, and fain would sleep. 
 Dig the grave and make it ready, 
 Lay me on my true-love's body I * 
 
 So saying, she flung herself into the grave, and expired. 
 
 Fergus, at the feast, heard the fury of the elements and 
 dash of waves, which warned him that the wearer of the 
 magic shield of Conor was in grievous bodily peril : 
 
 Rang the disk where wizard hammers, mingling in the wavy field 
 Tempest wail and breaker clamours, forged the wondrous Ocean 
 
 shield, 
 Answering to whose stormy noises, oft as clanged by deadly 
 
 blows, 
 All the echoing kindred voices of the seas of Erin rose. 
 
 * From Hiberniim Nights'' Entcrtain7nc?its^ Plrst Series, by Sir 
 S. Ferguson.
 
 THE HEROIC PERIOD. 4$ 
 
 Moaned each sea-chafed promontory ; soared and wailed white 
 
 Cleena's wave, 
 Rose the surge of Inver Rory, and through column'd chasm 
 
 and cave 
 Reaching deep with roll of anger, till Dunseverick's dungeons 
 
 reel'd, 
 Roared responsive to the clangour struck from Conor's magic 
 
 shield. 
 
 You — remember — red wine quaffing, in Dunseverick's halls of 
 
 glee, 
 Heard the moaning, heard the chafing, heard the thundering 
 
 from the sea. 
 Knew that peril compassed Conor, came, and on Emania's 
 
 plain 
 Found his fraud and your dishonour,— Deirdre ravished, Ulan 
 
 slain.* 
 
 Indignant at the violation of his safe conduct, Fergus, 
 having chastised the treachery of Conor, retires into exile, 
 accompanied by Cormac Conlingas, son of Conor, and by 
 three thousand warriors of Uladh. They received a hos- 
 pitable welcome at Cruachan from Maev and her husband, 
 Ailill, whence they afterwards made many hostile incursions 
 into Ulster, taking part among others, in the famous fray 
 called in Irish tradition the Tain Bo Cuailgn6, or cattle 
 spoil of Cuailgn6 (a district in Louth), which originated in 
 a dispute between Ailill and Maev. This we shall give in 
 the quaint and humorous language of the unpublished MS. 
 translation of the Irish epic : — 
 
 '* On one occasion that Ailill and Maev had arisen from 
 
 From Lays of the Western Gael, by Sir S. Ferguson.
 
 46 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 their royal bed in Cruachan of Rath Conrach, a pillow- 
 conversation was carried on between them : — 
 
 " ' It is a true saying, O woman,' said Ailill, ' that a 
 good man's wife is a happy creature.' 
 
 « < Why do you say so ? ' said Maev, 
 
 " ' The reason that I say so,' said Ailill, ' is because you 
 are happier this day than the day I espoused you.' 
 
 " 'I was happy before I knew you,' said Maev. 
 
 " * It was a happiness of which we never heard,' said 
 Ailill, * we only heard of your being in the dependent position 
 of a woman, whilst your nearest enemies stole and plundered, 
 and carried off your property.' 
 
 " ' Not so, was I,' said Maev, ' but my father was arch- 
 king of Erin, that is Eochy Fiedlech, son of Finn, son of 
 Finnoman, son of Finneon, son of Finnlag (&:c.). He had 
 six daughters of daughters ; viz., Derbrin, Eithne, and Ele ; 
 Clothra, Mugain, Maev, myself, who was the most noble and 
 illustrious of them : I was the best for gifts and presents of 
 them. I was the best for battle and fight and combat of them. 
 It was I that had fifteen hundred noble mercenaries, soldiers ; 
 sons of foreign chiefs ; and as many more of the sons of my 
 own landholders ; and there were ten (men) with every 
 soldier of them ; and eight with every soldier, and seven 
 with every soldier, and six with every soldier, and five 
 with every soldier, and three with every soldier, and 
 two with every soldier, and a soldier with every soldier. 
 These I had for my ordinary household,' said Maev : 
 'and for that it was that my father gave me a province 
 of the provinces of Erin ; viz., the province of Cruachan, 
 where I am called Maev of Cruachan. And I was sought
 
 THE HEROIC PERIOD. 47 
 
 in marriage by Finn, soa of Ross Ruadh, King of Laighin, 
 and by Cairpri Nia Fear, the son of the King of Teamair, 
 and by Conor, son of Fachna Fathach. And I was sought 
 by Eochy, sou of Luchta ; and I did not go, because it 
 was I that demanded the extraordinary dowry, such as no 
 woman ever before sought from the men of Erin ; viz., a 
 man without parsimoniousness, without jealousy, without 
 fear. If the man who would have me, were parsimonious, 
 we were not fit to be united in one, because I am good at 
 bestowing gifts and presents ; and it would be a reproach 
 to my husband that I were better in gifts than he; and 
 it would be no reproach now, if we were equally good, 
 provided that we were both good. If my husband were 
 timid, we were not the more fit to unite, because I go in 
 battles, and fights, and combats, by myself alone ; and it 
 would be a reproach to my husband that his wife were more 
 active than himself ; and it is no reproach if we are equally 
 active, but that we were active both of us. If the man who 
 had me were jealous we were not matched either, because I 
 was never without having a man in the shadow of another. 
 I have found that man ; viz., you ; viz., Ailill, the son of 
 Ross Ruadh, of the men of Laighin. You were not parsi- 
 monious ; you were not jealous ; you were not timid. I 
 gave you an engagement and dowry, the best that is 
 desired of woman; viz., the array of twelve men, of clothes; 
 a chariot, with thrice seven cimihals ; the breadth of your 
 face of red gold ; the span of your left wrist of carved 
 silver. Should any one work reproach, or injury, or incan- 
 tation on you, you are not entitled to Dire* or Eneclannt 
 
 * Dire was a fine for any bodily injury, 
 t Eneclann was a fine for satire, or reproachful words, etc
 
 48 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 for it, but what comes to me,' said Maev, ' because a man 
 in attendance on a woman is what you are.' 
 
 " ' Such was not my state,' said Ailill, ' but I had two 
 brothers, one the king of Temar, and the other king of 
 Laighin. I left them the sovereignty because of their 
 seniority. And you were not the better for gifts and presents 
 than I was. I have not heard of a province of Erin in 
 woman-keeping but this province alone. I came then and 
 I assumed sovereignty here in succession to my mother ; 
 for Mdta of Murisg, the daughter of Magach, was my 
 mother, and what better queen need I desire to have than 
 you since you happen to be the daughter of the arch-king of 
 Erin.' 
 
 " ' It happens, however,' said Maev, ' that my goodness is 
 greater than yours.' 
 
 *" I wonder at that,' said Ailill, 'since there is no one 
 that has more jewels, and wealth, and riches than I have — 
 and I know there is not.'" 
 
 Ailill and Maev then commenced a comparison of their 
 goods and effects — for women at this time had their dowries 
 secured to them, and did not lose by marriage their separate 
 rights of property. Their jewels, their garments, their flocks 
 were compared, and found to be of equal value and ex- 
 cellence, with one notable exception only. "There was a 
 particularly splendid bull of Ailill's cows, and he was the 
 calf of one of IMaev's cows, and Finnbennach (White-horn) 
 was his name ; but he deemed it not honourable to be in 
 a woman's dependence, and he passed over to the king's 
 cows." The queen was indignant, but hearing that Dare, 
 son of Factna, of Cuailgne, was the possessor of a brown 
 bull, a still finer animal than the white-horned deserter of
 
 THE HEROIC PEMOD. 49 
 
 her drove, she despatched her courier, MacRoth, to Dare, 
 requesting of him the loan of the Donn Cuailgne (the Brown 
 one of Quelny) for a year, and promising to restore him 
 with fifty heifers to boot, a chariot worth sixty-three cows, 
 and other marks of her friendship and high consideration. 
 
 Dare courteously complied with the request of Maev, . 
 and prepared an entertainment for her envoys. During the 
 progress of the feast, some surly Connacian, in reply to 
 an observation on the happy termination of their mission, 
 observed, that it was as well that the Ultonians had agreed 
 to send with them the Donn Cuailgne, as, if he had been 
 refused, they would have carried him back with them by 
 force. This unprovoked insult excited the just indignation 
 of Dare. He swore by his "swearing gods," that the 
 Connaught envoys should not now have the bull, either by 
 consent or by force. 
 
 The messengers returned to Maev, and the disappointed 
 queen summoned her forces, and called on her friends and 
 allies, and the Ultonian exiles who had found refuge at her 
 court, to join in a fora}', the object of which should be the 
 capture of the desired Donn Cuailgne. Fergus MacRoy, 
 and Conor's own son, Cormac Conlingas, who had left 
 Emania on the violation of their safe conduct to the sons of 
 Usnach, brought their contingent to the Connacian army. 
 It was not without much hesitation and many mental pangs, 
 that these noble exiles consented to take part in an expedi- 
 tion directed against their countrymen and former friends. 
 Maev led her armies in person. " A woman comely, white- 
 faced, long-cheeked, and large ; gold-yellow hair on her ; a 
 short crimson cloak on her ; a gold pin in the cloak over her
 
 50 THE IRISH. BEFORE THE CONQUEST, 
 
 breast; a straight, carved-backed spear flaming in her hand." 
 Such was the appearance of this royal amazon when leading 
 her hosts to the fray. Ailill and his son Mane, who re- 
 sembled both parents, are thus described : — 
 
 " Two great men with flaming eyes ; with golden crowns 
 of blazing gold over them ; kingly armour on them ; gold- 
 hilted, long swords at their girdles, in bright silver scabbards, 
 with pillows of chequered gold on their outside." 
 
 Mane the motherlike, and Mane the fatherlike, as follows : 
 
 " There came to me two soft youths there. They were 
 both alike : curled hair on the one of them, curled yellow 
 hair on the other ; two green cloaks wrapped round them ; 
 two bright pins of silver in these cloaks over their breasts •, 
 two shirts of smooth yellow silk to their skins ; white-hiked 
 swords at their sides ; two white shields with fastenings of 
 fair silver on them ; two fleshy-pointed spears, with bright 
 silver ferules in their hands." 
 
 The itinerary of their journey exists, and is a document 
 of much interest, as the halting-places and daily route of 
 the Connaught armies may yet be distinctly traced. Onward 
 tliey marched, crossing the Shannon at Athcoltna, and after 
 many wanderings amid the unexplored central fastnesses of 
 tlie present Longford, Leitrim, and Westmeath, arrived on 
 the borders of Ulster without molestation. 
 
 And now appears on the stage the heroic figureof Cuchullin. 
 
 When 'mid ford onUladh's border, young Cuchullin stands alone. 
 Maev and all her hosts withstanding : — " Now for love of 
 
 knightly play, 
 Yield the youth his soul's demanding — let the hosts their 
 
 marchings stay.
 
 THE HEROIC PERIOD. 5 I 
 
 T'll the death he craves be given, and upon his burial stone 
 Champion praises duly graven, make his name and glory known ; 
 For in speech-containing token age to ages never gave 
 Salutation better spoken than, ' Behold a hero's grave.'" 
 
 Cuchullin is the preux chevalier of Irish chivalrous story. 
 As Achilles and Hector in Greek romance, so Cuchullin 
 stands distinguished among all the other actors in this period 
 of Irish native story. The prominent trait of his character is 
 magnanimity. As a boy, he devotes himself to the service of 
 Cullan, the armourer — whose smithy stood in the wilderness 
 of Slieve Fuad — in remorse for having slain Cullan's watch 
 dog, and so obtained his name Cu-Chullin the " hound of 
 Cullan." As a youth, overhearing the Druid's prophecy 
 that he who would take arms on a certain day would be 
 famous, but short-lived, he presents himself on that day for 
 admission into the brotherhood of arms. Going forth on 
 his adventures he declines the districts inhabited by chiefs 
 of secondary renown, and drives straight to the pillar-stone 
 in front of the fortress of the sons of Nechtan from which he 
 raised the iron ring that served as the token of challenge, 
 even as in modern romance the young knight touches the 
 shield of the Templar in Ivanhoe. He returns with the heads 
 of his adversaries stuck on the spokes of his chariot, eagles 
 and swans brought down by his sling fluttering overhead, 
 and the captive stags and wild cattle of the forest bounding 
 at each side, and at once instals himself as champion of the 
 province. When mortally wounded at the battle of 
 Murthevne he expends the last of his strength in binding 
 himself with his girdle to a pillar-stone, that he may die 
 standing. It was fortunate for the Ultonian dynasty that
 
 52 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 such a leader should have arisen, for the elements of hostility 
 assembled at Rath Cruachain ere long displayed themselves 
 in a series of border-wars and incursions which have been 
 recorded by the annalists and made the subject of much 
 celebration by the bards. 
 
 According to these chroniclers, Cuchullin possessed every 
 quality of mind and body proper, in the estimation of our 
 ancestors, for a perfect heroic character. 
 
 "These were the several and diverse and numerous gifts 
 peculiar to Cuchullin : the gift of form ; gift of face ; gift of 
 symmetry ; gift of swimming ; gift of horsemanship ; gift of 
 chess-playing and backgammon ; gift of battle ; gift of fight ; 
 gift of combat ; gift of vision ; gift of eloquence ; gift of 
 counsel ; gift of blushing; gift of paling; gift of best leading 
 from his own country into a border country." 
 
 Cuchullin, in his childhood known as Setanta, was son of 
 Suailtam, and his mother, Dectire, was the sister of Conor 
 MacNessa. 
 
 While his nephew was still a youth, Conor and a few 
 select guests were invited to a feast at the Dun of CuUan, 
 the smith, who apologized for limiting his invitations 
 -' because it was not lands or tenements he had, but his 
 sledge, and his anvils, and his hands, and his tongs." The 
 king accepted, and on his way to the abode of Cullan, 
 paused to observe, with Fergus MacRoy who accompanied 
 him, the feats of his nephew and his companion youths who 
 «v'ere sporting on the plain of Emania. Conor invited 
 Setanta to go with him to the house of the smith. The 
 adventure which gave the youth his hero name, has thus 
 been rendered from the Tain.
 
 THE HEROIC PERIOD. 53 
 
 The Naming of Cuchulli';. 
 
 CONOR. 
 
 Setanta, if bird-nesting in the woods 
 
 And ball-feats on the play-green please thee not 
 
 More than discourse of warrior and of sage, 
 
 And sight of warrior-weapons in the forge,. 
 
 I offer an indulgence. For we go, — 
 
 Myself, my step-sire Fergus, and my Bard — 
 
 To visit Cullan, the illustrious smith 
 
 Of Quelgne. Come thou also if thou. wilt. 
 
 SETANTA. 
 
 Ask me not, good oh Conor, yet to leave " 
 
 The play-green ; for the ball-feats just begun 
 
 Are those which most delight my playmate-youths. 
 
 And they entreat me to defend the goal : 
 
 But let me follow ; for, the chariot-tracks 
 
 Are easy to discern ; and much I long 
 
 To hear discourse of warrior and of sage, 
 
 And see the nest that hatches deaths of men. 
 
 The tongs a-flash, and Cullan's welding blow. 
 
 CONOR. 
 
 Too late the hour ; too difficult the way. 
 
 Set forward, drivers : give our steeds the goad. 
 
 CULLAN. 
 
 Great King of Emain, welcome. Welcome, thou, 
 
 Fergus, illustrious step-sire of the King : 
 
 And, Seer and Poet, Cathbad, welcome too. 
 
 Behold the tables set, the feast prepared. 
 
 Sit. But, before I cast my chain-hound loose, 
 
 Give me assurance that ye all be in.
 
 54 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 For, night descends ; and perilous the wild ; 
 And other watchman none of house or herds, 
 Here, in this solitude remote from men, 
 Own I, but one hound only. Once his chain 
 Is loosened, and he makes three bounds at large 
 Before my door-posts, after fall of night. 
 There lives not man nor company of men 
 Less than a cohort, shall within my close 
 Set foot of trespass, short of life or limb. 
 
 CONOR. 
 Yea ; all are in. Let loose, and sit secure. 
 Good are thy viands, Smith, and strong thine a'e. 
 Hark, the hound growling. 
 
 CULLAN. 
 
 Wild dogs are abroad. 
 
 FERGUS. 
 
 Not ruddier the fire that laps a sword 
 Steel'd for a king, oh Cullan, than thy wine. 
 Hark, the hound baying. 
 
 CULLAN. 
 
 Wolves, belike, are near. 
 
 CATHEAD. 
 Not cheerfuller the ruddy forge's light 
 To wayfarer benighted, nor the glow 
 Of wine and viands to a hungry man, 
 Than look of welcome pass'd from host to guest. 
 Hark, the hound yelling ! 
 
 CULLAN. 
 
 Friends, arise and arm ! 
 Some enemy intrudes ! Tush ! 'tis a boy.
 
 THE HEROIC PERIOD. 55 
 
 SETANTA. 
 
 Setanta here, the son of Suailtam. 
 
 CONOR. 
 
 Setanta, whom I deemed on Emain green 
 Engaged at ball-play, on our track, indeed ! 
 
 SETANTA. 
 
 Not difficult the track to find, oh King, 
 
 But difficult, indeed, to follow home. 
 
 Cullan, 'tis evil welcome for a guest 
 
 This unwarn'd onset of a savage beast, 
 
 Which, but that 'gainst the stone-posts of thy gate 
 
 I three times threw him, leaping at my throat, 
 
 And, at the third throw, on the stone-edge, slew, 
 
 Had brought on thee the shame indelible 
 
 Of bidden guest, at his host's threshold, torn. 
 
 CONOR. 
 Yea, he was bidden : it was I myself 
 Said, as I passed him with the youths at play. 
 This morning, Come thou also if thou wilt. 
 But little thought I, — when he said the youths 
 Desired his presence still to hold the goal, 
 Yet asked to follow ; for he said he longed 
 To hear discourse of warrior and of sage, 
 And see the nest that hatches deaths of men, 
 The tongs a-flash, and Cullan's welding blow ; — 
 That such a playful, young, untutor'd boy 
 Would come on this adventure of a man. 
 
 CULLAN. 
 I knew not he was bidden ; and I asked. 
 Ere 1 cast loose, if all the train were in. 
 But, since thy word has made the boy my guest, — 
 Boy, for his sake who bade thee to my board, 
 I give thee welcome : for thine own sake, no.
 
 56 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 For thou hast slain my servant and my friend, 
 
 The hound I loved, that, fierce, intractable 
 
 To all men else, was ever mild to me. 
 
 He knew me ; and he knew my uttered words, 
 
 All my commandments, as a man might know : 
 
 More than a man, he knew my looks and tones 
 
 And turns of gesture, and discerned my mind, 
 
 Unspoken, if in grief or if in joy. 
 
 He was my pride, my strength, my company, 
 
 For I am childless ; and that hand of thine 
 
 Has left an old man lonely in the world. 
 
 SETANTA. 
 
 Since, Cullan, by mischance, I've slain thy hound, 
 So much thy grief compassion stirs in me, 
 Hear me pronounce a sentence on myself. 
 If of his seed there liveth but a whelp 
 In Uladh, I will rear him till he grow 
 To such ability as had his sire 
 For knowing, honouring, and serving thee. 
 Meantime, but give a javelin in my hand. 
 And a good buckler, and there never went 
 About thy bounds, from daylight-gone till dawn 
 Hound watchfuller, or of a keener fang 
 Against intruder, than myself shall be. 
 
 CULLAN. 
 
 A sentence, a just sentence. 
 
 CONOR. 
 
 Not myself 
 Hath made award more righteous. Re it so. 
 Wherefore what hinders that we give him now 
 His hero-name, no more Setanta called 
 But now Cuchullin, chain-hound of the Smith ?
 
 THE HEROIC PERIOD. 57 
 
 SETANTA. 
 
 Setanta 1, -the son of Suailtam, 
 Nor other name assume I, or desire. 
 
 CATHEAD. 
 
 Take, son of Suailtam, the offered name. 
 
 SETANTA. 
 
 Setanta, I. . Setanta let me be. 
 
 CONOR. 
 
 Mark Cathbad. 
 
 FERGUS. 
 
 'Tis his seer-fit. 
 
 CATHEAD. 
 
 To my ears 
 There comes a clamour from the rising years, 
 
 The tumult of a torrent passion-swollen, 
 Rolled hitherward ; and, mid its mingling noises, 
 I hear perpetual voices 
 Proclaim to laud and fame 
 The name, 
 CUCHULLIN ! 
 
 Hound of the Smith, thy boyish vow 
 Devotes thy manhood even now, 
 
 To vigilance, fidelity, and toil : 
 'Tis not alone the wolf, fang-bare to snatch. 
 Not the marauder from the lifted latch 
 
 Alone, thy coming footfall makes recoil. 
 The nobler service thine to chase afar 
 Seditious tumult and intestine war, 
 Envy, and unfraternal hate, 
 From all the households of the state :
 
 58 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 Great is the land and splendid : 
 
 The borders of the country are extended : 
 
 The extern tribes look up with wondering awe 
 
 And own the central law. 
 
 Fair show the fields, and fair the friendly faces 
 
 Of men in all their places. 
 
 With song and chosen story, 
 
 With game and dance, with revelries and races, 
 
 Life glides on joyous wing — 
 The tales they tell of love and war and glory, 
 Tales that the soft-bright daughters of the land 
 Delight to understand, 
 
 The songs they sing. 
 
 To harps of double string. 
 
 To gitterns and new reeds, 
 
 Are of the glorious deeds 
 Of young Cuchullinin the Quelgnian foray. 
 
 Take, son of Suailtam, the offered name. 
 For at that name the mightiest of the men 
 Of Erin and of Alba shall turn pale : 
 And, of that name, the mouths of all the men 
 Of Erin and of Alba shall be full. 
 
 SETANTA. 
 
 Yea, then if that be so— CuchuUin here !* 
 
 The prophecy has been realized in Scotland, as in Ireland- 
 " Great Cuchullin's name and glory " is yet remembered. 
 The Coolin mountains, named after him— those " thunder- 
 smitten, jagged Cuchullin peaks of Skye," the grandest 
 mountain range in Great Britain — attract to that remote island 
 
 * From Poems, by Sir SAMUEL Ferguson.
 
 THE HEROIC PERIOD. 59 
 
 of the Hebrides, worshippers of the sublime and beautiful 
 in nature, whose enjoyments would be largely enhanced if 
 they knew the heroic legends which are connected with 
 the glorious scenes they have travelled so far to witness. 
 Cuchullin is one of the foremost characters in Macpherson's 
 Ossiafi, but the quasi-translator of Gaelic poems places him 
 more than two centuries later than- the period at which he 
 really lived. The tendency of the public mind at present is 
 somewhat unjust to Macpherson. The repugnance naturally 
 felt at any literary falsification blinds many to the poetry and 
 beauty of his adaptations of the Gaelic legends, which are 
 associated with the name of Ossian. With the exception of 
 his alteration of names and localities, framed in order to 
 connect the traditions of the ancient poet with Scotland 
 rather than with Ireland, he took few liberties with his 
 originals that were not fully warranted by the character of the 
 material with which he had to deal. If he had honestly 
 claimed for himself the authorship of the book, and acknow- 
 ledged himself an adapter, rather than a translator, he would 
 be entitled to high approval ; for amidst much that is turgid 
 and bombastic, there is grandeur, and pathos, and sublimity, 
 in the Ossian of Macpherson. 
 
 Cuchullin soon after his adventure with the hound, over- 
 heard, at Emania, Cathbad, the Druid, instructing his pupils, 
 having eight pupils of the science of Druid ism with him. 
 One of them asked his tutor, what was the luck and prog- 
 nostication of that day on which they were. Was it good or 
 was it evil ? Then Cathbad said : 
 
 'The youth who would take arms this day would be 
 noble and illustrious, but would be unhappy and short-lived.'
 
 6o THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST, 
 
 The hero's choice was made. CuchuUin instantly repaired 
 to Conor, who gave him the arms he demanded, and on the 
 entrance of the dismayed Cathbad, justified his choice. 
 
 " ' Be not you angry now, my master Conor,' said CuchuUin ; 
 ' because it is certain that it was Cathbad that advised me. 
 For his pupil asked him what luck there was on the day, and 
 he said, The youth that would take arms in it, would be 
 noble and renowned, and would be unhappy, and short-lived 
 too. Glorious fate ! though 1 were but one day and one 
 night in the world, provided that my history and my adven- 
 tures lived after me ! ' " 
 
 CuchuUin soon starts in his chariot to seek adventures with 
 his attendant Ivar. These are described with picturesque 
 touches in the Tain. The scene on which they looked as 
 they crossed the " wide-spreading " plain of Meath has not 
 materially altered since those early days. The Hill of Tara, 
 the Rath of Teltown, the sepulchral mounds of New-Grange, 
 and Knowth, are now— as they were i8co years ago — 
 objects of interest in the landscape. 
 
 "'Well Ivar,' said the youth, 'teach me about Uladh 
 (Ulster) on every side, for I am not acquainted with the 
 districts of Uladh.' The servant showed him Uladh on every 
 side of them, its hills, its plains, its wide-stretching level 
 country and the mansions of the province. . . . ' Point 
 me out "the mansions and the forts upon that plain,' and the 
 servant showed him Tara, Tailtin, Cleothra, Cnodhbach 
 (Knowth), Brugh mic og (New Grange), and the Dun of 
 fierce M'Neachtain. . . . Then after that they entered the 
 Dun and plundered it, . . . and returned to Slieve Fuad 
 (the Fews mountains) bearing the heads of fierce Nectain's
 
 THE HEROIC PERIOD. . 6 1 
 
 three sons along with them. And then they saw a wild herd 
 scattered before them. ' What multitude of cattle are those ?' 
 said the youth. ' They are not cattle,' said the servant, ' but 
 the wild deer of the dark places of Slieve Fuad.' ' Urge on 
 the steeds,' said the youth. . . . Nor could they in their 
 galloping come up with the Royal Stag of the dark glen. 
 Then the youth got out of the chariot and captured two of 
 them. . . . And he bound them to the fore part and to 
 the rere of the chariot. And they went on to the commence- 
 ment of the Plain of Emain, And they beheld there a flock 
 of wild geese whiter then any tame ones . , . wild 
 geese that came from the rocks and islands of the great 
 sea to graze upon the level plains of the country. . . . 
 ' Bring those birds with thee, my man,' says the youth. ' That 
 would be a sorrow to me,' said the servant, , . . ' Were I 
 to quit the place where we are, the iron wheels of the chariot 
 would fail me from the bounding and plunging of the steeds.' 
 ' No true champion art thou, Ivar.' ' I will take hold of 
 the steeds.' . . . And when he took them in his mighty 
 grasp, they lowered their heads in dread of him, . . . and 
 they proceeded on to Emain. 
 
 "Levarcam, the daughter of Hugh, perceived them. 'There 
 is a chariot approaching, Conor,' said she. ' And it advances 
 furiously. The bloody heads of our foes are in that chariot. 
 And beauteous white birds are fastened to it, and wild deer 
 able to run are bound to it. And a servant is with him in 
 the chariot also. And if he be not attended to now, by him 
 will the Chiefs of Uladh fall.' " 
 
 The most heroic achievements of the young warrior re- 
 corded in the Tain were his single-handed combats with the
 
 62 . THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 picked men of the armies led by Ailill and Maev in person, 
 when CuchuUin defended the fords, and stopped the onward 
 march of the Connaught hosts on the borders of Ulster. 
 He held these passes into the threatened province — for the 
 chivalrous custom of the times permitted none to refuse a 
 challenge, nor the host to advance till the result of the 
 single combats should be known — till the Ultonians had 
 time to muster their forces, and arrive to give battle to the 
 armies of Connaught in defence of their land and their 
 cattle. 
 
 The Tain Bo Cuailgne recounts at great length the 
 combats that ensued, in which CuchuUin was uniformly 
 victorious. 
 
 What, another and another, and he still for combat calls ? 
 Ah ! the lot on thee, his brother sworn in arms, Ferdiah, falls, 
 And the hall with wild applauses sobbedlike women ere they wist, 
 When the champions in the pauses of ihe deadly combat kiss'd.* 
 
 Ferdiah was most reluctant to engage in strife with his 
 former friend and companion, CuchuUin, for " with the same 
 tutors they learned the science of feats of bravery and valour ; 
 with Scatha, and with Uatha, and with Aife." The name 
 of Scatha, their Amazonian instructress, is still preserved in 
 Dun Sciath in the island of Skye. 
 
 The circumstance that these heroes were alike skilled in 
 the use of arms and arts of combat, made it of importance to 
 Ailill and Maev to incite Ferdiah to this duel with CuchuUin. 
 The belief in the withering power of a bardic curse was 
 
 *Frora " The Tain-Quest," Lays of the Western Gael, by Sir S. Ferguson.
 
 THE HEROIC PERIOD. 63 
 
 general. Even to a comparatively late period a poet's male- 
 diction was believed in Ireland to bring misfortune, and so 
 " Maev and Ailill sent to the Bards to make a great out- 
 cry and get up an excitement, and raise up a triple barrier ot 
 scandal and reproach against his name unless he came to 
 them. Then came Ferdiah to them, for it was better for him 
 to fall in chivalrous and martial exploit than to fall by the 
 libels and outcries of the Bards: And when he came, a full 
 and wondrous joy took possession of Aihll and Maev, and 
 they promised him abundance of goods if he would go and 
 encounter exalted Cuchullin, . . . and that he should be 
 free of imposition of exaction or tribute, and that nothing 
 should ever be required of him during eternity. And that he 
 should get for a wife Fionbar the beauteous only daughter of 
 Ailill and Maev who excelled in beauty and in form all the 
 women of the world, and that he should take the golden 
 jewel that was in the cloak of Maev, a talisman of great 
 virtue." . . . 
 
 " Ferdiah took his steeds and mounted his chariot, and 
 arrived at the field of combat at the rising of the sun. . . . 
 Then Ferdiah arose and arrayed his body. . . . and re- 
 mained till they beheld the polished bounding chariot 
 coming rapidly and actively with his people clad in green, 
 and with a shaking of stout spears and dexterous blood-thirsty 
 javelins held up aloft. And two fleet steeds under the chariot 
 bounding broad-chested, high-spirited, holding high their 
 heads and arching their long necks. . . . And they were 
 as a hawk on a sharp blustering day ; or as a whirlwind in a 
 brisk spring day in March in its course over the lovely wide 
 marshy plains. Or like a beauteous excellent deer at the
 
 64 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 nrst starting of the hounds — such were those two steeds under 
 the chariot of CuchuUin." 
 
 " Ferdiah gave CuchuUin a manly, truly mild welcome. 
 . . . And then said CuchuUin, * O Ferdiah it was not 
 meet of thee to come do battle with me at the jealous insti- 
 gation and complaint of Ailill and of Maev, and for the sake 
 of their false promises and deceitful gifts. . . . O Ferdiah 
 and woe is it to thee to have abandoned my friendship for 
 the friendship of any one woman. Fifty champions have 
 hitherto fallen by me, and long is it ere I would forsake thee 
 for the promises of any woman ; for we were together gaining 
 instruction in chivalry, and together went we to every battle 
 and conflict, and together pursued we the chase, and together 
 were we in every desolate place of darkness and sorcery.' . . . 
 
 " ' Dost thou bear in mind, great CuchuUin/ says Ferdiah, 
 ' the generous exercises we used to go through with Uatha and 
 Scatha and with Aife ? ' 'Well do I remember them/ says 
 CuchuUin. . . . Let us joust with our huge trusty spears.', . . 
 
 " And they made ready their chariots and did so. And they 
 began piercing and overthowing one another from the dusky 
 dawn of the morning tUl eventide. . . . And after that 
 they ceased. And they handed their arms to their attend- 
 ants, and gave each other many a kiss. And their steeds 
 rested at the same time ; and their attendants were at the 
 same fire for the night. And two lofty beds of rushes were 
 made ready for those wounded heroes. The herbs that 
 assuage pain were brought, and cures to alleviate their 
 sufterings, and they tended them that night, and every 
 remedy and every charm that was applied to Ferdiah for his 
 wounds was equally divided with CuchuUin.
 
 THE HEROIC PERIOD. 6^ 
 
 " Thus were they that night, and they arose early in the 
 morning to go to the field of combat. . . . ' Thou art 
 looking badly to-day, O Ferdiah,' says CuchuUin, 'for thine 
 hair has lost its gloss, and thine e}es are heavy, and thine 
 upright form and sprightliness of action have deserted thee ? ' 
 ' It is neither through fear or dread of thine encounter I am 
 so,' said Ferdiah, ' for there is not in Erin a champion that 
 I would not do battle with this day.' * It is a pity, O Ferdiah,. 
 nor is it for thy good to confront thine own comrade and 
 fellow-soldier and friend at the instigation of any woman in 
 the world.' ' Pity it is,' said Ferdiah, ' but were I to go 
 hence without encountering thee I shall be for ever under the 
 aspersion of cowardice with Maev and with Ailill and with 
 all the men of Erin.' " 
 
 Impelled by these motives Ferdiah fought "for the sake of 
 his honour, for he preferred to fall by the shafts of valour, 
 gallantry, and bravery, rather than by the shafts of satire, 
 censure, and reproach." 
 
 At last Ferdiah falls. ' Cuchullin laid Ferdiah down there, 
 and a cloud, and a faint, and a weakness fell on Cuchullin. 
 The hero, exhausted by his wounds and long-continued strife, 
 and still more by the distress of mind caused by the death 
 of his loved friend, lies long on his bed of sickness, and is 
 unable to take part in the impending battle between the 
 Ultonians and the now retreating forces of Ailill and Maev. 
 His father visits him, and is thus quaintly described in the 
 poem : — 
 
 " For thus was Suailtam. He was not a bad champion 
 and he was not a good champion, but he happened to be a 
 big, good sort of person."
 
 66 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 Cuchullin sends him to rouse the Ultonians. He per- 
 forms his embassy in the following nanner : — 
 
 " ' You have been plundered by Ailill and Maev,' said 
 Suailtam; * your women and your children, and your youths> 
 your horses, and your studs, your flocks, your herds, and 
 your cattle have been carried away. Cuchullin is alone 
 detaining and delaying the four great provinces of Erin, in the 
 gaps and the passes of the country of Conaille Murthevne. 
 . . . And if you do not immediately avenge this, it will not 
 be avenged to the end of time and life.' " 
 
 Conor musters his hosts, but Ailill and Maev are already 
 on their way to Connaught ; the original cause of the wan 
 the Donn Cuailgne himself, being captured, and led towards 
 the pastures of Cruachan. 
 
 MacRoth, the herald of Connaught, is left to watch the 
 movements of the foe, who might be expected to harass their 
 retreat. 
 
 "MacRoth went forward to reconnoitre the great wide- 
 spreading plain of Meath. MacRoth was not long doing so 
 when he heard something — the sound, and the tramp, and 
 the clamour, and the noise. 
 
 "There was nothing that he could think it to be, unless it 
 was the falling of the firmament on the face of the earth ; or 
 unless it were the salmon-abounding blue ocean that flowed 
 over the face of the world ; or unless it was the earth severed 
 from its earthly motion ; or unless it was the forests that fell 
 each tree into the catches and forks and branches of the 
 other." 
 
 This was the advance of Conor's army. 
 
 " The Ultonians began collecting upon the plain from the
 
 THE HEROIC PERIOD. 67 
 
 €arly dusky light of the morning till the full afternoon, in so 
 much that there was none of the land that was not covered 
 under them. And each Host of them was under its own 
 King; and each Division under its own Prince ; and each 
 Band under its Chief ; and each Lord was at the head of his 
 own troops." As they appear, Fergus MacRoy, the exiled 
 ex-king of Ulster, now in the ranks of the invaders from 
 Connaught, is called on by Ailill and Maev to identify the 
 leaders of the northern host. Fergus is the reputed author 
 of the Tain ; however that may be, his portraiture is most 
 vivid. His heart yearns towards his former subjects, now 
 bis foes. He is proud of his old friends, and accords each 
 hero warm and generous praise. His step-son and successor 
 on the throne, Conor MacNessa, is thus depicted : — 
 
 " He was of fresh appearance, and his yellow-brown hair 
 hung down before him. He had an undefiled rosy clear 
 countenance, and his dark blue eyes lay shaded under their 
 lashes. And he was terrible and craving for the decapitation 
 of heads. And the beard of a learned man did he bear, and 
 it beautifully fell in many a rhiglet from his chin. . . . 
 He grasped his shield of refined silver, and his battle-axe 
 ornamented with red gold in his hand, whilst he was pro- 
 tected from his foes by a clean, gold-hilted curiously wrought 
 sword in his other hand." 
 
 Then again the herald announces the advent of "another 
 band upon the smooth plain of Meath. They were diligently 
 plaiting their hair. . . .A chivalrous lovely countenanced 
 youth was the leader of that band. He had light yellow hair 
 upon him. And what art he displayed in whirling red 
 balls."
 
 68 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 "'Who is that Fergus?' says Ailill. ' He is the distractor 
 of his foes. He is vindictive in his skirmishings. He is a 
 crusher of dragons. He is a raging hon. He is lord over 
 all arts of poison, and all enemies. He is as a steadfast rock in 
 his armour, and he is a fierce router of hosts when he turns 
 upon them — Conall Carnach, son of lofty illustrious 
 Amergin,' is his name." 
 
 MacRoth the herald announces a still more distinguished 
 arrival. 
 
 " There has come another troop upon the smooth plain of 
 Meath, and their armament is sparkling like fire in their 
 rapid movement. . . . Their battalions are full and fierce 
 in their might ; and they have flowery mantles on them ; and 
 a noise of thunder is the sound of the tramp of their rapid 
 marching. And a huge, generous terrible warrior is the 
 champion of that band. He has a great nose ; and like an 
 apple the ball of his eye. His hair is red, strong, half-grey ; 
 and a grey-black coat is upon him. And an iron bodkin is 
 fastened in his cloak over his breast, that reaches from one 
 shoulder to the other. And he has on a shaggy, curiously- 
 woven shirt. A grey shield and a huge spear in his hand ; 
 and his death-dealing sword of seven plates of iron has thirty 
 rivets in it, and is inlaid over its side and back." 
 
 This is the mighty champion Keltar, son of Utechar, 
 whose rath at Downpatrick is yet standing. The great 
 earthen fort with its surrounding entrenchments is almost as 
 perfect to-day as at the commencement of the Christian era 
 when it was the habitation of Keltar. The spear in his hand 
 is the Luin Ban Celtchair of necromantic fame, said to thirst 
 for the blood of enemies.
 
 THE HEROIC PERIOD. 6g 
 
 " He who sits 
 The midmost of the three, grasps with both hands 
 A spear of fifty rivets, and so sways 
 And swings the weapon as a man might think 
 The very thing had Hfe, and struggled strong 
 To dash itself at breasts of enemies : 
 A cauldron at his feet, big as the vat 
 Of a king's kitchen ; in that vat a pool, 
 Hideous to look upon, of liquor black : 
 Therein he dips and cools the blade by times. 
 
 The spear 
 In hands of Duftach is the famous ' lunn^ 
 Of Keltar son of Utechar, which erst 
 A wizard of the Tuath-De-Danaan brought 
 To battle at Moy Tury, and there lost : 
 Found after. And these motions of the spear, 
 And sudden sallies hard to be restrained, 
 Affect it, oft as blood of enemies 
 Is ripe for spilling ; and a cauldron then 
 Full of witch-brev/age needs must be at hand, 
 To quench it, when the homicidal act 
 Is by its blade expected ; quench it not, 
 It blazes up even in the holder's hand, 
 And through the holder, and the door planks through, 
 Flies forth to sate itself m massacre." * 
 
 The high-strung emotion of Fergus MacRoy reaches its 
 climax when the warriors, from Conaill^ Murthevne appear 
 on the field of battle. They are without their leader 
 Cuchullin who is still incapacitated from wounds received 
 in his combat with Ferdiah. 
 
 * From " Couary," Poems, by Sir S. Ferguson.
 
 70 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 " * Who are these, Fergus,' asks Ailill. ' They are the 
 lacerating lions ; they are the brilliant battalions of the 
 district of Murthevne',' he replies ; 'and deep grief is upon 
 them that they are without their beloved king and leader^ 
 Cuchullin of the victorious-in-fight-destroying bloody sword. 
 . . . And they will maintain their superiority in to-morrow's 
 battle, for I have heard a loud shouting from them ; ... it is 
 that CuchulUn is coming refreshed though with tottering 
 steps.' " 
 
 The armies pass that night on the plains of Slewen. At 
 dawn of day the battle begins. The disabled Cuchullin, 
 longing, but unable, to take part in the conflict, charges his 
 charioteer to give him tidings of the fight. 
 
 " Leagh had not remained long looking till he saw the 
 men of Erin all arising together, snatching up their shields, 
 and their spears, and their swords, and their helmets, and 
 pressing, each party the other, forward to the battle. 
 
 " The men of Erin began, each of them, to hew, and to 
 cut down, to partition, to disjoint, to slaughter, and to 
 destroy each other for a long time. 
 
 " ' How is the battle fought now, my master Leagh,' said 
 Cuchullin. 
 
 " ' Manfully is it fought,' said Leagh. ' For though I 
 were to take my chariot, and Eu, Conall's charioteer, were 
 to take his, and though we were to drive in our two noble 
 rhariots to meet each other through the array of their arms, 
 neither shoe, nor wheel, nor seat, nor shaft of them could 
 pass through, for the tightness, and for the firmness, and for 
 the fastness with which their arms are grasped in the hands 
 of the warriors at this moment '
 
 THE HEROIC PERIOD. 7 I 
 
 " ' Alas, that I am not of strength to be among them ! ' 
 said CuchuUin ; ' for if I were of strength my breach would 
 be conspicuous there to-day.' 
 
 " ' Hush now, my Hound,' said Leagh. ' It is no disgrace 
 to your valour — it is no reproach to your honour. You 
 have done bravely before now. You shall do so again.' " 
 
 Meantime a personal encounter took place on the field, 
 between the injured Fergus, and Conor armed with his 
 magic shield, which would have been fatal to the latter but 
 for the interposition of his son Cormac. 
 
 " Then Conor went forth to the battle, . , . and he took 
 up his shield EOchain, with its four gems set in gold, and 
 its bosses. . . . 
 
 "Then Fergus made his onset on the quarter where he 
 heard that Conor was ; and struck three hostile blows upon 
 Conor's EOchain. And the shield uttered a loud cry. And 
 the three principal waves of Erin roared responsive to it J 
 the wave of Cleena, the wave of the North, and the wave 
 of Rory, 
 
 " ' Ye men of Erin,' cried Fergus, ' who will stick to this 
 shield with me in the conflict this day ? — a weapon able to 
 encounter the entire four provinces of Erin with its outcries 
 and its shoutings.' . . . Tlien Fergus grasped his hard 
 sword with both his hands and made a blow so that the 
 magic talisman came to the ground." 
 
 And as hawk that strikes on pigeons, sped on wrath's un- 
 swerving wing 
 
 Through the tyrant's leaguering legions, smiting chief and smiting 
 king. 
 
 Smote he full on Conor's gorget, till the waves of welded steel, 
 
 Round the monarch's magic target rang their loudest larum peal.
 
 *J2 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 Rang the disc where wizard hammers, mingling in the wavy field, 
 Tempest-wail and breaker-clamours, forged the wondrous Ocean 
 
 shield 
 Answering to whose stormy noises, oft as clang'd by deadly blows, 
 All the echoing kindred voices of the seas of Erin rose. 
 
 Moaned each sea -chafed promontory ; soar'd and vvail'd white 
 
 Cleena's wave ; 
 Rose the Tonn of Inver Rory, and through column'd chasm and 
 
 cave 
 Reaching deep with roll of anger, till Dunseverick's dungeons 
 
 reel'd, 
 Roar'd responsive to the clangour struck from Conor's magic 
 
 shield.* 
 
 " ' Fergus, my master,' said Cormac, son of Conor, as he 
 clasped both his royal arms around him, ' this is a conflict 
 amongst friends, and let not Uladh be destroyed this day 
 by the overwhelming blows of thy mighty strength. Refrain 
 thy mad, destroying hand. Spare the chieftains of the 
 host, and suffer thy rage to be assuaged.' " 
 
 Cuchullin cannot be kept back even by the entreaties 
 of his attendant. His wounds are too fresh to permit him 
 to take an active part in the combat, but he meets his 
 ancient master and friend, Fergus MacRoy, and adjures 
 him, by his former promise to that effect, no longer to take 
 part against his countrymen of Ulster, nor to avenge on 
 them the wrongs he had sust.ained from his step-son, Conor. 
 Fergus, thus appealed to, retires, and the Connacians accept 
 his retreat as a signal for leaving the field. They send 
 on before them the Bull which was the original cause of 
 
 *"The Tain-Quest,'" Lays of the Western Gad, by Sir S. Ferguson.
 
 THE HEROIC PERIOD. 73 
 
 tlieir foray, and — ujider the guardianship of Maev, who 
 courageously protects the rear of her defeated army — retire 
 towards Cruachan. The finale — as regards the Donn 
 Cuailgne — is characteristic. " When he saw the beautiful 
 unknown country" (the rich pasture land of Roscommon) 
 " he gave three rounds of roars aloud. But the Finnben- 
 nach of Ai heard him." This was the Bull that had gone 
 over from Maev's cows because " he deemed it not honour- 
 able to be in a woman's dependence," and he allowed no 
 other beast "to dare raise a roar higher than a lowing within 
 the four fords of Ai." So he raised his head on high and 
 came forward to Cruachan to meet the Donn Cuailgne. 
 
 The Battle of the Bulls was as furious as had been thaT 
 of the Connacians and Ultonians, on their account. After 
 a terrible encounter, in which no one ventured to intervene, 
 the men of Erin " saw the Donn Cuailgne coming past 
 Cruachan, coming from the west, and carrying the Finn- 
 bennach on his peaks and on his horns." 
 
 Having shaken off his defeated antagonist, the Bull 
 ■" turned his face to the north, and recognised the country 
 of Cuailgne, and went towards it." 
 
 Let us hope, notwithstanding the tragical end assigned to 
 him in the romance, where he dashes out his brains in 
 charging at a rock, that in his native plains of Louth, he 
 found fresh fields and pastures new, and that the readers 
 who have followed his adventures in the Taiyi bo Cuailgne 
 shall be sharers in the blessing invoked at the close of the 
 poem ' on every one who shall faithfully study the Tain.' 
 
 Cuchullin also plays the part of hero in tales of love and 
 courtship which still exist among the unpublished Irish
 
 74 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 MSS. in our libraries. His wooing of Eimer, the beautiful 
 daughter of Forgall Monach, a personage who held a court of 
 general hospitality at Lusk, near Dublin, has many romantic 
 circumstances attending it. Having heard of the charms 
 and accomplishments of the Lady Eimer, Cuchullin, ac- 
 companied by his faithful Leagh, set out from Emania, 
 and discovered, on reaching her father's abode, the lady 
 he sought, in the companionship of others of her sex and 
 station, pursuing her customary sports and occupations. 
 Eimer was no less gifted than Cuchullin himself. Hers, 
 we are told, were " the gift of beauty of person, the gift 
 of voice, the gift of music, the gift of embroidery and all 
 needlework, the gift of wisdom, and the gift of virtuous 
 chastity." Her discretion was not inferior to her accom- 
 plishments. She declined to listen to the addresses of 
 Cuchullin, alleging that she was but a younger daughter. 
 She enlarged on the virtues and charms of her elder sister, 
 and suggested that he should seek her father's sanction, and 
 become the suitor of that lady. 
 
 Forgall was not disposed to part with either of his 
 daughters. In the guise of a stranger he presented himself 
 at the court of Conor ; praised the varied feats and accom- 
 plishments which were exhibited in honour of the stranger's 
 visit to Emania, by the knights of the Red Branch, including 
 Cuchullin himself, and suggested to Conor that his young 
 warriors should complete their military education under the 
 tuition of Scatha, on the island of Skye. It was thus that 
 Cuchullin became the pupil of this remarkable instructress, 
 to whom he so often referred in after-life. His sojourn in 
 the Hebrides perfected him in all knightly and manly
 
 THE HEROIC PERIOD. 75, 
 
 exercises, and kept him far removed from Erin, which had 
 been the secret object of Forgall in recommending the 
 school of Dun Sciath. 
 
 Forgall's project was not so successful as he had hoped. 
 Elmer and Cuchullin found means of exchanging vows of 
 constancy, for by this time the hero had won the fair lady's 
 heart He remained in Scotland till he had acquired all 
 that Scatha could teach, and then returned to Ireland, to 
 claim the hand of Eimer. On his homeward route he 
 played the part of a Perseus to an Andromeda of Rathlin 
 island, rescuing from certain pirates a damsel exposed on 
 the shore, and destined to be their captive in lieu of tribute 
 which the islanders were unable to pay. Declining any 
 reward for his services in slaying the pirates, Cuchullin 
 hastened to Lusk, but the Lady Eimer was closely guarded 
 in her father's fortress. Cuchullin stormed the fort and 
 carried her off in triumph, not without the penalty of com- 
 bats with their pursuers at various fords and passes, in the 
 line of country between Lusk and Armagh. 
 
 Another romantic adventure in which Cuchullin was 
 concerned as one of the knights of the Red Branch, was 
 an attack on an island called Mana, where resided a most 
 beautiful damsel named Blanaid. Curoi MacDar^, the 
 leader of the Munster order of chivalry, — the Clan Degaid, 
 as they were called, — was present on this expedition in the 
 disguise of a grey-coated clovrn, and gave valuable aid to the 
 Ulster champions, on condition that, should he succeed in 
 procuring for them entrance into the fort, he should have 
 his choice of all the jewels it contained. Success being 
 achieved, the clown in the grey garb named Blanaid herself
 
 ^6 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 as the jewel he would claim, and on CuchuUin disputing 
 the point with him, Curoi succeeded in carrying her off bv 
 stratagem. Cuchullin pursued him towards Munster, but 
 being worsted in an encounter with Curoi, — who inflicted 
 on him the double disgrace of " binding him in five-fold 
 fetter, wrists and ankles; wrists and neck," and cutting oft 
 his long love-locks, —he was compelled to return to Ulster and 
 there await the growing of his hair, as this loss was esteemed 
 disgraceful for a man of Erin. 
 
 A year elapsed before Cuchullin's hair had grown, when 
 he again sought Blanaid. He found her on the banks of 
 the stream afterwards called the Finglas or Whitebrook, in 
 Kerry. Curoi's abode still exists, and preserves his name, 
 on the summit of Cahir-Conree, the grand mountain which 
 towers over Tralee. Blanaid lamented her fate, and im- 
 plored Cuchullin to return at an appointed time and rescue 
 her, at a signal agreed on between them. 
 
 " But hearken, dear Cuchullin, 
 Heed well the words I say, 
 Gather thy forces far and wide, 
 And on the thirtieth day, 
 Encamped in yonder forest. 
 Watch well the river clear, 
 
 When its stream runs white, with main and might 
 Charge, as thou hold'st me dear." * 
 
 The scheme which Blanaid had imagined, was to persuade 
 Curoi to build for himself a fortress which should surpass 
 all the royal residences in Erin, and to disperse the Clan 
 Degaid in search of great stones for the erection of this 
 Cyclopean structure. At the moment when Curoi was alone, 
 * From Goethe, by E. Kenealv.
 
 THE HEROIC PERIOD. 77 
 
 and defenceless, Blanaid overturned into the river, pails of 
 milk which she had prepared for the purpose, thus making 
 the concerted signal for the attack of the fortress and 
 capture and death of Curoi. Her treachery did not go 
 unpunished. Ferkertne, the bard of the murdered Curoi, 
 followed her to Ulster. He found her in company with 
 Conor and Cuchullin, on the promontory of Ken-Barra. 
 He approached her, twined his arms around her, and sprang 
 with her in this fatal embrace over the brow of the cliff, into 
 the wild ocean beneath. 
 
 Before taking leave of Curoi MacDare, we may mention 
 that his descendants still hold a high position in his county 
 of Kerry. O'Connell was a representative of this ancient 
 champion of the Clan Degaid. 
 
 The glory and happiness of Cuchullin were clouded in 
 his after-life by a tragical occurrence, arising from a sin of 
 his youth. During his residence in Skye, he loved, and 
 abandoned, the Lady Aife. She bore him a son, and 
 trained her unconscious child to be the actor in the schemes 
 of vengeance which she nourished against Cuchullin. The 
 young Conloch was educated in all martial exercises, and 
 when fully perfected, sent by his mother to Erin, with 
 injunctions never to tell his name, or refuse to fight a single 
 combat against the most powerful champion. 
 •' Conloch, haughty, bold, and brave 
 Rides upon lerne's wave, 
 Flushed with loud-applauding fame, 
 From Dunsciaik's walls he came. 
 Came to visit Erin's coast — 
 Came to prove her mighty host." * 
 
 Translated from the Irish by Miss Brooke.
 
 78 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 Conloch returned an insolent answer to the messenger sent 
 by Conor MacNessa, to demand his name and purpose. 
 He encountered, and defeated, several champions sent by 
 the king. At last Cuchullin approaches. Conloch is moved 
 by the yearnings of natural affection, but still declines to tell 
 his name and lineage to the hero, whom he alone knows to 
 be his father. They fight, and Conloch falls. Ere he dies, 
 he reveals the fatal secret, and implores the forgiveness of 
 his parent. The grief of Cuchullin ends only with his life. 
 His death occurred ('tis said in a.d. 2) at the battle of 
 Murthevne, near Dundalk. Here "the manly, beauteous 
 ■champion fell ; it was not the fall of a dastard." His fort 
 of Dundealga, near the present town of Dundalk, is still 
 standing, and is a prominent feature in the landscape. It is 
 known at present as the Moat of Castletown. Cuchullin's 
 ■death was avenged by his kinsman Conall Carnach. When 
 the event happened Conall was beyond sea ; but the 
 widowed Eimer sent to acquaint him, and to hasten his 
 return that he might avenge his friend. This great knight of 
 the Red Branch found the head of the hero used as a hurling- 
 ball. He contended with, and slew those who had so 
 insulted the remains of his friend. Cuchullin's head and 
 right hand are said to have been buried at Tara. 
 
 Conall Carnach, this knight of the Red Branch who 
 avenged Cuchullin, was of the race of Ir, son of Miled. He 
 was kinsman also to Fergus MacRoy, through their common 
 ancestor, R-ury iNlor, king of Ireland — from whom the clan 
 Rury derive their name. He fills a foremost place in heroic 
 story at this period — the commencement of the Christian era. 
 The courage and daring of these doughty champions made 
 them, as we have seen, very formidable antagonists, and
 
 IHE HEROIC PERIOD. 79 
 
 their successes tempted them to seek occasion for a display 
 of their prowess. Nor was this overbearing and aggressive 
 disposition confined to the warriors of Ulster. F.ven the 
 bards of the northern kingdom presumed on the warlike 
 repute of its heroes, to insult and oppress the less powerful 
 chieftains of other districts. It is recorded of Atharne, 
 a poet at the court of Conor, that he set cut on a tour of 
 visits to the other provincial kings, with the sole object of 
 "picking a quarrel" on behalf of the Ultonians with their 
 weaker neighbours. With this object he insolently demanded 
 the most costly gifts, which were yielded to him for the sake 
 ■of peace. Eochaid, king of mid-Erin, actually bestowed on 
 Atharne his one remaining eye, which the audacious poet 
 demanded of the already mutilated prince, liltle expecting 
 his request to be granted, but intending to fix a quarrel, 
 should it be refused. Lough Derg (on the Shannon) is said 
 in the legend to have derived its name (the Lake of the 
 Red Eye) from this circumstance. In Leinster, Atharne 
 demanded the gift of one hundred and fifty ladies, seven hun- 
 dred white cows with red ears, and other cattle. His un- 
 reasonable petition was accorded with such ready alacrity that 
 it aroused the poet's suspicions. He therefore sent to Conor, 
 asking from him an escort of Ultonians, who should meet him 
 at the boundary of the respective kingdoms, and repel any 
 attempt at the forced restitution which he anticipated at the 
 hands of his Limerick escort, the moment they should be at 
 liberty to attack him without infringing the laws of hospitality. 
 These laws, which it would have been deemed dishonourable 
 to violate, protected Atharne and his ill-gotten gains while in 
 the territory of the men of Leinster. It was at the ford of the
 
 So THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 Liffey at Dubh-linn, the Hack pool which gives its name to 
 Dublin, that a causeway of hurdles was thrown across the 
 river for the transport of the flocks, from which the Irish 
 capital obtained its name of Alh Cliath, meaning " Hurdle- 
 ford." Here — for the LifFey was at this time the boundary 
 between Leinster and Ulster — as Atharne had anticipated, 
 his late hosts, the instant he had passed out of their country, 
 seized upon their women and cattle. A battle ensued, in 
 which the Ultonians succeeded in forcing their retreat to the 
 Hill of Howth, and carrying the cattle with them. From 
 the summit of Ben-Edar, the poet cursed the land he had 
 left, and a blight fell on all things in Leinster, which lasted 
 till the outraged Atharne was persuaded to remove his 
 malignant infliction. 
 
 " Sing while you may, nor grieve to know 
 The song you sing shall also die : 
 Atharna's lay has perished so, 
 Though once it thrilled this sky 
 Above us, from his rocky chair. 
 There, where Ben Edar's landward crest 
 O'er eastern Bregia bends, to where 
 Dun Almon crowns the west : 
 And all that felt the fretted air 
 Throughout the song-distempered clime 
 Did droop, till suppliant Leinster's prayer 
 Ap::eased the vengeful rhyme." * 
 
 While the Ultonians, with Atharne, were encamped at 
 Howth, Conall Carnach made various onslaughts on the 
 Leinster men, urged by a desire to revenge the deaths of his 
 
 *From The Cromlech on lloivth, by Sir S. Ferguson.
 
 THE HEROIC PERIOD. 8 1 
 
 brothers who had been slain during the siege. He overtook 
 and encountered Mesgedra, the King of Leinster, vanquished 
 him in single combat, cut off his head, and carried the 
 bleeding trophy with him in his chariot. He had not 
 travelled far when he met Mesgedra's queen, Biiana, returning 
 with an escort of fifty ladies, from a visit to Meath. " Thou art 
 commanded to come with me," said Conall, addressing her. 
 
 " Who has commanded me ? " replied the queen. 
 
 "Mesgedra," rejoined Conall. 
 
 " Hast thou brought me any token from him ? " asked 
 the queen. 
 
 '* I have brought his chariots and horses," said Conall. 
 
 " He makes many presents ? " said the lady. 
 
 "Come into my chariot : his head is here too," rejoined 
 the champion. 
 
 "Give me liberty to lament for my husband," said the 
 bereaved woman, and then she shrieked aloud her grief and 
 sorrow with such intensity that her heart broke, and she 
 fell dead from her chariot. 
 
 The MS. story of the siege of }Ioyii\i {Talland Etair)^ 
 from which we glean these incidents, contains, in the midst 
 of much that is barbarous and revolting, some traits of 
 generous sentiment worthy of being called chivalrous, and 
 well deserving the attention of inquirers into the sources of 
 medieval romantic literature. 
 
 Mesgedra, with a single squire, flying from the pursuit ot 
 the Ultonians, reaches the ford of Clane. Here they halt to 
 snatch a moment's repose. " I shall sleep awhile," said the 
 charioteer, "and thou canst sleep afterwards." — " It is agree- 
 able to me," said the king, yielding the privilege of first
 
 82 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 refreshment to his humbler companion. The charioteer 
 sleeps, and Mesgedra looking at the river, is aware of a 
 large nut floating towards him. He divides the kernel, keep- 
 ing one half for the charioteer, and eats the other. At this 
 moment the charioteer awakens from "an evil vision." 
 " Is it a nut thou didst eat ? " he demands : " hast thou left 
 half for me?" — "Catch the horses, gi/la,'^ said the king. 
 Then the charioteer resenting the king's supposed ungen- 
 erous greediness, exclaims, " He who would eat a little 
 behind the back of a hungry comrade would eat much," 
 and in a rash rage drew his sword, and smote off Mesgedra's 
 hand. " Evil is the deed," said Mesgedra. " Open my 
 hand : the half of the nut is there." When the charioteer 
 saw that it was so, " he turned the sword against himself, so 
 that it went out through his back." At this moment Conall 
 approaches from the opposite side of the ford : "I am here," 
 said Mesgedra. "What then?" said Conall. "What 
 more," said Megesdra, " save to assail him of whom the 
 debt is due, whatever be the strait he may be in." — 
 "Prepare," said Conall. "It is not true valour," said 
 Mesgedra, "for you to fight with a one-handed man." — 
 "So it shall be with me also," said Conall : " my hand shall 
 be bound to my side," said Conall. Conall's hand was 
 triple bound to his side. They fought. The river was red 
 from them: in the end Conall was the stronger. "Lo now, 
 O Conall," said Mesgedra, "I know that thou wilt not 
 depart until thou bearest with thee this head : bear, then, 
 my head on thy head, and my renown on thy renown.'' 
 When it is remembered that this was one of the traditionary 
 " prime tales " known by every duly qualified bard for ages
 
 THE HEROIC PERIOD. Fj 
 
 prior to the twelfth century (for it is one of those enumerated 
 in the Book of Leinster, and the Book of Leinster was com- 
 piled in the twelfth century for Dermid MacMurrough 
 in his youth), it will not appear necessary, in the absence of 
 evidence, to assume that the Arthurian legend and the 
 cycle of Armoric romance could not have originated among 
 the Celtic populations. The old romance has impressed 
 the imagination of a modern poet who has rendered in the 
 following stanzas, the combat of Conall with Mesgedra. 
 
 MESGEDRA. 
 
 " ' Come forth, Mesgedra, from the sheltering tree, 
 And render fight : 'tis northern Conall calls.' 
 ' Not from an equal combat do I flee, 
 O Conall, to these green, protecting halls ; 
 
 ' But, mutilated, weak from many wounds. 
 Here take I sanctuary where none will dare 
 
 With impious wheel o'erdrive my measured bounds, 
 Or cast a weapon through the spell- wall'd air.' 
 
 ' No impious man am I ; I fear the Gods ; 
 
 My wheels thy sacred precinct do but graze ; 
 Nor, in the strife I challenge, ask I odds. 
 
 But lot alike to each of death or praise.' 
 
 ' See then, one arm hangs idly by my side : 
 Let, now, one answering arm put also by 
 
 From share of battle, to thy belt be tied ; 
 So shall thy challenge soon have meet reply.' 
 
 Then Conall loosed his war-belt's leathern band ; 
 
 Buckle and belt above his arm he closed ; 
 And, single-handed, to the single hand 
 
 Of maimed Mesgedra stood in fight opposed.
 
 84 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 They fought, with clashing intermixture keen 
 Of rapid sword-strokes, till Mesgedra's blade, 
 
 Belt and brass corslet glancing sheer between, 
 Wide open all the trammelling closure laid. 
 
 * Respect my plight : two handed chief forbear ! ' 
 ' Behold, I spare; I yield to thy appeal ; 
 
 And bind this hand again ; but, well beware 
 Again it owe not freedom to thy steel ! ' 
 
 Again they fought with close comminghng hail 
 Of swifter sword-strokes, till the fated brand 
 
 Of doom'd Mesgedra, glancing from the mail. 
 Again cut loose the dread, man-slaughtering hand. 
 
 No prayer might now hot Conall's fire assuage ; 
 
 No prayer was uttered ; from his scattered toils 
 Bounding in headlong, homicidal rage. 
 
 He flew, he threw, he slew, and took the spoils : 
 
 Then up, all glorying, all imbrued in gore, 
 Sprang to the chariot-seat and north amain 
 
 Chariots and steeds, and ghastly trophy bore 
 Through murmuring Liffey, o'er the fords of Clane. 
 
 There, softly glancing down the hawthorn glades, 
 Like phantom of the dawn and dewy air, 
 
 There met him with a troop of dames and maids, 
 A lovely woman delicate and fair. 
 
 They, at their vision of the man of blood, 
 Rightward and left fled fluttering in alarm ; 
 
 She in his pathway innocently stood 
 As one who thinks not, and who fears not, harm.
 
 THE HEROIC PERIOD. 85 
 
 'Who thou, and whence, and who the woman-train ?' 
 
 * Biiana, King Mesgedra's wife am I, 
 From vows returning sped at Tclacta's fane : 
 
 These dames and maids my serving company. 
 
 ' And, one moon absent, long the time appears 
 
 Till back in Naas's halls I lay at rest 
 My dreams ill-omening and my woman's fears 
 
 That daily haunt me, on my husband's breast.' 
 
 ' Mount here. Thy husband speaks his will through me.' 
 ' Through thee ! Thy token of my husband's will ? ' 
 
 • The royal car, the royal coursers see : 
 Perchance there rests a surer token still-' 
 
 ' My king Mesgedra is a bounteous lord, 
 And many a war-car doth his chariot-pen. 
 
 And many a swift steed do his stalls afford 
 For oft bestowal upon divers men.' 
 
 ' See then,' he said, * my certain warrant here.' 
 Ah, what a deed ! and showed the severed head. 
 
 She paled, she sickened with a mortal fear, 
 
 Reached her white arms and sank before him, dead. 
 
 No passing swoon was hers : he saw her die ; 
 
 Saw death's pale signet set on cheek and brow — 
 Up through his raging breast there rose a sigh ; 
 
 And, ' Sure,' he said, ' a loving wife wast thou ! ' 
 
 ' But now since friendlier death has shut her eyes 
 From sight of bondage in an alien home, 
 
 No law forbids to yield her obsequies, 
 Or o'er her raise the green "sepulchral dome.
 
 86 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 * Or — for her love was stronger than her life— 
 
 To place beside her, in her narrow bed — 
 It's lawful tribute rendered to my knife — 
 The much-loved, life-lamented kingly head. 
 
 * No law forbids— all sanguinary dues 
 
 Paid justly — that the heart-wrung human vow 
 Your sterner rites, dread Deities refuse, 
 Some gentler Demon's ritual may allow : 
 
 ' That yet, ere Time of Mankind make an end. 
 Some mightier Druid of our race may rise ; 
 
 Some milder Messenger from Heaven descend ; 
 And Earth, with nearer knowledge of the Skies. 
 
 ' See, past your sacrificers' grisly bands, 
 
 Past all the shapes that servile souls appal, 
 
 With fearless vision, from a thousand lands, 
 One great, good God behind and over all. 
 
 'Raise then, her mound :' the gathering hosts he spate 
 That thronging to o'ertake their venturous king, 
 
 Poured from the ford through fen and crackling brake, 
 And hailed their hero in acclaiming ring : — 
 
 'Raise, too, her stone, conspicuous far and near ; 
 
 And let a legend on the long stone tell, 
 ' Behold, there lies a tender woman here, 
 
 Who surely, loved a valiant husband well.' 
 
 ' And let the earth-heap'd grass renewing tomb, 
 
 A time-long token eloquent remain 
 Of pity and of love for all who come 
 
 By murmuring Liffey and the banks of Clane. ' "* 
 
 * From " Mesgedra," Poems by Sir S. Ferguson.
 
 THE HEROIC PERIOD. 87 
 
 Conall buried Biiana, and the head of her husband with 
 her, having previously, in compliance with a barbarous 
 custom, extracted the brains, which were mixed with lime, 
 and made into a ball. This ball was deposited in the House 
 of the Red Branch, at Emania, and was destined to play an 
 important part afterwards ; for a prophecy existed that 
 Mesgedra would avenge himself on the Ulstermen. 
 
 On one occasion, Keth MacMagach, a Connaught hero 
 and nephew of Maev of Cruachan, passing disguised near 
 Emania, observed two fools of Conor's court playing on the 
 green with the fatal ball, which they had purloined from the 
 trophy-house of Creeve Roe. Keth, aware of the prediction, 
 possessed himself of it, and always carried it in his girdle, 
 awaiting an opportunity of using it against Conor. This he 
 obtained by a characteristic stratagem on a subsequent en- 
 counter between the Connacians and the Ultonians, in 
 which Conor himself commanded the northern forces. 
 
 Conor was vain of his personal symmetry and beauty: "For 
 there was not upon earth the shape of a person like the shape 
 of Conchobhar (Conor), namely, in form, and face, and 
 countenance ; in si/.e, and symmetry, and proportion ; in eyes, 
 and hair, and whiteness ; in wisdom, and prudence, and 
 eloquence ; in costume, and nobleness, and mien ; in arms 
 and amplitude, and dignity ; in accomplishment, and valour, 
 and family descent." 
 
 The golden colour of Conor's hair is also recorded. The 
 wound in his head, received in the manner about to be 
 mentioned, was, according to the story, "stitched with thread 
 of gold, because the colour of Conchobhar's hair was the 
 same as the colour of the gold." Thus gifted, and not un-
 
 8a THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 willing to display his gifts, Conor unsuspectingly acceded to 
 a request made by some of the Connacian ladies that he 
 should approach them between the armies, so that they might 
 judge whether fame had reported truly of his personal dignity 
 and martial bearing. 
 
 Keth disguised himself in female attire, and with his sling 
 and Mesgedra's brain-ball, stationed himself among the 
 women who awaited the approach of the handsome king. 
 Conor came within reach of the missile. Keth cast the fatal 
 ball from his sling, and imbedded it deeply in the head of 
 the monarch. 
 
 Conor's physicians hesitated to remove the ball, but 
 succeeded in restoring him to the use of his faculties, and 
 permitted him soon to resume his former habits, only caution- 
 ing him against any violent exertion or emotion, especially 
 against indulgence in anger. On this circumstance of the 
 tradition, and the supposed synchronism of Conor's death 
 with the time of Our Lord's crucifixion, has been founded a 
 Christian legend of singular but picturesque wildness. 
 Conor, startled by tl>e supernatural darkness which ac- 
 companied the Passion of Our Lord, inquires from his Druids 
 of its cause. They reply, "-that Jesus Christ, the Son of the 
 living God, was at that moment suffering at the hands of the 
 Jews." "What crime has- he committed?" said Conor. 
 " None," replied they. " Then they are slaying him being 
 innocent?" asked Conor. "It is so," said the Druids. 
 Thereupon Conor, bursting into an uncontrollable fury, drew 
 his sword, rushed into an adjoining wood, and began to 
 hew and hack the trees, supposing them in his frenzy to be 
 the obnoxious Jews ; and the legend preserves, in arcliaic but
 
 THE HEROIC PERIOD. 89 
 
 characteristic language, the rhapsody, or rhetoric, as it is 
 called, pronounced by him on that occasion. 
 
 " Good now," said Conchobhar ; " it is a pity that he 
 (Christ) did not appeal to a valiant high-king, which would 
 bring me in the shape of a hardy champion, my lips quiver- 
 ing, until the great valour of a soldier should be witnessed 
 dealing a breach of battle between two hosts. Bitter the 
 slaughter by which there would be propitiated free relief. 
 With Christ should my assistance be. A wild shout has 
 sprung at large : a full Lord, a full loss is lamented \ the 
 crucifixion of a king, the greatest body, who was an illustrious, 
 admirable king. I would complain of the deed to the faith- 
 ful host of noble feats, whose vigilant, beautiful aid should 
 be with the merciful God to relieve Him. Beautiful the over- 
 throwing which I would give. Beautiful the combat which 
 I would wage for Christ, who is being defiled; I would not 
 rest, though my body of clay had been tormented by 
 them ... It crushes my heaft to hear the voice of wailing 
 for my God, and that this arm does not come to reach with 
 true relief to arrest the sorrow of death — because I am told 
 that it is dangerous for me to ride in chariots — without 
 avenging the Creator." In the midst of these excitements, 
 the ball started from its place, where it had remained im- 
 bedded in his skull, and Conor fell dead on the spot. 
 Another tradition ascribes to the visit of Altus, a Roman 
 centurion sent to demand tribute of Conor, his knowledge 
 of the incarnation and mission of Christ. 
 
