CHRIST 
 AND 
 
 BOURKE 
 
i 
 
 
 
 y 
 
;-•- 
 
 fVS-rv^E 
 
 BROWNE. INOL 
 
PRE-CHRISTIAN IRELAND. 
 
 BY 
 
 CANON U. J. BOUEKE, P.P., M.R.I.A., 
 
 EXAMINER IN KELTIC AND IN IRISH HISTORY. ROYAL UNIVERSITY OF IRELAND, 
 
 BROWNE & NOLAN, 
 NASSAU STREET, DUBLIN 
 
 1887, 
 
BEOWNE AND NOLAN, PEINTEES, DUBLIN 
 
S77 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 Chapter I. 
 Certainty of Early Keltic Settlements in Eire * i - 1 
 
 Chapter II. 
 The Kelts of Europe — Descendants of Japhet 4 
 
 Chapter III. 
 The Firbolg or Belgae - - - _ - _ g 
 
 Chapter IV. 
 The Fate of the Firbolg - - - - - - 17 
 
 Chapter V. 
 The Tuatha De Danann in power contrasted with the Firbolg — 
 
 The Fomorians - - - - - -36 
 
 Chapter VI. 
 Fomorians Defeated — Danann Dynasty continued - - 53 
 
 Chapter VII. 
 The Eponymous Character of the Danann Chiefs - 64 
 
 Chapter VIII. 
 Sources of Historical Truth regarding the Danann People — They 
 certainly built the Palace of Aileach, and perhaps, most of 
 the Round Towers - - - - - -69 
 
 Chapter IX. 
 Other Proofs — Manuscripts — Monumentary Mounds — Sites selected 
 by the Conquered Danann Chiefs, known to-day as "Faery 
 Hills," are footprints on the sands of the past period of 
 Danann Power --____ §2 
 
 Chapter X. 
 Had the Danann Tribes and Pre-Christian Gael any knowledge 
 
 of Letters ?— "What Character or Alphabet did they use ? - 89 
 
 Chapter XI. 
 Ogham— What it was— Material for "Writing —Origin of this 
 Secret Art— Proofs of Pagan Parentage— Christian Ogham 
 Inscriptions— The Letters— General Character of the Danann 
 
 inscriptions— rne .Letters — General Charaetr 
 
 - 231*1 
 
 07 
 
Chapter XII. 
 Table and Fact — Mythology reduced to a System — Three views — 
 The Danann an intelligent Pagan People — Their form of 
 Government — Clan System — Kings — Laws — Religion — 
 Druidism — Social Habits — Music — The ' ' Caoin" — Marriage — 
 Arts — Public Gatherings — Dwellings — How they lived - 113 
 
 Chapter XIII. 
 The Defeat of "fae Danann Dynasty by a Colony of Kelts from the 
 South of Europe — Certainty of a Keltic Colonisation — Un- 
 certainty of the record contained in Irish Manuscripts — 
 Heroic deeds of Milesians recounted by the Bards - 124 
 
 Chapter XIV. 
 Mission from Spain to Ireland — Ith — His death — Preparation for 
 the Invasion of Inisfail — They come— Strange details — 
 Story of the Milesian landing - - - - 138 
 
 Chapter XV. 
 A Storm — Queen Scota unfurls the Sacred Banner — Battles of 
 Mis, of Tailtean, of Druirnlighean — Defeat of the Danann 
 Tribes — How the Leaders of the Danann Clans select the 
 " Sidhe " or best sites throughout the land — They finally 
 settle amongst the people — Stories relative to that age - 144 
 
 Chapter XVI. 
 Stories and Eomances regarding the Early Irish Period - - 149 
 
 Chapter XVII. 
 Fate of the Children of Turenn — A story relating to the early 
 
 Danann Period - - - - - - 156 
 
 Chapter XVIII. 
 
 A new Dynasty — Heber and Heremon — Division of Ireland — New 
 Possession — A falling out — Battle of Geashill — Death of 
 Heremon — Names of places tell to this day of the Milesian 
 Dynasty ------- 161 
 
 Chapter XIX. 
 
 The Fa mili es descended from Heber Fionn — From Heremon — And 
 from Ir, or Heber, son of Ir — The leading princely Milesian 
 families of Ireland trace their descent from those three 
 princely Houses of Heber Fionn, Heremon, and Ir — Length 
 of time does not destroy certainty of connection — The chief 
 Monarchs up to the time of Conor Mac Nessa — A Kingly 
 Government existed in Eire for over two thousand years, 
 " Gi|\e ajyo, 1nif ha II15," Noble Eire, Island of Kings - 166 
 
Chapter XX. 
 
 Ireland's Eoyal Backbone— Her line of Kings reaches nigh three 
 thousand years— The nature and character of the Brehon 
 Laws, best test and proof of the Social State and Manners of 
 the Irish in the far past— The Clan System— The Rights of 
 the Clan and of the Chief— Elective Power— Tanistry— Gavel- 
 kind -Moral and Physical characteristics of the Irish People 177 
 Chapter XXI. 
 
 The Question of the Round Towers of Ireland— Three leading 
 opinions regarding them— The Christian Theory, as it is 
 called, advocated by Dr. Petrie and his followers— The Pagan 
 Theory— A third Opinion, that many of the Towers were 
 erected in the Christian Period, that others had come down 
 from Pagan times, but in all, the figure and form of the 
 edifices, and the purposes for which they were first erected 
 were of Pre-Christian origin and growth— Reasons for the 
 different opinions— The controversy not yet closed— The 
 Towers described -Their probable number— Their durability- 192 
 
 Appendix I. 
 A Summary of Dr. Petrie's History and Antiquities of Tara 
 
 Hill 205 
 
 Appendix II. 
 A list of the Best Hundred Irish Books - - - - 2 1 1 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 Before the time of Copernicus, Canon and Priest of Frauenberg. 
 (a.d. 1473-1543), and for some years after his death, a variety of 
 problems, difficult then to be solved, regarding the sun, the planets 
 and the stars, presented themselves to those who made the science of 
 the heavens their study. The power of solving all the difficulties 
 that arose to the minds of intelligent scholars, appeared then to be 
 beyond the limits of human understanding. This was of necessity 
 the outcome under the Ptolemaic teaching. 
 
 Directly that the system of astronomy taught by Copernicus was 
 established, these difficulties, like filmy clouds before the noon-day 
 sun, vanished. The discoveries made by Sir Isaac Newton (a.d. 1642- 
 1727) over a century later, simplified other problems which at one 
 time appeared as if they could never be solved. 
 
 At a still later period, say one hundred years ago, few indeed could 
 tell what is lightning or thunder which accompanies it, or the 
 northern lights, or how it is that a magnet possesses the property of 
 attraction and repulsion, and in every part of the globe points in the 
 direction of the poles. The discoveries in the walk of electrical science 
 have made these things now-a-days quite plain ; those questions are 
 known at present by ordinary college students. 
 
 The science of comparative philology is to the historian and anti- 
 quarian of the present time, what the correct system of astronomy 
 has been to those who wander in safety and certainty amidst the stars. 
 Things that before appeared difficult and uncertain to the antiquarian 
 to-day are plain and pleasant. 
 
 Take for instance amongst the ablest historians of the early past 
 Livy as an example, He could not account for the beginnings of the 
 first inhabitants of Latium, or the Sabine territory ; or for those who 
 had flourished some centuries anterior to the period when Romulus 
 and Remus are supposed to have lived. The ancient Etrurians were 
 a people of whom the earliest Roman writers knew very little ; yet 
 they at one time enjoyed power, and a civilisation not inferior to that 
 possessed by the Romans during the age of the Gracchi. The ancient 
 writers could not tell who were the Pelasgi, the Egyptians, the 
 peoples of Niniveh and Babylon, or what connection existed between 
 the Greeks and the inhabitants living east and west of the Appennines. 
 
Vlll 
 
 Those primitive states taken separately were to our ancient historians 
 what the severed joints and members of an organised body appear to 
 an uneducated boy — a perfect puzzle. The earth and the different 
 peoples that dwelt upon it were to them a complete mystery, No 
 one could rightly tell what the earth was, or where the people first 
 came from who dwelt on its surface. At a later period, even our 
 own Dr. Keating — the author of the History of Ireland in Irish — 
 knew very little of the geography of the earth, and much less 
 concerning the languages which the different nations in the past had 
 employed as a vehicle of thought. It was not his fault : he was up 
 to the teaching of the period in which he lived (16th century). The 
 modern science of comparative philology makes those ethnical and 
 lingual difficulties which historians or antiquarians, in past centuries, 
 were unable to solve, regarding individual nations, plain and clear. 
 
 This science shows that we have all come from one primitive and 
 primeval habitat, separating as the earliest emigrants proceeded west- 
 ward into different clans or large families, and settling down in some 
 new territory, efformating there in process of time a new race and a 
 distinct people. Had Livy had any idea of this scientific view of 
 early mankind, apart from any knowledge furnished by Hebrew 
 writers, he would have known that all European tongues are sister 
 languages, that Latin, so called, had in its beginnings the start of 
 Greek, not only in the race westward, but in its more robust and 
 unaffected phonetic forms of speech which Romulus and those who 
 flourished in the eighth century^bef ore the Christian era, had used as a 
 language on the banks of the Tiber and the Anio. If he had had 
 any notion of the light which comparative philology throws over the 
 map of Europe two thousand years before the coming of the 
 Christian era, he would not have thought that the earliest inhabitant 
 of his own beautiful Italy had growD out of the soil of that charming 
 country ; and if our own Irish historian, Dr. Keating, had any 
 forecast of such a science, he would not have written so readily, 
 or copied the unmeaning views of earlier annalists in their vague 
 statements regarding the primitive languages of mankind, and the 
 geographical relations that existed between the kingdoms and nations 
 of the world as known to the ancients. 
 
 While a youthful student in college the writer had a longing to learn 
 thoroughly the history of his native land from the earliest period. 
 Again, and again he read the ancient story connected with the 
 beginnings of our people ; and although it was his wish to believe the 
 
IX 
 
 traditions recorded in our manuscript history, yet there were state- 
 ments in them regarding, for instance, the primeval progenitors of 
 the Milesian race that did not appear in harmony with other historic 
 events told of the outside world. 
 
 It is true that the connexion of Ireland in remote times with the East 
 was pointed out by Dr. Keating, and by the annalists of ancient Eire, 
 but the narrative in the stream of facts thus flowing down did not 
 seem to fall in with the clear current of historic truth gathered 
 together from other known sources of the world as a whole. Hence 
 like many sons of Eire and others not Irish, but who have studied 
 our early national history, he was obliged to look upon those early 
 records as partly imaginative or mythic, with some groundwork of 
 fact on which the edifice of fable and myth had been erected. 
 
 Outside the region of history, so-called, and, as a result of com- 
 parative philology and comparative ethnology, it is now certain that 
 the substance of the story contained in ancient Irish manuscripts is 
 true. Ancient Irish writers erred in the manner and in many of the 
 details connected with what they have related; that the ancient 
 Milesian forefathers of the Irish people came from the East — that is 
 true ; that they had journeyed by sea, and journeyed by land — that is 
 true ; that there were several migrations from the east — that is 
 equally true ; that all the early inhabitants spoke a generic Keltic 
 speech — that also is true ; and that they brought with them the 
 manners, the social and national customs special to the East — is like- 
 wise true. The manuscript records tell all this. The statement is 
 confirmed by those modern sciences'that deal in comparing languages 
 and races of men. The light derived from the luminous sources of 
 comparative philology and ethnology presents the records of the 
 ancient Gael of Ireland in a favorable view, showing that the 
 leading tacts are in substance correct, and are like writings of a 
 kindred kind regarding Rome, Greece or Egypt. 
 
 Accordingly it is not a matter of surprise that there were two 
 classes of readers of ancient Irish history quite opposed in their 
 estimate of its value ; one class regarded the early Irish records as 
 mere romances or myths ; the other gave credence to everything 
 recorded in Eire's story, and believed, for instance in the wanderings 
 of the forefathers of the Milesian invaders, just as firmly as they 
 believed in the wanderings of the Hebrew people under Moses 
 in their passage during forty years from Egypt to the Promised Land. 
 
 The following view of the history, or story of the earliest inhabitants 
 
of Ireland is presented to the consideration of Irish students at 
 home and abroad. It is derived from a three-fold source, (a) from 
 the record contained in Irish Annals ; (&) from the monumental 
 remains that still abide in the Isle of Destiny, correcting that record 
 by the light, which extrinsic evidence from other nations and other 
 lands furnishes ; (c) lastly, from the facts which modern investi- 
 gators supply. 
 
 The nomenclature of the countries of Europe such as Albion, 
 Helvetia, Iberia, Gallia ; of the great towns as Lugdunum, Rome ; 
 of the rivers, as the Rhine, Rhone, Seine, Garonne, Danube ; show 
 that a people kindred in language at one time inhabited the most of 
 Europe. It is morally certain that a people, known as Kelts, dwelt in 
 southern and western Europe in what may be termed the remote 
 period : that they had emigrated from the East ; that all did not 
 emigrate at one time, but that there had been successive waves of 
 emigrants from Asia to southern and north-western Europe ; that 
 some of those, for instance the Belgae, or Firbolgs, found themselves 
 making use of a language which was a dialectic variety of the 
 primitive Keltic ; that the new shoals of emigrants steering through 
 Spain and south-western Europe came in the rere of the more ancient 
 colonists carrying with them a language — called from them Gaelic — 
 differing little from primitive Keltic, spoken at a time anterior to 
 the coming of the Belgae from Eastern lands ; that the tongue of 
 the Milesian race and of those who had retained the primitive Keltic 
 is still living in the Gaelic speech heard amongst the peasants of the 
 west of Ireland, or in Argyle and the islands along the coast of 
 Scotland. This latter is known as Scotch-Gaelic, and is a branch 
 of Irish-Gaelic, spoken by those who in the early centuries went 
 from Ulster to Albion. Further, that the language once spoken in 
 the Isle of Mau, and at one time even in Britain, is only a phonetic 
 form of the same Gaelic, or primitive and unaffected Keltic. It is 
 true also that affected Keltic found a home amongst the ancient 
 Belgae and the Gallic and the ancient Firbolg of Ireland — amongst 
 theKimbri of Wales, the Britous of Cornwall, and the Bretons of 
 West Normandy. 
 
 Taking, then, primeval Gaelic as spoken at one time in the south 
 of Europe, among the Sabiues for instance, to be the basis of the 
 Latin speech — an opinion held by many philologists — affected Keltic, 
 which survives in modern Welsh and Bas-breton, must have been the 
 basis of Greek, which in phonetic features are so like. 
 
XI 
 
 Supposing those j views to be correct, then the ancient Kimric 
 speech brought first to northern Europe by the Belgian Kelts, was 
 anterior to Greek; and consequently one must go back a good many 
 hundreds of years till he has reached the far off time when the races 
 who spoke affected Keltic came from the motherland in Asia. Changes 
 in language spoken by a race of people do not arise suddenly or in a 
 few hundred years. They took a much longer period. And next, if 
 Gaelic, as an unbroken language, must have been earlier still, one can 
 form some idea of the great antiquity of the language of Eire. 
 
 There is a school of savants and antiquarians who at present wish 
 to show that all those dialectic varieties arose in a few hundred years. 
 It was no such thing. Before the development of geology as a 
 science — or, as far as it is known scientifically, one was taught to 
 think that the alluvial earth, and all beneath the surface, was only 
 some few thousands of years in existence. Geology tells a different 
 story ; and even the inspired word of God confirms that truth when 
 it says : " In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." 
 The words, " in the beginning," bring us a great way back. The 
 stratifications of the earth help to bring the thoughts of the student 
 a great way back : so the series of linguistic growth, and phonetic 
 falling away — in the long line of languages from the present Gaelic 
 to the Aryan tongue spoken at one time in Asia, bring one's thoughts 
 back to a period of several thousand years. What are three centuries 
 or four compared to such a length of bygone years ! 
 
 Lastly — in the present volume, it has been the desire of the 
 writer to put before the modern student, all those races who spoke 
 Keltic from a time at least two thousand years before the Christian 
 period up to the first year of our Lord's coming. They were a 
 living reality, not a myth, nor an abstract conception ; they had a 
 name, they were a chosen people, a gifted race ; they were endowed 
 with intelligence and knowledge, they were warlike, and brave to a 
 fault, capable of heroic deeds of heart and hand, trained to the 
 directive influence of laws, they were children of civilisation, holding 
 the rights of others and their own in due regard, they fostered 
 learning, they loved their kith and kin, as their descendants do to-day. 
 Looking back into the past, our ancestors bear a favourable com- 
 parison when put in line with the primitive progenitors of the other 
 nations of Europe — the Koman, the Greek, or the Teuton. What a 
 long array of ancestry the Irish people see rising before the mental 
 eye in the area of History, back two thousand, aye, four thousand 
 years and longer, to the days when Abraham left his Chaldean city. 
 
Xll 
 
 f The tale of the pagan patriarchs of the Keltic clans, lighted up 
 for the first time under the lamp of science, is presented to the 
 reader in the following pages. 
 
 Father Lockhart in a lecture delivered some years ago said : — 
 
 " Ireland was a nation long before England came into existence. 
 And long even before Britain was known, Ireland had already been 
 a colonised and famous country. Ireland was a colonised and a 
 civilised nation 1,400 years before Christ's coming. For nearly 
 3,000 years one dynasty reigned upon the Irish throne ; the dynasty 
 was unbroken save twice. Again, parliaments which have only been 
 known and introduced into England and other countries in recent 
 times, formed an institution in Ireland one thousand years at least 
 before Christ." 
 
 " Before the empires of Greece and Rome were founded, represen- 
 tative legislation existed in Ireland/' 
 
 Again ; " Long before either Germany or Britain was known as 
 a state, Ireland had been the university and seat of learning for the 
 civilisation of the world." 
 
 In the introduction to the manuscript publication — the well-known 
 Book of Leinster, given to the literary world a few years ago by 
 Robert Atkinson, M. A., the Editor says; "The real historic gain 
 is to be sought by the skilled investigator in the endeavour to shape 
 out from those curious records some -consistent conception of the 
 social life of the Irish Nation, for a period extending back centuries 
 from the time when the manuscript itself was written." 
 
 It was copied before the Anglo-Norman invasion. 
 
 At the Council of Constance which was held in the year 1417 — 
 the English representatives would not be allowed to vote, as a nation 
 and in the priority of position to which they laid claim. The 
 Canonists were clear that the English were included in the nation 
 of Germany, for they had been subdued by the Germans, who, 
 at the time, were the subjects of the Emperor. But the English 
 directly put forward the plea that their King was Suzerain, or Lord 
 of Ireland, which kingdom always held the third rank amongst the 
 nations of Europe. On this head the position of honour sought, 
 with liberty to vote, was granted, because they were connected with 
 Ireland, which, at that time, was allowed to be the third in dignity 
 amongst the nations of Europe. 
 
 U. J. B 
 
PRE-CHRISTIAN IRELAND. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 CERTAINTY OF EARLY KELTIC SETTLEMENTS IN EIRE. 
 
 Q. 1. Where did the earliest races who first reached 
 Ireland come from ? 
 
 A. From the East; from the high table-lands reaching from Mount 
 Ararat in Armenia, by the Caspian Sea, south and east ; from the 
 present Persia and the country stretching eastwards to the Hindu 
 Kush Mountains, and to the River Hindus. 
 
 Q. 2. What proofs exist to show that the first settlers 
 in Ireland came from this eastern land ? 
 
 A. Apart from the proofs presented by the native Annals published, 
 or yet in manuscript unpublished, of which there are many — con- 
 vincing reasons are furnished : (a) by the science of comparative 
 philology ; (b) by the similarity of manners, customs, laws, that exists 
 between the ancient Eastern races and the early Irish people; 
 (c) proofs are at hand if one compares the state of the arts and 
 sciences as known in the East, and shewn to exist in days of old 
 amongst the races of the far off " Isle of the West ; " (d) proofs 
 are present when one regards their poetry ; their building powers ; 
 their taste in music and painting ; their patriarchal rule, similarity 
 of land tenure in times past, social habits, love of imagery ; above 
 all, from their language, which, to this day, has left its impress on 
 the lands through which they journeyed from Aria to Ara, from 
 Iberia to Eire. A knowledge, therefore, of the ancient languages and 
 laws ; of the pagan religious rites, social state, modes of thought, 
 and manner of life ; civil government and literary advancement ; of 
 the ethnological character of the races, leads to the conclusion that 
 the early progenitors of the Irish race came from the East. 
 
 B 
 
2 
 
 "It is now a recognised fact in science," says W. K. Sullivan, 
 vol L, p. 4., On the Manners and Customs of the Ancient Irish, 
 "that from the Hindus to the Atlantic Ocean, and thence across 
 the American continent to the shores of the Pacific, the descendants 
 of one primitive, blue-eyed, fair-haired race, divided into several 
 branches, and speaking dialects of what was once a common 
 language, held sway." 
 
 Q. 3. By what name are the early settlers or immi- 
 grants known in Irish Annals ? 
 
 A. The earliest are the followers of (a) Partholanus, who, it is 
 stated, came to Ireland two thousand two hundred years before 
 the Christian period ; next in succession came (&) the Nemedians ; 
 and the pirate races (c) the Fomorians, who at all periods loved to 
 plunder the land rather than to settle in it ; (d) the Firbolg or 
 Belgse; (e) the Tuatha De Danann and lastly (/) the Milesians; 
 in all, including the Fomorians, six separate settlements. 
 
 Q. 4. How is it certain that these came from the 
 same Eastern regions, though they made their 
 migratory incursions at periods quite different and 
 remote one from the other ? 
 
 A. Because, as a matter of fact, all spoke the same Gaelic 
 language, differing at most in phonetic or dialectic variety. 
 
 Q. 5. Do the Irish Annals state about what time 
 Partholan and his followers came to Ireland,* "the 
 Island of the Kemote," as they called it ? 
 
 A. Yes : about the time that Nachor, the grandfather of Abraham, 
 lived at Ur of Chaldea in the East, — Partholan with his followers 
 
 * 1nif nA b.-puine'DAc; -ptunn means end, or extreme part — found in 
 the Latin finis. 
 
 "II faut done bien se contenter de partir du fait incontestable de 
 cette dispersion deja accomplie plus de deux mille ans avant notre ere; 
 car a cette epoque, la race" que nous appelerons Arienne etendait ses 
 rameaux depuis l'lnde jusqu' aux limites extremes de l'Europe a l'Occident, 
 et formait, d'un bout a l'autre, comme une longue chaine do peuples sortis 
 d'un meme sang, mais ne se reconnaissant plus comme freres." Les Ori- 
 gines Indo-Europeennes, ou les Aryans Primitifs, p. 2, par Adolphe 
 Pictet, Paris, 1859. 
 
3 
 
 came from Iberia, between the Black and Caspian seas, or from 
 Macedonia, through the Mediterranean, to the Isle of the West. 
 
 Q. 6. Where did they land — and how long did the 
 people survive their leader ? 
 
 A. At Kenmare, in the county Kerry. That lovely bay was the 
 scene of the landing of the first colonists that came to Eire. It was 
 known afterwards as Inver Skene, either from Skene wife of 
 Amerghin the Milesian who some centuries later was drowned there, 
 or from Sceme (gen. Skene), meaning " wild beauty," that is, " the 
 frith of wild beauty." 
 
 From Kenmare they went by sea to the estuary at Bally shannon, 
 another beauteous strand or estuary, through which pass the 
 tumbling waters that rush down from Lough Erne. Partholan and 
 his wife and companions came ashore there at " Inis Saimher," which 
 lies in the estuary. " Saimher " is from " so," pleasant, and " muir," 
 sea. 
 
 After some time Partholan settled at " Sean-Mhagh," old plain, 
 subsequently known as " Magh n-Ealta," plain-qf -flocks, that stretch 
 of land from Howth to the foot of the Dublin Mountains. 
 Partholan died there thirty years after he had obtained possession 
 of Ireland for himself and his descendants. Soon, however, his 
 followers had to contend with pirate invaders. 
 
 Many lakes, such as Conn, Cullen, Mask, in Mayo; Gara, in 
 Roscommon ; Cuan (or Strangford), hi county Down, became known 
 in Partholan's time. 
 
 In three hundred years the followers and descendants of 
 Partholan had multiplied, yet their numbers were often reduced by 
 the attacks of pirates. Eventually they were all swept away in a 
 week by famine, pestilence, and plague, at Tallacht, near Dublin — 
 caused by the foul air which the bodies of the unburied slain had 
 produced. 
 
 Q. 7. Is there any monument to tell succeeding 
 generations where those plague-stricken colonists found 
 a tomb ? 
 
 A. Yes ; the name of the well-known village and district called 
 Tallacht ;* famous in modern as well as in early Christian and pagan 
 
 * uArh means sleep, rest, trance ; leacc, a monument. 
 
times, tells the philologist that the mounds there once formed 
 monuments for those who on that occasion " slept in death," struck 
 down by plague or by the plundering sea-pirates — the Fomorians. 
 
 CHAPTEE II. 
 
 THE KELTS OF EUROPE — DESCENDANTS OF JAPHET. 
 
 Q. I. When was Ireland peopled again? 
 
 A. It is stated that, within thirty years after the time the 
 followers of Partholan had perished, another leader, by name 
 Neimheadh, or Nemedius, — pretty much about the same period that 
 Abram had left Ur of Chaldea and settled in Haran of Mesopotamia, — 
 started from Thrace or the territory south of the Balkan range, the 
 present Roumelia, close by the Black Sea ; that he and his followers 
 wandered north-westward by the Danube, the Dnieper, and the 
 Vistula, through a territory well known afterwards as the Kingdom 
 of Gallicia, the land of the Gauls, south of the present Poland, and 
 forming the northern part of the Empire of Austria; that some of 
 those tribes went onwards, dwelt for a time to the south of Denmark, 
 and passed by Belgium, and Alba, as Britain was at first called, into 
 « the Isle of the West."* 
 
 Q. 2. Did the third colony, the Firbolg, come from 
 the East ? 
 
 A. Yes. 
 
 Q. 3, And the Tuatha De Danann tribes ? 
 
 A. Yes ; for both these peoples, though rivals and enemies, were 
 only tribal communities, — offshoots of the same Nemedian stock. 
 
 An instance of tribes of the same people being bitter rivals will 
 be found in the 10th century, A. C, when the Danes or "Black 
 foreigners " attacked, defeated and plundered the Norwegians or 
 "White foreigners" who before them had reached Ireland. See 
 " Cogadh Gaedhil re Gallaibh." 
 
 Q. 4. What do the Annals of Ireland state on this 
 point, regarding the dispersion of the JSTemedians and 
 
 * The chronology of the Sepuagint, adopted by the Four Masters, is 
 here preferred, as safer and nearer the truth. 
 
5 
 
 the coming of the Firbolg, of the Tuatha De Danann, 
 and of the Milesians ? 
 
 A. They tell us that the posterity of Nemheda dwelt nigh two 
 hundred years in Ireland; that, from time to time, they like 
 their predecessors, the followers of Partholan, were attacked by a 
 sea-roving race, known at that remote period by the name Fomorians, 
 which is a Keltic term,meaning sea-robber (" -poj" plunder, and " ida^a" 
 of the sea) ; that in consequence thousands of the settlers, near Cork, 
 in the south of Ireland, perished from plague and pestilence ; that 
 the Fomorians held strong towers of defence along Donegal 
 and Derry, and chiefly in Tory Island, or the Island of Towers ; 
 that the native Nemedians made there one grand united attack on 
 them, unlike not the effort made by the Irish in the eleventh century 
 against the Danes at Clor-tarf ; that the Fomorian forces were 
 aided by the arrival of other pirate invaders; that in the battle 
 thus renewed, and fought with savage fierceness on the strand of 
 Tory Island, the Nemedians and their foes perished in thousands, | 
 either by the sword or in the rolling billows of the angry Atlantic, 
 rushing in to appease, as it were, the fierce wrath of such 
 merciless contending foes. The surviving Nemedians, after a 
 time, forsook the Irish shore, and sailed, under three independent 
 leaders, from the land of their fathers ; some under Briotan Maol, to 
 Britain ; some to Scandinavia or Northern Europe ; others under 
 Simon Breac, or the Speckled, to South-eastern Europe. During a 
 space of two hundred years, the Sea-robbers and a few Nemedians 
 had the " Noble Island " completely to themselves. Then we are told 
 that under a new name, that of Firbolg or Belgse, the descendants 
 of the colony which had gone to the south-east of Europe, returned 
 in their numbers, like the children of Israel under Moses, to the 
 land of their forefathers. They re-conquered Ireland from the 
 Fomorians ; joined their newly-acquired power with that of the 
 primitive Nemedians, their own kindred, and settled in the island* 
 They divided the country into five great divisions, which exist almost 
 in the same form to this day. A king was appointed over each 
 respective " Cuige " (a fifth), or province, and a supreme monarch or 
 Ard-righ appeared for the first time at Tara. After a few years — say, 
 thirty-seven — the other Nemedian colony returned from the north of 
 Europe with a new name, that of " Tuatha De Danann." Finally — 
 about two centuries later — another race, from the Keltic territory 
 
of Iberia or Gallicia in Spain, known in Irish annals as Milesians, 
 or descendants of the warrior Gollamh (surnamed Miledh, i.e., Miles, 
 soldier, warrior) came by the Atlantic wave to Inisfail, their " Island 
 of Destiny." They in turn conquered it some fifteen hundred years 
 before the Christian era, and since then they have virtually been 
 the dominant party in Ireland. 
 
 Q. 5. How can one be sure that all this is sub- 
 stantially true ? 
 
 A. First, from the discoveries made within the past half -century by 
 the sciences of philology, ethnology, and kindred sources of know- 
 ledge, it is certain that some people came, at least four thousand 
 years ago, from the East, from the land that lies between the 
 Euphrates and Hindus ;* that from time to time for centuries after- 
 wards migratory bands came from the same Eastern lands, and took 
 up their abode in Southern and Northern Europe, and that some of 
 the same communities proceeded by different routes to Ireland ; some 
 shoals of immigrants, like the followers of Partholan and Milesius*. 
 reaching the far west by the Atlantic wave ; others, like the Nenie- 
 dians and their kindred tribes, coming to their new home through 
 Grallicia in Austrian Poland, Gallia, Germany, Belgium, and Britain. 
 
 It is now a well-known fact, proved by the language these migra- 
 tory races spoke, and the footprints that point out to this day the 
 land through which they trod, that the Keltic area extended, in the 
 remotest times, from the southern shores of Italy to the north of 
 Gaul, and from Iberia in the west of Portugal to Greece in the east 
 of Europe.f 
 
 The national tradition, then, of the Keltic races, and above all, of 
 the early Irish settlers, comes in to lend special support to the 
 discoveries effected by philology and European antiquities ; thus 
 aiding the student in identifying the migratory bands who had come 
 to the Western shores, and pointing them out under the title of 
 Nemedians, Firbolg or Belgse, Tuatha De Danann, and Milesians. 
 
 * It is in keeping with the meaning and history of the word to call this 
 river " Hindus " rather than " Indus," because as Max Miiller shews, its 
 primitive name was Sindus or Sind, and " h " represents the affected sound 
 of "s." The word should therefore be "Sindus" or its affected form 
 " Hindus," and not Indus, as the phonetic " h " gives the affected value of 
 "s " which is completely and wholly lost in " Indus." 
 
 f See Eastern Origin of the Keltic Nations, by Pritchard. Edited 
 and enlarged by Dr. Latham. London : Quaritch, 1857. 
 
Q. 6. Were the early Keltic races, Turanian or 
 Scythian, descended from Japhet, the youngest son of 
 Noah, or from Ham or Cham, his second son ? 
 
 A. This is one of the vexed questions amongst Irish historians and 
 annalists. The native writers quote those authors who have written 
 before their own times respectively, but they have not, up to the 
 present, attempted to reason the question into any semblance of cer- 
 tainty. O 'Flaherty will have it that all, including the Fomorians, 
 were descendants of Japhet, and therefore all must have been, in the 
 sense of modern anthropologists, Turanian. 
 
 At the remotest period, long before that of which Livy had any 
 notion, or Herodotus, in Greece, conceived any idea, Southern, 
 Western, and even part of Eastern Europe, were peopled by Keltic 
 races. All these were confessedly Japhetians. Hence, the earliest 
 colonists of Ireland are, as Kelts, descended from Japhet, Noah's 
 youngest son. 
 