 To return to Conall Carnach. His haughty and over- 
 bearing character displayed itself at a feast given by a 
 Leinster prince, MacDatho, to the Connaught men and
 
 90 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 Ultonians. MacDatho, was possessed of a noble hound, 
 which was envied by Conor MacNessa as well as by Ailill 
 and Maev. Afraid to offend these rival sovereigns by 
 yielding the hound to either, MacDatho invited them all to 
 a great feast. His hospitable board was graced by a famous 
 pig. But who was to carve this dainty dish ? Keth Mac- 
 Magach and Conall Carnach contended for the honour. 
 At last it was conceded to the Ulster hero, who helped 
 his countrymen to the dainty morsels, tossing over the 
 forelegs of the pig to the Connaught guests. Of course 
 bloodshed resulted, and the poor hound fell victim to 
 their swords. We turn from this ignoble strife to a more 
 gallant combat between Conall and Keth, in which the latter 
 lost his life, and Conall was all but mortally wounded. The 
 scene was Slieve Fuad, now the Fews ; the time, winter ; 
 and Conall, though the victor, alone and bleeding amid the 
 drifting snowstorms, was captured by the Connacian hero, 
 Bealcu, who restored him to health that he might afterwards 
 avenge Keth in single combat with Conall. The circum- 
 stances, with some deviations from the rude original, have 
 been amplified into a dramatic ballad, commemorative of this 
 primitive instance of chivalrous generosity. 
 
 The Healing of Conall Carnach. 
 
 O'er Slieve Few, with noiseless tramping through the heavy 
 
 drifted snow, 
 Bealcu Connacia's champion, in his chariot tracks the foe ; 
 And anon far off discerneth, in the mountain hollow white, 
 Slinger Keth and Conall Carnach mingling, hand to hand, in 
 
 fight.
 
 THE HEROIC PERIOD. 91 
 
 Swift the charioteer his coursers urged across the wintry glade : 
 Hoarse the cry of Keth and hoarser seemed to come demanding 
 
 aid; 
 But through wreath and swollen runnel, ere the car could reach 
 
 anigh, 
 Keth lay dead, and mighty Conall bleeding lay at point to die. 
 
 Whom beholding spent and pallid, Bealcu exulting cried, 
 
 " Oh thou ravening wolf of Uladh, where is now thy northern 
 
 pride ? 
 What can now that crest audacious, what that pale defiant 
 
 brow, 
 Once the bale-star of Connacia's ravaged fields, avail thee now ?' 
 
 " Taunts are for reviling women," faintly Conall made reply. 
 " Wouldst thou play the manlier foeman ? end my pain and let 
 
 me die ! 
 Neither deem thy blade dishonoured that with Keth's a deed it 
 
 share 
 For the foremost two of Connaught feat enough and fame to 
 
 spare." 
 
 " No ; I will not ! Bard shall never in Dunseverick hall make 
 
 boast 
 That to quell one northern riever needed two of Croghan's host ; 
 But because that word thou'st spoken, if but life enough remains, 
 Thou shalt hear the wives of Croghan clap their hands above 
 
 thy chains. 
 
 " Yea, if life enough but linger, that the leech may make thee 
 
 whole. 
 Meet to satiate the anger that beseems a warrior's soul, 
 Best of leech-craft I'll purvey thee; make thee whole as healing 
 
 can; 
 And in single combat slay thee, Connaught man to Ulster man."
 
 92 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 Binding him in five fold fetter, wrists and ankles, wrists and 
 
 neck, 
 To his car's uneasy litter, Bealcu upheaved the wreck 
 Of the broken man and harness ; but he started with amaze 
 When he felt the northern war-mace, what a weight it was to 
 
 raise. 
 
 Westward then through Breififny's borders, with his captive 
 
 and his dead, 
 Tracked by bands of fierce applauders, wives and shrieking 
 
 widows sped ; 
 And the chained heroic carcass on the fair green of Moy Slaught 
 Casting down, proclaimed his purpose, and bade Lee, the leech, 
 
 be brought. 
 
 Lee, the gentle-faced physician, from his herb-plot came and 
 
 said : 
 " Healing is with God's permission ; health for life's enjoyment 
 
 made; 
 And though I mine aid refuse not, yet, to speak my purpcse 
 
 plain, 
 I the healing art abuse not, making life enure to pain. 
 
 "But assure me, with the sanction of the mightiest oath ye know, 
 That in case, in this contention, Conall overcome his foe. 
 Straight departing from the tourney by what path the chief shall 
 
 choose. 
 He is free to take his journey, unmolested, to the Fews. 
 
 " Swear me further, while at healing in my charge the hero lies, 
 None shall through my fences stealing, work him mischief or 
 
 surprise ; 
 And if God the undertaking but approve, in six months' spar 
 Once again my art shall make him meet to stand before a man.*'
 
 THE HEROIC PERIOD. 93 
 
 Crom their God they then attested, Sun and Wind for guarantees, 
 Conall Camach unmolested by what exit he might please, 
 If the victor, should have freedom to depart Connacia's bounds ; 
 Meantime, no man should intrude him, entering on the hospice 
 grounds. 
 
 Then the burthen huge receiving in his hospice-portal, Lee, 
 
 Stiffened limb by limb relieving with the iron fetter-key. 
 
 As a crumpled scroll unrolled him, groaning deep, till laid at 
 
 length, 
 Wondering gazers might behold him, what a tower he was of 
 
 strength. 
 
 Spake the sons to one another, day by day, of Bealcu — 
 " Get thee up and spy, my brother, what the leech and North- 
 man do." 
 " Lee at mixing of a potion : Conall yet in nowise dead, 
 As on reef of rock the ocean, tosses wildly on his bed." 
 
 " Spy again with cautious peeping : what of Lee and Conall 
 
 now ? " 
 " Conall lies profoundly sleeping : Lee beside with placid 
 
 brow." 
 " And to-day ? " — " To-day he's risen ; pallid as his swathing 
 
 sheet, 
 He has left his chamber's prison, and is walking on his feet." 
 
 "And to-day?" — "A ghastly figure, propped upon his spear he 
 
 goes." 
 " And to-day ? " — A languid vigour through his larger gesture 
 
 shows." 
 ''And to-day ?"—" The blood renewing, mantles all his clear 
 
 cheek through : 
 Would thy vow had room for rueing, rashly-valiant Bealcu ! "
 
 94 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 So with herb and healing balsam, ere the second month was past, 
 Life's increases, smooth and wholesome, circling through his 
 
 members vast, 
 As you've seen a sere oak burgeon under summer's showers 
 
 and dew, 
 Conall, under his chirurgeon, filled and flourished, spread and 
 
 grew. 
 
 " I can bear the sight no longer : I have watched him moon by 
 
 moon ; 
 Day by day the chief grows stronger, giant-strong he will be 
 
 soon. 
 Oh my sire, rash-valiant warrior ! but that oaths have built the 
 
 wall, 
 Soon these feet should leap the barrier, soon this hand thy fate 
 
 forestall." 
 
 •' Brother, have the wish thou'st uttered : we have sworn, so let 
 
 it be ; 
 But although our feet be fettered, all the air is left us free. 
 Dying Keth with vengeful presage did bequeath thee sling and 
 
 ball. 
 And the sling may send its message where thy vagrant glances 
 
 fall. 
 
 " Forbaid was a master-slinger ; Maev when in her bath she 
 
 sank. 
 Felt the presence of his finger from the further Shannon bank ; 
 For he threw by line and measure, practising a constant cast 
 Daily in secluded leisure, till he reached the mark at last. 
 
 " Keth achieved a warrior's honour, though 'twas 'mid a 
 
 woman's band, 
 When he smote the amorous Conor bowing from his distant stand. 
 Fit occasion will not fail ye: in the leech's lawn below, 
 Conall at the fountain daily drinks within an easy throw."
 
 THE HEROIC p5;riod. 95 
 
 " Wherefore cast ye at the apple, sons of mine, with measured 
 
 aim ? " 
 " He who in the close would grapple, first the distant foe should 
 
 maim; 
 And since Keth, his death-balls casting, rides no more the ridge 
 
 of war, 
 We, against our summer hosting, train us for his vacant car." 
 
 Wherefore to the rock repairing, gaze ye forth, my children, 
 
 tell?" 
 " 'Tis a stag we watch for snaring, that frequents the leech's 
 
 well." 
 " I will see this stag, though, truly, small may be my eyes' 
 
 delight." 
 And he climbed the rock where fully lay the lawn exposed to 
 
 sight. 
 
 Conall to the green well-margin came at dawn and knelt to drink, 
 Thinking how a noble virgin by a like green fountain's brink, 
 Heard his own pure vows one morning, far away and long ago ; 
 All his heart to home was turning, and his tears began to flow. 
 
 Clean forgetful of his prison, steep Dunseverick's windy tower, 
 Seemed to rise in present vision, and his own dear lady's 
 
 bower. 
 Round the sheltering knees they gather, little ones of tender 
 
 years, — 
 Tell us, mother, of our father — and she answers but with tears. 
 
 Twice the big drops plashed the fountain. Then he rose, and 
 
 turning round, 
 As across a breast of mountain sweeps a whirlwind, o'er the 
 
 ground 
 Raced in athlete feats amazing, swung the war-mace, hurled the 
 
 spear : 
 Bealcu, in wonder gazing, felt the pangs of deadly fear.
 
 96 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 Had it been a fabled griffin, suppled in a fasting den, 
 
 Flashed its wheeling coils to Heaven, o'er a wreck of beasts and 
 
 men, 
 Hardly had the dreadful prospect bred his soul more dire 
 
 alarms ; 
 Such the fire of Conall's aspect, such the stridor of his arms. 
 
 " This is fear," he said, " that never shook these limbs of mine 
 
 till now. 
 Now I idly mourn that ever I indulged the boastful vow. 
 Yet 'twas righteous wrath impelled me ; and a sense of manly 
 
 shame 
 From his naked throat withheld me, when 'twas offered to my 
 
 aim. 
 
 " Now I see his strength excelling: whence he buys it: what 
 
 he pays. 
 'Tis a God who has his dwelling in he fount, to whom he 
 
 prays. 
 Thither comes he weeping, drooping, till the well-God hears his 
 
 prayer. 
 Thence departs he, soaring, swooping, as an eagle through the 
 
 air. 
 
 " Oh thou God, by whatsoever sounds of awe thy name we 
 
 know, 
 Grant thy servant equal favour with the stranger and the foe ! 
 Equal grace, 'tis all I covet ; and if sacrificial blood 
 Win thy favour, thou shalt have it on thy very well-brink, God ! 
 
 ** What and though I've given pledges not to cross the leech's 
 
 court ? 
 Not to pass his sheltering hedges, meant I, to his patient's 
 
 .hurt. 
 Thy dishonour meant I never : never meant I to forswear 
 Right divine of prayer wherever Power divine invites to prayer.
 
 THE HEROIC PERIOD. 97 
 
 " Sun that warm'st me, Wind that fann'st me, ye that guarantee 
 
 the oath, 
 Make no sign of wrath against me: tenderly ye touch me both ; 
 Yea then, through his fences stealing ere to-morrow's sun shall 
 
 rise, 
 Well-God ! on thy margin kneeling I will offer sacrifice." 
 
 " Brother, rise, the skies are ruddy : if we yet would save our 
 
 sire, 
 Rests a deed courageous, bloody, wondering ages shall admire : 
 Hie thee to the spy-rock's summit : ready there thou'lt find the 
 
 sling. 
 Ready there the leaden plummet ; and at dawn he seeks the 
 
 spring." 
 
 Ruddy dawn had changed to amber : radiant as the yellow 
 
 day 
 Conall, issuing from his chamber, to the fountain took his way: 
 There, athwart the welling water, like a fallen pillar, spread, 
 Smitten by the bolt of slaughter, lay Connacia's champion, 
 
 dead. 
 
 Call the hosts ! convene the judges ! cite the dead man's chil- 
 dren both ! — 
 
 — Said the judges, " He gave pledges ; Sun and Wind ; and 
 broke the oath, 
 
 And they slew him : so we've written : let his sons attend our 
 words." — 
 
 " Both, by sudden frenzy smitten, fell at sunrise on their 
 swords." 
 
 Then the judges — " Ye who punish man's prevaricating vow, 
 Needs not further to admonish : contrite to your will we bow. 
 All our points of promise keeping : safely let the chief go 
 
 forth." 
 Conall to his chariot leaping, turned his coursers to the North : 
 
 H
 
 98 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 In the Sun that swept the valleys, in the Winds' encircling 
 
 flight, 
 Recognising holy allies, guardians of the Truth and Right ; 
 While, before his face, resplendant with a firm faith's candid 
 
 ray, 
 Dazzled troops of foes attendant, bowed before him on his way. 
 
 But the calm physician, viewing where the white neck joined 
 
 the ear, 
 Said, *' It is a slinger's doing : Sun nor Wind was actor here. 
 Yet till God vouchsafe more certain knowledge of his sovereign 
 
 will, 
 Better deem the mystic curtain hides their wonted demon's 
 
 still. 
 
 " Better so, perchance, than living in a clearer light like me, 
 But believing where perceiving, bound in what I hear and see , 
 Force and change in constant sequence, changing atoms, 
 
 changeless laws ; 
 Only in submissive patience, waiting access to the Cause. 
 
 " And, they say. Centurion Altus, when he to Emania came 
 And to Rome's subjection called us, urging Cesar's tribute 
 
 claim, 
 Told that half the world barbarian thrills already with the faith 
 Taught them by the god-like Syrian Caesar lately put to death. 
 
 "And the sun, through starry stages measuring from the Ram 
 
 and Bull, 
 Tells us of renewing ages, and that Nature's time is full : 
 So, perchance, these silly breezes even now may swell the sail 
 Brings the leavening word of Jesus westward also to the 
 
 Gael." * 
 
 * From Lays of the Western Gael, by Sir S. Ferguson.
 
 THE HEROIC PERIOD. 99 
 
 Conall died in exile. He had received a hospitable welcome 
 at the court of Cruachan, but had slain Ailill by a cast of his 
 spear, at the instigation of Maev, who was jealous of her 
 husband. Conall fled, but v/as pursued and killed by 
 the " Three Red-Heads," who were in the service of the 
 king. Fergus MacRoy had previously faUen a victim 
 to the not unmerited suspicions of Ailill, as iradition tells 
 that Maev had borne to the aged hero three sons at a birth, 
 from one of whom (Ciar) the county of Kerry derives its 
 name. The occasion on which this access of jealous 
 hate occurred was when Fergus was swimming in Loch Ein, 
 in Roscommon, a lake not far from the royal residence at 
 Rath Cruachan. Maev was seized with a fancy to contend 
 with him in swimming, which so enraged x\ili!l that he 
 commanded one of his kirismen to cast his javelin at Fergus. 
 Maev also met her death in the water, though not on this 
 occasion. She had removed during her widowhood to the 
 island of Inis-Clothran, in Loch Ree. Here she continued 
 her natatory habits. Forbaid, son of Conor, learned that it 
 was her custom to bathe daily at a spring on the coast of 
 the island. He had the distance measured between this 
 spot and the opposite shore of Loch Ree. Returning to 
 Ulster, he set up as a mark at the ascertained distance, an 
 apple on a stake, and practised daily, till he could truly and 
 certainly hit it from a sling. Thus, habituated to cast 
 unerringly at that exact distance, he repaired to the eastern 
 «hore of Loch Ree, watched his opportunity, and aimed a 
 stone from his sling, which struck Maev on the forehead . 
 and so died this Amazonian queen, having survived all her 
 contemporaries, and reigned over Connaught for a period, 
 it is said, of eighty years.
 
 lOO THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 During the Heroic Period the chief interest centres — not 
 in the line of sovereigns but in the provincial kings of 
 Ulster and.Connaught — Fergus MacRoy and Conor Mac 
 Nessa ruling the northern province, from Emania, near 
 Armagh, and Maev, of Cruachan, and her husband, AiUU, 
 ruling Connaught. 
 
 The following table gives the succession of the supreme 
 monarchs, with the line of their descent and date of reign, 
 according to O'Flaherty : — 
 
 TABLE OF THE KINGS OF IRELAND DURING THE HEROIC 
 PERIOD. 
 
 Macha, Queen, of the line of Ir ... 
 
 Rechtaid ,, Eber 
 
 Ugaine Mor ,, Eremon 
 
 Leary Lore ,, Eremon 
 
 Cova Gael ,, Eremon 
 
 Lavra Loingsech ,, Eremon 
 
 Melgi Molbthach ,, Eremon 
 
 Magh Corb ,, Eber • 
 
 ALngus OUamh ,, Eremon 
 
 laraun Gleofathach ,, Eremon 
 
 Fer Corb ,, Eber 
 
 Connla ,, Eremon 
 
 Olild Cas-fiachlach ,, Eremon 
 
 Adamar ,, Eber 
 
 Eochaid Folt Leathan ,, Eremon 
 
 Fergus Forthamhail ,, Eremon 
 
 Angus Tuismach ,, Eremon 
 
 Conall ,, Eremon 
 
 Niadh ,, Eber 
 
 Enna Aighnech ,, Eremon 
 
 Crimthan ,, Eremon 
 
 Rudraide ,, Ir ... 
 
 B.C. 347 
 340 
 
 331 
 301 
 285 
 268 
 
 254 
 242 
 
 236 
 229 
 223 
 216 
 212 
 187 
 182 
 
 175 
 163 
 
 131 
 126 
 1x6 
 109 
 105
 
 THE ATACOTTIC PERIOD. 
 
 Innadmar of the line of Eber 
 
 Bresel 
 
 Ir ... 
 
 Lugaid ,, 
 
 Eber 
 
 Congal Claringech ,, 
 
 Ir ... 
 
 Duach Dalta-Degaid ,, 
 
 Eber 
 
 Factna Fathach ,, 
 
 Ir ... 
 
 Eochaid Feidlech ,, 
 
 Eremon 
 
 Eochaid Aram ,, 
 
 Eremon 
 
 Edersgel ,, 
 
 Eremon 
 
 Conari Mor ,, 
 
 Eremon 
 
 BC. 88 
 
 85 
 76 
 61 
 58 
 51 
 27 
 15 
 5 
 
 A.D. I 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE ATACOTTIC PERIOD. 
 FROM CONARI MOR A.D. I, TO CORMAC MAC ART, 254. 
 
 Reign of Conari Mor — He banishes the sons of Donn Dessa — Their 
 attack on the king and his nobles attheBruMn Da Dei-ga — Death 
 of Conari — Reign of Crimthan — Revolt of the Atacotti (Aitheack 
 Ttiathd), and massacre of the nobles — Usurpation of Garbri Cat- 
 head — Resignation of the crown by his son Morann to the exiled 
 legitimate heir — Restoration of the noble caste in the person of 
 Feredach — Second expulsion of the nobles — Second restoration in 
 the person of Tuathal the Acceptable — Crime of Eochaid, King of 
 Leinster, against Tuathal's daughters, leading to the imposition 
 of the Boarian tribute, or Boru of Leinster— Rise of the Northern and 
 Southern Dynasties— Con Hundred-Battle and Moh Nuad divide 
 the island— Lea Con and Lea Moha— Battle of Moy Lena— Chival- 
 rous trait of Coll MacMorna— Ollioll Olum sovereign of Lea Moha — 
 His descendants — The dream of Eatach— Battle of Moy Mucrive — 
 Lugaid Laga and the three Ferguses— The Battle of Crinna— 
 The Clanna Morna— Chronological Table. 
 
 Conari Mor, whose accession is made to synchronize with 
 the birth of our Lord by the learned author of ''Ogygia,'"' 
 enjoyed a long and prosperous reign, and has the leputa-
 
 I02 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 tion of having been a ruler of impartiality and vigour. His 
 rigorous love of justice eventuated in his own destruction. 
 Amongst other turbulent nobles whom he condemned to 
 banishment were his own foster-brothers, the four sons of 
 Donn Uessa, a powerful prince of Leinster. The outlaws 
 took to piracy, and at length returned to their native shores 
 at the head of a predatory expedition. Landing near 
 Malahide, they marched towards Tara, laying waste the 
 country as they went. Conari, returning from a visitation of 
 Munster, had proceeded as far as Lusk, when, finding the 
 plain of Meath wrapped in flames, he turned back, and 
 made his way by Tallaght to the bruidin or Court of Da 
 Derga. This was one of the six great Houses of Hospitality, 
 or Common Halls, which then existed in Ireland. Here he 
 was welcomed and sheltered by his friend. Da Derga ; but 
 the hospitable house was attacked by the pirates, and, after 
 an unavailing resistance, sacked and plundered. Conari Mor 
 and his small retinue were put to the sword. The site where 
 the court of Da Derga stood, near the source of the river 
 Dodder, indicated in the name yet retained, Bohernabreena 
 — Bothar-na-Bruign'e — or the Road of the Court. 
 
 The story of this king's death — with which the super- 
 natural is largely mingled — has been finely rendered in the 
 poem which bears his name, from which we give a few 
 extracts. 
 
 " Full peace was Erin's under Conary, 
 Till — though his brethren by the tender tie 
 Of fosterage — Donn Dessa's lawless sons, 
 Fer-ger, Fer-gel, and vengeful Fergobar, 
 For crimes that justly had demanded death,
 
 THE ATACOTTIC PERIOD. I03 
 
 By judgment mild, he sent in banishment ; 
 Yet wrung his own fraternal heart the while. 
 Whose brothers, Ferragon and Lomna Druth, 
 Drawn by affection's ties, and thinking scorn 
 To stay behind while others led the way 
 To brave adventure, in their exile joined." 
 
 Joined with the pirate, Ingcel, the banished men landed 
 and ravaged Meath during the absence of Conary in the 
 south. On the king's return journey, he halted with his 
 chief warriors at the Bruidin Da Derga. 
 
 " While thus fared Conary, the pirates' scouts 
 Who watched the coast, put off to where the fleet 
 Stayed on the heaving ridges of the main, 
 Lay off Ben-Edar. Ingcel's galley reached 
 High on the prow they found him looking forth, 
 As from a crag o'erhanging grassy lands 
 Where home-bred cattle graze, the lion glares 
 A-hungered ; and, behind, as meaner beasts 
 That wait the lion's onset for their share, 
 Outlaw'd and reprobate of many a land. 
 The ravening crew." 
 
 The pirates make for land, and send in advance a spy, 
 who, on his return, describes the heroes in the Bruidin. 
 Among these are Conall Carnach. 
 
 " ' A single warrior on a separate bench 
 I saw. Methinks no nan was ever born 
 So stately built, so perfect of his limbs, 
 So hero-like as he. Fair-haired he is 
 And yellow-bearded, with an eye of blue. 
 He sits apart and wears a wistful look. 
 As if he missed some friend's companionship.'
 
 I04 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 Then Ferragon, not waiting question, cried, 
 ' Gods ! all the foremost, all the valiantest 
 Of Erin's champions, gathered in one place 
 For our destruction, are assembled here ! 
 That man is Conall Carnach ; and the friend 
 He looks for vainly with a wistful eye 
 Is great Cuchullin : he no more shall share 
 The upper bench with Conall ; since the tomb 
 Holds him, by hand of Conall well avenged. 
 The foremost this, the mightiest champion this 
 Left of the Red Branch, since Cuchullin's fall. 
 Look you, as thick as fragments are of ice 
 When one night's frost is crackled underfoot. 
 As thick as autumn leaves, as blades of grass, 
 Shall the lopp'd members and the cloven half-heads 
 Of them that hear me, be, by break of day. 
 Before Da Derga's doors, if this assault 
 Be given, while Conall Carnach waits within ! ' 
 
 ' Pity to slay that man,' said Lomna Druth, 
 ' That is the man who, matched at fords of Clane 
 With maimed Mesgedra, though no third was near, 
 Tied up his own right hand, to fight him fair. 
 A man both mild and valiant, frank and wise, 
 A friend of men of music and of song, 
 Loved of all women : were there only one 
 Such hero in the house, for that one's sake 
 Forego this slaughter ! ' " 
 
 Conary, the arch-king, is described as " of aspect mild, 
 benevolent, composed," and one who had brought prosperity 
 to the realm. 
 
 " ' Pity to slay this king,' said Lomna Druth ; 
 ' Since he has reigned there has not fallen a year 
 Of dearth, or plague, or murrain on the land; 
 The dew has never left the blade of grass 
 One day of Conary's time, before the noon ;
 
 THE ATACOTTIC PERIOD. 10$ 
 
 Nor harsh wind ruffled hair upon the side 
 Of grazing beast. Since he began his reign 
 From mid-spring to mid-autumn, cloud nor storm 
 Has dimmed the daily-shining, bounteous sun ; 
 But each good year has seen its harvests three 
 Of blade, of ear, of fruit, apple and nut. 
 Peace until now in all his realm has reigned, 
 And terror of just laws kept men secure. 
 
 But the pirate will not forego his vengeance. 
 
 " * No. I stand upon the oaths 
 Ye swore me ; I demand my spoil for spoil, 
 My blood for blood.' 
 
 ' We gave thee licence,' Lomna said,—' and I 
 
 Grieve that we gave it, yea, or took the like, — 
 
 To take a plunder, but we gave thee not 
 
 Licence to take the life, the soul itself 
 
 Of our whole nation, as you now would do. 
 
 For, slay our reverend sages of the law, 
 
 Slay him who puts the law they teach in act ; 
 
 Slay our sweet poets, and our sacred bards, 
 
 Who keep the continuity of time, 
 
 By fame perpetual of renowned deeds ; 
 
 Slay our experienced captains who prepare 
 
 The youth for martial manhood, and the charge 
 
 Of public freedom, as befits a state 
 
 Self-governed, self-sufficing, self-contained ; 
 
 Slay all that minister our loftier life, 
 
 Now by this evil chance assembled here, 
 
 You leave us but the carcass of a state, 
 
 A rabble ripe to rot, and yield the land, 
 
 To foreign masters and perpetual shame.' " 
 
 * From " Conary," Poems by Sir S. Ferguson.
 
 I06 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 The onset is made ; the defenders of the Bruidin sally 
 forth in their might, but are foiled and baffled by enchant- 
 ments, and the wiles of supernatural beings. King Conary 
 is slain. 
 
 An interregnum of five years ensued on the death of 
 Conari. It is worthy of remark that this, and one other, are 
 the only periods during which the native annalists admit the 
 throne to have been vacant, during so many successions. 
 Lugaid "of the red bands," and Crimthan, surnamed 
 " Nuaid-Nair," next assumed the sovereignty. Unpleasing 
 stories are told in explanation of those names. Crimthan is 
 said to have been the reigning king, when our Saviour 
 Christ was born. 
 
 Some " delightful adventures " which befel him while on 
 a foreign expedition, are recounted in a poem ascribed to 
 King Crimthan himself. He was brought by a "fairy" 
 lady into her palace. She bestowed on him a gilt chariot, 
 a golden chessboard inlaid with transparent gems, a cloak 
 of divers colours embroidered in gold, a sword ornamented 
 with serpents, a shield embossed with silver, and various 
 other treasures which Crimthan brought home with him to 
 his fort of Dun Criffan, on the Hill of Howth. The dun 
 was probably situated on that part of the peninsula where 
 the Bailey lighthouse now stands. He also brought with 
 him the fairy, Nair, whom he made his queen. He only 
 lived for a few weeks after his return from his "fortunate" 
 expedition, having been killed by a fall from his horse. 
 
 About the middle of this, the first century of the Christian 
 era, the Patrician tribes of the Saer Gael, becoming more 
 and more oppressive in their exactions, provoked a serious
 
 THE ATACOTTIC PERIOD. I07 
 
 revolt of the poorer Milesians, as well as of the plebeian 
 remnants of the conquered races. The dominant Scoti 
 treated these classes as serfs, or villeins. They called them- 
 selves the " Saer-Clanna " or, Free Tribes, and designated 
 the others as the " Daer-Clanna," or Base Tribes, and also 
 as the Aitheach-Tuatha, or, Atacotts. By some Aitheach is 
 understood to mean the rent-paying tillers of the soil ; but, 
 whatever its derivation, it served, in that age to designate a 
 class who lived in a state of oppression, and whose discon- 
 tents at home led them to seek military service abroad. 
 The Romans were acquainted with the name, and recruited 
 their legions from these Atacotti. Under the leadership of 
 Carbri Kin-Cait, they succeeded for a time in not only over- 
 throwing the reigning Scotic dynasty, but in setting up a 
 monarchy of their own. Such revolts are recorded in the 
 early history of most nations, and a common feature of 
 legendary histories respecting them, is the device of the 
 enslaved population to invite tlaeir masters to a banquet, and 
 there slay them. Such also is the story of the Irish Aitheach 
 Tiiaiha. 
 
 They invited the monarch, the provincial kings, and 
 great chiefs of the nation to a feast at a place in Connaught, 
 since called Magh Cru, or the Bloody Plain. For three 
 years they had stored up of their produce, the materials for 
 this lavish entertainment. When the guests were enjoying 
 the banquet and the music of the harp, the plot was con- 
 summated by the entrance of armed men, who massacred 
 them. Three ladies only escaped, says the legend, wives 
 of the provincial kings, Baini, daughter of the King of 
 Alba (Scotland), Cruiii, daughter of the King of Wales, and
 
 I08 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 Aini, daughter of the King of Britain. These queens sought 
 refuge at their fathers' courts, and became the mothers ot 
 Feredach, Corb Olum, and Tibradi Tirech ; and thus the 
 Massacre of the Atacotti failed in its object, and represen- 
 tatives of the slaughtered kings were born to inherit the 
 rights of their fathers. The power of the Scoti being over- 
 thrown, the plebeians elected Carbri to be their monarch. 
 
 Carbri who probably received his name of Kin-Cait, from 
 being head of the Catredii, a tribe of the Firbolg, reigned for 
 five years and died a natural death. His ancestors are said 
 to be of Norse extraction and to have come into Ireland with 
 Lavra Loingsech. 
 
 On Carbri's death the throne was offered to his son 
 Morann. But Morann, who is represented as a man of great 
 wisdom and justice, declined the succession, and counselled 
 that the infant heirs of the former dynasty should be recalled 
 from exile. If we are to credit the story told by our writers 
 to account for the acceptance of this advice by the Aitheach 
 Tuatha, we must ascribe it to the signs of heavenly displea- 
 sure which showed themselves during Carbri's usurpation. 
 
 " Evil was the state of Ireland during his reign ; fruitless 
 her corn, for there used to be but one grain on the stalk : 
 Ashless her rivers : milkless her cattle : plentiless her fruit, 
 for there used to be but one acorn on the oak." 
 
 The recall took place : and Morann being constituted 
 guardian and adviser of the infant Feredach, so trained the 
 young prince by precept and example that Feredach attained 
 to the distinction of being called " The Just." Morann is 
 feigned to have had a chain which, when placed round the 
 neck of a guilty person, suffocated him, while it expanded
 
 THE ATACOTTIC PERIOD. I09 
 
 when placed on an innocent man. In another version of 
 this myth, the collar pinched the throat of the unjust judge, 
 and sat easily on him while his judgments were righteous. 
 The " Collar of Morann " is often alluded to in Irish song 
 and fiction. 
 
 To Feredach succeeded Fiathach Finn, an Eremonian 
 prince from whom the Dal-Fiathach of Ulster trace their 
 descent. He was followed by Fiacha Finnladh, the victim of 
 a second revolt, in which the disaffected classes had the aid of 
 the provincial kings. Fiacha was slain, and his son Teuthal 
 driven to take refuge in Scotland. Elim, previously the pro- 
 vincial king of Ulster, assumed the monarchy and held it 
 amid much turbulence and discontent, until Teuthal 
 having attained the age of manhood, and procured the means 
 of fitting out an expedition, returned from Scotland on the 
 invitation of his adherents, a.d. 130. 
 
 Then ensued a series of sanguinary battles extending over 
 the whole of Ireland between Teuthal and the Aitheach 
 Tuatha. From the names of the tribes and leaders subdued 
 by Teuthal in this great war of the Irish Restoration, we are 
 enabled to judge how great were the numbers of the Firbolg 
 and other servile classes then remaining in the country. 
 Teuthal, victorious over these enemies, resumed the sove- 
 reignty under the flattering title of Techtmar, or " The 
 Acceptable." 
 
 The nobles of the Gael flocked to Tara, and there 
 swore, according to the oath exacted in former days by 
 Ugaine IMor, that the sovereignty of Ireland should belong 
 to him and to his posterity for ever. To this king is ascribed 
 the erection of Meath into a territory, to be the peculiar
 
 no THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 possession of the reigning monarch. Tlacta, Uisnech, Talti, 
 and Temhair, or Tara, were the capital places of the king- 
 dom of Meath. The first-named place was the seat of their 
 worship; at the second a great annual fair was held; at Talti 
 a fair was held, where marriage alliances were contracted ; 
 while at Tara, law, history and genealogies were preserved. 
 The " Psalter of Tara" is alleged to have been an historic 
 register kept there even at this early period. 
 
 Teuthal had a daughter Darinni, who had been wedded 
 by Eochaid, king of Leinster. On a subsequent visit to 
 Tara, Eochaid applied for the hand of her sister, Fithir, stat- 
 ing that Darinni, whom he kept concealed and imprisoned, 
 was dead. His suit was granted. When he returued to 
 Leinster with his bride, Fithir discovered that her sister was 
 living, and died of shame, while the deserted first wife of the 
 faithless Eochaid died of grief. Teuthal marched into 
 Leinster to avenge the wrongs of his daughters and the perfidy 
 of Eochaid. The Lagenians, unable to cope with the forces 
 of the Ard Righ, submitted to a heavy fine, which was ex- 
 acted every second year, and was called the Boromean 
 Tribute, probably from Bo, a cow, as the tribute was paid by 
 the Leinstermen in kine. The Boromean Tribute afterwards 
 became a fruitful source of conflict, the Lagenians resisting 
 its levy whenever they found themselves strong enough to 
 contend with any chance of success, and submitting only 
 when they were powerless to resist. It continued to be 
 levied down to the end of the seventh century, when the then 
 King Finnachta the Festive, remitted it at the solicitation of 
 St. Moling, but it was reimposed in the eleventh century by 
 the great Brian, as a punishment for the aid aftorded to the
 
 THE ATACOTTIC PERIOD. Ill 
 
 Danes by the Leinstermen. Brian was thence called Boru, 
 a name which he has made synonymous with glory and lire- 
 eminence in the Irish annals. 
 
 Teuthal Techtmar fell in battle, after a prosperous reign 
 of thirty years. He was slain and succeeded by Mai, a 
 descendant of Conall Carnach. The sovereignty of Ireland 
 remained in this prince of the Irian line for four years only, 
 when the race of Eremon re-asserted its supremacy in the 
 person of Felemy Rectmar, son of Teuthal; and, in the person 
 of his son, Con of the Hundred Battles, attained a permanent 
 pre-eminence. 
 
 Felemy Rectmar is the root of several great stocks in Irish 
 family history. Ke left three sons. Con succeeded him as 
 Ard Righ, or supreme monarch. Eochaid Finn settled in 
 Leinster, and received in fosterage Laeisech, a great-grand- 
 son of Conall Carnach, whom he educated. This young 
 prince inherited the martial prowess of his great ancestor, 
 and ably commanded the united armies of his foster-father 
 and of Cu Corb, the Leinster king, in a campaign against the 
 Munstermen, who were at this time expelled from the territory 
 of Leinster. The grateful king bestowed on his allies some 
 of the re-possessed districts : Eochaid Finn got a grant of the 
 Seven Fotharts of I^einster, to him and his posterity for ever. 
 The families of O'Nolan, and O'Lorcain, now Larkin, are 
 his representatives. Laeisech received, as his guerdon, that 
 part of the Queen's County which was named, from him, the 
 territory of Leix. The sept thus established took at a later 
 period the name of O'More, from Mordha "the Majestic," 
 the twenty-eighth in descent from Conall Carnach. Many 
 other privileges were bestowed by Cu Corb, in reward for the
 
 112 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 services rendered him by Laeisech. He covenanted, for 
 himself and his successors, that of every ox or swine 
 slaughtered by the king of Leinster for his own use, the back 
 and the ham should be given as " curadh-mir," or champion's 
 portion, to the chieftain of Leix, who was also entitled to be 
 one of his council, and distributor of his gifts and presents. 
 He had the privilege of leading the van of the Leinster army 
 when entering an enemy's country, and to hold in battle the 
 " bearna baeghail," * or gap of danger. He paid no tribute, 
 with the exception of seven oxen, to be sent to the hunting- 
 booth of the sovereign ; but he was bound to maintain at his 
 own cost forty warriors, always ready for the service of the 
 King of Leinster, who on his part kept in his pa)'', and in 
 constant attendance on his person, seven followers of the 
 chieftain of Leix. 
 
 The third son of Felemy Rectmar, Fiachna Sraftine, was 
 settled in the Desi of Tara, now the Barony of Deece, in the 
 county of Meath. His sons were afterwards exiled in con- 
 sequence of one of them, ^Engus, having killed his kinsman, 
 Kellach, son of King Cormac, by a cast of a spear, in the 
 presence of the monarch himself, whose eye was also trans- 
 fixed by the weapon of the angry ^ngus, hence called 
 " Dreadspear." Angus's safe-conduct had been violated by 
 Kellach, on whom he thus avenged his wrongs. Cormac 
 MacArt banished this family from Meath. The Desi settled 
 in Waterford, where their name is still perpetuated. Another 
 founder of great familes was Felemy's immediate successor 
 Caher Mor. He has left his chief impress in Leinster where 
 
 * Pronounced Barna Bayal.
 
 THE ATACOTTIC PERIOD. II3 
 
 the territory of Offaly preserves the name of his son Rossa 
 Falgi. His will, however apocryphal as a historic document, 
 shows what were the objects of wealth held most in esteem 
 in the second century, flocks and herds, arms, chess-tables, 
 and ships of burthen. 
 
 The eldest son of Felemy Rectmar, was Con of the 
 Hundred Battles, who commenced his reign a.d. 177. This 
 monarch found a formidable antagonist in Moh Nuad, or 
 Owen Mor, a prince of the line of Eber. The great Owen 
 had passed much of his youth in exile. While in Spain he is 
 said to have married Momera, a princess of that nation, and 
 in the wars he had to wage for his patrimony, is stated to have 
 received valuable assistance from his continental allies. He 
 defeated Con in several pitched battles, and forced him to 
 yield the southern half of the isle. The Esker Riada, a chain 
 of low hills extending from Dublin to Galway, was the division 
 between the northern Lea-Con (Con's half) and the southern 
 Lea-Moha, or Moh Nuad's half. With the single exception 
 of his successor, the posterity of Owen Mor ruled Munster 
 uninterruptedly for a thousand years, while Con's descendants, 
 the great families of O'Neill and O'Donnell, held sway in 
 most parts of Ulster up to the " Plantation " of that province 
 in the seventeenth century. Owen's prudence saved his sub- 
 jects from suffering during a famine, the account of which, 
 however, seems to be framed on the Biblical model. It is 
 said to have lasted for seven years, and to have been fore- 
 told by a Druid. Owen, upon hearing of the prophesied 
 scarcity, made use of his fish and flesh-meat, while he bought 
 up, to the extent of his revenue, grain, which he preserved 
 in his granaries. Like Joseph also, he received the submission
 
 114 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 of those who, in the years of scarcity, repaired to him for 
 food. Owen the Great perished in the battle of Moy Lena, 
 or, according to some accounts, he was treacherously slain in 
 his bed on the eve of that engagement, in which Con of the 
 Hundred Battles was victorious. Con's forces were inferior 
 in numbers to those of his rival, Owen having a large Spanish 
 contingent, under the command, as it is said, of an Iberian 
 prince. The northern monarch determined on a night attack, 
 to which all his chiefs agreed, with the exception of GoU 
 MacMorna, the Firbolg chief of the militia of Connaught. 
 " On the day my arms were put into my hands," said the 
 gallant Goll, " I swore never to attack an enemy at night, by 
 surprise, or at any disadvantage. To this day I have adhered 
 to my promise, and will not break it now." The attack was 
 commenced without him, but, notwithstanding the advantage 
 of the surprise, the troops of Moh Nuad fought so well that 
 Con was nearly discomfited. The morning dawned, and 
 Goll, no longer bound by his vow, attacked the forces of Lea 
 Moha, and Owen Mdr himself and his Spanish ally fell under 
 the Atacottic sword. The soldiers of Goll raised the body 
 of Owen on their shields, and exposed it in triumph to the 
 armies. The noble Goll interposed : — " Lay down the body 
 of the King of Munster," he said, " for he died the death of 
 a hero." 
 
 The long and prosperous reign of Con was terminated at 
 last by treachery. Tibradi Tirech assassinated him while the 
 old king, who had entered his hundredth year, was preparing 
 to hold the Feis of Tara. 
 
 Conari the Second, son-in-law to Con, whose daughter Sara 
 he had married, succeeded him. This prince was father of
 
 THE ATACOTTIC PERIOD. II5 
 
 the three Carbris ; Carbri Muse, from whom are descended 
 the tribes of Muskerry ; Carbri Baiscin, the progenitor of noble 
 families in Clare ; and Carbri Riada, from whom come the 
 Dal Riadic tribes of the north of Antrim, and their colonies in 
 Scotland mentioned by the Venerable Bede. The settlement 
 first acquired by the Irish Gael or Scoti among the Picts of 
 North Britain, received the name oi Ah-er-Gaedhil, since cor- 
 rupted into Argyle, this western part of Scotland being the 
 seat of the Dalriad colony. The blood of this grandson of 
 Con of the Hundred Battles flows in the veins of her gracious 
 Majesty, Queen Victoria. 
 
 Soive, another daughter of Con of the Hundred Battles, 
 was twice married. By her first husband she had a son, Mac- 
 Con, and by the renowned OllioU Olum, son of Owen Mdr, 
 her second husband, she was the mother of three sons, pro- 
 genitors of great Munster families, who have contributed 
 illustrious names to Irish history, and are not without 
 distinguished representatives even at the present day. Owen 
 was the ancestor of the Eugenian line, to which belong the 
 MacCarthys, the O'Sullivans, O'Keeffes, and O'Callaghans, 
 with their kindred branches. Cormac Cas, the second son of 
 Ollioll Olum and Soive, had for his wife a daughter of the 
 celebrated poet, Oisin or Ossian, son of Finn MacCumhal. 
 From him come the great Dalcassian race represented by 
 the O'Briens, MacNamaras, O'Gradys, O'Quinns, and other 
 eminent native families of Clare and north Munster. 
 
 The representatives of Cian, third son of Ollioll Olum, 
 include, amongst others, the 0'Carrolls,0'Meaghers,0' Haras, 
 and O'Garas. Of the latter family came the illustrious patron 
 of the O'Clerys, whose compilation, known as the "Annals
 
 Il6 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 of the Four Masters," is dedicated to Fearghal O'Gara, chief 
 of Cuil O'Finn or Coolavin, in Sligo. "For every good 
 that will result from this book," wrote Michael O'Clery, in his- 
 dedication, " in giving light to all in general, it is to you, O- 
 noble Fearghal O'Gara, that thanks should be given ; and 
 there should exist no wonder or surprise, jealousy or envy at 
 [any] good that you do ; for you are of the race of Eber 
 MacMileadh, from whom descended thirty of the kings of 
 Ireland and sixty-one saints : and to Tadgh, son of Kian, 
 son of OllioU Olum, from whom eighteen of these saints are 
 sprung, you can be traced generation by generation." 
 
 Art the Solitary succeeded his brother-in-law Conari as 
 Ard Righ. He received his name, Aeinfer, or the Solitary, 
 as the only surviving son of Con of the Hundred Battles, all 
 his brothers having been assassinated. His wife was Maev : 
 from her is named Rath-Maev, near Tara. By a left-handed 
 marriage with a beautiful girl named Eatach, the daughter of 
 a smith, he became the father of Cormac MacArt, one of the 
 most illustrious of our early kings. The future fortunes of 
 Cormac were foreshadowed, according to the story, by a 
 remarkable dream which his mother had previous to his 
 birth. She dreamed that her head was severed from her 
 body, and that from her neck grew a goodly tree, which 
 overshadowed the land of Erin. This tree was prostrated 
 by a sea which overwhelmed it, but again from its roots 
 sprang another stately tree,' which was in its turn laid pro- 
 strate by a whirlwind from the west. 
 
 This vision was supposed to be fulfilled by the loss of her 
 headt her husband, King Art, who shortly after perished in 
 the battle of Moy Mucrive. The stately t?-ee which over-
 
 THE ATACOrnC PERIOD. II7 
 
 shadowed Erin symbolized her distinguished son, Cormac. 
 The destroying sea, that fish-bone by which this king was 
 choked. The tree which spratjg from its roots, Cormac's 
 illustrious son, Carbri Lificar, who again perished by the 
 whirlwind which shadowed forth his fate when contending 
 with the Fianna Eiri?in, or revolted Militia, at the momen- 
 tous battle of Gavra. 
 
 The battle of Moy Mucrive, in which Art perished, was 
 occasioned by the ambition of MacCon, son of Soive, 
 daughter of Con of the Hundred Battles, by her first 
 husband. MacCon was consequently step-son to OUioU 
 Olum, then King of Munster. This southern kingdom was 
 ruled alternately by representatives of the races of Eber and 
 Ith. When the former gave a king to Munster — at that 
 time in the person of OUioll Olum — the tribe of Ith, from 
 whom MacCon was descended, gave the Brehon, and 
 Tanist, or heir apparent. But this position did not satisfy 
 the ambition of MacCon. He was obliged, however, to fly 
 from home — the time being unpropitious for his schemes — 
 a,nd he was accompanied by Lugaid Laga, brother of 
 Ollioll, who was displeased at the friendship which existed 
 between that monarch and Art the Solitary ; for Art's 
 father. Con of the Hundred Battles, had caused the death 
 of OllioU's and Lugaid's father, Owen the Great. These 
 exiles, aided by foreign allies, returned to Ireland, and in 
 the pitched battle of Moy Mucrive, gained a signal victory. 
 Art Aeinfer himself fell by the hand of Lugaid Laga, and 
 seven of the sons of Ollioll Olum fell beneath the swords of 
 their half-brother's auxiliary troops. 
 
 MacCon, "son of the wolf-hound," for so his name
 
 IlS THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 signifies, — as he was reported to have been suckled by that 
 animal, — now ascended the throne. He made himself be- 
 loved by poets and men of learning, to whom he was lavish 
 in the distribution of gifts ; and met his death at a place in 
 Tipperary, whose name, Gort-an-oir — the field of gold — 
 records his munificence. He was transfixed by the javelin 
 of Fercheas, as he leant against a pillar stone, engaged in 
 his contributions to the poets and Ollaves. This treachery 
 was instigated by Cormac MacArt, but he did not at the 
 time reap any reward from the base act, as Fergus, a 
 relative of the murdered prince, surnamed " of the black 
 teeth," seized the crown, and, with his two brothers, also 
 called Fergus, caused the disqualification of Cormac, for 
 the time, by depriving him of his hair. The Ferguses 
 applied a lighted torch to the long tresses of Cormac at a 
 feast ; and no one having a personal blemish could reign 
 at Tara. 
 
 The injury was not irreparable. In due time the locks of 
 Cormac grew, and he sought to revenge himself on the three 
 Ferguses. The story told of the way he accomplished his 
 object is this — he desired to secure the services of the 
 greatest champion of the day, Lugaid Laga. This was 
 that son of Owen the Great who had embraced the cause of 
 MacCon, and had slain the father of Cormac, King Art, 
 with his own hand on the field of Moy Mucrive. Cormac 
 sought him out, and found Lugaid reposing in his hunting 
 booth. He pricked him with his spear. " Who wounds 
 me ? " cried the warrior. *' It is I, Cormac MacArt," re- 
 plied the king. " Thou hast good cause for wounding me, 
 for it was this hand that killed thy father, Art Aeinfer,'^
 
 THE ATACOTTIC PERIOD. II9 
 
 rejoined Lugaid. ** Award me an eric for that deed," said 
 Cormac. According to Brehon law, if the family of a 
 murdered man elected to accept a fine for the blood- 
 shedding, in lieu of claiming the life of the murderer, they 
 were at liberty to make the election ; and, under some cir- 
 cumstances not explained the law applied to Lugaid. *' I 
 claim a king's head on the battle-field," said Cormac ; — 
 " the head of my enemy, Fergus of the Black Teeth, who 
 opposes my accession to the throne of Ireland." 
 
 Lugaid Laga was compelled, by the custom of the times, 
 to comply with this demand of his enemy, Cormac. A 
 battle ensued, but Cormac took no part in the engagement. 
 With a few attendants he watched the conflict from a hill 
 overlooking the field of combat, and while there, exchanged 
 his royal robes with an attendant, whose garments he 
 assumed. His champion, Lugaid, forced to pay his eric, 
 sought out Fergus in the battle, conquered him, and 
 returned to Cormac — or rather the disguised attendant who 
 wore his robes — with the bloody trophy. " Is this the head 
 of Fergus of the Black Teeth," he exclaimed casting down 
 the bleeding head. " Nay, this is but his brother," said the 
 attendant, falsely. Lugaid again rushed into the battle, 
 sought out and killed a second Fergus, and brought his head 
 also on his spear to the king. *' This is not the head of the 
 King of Uladh," replied the disguised attendant, Lugaid 
 again sought the field, and bearing away the head of the 
 surviving Fergus, dashed it against the breast of the sup- 
 posed Cormac, so that he was killed by the blow. By this 
 stratagem Cormac disposed of his formidable foes, and the 
 Battle of Crinna — as this fight was called — paved the way 
 to his accession to the sovereignty of all Ireland.
 
 1 2b THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 Such are the tales with which our bards and seanechies 
 have sought to supply the blanks of our early history. With 
 this story of the battle of Crinna we close the period which 
 we have designated the Atacottic, on account as well of the 
 temporary supremacy of the " Unfree " Tribes, as of the 
 renewed influence which they had begun to exert under the 
 title of the Clanna Morna. 
 , The western Tribes have not been unsung in modern verse: 
 
 " Borne on her rattling car, 
 
 With thunder heard afar, 
 Macha, the warrior-goddess, rushes by ; 
 
 And that more awful form 
 
 That, save in battle storm, 
 Shows not its terror unto mortal eye, 
 
 Mor-Riga, round whose head the clouds 
 
 Of clustering demons cling as mist the mountain 
 shrouds. 
 ****** 
 
 Vanished long since the walls 
 
 Of Cruachan's famous halls ; 
 But fairer in men's thoughts again they rise, 
 
 Than when their haughty queen, 
 
 Meave, in the golden sheen 
 Of battle raiment to her warriors' eyes 
 
 Revealed her pale face beautiful. 
 
 And led the hosts to war for Quelney's deathless bull. 
 
 The torch of epic story 
 Returns with sudden glory, 
 Its blazing beacons on a hundred hills : 
 Far through Atlantic night 
 Its radiance streaming bright, 
 The vast waste water with a rapture thrills 
 
 More sweet thou cometh from the east, [ceased. 
 
 The beams that tell the western world that night has 
 * ■ • » * * *
 
 THE ATACOTTIC PERIOD. 121 
 
 Mother of heroes, hail ! 
 
 What tongue can tell the tale ; 
 What hand may paint that splendour of thy past ? 
 
 Dazzled, my spirit drinks 
 
 Light from the bowl, and sinks 
 In awe of rapture, and wonder at the vast 
 
 Host of the heroes and the kings, 
 
 That now to sudden life from theirold slumber springs. 
 
 Long for their absence sad 
 
 May the land now be glad 
 With all their presence, and the rivers flow 
 
 Clearer, and for their sake 
 
 The hills the azure take 
 Deeper at noontide ; and more richly glow 
 
 Those summits that look o'er the wave, 
 
 The westward sinking sun gilds for his nightly grave. 
 
 And may each fruitful field 
 
 A triple harvest yield, 
 Such as of old the bard exultant sings. 
 
 When strove the stalks in vain 
 
 To bear their weight of grain. 
 In the glad days of Erin's righteous kings. 
 
 May the like now sustain a race 
 
 Strong with the strong of old to take an equal place ! 
 
 Hero, and bard, and god, 
 
 Ye that of old have trod 
 This soil and made it sacred once again, 
 
 Welcome for evermore 
 
 To fountain, wood and shore. 
 To purple mountain and to emerald plain : 
 
 From north to south, from east to west, 
 
 Your glory make us great, your presence make us 
 blest." 
 
 From "The Return of the Gods," Glanhm and other Poems, by 
 William Lakmonie.
 
 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 TABLE OF THE KINGS OF IRELAND DURING THE ATACOTTIC 
 PERIOD. 
 
 Nuadath Necht of the 
 
 Conari M6r ,, 
 
 Lugaid ,, 
 
 Conor ,, 
 Crimthan Niodh-Nair 
 
 Carbri „ 
 
 Feridach „ 
 
 F.iatach ,, 
 
 Fiachaid „ 
 
 Elim „ 
 
 Teuthal Techtmar ,, 
 Mai 
 
 Felemy Rechtmar ,, 
 
 Catheir Mor ,, 
 
 Con Ced-Catha ,, 
 Conari the Second ,, 
 
 Art Aeinfer „ 
 
 Lugaid MacCon ,, 
 
 Fergus ,, 
 Cormac MacArt 
 
 line of Eremon 
 Eremon 
 (Interregnum.) 
 Eremon 
 Eremon 
 Eremon 
 Fer Bolgs 
 Eremon 
 Eremon 
 Eremon 
 Ir 
 
 Eremon 
 Ir 
 
 Eremon 
 Eremon 
 Eremon 
 Eremon 
 Eremon 
 Ith 
 
 Eremon 
 Eremon 
 
 7/^^ 
 
 A.D. 
 60 
 
 65 
 73 
 74 
 9a 
 
 95 
 116 
 119 
 126 
 130 
 160 
 164 
 174 
 177 
 212 
 220 
 250 
 253 
 254
 
 THE OSSIANIC PERIOD. 12J. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE OSSIANIC PERIOD. 
 
 FROM CORMAC MAC ART A.D. 254, TO NIALL OF THE NINE 
 HOSTAGES, 379. 
 
 Reign of Cormac MacArt — Erects the Hall of Tara, and keeps kingly 
 state there — Story of Cormac and Ethni —The Fianna, or Militia — 
 Finn MacCumhal— Story of Dermid and Grania — The death of 
 Dermid — Oisin — The Ossianic Poems — King Cormac's water-mill — 
 His retirement at Cletty — The burial of King Cormac — Reign of 
 Carbri Lificar, slain in the battle of Gavra — Reigns of his son 
 Fiachaid, and his grandson Muredach — Banishment of the Three 
 Collas — Their return, and failure to provoke King Muredach to 
 avenge his father's death — They destroy Emania — Descendants of 
 the three Collas — Crime, and disappointed ambition of Mongfinn — 
 Retrospect— Pictish origins — The sons of Umor, and the Firbolgs 
 in the West — Niall of the Nine Hostages — His expedition to Alba 
 (Scotland) — Chronological Table. 
 
 Notwithstanding the blemishes on the early career of 
 Cormac MacArt, his reign is one of the most glorious re- 
 corded in the Irish annals. He has the reputation of 
 having been a philosopher and an author. Many institutes 
 ascribed to him are to be found in the books of the Brehon 
 laws. He is there treated as the author of the Tegasg Righ, 
 or book of precepts for kings, alleged to have been after- 
 wards transcribed by his son, Carbri Lificar. In the great 
 Hall of Tara, erected by him, and of which the foundations 
 and fourteen doorways may still be traced, he kept up the 
 kingly state with a magnificence unknown before his time. 
 The splendours of the Hall of Tara have been celebrated 
 by the bards and described with much detail, and the wel- 
 come aid of iconographic plans by the antiquarians of the-
 
 124 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 twelfth and preceding centuries, and the remains still trace- 
 able on the spot testify to the substantial accuracy of these 
 accounts. Manners were still, however, primitive ; and the 
 story told of Cormac's courtship of his wife Ethni may be 
 cited as a proof that innocence and simplicity retained 
 their charms for the imagination, 
 
 Cormac was ranging unattended through an oak wood 
 in the vicinity of Cennanus, or Kells. To this spot had 
 retired Buiked, a Leinster exile, with his wife and foster- 
 child, Ethni. They lived in the closest retirement, for 
 Buiked had impoverished himself, in his Leinster home, by 
 his open-handed and unbounded generosity. The "cauldron 
 of hospitahty" was constantly on the fire, and all who 
 •entered his house were made welcome. At last he found 
 all his flocks and herds exhausted ; seven cows and a bull 
 representing his remaining wealth. With this slender provi- 
 sion he retired to the oak wood at Kells, and here, Ethni 
 tendered her foster-parents, performing for them all servile 
 offices which were needed, with cheerful alacrity. She was 
 engaged in milking the seven cows, when Cormac approach- 
 ed, unperceived, through the wood. The king paused to 
 contemplate the maiden. She had brought with her two 
 pails, into one of which she milked the first half-draught 
 from the cows, and then, taking the second pail, she com- 
 pleted her task. With these she returned to the hut of her 
 foster-parents, but speedily reappeared with two other pails 
 and a horn. She then directed her steps to a stream which 
 ran through the wood, and with the horn, she filled both 
 pails — one from the water which ran near the bank, the 
 ■other from the middle of the streamlet. These she con-
 
 THE OSSIANIC PERIOD. I25 
 
 veyed to the hut, and again appeared with a sickle in her 
 
 hand, and proceeded to cut green rushes, placing those 
 
 that were long on one side. While thus employed, and — 
 
 " Duteous, in the lowly vale, 
 
 Unconscious of the monarch's gaze, 
 
 She filled the fragrant pail ; 
 And, duteous from the running brook, 
 
 Drew water for the bath ; nor deem'd 
 A king did on her labour look. 
 And she a fairy seem'd— '' 
 
 love and admiration awoke in the breast of Cormac. He 
 approached, and asked of her for whom she had made that 
 selection of milk, and water, and rushes. " The person for 
 whom I have made it," she replied, " has a right to still 
 greater kindness from me if it were in my power to render it."^ 
 
 "Of what name is he ? " said Cormac. 
 
 "Buiked Brughard," she answered. 
 
 " Is not that the Leinsterman who was so famed for his 
 hospitality?" 
 
 " It is," replied the maid. 
 
 "Then art thou his foster-child Ethni, daughter of Dun- 
 laing," said the king. 
 
 " I am," replied Ethni. 
 
 " In a good hour," rejoined the king " for you shall be 
 my married wife." 
 
 "The disposal of me does not rest witli myself, but with 
 my foster-father," said the girl. 
 
 Cormac sought the hut of the impoverished Buiked, had 
 his consent to his marriage with Ethni, and bestowed on 
 his foster-father lands and gifts. 
 
 King Cormac had ten daughters. Two of them, Crania
 
 126 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 and Ailbe, played a memorable part in Irish story. Grania 
 was affianced by her father to Finn, son of Cumhal, the 
 great chief of the Fianna Eirinn, or Irish miUtia, the Finn 
 MacCool of Irish, and Fingal of Scottish tradition. This 
 military order, the Clanna Baisgne as they were sometimes 
 called, was instituted for the defence of the kingdom against 
 foreign foes. During the winter months this standing army 
 was quartered upon the people of the country. During the 
 summer, they lived by the chase, performing at all times the 
 duties demanded of them by the sovereign, putting down 
 public enemies, upholding justice, and preventing robberies. 
 It was no slight honour to be admitted into this brotherhood. 
 Every candidate had to give proof, not only of his military 
 skill, and personal activity, but also of intellectual gifts. 
 He should be a bard, and have mastered the twelve Books 
 of Poesy ; and four Gesa^ or sacred injunctions were laid 
 upon each person admitted into the Fianna. 
 
 The first injunction was, never to seek a portion with a 
 wife ; but to choose her for good manners and virtue. The 
 second, never to offer violence to a woman. The third, 
 never to give "a refusal to any mortal, for anything of which 
 one was possessed. The fourth was, that no single warrior 
 of the Fianna should flee before nine adversaries. 
 
 In addition to these vows of chivalry common to all the 
 members of the order, each warrior might assume some 
 particular gels, or obligation, by which he would be 
 individually bound. Their great commander, Finn, in 
 addition to his warlike accomplishments, is said to have 
 possessed the gifts of Healing, Poetry, and Second-sight, 
 which he won by his daring, from a fairy lady, into whose
 
 THE OSSTANIC PERIOD. 12/ 
 
 mansion he had well nigh entered, one hand having passed 
 her portals before she could close them against the intruder. 
 Finn, a hero, but no longer a young man, when he was 
 selected by King Cormac for his son-in-law, failed to find 
 favour in the eyes of the beautiful Grania. His lieutenant, 
 the " dark -haired Dermid, of bright face and white teeth," 
 reputedly the handsomest man of his time, and bound by 
 his peculiar obligation to the service of distressed damsels, 
 attracted the attention of Grania, who, at the marriage-feast 
 at which she was to be united to Finn, cast herself on his 
 protection, or, in the language of the romance, laid his 
 •'gesa" on Dermid, who was thus compelled, very 
 reluctantly, to elope with her. Grania gained the oppor- 
 tunity for her interview with Dermid, by drugging the wine, 
 with which, in compliance with the customs of the time, the 
 lady filled her richest drinking-cup. This was sent by her 
 to such guests as she desired to pledge. From this honour 
 she excluded Dermid, and when her drugs had taken effect, 
 she appealed to his gallantry and manliness, to save her 
 from the hated bridal by making her his wife. 
 
 When Cormac and Finn awoke from their sleep and 
 found that Dermid and Grania had fled, they pursued them 
 all over Erin. The lovers, aided by the sympathy of 
 friends, and their own good fortune, avoided, by many hair- 
 breadth escapes, a capture. Ignorant tradition has named 
 from them, those ancient monuments \»hich abound in our 
 country, and are popularly called Cromlechs, or Druids' 
 altars ; and, as the supposed resting-places of thj fugitive 
 lovers are called Lejba Diarmada agus Ghrainne, the Beds 
 of Dermid and Grania.
 
 128 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 King Cormac, thus thwarted in his desire to honour Finn, 
 consoled him by bestowing on him the hand of his daughter 
 Ailbe. Dermid, after many varying fortunes and pictur- 
 esque adventures, meets his death on the summit of the 
 mountain of Benbulben, in the county of Sligo, from the 
 tusks of a wild boar, Finn arriving on the scene just before 
 the death of his rival, gives occasion to a passage in the 
 Irish romance of more than ordinary beauty and pathos, on 
 which the following poem has been constructed. Dermid 
 notwithstanding the resemblance of his story to that of 
 Adonis, is not altogether a fabulous character. The clan 
 Campbell claim to be of " the race of Brown Dermid, who 
 slew the wild boar," which still figures as the cognizance of 
 ' tiie ducal house of Argyji. 
 
 The Death of Dermid. 
 
 Finn on the mountain found the mangled man, 
 
 The slain boar by him. " Dermid," said tJie king, 
 
 '• It likes me well at last to see thee thus. 
 
 This only grieves me, that the womankind 
 
 Of Erin arc not also looking on : 
 
 Such sight were wholesome for the wanton eyes 
 
 So oft enamour'd of that specious form : 
 
 Beauty to foulness, strength to weakness lurneJ." 
 
 dermid. 
 
 " Yet in tliy power, if only in thy will. 
 Lies it, oh Finn, even yet to heal me." 
 
 FINN. 
 
 " Hov ? "
 
 THE OSSIANIC PERIOD. 1 29 
 
 DERMID. 
 
 " Feign not the show of ignorance, nor deem 
 I know not of the virtues which thy hand 
 Drew from that fairy's half discover'd hall, 
 Who bore her silver tankard from the fount, 
 So closely foUow'd, that ere yet the door 
 Could close upon her steps, one arm was in ; 
 Wherewith, though seeing naught, yet touching all, 
 Thou grasped'st half the spiritual world ; 
 Withdrawing a heap'd handful of its gifts, — 
 Healing, and sight-prophetic, and the power 
 Divine of poesy : but healing most 
 Abides within its hollow : — virtue such 
 That but so much of water as might wet 
 These lips, in that hand brought, would make me whole. 
 Finn ! from the fountain fetch me in thy palms 
 A draught of water, and I yet shall live." 
 
 FINN. 
 
 " How at these hands canst thou demand thy life. 
 Who took'st my joy of life ? " 
 
 DERMID. 
 
 "She loved thee not : 
 Me she did love and doth ; and were she here 
 She would so plead with thee that, for her sake. 
 Thou wouldst forgive us both, and bid me live.'' 
 
 FINN, 
 
 " I was a man had spent my prime of years 
 In war and council, little bless'd with love ; 
 Though poesy was mine, and, in my hour, 
 The seer's burthen not desirable ; 
 And now at last had thought to have man's share 
 Of marriage blessings ; and the king supreme, 
 Cormac, had pledged his fairest daughter mine ; 
 
 K
 
 130 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 When thou, with those pernicious beauty-gifts, 
 The flashing white tusk there hath somewhat spoil'd, 
 Didst win her to desert her father's house, 
 And roam the wilds with thee." 
 
 DERMID. ^ 
 
 "It was herself, 
 Grania, the princess, put me in the bonds 
 Of holy chivalry to share her flight. 
 ' Behold,' she said, 'he is an aged man,' 
 (And so thou art, for years will come to all ;) 
 'And I, so young ; and at the Beltane games. 
 When Carbry Liffacher did play the men 
 Of Brea, I, unseen, saw thee snatch a hurl, 
 And thrice on Tara's champions win the goal ; 
 And gave thee love that day, and still will give.' 
 So she herself avow'd. Resolve me, Finn, 
 For thou art just, could youthful warrior, sworn 
 To maiden's service, have done else than I ? 
 No : hate me not — forgive me — give me drink." 
 
 FINN. 
 " I will not." 
 
 DERMID. 
 
 " Nay, but, Finn, thou hadst not said 
 ' I will not,' though I'd asked a greater boon. 
 That night we supp'd in Breendacoga's lodge. 
 Remember : we were faint and hunger-starved 
 From three days' flight ; and even as on the board 
 They placed the viands, and my hand went forth 
 To raise the wine-cup, thou, more quick of ear, 
 O'erheard'st the stealthy leaguer set without ; 
 And yet should'st eat or perish. Then 'twas I, 
 Fasting, that made the sally ; and 'twas I,
 
 THE OSSIANIC PERIOD. 131 
 
 Fasting, that made the circuit of the court ; 
 Three times I cours'd it, darkling, round and round ; 
 From whence returning, when I brought thee in 
 The three lopp'd heads of them that lurked without — 
 Thou hadst not then, refreshed and grateful, said 
 " I will not,' had I ask'd thee, ' Give me drink.' " 
 
 FINN. 
 "There springs no water on this summit bald." 
 
 DERMID. 
 
 "Nine paces from the spot thou standest on, 
 The well-eye— well thou knowest it — bubbles clear." 
 
 Abash'd, reluctant, to the bubbling well 
 Went Finn, and scoop'd the water in his palms ; 
 Wherewith returning, half-way, came the thought 
 Of Grania, and he let the water spill. 
 
 "Ah me," said Dermid, "hast thou then forgot 
 Thy warrior art, that oft, when helms were split 
 And buckler- bosses shattered by the spear, 
 Has satisfied the thirst of wounded men ? 
 Ah, Finn, these hands of thine were not so slack 
 That night, when, captured by the King of Thule, 
 Thou layest in bonds within the temple-gate 
 Waiting for morning, till the observant king 
 Should to his sun-god make thee sacrifice. 
 Close-pack'd thy fingers then, thong-drawn and squeezed. 
 The blood-drops oozing under every nail, 
 When, like a shadow, through the sleeping priests 
 Came I, and loos'd thee : and the hierophant 
 At day-dawn coming, on the altar-step. 
 Instead of victim straighten 'd to his knife, 
 Two warriors found, erect, for battle arm'd."
 
 132 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 Again abash'd, reluctant to the well 
 Went Finn, and scoop'd the water in his palms, 
 Wherewith returning, half-way, came the thought 
 That wrench'd him ; and the shaken water spili'd. 
 
 DERMID. 
 
 " False one, thou didst it purposely ! I swear 
 I saw thee, though mine eyes do fast grow dim. 
 Ah me, how much imperfect still is man I 
 Yet such were not the act of Him, whom once 
 On this same mountain, as we sat at eve — 
 Thou yet mayst see the knoll that was our couch, 
 A stone's throw from the spot where now I lie — 
 Thou showed'st me, shuddering, when the seer's fit. 
 Sudden and cold as hail, assaiFd thy soul 
 In vision of that Just One crucified 
 For all men's pardoning, which, once again. 
 Thou sawest, with Cormac, struck in Rossnaree." 
 
 Finn trembled ; and a third time to the well 
 Went straight, and scoop'd the water in his palms ; 
 Wherewith in haste half-way returne'd he saw 
 A smile on Dermid's face relax'd in death. '-^ 
 
 When Grania heard of the death of her husband, she uttered 
 *^ a. long, exceedingly piteous cry." — "And truly my very 
 heart is grieved," said Grania, " that I am not myself able to 
 fight with Finn, for were I so, I would not have suffered 
 him to leave this place in safety." She summoned her sons, 
 feasted them with mead, ale, and strong fermented drinks, 
 and when thus excited, urged them to avenge her wrongs : — 
 " Oh, dear children," said Grania, in a loud and bright clear 
 
 * From Lays o/t/i£ Western Gael, by Sir S. Ferg'JSON.
 
 THE OSSIANIC PERIOD. 133 
 
 voice, "your father hath been slain by Finn MacCumhal, 
 against his bonds and covenants of peace with him ; and 
 avenge ye that upon him well." Thus speaking she bestowed 
 on them their father's weapons, and dismissed them to learn 
 feats of arms, till they should be old enough to measure 
 swords with Finn. 
 
 When Finn heard of these projects for avenging the death 
 of Dermid, he summoned his Fians to concert measures for 
 repelling the meditated attack, but found his warriors un- 
 willing to aid him in a cause in which they deemed him 
 wholly in the wrong. In fact his ungenerous treatment of 
 Dermid had disgusted his friends, and among them even his 
 own son Oisin. " According as thou hast planted the tree, 
 so bend it thyself," replied Oisin, when refusing to bear out 
 his father in the course into which his jealous rage had led 
 him. Thus foiled, nothing was left to Finn but to appease 
 the anger of Grania. In the ancient Irish romance of the 
 Fursuit of Derviidand G)-ania, Finn is represented as endea- 
 vouring to overcome the enmity of the widowed Grania, 
 with crafty cunning and sweet words. Grania, in reply, like 
 the widow of young Plantagenet, assailed him with her keen, 
 very sharp-pointed tongue. "Was ever woman in this 
 humour wooed — was ever woman in this humour won?'' is 
 a query equally applicable to both. Grania yielded to the 
 persuasions of Finn, the suitor whose love she had formerly 
 rejected. She reconciled her sons to her new husband, and 
 it is recorded by the romance-writer that from thenceforth 
 Finn and Grania "stayed by one another till they died." 
 
 The heroic tales and legends connected with Finn and the 
 Fians would fill a volume : much of this material is now
 
 134 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 accessible to English readers, through the translations of the 
 Ossianic society. To Ossian, or Oisin, as his name appears 
 in Irish story, are ascribed most of the poetic remains 
 attaching themselves to this epoch. But this mighty bard's 
 name shelters many compositions of much later date. Con- 
 versations with St. Patrick, to whose days he is fabled to have 
 lived, form the subject of some of these poems. He appears 
 as a very incorrigible convert, his Pagan sentiments strongly 
 clinging to him. The fasts of the early saints were specially 
 repugnant to his nature, and he is represented as ever looking 
 back with regret, on the glorious days of his unregenerate 
 youth. 
 
 " Alas ! were I in stretigth and vigor, 
 As I was exultingly at the harbour of Finn-tragh. 
 I should not be deafened in the church of the bells, 
 And I would put a stop to their droning. 
 
 " Alas ! were I in lusty might, 
 As I was against Fatha Chonain, 
 With Finn and his hosts by my side 
 I should not be listening to these howls." 
 
 It was in these disrespectful terms that Oisin is supposed 
 to have designated the Psalmody of St. Patrick and his dis- 
 ciples. But after all — such is the force of genius — we con- 
 ceive of Oisin rather as the Ossian of MacPherson, or as in 
 that still grander idealization of him, and of our ancient story, 
 for which we are indebted to a modern poet.* 
 
 * T. D. McGee.
 
 THE OSSIANIC PERIOD. 135 
 
 Long, long ago, beyond the misty space 
 
 Of twice a thousand years ; 
 In Erin old there dwelt a mighty race, 
 
 Taller than Roman spears ; 
 Like oaks and towers they had a giant grace, 
 
 Were fleet as deers, 
 With winds and waves they made their 'biding place, 
 
 These western shepherd seers. 
 
 Their ocean-god was Mananan MacLir, 
 
 Whose angiy lips 
 In their white foam full often would inter 
 
 Whole fleets of ships : 
 Crom was their Day-god, and their Thunderer, 
 
 Made morning and eclipse ; 
 Bride was their queen of song, and unto her 
 
 They prayed with fire-touched lips. 
 
 Great were their deeds, their passions, and their sports • 
 
 With clay and stone 
 They piled on strath and shore those mystic forts, 
 
 Not yet o'erthrown ; 
 On cairn-crown'd hills they held their council- ccurts. 
 
 While youths alone 
 With giant dogs, explored the elk resorts, 
 
 And brought them down. 
 
 Of these was Fin, the father of the Bard, 
 
 Whose ancient song 
 Over the clamour of all change is heard. 
 
 Sweet voic'd and strong. 
 Fin once o'ertook Griann, the golden-haired, 
 
 The fleet and young ; 
 From her the lovely, and from him the fcai'd. 
 
 The primal poet sprung.
 
 136 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 Ossian ! two thousand years of mist and change 
 
 Surround thy name — 
 Thy Finian heroes now no longer range 
 
 The hills of fame. 
 The very name of Fin and GoU sound strange — 
 
 Yet thine the same 
 By miscalled lake and desecrated grange, 
 
 Remains, and shall remain ! 
 
 The Druid's altar and the Druid's creed 
 
 We scarce can trace ; 
 There is not left an undisputed deed 
 
 Of all your race, 
 Save your majestic song, which hath their speed 
 
 And strength, and grace ; 
 In that sole song, they live and love, and bleed ; 
 
 It bears them on through space. 
 
 Oh, inspir'd giant ! shall we e'er behold 
 
 In our own time 
 One fit to speak your spirit on the wold 
 
 Or seize your rhyme ? 
 One pupil of the past, as mighty soul'd 
 
 As in the prime. 
 Were the fond, fair, and beautiful and bold, 
 
 They of your song sublime ! 
 
 To king Cormac we are said to owe the first erection of a 
 water-mill in Ireland. Mithridates, king of Cappadocia, is 
 reputed to have been the inventor of mills, about seventy 
 years before the commencement of the Christian era. This 
 memorable invention was celebrated by a Syrian poet, whose 
 verses have been thus gracefully translated from the Greek : — 
 
 " Ye maids who toil'd so faithful at the mill. 
 
 Now cease fr jm work, and from those toils be still ;
 
 THE OSSTANIC PERIOD. I37 
 
 Sleep now till dawn, and let the birds with glee 
 
 Sing to the ruddy morn on bush and tree ; 
 
 For what your hands performed so long, so true, 
 
 Ceres had charged the water-nymphs to do : 
 
 They come, the limpid sisters, to her call, 
 
 And on the wheel with dashing fury fall, 
 
 Impel the axle with a whirling sound, 
 
 And make the massy mill-stone reel around, 
 
 And bring the floury heaps luxuriant to the ground." 
 
 Cormac is said to have brought over Pictish artisans from 
 Alba to erect his mill at Tara. He had become enamoured 
 of Carnait, a beautiful maiden of the Cruithni, who had been 
 carried off from Alba on some plundering expedition. Ethni, 
 the lawful wife of Cormac, treated Carnait with a severity 
 inspired by jealousy, and compelled the fair captive to grind, 
 with a quern, or hand-mill, nine pecks of corn each day. 
 Carnait, about to become a mother, was unable to perform 
 this domestic drudgery ; she complained to Cormac, and 
 probably informed him of the use of mills among her own 
 people in St;otland. He sent thither for skilled workmen. 
 To this day a mill — Lismullen— exists on the supposed site 
 of the ancient erection of Cormac MacArt, and the present 
 miller claims to be the representative of the Pictish mill- 
 wright, brought to Tara by that monarch, to relieve the 
 labours of the beautiful Carnait. 
 
 Cormac maintained unwonted state at Tara, and enacted 
 that for the future the monarch of Erin should keep in constant 
 attendance on his person, a prince of noble blood, a brehon, 
 a druid, a physician, a bard, an historian, a musician, and 
 three stewards. His banquets were on a scale of splendid
 
 138 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 hospitality. " Each king wore his kingly robe upon him, 
 and his golden helmet on his head, for they never put their 
 kingly diadems on but in the field of battle only. Magnifi- 
 cently did Corinac come to this great assembly. His hair 
 was slightly curled, and of golden colour ; a scarlet shield 
 with engraved devices, and golden hooks, and clasps of 
 silver ; a wide-folding purple cloak on him, with a gem-set 
 brooch over his breast ; a gold torque around his neck, a 
 white collared shirt, embroidered with gold, upon him ; a 
 girdle with golden buckles, and studded with precious stones, 
 around him; two golden network sandals with golden 
 buckles upon him ; two spears with golden sockets 
 and many red bronze rivets, in his hand, while he stood in 
 the full glow of beauty, without defect or blemish. The 
 world was full of all goodness in the time of Cormac, the 
 grandson of Con of the Hundred Battles : there were fruit 
 and fatness of the land, and abundant produce of the sea, 
 with peace and ease and happiness in his time." 
 
 But Cormac was forced to abdicate, and leave his royal 
 palace of Tara, for the comparative seclusion of his House 
 of Cletty, near the Boyne ; having lost his eye from the cast 
 of that spear hurled by his kinsman, ^ngus " Dread spear," 
 as we have already mentioned : " and it was not deemed by 
 the nobles of Ireland honourable or auspicious that any king 
 disfigured by a personal blemish should reign at Tara." It 
 v.'as in the retirement of this House of Cletty that King 
 Cormac is said to have composed his regal Institutes, the 
 Tegasg Righ ; and here after ages have been willing to 
 believe, abandoned the worship of idols, and refused to pay 
 homage to any but the one great Creator of Heaven and
 
 THE OSSIANIC PERIOD. I39 
 
 Earth. "For I," said Cormac, "will offer no adoration to 
 any stock or image, shaped by my own mechanic. It were 
 more rational to offer adoration to the mechanic himself, for 
 he is more worthy than the work of his hands." His death, 
 occasioned by the bone of a salmon, which stuck in his 
 throat, was ascribed by the Druids to the vengeance of their 
 God, Crom Cruach. Cormac directed that he should not 
 be buried at Brugh-na-Boinne, the resting-place of his Pagan 
 ancestors, but at Rossnaree, on the southern bank of the 
 Boyne, where he had first had his vision of the approaching 
 light of a purer religion. The struggle between the powers 
 of light and darkness for the possession of the dead king's 
 body, is the subject of a characteristic legend on which is 
 founded 
 
 The Burial of King Cormac. 
 
 " Crom Cruach and his sub-gods twelve," 
 Said Cormac, " are but carven treene : 
 
 The axe that made them, haft and helve, 
 Had worthier of our worship been. 
 
 " But He who made the tree to grow. 
 
 And hid in earth the iron-stone, 
 And made the man, with mind to know 
 
 The axe's use, is God alone." 
 
 Anon to priests of Crom was brought — 
 
 Where, girded in their service dread, 
 They ministered on red Moy Slaught — 
 
 Word of the words King Cormac said. 
 
 They loos'd their curse against the king ; 
 
 They cursed him in his flesh and bones ; 
 And daily in their mystic ring 
 
 They turned the maledictive stones,
 
 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 Till, where at meat the monarch sate, 
 
 Amid the revel and the wine, 
 He choked upon the food he ate, 
 
 At Sletty, southward of the Boyne. 
 
 High vaunted then the priestly throng 
 And far and wide they noised abroad 
 
 With trump and loud liturgic song 
 The praise of their avenging God. 
 
 But ere the voice was wholly spent 
 
 That priest and prince should still obey, 
 
 To awed attendants o'er him bent, 
 
 Great Cormac gathered breath to say— 
 
 " Spread not the beds of Brugh for me 
 When restless death-bed's use is done : 
 
 But bury me in Rossnaree, 
 And face me to the rising sun. 
 
 " For all the kings who lie in Brugh 
 Put trust in gods of wood and stone ; 
 
 And 'twas at Ross that first I knew 
 One, Unseen, who is God alone. 
 
 " His glory lightens from the east : 
 
 His message soon shall reach our shore ; 
 
 And idol-god, and cursing priest 
 
 Shall plague us from Moy Slaught no more.' 
 
 Dead Cormac on his bier they laid : — 
 "He reigned a king for forty years, 
 
 And shame it were," his captains said, 
 " He lay not with his royal peers. 
 
 " His grandsire, Hundred-Battle, sleeps 
 Serene in Brugh : and, all around, 
 
 Dead kings in stone sepulchral keeps 
 Protect the sacred burial-ground.
 
 THE OSSIANIC PERIOD. I4I 
 
 " What though a dying man should rave 
 
 Of changes o'er the eastern sea ? 
 In Brugh of Boyne shall be his grave 
 
 And not in noteless Rossnaree." 
 
 Then northward forth they bore the bier, 
 
 And down from Sletty side they drew, 
 With horseman and with charioteer 
 
 To cross the fords of Boyne to Brugh. 
 
 There came a breath of finer air 
 
 That touched the Boyne with ruffling wings ; 
 It stirred him in his sedgy lair 
 
 And in his mossy moorland springs : 
 
 And as the burial train came down 
 
 With dirge and savage dolorous she vs, 
 
 Across their pathway broad and brown, 
 The deep, full-hearted river rose ; 
 
 From bank to bank through all his fords, 
 
 'Neath blackening squalls he swelled and boiled ; 
 
 And thrice the wondering gentile lords 
 Essayed to cross, and thrice recoiled. 
 
 Then forth stepped four grim warriors hoar : 
 They said, " Through angrier floods than these 
 
 Our link'd shields bore him once before 
 From Dread-Spear and the hosts of Deece. 
 
 " And long as loyal will holds good, 
 And limbs respond with helpful thews. 
 
 Nor flood, nor fiend within the flood, 
 Shall bar him of his burial dues." 
 
 With slanted necks they stooped to lift ; 
 
 They heaved him up to neck and chin ; 
 And, pair and pair, with footsteps swift, 
 
 Locked arm and shoulder, bore him in.
 
 142 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 *Twas brave to see them leave the shore ; 
 
 To mark the deep'ning surges rise, 
 And fall subdued in foam before 
 
 The tension of their striding thighs. 
 
 'Tvvas brave, when, now a spear-cast out, 
 Breast-high the battling surges ran ; 
 
 For weight was great, and limbs were stout, 
 And loyal man put trust in man. 
 
 But ere they reach'd the middle deep, 
 Nor steadying weight of clay they bore. 
 
 Nor strain of sinewy limbs could keep 
 Their feet beneath the swerving four. 
 
 And now they slide, and now they swim, 
 And now, amid the blackening squall, 
 
 Grey locks afloat, with clutchings grim, 
 They plunge around the floating pall ; 
 
 While, as a youth with practised spear. 
 
 Through justling crowds bears off the ring, 
 
 Boyne from their shoulders caught the bier 
 And proudly bore away the king. 
 
 At morning on the grassy marge 
 
 Of Rossnaree the corpse was found. 
 
 And shepherds, at their early charge, 
 
 Entombed it in the peaceful ground. 
 
 A tranquil spot : a hopeful sound 
 
 Comes from the ever-youthful stream. 
 
 And still on daisied mead and mound 
 The dawn delays with tenderer beam. 
 
 Round Cormac Spring renews her buds; 
 
 In march perpetual by his side 
 Down come the earth-fresh April floods 
 
 And up the sea-fresh salmon glide ;
 
 THE OSSIANIC PERIOD. 143 
 
 And Life and Time rejoicing run 
 
 From age to age their wonted way ; 
 But still he waits the risen Sun, 
 
 For still 'tis only dawning Day.* 
 
 This tradition must be of great antiquity, for it is histori- 
 cally certain that Cormac's lineal descendant, St. Columba, 
 in the sixth century, erected a Christian cell at Rossnaree on 
 the spot where the king's body was then believed to have 
 been deposited by this supernatural intervention of the 
 elements. 
 
 Carbri Lificar, son of Cormac and Ethni, assumed the 
 
 sovereignty of Ireland in the lifetime of his father, whose 
 
 blemish unfitted him to sway the sceptre of Tara. He fell 
 
 in the Battle of Gavra, a.d. 293. At this fatal engagement 
 
 Oscar, the son of Oisin, and grandson of Finn MacCumhal, 
 
 perished by the hand of King Carbri, who was himself so 
 
 severely wounded by Oscar, that he did not survive the battle. 
 
 The Clanna Baisgne had sided with Moh Corb, King of 
 
 Munster, who was grandson to Finn, being the son of his 
 
 daughter Samhair : she had married Cormac Cas, son of the 
 
 great Ollioll Glum, and thus the blood of Finn yet liows in 
 
 the veins of the O'Briens, and other families of the J )alcassian 
 
 stock. Carbri Lificar had summoned to his aid, in his 
 
 quarrel with Moh Corb, the Cianna Morna, or militia of 
 
 Connaught, rivals of the Tians. Gavra is in the vicinity of 
 
 the hill of Skreen near Tc.ra in ?Ieath. The battle was 
 
 fiercely contested — long ai:d bloody. Oscar was entombed 
 
 in the rath which occui^ied part of the site of the battle-field. 
 
 * F;om Lays cfthc Western Gael, by Sir S. rEKGrsON.
 
 144 'i'HE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 " The great green rath's ten-acred tomb lies heavy on his 
 urn." 
 
 Carbri Lificar left two sons, Fiachaid and Eochaid Domlen. 
 The former succeeded him, and was again succeeded by his 
 son Muredach. Eochaid Domlen was the parent of three 
 remarkable sons— the three Collas as they are called in our 
 annals— Colla Uais, CoUa Menn, and Colla De Cree. 
 
 King Fiachaid had made his son Muredach commander 
 of his armies, and presumptive heir to the throne. This 
 aroused the animosity of his nephews, the three Collas. 
 While Muredach was absent with his army in Munster, these 
 princes resolved to give battle to the king, thus deprived ot 
 his most efficient troops. On the eve of one engagement 
 Fiachaid was told by his Druid, that if any of his nephews 
 should fall by him or his kinsmen, the posterity of that 
 nephew should rule in Erin ; but if he himself were slain, his 
 descendants should triumph. The aged king determined to 
 die, and preserve the throne of Ireland to his children. 
 
 Isluredach ascended the throne vacated by the voluntary 
 death of his father. He banished his cousins to Alba, where 
 the Collas, with three hundred warriors who followed them 
 into exile, were well received by the Scottish monarch. 
 After three years passed in Alba, being warned in a dream 
 that the time of fulfilling the prophecy had arrived, they 
 returned to Tara, each bringing with him nine warriors only, 
 in the hope that Muredach would avenge on them his father's 
 death, and thus secure for their children, not his, the sway 
 over Ireland. They presented themselves before the king. 
 "Have you brought me any news, my cousins?" asked 
 Muredach. "We have no saddernews to relate," said they,
 
 THE OSSIANIC PERIOD. 145 
 
 "than the deed which we have ourselves done, namely, the 
 killing of thy father by our hands." Muredach, however, 
 knev/ the prophecy as well as they did, and was resolved not 
 to forfeit the sovereignty for his offspring, by any deed of 
 violence. "The news you tell us is already known," replied 
 the king ; " but it is of no consequence to you now, for no 
 vengeance shall be wreaked upon you therefor, save that the 
 misfortune which has already pursued you shall not leave 
 you." " This is the reply of a coward," said the Collas. 
 "Be not sorry for it," replied the king, "you are welcome." 
 
 It was an object with Muredach to find employment for 
 these daring and warlike kinsmen. He suggested to them 
 an attack on Ulster, and gave them as an excuse for aggressive 
 hostilities, the insult which their common ancestor, King 
 Cormac MacArt, had received at the hands of the Ultonians, 
 referring to that burning of his hair and beard, of which we 
 have already spoken. " That deed," said Muredach, " is 
 still unavenged." 
 
 Thus provided with a casus belli, the Collas marched on 
 Emania. Fergus Fogha, King of Uladh, was slain, his 
 capital plundered and burned, and the glories of Emania and 
 Creeve Roe were extinguished for ever. Thus ended the 
 Ultonian dynasty, overthrown by the three Collas, after it 
 had lasted for more than 600 years, a.d. 332. Orgiall, giving 
 name to the present territory of Oriel, was the name given 
 to the " Sword Land " so won by the Collas : it comprised 
 the greater part of the modern Ulster, Antrim and Down 
 excepted, which remained the patrimony of the Rudrician 
 race of kings, down to the conquest of Ulster, in the begin- 
 ning of the thirteenth century, by John de Courcy. The
 
 146 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 descendants of Coll da Cree, — the O'Kellys, afterwards of 
 Hy-Many, in Connaught, — Maguires, MacMahons, and 
 others, occupied the district comprising the counties of 
 Armagh, Monaghan, and Fermanagh, down to the confisca- 
 tion and settlement of Ulster in the reign of James I. 
 
 From Colla Uais are derived the Lords of the Isles, the 
 Macdonalds of Scotland, and MacDonnells of Antrim, and 
 their kindred clans; while the ancient inhabitants of 
 Cremorne, in the County of Monaghan, claim Colla Menn 
 as their progenitor. 
 
 Eochaid, son of Muredach, reigned over Erin for seven 
 years. He left children by two wives. Mongfinn, or the 
 fair-haired, had four sons. Of these Brian, from whom are 
 descended the O'Conors of Connaught, was her favourite. 
 To pave the way for his elevation to the throne she poisoned 
 her brother, Crimthan, who had succeeded her husband 
 Eochaid. She sacrificed her own life to effect her ambitious 
 schemes for her son, for she drank herself of the poisoned 
 cup that she might induce Crimthan to taste it Her crime 
 was unavailing. No descendant of hers ruled Erin till after 
 a lapse of about eight hundred years. Then, Turlogh Mor 
 O'Conor, of whom Mongfinn was ancestress, and his son 
 Roderick, the last king of Ireland, filled the throne up to the 
 time of the English Conquest. Crimthan was succeeded by 
 Niall of the Nine Hostages, son of Eochaid, by a daughter of 
 the king of Britain — a stepson, only, of the guilty Mongfinn. 
 
 Niall had to fight for the throne thus made vacant. He 
 found a formidable competitor in Core, King of Munster. 
 This prince, from whom are descended the O'Donoghue 
 of the Glens, the O'Mahonys, O'Moriartys, and also the
 
 THE OSSIANIC PERIOD. I47 
 
 T>ennoxes and Marrs of Scotland, at length recognised Niall 
 as sovereign, and received from that monarch, in accordance 
 with the custom which enjoined such gifts to a former rival, 
 one thousand steeds, five hundred suits of armour, gold rings 
 and cups. This peace was granted to the entreaties ofTorna, 
 the bard of Niall. He filled the endearing position of foster- 
 father to both these princes, and used his influence with Core 
 and Niall to secure peace for his country. 
 
 The first military expedition undertaken by Niall, as soon 
 as he found himself firmly seated on the throne of Erin, was 
 to Alba, and was directed against the Picts or Cruithni, who 
 had long been settled there, and in aid of their opponents the 
 Dalriad colony from Ulster. The Picts were a kindred race 
 who had invaded Alba about the same time that the Milesians 
 established themselves in Erin. These Cruithni, according 
 to their own tradition, came from Thrace to Gaul. They had 
 fled from the oppression of a monarch who sought to insult 
 the beautiful daughter of their chieftain Gud. They were 
 well received by the Gallic king, for whom, say their 
 senachies, they built the city now called Poictiers. The 
 beauty of Gud's daughter reached the ears of this sovereign 
 also, and the Cruithnian exiles had again to fly from further 
 insult. In a few long galleys they reached the Irish shore. 
 Crimthan Sciathbel, the Firbolg chief of Leinster, under Ere- 
 mon, was at that time waging war with savage tribes, whose use 
 of poisoned weapons was fatal to his soldiers. He accepted 
 these new auxiliaries, making an alliance with the Picts, and 
 availing himself of the skill of their Druid, Trosdan, who 
 cured the wounds of Crimthan's army by the simple applica- 
 tion of a milk bath. Eremon did not encourage the Cruithni
 
 148 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 to settle in Erin, but suggested to them the conquest 
 of Alba; and as they were unprovided with wives, he suppUed 
 this want on condition that the throne should always be 
 held by right of the female. This remarkable custom pre- 
 vailed among the Picts to a late period. They became 
 eventually amalgamated with the Scoti, or Irish colonists, 
 who, under the leadership of Carbri Riada had emigrated 
 from north-eastern Ulster, then known as Dal Riada, and had 
 settled in Argyllshire, being from time to time re-inforced by 
 fresh arrivals from Ireland. From this Scotic settlement 
 the whole of North Britain became ultimately known as 
 Scotland. The combined inroads of the Picts and Scots on 
 the defenceless Britons, when the Roman legions evacuated 
 their country, are familiar to all readers of English history. 
 " The barbarians drive us into the sea — the sea throws us 
 back upon the barbarians," was the mournful wail of the 
 Britons to the Consul ^tius. The Romans returned for 
 brief periods to Britain to repel these warlike Caledonians,, 
 and aided the Britons by the erection of those mighty 
 ramparts, whose remains attest the power and mechanical 
 skill of that great people. 
 
 When the Cruithni or Picts settled in Scotland there 
 already existed there a people of the Firbolgic family. These 
 early inhabitants of Scotland found themselves, like their 
 kindred in Ireland after the Milesian conquest, pressed by 
 the superior race into the extremities of Alba and its outlying 
 isles. From thence, still pressed by the Picts, a number of 
 them sought refuge in Erin, and, shortly before the commence- 
 ment of the Christian era, rented lands in Meath, where they 
 settled under the protection of Carbri Niafer. This Firbolg
 
 THE OSSIANIC PERIOD. 149 
 
 colony, called from their leader ^ngus, son of Umor, " the 
 sons of Umor," finding the rents they were forced to pay 
 exorbitant, migrated from Meath to Connaught, and were 
 welcomed by Ailill and Maev, then ruling at Cruachan. The 
 clan Umor were located along the coasts of Mayo, Galway, 
 Clare, and established themselves in the Aran, and other 
 islands of the western shores of Ireland. Their locale may 
 yet be determined by the names — still extant — of places 
 called after their leaders, ^ngus, son of Umor, was the 
 founder of Dun ^ngus, that great dry-stone fort which we 
 have before described, yet standing on the largest of the 
 Aran islands, off Galway Bay ; Cutra has left his name at 
 Lough Cooter, near Gort; Adhar, at Moy Adhair, in 
 Thomond; Measca, at Lough Mask ; and several other similar 
 examples might be added to these. On their settlement in 
 Meath Carbri Niafer had required and obtained for them the 
 guarantees of four great heroes, with whose names we have 
 made our readers already familiar — Keth MacMagach, Ross, 
 Conall Carnacb, and CuchuUin. When the sons of Umor 
 abandoned his territories for those of Ailill and Maev, Carbri 
 called on their sureties either to compel their return or to 
 fight the fugitives ; and accordingly the four heroes demanded 
 of clan Umor either of these alternatives. The oppressed 
 and impoverished Firbolgs chose the latter, and selected four 
 of their mightiest champions to contend with the knights of 
 the Red Branch and the Connacian and Munster heroes. 
 Conall the Mild, son of ^ngus, son of Umor, was opposed 
 to Cuchullin ; Kimi Kethir-Kenn to Conall Carnach ; King 
 to Ross j and Irgas-of-many-battles to Keth. The Firbolg 
 champions were defeated. Conall the IMild and his father
 
 15° 
 
 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 were buried under the cairn, called from him Carn-ConailL 
 The others were interred in the "delightful plain adjoining 
 the Rath l/jnaill" which has given name to the barony 
 Bumsoole {Burns Umail), in the county of Mayo. 
 
 We shall return, in our next Chapter, to Niall of the Nine 
 Hostages, whose military expedition to Alba to assist his 
 Scotic kindred of the Dalriads in their wars with the Picts 
 has led us into this long digression. 
 
 TABLE OF THE KINGS OF IRELAND DURING THE OSSIANIC 
 PERIOD. 
 
 
 
 
 A.D. 
 
 Eochaid Gunath 
 
 of the line of Eremon .. 
 
 277 
 
 Carbri Liffeacher 
 
 > 
 
 , Eremon .. 
 
 278 
 
 Fothad Argthach & Fothad Carpthach , 
 
 Ith 
 
 295 
 
 Fiacha Sraibtheni 
 
 
 Eremon .. 
 
 296 
 
 CoUa Uais 
 
 
 Eremon .. 
 
 327 
 
 Muredach Tirech 
 
 
 Eremon .. 
 
 331 
 
 Caelbad 
 
 
 Ir 
 
 357 
 
 Eochaid Muigh-medon 
 
 
 Eremon .. 
 
 358 
 
 Crimthann, son of Fidach 
 
 
 Eber 
 
 SbG 
 
 Niall Naoi-ghiallach 
 
 > 
 
 Eremon .. 
 
 379
 
 IRELAND. 
 
 EARLY CHRISTIAN CHURCHES, ROUND TOWERS, 
 AND SCHOOLS OF LEARNING. 
 
 
 Bangor, Bt<iiintAor,t St. Comghiit'f 
 
 Movillc. Magk Silt. X Si. Fiuniao'i 
 
 foiinJiiiion. 
 Slemiih Moimlain, Sliabh A/n. 
 
 UruBUchow, ■J.im/w'if.Fiiila^an. ' 
 llunt'vcn. Jiii'Hthihiii. * 
 
 kjin'j I«l!ii>J, in Lough Ncagli. " 
 
 'li\imini-ty, Iramairt.' 
 
 Deny. D.irt Caigiiigh.i St. Coluniba's 
 
 Turlougfa, Turlaeh." 
 UallA, Salltt.'* 
 Agliogciwei, AehaiJ-fitbhai 
 Inismain, /mi A/oad/,ci,i,\ 
 Incha^'iiie, L«ui:h Cbrrili. 
 
 Jnfhn, 
 
 ' St. 
 
 Ireland. — Early Christian Churches, 6-c. 
 l>-voomey, BaUi-Mhuin. 
 aCaibury, Hos.AHithri.A 
 
 
 Dunaman, i 
 
 
 ' St. >£n^E 
 
 Emiy, Imleath. J • St. Ailbc's Founda. 
 
 Kilmailock, aH-nUhC.allath.i" 
 Ar<l Patrick. • 
 Brigoon, Brigoihai 
 
 Li^m 
 Cashel. C 
 
 K-llalof, an-da-lua. 
 To-npaney, r««w- 
 Iniscaltra, Lough D< 
 Clonfcrt, Cliiain-Fa 
 
 dait's Foundau'on. 
 Clonmacnoise, C/fna 
 
 Sl Kicran's Foun 
 Inis-Cluihrain. Lou; 
 Roscommon, Jiui,-i 
 Oran. Uarai,." 
 
 or, f° St. D«laji'! 
 
 i,tt St. l3fen- 
 ■mu-Noit,fX% 
 
 Kelts. Cm 
 Slane, iii, 
 Donaghmt 
 
 Tullaghard,' TI/Zj. 
 
 Tnm, WM rritim 
 
 Cloi.anl, auai)i 
 
 Kinnian's Foun< 
 
 Lusk. Luiea. + 
 Uml^iy, Island / 
 Ireland s Eye, /<» 
 
 ufir-M 
 
 ■ugliK 
 
 , Uii. 
 
 
 
 
 ' "ha^gh. at the 
 
 St 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 rifJit-Scnon's 
 
 SilL 
 
 c%V. cT-Z'th^A' 
 
 ',' 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Inisi 
 
 ■m, Inu-Caen-Otga.'' 
 
 
 Killnh r,ll Almdh ' 
 
 KlllTljl 
 
 i-ihr t ( 
 
 Allcrus* 
 
 Lout 
 
 h, Lughnugh. • 
 
 Ki>^ra 
 
 
 Aghad 
 
 
 /-ali.rt.t'' 
 
 Mon 
 
 islerboicc, Maimiier-Buite. t * 
 
 3
 
 THE PATRICIAN PERIOD. 151 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE PATRICIAN PERIOD. 
 
 FROM NIALL-NAOI-GHIALLACH, A.D. 379, TO DERMID 544. 
 
 Niall's expedition to Armorica — Captivity of Patrick — His occupations 
 and thoughts — His escape — Niall's expedition on the Loire, and 
 death there — His descendants, the Northern and Southern Hy-Niall 
 — King Dathi — His expedition into Gaul — Killed by lightning — 
 His body carried home and interred at Cruachan — Saint Patrick's 
 return as Apostle of the Irish — His autobiography, as told in his 
 authentic writings — His Easter eve at Slane — He preaches before 
 King Laery at Tara — Conversion of Laery's daughters, Ethna and 
 Felimia — Saint Patrick's breastplate — Revision of the Laws, and 
 compilation of the Scnchus M6r — King Laery killed " by the Wind 
 and Sun " — Saint Patrick overthrows Crom Cruach and his twelve 
 sub-gods— Baptizes ^ngus. King of Munster — Diffuses the Gospel 
 throughout Ireland — Dies at Saul, and is buried at Down Patrick — 
 The clan system in the early Irish Monasteries — The three orders of 
 the holy men of Ireland — The burial of Owen Bel, King of Con- 
 naught — Succeeded by Kellach — Murder of Kellach — Avenged by 
 his brother Cucongelt — Final settlement of the Dalriads in Scotland 
 — Saint Brigid — Saint Kieran — Saint Finnian of Clonard — Saint 
 Finnian of Moville — Passion for Monastic seclusion — Story of Enda 
 and Saint Fanchea — Monastic remains of Aran — Clonmacnoise 
 founded by Saint Kieran — Murkertach MacErca — Dermid MacKervil 
 — Remains at Clonmacnoise — Saint Kevin — Glendalough — Saint 
 Brendan of Clonfert — His Legend — Chronological Table. 
 
 A STILL more important expedition, if we consider its after 
 effect on the civilization of Ireland, and through Ireland of 
 Western Europe, than any we have hitherto recorded, was 
 that undertaken by Niall against Armorica, as the north- 
 western district of France was called, in the fourth century.
 
 152 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 Many captives, including children of noble birth, were 
 brought back to Erin by King Niall from this plundering 
 excursion. Among them was a boy of sixteen, Succoth, the 
 son of the deaoon Calphum, and his wife Conchessa, a near 
 relative of St. Martin of Tours, with his sisters Darerca and 
 Lupida. His name, which is said to signify " brave in battle," 
 was afterwards exchanged for that of Patricius, in allusion 
 to his noble birth. But the boy, destined to become the 
 patron-saint of Ireland, the great apostle and missionary St. 
 Patrick, notwithstanding his gentle blood, was sold as a slave, 
 and employed by his master, Milcho, in feeding cattle on the 
 mountains of Slieve Mis, in the present county of Antrim. 
 For many years the youthful Patrick tended, amidst hard- 
 ships, suffering, and isolation, the flocks of the pagan Milcho. 
 Amidst the solitudes of his mountain dwelling light broke 
 in upon his soul. The teachings of his childhood, the 
 meditations of his lonely youth, the very desolation of his 
 lot, prepared his mind for the reception of those divine 
 impulses, those spiritual intuitions which elevate the being 
 who receives them above the vicissitudes of existence, and 
 unite the soul to its Creator. 
 
 " When I had come to Ireland," says St. Patrick in his 
 * Confessions,' " I was employed every day in feeding cattle ; 
 and frequently in the day I used to have recourse to prayer, 
 and the love of God was thus growing stronger and stronger, 
 and His fear and faith were increasing in me, so that in a 
 single day I would give utterance to as many as an hundred 
 prayers, and in the night almost as many. And I used to 
 remain in the woods, too, and on the mountains, and would 
 rise for prayer before daylight, in the midst of snow and ice,
 
 THE PATRICIAN PERIOD. 1 53 
 
 and rain, and felt no injury from it, nor was there any sloth 
 in me, as I now see, because the Spirit was fervent within 
 me." And again he \vrites : *' I was not from my childhood 
 a believer in the only God, but continued in death and 
 unbelief until I was severely chastened : and in truth I have 
 been humbled by hunger and nakedness, and it was my lot 
 to traverse Ireland every day sore against my will, until I 
 was almost exhausted. But this proved rather a benefit to 
 me, because by means of it I have been corrected by the 
 Lord, and He has fitted me for being at this day what was 
 once far from me, so that I should interest or concern 
 myself about the salvation of others, when I used to have 
 no such thoughts even for myself." 
 
 To a mind in such intimate communion with heaven, so 
 elevated above earth, so filled with a desire to labour in the 
 conversion of others, all things are possible. There is 
 nothing miraculous when such men are deemed to have 
 worked miracles, and are themselves convinced that they 
 have seen visions and dreamed dreams. Patrick — escaped 
 from his long captivity — restored - to his parents — happy in 
 their love — longs to return as a missionary to the people 
 among whom he had lived a slave. *' I saw in the visions 
 of the night," he said, — and this passage, from a very 
 authentic piece of antiquity, strongly supports the claim of 
 the Irish to an early knowledge of the art of writing — " a 
 person coming from Ireland with innumerable letters, and 
 he gave me one of them, and I read in the beginning of the 
 letter, * The voice of the people of Ireland,' and I thought 
 at that very moment that I heard the voice of those who 
 were near the wood of Focluth, which is adjoining to the
 
 154 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 western sea, and they cried out thus, as it were with one 
 voice, * We entreat thee, holy youth, to come and walk still 
 among us,' and I was very much pricked to the heart, and 
 could read no further, and so I awoke. Thanks be to God, 
 the Lord who, after very many years, hath granted to them 
 according to their cry." 
 
 While the boy Patrick fed the swine of Milcho on the 
 mountain of Slemish, King Niall of the Nine Hostages 
 continued his depredations in Gaul. Hither he summoned 
 to his aid his friends and allies from Alba ; and an auxiliary 
 army from the Dalriads of Scotland joined him on the 
 Loire. Gabran, their leader, was accompanied by Eochaid, 
 King of Leinster, who had been banished from Erin by 
 Niall. The exiled prince seized this opportunity of avenging 
 himself. He transfixed the king with an arrow on the banks 
 of the Loire. Thus perished the great monarch in the 
 midst of his victorious career. 
 
 Niall of the Nine Hostages left eight sons. From Conall 
 Gulban are descended the Kinel Conall, or race of Conall, 
 the great family O'Donnells of Tyr-Conaill. From his twin 
 brother, Owen, the Kinel-Owen, of Tyr-Owen, or Tyrone, 
 the illustrious O'Neills. To all the descendants of Niall 
 belongs the tribe name of Hy-Niall ; but the families of 
 O'Neill and O'Donnell, representatives of his twin sons, 
 Owen and Conall Gulban, are distinguished as the Northern 
 Hy-Niall from the progeny of another son, Conall Criffan, 
 who are called the Southern Hy-Niall, and who, though 
 giving some kings to Ireland, never attained the eminent 
 place in her history which the O'Neills and O'Donnells 
 filled. Conall Gulban obtained his name from the
 
 THE PATRICIAN PERIOD. 155 
 
 mountain already referred to as the scene of the death of 
 Dermid. In this locality, and on this singularly formed 
 and romantic mountain, he had been fostered. He was 
 slain by the "old tribes" of Moy Slaught, that plain in 
 Cavan where the idol Crom Cruach and "his sub-gods 
 twelve" were formerly worshipped. His brother Owen 
 died of grief. He was buried at Eskaheen, in Inishowen. 
 
 It will be remembered that Mongfinn, wife of Eochaid, 
 the father of Niall, had poisoned her brotherCrimthanto pave 
 the way to the election of her son, Brian, to the throne, but 
 that her perfidy, which costher her own life, had failed in 
 its object, and her step-son, Niall, had become King of 
 Ireland, to the exclusion of her offspring. Brian, however, 
 in the lifetime of his half-brother, Niall, had succeeded to 
 the provincial throne of Connaught, and his brother, Fiachra, 
 another son of Mongfinn, had become chief of a district in 
 the west of Ireland. Dissensions arose between the brothers. 
 Fiachra was defeated in battle by Brian, and delivered into 
 the hands of Niall as a hostage. Feredach, afterwards 
 better known by his acquired name of Dathi, son of the 
 captive Fiachra, avenged his father's wrongs on his uncle 
 Brian, and restored Fiachra to liberty and rule. Fiachra 
 left two sons : — Dathi, who became Ard Righ on the death 
 of his uncle Niall, and Awley, whose rule in Connaught has 
 left its impress in the name of Tyrawley, in the north-west 
 of Mayo. It was in the persons of the seven sons of Awley, 
 converted by Patrick, and baptized with thousands of their 
 followers by him in the land of Tyrawley, that the vision of 
 the saint was realized ; for these numerous converts of the 
 faith were made in the vicinity of that wood of Focluth from
 
 156 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 whence in his dream Patrick had heard the voices entreating 
 him to " come and walk among them." 
 
 Dathi is ancestor of the great Connaught famiUes of 
 O'Shaughnessy, O'Dowda, and O'Heyne. This king 
 inherited the military ambition of his uncle Niall, and like 
 him, made war in Gaul. He had previously undertaken an 
 expedition into Alba, stimulated by the praises of his Druids. 
 In the seventeenth year of his reign he found himself at 
 Assaroe, near Ballyshannon, whither he had gone from Tara 
 to adjust some contentions between his kindred in the west. 
 He arrived at the estuary of the Erne, at the eve of the great 
 Gaelic festival of Samliain, which was held on the last day 
 of October. He commanded the presence of his Arch 
 Druid, and demanded to know what would happen to himself 
 and to his country in the year about to commence. " Then," 
 said Doghra, the Druid, "if you will send nine of your 
 noblest chiefs with me from this to the banks of the Moy, I 
 will reveal something to them." — " It shall be so," said the 
 king, " and I shall be one of the number myself." 
 
 Dathi and his chiefs departed secretly from the camp and 
 arrived at Rath Archaill, near the Moy, where the Druids' 
 altars and idols were. Dathi took up his abode at Mulloch 
 Roe, near Screene, in the barony of Tireragh, County Sligo, 
 where his queen, Rua, had a palace. At sunrise the Druid 
 repaired to the chamber of Dathi. " Art thou asleep, O 
 King of Erin and of Alba ? " asked Doghra. *' I am not 
 asleep," said the monarch ; *' but have you made an addition 
 to my titles ? " — " I have consulted the clouds of the men 
 of Erin," repHed the Druid, " and found that thou wilt soon 
 return to Tara, and wilt invite all the provincial kings and
 
 THE PATRICIAN PERIOD. 157 
 
 chiefs of Erin to the great feast of Tara, and then thou 
 shalt decide with them upon making an expedition into 
 Alba, Britain, and France, following the conquering foot- 
 steps of thy great-uncle Niall, and thy grand-uncle 
 Crimthan Mor." 
 
 The king was delighted with the prediction. He returned 
 to the camp and imparted it to his chieftains, and in due 
 time retraced his steps to Tara, and invited, as the Druid 
 had suggested, the chiefs of Erin to meet him there, at the 
 approaching festival of Beltaine, which was held on May 
 Day. 
 
 The feast was celebrated on this occasion with unusual 
 splendour. The fires of Tailflvfexe lighted, and the games, 
 sports, and ceremonies, usually held there, passed off with 
 great magnificence. War was resolved on, and Dathi made 
 a successful foray into Alba, and from thence invaded Gaul, 
 where he died ; but his body was borne homewards by his 
 soldiers, and now reposes among the mortal remains of his 
 ancestors, the ancient kings of Connaught, at the Helig na 
 Righ, near Rath Cruachan. Tradition ascribes his death at 
 the foot of the Alps to a stroke of lightning. He fell, it is 
 said, as he was storming the tower of Parmenius, a royal 
 recluse, who had lived there secluded from the light of day. 
 The Pagan monarch of Erin was not deterred by the sanctity 
 of the royal hermit, and regarded not the recluse's vow of 
 living in perpetual darkness. He proceeded to demolish 
 the tower. When it was unroofed, and Parmenius '' felt the 
 wind coming to him, God raised him up in a blaze of fire, 
 and he prayed for King Dathi that his reign might continue 
 no longer ; and he also prayed that his monument or tomb
 
 158 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST, 
 
 might not be conspicuous." Thereupon a flash of lightning 
 struck Dathi dead upon the spot, while Parmenius formed 
 for himself another dwelling lower down on the mountain side. 
 Such is the wild and scarce intelligible form in which the 
 story of Dathi has been transmitted from primitive times. 
 The adventure, whatever may have been its real nature, 
 took place in the same year in which Pharamond, king of the 
 Franks, disappears from the page of history, and it has been 
 suggested that he may have been the hermit king whom 
 Dathi encountered at Slieve Alpa^ probably some part of the 
 Jura range, in the eastern districts of Gaul ; or — if we may 
 trust the local nomenclature — the scene of Dathi's death 
 may be placed in the valley of the Rhine, not far from the 
 gorge of Pfeffers in Switzerland. The incident has had a 
 great charm for the Irish imagination, and has been made 
 the subject of many lyrical compositions, one of which is 
 subjoined : — 
 
 The Expedition and Death of King Dathy.* 
 
 King Dathy assembled his Druids and Sages, 
 And thus he spake them — " Druids and Sages ! 
 
 What of King Dathy? 
 What is revealed in Destiny's pages 
 
 Of him or his ? Hath he 
 Aught for the future to dread or to dree ? 
 Good to rejoice in, or evil to flee ? 
 Is he a foe of the Gall — 
 Fitted to conquer or fated to fall ? " 
 
 * J. C. Mangan.
 
 THE PATRICIAN PERIOD. I59 
 
 And Beirdra, the Druid, made answer as tti'is— 
 
 A priest of a hundred years was he — 
 " Dathy, thy fate is not hidden from us ! 
 
 Hear it through me ! 
 Thou shalt work thine own will ! 
 Thou shalt slay— thou shalt prey— 
 
 And be conqueror still ! 
 Thee the earth shall not harm ! 
 Thee we charter and charm 
 From all evil and ill ! 
 Thee the laurel shall crown ! 
 Thee the wave shall not drown ! 
 Thee the chain shall not bind ! 
 Thee the spear shall not find ! 
 Thee the sword shall not slay ! 
 Thee the shaft shall not pierce ! 
 Thou therefore be fearless and fierce, 
 And sail with thy warriors away 
 
 To the land of the Gall, 
 Ihere to slaughter and sway, 
 
 And be victor o'er all ' " 
 
 S ) Dathy he sailed away — awa> , 
 Over the deep resounding sea ; 
 Sailed with his hosts in armour grey : 
 
 Over the deep resounding sea, 
 Ilany a night and many a day, 
 
 And many an islet conquered he — 
 He and his hosts in armour grey : 
 And the billow drowned him net, 
 And a fetter bound him not, 
 And the blue spear found him nc t, 
 And the red sword slew him not, 
 And the swift shaft knew him not, 
 And the foe o'erthrew him not :
 
 l6o THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 Till, one bright morn, at the base 
 
 Of the Alps, in rich Ausonia's regions, 
 
 His men stood marshalled face to face . 
 With the mighty Roman legions. 
 Noble foes ! 
 
 Christian and heathen stood there among those. 
 
 Resolute all to overcome. 
 
 Or die for the eagles of ancient Rome ! 
 
 Vrhen, behold ! from a temple anear 
 Came forth an aged priest-like man, 
 
 Of a countenance meek and clear, 
 Who, turning to Eire's Ceann,* 
 
 Spake him as thus — " King Dathy, hear! 
 Thee would I warn ! 
 
 Retreat ! retire ! Repent in time 
 
 The invader's crime, 
 
 Or better for thee thou hadst never been born ! '' 
 But Dathy replied, " False Nazarine ! 
 
 Dost thou, then, m.enace Dathy, thou ? 
 
 And dreamest thou that he will bow 
 To one unknown, to one so mean, 
 
 So powerless as a priest must be ? 
 
 He scorns alike thy threats and thee : 
 
 On ! on ! my men, to victory ! " 
 
 i'^nd; with loud shouts for Eire's king. 
 
 The Irish rush to meet the foe, 
 And falchions clash and bucklers ring - 
 
 When lo ! 
 Lo ! a mighty earthquake's shock ! 
 And the cleft plains reel and rock ; 
 
 * Ceann : — Head ; king.
 
 THE PATRICIAN PERIOD. l6l 
 
 Clouds of darkness pall the skies ; 
 Thunder crashes, 
 Lightning flashes, 
 And in an instant Dathy lies 
 
 On the earth a mass of blackened ashes ! 
 Then, mournfully and dolefully 
 The Irish warriors sailed away 
 Over the deep resounding sea, 
 Till, wearily and mournfully. 
 They anchored in Eblana's Bay. 
 Thus the Senachies and Sages 
 Tell this tale of long-gone ages. 
 
 And so, by the elements, not by the hand of man, perished 
 the " fair king of Erin, Dathi, son of Fiachra, a generous 
 king by sea and land," a.d. 426. His son Awley took 
 command of the forces. They commenced their retreat, 
 carrying with them the dead body of the king, whose very 
 presence, though in death, served to discomfit their foes. 
 Ten battles are recorded, won by the retreating host, whose 
 victories are ascribed to the terror of Dathi's countenance, 
 still kept turned towards the pursuers. When the army had 
 reached Ireland, the body, borne by four servants of trust, 
 crossed the island to Cruachan "with dirge and savage 
 dolorous shows," and here adjoining the Rclig na Righ, 
 where his ancestors reposed, was erected the mound, and 
 its red-pillar stone over the grave of the last of Ireland's 
 Pagan kings. According to the imprecation of Parmenius, 
 it was " not conspicuous -, " yet the pillar-stone, a block of 
 red-grit sand-stone, about nine feet in height, is still standing 
 on the grassy mound, amidst the earthworks, raths, and 
 entrenchments, which, to this day, mark the site of the
 
 1 62 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 ancient capital of Connaught. Cattle feed around on the 
 rich pasture lands of Roscommon, but with the exception 
 of an occasional cottier's house, the place is lonely, un- 
 marked, and little known, save by the archaeologist, or the 
 survivors of the peasantry, who still cling fondly to these 
 traditions of the olden time. More than fourteen hundred 
 years ago, this red pillar-stone was raised. The years have 
 rolled on to centuries, and yet it stands unchanged. How 
 many works of succeeding generations has it not already 
 outlived, how many yet destined to rise and fall, and 
 crumble into ruin, may not this simple pillar survive, 
 erected by his clansmen and soldiers to King Dathi. 
 
 Of his descendants we shall have much to speak. His 
 son, OllioU Molt, became Ard Righ some years later, and 
 his grandson Owen Bel, king of Connaught, is the hero of a 
 very picturesque tradition. Owen Bel was the father of St. 
 Kellach, whose story we shall return to, but may not now 
 anticipate. 
 
 We resume the thread of the Christian story, laid aside 
 for a space while recounting the fortunes of the sons of 
 Niall. This monarch was succeeded by his son Laery, or 
 Laeghaire. It was in the fourth year of his reign that St. 
 Patrick commenced his apostolic labours. A.D. 432 is the 
 date generally agreed on for this event, which had been 
 preceded by the mission of St. Palladius in the previous year. 
 A few scattered Christians, principally in the south, were to 
 be found in Erin before the time of Patrick. It has been 
 asserted that Saints Ailbe, Declan, Kieran and Ibar, after- 
 wards consecrated by Saint Patrick to the episcopal office, 
 had been preaching in Munster before his coming.
 
 THE PATRICIAN PERIOD. 163 
 
 In his authentic writings, the Confession and the; Epistle 
 to Coroticus, which furnish what may be called the auto- 
 biography of the Missionary Saint, St. Patrick tells us of 
 his estrangement from God, till recalled to Him by his 
 sufferings as a captive in Ireland* 
 
 "Yet these were rather boons to me, because 
 So chastened by the Lord, I now am made 
 What once was far from me, that I should care 
 Or labour for the weal of others 
 Who then took no thought even for myself." 
 
 He describes his subsequent escape in a ship which lay 
 
 off the coast : 
 
 "So thereupon I turned myself to flight, 
 Leaving the man whom I had served six years, 
 And by the help of God, who shewed me well 
 The way to go, nought dreading, found the ship." 
 
 After a journey of sixty days, he tells that he found 
 himself " once more amongst the Britons," with his friends, 
 re-united with his family, who seem to have resided near 
 Dumbarton, at the northern extremity of what then consti- 
 tuted the Roman Province. Yet he voluntarily left them to 
 return to Ireland and preach Christ to the people he had 
 learned to love when a captive. 
 
 " Who compelled me ? Who me bound 
 In spirit that I should no more behold 
 Kindred or early friend ? Whence came the sense 
 Inspiring me with pity for the race 
 That once were my own captors ?" 
 
 * From The Remains of St. Patrick, Apostle of Ireland, The 
 '^ Confrssio" and ^'Epistle to Coroticus;' Translated into English 
 blank verse, by Sir Samuel Ferguson.
 
 164 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 St. Patrick was no longer a young man when he returned 
 to Ireland, the scene of his former captivity, as a Christian 
 missionary. But — if we may credit the " Lives " written 
 between the sixth and eleventh centuries, and embodying 
 early traditions — the interval between his early manhood 
 and mature life had not been idly spent. Bishops Germanus 
 and Lupus, we are told, nurtured him in sacred literature, 
 and ordained him, and made him the chief bishop of their 
 school among the British and Irish. Thirty -three years has 
 been assigned as the period of his pastoral labours. He 
 first landed on the Leinster coast, but re-embarked and 
 directed his course to that northern district where he had 
 passed his captivity. Here he laboured to convert to the 
 faith of Christ his former master Milcho, but without success. 
 Dichu, a prince of a territory in the present county of 
 Down, was one of his earliest converts. He erected for the 
 saint a church, Sabhall Padruic, Patrick's Barn, still called 
 Saul, which afterwards became the seat of a considerable 
 monastery. Here the saint, long after, died, and in the 
 same neighbourhood was buried, though the Irish foundation 
 of Glastonbury in England also claims the honour of 
 possessing his remains. Many discrepancies and irreconcil- 
 able conflicts of testimony may be explained by the supposi- 
 tion that there were two Saint Patricks ; one generally 
 distinguished as Sen Patrick, or Patrick the Elder, not 
 identical with Patrick the Apostle, and to whose labours 
 may be ascribed the partial reception which Christianity 
 had already obtained previous to the coming of Niall's 
 captive. The first missionary tour of the great Apostle 
 followed the course of the Boyne, and conducted him to
 
 THE PATRICIAN PERIOD. 165 
 
 Tara, and to the presence of King Laery, at the commence- 
 ment of the Easter festival, a.d. 433. On his journey he 
 visited, converted, and baptized a family, one of whose 
 members attached himself from thenceforth to the Apostl6, 
 and was named by him Benignus, on account of the gentle- 
 ness of his bearing. Benignus, it is said, became his suc- 
 cessor in the see of Armagh. 
 
 St. Patrick, continuing his journey, reached Slane on the 
 Boyne, on Easter eve. He commenced his preparations for 
 the festival of the next day, and lighted the paschal fire at 
 nightfall. The king was holding a high festival at Tara at 
 the same time, and the law enjoined that no other fire should 
 be lighted until the great fire should be kindled on the 
 heights of Tara. 
 
 The king is wrath with a greater wrath 
 
 Then the wrath of Nial or the wrath of Con ! 
 
 From his heart to his brow the blood makes path, 
 And hangs there, a red cloud, beneath his crown. 
 
 Is there any who knows not, from south to north, 
 That Laeghdire to-morrow his birthday keeps ? 
 No fire may be lit upon hill or hearth. 
 Till the king's strong fire in its kingly mirth 
 Leaps upwards from Tara's palace steeps. 
 
 Yet Patrick has lighted his paschal fire 
 
 At Slane — it is Holy Saturday — 
 And bless'd his font 'mid the chanting choir ! 
 
 From hill to hill the flame makes way ; 
 While the king looks on it, his eyes with ire 
 
 Flash red, like Mars, under tresses gray.* 
 
 * From' Legends of Si. Patrick, by Aubrey De Vere..
 
 l60 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 When King Laery inquired who had dared thus to infringe 
 the law, his Druids told him that unless that fire were extin- 
 guished immediately, it would get the better of their fires, 
 and occasion the downfall of his kingdom. Laery set out 
 with a considerable force for Slane, and summoned St. Patrick 
 to appear before him. He desired that no one should show 
 the saint the respect of rising to receive him. Ere disobeyed 
 the injunction, saluted Patrick, received his blessing, and 
 became a believer. When St. Patrick preached before the 
 .king and nobles at Tara on the following day, Dubtach the 
 bard in like manner rose, saluted him, and became a zealous 
 convert. Dubtach was an eminent poet, both as a Pagan 
 and a Christian. He was the instructor of Fiech, son of Ere, 
 who afterwards became bishop of Sletty. 
 
 This Easter Sunday of the year 433 was an eventful 
 one. 
 
 When the waters of Boyne began to bask. 
 And the fields to flash in the rising sun. 
 
 The Apostle Evangelist kept his Pasch, 
 And Erin her grace baptismal won ; 
 
 Her birthday it was ; his font the rock ; 
 
 He bless'd the land, and he bless'd his flock. 
 
 Then forth to Tara he fared full lowly ; 
 
 The staff of Jesus was in his hand ; 
 Eight priests paced after him chanting slowly. 
 
 Printing their steps on the dewy land. 
 It v/as the Resurrection morn ; 
 The lark sang loud o'er the springing corn. 
 The dove was heard, and the hunter's horn.
 
 THE PATRICIAN PERIOD. 167 
 
 Like some still vision men see by night, 
 
 Mitred, with eyes of serene command, 
 St. Patrick moved onward in ghostly white ; 
 
 The staff of Jesus was in his hand. 
 His priests paced after him unafraid, 
 And the boy, Benignus, more like a maid, 
 Like a maid just wedded he walked and smiled. 
 To Christ new plighted that priestly child. 
 
 They entered the circle, their hymn they ceased ; 
 
 The Druids their eyes bent earthward still ; 
 On Patrick's brow the glory increased. 
 
 As a sunrise brightening some breathless hill. 
 The warriors sat silent ; strange awe they felt ; 
 The chief bard Dubtach rose up, and knelt! 
 Then Patrick discoursed of the things to be. 
 When time gives way to eternity ; 
 Of kingdoms that cease, which are dreams not things, 
 And the kingdom built by the King of kings. 
 
 Of Him he spake who reigns from the Cross ; 
 Of the death which is life, and the life which is loss. 
 And how all things were made by the Infant Lord, 
 And the small hand the Magian Kings adored. 
 His voice sounded on like a throbbing flood 
 That swells all night from some far-off wood ; 
 And when it was ended— that wondrous strain- 
 Invisible myriads breathed low, " Amen ! " 
 
 While he spake, men say that the refluent tide 
 On the shore beside Colpa ceased to sink ; 
 
 And they say the white deer by MuUa's side. 
 O'er the green ir.arge bending forbore to drink ;
 
 1 68 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 That the Brandon eagle forgat to soar, 
 That no leaf stirred in the wood by Lee, 
 
 Such stupor hung the island o'er, 
 For none might guess what the end would be. 
 
 Then whispered the king to a chief close by. 
 " It were better for me to believe than die." * 
 
 Yet King Laery remained incredulous, although granting 
 liberty to the saint to preach and to make converts. Among 
 the most eminent who embraced Christianity at this time 
 were the wife and daughters of the king, and his brother 
 Conall CrifFan, the progenitor of the southern Hy-Niall. 
 Conall wished to become a cleric, but St. Patrick dissuaded 
 him, telling the prince that the secular, and not the ecclesias- 
 tical, state was his vocation. He marked with his crozier the 
 figure of a cross in the shield of Conall, which was ever after 
 called Sciath Bachlach^ or the shield of the crozier. This is 
 the earliest notice that has been found in Ireland of armorial 
 bearings. 
 
 The conversion by Patrick of Ethna and Felimia, the 
 daughters of King Laery, has been detailed at length in the 
 Book of Armagh. These princesses were residing in Con- 
 naught, near Cruachan, when St. Patrick and his attendants 
 assembled at sunrise at the fountain of Clebach, at the east 
 side of the rath. 
 
 Thither came the damsels to wash, and found at the well 
 the holy men. " And they knew not whence they were, or 
 in what form, or from what people, or from what country, but 
 
 * Aubrey De Vere.
 
 THE PATRICIAN PERIOD. 1 69 
 
 they supposed them to be Duim Sidhe (fairies), or gods of 
 earth, or a phantasm, 
 
 " And the virgins said unto them, 'Who are ye, and whence 
 come ye ? ' 
 
 " And Patrick said unto them, ' It were better for you to 
 confess to our true God, than to inquire concerning our race.' 
 
 " The first virgin said, ' Who is God ? 
 
 " And where is God ? 
 
 "And of what (nation) is God? 
 
 " And where is His dweUing place ? 
 
 " Has your God sons and daughters, gold and silver ? 
 
 " Is He ever-living ? 
 
 " Is He beautiful ? 
 
 " Did many foster His Son ? 
 
 " Are His daughters dear and beauteous to men of the 
 world ? 
 
 " Is He in heaven or in earth ? 
 
 " In the sea ? 
 
 " In rivers ? 
 
 " In mountainous places ? 
 
 " In valleys ? 
 
 " Declare unto us the knowledge of Him. 
 
 " How shall He be seen ? 
 
 " How is He to be loved? 
 
 " How is He to be found ? 
 
 " Is it in youth — is it in old age that He is to be found ?' " 
 
 " But St. Patrick, full of the Holy Ghost, answered and 
 said : — 
 
 " ' Our God is the God of all men. 
 
 " The God of heaven and earth, of the sea and rivers.
 
 170 THE IRISH liEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 " The God of the sun, the moon and all stars. 
 
 "The God of the high mountains, and of the lowly 
 valleys. 
 
 " The God who is above heaven, and in heaven, and 
 under heaven. He hath a habitation in the heaven, and 
 the earth, and the sea, and all that are therein. 
 
 " He inspireth all things. 
 
 " He quickeneth all things. 
 
 " He is over all things. 
 
 " He sustaineth all things. 
 
 "He giveth light to the light of the sun. 
 
 "And he hath made springs in a dry ground ; 
 
 " And dry islands in the sea. 
 
 " And hath appointed the stars to serve the greater lights. 
 
 " He hath a Son co-eternal, and co-equal with Himself. 
 
 " The Son is not younger than the Father. 
 
 " Nor is the Father older than the Son. 
 
 "And the Holy Ghost breatheth in them. 
 
 " The Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost are not 
 divided. 
 
 " But I desire to unite you to the Heavenly King, inas- 
 much as you are the daughters of an earthly king — to 
 believe.' 
 
 " And the virgins said, as with one mouth and one heart — 
 
 " ' Teach us most diligently how we may believe in the 
 Heavenly King. Show us how we may see Him face to 
 face, and whatsoever thou shalt say unto us, we will do.* 
 
 " And Patrick said : — 
 
 " 'Believe ye, that by baptism ye put off the sin of your 
 father and your mother ? ' They answered, ' We believe.'
 
 THE PATRICIAN PERIOD. 171 
 
 " ' Believe ye in repentance after sin ? ' ' We believe.' 
 
 " ' Believe ye in life after death ? — Believe ye the 
 Resurrection at the day of Judgment ? ' — * We believe.' 
 
 " ' Believe ye the unity of the Church ? ' — ' We believe.' 
 
 " And they were baptized ; and a white garment put upon 
 their heads. And they asked to see the face of Christ. 
 And the Saint said unto them, 'Ye cannot see the face of 
 Christ, except ye taste of death, and except ye receive the 
 sacrifice.' 
 
 " And they answered, ' Give us the sacrifice, that we may 
 behold the Son, our spouse.' 
 
 " And they received the Eucharist of God, and they slept 
 in death. 
 
 " And they were laid out on one bed, covered with 
 garments ; and (their friends) made great lamentation and 
 weeping for them." 
 
 Before leaving the subject of St. Patrick's visit to Tara, 
 we shall give his hymn known as the Lorica or " Breastplate," 
 composed on this occasion, " to protect himself with his 
 monks against the enemies unto death who were in ambush 
 against the clergy. And this is a religious armour to pro- 
 tect the body and soul against demons, and men, and vices. 
 Every person who sings it every day with all his attention 
 on God shall not have demons appearing to his face. It 
 will be a protection to him against every poison and envy. 
 It will be a safeguard to him against sudden death. It will 
 be an armour to his soul after his death. Patrick sang this 
 at the time that the snares were set for him by Laegaire, 
 that he might not come to propagate the faith to Temur ; 
 so that it appeared to those lying in ambush, that they were
 
 172 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 wild deer, and a fawn after them, that is Benen ; and Feth 
 Fiadha is its name." 
 
 This poem is interesting as illustrating the faith, not un- 
 mixed with credulity, of this great Evangelist of the fifth 
 century, as well as for its antiquity. It is composed in that 
 ancient dialect of the Irish in which the oldest tracts, and 
 the Brehon Laws are written, and has been rendered into 
 English by the late Dr. Petrie, and more recently by Dr. 
 Whitley Stokes. His admirable translation is most faithful 
 to the original. 
 
 ST. Patrick's hymn. 
 
 1. I join myself to-day to the mighty virtue of 
 The Invocation of the Tri:nity. 
 
 2. I believe in the Trinity under the Unity of the 
 Creator of the elements. 
 
 3. I join myself to-day 
 
 To the virtue of the birth of Christ, with His baptism, 
 To the virtue of His crucifixion, with His burial. 
 To the virtue of His resurrection and ascension, 
 To the virtue of His coming to the sentence of the judge- 
 ment. 
 
 4. I join myself to-day. 
 
 To the virtue of the Seraphims' love, 
 
 To the virtue that abides in the obedience of angels. 
 
 In the hope of resurrection unto the reward, 
 
 In the prayers of the Patriarchs, 
 
 In the predictions of the Prophets, 
 
 In the teachings of the Apostles, 
 
 In the faith of the Confessors, 
 
 In the innocence of Holy Virgins, 
 
 In the deeds of truthful men ; —
 
 THE PATRICIAN PERIOD. 173 
 
 5. I join m) self to-day, 
 
 To the virtue of heaven, of the light of the sun ; 
 
 Of the whiteness of snow, the force of fire. 
 
 The swiftness of lightning, the speed of the wind, 
 
 The depth of the sea. 
 
 The stability of the earth, 
 
 The firmness of rocks. 
 
 6. I join myself to-day 
 
 To God's power to pilot me : 
 The might of God to uplift me, 
 The knowledge of God to lead me, 
 The eye of God to look before me. 
 The ear of God to hear me, 
 . The Word of God to make me eloquent, 
 The hand of God to defend me, 
 The path of God to lie before me. 
 The shield of God to shelter me, 
 The host of God to guard me 
 From the snares of demons, 
 From the temptations of vice, 
 From the desires of nature, 
 From all that meditate evil against me, 
 Afar and anear, 
 Alone and in a multitude. 
 
 7. So have I invoked all these powers 
 
 Between myself and every dangerous merciless power 
 
 Opposed unto my body and my soul — 
 
 Against the incantations of false prophets, the black laws 
 
 of heathendom, 
 The false laws of heresy, the craft of idolatry, 
 The spells of women, and smiths, and druids, 
 And all knowledge that hath defiled the soul of man. 
 
 8. Christ defend me this day 
 
 Against poison and burning, against drowning and wounds, 
 Until a multitudinous reward have fallen to me.
 
 174 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 9. Christ be with me, Christ before me, 
 Christ behind me, Christ within me, 
 Christ below me, Christ above me, 
 Christ at my right hand, Christ at my left hand. 
 
 10. Christ in the hearts of all who think on me ; 
 Christ in the mouths of all who speak to me ; 
 Christ in every eye that sees me : 
 
 Christ in every ear that hears me, 
 
 11. I join myself to-day to the mighty virtue of the Invocation 
 
 of the Trinity. 
 
 12. r believe in the Trinity under the Unity of the Creator of 
 
 the elements. 
 Domini est salus, Domini est salus, Chrisli est salus 
 Salus tua Domine, set semper nobiscum. 
 
 Mrs. Alexander's — which we give by her kind permission 
 — is the most recent version of Sf. Patrick'' s Breastplate- 
 It leaves nothing to be desired in accuracy and poetic 
 expression. 
 
 ST PATRICK'S BREASTPLATE. 
 
 1. I bind unto myself to-day 
 
 The strong name of the Trinity, 
 By invocation of the same, 
 The Three in One, and One in Three. 
 
 2. I bind this day to me for ever, 
 
 By pow'r of faith, Christ's incarnation ; 
 His baptism in Jordan river ; 
 
 His death on Cross for my salvation ; 
 His bursting from the spiced tomb ; 
 
 His riding up the Heav'nly way : 
 His coming at the day of doom ; 
 
 I bind unto myself to-day.
 
 THE PATRICIAN PERIOD. 1 75 
 
 I bind unto myself the power 
 
 Of the great love of Cherubim ; 
 The sweet " Well done " in judgment hour ; 
 
 The service of the Seraphim, 
 Confessors' faith, Apostles' word, 
 
 The Patriarchs' prayers, the Prophets' scrolls, 
 All good deeds done unto the Lord, 
 
 And purity of virgin souls. 
 
 . I bind unto myself to-day 
 
 The virtues of the star-lit heaven, 
 The glorious sun's life-giving ray, 
 
 The whiteness of the moon at even, 
 The flashing of the lightning free, 
 
 The whirling wind's tempestuous shocks, 
 The stable earth, the deep salt sea, 
 
 Around the old eternal rocks. 
 
 5. I bind unto myself to-day 
 
 The pow'r of God to hold, and lead, 
 His eye to watch, His might to stay, 
 
 His ear to hearken to my need. 
 The wisdom of my God to teach, 
 
 His hand to guide. His shield to ward ; 
 The word of God to give me speech. 
 
 His heavenly host to be my guard. 
 
 6. Against the demon snares of sin, 
 
 The vice that gives temptation force. 
 The natural lusts that war within 
 
 The hostile men that mar my course; 
 Or few or many, fr.r or nigh, 
 
 In every place, and in all hours, 
 Against their fierce hostility, 
 
 I bind to me these holy powers.
 
 176 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 7. Against all Satan's spells and wiles. 
 
 Against false words of heresy, 
 Against the knowledge that defiles, 
 
 Against the heart's idolatry, 
 Against the wizard's evil craft, 
 
 Against the death-wound and the burning, 
 The choking wave, the poisoned shaft, 
 
 Protect me, Christ, till Thy returning. 
 
 8. Christ be with me, Christ within me, 
 
 Christ behind me, Christ before me, 
 Christ beside me, Christ to win me, 
 
 Christ to comfort and restore me, 
 Christ beneath me, Christ above me 
 
 Christ in quiet, Christ in danger, 
 Christ in hearts of all that love me, 
 
 Christ in mouth of friend and stranger. 
 
 g. I bind unto myself the Name, 
 
 The strong Name of the Trinity ; 
 By invocation of the same, 
 
 The Three in One, and One in Three. 
 Of Whom all nature hath creation ; 
 
 Eternal Father, Spirit, Word : 
 Praise to the Lord of my salvation. 
 
 Salvation is of Christ the Lord.* 
 
 St. Patrick is said to have borne part in that revision and 
 purification of the laws of Erin, embodied in the great 
 Brehon Law tract called the Senchus Mbr. The Irish of 
 the age of Alfred universally believed that these laws were 
 reduced to their present form under the immediate inspection 
 of the Apostle, and that the work of codification was carried 
 on at Tara in summer on account of the amenity and fresh- 
 
 * C. F. Alex.\nder.
 
 THE PATRICIAN PERIOD. 177 
 
 ness of the place ; and at a neighbouring residence in the 
 winter on account of facilities of shelter and firewood. A 
 portion of this interesting tract has been published by the 
 Brehon Law Commissioners, and exhibits an unexpected 
 analogy to the rudiments of the Common Law of England, 
 hitherto supposed to have been derived exclusively from 
 non-Celtic sources. 
 
 Laery was constantly engaged in warfare with the 
 Leinstermen, the "hated Lagenian race." The exaction 
 of the Boromean tribute was the occasion of these conten- 
 tions. In one of these campaigns he was defeated at Ath- 
 Dara^ on the Barrow, and compelled to swear by the 
 Elements— that dreaded pagan oath — that he would not 
 again seek to enforce the Bom ; but afterwards, violating 
 his oath, he was slain " by the Sun and Wind." 
 
 " So Laeghaire by the dread God elements swore, 
 
 By the moon divine, and the earth and air. 
 
 He swore bv the wind and the broad sunshine 
 
 That circle for ever both land and sea. 
 
 By the long-back'd rivers, and mighty wine. 
 
 By the cloud far-seeing, by herb and tree. 
 
 By the boon spring shower, and by autumn's fan, 
 
 By woman's breast, and the head of man, 
 
 By night and the noonday Demon he swore. 
 
 He would claim the Boarian Tribute no more. 
 
 But with years, wrath wax'd ; and he brake his faith : — 
 Then the dread God-elements wrought his death : 
 For the Wind and Sunshine by Cassi's side 
 Came down and smote on his head that he died, 
 Death-sick three days on his throne he sate : 
 Then he died, as his father died, great in hate. 
 