 On the other hand, many writers maintain that Ireland was 
 inhabited by Cuthites, or descendants of Cush, son of Cham ; that, 
 therefore, in their ethnological character, they were not Turanian 
 but Scythian. Not a few of the old school, and some one or two 
 amongst moderns, maintain that the Kelts of Ireland are descendants 
 of Sem. 
 
 The science of languages proves the contrary, that not only 
 they are not Semitic, but they are children of Japhet. This science 
 has set at rest for ever the question regarding the Gaelic language. 
 It is Aryan or Japhetic ; nay, more, the Semitic speech has no 
 relationship whatever with the Keltic dialects. There are a few 
 primitive roots that have similarity of sound and meaning, but as 
 languages the Semitic cannot be put at all in the same class 
 with the Aryan languages, of which the Keltic is a primary branch. 
 Hence, the Gael, or Irish, whose inheritance that language has been 
 for four thousand years and more, are not sons of Sem, but are sons 
 of Japhet, and consequently Turanians and not Scythians. 
 
 Q. 7. Were the Fomorians descendants of Japhet ? 
 
 A. Some authors — O 'Flaherty is one — say that even the 
 
 Fomorians, judging from their language, were descended of Japhet. 
 
 It is likely, however, that they were sons of Canaan, son of 
 
8 
 
 Cush ; if one credit the authority of writers whose opinion ought to 
 "be respected : and many extend this view even to all the Gaels. 
 
 This opinion is at least probable, on account of the authorities 
 who support it ; and chiefly, because, like the Canaanites of Phoenicia, 
 the Fomorians were powerful at sea, and they never ceased to hate 
 and harass the Aryan tribes — Japhet's descendants. 
 
 Q. 8. How is it shown that these early Keltic 
 colonies, the Firbolg for instance, or the Milesians, 
 had come to Ireland at a period so long before Rome 
 was founded — say, at least, one thousand years ? 
 
 A. Strong extrinsic evidence exists to confirm the statement of 
 native annalists on this point. 
 
 The date of the building of Rome is allowed by all writers to be 
 beyond doubt. Now, the chief inhabitants of Rome were made up of 
 Sabines, Volscians, Etrurians, Samnites, and Latins. The Latins* were 
 over a thousand years in Latium before Rome was thought of ; they 
 built large cities, and formed a series of united republics, not unlike 
 those of the United States of America. But the Latins themselves 
 were only a mixed race of Umbrians, O scans, and Siculians.t The 
 Oscan ruled and eff ormated into one confederation the various peoples 
 
 * Varro, Be Initiis XJrbis Romce ; and Dionysius. 
 
 t"The extent of the Latin coast, from the mouth of the Tiber to 
 Circeii, is about fifty miles ; the breadth of Latium, from the coast to the 
 Sabine hills, thirty miles. Within this area, before the dawn of history, 
 many Latin cities flourished in more than one confederation. Even at 
 that period many mixtures of population had occurred." Regal Rome. 
 By Francis W. Newman. London : Taylor, Walton, and Maberly. 
 
 " Two nations are mentioned as dwelling in the earliest times to the 
 north and south of Latium — the Umbrians and the Oscans. The 
 Umbrians were regarded by the Romans as a truly primaeval Italian race, 
 who at one time held possession of all Lombardy and Tuscany, reaching 
 into Latium. The Oscans, including the Volsci and Aurones, or 
 Auruncans, were the principal people of South Italy. The Oscan 
 language and Umbrian were sister tongues ; Oscan sides with Greek and 
 Welsh ; Umbrian with Latin and Gaelic. The Sabine race were a branch 
 of the Umbrians." Regal Rome. By Newman, pp. 3, 4. 
 
 " The only point left uncertain is whether the oldest Latin itself, or 
 
 only some of its affluents, was the Keltic influence On 
 
 actually comparing the Latin vocabulary with that of Greeks, Germans, 
 and Kelts, a far greater similarity to the Keltic shows itself. The Sabines 
 spoke a form of Gaelic." Regal Rome. Newman. 
 
9 
 
 south of the Tiber to the Lucanian coast ; the Umbrian ruled north 
 of the Tiber, as far as the Alps and Venice, including Etruria. The 
 Umbrian spoke a language akin to Gaelic ; the Oscan a speech like that 
 of the Welsh of the present day. Both people were Kelts. Their power 
 and that of the Etrurians had extended over a period of twelve 
 hundred years beyond the time when Rome started first into existence, 
 and before her sons depurated the dialects of the Etrurian, the 
 Volsci, the Sabine, and the speech of the Umbrian and the Oscan, 
 into that in which the laws of the Twelve Tables were subsequently 
 inscribed, and which in due time became the magnificent Latin 
 language of Caesar, of Cicero, and Tacitus. The works of art left 
 us from the hands of the Etrurians are proof positive of the extra- 
 ordinary knowledge which at that remote period those people 
 possessed ; and it is fair to infer that the higher classes amongst 
 the Umbrians had no small share of that intellectual inheritance, 
 which the higher classes of the Keltic nations throughout Europe 
 retained. The Keltic races in every clime enjoyed the same kind of 
 laws, privileges and government ; and their Druids and lawgivers, 
 and the upper classes, had the same facilities for acquiring learning. 
 Hence the Kelts of Spain, say those in Gallacia or in Iberia, were a 
 skilled and a powerful people sixteen hundred years at least before 
 the Christian period. From Spain the Milesians sailed to Inis Fail. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE FIRBOLG OR BELGiE. 
 
 Q. 1. Why were the descendants of those Nemedians, 
 who first returned to the mother country, called Fu> 
 bolg ? 
 
 A. Because they were a pastoral people, for " bolg " in Keltic 
 means a cow-herd or drover. 
 
 Q. 2. What light does the history of the period 
 throw on their character ? 
 
10 
 
 A. The name "Firbolg,"* like the term " Greek," applied to the 
 Hellenes, or " Scoti," to the Irish of the early Christian centuries, 
 was evidently given to this race not by themselves but by other 
 Keltic tribes, in accordance with a well-known custom, existing from 
 the earliest times amongst them, of designating a place or person or 
 people by a name expressive, in their own tongue, of the characteristics 
 or special qualities that strike others as peculiar in the locality or in 
 the people. Gaelic names of places and persons fully shew that the 
 earliest colonists in Eire exercised this sesthetic faculty. This 
 practice was common amongst the Semitic as well as the Japhetic 
 races. Adam called all the beasts by their names, and all the fowls 
 of the air and all the cattle of the field, just as he " saw " or knew 
 the special properties of each kind, and the ends for which they 
 were suited. 
 
 Observe for what the Firbolg, on their return from the south- 
 east of Europe, were remarkable. They had flocks and herds in their 
 journey to the northern coast by the south of the Vistula, the Oder 
 and modern Belgium. 
 
 After some of the warrior chiefs had regained the home of their 
 forefathers, the rest of the Firbolg tribes came, as colonists usually 
 come, not in a body, but by degrees, and as people progress and 
 multiply. 
 
 The Keltic tribes attended to the culture of cattle and crops, 
 rather than to seafaring pursuits. 
 
 On the other hand the Canaanites, or descendants of Cham, had 
 secured by their skill in naval affairs dominion over the seas, known 
 at the time to the merchants of the East and West. 
 
 The Firbolg, as Keltic clans, preserved their tribal traditions, 
 their national learning, language, laws, government. The term 
 " bolg," then, in the language of neighbouring Kelts, helps to show 
 that the people were, in journeying through Europe, and perhaps on 
 their passage through Britain, " drovers." They had cattle and 
 herds, and "drove" their flocks with them wherever they went. 
 
 Q. 3. Does the name "bolg" accord with this view, 
 which history, as far as can be known, furnishes ? 
 
 A. Yes : this meaning of " bolg " is now for the first time pre- 
 sented to readers of Irish history. " Bolg," like many other Irish 
 
 * " He (the Fear-bolg) was a shepherd and an agriculturist." Words of 
 Sir William Wilde in his lecture at Belfast in the presence of the British 
 Association. 
 
11 
 
 words of one syllable is a compound term. It is made up of bo (cow) 
 and f el-5 (to drive), or bo-f el^ ; " s " in composition loses its 
 natural sound and receives an affected one, that of " h," thus bo-lielg 
 and in one syllable, boetj. The vowel " o " is found in the Gaelic, 
 while "e," the second vowel, is retained in the continental term 
 Belgse. The derivation, taking the component elements as Irish- 
 Gaelic, is very plain and natural. But it is plainer still, if the student 
 bear in mind that the Belgae, or Firbolg, were a Kimric, rather than a 
 Gaelic colony, as O'Mahony states in his Annotations to Dr. Keating's 
 Ireland, and in that remote period that they had, it is likely, adopted 
 the affected sound of "s" (namely "h") rather than its natural 
 sound.* 
 
 The opinion of O'Mahony, that the Firbolg were a Kimric colony, 
 is confirmed by the traces known of the language which they spoke 
 during their intercourse with the Aryan races north and south of the 
 Danube, who at this time, while the Pelasgic period was in a transition 
 state, were, like the Hellenes, efformating a new but affected pro- 
 nunciation of many primitive terms commencing with "s," and " f," 
 for example : Greek, !£ for sex ; cnra for septem ; vs for sus, &c. 
 
 Some may say that " seilg " means to hunt simply. The primary 
 meaning of " seilg " is to drive, its secondary is to hunt. That it means 
 to drive is clear from the kindred words (a) " seol," to lead, to con- 
 duct, to direct, to drive, to steer ; and (&) " sealbh" a herd, posses- 
 sions. 
 
 The derivation and meaning of " bolg," as just presented, is not 
 the less certain because it is new, for its value rests on the historic 
 character of the people (the Belgae) ; and on the primitive meaning 
 which Irish- Gaelic root-words still possess. They present to-day to 
 the Keltic scholar the same meaning that they expressed four 
 thousand years ago, as in the words Tamhleacht (Tallaght), 
 Fomoraigh (sea-pirates). 
 
 Some will reject the meaning, because to them it is new ; others 
 will rather be pleased at the discovery, for the name " bolg " is a fossil- 
 term now, after ages, presented with its primeval significancy.f It 
 
 * To hunt, to drive together, is " seilg" in Irish, in Welsh " helg:" and 
 in general, words beginning with " s " in Irish-Gaelic, in Welsh commence 
 with "h" as Irish, sean, old; Welsh hen; Irish sealbh, possessions; 
 Welsh, helw, possessions. 
 
 f The meaning of the term "ferbolg" (fer means man, fir, plural men), or 
 
12 
 
 will be asked why did not the old word-interpreters, King Cormac cf 
 Cashel, or iEnghus Ceile-De, or O'Davoren tell its meaning long 
 ago ? Why ? Because they were not philologists. They knew 
 nothing about linguistic science. 
 
 Objection— But there remains still the narration, graphically told 
 by Dr. Keating, that these Firbolg had gone under a certain leader 
 all the way to Thrace ; that they were brought under bondage there, 
 were obliged to carry earth in leathern bags from deep valleys to 
 bleak hill-sides, and cover the barren rocks with earth, thus changing 
 the cheerless waste into a smiling and fertile garden ? It is true that 
 Dr. Keating narrates this strange story as history, but neither he, nor 
 the bards before him, who had penned the tale, could tell why these 
 Belgian colonists were called " fir-bolg," for " bolg " means, as they 
 understood the term, either "leather bag," "sack," " quiver," " pouch," 
 or " belly." To account for the name the story was invented. Not 
 one of the ancient Irish historians or Seanachaidh knew anything 
 about the state of Europe at that early period — eighteen hundred 
 years before the Christian era. The term " bolg" suggested the idea, 
 that the people so called had special developments of body. But 
 that too was a mere fancy.* 
 
 Belgse, just presented is strengthened by the following note copied from 
 the Irish version of Nennius, edited by the late learned Dr. Todd : — 
 
 Text : — Viri Bullorum, i.e., Firbolg iardain, agus Viri Armorum, i.e., fir 
 Gaileoin, agus Viri Domnioum, i.e., fir Domnann : eil Nemid ann sud. — 
 p. 44. 
 
 Translation : — The Viri Bullorum, i.e., the Firbolg afterwards, and the 
 Viri Armorum, i.e., the Fir-Gaileon, and the Viri Domnium, i.e., tha 
 Fir-Domnann : these were the race of Nemed. 
 
 We see that the Latin form in which the Firbolg are named by 
 Nennius is Viri Bullorum. Bullum, says Dr. Todd, in the Latinity of the 
 middle ages, signified, according to Du Cange, Baeulum Pastoris, which 
 suggests a derivation of the name Fir-Bolg, that the editor has not seen 
 noticed. So far Dr. Todd in his Commentary on the Text. 
 
 The derivation given in this work is that which Dr. Todd in his time 
 would have wished to see. 
 
 * " The tale that Keating here recounts from the Seanachies was 
 manifestly coined in order to account for the forgotten origin of the 
 national name." — Keating 's Ireland. By O'Mahony, p, 130. New York : 
 published by P. M. Haverty. 1857. 
 
 " A fanciful derivation." Note by Dr. Todd ; Irish Version of Nennius. 
 p, 45. Dublin, 1848. Printed for the Irish Archaeological Society. 
 
 " Keating's work consists of nothing more than a compilation of those 
 materials as many as he had by him in his wanderings; and he seems to 
 have done nothing but abridge and arrange such accounts of historic facts 
 as he found in them." — Curry, MS. Material*, p. 442. 
 
13 
 
 Q. 4. Were the Firbolg of Ireland and the Belgse 
 of Gaul of the same race ? 
 
 A. Yes : their ancient language, their ethnological character, and 
 their common Keltic origin, their early names or customs, and the 
 prse-Christian history of the two races tend to prove, almost to a 
 certainty, that both are descended of the same primitive Aryan* race. 
 
 Q. 5. Does not St. Jerome say that the Belgae and 
 the Galatians of Asia Minor were the same ? 
 
 A. He does : it is true, speaking generally, that all the Kelts are of 
 the same Aryan family ; St. Jerome says, moreover, of the Galatians 
 of Asia : — " Galatas propriam linguam habere" that the Galatians had, 
 apart from the Greek which they spoke, a language, such as the 
 Welsh or Irish have to-day, peculiarly their own ; and he adds that 
 it was almost identical with the language which the Treviri spoke in 
 the north-east of Gaulf : now — the Treviri, according to Csesar were 
 Belgians, and their country — part of the present Belgium, between 
 the Meuse and the Rhine. 
 
 Q. 6. What position did the Galatians and kindred 
 Kelts hold in Asia long ages before the Christian era ? 
 
 A. On the authority of Varro, Lactantius, St. Jerome and other 
 writers, they were very powerful in the East ; all the cities of Asia 
 were alive with them, as the towns in England and in America are 
 to-day with the Kelts of Eire and of Caledonia. The destinies of 
 kingdoms were then as now in their hands, and their power reached 
 at one time from Susa to Sardis. 
 
 * " The Firbolg were evidently a portion of the nation of the Belgse, 
 so renowned for their valor amongst the ancient inhabitants of Gaul and 
 Britain, who were of Kimro-Keltic and not of Germanic origin." — 
 O'Hahony's Keating's Ireland, p. 130-. 
 
 f " Unum est quod inferimus et promissum in exordio reddimus 
 Galatas, excepto semi one graeco, quo omnis Oriens loquitur, propriam 
 linguam, eamdem poene habere quam Treviri, nee referre, si aliqua 
 exinde corruperint, cum et Afri phoenicam linguam non nulla ex parte 
 mutaverint, et ipsa latinitas et regionibus quotidie mutetur et tempore." 
 Prolegomena of the Commenta y by St. Jerome on the Epistle of St Paul 
 to the Galatians, iv. p. 430. 
 
 He cites Lactantius as his authority :— " Lactantii nostri, qua? in tertio 
 volumine de sua gente orinatus sit, verba ponemus." 
 
14 
 
 Q. 7. And in Europe, what was their position, say one 
 thousand seven hundred years before the Christian era ? 
 
 A. According to Dr. Latham, they filled almost all Europe. They 
 spread over Helvetia (modern Savoy and Switzerland), Rhsetia or 
 the Tyrol, Styria, Carinthia, lllyria, Dalmatia, the Lower Danube, 
 the Bastarnse and the kingdom of the Galatae, Wurtemberg, 
 Bavaria, Bohemia, Thracia, Macedonia, Grsecia, Belgia Prima and 
 Secunda, the Middle Rhine ; the Ligurians, the Spanish Peninsula* 
 Italia, Gallia, Britannia, Hibernia, Caledonia or Alba, the Isle of Man, 
 and the Islands north and west of Scotland, all the Western 
 Continent, from the Euxine to the Atlantic. 
 
 Q. 8. Were the Firbolg an intelligent race ? 
 
 A. Yes : judging from what they achieved, they must have been 
 a brave, a civilised, and a cultivated people. 
 
 Q. 9. How is this seen ? 
 
 A. (a) They defeated the Fomorians and became masters of the 
 island ; (&) they laid the foundations of that magnificent palace at 
 Tara* for the use of Ard-Righ and parliament (feis), and built its 
 chief edifices ; (c) they divided the island into fifths, or " cuiges" 
 (pronounced Jcooige), known to this day as provinces, each having a 
 king subordinate to the Ajvo-jvig or sovereign -in-chief ; (d) it was the 
 Firbolg who formulated and established the Pentarchy in Eire — a 
 form of government that continued to the twelfth century of the 
 Christian Era — fully three thousand years ; (e) they had a standing 
 army intended for the defence of the palace and the support of the 
 dignity of the supreme monarch ; (/) they possessed a code of laws 
 and had them duly enforced ; (g) they had a knowledge of architecture, 
 
 * " In any attempt to treat of the early or primitive buildings or 
 habitations of Eirinn, we must, of course," says O'Curry, in vol. iii. of 
 Manners and Customs of the Ancient Irish, edited by W. K. Sullivan, p. 5, 
 "give the first place to Tara, which, according to all our ancient accounts, 
 had been first founded by the Firbolg, the third in the series of the early 
 colonists of Ireland. In the ancient account of the battle of the first, or 
 Southern Magh Tuireadh, we are told that the Firbolg, who had been 
 dispersed into three parties, on their approach to the Irish coast, by a 
 storm, had, on their landing, repaired by one consent to Rath na Righ 
 {i.e. the Rath or Palace of the Kings) at Tara. 
 
15 
 
 and as Kelts, they cultivated poetry and history. There is no direct 
 mention made in Irish annals that they or their predecessors, the 
 Nemedians, practised any religious rites or ceremonies in adoring the 
 Deity— either, as the true God, or, like the Gentile world, having lost 
 a knowledge of the true God,— in the worship of false gods. It is 
 certain they had amongst them Druid priests, Brehons, poets, like 
 other Keltic clans ; they must therefore have had some religious rites — 
 in woods or wolds, in groves, or by wells and streams — as was then 
 the custom in the East, but temples or towers they did not erect ; 
 worship of Bel or Beal did not prevail. 
 
 I Proofs from MSS. and Ruins. 
 When Breas goes out from the camp of the Tuatlia Be Danann 
 to meet Sreng, the Firbolg warrior, whom they saw coming 
 towards them, Breas asks Sreng where he had slept the night before, 
 and Sreng answers, that it was at Rath na RigTi (the Eath of 
 the Kings) at Tara. 
 
 This " Rath na Righ " was, therefore, built before the battle of 
 Magh Tuireadh, or before the victory of the Danann. 
 
 It is stated in an ancient poem on Tara, that the " Eath of the 
 Kings " was first founded by Slainge one of the Firbolg chiefs. . . . 
 "Rath na Righ was the most conspicuous, and by far the most 
 extensive, upon or round the Hill of Tara ; it was within its ample 
 circuit that the palace of Cormac Mac Airt (213, 266, a.d.) was 
 (subsequently) erected." See Dr. Petrie, History and Antiquities of 
 Tara Hill ; and the map of the ruins of it, drawn under the direction 
 of the Ordnance Survey, published 1839. 
 
 Immense Proportions of Rath na Righ. 
 Now, the greatness and the immense proportions of this Rath na 
 Righ, which was actually erected by the Firbolg, become known, 
 when it is stated (from p. 6 of O'Curry, vol. iii., Manners and Customs 
 of the Ancient Irish, and from Dr. Petrie's history just alluded to), 
 that it contained, besides other edifices, Teach Mor Milidh Amus, the 
 Great House of the Thousand Soldiers. O'Curry adds, the " Great 
 House of the Thousand Soldiers was the particular palace of the 
 chief monarch ; it stood within ' Rath na Righ,' and it was called 
 1 Tigh Teamrach,' or the House of Tara." And of this Tigh Tem- 
 rach he states, on the authority of the Book of Leinster (MS.) folio 
 15 — " The Rath was nine hundred feet in Cormac's time. His own 
 house was seven hundred feet. There were nine mounds around the 
 
16 
 
 house. There were three times fifty— that is, one hundred and fifty — 
 compartments in it."* 
 
 This view suggests the immense size of the Ratli na Righ and the 
 other buildings connected with the palace of the Ard-Righ. 
 
 It must be added, in the words of O'Curry — " The enclosure of 
 the Rath of the Kings, when measured in 1839 by the officers of the 
 Ordnance Survey, was f ound to measure across, from south-east to 
 north-west, within the ring only, 775 feet." 
 
 Eaths often contained more than one house — 
 
 " Seven Duns in the Dun of Teamur, 
 Seven score (140) houses in each Dun, 
 Seven hundred warriors in each Dun." — vol. iii., p. 8. 
 Regarding Tara, Standish O'Grady, the latest writer of Irish 
 history (one who goes back to the pre-Adamite period, and takes for 
 certainty the fanciful theories of anthropologists — those who treat 
 of man — not of geologists who in the main are right), says, regard- 
 ing Tara in the time of the Firbolgs — 
 
 " Through all displacements and expansions of beaten or trium- 
 phant tribes and tribal confederacies, that one spot upon the plains 
 of Meath gleams brighter and brighter as day advances ; and mighty 
 Rome, the sun of our northern regions, rolls up from the under- 
 world. In the waning night, it glitters like the morning star before 
 the eye of the historian. 
 
 • •• •••••• 
 
 Starlike now, it will itself be one day a sun. All the tribes shall 
 look to it for light and heat, for justice and order. All Eire, from 
 sea to sea, shall be convulsed for its possession." — p. 47, vol. i. 
 
 " To the great customary Feis of Tara, more than to actual con- 
 quest and downright superiority in arms, is to be attributed the 
 
 * "In ancient Erin, we find at Tara a spot for ever sacred, the locus 
 of the plastic and formative principle, the centre upon which the chaos 
 of the septal struggles was destined to subside. A palace, a strength, a 
 city; a place of rude parliaments, and conventions of the justest law, and 
 the wisest brehons ; the most frequented fair green ; best place for the 
 jeweller to sell his rings and brooches, the armourer his weapons; where 
 the harper found his art best judged and best rewarded; where the 
 chronicler could best display and best correct his dry antiquities ; the 
 bard find the most liberal and appreciative audience. Who can tell the 
 number of brave men whose blood has reddened those green plains, 
 warring to keep or gain for their own chief those sacred and king-making 
 Baths?" 
 
17 
 
 power and dignity of the Irish Ard-Righ. Yet there was action and 
 counteraction. The power of the chieftain enhanced the dignity 
 and authority of the fair, and the importance of the fair extended the 
 influence and renown of the chieftain. Accordingly, it is with the 
 strife of contending factions, eager to secure for their own candi- 
 date the possession of this coveted honour, that Irish history 
 begins — the crash of contending armies for the possession of Teamur, 
 is the first striking event in the records of Irish history." — History 
 of Ireland, p. 42, vol. i. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE FATE OF THE FIRBOLG. 
 
 Q. I. Were there not other tribes known as Fir- 
 Domnann* and Fir-Gaileonn ? 
 
 A. Yes : but these three powerful tribes have, in Irish history, 
 come under one generic name of Fir-bolg, for they were all 
 governed by one supreme monarch ; and in reality, they constituted 
 only one national body. The Fir-Domnann effected a landing at, and 
 subsequently gained possession of, Erris, in the north-west of the 
 present County Mayo.t The Fir-Gaileonn landed on the coast of 
 
 * Fir-Domhna (pr. Downa), i.e. the men of Domhnann, were, it is mani» 
 fest, a sept of those known as Damnonii, who resided in Gaul, in Britain, 
 and in Ireland. They are called Damnii, and perhaps Daunii. In 
 Britain their chief seat was in Devonshire, near Cornwall, a well-known 
 habitat of the early Keltic tribes. Domhnann is genitive case of DomJiva, 
 and in sound or phonetic value is equivalent to Devon in modern English. 
 
 The Fir-Galeon, or Galenii, were manifestly a sub-tribe of the Belgaj, 
 or Firbolg. The name Galli, of ancient Gaul, and of tbe Qalatians of 
 mid-Europe; the Galatoi of the Greeks, the Galatians of the East in 
 Asia Minor, and of the West in Spain, is plainly traceable from this noun ; 
 also, Gwalia, Wales ; and Corn-wall (.wall, phonetic for Guall). 
 
 The terms Fir-bolg, Fir-Domnann ; and Fir-Gaileonn, Belgian-men, or 
 Gaul-men is a form of address like that in use by the Greeks, avdpes 
 adrjvaioi, Athenian men . 
 
 f Erris is correctly written Iar-rus from iar, rear, after, or western ; 
 and rus, or ros, a portion of land nigh surrounded by water, either inland 
 as " Kos-"common, and " Ross," in England, or, by the sea, as in Iar-rus, 
 Bos-trevor; Boss in Munster, Boss in the Highland's. 
 
 C 
 
18 
 
 Leinster, and hence, according to some, is derived the old Irish name 
 for Leinster, ^AiteAn. According to Dr. Keating and Dr. O'Brien, 
 the name is Laighean Leinster, frjm tAijeAn, a special kind of spear 
 employed thirteen hundred years later than this date by the soldiers 
 of the Milesian King, Labhraidh Loingseach. 
 
 The Firbolg proper landed at Wexford, and the name of the 
 river Slaney, rising in Wicklow, and commingling its waters with 
 the sea in Wexford Haven, bears to this day the name of the Fir- 
 bolgian chief who landed there, and became the first monarch of Tara. 
 
 Q. 2. Does any authentic record exist giving an 
 account of the Battle of Magh Tura Conga, and the 
 defeat of the Firbolg : any monuments still standing ? 
 
 A. Yes: amongst authentic MS. remains, a tract, written over 
 fourteen hundred years ago, tells the history of the battle, its cause, 
 and its consequences. In it we are told, when Eochy, son of Ere, 
 the ninth of the Firbolgian dynasty, was reigning at Tara, that he 
 and his people were surprised to learn that the island contained 
 other inhabitants whom they had not hitherto seen. Those, it seems, 
 sood became known as the Tuatha De Danann — the descendants of one 
 of those chieftains of the Nemedians and his followers, who, over 
 two centuries before, fought the Fomorians on the strand at Tory 
 Island, and escaped the destruction which had, from the spears 
 of the sea-robbers and the surging billows of the Atlantic, over- 
 whelmed their companions. This chieftain's name was Iobath, 
 death-healer (ioc, balm, or healing; bath, death, drowning) son of 
 Beathach, (reviver ; root, beatha, life). Only a few of his clan came 
 aafe from that disastrous fight. Those who survived he deter- 
 mined to save in a foreign land, the home in after times of the 
 Kimri, and of the Dani — modern Jutland. Another chieftain, 
 as we know, sailed, after that overwhelming disaster, to Gaul, 
 and made his way to the south-east of Europe. .The followers 
 and descendants of the latter were the Firbolg, at this time in 
 peaceable possession of the sovereignty of Ireland, the new-comers, 
 the Tuatha De Danann, were the posterity of Iobath and his people. 
 Like the Irish race in Canada and in the United States — the one 
 known as " Irish- Canadians," the other as "Irish-Americans," 
 both descendants of the same stock, so the Tuatha De Danann 
 
19 
 
 and the Firbolg were of the same Nemedian race ; both had pretty- 
 much the same form of government ; both spoke the same language, 
 the Belgse, a modified form somewhat, like the Gaelic spoken to-day 
 by the Highlanders, compared with that spoken by the natives of 
 Ireland. 
 
 The Danann tribes had landed on the north-east coast of Eire. 
 Directly, on coming to the shore, they destroyed their boats and ships ; 
 a habit not unusual among the Keltic races, as Csesar, in his Commen- 
 taria de Bello Gallico, narrates. From the north they advanced with 
 great caution till they reached the hilly portion of Leitrim, and 
 settled in a place known as Magh Rein. There they erected 
 temporary works of defence. There they watched and waited to see 
 what advance the Firbolg would make in their regard, to receive them 
 as friends or to banish them from the country as enemies. 
 
 Q. 3. What did the Firbolg do? 
 
 A. Eochy, the King of Tara, wiser than some of his people who 
 thought, it seems, that the invaders had come to the island on the 
 wings of the wind, — seeing that he had powerful and skilled tribes to 
 deal with, took counsel with his wise men what was right to be done 
 in the circumstances. All agreed to send one of the best and bravest 
 of their warrior chiefs to reconnoitre the settlement at Magh Rein, 
 and to report what kind of people those strangers were. The name 
 of the chief chosen for this arduous duty was one named Sreng, that 
 is, " overreacher." Armed like a warrior champion, he sets out. The 
 Danann sentinels perceive his approach ; and they send directly one of 
 their own chieftains, by name Breas, to meet him and to talk to him. 
 " Both warriors approach with great caution until they come within 
 speaking distance of each other. Each of them plants his shield in 
 front to cover his body, and with inquiring eyes views the other ovei 
 its border. Breas, on the part of the new settlers, was the first to 
 speak, and Sreng, one of the old stock, was delighted to hear himself 
 addressed in his own language, for to each the old Gaelic was mother 
 tongue. They draw nearer, and after some conversation discover 
 each other's lineage and remote consanguinity." 
 
 Next they examined each other's spears, swords and shields, and in 
 this examination they discovered a very marked difference in the shape 
 and excellence of the spears ; Sreng, the Fearbolg, was armed with 
 two heavy, thick, pointless, but sharply rounded spears ; while Breas, 
 the Danann hero, carried two beautifully shaped, long, slender, 
 
20 
 
 sharp-pointed spears. Breas then proposed, on the part of the 
 Tuatha De Danann, to divide the island into two parts, between the 
 two great parties, and that they should mutually enjoy and defend it 
 against all future invaders. 
 
 Next, they exchange spears for mutual examination, on the part 
 of their respective hosts ; after forming vows of future friendship, 
 each returned. Thus the interview came to a close in the happiest 
 way. Breas returned to his own people on the heights of Leitrim ; 
 Sreng directed his steps to " Rath na Righ," or, " fort of the kings" 
 within the precincts of Tara. 
 
 The Tuatha De Danann must, however, have pondered over all 
 that was said and done with greater thought and foresight than 
 appears on the surface. They all came to the resolution of abandoning 
 the settlement which they had made at Leitrim, and to make further 
 to the west, both for greater security, if any encounter with the 
 Firbolg should ensue, and to have larger facilities for making their 
 escape to the western or southern shores, if disaster should be their 
 lot in the final struggle. Accordingly, they abandon Magh Rein, and, 
 pursuing their way westward, take up a strong position in that 
 " narrow neck " of land, known from its narrow character Cong (Ir. 
 Cumang, a strait, or " Cuing," a tie, a strait), between Loch Mask 
 and Loch Corrib, on the mearing of the two counties, Galway to the 
 South, and Mayo to the east, west and north. 
 
 They form a temporary settlement on and around Mount 
 Belgedan, the modern Benlevi. Their camp extended from the 
 southern shore of Lough Mask to the northern shore of Lough 
 Corrib, and from Benlevi to that mound known to-day as Fair Hill. 
 Thus they are entrenched between two hills and two lakes — Benlevi 
 to the west, and " Fair Hill" to the north east ; — with Lough Mask 
 to the north, and Corrib flanking them to the south. No better 
 position could be selected by a military commander. 
 