 N
 
 178 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 They buried the king upon Tara's hill, 
 
 In his grave upright : — there stands he still. 
 
 Upright there stands he as men that wade 
 
 By night through a castle moat, undismay'd ; 
 
 On his head is the gold crown, the spear in his hand, 
 
 And he looks to the hated Lagenian land." * 
 
 Laery was indeed buried, as described in the poem. 
 
 He still 
 
 " Looks for his tribute from the brow of Tara's royal hill, 
 "Where, spear in hand and helm on head, they tombed him 
 
 stern and tall, 
 Brass-armed complete for standing fight, in Cahir Laery's wall."t 
 
 He was killed by lightning, and interred in the external 
 rampart of his rath al Tara, with his weapons in his hand, 
 and his face turned towards the Leinstermen. This was in 
 accordance with his own directions ; and he assigned this 
 predetermined hate which was to outlive him, as a cause 
 why, though convinced by the teaching of St, Patrick, he 
 could not himself embrace Christianity. 
 
 " But my father, Nial, who is dead long since, 
 
 Permits not me to believe thy word ; 
 
 For the servants of Jesus, thy heavenly prince. 
 
 Once dead, lie flat as in sleep, interr'd ; 
 
 But we are as men through dark floods that wade : — 
 
 We stand in our black graves undismay'd ; 
 
 Our faces are turn'd to the race abhorr'd 
 
 And ready beside us stand spear and sword, 
 
 Ready to strike at the last great day, 
 
 Ready to trample them back into clay." J 
 
 * From Legends of St. Patrick, by Aubrey De Vere. 
 t From Congal, by Sir Samuel Ferguson. 
 j From Inisfail, by Aubrey de Vere.
 
 THE PATRICIAN PERIOD. 179 
 
 To St. Patrick is ascribed the destruction of Crom 
 Cruach, and the smaller idols by which it was surrounded, 
 on the plain of Moy Slaught, in his progress towards Rath 
 Croghan, where we have already noticed his conversion of 
 Ethna and Felimia, daughters of this obstinate Pagan 
 monarch. Passing thence, he spent the season of Lent on 
 the mountain of Croagh Patrick, which was named from 
 this visit of the saint. In Tyrawley he baptized, as we 
 have already mentioned, the sons and followers of Awley, 
 brother of Dathi, in the vicinity of the wood of Foclulh. 
 Thence, the Apostle passed through the central district of 
 Ireland, preaching, baptizing, and founding churches, and 
 entered Munster. At the royal city of Cashel, he was met 
 by ^Engus, king of this southern province, who embraced 
 the faith, and was baptized by Patrick. It is narrated that 
 during the ceremony the pastoral staff of the saint, which 
 terminated in a spike, entered the monarch's sandalled foot; 
 but conceiving this to be part of the rite, king yEngus re- 
 mained unmoved, submitting patiently to the pain which 
 St. Patrick unconsciously inflicted. 
 
 Multitudes of people from Corca Baiscin, in Clare, crossed 
 the Shannon in their curraghs, a simple hide-covered boat, 
 of a kind still used on the western coast of Ireland, and 
 were baptized by Patrick in the waters of this grandest of 
 Irish rivers. In compliance with their entreaty, St. Patrick 
 ascended a hill near Foynes, since called Knoc Patrick, and 
 blessed the territory of Thomond, the land of the Dalcas- 
 sians. A more liberal benediction bestowed by the Apostle
 
 l8o THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 upon Ireland and its inhabitants at large, has been preserved 
 in the Book of Rights, and is thus translated : 
 
 " The blessing of God upon you all, 
 Men of Eri, sons, women, 
 And daughters ; prince-blessing. 
 Weal-blessing, blessing of long life, 
 Health-blessing, blessing of excellence, 
 Eternal blessing, heaven-blessing, 
 Cloud-blessing, sea-blessing, 
 Fruit-blessing, land-blessing, 
 Crop-blessing, dew-blessing, 
 Blessing of elements, blessing of valour, 
 Blessing of dexterity, blessing of glory, 
 Blessing of deeds, blessing of honour, 
 Blessing of happiness, be upon you all 
 Laics, clerics, while I command 
 The blessing of the men of Heaven ; 
 It is my bequest, as it is a Perpetual Blessing." 
 
 The year 453 is the date assigned to the founding of the 
 metropolitan see of Armagh. Daire, a chieftain of the 
 Orgialla, gave the site for his church to St. Patrick. In the 
 crypt of that venerable cathedral, the simple wattle outline 
 of the roofs and doors of this portion of the very old, if not 
 the original building, can yet be traced. Thither, when he 
 felt his end approaching, the Apostle of Ireland wished to 
 turn, to die. He set out from Saul on his journey towards 
 Armagh, when he was commanded by an angel — so the 
 tradition goes — to return to Saul. He was buried at Down- 
 patrick, and the legend, which, however, is shared with many 
 other Lives of Saints, affirms that the place where his mortal 
 remains should rest was also decided by heavenly inter-
 
 THE PATRICIAN PERIOD. l8l 
 
 position. A contest arose between the people of Armagh 
 and those of Uladh, as to where he should be interred. It 
 was agreed that two untamed oxen should be harnessed to 
 the bier of the saint, sent forth^ unguided, and that in the 
 place where they halted the saint should be committed to 
 the earth. The oxen rested at Dun-da-kth-glaisse,. a fortified 
 residence of the chieftains of Uladli, since the site of the 
 present cathedral of Down. To allay the jealous feuds of 
 the rival clans, each party followed, as they conceived, a bier, 
 borne by two oxen, but as the Orgallian tribes neared Armagh, 
 on the banks of a river, the bier and oxen, which they had 
 followed, mysteriously vanished. The exact time of the 
 death of the great Apostle of Ireland is a disputed point. 
 Wednesday, the 17th of March, 493, is the most probable 
 date. 
 
 The marked success of St. Patrick's missionary labours 
 may be in part ascribed to his wise policy in addressing 
 himself, in the first instance, to the kings and chieftains of 
 Erin. The clan readily followed the example of a baptized 
 leader, and toleration, at least, was secured for Christian 
 institutions. On his side, St. Patrick had little of the icono- 
 clastic spirit. He respected, and even adopted, the pagan 
 festivals, converting them into Christian holydays. The 
 Bdtine and Saiiihain of the Irish are celebrated to this day, 
 not unmixed with some superstitious relics of paganism, in 
 the corresponding festivals of May-day and All-hallow E'en. 
 
 The clan system, found and left by him in full oper- 
 ation, extended itself even to the monasteries. The abbot's 
 sway was not dissimilar to that of the chieftain : every 
 monastery was a centre of family influence, and always a
 
 l82 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 refuge for houseless kin. In all respects, the church founded 
 by St. Patrick conformed to the political institutions of the 
 Irish tribes. This church — endowed by the chieftains, 
 recruited from the ranks of the people — in'no way dependent 
 on foreign aid for its prolonged existence — flourished at home 
 and became a missionary church abroad, sending forth, dur- 
 ing the sixth and seventh centuries, indefatigable labourers 
 in the spiritual vineyard ; to whose exertions we owe the 
 evangelization of the greater part of Western Europe. 
 
 We have traced the useful, noble life of the great Irish 
 saint, till it was closed in peace. "I protest in truth," says 
 St. Patrick, in his Confession, " and can rejoice in the thought 
 before God and His holy angels, that I never had any motive 
 save the Gospel and its promises, for ever returning to that 
 people from among whom I had escaped. And I beg of all 
 that believe in God and seek and fear Him, whoever of them 
 may be pleased to examine or read this letter, which I, 
 Patrick — poor sinful and ignorant creature as I am — have 
 written in Ireland, that no one will ever say that my 
 ignorance is to have the credit of it, if I have effected or 
 performed any little matter according to the purpose of God ; 
 but believe and be assured for certain that it was God who 
 has done it. And this is my confession before I shall die." 
 
 The mighty revolution which St. Patrick accomplished was 
 inaugurated without bloodshed. No single martyr suffered 
 for the faith in Erin ; unless that servant of Patrick's, Oran, 
 who exchanged places with the saint in his chariot, and re- 
 ceived a death-wound designed for his master, be considered 
 one. Her kings, though remaining pagan for two generations, 
 permitted the preaching of the new doctrines, and were
 
 THE PATRICIAN PERIOD. 183 
 
 tolerant even to converts made among the members of their 
 own families. It speaks well for the state of morals and 
 manners among the pagan Irish that so mighty a change 
 was effected with little bitterness, and no sacrifice of human 
 life. While kings ruled at Tara, surrounded by their Druids, 
 and worshipping idols. Christian communities were planted 
 in every corner of the land. The zeal and fervour of St. 
 Patrick and his disciples gathered to the infant church a 
 peaceful and rich harvest of souls. Ireland became the 
 land of saints : nor were these simple and pious men who 
 belonged to the first and most perfect of the three orders of 
 saints of the Irish Church, indifferent to secular knowledge. 
 They did not, as the second and inferior order of saints of a 
 succeeding age, shun the society of women, for they were 
 " not afraid of the blast of temptation." The monasteries 
 they established were schools of learning, whose reputation 
 was deservedly so high, that students came from Britain and 
 from the Continent, and received in Ireland gratuitous hos- 
 pitality, and careful instruction. The Irish monks were the 
 transcribers of those manuscript copies of Holy Writ, and of 
 ancient learning, many of which are so exquisitely illuminated 
 that they have been the wonder and delight of succeeding 
 ages. These are true art-treasures, evincing the most refined 
 perception of grace and beauty, with a delicacy of execution 
 which has never been surpassed, and place Ireland, between 
 the fifth and ninth centuries — a period when western Europe 
 was sunk in barbarism — among the foremost seats of piety 
 and learning, and in a position, as regards the arts of decora- 
 tion, as applied to manuscripts and ecclesiastical objects, un- 
 approached by any of the nations of Christendom.
 
 1 84 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 King Leary was succeeded by Ollioll Molt, son of Dathi, 
 who had ruled Connaught for some years previously as 
 provincial king. Ollioll was grandfather to Owen Bel, 
 afterwards king of Connaught, whose hatred of the Clanna 
 Neill of Ulster was as intense as that of Laery for the 
 Leinstermen. Owen Bel was constantly engaged in conflicts 
 against the northern clans, with varying success. At the 
 Battle of Sligo, however, the Connacian army was defeated, 
 and Owen Bel mortally wounded. He lingered for a week; 
 and during that time gave directions about his burial. 
 " Place me in my grave, on the north side of the hill by 
 which the northerns pass when flying before the army of 
 Connaught. Place me standing ; my face towards the north, 
 and my red javelin in my hand." The effect ot this inter- 
 ment of Owen Bel was, that the Clanna Neill were always 
 defeated, and compelled to fly before the Connacian hosts, 
 until they came by stealth, disinterred the body of the hero, 
 carried the corpse northward of the Sligo river, and there 
 buried him, near the shores of Lough Gill, with his face 
 downwards. A stone circle, still existing, on the southern 
 bank of the Sligo river, close by the town, probably marks 
 the site of the sepulchral cairn from which the men of 
 Ulster stole the body of the dreaded monarch. 
 
 When Owen Bel found himself dying, he advised his 
 clan, the Hi-Fiachrach, to elect his son Kellach king of 
 Connaught, notwithstanding that he had become an ecclesias- 
 tical student, and was residing at Clonmacnoise under the 
 tuition of St. Kieran, the founder of that monastic establish- 
 ment. The youth, at the time, of Owen Bel's second son, 
 Cucongelt, unfitted him to be leader of his tribe. Kellach
 
 THE PATRICIAN PERIOD. 1 85 
 
 yielded to the persuasions of the messengers sent to him 
 for this object, impelled by a not unnatural ambition ; but 
 accompanied them without the permission of St, Kieran, 
 who pronounced a curse upon Kellach. To this the 
 credulity of that age has ascribed all his after-misfortunes. 
 
 Kellach afterwards made his peace with St Kieran, and 
 became bishop at Kilmore-Moy, in Tirawley. His kinsman, 
 Guary Aidhne, who was then king of Conn aught, feared 
 him as a rival ; and bribed four students, who were under 
 St. Kellach's instruction in a hermitage to which he had 
 retired on Loch Con, to murder the ex-king and bishop. 
 This wicked deed was accomplished in a wood, and the 
 body of the murdered man was secreted in the hollow trunk 
 of an oak-tree. What added to the enormity of the outrage 
 was, that the four Maols, as they were called, were foster- 
 brothers to St. Kellach. They were rewarded by Guary for 
 their treachery by a grant of land in Tirawley, on which 
 they erected a fort at Dun Finn. 
 
 Cucongelt, younger son of Owen Bel, and brotlier to St. 
 Kellach, went to visit the recluse at Loch Con, and finding 
 his brother had disappeared, and his four pupils become 
 possessed of lands at the hands of King Guary, suspected 
 that Kellach had been murdered. He sought for and 
 found tile body, sadly mangled by ravens and wolves. He 
 brought the remains in succession to three churches ; but 
 the clergy, basely afraid of the vengeance of Guary, refused 
 interment. At last the remains of the hapless prince and 
 bishop found a resting-place. Cucongelt chanted his funeral 
 dirge, and vowed to avenge his death. He assembled in 
 the neighbourhood of Dun Finn his friends and adherents ;
 
 1 86 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 obtained entrance in the guise of a swine-herd into the fort, 
 while the murderers were feasting. He waited till they 
 had become inebriated, and then, summoning his followers, 
 captured the fort, and dragged the murderers in chains to a 
 hill overlooking the River Moy, and since distinguished as 
 Ard-na-ree, where they were mercilessly put to death. 
 
 The monument raised over the Maols is still in existence, 
 and is called by the people the table of the giants, and 
 Clock a?i togbhala, "the raised stone," in Irish. It is a 
 cromlech, formed by a level stone supported by three pillar- 
 stones, and is interesting as being considered the only 
 cromlech in Ireland which can undoubtedly be connected 
 with history. It is spoken of in the Dinnseanchus^ an Irish 
 MS. of high antiquity, as the stone of the Maols, Leacht na 
 MaoL 
 
 Ollioll Molt was slain in the Battle of Ocha, and Lugaid, 
 son of Laery, son of Niall of the Nine Hostages ascended 
 the throne of Ireland. While this king — who, like his 
 predecessors, rejected Christianity and remained pagan 
 — was on the throne, the final settlement of the Dalriads in 
 Scotland took place. 503 is the date assigned for the 
 emigration to Scotland of the six sons of Ere, the two 
 Anguses, the two Loams, and the two Ferguses. Fergus 
 MacErc seized on the sovereignty of Scotland. This is the 
 king who is said to have obtained from his cousin, 
 Murkertach, the reigning monarch of Erin, who succeeded 
 Lugaid, the Lia Fail, or stone of destiny, and to have 
 brought this magical talisman which should secure the 
 throne for ever to a prince of Scotic blood, from Ireland to 
 the land named from these Scotic immigrants, Scodand. Its
 
 THE PATRICIAN PERIOD. 187 
 
 removal to Scone, and from thence to Westminster Abbey, 
 has been already alluded to; but the Irish, in the 12th 
 century, believed that the Lia Fail still existed at Tara : 
 though the stone had ceased to " roar " under the rightful 
 king, since the birth of Christ. 
 
 Lugaid was succeeded by Murkertach Mor MacErca, the 
 first king of the Hy-Niall race of Owen son of Niall. This 
 great family, in its various branches, furnished kings to 
 Erin, with rare interruptions, for many cemturies. 
 
 During his reign St. Brigid, or Bride, died. This celebra- 
 ted foundress of the monastic establishment at Kildare is, in 
 common with St. Patrick and St. Columba, a patron saint of 
 Ireland. She was of noble birth, and claimed descent from 
 Con of the Hundred Battles. She was remarkable from her 
 early youth for her piety and charity to the poor. Vowed 
 to perpetual virginity, she traversed Ireland, founding 
 convents in various places ; but her name and repute are 
 chiefly connected with that " Church of the Oak," Kildare, 
 where she was the foundress of the most famous convent 
 that ever existed in Ireland. Her humility was such 
 that she is said to have tended the cattle in her fields ; 
 she shared all she possessed with the poor, and 
 scattered among those who surrounded her "the most 
 wholesome seed of the word of God." She died at the 
 advanced age of seventy, and was buried at the side of the 
 altar in the cathedral church of Kildare. The ist of 
 February, 525, is the date assigned to this event. She was 
 reverenced, not only in Ireland, but in Scotland also. The 
 Western Isles, Hy-Brides, are said to have their name from 
 her. An annual festival in her house was there held in
 
 l88 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 commemoration of the day of her death, and her name 
 was invoked by the islanders to confirm their most solemn 
 oaths. 
 
 St. Kieran of Saighir is called, by his biographer, " the 
 first-born of the saints of Ireland." His church on Cape 
 Clear Island is said to have been the earliest Christian 
 church erected in Ireland, Its ruins, together with a cross 
 sculptured on an ancient pillar stone, yet exist on this 
 remote island. He afterwards established the monastery 
 of Seir- Kieran, on the brink of the well of Saighir, in the 
 King's County, a spot dedicated to him, according to 
 tradition, by St. Patrick. Round this a great village, in 
 those days deemed a city, speedily clustered. He is sup- 
 posed to have died in Cornwall, and to have been identical 
 with St. Piran, an Irish saint, whose little church of 
 Piranzabuloe, or Piran-in-the-sands, has been covered and 
 so preserved for centuries by the sands which have gained 
 on that part of the English coast. 
 
 St. Finnian of Clonard, and St. Finnian of Moville, were 
 saints of the second order, and, unUke the saints of the 
 first order, dispensed with the society of women, separating 
 them from the monasteries. St. Finnian of Clonard founded 
 his celebrated school about the year 530. It was a place of 
 great resort, and numbered among its students many 
 eminent men, attracted to Clonard by the learning and 
 sanctity of its founder. St. Columba, afterwards the 
 evangelist of the Picts, was among the number. 
 
 The passion for a life of monastic seclusion characterised, 
 to a remarkable degree, the religious Irish at this period. 
 That ascetic temper of mind which is so much to be con-
 
 THE PATRICIAN PERIOD. I09 
 
 demned, as separating men from the healthful duties of 
 oidicary life, has some excuses in an age filled with strife and 
 contention and endless turmoil. Nor can selfishness or in- 
 dolence be justly charged on our Irish recluses, as they were 
 teachers of learning, secular as well as ecclesiastical, zealous 
 missionaries among heathen populations, and tillers of the 
 soil around their monastic establishments. As might 
 naturally be expected, the people became proud of their 
 pastors, and sometimes contended for their possession. It 
 is recorded of St. Ailbe of Emly, that, having converted the 
 people of Munster, and established the Christian Church in 
 that part of Ireland, he was about to seek the solitudes of 
 Iceland when he was coerced by King ^ngus, the convert 
 of St. Patrick, with all becoming respect, to abandon his 
 intention. 
 
 Between the fifth and seventh centuries were founded 
 those monastic establishments on the western isles of Aran, 
 off Galvvay bay, whose remains yet abound on that sacred 
 soil. "Aran of the Saints" contains, at this day, abundant 
 impress of the anchorites of that period. St. Enda obtained 
 a grant of the largest of the three islands which constitute 
 the group, and founded his monastic establishment at the 
 southern extremity of Aranmore. Enda was son of the 
 petty king of Orgiall, and was an accomplished warrior 
 before his conversion. He had successfully avenged his 
 father's death, and chanted a song of triumph as he 
 happened to pass the cell of Fanchea, a female saint of the 
 period. She came to the door of her cell, and asked why he 
 disturbed her meditations. " I have been avenging the death 
 of my father as becomes a son," he replied, " and I now
 
 igo THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 sing my song of victory as becomes a warrior." ** Knowest 
 thou where thy father now is ?" rejoined Fanchea. " I know 
 not," said Enda. " Thy father," said Fanchea, " is now in 
 hell." She proceeded to contrast the tortures of the 
 damned with the bliss of the saved, the mournful gloom of 
 hell with the celestial light of heaven. Her words made 
 a profound impression on the mind of Enda. He frequently 
 visited her cell, and listened to her instructions ; but during 
 these visits became strongly attached to one of Fanchea's 
 sisterhood, and the novice returned the affection of the young 
 prince. Fanchea interposed. " Whether wouldst thou have 
 for spouse," she asked of the novice, " this young King of 
 Orgiall, whom thou lovest, or that heavenly King whom 
 I love?" — "Whom thou lovest, Him also will I love," 
 replied the girl. She sought her bed, and expired. Enda 
 was brought by Fanchea to look on the dead face of his 
 beloved. He renounced the world, travelled to Rome, 
 returned, accompanied by one hundred and fifty monks, 
 and founded, in 580, his church at Aran. His name 
 yet survives in Kilany, but his church has disappeared, 
 and the pure shining sands cover the adjoining cemeter)', 
 with its one hundred and twenty inscribed tombs of holy 
 men. The foundations of the round tower only remain ; 
 but not far from the site of Enda's erections stands, to 
 this day, the smallest church in Ireland, that of St. 
 Benignus. Among the ruins of the seven churches in 
 the north part of Aran, at Kilbrecan, still exists the 
 tomb of their founder, St. Brecan. On a spherical black 
 stone found in his grave, we read the inscription in Irish 
 " Pray for Brecan the Pilgrim." Another tomb at this
 
 THE PATRICIAN PERIOD. IQt 
 
 place is inscribed to the memory of the " seven Romans," 
 strangers from distant lands, seeking in this Irish Thebaid 
 opportunity for indulgence in the contemplative life. 
 
 But the glories of the Irish church of this period cul- 
 minate in the noble foundation of Clonmacnoise on the 
 Shannon. It was established 548 by St. Kieran, generally 
 called "the Son of the Artificer," to distinguish him from 
 another saint of the same name. Uermid MacKervil, 
 afterwards King of Ireland, passed his youth in exile, 
 and was sheltered at Clonmacnoise by St. Kieran, on 
 whose foundation he subsequently bestowed a grant of 
 lands. On the banks of the Shannon, a few miles below 
 Athlone, amidst verdant meadows, gently rolling hillocks — 
 and beyond these a vast expanse of level bog, not black 
 and dreary, but covered with a russet garment of heaths of 
 the richest hues, and washed by the eddies of the broad 
 placid river, with its sedgy margin of reeds and bulrushes 
 — rise the graceful round towers, picturesque and ex- 
 quisitely sculptured crosses, and other monastic ruins of 
 Clonmacnoise. 
 
 St. Kieran, the original founder, was a descendant of 
 Core, one of the sons whom Maev of Cruachan bore to the 
 hero, Fergus MacRoy, and was thus of the Irian stock. 
 He had been one of the most distinguished pupils of St. 
 Finnian of Clonard. He had also resided at Aran of the 
 Saints, acquiring, under the austere rule of St. Enda, those 
 lessons to be learned in seclusion from the affairs of secular 
 life, in the comparative isolation of these rocky islets washed 
 by the mighty waves of the Atlantic. But before entering 
 into the particulars connected with this great ecclesias-
 
 192 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 tical establishment, which was endowed by King Dermid 
 MacKervil, we must complete our history of King. 
 Murkertach MacErca and his successor, Tuathal Mael- 
 garv, who preceded King Dermid on the throne of Erin. 
 Murkertach is said, in our annals, to have died a double 
 death. He was both burned and drowned. He had aban. 
 doned the society of his queen for that of a beautiful girl 
 named Sin. Her kindred had been slain by the king in 
 battle, and Sin devoted her life to revenge them. With 
 this object she threw herself in the way of the monarch, 
 captivated him by her charms, and availed herself of oppor- 
 tunities thus obtained to burn his house at Cletty. Murker- 
 tach, maddened by his sufferings from fire, plunged into a 
 butt of wine, in which he was suffocated. Tuathal Mael- 
 garv succeeded him on the throne. This king banished out 
 of Meath, a rival claimant, Dermid MacKervil, who is said 
 to have passed the nine years of his exile in a boat on the 
 Shannon, befriended by sympathisers on both sides of the 
 river. Among these was St. Kieran, then engaged in 
 founding his church at Clonmacnoise. 
 
 On one occasion Dermid was assisting St. Kieran in 
 thrusting down in the earth one of the pillars or wattles 
 of the house. He took the saint's hand, as they grasped the 
 pole, and put it above his own hand in sign of reverence. 
 Kieran, touched by this mark of humility, fervently besought 
 God of his great goodness that the hand of Dermid might 
 have superiority over all Ireland. The prayer brought a 
 bloody accomplishment. It was heard by the foster-brother 
 of Dermid, who instantly devised a plan for realizing, by 
 the murder of the reigning monarch, the saint's petition.
 
 . THE PATRICIAN PERIOD. 193 
 
 Tuatlial, in his hostility to the rival whom he dreaded, had 
 offered a reward to any one vvho would bring him the heart 
 of Dermid, Maelmora, the foster-brother, sacrificed a dog, 
 placed its heart on a spear, and, mounted on a swift horse, 
 rode into the presence of the king. When the attendants 
 of Tuathal saw the man approaching with the bloody trophy, 
 they made way, supposing it to be the heart of Dermid 
 about to be laid at the sovereign's feet. Maelmora, in the 
 act of presenting it, transfixed Tuathal with his spear. His 
 own life paid the penalty of his deed, but his object was 
 won. Dermid was at once proclaimed king at Tara. 
 
 Dermid became a liberal benefactor to Clonmacnoise. 
 Round the little church, in whose foundation he had assisted — 
 a fact corroborated by the figures of St Kieran and his friend 
 grasping the pole, carved on one side of the stone crosses 
 which yet remain to adorn the spot — sprung up in after- 
 ages those foundations which still stand to evince the piety 
 and skill of their builders. There are few spots in our land 
 so rich in interest. The larger of its two round towers was 
 finished for King Turlogh O'Conor, a.d. 1127. Its crosses 
 are beautiful specimens of the art of Sculpture, as it existed 
 among the Irish before the eleventh century. On the great 
 cross are sculptured inscriptions which read "A prayer for 
 Flann son of Maelsechlain," and " A prayer for Colman, 
 who made this cross for the King Flan." Our annals record 
 that King Flann erected the cathedral at Clonmacnoise, 
 909 ; and this cross will therefore belong to about the same 
 date. The second cross is decorated with the peculiar 
 interlaced pattern work so familiar in Irish art. 
 
 The tombs of kings, saints, and scholars, reposing for
 
 194 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 upwards of one thousand years, can yet be identified at this 
 favourite burial ground, which most of the princes of the 
 southern Hy-Niall selected to be their last resting place. 
 Among them, we may enumerate the stone of Siubhne Mac 
 Maelhumai, one of the three "most learned doctors of the 
 Irish," who visited Alfred in the year 891, and assisted at 
 the foundation of Oxford. His death is recorded, not only 
 in the Irish annals, but in the Saxon Chronicle, and also by 
 Florence of Worcester, and Caradoc of Llancarvan. 
 
 The remains of the monastic establishment founded by 
 St. Kevin at Glendalough in the county of Wicklow, are 
 familiar to multitudes who visit that mountain valley with 
 its two lonely lakes : it lies within easy distance of Dubhn. 
 St. Kevin died 618 ; he had a brother of the same name, 
 from whom the southern island of Aran took its designa' 
 tion, that 
 
 Rocky eastern isle that bears 
 The name of blessed Coemhan, who doth show 
 Pity unto the storm-tossed seaman's prayers. 
 
 Another distinguished saint of this period was Brendan, 
 who became in his advanced years Abbot of Clonfert. He 
 voyaged, according to a poetic tradition, across the Atlantic 
 with a few chosen companions in search of the mysterious 
 island of Hy-Brasail, This enchanted land is supposed to 
 be visible from the western coast of Ireland every seventh 
 year. If once touched by fire, even by the flight of a 
 kindled arrow, it would become subject to the Ordinary 
 laws of existence, and remain a delightful paradise for man, 
 instead of disappearing with all its glories from the ken of
 
 THE PATRICIAN PERIOD. 1 95 
 
 the baffled discoverer. Missionary zeal, and love of dis- 
 covery, stimulated St. Brendan to venture on the trackless 
 ocean, in his small hide-covered coracle, vv^ith his few com- 
 panions. He had been nurtured by the shores of the 
 Atlantic, in his native Kerry, where his name yet lingers in 
 Brandon mountain near Dingle. 
 
 I grew to manhood by the western wave, 
 
 Among the mighty mountains on the shore : 
 My bed the rock within some natural cave ; 
 
 My food, whate'er the seas or seasons bore ; 
 My occupation, morn and noon and night, 
 
 The only dream my hasty slumbers gave, 
 Was Time's unheeding, unreturning flight, 
 
 And the great world that lies beyond the grave. 
 
 And then I saw the mighty sea expand, 
 
 Like Time's unmeasured and unfathomed waves ; 
 One with its tide-marks on the ridgy sand, 
 
 The other with its line of weedy graves ; 
 And as beyond the outstretched wave of Time, 
 
 The eye of Faith a brighter land may meet, 
 So did I dream of some more sunny clime, 
 
 Beyond the waste of waters at my feet. 
 
 Some clime where man, unknowing and unknown. 
 
 For God's refreshing word still gasps and faints ; 
 Or happier rather some Elysian zone, 
 
 Made for the habitation of His saints ; 
 Where Nature's love the sweat of labour spares. 
 
 Nor turns to usury the wealth it lends, 
 Where the rich soil spontaneous harvest bears. 
 
 And the tall tree with milk-filled clusters bends.
 
 196 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 The thought grew stronger with my growing days, 
 
 Even like to manhood's strengthening mind and Hmb ; 
 And often now amid the purple haze, 
 
 That evening breathed upon the horizon's rim, 
 Methought, as there I sought my wished-for home, 
 
 I could descry amid the waters green, 
 Full many a diamond shrine and golden dome. 
 
 And crystal palaces of dazzling sheen. 
 
 And then I longed with impotent desire, 
 
 Even for the bow whereby the Pythian bled, 
 That I might send one dart of living fire 
 
 Into that land, before the vision fled. 
 And thus at length fix thy enchanted shore, 
 
 Hy-Brasail— Eden of the western wave. 
 That thou again wouldst fade away no more, 
 
 Buried and lost within thy azure grave. 
 
 But angels came and whispered as I dreamt, 
 
 " This is no phantom of a frenzied brain, 
 God shows this land from time to time to tempt 
 
 Some daring mariner across the main ; 
 By thee the mighty venture must be made, 
 
 By thee shall myriad souls to Christ be won ! 
 Arise, depart, and trust to God for aid ! " 
 
 I woke, and kneeling cried, "His will be done ! "* 
 
 St. Brendan, after preliminary visits to Aran of the saints, 
 and to the coasts of Connaught, launched his frail bark 
 boldly on the Atlantic wave, and reached the distant land, it 
 may be the New England shore. In the quaint language of 
 the Golden Legend, " Soon after, as God would, they saw a 
 
 * From The Voyage of Si. Brendan, by D. Florence MacCarthv.
 
 THE PATRICIAN PERIOD. 197 
 
 fair island full of flowers, herbs, and trees, whereof they 
 thanked God of his good grace; and anon they went on land, 
 and when they had gone long in this, they found a full fayre 
 well, and thereby stood a fair tree full of boughs, and on 
 every bough sat a fayre bird. The number of them was so 
 great, and they sang so merrily, that it was an heavenly noise 
 to hear. Whereupon St. Brendan kneeled down on his 
 knees and wept for joy, and made his praises devoutly to our 
 Lord God, to know what these birds meant." The notes of 
 these feathered songsters, from the mocking-bird, sweetest 
 of singers, to the tiny and brilliantly-coloured humming birds 
 of America, are charmingly described in the poem from which 
 we have quoted. In the antique legend the birds are made 
 to tell St. Brendan, that they are among those fallen angels 
 who lost Paradise with Lucifer, " millions of spirits for his 
 fault amerced of heaven, and from eternal splendours flung, 
 for his revolt ; " but yet, as they were not among the most 
 guilty, " our Lord hath sent us here, out of all pain in full 
 great joy and mirth, after his pleasing, here to serve him on 
 this tree in the best manner we can." St. Brendan 
 spent seven weeks among them, and continued his journey 
 inland till he came to a great river flowing east and west, per- 
 haps the River Ohio. Here he had a vision, and was desired 
 to return home, as it was reserved to other times and other 
 teachers to Christianize that pleasant land. Seven years after 
 the wanderer had left the shores of Ireland, he returned to 
 his native land, and founded his monastery at Clonfert. 
 Here he is said to have presided over three thousand 
 monks, who supported themselves by the labour of their own 
 hands.
 
 198 
 
 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 TABLE OF THE KINGS OF IRELAND DURING THE PATRICIAN 
 
 PERIOD. 
 
 A.D. 
 Dathi of the line of Eremon ... 405 
 
 Laegari 
 OUioU Molt 
 Lugaid 
 
 Eremon 
 Eremon 
 Eremon 
 
 ( Tnterregrrum lasting 5 years.) 
 
 Murkertach MacErca of the line of Eremon 
 Teuthal Maelgarv „ Eremon 
 
 Dermid Mackervil „ Eremon 
 
 428 
 463 
 483 
 
 r'3 
 
 533 
 544
 
 FOUNDATIONS OF THE COLUMBAN CHURCH 
 IN SCOTLAND. 
 
 Apiircrosan, Applecross. 
 
 Rosmarkyn, Rosemarky. 
 
 Royal Fort, Munitio Brudeirgis. 
 
 Abcrdohoir, Aberdour. 
 
 Deer. 
 
 Kilrymont, St. Andrews. 
 
 Abernethyn, Abernethy. 
 
 Scone. 
 
 Dunkeld. 
 
 Dull. 
 
 Lochlevyn, Loch Levin. 
 
 D'.iinblatu. 
 
 Royal Fort of Dalriad Kings, Dunad. 
 
 Hy, or lona. 
 
 Cinn-^aradh, Kingarth, Bute. 
 
 Aldyde, Dumbarton Fort. 
 
 Edwinsburg, Edinburgh. 
 
 Inchkeith, Island* 
 
 Isle of May. 
 
 Tyningham, 
 
 Liiidisfarne. 
 
 Metros, Melrose. 
 
 Skye, two Monastic establishments. 
 
 Tiree, with two Monastic establiihments. 
 
 The Garveloch Isles. 
 
 Lismore Island. 
 
 Eigg Island.
 
 THE COLUMBAN PERIOIX 199 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE COLUMBAN PERIOD. 
 FROM DERMID MAC KEKVIL A.D. 544, TO AEDII MAC AINMIRE 599. 
 
 Saint Columba — His noble birth— A pupil of Saint Finnian— Companion 
 of Kieran — Kieran's jealousy rebuked — Columba's copy of Finnian's 
 Psalter — King Dermid's judgment in favour of Finnian's copyright 
 — Leads to the Battle of Cuildrevne — The MS. still in existence — 
 Formerly the battle-standard of the O'Donnells — The bell of Saint 
 Patrick the battle-standard of the Kinel-Owen — The crozier of Saint 
 Grellan the battle-standard of the O'Kellys — Story of the emigrants 
 of the Clan CoUa and Saint Grellan — Poem ascribed to Saint 
 Columba — He goes into exile to Hy ; I-colm-kill (lona), in penance 
 for his part in the battle of Cuildrevne — The Columban Rule — Their 
 time of celebrating Easter — The existing MSS. ascribed to Saint 
 Columba — His metrical dialogue with Cormac — Pie returns to 
 Ireland to attend the Synod of Drumceat — Objects of King Aedh 
 in convening that assembly— The exactions of the Bards — Story of 
 King Guary and Sancan, and the quest for the Tain — Saint Columba 
 intercedes for the Bards — Legend of the bird blown from Ireland to 
 lona — The Saint aids the Dalriad king Aid an in establishing his 
 independence — His death — His burial at lona — His shrine — Clan 
 system in the Columban monasteries — Successors of Columba — 
 Prince Oswald of Northumbria educated at lona — Sends for instruc- 
 tors for his people— St. Aidan of lona settles at Lindisfarne — Synod 
 of Whitby — Chronological Table. 
 
 We turn from the legendary voyage of St. Brendan to the 
 very real, energetic, and active life of the greatest of our 
 Irish saints after Patrick. 
 
 Colombkille (Columba of the Churches) was nobly born. 
 His father, Felimy, and his mother, Ethna, were both of high
 
 200 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 rank. He was descended from King Niall of the Nine 
 Hostages through his son, Conall Gulban, head of the Kinel 
 Conaill, or branch of the northern Hy-Niall, who gave their 
 name Tyrconnell to the north-western part of Ulster. Gartan, 
 near Letterkenny, in the County Donegal, is said to have 
 been his birthplace. Columba studied in his youth at the 
 school of St. Finnian of Maghbile (Moville), and is also 
 claimed as a pupil of St. Finnian of Clonard and of Gemman, 
 who was probably a Christian bard. It is certain that St. 
 Columba became a scholar of no mean reputation, well 
 versed in the Sacred Writings, and himself a poet. Of his 
 personal appearance we can infer that he was of florid com- 
 plexion, and his hair red or auburn. His temperament was 
 hasty and passionate, yet generous and devoted. He had 
 many imperfections, and the impetuosity of his temper led 
 him into much that was inconsistent with Christian duty. 
 But he was a noble man, and did noble work. He was 
 great and influential in his own time, and his memory is 
 blessed and revered by succeeding generations. He 
 founded in 546 the monastery of Doire-Calgaich, near 
 Lough Foyle, on land bestowed on him by his kindred, 
 the princes of Tyrconnell. To this establishment the 
 town of Derry owes its name and origin. Durrow, in 
 the King's County, a monastery which soon became very 
 celebrated, was established by Columba a few years later. 
 At Kells, a stone-roofed buildmg still bears his name, though 
 erected at a later period. This house probably served as 
 a residence while part of the building was used as an oratory. 
 The round church-towers of Swords, Raphoe, Tory Island, 
 and Drumclifr, and the beautiful sculptured crosses at the
 
 THE COLUMBAN PERIOD. 20I 
 
 latter place, though perhaps of later date, mark other 
 foundations ascribed to him. He was indeed an indefatig- 
 able' labourer in the cause of Christ in Ireland before those 
 events occurred which drove him from his native land an 
 exile to lona. On this remote island of the Hebrides, he 
 founded the celebrated monastic establishment from whence 
 he evangelized the Picts, and where he trained his monks 
 for the arduous missionary work which afterwards dis- 
 tinguished the community of Hy, as lona in those days 
 was called. 
 
 Among his early companions in study was Kieran, " son 
 of the Artificer," afterwards illustrious as the founder of 
 Clonmacnoise. The favour with which Columba was 
 regarded by their common instructor awakened some 
 feeling of jealousy in the breast of the young Kieran. 
 This was allayed by a vision or dream, or, let us rather 
 suppose, by the conviction of his own mind in moments 
 of calm reflection. An angel appeared to him — so runs 
 the legend — and showed him the carpenter's plane and 
 saw, and other tools of his father's handicraft. With 
 these were contrasted the insignia of royalty, symbols of 
 the rank to which the high-born Columba might have 
 aspired, had he not preferred the vocation of the monk 
 to the earthly glories of the prince. " Look on these," 
 said the angel to Kieran, holding before him the carpenter's 
 tools : — " These are what thou hast given up for Christ ; 
 but Columba has made a higher sacrifice ; let this re- 
 flection moderate thy unworthy thoughts." Kieran never 
 forgot the lesson, and discarded from his breast all 
 lingering remains of jealous feeling.
 
 202 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 St. Finnian of Moville, in whose school Columba and 
 Kieran had studied, was possessed of a remarkable copy 
 of the Gospels, which he had brought with him from 
 Home, and valued most highly. It has been suggested 
 that the MS. was a copy of St. Jerome's translation of 
 this part of Holy Writ. The saint — who afterwards 
 returned to Italy, and has been identified with Frigidian, 
 patron saint and Bishop of Lucca— had been requested 
 to lend this book to St. Fintan of Dunflesk, a pupil at 
 the time of St. Comgall of Bangor. Finnian refused to 
 part with his manuscript. Fintan complained of this 
 churlishness to his master, Comgall, who exhorted the 
 student to patience, and consoled him, predicting that the 
 book should yet come into his possession. The very 
 next day, the story goes, Moville was attacked by pirates, 
 who carried off, among other spoils, the precious volume 
 which St. Finnian declined to lend. The plunderers 
 meditated a further attack on Bangor. Their project 
 was not carried into execution ; for a storm dispersed 
 their ships, and St. Fintan found on the shore the 
 longed-for book, among other spoil, quite uninjured. 
 Whether he retained it, or returned it, when read, to 
 its owner, we cannot tell. The surreptitious copying of 
 another manuscript of St. Finnian's supposed to have 
 been a copy of the Psalms, led to more serious results. 
 
 St. Columba is reported, during a "isit he paid to 
 Moville, to have remained daily in the church when the 
 congregation had retired, for the study of St. Finnian's 
 book. He ardently desired to possess a copy of it, and 
 fearing to be refused should he ask the owner, made a
 
 THE COLUMBAN PERIOD. 203 
 
 hurritd transcript of this highly-prized volume of the 
 Psalms. He was observed, and his occupation reported 
 to St. Finnian, who was highly indignant, and demanded 
 the copy as his by right, as well as the original. St. 
 Columba refused to surrender his transcript, and the 
 matter was referred to King Dermid. The sovereign 
 who had been so great a benefactor to Clonmacnoise* 
 j>ronounced for sentence, " To every cow belongeth her 
 calf ; so to every book belongeth its copy/' and ad- 
 judged both to Finnian. 
 
 " This is an unjust decision, O Dermid," said Columba, 
 "and I will avenge it on you." 
 
 The breach was widened between the king and the 
 saint by the following circumstance : — 
 
 The young son of the King of Connaught, at that 
 time a hostage at Tara, killed, at a game of hurling, the 
 son of King Dermid's steward, and fled for sanctuary to 
 Columba. Dermid had him dragged from the arms of 
 the saint and put to death for having desecrated the 
 precincts of his royal palace. The fiery temper of Columba 
 was roused hv these insults. King Dermid had placed 
 a guard on his person to prevent his leaving Tan ; but 
 "the justice of God having thrown a veil of unrecogni- 
 tion around him," St. Columba made his escape, and 
 traversed, alone, the mountains which interposed between 
 Tara and his native wilds of Tyrconnell. Here, in soli- 
 tude, alone with God, he expresses his confidence and 
 trust in the protection of the Holy Trinity, and refers to 
 pagan superstitions still blending with the religion of 
 Dermid.
 
 204 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 *' Alone am I upon the mountain. 
 
 O King of Heaven, prosper my way, 
 
 And then nothing need I fear, 
 
 More than if guarded by six thousand men. 
 
 pur fate depends not on sneezing, 
 
 Nor on a bird perched on a twig ; 
 
 Nor on the root of a knotted tree. 
 
 Nor on the noise of clapping hands. 
 
 Better is He in whom we trust, 
 
 The Father, the One, and the Son." 
 
 The powerful tribes of the Hy-Niall, the Kinel Conaill 
 and Kinel Owen, near connections of St. Columba, with 
 Aedh, King of Connaught, whose son had been put to 
 death by Dermid, challenged that king to battle. The 
 hostile armies encountered at Cuildrevno, near Sligo. 
 Columba offered up petitions for the success of his friends 
 
 '' He will not refuse me — 
 My Druid — may he be on my side ! — 
 Is the son of God : with us will He be aiding.'' 
 
 St. Finnian is stated to have offered up prayers for King 
 Dermid. This entire story is doubted, as neither Bede nor 
 Adamnan, the biographer of St. Columba, makes any mention 
 of this quarrel between the saints. The battle of Cuildrevne', 
 A.D. 561, is, however, an historical fact, the king having been 
 defeated and the friends of St. Columba victorious. One 
 man only is recorded to have fallen on their side. St. 
 Columba, calmed and penitent for the blood shed in battle, 
 bouf^ht the counsel of St. Molaise, of Devenish Island, in 
 Lough Erne. His confessor enjoined on him, as penance for 
 his fault, that he should leave Ireland, and never again look
 
 THE COLUMBAN PERIOD. 205 
 
 on his native lund. Columba obeyed. He set forth with 
 twelve companions for Scotland, where his kindred, the 
 Dalriad kings, readily received him. It will be remembered 
 that his grandfather had married Ere, daughter of Loam Mdr, 
 and thus he was nearly connected with the sovereigns of 
 Scotland as well as with successive kings of Ireland ; for his 
 cousins, Domnall and Fergus, became joint kings of Erin 
 on the death of Dermid a few years after the battle of 
 Cuildrevne. 
 
 The copy of the Psalms, which was the original cause of 
 all this trouble, yet exists, and is preserved as an heir-loom 
 in the family of the O'Donnells of Newport, representatives 
 of St. Columba's race. The Ca'ah or Cathach (The 
 "Battler") "consists of fifty-eight leaves of fine vellum, 
 written in a small uniform but rather hurried hand, with 
 some slight attempts at illumination." Of its inner cases 
 nothing is recorded, but the magnificent external silver-gilt 
 case, set with precious stones, in which it now reposes, was 
 made at the expense of Cathbar O'Donnell, Chief of Tyr- 
 connell, and Donnell O'Rafferty, Abbot of Kells, some 
 time before the year 1098, at which time this Abbot of Kells 
 died. The inscription on the shrine or case itself is as 
 follows : — 
 
 " A prayer for Cathbharr O'Donnell, by whom this shrine 
 was made ; and for Sitric, the son of MacAedha, who made 
 it ; and for Domhnall Ua Robhartaigh, the Comharba of 
 Cenannus, by whom it was made." The virtues of the 
 Ca'ah are thus recounted in the life of St. Columkille by 
 Manus O'Donnell : — 
 
 "The Cathach, indeed, is the name of the book on
 
 2C6 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 account of which the battle was fought ; and it is it that is 
 Cohjm Cille's high reUc in Tir Conaill : and it is ornamented 
 with silver, and it is not lawful to open it ; and if it is carried 
 three times to the right around the army of Cinel Conaill 
 when going to battle, it is certain that they would come out 
 of it with victory ; and it is upon the breast of a Comharba, 
 or a priest without mortal sin upon him (as well as he can), 
 that it is proper for the Cathach to be, at going round that 
 army." 
 
 The after-fate of this manuscript, written by the pen of 
 St. Columba, is not without interest. This precious heir- 
 loom of the O'Donnells received some further decoration 
 at the hand of Daniel O'Donnell in the year 1723. This 
 O'Donnell, who had retired to the Continent, is believed to 
 have fought in the battle of the Boyne. He placed the 
 Cathach in a monastery in Belgium, with a written injunction 
 that it should be kept till claimed by the head of the 
 O'Donnell family. It was noticed by an Irish lady early in 
 the present century, who spoke of it to Sir Neal O'Donnell, 
 and he obtained it on satisfying its keepers of his claim to 
 the chieftainship of the race. 
 
 As this warlike sept used to go to battle under their 
 book-standard, so the Kinel-Owen marched on their wars 
 under the bell of St. Patrick; and another great family of 
 Ulster origin, the O'Kellys of Hy-Many, bore the crozier 
 of their patron Saint, Grellan, in like manner as a battle- 
 standard. 
 
 The story of their coming under the patronage of Grellan 
 is too characteristic to be omitted. We have spoken before 
 of the three Collas who destroyed Emania in the three
 
 THE COLUMBAN PERIOD. 207: 
 
 hundred and thirty-first year of the Christian era. Maine 
 Mor, a descendant of Coll da Cree, resolved to migrate from 
 the central districts of Orgiall to Connaiight. " Numerous 
 are our heroes, and great is our population," reasoned the 
 chiefs of the clan, at a great family reunion held by them 
 at Clogher about the end of the fifth century ; " our tribe 
 having multiplied, and we cannot all find room in any one 
 province without quarrelling among ourselves, for nobles 
 cannot well bear to be confined." And they also said : 
 " Let us see which province of Banba is thinnest in popu- 
 lation, and in which most Firbolgs remain ; and let us 
 narrow it on them. The province of Connaught is in the 
 possession of these Atacots, excepting that they pay tribute 
 to our relative, and let us attack it." 
 
 " These fine hosts suddenly and heroically proceeded in 
 well-arranged battalions, with their flocks and herds " west- 
 wards across the Shannon. This formidable inroad on 
 the territories of the Firbolg chief, Cian, was encountered 
 by him with promptly raised levies of three thousand men. 
 Grellan, a bishop in these semi-pagan parts — a strong 
 favourer of the clan Colla, who had held out to him the 
 inducement of increased tribute and duteous submission to 
 his authority — at first endeavoured to mediate. A truce 
 was agreed on, and hostages given to Cian by Maine Mor. 
 The noblest of these was a son of Maine's who was given 
 for safe keeping into the hands of Cian's law-giver. But his 
 wife becoming enamoured of the young captive, the Brehon, 
 inflamed with jealousy, counselled Cian to put the hostages 
 to death. 
 
 It is alleged that his treachery was intended to be carried
 
 2o8 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 into efiFect at a feast which Cian prepared for them, but that 
 St. Grellan, having information of it, and apprehensive that 
 his guarantee would be violated, called down from heaven 
 a curse on the Firbolgs. " He obtained his request from 
 God," says the Irish-written Life of the Saint, "for the great 
 plain was softened and made a quagmire under the feet of 
 Cian and his people, so that they were swallowed into the 
 earth ; and the place received the name of Magh Liach, i.e., 
 the plain of sorrow, from the sorrow of the heroes who were 
 thus cut off by the holy cleric. Then Maine and his people 
 came to where St. Grellan was, and bowed down their heads 
 to him, and he told them how treachery had been designed 
 for them, and how God and himself had saved them from 
 those treacherous people. St. Grellan then said to them, 
 ' Take possession of this territory, abominate treachery, and 
 you shall have my blessing ; observe brotherly love, and 
 ordain my tribute and my own land "for me from this day 
 forth forever.' — ' Pass thy own award,' said Maine, 'in what- 
 ever is pleasing to thee,' &c. — ' I shall,' said St. Grellan, and 
 he repeated these brief verses following : " — 
 
 The saint having enumerated the dues and tributes which 
 he claimed, thus concludes his chant : — 
 
 " While they remain obedient to my will, they shall be victorious 
 
 in every battle : 
 Let the warlike chiefs observe the advice of my successor, 
 And among the Gaels north and south, theirs shall be the 
 
 unerring director. 
 Frequent my sacred church which has protected each refugee : 
 Refuse not to pay your tribute to me, and you shall receive as I 
 
 have promised.
 
 THE COLUMBAN PERIOD. 209 
 
 My blessing on the agile race, the sons of Maine of chess-boards ; 
 That race shall not be subdued, so as they carry my crozier : 
 Let the battle standard of the race be my crozier of true valour, 
 And battles will not overwhelm them ; their successes shall be 
 very great." 
 
 The chiefs of Hy-Many — as the territory of about two 
 hundred square miles in Galway and Roscommon, thus 
 acquired by Main6 Mor, was called — bore from thenceforth 
 the crozier of St. Grellan as their battle standard. This 
 interesting relic was preserved for centuries in the family of 
 Cronelly, hereditary coarbs of Grellan. In the year 1836 
 it still was in the possession of a poor man of the name. 
 Queen Elizabeth treated with the chiefs of Hy-Many of her 
 day, and in 1585 made "agreement between the Irish 
 chieftains and inhabitants of Imany, called the O'Kellie's 
 country, on both sides of the river of Suek, in Connaught, 
 and the queen's majesty . . . that they and their heirs 
 shall henceforth behave themselves like good subjects ; shall 
 put no ymposition or chardge upon the inhabyters of the 
 lands, and shall bring uppe their children after the English 
 fashions, and in the use of the Englishe tounge." 
 
 We return from the long digression into which these 
 singular ensigns of battle have led us, to the ardent young 
 scribe of the Cathach. St. Columba was an accomplished 
 poet, and there is much beauty and interest in his lines on 
 Ben Edar, the hill of Howlh, and his monastic establishment 
 at Derry, thus rendered from the Irish — 
 
 ^ " Delightful to be on.Benn-Edar, 
 
 Before going o'er the white-sea ; 
 The dashing of the waves against its face, 
 The bareness of its shore and its border. 
 
 P
 
 210 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST^ 
 
 Delightful to be on Benn-Edar, 
 
 After coming o'er the white-bosomed sea, 
 
 To row one's little coracle 
 
 Ochone ! on the swift-waved shore. 
 
 How rapid the speed of my coracle ; 
 And its stern turned upon Derry ; 
 I grieve at my errand o'er the noble sea, 
 Travelling to Alba of the ravens. 
 
 My foot in my sweet little coracle, 
 My sad heart still bleeding : 
 Weak is the man that cannot lead; 
 Totally blind are all the ignorant. 
 
 There is a grey eye 
 
 That looks back upon Erin ; 
 
 It shall not see, during life, 
 
 The men of Erin, nor their wives. 
 
 My vision o'er the brine I stretch, 
 From the ample oaken planks ; 
 Large is the tear in my soft grey eye 
 When I look back upon Erin. 
 
 Upon Erin my attention is fixed ; 
 Upon Loch Levin ; upon Line, 
 Upon the lands the Ultonians own ; 
 Upon smooth Munster : upon Meath. 
 
 Numerous in the East are tall champions 
 Many the diseases and distempers there 
 Many they with scanty clothes ; 
 Many the hard and jealous hearts.
 
 THE COLUMBAN PERIOD. 21 T 
 
 Plentiful in the West the apple-fruit ; 
 Many the kings and princes ; 
 Plentiful its luxuriant sloes ; 
 Plentiful its noble, acorn-bearing oaks. 
 
 Melodious her clerics, melodious her birds, 
 Gentle her youths, wise her seniors, 
 Illustrious her men, noble to behold, 
 Illustrious her women for fond espousal. 
 
 It is in the West sweet Brendan is, 
 And Colum, son of Crimthann, 
 And in the West fair Baithin shall be, 
 And in the West shall Adamnan be. 
 
 Carry my inquiries after that 
 Unto Comgall of eternal life ; 
 Carry my inquiries after that 
 To the bold King of fair Emania. 
 
 Carry with thee, thou noble youth, 
 My blessing and my benediction. 
 One half upon Erin, seven fold ; 
 And half on Alba at the same time. 
 
 Carry my benediction over the sea 
 To the nobles of the Island of the Gaedhil ; 
 Let them not credit Molaisi's words, 
 Nor his threatened persecution. 
 
 Were it not for Molaisi's words 
 At the cross of Ath-Molaisi, 
 I should not now permit 
 Disease or distemper in Ireland.
 
 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 Take my blessing with thee to the West •. 
 Broken is my heart in my breast : 
 Should sudden death overtake me 
 It is for my great love of the Gaedhil. 
 
 Gaedhil, Gaedhil, beloved name ! 
 My only desire is to invoke it : 
 Beloved is Cuimin of fair hair ; 
 Beloved are Cainnech and Comgall. 
 
 Were the tribute of all Alba mine, 
 From its centre to its border, 
 I would prefer the site of one house 
 In the middle of fair Derry. 
 
 The reason I love Derry is, 
 For its quietness, for its purity, 
 And for its crowds of white angels 
 From the one end to the other. 
 
 The reason why I love Derry is, 
 For its quietness, for its purity ; 
 Crowded full of heaven's angels 
 Is every leaf of the oaks of Derry. 
 
 My Derry, my little oak grove, 
 My dwelling, and my little cell ; 
 O eternal God, in heaven above, 
 Woe be to him who violates it ! 
 
 Beloved are Durrow and Derry ; 
 Beloved is Raphoe in purity ; 
 Beloved Drumhone of rich fruits 
 Beloved are Swords and Kells.
 
 THE COLUMBAN PERIOD. 213 
 
 Beloved to my heart, also in the West, 
 Drumcliff, at Culcinne's strand. 
 To behold the fair Loch Feval, 
 The form of its shores, is delightful. 
 
 Delightful is that, and delightful 
 
 The salt main on which the sea-gulls cry, 
 
 On my coming from Derry afar ; 
 
 It is quiet, and it is delightful. 
 
 Delightful." 
 
 Although, from internal evidences, this charming poem, 
 in the complete form in which it has come down to us, 
 may be later than St. Columba's age, yet as it is indeed 
 " delightful," from its sweetness and tenderness, its love 
 of nature, and love of country, and, we doubt not, truly 
 expresses the yearnings of that noble exile's heart ; so we 
 shall not err in accepting its sentiments as those of the 
 poet-saint, even if it be not all penned by his own hand. 
 
 St. Columba was in his forty-second year when he left 
 his native land lor the small island of Hy, or lona, off the 
 coast of Argyll. This retired spot, afterwards called from 
 him I-Colm-Kill, was bestowed on the saint by his relative 
 Conall, one of the Dalriad kings of Alba. 
 
 St. Columba belonged, as we have already noticed, to 
 the second order of Irish saints. They had one head — 
 one Lord, but used different liturgies and rules. They 
 celebrated Easter on the fourteenth of the moon after the 
 equinox. They had the eastern tonsure from ear to ear, 
 instead of the Roman tonsure of the crown. They dis- 
 pensed with the society of women, and were mainly 
 presbyters in rank, having few bishops among them — only
 
 214 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 such as were required for the laying on of hands — and their 
 monasteries were ruled by abbots, whose jurisdiction ex- 
 tended over the entire communitj', even when including 
 bishops among them. This order, more national though 
 more ascetical than the first order of Irish saints, may be 
 regarded as " the development of a native ministry." 
 
 The question as to the time of celebrating Easter was 
 that on which the Irish and British Christians dissented, 
 not without much bitterness on both sides, from the othei 
 Christian churches of Europe. The general rule for fixing 
 the time on which this festival should be held was, that it 
 should be the Sunday following that fourteenth day of the 
 moon which fell next after the vernal equinox. The 
 Eastern Church acquired the opprobrious name of Quarta- 
 decimans, because they celebrated Our Lord's resurrection 
 on the fourteenth, or Passover Day itself — on whatever day 
 of the week that might chance to fall, whether it were 
 Sunday or not. The Irish observed their Easter on the 
 Sunday between the fourteenth and twentieth day of the 
 moon, not always on the Sunday after the Passover, as 
 celebrated by the Roman Church ; but sometimes on the 
 day of the Passover itself, when that happened to fall on 
 Sunday. The Irish also used for their calculations, as to 
 the moon's age, the cycle of Sulpicius Severus, which con- 
 sisted of eighty-four years, while Rome adopted the more 
 accurate cycle of nineteen years, known as the cycle of 
 Anatolius. On this pomt endless disputes were waged for 
 centuries ; the Irish ecclesiastics being unwilling, even for 
 the sake of conformity, to abandon the habits practised by 
 their venerated saints.
 
 THE COLUMBAN PERIOD. 215 
 
 Worship, labour, study, such were the domestic occupa- 
 tions of the monks of Hy. St. Columba himself was a 
 noted scribe. That most beautiful manuscript of western 
 Europe, the Book of Kells, now preserved in the Library of 
 Trinity College, Dublin, is ascribed to him. Its illuminated 
 letters are glorious specimens of caligraphic art. The rich 
 shrine in which it was enclosed had, a few centuries later, 
 almost proved fatal to this valuable manuscript. It was 
 stolen by night from the sacristy of the church of Kells. It 
 was found *' after two months and twenty days, its gold 
 having been stolen off it, and a sod over it." The Book of 
 Durrow, another Irish MS. of great antiquity, is also 
 ascribed to Columba. The silver-mounted case has been 
 lost, but the book, with its beautiful illuminations may be 
 seen in Trinity College, Dublin. 
 
 Durrow — the field of the oak — sometimes called Ros- 
 Grencha, was a spot dearly loved by St. Columba. Look- 
 ing back from the land of his exile to the monastery he had 
 founded there, and left in care of his friend Cormac, he 
 exclaims — 
 
 "How happy the son of Dimma, — Of the devout church, 
 When he hears in Durrow, — The desire of his mind, 
 The sound of the wind against the elms,— When 'tis played, 
 The blackbird's joyous note, — When he claps his wings. 
 And listens at early dawn in Ros-Grencha, — To the cattle. 
 And the cooing of the cuckoo from the tree, — On the brink of 
 
 summer. 
 Three objects I have left, the dearest to me, — On this peopled 
 
 world, 
 Durrow, Derry, the noble angelic land. And Tir Luighdech."
 
 2l6 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 In another poem, ascribed to Columba, and, if not from 
 his pen, at least of great antiquity, a dialogue between the 
 saint and his friend Cormac is given. The scene is Hy; 
 and Cormac has escaped the perils of Coire-Brecain, the 
 whirlpool of Corryvreckan, on the west coast of Scotland, 
 and other dangers of the ocean. Columba is the first 
 speaker : — 
 
 " Thou art welcome, O comely Cormac, 
 From over the all-teeming sea ; 
 What sent thee forth ; where hast thou been 
 Since the time we were on the same path ? 
 Two years and a month to this night 
 Is the time thou hast been wandering from port to port. 
 
 From wave to wave : resolute the energy 
 
 To traverse the wide ocean ! 
 
 Since the sea hath sent thee hither. 
 
 Thou shalt have friendship and counsel : 
 
 Were it not for Christ's sake. Lord of the fair world, 
 
 Thou hadst merited satire and reproach." 
 
 Cormac. 
 
 " Let there be no reproach now, 
 O descendant of Niall, for we are a noble race ; 
 The sun shines in the west as in the east : 
 A righteous guest is entitled to reception." 
 
 St. Columba bids him welcome, but expresses surprise 
 at his leaving Ireland ; and to the regret of Cormac, 
 predicts to him that his resurrection should be in Durrow. 
 Cormac does not sympathise in the yearning love which 
 the exile felt for the soil of Erin, " Death is better,"
 
 THE COLUMBAN PERIOD. 217 
 
 exclaims Columba, " in reproachless Erin, than perpetual 
 life in Alba ! " Cormac, moved doubtless by the earnestness 
 of his master, expresses his wilUngness to return to Durrow : — 
 
 *' O Columcille of a hundred graces, 
 For thou art a prophet, thou art a true poet, 
 Thou art learned, a scribe, happy, perfect, 
 And a devout accomplished priest ; 
 Thou art a king's son of reddened valour, 
 Thou art a virgin, thou art a pilgrim ; 
 We shall abide in the west if thou desire it ; 
 Christ will unfold his mysterious intentions." 
 
 Columba. 
 
 " O Cormac, beautiful is thy church. 
 With its books and learning ; 
 A devout city with a hundred crosses. 
 Without blemish, without transgression ; 
 A holy dwelling confirmed by my verse. 
 The green of Aedh, son of Brenann, 
 The oak-plain of far-famed Ros-Grencha; 
 The night upon which her pilgrims collect, 
 The number of her wise— a fact wide spread — 
 Is unknown to any but the only God." 
 
 Conall, the ruler of the Dalriad colony, in the west of 
 Scotland, who had sanctioned the settlement of his saintly 
 kinsman on the outlying Isle of lona, which the missionary 
 exile and his companions probably found unclaimed and 
 unoccupied, died soon after, and was succeeded by his 
 relative Aidan, who came to lona to be inaugurated at the 
 hands of St. Columba. By this prince, who was a man of 
 much vigour and ability, the real foundations of the
 
 2l8 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 Scottish monarchy were laid. He repaired to Ireland, and 
 took part in the convention of Drumceat, near Newtown- 
 Limavady, in the county of Derry, a.d, 575, and there 
 obtained the recognition of his independence. For this 
 success he was indebted to the good offices of Columba, 
 who also returned for the purpose of bearing a part in 
 affairs in which, from his near relationship to the princes of 
 the Hy-Niall dynasties, he also was deeply interested. 
 
 Aedh, son of Ainmire, was monarch of Ireland at the 
 time of the convention of Drumceat. During the reign of 
 Dermid MacKervil, a.d. 554, Tara had been cursed by St. 
 Ruadhan of Lorrah, and ceased from that time to be the 
 residence of the supreme monarch. The kings of the 
 northern Hy-Niall, who succeeded Dermid, made Aileach, 
 near Derry, between Loughs Foyle and Swilly, their 
 residence ; while the princes of the southern Hy-Niall ruled 
 from Dun-na-Sgaith, on Lough Ennell, near MuUingar. 
 Donall and Fergus, sons of Murkertach MacErca, were the 
 successors of Dermid ; and the throne was successively 
 filledbyEochaidand Baedan, Ainmire, and Baedan II., till 
 Aedh, son of Ainmire, assumed the sovereignty of Ireland, 
 A.D. 572. 
 
 King Aedh endeavoured to banish the bards from Ire- 
 land. Their numbers had become excessive, and their 
 exactions most oppressive. The provincial king of Con- 
 naught at this period, Guary Aidhne, had been well nigh 
 impoverished by his gifts to them. 
 
 A romantic story is told of this king and the poet 
 Sancan, which casts some light on the probable age of that 
 remarkable composition, the Tain Bo Cuail^ne, referred to
 
 THE COLUMBAN PERIOD. 219 
 
 in an earlier chapter. The Tain was, says the legend, 
 originally composed by Fergus MacRoy himself, one of the 
 chief actors in the foray, who rode beside Maev's chariot 
 and recounted what had passed before his own eyes. But 
 in process of time the memory of the piece had been lost, 
 so that though it was in the list of recitations which might 
 lawfully be demanded of every bard, even Sancan himself 
 was unable to repeat it ; and this blot on the chief bard's 
 pretensions was well known ; but from a feeling of 
 reverence, his entertainers were careful not to expose his 
 deficiency, and the Tain had long ceased to be called for. 
 At last, on a visit of Sancan with a great retinue of other 
 bards to Guary, the stores of the king were well-nigh ex- 
 hausted by the rapacity of his guests, and Guary, to be 
 relieved of their company, called on Sancan to recite the 
 Tain. The bard and his compeers retired in extreme indig- 
 nation \ and his son Murgen undertook a pilgrimage into 
 '' the East " — that is, to the continent of Europe — in search 
 of the lost lay. He was accompanied by Eimene, who joined 
 himself as the companion of his pious wanderings. On 
 reaching the shores of Loch Ein, in Roscommon, Murgen, 
 fainting from fatigue, stopped to rest, while Eimene went in 
 search of a house of entertainment. It will be remembered 
 it was in Lough Ein that Fergus himself had perished ; and 
 the story goes that the spot where Murgen lay down to rest 
 happened to be the grave of the poet warrior. Murgen^ 
 comprehending that he was now close to the very author 
 of the piece he was in quest of, extemporized an invocation 
 to the shade of Fergus, so earnest, that presently the grave 
 gave up its dead.
 
 2 20 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 Fergus rose ; a mist ascended with him, and a flash was seen 
 As of brazen sandals blended with a mantle's wafture green : 
 But so close the cloud closed o'er him, Eimene, returned at 
 
 last. 
 Found not on the field before him but a mist-heap grey' and 
 
 vast. 
 
 Thrice to pierce the hoar recesses faithful Eimene essayed ; 
 Thrice through foggy wildernesses back to open air he strayed : 
 Till a deep voice through the vapours filled the twilight far and 
 
 near, 
 And the night, her starry tapers kindling, stooped from heaven 
 
 to hear. * 
 
 Concealed within the mist-cloud, Murgen learns from the 
 shade of Fergus the perfect version of the Tahi, and restores 
 his father to the unquestioned supremacy of the bards of Erin. 
 Such was the order of men in whose favour St. Columba 
 interposed his authority at Drumceat. Guary's name not- 
 withstanding his device, was renowned for liberality. He 
 bestowed gifts with both hands : but the right hand was 
 the larger, " for with it he gave to the poor." 
 
 St. Columba used his influence with the king to persuade 
 him, instead of banishing the bards, to reduce their number 
 only ; and in place of demanding tribute from the kindred 
 princes of the Dalriad colony in Scotland, which would have 
 resulted in war, thus to limit his requirements : — " Their 
 expeditions and hostings to be with the men of Erin always ; 
 for hostings always belong to the parent stock. Their tributes. 
 
 From "The Tain-Quest," Lays of the IVestern Gael, by Sir Samuel 
 FergusuN.
 
 THE COLUMBAN PERIOD. 221 
 
 and gaiuSj and shipping to be with the men of Alba, And 
 when one of the men of Erin or Alba should come from the 
 east, the Dal Riada to entertain them, whether few or many ; 
 and the Dal Riada to convey them on, if they require it." 
 
 There is a tradition that when he arrived from lona he 
 brought with him a sod of grass on which to place his feet, 
 and wore a bandage over his eyes, in fulfilment of the penance 
 enjoined on him by St. Molaise never to set foot again, or 
 even look, on the soil of Erin. 
 
 Another pathetic legend tells of the wounded bird carried 
 by the tempest to the Hebridean isle ; there tended by the 
 saint and set free to return when the storm had abated. 
 What St. Columba said to the bird blown over from Ireland 
 to lona has inspired the latest work of a poet, himself an 
 exile.* 
 
 " Cling to my breast my Irish bird. 
 
 Poor, storm-tost stranger, sore afraid ! 
 How sadly is thy beauty blurred — 
 The wing whose hue was as the curd 
 Rough as the seagull's pinion made I 
 
 Lay close thy head, my Irish bird 
 
 Upon this bosom, human still ! 
 Nor fear the heart that still has stiri'd 
 To every tale of pity heard 
 
 From every shape of earthly ill. 
 
 For you and I are exiles both ; 
 
 Rest you, wanderer, rest you here. 
 Soon fair winds shall waft you forth 
 Back to our own beloved north — 
 
 Would God, I could go with you dear! 
 
 * lotia to Ireland. By the Hon. T. D. M'Gee.
 
 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 Were I as you, then would they say 
 Hermits and all in choir who join, 
 
 ' Behold two doves upon their way ; 
 
 The pilgrims of the air are they, 
 
 Birds from the Liffey and the Boyne ! ' 
 
 But you will see what I am banned 
 No more, for my youth's sins to see, — 
 
 My Derry's oaks in council stand 
 
 By Rosapenna's silver strand — 
 Or, by Raphoe your flight may be. 
 
 The shrines of Meath are fair and far, 
 White-winged one ! not too far for thee— 
 
 Emania, shining like a star, 
 
 (Bright brooch on Erin's breast you are) 
 Which I am never more to see. 
 
 You'll see the homes of holy men 
 Far west upon the shoreless main — 
 
 In sheltered vale, on cloudy Ben 
 
 Where saints still pray, and scribes still pen 
 The sacred page, despising gain ! 
 
 Above the crofts of virgin saints. 
 
 There pause, my dove, and rest thy wing. 
 But tell them not our sad complaints ! 
 For if they dreamt our spirit faints 
 
 There would be fruitless sorrowing. 
 
 Perch as you pass amid their trees 
 
 At noon or eve, my travelled dove. 
 And blend with voices of their bees 
 In croft, or school, or on their knees— 
 They'll bind you with their hymns of love
 
 THE COLUMBAN PERIOD. 223 
 
 Be thou IP them, O dove ! where'er 
 
 The men or women saints are found 
 My hyssop flying through the air ; 
 My seven-fold benedictions bear — 
 
 To them, and all on Irish ground. 
 
 Thou wilt return, my Irish bird— 
 
 I, Colum, do foretell it thee. 
 Would thou could'st speak as thou hast heard 
 To all I love— O happy bird ! 
 