 Meantime Eochy, the Firbolg sovereign, assembled a council, 
 and with his wise men deliberated, at Rath na Righ, what course 
 should now be pursued. Should he wage war against the newcomers, 
 or should he not, that was the question. The council was divided : — 
 Sreng was for peace, and a quiet settlement of the matter ; — for 
 war, King Eochy. As is usual, the majority sided with the king : 
 war was decreed. Next the chieftains from all quarters were 
 summoned. The four provincial kings, for the first time, were called 
 
21 
 
 to aid the "Ard-Bigh," or supreme sovereign. Troops from every 
 part of the kingdom began to arrive at Tara. After due preparation, 
 all things are now made ready. King Eochy Mac-Erc, monarch of 
 Eire Uile, brave certainly, and dauntless, even in those days, leads his 
 army forth from Tara, in East Meath, crosses the Shannon, enters 
 the western province, and takes up his position on the eastern side 
 of Knock Ma * in the county Galway, some five miles south-west 
 from the town of Tuam, 
 
 From Knock Ma the country stretches out to the west one con- 
 tinued level, as far as the eye can behold, to Cong. This flat was 
 known at that time as " Mayh Nevi," or " plain of Nemhedh," the 
 former leader of that immigrating band who came to the " Isle 
 of the West" after the death of Partholan's people. The plain ex- 
 tends from Knock Ma to the fertile fields of Kilmaine in county 
 Mayo, onward to Cong, and to the rising ' slopes fronting Sliabh 
 Belgadan. On Nevy's plain, westward from Knock Ma, the monarch's 
 troops bivouac. They number at least ten thousand fighting men, 
 besides women, and sutlers, and a great army-following that 
 must needs have come to minister to the wants of the myriad warriors. 
 The two Munsters and Leinster, if at the time known by that appella- 
 tion, and Ulla to the north, had sent forward their due number of 
 warriors lead on by courageous chiefs. That the Firbolg had reached 
 
 * "Ma" is supposed by some to be a contraction for magh (pr. mawh, 
 in which the h final has an explosive sound, as in cath (kawh) a battle ; 
 by others " Ma " is for Madbh (pr. Mauve or Maio), the name of the 
 famous queen of Connacht in the first century of the Christian era, who 
 reigned long, and with such power and fame, that her name has been 
 by the people identified in Ireland and in England, under the name Mab, 
 with the beings of fairy land. Those who derive the name from magh 
 a plain, — call " Knock Ma " the hill of the plain ; — while in the other 
 acceptation, it is " Mab's hill." There is a third name Meadh by which 
 the hill was known before the Milesian Kelts landed in Eire. It is likely 
 a man's name. The defeated Tuatha de Danann to aefy and elude their 
 Victors selected for residences the most remarkable hills in Ireland. 
 Finnbharr one of their chieftains obtained the Sidh or site of Meadh, 
 within five miles of Tuam. See Atlantis, p. 386, Vol. III. The 
 interpretation of " hill of the plain " does not convey the idea of any 
 special and peculiar trait, for every hill can be named " hill of the plain." 
 In the tumulus erected on the top of this hill, lady Kesair, the grand- 
 daughter of Noah and the guide of an antediluvian colony into this 
 western island, is supposed to be interred; — antiquity quite sufficient to 
 surround the hill with mythical associations. The present earn on the 
 summit is of modern date. 
 
22 
 
 Knock Ma, became soon known to King Nuada of the Danann, 
 through his active and ever watchful scouts. 
 
 Surrounded by his sages, his counsellors, and chiefs ; by his druids, 
 bards, poets, and physicians, he is entrenched in safety on the 
 eastern slopes of Benlevi, called Sliav Belgadan. 
 
 King Nuada, desirous only of obtaining a place for his people 
 and himself wherein to settle, has from the commencement been 
 opposed to bloodshed. He is still anxious for peace. Accordingly 
 he sends an embassy to Eochy mac Ere, King of the Belgse, across 
 Nevy's plain. By this time the order for advance from their position 
 near Knock Ma had been given to the troops, and they were 
 already beyond Kilmaine, and close to that district known at present 
 as the village of Cross, but in the second and third centuries, up to the 
 time of St. Patrick and later, as part of the territory of Conmaicne 
 Culaid Tolad. Here they presented their master's demands to the 
 Firbolg king. Eochy at the head of troops — monarch of Eire 
 Uile — proud, naturally undaunted and brave — accustomed to rule, 
 to have no equal — Ard-Righ of four sovereigns who yield to his 
 majesty implicit obedience ; his people devoted to his cause— eleven 
 battalions of soldiers in all their martial glory advancing to fight his 
 battles, could not brook any newcomer to reside in the island, 
 his equal, or in any way independent of his power and jurisdiction. 
 Flushed with the notion of his greatness, and with the idea of 
 success, which, at the time, he regarded as certain, he would listen to 
 no terms. The Danann must leave the land, remain as slaves, or 
 fight to the death. The members of the embassy retire. The 
 challenge is accepted ; — war declared. All prepare for the coming 
 struggle, — " to be, or not to be," possessed of the plains, of the fair 
 hills and fertile valleys of this " Noble Island." A struggle, like that 
 which is now about to begin, has from that time to the present been 
 often renewed. 
 
 The Firbolg pitch their camp on that tract of territory which 
 has to the south the north-eastern shore of Lough Corrib, stretch- 
 ing fully three miles to the south-east of Cong, and bounded on the 
 north by a line extending from the village of Cross, to the river at 
 Ashford, which forms the mearing line of the counties Mayo and 
 Galway. 
 
 The Danann troops advance from Benlevi eastward towards the 
 present Fair Hill, in the direction of Ashford House, the seat of the 
 present Lord Ard-Oilean (lately Sir Arthur Guinness), to the plain 
 of Ma, the ancient name of Magh Tura. 
 
23 
 
 Curious enough, instead of commencing the fight, both armies 
 agree to have first of all a trial of strength. Three times nine warriors 
 on either side are selected. 
 
 The game at which they are to try their relative prowess is " hurling." 
 The valley or glen selected is that to the south-east of Nymphfield, 
 in the direction of Kilmain road and the heights towards Knock Ma, 
 extending fully an English mile. The valley is known in history 
 as Glean-mo-Ailleam, " glen-of -men-athletes." The game ended in 
 the defeat and death of the twenty-nine Danann hero-youths ; over 
 them was erected the great earn or stone monument known as Cam 
 na Cluithe, or, the " heap-of-the-game," to be witnessed to this day. 
 How like in its way the erection on the plain of Marathon, pointing 
 out the spot where the Athenians fell beneath the spears of the 
 Persians ! 
 
 Q. 4. Why narrate so much of this history ? 
 
 A. Because the account of the Battle of Magh Tura has never 
 before, as a matter of history, been put in full before the student ; 
 because the whole record of events that then transpired is true; 
 because the details throw fresh light on the manners and customs 
 of a race once powerful, and even to this hour, great in theii 
 descendants. 
 
 Moreover, the Irish tract which presents this account is authentic 
 and, according to O'Curry, of such value, that he says : — " I am bold 
 to assert that I believe there is not in all Europe a tract of equal 
 historical value yet lying in manuscript — considering its undoubted 
 antiquity and authenticity ; " and of the battle he says : " it is the 
 earliest event upon the record of which we may place sure reliance." 
 — O'Curry, Lecture xi. pp. 243-7, MS. Materials of Irish History. 
 In addition, it is time at last to put the history of this battle not 
 only fully, but also clearly, before the students of Irish history. 
 The compilers of the Annals of Ireland, and even Dr. O'Donovan, 
 did not give the account of the Battle of Magh Tura Conga in full. 
 O'Curry in his lectures proposed to give a full account, yet he suc- 
 ceeded only partially, for he, too, confounds the history of the Battle of 
 Magh Tura of the Fomorians, fought twenty-seven years later in Tir- 
 Erril,the eastern barony of the Six, in the county Sligo, with the Battle 
 of Magh Tura Conga ; he makes it appear that King Eochy fled from 
 Cong to Balysadare, on the sea-coast of Sligo. The encounter between 
 
24 
 
 the Fomorians and Danann, on the strand at Ballysadare, was in 
 connection with the second battle of Magh Tura, which, to distinguish 
 it from that now about to be described, was called Magh Tura of the 
 Fomorians ; that fought on the isthmus between lakes Mask and Corrib, 
 is known as the Battle of Magh Tura Conga. These are reasons quite 
 sufficient to give in detail the events of that fight, which is no 
 ordinary occurrence, but which forms rather an epoch in the history 
 of Ireland. 
 
 Q. 5. Can you give an account of the battle ? 
 
 A. Yes : next day, June 11th, the battle commenced. It lasted 
 four days. The warriors on both sides were armed with swords, 
 spears, darts, and shields. It is not stated in the manuscript account 
 that the soldiers made use of bows and arrows, or availed themselves 
 of the sling ; although, in the second battle, that known as Magh 
 Tura of the Fomorians, fought twenty-seven years later, the con- 
 quering Danann made use of the sling for firing off stones 
 against their foes in fight. Balor, the Fomorian leader, was 
 laid low by a stone penetrating the eye and piercing the brain with 
 a force which the nerve of the human arm, unaided by mechanical 
 power, could never have imparted. There is no record, that at the 
 Battle of " Magh Tura Conga " slings, or bows and arrows, were 
 instruments of warlike attack. 
 
 On the other hand, it is worthy of note, that each army had its 
 military physicians, who prepared what in those days was called a 
 " sanative pool," or a " healing bath," made of the juice of the 
 choicest healing herbs mixed in new milk. In this warm prepara- 
 tion the wounded warrior was bathed, his wounds bound, his wants, 
 as far as was possible, attended to, and many thereby were restored 
 to health and strength. Modern philanthropy, for wounded and 
 dying heroes, cannot claim to itself alone all the glory which such 
 wisdom and intelligent sympathy must certainly win, from all who 
 have a heart to feel for suffering and self-sacrificing brothers. 
 
 The trumpet note ordering the attack is heard over the plain. 
 The mountains around take up the terrible call, and in echoes fling 
 it back over the waters of lakes Corrib and Mask. The hearts of 
 the young warriors are moved. Their martial spirit is roused to 
 action. They form into line. The Belgian forces rush to the fight, 
 led by their king Eochy, by Kerb the son of Buan, and by 
 Nearchu. Fathach the poet incites them to battle, and with his 
 fellow-poets recites the Rosg Catha, or Eve of Battle. 
 
25 
 
 On the other side, the Danann come calmly and resolutely to the 
 fight, commanded by King Nuada, and the potent and clever Dagda, 
 and Adleo. Edana the poetess chants the song of war, accom- 
 panied by the poets and songsters of Danann clans. 
 
 Their line of battle extends from the right side of the river, at 
 Cong, flowing through Ashford into the Corrib, on to the north-east, 
 towards the district known as Nymphfield, having Lough Mask some 
 two miles or so in the rear. The Firbolg drew up along the line, 
 which the road at present from Cong to the Neale points out, having 
 the Corrib on the left. 
 
 Each army had erected a rath intended for a stand for the king, 
 a place of security for the women and for the sutlers of the host, 
 and likely too, in the caves made within its borders, a place for the 
 cattle intended for victualling their respective troops. From the 
 days of the Firbolg and the Danann conquerors, these raths are 
 found in Ireland. The royal stand on the Danann side was known 
 as " Rath Fearainn," or the " fort of heroes," that on the Firbolg side, 
 as "Rath- Cro -porta," "fort-of -fold-like defence." Each of these raths 
 remains but not identified, that of King Eochy is likely adjacent to 
 Cross ; — Rath Fearainn, near Fair Hill. The note of battle is heard 
 again. Both armies move forward to the attack. Darts are flung ; the 
 air is darkened with the shower of flying lances. Shields are raised. 
 The warlike spirit of the men bounds within them. They rush to 
 the encounter ; shield strikes against shield ; hostile swords cleave 
 the flesh of foes; limbs of living heroes are strewn on the plain. 
 The ground is red with streams of gore. The air resounds with the 
 moans of the dying, and the cries of the maddened hosts. It is a 
 man to man encounter. Hero slays hero, and chieftain slays chieftain, 
 as in Troy at a later period. The fall of each mighty chief is des- 
 cribed, but it is enough for the historic student to know that the 
 Belgae were victors in the first fight, and at the close of that event- 
 ful day each victor carried with him to present to the king at the 
 rath the head of one of the enemies slain, along with a stone to raise 
 a earn to commemorate the victory achieved. 
 
 An old chronicler, Conall Maceochegan, says of this terrible 
 battle : " Here was committed the greatest slaughter that was ever 
 heard of in Ireland, at one meeting" of hostile armies. 
 Second Day's Encounter. 
 
 The warlike spirit of the troops, or their taste for slaughter, had 
 been excited by the terrible carnage of the first day's fight. The 
 
26 
 
 Firbolg were anxious to complete quickly and at once the victory 
 which they had already partially achieved. The troops of Nuada were 
 fighting for their lives, and they were determined to sell them at the 
 cost of the lives of their fighting foes. They were more intelligent 
 too, and depended not so much on mere animal strength, and mere 
 bodily prowess, as on coolness and plan. The Firbolg were 
 victorious until the sixth hour. In the evening, the tide of battle 
 began to turn with the sinking sun. They were driven back to their 
 lines, yet they managed to bring with them for the second time 
 heads of their slain enemies, and each a stone to raise a earn as a 
 sign of the day's success. 
 
 Third Day's Fight. 
 
 The Firbolgs arose at earliest dawn on the morning of the 13th 
 of June. In crossing the plain of Magh-n-Eithrigh, that to the right 
 side and to the left of the way which at present leads between the 
 villages of the Neale, Caherduff and Cross, the Belgian warriors filed 
 into squares, and held their shields joined over their heads, making 
 as it were a " ScelV'?. e., ScauaII, a high shade; (Scac signifies shade, 
 "aI," huge, prodigious), to protect themselves from the darts. 
 They placed their battle spears, like trees, at intervals between the 
 shields, and thus marched across the field of battle in " Turtha," or 
 columns, and hen ce, says the narrator or the copyist, the plain was 
 called by the Danann the " Field of Columns," or " Plain of the 
 Shield-shell." O'Curry, however, says the field was called Magh Tura, 
 from the piles or towers of stones erected there after the battle, to 
 commemorate the death of heroes, or chieftains. Besides, the name 
 is not Magh Turtha, it is Magh Tura (towers, heaps). 
 
 Nuada and Dagda commanded the Danann hosts. They ordered 
 their men to form circles of defence made of large flag stones. The 
 field to this day abounds in circular areas of defence of this kind • 
 a body of men took their stand within them, covering themselves with 
 their shields against the darts and swords of their enemies. The 
 fighting men received help from those upright flags, standing so 
 high that one could lean against them for support, or take his stand 
 behind them for defence. This practical plan lent great support to 
 the Danann in the third and fourth day's fight. 
 
 King Eochy, Sreng, and Fintan, King of Leinster, were the chief 
 leaders of the Firbolg on the third day : Nuada, and Dagda, and 
 Ogma were the most distinguished among the leaders on the other side. 
 There were several brave personal encounters of heroes and chiefs. 
 
27 
 
 The most remarkable, because of the heroes engaged and of the 
 history connected with the event, is that recorded to have occurred 
 between Sreng of the Belgian host, and Nuada of the Danann. Sreng 
 singled out Nuada, and with a blow of his great sword, smote the 
 rim of the king's shield, and cut off the royal arm. The king was 
 rescued by " Aengabla," his northern ally. The wound was soon 
 healed by his physician, Dianceacht (i.e. Dia, God, 'nceacht, for 
 " riA iceAcc, root ic, balm ; and iceAcn means power of healing) : 
 Credne Cerd, or Credrre, the artificer, made for him a silver hand. 
 Hence, this monarch is known in history as " Nuada of the Silver- 
 hand" — ntiA'OA Aif\5it)-'lAtfi. The arm cut off was buried on the plain, 
 and a monument raised over it, on the spot where the royal blood 
 was shed upon Cro-Ghaile, that is, the " enclosure of the foreigners." 
 
 The Belgse moved north-east, fighting fiercely on towards the 
 village of the Neale and Knoc nag-Cuach " the hill of the 
 cuckoos." Sreng, the general-in-chief , and King Eochy fought with 
 astounding bravery and valour, and directed and encouraged their 
 men : nevertheless, the skill and cool tact of the Danann prevailed. 
 The Firbolg were forced for the second time to retire at the close 
 of evening to their lines, leaving the Danann victors. 
 Fourth Day's Fighting. 
 
 On the fourth day, Slainge the son of King Eochy, and Slainge's 
 four sons with the Ard-Righ, their grandfather, and the general 
 Sreng, gifted with prudence and prowess, determined to recover 
 the loss inflicted on them during the second day and on the third. 
 The fourteenth of June was one of intense heat. The king had 
 been engaged in battle now three days. He had taken a part in two 
 engagements consecutively. And during the early part of the 
 fourth day he fought like a lion let loose in a fold. His lips became 
 parched. His blood was hot and fiery. He was dying of thirst. 
 The fight at the time was where no wells or watercourse even to 
 this day exist. The water known and named as Mean-Uisge (middle- 
 water) was not near at hand. The flower of the Firbolg army was 
 cut off. Eochy was gasping from thirst. He entrusts the sole command 
 to Sreng, and with a hundred chosen men endeavours to cut his way 
 across the plain from near the Neale, in a north-western direction, 
 towards Lough Mask. The king's flight and his fainting condition 
 is perceived by the three sons of Nemed Mac-Badhrai. They call 
 around them a band of one hundred and fifty brave clients, and pur- 
 sue the king and his hundred men. Before the shore of the lake is 
 
28 
 
 reached, those are overtaken. Another encounter ensues. The 
 hundred warriors are forced, after a desperate encounter, to yield to 
 the oue hundred and fifty Danann troops. Eochy slays his three 
 youthful assailants with his own hand, and now, himself, expires. 
 " Thus fell," says the chronicler, " the mighty Eochy, only a few days 
 ago so proud as not to yield or listen to any man ; now stretched 
 lifeless on the strand, cut down by the invaders, and dying of wounds, 
 and want of water to cool his burning tongue." A lofty cairn was 
 raised by the victors over his body. It is to this day to be seen. 
 It is called Carn-Eochaidh from his name. " The most extensive 
 and remarkable cairn in the West of Ireland," says Sir William 
 Wilde in his treatise on Lough Corrib, " stands to this hour on the 
 grassy Hill of Killower, a earn about a mile distant from Lough 
 Mask." Sir William is of opinion that this is the earn which, 
 after the battle, was raised by the Danann victors over the remains 
 of King Eochy Mac Ere, the last of the Firbolg Kings of Erin. At 
 the western extremity of the same strand, still exist the monuments 
 of his slayers, called " Leaca Mac-Nemedh," the flags of the sons of 
 Nemedh. In after times the cam was regarded as one of the mirabilia 
 or wonders to be seen in Eire ; not unlike the huge pile raised over 
 Absolom, who fought in battle against his own father, King David ; 
 or like that pile raised over Achilie3 and Patroclus on the Sigean shore. 
 A rampart, the top of which is 2,500 paces in circumference, crowns 
 the very summit of this singular structure, standing still to strengthen 
 the story of this strange struggle. 
 
 " Both parties withdrew after the fourth day's fighting : the 
 dispirited Firbolg to their camp along Corrib shore, and the Danann 
 to their mountain fortress. Both parties interred their dead — the 
 Firbolg raised Dumha.% or Tumuli over their nobles ; Leaca, or flag- 
 stones over their heroes ; Ferthas (graves) over the soldiers, and 
 Knocks or hillocks over their champions." 
 
 Three thousand men out o! eleven battalions survive. Sreng and 
 his wise men hold a coancil of war. They agree to send a challenge 
 boldly to the victor host, to fight them in single combat. Accord- 
 ing to the rules and p-actices of chivalry aDd public warfare in those 
 days, their opponents could not, with honor and safety, decline to 
 accept it. Instances like this narrated are presented by Homer, in the 
 single combat fought between Menelaus and Paris ; in the battles 
 between the Sabines and Romans, and to this time it is the 
 practice in Abyssinia. Such heroic courage on the part of the 
 
29 
 
 survivors secured for them, if not all their own, at least a 
 select portion of the kingdom, and the very best terms that the 
 victorious invaders could have offered. 
 
 King Nuada and his counsellors were, from the commencement, 
 opposed to bloodshed and battle ; and accordingly, on their side, they 
 now proposed terms of peace, and proffered the undaunted Firbolg 
 chief and his followers their choice of the five great divisions of Eire. 
 Sreng selected that which he and his people knew best— the western 
 province — which from him was known, up to the time of Conn of the 
 " hundred fights," as Cidgeadh Sreing — Sreng's Province. To this day 
 their descendants, distinguished from the Milesian and Norman races, 
 by well marked form and features, and their peculiarly defined physical 
 and cranial character, so well described by Duald Mac Firbis (A.D. 
 1650), possess in the west a permanent habitat. " Their descendants, 
 and those of their conquerors, the Tuatha De Danann, constitute 
 to-day the great mass of the peasant people of Connacht." 
 
 Q. 6. Are there not many who will say that accounts 
 such as these are inventions of the ancient bards ? 
 
 A. First, in regard to all historic accounts, such as those of battles, 
 handed down to the present time in our national manuscripts and pen- 
 ned generally by Ollamhs or professional teachers in Ireland, it must be 
 remembered, that there existed a most stringent law requiring those 
 Ollamhs to tell the truth and nothing but the truth, and if it were 
 found that they had invented, or did tell what were not facts, they 
 were directly deprived of all their privileges for life. Men holding a 
 position in the learned professions were Ollamhs. Every judge or 
 Brehon should have obtained the degree of Ollamh ; all and each were 
 bound by law, by position, by fear of losing caste, to tell nothing but 
 the truth in these narrations regarding battles. " I beg to assure 
 you," says O'Curry " of the historical authority of all the substantial 
 statements respecting these ancient battles." He states, we are assured 
 of their authenticity on the highest authority. Again, " these 
 historical tales the Ollamh was bound, unless by hazarding the loss 
 of dignities and privileges, to have for recital to the people." 
 
 Secondly — There is a poem by Columkille, in the Book of Lecain, 
 in praise of Eochaidh Mac Ere, in which the most of the foregoing 
 account is given. 
 
 The tract, from which Dr. O'Donovan and O'Curry translated 
 the history of the battle is, in its present form, over fourteen hundred 
 
30 
 
 years old. This fact brings us up at once to the time when St. 
 Patrick was in Ireland. Even then it was a transcript of a tract 
 more ancient still. 
 
 Thirdly — From internal evidence the account bears the impress of 
 truth. 
 
 (a) " The story is told with singular truthfulness of description; 
 there is no attempt," says O'Curry, " at making a hero, or in ascribing 
 to any individual or party the performance of any incredible deeds 
 of valour." 
 
 (5) From the position and course of proceeding of the bards before 
 the battle, and during its action. 
 
 (c) From the origin of the name, " Magh Tura " plain of towers, 
 which must have had a reason for the term : there must have been 
 some cause of the leachts, cromleacs, and mounds which abound there, 
 and earns and pillar-stones — all matters of such antiquarian importance, 
 and wound up also with the historic records that describe these places 
 and events. It is impossible, therefore, that the substance, at least, 
 of all that has been here narrated, should not be true. 
 
 (4) Moreover, the whole account, in a condensed form, has been 
 presented in the Annals of the Four Masters ; in the Book of 
 Leinster, a MS. of the highest authority, published lately by order 
 of the British Government ; in the Books of Lecan and Ballymote ; 
 in the writings of St. Columba, King Cormac, Keating and MacFirbis. 
 
 Hence there is no suspicion of the undoubted authenticity of the 
 Irish tract from which this narration has been taken, and of the 
 antiquity of the work itself there is no question. If Homer had never 
 written the Iliad, the mounds of ancient Troy, excavated within the 
 past few years, would tell the tale of the greatness of that ancient 
 city of Asia Minor, the certainty of the triple town built there, and the 
 antiquity of the people who dwelt within its walls, and of the distant 
 period when and before Priam was its king. 
 
 Q. 7. Is there any proof like that in favor of Troy 
 at hand in favor of Magh-Tura, showing for certain 
 that a battle was once fought there between the 
 Firbolg and the Tuatha De Danann ? 
 
 A. There is : the late Sir William Wilde has furnished such a 
 proof. He told the present writer the following facts. One day 
 in the autumn of the year 1863, Sir William was reading, in 
 
31 
 
 Dublin, the Irish tract containing an account of the famous battle 
 of Magh Tiira. He noticed in the original, that on the morn- 
 ing of the second day of the fight, King Eochy went, as was his 
 custom, to take a bath, on this occasion, into a well or stream deep 
 down in a ravine, known as " Mean-Uisge " (or middle water), that 
 flows in those underground channels which convey, at Cong, the 
 waters of Loch Mask to the Corrib ; that while performing his ablu- 
 tions, three Danann warriors coming suddenly over the spot, beheld 
 the king. He looked up, saw overhead three of the enemy, asked 
 for quarter, and demanded a fair fight. They were determined not 
 to give quarter, nor to accept a fair fight, but were about to descend 
 to seize his person alive, or to have his body dead. At that moment 
 a single but faithful guard came to the rescue of his royal master. 
 He drew his sword, fought the three champions on a mound quite 
 adjacent, slew them, and, from the number of wounds which he had 
 in turn himself received, expired on the spot where he had defended 
 the king and saved his sovereign's life. The three Danann were 
 interred in the mound, and on the top of it, as emblematic of the 
 victory achieved by the King's faithful body-guard, a " earn " or huge 
 stone-heap was piled by the hands of his warrior comrades. The 
 mound to commemorate the event was called Tulach an Triuir, and 
 the stone-heap on top CA|\ti-A«-Aoin-|:if\, " the heap of the one man." 
 The tumulus and the cam received those names to honor the brave 
 soldier who fought the three and conquered. The name of Tulach 
 an Triuir kept alive the recollection of his heroic exploit. " This 
 record of so remarkable an event struck me very forcibly," remarked 
 Sir William. It was a beautiful episode, well worthy of record in the 
 history of any country or any people. But was it true ? "I happened" 
 continued he, " to be proprietor at the time of some of the lands on 
 which the battle had been fought, some three thousand six hundred 
 years ago. I resolved to test the truth of the admirable record, and 
 to search for proof on the spot where the men were said to have 
 fought and fallen, to find the well and the mound and the " earn." 
 I came with tract in hand to the spot. I saw the well and the mound 
 and the stone-heap. The tumulus is to this day known by the 
 peasants as Tulach an Triuir (mound of the three), and the " earn," 
 176 feet in circumference, crowns. its summit. Most of the heap of 
 stones had been some time ago removed. I conceived the idea of 
 digging the Tulach in order to see what was within it. For that 
 purpose, with the permission of the then occupier of the field, I 
 engaged on a suitable day a number of workmen. They delved and 
 
32 
 
 dug for some time. I thought the work was somewhat a heavy- 
 undertaking ; so I pondered how best to .achieve the end in view, 
 with the least amount of labor. The thought struck me that the 
 Druids were in the habit of turning to the east, and of having in that 
 quarter an opening to their tumuli. I directed the men to try a 
 certain spot on the eastern slope. There, after removing a few spade- 
 fulls of earth, they soon came upon a large, smooth, horizontally 
 placed, gritstone flag. On raising which another somewhat larger in 
 size was discovered. The latter remains in situ, and covers a small 
 square chamber, twenty-eight inches high and thirty-seven wide, the 
 walls of which are formed of small stones. On removing some of 
 these, on the western side, we found embedded in the soft, black, 
 powdery earth, that had fallen in through the apertures and mixed 
 probably with charcoal, or the dried dust of organic remains, an urn 
 which contained the incinerated remains of human bones." It is 
 now to be seen in the Museum of the Royal Irish Academy. 
 
 Here, no doubt, the body of the loyal Firbolg youth was burned, 
 and his ashes collected and preserved in this urn. 
 
 Perhaps a more convincing proof of the authenticity of Irish, or 
 of any other ancient history, has never been afforded. 
 
 If the "towns -of -the-dead" the " Nekropoles," are proof of the 
 wonderful civilisation and refinement of the Etrurians, at a period 
 long before Rome was founded — say a thousand years at least ; if the 
 royal remains, with their costly golden ornaments, found at Mykense, 
 are proof of early Grecian riches, refinement, and advancement in art ; 
 if the discoveries at Troy are proof of ancient Trojan greatness, then 
 the discovery made by Sir William Wilde at Magh-Tura, is proof of 
 much that the Avriter contends for in these pages, and new to many 
 of his readers. — See O^ Flaherty's Ogygia, Part III, chapters 10, 50. 
 
 The account of this event has been published by Sir William Wilde 
 himself, both in his work on "Lough Corrib," and later still, in the 
 Address read by him, as Chairman of the Anthropological Department, 
 before the British Association at Belfast, some seven years ago. 
 " With respect to the authenticity of the early chronicles and 
 legends that relate to the history of these immigrations, — so much 
 sneered at by one set of inquirers, and so faithfully believed in by 
 another, — let me make two observations, one chronological, and the 
 
 other topographical, 
 
 . • • of a portion of Irish chronology there can, however, be 
 little doubt ; — for in recording cosmical phenomena, such as eclipses 
 of the sun or moon, the approach of comets and the like, they scarcely 
 
83 
 
 differ by a year from that great astronomical and chronological work, 
 VArt de Verifier les Dates, computed by the French philosophers, 
 hundreds of years after these annals were last written or transcribed. . 
 
 The other incident is of equal authenticity, in confirmation of the 
 historical statement of our early records. Long, long before the 
 Christian era, it is there said that a battle took place on a certain 
 plain in Mayo ; and an incident connected with the fight is thus 
 told : — 
 
 " A king or chief was surprised in early morning, while performing 
 his ablutions at a deep well, by three warriors of the enemy, who came 
 upon him unawares. By the prowess of one of his attendants he 
 was saved, who killed his three assailants, and then died upon the 
 spot. Hundreds of years passed by, the locality around had been 
 cultivated and grazed upon again and again ; still the valley, the well, 
 the subterranean watercourse with its fairy legends, the hurling-field, 
 the cairns, circles, pillar-stones, and other surrounding topographical 
 features remained. The gallant soldier who laid down his life for his 
 royal master, was buried where he fell ; and as the army (stated to 
 have been thousands strong) passed by, each man, as was the custom 
 of the day, threw a pebble on his grave, then called, and still known, 
 as the Carn-of-One-Man" (CAfAn-An-Aoiti-p|\). 
 
 " Not long ago, with the written story in my hand and possessing 
 a full knowledge of the locality, and accompanied by a few stalwart 
 Connachtmen, I proceeded to the spot, told my incredulous auditory 
 the tale of their ancestors ; dug and lifted stone after stone until we 
 came upon a smaller chamber under a large flag, wherein we found 
 deposited a beautiful cinerary urn, containing some black earth and 
 fragments of burned human bones. The sepulchre, with its surround- 
 ing stone circle, still exists on the battle field of Moytura Conga, 
 and the decorated urn is in the Museum of the Royal Irish Academy." 
 —From the Address by Sir William R. Wilde, M.D., M.R.I.A., &c. 
 
 Q. 8. Tighearnacb, Abbot of Clonmacnois, who lived 
 in the eleventh century, and whose name stands amongst 
 the first of Irish annalists, states " that all the records 
 of the Scoti, that is, the Irish, up to the time of 
 Kimbaeth, who flourished four centuries before the 
 Christian period, are uncertain." Thomas Moore in his 
 
34 
 
 u History of Ireland," Dr. O'Donovan in his early 
 writings, A. M. Sullivan in the " Story of Ireland," the 
 latest historian of Ancient Eire, Standish O'Grady, and 
 Eobert Atkinson, author of the introduction to the 
 facsimiles of "The Book of Leinster" Irish MS., 
 speak of the events before Kimbaeth's time as un- 
 certain and blended with fable : the question is, are 
 these authorities worthy of credit, and if so, how 
 reconcile their statement with that just put forward in 
 these pages ? 
 
 A. First — Tighearnach styles the records not "falsa" or 
 " fabulosa " (fabulous), but " incerta" uncertain. To him they had 
 been uncertain in date, in consecutive arrangement, in the matter of 
 many of them. But the great features of early Irish history that have 
 left indelible impressions on the national memory, and upon the 
 physical appearances of the country, are not uncertain in their origin, 
 in the record that has transmitted them, in the results that have arisen 
 from them. 
 
 Secondly — Owing to the wonderful achievements of Irish arch- 
 aeology, many things uncertain in the eleventh century are in the 
 nineteenth made quite certain. This truth is evident. 
 
 Thomas Moore confessed to Dr. Petrie, in presence of O'Curry, 
 that he was himself ignorant of early Irish history ; that he had 
 never seen the ancient manuscripts of Ireland until, in 1839, he 
 opened the leaves of a few in the Royal Irish Academy. 
 
 " Petrie," cried he, " these huge tomes could not have been written 
 by fools, or for any foolish purpose. I never knew any thing about 
 them before, and I had no right to have undertaken the History of 
 Ireland." And O'Curry declares in;?. 440 of his MS. Material, that 
 " it is in these manuscripts chiefly that the materials for the ancient 
 history of the country are to be sought." Sullivan does not 
 profess to write regarding the ancient period of Eire's story. 
 O' Grady, although very learned in the Gaelic lore of Scotia Major, 
 andfond of her antiquities, does not strengthen his position by avail- 
 ing himself of the great advantages offered (a) in the history of pre- 
 Christian Europe, Asia and Africa ; (b) in the ancient languages, 
 sciences, arts and civilisation known to the early inhabitants of Asia 
 and Eastern Europe, and in Africa from the mouths of the Nile to 
 
35 
 
 Abyssinia; (c) in the laws, manners, customs and religious rites 
 practised in those remote periods. Dr. O'Donovan declared to the 
 present writer that he, too, at the commencement of his career as 
 antiquarian, joined in the common opinion. Time and reading 
 corrected the false notion. Men with a reputation for learning, 
 scholars from the halls of Cambridge, Oxford, or Trinity, gave 
 expression to that view ; they were ignorant of Irish History. Their 
 presumed knowledge was taken for learning, and their nescience gave 
 the tone to literary thought. Dr. O'Donovan declared that if 
 allowed by the publisher Smith, to revise the second edition of his noble 
 work, the Annals of the Four Masters, he would have corrected 
 his early notions on these points, and have given the primary 
 meaning of some Irish ecclesiastical terms, which at times he 
 rendered into English to please his friends, rather than to express 
 fully the faith and practice of the early Irish Church. He told the 
 present writer, that his simplicity and want of courage in early life 
 often gave him pain in his riper years and his hours of thought. (See 
 pp. 37-38, further on.) 
 
 Q. 9. After the Battle of Magh-Tura where did 
 the surviving Firbolg and their descendants make a 
 settlement ? 
 
 A. Chiefly in the west of Ireland. They retained possession of 
 the province of Connacht. Some held large possessions between 
 the rivers Suir and Slaney ; others again, probably the warriors and 
 soldiers, immediately after the battle sailed across the Corrib, pro- 
 ceeded to the Islands of Aran in the west, where to this hour are to 
 be seen the work of their hands, those stupendous barbaric monu- 
 ments, the admiration of antiquaries and historians, the most 
 extensive and the oldest structures of their kind in Europe. Some 
 sailed to Aran in the north, to Rathlin, and to the Isle of Mam ; 
 others proceeded in a course more northerly still, to Caithness, 
 Ross and Sutherland, to the Hebrides and Orkneys. The descendants 
 of some emigrants returned centuries afterwards to the " old 
 country." 
 
 Q. 10. What certain historic marks of their 
 presence at one time in this island can be pointed out 
 to the eye of an inquiring Irish student ? 
 
 A . (a) The Irish Pentarchy ; (b) Tara and its monuments, the 
 
36 
 
 history of which is as certain as that of Carthage or Rome of old ; 
 (c) the Battle of Magh-Tura Conga just described; (d) the 
 cyclopean piles at present in Aran, and others that had been in 
 existence some fifty or eighty years ago — for instance, between 
 Cong and the Neale in Mayo where the glebe is now erected 
 there stood eighty years ago a great Caher, built by the Firbolg, 
 " and which," says Sir William Wilde, " was perhaps one of 
 the largest in Ireland, and resembled Dun-Aengus or Dun- 
 Connor, and others in Aran." — (Wilde's Lough Corrib, p. 238) ; 
 (e) the raths and caves so numerous in Ireland are the work of the 
 Firbolg and the Danann ; not a few, however, were erected by the 
 the Fomorians ; Eath-na-Righ within the precincts of Tara was 
 certainly founded, and in part erected, by the Firbolg. That noble 
 work is a proof of their advanced knowledge and early architectural 
 skill. It is not stated that they adored the sun. Like all Keltic and 
 Aryan nations they were acquainted with poetry, rhyme, laws, and 
 certainly with letters. They practised in some instances cremation.* 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 The Tuatha De Danann in power contrasted with 
 the Firbolg ; the Fomorians. 
 
 Q. 1. What race succeeded the Firbolg in ac- 
 quiring supreme dominion of Eire ? 
 
 A. The Tuatha De Danann. 
 
 Q. 2. How can a student of history be certain that 
 a statement, such as that just made, is true : perhaps 
 it is like the story about Romulus and Remus, regarding 
 the early beginnings of Rome ? 
 
 A. The sources of certainty on this point are five : (a) tradi- 
 tion, written and oral, together with historical manuscript authority, 
 
 * Niebhur says : — The Belgae and Kymry were the same, and that 
 the Firbolg were of the Kymry (see p. 11 supra), who with the Teutones 
 defended the north of Germany against C. Marius. 
 
37 
 
 handed down from the earliest times ; (b) monuments ; (c) philo- 
 logy ? 00 numismata and antiquities ; (<?) hermeneutical harmony 
 found to exist on this subject in Irish history, topography, ethnology, 
 language, national customs, and the folk-lore of the Gael. 
 
 And first as to (1) Tradition — that of the fullest and amplest kind, 
 oral and written, attests the fact. (2) Antiquities come in to cor- 
 roborate the same statement. The mounds on the battle-field of 
 Magh-Tura Conga, in Mayo County, and of Magh Tura of the 
 Fomorians, in Sligo, point to it clearly. " These very curious mounds," 
 says O'Donovan, " are still to be seen on those battle-fields" And in 
 his MSS. (Ordnance Survey) marked ^y 9 , R. I. Academy, he states : 
 " I must believe that a battle was fought there at a very remote 
 period, even though I should not be able to calculate the year, or go 
 within five centuries of it." 
 
 The grand discovery made by Sir William Wilde in one of those 
 mounds, known as " Tullach an Triuir," near Cong, is very striking, and 
 certainly convincing to any unprejudiced mind. Of that discovery Sir 
 William himself writes : — " Perhaps a more convincing proof of the 
 authenticity of Irish, or of any other history, has never been afforded.'' 
 (3) The Gaelic historic titles of persons and of places, rendered 
 famous by deeds worthy of record, are to the philologist, like fossils to 
 the student of geology, a proof of civil, social, or political change. 
 These terms, owing to the insular character of the country and conser- 
 vative nature of the people, as fresh now in their meaning as they were 
 nigh four thousand years ago, tell their own story, and in their own 
 way. (4) Then we have yet standing, if not the towers and palaces 
 which those people erected at Aileach, or Tara, at least, the tombs on 
 the banks of the Boyne, where the remains of their kings, leaders, 
 physicians, poets, and poetesses lie interred. 
 
 (5) The cinerary urn, the specimens of spears and swords, made use 
 of in warfare by some such people, are to be seen in the Royal Irish 
 Academy, or in the Museums of Dublin, or the British Museum, London. 
 
 Now, one can reason thus on the historic character of the Tuatha 
 De Danann, even if no history respecting them were ever written. 
 
 The Necropoles or " Cities of the Dead," in Etruria, proclaim at 
 once, without the aid of written history, that a people flourished 
 north and south and east of Latium, and within its borders one 
 thousand years at least before Romulus or Remus thought of laying 
 the first foundations of the city of Rome ; and, what is more, that 
 this ancient people were highly civilised, wealthy, and thoroughly 
 skilled in the arts and sciences known at the time ; that they had a 
 
38 
 
 literature of their own, and a fostering government under which they 
 advanced in social greatness, and amassed wealth. The proofs re- 
 garding the existence of the Danann race in Ireland, furnished from 
 the sources named above, are equally convincing. They show, at all 
 events, the general truth, that some people or other existed at the time, 
 no matter by what name known, who fought and conquered the 
 Firbolg races, and whose descendants are found to this day in 
 Ireland. Then (6) the native annals, and (7) the uniform harmony 
 found on this point to exist in topography, ethnology, philology, the 
 national customs of the Gaels, and their folk-lore, in which they tell 
 tales of Danann spirit-power, confirm the minor proposition in the 
 argument, that those who then flourished were the TuathaDe Danann. 
 One must add : it is opposed to the use of right reason to lean 
 upon an hypothesis of one's own choosing, in order to suit precon- 
 ceived notions, and to object to, or, at least, not to adopt the substance 
 of those facts furnished by our ancient records. All these hundreds 
 of volumes, still in MBS., could not have been pure inventions ; " they 
 were not written," as Thomas Moore said to O'Curry " by foolish 
 men, or for any foolish purpose." Such hermeneutical harmony, too, 
 could not have grown in the past by mere chance or any inventive 
 process. And, lastly, if broken in part, like a beautiful vase, the 
 whole fabric of history regarding the Danann race, must be com- 
 pletely destroyed — and their existence denied, in the face of heaps 
 of evidence to the contrary. Who can say that no such people ever 
 found a residence within the shore of Eire ; that the works attributed 
 to them are figments, and that the buildings still extant were not 
 built at all ? To assent to such a proceeding, or to adopt such a 
 course, is repugnant to intelligent or rational minds. They cannot 
 assent to it. Therefore, the history, at least in substance, regarding 
 the Danann is true. 
 
 Q. 3. Who were the Tuatha de Danann ?— and 
 in what respects were they superior to the conquered 
 Firbolg ? 
 
 They were Kelts. As a race they came somehow from the East. 
 The Irish annals state, that they were descendants of Nemheadhand his 
 people — the second great migration that had reached Ireland. The 
 story already known is this, — that their progenitors suffered defeat 
 from the Fomorian pirates, assembled on the strand opposite Conaing's 
 Tower, in Tory Island ; that some few of the surviving Nemedians, 
 under a leader known as lo-bath, "survivor of drowning," sailed 
 
39 
 
 away till they reached the mouth of the Elbe : that two hundred and 
 thirty-five years afterwards their descendants, who, like the children 
 of Jacob in Egypt, had now grown into a great, a skilled, and power- 
 ful people, returned to the land their forefathers had left. They 
 came by Caledonia, and, after a time, effected a landing on the coast 
 of Antrim. They made their way quietly to the west of Ireland 
 as far as West Brefni, that district in Leitrim which became known 
 in the first century of the Christian era as Magh Rein, situate to the 
 east of Lough Allen; they entrenched themselves safely on and 
 around the " Iron-Mountain," or Slidbh an Iaruin, as that high hill is 
 called, which serves as a boundary between the counties of Leitrim 
 and Cavan. They feared a coming battle with the inhabitants — the 
 Firbolg, and with the Nemedians resident in the island, — and, there- 
 fore, for greater security they moved further west, till they reached 
 that narrow neck of territory lying between Loughs Mask and Corrib ; 
 where the present counties of Mayo and Galway meet, called, from 
 its position, by the Gaelic name Conga (Cong), that is, narrow. After 
 the hard-fought battle of Magh Tura Conga, they became lords and 
 masters of the island. They ruled it, as their predecessors had 
 done, in accordance with the laws common to all Keltic nations. 
 They have left the impress of their genius and power on the soil of 
 Ireland, by their buildings made of stone, at Aileach, in Donegal, at 
 Tara, at New Grange, Dowth, and Kowth, or Cnoghda ; at the Brugh 
 on the Boyne near Stackallen Bridge, and at Naas ; by their raths and 
 cromleachs at southern and northern Magh Tura, Cruachan, Sliabh- 
 na m-ban, Ballysodare, and other parts of ancient Eire ; by their 
 superior skill in arts and sciences, the shadows of which are traceable 
 in the "sidh" (fairy) stories of the Gael up to this day. Their 
 leading men and women were famous for their knowledge of the 
 healing art, and of the medicinal properties possessed by herbs, and 
 how to apply them to the wants of the sick and wounded. They 
 were skilled in music, according to the times ; in the art of mixing 
 colors ; in writing, drawing, dyeing and in carving in wood or stone. 
 All that remains to the present day as the work of these tribes, goes 
 to shew the truth of these statements. And if one reflect that the 
 Etrurians, and, besides them, the Pelasgi in eastern Europe, at the 
 time that the foundations of Argos and of the " Wideway " Mykense 
 were laid, were wonderfully skilled in many arts wholly unknown 
 to people of a later age, he will not feel surprised at the know- 
 ledge and skill possessed by the Danann races in this remote period. 
 The theory connected with the science of anthropology — of 
 
40 
 
 dividing the ages of mankind into the " stone " age, " bronze " age 
 and " iron " age — is a mere " fancy," and rests on no solid foundation. 
 The presence of peace or war, of plenty or want, of law or disorder, 
 of learning or ignorance, made man a child of the bronze, or iron, or 
 golden age. No thoroughly intelligent man advocates the "iron 
 or bronze age " theory now-a-days. It pleases a few who cling, right 
 or wrong, to what they have once been told was true. 
 
 Regarding the superiority of the Danann as a race, compared 
 with the Firbolg, it must be admitted that the latter were beaten, and 
 that success attended the former, both on account of their bravery, 
 intellectual skill, energy, and by making use in battle of mechanical 
 helps which the Firbolg neglected or despised. 
 
 It must be borne in mind, however, that all conquering nations, 
 regarded in their character as conquerors, possessed at the time of 
 power, and holding greater sway, are superior to the conquered. 
 The Persian races were superior to the nations whom they ruled from 
 the Tigris to the Nile ; the Grecians were in turn superior to the 
 Persians ; the Romans to the Greeks ; the Franks under Charlemagne, 
 and in the present century the French people, to the rest of Europe, 
 until in turn their very success became the cause of their defeat, both 
 under Napoleon I. and Napoleon III. The Danann dynasty con- 
 quering the Firbolg, were compelled to yield two hundred years 
 later to another Keltic race, fresh for fight and vigorous in the manly 
 exercise of mind and muscular development ; while the Firbolg, who 
 had formerly been conquered, partially arose again to the position 
 and privileges which they had previously possessed. The two peoples, 
 therefore, the Danann and Firbolg, equal in family origin, differed 
 only in fortune, training, energy, and skill. 
 
 Q. 4. What are the special traits of character of 
 the Tuatha De Danann compared with the Firbolg ? 
 
 A. As far as can be gleaned from Irish annals, they differed (a) 
 in features ; (6) in intellectual power, or rather in its higher develop- 
 ments; (c) in religious rites, or in the expression of that highest 
 adoration due by man to the Supreme Being, (d) The civilisation 
 of the Danann was more developed, but not of a higher kind, than 
 that cultivated by their Belgian predecessors, (e) In language, laws, 
 social state, and in their form of government the Danann differed 
 very little from the Firbolg. Each of the two peoples was Keltic in 
 kith and kin ; each descended from the same Nemedian stock. 
 
 Pkoofs :— (a) The testimony of Duald Mac Firbis (1580-1670), 
 
41 
 
 taken from the Book of Genealogies, goes to confirm the statement 
 that the two races, the conquering and the conquered, differed in 
 features and form. "This is the distinction," says this distinguished 
 genealogist, " which the profound historians draw between the 
 Firbolg and the Danann : every one who is large and fair-haired 
 is a descendant of the Tuatha De Danann : those who are dark or 
 black-haired are the descendants of the Firbolg in Eirinn." 
 
 (6) Again, in reference to their intellectual powers, he says :— 
 " Musical persons, those who profess musical or entertaining per- 
 formances ; those who are adepts in druidical or magical arts — thej 
 are the descendants of the Tuatha De Danann." So far, Mac Firbis. 
 It would be exceedingly illogical, however, to infer that all not skilled 
 in music in times past in Eire were not of the Danann race ; or that 
 all who were musical had been Danann. Mac Firbis states only what, 
 in the moral sense, the people supposed to be the case ; neither does 
 he state that the converse of the proposition which he makes is untrue. 
 Nevertheless, he goes very far in putting that illogical view before 
 the student of Irish history ; for, he says, " the non-musical, and 
 the churlish and the inhospitable were of the Firbolg race." The 
 traditional rhyme of some irate bard is stamped by Mac Firbis as 
 history. The true meaning of the effusion is, that some few not 
 gifted with a knowledge of the fine arts, as then known, were of the 
 Firbolgian race. At the present day, it is well known that know- 
 ledge and skill in music, and in the fine arts, depend on early training 
 as much as on intellectual power. It must also be borne in mind, 
 that in times past trades and professions of the same kind were 
 usually and nearly always confined to the same families. The 
 Danann were very careful to cause such arts to be heir -looms in 
 their respective clans. 
 
 Whatever may be said of the non-musical powers of the Belgian 
 race, it is quite certain that the effect of their martial training was, 
 each succeeding century, felt in all parts of Ireland, and even on 
 the continent of Europe. The Gamanraidhi, or Belgic tribe of Erris, 
 Mayo, were athletic, brave, and warlike. The Clanna Morna of 
 Connacht, under their chief Goll son of Morna, celebrated in 
 Irish annals, were famous warriors in the third century: rulers 
 of the Firbolgian line, these held sway in Connacht down to the 
 third century of the Christian period. 
 
 At the present time, nineteenth century, the intermingling of 
 races has been such that the descendants of the Danann cannot well 
 be distinguished from those of the Milesian, a later race ; both bear ; 
 
42 
 
 striking resemblance one to the other, in form and figure, in the colour 
 of hair; and in the style of physical features. "It is likely," says 
 O'Mahony in his notes to Keating's History of Ireland, " that the 
 majority of the Irish people are to this day, maternally at least, 
 sprung from the Belgic and Nemedian Kelts, and that their language 
 is that now known as Gaelic." The Belgic race as a class preserve 
 their primitive dark complexion. Individuals are found fair-skinned 
 and of good figure. 
 
 The Gaelic character of the nation's speech was settled at least 
 under the Danann dynasty. The names and terms used by them are 
 to this day plain, unmixed, and unaffected Irish Gaelic. 
 
 Q. 5. Of the eight Firbolgian kings how many have 
 made a name that deserves a place in history ? 
 
 A. Only one — the last and the greatest, king Eochy MacErc, who 
 died on the shore of Lough Mask, fighting in defence of his crown 
 and his life, on the fourth day of the battle at Magh Tura Conga. 
 By nature he was clever, intelligent, intrepid, ambitious, a man of 
 high purpose and great resolve, but like Saul, the first king of Israel, 
 he was proud and self-willed. He imbued his hands in the blood of 
 his predecessor. He could not brook the presence of the Tuatha De 
 Danann in Eire. He would not give ear to the sage counsel of Sreng, who 
 preached peace, and that the two races should in amity share between 
 them the same " Noble Island." War he should have. He waged it, 
 but lost his crown and his life ; his people lost their country and a right 
 to hold sovereign sway in their own land. A foreign adventurer, 
 Nuada, leading tribes famed for their skill and energy, succeeded to 
 the sovereignty and became the supreme master of ancient Eire. 
 
 Q. 6. Of the nine kings that ruled the Danann 
 race for nigh two hundred years, who were the leading 
 sovereigns ? 
 
 A. (1) Nuada ; (2) Breas ; (3) Lugh, or Lughaidh, called " "Law- 
 fA'OA," long-hand ; and " loU-cAnA," many arts; (4) Daghda, known 
 also as oVI-acai|\, or the great- father, that is president ; these were the 
 chief men amongst a host of heroes. 
 
 First. — Nuada,. known by the nickname of Airgead-lamh, or silver 
 hand, who fought and won the battle of Magh Tura Conga (in Mayo) ; 
 and, again, twenty-seven years later fought the battle of Magh Tura 
 of the Fomorians. In the former he conquered the Firbolg, won 
 the crown of an Ard-Righ, and founded a dynasty ; in the latter he 
 
43 
 
 overcame the Fomorians, but, in achieving the victory, he lost his 
 life, at Tir-errill in the county Sligo. He was slain by Balor of the 
 Evil Eye, known too as " the hero of mighty blows," — lord of the 
 Northern Isles. 
 
 Second. — Breas, who reigned for a time in place of Nuada, till the 
 maimed king was fully restored to his usual vigour. He was remark- 
 able for his skill, strength, and courage. As sovereign or Ard-Righ, 
 he was mean, parsimonious, autocratic ; as ruler, partial and one- 
 sided, and therefore unfit to govern. In the first satirical poem ever 
 composed in Gaelic, Cairbre, the princely poet, son of a gifted poetic 
 mother, Etana, exposed the royal failings, chiefly his tyranny towards 
 the nobility and his lack of hospitality ; consequently, the people, 
 unable to bear any longer one devoid of kingly virtues, deposed him 
 from the sovereign position which for seven years he had held. He 
 fell in battle at Northern Magh Tura. 
 
 Third. — Lugh, famous for his wonderful talent, great knowledge, 
 prowess, skill in planning and putting his plans into execution. 
 This last quality is apparent in the record of what he achieved 
 for the reigning Ard-Righ Nuada, when commissioned to make 
 preparation for the great battle of Magh Tura of the Fomorians ; 
 also by the splendid character of the games which he established, 
 when elected to the position of Ard-Righ. These sports were 
 truly national, and in their kind not unlike the Olympic games, 
 so well known to students of Grecian history. The princes and 
 nobles, men and women of position, from all Ireland came to witness 
 their celebration annually, which lasted from the fifteenth of July to 
 the fifteenth of August. This gathering continued to be held each year 
 for a period far beyond two thousand years after the time of Lugh ; 
 for we know that St. Patrick preached at Tara during the Easter week 
 A.D. 433, and that, after preaching the truths of the Christian faith 
 there to thousands, he proceeded, the July following, to Taillteim 
 (Telltown), where the public games were being celebrated. In fact, 
 the fair continued to be held more or less regularly up to the time 
 of ftu]\Ai O'Connor, the last King of Ireland. The month of 
 August in the Irish language is known as the month of Lugh's 
 games mi nA tug-nofA (mi means month ; nof, a Custom, a practice, 
 an exercise repeated). All the great marriages amongst the noble 
 ladies and chiefs of the nation were celebrated here. What gave rise 
 to the institution of these public sports, and the great " Aonach" 
 or fair at Telltown, is told in the following : — 
 
 Taillte (daughter of Magh Mor) was wife and queen to Eochy 
 
44 
 
 Mac Ere, the last of the Firbolg kings. Eochy was slain at the 
 great battle of Magh Tura Conga. Taillte had become the foster- 
 mother and tutoress of Lugh, the most gifted by far, and the most 
 talented of all the Danann. The ex-queen, now married to a Danann 
 chief, took particular care of her foster-child, and had him taught in 
 all the then known arts and sciences, like Peter of Russia in times 
 comparatively modern. Lugh became Ard-Righ. He held his royal 
 court at Nas (now Naas), in the present county of Kildare. 
 Taillte died ; King Lugh had her remains interred in a great plain 
 near the river Boyne, in the present barony of Kells, in county 
 Meath. He erected over her grave a large sepulchral mound, which, 
 with others, remains to be seen to this day ; and around this mound 
 he ordered that public games and sports, in honor of his beloved 
 Taillte, should, after the manner of eastern countries, be celebrated 
 for ever. Cuan O'Lochain (ob. A.D, 1024), chief poet of 
 Malachy II., has written a poem on this subject. 
 
 Lugh's reign was illustrious. He was slain by MacCoill, at Caen 
 Druim, " the fair ridge," the more ancient name of the Hill of 
 Uisneach in Westmeath.* 
 
 Fourth, — Eochaidh, called Oll-athair, great-father, or Daghda 
 M or — (as if "doigh-da," hope-god; or"dogh-da," fire-god). He was 
 the hope and stay and strength of the Danann people. As a 
 
 * The following anecdote told in Irish annals regarding Lugh, when, 
 having finished his education, he came a young man to Tara, to see 
 the king, will give the reader an idea of the ability of the young chieftain, 
 of the customs of the period, and of the kind of training considered 
 necessary for chief and nobles in those days. Lugh's character is not 
 unlike that of Cyrus the Great, the conqueror of Babylon. 
 
 The story of Lug, as a man skilled beyond all others of the time in the 
 arts and sciences, is as follows : — When he came first to Tara, he introduced 
 himself as a young man possessed of all the arts and sciences then known 
 at home and abroad; and, hence it is, that he was afterwards called the Sabh 
 Ildanach, that is, the " stock (sabh) or trunk of all the arts." When first 
 he came to the gate of Tara, the door-keeper refused to pass him in, 
 unless he was the master of some art or profession. Lug said that he 
 was a saer, that is, a carpenter or mason, or both. The door-keeper 
 answered that they were not in want of such an artist, as they had a very 
 good one, whose name was Luchta, the son of Luchad. The young artist 
 then said that he was an excellent smith. " We don't want such an 
 artist," said the door-keeper, "as we have a good one already, namely, 
 Colum Cuaellemeach, professor of the three new designs " [Greisa']. Lugr 
 then said that he was a champion. " We do not want a champion," said 
 the door-keeper, "since we have a champion, namely, Ogma, the son of 
 Eiihlenn." Well, then, said Lug, " I am a harper." "We are not in 
 want of a harper," said the door-keeper, " since we have a most excellent 
 
45 
 
 general, or military chief, he was like fire, ever active ; vigilant as 
 a ruler, and as a law -giver, a shining light amongst his kindred and 
 people. He was, while alive, patron of poetry, music, and the 
 arts. After death, he was regarded as the Apollo of the Keltic 
 tribes. Like the Pythian, he was the father or founder of necro- 
 mancy ; a foreteller of things to come. The name Dagh-da, 
 interpreted as f re-god, tends to confirm the notion that the worship 
 of the sun by means of tire was a practice amongst the Danann 
 people; and that, like other practices, civil, social, political, or 
 religious, they had brought this custom from the East. 
 
 This opinion appears to be the one held by the Most Rev. Dr. 
 O'Brien, author of the Irish Dictionary, and by O'Mahony, editor and 
 annotator of Keating' 's History of Ireland. He observes : — " He 
 (Dagh-da) might have got this name from having been priest of the 
 1 Great Good Fire,' that is the sun." 
 
 one, namely, Abhcan, the son of Becelmas." "Well, then," said Lug, 
 "I am a poet and an antiquarian." "We do not want a man of these 
 professions," said the door-keeper, " because we have already an accom- 
 plished professor of the sciences, namely, En, the son of Ethoman." 
 " Well, then," said Lug, " I am a necromancer." " We are not in want of 
 such a man," said the door-keeper, " because our professors of the occult 
 sciences and our druids are very numerous." " Well, then, I am a 
 physician," said Lug. " We are not in want of a professor of that art," 
 said the door-keeper, " as we have an excellent one already, namely, 
 Diancecht." " Well, then, I am a good cup-bearer," said Lug. "We do 
 not want such an officer," said the the door-keeper, "because we are 
 already well supplied with cup-bearers, namely, Delt, and Drucht, and 
 Daithe, and Taei, and Talom, and Trug, and Glei, and Glan, and Gleise." 
 (These are all female names). " Well, then," said Lug, " I am an excellent 
 artifex" (cerd), " We are not in want ot an artifex," said the door-keeper, 
 " as we have already a famous one, namely, Greidne the artificer." 
 " Well, then," said Lug, "go to the king, and ask him if he has in his 
 court any one man who embodies in himself all these arts and professions, 
 and if he has, I shall not remain longer, nor seek to enter Tara." The 
 king was overjoyed to lay hold of such a wonderful person as Lug, and 
 he was immediately admitted into the palace, and placed in the chair of 
 the Ollamh, or chief professor of the arts and sciences. After the battle 
 of Magh Tura of the Fomorians, he became king of the Tuatha De 
 Danann, and reigned forty years, until he was slain by Mac Cuill, one of 
 the three sons of Cermet Milbeol. 
 
 Observe : In the foregoing note g final in Lug is not aspirated, as it 
 should be, thus Lugh, or iu£. The reason is, in old Irish, up to the 
 tenth century, single consonants at the close of a word were regarded as 
 affected; whenever the full natural sound was to be given the final con- 
 sonant was usually doubled. " Lug," therefore, in old Irish is same as 
 Lugh ; "sab," same as sabh : in tainicc, he came, the full sound of c (ft) 
 is heard. 
 
46 
 
 The common opinion amongst Irishmen is, that the pagan 
 Danann were some way devoted to fire-worship. The sacred fires 
 (Bealtaine), and the history of fires in ancient Eire, being held on 
 each of the four seasons of the year, at Uisneach, 1st of May ; at 
 Taillten, 1st of August ; at Tlactga, in Westmeath, 1st November • at 
 Tara, 1st February — confirm this belief. But the Irish annals tell us 
 that these fires were for purification and not for adoration ; and 
 King Cormac of Cashel, says that Bel-taine does not mean " Bel's 
 fire," but " good fire," or propitious fire. Dr. Petrie declares, " that 
 Irish history does not state that fire-worship was introduced into 
 Erin ;" while Moore, the historian and national poet, and Dr. Lanigan, 
 observe, " that fire, and the sun, the greatest of all fires, was an 
 object, if not of worship, at least of great veneration in Ireland." 
 —Vol. it., p. 406. 
 
 In truth, it must be admitted that there is no clear and certain 
 record in the national MSS. of Ireland, as far as the writer knows, 
 showing that the ancient Irish were wont to adore the sun, or to 
 worship fire. It is true that they held the sun and fire, as Dr. 
 Lanigan states, " in great veneration." 
 
 After a reign of eighty years, Daghda died at Brugh, on the 
 Boyne, from the effects of the wound received at the battle of Magh- 
 Tura of the Fomorians; that is over one hundred and ten years 
 previously, or, according to the Book of Lecan, and the Book of 
 Leinster, Irish MSS., one hundred and twenty years, for Dagh-da 
 reigned eighty years, and Lugh forty. The term Dagh-da, like the 
 title Mayor or President, was one of office and not the name of 
 an individual. There was one of that official title at the Battle of 
 Magh Tura Conga, earlier still by thirty years. 
 
 Q. 7. Can the names — if official — of men of posi- 
 tion, chiefs and kings of the Danann race, be interpreted; 
 and, if so, does such interpretation throw any light on 
 the character of the people ? 
 
 A. Yes: the names are Irish-Gaelic, and readily interpreted. 
 They are undoubtedly titles of office, and convey the idea that those 
 who held a position of honour or emolument during the Danann 
 dynasty, were men or women of learning and skill, of knowledge 
 in the arts, famed for military prowess or bravery, for energy in 
 doing the business of the state ; or that they were devoted to literature, 
 of necromancy, or the worship of the gods. 
 
47 
 
 Take, for instance, the names of their kings, (1) Nuada, which means 
 new divine-chief (nuadand da); (2) Breas, "bA^.-pof , superior know- 
 ledge; (3) Lugh, nerve, energy, force; IoL-tjatia, of many arts; 
 Dagh-da — explained above ; (5) Mac Coill, son of the hazel-tree ; (6) 
 Mac Ceact = Mac Iceact, son of healing art ; (7) Mac Greine — son of 
 the sun. The names of their goddesses ; (8) Brighit, goddess of poets 
 and smiths, from breo, bright, and saighit, an arrow ; (9) bA-oti, god- 
 dess of war, from bas, or bath, death, and be, a creature, a lady, &c, &c. 
 
 Take the names of their physicians and chieftains — Dianceact, 
 god of the healing art, i.e. god of physic, from Dia, God, na, of the ; 
 iceact, healing art. The word " ic," or " ioc," balm, is to this day 
 common amongst the Irish-speaking classes ; the word "ioc-shlainteach" 
 is applied to a refreshing drink, " health-restoring," balm-healing. 
 Delbeth, inventive power, from "T>elb," to frame, Aec, a spark. Ealadan, 
 eAt-A-oAn, science : it is the only word to this day in use to signify 
 science, or any skilful or technical performance which men of mind 
 can accomplish. It is applied to a piece of intricate work or mechanism, 
 which unlettered people do not understand. Ogma, one of their 
 chiefs, and the inventor of a " secret writing," or rather the teacher 
 and director of the art, is a name that signifies " sacred scheme," 
 65, with (g) aspirated, means sacred, hidden, therefore not common ; 
 and Ma, a scheme, a work of mind, a clever invention. " Ma " is a primi- 
 tive Aryan term found in " man," (English), mein, mind, Irish ; mens, 
 Latin ; in pa of paco, or pavddvco, in pad (Greek), signifying to learn. The 
 term man in English, " a creature of mind," as opposed to the brute 
 world ; its plural " men," is like the Latin men in mente. Artificers 
 amongst the Danann are Ceird, or Goba, a smith : Hence, Ceirdne, 
 the name of their chief artificer ; and Gobhnenn, their chief smith. 
 