 At home, in Eri soon to be ! '' 
 
 Columba^ having visited the monasteries he had founded 
 in Ireland, returned to lona, where he died on the 9th of 
 June, 597, in the 77th year of his age, having lived in exile 
 from his native land for nearly thirty-five years, 
 
 Adamnan, a subsequent abbot of lona, wrote a life of his 
 great predecessor, probably between the years 692 and 697. 
 This period is assigned for its composition by its learned 
 translator and annotator, the Bishop of Down and Connor, 
 Dr. Reeves. He has recorded that, on the last day of his 
 life, the aged saint had visited the granary of his monastery, 
 blesseti it, and congratulated his brethren on the store of 
 food which was there laid up. He then, with cautions 
 of secrecy, told his attendant, Dermid, of his approaching 
 end. " This day," said he, " is in the sacred volume called 
 the Sabbath, which is interpreted, Rest : and to-day is verily 
 a Sabbath for me, because it is the last with me of this 
 present toilsome life, upon which, after all my toils and 
 sorrows, I come to enjoy my Sabbath ; and at the approach- 
 ing hour of midnight, as the hallowed day of the Lord begins, 
 I shall, as the Scripture saith, be going the way of my fathers.
 
 2 24 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 For now my Lord Jesus Christ vouchsafes to invite me to 
 himself, and when this midnight, as I say, comes, I shall go 
 at his own bidding to be with him." 
 
 He ascended the hill which overhung the monastery, and 
 " stood at the top of it a little while ; and as he stood there, 
 with uplifted hands, pronounced a blessing on his community." 
 On his return, he is recorded to have caressed — as with the 
 consciousness that it was for the last time — an old white 
 horse belonging to the community, which, being too feeble 
 for work, had been permitted to graze in the abbey-close, 
 and had approached the saint, as if to solicit his notice. 
 Having returned to the monastery, he spent the afternoon of 
 that Saturday in his chamber writing the Psalter. He paused, 
 at evening, at the close of his page, at that verse where it 
 is written, " They that seek the Lord shall not want any 
 good thing." 
 
 The saint, whose hours on earth were numbered, attended 
 the Vesper service, and leaving the church, sought a brief 
 repose on the bare stone which served him for a bed. He 
 was roused by the midnight bell summoning the community 
 to their devotions. "Rising up hastily, he goes to the church, 
 and running before the rest, and coming in alone, he sinks 
 on bended knees in prayer." His faithful attendant, Dermid, 
 was the first to follow. He discovered his master in a dying 
 state, raised him, and supported his head on his breast. The 
 monks had by this time arrived. Columba, speechless, yet 
 filled with tender love, raised his feeble right hand to bless 
 them, " so that he might appear, even with a motion of his 
 hand, to convey to his brethren that benediction which 
 he was unable to express orally, from his breath failing him.
 
 THE COLUMBAN PERIOD. 225 
 
 And after having thus imparted to them his solemn blessing, 
 he immediately breathed forth his spirit.'' 
 
 And so died one who is represented by his friend and 
 biographer as " angeUc in aspect, pure in conversation, holy 
 in his employment, of excellent abilities, so eminent for 
 wisdom, that, although his dwelling was on earth, yet he 
 showed himself by his disposition to be fit for the society of 
 the inhabitants of heaven." 
 
 Nor did the influence of St. Columba cease with his life : 
 the monasteries which he founded were nurseries of learning 
 and piety. The Venerable Bede has borne testimony on 
 this point :— " Whatever kind of person he himself was," 
 writes the Anglo-Saxon historian, " this we know of him for 
 certain, that he left successors distinguished for their great 
 chastity, divine love, and strict attention to their rules of 
 discipline ; following, indeed, uncertain cycles in their 
 computation of the time of the great festival (Kaster) ; 
 because, far away as they were out of the world, no one had 
 supplied them with the synodal decrees relating to the 
 Paschal observance ; yet withal diligently observing sucli 
 works of piety and chastity as they could find in the pio- 
 phetic, evangelic, and apostolic writings." 
 
 Columba was interred at lonaj but after the lapse of years, 
 probably in the eighth century, his bones were exhumed and 
 enshrined. Saul, Downpatrick, Durham, and Dunkeld con- 
 tend for having had possession of the relics of this saintly 
 man. The shrine, which became " the title-deed of tlic 
 Columban community," was from time to time taken over to 
 Ireland as the warrant for levying religious contributions, 
 Its rich decorations fatally excited the cupidity of the plun-
 
 2 26 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 dering Northmen ; and when in the ninth century lona was 
 devastated by these pirates, the shrine was permanently 
 deposited in Ireland for greater security. In the twelfth 
 century it was carried off by the Danes of Dublin, but 
 restored — probably despoiled of its gold and silver — at the 
 end of a month. Its subsequent history is unknown. The 
 incursions of the Danes which were frequent during the 
 ninth century effected the ruin of the missionary settlement 
 at lona. Of St. Columba's successors the greater number 
 were his near relatives; for the clan system existing in 
 Ireland prevailed to a large extent in the monastic institu- 
 tions which Irish monks established abroad. " Founders' 
 kin " had paramount claims. Baithen, who followed St. 
 Columba as Abbot of lona, was his cousin. Laisren, 
 Fergna-Brit,— indeed all his successors to the time of 
 Adamnan— were descendants of Conall Gulban, son of King 
 Niall Nine Hostages. While Fergna was Abbot, 605-623, 
 the pagan king of Bernicia — a territory extending from 
 Northumberland to the Firth of Forth — was defeated and 
 slain by Edwin of Deira. The sons of King Aidilfrid sought 
 refuge at lona. The fugitive prince, Oswald, was then but 
 thirteen years of age, and was at lona " catechised according 
 to the doctrine of the Scots, and regenerated by the grace of 
 baptism." In his thirtieth year, Oswald reconquered his 
 kingdom at the battle of the Heavenly Field, near Hexham, 
 and sent to the community at lona for teachers for his 
 subjects. In the words of Bede, " He sent to the seniors 
 of the Scots, among whom himself and his fellow soldiers, 
 when in banishment, had received the sacrament of baptism, 
 desiring they would send him a bishop, by whose instructions
 
 THE COLUMBAN PERIOD. 227 
 
 and ministry the Anglic nation which he governed might be 
 taught the advantages of faith in the Lord, and receive its 
 sacraments. Nor were they slow in granting his request, 
 but sent him Bishop Aidan, a man of singular meekness, 
 piety, and moderation." St. Aidan established himself at 
 Lindisfarne, off the Northumbrian coast, during the sway of 
 Abbot Segene, the successor of Fergna at lona, a.d. 634. 
 
 Abbot Segene was succeeded by Suibhne ; and he was 
 followed by the nephew of his predecessor, Cummene Ailbe. 
 This Head of the Family of lona represented it at the 
 Synod of Whitby, held under the presidency of the Abbess 
 Hilda, A.D. 664. The monks of Lindisfarne sent their 
 Bishop Colman, third in succession to St. Aidan, to this 
 great discussion as to the time of celebrating the Easter 
 Festival. The Roman method was defended by Wilfrid, 
 afterwards Bishop of York. Although educated at Lindis- 
 farne, Wilfrid had journeyed to Rome, and Lyons, and now 
 laboured to introduce the Roman computation of the time 
 of Easter. His discussion with Colman was animated and 
 angry. Colman and his followers withdrew from Whitby ; 
 and the split between the Celtic Churches of Ireland, 
 Scotland, and Northumberland, and the English Church, 
 following the Roman custom, was rendered more definite. 
 
 It will be remembered that when St. Columba, with the 
 cerecloth over his eyes, and a sod from the land of Alba 
 under his feet, revisited his native land to take part in the 
 convention of Drumceat, the queen, wife of Aedh, son of 
 Ainmire, suggested to her sons to receive the saint with 
 insult. To this advice, our ecclesiastical writers tell us, 
 her eldest son, Conall, hearkened, but Donall, the younger,
 
 228 
 
 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 courteously saluted the stranger, and was rewarded by his 
 blessing, and a prediction that he should fill the throne of 
 Ireland. Some years after the death of his father, who was 
 succeeded by sovereigns of little note, this prince attained 
 to the promised position. 
 
 TABLE OF THE KINGS 
 
 OF 
 
 IRELAND DURING THE COLUMBAN 
 
 
 
 PERIOD. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 A D. 
 
 Fergus and Domnall of the 
 
 line 
 
 of Eremon 
 
 565 
 
 Eochaid and Baedan 
 
 
 ') 
 
 Eremon 
 
 566 
 
 Ainmire 
 
 
 >' 
 
 Eremon 
 
 568 
 
 Baedan II. 
 
 
 'J 
 
 Eremon 
 
 571 
 
 Aedh MacAinmire 
 
 
 » 
 
 Eremon 
 
 572
 
 CHRISTIAN MISSIONS FROM IRELAND. 
 
 Iceland "1 " Papae " Anchorites from Ireland who, when in 
 
 Faroe Isles I 870 the Norwegians colonized Iceland, '' departed," 
 
 Shetland Isles | leaving behind them Books in the Irish tongue, 
 
 Orkney Isles J Bells, &c., &c. 
 
 Hebrides or Western Isles. 
 
 Piclland, Northern Scotland. 
 
 Western Scotland, colonized from Dal Riada, North Eastern Ulster. 
 
 lona, the seat of the Columban Mission. 
 
 Lindisfarne, an offshoot from lona, St. Aidan's Foundation. 
 
 Northumbria. 
 
 Belgium and N.E. France, St. Forannan, St. Mac Callin, St. 
 
 Fursey, and others. 
 The Vosges district and Burgundy, St. Columbanus, and St. 
 
 Dichuil, of Luxeuil, and others. 
 Northern Germany, St. Willibrord, educated for 12 years in Ireland, 
 
 Apostle of the Frisians and Saxons. 
 Fran9onia and Thuringia, St. Kilian and others, martyred at 
 
 Wiirizberg ; St. Anmchad at P'ulda ; St. Swidhert of Westphalia. 
 Southern Germany, Bavaria, Norica, Sec, Erhard, Murchertach, 
 
 Marianus Scotus of Ratisbon, and others. 
 Eastern Austria, St. Virgil of Salzburg. 
 Switzerland, St. Gall. 
 N. Italy, St. Columbanus of Bobbio. 
 Central Italy, St. Donatus of Fiesole, St. Frigidian, or Finnian of 
 
 Lucca, and others. 
 Southern Italy, St. Cataldus.
 
 +J 40 35 iO 25 20 15 10 5 i 10 iS 20 25 30 55 ■Kl +5
 
 THE SCHOLASTIC PERIOD. 229 ■ 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE SCHOLASTIC PERIOD. 
 
 FROM AEDH MAC AINMIRE A.D. 572, TO DONNCIIAD 770. 
 
 Intellectual progress of the Irish between the convention of Drumceat 
 and the arrival of the Danes — Comparative paucity of details in the 
 local annals — Ampler information from continental notices — Great 
 reputation of Ireland for its Schools and Scholars — Defeat and death 
 of King Aedh at Dunbolg — His son Maelcova resigns the crown to 
 become a cleric — Sweeny Menn Ard-Righ — Assassinated by Congal 
 Claen at the instigation of Donall — Dream of King Donall — His 
 feast at Dun-na-n'geadh — Rebellion of Congal Claen and battle of 
 Moyrath — King Donall's address to his army — Combat of Conal 
 with Congal Claen — Story of Cuanna, who gives his death wound 
 to Congal Claen — His death — Donall's favour to the church — He 
 founds the Abbey of Cong — Saint Fechin's church and Mill at Fore 
 — His ecclesiastic establishment on High Island — Buidhe Chonnaill, 
 "yellow plague" — Other epidemics — Saint Adamnan visits Ireland 
 — His account of the Holy Places, from the narrative of the pilgrim- 
 bishop Arculf— Expedition of Egfrid, King of Northumbria, to 
 ravage the coasts of Leinster — Saint Adamnan visits York and 
 obtains the release of Irish captives — His ecclesiastical foundations in 
 Scotland — The Cain Adhamhnain — Death of St. Adamnan, A.D. 704 
 — Story of Kenfalla — Great schools of learning in Ireland — Armagh 
 — Prince Aldfrid's itinerary — Testimony of the Venerable Bede to 
 the learning and hospitality of the Irish — Poem of Donatus, Bishop 
 of Fiesole, illustrating the state of Ireland in his day — Testimony of 
 Eric of Auxerre — Sweeny of Clonmacnoise assists at the foundation 
 of Oxford — His bell in the Museum of the Royal Irish Academy — 
 Iris'.i "wisdom sellers" at the court of Charlemagne — School of 
 Lismore — Saint Carthagh — School of Bangor— Saint Columbanus — 
 His foundations in Burgundy and Italy — His letters — Pre-eminence 
 of Ireland as the seat of scholastic education, even after the Danish 
 inroads — Testimony of the author of the life of Sulgen — Opinion of 
 Camden — Chronological Table. 
 
 The period extending from the convention of Drumceat to 
 the first arrival of the Danes, was the least disturbed, and,
 
 230 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 in intellectual progress, the most flourishing epoch in the 
 history of Ireland before the Conquest. Yet the native 
 accounts we have of it are meagre in proportion to the 
 paucity of those events which were alone thought worthy of 
 being chronicled — battles, usurpations, and violent deaths. 
 The local annals being thus barren, we have to look for 
 the picture of Ireland during this, which we have called the 
 Scholastic period, by the reflected light of external literature, 
 which certainly borrowed a great part of its lustre from the 
 schools for which Ireland began to grow famous shortly after 
 the regal and ecclesiastical power had cemented their 
 alliance at Drumceat. Their reputation for learning — 
 which included the study of Greek as well as of Roman 
 literature, philosophy, and logic — was so great that students 
 flocked from Britain and the Continent of Europe, and were 
 received in Ireland with hospitality, and fed, and instructed 
 without charge: Armagh, Bangor, Clonard, Clonmacnoise, 
 Kildare, Cashel, Emly, Lismore, Clonfert, were among the 
 most celebrated. From these schools issued the mission- 
 aries who so successfully preached the Gospel of Christ to 
 pagan lands ; and, at a somewhat later period, the learned 
 men who flourished at the court of the Emperor Charle- 
 magne. One of these philosophers, educated at Bangor, 
 in the County of Down, Johannes Scotus, was distinguished 
 for his Greek learning, and was invited to Paris by Charles 
 the Bald. Here he was known as " Eiigena," Erin-gena^ 
 Irish-born. 
 
 Before these comparatively halcyon days were attained 
 to, there remained one grand contest in which all the old 
 pagan and bardic influences, uniting with provincial jealousy
 
 THE SCHOLASTIC PERIOD. 23 1 
 
 of the central government, arrayed themselves for a decisive 
 struggle against the newly consolidated strength of the 
 church and crown. 
 
 This was the battle of Moy Rath, an event well marked 
 as an historical fact, and which has been made the «ubject 
 of a bardic poem-story, for the better appreciation of which 
 it will be necessary to trace downward the influence im- 
 pressed on his generation by St. Columba. 
 
 King Aedh's household had received him with insult, 
 with one exception. This was Donull, a younger son, and 
 who had then little prospect of the crown which he after- 
 wards possessed. Twenty years later, King Aedh (or Hugh, 
 as the name is anglicised) met his death at Dunbolg, in the 
 county of Wicklow, while endeavouring to exact the Boro- 
 mean tribute from the then king of Leinster. The stratagem 
 by which the provincial king, with inferior numbers, defeated 
 the Ard-Righ, is thus recorded : — He entered the camp 
 disguised as a leper, and reported that the men of Leinster, 
 unprepared for resistance, were coming to the king with 
 overtures of [peace, and stores of provisions for the royal 
 army. As evening closed in, a drove of bullocks, laden 
 with leathern bags, approached the camp, and entered 
 unchallenged, when they announced that they were bearers 
 of stores and gifts for Aedh. Each sack contained a soldier, 
 and, when night closed in, they attacked the camp and 
 killed the king himself Two princes of the same name, 
 but not of his immediate family, succeeded. Tn a.d, 612, 
 his son Maelcova reigned for a brief period, when he resigned 
 his authority to Sweeny Menu, and became a cleric. 
 
 Sweeny banished from Erin the Donall of whom we have
 
 232 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 Spoken ; and his prospect of the throne predicted for him 
 by St. Columba, appeared more distant and hopeless than 
 ever. 
 
 Donall sought refuge in Scotland, accompanied by his 
 foster son, Congal Claen, provincial king of Uladh or Ulster. 
 The Dalriad monarch was Congal's maternal grandfather, 
 and he hospitably received the exiles. Here Donall incited 
 his foster son to attempt the life of King Sweeny Menn, 
 promising, if he thus became king of Erin, that he would 
 reinstate Congal in all the lands of Ulster, once ruled by 
 his ancestors, but of late circumscribed, by the encroach- 
 ments of the Clan Colla and the Hy-Niall, to the present 
 counties of Antrim and Down. Congal Claen made the 
 attempt. He thus recounts the assassination of Sweeny, 
 which, in those days, seems to have been regarded as a 
 legitimate exploit : — 
 
 " I was nursed by thee," he says to Donall in after years, 
 " until thou wast expelled by the king of Erin, Suibhne 
 ]SIenn . . . and thou didst repair to the king of Alba, taking 
 me along with thee in that exile ; and thou didst receive 
 great honour from him, and you formed a treaty, thou and 
 the king of Alba, and he protested to thee that he would 
 not oppose thee as long as the sea should surround Erin. 
 Thou didst afterwards return to Erin, and I returned along 
 with thee, for I was in exile along with thee . . . And what 
 thou didst say was, that whoever thou shouldst get to 
 destroy the king of Erin, thou wouldst be bound to restore 
 his territory to him whenever thou shouldst become king 
 over Erin. I went on the enterprise, O king, for a promise 
 that my patrimony should be wholly restored to me, when-
 
 THE SCHOLASTIC PERIOD, 233 
 
 ever thou shouldst become monarch of Erin ; and I delayed 
 not until I reached Ailech Neid (the dwelling of the 
 northern Hy-Niall princes, near Lough Swilly), where the 
 king held his residence at that time. The king came out 
 upon the green, surrounded by a great concourse of the 
 men of Erin, and he was playing chess amidst the hosts ; 
 and I came into the assembly, passing, without the permission 
 of any one, through the crowds, and made a thrust of my 
 spear, Gearr-Congail, which I held in my hand, at the breast 
 of the king ; and the stone which was at his back responded 
 to the thrust, and his heart's blood was on the head of the 
 javelin, so that he fell dead." 
 
 Donall, son of Aedh, son of Ainmire, whose accession to 
 the throne was thus secured, found himself unable to fulfil 
 his promise to the " son of Scannlan of the Broad Shield, 
 the haughty, famous, intelligent, arch-king of Ulster," Con- 
 gal Claen. The Clan Colla were in too firm possession of 
 Orgiall (now Armagh and Monaghan), and the Hy-Niall of 
 the north-western districts of Ulster, to permit of Donall 
 restoring Uladh to its ancient boundaries. 
 
 King Donall fixed his royal habitation at Dun-na-n'-geadh, 
 on the banks of the Boyne ; Tara having been deserted, 
 since it was cursed by St. Ruadhan of Lorrah. The attain- 
 ment of his utmost desires could not secure for the monarcl 
 tranquil enjoyment In his home, in the beautiful valley o< 
 the Boyne, his nights were haunted by ill-omened dreams. 
 To his queen first, and afterwards to his hermit brother, th,. 
 ex-king Maelcova, Donall revealed his visions. Maelcova 
 thus interpreted the dream : " A greyhound whelp, in a 
 dream," said he, "is the same as the king's son ; thou bast
 
 234 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 two foster-sons, O king, Conal Caev, and Congal Claen, the 
 son of Scannlan of the Broad Shield. Either of these will 
 rise up against thee, O king, and will bring the plunderers 
 and the doers of evil of Alba, France, Saxon-land, and Britain 
 with him to Erin, who will give seven battles to thee and 
 the men of Erin, so that great slaughter shall be made 
 between you both, and in the seventh battle which shall be 
 fought between you, thy foster-son shall fall. Now it is 
 proper for thee, O king, to prepare a banquet, and to invite 
 to it the men of Erin, and to obtain the hostages of every 
 province in Erin, and also to detain in fetters, to the end of 
 a year, these two foster-sons of thine, because it is one of 
 them who will rise up against thee, and because the venom 
 goes out of every dream within the year. Then set them 
 at liberty, and bestow many jewels and much wealth upon 
 them." 
 
 *' This shall not be done by me," said the king : " for 
 sooner would I quit Erin than deal treacherously by my 
 own foster-sons, for they will never jise up against me ; 
 and if all the men of the world should oppose me, Congal 
 would not." 
 
 That part of his brother's advice which related to the 
 banquet found more favour in the mind of Donall. He 
 summoned his guests, and sent out purveyors to bring in 
 store of provisions, for " Donall did not deem it honourable 
 that there should be in Erin a kind of food that should not 
 be found at that banquet." These men appropriated for 
 their purpose a store of goose eggs, the property of Ere of 
 Slane, an anchorite who passed his days immersed to his 
 arm-pits in the Boyne, having his Psalter before him on the
 
 THE SCHOLASTIC PERIOD. 
 
 235 
 
 river bank, constantly engaged in prayer ; and whose sole 
 lepast was daily made on cresses of the Boyne and these 
 goose eggs. When Ere found his store so invaded, he 
 " cursed the banquet as bitterly as he was able to curse it." 
 
 When the ill-omened feast was prepared, Congal, at the 
 request of the king, went ^to inspect the arrangements. 
 He saw the goose eggs, and marvelled at them, and ate a 
 Mart of one of them, and took a drink after i*-. He then 
 came out, and said to Donall, "I think," said he, " if the 
 men of Erin were to remain for three months in the 
 palace, that there is a sufficiency of food and drink for 
 them there." 
 
 The bishops present at the feast bless the entertainment. 
 Unfortunately, Congal Claen has eaten already of the eggs 
 cursed by the hermit Ere. And now the hosts are seated. 
 " First of all the king sat in the golden couch ; and the 
 custom and law at this time was, that when the monarch of 
 Erin was of the southern Hy-Niall, the king of Connaught 
 should sit at his right hand : but if of the northern Hy-Niali, 
 the king of Ulster should be at his right hand, and the king 
 cf Connaught at his left hand." Unhappily this order was 
 infringed, Malodar Macha, king of Orgiall, being placed at 
 the king's right hand, the position which belonged to Congal 
 Claen. 
 
 Nor did the mortifications of Congal end here. The 
 goose egg, presented to each of the other kings in a silver 
 dish, assumed, in his case, the contemptible form of a hen 
 egg on a wooden platter. He starts up, angrily recounts 
 his wrongs, and, followed by the men of Ulster, leaves t'-.c 
 feast. The bishops present, at the request of the kine.
 
 236 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 follow to entreat his return. Congal is deaf alike to persua- 
 sions and curses. " I swear by my valour," said Congal, 
 " that rot one cleric of you shall reach the king's house 
 alive, if I or any Ultonian be cursed by you." Terror then 
 seized the saints, " whereupon Congal went far away from 
 them, and they cursed him afterwards." The poets are then 
 sent by the king. Congal receives them graciously, gives 
 them presents, yet refuses to return. He proceeds to the 
 abode of his uncle, Cellach, who, though now aged and a 
 cripple, had been a hero in his youth. His voice was strong 
 for war. " I pledge thee my word," he exclaimed, disclosing 
 his weapon, which, unknown to his attendants, he wore 
 under his gown, when Congal had told his story, " that 
 shouldst thou receive any considerations from the king but 
 a battle, all the Ultonians could not save thee from me, 
 because I would thrust this sword through thy heart ; for it 
 is not the custom of the Ultonians to accept of consider, 
 ations in place of battle until they take revenge for insults. 
 I have seven ?ood sons, and they shall go with thee into 
 the battle, and if I were able myself I would go also, and 
 the Ultonians should not be defeated while I had life." 
 
 Congal continued his journey, and sought for allies, and 
 auxiliary forces in Scotland, Scandinavia, France and Britain. 
 With these foreign mercenaries, and aided by the dispersed 
 remnant of the Bards and Druids, Congal returned to Ulster, 
 and encountered the forces of King Donall at Moy Rath, 
 now Moira, in the county of Down. a.d. 636 is the date of 
 this eventful battle, which may be considered as the expiring 
 struggle of paganism in Ireland. 
 
 The Druids who accompanied the host of Congal could
 
 THE SCHOLASTIC PERIOD. 237 
 
 not encour^'ge hopes of ultimate success ; but " whoever 
 felt dejection for the battle, it was not the arch-king of 
 Ulster that was sorrowful, dejected, or pusillanimous at the 
 approach of this final defeat, and it was in vain for his 
 Druids to make true magical predictions for him, and it was 
 not profitable for his clergy to seek instructing him ; for his 
 friends might as well converse with a rock as advise him." 
 
 On the morning of the battle, Congal, lulled to sleep by 
 the " soft sounds of the musical pipes, and by the warbling 
 vibrations and melancholy notes" of the stringed instruments, 
 was aroused by the chant of his Druid : — 
 
 O Congal Claen, arise. 
 
 Thy enemies approach thee ; 
 The characteristic of an imbecile is the desire of constantly 
 
 lying asleep ; 
 Sleep of death is an awful omen ; 
 
 Little energy forebodes the destruction of the coward ; 
 The desire of the hero and the watchman is early rising ; 
 An inciter of valour is a proud and fearless fiery champion ; 
 Fervour of blood— the characteristic of a hero — 
 Be to thee, O Congal. 
 
 Congal, though hopeless of success, is unflinching in his 
 determination to fight. "Which of the great descendants of 
 Ir," he asks, "has got protection against final destruction, or 
 will live without being killed ? And it is a good king like 
 Donall, with the arch-chieftains of Erin about him, to whom 
 it belongs by fate to have the killing and slaughtering of 
 the Ultonians on this occasion," said Congal. " But though 
 I should attempt to avoid this battle, and save myself from 
 final destruction (for my Druids are making true predictions
 
 238 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST, 
 
 to me that I shall fall in this battle), yet flight has never 
 saved a wretch : it is profitless to fly from death." 
 
 King Donall, on his side, although deeply lamenting the 
 necessity of the appeal to' arms, cheerfully addresses his 
 army : 
 
 "Arise, arise, O youths! quickly and unanimously, 
 firmly and prudently, vigorously and fearlessly, to meet this 
 attack of the Ultonians and foreigners . . . that so the 
 battle-reparations which Congal so loudly demands may be 
 the battle in which his own final destruction shall be wrought ; 
 for a furious enraged bull is not entitled to protection, nor a 
 man with the daring deeds of a demon to forgiveness, unless 
 indeed he is purified by repentance (for even though the 
 beloved nursling of my heart, Congal, should be slain, his 
 sorrow and regret for his crimes would make me lighter, and 
 his anguish for past offences would render my wounded 
 heart calmer). . . . Let the conduct of your heroes be 
 brave and headstrong to maintain the field of battle ] let the 
 feet of your mighty men be firm, solid, cemented, and im- 
 movable on the earth, and let the hands of your champions 
 be quick, expert, and wounding in using your swords, 
 lances, and warlike shields, and let none of you go into 
 the conflict except one who longs to approach it ; for it 
 would be trusting to shadows in a prince to trust to the 
 exertions of his heroes unless they were all equally desirous 
 to rush to the scene of action to defend him." 
 
 King Donall further reminds them of the blessing invoked 
 on his head of yore by St. Columba. His army, thus 
 animated, performed great feats of valour. 
 
 A hand to hand encounter between Conal, who fought on
 
 THE SCHOLASTIC PERIOD. 
 
 239 
 
 the king's side, and the hero Congal Claen, may be cited 
 from the vivid description of the battle ol' Moy Rath in the 
 epic of Congal. 
 
 "They cast their spears together. Each resounding weapon stood 
 To socket in the opposing shield; and Congal's point drew blood. 
 Then forth, to snatch his weapon back, the King of Ulster sprung; 
 But Conal, with a wrestler's leap, his arms around him flung ; 
 By flank and shoulder taking hold : nor was King Congal slow 
 With ready-darted hands expert to grapple with his foe, 
 Shoulder and flank : a moment thus stood either mighty man ; 
 Then, in a gathering heave, their game the athlete pair began, 
 With lifts and thrusts impetuous; with swift-reversing pulls, 
 And solid stands immovable, as young encountering bulls ; 
 And counter-prancing dizzy whirls ; till, in the rapid round, 
 The feet of either hero seemed to leave the circling ground, 
 Though firm as palace-pillars stood their feet beneath them still ; 
 For neither yet felt any lack of athlete force or skill ; 
 But each deemed victory his own : for Congal, where he stood, 
 Saw the fast-falling drops that soon would sink the swelling flood 
 Of Conal's strength ; and Conal, still unconscious of the waste, 
 Invoked his glorious sires, and all his loins with rigour braced ; 
 Son of the son of Nindid, son of Fergus, as he was, 
 Son of great Conal Gulban; — and he pushed him without pause; — 
 Son of renowned Nine-Hostager ; — and one great heave he gave 
 Of his whole heroic body, as the sea upheaves a wave, 
 A long strong-rising wave of nine, that from the wallowing floor 
 Of ocean, when a storm has ceased, nigh to some beachy shore. 
 Shows with a sudden black-piled bulk,and swallowing in its sweep 
 Accumulated water-heaps from all the hollowed deep. 
 Soars, foams, o'erhangs its glassy' gulfs ; then stooping with a roar 
 Immeasurable of sea-cascades, stuns all the sounding shore : 
 With such a heave great Conal rose, rushed onward, overhung 
 His down-bent foe, and to the earth the King of Ulster flung."'* 
 
 From Gonial, by Sir Samuel Ferguson.
 
 240 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 Thai Congal's ambition might the more signally be 
 mortified, he met his death at the hands of an idiot, a 
 foster-son, as he himself also was, of King Donall. Cuanna 
 had been sent back to his father's house when his infirmity 
 had been discovered, because " the king did not think it 
 becoming to have an idiot as a foster-son." On the day 
 when the hosts were mustering at Moy Rath, the despised 
 youth was sent by his step-mother to collect firewood, and 
 was met by her reproaches for the selection he had made. 
 " The firewood thou hast brought with thee is a bad present, 
 O Cuanna," said the woman ; "and it is becoming and like 
 thyself ; and alas ! thou art not the kind of a son we stand 
 in need of having here to-day, but (we need) a son who 
 would assist his father and his fosterer on this day of battle ; 
 for Congal with his Ultonians and foreigners, has been 
 killing and overwhelming them these six days ; and it was 
 thy father's turn to fight yesterday, and we know not 
 whether he has or has not survived." 
 
 The despised Cuanna, stung by these reproaches, follows 
 on the track of the hosts till he reaches Newry, and from 
 thence continues his route to Moy Rath. 
 
 " Cuanna came forward in rapid course, on the strong 
 track of the hosts, till he arrived at Magh Rath, where he 
 saw the great forces of both parties attacking each other. 
 As the men of Erin were there, they saw one lone man in 
 the plain approaching them from the south-west, and they 
 ceased till they recognised him. ' He is Cuanna the idiot,' 
 said one of them ; ' He is Cuanna, the fool,' said a second 
 man ; * It was no small cause of waiting,' said a third man. 
 In a short time Cuanna came on to where the King of
 
 THE SCHOLASTIC PERIOD. 24I 
 
 Erin was. The king bade him welcome. ' Good, my dear 
 Cuanna,' said he; 'wherefore hast thou come to us to-day?' 
 — ' To assist thee, O Monarch,' said Cuanna, ' and to lay 
 Congal prostrate though he is my foster-brother.' — 'It behoves 
 thee,' said the monarch of Erin, ' though thou knowest it 
 not, to press thy share of this battle against Congal, for he 
 slew thy father in yesterday's battle.' Cuanna grew red as 
 he heard this, and said, ' Give me weapons, O monarch, and 
 I pledge my word that I will repel any fighter of a hundred 
 men, who is against thee this day.' All gave a great shout 
 of derision aloud on hearing Cuanna. Cuanna said to them, 
 ' I swear by my word,' said he, ' that if I had arms, or 
 edged weapons at hand, I would revenge on some of you, 
 your having mocked me.' — ' Not so,' said Domhnall 
 (Donall) ; ' take no heed or notice of them ; and here is for 
 thee the second missile javelin which I have to spare, and it 
 is the third best spear in Erin, the other two being the spear 
 which is along with it, and the javelin called Gearr Congail, 
 for an erring cast cannot be given with either of them.' The 
 idiot took the lance, and brandished it in the presence of 
 the king, and said that he would achieve with it a deed which 
 would be pleasing to the king." 
 
 Congal had vanquished all opponents, and was in the full 
 flush of his conquering progress, when he encountered his 
 imbecile foster-brother. 
 
 Congal, on seeing his companion and foster-brother, 
 " bade him welcome, and said ' Terrible is the enmity, and 
 heroic is the muster, when fools and madmen are waging 
 battle against me.' — ' It is not the act of a prince or a true 
 hero in thee, indeed,' said Cuanna, ' to cast reflections on
 
 242 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 the son of any good man or good hero who should come to 
 give his day of battle to assist his relatives in the struggle of 
 a great battle.' — ' Be not enraged, O Cuanna/ said Congal, 
 ' for I know that it was not for martial achievements, or to 
 perform feats of arms or valour, thou hast come to Magh 
 Rath on this expedition.' — ' It is not the saying of an arch- 
 king for thee to say so,' said Cuanna ; ' why should I not 
 lend my aid in battle to my tribe, and my monarch ? But, 
 however, I can more easily bear a reproach than forbear 
 giving assistance to my friends on this day of battle.' 
 Then Congal passed by the idiot. But Cuanna pressed his 
 foot against the support and solidity of the earth, and putting 
 his finger on the cord of his broad-headed spear, he made 
 a bold, terrible destructive cast at Congal, and it passed 
 beyond the angle of his great shield, so that the handspear 
 pierced the armour of Congal. 
 
 " He turned, and might have slain the fool ; but Congal's heart 
 
 disdained 
 That weapons of a warrior should with idiot blood be stained. 
 He laid his glittering weapons on the green grass at his feet. 
 And with both hands essayed to drag the weapon from its seat. 
 But failed : a second time he tugg'd with painful sick essay, 
 And failed : but at the third attempt the javelin came away. 
 Then round his lacerated side he drew his glittering belt, 
 Resumed his arms, and stood erect, as though he scarce had felt 
 The wound that through his vitals was diffusing death the while; 
 And said, 
 
 ' It grieves me, Cuanna, that the weak hands imbecile 
 ' Of one devoid of reason, should have dealt this fatal blow; 
 ' For, that it is a mortal hurt thou'st given me, well I know : 
 ' And well I knew my death to-day at Moyra stood decreed ; 
 ' But thought to find my destiny at other hands, indeed.
 
 THE SCHOLASTIC PERIOD. 243 
 
 * Had many-battled Kellach dealt the final blovv of fate, 
 ' I by a King, and like a King, had died with mind elate. 
 ' Or Crunvall, to whose royal Sire the stroke of fate I gave, 
 ' To die by him had been to feed the vengeance of the brave : 
 'But thus at last to perish by thy weak, inglorious siiear, 
 'Forgive me, foolish Cuanna, this is hard indeed to bear.' " 
 
 Congal, transported from the field of strife, dies on the 
 grassy sward of his native Antrim valley. 
 
 "A thought came intoCongal's mind, — how sent let faith divine, — 
 
 He said, ' No man had ever shame or grief compared to mine. 
 
 'A fugitive against my will : in sacrilegious feud, 
 
 ' A proud invader, shamefully by idiot hands subdued. 
 
 ' But more than for myself I mourn my generous friends deceived, 
 
 ' And all their wives and little ones of lord and sire bereaved.' 
 
 Tears sent from whence the thought had come, — let faith divine 
 their source — 
 Rose at the thought to Congal's eyes and pressed with tender force. 
 Unwonted passage ; and he wept, with many bitter sighs. 
 In sudden vision of his life and all its vanities. 
 
 As when a tempest— which all day, with whirlwind, fire and hail> 
 Vexing mid-air, has hid the sight of sunshine from the vale — 
 Towards sunset rolls its thunders up ; fast as it mounts on high, 
 A flood of placid light re-fllls the lately troubled sky ; 
 Shine all the full down-sliding streams, wet blades and quivering 
 
 sprays, 
 And all the grassy-sided vales with emerald lustre blaze ; 
 So, in the shower of Congal's tears, his storms of passion pass'd ; 
 So, o'er his long distempered soul came tranquil light at last. 
 
 ♦ * ♦ * ♦ * 
 
 'Twas then the long-corroded links of life's mysterious chain 
 Snapped softly ; and his mortal change passed upon Congal 
 Claen."* 
 
 From Congal, by Sir Samuel Ferguson.
 
 2 44 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 Thus perished the last of the Rudrician kings of Ulster. 
 Well might the victorious Donall exclaim — 
 
 " Alas for him who destroyed all Erin 
 For a dispute about one egg 1" 
 
 King Donall was ever a friend to the Church and sub- 
 missive to ecclesiastics. Under the influence of St. Fechm 
 of Fore, he became the founder of many monastic establish- 
 ments. Among these we may pause to mention the Abbey 
 of Cong, on the neck of land which divides Lough Corrib 
 from Lough Mask. Cong became, in subsequent times, the 
 residence and last resting place of several kings of Connaught. 
 Roderic O'Conor, monarch at the time of the Conquest, 
 died in that retreat. The ruins which stand on this most 
 interesting spot date probably from his time— the latter part 
 of the twelfth century. 
 
 St. Fechin, himself of noble blood, was a builder of no 
 mean merit. He erected the beautiful little church at Fore, 
 which is yet standing ; ^id to him also is ascribed an ancient 
 mill which adjoins it, in the green secluded valley in West- 
 meath, where this anchorite and his community sought for 
 solitude and holy meditation. The monks of old must have 
 had an exquisite feeling for nature, at least we may so infer 
 from the sites they selected for their monasteries and cells. 
 The ecclesiastical establishment on High Island, off the 
 coast of Connemara, one of this saint's foundations, though 
 one of the most secluded of all the Irish lauras, commands 
 a prospect of wondrous grandeur, the billows of the Atlantic 
 on one side, the varied outlines of the Connemara coast and 
 its grand mountains on the other.
 
 THE SCHOLASTIC PERIOD. 245 
 
 St. Fechin died of the Buidhe Clionuaill, or " yellow 
 plague," a fearful pestilence, which desolated Ireland, as 
 well as Wales at this period. In both countries the visitation 
 was impersonated in the popular imagination. The Welsh 
 prince who shut himself up to avoid the pest was struck by 
 a glance of the yellow destroyer, which looked in at him 
 through a chink of the door. The BuidJie Chonnaill of the 
 Irish fell, like another Python, before a shaft of prayer and 
 the tinkling of a bell of St. Patrick aimed at it by St. 
 MacCreiche. Three sovereigns died of the pestilence, 
 which was followed some years later by a cattle plague, in 
 the reign of Finnachta the Festive or Hospitable. This 
 calamity lasted for four years, and was succeeded by a season 
 so severe that all the lakes and rivers were frozen, and even 
 the sea between Ireland and Scotland blocked with ice. 
 
 To the intercession of another ecclesiastic, St. Moling of 
 Ferns, is ascribed the remission of the Boromean tribute, 
 which, after occasioning many ages of strife, was abandoned 
 about A.D. 6901 by this monarch Finnachta. During, his 
 reign Adamnan — eminent among the Abbots of lona — 
 visited Ireland, and pitched his tent at Tara. Already this 
 deserted capital, no longer the abode of "chiefs and ladies 
 bright," was a grass-covered hill, on which, as at the present 
 day, the ruins only of former royal residences could be 
 traced:. St. Adamnan, like his illustrious predecessor, St. 
 Columba, of whom, as Abbot of lona, he was the ninth 
 successor, was of noble Irish blood, being a descendant of 
 Niall Nine Ilostager, through his son Conall Gulban. His 
 life of St. Columba is written in Latin of remarkable purity 
 lor that age. This book, next to the history of the Vener-
 
 246 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 able Bede, is the most valuable specimen we possess of the 
 literature of his period. 
 
 One of the earliest and most authentic accounts of the 
 holy places of Palestine has been preserved by the learned 
 diligence of Adamnan, who took down, from the narration 
 of Arculf, a Saxon bishop, shipwrecked on his return from 
 Jerusalem and cast ashore on one of the western Scottish 
 islands, a very detailed and exact account of the holy city 
 and its chief monuments, including the Chapel of the Holy 
 Sepulchre, of which the pilgrim bishop gave the abbot ot 
 lona a ground plan, transcribed into the manuscript of 
 Adamnan. 
 
 At the time of which we speak, lona had become widely 
 celebrated for its sanctity. In its cemetery had been recently 
 interred Egfrid, King of Northumbria, who had been slain in 
 war with the Picts and Scots, a.d. 685. This prince had sent 
 in 683 an expedition to ravage the coasts of Leinster. This 
 is memorable as the first instance on record of a Saxon raid 
 into Ireland. During the reign of another Northumbrian 
 prince, Aldfrid, St. Adamnan visited York, and obtained 
 by his influence the release of many Irish captives, restored 
 by these efforts of Christian philanthropy to their native 
 land. Many ecclesiastical foundations in Scotland were 
 established by Adamnan. Among these we may mentioii 
 Forglen, in which the banner of St. Columba, known as tlie 
 Brechannoch, was preserved. Dull, in the district of Atholl, 
 and Inchkeith in the Frith of Forth, are associated with his 
 name. Adamnan was according to the testimony of Bede 
 " a good and a wise man, and remarkably learned in the 
 knowledge of the Scriptures." He travelled much, and
 
 THE SCHOLASTIC PERIOD. 247 
 
 often visited Ireland where his influence was great. At a 
 Synod held at Tara, 697, in presence of the King, attended 
 by forty-seven Chiefs of Tribes, the Abbot of Armagh and 
 thirty-nine ecclesiastics, as well as by the Pictish monarch 
 Brude, who had accompanied Adamnan ; the influence of 
 the Abbot of lona prevailed to pass laws called by his 
 name, Cain Adhamhnain. One among them exempted 
 women from the burthen of attending " hostings and expedi- 
 tions " or otherwise engaging in war, as had been customary 
 in pagan times. Convinced that the cycle of nineteen years, 
 adopted at Rome, was the true method of computing Easter, 
 Adamnan, on his return to lona endeavoured to bring the 
 community " into the way of truth, which he himself had 
 learned and embraced with all his heart ; but in this he 
 could not prevail." He died 704, before the monks of 
 lona were divided on a question then deemed so important. 
 
 To return, however, to the text of our chapter, and to its 
 starting-point at the battle of Moy Rath. Amid much that 
 is grotesque and fantastic in this story there occur incidental 
 illustrations of life and manners, valuable as showing what 
 the early Irish themselves considered to have been the state 
 of civilization existing in the country at the period com- 
 memorated. Not the least interesting of these relate to the 
 progress which had already begun to be made in the wider 
 diffusion of scholastic education. 
 
 Amongst Donall's warriors in this engagement was one 
 who afterwards became famous in the peaceful pursuits of 
 letters, Kenfalla, son of OllioU. Kenfalla was a scliolar; 
 but, hitherto, not noted for superior intellectual ability. 
 It was his chance in the fight to encounter the terrible
 
 24S THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 Congal himself, from whom he received a sword-cut in 
 the hinder part of his head which penetrated to the brain. 
 Being cured of the wound, it was found that his memory 
 had acquired a wonderful strength and acuteness, and 
 he. afterwards became the Admirable Crichton of his age 
 and is still remembered traditionally as the Scholar, par 
 excellence, of early times. Hence the battle of Moy Rath 
 has been called a triple victory, that is, a victory of truth 
 over untruth; a victory of tale-and-story-telling over dull 
 moments, owing to the multitude of stories founded on the 
 madness of Sweeny (one of Congal's chiefs, who lost his 
 reason in the terrors of the conflict) ; and a victory of rough 
 surgery, "by reason of the taking of the brain of forget- 
 fulness out of the head of Cennfaeladh." 
 
 In the story of the cure of Kenfalla we get a glance at 
 the nature of the schools — other than ecclesiastical — in 
 which the Irish youth of the seventh century conducted 
 their studies. His leech was Bricin of Tomregan, who 
 resided at the meeting of three roads, neighbouring the 
 houses of three sdis or professors ; a sai {sage) of the 
 Fenechus (or old Brehon) law, a sai of poetry, and a sai of 
 letters (literally of "legends"); and from frequenting their 
 classes during his convalescence, he acquired the first great 
 accession tohis stores of knowledge. 
 
 These scattered teachers at cross-roads were merely the 
 outposts of the great hosts of men of learning who about 
 this time began to congregate in the shelter of abbatial 
 and episcopal seats ; cities they have been termed, but great 
 villages would probably be a more accurate designation of 
 Armagh, Bangor, Clonard, Lismore, and other resorts of pious
 
 THE SCHOLASTIC PERIOD, 249 
 
 and studious persons. In these central places of learning, 
 provision was made for the maintenance and instruction of 
 strangers, and there was a Saxon quarter and an Albanian 
 quarter in Armagh, just as there still remains a Latin quarter 
 in Paris. Among other British and Brito-Saxon youths 
 educated at Armagh, during this period of its growth was 
 Aldfrid, son of Oswy, who became King of Northumbria, 
 A.D. 685. He has recorded his experiences in a poem, which 
 gives a picture of early Irish society — simple, pure, and 
 joyous — as pleasing and instructive as it will be considered 
 singular, having regard to the time it was composed. The 
 translation is one of the most faithful that has proceeded 
 from the pen of its author, J. C. Mangan : — 
 
 " I found in Innisfail the fair, 
 In Ireland, while in exile there, 
 Women of worth, both grave and gay men, 
 Many clerics and many laymen. 
 
 I travelled its fruitful provinces round, 
 And in every one of the five I found, 
 Alike in church and in palace hall, 
 Abundant apparel and food for all. 
 
 Gold and silver I found, and money, 
 Plenty of wheat, and plenty of honey ; 
 I found God's people rich in pity. 
 Found many a feast, and many a city. 
 
 I also found in Armagh the splendid. 
 Meekness, wisdom, and prudence blended, 
 Fasting, as Christ hath recommended. 
 And noble councillors untranscended.
 
 250 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 I found in each great church, moreo'er, 
 Whether on island or on shore, 
 Piety, learning, fond affection, 
 Holy welcome, and kind protection. 
 
 I found the good lay monks and brothers 
 Ever beseeching help for others. 
 And in their keeping the holy word 
 Pure as it came from Jesus the Lord, 
 
 I found in Munster, unfettered of any, 
 Kings and queens, and poets a-many ; 
 Poets well skilled in music and measure. 
 Prosperous doings, mirth and pleasure. 
 
 I found in Connaught the just, redundance 
 Of riches, milk in lavish abundance ; 
 Hospitality, vigour, fame. 
 In Cruachan's land of heroic name, 
 
 I found in the country of Conall the glorious 
 Bravest heroes, ever victorious ; 
 Fair-complexioned men and warlike, 
 Ireland's lights, the high, the starlike. 
 
 I found in Ulster from hill to glen, 
 Hardy warriors, resolute men ; 
 Beauty that bloomed when youth was gone, 
 And strength transmitted from sire to son. 
 
 I found in the noble district of Boyle 
 
 [MS. here illegibk.'\ 
 Brehons, Erenachs, weapons bright. 
 And horsemen bold and sudden in fight.
 
 THE SCHOLASTIC PERIOD. 251 
 
 I found in Leinster the smooth and sleek, 
 From Dublin to Slewmargy's peak, 
 Flourishing pastures, valour, health. 
 Long -living worthies, commerce, wealth. 
 
 I found besides, from Ara to Glea, 
 In the broad rich country of Ossorie, 
 Sweet fruits, good laws for all and each. 
 Great jhess players, men of truthful speech. 
 
 I found in Meath's fair principaHty 
 Virtue, vigour, and hospitality, 
 Candour, joyfulness, braveiy, purity, 
 Ireland's bulwark and security. 
 
 I found strict morals in age and youth, 
 I found historians recording truth ; 
 The things I sing of in verse unsmooth. 
 I found them all— I have written sooth." 
 
 In this there may be some interpolations of a later age ; 
 but the poem is a valuable proof of what at an early period 
 was the popular belief in both islands regarding the con- 
 dition of Ireland during the generation which succeeded 
 the defeat of Congal, and forms at once a commentary on, 
 and illustration of, the authentic statement of Bede : — 
 " There were in that country (Ireland), at the time we 
 speak of, many of the nobility and also of the middle 
 classes of the English people ; some of whom devoted 
 themselves to the monastic profession, while others chose 
 rather to pay visits to the chambers of the different masters, 
 and so to carry on their studies ; all of whom the Scots 
 (Irish) received most cordially, and provided with daily
 
 252 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 food free of charge, as likewise with books to read and 
 gratuitous instruction." 
 
 Another voice from beyond sea, which testifies to the 
 same enviable condition of the island during these days 
 of comparative happiness, comes from a greater distance. 
 Donatus (Donagh), bishop of Fiesole (a.d. 844), saw nothing 
 in Tuscany fairer or more amiable than the aspect of the 
 the land and people from amongst whom he had come to 
 fix his habitation beside the Arno. His verses have the 
 tenderness of home-affection mingled with a pardonable 
 pride in his country : — 
 
 " Far in the confines of the west 
 There lies a land of lands the best ; 
 An island, rich in all good store 
 Of robe, and gem, and golden ore ; 
 An isle, in soil, and sun, and wind, 
 Most healthful to the human kind. 
 With honey all the land abounds, 
 With lovely lawns and pasture-grounds ;. 
 With weeds of peace and peaceful arts, 
 With arms of war and manly hearts. 
 
 And worthy of that blessed spot, 
 There dwell the nations of the Scot ; 
 A race of men renowned high 
 For honour, arms, and courtesy." 
 
 The Scots of that day, emigrating from Ireland, obtained 
 a character for the energetic prosecution of their enterprises, 
 not dissimilar to that since so honourably earned for them- 
 selves by the Scots of North Britain. Eric of Auxerre,
 
 THE SCHOLASTIC PERIOD. 253 
 
 writing of Elias, bishop of Angouleme, an Irishman, who 
 died A.D. 875, exclaims: "What need to speak of Ireland, 
 setting at nought as it does the difficulties of the sea, and 
 coming almost in one body to 0"r shores, with its crowd of 
 philosophers, the most intelligent of whom are subjecting 
 themselves to a voluntary exile ? " The number, indeed, of 
 travelling Irish was destined ere long, after the repeated 
 Danish incursions had begun to drive them abroad for 
 shelter as well as for missionary and scholastic adventure, 
 to become burthensome to neighbouring countries. The 
 Council of Chalons on Saone (a.d. 813), and the English 
 Synod of Calcythe (a.d. 816), both made canons against 
 these wandering Scots. 
 
 The reproach of ingratitude might with some justice be 
 made against the authors of these canons. But, notwith- 
 standing occasional opposition of this character, the Irish 
 Scots continued, for at least another century, to maintain 
 their place in the foremost British and European seminaries 
 of learning. Sweeny of Clonmacnoise, whose l)ell bearing 
 his name may still be seen in the Museum of the Royal 
 Irish Academy, was one of the sages who assisted at the 
 foundation of the University of Oxford ; and the story of the 
 " Wisdom-sellers " before Charlemagne, introduces us to 
 Clement, another of the same race and origin, for whom the 
 honour is claimed of having been one of the first teachers 
 in the University of Paris. " When the illustrious Charles 
 had begun to reign alone in the western parts of the vvorUl, 
 and literature was almost forgotten, it came to pass that 
 two Scots from Ireland, men incomparably learned both in 
 human knowledge and in the Holy Scriptures, came over
 
 254 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 with some British merchants to the shores of France.'' 
 These persons, says the writer of the History of the Reign 
 of Charlemagne, soon attracted attention by standing in the 
 pubhc market-place, and crying out to the passers-by, " If 
 any person wishes for wisdom, let him come to us and 
 receive it, for we have it to sell." There seems no doubt 
 that both the strangers were well received by the great 
 monarch, and that both of them were placed over scholastic 
 seminaries, one at Paris, and the other near Pavia. 
 
 The great associations connected with the name of 
 Armagh have led us so far down the course of the centuries, 
 that in adverting to the other eminent school at Lismore, 
 we must return to the commencement of the period in- 
 augurated at Moy Rath. 
 
 There is a beautiful little church at Rathin in Westmeath, 
 where, about a.d. 650, Carthagh, a descendant of Fergus 
 Mac Roy, who had adopted a religious life, took up his 
 abode with other monks of Kerry. " They led so pious a 
 life in this house, it was said an angel was wont to hold 
 conversation with every third man of them." The ecclesi- 
 astics of the Hy-Niall race became jealous of the Munster 
 monks' superior reputation for holiness, and they appealed 
 to Blathmaic and Dermid, their joint kings, to expel the 
 intruders. Blathmaic was in favour of their expulsion ; 
 but Dermid, at the sight of Carthagh, relented, whence his 
 sobriquet of the "Ruthful." However, the "holy men of 
 the Clanna Niall" insisted on the expulsion of the strangers, 
 and Carthagh (in popular hagiology, St. Mochuda), after a 
 twelvemonth's negotiation, being finally driven out by the 
 resolute Blathmaic, went forth and established himselt
 
 THE SCHOLASTIC PERIOD. 255 
 
 among the tribes of the Desi in their new seats in the south, 
 where he founded the long-celebrated school of Lismore. 
 
 Bangor is another name which raises a train of associa- 
 tions, carrying the mind across a wide tract of Europe, and 
 through a series of most interesting, though turbulent, 
 events. St. Columbanus, a pupil of this school, evinced 
 that fervour of missionary zeal so characteristic of his age 
 and country. Accompanied by twelve monks of Bangor, 
 he set forth on his wanderings, and became the evangelizer 
 of eastern France, and parts of Switzerland and Italy. He 
 established himself at Luxeuil in Burgundy. Columbanus 
 warred no less with nature, in the then well-nigh impene- 
 trable forests of the Vosges and Jura, where his community 
 toiled, and cleared and cultivated the soil, than with the 
 stormy passions of those long-haired IVIerovingian kings of 
 the Frankish dynasties, who were swayed, at that period, 
 by the savage impulses of two remarkable and unscrupulous 
 women. Brunehault, the wife of Sigebert, the grandson of 
 Clovis, and Fredegonde, the beautiful fury who ruled his 
 brother Chilperic, have filled a prominent part in French 
 history. Their very names recall a period of giant crimes, 
 unregulated passions, and unparalleled bloodthirstiness. 
 Among these ferocious Franks St. Columbanus preached 
 and laboured. Expelled from his monastery by the 
 peremptory orders of Queen Brunehault, whose sins he had 
 fearlessly denounced, he dared to return ; and when again 
 cast forth, turned his steps towards Northern Itnly, leaving 
 to the Helvetians, among whom he tarried some months, 
 his disciple, the Irish St. Gall, whose name and fame still 
 survive throughout the northern cantons of Switzerland.
 
 25t) THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 St. Columbanus died at Bobbio in Italy, where he had 
 established his confraternity under the protection of Agilulf, 
 king of the Lombards. He has left behind him a great 
 reputation as a letter-writer. His famous epistles to Pope 
 Gregory the Great, and Pope Boniface the Fourth, are yet 
 extant. So also are his tender addresses to his loved 
 brethren at Luxeuil ; " his dearest sons, his dearest pupils, 
 to his brethren in abstinence, to all the monks." In a 
 letter to the bishops of Gaul he thus speaks : — 
 
 " Finally, fathers, pray for us, as we also do, unworthy 
 though we be, for you : and do not regard us in the light of 
 aliens • for we are fellow members of one body, whether we 
 be French, or Britons, or Irish, or whatever be our nation. 
 Let us then, all nations, rejoice in the acknowledging of 
 the faith, and confession of the Son of God ; and hasten 
 forward all of us, to advance to the perfect man, to the 
 measure of the stature of the fulness of Jesus Christ, in 
 whom may we love one another, speak well of one another, 
 correct one another, visit one another, pray for one another, 
 that with one another we may reign, and have joy in his 
 presence." 
 
 Even the Danish inroads, of which we shall speak in our 
 next chapter, failed wholly to quench, although they greatly 
 diminished, the flame of learning in these cultured spots. 
 A remarkable evidence of the continued reputation of 
 Ireland for superior intellectual culture, even so late as the 
 middle of the eleventh century, is afforded by a poem written 
 by John, son of Sulgen, who was bishop of St. David's about 
 A.D, 1070. In this piece John tells us that his father went 
 to Ireland to study the Scriptures, and spent upwards often
 
 THE SCHOLASTIC PERIOD. 257 
 
 years in that employment. The Latin verses have been 
 well rendered : — 
 
 " With ardent love for learning, Sulgen sought 
 The school in which his fathers had been taught ; 
 To Ireland's sacred isle he bent his way, 
 Where science beamed with bright and glorious ray : 
 But lo ! an unforeseen impediment 
 His journey interrupted as he went ; 
 For, sailing toward the country where abode 
 The people famous in the word of God, 
 His bark by adverse winds and tempests toss'd, 
 Was forced to anchor on another coast ; 
 And thus the Albanian shore the traveller gained, 
 And there for five successive years remained. 
 
 At length, arriving on the Scottish soil, 
 He soon applies himself to studious toil. 
 
 Then, having gained a literary fame, 
 In high repute for learning home he came, 
 His gathered store and golden fruit to share 
 Among admiring friends and followers there." 
 
 We have placed under the eyes of our reader the con- 
 temporaneous evidence of Bede — let us add the testimony 
 of another learned and candid Englishman, derived from 
 the wider range of inquiry afforded by the subsequently 
 accumulated learning of nearly nine hundred years. We 
 refer to the illustrious William Camden, whose words will 
 carry the weight of historic truth, as well as the solemnity 
 of a pious philosophy, to whatever mind will receive them.
 
 258 
 
 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 " Our Anglo-Saxons of that day," he says, speaking of 
 this, which we have ventured to call our Scholastic Period, 
 " used to flock together to Ireland, as a market of learning ; 
 whence it is that we continually find it said in our writers 
 concerning holy men of old, I/e was sent away to be 
 educated in Ireland. . . And it would appear that it was 
 from that country the ancient English, our ancestors, re- 
 cei\ed the first instructions in forming letters, as it is plain 
 they used the same character which is still used in Ireland. 
 Nor need we wonder that Ireland, which is now (/.i?., in a.d. 
 1607) for the most part wild, half savage, and destitute ot 
 education, should at that time have abounded in men of 
 such holiness, piety, and splendid geniuses, while the 
 cultivation of literature elsewhere in the Christian world lay 
 neglected and half buried ; since the providence of the 
 Almighty Ruler of the universe is pleased to scatter the 
 seeds of holiness and virtues in the different ages of the 
 world, now among these nations, now among those, as it 
 were in so many beds and flower knots \ thus producing 
 blossoms which, as they appear in one place and another 
 with fresh vigour, may thrive and be preserved, for His own 
 glory and the benefit of mankind." 
 
 TABLE OF THE KINGS OF IRELAND DURING THE SCHOLASTIC 
 PERIOD. 
 
 Aedh Slane and Colman, of the race of Eremon 
 
 Aedh 
 
 Maelcobha 
 
 Suibni Menn 
 
 Domnal 
 
 Conall and Kellach 
 
 Eremon 
 Eremon 
 Eremon 
 Eremon 
 Eremon 
 
 A.D. 
 
 599 
 605 
 612 
 615 
 628 
 642
 
 THE SCHOLASTIC PERIOD. 
 
 259 
 
 Conall 
 
 
 of the race 
 
 of Eremon 
 
 .. A.D. 658 
 
 Dermid and Blathmaic 
 
 » 
 
 Eremon 
 
 662 
 
 Sechnasach 
 
 
 )> 
 
 Eremon 
 
 665 
 
 Kennfacladh 
 
 
 i> 
 
 Eremon 
 
 671 
 
 Finnnachta 
 
 
 J) 
 
 Eremon 
 
 675 
 
 Loingsech 
 
 
 » 
 
 Eremon 
 
 695 
 
 Congal Kenn- 
 
 Maghair 
 
 J) 
 
 Eremon 
 
 704 
 
 Fergal 
 
 
 )) 
 
 Eremon 
 
 711 
 
 Fogartach 
 
 
 )> 
 
 Eremon 
 
 722 
 
 Kinaeth 
 
 
 3> 
 
 Eremon 
 
 724 
 
 Flathbertagh 
 
 
 J> 
 
 Eremon 
 
 727 
 
 Aedh Ollav 
 
 
 » 
 
 Eremon 
 
 734 
 
 Domnal Mac Murchaid 
 
 5> 
 
 Eremon 
 
 743 
 
 Niall Frasach 
 
 
 ,, 
 
 Eremon 
 
 763 
 
 Donnchad 
 
 
 It 
 
 Eremon 
 
 770
 
 26o THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE DANISH PERIOD. 
 
 FROM DONN'CHAD A.D. 770, TO DOMNAL o'NEILL 956. 
 
 Invasions of the Northmen— Rise of the Southern Hy-Niall — Generous 
 devotion and death of King Niall Caille — Story of Turgesius— 
 Tyranny of the Danes — Their foundation of the seaport towns, and 
 progress in commerce — Norse influence on the local nomenclature — 
 Intermarriages between the Northmen and Irish — St. Olaf— Norse 
 cruelties in the propagation of the faith contrasted with the mild 
 course of the gospel in Ireland — Ancient tumuli on the Boyne 
 rifled by the Danes — Iving Malachy I. desires to make a pilgrimage 
 to Rome — King Aedh Finnliath — King Flann of the Shannon — 
 Story of his daughter Gormley — Cormac MacCulinan, King-arch- 
 bishop of Cashel — His Glossaiy — His Psalter — Rivalry between the 
 Eugenian and Dalcassian Septs of Munster— State of Munster— 
 Cormac instigated to war with Leinster by the Abbot Flaherty- 
 Makes his will — Battle of Ballaghmoone and death of Cormac— 
 Honourable conduct of King Flann — Penance of Flaherty — After 
 wards King of Cashel — Succeeded by Lorcan, father of Kennedy, 
 father of Brian Bona — Kennedy admits the claim of alternate suc- 
 cession, according to the will of OllioU Olum, and yields the throne 
 of Cashel to Callaghan — Stratagem of the Danish chieftain Sitric — 
 Callaghan taken prisoner — Kennedy marches the Munster troops to 
 his rescue — Gallant conduct of Falvy Finn — Death of King Flann 
 —Niall " Black-knee "— Donogh— Murkertach " Pell-Cloak "— 
 His circuit of Ireland — Callaghan's second imprisonment — Donall 
 O'Neill, son of Murkertach, Prince of Aileach, becomes Ard-righ 
 — Surnames introduced — The great Sept of O'Neill descendants of 
 Donall — Cruelties of the Danes — Destruction by them of works of 
 art — Skill of the Irish in artistic metal work, shrines, bells, croziers, 
 etc. — Their architecture and sculptured stonework— Their MSS. — 
 The Book of /Cells— The Book of Deer — lona devastated by the 
 Danes — Its Abbots subsequent to St. Adamnan — Abbacy transferred
 
 THE DANISH PERIOD. 261 
 
 to Kells in the ninth century — Martyrdom of St. Blnthmacatlona— 
 Kenneth MacAlpin, King of Scotland — Removes the shrine of St. 
 Columba to Dimkeld, and makes its abbot Bishop of Fortrenn — 
 The Bishopric transferred from Dunkekl to Abernethy, and subse- 
 quently to St. Andrews^The monastery of lona restored by Queen 
 Margaret of Scotland — The Western Isles, including lona, ceded by 
 King Malcolm to Norway — Mr. Skene on the decay ot the old 
 Celtic Church — Chronological Table. 
 
 The eighth century affords httle beyond the series of suc- 
 cessions of kings, to be recorded, until we reach a.d. 795. 
 From thence extends a period of gloom, in which depression 
 and disaster characterize the Irish annals. For upwards of 
 two centuries, learning, piety, almost Christianity itself, 
 succumbed before pagan invaders. Danes, Northmen, 
 Scandinavians, whom the Irish writers distinguish according 
 to their complexions, into Dubh-Galls, or dark, and Finn- 
 Galls, or fair-haired foreigners, hovered round our coasts, in 
 ships manned by hardy, but sanguinary pirates. The leaders 
 — Vikings, as they are called — were brave and daring 
 adventurers, glad to exchange their barren mountains for 
 the plunder, and afterwards the colonization, of more fertile 
 lands. These invaders spared neither age, nor sex, nor 
 station. The monasteries were ever their first objects of 
 attack. Here were deposited articles of chiefest value in 
 the land ; precious manuscripts, which were only prized by 
 the plunderers for the rich decorations in gold and gems that 
 graced the cases in which they were enclosed ; shrines ot 
 exquisite workmanship, on which all that was costly and 
 prtcious had been lavished, to fit them for receptacles of 
 the relics of some venerated saint ; illuminated manuscripts, 
 to produce which had been the life-long labour of pious and
 
 262 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 saintly men, lovers of literature, and decorative artists of no 
 mean skill : — all these were scattered to the winds by the 
 ignorant and ruthless hands of these sea-robbers. The Danes 
 did not confine their ravages to the coasts — they boldly 
 ascended the rivers, and, secure in the protection of their 
 ships, descended on the defenceless population when and 
 where they would, and that so unexpectedly, that they 
 encountered little or no organized resistance. 
 
 The fatal defect of the Irish political system was its want 
 of centralization. The Ard-Righ, or supreme monarch, was 
 but nominal ruler of the entire island, and could only act 
 vigorously in his own patrimony. The provincial kings 
 were virtually independent, and frequently in open collision, 
 with the central authority. The power of combination has 
 ever been deficient among the Gael. Unrestricted individual 
 freedom has been so much a passion with the race, that 
 combined action has been rarely achieved, or sustained for 
 any considerable length of time. At the period of which we 
 speak, this difficulty was greatly augmented • for the vigorous 
 rule of a succession of princes of the northern Hy-Niall line 
 was, at this time, exchanged for the ascendency of the south- 
 ern branch of this great family ; and the comparatively 
 limited patrimony of the southern Hy-Nialls rendered them 
 less efficient general rulers. The neighbourhood of Mullingar, 
 in Westmeath, was their place of abode. Malachy of the 
 Shannon, the first Ard-Righ of this line, in 846 succeeded King 
 Niall, surnamed of Callan, who met his death while attempt- 
 ing to save the life of one of his followers, swept away by the 
 current when entering a ford of the river Callan, in advance 
 of the king's army. Niall had called in vain for aid for the
 
 THE DANISH PERIOD. 263 
 
 drowning man ; and seeing those around him hesitate, had 
 sprung himself to the rescue of ihegt7/y. As he spurred his 
 horse for the plunge, the bank beneath him gave way, and 
 rider and steed were precipitated into the river. That is no 
 ignoble death which is encountered in an act of self-sacrifice 
 for others, and the name Niall Cail/e lives, though his other 
 actions are forgotten. 
 
 A romantic but somewhat apocryphal story is told of 
 Malachy and his Danish neighbour Turgesius. This chief- 
 tain had established himself in the very heart of Ireland, 
 and possessed a fleet on th(i inland waters of Lough Ree. 
 The youthful daughter of Malachy attracted his regards : 
 he demanded her from her father, who dared not refuse. 
 The king proposed to Turgesius to send her to his court, 
 accompanied by fifteen maids of honour, attendants of her 
 own age and sex, befitting her rank and birtli. Instead of 
 these, however, he selected fifteen beardless youths, who 
 carried weapons concealed beneath their feminine garb. 
 The disarmed and unsuspecting Turgesius was seized ; his 
 fortress-gates thrown open to the troops of Malachy, who 
 were prepared, on a given signal, to rush in and possess them- 
 selves of the fort. Turgesius himself was drowned in Lough 
 Owel, and the land for a time once more breathed freely. 
 
 The dire pressure of Danish tyrann}'-, enforced by the 
 "Nose -gelt," was felt by each individual, however humble, 
 as well as by the kings and chiefs of Ireland A soldier was 
 quartered "over every homestead, and the man of the house 
 was not allowed the disposal of as much as one egg of his 
 own property ; and though a family owned but one stripper, 
 they were not allowed on any night to give its milk to either
 
 264 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 infant or child, but were obliged to keep it up for the use of 
 the soldier ; and though the man of the house owned but 
 one in-calf cow, he was forced to kill the same for the use of 
 his unwelcome guest ; and if he could not satisfy the latter 
 therewithal, he was compelled to place his inheritance in 
 pledge for the maintenance of the said soldier. Besides 
 this, the Lochlannaigh should either get an ounce of gold 
 each year for every man in Ireland, or they would have the 
 nose from off his face. Then no lord or lady of the Irish 
 was allowed to wear any mantles or garments, except the 
 cast-off clothes of the Lochlannaigh. It was not allowed 
 to give instruction in letters, nor to live in religious com- 
 munities, for the Lochlannaigh dwelt in the temples and in 
 the duns; no scholars, no clerics, no books, no holy relics, 
 were left in church or monastery, through dread of them : 
 neither bard, nor philosopher, nor musician, pursued their 
 wonted professions in the land." 
 
 But a time was approaching when these fierce invaders, 
 themselves succumbing to Christian influences, should 
 become here and there permanent dwellers in the land, inter- 
 marry Vv'ith the Irish, and even join with them in repelling 
 marauding assaults of their own countrymen. To the North- 
 men we may trace the foundation of most of our seaport 
 towns, Dublin, Waterford, Cork, Limerick, and others. The 
 Finn Galls — for the Norse element predominated among 
 them — showed a great aptitude for trade and commerce. 
 Their fearlessness at sea, and skill in navigation, fitted them 
 to become foreign merchants. They had a coinage of their 
 own. Their nomenclature may be traced in the names of 
 places, especially on the east coast of Ireland, where their
 
 THE DANISH PERIOD. 265 
 
 settlements were most permanent. The Norwegian yftr^, or 
 arm of the sea, reminds us of their presence in the bays of 
 ?>ir2iXigford, Carling/^n/, Wexford, Wa.terford, etc. Lambo' 
 Ireland's ej, show the Scandinavian affix of Ey, for island. 
 The names of three out of the four provinces of Ireland 
 announce the Norse influence, which has changed the Celtic, 
 Uladh into Vlskr, Laighin into Le'msfer, and Mumhain into 
 Mumfer. They gave much of what we may term municipal 
 life ; they took in return the Christian faith, and, in a degree, 
 its humanizing lessons and virtues, in lieu of their stern yet 
 heroic paganism. 
 