 Their leading merchant, who traded with the neighbouring isles, 
 was called "Mac Lir" son of " Lear," the sea ; he was styled also 
 Manannan, or "Manx-man:" Mana, means the Isle of Mann; its 
 genitive case is Manann, and "Manannan," therefore signifies "one 
 from Mann ;" Oirib or Orbsenwashis proper name, and as descended 
 of his father " Allod," i.e. the soil or land ; he was called " Mac Alloid," 
 son of the land, and thus he was " son-of-land-and-sea." The name of 
 Lough Corrib, in the West, will put students in mind for ever that 
 a Danann merchant named " Oirib " lived for a time in the West of 
 Ireland ; that he carried on trade with the Nemedian and Belgian 
 settlers in Mann, and' that at length, after many battles by land and 
 sea, he became first chief or king of that remarkable island : his name 
 and that of Uillin, grandson of Nuada, the first Danann king, are 
 
48 
 
 welded into topographical word-boulders of ancient Irish Keltic, 
 namely, Loch Oirib, and Magh Uillin — now Lough Corrib, and Magh 
 Cullin — the latter comprises the district between the present Danes- 
 field and the lake, midway between the towns of Oughterard and 
 Galway. On that plain, Magh Danann, anglicised Danesfield, 
 the two chieftains and their clans fought a bloody battle ; Oirib and 
 his party were defeated. Uillin's name survives in Magh Cullin ; — in 
 Lough Corrib the name Oirib is recorded. 
 
 The student of Irish history will bear in mind (a) that amongst 
 other nations, names apparently personal were names of office, or 
 given from some peculiar trait of character, or owing to some famous 
 exploit performed. This was especially so amongst the Kelts of the 
 Continent. Moses was so called because he was saved from the 
 waters ; Brennus, the name of the leader of the Gauls, was so styled 
 because he was a Breitheamh, that is, judge of his tribe, (b) Proper 
 names were not known or introduced till the eleventh century, (c) 
 Keating says expressly that " Daghda " was not the personal name 
 of " Lugh's " successor, or successors, but that Eochaidh was his real 
 name — consequently, Daghda, and Oll-athair were titles of office, or 
 names bestowed from some public cause. 
 
 Q. 8. What is the meaning of the words Tuatha 
 Be Danann, and why were the people of this race 
 distinguished by that title ? 
 
 A. The words are Keltic, or Irish-Gaelic, and mean tribes- of -the - 
 god, or goddess of-skill, or tribes of the god-like-men of -skill 
 
 To state the meaning of the words and to pass on would not be 
 satisfactory to an inquiring mind: hence it is deemed proper to 
 present here the reasons that sustain this interpretation. 
 
 1. Regarding the term Tuatha, the first of the three terms of 
 which the appellation is composed — there is, speaking generally, only 
 one opinion, that the Gaelic word Tuatha means tribes. To this 
 present hour the term is used in Irish-speaking districts in every 
 part of Connacht, to denote the plebeian classes as contrasted with 
 the aristocracy, or with the polished members of society in towns ; 
 and, in religious works, Tuatha means a laic, as opposed to cleric. 
 Tuaith (pr. thooee), is applied to the rural district where they dwell ; 
 and hence the " country," as opposed to " city," is called tuaith in 
 Gaelic. Putting the " chief " for the people — the leader for the 
 
 and ban-iuathdch means 
 
49 
 
 a " lady-chief," of whom amongst the Danann races there were 
 many. 
 
 2. On the meaning of the word " De," there are four opinions : 
 One, that it means (a) of god (genitive case singular) ; (b) of gods, 
 (plural) ; that it is (c) for degh, good ; that it is genitive plural of " da " 
 meaning (d) "god-like men." The first of these is the correct one, 
 according to the laws of grammar ; the second, that it is the genitive 
 plural of " T)ia," is held by Nennius, the author of the tract Historia 
 Britonum, written 858, A.D., in which he styles the " Tuatha de 
 Danann" plebes " Deorum." Dr. Keating seems to favour the fourth 
 view, when he states that " De " is, perhaps, for " Dee," and the gods 
 meant were the three gifted and heroic sons of Dana, a princess of 
 that race ; or that the gods were the " druids " as a body, priests and 
 diviners, who, on account of their relations with the Supreme Being, 
 were, in a secondary sense, styled "gods." The meaning of the 
 words in that case would be, " tribes of the gods of Dana," meaning 
 the " heroic sons " of that lady, or the " druids " and priests of the 
 Danann people. Again, he states that some bards divided the nation 
 into three classes. (1) Tuatha, that is tribes; (2) De, gods; (3) 
 Danann, mechanics, or men devoted to " dana," arts. These meanings 
 areforced. Thefact that " De," and "Danann," are, in Irish, gen. cases, 
 is opposed to this last opinion, that the nation was divided in that 
 style into such classes. In old or new Gaelic writings, the term 
 "Dia " has never been applied to designate a class or subdivision of 
 people. " The enigmatical meaning of these words," observes 
 O'Mahony, in his annotations on Keating, " was not understood by 
 the bards who handed them down." p. 145. (a) He suggests that 
 " De " is a contracted form of " degh" meaning good, or, as he 
 thinks, sacred. But never yet did " degh" signify sacred ; and he is 
 unfortunate in supposing that "degh" (old form for deagh, good), 
 qualifies " Tuatha," which precedes it. "Degh," or " deagh," is one 
 of the few adjectives that, in Irish-Gaelic at least, go before the 
 noun which they qualify, (d) "Da," is a primitive Aryan word, 
 meaning a man of knowledge, or of mental power, as in " Dagh-da" 
 •' Nuada," or " Nuadath." "Da," in this sense, is found in the 
 kindred Greek term 8d<o, the primitive of dldaaKco, to teach ; in 
 Sou's and in Saijucoi/, an intelligent being, a spirit. The plural of 
 " Da " is Dae, like Id, a day ; " lae," days ; and ga, a dart ; gae, darts, 
 rays. 
 
 It is likely, therefore, that this fourth view of the meaning of 
 "De," namely, the genitive plural of "Da," a god-like-man, is 
 
 E 
 
50 
 
 correct, particularly when one bears in mind that the Danann chiefs 
 ■were impersonations of skill and sapience. The first opinion, how- 
 ever, is the most striking and the most natural. 
 
 3. Danann. What is signified by the term ? There are three 
 opinions. 
 
 (a) The lady Dana just named, daughter of Delbeth ; or (b) 
 the " Danai" from the south-east of Europe ; or (c), skill, technical 
 knowledge, wisdom. The first opinion (a) has been already rejected. 
 Amongst this gifted race their leaders and chiefs received their 
 titles fro'Ti the people, and not the people from them, or any 
 remarkable personage amongst them. The second (6) opinion re- 
 garding the meaning of Danann, which is held by Nennius, in the 
 quotation just given, and supported by O'Mahony, is, that it means 
 the "Danai" who in the Pelasgic period of Grecian nistory emi- 
 grated northwards, and crossed in due course the river Danube* 
 sojourned in Dacia, moved north-west into Germany, and settled 
 between the Elbe and the Vistula. That a Pelasgic people of that 
 name crossed the Danube* from Thrace, and settled, at a very early 
 period indeed, to the north o£ wditern Europe is in accord with 
 ancient history. Herodotus names some Pelasgic tribes, and says 
 their language was foreign (barbaron) to the Greek spoken at 
 a later period by the Hellenes. Irish annalists state that the 
 Danann who came to Eire, had been trained in the arts by these 
 Danai of northern Europe, and hence the opinion that the 
 " Tuatha " tribes, were under the guidance and provident care of the 
 God of Danai, and therefore they received the national appellation of 
 "tribes of the God of the Danai," O'Mahony is of opinion that the 
 Irish colony had mixed for a time with a Greek-speaking people, 
 or with a people who spoke a language the forms of which were 
 adopted by the Greeks. Philology furnishes the proof. 
 
 It is this. Many terms, specially in use by the Danann race of 
 Eire in remote ages, form the genitive case in " ann," or " enn," or 
 its equivalent, "and" or "end" that is "ant " or " ent" for d and t t 
 in old Gaelic were written, indifferently, to represent the same sound, 
 and " nn " is only modern for " nd" But many nouns in Greek 
 form the genitive case singular in the same manner (omitting os final) 
 in nt. Therefore a certain sameness in the declension of nouns 
 
 * The ab in Punjab, five rivers ; Do-a&, two rivers, is a key to ab, 
 in Danube, the Danai river, or, the dashing river. Ister, another Keltic 
 name, means rapid water. 
 
51 
 
 exists between Greek and the Gaelic language as spoken by the 
 JDanann race in ancient Eire. This sameness points to a time when 
 the progenitors of the two nations, the (Greek) Danai and the (Gaelic) 
 Dananna, spoke one primitive tongue, from which the two languages 
 borrowed the same grammatical form of declension in ant, ent, or ont, 
 in Greek ; and, end, or ond, ann, enn, or onn in Gaelic. 
 
 The Gaelic nouns which form the genitive in ann or and, and 
 which it is known the Danann spoke, are, eine, Ireland; genitive 
 e-ineAn-o, Eireann ; Brita, genitive, Britann ; Ara, genitive, Arann ? 
 Mana (Mann), genitive, Manann; mutriA (Munster), genitive, mum Ann. 
 Alba, Scotland, genitive Albann, Ula (Ulster) old form, genitive 
 Ulann. Names of Danann chiefs : Elada, Eladann ; Taillti, (queen 
 of Eochy, and foster-mother of Lugh), genitive, Tailltenn ; Eta, 
 Etann ; £obA, genitive, Gobann ; Eithle, genitive, Eithlenn, mother 
 of Lugh ; Ogma, Ogmann, Bua, Buann ; and Danann itself is 
 genitive case of " Dana." Philological sameness points to identity of 
 cause. Therefore, the Irish Danann race had, in the early or very 
 remote past, a lingual identity with Greek in some grammatical forms 5 
 and this shows that the races had for a time some social connection. 
 
 The last opinion (c) on the meaning of the word " Danann," is, that 
 it is the genitive case of " Dana," meaning skill, technical know- 
 ledge. King Lugh is styled " SAb lol.-oAnAc," " all-skilled stock ; " the 
 universal genius. The root of "dan," an art; "dana," arts; or, 
 "dana," skill, is found in "da" already explained. "Dan," in 
 modern Irish is a " work of mind," therefore a poem in its present 
 acceptation ; -oatica, poems, songs. " Dan " is the " knowing god," a 
 §aifj.a>v, a spirit, foresight or prevision; therefore, providence, destiny: 
 and in this sense it is in use to this day : as ca ye Ann -oAn -oAm, " it is 
 in destiny for me." "Dan" was a title of respect given in ancient 
 times in England to learned or clever men, as Don, or Dona, at 
 present in Spain, or at home. " Dana" signifies confidant, daring, 
 one who is a child of fate. Such are the meanings of " Dan" and 
 "Dana." In the time of "Lugh," and the Danann, the term 
 meant, skill, ingenuity. Its genitive, as people at that time formed 
 the oblique case, is " "OAnAnn." According to this last view, the mean- 
 ing of the title bestowed on this people is, " tribes of the god of 
 genius, or skill ; " or, " tribes of the god-like men of skill." 
 
 Q. 9. Were the Fomorians a distinct colony oi 
 settlers, like the Firbolg, or the Danann races ? 
 
 A. No ; in pre-Christian periods of Irish history they were to the 
 
52 
 
 ancient races, who from time to time had settled in Ireland, what the 
 Danes, in later times — from the eighth to the eleventh century — 
 became to the Christian inhabitants of the land. From the very 
 earliest date the Fomorians are named in Irish annals as invaders 
 and marauders. They attacked the followers of Partholan on several 
 occasions, and finally caused the destruction of the entire race. In 
 like manner, the Nemedians and Firbolg were continuously subject 
 to their fierce incursions. The Nemedians were at one time almost 
 annihilated, on the occasion of the great fight at Tory Island. Many 
 of the Fomorians intermarried with the Nemedians and Belgian 
 tribes, and subsequently with the Danann ; nevertheless, as a people 
 with a distinct dynasty, having an Ardrigh and government of their 
 own, they never settled in Ireland. 
 
 Observe : It is well that the historical student should note tha& 
 many errors arise amongst the common people, because they confound 
 (as many writers ignorant of Irish antiquities have confounded) the 
 Danann with the Danes, and the Fomorian. The Danann were 
 a native Gaelic race, learned and law-loving, devoted to literary 
 culture and skilled and practised in the art of building. The Danes 
 and Fomorians did not build, but destroyed all they could ; they were 
 not native, but foreign ; not devoted to the arts of civilisation, but 
 bent on plunder and slaughter. The Fomorians date from the earliest 
 period ; the Danes, as such, only from the eighth century after Christ. 
 The "Danes" are the Fomorians of the Christian period.* 
 
 * " These appear to have been rover-tribes from Norway, Sweden and 
 Finland, who ©rept down the Baltic and the coast of Norway, and swarmed 
 over the Orkneys, Shetland, and the Hebrides. They are said in our old 
 histories and genealogies to have been of the race of Cham. They appear 
 to have been the forerunners of the Vikings of later times, if indeed, the 
 race and the propensities of these adventurers did not come down un- 
 broken from the remotest times to the battle of Clontarf." — O'Gurry, 
 Atlantis, Vol. iii. 164. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 FOMORIANS DEFEATED : DANANN DYNASTY CONTINUED. 
 
 Q. 1. How did it come to pass that the whole of 
 the Fomorian Forces were arrayed against the 
 Danann in the Battle of Northern Magh Tura ? 
 
 A. The Battle was brought about in this wise : Breas, who ruled 
 in Nuada's stead, was, as has been stated (p. 43), deposed. He 
 yielded, of course unwillingly, to the call of the people to lay aside 
 the robes of kingly state. After a time he took counsel with his 
 mother, who was of the Danann race, what was best to be done in 
 order to regain possession of the sovereignty. Both mother and son 
 determined to retire to the court or home of his father Elatha, at 
 that time one of the ruling chiefs of the Fomorian pirates, who 
 then swarmed along the Northern Sea or German Ocean, and 
 ruled as masters over the Hebrides to the west, and the Orkneys 
 and the Shetland Islands to the north of Caledonia. Breas received 
 from Elatha, his father, only slight encouragement. Elatha did not 
 like that his son should oppose so powerful a people, and they his 
 own relatives. Wishing, however, to have the fullest possible 
 number of forces to fight, if it should come to that, and the largest 
 fleet that he could put together, he recommended him to the favor 
 of another powerful Fomorian chief, known by the name Bdlor " of the 
 mighty blows,'' 1 called also Bdlor " of the Evil Eye,' 1 and to Indech, son 
 of De-Domnand, a Fomorian king. 
 
 It must not be forgotten that Breas during his sovereignty vastly 
 befriended the Fomorian chiefs, and to such an extent, that the 
 Danann lords, over whom he was king, were afraid that very soon 
 they should be reduced to the state of clientship or serfdom to those 
 rulers of the sea. On applying for succour to Balor and to Indech, 
 Breas received therefore a very friendly response. The Fomorian 
 chiefs united to strike a blow, all as one man, against the Danann 
 dynasty, in order to secure to themselves and their posterity pos- 
 session and sovereignty of " Inis Fail." 
 
 The two chiefs, Balor and Indech, aided by Elatha and Breas, 
 mustered all the men found fit to bear arms amongst Vko Fomorians t 
 
54 
 
 and gathered together all the ships lying from Scandinavia westward 
 to the Orkneys and Hebrides, so that when the fleet set sail for Eire, 
 those on the headlands and hills beheld, like a high-way, a continuous 
 line of boats and ships bridging the Northern Sea, or rather the 
 Atlantic, from Tiri (Tiree) to Tory Island ; from Fingal's Cave, in 
 Staffa, to the headlands of Antrim, where the terminus known as 
 that of the Giant's Causeway stands. 
 
 In a passing way, it may be well here to present special points of 
 topography, to explain certain features of history : — In the matter 
 in hand the " idea " of the Giant's Causeway illustrates the history 
 of the Fomorian fleet under Balor ; and the account regarding 
 Balor's invasion receives in turn a degree of credibility from the 
 tradition regarding the giant and his causeway. The pretty and 
 poetic thought of a giant's highway from Staffa to Antrim had its 
 rise, no doubt, from the vast gathering of boats and ships which 
 on this occasion dotted the surface of the Moyle, as that ocean- 
 stream between Malin and Mull was once called. 
 
 Balor, King of the Isles, was the giant : He was more powerful 
 than ordinary mortals, if not in size or strength, at least by aid of 
 art, such as glasses or reflectors, which even then were known ; by 
 warlike weapons of a keener kind, and men of great daring and 
 courage in his train. The burning reflectors would, no doubt, be 
 regarded by even the Danann, who were pretty clever, as an " Evil 
 Eye," if in the battle strong reflected light, as it is said, dazzled the 
 fighting men. The name (a) Balor, means in Gaelic, " the drowning 
 sea-god ;" bAu, drown, and Lear, that is Lir, sea, or sea-god. The (6) 
 numerous fleet of boats and ships was the apparent highway across 
 the waters. In process of time the voice of written and oral 
 tradition, respecting this Fomorian passage, substituted a real road for 
 that of boats, and a giant of fancy in place of the commanding Balor. 
 This view was, in the minds of the unthinking, confirmed by the 
 natural basaltic pillars which, in matchless beauty of arrangement, and 
 in massive proportions, pave the way along the shore, and, under the 
 waters of the sea, from Antrim coast it is supposed, right on to the 
 opposite Scottish shore of Staffa's isle. 
 
 In company with their chiefs and men, Balor and Elatha, and 
 Indech and Breas, landed on Tory Island and along the Donegal 
 coast. From Tory Island they and their forces move onward by a 
 south-eastern route, till they reach the shores of the beautiful Lough 
 Erne. Some crossed into Leitrim by Beleek, where the waters of the 
 lake find an outlet into the river that passes by Ballyshannon, 
 
55 
 
 and the spot known afterwards in history as eAf-Ao , oA--|\tiAi'& 
 (Assaroe), the waterfall of Red Hugh. There was then, as now, but 
 not so densely peopled, by the shore of the enchanting Lake Erne, 
 a lovely island which attracted the attention of Balor and his 
 Fomorian Queen Kethlen. She and Balor, and their clients or 
 followers, made the island their home as long as their forces were 
 being prepared for the approaching battle. The record of that event 
 is still, like a diamond in a ring, or a fish in a fossil shell, preserved 
 to the philologist in the name of Enniskillen — a modernised form of 
 Ims-Kethlen, the Island of Kethlen — Balor's Queen. 
 
 The Fomorian troops push onwards to the south, till they reach 
 the plain lying between Lakes Arrow and Allen, the boundary of the 
 present Barony of Tir-Errill, in the County Sligo. It was a spot 
 admirably selected for a great engagement — a plain having lakes to 
 the east and west — the sea not far on the north-west, and the whole 
 immediately surrounded by high hills, rocks, and narrow defiles. 
 Here they took their stand, and awaited the coming of the Tuatha 
 De Danann, either to fight or to yield to the power of " the proud 
 invader." 
 
 Q. 2. Is there any authentic record of the dress, at 
 this time, worn by the Fomorians, or the Danann, or 
 of the warlike weapons then in use ? 
 
 A. Yes ; O'Curry states — (Manners and Customs of the Ancient 
 Irish, vol. hi., p. 155) — " that all our ancient histories and romantic 
 tales abound in references to splendid vesture and personal orna- 
 ments of gold, silver, precious stones, and fine bronze, from the first 
 battle of Magh Tuireadh [fought eighteen hundred years before 
 Christ], down to the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries," i.e., at a 
 time when Argos and Athens and Mykense, as cities, flourished and 
 abounded in wealth, and for many subsequent ages. 
 
 In the battle of Northern Magh Tuireadh, fought between the 
 Tuatha De Danann and the Fomorians, we are told that Eladha, 
 King of the Fomorians, appeared before a Danann maiden in 
 Connacht, dressed as follows, in the words of the Irish tract, which 
 contains an account of the battle : — 
 
 " He had golden hair down to his shoulders. He wore a cloak braided 
 with golden thread ; a tunic interwoven with threads of gold, and a 
 brooch of gold at his breast, emblazed with brilliant precious stones. 
 He carried two bright spears, with fine bronze handles, in his hand, 
 
56 
 
 a shield of gold over his shoulder, and a gold-hilted sword, with 
 veins of silver and paps of gold." — (Original Text in Keltic, ib. p. 156, 
 vol. in.) At parting, the Fornorian chief presented the lady with a 
 gold ring, which he had on his middle finger. 
 
 Such was the dress of Balor, too ; and of course robes of equal 
 elegance and splendour adorned his queen, Kethlen. On the other side, 
 it is stated the Queen of Nuadha, the Danann King, wore bracelets of 
 gold and precious stones, and that she constantly wore rings of gold 
 on her fingers or golden armlets on her arms, to bestow upon poets 
 or musicians. Gold and silver pieces of coined money were not then 
 so much in use, particularly in bestowing gifts, as were rings, armlets, 
 bracelets, and other ornaments. Even to this day offerings of this 
 kind are preferred to mere money value. 
 
 The warlike weapons of the Fomorians consisted of(l) a lorica, or 
 breast-plate ; (2) helmet on head ; (3) a manais, or broad spear in 
 his right hand ; (4) a big, heavy, sharp sword at his girdle ; (5) a 
 firm shield at his left shoulder. 
 
 " It is stated," says O'Curry (vol. ii. p. 245, Manners and Customs 
 of the Ancient Irish), " in all our ancient authorities that the Tuatha 
 De Danann were the first to introduce pointed weapons into Erinn. 
 Those of their predecessors, the Firbolg, were round, broad, heavy, 
 sharp, but pointless. The arms of the Tuatha De Danann were, (1) a 
 sharp -pointed, narrow spear (sleigh) for casting ; (2) a manais, or a 
 broad, trowel-shaped spear-head ; (3) a claidheamh, or sword, flagger- 
 shaped and double-edged ; (4) the sling. No arrows, slings, stones, 
 or axes are mentioned in the former Battle of Magh Tura, which was 
 fought twenty -seven or thirty years earlier than that which the 
 Fomorians were now prepared to fight in Tir-Errill, to the north of 
 the Curlew Mountains, in County Sligo* 
 
 Q. 3. How did Nuada, the Ard-righ at Tara, act 
 on hearing of the advance of the Fornorian host ? 
 
 A. On learning the news, he called what in modern times would be 
 
 * Cur-lew, or Corr-lev, is a phonetic form in English of the Irish 
 Cot\j\-fViAb, Crane-mountain. These are four hills ; on the summit of 
 one, known as " Gearran ban," or white -horse, there is a remarkable earn 
 since the days of the Fornorian fight. O'Curry derives the name from 
 Corr, a roundish, lumpy form. Corr is the term in common use amongst 
 the people for Crane. These mountains are frequented by cranes. There 
 is nothing special in a mountain being round or lumpy. 
 
57 
 
 styled a cabinet council, consisting of Lugh and Daghda Mor, each 
 of whom was, one day, to be Ard-righ of Eire ; also Dianceacht, the 
 .ZEsculapius of the Danann tribes, and Ogma. The coming of the 
 Fomorians, and their advance southward from Lough Erne, came 
 under their consideration. The conqueror of the Firbolg heroes was 
 not likely now to yield to one who, like Breas, had at one time been 
 bis subject, aided though he is and sustained in the threatened 
 struggle by Fomorian princes. Peace without honour — or war — 
 which ? — that is the question. Daghda Mor, acting as prime minister, 
 and Lugh as commander-in-chief, or minister of war, were entrusted 
 by the king with the preparation and management of every thing 
 connected with the approaching battle on which, as at Marathon, 
 the fate of two nations depended. These wise and brave com- 
 manders act with fidelity to their masoer and with honour to them- 
 selves. They summon in turn to cheir presence the heads of each 
 department in the kingdom, whose duty or office was in any way 
 concerned with carrying on the war with efficiency and success — 
 namely, smiths, artificers, workmen, cup-bearers, carpenters, vic- 
 tuallers, sorcerers, surgeons, physicians, poets, druids, and the 
 subordinate chiefs of the various clans. Lugh interrogated each 
 commanding clansman, and gave him orders that, on his part, all things 
 necessary for the great national encounter should be ready. Every 
 department was accordingly organized most carefully, so as to make 
 success quite certain. The ancient tract containing an account of 
 the battle states how these two statesmen summoned to their 
 presence chiefs of the different tribes and the " cerds," or artificers 
 who wrought in silver and brass, and metal of all kinds. " There is 
 not," says O'Curry, " in the whole range of our ancient literature, a 
 more curious chapter than that which describes the questions put by 
 Lugh to the several classes, as to the nature of the service which 
 each was prepared to render in the battle, and the characteristic 
 professional answer which in turn he received from each of them." — 
 MS. Materials of Irish History, p. 249. 
 
 All preparations necessary for a successful battle are now made ; 
 the troops of the provincial kings have assembled at Tara under 
 their respective commanders. 
 
 Q. 4. Where did the hostile armies meet ? 
 
 A. At a place known afterwards as Kilmactraney, to the north- 
 east of the Curlew mountain range. The spot is marked in an 
 
58 
 
 engraved copy of a map made (a.d. 1689) by the Down Survey. 
 The plain of northern Magh Tura extends the whole way between 
 Lough Arrow on the west and Sean-Chuach (or Old-Cuckoo) moun- 
 tain to the east, not far, in a northerly direction, from Kilmactraney, 
 which lies close to the line that forms the boundary between the 
 counties of Sligo and Roscommon. 
 
 King Nuada, at the head of his troops, marched forth from 
 Teach-na-Righ, at Tara, to do battle with the powerful Fomorian 
 foe who watched from the slopes of Mount Brdh-lieve (bf\eAc, 
 watch, and sl/iAb, mountain), the advance of the Danann 
 forces. Under Nuada the troops advance, guided by the generals — 
 Daghda, the beacon of succour ; Lugh, the intelligent and valiant ; 
 Ogma, the wise ; Delbaoth (T>elb, shape ; and aot>, fire), the warlike. 
 On the other hand the Fomorians prepare for battle under the 
 command of Balor, Breas, Elatha, Tethra, and Indech (i.e. com- 
 mander-of-the-horse : — Ech, horse ; ind for inn, in, or over). 
 
 Q. 5. In what respects do the two battles, that of 
 Magh Tura at Cong, in Mayo, and of Kilmactraney 
 in Sligo, differ ? 
 
 A. They differ in place, in time ; in hostile armies and com- 
 manders ; in their respective issues ; in the monuments that still 
 remain to tell each generation those who fought and bled and 
 conquered or died ; in the narrations written in old Irish giving an 
 account of each battle ; in the varied and multiplied allusions re- 
 garding the two battles, to be seen in the Books of Leinster, Leacan, 
 Ballymote (MSS.) ; in the published histories and records, such as the 
 " Annals of the Four Masters," " Dr. Keating's Ireland," and the 
 great number of Irish poems regarding these hostile engagements, 
 still preserved in the Royal Irish Academy. The battles present 
 some points that are common to the two, namely, that the Danann 
 and their King Nuada fought on each occasion ; in the first battle 
 they fought the Firbolg and conquered; in the second also they 
 were victors, but their King Nuada was slain ; in the first battle they 
 fought in order to acquire possessions in the island, and against the 
 then rightful owners, the Firbolg ; in the second, they fought against 
 the combined power of the Fomorian invaders, and the defeated 
 Belgse, not to obtain new possessions, but to retain those they had 
 acquired. In the first, the Firbolg were defeated ; in the second, 
 the Fomorians were so beaten that never again did they enjoy the 
 
59 
 
 same high-handed authority that they had in the past been exercis- 
 ing over land and sea.* 
 
 Q. 6. What has been recorded of this remarkable 
 battle fought by the Danann against the Fomorians 
 and their allies ? 
 
 A. In the battle of Magh Tura Conga, the hostile armies were 
 allowed one hundred and five days to prepare javelins and spears 
 and swords of the same style and finish, so that in armour and 
 weapons, offensive and defensive, neither of the two should have any 
 advantage. On the present occasion the armies about to engage in 
 deadly strife were allowed a limited, but withal a sufficient interval 
 to have weapons of offence and defence of the same kind prepared 
 by the smiths and artificers of the respective armies. Raths and en- 
 closures, too, for the kings are erected by the Danann and the 
 Fomorian. The physician Dianceacht and his sons Airmedh and 
 Mioch,and his daughter Ochtriuil prepare healing baths made of the 
 essences gathered chiefly in Lus-mhagh, or herb-field, in the present 
 King's County. Stone circles of defence, and enclosures for support 
 in a man-to-man struggle had been prepared, by order of Lugh and 
 Daghda, for the Danann warriors. The latter are skilfully posted 
 between Lough Arrow to the left, facing the right wing of the 
 Fomorians, while their own right wing stretches onwards towards 
 Kilmactraney. 
 
 * (a) The unpublished MS. that contains an account of Magh Tura 
 Conga, was copied from one very old in the fifteenth century at Magb- 
 Enne\ near Ballyshannon, by Cormac O'Cuirnin, and is at present pre- 
 served in Trinity College Library, H. 2, 17. Of this a translation was 
 made by John O'Donovan, and can be seen in the volume marked 
 County Mayo — Letters — amongst those MSS. Tomes made for the Ord- 
 nance Survey. Another volume, marked Antiquities, contains in old 
 Irish the original story respecting those battles, penned in the hand- 
 writing of O'Curry. 
 
 (&) Copies of the other manuscript of Magh Tura (or Tuireadh) ua 
 b-Vo§mA]\Ac (of the Fomorians), giving a description of the engagement 
 at Kilmactraney, are preserved in the British Museum. — Harleian MSS. 
 — 5280. A copy of this latter, made by a son of the late Eugene O'Curry, 
 is now in the Library of the Catholic University, Stephen 's-green, Dublin. 
 
 Sir William Wilde remarks, regarding these two manuscripts : "By 
 vei-y many writers, ancient and modern, these two battles and battle- 
 fields have been mixed up." It is to be hoped that the correct view 
 suggested by Wilde, and presented fully in these pages in the narratives 
 and topographical descriptions, will prevent farther mistakes, and prove 
 the certainty of these remote and remarkable engagements. 
 
60 
 
 The morning of battle, 31st October, has dawned. The " horn-of- 
 war," or " battle -trumpet," proclaims to the Danann the royal 
 order to commence the dreadful struggle. The troops on each 
 side are pale from contending emotions. They are all, however, 
 full of hope of a successful issue ; the Fomorians, on account of 
 their numbers and the well-known bravery of their commanders, 
 and the terror which their name and power had hitherto infused into 
 the ranks of all opponents who had dared to encounter them by sea 
 or land. The Tuatha De Danann are confident of success on 
 account of victories which on a former occasion they achieved ; and 
 on account of the splendid preparation which they have made, and 
 of the skilled and brave generals under whose command they act. 
 As in the former battle, so in this, it is ruled that the entire army 
 on each side, and not any select portion of it, should decide the fate 
 and fortunes of Fomorian and Danann people. 
 
 And now the moving hosts draw nearer and nearer. Suddenly 
 the air around is darkened with the showers of spears and darts that 
 are cast, swift and thick by the combatants. The poets and 
 poetesses shout the war song; invoke the hero -spirits of former 
 warriors, and bid the men emulate the glorious deeds of their 
 fathers, if they desire to live like them a life of immortal fame. 
 The combatants take up the cry, and with drawn swords rush to the 
 slaughter. The clang of shields and of crossing swords resounds 
 through the plain. The weapons of death are fleshed deep in many 
 a heroic heart. The earth is gory with the life-blood of the fallen. 
 Man selects man, and hero, hero in the encounter. Among the 
 myriad fighting men contending in that field of slaughter, observe 
 the leaders, for around them are gathered the interests of the battle. 
 On the Danann side are Nuada, the lady chieftain Macha, Daghda, 
 Lugh, Ogma (son of Eladha, son of Niad), with Bruidne and Calmel; 
 on the other are Balor, the general-in-chief of the Fomorians, and 
 his queen, Kethlen, who, like the Queen of Scythians, takes a part 
 in the fortunes of war and strife ; Indech and Breas, and Elatha. 
 Around these few chieftains is circled the fortune of war: Balor, 
 named for his mighty blows bAilc-beitrmeAc, singles out Nuada, 
 the King of the Danann, the victor at the Battle of Magh- 
 Conga. Now, in his old age, and with enfeebled frame, Nuada, 
 with one hand able to wield the sword, stands face to face 
 with Balor, the fierce giant of the Isles. With one blow of his 
 terrible sword Balor lays his foe stretched on the plain. Macha, 
 a Danann chieftainess, who rushed to the aid of the king, receives 
 
61 
 
 a stroke of Balor's spear, and seals her fidelity to her king by- 
 breathing her last sigh by his side. Kethlen, the Fomorian queen, 
 wishes to signalise her presence like her brave husband, and witli 
 sure aim levels a lance or javelin at Daghda, the wisest and the 
 bravest of all the Danann generals. Wounded by the heroic queen, 
 he is forced to retire from the combat. Ogma, sod of Eladha, is 
 slain by Indec, the Fomorian prince. Bruidne and Calmel, two 
 other brave Danann chieftains, are slain by a group of eight Fomorian 
 warriors. Breas, the primary cause of the battle, is laid low by a 
 Danann chief. And now it seems that victory is favouring the 
 Fomorians. They are victorious all along the line. Elated with 
 success Balor rushes on his foes. His giant sword and long spear 
 strike terror into the ranks of the Danann warriors. He gloats over 
 the slain. He rages like a lion in a fold c No sword of foeman can 
 reach him. He struts like one who cannot be defeated : when lo ! 
 suddenly he falls to the earth, struck by a stone. Who has flung that 
 fatal stone? His own grandson, the son of his daughter Eithlenn, 
 who had for husband Cian, a Danann chief. When Lugh, with 
 anguish, saw his Ard-righ slain, and the chieftains of the Danann 
 host fall fast around him, then he aimed at Balor, and whirled the 
 sling ; the stone entered the eye, pierced the brain, and came out at 
 the back of Balor's head. The battle is won. The Danann are 
 once, more victorious. The pirate power of the Fomorians is laid 
 prostrate for centuries to come. 
 
 The fall of Balor is to them a warning for retreat. They retire 
 from the bloody fray northward by Abhan mhor (pr. owhen wor), 
 the " large river," which flows from Lough Arrow, by the modern 
 Collooney, into the sea at Ballysadare. Pursued by the Danann, 
 the Fomorians are slaughtered in hundreds. The waters of Abhan 
 mhor and Abhan bheag are purpled with the life-blood of the slain. 
 Still the survivors rush onwards to the sea with the hope of reaching 
 their boats or ships, hard by the shore at Ballysadare. Here some of 
 the Fomorian chiefs and the pirate warriors make their final stand, 
 pursued by the victorious Danann. A fierce encounter ensues 
 between the conquering chiefs, with their brave clansmen, on the 
 one side, and the crest-fallen Fomorians on the other. Despair and 
 dauntless courage in the face of death nerve the arm and supply fresh 
 strength to the defeated. Victors and vanquished soon lie slaugh- 
 tered on the strand. Monuments and mounds still stand, or did so 
 until lately, to tell to each succeeding generation the tale of that 
 day's defeat and victory. The strand at Baltra has been known in 
 
62 
 
 Irish history as Traigh Eothaile, from Eothail, a famous Fomorian 
 who fell there fighting the Danann. A tumulus of great size was 
 erected on the shore where he fell ; and carns were raised to com- 
 memorate the death of the victors, who died in that fierce encounter 
 fought on the strand at Ballysadare. Nigh three thousand Fonio- 
 rians perished that day. In the quaint mode of reckoning, the 
 number is told in the Book of Leinster (MS.), seven men, and sever 
 times twenty men ; seven hundred ; seven fifties, nine hundred ; 
 twenty and forty — that is, two thousand one hundred and fifty - 
 seven. 
 
 The victory of the Danann was complete. It can justly be 
 compared to that which the native Irish at a later period achieved at 
 Clontarf , where they defeated the northern seamen of the Christian 
 period — the Danes. The Fomorians were never again able to obtain 
 dominion or any permanent power in Ireland. As pirates many of 
 them continued to harass the Irish coast, but, as a people forming 
 a single united dynasty, they never acquired any directive control in 
 the affairs of Eire. 
 
 Q. 7. Are there any monuments existing to tell 
 the archaeologist that a battle, such as that described, 
 was fought by the Fomorians against the Danann 
 rulers and lords of Ireland ? 
 
 A. Yes; the cromleachs, mounds and stone-circles built by 
 Danann hands on Traigh Eothaile, and Fionn Traigh, or the " white 
 strand," to the west of Ballysadare, and those found to the east in 
 the lands from Seafield on towards the town of Sligo, or to Knock - 
 narea, the Olympus of the county, show that the fleeing Fomorians 
 rushed, on this occasion, for safety to their ships, moored along the 
 shores of that harbour into which the waters of Abhan-mhor, after 
 many a dash and a bound over ledges of rock, stoop amid sparkling 
 spray to kiss the rising tide, as it rushes inland from the fierce 
 Atlantic. The natural charms of the river, with its numerous 
 cascades, formed a barrier to the vessels of the Fomorian sailors. 
 
 Dr. Petrie declares that in August, 1837, he inspected, in all, 
 sixty-four cahirs, circles, cromleachs, from Ballysadare to Knock - 
 narea, and in all the lands leading to Sligo. 
 
 In the Ordnance Survey Letters, now preserved in the Royal 
 Irish Academy Library, Dublin, Petrie gives a full description of each 
 of these monuments. He and Dr. O'Donovan and O 1 Curry declarej 
 
63 
 
 that the cromleachs are not, as is commonly supposed, druidical 
 altars, but monuments raised to the slain. O'Donovan bears 
 testimony that in the year 1836, stone-circles and cromleachs, and 
 curious caves were found by him on the battle field at Kilmactraney, 
 and particularly in the mountain districts towards Lough Gill (or 
 Lough Gilly, as it was called centuries ago).* 
 
 The name of Dara, a Fomorian druid, who in that flight was laid 
 low by Lugh, the champion who had already slain Balor, the Goliath 
 of the Fomorian host, is preserved to this hour in the name " Eas- 
 Dara" i.e. DarcCs Waterfall, which with the Gaelic prefix for 
 " town " baile, forms " Baile-easa-Dara," modernised into Ballysadare. 
 The barony to the west of the battle-field is called " Corann ;" and 
 the mountain Cesh Corainn, near Lough Arrow, has its name from 
 Corann, a harper of the Tuatha De Danann who was present at the 
 engagement. And the " Gamh " mountains, and Traigli Eothaile, or 
 " Traigh an Chairn," and " Knock na Riogh, and other well-known 
 names of places such as Loch Febail (Foyle), from Febal, son of 
 Lodan, tell the antiquarian and Gaelic philologist of a race whom 
 Irish annals represent as Tuatha De Danann.f 
 
 * In the year 1858 a great rampart was drawn by the present pro- 
 prietor of the soil and of the strand, uniting an island which lies near 
 the shore to the main land. Thus the sea has been shut out, and a large 
 portion of the Traigh Eothaile is now yielding abundant crops to the 
 industrious tillers of the soil. 
 
 t The name " Gamh " (pr. gav), applied to those mountains, was by 
 the unlettered understood to be Damh, an ox, and accordingly those hills 
 are now known in English as the " Ox Mountains." 
 
 Obseeve : — The close of the battle fought at Cong has, by most of the 
 Irish annalists and native tale-writers, been confounded with the closing 
 struggle that decided the fate of the Fomorians on the strand east and 
 west of Ballysadare. See supra chap. iv. p. 28, where it is shewn that 
 Eochaidh MacErc, the last of the Firbolg kings, died fighting on the 
 shore at Lough Mask, and that his remains were interred not far from the 
 borders of that lake. This view, presented by Sir/William Wilde, rests 
 on the authority of the manuscripts now in Trinity College, and that in 
 the Catholic University, and is naturally the correct one. It would be a 
 strange feat, indeed, if King Eochaidh, dying of thirst, exhausted after 
 four days' fighting, could retreat fifty miles from Cong to Ballysadare, 
 pursued by one hundred and fifty warriors. This strange feat never 
 struck Irish annalists as something impossible to be done in the circum- 
 stances. Each annalist copied exactly from his predecessor, with 
 apparent truth, asking no questions. 
 
 Dr. O'Donovan and Professor O'Curry, one of whom copied the 
 original tract in Irish, and the other translated it, have not thought well 
 to correct the error, the number of authorities against such a proceed- 
 
64 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE EPONYMOUS CHARACTER OF THE DANANN CHIEFS. 
 
 Q. 1. Are not the kings, the heroes and heroines 
 of the Firbolg and Danann race, and those of the 
 Fomorians, regarded by some historians and by anti- 
 quarians not a few, as demigods and as goddesses ? 
 
 A. Yes; the kings, heroes and heroines of the Firbolg and 
 Danann rulers and some of the Fomorian leaders are looked on in 
 that light by many modern historians and by antiquarians. Among 
 the demigods are reckoned Daghda M6r, one of the great Danann 
 kings, and his wife Mor Righan, or the Great Queen; Daghda is 
 styled also Oll-atliair, or the All-father, a title given by the Germans 
 to Thor, or Donar the Thunderer, their Jupker Tonans. The same 
 title is also given to Odin, or Woden, Mercury, regarded by them as 
 the impersonation of the all-powerful will of the Creator. Jupiter, 
 i.e., Dia-pater, is a title that signifies pretty much the same as divine 
 father, for Ju is only a Latin form either of the Keltic Dia, God, 
 day, or of the Sanskrit Dyaus, the glistening Ether. The name 
 Jupiter Tonans, is German Thor, Thunor or Donar. 
 
 Amongst the Keltic tribes the king held the position of great- 
 father or patriarch, and in their regard filled the plaee of the great 
 
 ing was so very great. Sir William Wilde, however, has at length suggested 
 the correct view, or that which is natural and reasonable. 
 
 It is worthy of notice that all the cromleachs, stone-circles, mounds, 
 kncck3, or tumuli, are called by the Irish peasants teAbAit) tia D-pAn, 
 beds of the Fenians; also teAOAiT) iia b-"peA|\ mop, beds of the big men; and 
 that the towering tumulus which crowns Cnoc-na-Rae is styled miorcAn 
 mei-ob (Queen) Meave's butter-roll. 
 
 Thus the early history of Fomorian and Danann races had died away 
 in the long roll of years: and their great deeds had perished, drowned in 
 the stream of oral tradition amidst the unlettered and the unthinking ; 
 preserved, however, undying and imperishable in the early records of 
 the country. The peasant people applied to the graves and mounds 
 the names of those only who, as far as local knowledge went, were the 
 most renowned in the early heroic ages of Irish Milesian history, when 
 rttA-ob, and Fionn and Cuchudan were regarded as types of all that 
 was noble, chivalrous sad superhuman in pre-Christian times. 
 
65 
 
 ruler of the world. It is not surprising, therefore, that Daghda who 
 acted paternally by his people, was by them styled Oll-athair, or the 
 All-father. It is a slight proof also that the Danann and Teutons 
 had at one time mixed, or that they were taught by the same school of 
 druidical masters. This view goes to strengthen the record of their 
 wandering from the Pelasgic frontier, dwelling for a while north of 
 the Danube with the progenitors of the Teutonic tribes. 
 
 Lughaidh, sovereign and sage, the Cyrus, or Caesar of the Danann 
 Dynasty, is ranked in the class of demigods ; so is Dianceacht, the 
 physician, who, as the god of healing, was present at the two great 
 battles of Magh Tura Conga and Magh Tura of the Fomorians ; 
 Ogma was the patron or god of learning, whose wife was Etain ; 
 Kermaith had Ana for wife, the mother of the Keltic gods and 
 goddesses; Niat or Neid, and sometimes written Ned, was the 
 Belgian god of war ; Eserg, his son, god of slaughter ; Badhbh was 
 the Bellona, or goddess of war ; Balor, leader of the Fomorians and 
 his queen Kethlen were real characters, yet they are regarded as 
 more than human in the exploits ascribed to them. We have Eithle ; 
 mother of Lughaidh and daughter of Balor, with Dana and her sons, 
 Brian, Iuchar, and Iucharba. Again there is Lear or Allod and hi» 
 son Manannan, prince of merchants, known as MacLir, or MacAlloid, 
 the son of Lear (the sea), or Allod (land) : Brighid, patroness of 
 poetry, of the fine arts, and of medicine, is regarded as a goddess, 
 and Abhcann was the god of music. 
 
 Q. 2. Is not the record of their lives therefore, 
 mythical, and accordingly how can it be styled history, 
 and above all authentic history ? 
 
 A. Let it be granted that those just named hold the rank oi 
 heroes or demigods amongst the Danann races, and that accordingly 
 the narration of their exploits must necessarily include the marvel ~ 
 lous, and appear mythical ; nevertheless the record of thefr lives as has 
 been presented in these pages is substantially correct. It is true 
 that they lived and figured for a time in public life, and achieved for 
 the people and themselves many great successes ; while the minor 
 details of their lives regarding how they were born and lived or died, 
 or the means they adopted in gaining renown, may, let us admit, be 
 grossly exaggerated, or perhaps pure inventions. Take a parallel 
 case : it is certain that there was a founder of Rome, although the story 
 of Rhea Sylvia and the she-wolf that suckled the twin princes is a myth. 
 
66 
 
 It is certain that the foundations of the City of Mykense were laid by 
 human hands — the old walls are to be seen to this day ; — but who 
 built the city is uncertain ; some skilled and energetic Greek 
 certainly first conceived the plan, and saw the foundations laid, but 
 whether the founder was a native of Argos or not, or the fabled 
 Perseus himself or not, no ®ne can tell. The pretty story regarding 
 Danae, the mother of Perseus, daughter of Acrisius, is a pure inven- 
 tion, a mere myth, and the early life of her son an imperfect copy 
 of the early history of Moses. 
 
 Take other instances in which, like ivy around the oak, myth 
 creeps around the reality. 
 
 It ig certain that letters were brought at an early period into 
 Greece, but the story regarding Cadmus is an invention. Even the 
 history of Charlemagne, whose life and exploits are as certainly his- 
 torical as those of Napoleon I., is not without its mythicalcounterparts. 
 
 A historian's duty is to record those facts, for the truth of which 
 ample data have been furnished by monuments, by numismata, 
 comparative philology, history, by a comparison of the different 
 races that have occupied the soil of the eountry ; their remains, tombs, 
 footprints, past possessions ; in the names of the hills and valleys, 
 towns and strongholds through the land : harmony of all these 
 sources of information and even with the legends and stories regard- 
 ing them for thousands of years past ; lastly, in the Keltic names of 
 many families, whose surnames are manifestly of Danann origin. 
 Proofs like these go to support the reality of the Danann dynasty 
 in Ireland. 
 
 Q. 3. How much of the public life of those heroes, 
 heroines and demigods is real, and how far mythical 
 as well as one can know ? 
 
 A. To reply properly to this question, it is necessary to point 
 out that mytns are of three kinds ; (a) beings of fancy, or creatures 
 of the mind which have no individual or collective existence, yet 
 presenting under a personal character some divine attribute or power 
 of nature ; (b) real men and women to whom actions of a superhuman 
 kind are ascribed, and around whom as a centre the heroic deeds of 
 a race are grouped ; (c) Eponymous characters, heroes of a cause, 
 leading spirits of a dynasty, champions of a race, real in their aggregate 
 character, or in sensu comjjosito as it is said, but in sensu diviso unreal — 
 that is, that their history does not present personal or individual 
 character. 
 
67 
 
 In this third sense and in the second, all that has been recorded in 
 this volume regarding the history of the Danann race is true. All the 
 kings and chieftains, the heroes and heroines, — for ladies in those times 
 took a leading part in the government of peoples, — were real : — Some 
 skilled in letters like Ogma, others in medicine like Dianceacht, others 
 famed for their bravery like Lughaidh, or noted for their fatherly- 
 foresight and care, like Daghda. These names like mayor or 
 president, were titles of position and not necessarily personal. To 
 this day in the Welsh language and in the Irish, Daghda (Dada) is the 
 homely name for father. Dada is peculiarly Keltic. It is not in 
 English ; neither is it borrowed from Greek, nor from old or new 
 Latin. It has been handed down from the time of Daghda Mor who 
 with paternal care, guided the fortunes of the Danann tribes in Ireland. 
 
 Finally, it must be remembered that a knowledge of the gods and 
 goddesses of Aryan fame was understood by the Danann and Firbolg 
 tribes as well as by the early Greeks, or the Pelasgi, or those 
 of Troy, or of Asia Minor. Naturally the Danann coupled the 
 titles of those divme beings, with the heroes of their own nation, 
 and threw, with the name, the mantle of divinity over their kings 
 and chiefs. The Greeks and Latins, and all the pagan nations acted 
 just in the same manner, but such a process, although elevating 
 mortals into supposed immortal personages, did not undo the reality 
 of their historic life amongst their own people ; neither did the fact 
 of ascribing the actions of all to one eponymous personage — say to 
 Daghda, — destroy the part acted by each individual who bore the 
 eponymous name, no more than if the actions of the Napoleons 
 were ascribed to Napoleon I., or the historic actions of all the Caesars 
 should be ascribed to Julius or to Augustus. 
 
 The Daghdas, the Dianceachts, the Lughs, the Belgian leaders, 
 and the Fomorian Balor of the Evil Eye, Ler, Manannan and others 
 were eponymous. Nevertheless, individuals amongst these tribe-men 
 acted a public part and achieved events in the name of their tribes or 
 clans worthy of record in the pages of historic reality. 
 
 Q. 4. Explain to the critical scholar the line of 
 thought that directs those views. 
 
 A. The attention of the critical scholar and the philologist must 
 be arrested here tor a moment, in reading the views just put forward 
 regarding the eponymous position which the chieftains who guided 
 and ruled the Danann tribes, hold in Irish history. 
 
68 
 
 The writer wishes to avoid two extremes, which philosophical and 
 truthful historians as well as scholarly critics condemn, the Wolfian 
 theory or system on the one side, on the other the method advocated 
 by Euemeros. The latter aimed at the extraction of historical fact 
 from the legends of his country, and made myths historical matter 
 by stripping them, like birds of golden plumage, of their supernatural 
 surroundings. Euemerism when carried to excess, as it is by i he- 
 writer of the article on Mythology, inserted in the Encyclopedia 
 Britannica, leads to absurdity; it may be fairly tolerated in the 
 hands of such venerable historians as the writer of the Persian 
 Wars — Herodotus ; and of Thucydides the philosophic author of the 
 " History of the Peloponnesian War." Amongst moderns, Professor 
 Blackie advocates its use within certain logical bounds: whilst 
 Rev. G. W. Cox, in his work, " Mythology of the Aryan Nations,' r 
 denounces the distinguished Professor, and will not allow that any 
 subject surrounded with a mythic mantle can be, in any sense, 
 historical. He grants, that the legend of Roland, as told by Ariosto, 
 is true substantially, and that Roland fell at Roncesvalles ; but 
 he states that the certainty of this event rests not on the story told 
 by Ariosto, but on contemporary historical information. 
 
 The excavations, however, made by Schliemann at Troy and at 
 Mykense, and those made within the past few years by General 
 Cesnola at Cyprus, prove triumphantly that Professor Blackie is 
 right ; that in all those epics like the Iliad and national stories which 
 survive for centuries there is a certain historical residuum.* 
 
 In tracing the views presented in these pages, regarding the 
 Danann tribes and their chiefs, the writer follows the mode of 
 proceeding recommended by that distinguished common-sense writer, 
 Professor Blackie — while in reality he rests on foundations such as 
 those laid by Schliemann and General Cesnola — for he furnishes the 
 reasonings and views here given on the MS. history, and above all 
 on the still surviving monuments of his country. 
 
 * The German epic, the Nibelungen Lied, is not of this class. The 
 poem purports to be one that was actually imagined and written in the 
 twelfth century. It is not, like the Ossianic poems and tales, a collection of 
 fragments, written by an older hand in the second century, and presented 
 with new features of form and language suited to the eighteenth — old, 
 but still new. The heroes of the Nibelungen attend at Mass ; and the 
 grouping of Attila with Theodoric, as contemporaries, violates historic 
 accuracy. Blackie shows that poems of this class, cannot, like the Iliad, 
 yetain a lasting position in the literary lore of the learned and wise. 
 
03 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 SOURCES OF HISTORICAL TRUTH REGARDING THE DANANN 
 PEOPLE — THEY CERTAINLY BUILT THE PALACE OF 
 AILEACH, AND PERHAPS, MOST OF THE ROUND TOWERS. 
 
 Q. 1. What are the principal sources from which 
 proofs are drawn, attesting the reality of the Danann 
 tribes as a people who possessed Eire at a very early 
 period ? 
 
 A. These are the principal sources from which proofs are 
 furnished : — 
 
 (a) Monumental remains or relics of the past still standing, and 
 pointing, as it were with historic finger, to the date of their origin. 
 Monuments of this class are histories in stone, or in pyramidal piles. 
 They are the best kind of record, because they present the highest 
 and the most convincing proofs of the reality of those events, the 
 stamp and seal of which they have, through the wreck of ages, borne 
 unbroken to the present. 
 
 Sir William Wilde in that work from his pen, published in 1850, 
 " The Beauties of the Boyne and Blackwater," observes (p. 215) : 
 " As a country presents more or less of ancient monuments of art 
 or vestiges of language, even without the aid of written records, 
 so will the antiquary or the historian possess in a greater or less 
 degree, the data whereon to found some rational theory as to the 
 date of its first colonisation, or the origin of its inhabitants with their 
 religion, and their civil and social condition." Monuments, not a 
 few still standing in this island, give evidence that a people known 
 as Danann once were rulers of the land and its people. 
 
 (b) Quite a number of authentic codices or Irish manuscripts 
 dating from the remotest period, point to the history of these 
 Tribes and to the events achieved in their time. Those manuscript 
 works can be seen in the Royal Irish Academy, and Trinity College, 
 Dublin, or in the Bodleian Library, Oxford. 
 
 (c) Many Irish families are, to this dav, known from their 
 
70 
 
 patronymics to be of Danann origin : as for instance names like JSiaa 
 or Nead, MacNeid, Mac Ellen, or Mac Eithlenn, Mac Coll, Mac Amy- 
 Mac Leur, Mac Loid or Mac Alloid, Mac Greine, Mac Govan, Mac 
 Kean, Mac Hugh, Luge, or Lewis, Mac Conn, or Mac Gunn, or Gunn, 
 Mac Shethor. Many of the Mac Engus came, it is likely, from a 
 Danann progenitor, Engus, son of the Daghda ; Killein, a Danann 
 name is formed from Keithlein, so Ellenn from Eithleinn in the 
 surname Mac Ellenn. 
 
 Regarding the Danann families found in Eire, Mac Firbis quotes 
 the following as having been a well-known saying of annalists and 
 Irish writers in his time (1580-1670). 
 
 " Every one who is fair-haired, vengeful, large ; and every 
 plunderer, every musical person, the professors of musical and 
 entertaining performances, adepts in druidical and magical arts— they 
 are the descendants of the Tuatha De Danann in Eirinn." — Book of 
 Genealogies. 
 
 (d) Topographical names are historic boulders. Of these the 
 historian is furnished with an abundant supply in Irish Gaelic : for 
 instance, Lough Feabhail, now Lough Foyle ; Aileach (Aily) the hill 
 west of the Foyle, looking into Lough Swilly ; Enniskillen, Easdara t 
 or Ballysadare ; and most of the remarkable mounds and hills and 
 lakes and streams in the counties Sligo, Mayo, Galway, Limerick^ 
 Tipperary, and in Louth, such as at Taillten, and Clety and Brugh 
 on the Boyne. Many a place in Ireland is connected with the death, 
 or associated with the brilliant deeds, of some hero famous in days 
 long ago amongst Danann clans. 
 
 (e) Certain hills in Ireland said to be under the watch and ward 
 of mythical beings, known as faeries, were once the military sites and 
 strongholds of Danann chieftains, held by them, even after the 
 Milesians had gained the sovereignty of Ireland, much in the same 
 way as the Milesian chiefs held their castles and lands subsequent to 
 the English invasion, up to the commencement of the seventeenth 
 century.* 
 
 * The leading Tuatha De" Danann chieftains, and those who survived 
 the terrible battle at Taillten, east of Kells, in East Meath, where all 
 their forces were destroyed, or their final effort made at Drumlighean 
 (now Drumleen, in the barony of Kaphoe, a short distance north of 
 Lifford town, on the river Foyle), were Bodhbh (pr. Bowv) Derg, son of 
 Daghda; Manannan ; Midhir; Sighmael; Finnbarr, Tadhg M6r; Ilbreac, 
 Lir son of Lughaidh ; and Derg Dian-scothach, with three others. 
 These chieftains formed a council, and by the advice of Manannan elected 
 the eldest son of the Daghda to be their leading chief or king, in the 
 
a 
 
 (f) The Irish language furnishes many important points in com- 
 parative grammar, in derivation, in natural suggestiveness that indicate 
 the period when the Danann tribes flourished in Ireland. They 
 spoke Keltic such as is transmitted in MSS. to the present day. 
 
 (g) The battles already described, the mounds on the battle- 
 fields form a convincing proof to minds open to arguments of an 
 
 West of Ireland. For themselves they made choice of certain hills 
 throughout the land, as strongholds for each Danann chief and his 
 followers. These hills were by them called "sidhe" pronounced shee, 
 signifying a "seat," or "site," akin to "sed" in the Latin "sedeo," to 
 " sit." As the Danann regarded the Firholg, or common people, not worthy 
 of their distinguished companionship, while they hated at the same time the 
 Milesian conquerors, they were pleased to live in solitary grandeur in 
 their mansions on the hills. Their great skill added not a little to the 
 respect which the common people entertained for those who dwelt in high 
 places. In process of time, the term sidh (shee) came to have the same 
 meaning that " faery " has at present — a being of another world, living 
 unknown to men in hills or valleys, and places unfrequented by the people. 
 The term Bean-sidh (Ban-shee) or lady-faery, is well known. Allusion is 
 made to that mythical personage at present merely to point out, how it 
 has come to pass that " sidh," which at first meant a " seat," now signifies 
 " faery "; and Bean-sidh to signify a woman-faery, one who is supposed to 
 look after, in some hidden and unknown way, the fate and fortune of the 
 •• old families," and to be heard crying and wailing at the approaching 
 death of any celebrity of the Danann nobility, and latterly of anyone 
 wealthy enough to claim such distinguished attention from the lady-spirit 
 of the hills. 
 
 On the distribution of these national "seats " amongst the conquered 
 Danann, Bodhbh took a hill near Portumna, close by Lough Derg — 
 the hill retains his name Sidhe-Buidhbh ; Manannan retained the island 
 of Mann, supposed to be since then "the Land of Prophecy," and "the 
 Land of Youth" (ci|\ CAi|\|\5ine, no cij\ tia h-oij;e) ; Midhir took the 
 hill at Trim; Sighmel selected Fairymount in Koscommon, known as 
 Sidhe Nennta; Finn bar took possession of the hill Meadh, which is known 
 as Sidhe Meadlia. It is now called Knoc Meadha, or Knoc Madhbh, near 
 Tuam, in the county Galway. It is the Faery Hill of the West of Con- 
 nacht, as Sidh Nennta or Faery Mount, is regarded in Boscommon. 
 Tadhg Mor went to Allen in Kildare, and selected for a " Sidh," Diiiim 
 Dion, the firm back. Ilbreac was appointed to defend the entrance to 
 county Donegal, and the borders of Fermanagh, and he accordingly 
 selected as the seat of his supreme sway over the surrounding territory, 
 Eas Aodha Ruaidh, the hill north of Ballyshannon. Lir. son of Lughaidh, 
 took the hill of Clety (Sidh Cletigh), near Newtown-Hamilton, county 
 Armagh. 
 
 Amongst the Irish people for the j>ast three thousand years, and even 
 to this day, these hills are supposed to be the palaces of this mythical 
 race — the Danann. As their origin is, to the body of the people, unknown, 
 the mythical notion that surrounds the faery world is naturally associated 
 with them. 
 
72 
 
 ordinary convincing kind, and not closed against truth by prejudice 
 or scepticism. 
 
 (h) In Irish manuscripts, of which there are sixty-four in the 
 libraries at the Royal Irish Academy, or at Trinity College, Dublin, 
 or in those of the Bodleian Library, Oxford, events quite distinct 
 of which there cannot be any reasonable doubt, are recorded, which 
 tell the reader, there was in former days, a race of people in Ireland 
 known as the Danann. Events of a public kind are narrated with 
 such circumstantial care ; events that involve the life and death of 
 thousands, the fate and fortune of nations, so that it is impossible 
 for one to doubt that they took place, and consequently, as these 
 events refer to the Danann people, these Tuatha or Tribes must 
 have at one time been the ruling classes in Ireland. 
 
 (i) Druidism such as it existed in Ireland is in part wound up 
 with the story of this wonderful race. 
 
 Witness, the two great battles fought at Magh Tura Conga, and 
 Magh Tura of the Fomorians to the east of Ballysadare, in which 
 the Druids acted an important part. 
 
 Two out of the three tragical stories of Eirinn ; " the fate of the 
 children of Lir ;" " the fate of the children of Tuirenn," are founded 
 on the supposed certainty that such a people flourished. 
 
 The fact that those stories were written regarding the Danann is 
 not a proof that this people existed formerly, but it is a proof that 
 the belief was common amongst the natives of Ireland at the very 
 earliest period, that such a race had at some time previously 
 flourished in Eire. 
 
 (Jc) These people were famed for their knowledge of the arts, and 
 above all for their skill in architecture, as is evidenced in the buildings 
 of Grianan Ailigh, to which a fuller allusion must be made presently. 
 It is evidenced also in the erection of those Round Towers which 
 manifestly are the work of their hands. 
 
 (7) The great periodic gatherings or fairs at Tara, and at Tailltenn 
 in Meath, and at Carman (now Wexford), date their rise from the 
 time of the Danann dynasty. These fairs, or national gatherings, in 
 Ireland continued to be held for many centuries after the Christian 
 period, that at Carman as late as the year A.D. 1023, was celebrated 
 by Donagh MacGillapatrick. 
 
 The following is a summary, from the " Manners and Customs of 
 the Ancient Irish," Vol. II., p. 39-49, regarding the origin of the 
 fair and how it was held : 
 
73 
 
 " Three men ana one woman came, according to an ancient poem, 
 into Erinn to bring evil upon the De Danann people by blighting the 
 fertility of the country. 
 
 " By witchcraft and druidical spells they forced the three men 
 from the island. Their mother Carman, left as a hostage, died of 
 grief, and her request was that a fair and games should be celebrated 
 in her honor wherever she should be buried, and that the fair and 
 games should retain her name for ever, and hence Carman and the fair 
 of Carman. The Tuatha De Danann kept up this fair as long as they 
 occupied Erinn. 
 
 " Tnere were seven days for sport, or racing ; a week for con- 
 sidering and proclaiming the privileges and laws of the province for 
 the three years to come. 
 
 " It was on the last day that the Leinstermen south of the GdbTiar 
 held their fair or racing, and hence it was called the steed-contest of 
 the Ossorians. The seat of the King was on the right hand of the 
 King of Leinster ; the seat of the King of Offaly on his left ; it was 
 the same case with their wives. 
 
 " It was on the Kalends of August they assembled at it. It 
 was held every third year. Preparations were going on for two 
 years." 
 
 From the poem of the Fair of Carman, translated from the 
 original Irish : 
 
 " In the Kalends of August, without fail, 
 
 They assembled in every third year, 
 They arranged seven well-fought races 
 
 In the seven days of the week. 
 Here they proclaimed in eloquent words 
 
 The privileges and laws of the province, 
 Every rule of over-severe law, 
 
 In every third year, they adjusted." 
 
 It was prohibited during the continuance of the fair : 
 " To sue, to levy, to controvert debts. 
 
 To abuse steeds in their career, 
 Is not allowed contending racers ; 
 
 Nor elopement, nor oppression, nor arrest. 
 No man goes into the women's assembly, 
 
 No women into the assembly of the fair, healthy men, 
 No abduction is heard of, 
 
 No repudiation of husbands or wives." 
 
 O'Curry says of these stanzes, " I have translated them for the 
 sake of the light they throw on what was called the Fair of Tara ; and 
 
74 
 
 because they show the nature of these assemblies, and how the grave 
 business of legislation was performed on appointed days in the midst 
 of others set apart for pleasure or reserved for mercantile pursuits, 1 ' 
 p. 47, vol. .ii So it was at Tara, Taillten, at Cruachan. Compare 
 with these the games of Greece. 
 
 (m) The harmony found to exist on matters purely historical 
 in the vast collection of existing Irish MS. tracts, taken in relation to 
 one another ; and also in the legendary MSS. indirectly connected 
 with historic matter. 
 