 We have alluded to the frequent intermarriage between 
 Irish and Dane. A singular example, illustrating the con- 
 nection between Irish and Norwegian history, may be found 
 even in the case of the great Brian Boru, with whose history 
 we shall be occupied hereafter. He had married, when a 
 widower, Gormley, daughter of the king of Leinster, who 
 became the mother of his sons Tiege and Donogh. By her 
 former husband, Anlaf the Dane, Gormley was the mother of 
 Sitric "Silk-Beard" (afterwards the husband of Brian's 
 daughter Save) and of Olaf Cuaran, Danish king of Dublin. 
 The Norwegian king and saint, Olaf, was the guest of this 
 Olaf Cuaran, and received baptism, most probably, in Ireland. 
 There was an inherent sternness and cruelty in the Norse 
 character, Avhich indisposed it to the acceptance of the mild 
 religion of Christ, on the one hand, and to the gentle modes 
 of inculcating it which had proved so successful among the 
 Celtic populations, on the other. No contrast can be 
 imagined more remarkable than that between the conduct 
 in accepting and propagating the faith, of the Irish and the
 
 266 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 Norsemen. Receiving the message of peace from his Irish 
 instructors, the canonized Scandinavian king carried it into 
 i\\Q fiords a.nd /e//s of Norway, with fire and sword for his 
 apostles. The poet Longfellow has majestically versified one 
 of the sagas of Olaf, which presents the difference of character 
 in question so vividly that we will crave our reader's indulg- 
 ence for a moment's departure from Irish ground, while 
 making better acquaintance with the fierce but noble race 
 of men whose extirpation at Clontarf is so important an 
 event in the Irish story. 
 
 Loud the angry wind was wailing 
 As King Olaf's ships came sailing 
 Northward out of Drontheim haven, 
 To the mouth of Salten Fiord : 
 
 Though the flying sea-spray drenches 
 Fore and aft the rowers' benches, 
 Not a single heart is craven 
 Of the champions there on board. 
 
 All without the Fiord was quiet, 
 But within it storm and riot, 
 Such as on his Viking cruises 
 
 Raud the strong was wont to ride ; 
 
 And the sea through all its tideways, 
 Swept the reeling vessels sideways. 
 As the leaves are swept through sluices, 
 When the flood-gates open wide. 
 
 " 'Tis the warlock ! 'tis the demon 
 Raud !" cried Sigurd to the seamen ; 
 " But the Lord is not affrighted 
 By the witchcraft of his foes ;"
 
 THE DANISH PERIOD. 267 
 
 To the ship's bow he ascended, 
 By his choristers attended ; 
 Round him were the tapers lighted, 
 And the sacred incense rose, 
 
 On the bow stood Bishop Sigurd, 
 In his robes, as one transfigured, 
 And the Crucifix he planted 
 High amid the rain and mist ; 
 
 Then with holy water sprinkled 
 All the ship ; the mass-bells tinkled ; 
 Loud the monks around him chanted, 
 Loud he read the Evangelist. 
 
 As into the Fiord they darted, 
 On each side the water parted : 
 Down a path like silver molten, 
 Steadily rowed King Olaf's ships ; 
 
 Steadily burned all night the tapers, 
 And the White Christ through the vapours 
 Gleamed across the Fiord of Salten, 
 As though John's Apocalypse. 
 
 Till at last they reached Raud's dwelling 
 On the little isle of Gelling : 
 Not a guard was at the doorway. 
 Not a glimmer of light was seen ; 
 
 But at anchor, carved and gilded, 
 Lay the dragon-ship he builded ; 
 'Twas the grandest ship in Norway 
 With its crests and scales of green. 
 
 Up the stairway, softly creeping 
 To the loft where Raud was sleeping, 
 With their fists they burst asunder 
 Bolt and bar that held the door :
 
 268 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 Drunken with sleep and ale they found him, 
 Dragged him from his bed and bound him, 
 While he stared with stupid wonder 
 At the look and garb they wore. 
 
 Then King Olaf said : " O Sea King, 
 Little time have we for speaking, 
 Choose between the good and evil. 
 Be baptized, or thou shalt die." 
 
 But in scorn the heathen scoffer 
 Answered; " I disdain thine offer; 
 Neither fear I God nor devil. 
 Thee and thy Gospel I defy !" 
 
 Then, between his jaws distended. 
 When his frantic struggles ended, 
 Through King Olaf s horn an adder, 
 Touched by fire they forced to glide : 
 
 Sharp his tooth was as an arrow. 
 
 As he gnawed through bone and marrow ; 
 
 But without a groan or shudder 
 
 Raud the Strong, blaspheming, died. 
 
 Then baptized they all that region, 
 Swarthy Lap and fair Norwegian, 
 Far as swims the salmon leaping, 
 Up the streams of Salten Fiord ; 
 
 In their temples Thor and Odin, 
 Lay in dust and ashes trodden. 
 As King Olaf onward sweeping. 
 
 Preached the gospel with his sword. 
 
 Then he took the carved and gilded 
 Dragon-ship that Raud had builded, 
 And the tiller single-handed 
 
 Grasping, steered into the main :
 
 THE DANISH PERIOD. 269 
 
 Southward sailed the sea-gulls o'er him, 
 Southward sailed the ship that bore him, 
 Till at Drontheim haven landed 
 Olaf and his crew again.* 
 
 Among the proofs which still attest the influence on the 
 popular mind, produced by these inroads, and the deep- 
 seated terror of the Danish name which they excited, we 
 may mention the habit of the Irish peasantry of ascribing 
 to this race the cairns, cashels, forts, and duns of a 
 more primitive period. So far from being builders of 
 these monuments, we have on record, both in the Irish 
 chronicles and the Norse Sagas, that in the year 86 1 the 
 three earls, Olaf, Sitric, and Ivar, opened, for purposes of 
 plunder, the sepulchral mounds of New Grange, Dowth, 
 and Knowth on the Boyne, and the mound of the wife of 
 the Gobaun Saer, the mythic builder, or Wayland Smith of 
 the Irish Celts, still a conspicuous object at Drogheda. 
 But it may be that the Danes referred to in popular 
 tradition are those older Tuath-De-Danaan of the 
 archaic period. To return to the Christian period : we 
 have in Waterford, in very good preservation, an inter- 
 esting specimen of the Norwegian art of fortification. 
 The Round Tower, popularly called Reginald's Tower, is 
 said to have been built in 1003, by the Scandinavian ruler 
 of Waterford, Ragnvald. At the time of the Norman in- 
 vasion of Ireland, Earl Strongbow possessed himself of 
 it. and kept there as his prisoner the last " Eastman " king 
 of Waterford, Reginald the Dane. 
 
 * From the Saga of King Olaf, by II. W. Longfellow.
 
 270 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 King Malachy after his struggle with the Danes proposed 
 to make a pilgrimage to Rome. He sent an embassy to 
 Charles the . Bald, then reigning in France, requesting a 
 safe-conduct through his territories, and acquainting him 
 with his successes against the Northmen, A friendly inter- 
 course appears to have been maintained between France 
 and Ireland up to the time of the English Conquest. 
 Malachy died without having accomplished this pilgrimage. 
 He was much regretted : — 
 
 " Mournfully is spread the veil of grief over Ireland since 
 the chieftain of our race has perished," writes the 
 chronicler ; " Red wine has been spilled into the valley ; 
 Erin's monarch has died." 
 
 Aedh Finnliath — better known as Hugh of Aileach, son 
 of Niall of the Callan— succeeded Malachy as Ard-Righ. 
 He prosecuted the war \vith the Danes with vigour. He 
 gained a victory at Lough Foyle, which with its savage 
 incidents, is thus recorded : — 
 
 *' After Aedh, King of Ireland, had learned that this 
 gathering of strangers was on the borders of his country, 
 he was not negligent in attending to them, for he marched 
 towards them with all his forces, and a battle was fought 
 fiercely and spiritedly on both sides between them. The 
 victory was gained over the foreigners, and a slaughter was 
 made of them. Their heads were collected to one place in 
 presence of the king ; and twelve score heads were 
 reckoned before him, which was the number slain by 
 him in that battle, besides the numbers of them who were 
 wounded and carried off by him in the agonies of death, 
 and who died of their wounds some time afterwards."
 
 THE DANISH PERIOD. 27 1 
 
 This king " of the long flowing hair," was a generous, 
 wise, and staid man, if we are to credit the bard who 
 uttered his funeral lamentation : — 
 
 " Long is the wintry night, with rough gusts of wind ; 
 
 Under pressing grief we encounter it, since the red-speared king 
 
 of the noble house liveth not. 
 Fearful it is to watch how the waves heave from the bottom : 
 To them may be compared all those who with us lament him." 
 
 Aedh had to wife Maelmuri, daughter of Kenneth 
 MacAlpin, the first king of all Scotland. His Irish kinsmen 
 had aided the Scotic monarch in his final contests with the 
 Picts. This lady afterwards married Aedh's successor, 
 Flann of the Shannon, the son of Malachy — thus restoring 
 the throne to the branch of the Southern Hy-Niall. 
 
 Flann had a daughter, Gormley, v/hose gifts, beauty, and 
 tragical fate, have made her name celebrated in Irish story. 
 Many poems of this lady have survived to our day. She 
 was betrothed, while still very young, to the celebrated 
 Cormac MacCulinan, King of Cashel ; but when the period 
 had arrived when he should claim his bride, he failed to 
 appear^ having resolved to lead a life of celibacy. Gormley, 
 who is said to have been tenderly attached to Cormac, was 
 married to the King of Leinster against her own inclinations 
 and for political motives, by her father Flann. Her hated 
 husband treated her with contumely. Gormley appealed for 
 redress to her cousin Niall" Black-Knee," afterwards King 
 of Ireland, who espoused her cause, and on the death of 
 the King of Leinster, married Gormley. The most touch- 
 ing of her poems which survive express her maternal
 
 272 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 tenderness for her child, sent by his father Niall, according 
 to the custom in Ireland, to be fostered. Gormley has re- 
 corded her grief at this separation from her son, and also 
 her agonising sorrow when the young prince was afterwards 
 drowned in Lough Corrib. She long survived her husband 
 Niall, whose death she also lamented in verse — 
 
 " Where is the chief of the western world ? 
 Where the sun of every clash of arms ? 
 Sorrowful this day is sacred Ireland, 
 Without its valiant chief." 
 
 This daughter, sister, and wife of kings, is said to have 
 died of absolute want; having long survived the greatness 
 of her kindred, and seen other dynasties arise — no longer 
 near to her in blood and family ties — indifferent to, and 
 careless of her woes. Her first sorrow — the disclaiming of 
 her hand by Cormac MacCulinan — was one of the causes 
 which led to the battle of Belach Mughna (Moone, near 
 Ballytore, in the county of Kildare), in which her father 
 King Flann was opposed to the celebrated Cormac 
 MacCulinan, king-archbishop of Cashel. Cormac was 
 author of the compilation {Cormac s Glossary), which has 
 made his name a household word with modern scholars. 
 I'he lost Psalter of Cashel was also a work of his, To 
 understand aright the further circunistances which brought 
 this great and good man into collision with his suzerain, we 
 must revert to times long anterior to his age (the latter part 
 of the ninth century), and remind our readers of the old 
 compact which divided Erin between Con of the Hundred 
 Battles, of the race of Eremon, and Owen Mdr, the
 
 THE DANISH PERIOD. 273 
 
 descendant of Eber. The Esker Riada was the boundary — 
 a range of low limestone ridges extending from Dublin to 
 Gal way. 
 
 Hitherto we have been more concerned with the northern 
 district, Lea-Con, or Con's half ; as the race of Eremon gave 
 a greater number of kings to Ireland, and filled a more 
 prominent place in the page of history ; but now we shall 
 find the foremost historic names belonging rather to the 
 Munster clans. 
 
 We must also bear in mind the will of OllioU Olum, 
 which assigned the sovereignty of Munster alternately to the 
 descendants of his sons Owen and Cormac Cas. . . . The 
 Eugenians — as the families derived from Owen are called — 
 MacCarthys and others, ruled in Desmond, or South 
 Munster; while the Dalcassians — descendants of Cormac 
 Cas — O'Briens, and others — were lords of Thomond, or 
 North Munster. 
 
 But in process of time it happened that the Dalcassian 
 family — whose possessions in Clare and Limerick were re- 
 moved from Cashel, the capital of Lea-Moha — found them- 
 selves passed by in the succession, which had more and more 
 fallen into the hands of the Eugenian tribes. To the latter 
 belonged Cormac MacCulinan, who, in 896, was called to 
 the throne of Cashel. 
 
 The state of Munster during the reign of this "king, 
 bishop, anchorite, and scribe profoundly learned in the 
 Scotic tongue," is thus described in the annals : — 
 
 " Great was the prosperity of Ireland during his reign ; 
 for the land became filled with the divine 'grace, and with 
 worldly prosperity, and with public peace in his days, so
 
 2 74 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 that the cattle needed no cowherd, and the flocks no 
 shepherd, as long as he was king. The shrines of the 
 saints were then protected, and many temples and monas- 
 teries were built ; public schools were established for the 
 purpose of giving instruction in letters, law, and history ; 
 many were the tilled fields, numerous were the bees, and 
 plenteous the beehives under his rule ; frequent was fasting 
 and prayer, and every other work of piety ; many houses of 
 public hospitality were built, and many books written at his 
 command. And, moreover, when he exacted the per- 
 formance of any good work from others, lie was wont to set 
 them the example himself, by being the first to practise it, 
 whether it were a deed of alms, or benevolence, or prayer." 
 Cormac' had applied to his own tribe for "food and 
 treasures " wherewith to celebrate Easter, but was refused. 
 The Dalcassians, on hearing of his need, voluntarily supplied 
 his wants. He then applied to the Eugenians for "jewels 
 and valuables for the purpose of making presents to 
 strangers." Here again he found his own kin less liberal 
 than his Thomond subjects. " Thus did Cormac feel again 
 most grateful to that tribe, as he tells us himself in the 
 following verse : — 
 
 " May our truest fidelity ever be given 
 To the brave and generous clansmen of Tal; 
 And for ever may royalty rest with their tribe, 
 And virtue, and valour, and music, and song." 
 
 Impelled by gratitude, and still more by a sense of justice, 
 Cormac desired that his successor should be a prince of 
 Thomond. His efforts were not crowned with success, and
 
 THE DANISH PERIOD. 275 
 
 lessened the regards of his own tribe. His unpopularity 
 with the Eugenians became apparent, when he summoned 
 them to his standard to wage war with Leinster, and enforce 
 a demand for chief rents from that principality. 
 
 He had reigned peacefully and prosperously for seven 
 years, when he most reluctantly undertook this war at the 
 instigation of his nobles, and especially of Flaherty, a man 
 of royal blood, abbot of Inis-Cathaigh or Scattery Island, 
 near the mouth of the Shannon. Haunted by presenti- 
 ments of disaster, Cormac made his will before commencing 
 the campaign. 
 
 " 'Tis time my testament were made, 
 For danger's hour approacheth fast ; 
 My days shall henceforth be but few ; 
 My life has almost reached the goal. 
 
 My golden cup of sacrifice 
 Wherewith I holy offerings make, 
 I will to Senan's brotherhood 
 At Inis-Cathaigh's sacred fane. 
 
 The bell that calleth me to prayer, 
 Whilst on the green-robed earth I stay, 
 Forget not with my friend to leave 
 At Conall's shrine where Fergus flows. 
 
 My silken robe of graceful flow, 
 O'erlaid with gems and golden braid. 
 To Roscre, Paul and Peter's fane. 
 And Cronan's guardianship, I leave. 
 
 My silver chessboard of bright sheen, 
 I will to Uladh's royal chief : 
 My well-wrought chain of faultless gold, 
 To thee, Mochuda, I bequeath.
 
 276 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUER r. 
 
 Take thou my amice and my stole, 
 And take my manuple likewise, 
 To Lenin's son who lies at Cluain, 
 To Colman, who has found his bliss. 
 
 My Psalter of illumined leaves, 
 Whose light no darkness e'er can hide — 
 To Caisel I for ever leave 
 This potent gift without recall. 
 
 And my wealth I bequeath to the poor, 
 And my sins to the children of curses ; 
 And my dust to the earth whence it rose, 
 And my spirit to Him who has sent it.'' 
 
 We give details of this disastrous campaign, which re- 
 sulted in the death of Cormac MacCulinan, in the quaint 
 language of the historian Keating : — 
 
 " After this, Cormac, having mustered a large host, and 
 armed himself, and armed Flathbertach (Flaherty), son of 
 Inmanen, marched into the territory of the Leinstermen, 
 and demanded of them to give him hostages, and to pay 
 him tribute as king of Munster, upon the grounds that 
 their country (Leinster) formed part of Lea-Moha. Now 
 when the host of Munster had come together, and was all 
 collected into one camp, previous to marching upon the 
 intended expedition, it happened that Flathbertach, son of 
 Inmanen, the abbot of Inis-Cathaigh, having mounted upon 
 horseback, rode through the street of the encampment, and 
 that whilst he was thus engaged, his horse fell beneath him 
 into a deep trench. This was esteemed an unlucky omen, 
 and its consequence was that a large portion both of his 
 own people and of the whole army retired from the expedi-
 
 THE DANISH PERIOD. 277 
 
 tion, having first proposed the adoption of peaceful 
 measures — so unfavourable a prognostic did they deem the 
 sudden fall of the holy abbot when he had mounted his steed. 
 " Then ambassadors arrived from the Leinstermcn, and 
 from Kerball, son of Murighen, charged with proposals of 
 peace to King Cormac. These proposals were : first, to 
 have one universal peace maintained throughout Ireland 
 until the following month of May, for it was then the 
 fortnight of the harvest; and for that end to place hostages 
 in the hands of Maenach, son of Siadal, abbot of Disert 
 Diarmada, who was a holy, pious, learned, andi wise man ; 
 and, next, to give a large quantity of jewels and valuables to 
 Cormac himself, and also to Flathbertach, son of Inmanen, 
 as a recompense for having assented to such a peace. 
 Cormac was most willing to grant their request ; whereupon 
 he immediately proceeded to acquaint Flathbertach that 
 these ambassadors had come to him from the king of 
 Leinster demanding peace until the ensuing month of May, 
 and offering jewels and valuables to them both, from the 
 people of Leinster, provided they would return home in peace 
 to their own country. But when Flathbertach had heard him 
 out, he fell into a violent rage, and he exclaimed, ' How 
 easily seen is the weakness of thy mind, and the littleness of 
 thy intellect and thy spirit ! ' And after this fashion he 
 then addressed much of abusive and contemptuous language 
 to Cormac. The latter replied to him in the following 
 words : ' I know full well what will be the result of all this, 
 to wit, a battle will be fought with the men of Leinster, in 
 which I shall be slain, and in which it is probable that thou 
 shalt meet thy death, likewise.'
 
 278 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 " Having uttered these words, Cormac proceeded, sad 
 and dejected, to his own tent. When he had taken his 
 seat therein, a basket of apples was set before him, which 
 he began to share amongst his attendants, saying, * My dear 
 friends, I shall never more share any apples amongst you, 
 from this hour forth.'—' Dear lord,' said his people, 'thou 
 has cast us into sadness and grief. Why art thou thus wont 
 to prophesy evil for thyself?' — 'Believe what I now say, 
 friends of my heart,' said Cormac, ' for though I am wont 
 to distribute apples amongst you with my own hands, it 
 will be little wonder if some one else in my stead should 
 share them amongst you henceforward.' 
 
 " The war proceeded, and a battle was imminent. The 
 army of Munster was drawn up in three divisions, under 
 the command of Flaherty, assisted by Kellach, son of the 
 prince of Ossory ; Comiac himself ; and Cormac son of the 
 prince of Desi. The warriors were disheartened by reason 
 of the multitude of their enemies, and of the fewness of their 
 own host, for some authors assert that the army of Lcinster 
 was four times more numerous than that of Munster. 
 
 " Woful, indeed, was the tumult and clamour of that 
 battle ; for there rose the death-cry of the men of Munster 
 as they fell, and the shouting of the Leinstermen exulting in 
 the slaughter of their foes. There were two reasons why 
 the fight went so suddenly against the Munstermen. The 
 firit was because Keilichar, a relative of Kennghegan, a 
 former king of Munster, jumped hastily upon his steed, and 
 as soon as he found himself mounted, cried out, ' Flee, O 
 free clans of Munster, flee from this terrible conflict, and 
 let the ecclesiastics fight it out themselves, since they would
 
 THE DANISH PERIOD. 2)9 
 
 accept no other condition but that of battle from the people 
 of Leinster ! ' Having thus spoken, he quitted the field of 
 strife, followed by many of the combatants. The other 
 reason why the men of Munster were routed was because 
 Kellach, son of Kerball, king of Ossory, when he perceived 
 the carnage that was made amongst his people, jumped 
 likewise with haste upon his steed, and thence addressed 
 his host in these words : — ' Mount your steeds,' said he, 
 'and banish these men who stand up against you.' But 
 though he used this language he did not mean to encourage 
 them to drive off their enemies by fighting, but he thus let 
 them know that it was time for themselves to run away. 
 The result of these two causes was that the ranks of the men 
 of Munster were broken, and they were put to sudden and 
 general rout. Alas ! great indeed was the carnage that 
 then spread over Magh-n-Ailbi. Neither layman nor ecclesi- 
 astic found quarter therein, both were slaughtered indis- 
 criminately ; and if any man of either class happened to be 
 spared, he owed his life not to the mercy but to the cupidity 
 of the vanquishers, covetous of his ransom. 
 
 " Hereupon Cormac proceeded toward the van of the 
 first division, but his horse fell beneath into a ditch, and he 
 was himself dashed upon the ground. Some of his people, 
 who were running away from the battle, saw him in this 
 position, and they came at once to his relief, and replaced 
 him upon his steed. It was then that Cormac met one of 
 his own pupils, a free-born man, named Aedh, who was 
 distinguished for his proficiency in wisdom, laws, and 
 history, and in the knowledge of the Latin tongue. To 
 him the royal prelate addressed these words : — ' Dear son,'
 
 260 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 do not follow me ; but betake thyself hence, as well thou 
 mayest, and remember that I had said that I should 
 myself be slain in this battle.' 
 
 " Cormac then rode forward, and full of the blood of 
 horses and of men was the way before him ; but the slip- 
 periness of that field of carnage soon caused the feet of his 
 horse to glide from under him, and he reared and fell 
 backwards, crushing his rider beneath him. The neck and 
 back of Cormac were broken in that fall, and he died 
 saying, ' Into thy hands, O Lord, I commit my spirit 1 ' 
 Then some wicked persons came up and pierced his body 
 with their javelins, and cut off his head." 
 
 It is creditable to Flann that, far from insulting his fallen 
 enemy, he honoured the mortal remains of Cormac of Cashel. 
 He took the severed head in his hands and kissed it, severely 
 censuring those who had mutilated the corpse of the prince- 
 bishop. " What heart would not feel saddened at that deed?" 
 writes the old chronicler; "to wit, the death and mutilation 
 of so sacred a personage, who was the wisest of the men of 
 Ireland in his own day ; a learned scholar in the Gaelic and 
 Latin languages ; an archbishop v/ho v/as filled with devotion, 
 and sincerity, and prayer, and chastity, and godliness ; the 
 head of doctrine and true philosophy, and good morals, 
 and the chief king of the two pentarchates of Munster ?" 
 
 Flaherty, the warlike ecclesiastic who had been the chief 
 instigator of this campaign, retired to his cell on Scattery 
 Island, and passed sometime in penance and retirement ; 
 till summoned himself to fill the throne of Cashel, which 
 he afterwards resigned to Lorcan. 
 
 King Flann, after a long and, on the whole, a prosperous
 
 THE DANISH PERIOD. 28 1 
 
 reign, died a.d. 916. This " pleasant and hospitable" prince 
 rebuilt the cathedral church at Clonmacnoise, one of the 
 chief stone-built edifices of its kind in Ireland at that period. 
 
 Amongst the successors of Cormac on the throne of 
 Munster was the provincial king Callaglian, whose chequered 
 fortunes will now have our notice. It is said that he owed 
 the sovereignty of Munster to the influence of his mother, who 
 appealed to the justice of Kennedy, son of Lorcan, remind- 
 ing him of the law of Ollioll Olum, which gave alternate rule 
 to the tribes of Owen and Cormac Cas. Kennedy resigned 
 his claims, which, at a later period, centered in his son, the 
 great king of Munster, Brian Boru. 
 
 Callaghan waged successful war with the Danes. Their 
 chief, Sitric, sought to repair his losses by stratagem. Tradi- 
 tion tells us that for this purpose he made overtures of peace 
 to Callaghan,. offering him the hand of his sister in marriage. 
 The King of Cashel acceded to the proposal, having heard 
 much of the beauty of Bebinn, as the lady was called ; and 
 set forth for Dublin, escorted only by a small body of 
 horsemen, to celebrate the marriage. 
 
 The wife of Sitric inquired of her husband why he proposed 
 this marriage between his sister and his enemy. The 
 treacherous Sitric told her that his design was to secure the 
 person of the king of Cashel. The lady had cherished in 
 secret an attachment for Callaghan, and, alarmed for his 
 safety, she privately set out to meet him, and warn him of the 
 snare laid by her husband. But the warning came too late. 
 When Callaghan endeavoured to retrace his steps he found 
 himself surrounded by foes, placed in ambush along the path 
 he had to traverse, and was led into captivity.
 
 282 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 Kennedy, son of Lorcan, mustered the clans of Munster, 
 and marched to the rescue of the prince. The troops were 
 supported by a fleet, under the command of Falvy Finn, a 
 Kerry chieftain. Callaghan had been removed from Dubhn 
 to Armagh, and thence, when the Munster forces appeared 
 before Armagh, was sent to Dundalk. The Danes placed 
 their prisoner on board ship for security, not anticipating the 
 arrival of an Irish fleet. Falvy Finn appeared in the Bay of 
 Dundalk, boarded the Danish ship, freed Callaghan, who 
 was tied to the mast, but sank himself covered with wounds. 
 His brave followers, inspired by his example, and conscious 
 that they should eventually be outnumbered by the Danes, 
 closed with Sitric and his brothers Tor and Magnus. Each 
 grappled with a foe, and sprang with his enemy into the 
 sea. Such was the first liberation of Callaghan of Cashel. 
 
 Callaghan found himself a second time a prisoner, as 
 hostage to Murkertagh, prince of Aileach, under circumstances 
 which we must now narrate. King Flann, in the latter years 
 of his life, had to contend with rebellion in his own family. 
 His sons had been undutiful, but were compelled to sub- 
 mission by Niall "Black-knee," the husband of his daughter 
 Gormley. Niall succeeded Flann as Ard-Righ, and died, as 
 we have already seen, in battle with the Danes, being himself 
 succeeded, according to the usual course, by Donogh, son of 
 Flann — while his own vigorous son, Murkertagh, filled the 
 position of Roydamna, or heir-apparent. 
 
 Murkertagh, surnamed " Pell-Cloak," or of the Leathern 
 Cloaks, in a.d. 941 assembled the northern Clans, and, with 
 a thousand selected troops, commenced a circuit of Ireland, 
 from Aileach, accompanied by his bard, whose narrative of
 
 THE DANISH PERIOD. 283 
 
 the expedition is yet extant. Commencing his journey in 
 winter, he provided, his troops with cloaks of leather — 
 whence his name— as a protection from the inclemency of that 
 season. He " kept his left hand to the sea " till he arrived 
 at Dublin. Thence he led as a hostage Sitric, a Danish lord, 
 and carried off Lorcan, king of Leinster, also. He next pro- 
 ceeded to Cashel, where Callaghan was surrendered to him, 
 not without his own consent, if we interpret aright the lay 
 of Cormacan Eigeas : — 
 
 We were ... a night at Cashel of Munster ; 
 
 There the great injury was inflicted on the men of Munater : 
 
 There were arrayed against us three battalions brave, 
 
 Impetuous, red, terrible, 
 So that each party confronted the other, 
 In the centre of the great plain. 
 
 We cast our cloaks off us, 
 As became the subjects of a good king ; 
 The comely, the bright Miiircheartach was at this time 
 Engaged in playing his chess. 
 The hardy Callaghan said, — 
 (And to us it was victory) : — 
 '• O men of Munster ! men of renown ! 
 
 Oppose not the race of Eoghan, 
 Better that I go with them as an hostage 
 Than that we should all be driven to battle ; 
 
 They will kill man for man. 
 The noble people of Muircheartach." 
 We took with us, therefore, Callaghan the just, 
 Who received his due honour, 
 Namely, a ring of fifteen ounces on his hand, 
 And a chain of iron on his stout leg. 
 
 This was harsh treatment for Callaghan, for he was the only 
 hostage who was bound in fetters. Conor, son of the king of
 
 2S4 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 Contiaught, was also taken to Aileach, and here Murkertagh 
 and his hostages feasted for five months. He then com- 
 mitted them to the custody of the Ard-Righ. Two years later 
 he fell in battle against the Danes. His son, Donall O'Neill, 
 became Ard-Righ in 956, and was among the first in Ireland 
 to assume a surname. The prefix Mac implies " son of ; " 
 O, "descendant of." King Donall assumed the name of his 
 grandfather Niall, father of Murkertagh, and from him, in 
 direct descent, were the lords of Tir Owen, closing with 
 Hugh, Earl of Tyrone, who died in Eome, a.d. 16 16, and 
 also the younger branch of O'Neills of Clanaboy. 
 
 The Danes, during this period of their domination, were 
 almost universally Pagans, and delighted in exhibiting their 
 contempt for the sacred things of the Christian religion. Thus 
 it is recorded of Auda, wife of Turgesius, that she made the 
 high altar at Clonmacnoise her seat of state for receiving her 
 courtiers. It is surmised, with some show of probability, 
 that Turgesius is the Regner Lodbrog of Norse tradition • 
 and the profaner of Clonmacnoise, that Aslauga to whom he 
 addressed one of the stanzas of his Death-song, when about 
 to be cast into the lake which, in the Scandinavian legend, 
 is supposed to be full of serpents : — 
 
 " We have fought with our swords — hurrah I, 
 How our sons would all be storming, 
 
 Aslauga! how they'd roar to-day, 
 
 Could they see their sire's deforming I 
 
 For, through and through, the serpent blue- 
 Must gnaw me here, 'mong strangers; — 
 
 But I've given my sons a mother, who 
 Will rear me meet avengers."
 
 THE DANISH PERIOD. 285 
 
 The museums of Denmark are now full of objects of rich 
 and characteristic Celtic workmanship, drawn from the 
 sepulchral tumuli of Jutland and Holstein, many of which 
 were, no doubt, carried off from the shores of Ireland during 
 this period. 
 
 We have alluded to the monastic treasury so attractive to 
 the cupidity of the pagan Danes. Although many of them 
 were thus destroyed, and others carried off, yet those which 
 still remain to us in situ, and those which may be inspected 
 in our museums and libraries, evince the fine instinct for art 
 which characterized the Irish in early times. In metal work 
 they seem to have attained complete mastery of material. 
 Brooches of delicate workmanship, book covers encrusted 
 with gems and enamel, croziers elaborately wrought which 
 encased the walking sticks of venerated saints, shrines for 
 their bells and for their relics, abound in our museums. 
 So numerous were the shrines, that Dr. Petrie has observed 
 of them, " It would appear from the number of references to 
 shrines in the Irish annals, that previously to the irruption 
 of the Northmen in the eighth and ninth centuries, there 
 were few, if any, of the distinguished churches in Ireland 
 which had not costly shrines." 
 
 To a somewhat later period belong the beautiful Ardagh 
 chalice, and the processional Cross of Cong, made, probably 
 in 1 1 23, to enshrine a fragment of the true cross presented 
 to King Turlogh O'Conor. Round the cross itself is engraved 
 a prayer for the King, for the Bishop, and for the Artificer 
 by whom it was fashioned. 
 
 Of the stone work of early Christian times, Ireland 
 still possesses forty-five richly sculptured high crosses, and
 
 286 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 upwards of two hundred decorated tombstones. Its Round 
 Towers numbered at the beginning of this century ii8. 
 Of these 76 are extanct. Among its architectural ruins 
 prior to the English Invasion, we may name as a lovely 
 specimen of Irish Romanesque, Cormac's Chapel on the 
 Rock of Cashel, erected in the twelfth century by Cormac 
 MacCarthy. 
 
 The Illuminated MSS. penned by her scribes, are the 
 glory of Celtic Art. These are found all over Europe ; for, 
 wherever the Irish missionaries wandered, they carried their 
 skilled workmanship with them. For penmanship, for 
 exquisite fancy in design, and delicate feeling for colour, 
 these are unsurpassed. The Book of Kells, now in the 
 library of Trinity College, Dublin, is admittedly the most 
 beautiful MS. of Western Europe. 
 
 We have in the Book of Deer — a MS. discovered not many 
 years ago in the University Library at Cambridge, by a 
 distinguished scholar, the late Henry Bradshaw, and edited 
 in 1869, by the eminent Scottish Antiquary, the late Dr. 
 John Stuart — an interesting specimen of the written language 
 of the Columban Church. This early MS. records the gift 
 to Saint Columba of the Cathair or fort in the district of 
 Buchan (North Eastern Aberdeenshire) bestowed on the 
 Saint by the Mormaer of Buchan, and assigned by Columba 
 to his disciple Drostan for his monastic foundation. Columba 
 blessed it, " Drostan's tears came on parting with Colum- 
 cille. Said Columcille, 'Let Deer be its name henceforward.'" 
 This MS. which belonged to the Columban Church at Deer, 
 contains portions of the gospels ; the Apostles' Creed ; a 
 fragment of the office for the visitation of the sick written
 
 THE DANISH PERIOD. 287 
 
 in Latin with Irish rubrics ; and on the blank pages notices 
 in GaeUc, "unquestionably identic with the written Irish of 
 the period," which relate the circumstances of the foundation 
 of the church, and recount its privileges and grants of land 
 made to the monastery. Dr. Joseph Anderson recapitulates 
 as follows, the information derived from the Book of Deer : 
 
 "It tells us the circumstances in which St. Columba 
 founded the monastery of Deer, and left his nephew Drostan 
 in charge of the newly established community. It shows us 
 the civil condition of the Celtic population, divided into 
 clans, and recognising the authority of the mormaer as 
 representing the king, the toisech as the clan chief, and the 
 brehon or judge . . . Besides all this it discloses something 
 of the culture that existed in that remote district nearly ten 
 centuries ago. It tells us that the clerics of Deer still fol- 
 lowed the example of their first founder, who was famed as 
 a diligent scribe. It shows us that, besides being expert 
 caligraphists, having some skill in painting and illumination, 
 they were educated men . . . This is not much to say 
 of them, but it is a great deal more than we have it in our 
 power to say of any other community or institution from 
 similar evidence, if we except the parent community of lona 
 itself ... So slowly," adds Mr. Anderson, " do we awaken 
 to the special interest of the antiquities of our own country 
 that it is only of recent years, when Assyria, Egypt, Greece, 
 and Rome, have been well ransacked, that attention has 
 begun to be directed to the great storehouse of national 
 history and native art that exists almost unutilized in the 
 early monumenta of our ancestors." 
 
 To the repeated incursions of the Danes during this period
 
 288 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 which we have called by their name, may also be ascribed 
 the ruin of the monastic establishment at lona, which, from 
 the days of its foundation by Columba, a.d. 563, to the death 
 of Adamnan 704, had been so flourishing. The endeavours 
 of the ninth abbot to introduce the Roman custom of 
 Easter had led to schism at lona, and rival abbots for a 
 time claimed rule in the Columban community. 
 
 Breasal elected abbot in 772, held undisputed sway for 
 thirty years, and kings and princes went on pilgrimage to 
 lona and died there during his tenure of power. But before 
 its close the pagan nations from the North had discovered 
 the treasures of lona and the helplessness of the monks. In 
 794 the Danes made their first descent, and year after year 
 these pirates swooped down, burning, slaughtering, and 
 despoiling the defenceless community. 
 
 The successors of Breasal — who had died 801 — were 
 still more unfortunate. Connachtach, " a select scribe and 
 abbot of lona," saw the monastic buildings burned by the 
 Danes. These had been constructed of wood and were so 
 utterly destroyed in the time of the next abbot Cellach, that 
 he determined to remove from lona to Kells in Ireland. 
 Here, in the county of Meath a stone-built Columban house 
 was erected, and Cellach having completed his church, 
 resigned his charge, and Diarmaid was ordained in his 
 place. The mortal remains of the founder of the Family of 
 lona were conveyed to Ireland, and enshrined; and in 807, 
 when the Book of Armagh— d. MS. ascribed to that date 
 and now in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin — was 
 written, were preserved in the Church of Saint Patrick in 
 the county of Down. These shrines, generally encased
 
 THE DANISH PERIOD. 28y 
 
 with gold and richly decorated, were easily moved from 
 place to place when required. In 8i8, Diarmait, returning 
 to lona, brought back with him the shrine which contained 
 the relics of St. Columba. The monastic buildings there 
 had been renewed in stone, but in a less unprotected site, and 
 the presence of the Saint's body made the spot selected 
 sacred in the eyes of the community, and conferred all the 
 privileges belonging to a mother church. 
 
 Seven years later, a pilgrim from Ireland, of royal race, 
 Blathmac — whose name signified " beautiful son," found 
 himself at lona when the Danes, again in search of spoil, 
 made a descent on the island. The monks hastily dug a 
 grave for the shrine of Columba, and covered it with sods. 
 Blathmac exhorted the brethren : " Ye, O companions, seek 
 within your own minds whether it be your determination to 
 endure with me the coming fate, for the name of Christ. 
 Whoever of you can face it, I pray you arm yourselves with 
 courage ; but those who are weak at heart and panic-struck, 
 should hasten their flight, that they may avoid the obvious 
 danger, arming their hands for better vows. Before us 
 stands the imminent trial of certain death. May a firm 
 faith keep us prepared for future events ; may the careful 
 guardian of the flying protect those less strong." 
 
 The martyrdom of St. Blathmac — for he was murdered 
 by the Danes while concealing the shrine — occurred in 825. 
 " The rest of the brethren lay commending their souls with 
 prayers and tears, when, behold, the cursed bands rushed 
 raging through the unprotected houses, threatening death to 
 those blessed men, and, furious with rage, the rest of the 
 brethren being slain, came to the holy father, urging him to
 
 290 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 give up the precious metals which enclosed the sacred bones 
 of Saint Coluinba ; ... but the holy man stood firm with 
 unarmed hand, by a stern determination of the mind taught 
 to resist battle and to challenge encounter, unaccustomed to 
 yield. . . And so Blathmac attained his desire, and was 
 made ' a martyr for the name of Christ.' " 
 
 In 850 Kenneth MacAlpin — King — not of the Picts, nor 
 of the Scots, merely, but of Scotland, built a church at 
 Dunkeld and removed thither the relics of St. Columba. 
 The primacy of lona had been transferred to Kells, and 
 Kenneth in taking the shrine of Columba to Dunkeld, 
 thereby constituted it an Annoid or mother church over the 
 Columbans in Scotland, and made its abbot Bishop of 
 Fortrenn, and as such recognised head of the Church in 
 Pictland. Abernethy, also in Perthshire, refounded by St- 
 Columba in the sixth century, was restored by King Kenneth 
 MacAlpin to the Irish clergy, and to this time we may 
 with probability ascribe the erection of its Round Tower. 
 Kenneth's son and successor, Conslantine, seems to have 
 transferred the bishopric from Dunkeld to Abernethy— which 
 was again, in 908, transferred to St. Andrews. 
 
 We find the relics of St. Columba again in Ireland in 878, 
 and lona ravaged by Vikings from Norway. Flann, the son 
 of Maelduin— whose death is recorded 891, is said to have 
 been the last abbot of lona, who was a descendant of 
 Conall Gulban, that son of Niall of the Nine Hostages, 
 whose line had produced so many distinguished saints and 
 missionaries. 
 
 We may note briefly that when Tona, as one of the Western 
 Isles, fell under the sway of the Scottish monarchs, Saint
 
 THE DANISH PERIOD. 291 
 
 Margaret, Saxon queen of Malcolm Ceannmor, who, on the 
 defeat and death of Macbeth, 1057, succeeded to the throne 
 of his father Duncan, " restored the monastery of lona, 
 which Columba, the servant of Christ, erected in the time of 
 Brude, King of the Picts." 
 
 Malcolm subsequently ceded the Western Isles, including 
 lona, to the Norwegians. In 1099 is recorded the death of 
 Donnchad, grandson of Moenaig, the last of the old abbots 
 of lona. 
 
 " The causes which combined to bring the old Celtic 
 Church to an end," writes Mr. Skene, "may be classed 
 under two heads — internal decay and external change. 
 Under the first head the chief cause was the encroachment 
 of the secular element upon the ecclesiastical, and the 
 gradual absorption of the latter by the former. As long as 
 the old monastic system remained intact there was a vitality 
 in its ecclesiastical organization which to a great extent 
 preserved the essential character of these monasteries as 
 great ecclesiastical foundations ; but this was to some extent 
 impaired by the assimilation of the Church to that of Rome 
 in the seventh and eighth centuries, which introduced a 
 secular element among her clergy ; and the Danish invasions, 
 with all their devastating and destructive consequences, 
 completed the total disorganization of the Monastic Church. 
 The monasteries were repeatedly laid waste and destroyed, 
 and her clergy had either to fly or to take up arms in self- 
 defence ; her lands, with their ruined buildings and reduced 
 establishment, fell into the hands of laymen, and became 
 hereditary in their families ; until at last nothing was left 
 but the mere name of abbacy applied to the lands, and of
 
 igz THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 abbot borne by the secular lord for the time. The external 
 change produced in the Church was the result of the poUcy 
 adopted towards it by the kings of the race of Queen 
 Margaret. It was in the main the same policy as that adopted 
 towards Ireland by the Norman kings of England. It 
 mainly consisted, first, in placing the Church upon a territo- 
 rial in place of a tribal basis,. and substituting the parochial 
 system and a diocesan episcopacy for the old tribal churches 
 vv'ith their monastic jurisdiction and functional episcopacy ; 
 secondly, of introducing the religious orders of the Church 
 of Rome, and founding great monasteries as centres of 
 counter-influence to the native Church ; and, thirdly, in 
 absorbing the Culdees, now the only clerical element left in 
 the Celtic Church, into the Roman system, by converting 
 them from secular into regular canons, and merging them in 
 the latter order." 
 
 Hardly a vestige now remains of the monastic buildings 
 of the Columban community on the soil of that "illustrious" 
 Island. The existing ruins are those of the Benedictine 
 abbey and nunnery introduced into lona in 1203, by the 
 Lord of the Isles. But local memorials remain in the 
 fountains which bear the names of saintly men, the fairs yet 
 held on their " days ; " the old burying places, with fragments 
 of Celtic crosses, still preferred by the people for their last 
 resting places, and families holding at the present time some 
 small portion of lands " as hereditary custodians of the 
 pastoral staff or other relic " of the Irish missionaries who 
 in the sixth century settled on this little island, and made 
 lona the "luminary of the Caledonian regions."
 
 THE DANISH PERIOD. 
 
 293 
 
 TABLE OF THE KINGS OF IRELAND DURING THE DANISH 
 PERIOD. 
 
 Aedh Ornidhe 
 
 of the line 
 
 of Eremon 
 
 .. A.D. 797 
 
 Conor 
 
 
 Eremon 
 
 819 
 
 Niall Caille 
 
 
 Eremon 
 
 833 
 
 Maelsechlainn 
 
 
 Eremon 
 
 846 
 
 Aedh Finn-Liath 
 
 )> 
 
 Eremon 
 
 863 
 
 Flan Sinna 
 
 ,, 
 
 Eremon 
 
 879 
 
 Niall Glun-dubh 
 
 >i 
 
 Eremon 
 
 916 
 
 Donncadh 
 
 ,, 
 
 Eremon 
 
 919 
 
 Congal 
 
 )) 
 
 Eremon 
 
 944 
 
 Domnall O'Neill 
 
 » 
 
 Eremon 
 
 956
 
 294 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE DALCASSIAN PERIOD. 
 FROM MALACHY II., A.D. 980, TO THE DEATH OF BRIAN BORU, IOI4. 
 
 Reign of Malachy II.— Defeats the Danes at Tara, and at Dublin — 
 His proclamation — Rivalry with Brian Boru — Rise of the Dalcassian 
 tribe under the leadership of the sons of Kennedy — Struggles of 
 Mahon and Brian with the Danes — Interview of these princes — 
 Assembly of the Dal-Gais — Battle of Sulcoit— Sack of Limerick — 
 Song of triumph for Mahon — His murder — Brian avenges his death 
 — Rules Munster from Kincora — Battle of Glenmama — Alliances 
 of Brian — Aspires to the sovereignty — Malachy deserted by the 
 Northern princes — Submits to Brian — Generous conduct of the 
 rivals— Administrative genius of Brian — His magnificence — Mael- 
 murra, King of Leinster, insulted at Kincora — Conspires with the 
 Danes — Battle of Clontarf — Brian's army — Chivalrous conduct of 
 the deposed King Malachy— Muster of the Northmen at Clontarf — 
 Brian's address to his army — Encounter between Plait and Domnall 
 — Interview between Murrogh, son of Brian, and Donogh O'Har- 
 tigan — Conflict of Murrogh and Anrud — Death of Murrogh — His 
 son Turloch drowned — King Brian in his tent — Is killed by Brodar 
 — Chronological Table. 
 
 Malachy II., who ascended the throne in 980, in the com- 
 mencement of his reign exhibited vigour and abiUty. He 
 defeated the Danes at Tara, and again at DubUn. The attack 
 on the city lasted for three days, and the siege of the castle for 
 twenty days, "so that they (the Danes) drank no water during 
 that time but the brine." He carried thence two thousand 
 hostages, jewels, and other valuables, and freed the country
 
 THE DALCASSIAN PERIOD. 295 
 
 from tribute and taxation from the Shannon to the sea. Hi? 
 proclamation was as follows : — " Every one of the Gaeidhil 
 (Gael) who is in the territory of the foreigners, in servitude 
 and bondage, let him go to his own territory in peace and 
 happiness." It was in these contests that Malachy carried 
 off " the collar of gold, which he won from the proud 
 invader." 
 
 Unhappily all the wars of this king were not waged with 
 the foreign foe. A powerful rival to Malachy had appeared in 
 the person of Brian Boru, son of Kennedy, son of Lorcan, 
 of the Dalcassian tribe, now rising to great power and im- 
 portance in Munster. Malachy, alarmed and jealous of the 
 Dal-Gais,* ravaged Clare, and uprooted the "great tree of 
 Magh Adair," under which the kings of Thomond had been 
 inaugurated from time immemorial. This outrage did not 
 pass unavenged. 
 
 A long succession of able and vigorous princes, des- 
 cended from King Niall of the Nine Hostages, had secured 
 for this northern clan the sovereignty of Ireland. They 
 had eclipsed the fame of the Munster families descended 
 from OllioU Olum. The will of this great ruler of Lea 
 Moha — as the southern half of the island was called — had 
 vested the succession alternately in the descendants of his 
 sons, Owen and Cormac Gas. At the period at which we 
 have arrived the Dalcassian tribe, representatives of Cormac 
 Cas, were emerging from comparative obscurity, under the 
 leadership of the sons of Kennedy, Mahon, and Brian, 
 princes of vigour and genius. 
 
 * Dal-g'Cais, that is, the Tribe of Cas.
 
 296 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 "There were then governing and ruling that tribe," writes 
 the contemporary chronicler, *' two stout, able, valiant 
 pillars — two fierce, lacerating, magnificent heroes — two 
 gates of battle, two poles of combat, two spreading trees of 
 shelter, two spears of victory and readiness of hospitality 
 and munificence of heart, and strength of friendship and 
 liveliness, the most eminent of the west of Europe, viz., 
 Mathgamhain (Mahon),and Brian, the two sons of Cennidigh 
 (Kennedy), son of Lorcan," etc., etc. 
 
 These chieftains, like Alfred of England — with whose 
 story theirs has many points of resemblance — were trained 
 in the school of adversity. The Danes had firmly riveted 
 their chains on Munster. Limerick and Waterford were 
 strongholds of the hated foreigner. As in England in the 
 time of Alfred, it seemed hopeless to attempt to dislodge the 
 Northmen, "because of the greatness of their achievements, 
 and of their deeds, their bravery, and their valour, their 
 strength, and their venom, and their ferocity ;. and because 
 of the excess of their thirst and their hunger for the brave, 
 fruitful, nobly-inhabited, cataract-abounding, rivery, bayey, 
 pure, smooth-plained, sweet-grassy land of Erinn." 
 
 But it was not " honourable to the mind, or to the courage, 
 or to the nature," of the tribe of the Dal-Gais, " those ani- 
 mated, high-minded ones, who never brooked injustice or 
 tyranny from any king of the kings of Erinn ; and not only 
 that, but who never gave them pledges or hostages in token 
 of obedience ; to submit of their own accord to cruel 
 slavery from Danars, and from fierce, hard-hearted pirates." 
 Accordingly the Dalcassians, from the fastnesses and forests 
 into which they were driven, ceased not to carry on a
 
 THE DALCASSIAN PERIOD. 297 
 
 guerilla warfare. But the strength of the Northmen became 
 so overpowering, that most of the Munster princes — Mahon 
 among the number — submitted to the Danish domination. 
 
 It was not so with Brian. " He was not willing to make 
 peace with the foreigners, because, however small the injury 
 he might be able to do to the foreigners, he preferred it to 
 peace. . . . It is not easy to enumerate or tell all that Brian 
 killed of the foreigners of that garrison in twos, and in 
 threes, and in fives, and in scores, and in hundreds ; or the 
 number of conflicts and combats that he frequently and 
 constantly gave them. Great, on the other hand, were the 
 hardship and the ruin, the bad food and bad bedding which 
 they inflicted on him in the wild huts of the desert, on the 
 hard, knotty wet roots of his own native country ; whilst they 
 killed his people and his trusty officers and his comrades- 
 sorrowful, dispirited, wretched, unpitied, weary. For his- 
 torians say the foreigners cut off his people, so that he had 
 at last no more than fifteen followers." 
 
 His brother, Mahon, became alarmed for Brian's safety. 
 He visited him secretly, and mourned with Brian over 
 the loss of their brave clansmen. Brian, on his side, ten- 
 derly reproached Mahon for his submission to the Danes, 
 a subjection which their father, Kennedy, or their grandfather, 
 Lorcan, would never have brooked. The chronicler, who is 
 supposed, with seeming probability, to have been MacLiag, 
 the bard of Brian, thus describes the conference between the 
 brothers, and the decision of the whole clan, on the momen- 
 tous question submitted to them — of peace or war with the 
 powerful foe. 
 
 Mahon said that he " had not the power to meet the
 
 298 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 foreigners, because of the greatness of their followers, and 
 the number of their army, and the greatness of their cham- 
 pions, and the excellence of their corslets, and of their 
 swords, and their other arms in general. And he said, also, 
 that he would not like to leave the Dal Gais dead in follow- 
 ing him, as he (Brian) had left the most of his people. 
 
 " Brian said that was not a right thing for him (Mahon) 
 to say, because it was hereditary for him to die, and here- 
 ditary for all the Dal Gais ; for their fathers and grandfathers 
 had died, and death was certain to come upon themselves ; 
 but it was not natural or hereditary to them to submit to 
 insult or contempt, because their fathers or their grand- 
 fathers submitted not to it from any one on earth. He said, 
 also, that it was no honour to their courage to abandon, 
 without battle or conflict, to dark foreigners, and black grim 
 Gentiles, the inheritance which their fathers and grandfathers 
 had defended in battle and conflicts against the chiefs of 
 the Gaedhil (Gael). 
 
 " After this, all the Dal Gais were convened to one 
 appointed place before Mathgamhain (Mahon); and he 
 asked them what decision they wished to come to, namely, 
 whether they would have peace or war with the foreigners, 
 and with the Danars. Then they all answered, both old 
 young, that they preferred meeting violent death and des- 
 truction and annihilation, in defending the freedom of their 
 patrimony, and of their race, rather than submit to the 
 tyranny and oppression of the pirates, or abandon their 
 country and their lands to them. And this was the voice of 
 hundreds, as the voice of one man." 
 
 But before they resumed hostilities, their chief proposed
 
 THE DALCASSIAN PERIOD. 299 
 
 /o the Dal Gais to return from their then seats in Clare and 
 Limerick, in which they appear to have been, themselves, 
 invaders, to Cashel, the head-quarters of their race. He 
 said, " That it was better and more righteous to do battle 
 and combat for their inheritance, and for their native 
 right, than for land acquired by conquest and the sword." 
 
 The Danes of Limerick mustered their forces, with a 
 contingent of the subject Irish of Munster. Their king, 
 Ivar, " whose spite was little short of death to him," deter- 
 mined to extirpate the clansmen of Mahon and Brian, and 
 so to ravage and depopulate the Dal Gais " that there 
 should not be left of them a man to guide a horse's head 
 over a channel, an abbot, or venerable person, who should 
 not be murdered and put to death, or brought under tribute 
 and subjection to the foreigners like all others." 
 
 The warriors of the Dal Gais and the troops of Ivar met 
 at Sulcoit, near the present town of Tipperary, ajd. 968. 
 It was a decisive battle; "bloody, crimsoned, violent, rough, 
 unsparing, implacable." It lasted from sunrise till mid-day, 
 and resulted in the utter defeat of the Danes. The foreigners 
 " were at length routed, and they fled to the ditches, and to 
 the valleys, and to the solitudes of that great sweet-flowery 
 plain." 
 
 Limerick fell into the hands of the victors. Mahon 
 divided the spoil among his clansmen, "according to 
 persons and rights, according to accomplishments and fair 
 performances, according to bravery and valour.'' 
 
 We obtain an insight into the wealth and trade of the 
 Danes of Ireland from the enumeration of the spoils of 
 Limerick. " They carried off their jewels and their best
 
 300 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 property, and their saddles beautiful and foreign ; their gold 
 and their silver ; their beautifully-woven cloth of all colours 
 and of all kinds ; their satins and silken cloth, pleasing and 
 variegated, both scarlet and green, and all sorts of cloths in 
 like manner. They carried away their soft, youthful, bright, 
 matchless girls, their blooming silk-clad young women, and 
 their active, large, and well-formed boys." 
 
 A Gaelic song of triumph, a paean for Mahon, thus 
 concludes : — 
 
 " Luimnech (Limerick) was totally ravaged by thee : 
 Thou didst carry away their gold and their silver ; 
 Thou didst plunder their fort at that time ; 
 Thou didst surround it with a wall of fire. 
 
 For Mumhain (Munster) hast thou well contended, 
 O Mathgamhain ! thou great chief! 
 Thou hast given, O king, a stern defeat, 
 To banish the foreigners from Erinn. 
 
 King of Mumhain methinks thou art, 
 High king of Caisel (Cashel) renowned : — 
 Bestow gold on those who merit. 
 They are many, O Mathgamhain I "■ 
 
 Mahon did not long survive the victory of Sulcoit. He 
 was treacherously murdered by Donovan and MuUoy, sons 
 of the rulers of South Munster, instigated by the Danish 
 king of Limerick. Jealousy of the growing power of Thomond 
 was the actuating motive with these scions of the Eugenian 
 line. Their mode of carrying their treachery into effect was 
 base in the extreme. Donovan invited Mahon to a banquet, 
 and finding that the chieftain of the Dal Gais hesitated
 
 THE DALCASSIAN PERIOD. 301 
 
 .0 comply, obtained for him a guarantee of safety from the 
 bishop of Cork and others of the Munster clergy. Thus 
 assured, Mahon accepted his invitation. His person was 
 seized and delivered up to a body of troops who lay in 
 wait. 
 
 " Mulloy had ordered his people, when they should get 
 Mahon into their hands, to despatch him at once ; and this 
 order was obeyed. A bright and sharp sword was plunged 
 into his heart, and his blood stained St. Barry's Gospel, 
 which he held to his breast to protect himself by its sanctity. 
 When, however, he perceived the naked sword extended 
 to strike him, he cast the gospel in the direction of the 
 clergy, who were on an adjacent hillock, and it struck the 
 breast of one of the priests of Cork ; and those who were 
 looking on assert that he sent it the distance of a bow-shot 
 from the one hillock to the other." 
 
 When Mulloy, who was within sight of this tragic scene, 
 observed the flashing of the sword raised to strike the 
 victim, he understood that the bloody deed was done, and 
 mounted his horse to depart. One of the clergy who knew 
 Mulloy, asked him what was to be done. Mulloy replied, 
 with sardonic sneer, " cure that man if he come to thee," 
 and then took his departure. The priest became wroth, 
 and, cursing him bitterly, predicted that he would come to 
 an evil end. '* Mulloy MacBran was the chief instigator of 
 this deed ; but it were better for him he had not accom- 
 plished it, for it afterwards caused him bitter woe and 
 affliction." When the news of it reached Brian and the 
 Dal Gais they were overwhelmed with grief; and Brian 
 vented his grief and rage in an extemporaneous effusion,
 
 302 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 which the chronicler gives in the form of a poem, lamenting 
 that his brother had not fallen in battle behind the shelter 
 of his shield before he had relied on the treacherous word 
 of Donovan. He concludes thus : — 
 
 " My heart will burst within my breast 
 Unless I avenge this great king; 
 They shall forfeit life for this foul deed, 
 Or I shall perish by a violent death." 
 
 Brian accomplished his revenge. He attacked the Danes 
 of Limerick, and slew their king, Ivar, who had plotted 
 against his brother ; and put Ivar's sons also to the sword. 
 He then turned his victorious arms with like success against 
 Donovan. Mulloy had previously fallen by the hand of 
 Murrogh, eldest son of Brian, in conflict at the ford of 
 Bealach-Leachta. The young prince desired to avenge 
 with his own hand his uncle Mahon's murder. Brian Boru 
 was now undisputed king of Munster, and fixed his royal 
 seat at Kincora, not far from the falls of the Shannon at 
 Killaloe. 
 
 Brian's personal rivalry with Malachy did not prevent his 
 joining the Ard-Righ with his forces in a campaign against 
 the Danes. The Northmen were defeated at Glen Mama, 
 near Dunlavin, in the county of Wicklow. Afterwards 
 Malachy and Brian entered Dublin in triumph, spent a 
 week in the Danish capital, burned the fortress, expelled 
 Sitric, and carried off immense spoil in gold, silver, and 
 prisoners. 
 
 This cordial co-operation with Malachy was not of long 
 continuance. The monarch was gallant, hospitable and
 
 THE DALCASSIAN PERIOD. 303 
 
 joyous in temperament ; a fearless rider, delighting in a 
 mettlesome, unbroken steed ; open-handed in his generosity, 
 but lacking the statesmanlike qualities which distinguished 
 Brian. This clear-sighted, resolute man had, by the glory 
 of his achievements and the policy of his alliances, under- 
 mined the authority of King Malachy. Brian had married, 
 in succession, daughters of the powerful Connaught clans 
 of O'Heyne and O'Connor, and thirdly Gormley, sister of 
 Maelmurra, king of Leinster, who had been previously the 
 wife of Anlaf, the Danish king of Dublin, and was after- 
 wards wife of Malachy 11. He had a numerous family, for 
 whom he made alliances which extended his influence; 
 The daughter of Earl Godwin of Kent became the wife of 
 one of his sons. His own daughters were married, one to 
 Sitric, " Silk-Beard," son of Gormley by her former husband, 
 Danish king of Dublin, and another to a Scottish prince. 
 His eldest son, Murrogh, was a distinguished man, and 
 father to a promising boy; and five younger scions gave 
 stability to this branch of the Dalcassian line. 
 
 Brian, deeming himself now strong enough to aspire to 
 the monarchy, soon after the battle of Glen Mama, marched 
 on Tara, at the head of the Munster clans, and challenged 
 Malachy to open battle, or to give hostages in acknowledg- 
 ment of Brian's supremacy. Malachy, unprepared for 
 resistance, asked a respite of a month, that he might summon 
 the provincial chieftains to his aid, promising at the end of 
 that time either to stake his sovereignty on the event of 
 battle, or to resign it into the hands of Brian. He stipu- 
 lated that in the interval Brian should not devastate Meath. 
 The Munster hero agreed to these terms.
 
 304 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 Malachy, who was himself a prince of the South Hy-Niall 
 line, sent envoys to the Northern Hy-Niall princes, and to 
 the chieftains of Uladh and of Connaught, summoning them 
 to his aid, to fight against Brian. From Aedh O'Neill he 
 received a reply which indicated how little he had to expect 
 at the hands of these princes. " Whenever," said Aedh, 
 " Tara happened to be possessed by the Kinel Owen, they 
 were themselves wont to defend its rights, and sought no 
 other aid : therefore let him who holds it now stand up him- 
 self and fight for its freedom as best he may," 
 
 Malachy tried, with no better result, the effect of a per- 
 sonal interview with the proud chief of Aileach. Having 
 besought Aedh in vain, he tempted him by the offer of the 
 sovereignty for himself. 
 
 " If thou wilt not fight in defence of Tara for my sake,'' 
 said Malachy, " defend it for thine own, and I shall give 
 thee hostages, as sureties for my leaving thee in the quiet 
 possession thereof; for I prefer that thou shouldst hold it, 
 rather than Brian." This was a much more attractive pro- 
 position to the selfish Aedh O Neill. He summoned his 
 clan, and consulted them on the offers made to him by 
 Malachy. But they were not willing to encounter the 
 veterans of Brian. " It was their opinion that it was likely 
 that very many of them would never return from the war, in 
 case they should now march against the Dal Gais. For which 
 reason they declared that it was meet that they should first 
 acquire an inheritance for their children after them. " Be- 
 cause," said they, " it is idle to expect that any possessions 
 or any wealth will ever come to them from our return to our 
 homes, if we once march against that tribe, namely, the Dal
 
 THE DALCASSIAN PERIOD. 305 
 
 Gais, whose warriors are the hardiest and the bravest upon 
 all battle-fields. Their race has never yet fled before the 
 Lochlannaigh ; and it is as certain that it will not now flee 
 before us." Upon these grounds they came to the deter- 
 mination of demanding from Malachy the one-half of Meath, 
 together with the district around Tara, for a possession for 
 themselves and their posterity after them, as the reward of 
 their going with him upon the present expedition. This 
 proposal they made known to the monarch, who forthwith 
 returned home indignant and dissatisfied, and resolved to 
 reject the services of allies who coolly demanded the better 
 part of his patrimony of Meath as the price of their 
 assistance. 
 
 Malachy took his resolution. Attended by two hundred 
 and forty horsemen only, he rode to Tara, and without 
 condition, surety, or hostage for his personal safety, entered 
 the presence of Brian. He frankly told him of his dilemma ; 
 announced that he would have done battle for his crown if 
 he could, but that, not being in a position to fight, he had 
 come to submit himself to his rival. 
 
 Brian was not to be outdone in generous confidence. 
 "As thou hast come thus to my dwelling," he said to 
 Malachy, " without surety or safeguard from me, I now grant 
 thee a further respite of one year, during which time I shall 
 demand neither homage nor hostages at thy hands. And in 
 the meantime I shall pay a personal visit to these northern 
 people, both Aedh O'Neill and Eochy, son of Ardgal, king 
 of Ulidia, in order that I may learn what kind of answer 
 they will make to me. And then, should they give me 
 battle, thou mayest help them against me if thou wilt."
 
 3o6 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 The year elapsed ; Brian collected his forces ; demanded 
 hostages from the provincial kings, and from Malachy him- 
 self : they were given : the deposed monarch acknowledged 
 his rival as his sovereign, and Brian Boru became king of 
 all Ireland, a.d. 1002. 
 
 He was an able administrator. Roads, bridges, and other 
 works of public utility, — schools, churches, monasteries, 
 sprang up under his fostering care. He loved learning, and 
 encouraged it in others. He sent " professors and masters 
 to teach wisdom and knowledge ; and to buy books beyond 
 the sea." He compelled the submission of the Ulster chief- 
 tains, and carried some of them as hostages to Kincora. 
 He visited Armagh, and offered, on the altar of its church, 
 twenty ounces of gold. His name, inscribed in his presence, 
 may yet be read in its venerable manuscript, the Book of 
 Armagh. He made his temporary encampment, while in 
 that neighbourhood, on the rath of Emania. Of the tributes 
 he collected a third part was allotted to " the professors of 
 sciences and arts, and to every one who was most in need of 
 it." His hospitalities at Kincora were unbounded. The 
 tributes of the provinces, which supported these entertain- 
 ments, consisted annually of 800 cows and 800 hogs, from 
 Connaught ; 300 cows, 300 hogs, and 300 loads of iron, and 
 certain duty-timber, from Leinster; from Ulster, 500 cows, 
 ■500 hogs, and 60 loads of iron ; while the Danes of Dublin 
 contributed 154 pipes of wine, and the Danes of Limerick 
 565 pipes of red wine. The southern clans were exempted 
 from all tribute. All his subjects were freed from the gaUing 
 yoke of slavery ; and the laws were so well administered that 
 the lady "rich and rare" in gems and beauty did not fear to
 
 THE DALCASSIAN PERIOD. 307 
 
 Stray, secure that, though " lone and lovely," she might pass 
 through the length and the breadth of the land unharmed 
 and unmolested. From the time of Brian Boru we may 
 date the common use of surnames. The sept of O'Brien, 
 who are descended from this great king, have many dis- 
 tinguished representatives at the present day. 
 
 It was not to be expected that the Northmen, whose sway 
 in Ireland had been curtailed by Brian, should acquiesce 
 without a struggle in this loss of prestige. Their race had 
 at this period achieved great successes in England, France, 
 and the islands of Man, the Hebrides, and Orkneys. A 
 Danish dynasty was impending in England. The followers 
 of Rollo were firmly settled in Normandy ; the Lord of the 
 Isles was a powerful ruler.. The spark which kindled the 
 flames of war among this combustible material came from an 
 Irish hand. Maelmurra, king of Leinster, had received what 
 he deemed an insult at Kincora, at the hands of Murrogh, 
 son of Brian, who was playing chess with a companion. 
 Maelmurra counselled a move, which nettled the prince, 
 who remarked that it was no wonder that the Danes had 
 been beaten at Glen Mama, since they followed the advice 
 of so bad a strategist. " If I did give them counsel which 
 caused their defeat in that conflict," said Maelmurra, "I 
 shall now give them another counsel, whereby, in their turn, 
 they shall defeat you." — " Have the yew tree made ready, 
 then, for yourself," rejoined Murrogh, in taunting allusion 
 to Maelmurra's place of concealment, out of which he had 
 himself plucked the king of Leinster after the route at Glen 
 Mama. Maelmurra's sister Gormley had also previously 
 reproached him for being Brian's vassal, when he sought her
 
 30S THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUKST. 
 
 aid in replacing a silver button on a gold broidered silken 
 tunic which Brian had given him. The Leinster prince in 
 conveying three pine-masts to Kincora, had, on the ascent 
 of a boggy mountain, given his personal assistance in mov- 
 ing the timber, and in so doing had wrenched the button 
 from his tunic. Gormley, instead of repairing it, threw the 
 garment into the fire, uttering, as she did so, expressions of 
 disdain at the subserviency of Maelmurra. Stung by these 
 accumulated insults, Maelmurra hastily left Kincora, pro- 
 claiming his determination to seek redress in arms. Thus 
 the reproaches of a woman, and the thoughtless pleasantry 
 of a chess-player, kindled the flame of war throughout Ire- 
 land. The Leinster chieftain, who had all his life intrigued 
 with the foreigner, recommenced his machinations, and, in 
 obedience to his invitation, a host of northern foes assembled 
 in the Bay of Dublin, to contend for the soil of Erin on the 
 battle-field of Clontarf. Earl Sigurd of the Orkneys, with a 
 formidable fleet ; Carl Canuteson, prince of Denmark, witli 
 an array of chosen warriors clad in armour; Brodar, a 
 redoubted champion, with levies from the Isle of Man ; con- 
 tingents from Scandinavia — all leagued with the treacherous 
 Maelmurra in this last and most terrible struggle of North- 
 man and Gael, of Pagan and Christian, on Irish soil. 
 
 Brian, now an aged "man, once more assembled the Dal 
 Gais, and marched on Dublin. The main army rested on 
 the wood, which at that time clothed the bank of the little 
 River Tolka where it empties its waters into Dublin Bay. 
 A detachment had been sent off under command of his son 
 Donogh, to ravage Leinster. With wonderful fidelity, the 
 deposed King Malachy had joined Brian, with the forces of
 
 THE DALCASSIAN PERIOD. 309 
 
 Meath; Tiege O' Kelly, chief of Hy-Many, was also present 
 with the Connaught contingent ; while the Munster troops, 
 which formed the flower of Brian's army, were under the 
 command of his eldest son, the heroic Murrogh. The 
 arrival of the Hy-Manians was a welcome spectacle. 
 
 "Brian looked out behind him, and beheld the battle 
 phalanx, compact, huge, disciplined, moving in silence, 
 mutely, bravely, haughtily, unitedly, with one mind, travers- 
 ing the plain towards them, and threescore and ten banners 
 over them, of red, and of yellow, and of green, and of all 
 kinds of colours." It was a proud moment. Great issues 
 hung in the balance. It was sure to be a conflict to the 
 death, for the foes were "valiant, active, fierce-moving, 
 dangerous," and were armed widi " heavy, hard striking, 
 strong, powerful, stout swords." 
 
 The northern reach of the Bay of Dublin, from the 
 estuary of the Tolka, where at that time stood the Fishing- 
 weir of Clontarf, extending towards the Hill of Howth, 
 washes the crescent-shaped sands which formed one 
 boundary of the battle-field. It is a gently-sloping plain. On 
 the landward side came the army of Brian in three divisions. 
 
 On the shore were drawn up the Danish army, protected 
 by their ships. They also were in three divisions. 
 
 Good Friday, the 23rd of April, 1014, was the eventful 
 day. Brian would gladly have postponed the conflict, 
 unwilling to make that solemn anniversary a day of carnage 
 and strife. But the Danes, inspired by a prediction that on 
 any other day but Friday they would all assuredly perish — 
 influenced also by the fact that the king's son Donogh was 
 absent with a large detachment of the Irish army — deter-
 
 3IO THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 mined to force on the engagement. The Danish and 
 Leinster forces mustered about 20,000 men. The Irish 
 army under Brian is also estimated at 20,000. The first 
 division of the foreigners consisted of the Danes of DubUn, 
 under Sitric and Dolat and Conmael, with a band of foreign 
 auxiharies commanded by Carl and Anrud. Of these 
 Northmen one thousand were in complete suits of armour. 
 These were opposed to the first division of the Irish army, 
 consisting of the Dalcassian troops under the command of 
 Murrogh, eldest son of Brian. Turlogh, the young son of 
 Murrogh, though only in his fifteenth year, fought bravely, 
 and died in battle, as became one of his heroic race ; and 
 Teige, Donall, Conor and Flann, other sons of Brian, 
 followed the standard of Murrogh. In reserve were the 
 troops of Meath commanded by Malachy, for the discrowned 
 king had rallied his forces to the banner of his successful 
 rival. In the sacred cause of country he forgot private 
 animosities and personal wrongs. 
 
 " 'Twas a holy time when the kings, long foemen, 
 
 Fought, side by side, to upHft the serf; 
 Never triumphed in old time Greek or Roman 
 
 As Brian and Malachi at Clontarf. 
 
 « « * * 
 
 Praise to the king of ninety years, 
 
 Who rode round the battle-field, cross in hand ; 
 But the blessing of Eire and gratetul tears 
 
 To him who fought under Brian's command ! 
 A crown in heaven for the king who brake, 
 
 To staunch old discords, his royal wand. 
 Who spurn'd his throne for his people's sake — 
 
 Who served a rival and saved the land ! "* 
 
 * From Inisfail, by AuiiRhY DE Vkre.
 