 (?*) The fact that these proofs rest, like paintings on a wall, on a 
 background of monumental remains, is an additional force strengthen- 
 ing the chain of evidence that gathers round the Danann dynasty, 
 defending it from the attacks of those who look upon that singular 
 people as mythical. 
 
 (o) Sir William Wilde, writing thirty years ago, says of the 
 Danann Tribes : — " There are too many existing records of these 
 fleshy inhabitants of our isle to doubt their identity, and we believe 
 the very arts and magic assigned to them arose from their knowledge 
 of so much chemistry as related to the art of mining and the smelting 
 of metals.'' — " Beauties of the Boyne," p. 220. 
 
 And O' Curry, in the preface to the 4 ' Three most Sorrowful Tales,'' 
 remarks, that the preservation of these tales is especially valuable, 
 just at a moment like the present when every light brought to bear 
 on this subject is of so much immediate importance. Hitherto our 
 conclusions have been drawn from mere scattered allusions regarding 
 the mysterious Tuatha De Danann. Again in p. 238, " Atlantis," 
 No. vi,, he says " there is much reason to believe in the actual 
 existence of the race." 
 
 O'Donovan remarks, "letters were known not only to the 
 Milesian colony but also to their predecessors the Tuatha De 
 Danann." — Introduction to Irish Grammar. {See chap, x., infra.) 
 
 Lastly — The lives of the Danann tribes, their achievements as 
 described in peace or war, their knowledge and practice of letters 
 and art, are quite in keeping with the manners and habits of contem- 
 porary nations of Eastern origin. 
 
 Q. 2. I should like to hear facts : What are the 
 facts which monuments as a ready available source of 
 certainty supply, showing the student of history that 
 
75 
 
 the Danann tribes were a real, a practical, and a 
 clever people ? 
 
 A. The facts shall be put before you presently. 
 
 O'Donovan, Wilde, O'Curry, Petrie, supply facts in abundance and 
 vindicate the reality of those famous pre-Christian inhabitants of 
 Ireland. In the first volume of the " Annals of the Four Masters," 
 Dr. O'Donovan tells his readers : — 
 
 " The monuments ascribed by the ancient Irish to the Tuatha De 
 Danann still remain, and are principally situated in Meath, near the 
 Boyne, as at Drogheda, Dowth, Knowth and New Grange. There are 
 other monuments of them at Knock-Aine, and Knock-Greine in the 
 county of Limerick, and on the Pap Mountains, Da Chich Danainne 
 (the two paps of Danann) in the south-east of the county Kerry. 
 These monuments are of the most remote antiquity and prove that 
 the Tuatha De Dananns were a real people, though tbeir history is 
 much wrapped up in fable and obscurity." 
 
 And in the only volume published of the Ordnance Survey 
 Records, that regarding the county Londonderry, Colonel Colby, R.E., 
 Superintendent {Dublin, Hodges and Smith, 1837), Dr. Petrie 
 remarks, p. 233 : " So, in the Dinnseanchus," — an Irish topographica. 
 work of very high antiquity, in which is furnished a description of 
 the royal fortress of Aileach, — " the places mentioned must have had 
 a real, and the persons connected with them at least a traditional, 
 existence, or its legends could have had no interest at the period of 
 their compilation. The legends like those narrated in the Lives of 
 the Saints do not affect the general truth or reality of the personages 
 regarding whom they are told." 
 
 Q. 3. First fact : What is the Grianan or Palace of 
 Aileach, and where built ? 
 
 The Grianan of Aileach is situated in the county of Donegal, 
 about a mile from the boundary of that of Derry, between the town 
 of Derry and Burta, on the summit of a small mountain, eight 
 hundred and two feet high, to which it has given its name of Grianan. 
 This mountain rises from the eastern shore of Lough Swilly, im- 
 mediately south-east of the Island of Inch, from which it is separated 
 by a channel which is payable at low water. The ascent for about 
 
76 
 
 a mile, from its base on the Derry side, is gradual ; but within a few- 
 hundred feet of the top, it assumes a more precipitous character, and 
 it terminates in a circular apex which commands one of the most 
 extensive and beautifully varied panoramic prospects to be found in 
 Ireland. A broad ancient road between two ledges of natural rock 
 leads to the summit. The whole hill was originally inclosed by 
 other ramparts, of which, owing to the progress of cultivation, no 
 very distinct traces are now visible. There are three circular ram- 
 parts just now in a state of dilapidation. They are of an irregular 
 circular outline, because they are adapted to the form of the hill 
 which they inclose, and ascend one above the other in successive 
 terraces. Between the third rampart, or that which is innermost, and 
 the cashel, or inmost stone building, the road diminishes considerably 
 in breadth, and diverges slightly to the right, and this approach was 
 strengthened by a wall on each side of which the foundation stones 
 alone remain. 
 
 The cashel, though in a more perfect state than the external ram- 
 parts, is still a mere ruin, and has, at a distance, the appearance of 
 a dilapidated sepulchral cam ; but, on a closer inspection, it is found 
 to be a circular wall inclosing an area of seventy-seven feet six inches 
 in diameter, and in its present state about six feet in height, and 
 averaging about 13 feet in breadth. Its height was probably four 
 times at least its present altitude. At the height of five feet from 
 the base, on the interior face of the wall, the thickness is diminished 
 about two feet six inches, by a terrace the ascent of which was by 
 staircases or flights of steps, increasing in breadth as they ascend, 
 and situated at each side of the entrance gateway. There are 
 similar ascents to the terrace in the other parts of the wall concealed 
 now beneath masses of fallen stones. There was originally a 
 succession of three or four such terraces, ascending to the top or 
 platform of the wall. On each side of the entrance gateway there 
 are galleries within the thickness of the wall, extending in length to 
 one-half the entire circuit, and terminating at its northern and 
 southern points. These circuitous galleries, within the wall, have 
 sloping sides, being three inches narrower at the top than at bottom. 
 They are covered by large stones laid horizontally. 
 
 The circular apex of the hill contains within the outermost 
 inclosure about five acres, one-half ; within the second, four ; within 
 the third, one ; and within the cashel about one-fourth of an acre. 
 
 The masonry of this great work is exactly similar to that of many 
 other Irish casJiels or caTiirs. The stones, which are of the common 
 
77 
 
 grey schist of the district, are of polygonal forms, adjusted to fit each 
 other and wholly imcemented. They average about two feet in 
 length ; and it is quite evident that they have been in many parts 
 squared with the hammer but not chiseled. 
 
 Between the third and fourth walls there is a spring-well, which 
 when discovered a few years back was covered with a large stone. — 
 Summarised from Dr. Petrie's Account of the Palace of Aileach. 
 
 Q 4. Why give such minute details of this building ? 
 
 A. Because it is now the most remarkable remains of acknowledged 
 Danann architecture in Ireland ; because this history is intended for 
 Irish students, and it is well that Irish students should be told fully 
 what is certain regarding this ancient palace. The ruins and treasure 
 discovered within the past ten years at Curium and other ancient 
 towns in Cyprus, by the American consul, General Louis Palma di 
 Cesnola, have attracted the attention of the literary world, and 
 proved to a certainty that a pre-historic people, unknown to 
 Herodotus, or the earliest Greek writers, had dwelt in that island. 
 Peoples lived in Europe and Asia whom the pen of history has never 
 named. Written records of the remote past are imperfect and 
 inadequate. Monuments are sure ; they are certain. This remark- 
 able ruin, that has survived a period of three thousand and some 
 hundred years, is therefore worthy of the student's attention. The 
 necessity of detail is manifest, when it is borne in mind that the 
 Grianan of Aileach was one of the most remarkable and important 
 works of its kind ever erected by the ancient Irish — the palace of 
 the northern Irish Kings from the earliest age of the historic 
 tradition down to the commencement of the twelfth century : and 
 consequently, as Petrie remarks, such careful examination of its 
 vestiges as should help to convey a clear idea of its original form, 
 structure and extent, would give the best evidence, now attainable, of 
 the style of military building known to the Irish at the remotest 
 period of their history. 
 
 Q 5. Who is supposed to have built it, and why ? 
 
 A. The origin of this Grianan Fort is given in a poem of the 
 eleventh century on the history of the Tuatha De Danann, and 
 particularly on the Daghda, written by Professor Flann of 
 Monasterboice The poem is preserved in the codices known as the 
 
78 
 
 " Book of Lecan" and " Book of Ballymote," and is printed in full by 
 Dr. Petrie in that part of the Ordnance volume which contains an 
 account of the antiquities of Derry. The text of the published poem 
 is that found in the "Book of Lecain" (11th century) collated with 
 another MS. copy in Trinity College, written on vellum about the 
 year 1560, by John O'Mulconry. 
 
 "This great cathair," says O'Curry, vol. III., p. 8, Manners and 
 Customs of the Ancient Irish, " is said to have been built by the 
 Daghda, the celebrated King of the Tuatha De Dananns, who 
 planned and fought the battles of the second or northern Magh 
 Tuireadh against the Fomorians." Niad superintended the building 
 for the Daghda, and from him the palace received the name of 
 Aileach Neid.* 
 
 It was by order of the Ardrigh Daghda that the fort was erected 
 around the grave of his son Aedh (Hugh), who had been slain in a 
 fit of jealousy by Corgenn, a Connacht chieftain from the mountain 
 district near Cruach Patrick, who in those days was with his wife 
 enjoying the hospitality of the supreme monarch at Tara. 
 
 The following anecdote fanciful or historical, taken from the 
 poem of Flann of Monasterboice, and copied from others of an 
 earlier date, shows that Irishmen in the eleventh century, and long 
 before that period, believed that Aileach had been the work of the 
 Tuatha De Danann. 
 
 "When the great Daghda was chief King of the Tuatha De 
 Danann in Eire, holding his court at Tara, he on one occasion enter- 
 tained at his court Corgenn, a powerful Connacht chief and his 
 wife. During his stay at Tara, the wife was supposed by Corgenn 
 to be on terms too familiar with Hugh, the monarch's young son. In 
 a fit of jealousy Corgenn slew the royal prince. The Daghda, mind- 
 ful of the laws of hospitality as well as of justice, did not order that 
 his son's death should be atoned for by the life-blood of his guest. 
 Pie passed sentence, however, which was equally effective, and which 
 ended in death : namely, to carry the dead body of the prince on his 
 back until he found a flag exactly to fit the corpse in length and 
 breadth, and sufficiently large to form a tombstone. The Connacht 
 chieftain had no alternative, he should comply. He took up his 
 burden at Tara, and never stopped till he reached the western shore 
 of Lough Foyle. Here he found the fitting flag, which he carried to 
 
 * Neid is genitive case of Niad. 
 
79 
 
 the top of the adjacent hill, since known as Aileach or stone-house, 
 buried the prince's remains ; wearied, however, with labour, he 
 dropped down dead into the same grave." — From a historic poem in 
 Irish by Flann of Monastcrboice, a professor of Irish History ; he died in 
 the year 1056. 
 
 Again from the ancient poem it appears plainly that not only 
 was the outer rath or protective circle around Aileach, built of 
 stone by the regular masons " Imcheall," that is, circuit-builder, and 
 " Garbhan," rough builder, but that the palace and the houses within 
 the enclosure were also built of stone, nay, even of clipped and cut 
 stone. 
 
 All these buildings probably were circular, as the house or prison 
 of the hostages certainly must have been, when, as the poem says, 
 it was " closed on the top with one stone." 
 
 Q. 6. Was this a Round Tower ? 
 
 A. Edifices closed after that fashion, and built high in air, must 
 have had a tapering form, and were therefore like the Round Towers, 
 which to-day raise " their heads sublime" all over this land. Other 
 abodes were at this period made with a cupola roof in shape like 
 a bee-hive, built with stones protruding inwards so as nearly " to 
 close in at the roof." The underground buildings at New Grange 
 along the banks of the Boyne, and the dwellings near the town oi 
 Kirkwall in the Orkneys; the Brugh, or town of the dead, near Sl&ne 
 in Eastmeath, and the Brugh, or " old Pictish town" of Burra, a 
 western islet of the Orkneys, are of this class, made of large stones 
 converging towards the top, in shape like a cone, but covered outside 
 with a thick layer of earth or turf. Dwellings of that construction 
 were always, on the outside, for security and architectural reasons 
 covered with clay. The " house of hostages " was not covered with 
 earth, but high in air, and built of stone. Hence it follows, that the 
 circular house built at Aileach must have been, not like those found 
 in the Brugha, with their canopy of clay and grass, but rather like 
 the Round Towers, which are made of large stones, circular, tapering 
 in form, high in air, and closed with one stone. 
 
 Q. 7. Was it the Tuatha De Danann then who 
 built the Round Towers ? 
 
 A. The fact that the Round Towers were built is certain; 
 uncertain, by whom, or when first erected. The former is matter of 
 history ; of opinion the latter. 
 
80 
 
 The only views worth noticing regarding the time of their 
 erection are those two, (a) that the towers were built either before 
 the Christian period, or (7>) soon after the introduction of the 
 
 Christian religion into Ireland by St. Patrick. 
 
 Neither of the two views can, as an opinion, be pronounced 
 absolutely true or certain. 
 
 It is well known that neither the Milesian race, nor the Christiana 
 
 of the fifth or of the sixth century, were in any remarkable wa\ 
 skilled in architecture. On the other hand, the Danann race were 
 remarkable for their knowledge and practical ability in the art. 
 
 All the buildings erected by the Danann tribes are so like in 
 style of architect nre to that of the Round Towers, rotund, tapering 
 and cyelopean, without the use of the arch, that, taking the pre- 
 Christian theory regarding these to be true, one cannot avoid 
 declaring that they must have been the handiwork of that gifted rare. 
 The great proof given by Dr. Petrie of the Christian origin of 
 these majestic piles, rests on an assertion which is not true, namely, 
 that the pagan Irish did not know how to build, and therefore that 
 they did not build. It is simply untrue to say that the Danann 
 race did not build, or did not know how to build. Their works 
 remain even yet. Petrie says : — 
 
 "Not theslighest evidence has ever been adduced to prove that 
 the Irish were acquainted with the art of building with lime cement, 
 before they reeeived'the Christian faith." Ancient Irish Architecture^^. 
 In reply it is stated : The masons of the Danann period did build 
 with lime cement, see O'Curry's Manners and Customs of the Ancient 
 Irish; therefore they knew how to build; and accordingly Petrie's 
 proof is reduced to a groundless assertion. In his opinion the Irish 
 of that remote period did not know how to build, therefore they did 
 not build. But, according to facts and strong evidence they did build, 
 therefore they knew how, and hence Petrie's assertion is a mere 
 groundless assumption. 
 
 Anthropologists and others who believe in the progressive power 
 of man as an animal hold Petrie's views. History shows that man, in 
 powers of intellect and will, in science, therefore, and knowledge of 
 the arts, was, up to the coming of the Redeemer, generally speaking, 
 retrogressive and not progressive. The presence of war was 
 destructive of progress. Peace, as the parent of the arts, fostered 
 architecture ; audit must be said that peace aided progress, and that 
 nations prone to war retrograded in the arts and sciences. 
 
81 
 
 MacFirbis (1580-1670) writing on this subject, the ancient build- 
 ings of Eire, says :— " We could find a countless number of the 
 ancient edifices of Eire to name besides those above (at Tara, Aileach, 
 Nas), and the builders who erected them and the kings and noble 
 chiefs for whom they were built, but they would be too tedious to 
 mention here. . . • 
 
 " I have myself seen within the last sixteen years lofty lime-built 
 castles, formed of limestone, and at this day, after they have fallen, 
 there remains nothing of them but an earthen mound to mark their 
 sites, nor could antiquarians even easily discover that any edifices 
 had ever stood there. ..... 
 
 " Such is the stability of the old buildings that there are immense 
 royal raths, or palaces, and forts through Eire made of hewn and 
 polished stones, with cellars and apartments under 'ground, such as 
 Rath Maoilcatha in Castleconnor, and in Bally O'Douda in Tireragh, 
 on the banks of the Moy, near Ballina. There are nine smooth stone 
 cellars under the walls of this rath. I have been within them. 1 ' P. 223, 
 MS. materials. — Quotation from Duald Mac Firbis. 
 
 O' Curry spent forty years at least investigating, collating, and 
 translating Irish MSS. As an authority on this subject his word has 
 more weight than that of Petrie, who was only an amateur at MS. lore. 
 
 But O'Curry states : — " The stone ruins; at Aileach as well as 
 several other similar stone erections in several parts of Eirenn must 
 be referred to the Tuatha De Danann ; certainly to a race prior to the 
 Milesians." O'Curry : Manners and Customs of the Ancient Irish, vol. 
 II., p. 153. The author's opinion is that the Danann built the 
 Round Towers. 
 
 Q. 8. At what period was the Palace of Aileach 
 
 first erected ? 
 
 A. The time when that royal fort had been first erected was, 
 according to the chronology followed by the Four Masters, about the 
 eighteenth century before the Christian era (for in 1694 a.C. the found- 
 ation of the Milesian power was laid, and the reigns of Lugh and 
 Daghda had been for nigh a century previous to that particular time). 
 
 The Round Towers, too, must have been erected at that time ; 
 a few towers like the pagan piles were, it can be admitted, built in the 
 Christian period, but the great body of these temple towers were 
 planned and erected in the days of Lugh and Daghda. Nevertheless, 
 this view regarding the time of the building of the towers, now for 
 the first time publicly asserted by the writer, is only an opinion. 
 
 G 
 
82 
 
 Q. 9. Is there much historic truth gained from this 
 conflict of opinions amongst scholars ? 
 
 A. There is : men are more in earnest when they have a cause to 
 support; and amidst the contending forces on either side, an in- 
 telligent critic can perceive the gleam of truth, like a lightning spark 
 from a cloud, come forth from the darkness or smoke of drifting 
 views and the storm of angry words. 
 
 In the case before us, it is certain that the Fort of Aileach 
 presents in its ruins an example of that barbaric art, which, in Greece 
 and in Western Europe, even in Eire, came in the wake of the 
 splendid Egyptian style displayed even to-day in the temple at 
 Karnac, the Pyramids, and the Monolith— -Cleopatra's Needle — on the 
 banks of the Thames. This barbaric or cyclopean art was employed, 
 as the surviving monuments shew, by the natives of Cyprus; 
 the immigrants to Eire ; by the Pelasgi and by the Etrurians. 
 
 Inlreland, Aileach was at that period the model of other princely 
 edifices, a countless number of which, in the language of MacFirbis, 
 have perished, but which, certainly had had their origin during the 
 Danann dynasty. 
 
 CHAP TEE IX. 
 
 OTHER PROOFS : MANUSCRIPTS ; MONUMENTART MOUNDS ; 
 SITES SELECTED BY THE CONQUERED DANANN CHIEFS, 
 KNOWN TO-DAY AS " FAERY HILLS," ARE FOOT-PRINTS 
 ON THE SANDS OF THE PAST PERIOD OF DANANN POWER. 
 
 Q. 1. What is the gist of the testimony supplied 
 by Irish manuscripts, of which a great number are still 
 extant,* giving an account of the Tuatha De Danann 
 alone ? 
 
 A. That they were a real people although their kings, queens, 
 and heroes are eponymous, and are regarded by some in the light of 
 demi-gods ; that in that age known in Grecian history as heroic, they 
 were highly civilised, conversant with the arts such as were then 
 
 * In the Royal Irish Academy there are sixty-four distinct manuscripts, 
 containing the history of these people. The same record is, however, 
 only repeated in the leading manuscripts. 
 
83 
 
 known. As signs and proofs of their civilisation they had a know- 
 ledge of letters, they had a system of laws ; they had historians, we 
 are told, who recorded events and recited them from memory ; poets 
 like Cairpre and his mother Etana ; they respected the weaker sex, 
 and placed them in positions of trust, which, on their part, required 
 knowledge and training to fill : for instance there were lady physicians 
 amongst the Danann tribes, and ladies directed in battle, or sang the 
 song of triumph. Druidism, in its two-fold influence of learning and 
 religion, was with them a system. And as a people with some faint 
 notion of the true God, they regarded themselves as children of 
 destiny, of which the Liag Fail which they brought to Eire was the 
 symbol. This Liag Fail — as commonly asserted — is to be seen to this 
 day in Westminster Abbey. 
 
 "According to all our most ancient writings and traditions" 
 writes O'Curry (in p. 3, vol II., Manners and Customs of the Ancient 
 Irish), " the Milesians found before them (in a.c. 1694) and conquered 
 the Tuatha De Danann colony : a people remarkable for the domestic 
 if not the higher arts of civilised life, and enjoying a higher state of 
 civilisation than their conquerors." 
 
 Q. 2. Are there not other buildings still to be seen 
 which were at one time erected by the hands of the 
 Danann ? 
 
 Yes : " cities of the dead," Knowth, New Grange, and Dowth 
 mounds close by the banks of the Boyne. 
 
 Q. 3. Tell us all about those cities of the dead : 
 an account of them must be very interesting, par- 
 ticularly as the cities of the dead, discovered some few 
 years ago in the Island of Cyprus, have been described 
 by the American Consul, General Cesnola, and the 
 Necropoles of Etruria have long been known ? 
 
 A. The cities of the dead are those Cyclopean tombs or turns 
 erected by the Danann Kings on the northern bank of the river. 
 
 There were several royal burial grounds in Ireland in early pagan 
 times. In Leabhar na h-Uidhre,* a work of the twelfth century, 
 
 * See in Leabhar na h-Uidhre page GO of the photo-zincographed MS. 
 copy, a history of ancient Irish cemetries. 
 
84 
 
 compiled at Clonraacnoise, it is stated, in the record of the cemeteries 
 there contained, that amongst the chief were Cruachan, Tailteann, 
 Teamhair, or Tara (see Dr. Petrie, History of Tara Hall, p. 97), and 
 Oenach Colmain with some others. By far the most extensive of 
 all the Irish cemeteries was that nominated Brwjh or Brugh na 
 Boinne " the Town of the Boyne." The Dinnseanchus, a tract con- 
 tained in the Book of Ballymote, and now to be seen in the Royal 
 Irish Academy, contains an account of this city of the dead close 
 by the Boyne. 
 
 This Brugh or town is no other than the assemblage of mounds, 
 caves, pillar-stones, and sepulchral monuments that make up the 
 great necropolis, which extends along the left or northern bank of 
 the river from Slane to Netterville. To the Brugh the nobles and 
 chiefs and kings and queens of the Tuatha De Danann went to 
 sleep their long sleep of death ; amongst those were Daghda and 
 his queen, and their three sons, and Lugdaidh and Oe, and Ollam, 
 and Ogma, and Etana the poetess, and Cairpre the poet, her son, and 
 Cremthann (from Seanchus na Relic, Dr. Petrie's Round Towers 
 p. 101). The monuments of the Boyne are the " bed" or leaba of 
 the Daghda, and the two rich, or " paps 1 ' of Mor-Righan (Great 
 Queen) at the place where the son of the Daghda was born. There 
 are monuments raised to Cirr and Cuirrell, wives of Daghda; a 
 monument to Aed Luirgnech, his son ; the grave of Esclann, his 
 brehon, and of Boinn, wife of Neckthann. These few out of a long 
 list must suffice. 
 
 The precise situation of the Brugh is about two miles below 
 Slane, as one goes with the flow of the stream. There the river 
 becomes fordable, and several small islands arise mid the waters. 
 Here upon the left or south-western bank of the river, is the place 
 called Ros-na-righ, or the wood of the kings, and upon the opposite 
 swelling bank of the river arise a series of art-made mounds, raths, 
 forts, caves, circles, and pillar-stones, bearing all the evidence of 
 ancient pagan sepulchral monuments, which formed the Irish 
 Memphis, or city of tombs. One of these mounds is the tomb of 
 Daghda Mor, the Danann King. This great Irish cemetery stretches 
 out in breadth a mile from the river's bank, and in length from 
 Knowth northwards, over a distance of three miles. In this space 
 there are no fewer than seventeen sepulchral barrows, graves of 
 kings, queens, and renowned heroes. Of these seventeen the three 
 of the greatest magnitude are on the summit of the ridge which 
 bounds this valley on the left bank, for a few are to be found at 
 !Monk Newtown beyond the brow of the hill towards Louth, 
 
85 
 
 making in all twenty, including Cloghelea, and the moat on which, 
 the Fortress of Drogheda now stands, known in Irish as " mound of 
 the grave of Gobhan's wife." This latter is on the southern bank 
 
 The three greatest barrows are Knowth (in Irish Cnoob, nut- 
 mound), New Grange, (original name tlAitri Acait> AboAi,* the cave of 
 Aldai's field), and Dowth (in Irish "Ouda-o, the black-mound). 
 
 Knowth. 
 Knowth is an abrupt, hemispherical mound, with rather a 
 flattened top, rising out of the sloping hill. Enormous masses of 
 stone, arranged in a circular manner round its base, tell that it is 
 evidently the work of design, and from excavations made, it is known 
 to consist of a stupendous earn of small stones covered with rich 
 greensward occupying, in extent of surface, an acre, and rising to a 
 height of eighty feet. 
 
 New Grange. 
 
 Like Knowth, it consists of an enormous cam or hill of small 
 stones calculated at 180,000 tons weight, occupying the summit of 
 one of the natural undulating slopes which on the north enclose the 
 valley of the Boyne. It is said to cover two acres ; is four hundred 
 paces in circumference, and eighty feet higher than the adjoining 
 natural surface. 
 
 Originally a circle of enormous detached blocks of stone, placed 
 at distances of about ten yards from each other, stood all around. 
 
 Such is the present appearance of this stupendous relic of ancient 
 pagan times, probably one of the oldest Keltic monuments in the 
 world, which has elicited the wonder and called forth the admiration 
 of all who have visited it, and which has engaged the attention of 
 nearly every distinguished antiquary, not only of the British Isles, 
 but of Europe generally. How many Irishmen, asks Sir William 
 Wilde, have paid a visit to this spot, the historic ground of the 
 Danann dynasty ? 
 
 The mounds just described are hollow ; that known as New 
 Grange contains a large chamber formed by stones of enormous 
 magnitude, and can be approached by a narrow passage which also 
 is formed of stones of large size, placed together without mortar or 
 cement, exciting one's astonishment how such cyclopean masonry 
 could have been erected by people unacquainted with mechanical 
 
 * See Donovan's notes on Four Masters at A.D. 861. 
 
 New Grange is a modern name most probably given by some colonist 
 who obtained the land on which the mound stands. Grange enters into 
 names of places both in England and Ireland, and is generally Hiberni- 
 cised Grainseach. 
 
86 
 
 powers. Some of the stones belong to a class of rock not found in 
 the neighbourhood ; some are basaltic ; others must have been con- 
 veyed from the Mourne Mountains. 
 
 Q. 4. Please describe the interior of those mounds 
 or barrows ? 
 
 A. Well, let us now enter the mound of New Grange by a 
 passage that faces the river Boyne. It runs nearly north and 
 south, and measures sixty-three feet in length ; it is formed of 
 twenty-one upright stones upon the right side, and twenty-two to 
 the left, and is roofed with flags of immense length, resting upon 
 the upright side-stones ; in other places supported by masonry 
 external to them. One of these is seventeen feet long, and Jive 
 broad. The general height of the passage is five feet. In parts the 
 stones are of a gigantic size, many of them eight, others ten feet high. 
 
 The passage leads to a large dome-roofed chamber. As all is 
 perfect darkness within this cavern, it is necessary to light it up in 
 order to form a just idea of its figure or extent. The dome is hive- 
 shaped, nearly circular, with three offsets or recesses from it : one 
 opposite the entrance to the north, and one on each side east and 
 west, so that the ground plan, including the passage, accurately 
 represents the figure of a cross. 
 
 This form of roofing evidently preceded a knowledge of the 
 principle of the arch. It is to be found in many of our early 
 buildings, sepulchral and pagan, and not only in this country, but in 
 Egypt, Greece, and Asia Minor. The waUs at Mykenae, at Tirynthus, 
 and the ruins at Curium in Cyprus are of this style. 
 
 The top of the dome of this chamber is nineteen feet six inches 
 from the floor ; from the entrance to the wall directly opposite the 
 measure is eighteen feet ; and between the extreme ends to the right 
 and left crypts, twenty-two feet. 
 
 The third in order of these great caves is Dowth (or Dubhad). 
 Its construction is like that of Knowth or New Grange which are 
 in the same valley of the Boyne. This barrow is a mile from New 
 Grange, seated on the higher slopes that rise from the banks of the 
 Boyne. 
 
 Sir William Wilde's Opinion. 
 " All these sepulchres were in one district, the land of Flann 
 son of Conang ; and in all probability the Cave of Achadh Aldai, 
 that is, the field (Achadh) of Aldai, the ancestor of the Tuatha De 
 
87 
 
 Danann Kings, is that which is now known as New Grange. How 
 far anterior to the Christian era its date should be placed, is matter 
 of speculation and chronology ; it may be of an age, or de facto is 
 coeval, or even anterior to its brethren on the Nile." This is the 
 opinion of a sound scholar and a great antiquarian, Sir William 
 Wilde. 
 
 Similar tumuli, and containing similar remains, stretch along the 
 borders of the Danube through both the Austrias, and extend in a 
 north-western line into Moravia, and even Bohemia. 
 
 There are two towns of this class at Kirkwall, and in the Island 
 of Burra in the Orkneys.* 
 
 The most noteworthy of the various forms of burial abodes, made 
 use of in pagan periods in Ireland, is the dome-roofed stone chamber 
 containing the remains of one or more bodies, and approached by a 
 covered way. 
 
 When New Grange was first opened a great many yeais ago (about 
 1694), " two entire skeletons not burnt were found on the floor." The 
 bodies were buried entire and not subjected to fire. These barrows 
 were rifled by the Danes in the ninth century (a.d. 862, Annals of 
 Ulster), (a.d. 861, Four Masters). 
 
 From the many monuments ascribed by tradition to the colony 
 of the Tuatha De Danann, and named in ancient Irish historical 
 tales, it is quite evident, that they were a real people. 
 
 After their subjugation by the Milesians, they withdrew to moun- 
 tain fastnesses, where they built " sidhe," i.e. seats or keeps away 
 from the populace. Eventually their descendants mingled with the 
 Gael and made with them one people. 
 
 A full description has been given of one of the greatest palaces of 
 the pagan Irish ; and an account equally full of the remaining " cities 
 of the dead," now known and standing. Students of Irish history 
 at home and abroad, cannot but be pleased in studying those 
 chapters, for hitherto no account of these wonderful people, or of 
 the deeds they performed, has been supplied to the English reading 
 public. The Round Towers, the Palace of Aileach, the barrows or 
 Brugh of the Boyne — their style and character, so like those in 
 Greece, Cyprus, and Asia Minor, are proof of the eastern origin of 
 our earliest progenitors. 
 
 * i. e. Orkneys, is only a contraction for Ore, and inis : Ore, a Fomorian 
 or Danann prince : an^ inis (pr. inish), island. 
 
88 
 
 Q. 5. From mounds and monuments, from the siclhe, 
 or sites, selected on the hills, as well as from the 
 numerous reasons already presented, are the Danann 
 races a historical reality ? 
 
 A. Yes; It is impossible that effects so many, so important, 
 and so lasting, could have existed without an adequate cause. 
 Tradition and story, as well as monuments, point out the Dannan 
 tribes as that cause. They must, therefore, have had power at one 
 time in Ireland. 
 
 Q. 6. Show the genealogical relation of the 
 Danann Kings and Chiefs 
 
 A. The following is perhaps the best that can be given. 
 
 Ordai and Indai, sons of Aldai, were the twenty-first in descent 
 from Noah, through Japhet and his son Magog. Ordai was the 
 great grandfather of Nuada, the first King of the Tuatha De Danann. 
 He lost an arm at the battle fought at Cong against the lawful 
 possessors of the land — the Firbolg ; Indai was grandfather of 
 Daghda Mor. 
 