 THE DALCASSIAN PERIOD. 31I 
 
 The second division of the Irish army was led by Brian's 
 son-in-law, Kian, King of Desmond. He was as remarkable 
 for the dignity of his person as for his courage and bravery. 
 Kian " exceeded in stature and beauty all the other men of 
 Erinn." The Eugenian clans of South Munster followed his 
 banner, and found themselves opposed to the men of Leinster, 
 led by the recreant Maelmurra, aided by a band of Northmen. 
 
 The remaining Scandinavian contingents, principally from 
 the Orkney Islands, the Hebrides, Isle of Man, Wales and 
 Britain, Norway and Denmark, composed the third division 
 of the foreign army. They were led by the renowned 
 Brodar, and by Sigurd, son of Lodar, the Orkney chief. 
 They were opposed by the third division of the Irish army, 
 comprising the Connaught levies under the leadership of 
 Tiege O'Kelly, Prince of Hy-Many, and Maelruine O'Heyne, 
 Lord of Hy-Fiachra-Aidhne. With these were some of the 
 Munster clans and a contingent from Scotland led by 
 Domhnall, Maormor^ ar High-steward of Mar. Thus it was 
 that the ancestor of the Royal Stewarts and the Gael of 
 Alba fought at Clontarf, in aid of their Irish kindred, under 
 the standard of Brian Boru. 
 
 At daybreak on that memorable Friday the aged and 
 devout Brian appeared on horseback — his golden-hilted 
 sword in one hand, a crucifix in the other — at the head of 
 his troops to cheer and animate his army on the eve of 
 conflict. He reminded them of the cruel ravages of the 
 Northmen ; of their desecration of churches and monas- 
 teries ; of the tyranny under which his people had groaned, 
 and appealed to them as he raised the crucifix aloft, '' Was 
 not Christ on this day crucified for you?" He desired to
 
 312 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 lead them himself to the conflict, but, mindful of his great 
 age, they implored of him to abandon the idea, and leave to 
 younger men the brunt of battle. Brian retired to his tent. 
 From thence he watched the struggle : a series of hand-to- 
 hand fights : a determined contest between brave champions, 
 enduring from the time of high water in the morning until 
 high water in the evening. Though attended by fearful 
 loss of life on both sides, the combat was redeemed by 
 deeds of individual bravery and daring and indomitable 
 courage. It was a more noble form of war than the distant 
 carnage of our own times, when a great engagement is 
 decided by artillery almost before the opposing forces have 
 sight of one another. The battle of Clontarf was a series 
 of duels. The first personal encounter was between Plait, 
 a Scandinavian warrior clothed in armour, and Domhnall, the 
 High-steward of Mar. They had challenged each other 
 the night before, and on the morning of the battle Plait 
 came forth " from the battalion of the men in armour, and 
 said three times, ' Faras Domhnall?' — that is, 'Where is 
 Domhnall ? ' Domhnall answered and said, ' Here, thou 
 reptile,' said he. They fought then, and each of them 
 endeavoured to slaughter the other ; and they fell by each 
 other, and the way that they fell was with the sword of each 
 through the heart of the other, and the hair of each in the 
 clenched hand of the other ; and the combat of that pair 
 was the first of the battle." 
 
 Murrogh, son of Brian, led the van of the Irish army. 
 As the battalions were forming he " looked to one side, and 
 beheld approaching him, on his right side, alone, the 
 heroical, charapionlike, beautiful, strong, bounding, graceful,
 
 THE DALCASSIAN PERIOD^ 313 
 
 erect, impetuous young hero, !)unlang O'Hartigan ; and 
 recognised him, and made three springs to meet him, and 
 he kissed him and welcomed him ; and ' O youth,' 
 said he, ' it is long until thou comest unto us, and 
 great must be the love and attachment of some woman 
 to thee which has induced thee to abandon me, and 
 to abandon Brian and Conaing and Donnchadh, and 
 the nobles of Dal Gais in like manner, and the delights 
 of Erinn until this day.' ' Alas, O king,' said Dunlang, 
 ' the delight that I have abandoned for thee is greater, 
 if thou didst but know it, namely, life without death, 
 without cold, without thirst, without hunger, without decay, 
 beyond any delight of the delights of the earth to me until the 
 judgment and heaven after the judgment ; and if I had not 
 pledged my word to thee, I would not have come here ; and, 
 moreover, it is fated to me to die on the day thou shalt die.' 
 ' Shall I receive death this day, then ? ' said Murchadh. 
 ' Thou shalt receive it, indeed,' said Dunlang, ' and Brian 
 and Conaing shall receive it, and almost all the nobles of 
 Erinn, and Toirdhelbach (Turlogh), thy son.' " Dunlang 
 O'Hartigan had learned this gloomy intelligence from the 
 guardian sprite of the O'Briens, This Banshee — Aibhell of 
 Craig Liath — had prepared King Brian also to meet his doom. 
 Murrogh, though he doubtless shared in the superstition 
 of bis age — and this particular form of superstition is not 
 yet extinct in Ireland — was by no means depressed or dis- 
 couraged. He was prepared to meet his mysterious doom, 
 and was not appalled at death in any aspect. He had cut 
 down successively two Danish standard-bearers, when he 
 encountered the Norwegian leader, Anrud. His right arm
 
 314 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 was well-nigh powerless from fatigue, but he seized the 
 prince in the grasp of his yet vigorous left hand. He 
 sliook him so violently that his armour of mail fell from 
 liim as Murrogh hurled him to the earth, and, placing the 
 point of his sword on the prostrate Northman, he stooped 
 over Anrud to bring home the death-wound by the weight 
 of his body on his sword-hilt. As Anrud writhed in the 
 agonies of death, he seized the dagger which hung by his 
 ibeman's side and buried it in the heart of Murrogh. Thus 
 died the eldest son of King Brian, the chief captain of the 
 Irish in the battle of Clontarf. His young gallant son, 
 Turlogh, was found drowned in the rising waters of the Tolka, 
 impaled on one of the weir-stakes, his hands grasping the locks 
 of two Danes, with whom he had grappled in deadly conflict. 
 
 The Connaught chieftains, too, won the renown of valour- 
 Teige of Hy-Many, and Maelruine of Hy-Fiachra-Aidhne> 
 both perished on the battle-field, and their gallant clansmen 
 were decimated, though victorious. Ere nightfall the Danes 
 were in full retreat, closely pursued by the remnant of the 
 Irish forces. The combatants had gradually drifted west- 
 wards, impelled in that direction by the returning tide. 
 Thus the tent of the king was left undefended, and, indeed, 
 unthought of. Here Brian had remained throughout the 
 day, with one attendant only, watching the ever-varying 
 tide of battle, or engaged in prayer. 
 
 While this "spirited, fierce, violent, vengeful, and furious " 
 battle was waging, the aged king, kneeling on his cushion in 
 his tent, asked his attendant what was then the condition of 
 Murrogh's standard. "It is standing," was the reply, "and 
 many of the Dal Gais are around it : and many heads are
 
 THE DALCASSIAN PERIOD. 315 
 
 falling around it, and a multitude of trojDhies and spoils, 
 with heads of foreigners are along with it." 
 
 Brian resumed his prayers, and then again asked his 
 attendant for tidings of the battalions. " There is not 
 living on earth one who could distinguish one of theip from 
 the other. For the greater part of the hosts at either side 
 are fallen, and those who are alive are so covered witii 
 spatterings of the crimson blood — head, body, and vesture — 
 that a father could not know his son from any other of them, 
 so confounded are they." 
 
 Brian's cushion was again spread for him ; and again, 
 after another interval of prayer, he demands, " How goes 
 it with the battaUons ? "— ' They appear to me,' said the 
 attendant, ' the same as if the wood of Coil Tomar ' (the 
 wood along the banks of the Tolka) ' were on fire, and that 
 seven companies had been hewing away its underwood and 
 its young shoots for a month, leaving its stately trees and 
 its immense oaks standing. In such manner are the armies 
 on either side, after the greater part of them have fallen, 
 leaving a few brave men and valiant heroes only standing. 
 And their further condition (he said) is, that they are 
 wounded and dismembered., and disorganized all around, 
 like the grindings of a r.iill turning the wrong way ; and the 
 foreigners are now defeated, and the standard of Murrogh 
 has fallen." — "Sad is this news," said Brian; "the honour 
 ; .'-.d valour of Erin fell when that standard fell." 
 
 While Brian and his attendant held this colloquy, a party 
 of the foe, in their retreat passed by the tent thus left 
 isolated and unprotected. They were led by the Viking 
 23rodar, who is described in the Norse Saga as one " who
 
 31 6 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 bad been a Christian man, and a mass-deacon by consecra- 
 tion, but he had thrown off his faith and become God's 
 dastard, and now worshipped heathen fiends, and he was 
 of all men most skilled in sorcery. He hai that coat of 
 mail on which no steel would bite. He was both tall and 
 strong, and had such long locks that he tucked them under 
 his belt. His hair was black." One of Brodar's companions 
 who observed Brian at prayer, pointed to the tent and said, 
 '' Priest, Priest." " No," rejoined the Viking, who recognised 
 the monarch, " King, King." He turned aside, and entered 
 the tent of Brian. Its only occupants were the aged king and 
 his youthful attendant. The monarch had time to grasp his 
 arms ere he fell in conflict. Brodar issued from the tent 
 He waved aloft his reeking double-headed battle-axe. " Let 
 man tell man," he exclaimed, " that Brodar felled Brian." 
 
 So died Brian Boru. Of his six gallant sons but two 
 survived Clontarf. On that glorious, but to them fatal 
 uattle -field, the noblest blood of his clan was freely shed 
 " for the love of Fatherland." 
 
 " Long his loss shall Erin weep, 
 Ne'er again his likeness sec- : 
 Long her strains in sorrow steep, 
 Strains of immortality."* 
 
 So sang, in the Norse tongue, even the foes of Brian. 
 
 TABLE OF THE KINGS OF IRELAND DURING THE DALCASSIAK 
 PERIOD. A.D. 
 
 Maelscchlainn Mor of the race of Eremon 980 
 
 Brian Boromha ,, Eber 1002 
 
 Maelsechlainn Mor (restored) ,, Eremon 1014 
 
 * From Cray's version of TIu Fatal Shiers, from the Norse Saga of 
 Burnt Nial.
 
 THE EVE OF THE CONQUEST. 317 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE EVE OF THE CONQUEST. 
 
 King Brian and his son Munogh interred at Armagh— Retreat of the 
 Dal-Gais — The Eugenian tribes separate from the Dal-Gais — The 
 men of Ossory demand hostages — Heroic conduct of the wounded 
 Dalcassians — The men of Ossory afraid to attack them — The remnant 
 of the Dal-Gais reach Kincora — Resuhs of the Battle of Clontarf^ 
 Malachy II. reascends the throne — Donogh O'Brien — Flaherty 
 O'Neill — Makes a pilgrimage to Rome — Rise of the Leinster family 
 of MacMurrogh— Turlogh O'Brien deposes his uncle Donogh, who 
 retires to Rome and dies there— Turlogh sends Irish oak to King 
 William Rufus — Murkertach Mor O'Brien — Rise of the family of 
 O'Conor in Connaught — Laxity of ecclesiastical dicipline— Synods 
 held by Celsus, Gillibert, and St. Malachy — Malachy's conversations 
 with Pope Innocent II. about the state of Ireland — Pope Adrian IV. 
 an Englishman — His Bull authorizing the invasion of Ireland by an 
 English King — Henry Plantagenet unable at the time to avail him- 
 self of the donation — Abduction of Dervorgilla by Dermid MacMur- 
 rogh, King of Leinster — He is deposed — Seeks the protedion of 
 King Henry II., who gives' him letters of aid — Richard de Clare, 
 Earl of Pembroke (Strongbow), embraces his cause — The sons and 
 grandsons of the beautiful Nesta— 'Henry FitzHenry — Meyler 
 FitzHenry — FitzGerald — FitzStephen — FitzBernard — De Barry — 
 Giraldus Cambrensis — His description of Dermid MacMurrogh — 
 Effects of the Conquest. 
 
 The mortal remains of Brian and his son Murrogh were 
 conveyed by the monks of Swords to Armagh, and interred 
 with much pomp in the cathedral of that city. Turlogh, the 
 son of Murrogh, had been drowned in the weir at the estuary 
 of the Tolka, his hands clutching the hair of a Dane in 
 whose grasp the young hero and his foe had perished, for
 
 3l8 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 at Clontarf victors and vanquished had been urged westward 
 by the in-coming tide. The shattered remnant of Brian's 
 tribe, under the leadership of the hero's son, Donogh, 
 retired towards Munster. On the march Kian, king of 
 Desmond, demanded hostages — equivalent to homage — 
 from the Dal-Gais, in conformity with that law of OllioU 
 Olum, which conferred the chieftainship alternately on the 
 Eugenian and Dalcassian tribes. Donogh O'Brien refused ; 
 and the Desmond contingent separated from the remnant 
 of the warriors of Kincora. 
 
 Thus reduced in number, and encumbered by their 
 wounded, the gallant tribe who had borne the brunt of battle 
 at Clontarf, found themselves opposed on their homeward 
 march by the men of Ossory, who took this opportunity of 
 freeing themselves from the yoke of subjection imposed on 
 them by Brian Boru. The envoys of Ossory demanded 
 hostages, or battle. 
 
 " A battle he shall have," said Donogh ; "but it is a sad 
 thing that I did not meet with a death like that which my 
 father found, before I suffered the insult of having hostages 
 demanded from me by the son of Gilla-Padraig." He was 
 no less indignant when reminded of his povverlessness to 
 resist. 
 
 " Were it ever lawful to punish any ambassadors for the 
 purport of the message they conveyed," exclaimed the angry 
 prince, " I would now have had your tongues plucked out of 
 your heads for this present insolence. For though I had but 
 one solitary camp-follower to stand by me, I should never 
 think of refusing to contend in battle with the son of Gilla- 
 Padraig, and the men of Ossory."
 
 THE EVE OF THE CONQUEST. 319 
 
 He at once prepared for action. One third of his available 
 force was set apart to guard the wounded, and the remainder 
 ranged in order of battle. But when the wounded men 
 heard of this emergency, they implored of Donogh to have 
 stakes thrust into the ground to which they might be tied, 
 with their weapons in their hands. " Let our sons and our 
 kinsmen," they continued, " be stationed by our sides, and 
 let two warriors who are unwounded be placed near each 
 one of us wounded ; for it is thus that we will help one 
 another with truer zeal, because shame will not allow the 
 sound man to leave his position until his wounded and bound 
 comrade can leave it likewise." 
 
 The gallant front which the remnant of Dalcassian war- 
 riors thus showed to their ungenerous assailants of Ossory, 
 secured their ultimate safety. So noble a display of courage 
 dismayed their enemies and averted the attack. The men 
 of Leinster and Ossory refused to follow their leaders to the 
 assault. "It is not of marching off, or of running away, or 
 of breaking their ranks, or of yielding to panic," they ex- 
 claimed, " that yonder men are thinking, but of doing their 
 utmost to defend themselves, by making a firm, obstinate 
 and hand-to-hand fight. For this reason, we will not now 
 contend with them in battle, for to them life and death are 
 alike indifferent. Not one man of them can be slain until 
 five or six of us have first fallen by his hands. And then, 
 what advantage will result to us from dying in their 
 company ?" 
 
 And so, "in want and hardship," the harassed remnant 
 of the Dal-Gais continued their march toward their own 
 country. When Donogh O'Brien reached Kincora, but
 
 320 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 eight hundred and fifty remained of the warriors who had 
 marched under the banner of Murrogh to the victory which 
 had cost them so dear. 
 
 Brian Boru, who had raised his tribe from comparative 
 obscurity ; who had compelled all Ireland to receive their 
 Supreme monarch from Lea-Moha, and not, as heretofore, 
 from Lea-Con ; who had set aside, by his vigorous individu- 
 ality, the claim, which long prescription had almost made 
 law, of the descendants of Niall to give kings to Ireland- 
 had died in the moment of achieving a victory — all- 
 important for his country, but ruinous to his house. The 
 astute, unscrupulous, ambitious, but patriotic monarch, 
 had risked too much of the O'Brien blood, and too many 
 members of an infant dynasty to the chances of a battle 
 exceptionally bloody, even in that age of carnage. Yet, 
 before Clontarf, few founders of dynasties could look forward 
 with more reasonable hope of transmitting a secure authority 
 to his descendants. He had asserted that supremacy which 
 his personal qualities justified. He had allayed factions, 
 and triumphed over all opposition. He had ruled wisely 
 and well. He was surrounded by a numerous family. His 
 sons were grown to manhood. His daughters by their 
 marriages had strengthened his alliances. His eldest son, 
 Murrogh, was himself the father of a son of hopeful promise. 
 He might well believe that a dynasty supported by such 
 princes would bear sway, and give a stability hitherto un- 
 known to Irish political government. No other man had been 
 so successful as he had been in combining the whole people 
 in one national object. He lived late enough into the 
 afternoon of that Good-Friday at Clontarf to see the power
 
 THE EVE OF THE CONQUEST. 32 1 
 
 of the Northmen in Ireland for ever broken. But the result 
 of his own sagacity and valour, of the ability and bravery of 
 his son Murrogh, of the youthful heroism and gallantry of his 
 grandson Turlogh, were so ordered as to prove ultimately 
 fatal to his family and clan— and, it may be added, to the 
 independence of his country also. The example which he 
 set of successful revolt against the central authority wa'< 
 followed by others, who emulated his ambition without 
 possessing his abilities. Other tribes and families aspired to 
 raise themselves as the O'Briens had done. Prescriptive 
 rights were set aside, and from the battle of Clontarf to the 
 period of the Conquest — 
 
 " The good old rule, the simple plan, 
 That they should take who have the power, 
 And they should keep who can—" 
 
 became the general law— the right of the strong hand the 
 sole appeal. Kings "with opposition " go fresabhradh, that 
 is, kings whose authority is questioned, opposed, disregarded. 
 are the principal royal personages who from henceforth, 
 appear on the scene. 
 
 Malachy II. on the death of Brian reassumed the position 
 which that powerful rival had wrested from him. He 
 followed up the victory at Clontarf, captured Dublin, and 
 broke the power of Maelmurra of Leinster, the Irish ally of 
 the Danes. He died in the odour of sanctity on an islanci 
 of Lough Ennell, the last king of Irish blood that was 
 indisputably Ard-Righ of Ireland— "the pillar of dignity 
 and nobility of the western world." 
 
 It has been already mentioned that two sons only, of the
 
 322 THE HUSH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 numerous progeny of Brian, survived the battle of Clontart. 
 Teige and Donogh contended for the chieftainship of the 
 Dal-Gais. The former fell in conflict with a neighbouring 
 clan, not without suspicion of foul play on the part of Donogh 
 who claimed not merely the Munster chieftainship, but the 
 sovereignty at that time left vacant by the death of Malachy. 
 
 Donogh O'Brien was the son of Gormle}', that wife of 
 Brian who was sister of Maelmurra, king of Leinster, and 
 who had instigated her brother by her reproaches to take 
 part with the Danes in the alliance which was broken at 
 Clontatf. By her former husband she was the mother of 
 Sitric, the Danish ruler in Dublin, She had also been the 
 wife of Malachy, and the mother of his son Conor. 
 
 Donogh O'Brien had married for his second wife a daughter 
 of Godwin, earl of Kent. When her brother Harold — after- 
 wards the last Saxon king of England — had to seek an asylum 
 during the reign of Edward the Confessor, he found welcome 
 and protection at the court of Donogh. But the sway of 
 Donogh was recognised in Munster and Connaught only. 
 Flaherty O'Neill ruled the northern districts from his fort rt 
 Aileach. This prince made a pilgrimage to Rome a.d. 1030, 
 whence his soubriquet '■'■ an Trostain^'' that is, Flaherty 
 ''•Pilgrim-staff." 
 
 The central districts of the island during this period obeyed 
 the injunctions of Cuan O'Loghan, an eminent poet, and 
 Corcran Claireach, a devout anchorite of Lismore, recalling 
 in some degree the government of the Jews under judges. 
 Meantime a formidable competitor for the supreme place 
 assumed the provincial throne of Leinster. Dermid, son of 
 Mael-na-mbo, was the immediate ancestor of the Mac-
 
 THE EVE OF THE CONQUEST. 323 
 
 Murroghs. He married a granddaughter of King Brian, and 
 became the powerful protector of Tuilogh, son of Teige, son 
 of Brian, to whom he stood in the further relation of foster- 
 father. 
 
 Turlogh O'Brien thus become a rival to his uncle Donogh. 
 After many contests and skirmishes Turlogh, aided by 
 Dermid of Leinster, defeated the troops of Donogh, led by 
 his son Murrogh " Short-shield," and compelled Donogh to 
 resign his crown of Munster. 
 
 The deposed king, following the example of Flaherty 
 O'Neill, made a pilgrimage to Rome, where he died. He is 
 said to have carried with him the insignia of royalty, and 
 to have resigned the Irish regalia into the hands of the 
 then pope, Alexander 11. 
 
 We shall not further dwell on the disputed rule of Dermid 
 "of the white teeth, laughing in danger," or of his friend 
 and foster-son, Turlogh, king of Munster, from whom 
 William Rufus obtained the Irish oak which he used for the 
 roofing of one of his great edifices, or of the greater son of 
 Turlogh, Murkertach Mor O'Brien, except to mention a 
 characteristic anecdote told of this prince in connection with 
 William Rufus, but proceed to glance rapidly at the rise of 
 a new family, hitherto unacquainted with sovereign power. 
 The story of the Irish ruler and Red William is this : — It 
 had been reported to Murkertach that the English king, 
 standing on a high rock, and looking towards Ireland, had 
 said, "I will bring hither my ships and pass over and con- 
 quer that land;" on which the Irish monarch inquired: 
 " Hath the king in his great threatening said, (f it please 
 GodV Then, learning that Rufus had planned tlie
 
 324 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 expedition in his own strength only, had rejoined, "I fear 
 him not." 
 
 To proceed with the rise of the O'Conors. — The O'Conors 
 of Connaught traced their descent from Eremon, and ruled 
 from Rath Cruachan, the ancient capital of Queen Maev, in 
 Roscommon. Turlogh O'Conor made many hostings into 
 Munster, and in the battle of Moanmore inflicted a signal 
 defeat on the southern clans. Seven thousand of the 
 " defeated and slaughtered " men of Munster are said to 
 have fallen in this engagement ; and many Septs had to 
 lament the loss of both Chief and Tanist. On the side 
 of the victorious O'Conor fought Dermid MacMurrogh, 
 second of the name, afterwards distinguished as Diarmaid 
 na 71 Gall, " Dermid of the Foreigners," the king of Lein- 
 ster who invited the English invasion. Turlogh O'Conor 
 died A.D. 1 156, and was buried beside the altar of Kieran at 
 Clonmacnoise, a man full of charity, mercy, hospitality, and 
 chivalry. How far this eulogy may be the reward of his 
 gifts to the church we shall not pause to discuss. 
 
 " Great indeed were the legacies which this prince left to 
 the clergy for the repose of his soul, namely, four hundred 
 and forty ounces of gold and forty marks of silver, and ail 
 the other valuable .treasures he possessed, both cups ami 
 precious stones, both steeds and cattle, and robes, chess- 
 boards, bows, quivers, arrows, equipments, weapons, armour, 
 and utensils. And he himself pointed out the manner in 
 which its particular portion thereof should be distributed to 
 each church, according to its rank and order." 
 
 At this period piety and devotion were still rife among the 
 Irish princes and persons of distinction; but ecclesiastical
 
 THE EVE or THE CONQUEST. 325 
 
 government and discipline were at a low ebb. The ravages 
 of the Danes had struck the first blow at Ireland's seminaries 
 of learning. The turbulent and lawless times which suc- 
 ceeded, were not favourable to the systematic observance of 
 religion. The very isolation and independence of the 
 Irish Church permitted its adoption of practices inconsistent 
 with ecclesiastical discipline. A desire for reformation and 
 closer communion with Rome sprang up, as a natural con- 
 sequence, in the minds of her leading ecclesiastics. Synods 
 with this view were held early in the tvvji^lfth century, under 
 the auspices of Celsus, archbishop of Armagh, and Gillibert, 
 bishop of Limerick. But a greater reformer was yet to arise 
 in the person of Malachy O'Morgair, better known as St. 
 Malachy, afterwards archbishop of Armagh, and appointed 
 by Pope Innocent II. his legate in Ireland. On the occasion 
 of a visit made by him to Rome, a.d. 1139, the pope " often 
 and attentively inquired of him, and of those who were with 
 him, concerning the state of their country, the habits of the 
 people, the condition of the churches, and the great things 
 which God had wrought by his means in his native land.'' 
 On his answers probably were grounded some of the 
 censures of which the Irish people soon after became the 
 objects* 
 
 Malachy, like other Irish saints, has been happy in his 
 biographer. His life has been written by his friend St. Bernard, 
 in whose arms he expired while on a visit at Clairvaux, on 
 the 2nd of November, 1148. He was the introducer of the 
 Cistercian order of monks into Ireland. Their first found- 
 ation, the abbey of Mellifont, near Drogheda, bears date 
 A.D. 1T42.
 
 326 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 We are now on the threshold of the English invasion. In 
 1 154, two years before the death of King Turlogh O'Conor, 
 Nicholas Breakspere, an Englishman, ascended the papal 
 chair. No other Englishman, before or since, has wore the 
 triple tiara. In the same year Henry Plantagenet ascended 
 the throne of England. Pope Adrian IV., for such was the 
 new pontiffs title, was naturally disposed to gratify the English 
 king, and in his celebrated bull authorised King Henry II. 
 to invade and conquer Ireland. We give this remarkable 
 document in extensg.. 
 
 " Adrian, the bishop, a servant of the servants of God, to 
 his dearest son in Christ Jesus, the illustrious king of England, 
 sends greeting and apostolical benediction. The desire your 
 magnificence expresses to extend your glory upon earth, and 
 to lay up for yourself in heaven a great reward of eternal 
 happiness, is very laudable and profitable for you, while, as 
 a good Catholic prince, you endeavour to enlarge the bounds 
 of the Church, to declare the true Christian faith to ignorant 
 and barbarous nations, and to extirpate all evil from the 
 field of the Lord ; which the better to perform, you ask the 
 advice and encouragement of the apostolical see. In the 
 accomplishment of this work we trust you will have, by the 
 assistance of God, a success proportioned to the depth of 
 counsel and discretion with which you shall proceed ; foras- 
 much as everything which takes its rise from the ardour 
 of faith and love of religion is most likely to come to a good 
 and Jiappy end. There is, indeed, no doubt that (as you 
 yourself acknowledge) Ireland, and all other islands which 
 Christ tlie Sun of Righteousness has illuminated, and which 
 have received the doctrines of the Christian faith, belong of
 
 THE EVE OF THE CONQUEST. • 327 
 
 right to the jurisdiction of St. Peter and the most holy Roman 
 Church, wherefore we more gladly sow in them the seed of 
 faith, which is good and agreeable to God, as we know that 
 it will be more strictly required of our conscience not to 
 neglect it. Since, then, you have signified to us, most dear 
 son in Christ, that you desire to enter into the island of 
 Ireland, in order to subdue the people to the obedience of 
 laws, and extirpate the vices which have there taken root 
 and that you are also willing to pay an annual pension to 
 St. Peter of one penny from every house therein, and to 
 preserve the rights of the Church in that land inviolate and 
 entire, we, seconding your pious and commendable intention 
 with the favour it deserves, and granting a benignant assent 
 to your petition, are well pleased that, for the enlargement 
 of the bounds of the Church — for the restraint of vice — the 
 correction of evil manners — the culture of all virtues, and 
 the advancement of the Christian religion, you should enter 
 into that island, and effect what will conduce to the salva- 
 Mon thereof, and to the honour of God. It is likewise our 
 desire that the people of that country should receive you with 
 honour, and venerate you as their master : provided always 
 that the ecclesiastical rights therein remain inviolate and 
 entire, and reserving to St. Peter and the most holy Roman 
 Church the annual pension of a penny from every house. 
 If, therefore, you think fit to put your design in execution, 
 endeavour studiously to instruct that nation in good morals, 
 and do your utmost, as well personally as by others whom 
 you know from their faith, doctrine, and course of life, to be 
 fit for such a work, that the church may there be adorned, 
 the Christian religion planted and made to grow, and what-
 
 328 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 soever appertains to the honour of God and the salvation of 
 iOuls so ordered, as may entitle you to an eternal reward 
 from God, and a glorious name on earth." 
 
 King Henry, after receiving this authorization, held a 
 parliament at Winchester, a.d. 1155, " in which he treated 
 with his nobles concerning the conquest of Ireland ; but 
 because the thing was opposed to the wishes of his mother, 
 the empress, that expedition was put off till another time." 
 
 The project thus deferred was not forgotten. Henry had 
 solicited the grant in order that he might bestow an inheri- 
 tance on his younger brother, who had been inadequately 
 provided for by their father's will. His own domestic 
 troubles, the complications in which his quarrel with Thomas 
 k-Becket involved him, and other reasons, might have 
 caused the bull of Pope Adrian to remain a dead letter. 
 Events, however, gave a new stimulus to the enterprise. 
 
 Dervorgilla, the wife of O'Ruarc, lord of Breffny, had been 
 carried off by Dermid MacMurrogh, king of Leinster. The 
 abduction, it is said, had been planned by the lady, between 
 whom and Dermid an old attachment had existed. The 
 lovers were at this time of mature age — Dervorgilla in her 
 forty-fourth year, and Dermid some years older. King 
 Turlogh O'Conor, and, at a later period, his son Roderic, 
 avenged the wrongs of O'Ruarc : Dermid was dispossessed 
 of his terrritory and driven into exile ; while the faithless 
 Dervorgilla sought to atone for her guilt where her past 
 munificence had prepared for her a reception in the monastic 
 seclusion of Mellifont 
 
 The discomfited prince sought the- presence of King 
 Henr)' II., who was at that time in France, but so engrossed
 
 THE EVE OF THE CONQUEST. 329 
 
 by his affairs there and in England, that he was unable to 
 avail himself of the opportunity which the appeal of Dermid 
 presented. Yet he listened with a ready and gracious ear to 
 his representations ; and, although declining himself to take 
 up his quarrel, received his homage, and gave him letters of 
 aid. 
 
 "Henry, king of England, duke of Normandy and 
 Aquitaine, and earl of Anjou," so the letters ran by which 
 lie authorized Dermid to seek for aid in Britain, " to all his 
 liegemen, English, Norman, Welsh, and Scotch, and to all 
 other nations under his dominion, sends greeting. As soon 
 as the present letters shall come to your hands, know that 
 Dermid, prince of Leinster, has been received into the 
 bosom of our grace and benevolence. Wherefore, whoso- 
 ever within the ample extent of our territories shall be 
 willing to lend aid towards the restoration of this prince, as 
 our faithful and liege subject, let such person know that we 
 do hereby grant to him, for said purpose, our licence and 
 favour." 
 
 Thus accredited, Dermid found no difficulty in procuring 
 auxiliary aid. The promise of the hand in marriage of his 
 daughter Eva, with the reversion of the crown of Leinster 
 at his death, as her portion, secured him the alliance of 
 Richard De Clare, earl of Pembroke and Strigul, better 
 known by his pseudonym of " Strongbow." Round the 
 banner of this daring adventurer flocked his kinsmen, the 
 sons and other near connections of the beautiful Nesta, 
 daughter of the Welsh prince, Rhys ap Tudor. 
 
 This fairest woman of her day was the mother, by King 
 Henry I., of Robert Fitz Roy, who, as earl of Gloucester, is
 
 330 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 distinguished in English history during the war of succession 
 between his sister, the Empress Maud, and Stephen of 
 Blois ; she also bore to this king, Henry Fitz Henry — the 
 parent of Meyler Fitz Henry, who played so prominent a 
 part in Irish affairs — and, by a subsequent marriage, was 
 the mother of Fitz Gerald, the progenitor of the Geraldines, 
 that princely race whose representatives, both of the Kildare 
 and Desmond Branches, fill so eminent a place in Irish 
 history. By a yet subsequent marriage, Nesta was the 
 mother of another leader in the conquest of Ireland, Robert 
 Fitz Stephen ; while from her daughters sprang the families 
 of De Barri, and Fitz Bernard. Gerald De Barri, better 
 known as Giraldus Cambrensis, to whose " Topography " 
 and " Conquest " of Ireland, we owe so much of our infor- 
 mation touching this period, was grandson of the same 
 Nesta. He was tutor of Prince John ; was an able, energetic, 
 and learned man, but one animated, as might be expected 
 from his near relationship with the conquerers, by a strong 
 spirit of hostility against the native Irish. 
 
 Such were the men by whose aid Dermid, for the brief 
 remnant of his life, was enabled to return to his patrimony. 
 He died a.d. 1171, according to the Irish chroniclers, 
 "as his evil deeds deserved." He has been thus described 
 by Cambrensis : — 
 
 " This Dermicius was a man of tall stature and large 
 frame, warlike and daring among his nation, and of hoarse 
 voice, by reason of his frequent and continuous shouting 
 in battle. He desired to be feared rather than to be 
 loved ; he oppressed the noble and elevated the lowly ; he 
 was the enemy of his countrymen ; he was hated by strangers.
 
 THE EVE OF THE CONQUEST. 331 
 
 The hand of all men was against him, and his hand was 
 against all." 
 
 On the great event which was now impending, long 
 designed and ultimately precipitated by the reckless selfish- 
 ness of this too famous personage, it is not the intention of 
 the writer here to enter. The historian of the Conquest, and 
 of the ages which have since elapsed, may have to regret the 
 rough and tedious process of transition through which the 
 country was now destined to begin its passage ; but it will 
 always be a satisfactory reflection that amongst its results 
 has been our admission to a larger sphere of civilization, to 
 a share in many peaceful as well as warlike glories, and to 
 the general use of that noble language in which all tlie gains 
 of science and all the highest utterances of modern poetry 
 and philosophy have found a worthy expression.
 
 332 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 NOTE ON THE SOURCES AND NOMENCLATURE. 
 
 The Sources from which the material of this volume has been extracted 
 are, to some extent, in manuscript, and hitherto unpublished. Of these 
 the principal are — 
 
 O'Cttrrx^s Translation of the Tain-ho-Ciiailgne, with its " Pre-Tales," 
 comprising the "Boy-Feats" of Cuchullin ; for the perasal of which, 
 and liberty to use the extracts in the text, the author is indebted to the 
 liberal kindness of the Right Reverend Charles Graves, Lord Bishop 
 of Limerick, and of the Rev. James Henthorne Todd, D.D., and 
 J. T. Gilbert, Esq., Secretaries of the Irish Archaeological and Celtic 
 Society. 
 
 Extract from the " Talland Etair" or Siege of Howth, iranslaXtdi from 
 the Tract in the Book of Leinster, and kindly placed at the author's 
 disposal by WILLIAM M Hennessy, Esq., M.R.I.A. 
 
 Collections for the Ordnance Survey of Ireland, deposited in the 
 Library of the Royal Irish Academy. 
 
 With these exceptions, the sources are all accessible to the English 
 reader in published translations from the Irish and Latin of the original 
 works. From the dates mentioned below, it will be seen that these 
 aids to the modern student have all, save one, been furnished since the 
 first great stimulus to the study of li-ish history and antiquities was 
 given by the project for an Ordnance Survey Memoir of Ireland, about 
 thirty years ago. The Irish story is no longer a sealed book ; but, to 
 select material for a volume reasonably likely to attract a general interest 
 still requires a considerable range of study. The translated and other 
 works which have been principally used by the author are — 
 
 Account of the Danes and Norwegians in England, Scotland and 
 Ireland. By J. J. A. Worsaae, For. F.S.A. London ; a Royal Com- 
 missioner for the Preservation of the National Monuments of Denmark, 
 &c., &c. London, 1852.
 
 NOTE ON THE SOURCES AND NOMENCLATURE. 333 
 
 AccoKiit of the Tribes and Customs of the District of lly-Many, com- 
 monly called O' Kclly^s Country, in the Counties of Gahvay and Roscommon- 
 Edited from the Book of Lecan in the Library of the Royal Irish 
 Academy, in the original Irish ; with a Translation and Notes, and a 
 Map of Ily-Many. By John O'DoNOVAN, LL.D. Published for the 
 Irish Archaeological Society. Dublin, 1843. 
 
 Annala Rioghachta Eireann. Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland. 
 By the Four Masters. Prom the earliest period to the year 1616. 
 Edited from MSS. in the Library of the Royal Irish Academy and of 
 Trinity College, Dublin, with a Translation and copious Notes, by John 
 O'DoNOVAN, Esq., M.R.I.A., Barrister-at-Law. Dublin v, Hodges and 
 .Smith, 1851. 
 
 Cath Muighi Rath. The Battle of Magh Rath : from an ancient 
 MS. in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin. Edited in the original 
 Irish, with a Translation and Notes, by John O'DONOVAN, LL.D. 
 Published for the Irish Archaeological Society, Dublin, 1842. 
 
 Circuit of Ireland, by Aluircheartach MacNcill, Prince of Aileach ; 
 a Poem written in the year 942 by Cormacan Eigeas, Chief Poet of the 
 North of Ireland. Edited, with a Translation and Notes, and a Map 
 of the Circuit, by John O'Donovan, LL.D., M.R.I.A. Published by 
 the Irish Archaeological Society. Dublin, 1841. 
 
 Cogadh Gacdhil re Gallaibh. The War of the Gaedhil with the 
 Gain ; or the Invasions of Ireland by the Danes and other Norsemen. 
 The original Irish text, edited with Translation and Introduction, by 
 James Henthorne Todd, D.D., M.R.I.A., F.S.A., &c. Published 
 by the authority of the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty's Trea- 
 sury, under the direction of the Master of the Rolls. London, 1867. 
 In the series of the Chronicles and Alemorials of Great Britain and 
 Ireland during the Middle Ages, or Rcruin Britannicartiin Medicevi 
 Scriptores . 
 
 Columba {Life of Saint). By Adamnan, ninth Abbot of Ily (or 
 lona). The Latin text taken from a MS. of the early part of the eighth 
 century, preserved at Schaffhausen ; with various readings, illustrated 
 by copious Notes and Dissertations. By the Rev. William Reeves, 
 D D., M.B., V.P.R.I.A., (now Bishop of Down and Connor). With 
 Maps and coloured Facsimiles of the MSS. Published for the Irish 
 Archieological and Celtic Society, 1857.
 
 334 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Down, Connor and Dh'oniore. Consisting 
 of a taxation of those Dioceses compiled in the year 1306. With Notes 
 and IHustrations by the Rev. William Reeves, M.B., M.R.I. A. 
 Dublin, 1847. 
 
 Ecclesiastical Architecture of Ireland, anterior to the Anglo-Norman 
 Invasion. Comprising an Essay on the origin and uses of the Round 
 Towers of Ireland. By George Petrie, R.H.A., V.P.R.I.A., &c. 
 Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy, vol. 20. DubHn, 1845. 
 
 Foras Feasa Ar Eirinn. The History of Ireland from the earliest 
 ]ieriod to the English Invasion. By the Rev. Geoffrey Keating, 
 D.D. Translated from the original Gaelic, and copiously annotated 
 by John O'Mahony. New York : P. M. Haverty, 1857. 
 
 Genealogies, Tribes and Customs of the District of Hy-Fiachrach, 
 commonly called O'D07vda's Country. Edited from the Book of Lecan, 
 in the Libraiy of the Royal Irish Academy ; and from a copy of the 
 MacFirbis MS., in the possession of the Earl of Roden. With a Trans- 
 lation and Notes, and a Map of Ply-Fiachrach. By John O'Donovan, 
 LL.D. Published for the Irish Archseological Society, 1S44. 
 
 History and Antiqitilics of Tara Hill. By George Petrie, Esq- 
 Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy, vol. 18, part 2. Dublin, 1839. 
 
 Imtheacht na Tromdhaimhe. Proceedings of the Great Bardic Insti- 
 tution. Edited by Professor Connellan. Ossianic Society. O'Daly : 
 Dublin, i860. 
 
 Laoilhi Fiannuigheachta : or Fenian Poems. Edited by John O'Daly. 
 Published by the Ossianic Society. Dubhn, 1841. 
 
 Lectures on the Manuscript Materials of Ancient Irish History. 
 Delivered in the Catholic University of Ireland during the sessions of 
 1855 and 1856. By Eugene O'Curry, M.R.I. A. ; Professor of Irish 
 History and Archseology in the Catholic University of Ireland ; Corres- 
 ponding Member of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, &c. Dublin: 
 Duffy, 1 86 1. 
 
 Nennius ( The Irish version of the Historia Biitonum of). Edited 
 with a Translation and Notes by James Hentiiorne Todd, D.D., 
 M.R.I. A.; Fellow of Trinity College, &c. The Introduction and 
 Additional Notes by the Hon. Algernon Herbert- Published for 
 the Irish Arch^ological Society. Dublin, 1S48.
 
 NOTE ON THE SOURCES AND NOMENCLATURE. 335 
 
 Primer of the History of the Holy Catholic Chtcrch in Ireland. By 
 RoBEKT King, A.B. Dublin : McGlashan, 1851. 
 
 Saint Patrick, Apostle of Ireland. A Memoir of his Life and Mission. 
 With an Introductory Dissertation on some early usages of the Church 
 in Ireland, and its historical position from the establishment of the 
 Enghsh Colony to the present day. By James Henthokne Todix 
 D.D., &c. Dublin, 1864. 
 
 Senchus Mor. Introduction to Senchns Mor and At h gab ail ; or Law 
 of Distress as contained in the Harleian MSS. Published under direc- 
 tion of the Commissioners for publishing the Ancient Laws and Institutes 
 of Ireland, vol. i. Hodges and Smith, Dublin: Longmans, London, 
 1865. 
 
 Toriiigheacht Dhiarmuda id Dhuibhne agns Ghrainne inghion 
 Chormidc niheic Airt : or an account of the Pursuit of Diarmiud 
 O'Duibhne and Grace, the daughter of Cormac MacAirt. Edited by 
 Standish Hayes O'Grady, Esq. Published for the Ossianic Society. 
 Dublin, 1S57. 
 
 Transactions of the Ibcrno- Celtic Society. Dublin, 1S06. 
 
 With respect to the Nomenclature, the author has endeavoured to 
 present the names of persons in a guise as little repellent as possible to 
 the eye of the English reader. Their strangeness, their vi'ant of asso- 
 ciation with anything previously known, and their singular difficulty of 
 pronunciation, constitute, in truth, a very great obstacle to any popular 
 treatment of the subject. It would seem as if, in primitive times, when 
 men were sparing of their words, they thought to give increased consi- 
 deration to all they uttered, and specially to the names of individuals, 
 by magnifying the forms of expression. In more modern times, men 
 have had more to say, and seem to have studied how best to abbreviate 
 and smooth down the old stately but cumbrous forms of expression. 
 This has been notably the case in the old Irish proper names. Thus 
 Concobar has been shortened and softened into Conor ; Toirdealback 
 into Turlogh ; Flathbeartac into Flaherty ; and so with almost all the 
 longer and more high-sounding names of persons. To mark this process 
 of softening, the writers of the names have everywhere introduced the 
 letter h as the sign of aspiration, or " breathing-over," of the slurred 
 consonants. Hence a new feature of very repulsive aspect to eyes
 
 336 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 unaccustomed to Irish-written texts. Under this process, we have the 
 original sharply-defined names presented in the guise, Conchobar ; 
 Toirdhealbhach ; Flathbheartach. In the endeavour to avoid these 
 awkwardnesses, different writers have resorted to different compromises 
 between the sound and the spelling. Thus has arisen that perplexing 
 variety of forms in which the same name is presented by different autho- 
 rities. Thus, O'Kearney, the oldest translator of Keating, gives the 
 name Cotichuvar ; O'Mahony, Concobar ; MacGeoghegan, Conquovar ; 
 and others, Canytogher, Cfiogher, Connor, and Conor, which last form 
 has been here adopted from O'Curry. To lay down any other than an 
 empirical rule of orthography in such a case seems hardly practicable. 
 What has been here deemed the least objectionable course is, to adhere 
 to whatever form of spelling best indicates the sound to the English- 
 educated eye. In some cases this orthography coincides with the Irish, 
 in others it departs considerably from it. A list of the latter, and much 
 larger, class of names is subjoined, from which the reader, whose 
 curiosity may be sufficiently attracted to the subject, will be able to see 
 the authentic forms of such proper names as have been adapted to 
 English eyes in the text. Amongst these will be found a few names of 
 places. But the topographical names in the Celtic dialects are usually 
 as simple and easy of pronunciation as they are expressive, and, to use the 
 words of an able English critic, full of " a penetrating and lofty beauty." 
 In the process of adapting both classes of names to the rapid and 
 careless modes of utterance of modern times, and among a depressed 
 race, a great degradation is apparent, and many names at present 
 esteemed the most vulgar, are found, in their original forms, lofty and 
 significant of noble qualities. 
 
 ^ngus Ae'Jgkus. 
 
 Armagh Ard-Macha. 
 
 Awley Anthalghaidh. 
 
 Bangor Beannchair. 
 
 Barrow Bearbha. 
 
 Breffny Breifne. 
 
 Brian Boru Brian Borumha. 
 
 Burrisoole Biiroeis Uii\Ihaile. 
 
 Clannaboy Clann-Aodha- 
 
 bhuidhe. 
 Clonmacnoise. ..C^naifi-mic-A'ois. 
 
 Clontarf Cluain-tarbh. 
 
 Conari Conaire 
 
 Connaught Connacht. 
 
 Conor Conchobhar. 
 
 Cong Ctinga-Fcichin. 
 
 Cova Cobhtkach. 
 
 Creeve Roe Craobh Rttaidh. 
 
 Criffan Crimthann. 
 
 Callaghan Ceallachan. 
 
 Caihiehificai. ..CairbreLiJ'iacAar. j Cruthne Cruitlcnigh 
 
 Cashel Caiseal. I Cuchullin Cuchullain
 
 NOTE ON THE SOURCES AND NOMENCLATURE. 
 
 337 
 
 Cucongelt Cnchoingealt. 
 
 Culinan Ciiileanan. 
 
 Dalcassians Dal-g'Cais. 
 
 Dermld Mac Dinrmaid I\/ac 
 
 Kervil Cearbliaill. 
 
 Derry Doire- Chalgaii^h. 
 
 Dervorpilla Dearbhfori^aill. 
 
 Deven ish Dahnh-Inis. 
 
 DisertDiarmadaZ'?'jmr//?/a;v;/rt(fa 
 
 Dodder Dothair. 
 
 Donall Dotnhnall. 
 
 Donogh Donnchndli. 
 
 Donovan Donnabhan. 
 
 Drumceat Dniimcda. 
 
 DrumcIifTf D7'uim-cliahh. 
 
 Dundelgan Diin-Dealgan. 
 
 Dunnascaith ...Dicn-na-sgiath. 
 Durrow Dea7-7nhagh. 
 
 Eochaid Eochaidh. 
 
 Eochy Felia ...Eochaidh Fcidh- 
 
 leach. 
 Eugenians Eoganacht. 
 
 Falvy Failbhe. 
 
 Fathna Fachtna. 
 
 Fe le m y Feidh Urn idh . 
 
 Ferns Fearna-nior- 
 
 Alacdhoig. 
 
 Flaherty Flaithbheai tach. 
 
 Fola Fcdhla. 
 
 Fore Fobhar Feichin. 
 
 Gael Gaeidhel. 
 
 Gormley Gormfhlaith. 
 
 Gowanree Gamhanraidhe. 
 
 Inishowen Inis-Eoghain. 
 
 Keltar Celtchar. 
 
 Kennedy Centieidigh. 
 
 Kevin Caernhghcu. 
 
 Kildare C ill-da i a. 
 
 Kimbaoth Cimbacih. 
 
 Kincora Ceann coradh. 
 
 Kinel Owen ...Cinel-Eooha.n. 
 
 Kenfalla Cennfaeladh. 
 
 Lavra Labhradh. 
 
 Lea Con Lcath Ctiiim. 
 
 Lea Moha Lealh Mogha. 
 
 Laery Laoghaiic. 
 
 Leix Laoighis. 
 
 Leinster Laighin. 
 
 Lough Foyle ...Loch-Febhail. 
 Lough Q.oxx\\:>...Loch-Oirbsean. 
 
 Maelcova Maelcobha. 
 
 Maelmurra Maclmordha. 
 
 Maev Medhbh. 
 
 Mahon Mathghamhain. 
 
 Malachy Maclseachlainn. 
 
 Malodar Maelodhar. 
 
 Moh Nuad ISloi^h Nuadhat. 
 
 Molaise Molaisi. 
 
 Mourne Mughdhoma. 
 
 Movdle Magh-bhile. 
 
 Moy Lena Magh Lcana 
 
 Moy Muciive ...Magh Miicniimhe 
 
 Moynalty Magh-n-cal(a. 
 
 Moyiath Magh-rath. 
 
 Moy Slaght ...Magh-sleacht. 
 
 Moyture Magh- Tuireadu. 
 
 Mulloy Machuhiiaidh. 
 
 Munster Miimha. 
 
 Muikertach ...Miiirchcartach. 
 
 Murrogh Muireadhach . 
 
 Murthevne Muirlhcimline. 
 
 O'Conor Ua Conrhobair. 
 
 O'Hartigan VaK-Artagain. 
 
 O Heyne f/ah'-Eidhiii. 
 
 Olav Fola Ollanih Fodhla. 
 
 O'Rafferty Ua Robhartaigh. 
 
 Oran Odhran. 
 
 OShaughnessy Ua Scachnasaigli. 
 
 Orgiall Oirghiall. 
 
 Owen Eoghan. 
 
 Raphoe Rathhhoth. 
 
 Roderick Fuaidhri. 
 
 Roy Roigh. 
 
 Rury Riiaidhri.
 
 338 
 
 THE IRISH BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 Sancan Senchan. 
 
 Saul Sahhall Padrai^ 
 
 Scoti Scuit. 
 
 Slange Slaifige. 
 
 Sletty Sleihhte. 
 
 Slewen Slemhain. 
 
 Slieve Fuad ...Sliabh Ftiaid. 
 
 Sligo Sligech. 
 
 Solve Sadhbh. 
 
 Sulcoit Sidchoid. 
 
 Sweeny Suihhne. 
 
 Swords Sord- Cholinm- 
 
 chille. 
 
 Tailti Tailten. 
 
 Tara Teamhair. 
 
 Teige Tadhg. 
 
 Thomond Tuathnihninha. 
 
 Tiernmas Tighcarnmas. 
 
 Tirera Tir Fhiachrach. 
 
 Tolka Tiilcan. 
 
 Turlogh Toirdhealbhach. 
 
 Ty ron e Tir Eoghain. 
 
 Ulster Uladh. 
 
 Umor Uathmor. 
 
 S. F.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Abernelhy, Pertlishire, Primacy of Columbian Church, removed thither. 
 
 290 
 Adamar, 100 
 
 Adamnan, St., Abbot of lona, 204, 211, 223, 226, 245, 246, 247, 288 
 Adhar, 149 
 Adonis, 128 
 Adrian IV., Pope, an Englishman, 326 
 
 His Bull conferring Ireland on Henry II., 326, 328 
 
 Aedh, son of Brenaan, 217 
 
 Aedh Roe, 26, 28 
 
 Aedh Mac Ainmire, K.I., 218, 227, 228, 231 
 
 Aedh Finnlaith, K.I., 270, 271, 293 
 
 Aedh Ormidhe, K.I., 293 
 
 Aedh, K.I., 258 
 
 Aedh Slane, K.I., 258 
 
 Aedh Ollaf, K.I., 259 
 
 Aedh, King of Connaught, 204 
 
 Aedh O'Neill, Chief of Aileach, 304, 305 
 
 Aedh " the Scholar," 279 
 
 Aengus Ollamh, loo 
 
 Aengus, "Dread Spear," 112, 138, 142 
 
 Aengus, son of Umor, 149 
 
 ^tius, Roman Consul, 148 
 
 Agilulf, K. of tlie Lombards, protects St. Columbanus, 256 
 
 Ai, in Roscommon, 73 
 
 Aibhill of Craig Liath, Banshee of the O'Briens, 313 
 
 Aidan, Dalriad King inaugurated at lona, 217 
 
 Aidan, St., 24, 227 
 
 Aidilfrid, King of Bernicia, 226
 
 340 INDEX. 
 
 Aife, 62, 64 
 
 Aine, daughter of the King of Britain, 108 
 
 Ailbe, 126, 128 
 
 Ailbe, St., 162, 189 
 
 Ailill, or Ollioll, King of Connaught, husband of Maev, 34, 55, 45, 46, 
 
 47, 48, 50, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 70, 90, 99, 100, 149, 311 
 Ainle, son of Usnach. 41 
 Ainmire, K.I., 218, 228 
 
 Airer-Gaedhil, Argyll, in Scotland, 115, 128, 148, 213 
 Aitheach-Tuatha, Atacotti, Unfree Tribes, 107, 108, 109, 114, 120, 207 
 Alba, ancient name of Scotland, 38, 39, 58, 137, 144, 147, 148, 150, 
 
 154, 156, 157, 210, 211, 212, 217, 221, 227, 232, 234 
 Aldfrid, King of Northumbria, 246, 249 
 
 Alexander, Mrs,, her version of St. Patrick's "Breastplate," 174 
 Alexander II., Pope, Irish Regalia placed in his hands by Donagh 
 
 O'Brien, 323 
 Alfred, King of England, 176, 296 
 Almain, 37 
 
 A\<^s.—Slieve Alpa, 157, 158, 160 
 
 Altus, a Roman Centurion, said to have visited Ireland, 89, 98 
 America, 197 
 Amergin, 17, 27, 68 
 
 Anatolius, his cycle of 19 years in Roman use for computing Easter, 214 
 Anderson, Dr. Joseph, quoted, 287 
 Anglo-Saxon, 225, 227, 234, 246, 258 
 Angus Tuismach, K.I., 100 
 
 Anlaf, the Dane, Father of Sitric, " Silk beard," 265 
 Annals of the Four Masters, 116 
 
 Annoid, or Mother Church of the Columbian Rule in Scotland, 290 
 Aurud, the Norwei^ian, 310, 316 
 Antrim, 28, 39, I15, 145, 152, 232, 243 
 Aodh, son of King Lir, 1 1 
 
 Arran Islands, off Galway Bay, 6, 149, 189, 190, 191, 194, 196 
 Arculf, Bishop, 246 
 Ardan, son of Usnach, 38, 41, 43 
 Ardagh Chalice, 285 
 Ardnaree, near Ballina, 186 
 
 Ard-Righ, Supreme King ruling from Tara, 22, 1 16, 162, 231, 261, 
 282, 284, 302, 321
 
 INDEX. 34T 
 
 Armagh, 18, 29, 75, 146, 180, 181, 230, 233, 248, 249, 254, 282, 306, 
 
 317 
 
 Book of Armagh, see Books 
 
 Abbot of Armagh, 247 
 
 Archbishop of, 325 
 
 Armoric Romance, S3 
 Armorica, 157 
 
 Arno, river in Tuscany, 252 
 
 Art Aeinfer, K.I., " The Sohtary," 116, 117, 118, 122 
 
 Art in Ancient Ireland, 261, 285 
 
 Ornaments, 24, 71, 277, 285 
 
 Metal Work, 24, 261, 285 
 
 Architecture, 286 
 
 Illuminated MSS., 24, 183, 261 
 
 Arthurian legends, 83 
 
 Aryan Race, 23 
 
 Assaroe, Eas-roe, Falls of the Erne, near Ballyshannon 28, 37, 156 
 
 Asia, 23 
 
 Aslauga, wife of Regner Lodbrog, 284 
 
 Assyria, 287 
 
 Atacotts, see Aitheach-Tuatha 
 
 Atharna, 79, 80 ■ 
 
 Ath-Cliath, see Dublin 
 
 Athcoltna, 50 
 
 Ath-dara, 177 
 
 Athlone, 191 
 
 Atlantic, 120, 191, 194, 196 
 
 Auda, wife of Turgesius, 284 
 
 Ausonia, see Italy 
 
 Awley, son of I?athi, 161 
 
 Awley, son of Fiachra, 155, 179 
 
 B 
 
 Bsedan, K.I., 2i8, 228 
 Bsedan II., K.I., 218, 228 
 
 Baine, daughter of the King of Alba, 107 
 
 Baithen, St., successor of St. Columba, as Abbot of lona, 211, 226 
 
 Ballysadare, Co. Sligo, 8
 
 342 INDEX. 
 
 Ballyshannon, at the mouth of the Erne river, 28, 156 
 
 Baltic Sea, 7 
 
 Banba, 15, 17, 207 
 
 Bangor, Co. Down, Great Monastic School, 202, 230, 248, 255 
 
 Barach, a Red Branch Knight, 38, 39, 44 
 
 Bards, Bardic, 22, 52, 63, 79, 120, 121, 126, 134, 137, 200, 218, 219, 
 
 220, 230, 236, 264, 271 
 Barrow River, 30, 177 
 Barry, St., his Gospel, 301 
 Battles of 
 
 Ath-dara, 177 
 
 Bealach-Leachta, 302 
 
 Bealach-Mughna, Moone, Co. Kildare, 272 
 
 Of the Bulls, 73 
 
 Clontarf, 308, 309, 310, 31 1, 312, 314, 316, 318, 320,321, 322 
 
 Crinna, 1 1 9, 120 
 
 Cuildrevne, 204 
 
 Gavra, 1 1 7, 143 
 
 Glen Mama, 302, 303 
 
 The Heavenly Field, 226 
 
 ■ Lough Foyle, 270 
 
 Moanmore, 324 
 
 Moy-Lena, 113 
 
 Moy Rath, or Moyra, 251 
 
 • Moyture, 8, 9, 15, 69 
 
 Moy Mucrive, 116, 117, 118 
 
 Marthevne, 51 
 
 ■ • Ocha, 186 
 
 Sligo, 184 
 
 Sulcoit, 299, 300 
 
 ■ Tailti, 17 
 
 • Tara, 1 7 
 
 The White Strand, 4 
 
 Battle Standards, The Cathach, or Book of Columkill, 206 
 
 The Crozier of St. Grellan, 206, 209 
 
 The Bell of St. Patrick, 206 
 
 Bealcu, 34, 90, 91, 92, 93, 95 
 Bebinn, sister of Sitric the Dane, 281 
 
 Bede, the Venerable, 115, 204, 225, 226, 246, 251, 257
 
 INDEX. 343 
 
 Beirdra, the Druid, 159 
 
 Belach-Mughna, Moone, near Ballytore, Co. Kildare, 272 
 
 Belach- Leach ta, 302 
 
 Belgic Tribes, 9 
 
 Belgium, 206 
 
 Bells, St. Patrick's, 206 
 
 Sweeny of Clonmacnoise, 253 
 
 Beltane Games, etc., held on the Festival of May day, 130, 157, 181 
 
 Benbulban Mountain, Co, Sligo, 128 
 
 Ben-Edar, the Hill of Howth, 37, 80, 103, 106, 209, 210, 309 
 
 Benedictines in lona, 292 
 
 Benin, or Benignus, St., 165, 167, 172, 190 
 
 Bernard, St., 325 
 
 Bernicia, 226 
 
 Bishop of Down and Connor, Dr. Reeves, 223 
 
 Blanaid, 75, 76, 77 
 
 Blathmac, St., 289, 290 
 
 Blathmaic, K.I., 254, 259 
 
 Bobbio, 25, 256 
 
 Bohernabreena, Bothar-na-Bruigne, Road of the Court, 102 
 
 Boniface IV., Pope, 256 
 
 Books of Annals of the Four Masters, 116 
 
 Of Armagh, 168, 288, 306 
 
 • — — St. Barry's Gospel, 301 
 Deer, 286 
 
 Durrow, 215 
 
 Kells, 215, 286 
 
 Leinster, 83 
 
 Psalter of Tara, no 
 
 Of Rights, 180 
 
 Tegasg-Righ. 123, 138 
 
 Boromean Tribute, Boru, levied on Leinster, no, 177, 231, 245 
 
 Bove, 9, 10 
 
 Boyle, 250 
 
 Boyne River, 14, 139, 140, 141, 142, 164, 165, 166, 233, 234, 235, 269 
 
 Battle of, 206 
 
 Bradshaw, Henry, the late, 286 
 Brandon Mountain, Co. Kerry, 168, 195 
 Brea, 130
 
 344 INDEX. 
 
 Breasil, Abbot of lona, 288 
 
 brecan, St., 190 
 
 Brecbannock, Banner of St. Columbia, preserved at Forglen, 246 
 
 Breendacoga, 130 
 
 Breffny Territory, comprising Leitrim, Cavan, etc., 19, 92, 328 
 
 Bregia, a district on the coast, north of Dublin, 80 
 
 Brehon, Brehon Laws, 117, 119, 123, 137, 172, 176, 177, 207, 248, 
 
 250, 287 
 Brendan, St., 194, 195, 196, 197, 199, 211 
 
 Breogan, Leader of the Milesians, Mythical Founder of Brigantium, 16 
 Bresil, loi 
 
 Brian, son of Eochaid, K.I. and Mongfinn, 146, 155 
 Brian Boru, King of Munster, K.I., no, in, 265, 281, 295, 296, 
 
 297, 298, 299, 301, 302, 303, 304, 30s, 306, 307, 308, 309, 310 
 
 311, 312, 313, 314, 315, 316, 317, 318, 320, 321, 322, 323 
 Bricin of Tomregan, leech or physician, 248 
 Bride or Briget, St., of Kildare, 187 
 Brude, King of the Picts, 247, 291 
 
 Brigantium, City of Spain, said to be founded by Breogan, 16 
 Britain, Britons, British, etc., 9, 30, 114, 146, 148, 157, 163, 164, 183, 
 
 233, 234, 236, 249, 253, 254, 256, 311, 329 
 Brodar, The Viking, Slayer of Brian Boru, 308, 31 1, 316 
 Brugh-na-Boinne, Pagan place of interment, 139, 140, 144 
 Broidin, or Courts of Hospitality 
 
 Da Derga, 102, 103, 106 
 
 Lusk, 74 
 
 Brunehault, Merovingian Queen, 255 
 
 Btiana, Queen of Mesgedra, 81, 85, 87 
 
 Buchan, District of Scotland, 286 
 
 Buidhe-Chonnaill, "Yellow Plague," 245 
 
 Bulked, foster-father of Ethni, Queen of Cormac Mac Art, 124, 125 
 
 Buini-Borb, son of Fergus MacRoy, 39, 41 
 
 Burgundy, a province of France, 25, 255 
 
 c. 
 
 Caelbad, K.L, 150 
 
 Caesar, 98 
 
 Cahir-Conree, near Tralee, on summit of Slieve Mish, 76 
 
 Cain Adhamnain, Law of St. Adamnan, 247
 
 INDEX. 
 
 345 
 
 Cainnach, St., 2I2 
 
 Caiibri-Niafer, son of the King of Ireland, 47, 148, 149 
 
 Cairns, 23, 269 
 
 Cairn of Ir, son of Milesius, 27 
 
 Calcythe, Synod of, 253 
 
 Caledonia, Scotland, 24, I48, 292 
 
 Callaghan of Cashel, 281, 282, 283 
 
 Calphurn, the Deacon, Father of St. Patrick, 152 
 
 Camden, the Historian, 257, 258 
 
 Campbell, Clan descended from Dermid, 128 
 
 Cape Clear Island, 188 
 
 Carbris, The Three, 115 
 
 Carbri Muse, 115 
 
 Carbri Baiscin, 115 
 
 Carbri- Riada, 1 15, 148 
 
 Carbri Kin-Cait, 107, 108, 122 
 
 Carbri Lificar, K.I., 1 17, 123, 130, 143, 144, 150 
 
 Carl, 310 
 
 Carl Canuteson, Prince of Denmark, 308 
 
 Carlingford Bay or Lough, 265 
 
 Carman, ancient name of Wexford, Fair of, 20 
 
 Cam Conaill, 150 
 
 Carnait, 151 
 
 Carpathian Mountains, 8 
 
 Carthagh, St., founder of the Monastic School of Lismore, 254 
 
 Cashel or stone fort, 23, 269 
 
 City of Cashel, 179, 230, 271, 272, 273, 276, 280, 2S1, 283, 2S4. 
 
 299, 300 
 Castletown, Moat of, see Dundclgan 
 Cathach, MS. of St. Columba, Battle standard of O'Donnell, 205. 
 
 206, 209 
 Cathairs or Forts, 286 
 
 Cathbad the Druid, 36, 42, 53, 54, 57, 59, 60 
 Catheir-Mor, K.I., 112, 122 
 Catredii, a Firbolg tribe, 108 
 Cavan, 19, 155 
 
 Cellach, Abbot of lona, removes to Kells in Ireland, 28S 
 Cellach — see Kellach 
 Cells, 24, 143
 
 346 INDEX. 
 
 Celsus, Archbishop of Armagh, 325 
 
 Celtic, Celt, 16, 20, 21, 22, 23, 25, 83, 177, 265, 2S5, 287 
 
 Celtic Art, 285, 286, 287 
 
 Celtic Churches, 227 
 
 Cennanus — see Kells 
 
 Chalons sur Saone, Council of, 253 
 
 Charlemagne, 230, 253, 254 
 
 Charles The Bald, 230, 270 
 
 Chilperic, King of the Franks, 255 
 
 Christian Churches, 24, 189, 306 
 
 Missionaries and Missions, 164, 182, 201, 230, 252, 253. 254, 
 
 255, 286 
 Christians in Ireland before the mission of St. Patrick, 162 
 Cian, 207, 208 
 
 Cian, son of OUioll Olum, 115, 116 
 Ciar, 99 
 Cical, I, 2 
 
 Cistercian Order introduced into Ireland, 325 
 Clairvaux, 325 
 
 Clane, on the Liffey, 81, 84, 86, 104 
 Clan Degaid, Munster Order of Chivalry, 75, 76, 77 
 Clanna Morna, The Western tribes, 120, 143 
 Clan system in Ireland, 21, 181, 226, 287 
 Clare, 115, I49> 273, 295. 299 
 Clebach, 168 
 Clement, 253 
 Cleothra, 60 
 
 Cletty, on the Boyne, 138, 140, 141, 166 
 Clogher, 207 
 
 Clonard, on the Boyne, St. Finnian's School, 188, 191, 230, 248 
 Clonfert, near the Shannon, St. Brendan's foundation, 184, 197, 230 
 Clonmacnoise, on the Shannon, St. Kieran's foundation, 184, 191, 192 
 193, 201, 203, 230, 253, 281, 284 
 
 Its Cathedral built by King Flann, 281 
 
 Clontarf, 266, 308, 309, 310, 311, 312, 314, 316, 318, 320, 321, 322 
 
 Clovis, King of the Franks, 255 
 
 Coil-Tomar, a wood on the banks of the Tolka river, 365 
 
 Coire Brecain, the Whirlpool of Corry vreckan, 216 
 
 Collas, The Three, known as Clan Colla, 144, 145, 206, 207, 232, 233
 
 INDEX. 347 
 
 Collas, Colla Uais, 144, 146, 150 
 
 Colla Menn, 144, 146 
 
 Colla-Da-Cree, 144, 146, 207 
 
 Colman, St., 276 
 
 Colman, who made the cross for King Flann, 193 
 
 Colman, Abbot of lona, 227 
 
 Colombkille — see St. Columba 
 
 Colpa, 167 
 
 Columba, St., 24, 143, 187, 188, 199, 200, 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 
 
 209, 213, 215, 216, 217, 218, 220, 221, 223, 224, 225, 226, 227, 231, 
 
 232, 238, 245, 246, 286, 287, 288, 289, 290. 291 
 Columban Church in Scotland, 286, 291, 292 
 
 Community, 288, 292 
 
 House at Kells, 288 
 
 Columbanus, St., 24, 255, 256 
 
 Colum, son of Crimthan, 21 1 
 
 Congall, St., 202, 211, 212 
 
 Comharba-Coarb, 205, 206, 209 
 
 Con "of the Hundred Battles," K.I., lit, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 122, 
 
 138, 187, 272 
 Con, Lough, i?5 
 
 Conaille Murthevne, a district of Louth — see Murthevne 
 Conaing, 313 
 Conal Caev, 234 
 
 Conal, Hero in the ranks of King Donall, Battle of Moy Rath, 238, 239 
 Conall, K.L, 100 
 Conall, K.I., 258, 259 
 Conall Criffan, K.L, 154, 168 
 Conall the Mild, 149 
 Conall Carnach, 35, 68, 7S, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 87, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 
 
 94. 95. 96, 97, 99. 103.- IP4. "I. 149. 250 
 Conall, Daliiad King, 213, 217 
 Conall, son of Aedh-mac-Ainmire, 227 
 Conall Gulban, son of Niall, Nine Hostager, K.L, 154, 200, 226, 239, 
 
 245, 290 
 Conari Mor, K.L, loi, 102, 103, 104, 106, 122 
 Conari II., 114, 116, 122 
 Conchessa, Mother of St. Patrick, 152 
 " Confessions " of St. Patrick, 152, 153, 163, 1S2
 
 348 INDEX. 
 
 Cong, 7 
 
 Abbey of, 244 
 
 Cross of, 285 
 
 Congal Claen, 232, 233, 234, 235, 236, 237, 238, 239, 240, 241, 242, 
 243, 248, 251 
 
 Congal Claringech, loi 
 
 Congal Kenn-Maghair, K.I., 259 
 
 Congal, 293 
 
 Conloch, son of Cuchullin, 77, 78 
 
 Conn, II 
 
 Connactach, Abbot of lona, 288 
 
 Connaught, Connacia, 18, 28, 32, 49, 50, 62, 66, 67, 87, 90, 91, 93, 
 97,99, 100, 107, 114, 146, 149, 155, 156 157, 162, 168, 184, 
 196, 203, 207, 2x8, 235, 244, 250, 303, 304, 306, 309, 311, 
 
 314, 322, 324 
 
 Connacians, pepple of Connaught, 72, 73, 87, 88, 89, 90, 149 
 
 Connemara, 244 
 
 Connla, K.I., 100 
 
 Conmael, 310 
 
 Conor, K.I., 122, 293 
 
 Conor MacNessa, King of Ulster, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 3^, 39, 40, 41. 
 
 42, 44, 45, 47, 49, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 60, 61, 66, 67, 7K, 72, 74, 
 
 77. 78. 79. 87, 83, 89, 90, 94, 99, 100 
 Conor, son of the King of Connaught, 2S4 
 Conor, son of King Brian Boru, 310 
 Conor, son of King Malachy II. and Gormley, 322 
 Constantine, King of Scotland, 290 
 Continent of Europe, 183, 206, 219, 230, 253, 2S6 
 Coolin or Cuchullin Mountains in Skye, 58 
 Corb Olum, 108 
 
 Core, son of Fergus McRoy, 191 
 Core, King of Munster, 146, 147 
 Corca-Baiscin, Co. Clare, 179 
 Corcran Claireach, Anchorite of Lismore, 322 
 Cork, 264, 301 
 
 Cormac Cas, son of OllioU Olum, 115, 273, 2S1, 295 
 Cormac Conlingas, son of Conor Mac Nessa, 45, 49, 71, 72 
 Cormac Mac Art, K.I., 112, 116, 117, 118, 119, 122, 123, l?4, 125, 
 
 126, 127, 128, 132, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 142, 143, 145
 
 INDEX. 349 
 
 Cormac MacCulinan, King of Cashel, 271, 272, 273, 274, 275, 276, 
 
 277, 278, 279, 280, 281 
 Cormac's Glossary, 272 
 
 Cormac MacCarthy, his chapel on the Rock of Cashel, 286 
 Cormac, St., son of Dimma, 215, 216, 217 
 Cormac, son of the Prince of Desi, 278 
 Cormacan Eigeas, the Bard, 283 
 Coroticus, St. Patrick's Epistle to, 163 
 Corrib, Lough, 244, 272 
 Courcy, Sir John de, 145 
 Courts of Hospitality — see Bruidin 
 Cova, K.I., 30, 31, 100 
 Craftine, the harper of Cova, 30, 31 
 Cranogues, 24 
 Credni Cerd, 8 
 
 Creeve Roe, " House of the Red Branch," near Armagh, 29, 87 
 Cremorne, a district in Co. Monaghan, 146 
 Crimthan, K.I., 146, 153, 157 
 Crimthan, Sciathbel, Firbolg chief of Leinster, 147 
 Crimthan, K.I., 100 
 Crimthan, " Nuaid-Nair," K.I., his Dun on Hill of Howth, 106, 122 
 
 Crimthann, son of Fidach, K.I., 150 
 Crinna, Battle of, 119, 120 
 
 Croagh-Patrick, Mountain in Mayo, 179 
 
 Crom-Cruach, Idol worshipped at Moy Slacht, 19, 93, 135, 139, 155, 
 179 
 
 Cromlechs, "Druid's altars" (so called) more properly Dolmens, 23. 24, 
 127, 186 
 
 Cronan, St., 275 
 
 Cronelly's, keepers of the crozier of St. Grellan, 209 
 
 Crosses, sculptured^ 24, 191, 193, 200, 217, 285, 292 
 
 Croziers, 209, ^85 
 
 Cruacha, mother of Queen Maev, 32 
 
 Cruachan — see Rath Croghan 
 
 Cruifi, daughter of King of Wales, 107 
 
 Cruithni — see Picts 
 
 Crunvall, 242 
 
 Cuailgne, now Cooley, a district of Louth, 18, 45, 48, 53, 73 
 
 Cuanna, 240, 241
 
 35° INDEX. 
 
 Cuchullin, 34, 35, 37, 38, 40, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 
 
 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 104, 149 
 Cucongelt, 184, 185 
 Cu-Corb, King of Leinster, III 
 Cuildrevne, Battle of, 204, 205 
 Cuil-O'Finn, now Coolavin, Co. Sligo, 116 
 Cuimin, St., 212 
 Culcinne, 213 
 Culdees, 292 
 
 Cullan, "The Artificer," 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56 
 Cummene Ailbe, Abbot of lona, 227 
 Curoi MacDare, 75, 76, 77 
 Curraghs, hide-covered boats, 179 
 Cutra, 149 
 
 D. 
 
 Da-Derga, 102, 104 
 
 Daer-Clanna, or Unfree Tribes, 107, 120 
 
 Dagda, The Tuatha-De-Danaan Chief, supposed to be buried in the 
 
 tumulus of New Grange, 14, 15, 16 
 Daire gives to St. Patrick the site of Armagh, 180 
 Dalcassian Race, descended from Cormac-Cas, 115, 143, 179, 273, 274, 
 
 295. 296, 303. 310. 318, 319 
 
 Dal-g-Cais, The people of the territory of Cormac-Cas, 295, 296, 298, 
 299. 300, 301, 304, 305, 308, 313, 315, 318, 319, 322 
 
 Dalriads, a colony from Ulster, settled in Scotland, 14, 1 15, 147, 148, 
 150, 154, 186, 205, 220, 221, 232 
 
 Danes, Daners, Danish incursions, 14, iii, 226, 229, 253, 256, 261, 
 262, 263, 265, 269, 270, 281, 2S2, 284, 285, 287, 288, 289, 291, 
 
 296, 297, 298, 299, 302, 306, 307, 309, 310, 314, 317, 321, 322, 
 
 325 
 
 Settled in Ireland ; their wealth and commerce, 299, 300 
 
 Dare, a chieftain of Cuailgne in Louth, 48, 49 
 
 Darerca, sister to St. Patrick, 1 52 
 
 Darinni, daughter of King Teuthal, no 
 
 Dar\'ra, Lough, 10, 11 
 
 Dathi, K. L, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 161, 162, 179, 184, ig8 
 
 De Barri, grandsons of Nesta, " Giraldus Cambrensis," 330 
 
 Declan, St., of Ardmore, 162
 
 INDEX. 
 
 351 
 
 Dectire, mother of Cuchullin, 52 
 
 Deece, Barony of, in Meath, 112, 141 
 
 Deer, Monastery, founded by St. Columba and Drostan, 286, 287 
 
 Book of, 286 
 
 Degaid— see Clan Degaid 
 
 Deirdre, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 45 
 
 Denmark, 285, 308, 311 
 
 Derg, Lough, 10, 79 
 
 Dermid, " of the White Teeth," 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 135 
 
 Dermid, attendant on St. Columba, 223, 224 
 
 Dermid, K.I., 254, 259 
 
 Dermid, MacKervil, K.I., 191, 192, 193, 19S, 203, 204, 205, 218 
 
 Dermid MacMurrogh, 83 
 
 Dermid, son of Mael-na-mbo, 322, 323 
 
 Dervorgilla, wife of O'Ruarc, 328 
 
 Desi, Co. Waterford, 112, 225 
 
 Desmond, South Munster, 273, 300, 318 
 
 Diarmaid, Abbot of lona, 288, 289 
 
 Dichu, builds the church of Saul for St. Patrick, 164 
 
 Dingle, a district in Kerry, 195 
 
 Dinnseanchus, an Irish MS., 186 
 
 Dinree, Royal fort on the Barrow, 30, 31 
 
 Disert-Diarmada, 277 
 
 Dithorba, 26, 28, 29 
 
 Dodder River, 102 
 
 Doghra, the Druid, 156 
 
 Doire Calgaich, Derry, 200, 209, 210, 212, 213, 215, 218, 222 
 
 Dolat, 310 
 
 Domangart, St., gives his name to Slieve Donard, 3 
 
 Domhnall, Maormor of Mar, 311, 312 
 
 Domnall, K.I., 205, 228 
 
 Domnall MacMurchaid, K.I,, 259 
 
 Don River, 8 
 
 Donall, K.I., 218 
 
 Donall O'Neill, K. I., 284, 293 
 
 Donall, son of Aedh MacAinmire, K.I., 227, 231, 232, 233, 234 
 
 Donall, son of Brian Boru, 310 
 
 Donatus, Bishop of Fiesole, his poem on Ireland, 252 
 
 Donegal, 200
 
 352 INDEX. 
 
 Donnchad, K.I., 259, 293 
 
 Donnchad, Abbot of lona, 291 
 
 Donnchadh, 313 
 
 Donn Cuailgne, The " Brown Bull," 49, 66, 73 
 
 Donn Dessa, 102 
 
 Donogh, K.I. , son of Flann, 282 
 
 Donogh, son of Brian Boru, 265. 308, 309 318, 319 322, 323 
 
 Donovan, 300, 301 
 
 Down, 28, 145, 164. 230, 232, 236, 288 
 
 Down Patrick, 35, 68, 180, 181, 225 
 
 Dowth, 14, 269 
 
 Drogheda, 269, 325 
 
 Drontheim in Norway, 266, 267 
 
 Drostan, St., Abbot of Deer, 286, 287 
 
 Druids, II, 22, 28, 51, 59, 86, 88, 113, 136, 137, 139, 144, 156, 157, 
 
 158, 166, 167, 173, 183, 204, 236, 237 
 Dramceat, Convention of, 2x8, 220, 227, 229 230, 
 Drumcliff, 213 
 Drumhone, 2X2 
 Duach-Dalta-Degaid, loi 
 Dubh-Galls, " dark foreigners," Danes, 261 
 
 Dublin, 74, 80, X13, x6x, X94, 226, 250, 264, 273, 282, 283, 302. 306, 
 308, 3x0, 32X, 322 
 
 Bay of, 308, 309 
 
 Dubtach, the Bard, 166, 167 
 
 Duftach, 69 
 
 Duine Sidhe (Fairies), 169 
 
 Dull, a Columban foundation, Scotland, 246 
 
 Dumbarton, 163 
 
 Dun Aengus, 6, 7, X49 
 
 Dun Almon, 80 
 
 Dunbolg, 231 
 
 Duncan, King of Scotland, 291 
 
 Dun Conor, 6, 7 
 
 Dun Criffan, xo6 
 
 Dundelgan, Dundalk, 37, 40, 78, 2S2 
 
 Dunflesk, 202 
 
 Dun Finn, Co. Mayo, 185 
 
 Dunkfld, 225, 290
 
 INDEX. 353 
 
 Dunlang O'Hartigan, 313 
 
 Dunlaing, Father of Ethni, 125 
 
 Dunlavin, Co. Wicklovv, 302 
 
 Dun-na-Sgaith, Royal Fort near Lough Ennell, 218, 233 
 
 Dun-Sciath, Isle of Skye, 62, 75, 77 
 
 Dunseverick, on the coast of Antrim, 39, 40, 45, 72, 91, 95 
 
 Duns, 23, 24, 269 
 
 Durham, 225 
 
 Durrow, Monastery founded by St. Columba, 200, 212, 215, 216, 217 
 
 E 
 Easter; controversy as to the time of its celebration, 214, 225, 227, 
 
 247, 288 
 Eatach, mother of King Cormac MacArt, 116 
 Eber, son of Milesius, 17, 18, 28, 30, 32, 100, loi, 113, 116, 117, 150, 
 
 273. 316 
 Eblana — see Dublin 
 Edersgel, K.I., loi 
 
 Edward the Confessor, King of England, 322 
 Edwin, King of Deira, 226 
 
 Egfrid, King of Northumbria, buried at lona, 246 
 Egypt, 16, 287 
 Eimene, 219, 220 
 
 Eimer, wife of Cuchullin, 74, 75, 78 
 Ein, Lough, Co. Roscommon, 99, 219 
 Elias, Bishop of Angouleme, 253 
 Ehm, K.L, 109, 122 
 Emania, Royal Fort of Ulster Kings, now " Navan Fort," near 
 
 Armagh, 29, 32, 33, 36, 38, 40, 44, 45, 49, 52, 53, 54, 59, 61, 74, 
 
 87, 98, 100, 145, 208, 211, 222, 306 
 Early foundation of St. Ailbe in Munster, 1S9. 
 Enda, St., 189, 190, 191 
 England, 24, 164, 307, 329 
 English, Englishmen, 251, 257, 258, 329 
 
 Invasion, 286, 326 
 
 Kings, 322, 323, 326 
 
 Enna Aighnech, K.L, lOO 
 Ennell, Lough, 218, 321 
 
 Eochaid, Firbolg King, buried at Traigh-Eocliaid, near Baliysadare, 8 
 
 A 2
 
 354 INDEX. 
 
 Eochaid gives his eye to the Bard Atharne, 79 
 
 Eochaid Feliah, K.I., father of Queen Maev, 32, 46, loi 
 
 Eochaid Folt-Leathan, K.I., 100 
 
 Eochaid Aram. K.I., loi 
 
 Eochaid, King of Leinster, no 
 
 Eochaid Finn, in 
 
 Eochaid Domlen, father of the Three Collas, 144 
 
 Eochaid, son of Muredach, K.I., 146, 155 
 
 Eochaid Gunath, K.I., 150 
 
 Eochaid Muigh-Medon, K.I., 150 
 
 Eochaid, K.I., 218, 228 
 
 Eochaid, King of Leinster, kills Niall, Nine Hostager, 154 
 
 Eochy, son of Ardgal, King of Uladh, 305 
 
 Ere, Father of St. Fiech, 166 
 
 Ere, sons of ; " the two Anguses, the two Loams, the two Ferguses,"' 
 Fergus MacErc becomes King of Scotland, 1S6 
 
 Ere, daughter of Loam Mor, 205 
 
 Ere, St., of Slane, 234, 235 
 
 Eremon, son of Milesius, 17, 18, 19, 28, 30, 31, 100, loi, ni, 122, 147, 
 150, 198, 228, 258, 272, 273, 293, 316, 324 
 
 Erenach, 250 
 
 Eri, a princess giving name to Ireland, I5> 17 
 
 Eric, a fine for shedding blood, 119 
 
 Eric, of Auxerre, 252 
 
 Erin, ancient name of Ireland, 37, 38, 46, 48, 58, 65, 66, 70, 71, 73, 75, 
 76, 77, 79, 104, n6, 117, 121, 127, 128, 135, 137, 144, 147. I48f 
 152, 154, 156, 157, 161, 166, 176, iSi, 182, 192,210,211,216, 
 217, 220, 221, 222, 231, 232, 233, 234, 235, 237, 240, 241, 244, 
 270, 272, 296, 300, 308, 311, 313, 315 
 
 Eme River, 28, 156 
 
 Erne Lough, 204 
 
 Erris, a district in Mayo, 34 
 
 Eskaheen, 155 
 
 Esker Riada, the division between N. and S. Ireland, 113, 273 
 
 Ethna, mother of St. Columba, 199 
 
 Ethna, daughter of King Laery, 168, 179 
 
 Ethni, wife of King Cormac MacArt, 124, 125, 137, 143 
 
 Etive, Lough, and Glen Scotland, 37, 38, 39 
 
 Eu, Charioteer of Conall Carnach, 70
 
 INDEX. 355 
 
 Eugenian Line, descendants of Owen Mor, 115, 273, 274, 275, 300, 
 
 3". 318 
 Europe, 22, 30, 151 
 
 Eva, daughter of Dermid MacMurrogh and wife of Strongbow, 329 
 Ey, Scandinavian affix for Island, 205 
 
 F 
 
 Fairs, or CEnachs, 20 
 
 Falvy-Finn, 282 
 
 Fanchea, St., 189, 190 
 
 Fathna-Fathach, "the wise," K.T., 32, 33, 34, 47, loi 
 
 Fechin, St., of Fore, 244, 245 
 
 Felemy, father of St. Columba, 199 
 
 Felemy Rectmar, K.I., III, 1 12, 113, 122 
 
 Felemia, daughter of King Laery, convened by St. Patrick, 16S, 179 
 
 Fercheas, assassinates MacCon, 118 
 
 Fercorb, K.I., loo 
 
 Ferdiah, 34, 62, 63, 64, 65, 69 ■ 
 
 Feredach, K.I., 108, 109, 122 
 
 Feredach — see Dathi 
 
 Fergal, K.I., 259 
 
 Fergel, 102 
 
 Ferger, 102 
 
 Fergna-Brit, Abbot of lona, 226, 227 
 
 Fergobar, 102 
 
 Fergus MacRoy, 33, 34, 35, 38, 39, 40, 41, 44, 45- 49, 52, 53, 54, 57, 
 
 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 78, 99, 100, 191, 219, 220, 254 
 Fergus, King of Scotland, 13 
 Fergus, K.I., 205, 218, 228 
 Fergus, son of Conall Gulban, 239 
 Fergus, Foithamhail, K.I., 100 
 Fergus, K.I., 122 
 
 Fergus, Fogha, King of Uladh, slain by the three Collas. 145 
 Fergus, " of the Black Teeth," 118, 119 
 Fergus MacErc, King of Scotland, 186 
 Fergus River, 275 
 Ferkertne, the Poet, 30, 31, 77 
 Fermanagh, 136
 
 356 INDEX. 
 
 Ferragon, 103, 104 
 
 Feudal System, 21 
 
 Fiacha Sraibtheni, K.I., 150 
 
 Fiacha Finnladh, K.I., 109 
 
 Fiachaid, K.I., 122 
 
 Fiachaid, K.I., son of Carbri Lificar, 144 
 
 Fiachna Sraftine, son of Felemy Rectmar, 112 
 
 Fiachra, son of Eochaid and Mongfinn, 155 
 
 Fiachra, son of Conor MacNessa, 41 
 
 Fiacre, 11 
 
 Fianna-Eirinn, Irish Militia, so named from Finn-MacComhal, 117, 
 
 126, 133, 136, 143 
 Fiathach-Finn, K.I., 109, 122 
 Fiech, St., 166 
 
 Finglas River, Co. Kerry, 76 
 
 Finnachta, the Festive, K.I., no, 245, 259 
 
 Finn-Bennach, the " white horned " Bull, 48, 73 
 
 Finn-Galls, " Fair Foreigners," 261 
 
 Finn-MacComhal, Chief of the Fianna Eirinn, father of Ossian, 115, 126, 
 
 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 136, 143 
 Finnian, St., of Clonard, 188, 191, 200 
 
 Finnian, St., of Moville, 188, 200, 202, 203, 204 
 
 Finn-Tragh, "The White-Strand" Ventry, 134 
 
 Finola, daughter of King Lir, 10, 11, 12, 13 
 
 Fintan, St., 202 
 
 Fionbar, only daughter of Ailill and Maev, 63 
 
 Firbolgs, 5, 6,7, 8, 9, 16, 18, 26, 32, 34, 108, 109, 114, 122, 147. r48, 
 
 149, 207, 208 
 Fither, daughter of King Teuthal, no 
 Fitz-Bernard, 330 
 FitzGerald, son of Nesta, 330 
 Fitz-Henrj', son of King Henry I. and Nesta, 330 
 Fitz-Henry-Meyler, 330 
 FitzStcphen, Robert, son of Nesta, 330 
 FitzRoy, Robert, Earl of Gloucester, son of Nesta, 329, 330 
 Plaherty (Flathbertagh), Abbot of Inis Cathaigh (Scattery Isl.uicl), 275, 
 
 276, 277, 278, 280 
 Flann, Abbot of lona, 290 
 Flann, son of Maelsechlain, 193
 
 INDEX. 35 7 
 
 Flann-Sinna, " of the Shannon," K.I., 271, 272, 280, 282, 293 
 
 Flann, son of Brian Boru, 310 
 
 Flathbertach, K.I., 259 
 
 Focluth Wood, Co. Mayo, 153, 15S, I79 
 
 Fogartach, K.I., 259 
 
 Fola, a lady from whom Ireland was named, 15,17 
 
 Fomorians, pre-historic invaders of Ireland, 4 
 
 Forbaid, a slinger, 94, 99 
 
 Fore, St. Fechin's church, 244 
 
 Forgall Monach, father of Eimer, 74, 75 
 
 Forglen, Scottish ecclesiastical foundation of St. Adamnan, 246 
 
 Fortrenn, 290 
 
 Forts, 23, 186, 269— see " Emania," 29, " Creave Roe," 29 
 
 Fosterage, Custom of, 22 
 
 Fothad Argthach, K.I., 150 
 
 Fothad Carpthach, K.I., 150 
 
 Foyle, Lough (Feval), 16, 200, 213, 218, 270 
 
 Foynes, 179 
 
 France, French, 21, 24, 151, 157, 234, 236, 254. 255, 256, 270, 307, 328 
 
 Frankish dynasties, 255 
 
 Fredegonde, a Merovingian Queen, 255 
 
 Frigidian, St., 202 
 
 Fuad, Slieve (The Fews Mountains), 18, 29, 41, 51, 60, 61, 90, 92 
 
 G 
 
 Gabran, leader of the Dalriads of Scotland, 154 
 
 Gael, Gaedhil, 15, 17, 18,20, 23, 24, 25, 26, 98, 109, 115, 211. 212, 
 
 262, 295, 298, 308,311 
 Gaelic, 16, 23, 59, 156, 280, 287, 300 
 Gall, St.,Evangelizer of Switzerland, 24, 255 
 Gallicia, Spain, 16 
 Galway, 113, I49> 189, 209, 273 
 Gamauradii, a Firbolg tribe in Mayo, 32, 34 
 Gartan, birthplace of St. Columba in Donegal, 200 
 Gaul, 147, 154, 156, 157, 158, 256 
 Gavelkind, usage of, 20 
 Gavra, battle of, 117, 143 
 Gearr Congail, the spear of Congal-Claen, 233, 241
 
 358 INDEX. 
 
 Gelling, island, 267 
 
 Gemman, a Christian bard, 200 
 
 Gentiles, 238 
 
 Geraldines, descendants of FitzGerald, son of Nesta, 330 
 
 of Kildare, 330 
 
 of Desmond, 330 
 
 Germanus, Bishop, 164 
 Germany, 24 
 
 Gesa, " sacred injunctions," considered binding hy Pagan Irish, 126, 127 
 
 Gill Lough, Co. Sligo, 184 
 
 Gilla-Padraig, Prince of Ossor>', 318 
 
 Gillibert, Bishop of Limerick, 325 
 
 Glastonbury, 164 
 
 Glendalough, 194 
 
 Glen-mama, battle of, 302, 303, 307 
 
 Gobaun-Saer, 269 
 
 Godwin, Earl of Kent, 303, 322 
 
 Golamh, better known as Miled or Milesius, 17 
 
 Golden Legend, 196 
 
 GoU MacMorna, Firbolg Chief, 114, 136 
 
 Gormley, daughter of King Flann-Sinna, 271, 272, 282 
 
 Gormley, wife of King Brian Boru, 265, 303, 307, 308, 322 
 
 Gort, 149 
 
 Gort-an-oir, " Field of Gold," 118 
 
 Grania, daughter of King Cormac MacArt, 126, 127, 130. 131, 132, 
 
 133. 135 
 Great Britain, 58 
 
 Greece, Greek, 5, 7, 16, 20, 136,230, 2S7, 310 
 Gregory the Great, Pope, 256 
 Grellan, St., 206, 207, 208, 209 
 
 Guary-Aidhne, King of Connaught, 185, 218, 219, 220 
 Gud, Chieftain of the Cruithne, 147 
 
 H 
 
 Harold, Saxon King of England, brother-in-law to Donagh O'Brien, 
 
 322 
 Hebrides, Western isles of Scotland, 59, 74, 187, 201, 221, 291, 
 
 307, 3" 
 Helvetians, converted to Christianity by St. Gall, 255
 
 INDEX. 359 
 
 Henry I., King of England, 329 
 
 Henry H., King of England, 326, 328, 329 
 
 Hexham, 226 
 
 High Island, St. Fechin's foundation, 244 
 
 Hilda, Abbess, 227 
 
 Hill of Howth — see Ben Edar 
 
 Hindus, 23 
 
 Holstein, 285 
 
 Hospitality of the Irish to foreign students, 183 
 
 Hy, I-colm-kill or lona — see lona 
 
 Hy-Brasail, 194, 196 
 
 Hy-Fiachrach, 184 
 
 Hy-Many in Connaught, 146, 206, 209, 309, 31 1, 314 
 
 Hy-Niall, territory of the tribe of Niall, 154, 232 
 
 Hy-Niall, Northern; descendants of Owen and ConallGulban, sons of 
 
 Niall, Nine Hostager, 154, 187, 200, 204, 218, 233, 235, 254, 
 
 262, 304 
 Hy-Niall, Southern ; descendants of Conal-Criffan, son of Niall, Nine 
 
 Hostager, 854, 168, 194, 218, 235, 262, 271, 304 
 
 Ibar, St., 162 
 
 Ibath, chieftain of the Tuath-de-Danaans, 7 
 Iberian, Prince, ally of Owen the Great, 114 
 Iceland, 189 
 
 Illan-Finn, son of Fergus MacRoy, 40, 41, 45 
 Inch-Keith, Frith of Forth, Irish Ecclesiastical foundation, 246 
 Ingcel, 103 
 
 Inis-Cathaigh, Scattery Island, 275, 276, 280 
 Inis-Clothran, an Island in Lough Ree, 99 
 Inis-Glaire, an Island, off Sligo, 12 
 Inishowen, between Loughs Foyle and S willy, 155 
 Inmanen, father of Flathbertach, Abbot of Scattery, 276, 277 
 Innocent II., Pope, 325 
 
 lona, Hy, or I-colm-kille, Island off Western Scotland, St. Columba's 
 foundation, 24, 201, 213, 215, 217, 221, 223, 225, 226, 246, 247, 
 287, 288, 289, 290, 291, 292 
 Abbots of, 223, 226, 227, 245, 247, 288, 290, 291
 
 360 INDEX. 
 
 Ir, son of Miled, line of Kings descended from, 18, 19, 27, 28, 30, 32, 
 78, 100, loi, III, 122, 150, 191, 237 
 
 Ireland, Irish, 21, 25, 39, 58, 59, 63. 75, 78, 116, 151, 152, 153, 155, 
 161, 163, 164, 168, 176, 179, iSo, 183, 186, 187, 189, 194, 204, 
 211, 216, 218, 221, 223, 226, 230, 236, 245, 246, 247, 249, 250, 
 251, 252, 253, 256, 257, 258, 262, 264, 265, 266, 270, 272, 277, 
 280, 281, 282, 285, 287, 288, 290, 295, 299, 306, 307, 308, 309, 
 310, 311, 312, 313, 314, 320, 321, 323, 325. 326, 327, 328, 330 
 
 Irgas of many battles, 149 
 
 Irish Church, 325 
 
 Orders of Saints, 183 
 
 Monks, transcribers of MSS., 183 
 
 Annals, 285 
 
 Isle of Destiny, ancient title given to Ireland, 6 
 
 Italy, 24, 160, 202, 255, 256 
 
 Ith, son of Breogan, 16, 18, 28, 117, 122, 150 
 
 Ivar, attendant on Cuchullin, 60, 61 
 
 Ivar, Danish King of Limerick, 299, 300, 302 
 
 Ivar, Danish Earl, opens and plunders New Grange and other 
 sepulchral mounds on the Boyne, 269 
 
 J 
 
 Japhet, 16 
 
 Jesus, staff of, 166, 167, 250 
 
 Jerome, St., 202 
 
 Jerusalem, Bishop Arculf's account of, 246 
 
 Jews, 88, 322. 
 
 Johannes-Scotus Erigena, 23 
 
 John, son of Henry II., afterwards King of England, ^^o 
 
 Jutland, 285 
 
 Keating, Geoffrey, the historian, 276 
 
 Keilichar, 278 
 
 Kellach, son of King Cormac, slain by ^ngus, " Dread Spear," 112 
 
 Kellach, uncle of Congal Claen, 236 
 
 Kellach, K.I., 258 
 
 Kellach, chieftain in the Battle of Moy Rath, 243
 
 INDEX. 3C1 
 
 Kellach, prince of Ossory, 278, 279 
 
 Kellach, St., 162, 184, 185 
 
 Keltar, son of Uitachar, 35, 68, 69 
 
 Kells, Co. Meath, 124, 200, 205, 212, 215, 288, 290 
 
 hCen-Barra, a promontory in Ulster, 77 
 
 Kenfalla, son of OllioU "The Scholar," 247, 248 
 
 Kennedy, son of Lorcan and father of Brian Boru, 281, 282, 295, 
 
 296, 297 
 Kenneth MacAlpin, King of Scotland, 271, 290 
 Kennfaeladh, K.I., 259 
 Kennghegan, 278 
 Kerball, 277, 279 
 Kerry, Co., 99, 195, 254, 282 
 Kesair, 30 
 
 Keth MacMagach, 34, 87, 88, 90, 91, 94, 95, H9 
 Kevin, St., of Glendalough, 194 
 Kian — see Cian 
 
 Kian, King of Desmond, 311, 318 
 
 Kieran, St., of Clonmacnoise, 184, 185, 191, 192, 193, 201, 202, 324 
 Kieran, St., of Saighir, 162, 188 
 Kilany, Church of St, Enda, Aran, 190 
 Kilbreccan, 190 
 
 Kildare, " Churches of the Oak," founded by St. Brigid, 187 
 Killaloe, 302 
 Kilmore-Moy, 185 
 Kimbaoth, K.I., 26, 28, 29, 30 
 Kimi-Kether-Kenn, a Firbolg chieftain, 149 
 Kinaeth, K.I., 259 
 
 Kincora, Fort of Brian Boru near Killaloe, 302, 306, 307, 308, 318, 319 
 Kind Conall, people of Conall Gulban, 154, 200, 204, 206 
 Kinel Owen, people of Owen, 154, 204, 206, 304 
 King, a Firbolg chieftain, 149 
 King's County, 188, 200 
 Knowth, Cnodhbach, sepulchral tumulus on the Boyne, 14, 60, 269 
 
 L 
 
 Laegari, K.I., 198 
 
 Laeghaire, Laery, K.I., 162, 165, 166, 168, 171, I77> 178, 184, 186
 
 362 INDEX. 
 
 Laeisech, great grandson of Conall Carnach, Leix, named after him, 
 
 III, 112 
 Lagenians, people of Leinster, no, iii, 125, 177, 178, 184 
 Laisren, Abbot of lona, 226 
 Lambay Island, 265 
 
 Lammas day, games established by King Lugaid, Aug. 1st, 20 
 Latin language, 279, 280, 287 
 Lavra Maen, or Loinsech — see Maen 
 Lea Con, Northern Ireland, 113, 273, 320 
 Lea Moha, Southern Ireland, 113, 114, 273, 276, 295, 320 
 Leaba Diarmada, agus Ghrainne, 127 
 Leagh, Charioteer of Cuchullin, 70, 71, 74 
 Leary Buadach, Knight of the Red Branch, 35 
 Leary Lore, K.I., son of Ugaine Mor, 30, 100 
 Lee river, 168 
 Lee the physician, 92, 93 
 
 Leinster, 18, 28, 31, 47, 48, 79, 80, 89, 102, no, in, 112, 124, 147, 
 164, 231, 246, 251, 265, 271, 275, 276, 277, 278, 279, 283, 303, 306, 
 307, 308, 310, 3n, 319, 322, 324, 329 
 Leitrim, 50 
 
 Leix, in Queen's County, in, 112 
 Lennox, 147 
 Letterkenny, 200 
 . Levarcam, 61 
 Leven Loch, 210 
 
 Lia-Fail, or Stone of Destiny, 13, 14, 186, 1S7 
 Libraries, 285 
 
 Trinity College, Dublin, 286, 288 
 
 University, Cambridge, 286 
 
 Liffey river, 79, 84, 86, 222 
 
 Limerick, 79, 264, 273, 296, 299, 300, 302, 306 
 
 Lindisfarne, foundation of Irish monks from lona, 24, 227 
 
 Lismore, celebrated school founded by St. Carlhagh, 230, 248, 254, 255 
 
 LismuUen Mill, 137 
 
 Lir, story of the children of, 9, 10, n, 13 
 
 Llancarvan, Caradoc of, 194 
 
 Lochlannaigh, Irish designation of the Northmen and Danes, 264, 305 
 
 Lodar, 311 
 
 Loingsech, K. I., 259
 
 INDEX. 363 
 
 Loire river, 154 
 
 Lomna Druth, 103, 104, 105 
 
 Longfellow, H. W., 266 
 
 Longford, 50 
 
 Lorcan, grandfather of Brian Boru, 280, 2S3, 295, 296, 297 
 
 Lord of the Isles, 146, 292, 307 
 
 Lorica, St. Patrick's Hymn or " Breastplate," 171 
 
 Lough Cooter, 149 
 
 Louth, 18, 45, 73 
 
 Lucca, 202 
 
 Lugaid, MacCon, 117, 122 
 
 Lugaid, son of Ith, 18, 28 
 
 Lugaid, Tuath-De-Danaan King, 20 
 
 Lugaid, K.L, loi 
 
 Lugaid "of the Red bands," K.L, 106 
 
 Lugaid Laga, slays King Art Aeinfer, 1 1 7, 1 18, 1 19 
 
 Lugaid, K.L, son of Laery, 186, 187, 198 
 
 Luin Ban Celtchair, the spear of Keltar Mac Uitachar, 35, 68, 69 
 
 Lupida, sister of St. Patrick, 152 
 
 Lupus, Bishop, 164 
 
 Lusk, 74, 75, 102 
 
 Luxeuil in Burgundy, foundation of St. Columbanus, 25, 255, 256 
 
 M 
 
 MacAlpin, Kenneth, first King of Scotland, 271 
 
 Macbeth, King of Scotland, 291 
 
 MacCarthy, Princes of Munster, 28, 115, 273 
 
 MacColl, 15, 17 
 
 MacCon, 115, 117, 118 
 
 MacCreiche, St., 245 
 
 MacDatho, 89, 90 
 
 MacDonalds of Scotland, 146 
 
 MacGrene, 15, 17 
 
 Macha, Queen, erects Emania, 28, 29, 30, 32, 100 
 
 Macha, the warrior goddess, 1 20 
 
 MacKeact, 15, 17 
 
 MacLiag, Bard of King Brian Boru, 297 
 
 MacMahon, 146 ^
 
 364 INDEX. 
 
 MacMurrogh, 28, 323 
 
 Dermid, " na-ngall," King of Leinster, 324, 328, 329, 330 
 
 MacNamara, 1 15 
 
 MacRoth, herald of Queen Maev, 49, 66, 68 
 
 Maelcova, K.I., 231, 233, 258 
 
 Maelduin, 290 
 
 Maelmora, slayer of King Tuathal, 193 
 
 Maelmurra, King of Leinster, 303, 307, 308, 311, 321, 322 
 
 Maelmuri, daughter of Kenneth MacAlpin, 271 
 
 Maen, Lavra Loingsech, 30, 31, 32, 100, 108 
 
 Maenach, Abbot of Desert Diarmaita, 277 
 
 Maev, Queen of Connaught, 32, 34, 35, 45, 46, 48, 49, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66 
 
 67. 73. 87, 90. 94> 99. 100, 120, 149, 191, 219, 324 
 Maev, wife of Art the Solitary, 116 
 Magach, father of Keth, 34, 48 
 Magenis, Chiefs of Iveagh, Co. Down, 28 
 Magh Adair, 295 
 Magh Corb, K.I., 100, 143 
 Magh Cru, " the bloody plain," 107 
 Magh Liath, "plain of sorrow," 208 
 Magnus, 282 
 Magog, 15 
 Maguire, 146 
 Mahon, Mathgamhain, son of Kennedy, brother of Brian Boru, 295, 
 
 296, 297, 298, 299, 300, 301, 302 
 Maine Mor, Chieftain of Hy-Many, 207, 208, 209 
 Malachy II., "of the Shannon," K.I , 262, 263, 270, 271, 293 
 Malachy II., Mselsechlain Mor, K.I., 294, 295, 303, 304, 305, 306, 308, 
 
 310, 316, 321, 322 
 Malachy O'iMorgair, St., Archbishop of Armagh, 325 
 Malahide, 102 
 
 Mai, K.I., of the Irian line, in, 122 
 Malcolm Ceannmor, King of Scotland, 291 
 Maloder Macha, King of Orghiall, 235 
 Mana Island, 75 
 Man, Isle of, 307, 308, 311 
 
 Manannan MacLir, The Ocean God of the Pagan Irish, 135 
 Mane, sons of Ailill and Maev, 50 
 Manean, J.C., 249
 
 INDEX. 365 
 
 Manuscripts, Illuminated, etc., 24, 74, 81, 183, 186, 215, 261, 286 
 
 Maols, " The four," murderers of St. Kellach, 185, 186 
 
 Margaret, St., Queen of Scotland, 291, 292 
 
 Marr, of Scotland, 147 
 
 Martin of Tours, St., 152 
 
 Mata, of Murisg, mother of Ailill, King of Connaught, 48 
 
 Maud, the Empress, daughter of Henry I., 330 
 
 Mayo, 149 
 
 McDonnells of Antrim, 146 
 
 Measca, Lough Mask, 149, 244 
 
 Meath, 20, 60, 66, 67, 68, 81, 102, 103, 109, 112, 148, 149, 192, 210, 
 
 222, 251, 303, 305, 309, 310 
 Melgi, Molbthach, K.I., 100 
 
 Mellifont Abbey, First Cistercian Foundation in Ireland, 325, 328 
 Merovingians, 255 
 
 Mesgedra, King of Leinster, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 87, 88, 104 
 Metal work in Ireland, 24, 285 
 Michelet, French historian, quoted, 21 
 Midas, King, 31 
 
 Milcho, St. Patrick's master, 152, 154, 164 
 Miled, or Milesius, 16, 17, 27, 28, 78 
 Milesians, invaders of Ireland, led by Miled, 15, 16, 18, 26, 35, 107, 
 
 147, 148 
 Missionaries and Missions from Ireland, 24, 252, 253, 286 
 Mithridates, King of Cappadocia, said to have invented mills, 136 
 Moanmore, battle of, 324 
 Mochuda, St., 275 
 Mcenaig, 291 
 
 Moh Nuad — see Owen Mor 
 Molaise, St., 204, 211, 222 
 Moling, St., of Ferns, no, 245 
 Momera, wife of Owen Mor, 113 
 Monaghan, 146, 233 
 Monasteries, 183, 225, 226, 291, 306 
 
 Mongfinn, Queen of Eochaid, poisons her brother, 146, 155 
 Morann, son of Carbri Kin-Cait, refuses the Crown, 108, 109 
 Mormaor, Celtic title representing the King, 286, 287, 311 
 Mor-Riga, Goddess of battle, 120 
 Moville, Celebrated School, Co. Down, St. Finnian's Foundation, 188, 202
 
 366 INDEX. 
 
 Moy Adhair, I49 
 
 Moyle, the sea that separates Ireland and Scotland, 11, 12, 13 
 
 Moy-Lena, battle of, 1 14 
 
 Moy-Mucrive, battle of, 116, 117, 118 
 
 Moynalty, the plain near the sea, North of Dublin, 3 
 
 Moy-Rath, Moira, battle of, 231, 236, 239, 240, 242, 247, 248, 254 
 
 Moy River, 156, 186 
 
 Moy Slaught, seat of pagan worship, Co. Cavan, 18, 140, 155, 179 
 
 Moyture, battle of Northern, 15, 69 
 
 Moyture, battle of Southern, 8, 9 
 
 Mullingar, 218, 262 
 
 Mulloch Roe, Co. Sligo, palace of Rua, Queen of Dathi, 156 
 
 MuUoy MacBran, 300, 301, 302 
 
 Munster, 18, 28, 75, 76, 102, in, 113, 114, 115, II7> I43. H4. 149- 162, 
 179, 189, 210, 250, 254, 273, 276, 278, 279, 2S0, 281, 282, 283, 
 295, 296, 297, 299, 300, 301, 302, 303, 309, 311, 318, 322, 323, 
 
 324 
 Muredach, K.I., Banishes the three Collas, 144, 145, 150 
 Murgen, son of the Bard Sancan, 219, 220 
 Murighen, 277 
 Murkeitach, 277 
 
 Murkertach, Mor MacErca, K.I., 186, 187, 192, 198, 218 
 Murkertach, " of the Leathern Cloaks," his circuit of Ireland, 282, 283, 
 
 284 
 Murkertach Mor O'Brien, great grandson of Brian Boru, 323 
 Murrogh, Murchadh, son of Brian Boru, 302, 303, 307, 309, 310, 312, 
 
 313, 314, 315. 317, 320, 321 
 Murrogh, " Short Shield," son of Donagh, son of Brian Boru, 323 
 Murthevne, a district of Louth, battle of, 51, 66, 69, 70, 78 
 Museums, 285 
 
 Denmark, have objects of Celtic art, the plunder of the 
 
 Vikings, 285 
 Muskerry, its tribes descended from Cabri Muse, 115 
 
 N 
 
 Naas, 85 
 
 Nair, Queen of King Crimthan, 106 
 
 Naisi, son of Usnach, married to Deirdre, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43 
 
 Nechtan, Dun of, destroyed by Cuchullin, 51, 60
 
 INDEX. 367 
 
 Nemed, his invasion of Ireland, 4, 5, 7, 26 
 Nessa, mother of Conor and wife to Fergus MacRoy, 33, 34 
 Nesta, daughter of Rhys ap Tudor, 329, 330 
 New Grange, Tumulus on the Boyne, I4, 60, 269 
 Newry, 240 
 
 Newtown-Limavady, Co. Derry, 218 
 Niadh, K.I., loo 
 
 Niall, of the Nine Hostages, K.I., 146. 147, 150, 151, 152, 154, 155. 
 156, 157, 162, 164, 165, 178, 1S6, 1S7, 200, 216, 226, 239, 245, 
 290, 295, 320 
 Niall Frasach, K.I., 259 
 
 Niall Caille, "of Callan," K.I., 262, 263, 270, 293 
 Niall, " Black Knee," K.I., 271, 272, 282, 284, 293 
 Nindid, 239 
 Normandy, 307 
 Norman, 21, 269, 329 
 
 Kings of England, 291 
 
 Norse, Norwegian, 108, 264, 265, 266, 268, 284, 29T 
 
 Influence on Irish names, Ey, island. Fiord, Ford, <S:c., 265 
 
 Northmen, 225, 261, 264, 270, 285, 288, 296, 297, 302, 307, 308, 310, 
 
 311, 314, 321 
 Northumbria, Northumberland, 24, 226, 227, 246 
 Norway, 266, 267, 290, 311 
 Nose-gelt, an ounce of gold yearly, on penalty of loss of nose, Danish 
 
 tax, 263 
 Nuad, "of the Silver Hand," Tuath-De-Danaan, Chieftain, 8 
 Nuadach Necht, K.I., 122 
 
 o 
 
 O'Briens, 28, 115, 143, 273, 307, 313. 320, 321 
 
 O'Callaghans, 115 
 
 O'Carrolls, 115 
 
 Ocha, battle of, 186 
 
 O'Cleiys, 115, 116 
 
 O'Connors, 18, 28, 146, 324 
 
 O'Conor, Turlogh Mor, 146, 193, 285, 324, 326, 328 
 
 Rodeiic, K.I., 146, 244, 328 
 
 O'Connor, 303
 
 368 INDEX. 
 
 Odin, Norse deity, 260 
 
 O'Donnells, 28, 113, 154, 206 
 
 O'Donnells, of Newport, possessors of the Cathach, 205 
 
 O Donnell, Cathbar, had its shrine made for the Cathach, 205 
 
 O'Donnell, Daniel, 206 
 
 O'Donnell, Sir Neal, 206 
 
 O'Donnell, Manus, 205 
 
 O'Donoghue, of the Glens, 146 
 
 O'Dowda, 156 
 
 O'DriscoUs, 28 
 
 CTlnachs, Fairs, places of commerce and amusement, 20 
 
 Offaly, a territory in Leinster, named from Rossa Falgi, 113 
 
 O'Flaheity, author of *' Ogygia," his chronology, 26, 100, 101 
 
 O'Garas, 115, 116 
 
 Ogham, a form of writing on the edges of stones, 14, 24 
 
 Ogma, of the Tuath-De-Danaan race, 14 
 
 O'Gradys, 1 15 
 
 O Haras, 115 
 
 O'Hartigan, Dunlang, hero at the battle of Clontarf, 313 
 
 O'Heyne, 156, 303, 311 
 
 Maelruine, Lord of Hy-Fiachra-Aidhne, 311, 314 
 
 Ohio River, 197 
 
 O'Keeffes, 115 
 
 O'Kellys, chiefs of Hy-Many, 146, 206 
 
 O'Kelly, Tiege, commanded the third division of the Irish army at 
 
 Clontarf, 309, 314 
 Olaf Fola, 19, 26, 27 
 
 Olaf, Danish Earl, plundered the Tumuli on the Boyne, 269 
 Olaf Cuaran, Danish King of Dublin, 265, 303 
 Olaf, St., King of Norway, 265, 266, 267, 268, 269 
 Ollaves, Expounders of the Law, 118 
 Olild Cas-fiachtach, K.L, 100 
 
 Ollioll Olum, IIS, "6, 117, 143, 273, 281, 295, 318 
 OllioUMolt, K.L, 162, 184, 186, 198 
 O'Loghan, Cuan. an eminent Poet, 322 
 O'Lorcain, descended from Eochaid Finn, iii 
 O'Mahonys, 146 
 O'More, Sept of, ill 
 OMoriartys, 146
 
 INDEX. 3O9 
 
 O'Meaghers, 115 
 
 O'Neills, 28, 113, 154, 184 
 
 O'Neill, Flaherty, "an Trostain," Prince of Aileach, 322, 323 
 
 O'Nolans, 31, 311 
 
 O'Quinns, 115 
 
 O'Rafferty, Abbot of Kells, 205 
 
 Oran, 182 
 
 Orghiall, a district of Louth, Monaghan and Armagh, 145, iSo, 181, 
 
 189, 190, 233, 235 
 Orkney Islands, 307, 30S, 311 
 
 Ornaments, gold and silver, 23, 67, 71, 138, 147, 205, 225, 274, 288 
 O'Ruarc, Lord of Breffny, 328 
 Oscar, son of Ossian, 143 
 O'Shaughnessy, 156 
 Ossian, Oisin, Poet, son of Finn MacComhal, 115, 133, 134, 136, 143 
 
 MacPherson's version of, 59, 134 
 
 Ossianic Society, 134 
 
 Ossory, Ossorie, territory in Kilkenny, 251, 279, 318, 319 
 
 O'SuUivans, 115 
 
 Oswald, King of Bernicia, educated at lona, 226 
 
 Oswy, King of Norlhumbria, 249 
 
 Owel, Lough, 263 
 
 Owen, Mor or Moh Nuad, King of Munster, 113, 114, 115, 117, 118, 
 
 272, 281 
 Owen Eoghan, son of Niall Nine Hostager, 154, 155, 187, 273, 2S3, 
 
 295' 304 
 Owen Bel, King of Connaught, 162, 1S4, 1S5 
 Oxford, 194 
 
 Palestine, The Holy Places described by St. Adamnan, 8th century, 
 
 246 
 Palladius, St., his mission to Ireland, 162 
 Paris, 249, 253 
 
 Parmenius, a Royal recluse, attacked by King Dathi, 157, 158, 161 
 Parochial system, superceding the Tribal system, 292 
 Partholan, Traditions about, i, 2, 3, 4, 26 
 
 B 2
 
 370 INDEX. 
 
 Tatrick, St., Apostle of Ireland, 12, 134, 152, 156, 162, 163, 164, 165, 
 166, 167, 168, 169, 170, 171, 176, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182, 183, 
 187, 188, 189. 199, 288 
 
 his Bell, 245 
 
 Patrick, Sen., 164 
 Pavia, 254 
 
 Pedigrees, carefully preserved, the title deeds of every freeman, 20, 28 
 
 Peter, St., 327 
 
 Petrie, Dr. George, 172, 285 
 
 Pfeffers, in Switzerland, 158 
 
 Pharamond, King of the Franks, 158 
 
 Picts, Pictland, 18, 1 15, 137, 147, 148, 150, 153, 154, 201, 246, 271, 290 
 
 Pictish Monarch, Brude, 247 
 
 Pillar Stones, 24 
 
 Piran, St., of Cornwall, identified with St. Kieran of Saighir, 1S8 
 
 Plait, a Scandinavian warrior at Clontarf, 312 
 
 Plantagenet, 133 
 
 Plantation of Ulster, 146 
 
 Poets, 28, 118, 200, 217, 236, 250 
 
 Poictiers built by the Picts, 147 
 
 Poland, Gradual elevation of its soil, 8 
 
 Prime Tales, known by every qualified Bard, 82 
 
 Psalter, 224, 234 
 
 of Cashel, 272, 276 
 
 Q 
 
 Queen Victoria, descended from the Scotic line, 14, 115 
 
 Queen Macha — see Macha 
 
 Queen Maev — see Maev 
 
 Quern, a hand mill for grinding corn, 137 
 
 R 
 
 Raphoe, 202, 212, 222 
 
 Rath Archaill, near the River Moy, scene of Idol worship, 156 
 
 Rath Croghan, or Cniachan, Royal Fort of Connaught, 32, 34, 45, 46, 
 
 52, 66, 73, 87, 91, 99, 100, 120, 149, 157, 161, 168, 179, 191, 219, 
 
 250, 324 
 Rathin, church at, 254 
 Rathkellar, near Downpatrick, 35
 
 INDEX. 371 
 
 Ratlilin Island, off the coast of Antrim, 75 
 
 Rath-Maev at Tara, ]'^ort of Art Aeinfer's Queen, 116 
 
 Raths, Earthen Forts, the abodes of Kings and Chiefs in ancient, 
 
 Ireland, 23, 143, 144. 168 
 Rath Umaill, now Burrisoole, Co. Mayo, 150 
 Raud, " the strong," a Norway Viking, 266, 267, 268 
 Rectaid, the slayer of Queen Macha, K. I., 30, 100 
 Red Branch Knights, House of 29, 35, 38, 40, 42, 44, 74. 75, 78, 
 
 87, 104, 145, 149 
 Red Heads, the Three, 99 
 Ree, Lough, 99, 263 
 Reginald, the Dane, 269 
 Reginald, Ragnvald's Tower, Waterford, 269 
 Regner Lodbrog, his " death song," 284 
 Relig-na-Righ, burying place of the Kings, 157, 161 
 Rhine, River, 158 
 
 Robhartaigh, Domnall Ua — see Donnell O'Rafferty 
 Rollo, Duke of Normandy, 307 
 Romanesque, Irish, 286 
 Rome, Romans, 98, 107, 135, 148, 160, 163, 190, 191, 202, 213. 
 
 214, 227, 230, 247, 270, 287, 291, 292, 310, 322, 323, 325, 327 
 Rome, Monasteries in connection with Church of, 292 
 Rosapenna, 222 
 
 Roscommon, 32, 73, 162, 209, 324 
 Roscre, now Roscrea, 275 
 Rosgrencha — see Durrow 
 Rossa Falgi, son of Caher Mor, 113 
 Rosnaree, on the Boyne, 132, 139, 140, 141, 142, 143 
 Ross Ruadh, King of Leinster, 47, 149 
 Roydamna, " King Material," heir apparent, 21, 282 
 Rua, Queen of Dathi, 156 
 Ruadhan, St., of Lorrah, 218, 232 
 Rudrician Race, descendants of Rury Mor, 145, 244 
 Rury, Rudraide Mor, K.I., 32, 33, 78, 100 
 Russia, gradual elevation of its plains, 8 
 
 s 
 
 Sabhall-Padruic, Patrick's Barn, now Saul, Co. Down, 164, iSo, 225 
 Saer-Clanna, Free tribes, 107
 
 372 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Saer-Gael, the Patrician Tribes of Ireland, io6 
 
 Sagas, Norse poems, 269, 315 
 
 Saighir, a well in King's Co., where St. Kieran founded his monasteiy of 
 
 Seir-Kieran, 188 
 Saints of Ireland. Three orders described, ist order, 181, 183, 187; 
 
 2nd order, 188, 189, 191, 194, I97. 213, 225 ; 3rd order, 156, 
 
 181 
 Saltan Fiord, Norway, 266, 267, 268 
 Samhain, Ftstival held, 31st October 
 Samhair, wife of Cormac Cas, 143 
 Sancan, the Bard, 218, 219 
 Sanscrit, 23 
 
 Sara, wife of Conary II., 114 
 
 Save, daughter of Brian Boiu and wife of Sitric, " Silk Btard," 265 
 Saxon Chronicle, 194 
 
 Scandinavia, 7, 24, 236, 261, 266, 269, 284, 308, 311, 312 
 Scannlan, "of the Broad Shield," 233, 234 
 Scatha, of the Island of Skye, 34, 62, 64, 74, 75 
 Scattery Island at the mouth of the Shannon— see Inis Cathaigh 
 Schools of Ireland, 188, 189, 230, 248, 251, 252, 253, 254,255, 256, 
 
 257, 258, 274, 306, 325 
 
 Armagh, 230, 254 
 
 Bangor, 230, 255 
 
 Cashel, 230 
 
 Clonard, 188, 230 
 
 Clonfert, 230 
 
 Clonmacnoise, 230 
 
 Emly, 189, 230 
 
 Kildare, 230 
 
 Lismore, 230, 254, 255 
 
 Moville, 18S 
 
 Sciath-Bachlach, " Shield of the Crozier," 168 
 
 Scone, Perthshire, 13, 187 
 
 Scoti, Scots of Ireland, afterwards of Scotland, 15, 18, 26, 106, 108, 
 
 115, 148, 226, 246, 251, 252,253, 290, 303, 329 
 Scotic, 18, 107, 150, 186, 271, 273 
 Scotland, 21, 24, 25, 34, 37, 58. 59. 75. 109, 115, 137, 148. '54. 186, 
 
 187, 204, 216, 217, 220, 232, 236, 245, 290, 311 
 Screene, Co. Sligo, 156
 
 INDEX. 373 
 
 Scythia, 1 6 
 
 JSeanechies, Storytellers, 120, 161 
 
 Sechnasach, K.I., 259 
 
 Segene, Abbot of lona, 227 
 
 Seir-Kieran, Monastic Foundation of St. Kieian, "first born of tlie 
 
 Saints of Ireland," 188 
 Senchus Mor, a Brehon Law Tract, 176 
 
 Sepulchral monuments, 8, 14, 15, 23, 24, 27, 85, 86, 269, 285 
 Setanta, see CuchuUin 
 
 Shannon River, 50, 79, 94, 179, 191, 192, 207, 275, 294, 302 
 Shrines, 261, 274, 285, 28S 
 
 For Bells, 285 
 
 Book of Durrovv, 215 
 
 Book of Kells, 215 
 
 Cathach, 205 
 
 Relics of the Saints, 285 
 
 St. Columba's relics, 225, 226, 288, 289, 290 
 
 Skellig Rocks, off Kerry, 27 
 
 Skene, Mr., quoted, 291 
 
 Skreen, Hill of, 141 
 
 Skye, Island of, 58, 74 
 
 Siadal, Abbot of Disert Diarmada, 277 
 
 Sigebert, grandson of Clovis, 255 
 
 Sigurd, 266, 267 
 
 Sigurd, Earl of Orkney Islands, 30S, 31 1 
 
 Sin, 192 
 
 Sitric, son of MacAodha, maker of Shrine for Cathach, 205 
 
 Sitric, "Silk Beard," Danish King of Dublin, 265. 302, 303, 310, 322 
 
 Sitric, Earl, plunders the Tumuli on the Boyne, 269 
 
 Sitric, a Danish Chief, 281, 282, 283 
 
 Slauge, son of I'artholan, 2, 3 
 
 Slane, on the Boyne, 165, 166 
 
 Slemish, Slicve Mis, a mountain in Antrim, 152, 154 
 
 Sletty, see Cletty 
 
 Slewin, in Westmeath, 70 
 
 Slewmargy, 251 
 
 Sligo, 8, 128, 184, 204 
 
 Solve, wife of OllioU Olum, King of Munster, 115, 117 
 
 Spain, Spanish, 16, 17, 1 13, 114
 
 374 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 St. Andrews, Fife, 290 
 
 Stephen, Earl of Blois, 330 
 
 Stewarts, Royal Family of Scotland, 311 
 
 Stone of Destiny — see Lia Fail 
 
 Stokes, Dr, Whitley, 172 
 
 Strangford Bay or Lough, 265 
 
 Strongbow, Richard de Clare, Earl of Pembroke, 269, 329 
 
 Stuart, Dr. John, 285 
 
 Suaillam, father of CuchuUin, 52, 55, 57, 58, 65, 66 
 
 Succoth — see St. Patrick 
 
 Suil)hne MacMsIhumai, " most learned doctor of the Irish," assisted at 
 
 the Foundation of Oxford, 194, 253 
 Suibhne, Abbot of lona, 227 
 Sulcoit, Tipperary, Battle of, 299, 300 
 Sulgan, John, son of. His Poem, 256, 257 
 Sulpicius Severus, cycle of, used by the early Irish Church, 214 
 Surnames adopted in Ireland, 307 
 Sweeny Menn, K.L, 231, 232, 258 
 Sweeny, lost his reason at the battle of Moy Rath, 248 
 Swilly, Lough, 218, 233 
 Switzerland, 24, 158, 255 
 Swords, near Dublin, 200, 212, 317 
 Synods, 325 
 
 T 
 
 Tadgh, grandson of Ollioll Olum, 116 
 
 Tailkenn, a title for St. Patrick, 1 1 
 
 Tailte, Tailten 17, 20, 60, no, 157 
 
 Tain-Bo-Cuailgne, 45, 52, 60, 61, 62, 67, 73, 208, 219, 220 
 
 Tamlacht, Tallaght, 2, 102 
 
 Tanist, Heir apparent, 21, 224 
 
 Tanistry, Law of, 21, 117 
 
 Tara, Tanw; the ancient seat of Royalty, Co. Meath, 13, 17, 31, 47. 
 
 48, 60, 78, 102, 109, no, n2, n6, n8, 130, 137, 138, 143, 144. 
 
 156, 157, 165, 166, 171, 176, 178, 183. 187. 193, 203, 218, 233, 
 
 245, 247, 303, 304, 305 
 
 Convention or Feis, 19, 20, 114 
 
 Psalter of, 1 10
 
 INDEX. 
 
 375 
 
 Tara, Hall of, 123 
 
 Tclacta, 85, no 
 
 Tegasg Righ, Institutes of King Cormac, 123, 138 
 
 Teuthal Techtmar, K.I., 109, 110, iii, 122 
 
 Thomas a Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, 328 
 
 Thomond, North Munster, 149, 179, 273, 274, 286, 290, 295, 300 
 
 Thor, Norse deity, 268 
 
 Thrace, Firbolgs enslaved in, 5, 147 
 
 Thule, King of, 131 
 
 Tibradi Tirech, 108, 114 
 
 Tiege, son of Brian Boru, 265, 310, 322 
 
 Tiege O'Kelly, Prince of Hy- Many. 311, 314 
 
 Tiernmas, K.I., introduced the worship of idols, 19, 26 
 
 Tigernach, a historian of the first centuiy, 26 
 
 Tipperary, IlS 
 
 Tinne, King of Connaught, 32, 34 
 
 Tir-Awley, Tyrawley, Territory of the Race of Awley, N.W., Mayo, 
 
 153, 179, 185 
 Tir-Conaill, Tyrconnell, Territory of the Race of Conall, 154,200, 203, 
 
 205, 206 
 Tireragh, Co. Sligo, 156 
 Tir-Luighdech, 215 
 
 Tir-Owen, Tyrone, Territory of the Race of Owen, 154, 284 
 Toisech, Clan Chief, 287 
 Tolka River, 308, 309, 314, 315, 317 
 Tomb-stones, decorated, 2S6 
 Tor, 282 
 
 Tor-Conaing, Battle of, 5, 7 
 Tor Inis, Tory island, off Donegal, 4, 200 
 Torna, Bard of Niall, 147 
 Towers, Round, 24, 191, 193, 200 
 Tralee, Co. Kerry, 76 
 Trinity College, Dublin, 215 
 Trostan, Pictish Druid, 147 
 Tuathal Maelgarv, K.I., 192, 193, 19S 
 
 Tuath-De-Danaans, 7, 8, 9, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 26, 27, 69, 269 
 Tulsk, Co. Roscommon, 32 
 Tumuli, 14, 15, 24, 60, 86, 269 
 Turgesius, Leader of the Danes in Ireland, 263, 284
 
 376 INDEX. 
 
 Turlogh, Toirdhelbach, son of Murrogh, son of Brian Boru, drowned at 
 
 the Battle of Clontarf, 310, 314, 317, 321 
 Turlogh, son of Tiege, son of Brian Boru, 323 
 Tuscany, 252 
 Tyrone, Hugh, Earl of, 284 
 
 u 
 
 Uatha, 62, 64 
 
 Ugaine Mor, K.I., 30, 32, 100, 109 
 
 Uisnech, Co. Meath, no 
 
 Uitacher, father of Keltar or Celtchar, 35, 68, 69 
 
 Uladh, Ulster, or Ulidia, 18, 28,32, 33, 37, 42, 45, 50, 56, 60, 61, 62, 
 72, 75. 76, 77, 79, 80, 90, 91, 99, 100, 109, 113, 119, 145, 181, 184, 
 206, 232, 233,235, 236, 239, 244, 250, 275, 304, 306 
 
 Ultonians, people of Ulster, 62, 65, 66, 73, 79, 80, 81, 87, 90. 145, 210, 
 236, 237, 238, 240 
 
 Umor, sons of, A Firbolg Clan, 149 
 
 Unfree Tribes — see Daer-Clanna 
 
 Usnach, sons of, 35, 36, 37, 38, 40, 41, 42, 44, 49 
 
 Vikings, Adventurers, on Sea, generally Northmen, 3, 14, 261, 266, 
 
 290, 316 
 Vistula River, 8 
 Vosges, mountains in Eastern France, 255 
 
 w 
 
 Wales, Welsh, 245, 311, 329 
 
 Waterford, founded by the Danes, 264, 265, 269, 296 
 
 Waves, of Cleena, 71, 72 
 
 of the North, 71 
 
 of Rory, 71, 72 
 
 Weapons of Bronze, 9, 23 
 
 of Stone, 23 
 
 of Iron, 23 
 
 Westmeath, 50, 244, 254, 262
 
 INDEX. 377 
 
 Westminster Abbey, 13, 187 
 
 Wexford, 20, 265 
 
 White-Strand, Battles of, 4 
 
 Whitby, Synod of, 227 
 
 Wicklow, 194, 302 
 
 Wilfrid, Bishop of York, 227 
 
 William Rufus, King of England, 323 
 
 Winchester, Henry II. holds a Parliament at, 32S 
 
 "Wisdom Sellers" at the Court of Charlemagne, 253, 254 
 
 Worcester, Florence of, 194 
 
 York, 227, 246
 
 OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. 
 
 (Revue Critique.) 
 
 " Un livre destine au grand public. . . . Celle que nous annon^ons 
 et qui a pour auteur la femme d'un des poetes les plus distingues de 
 rirlande actuelle, raconte I'histoire legendaire et I'histoire reelle 
 d'Irlande avant I'invasion anglaise. Plusieurs poetes anglo-irlandais 
 de ce siecle se sont fait un nom dans la litt^rature anglaise et ont 
 familiarise le public de la Grande-Bretagne avec les legendes de la 
 vieille Erin. Des poetes anglais eux-memes puisent a cette mine 
 feconde ; tel M. Matthew Arnold. ... It est done interessant de 
 presenter dans leur ensemble et dans leur succession les differents cycles 
 que ont inspire I'ancienne poesie gailique de I'lrlande et inspirent au- 
 jourd'hui la litteiature qu'elle s'est creee dans lalangue du conquerant. 
 ... La forme tres-litteraire que Mme. Ferguson a donnee a son livre 
 . . . suit generalement les meilleures sources et a meme mis a profit 
 des manuscrits de 1' Academic Royale d'Irlande." 
 
 (The Daily Express, February II, 1868.) 
 
 " This clear and well-told history is drawn from varied sources, some 
 of which are not accessible to the public, while the rest are far less 
 known than they deserve to be. 
 
 " In the compass of 300 pages Mrs. Ferguson has given us what every 
 Irishman must often have wished for — a popular and interesting sketch 
 of the dark ages of our own land, written without a shade of religious 
 or political partizanship, and altogether such as will help men to love 
 Ireland without falling foul of eveiy lesson of history and prudence. In 
 fact, it is only by her sympathetic warmth, her love of whatever is pure
 
 OPINIONS OF THE PRESS, 
 
 and of good report in the tale she tells, that we see how truly patriotic 
 a pleasure the authoress found in her occupation, 
 
 "The result is, to our mind, one of the most charming books of the 
 season . . . this truly valuable history." 
 
 {The Nation, February 8th, iS6S.) 
 
 " In the work quoted at the head of this article, in which is presented 
 a clear outline of the history of our country . , . and the subject- 
 matter made as interesting as was possible, by the agency of a pure, 
 clear style of narrative, . , . a spirit of true criticism, . . . command 
 of language. . , . In the course of her most entertaining and instruc- 
 tive narrative, our authoress having securely laid down the stratum of 
 genuine contemporary history, makes agreeable excursions to the right 
 and left, and collects from poem, or romance, or legend, every circum- 
 stance connected with the current facts, which can serve to render them 
 interesting, agreeable, and easily remembered." 
 
 {Saunders' News- Letter, Feb, 28th, 1868.) 
 
 " We cannot but applaud the admirable perspicuity and orderliness 
 which characterise the management of details that in hands less skilful 
 might seem to defy methodical treatment, . . . Her industry and 
 acumen , , , sensibility and poetic fervour. , . , She has done her 
 country the great service of vindicating Ireland's position in remote 
 ages as a powerful element in European civilization. , , . Mrs. Fer- 
 guson has not approached her perplexing task without conscientious 
 preparation. Every page of her volume bears evidence of extended 
 reading, while the rich appendix of books on Irish literature and on its 
 nomenclature bear ample testimony to diligence and erudition, . , . 
 We cordially recommend this volume to all Irishmen — and they might 
 indeed be a little more numerous — who care to know something of the 
 history of their own country,"
 
 OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. 3 
 
 {The Dublin Evening Mail, Feb. 14th, 1868.) 
 
 "We must express our sincere thanks to Mrs. Ferguson for opening 
 up the history of these far-back times, which has hitherto been a sealed 
 book to all but the most learned antiquarians. It was, we are sure, no 
 very easy task to collect and select the materials for this compact little 
 volume, and more difficult still, to introduce and sustain the * thread of 
 poetry ' among so much dry matter ; but to prove that this has been 
 successfully carried out, we need only refer the reader to the book itself 
 in the certainty that it will testify its own merits far more eloquently 
 than words of ours." 
 
 {The VVeeMy Observer, April i8th, 1868.) 
 
 " Mrs. Ferguson has given us a delightful volume. . . . She has 
 rendered the early story of our country not only readable and fascinating 
 by scattering through her pages gems of sweetest poetry, but excited 
 our liveliest sympathies in the fates and history of . . . chiefs and 
 monarchs. . . . Altogether this little volume is by far the most to be 
 depended on, and popularly written manual we know, of the period of 
 Irish history of which it so charmingly treats. . . . Most cordially do 
 we trust that a second and enlarged edition may soon be required." 
 
 {The Northern Star and Ulster Observer, July 20th, 1 87 1.) 
 
 "A beautiful volume ... a series of historic tableaux, each perfect 
 in itself and perfect in their union ; from the perusal of which the 
 reader obtains a clear and comprehensive vision of the period of Irish 
 history passing under review." 
 
 {The Cork Examiner, March 3rd, 1868.) 
 
 " Mrs. Ferguson, however, has done a great deal more than give us 
 a readable volume. She has compiled a work which we do not hesitate 
 to describe as of a most fascinating character, and one which cannot
 
 4 OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. 
 
 fail to attain a wide popularity both in and out of Ireland. . . . Ad- 
 mirable in its dignified simplicity. . . . With a light and rapid hand 
 she draws the moral and historical features that marked the particular 
 time, and throws out into strong relief the figures and character of the 
 chief actors. She gives us most interesting glimpses of the manners, 
 the habits, the modes of speech and of thought even of the people who 
 lived in the dim past. Her work is historical in character, but the fact 
 does not prevent the display of its personages with dramatic force. 
 . . , We are glad to express our hearty admiration of the spirit and the 
 execution of this book. It brings learning and a woman's graceful 
 genius to the vindication of a race to whom fortune and the world have 
 never been just." 
 
 (The Manchester Examiner and Thnes, April 8th, 1868.) 
 
 " No apology was required for the narrative. The book is full of 
 romance and chivalry. . . . The interest of the narrative never 
 flags. ... If this charming narrative of ' The Irish before the Con- 
 quest' helps us to a more complete knowledge of the traditional 
 character of the Irish people, its mission will be a noble one." 
 
 (^The Manchester Guardian, April i6th, 1868.) 
 
 "We have read Mr. {sic) Ferguson's volume with real pleasure. . . . 
 No better or more rational epitome of that little-known period has come 
 under our notice. ... No writer, it seems to us, has to well and suc- 
 cinctly written the traditions of Ireland's mythic age. . . . Mr. {sic) 
 Ferguson is clear and simple. ... But there is in his {sic) interesting 
 volume no parade or pretence, only the hearty enthusiasm of a lover of 
 Ireland, and the able work of a well-cultured, and even elegant writer." 
 
 [The Pilot, April 25th, 1 868.) 
 
 " It is a satisfaction to have the whole subject presented in an 
 accessible and fascinating shape, as it will be found in The Story of the
 
 OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. 
 
 Irish before the Cotiqitest, by an Irish lady, M. C. Ferguson. . . . Her 
 deeply interesting publication .... We have given so full an analysis of 
 the book, that we have barely room to express our admiration of it, and 
 to heartily commend it to the attention of our readers." 
 
 {The Insh Citizen, March 14th, 1868.) 
 
 " One of the most charming of all these is the vi'ork of Mrs. Ferguson. 
 . . . One does not wonder, then, to have from this lady's hand a 
 learned and loving book concerning the ancient people of her own 
 island. . . . The range of the author's labours presents a wide field ; 
 yet, by judicious distribution of parts, and careful condensation of 
 matter, she has covered it all, and done it well." 
 
 {The Irish Republic, April 4th, 1868.) 
 
 "This highly attractive volume, . . . utilizing many new sources of 
 information. . . . There is something particularly charming in a book 
 which, thus founded on reliable authorities, unfolds the antique story of 
 Erie with the interest at once of romance and fact. . . . From the 
 interesting variety of matter in Mrs. Ferguson's volume, its traditional, 
 legendary and heroic details, scenes and characters, all derived from an- 
 cient Celtic literature, and its admirable narrative style, I know no book 
 on Irish history which is so likely to secure a permanent and wide-spread 
 popularity among the people. A popular account of the poetry, of the 
 history, and of the authentic ages, written from the latest sources of in- 
 formation, is what we have been long looking for ; and here we have 
 an account . . . written in the most graceful manner, and illustrated 
 by such new lights as modern research has thrown upon Irish history. 
 . . . Mrs. Ferguson's ' Irish before the Conquest,' is likely, I should 
 say, to become a household volume in the Irish homes of the furthest 
 American West."
 
 6 OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. 
 
 (New York Tablet, March 7th, 186S.) 
 
 " Of the new books on Irrsh subjects this is, in all respects, one of the 
 best entitled to attention. ... It is a book full of research — of Celtic 
 research, such as now can only be made among the rich treasures of 
 MSS. material, accumulated in the various public and private libraries 
 of Dublin. The work is brief and compendious, but the mass of read- 
 ing and research it contains must have been very great. We do not at 
 this moment remember another example of so much genuine Gaelic 
 information condensed into so small a compass. . . . Mrs. Ferguson 
 has not failed to adorn her pages with the poems of others who have 
 been true to the great Celtic themes of song. ... In this respect she 
 has made her book almost that long desired desideratum, ' A BaUad 
 History of Ireland.' In her, that band of bards, who have felt the call 
 of country in their souls, and have found their Castalia in her ' holy 
 wells,' have gained a gentle and graceful, as well as a learned inter- 
 preter. . . . This is a specimen of the freshness and true Celticism of 
 this book. ... It is to the true glory of Ireland still to have left the 
 materials of such a book ; and for us, of this age, who feel for and com- 
 prehend the Gaelic inheritance, it binds in an inseparable bond of honour 
 the names of two of the most devoted labourers upon such material, 
 Samuel and Mary Ferguson."
 
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