 20. ALDAI 
 
 1 
 
 21. Ordai 
 
 22. Ederlamh 
 
 23. Echtach 
 
 24. Nuada 
 Airgead-lamh, 
 i.e., of the 
 silver hand 
 
 21. Indai 
 I 
 
 23. Dealbaeth 
 
 I 
 I I 
 
 24. Breas Eladan 
 
 22. Niad, or Neit 
 
 Esairc 23. Daghda M<5r 
 
 22. Midei 
 
 I 
 
 23. Eladan 
 
 25. Duach Temen Allod 25. Cian 
 I I 
 
 Lear 
 
 I I 
 
 26. Eochaidh Garbh Manannan 
 
 24. Diancecht 
 
 I 
 
 1 
 
 \ 
 
 Cu 
 
 Ceth^ 
 
 24. Aengus 24. Ogma 
 
 25. Dealbaeth Tuirenn, 
 i.e., Tuirill Bricrenn 
 I 
 
 27. Bodhbh 
 of Sidh Femen 
 
 Ilbhrec 
 
 Lugh 
 
 (Lamh fhtfda) 
 
 the long-handed 
 
 26. Brian 
 
 Iuchur Iucharbs 
 
 Note. — Ai means fire ; al, great, prodigious : hence Aldai. Ai, fire, 
 and for inn, means in or on : hence Indai, on fire. Vealb, shape, form ; 
 ieth, fire : dealbaeth, fire-like; Dagh, burning torch, da science; burning 
 torch of science; Ec, horse : Ectach, horse owner; Eachatdh, master of 
 horse. Eladan and Dianceacht, Allod (land), Ogma, and Lugh, have been 
 explained. II, all, varied ; Breac, specked ; Tuirenn (Tur), tower shape. 
 
89 
 
 It is compiled from the various versions of the " Book of Invasions," 
 in the " Book of Leinster," and the " Book of Lecain," which has 
 been lately photozincographed ; and from the " Book of Ballymote" 
 a codex to be found in the Royal Irish Academy. The table is from 
 the pen of Eugene O'Curry. It is the nearest, perhaps, to histor- 
 ical truth : for, such names as Ogma, and Daghda Mor and 
 Daelbaeth, and Eladan are certainly eponymous ; and it must be 
 said, that like the pagan deities their parentage changes according 
 to the character they represent. The author does not present the 
 table as one stamped with the truth of history, but as one which is in 
 harmony with the genealogical narrations of ancient Irish writers. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 HAD THE DANANN TRIBES AND PRE-CHRISTIAN GAEL ANY 
 KNOWLEDGE OF LETTERS? WHAT CHARACTER OR 
 ALPHABET DID THEY USE? 
 
 Q. 1. Connected with Ireland in the early period of 
 her pagan power, and leaning on the literary life of 
 the Danann dynasty, are there not important ques- 
 tions, which, in periods just passed, have been the 
 subject of much controversy amongst Irish and foreign 
 savants ? 
 
 A. Yes ; there are three which relate, directly or indirectly, to 
 those skilled " sons of science." These are questions which, for 
 centuries past, have engaged the attention, and occupied the thoughts 
 of scholars, native and foreign. 
 
 It has been often asked (a) were the leading sons and daughters 
 of Eire, in the period of her pagan greatness, acquainted with letters ?* 
 (&) If so, what character or alphabet letter— Aryan or Persian 
 Cypriote or Egyptian, Phoenician, European-Keltic, Greek or Latin — 
 did they employ in transmitting a record of events to posterity ? 
 (c) Has Ogham writing come to us from pagan times, or was it in 
 the Christian period that it was first introduced? 
 
 * Letters, as a term, has a two-fold meaning, one conveying the idea 
 of literature taken generally, as : a " maa oi letters j" the other, special 
 characters or 'signs of words. 
 
90 
 
 Q. 2. Are antiquarians and Irish historians at one 
 in their views on those interesting questions ? 
 
 A. Far from it. On the very first of them," whether the leading 
 sons and daughters of Eire?" in the period of her pagan power, were 
 acquainted with letters or not, there are three opinions. 
 
 First (a) that in pre-Christian Ireland there was no knowledge 
 *f letters ; second (&) that even in Christian Ireland there was no 
 acquaintance with learning, until the Danes came in their marauding 
 masses to enlighten and civilise by the torch and sword ; the third 
 (c) that the leading natives of Ireland who flourished in the days of 
 paganism, reaching back to the time when the Danann ruled in the 
 land, possessed a knowledge of letters. 
 
 The first opinion was that of Father Bollandus, S.J. (obiit A.D. 
 1665), and some of his early co-labourers, Fathers Henschinius and 
 Papebroke, who flourished (a.d. 1668) over two centuries ago. The 
 Bollandists of the present day do not hold those views ; for modern 
 archaeological researches prove that they were quite erroneous. 
 Another Catholic Priest, a native of Scotland, Rev. Thomas Innes, 
 M.A. (a.d. 1662-1744) defended the same opinion. Innes, however, 
 like the Gaels of Scotland then, and even now, had not any knowledge,, 
 much less acquaintance, with the numberless manuscript works on 
 ancient Eire and her civilisation that lay in the leading libraries at 
 home in Trinity College, or at Rome in St. Isidore, or in Oxford, 
 or Louvain. 
 
 The view put forward in the second opinion, was defended by 
 Dr. Edward Ledwich (1738-1823). It is so strikingly strange and 
 so strongly in opposition to the testimony of authentic records 
 and the glimpses which antiquarians of all creeds and classes present, 
 in unfolding a picture of ancient civilised life in Eire, that this 
 phantasy of Ledwich does not deserve to be named, were it not that 
 he has had, and even still has, followers not a few amongst the 
 scholars and fellows of Trinity College, Dublin. These gentlemen, 
 supposed to be well-informed, and to be men of truth, write for 
 English and Irish periodicals. They quote Ledwich as an authority. 
 Their views are adopted by such popular writers as James Anthony 
 Froude, who, in a late work from his pen, states, with apparent 
 gravity, that, in the eighth and ninth centuries, the Scandinavian 
 invaders came to Scotia or Ireland, and that after them, in the 
 twelfth, " came the Normans to complete the work of civilisation 
 happily commenced by the Danes ;" " a remarkable instance," as Sir 
 
91 
 
 Charles Gavan Duffy expresses it, " of unconscious irony." To 
 assert that Mr. Froude wrote seriously, as becomes a historian and a 
 lover of truth, involves the grave charge that he perverted the 
 known truth for party purposes, and thus published to the world 
 untruths against millions of people who never did him any wrong. 
 Authentic facts proclaim trumpet-tongued, that the Danes came to 
 plunder, to slaughter, to burn sacred shrines and seats of science, to 
 lay waste a land which, like Greece of old, was, from the fifth century 
 to the ninth, " the nurse of science and civilisation." 
 
 The third opinion is sustained by such scholars and thinkers as 
 Dr. John O'Donovan, Professor O'Curry, Dr. Petrie, Roderick 
 J 'Flaherty, Sir James Ware, and, at the present day, by Dr. W. K. 
 Sullivan, and by J. T. Gilbert, author of the History of the City of 
 Dublin. 
 
 O 'Flaherty says, that " from the earliest period a knowledge of 
 letters was to be found in Ireland." 
 
 Dr. O'Donovan quoting those words writes : — " In this assertion 
 O 'Flaherty is perfectly borne out by the bardic traditional history 
 of pagan Ireland ; for, we read that letters were known not only to 
 the Scotic or Milesian colony, but also to their predecessors the 
 Tuatha De Danann." 
 
 With a knowledge of letters civilisation is always f oimd. Irish 
 archaeology has, for the past half -century, opened up a world of 
 facts, and stamped its discoveries with the seal of certainty. 
 
 And as for authorities, such men as Gilbert and Dr. Sullivan 
 in the present, and O'Donovan, O'Curry and Wilde, who have left 
 the field of life's labors, are worth all the writers who for the past 
 eight centuries have written on Ireland's history or Irish antiquities. 
 
 Such are the authorities that support the third opinion. 
 
 The reasons on which the opinion rests are : — 
 
 (a) The reality of the Tuatha De Danann as a historic people 
 cannot be denied. All the proofs presented, in pointing out their 
 existence in times past, confirm with equally convincing force, that 
 they were a literary and a civilised people, just as the sphericity and 
 two -fold motion of the earth in its orbit is proved, by the fact that 
 the orb of the world is shown to be a planet. 
 
 (&) The Danann tribes were an Aryan family ; therefore they 
 were civilised, and probably literary, from the earliest dawn of their 
 historic day. 
 
 (c) Their name Dana, arts, is a synonyme for skill and science and 
 literary advancement. They had poets and poetesses ; men skilled 
 
in writing like Ogma, in the art of healing like Dianceacht ; generals 
 and leaders like Lugh and Daghda, Druids in numbers, and Brehons 
 or judges, and priests. 
 
 (d) The abundant materials in Ogham writing — two hundred and 
 sixty books in stone — at present in Ireland, most of which date from 
 the pagan period, are proof positive that writing, and of course letters 
 were known to the ancient Danann and Milesian colonies in Ireland. 
 
 Q. 3. In what character or alphabet letter did the 
 ancient Danann and Milesian Irish transmit a record 
 of public events ? Did they make use, at that early 
 period, of Ogham letters simply and solely, or did they 
 employ any other form of letter ? 
 
 A. The reply must be in accord with the amount of information 
 furnished by antiquarian societies up to the present. And first as to 
 Ogham letters. 
 
 There are no direct data or remains from pagan times extant, to 
 show that the natives of Eire possessed in those days any other 
 alphabet than the Ogham. That they made use of this kind of 
 writing is certain, from the abundant supply of books in stone just 
 referred to, two hundred and sixty inscribed pillars. *Fhese have 
 been discovered chiefly in Leinster and Munster, and may be 
 regarded as proofs, to a certain extent, that literary knowledge of a 
 special kind, including that of " letters," was an heir-loom amongst 
 the Keltic tribes of ancient Eire. 
 
 Of other letters, Phenician, Egyptian, or Grecian in form, or 
 European-Keltic, or Latin, the same cannot be said. Neither history, 
 nor archaeology, nor monumental remains of any kind, since the days 
 of the Ardrigh Leogaire, and of St. Patrick the Apostle, furnish 
 directly reliable data. Knowledge on this head is gleaned by infer- 
 ence or deduction, which, though exceedingly probable, can never 
 amount to certainty. The Ogham writing is supported, on the other 
 hand, by direct evidence in the inscribed pillar-stones, and by indirect 
 evidence, in the fact that the characters are in accord precisely with 
 the style of writing known eighteen hundred years before the 
 Christian era, at Cyprus, Lycia, Persia, India, and in the Aryan 
 regions to the east of the Oxus and Tigris. 
 
 First, the Cypriote characters, of which there are several pages 
 in General Cesnola's able work on Cyprus, its Cities, Tombs, and 
 Temples (London : John Murray, Publisher, Albermarle-street), do 
 
93 
 
 not differ from the Ogham except in slight particulars. The letters 
 of the one are precisely like the phonetic forms made use of at the 
 present day by shorthand writers ; of the other, by telegraphists. 
 
 Secondly, in the fifteenth century before the Christian era, the 
 Hebrew people dwelt for a time along the valley that stretches by 
 that mountain on which the two tables of the Law were given to 
 Moses amidst thunder and lightning. During their forty years 
 wandering, they left countless inscriptions on the rocks and ravines 
 around that historic mountain. Hundreds on hundreds of slabs and 
 pillar-stones are to this day found in the Valley of Sinai, bearing 
 written records in a form of letter closely resembling the Cypriote, 
 and partaking largely in its linear forms of the Irish-Ogham 
 character. 
 
 Thirdly, Ogham writing bears a resemblance, though in some 
 measure remote, to Sanskrit. Modern Sanskrit furnishes phonetic 
 symbols that consist of a number of short strokes clustered around 
 a stem, to express an idea which, in order to have its significancy put 
 before the eye, requires in other languages several distinct letters. 
 Sanskrit, in this sense, and Ogham are of the same species. The 
 former is a highly developed form of the latter. Ancient Sanskrit 
 partook of the linear and the current hieroglyphic character, not 
 unlike the Sinaitic letters. 
 
 Fourthly, the cuneiform characters, arrow-headed letters, expressed 
 the thoughts of the Chaldeans in the days of Abraham ; of the 
 Assyrians, when the famous Queen Semiramis ruled that people, and 
 of the Persians, when Assuerus " reigned from India to Ethiopia 
 over one hundred and twenty-seven provinces." 
 
 The cuneiform characters, at least in their lineal form, are of tho 
 same genus as the horizontal or perpendicular lines efformated in 
 Ogham into letters. 
 
 Thus the Ogham, as a species of archaic writing, is just what 
 Sir Henry Rawlinson, or Layard, would have expected to find in a 
 country peopled by immigrants from the far East. 
 
 The words of Max Miiller on Freedom, delivered at Birmingham, 
 in 1879, are very much to the point. He says : " We call owe figures 
 Arabic, because we received them from the Arabs, but which the 
 Arabs called Indian, because they received them from the Indians. 
 This shows you how this nineteenth century of ours is under the 
 sway of centuries long past and forgotten ; how we are what we are, 
 not by ourselves, but by those who came before us, and how the 
 intellectual ground on which we stand is made up of the detritus of 
 
94 
 
 thoughts which were first thought, not in these isles, nor in Europe, 
 but on the shores of the Oxus, the Nile, the Euphrates, and the 
 Indus.' 1 — Vol. ii. Selected Essays. London: Longmans, Green & Co., 
 1881. 
 
 Q. 4. Can it be adopted as true that the pre- 
 Christian Gaels, at least some centuries before the 
 Christian era, made use of any other letter save 
 Ogham or virgular writing ? 
 
 A. Yes ; it is almost certain, but still only an opinion, that they 
 did. 
 
 (a) It is well known that linear phonetic symbols were not the 
 only germ from which the earliest written letters or their developed 
 combinations and matured forms arose. There was another main 
 source, the most important of all, from which, in process of time, 
 letters amongst the Aryan as well as the Semitic and Hamitic (or 
 Chamitic) races sprung. 
 
 This principal fountain, from which the stream of letters flowed 
 to all the children of men — was hieroglyphic symbols. The 
 Chaldeans had their Hieroglyphics ; so had the Egyptians and the 
 Phenicians : three famed races descended from Cham. 
 
 Further, these picture-writings were of two kinds : (a) pictures of 
 ideas represented by material creatures — a bull's head, a serpent, a 
 lion, a bird; or (&) phonetic symbols assisting in expressing a word 
 or idea. This latter form was the first crude attempt at letters or 
 characters. In this the Egyptians excelled. The Chaldeans 
 followed with similar improvements. The form adopted by the 
 Egyptian priests, called from them the " Hieratic " letter, was taken 
 up by the Phenicians, which they in turn improved, and from it 
 efformated the Phenician alphabet. 
 
 That alphabet was the parent, so to speak of the Pelasgian, the 
 Greek, the Etruscan, the Oscan, the Gallic in Europe, and in Asia of 
 the Samaritan or ancient Hebrew, and of the Moabite letter. 
 
 M And as by our language we belong to the Aryan stratum " 
 (says Max Miiller in his Lecture on Freedom, 1879), " we belong, 
 through our letters, to the Hamitic (or Chamitic). We still write 
 English in hieroglyphics ; and in spite of all the vicissitudes through 
 which the ancient hieroglyphics have passed in their journey from 
 Egypt to Phenicia, from Phenicia to Greece, from Greece to Italy 
 (Oscan), and from Italy to Ireland (and England), when we write a 
 
95 
 
 capital F, JT., when we draw the top line and the smaller line through 
 the middle of the letter, we really draw the two lines of the Cerastes 
 the horned serpent which the ancient Egyptians used for represent- 
 ing the sound of f. The Phoenicians, who borrowed their letters 
 from the Hieratic Egyptian, wrote the letter l t j > tlie Demotic 
 Egyptian wrote it like the Greek g or y. The Greeks took 
 their letters from the Phoenicians, and wrote T. But when they 
 began to write from left to right they turned each letter 1[ to K; so 
 T[, Vau, became F, the Greek so-called Digamma." 
 
 In the same manner the undulating line of our capital <£ still 
 recalls very strikingly the bent back of the crouching lion which in 
 the later Hieroglyphic inscriptions represents the sound of L. 
 
 In our language we are Aryan, in our letters, Egyptian ; in the 
 signs I. V. VI. X., &c, on our watches, we are Babylonian. 
 
 It is plainly evident then, a priori, that as the Pelasgi, and the 
 O scans and the Kelts of Gaul had letters quite different from the 
 lineary character, so had the Kelts of Eire, who came from the same 
 eastern climes, particularly as the Aryans had both kinds of letter 
 the linear and the other symbols of sound. 
 
 From the linear principle was efformated the arrow-headed writ- 
 ing, the Cypriote, the ancient and modern Sanskrit, the Babylonish, 
 the Sinaitic, at least in some of its forms — the Ogham. From phonetic 
 symbols which the priests of Egypt employed, and which again the 
 people of Egypt used, instead of the old Hieroglyphics — were, in 
 process of time, efformated Phoenician and all its kindred alphabets. 
 Modern European penmanship is nothing more, as Max Miiller 
 shows, than a higher development and a skilful combination of both 
 those primitive modes of conveying thought by written signs. 
 
 In bringing this reply to a close, let us come to Ireland of the 
 first century of the Christian era, or some centuries previous. The 
 Kelts of Eire had compiled a great body of laws ; they had huge 
 commentaries written regarding these laws. Not only had they books 
 on law, but manuscripts on other subjects of science and art {See 
 O'Curry's Lectures and his MS. Materials). In the opinion of the 
 writer these works could not have been compiled in Ogham. 
 Therefore the Kelts of Ireland must have had a form of letter like 
 the Phoenician, the Oscan, the Etruscan, or the Gallic. 
 
 It is well-known amongst those who study and practise limning, 
 that the art of illuminating manuscripts was carried to a high 
 degree of perfection even before the coming of St. Patrick to 
 Ireland. The style of art known as Keltic was peculiar to the Irish- 
 
96 
 
 Having had a knowledge of it in pre-Christian times, it follows 
 clearly, that, to practise it as they did, they must have written 
 characters quite different from Ogham. 
 
 On this point Lady Wilde writes in an essay from her pen on 
 the art of illuminating : " The art, as practised ill Ireland, was toto 
 cozlo different from the Roman. The earliest manuscripts of Greece 
 
 and Rome show nothing like this distinctive Keltic art 
 
 Hence she asks, " From whence did the Irish, the acknowledged 
 founders of Keltic art in Europe derive their ideas of ornamentation ? 
 . . . One must travel a far way, even to the far East, before 
 finding in the decorations of the Hindu Temples anything approaching 
 to the typical idea that runs through all Irish ornamentation" 
 
 The words of Thomas Moore on this point are very remarkable, 
 and they aptly accord with all that has been here stated on plain lines 
 of thought, regarding the characters made use of by the learned in 
 Eire anterior to the Christian period. 
 
 " It is thought," says Moore, " that the Gauls, who in the time of 
 Csesar made use of the Greek letters, derived from the colony of 
 Marseilles, had possessed originally an alphabet of their own which was 
 then forgotten or superseded by that of the Greeks, and that a similar 
 fate seems to have attended the ancient alphabet of the Irish, for the 
 letters adopted by them from St. Patrick, though differing in number, 
 order, and power from the Roman, bear a resemblance to them in 
 shape. St. Patrick, though unable to persuade the Irish to adopt the 
 additional seven letters or to depart from the order, (beith, luis, nion, 
 b, I, n), prevailed in inducing them to adopt the Roman character, 
 which not long after they taught the Saxons and the Germans." — 
 History of Ireland, vol. i. c. 4. 
 
 O'Curry is of opinion that it is impossible to know for certain 
 the nature of the writing in which the records were kept, and history, 
 poetry, and literature preserved among the Gaels of Eire in the ages 
 which preceded the coming of St. Patrick. 
 
 " Enough, however, remains to show that the pre-Christian Gaels 
 possessed and practised a system of writing and keeping records 
 quite different from, and independent of, both the Greek and the 
 Roman form and characters, which gained currency in the country 
 after the introduction of Christianity in the first part of the fifth 
 century." — Appendix ii. p. 463 MS. Materials. 
 
 Thus the views which have been evolved by the process of 
 reasoning presented above, are identical in their outcome with those 
 which O'Curry, reasoning on the subject from the manuscript remains 
 of the past, entertained. 
 
'&f—<r-CJXSr*~£a t*r-> .art: "k *-~ r «■ >» — ~S -iy 
 
 '^&PS& 
 
 w 
 
 ■RHP? 
 
 
 
 
 
 sggMSgjfciafcfe 
 
 
 1R0WNE & NOL^ 
 
 TURLOUGH ROUND TOWER 
 
 CO.M AV O . 
 
97 
 
 CHAPTEK XI. 
 
 OGHAM — WHAT IT WAS ; MATERIAL FOR WRITING ; ORIGIN 
 OF THIS SECRET ART, — PROOFS OF PAGAN PARENTAGE, 
 CHRISTIAN OGHAM INSCRIPTIONS, THE LETTERS, GENERAL 
 CHARACTER OF THE DANANN RACE. 
 
 Q. 1. What does Ogham, or Ogma, mean, and why 
 was that primitive style of writing, so called ? 
 
 A. Derivation — The term appears to be composed of the Keltic 
 roots ogh, and ma ; ogh signifies young, primitive, hidden, pure, and 
 in a secondary sense, virginal. The term Oigh, which is in use to this 
 day, means virgin, one who has been unknown to mankind, and who 
 represents primitive purity. 
 
 Ma, in the Aryan language, signifies to fashion, to frame, as a 
 verb ; as a noun, constructive power. In Irish it has the meaning of 
 intelligent cause. This " ma " is found in man, men, Sanskrit, to 
 think ; in man, men, English, a thinking creature ; in math, Greek, 
 the root of matheo (jiadeca) I learn ; in mein, Irish for mind or 
 disposition ; and in the Latin, mens and memini, for menim, I 
 remember. 
 
 Another opinion has it (see " Book of Ballymote," folio 167), that 
 the term has been adopted by the old Irish chroniclers from Ogma, 
 the Eponymous representative of poetry, of learning and knowledge 
 generally, amongst the Danann tribes. Ogma did not invent the 
 alphabet, but he made learning, such as it was then, the object of his 
 special care. 
 
 Ogma, amongst the Danann races, is described as the son of 
 " Ealadhan "— that is, "Science." Amongst the Keltic Gauls, 
 Ogmius is named by Lucian, in his dialogues, as the god of eloquence. 
 He was to the Gaulish tribes what Hermes was amongst the Greeks, 
 the patron god of science, elocution, and language generally. By 
 reason of his wisdom, he was regarded also as a universal conqueror, 
 and therefore a kind of Hercules. He is represented as drawing men 
 by golden chords, extending from his mouth to the ears of his hearers* 
 
 H 
 
98 
 
 Lucian states that Ogmius acquired the name and character of con- 
 queror, and was deemed brave, rather on account of his persuasive 
 powers, than his physical prowess. 
 
 A third opinion — The term Ogma, according to Zeuss, comes 
 from, or is kindred in meaning to, Oidheam (dh for gh), a tract or 
 tablet of instruction. This may be so. The present writer, however, 
 prefers the derivation presented in the foregoing, and is of opinion 
 that owe (Irish) a professor, a teacher, not unlike oide (Greek), he 
 knows, is of the same family of words as Oidlieam (Keltic), a tablet, 
 wkiTe Ogma, as has been shown, is quite different. 
 
 Object of Ogham Writing. 
 
 As to the object of this species of writing, it was certainly 
 secret or occult, and, by means of it, the Druids or pagan priests, 
 and the Ollamhs, like the pagan priests amongst the Egyptians, 
 kept secret from the uninitiated certain hidden knowledge which 
 they pretended to possess. "It appears," says O'Curry (p. 469, 
 Appendix ii, Manuscript Materials), "from all we know that the 
 Ogham writing had often, if not at all times, a secret and com- 
 plicated character, and that it required a special education to 
 read and understand it." 
 
 An inspection of the pages of the manuscripts, known as the 
 Book of Ballymote, Book of Lecan, Book of Leinster, Leaohar na 
 h- Uidhre, shows that Ogham was secret, and that it has come down 
 the stream of time from the earliest period. 
 
 The Irish Druids had, like their brethren in Babylon, Niniveh and 
 Egypt, two special forms of writing, the secret and the public, or 
 common letter : the former has been styled the Hieratic, that known 
 to the pagan priests;— tepevs; — the other Demotic, because it was 
 taught to the people (A77/10? demos). 
 
 The Secret Character of Ogham Writing shewn. 
 
 The following story is taken from the Book of Leinster, fol. 
 206. It illustrates the secret character of this species of writing, 
 and the use made of it even in matters affecting social or political life. 
 
 Core, son of Lughaidh, king of Munster, was driven into exile by 
 his father, about A.D. 400. Forced to fly to the court of Feradach, 
 king of Scotland, he and his attendants hid in a grove near the 
 court, and there they were soon discovered and recognised by 
 
99 
 
 €rruibne, the king's poet, who had known Core at his father's court 
 in Munster. The poet addressed the prince, and learned his history, 
 and while examining his shield, detected an Ogham inscription on it. 
 " Who was it," said the poet to the prince, " that befriended you 
 with the Ogham which is on your shield? It was not good luck 
 he designed for you." " What does it contain ?" said the prince. 
 " It is this," said the poet : " that if you arrive in the day-time at 
 the court of Feradach, your head should be cut off before evening ; 
 and if at night-time, that your head should be cut off before 
 morning." 
 
 Conclusions to be drawn from the foregoing — From this record 
 it is seen that Ogham writing was inscribed (a) on a shield ; that it 
 was made use of in (b) matters of the highest moment ; that (c) a 
 knowledge of those letters had not been acquired even by a prince ; 
 and (d) that writing of this character — considering the conservative 
 habits of the Kelts — was practised in the days anterior to the 
 introduction of Christianity into Erin. 
 
 Q. 2. What writing material was made use of by 
 the natives of Ireland in recording events in Ogham 
 character ? 
 
 A. (a) Stone, in the most ancient times ; next (b) wood ; (c) lead ; 
 (d) brass ; (e) prepared skins ; at a later period, (/) linen ; and some 
 centuries before the time of Christ, (g) parchment. 
 
 STONE : 
 
 Of stone pillars, engraved with Ogham characters, there have 
 been, within the past century, from two hundred and fifty to three 
 hundred discovered. 
 
 To write on stone was not a custom special to natives of Eire, 
 anterior to the coming of Christ, especially in the far off period, a 
 thousand or two thousand years before the Christian era. 
 
 In all the countries of the East, the most ancient practice was to 
 carve records on stone. 
 
 The descendants of Seth, as Josephus testifies (Antiquities 1-3), 
 wrote their astronomical discoveries on two pillars, one of stone, to 
 withstand the water ; the other of brick, to resist the force of fire. 
 
100 
 
 The Moabite Stone. 
 
 Within the past eighteen years, namely, in the spring of 1870, at 
 Dibon, a town in the land of Moab, east of the Dead Sea, a most 
 ■wonderful discovery of one of this class of inscribed stones, carved, 
 say, a thousand years before the Christian era, has been made, in 
 bringing to light that which is now known as the Moabite stone. 
 Similar discoveries, but not all of equal importance, have been made 
 in the Valley of Sinai, where, for a time, after crossing the Reel Sea, 
 the emancipated children of Israel dwelt. The conquest of a race, 
 and the destruction of numerous cities which once flourished in the 
 lands of Moab and Ammon, are found recorded on this slab of basalt, 
 four feet, less two inches, long ; two feet deep ; and two wide. 
 
 And similarly regarding Ogham writing, O'Curry states (Appendix 
 to MS. Materials, p. 464), " that it has been employed to record 
 historical events, and even sustained historical or romantic tales." 
 Short histories have been recorded by such archaic but enduring 
 means. 
 
 The form of letter on the Moabite stone is not, it is true, the 
 secret kind, either linear or hieroglyphic, it is the current character 
 known and practised at that period, nigh ten centuries before the 
 coming of Christ. It was the same in form as that employed by the 
 Phoenicians, the Moabites, and the peoples of Western Asia generally; 
 yes, it was the character in which the Hebrew people wrote, and in 
 which the Bible and the tables of the law were bequeathed to man- 
 kind. Those letters, or characters like them in form, introduced to 
 Europe in those for off times, became known as the Greek, the Gallic, 
 the Keltic, and the Roman characters.* 
 
 Letters of the Modern Hebrew Bible. 
 
 * " The alphabetical characters used by the sacred writers weie for the 
 books written in Hebrew, at least those written before the Babylonian 
 captivity (sixth century before the Christian era), not the characters fourfd 
 in our present Hebrew Bibles, which are in truth the Chaldaic characters,, 
 but such as are now to be found in the Samaritan Pentateuch, and 
 similar tb the old Phoenician character. It has been commonly supposed r 
 that the characters used in our Hebrew Bibles now were substituted for 
 the others immediately after the captivity, when the Ancient Hebrew 
 ceased to be spoken by the Jews." Most Piev, Dr. Dixon's Introduction 
 to the Sacred Scriptures, vol. i., p. 50 ; Dublin, Duffy, 7, Wellington- 
 quay, 1852. 
 
 Another witness : —"It must be borne in mind that the present Hebrew 
 characters are comparatively modern. It is held by the best scholars that 
 the older forms were lost during the captivity, and were replaced by the 
 
101 
 
 Other Discoveries. — There are Jfew things amongst the myriad dis- 
 coveries made within the past fifty years, more remarkable than the 
 vast amount found in the East of inscribed stones and lettered 
 bricks. What is better still, these Archaic symbols, whether hiero- 
 glyphic or demotic, have been at length and at last deciphered, and 
 faithfully interpreted. The halls of the excavated palaces of Nimroud 
 cry out in the public pronouncements of Mr. Layard, that the ancients 
 of Niniveh wrote on stone as well as on tiles and terra cotta. Rooms 
 have been found filled from floor to ceiling with piles of baked bricks, 
 the disentombed archives of the Assyrian empire. 
 
 In like manner, the writings on the rock of Behistun, in the 
 western boundary of the ancient kingdom of Media, copied and 
 deciphered by Rawlinson, throw a blaze of reflected light back on the 
 habits and manners of the literary world in the primeval periods of 
 Assyrian antiquity. They form certainly, a convincing proof of the 
 custom amongst Eastern nations of writing on stone. 
 
 The Rosetta Stone. 
 
 TheRosetta stone should not be passed by without some allusion. 
 It has been the key in the hands of scholars in opening the literary 
 treasures contained in arrow-headed and hieroglyphical writings- 
 
 Present ones, which bear a strong resemblance to those found in the 
 incriptions at Palmyra, and were Chaldean in their origin." The Moabite 
 Stone, p. 35, by W. Pakenham Walsh, D.D., Dean of Cashel; Dublin, 
 published by George Herbert, Grafton-street, 1878. 
 
 " The oldHebrew alphabet is represented by its Moabitic and Phoenician 
 correlatives, but we have nearly the whole Greek alphabet, not only 
 similar to the Phoenician in shape, but almost identical with it."\Ibid. p. 35, 
 
 " It is interesting to reflect that it was in characters such as these, men 
 wrote their thoughts in the days of Achab and Elijah (Elias). Nay 
 more, as the same system of writing prevailed all over Western Asia, 
 it was in these (the Phoenician not the Modern Hebrew) characters that 
 David wrote his Psalms, Solomon his Proverbs, and Samuel his histories 
 and in letters such as these (the Phoenician and Moabite) the grandest 
 parts of the Old Testament were originally penned." W. Pakenham Walsh, 
 Dean of Cashel. 
 
 And Professor Rawlinson in the Contemp. Review, 20th August, 1870, 
 writes: — "Further it may be over-bold to go; but a suspicion forces 
 itself upon us, that in the characters of which the photographic traces are 
 before us to-day, we see the forms of the letters in which five hundred 
 years before, the Pentateuch itself was penned by Moses." 
 
 Rawlinson is right : Moses was trained in all the learning of the 
 Eygptians, who, as well as the Phoenicians made use of the demotic 
 letter. The Chaldaic forms did not become known to the Jews, till after 
 their return from captivity. 
 
102 
 
 The story of the early Egyptian kings is read to-day in the ruins of 
 Memphis, Karnac, or Thebes, in the Obelisk on the Thames embank- 
 ment, in the inscribed slabs of the British Museum, the Crystal 
 Palace, and the Louvre, Paris. 
 
 The Pillar Stones of Ireland. 
 
 The two hundred and sixty inscribed pillars discovered within the 
 past century and a-half in Munster and Leinster, do not stand 
 in secret isolation. In the engraved character, and in the fact of 
 making use of pillars to transmit to posterity a record of 
 events, they are of the same family origin as the stone records 
 which have been discovered within the present century in 
 Media, Nineveh, Babylon, and Egypt. The stones of ancient Eire 
 cry out that the same manners amongst the two races (those in the 
 East and those in the far West), were the real cause from which 
 arose the habit of engraving on stone. The Danann chiefs in 
 Ireland, and Job the Just in Arabia, lived about the same time 
 amongst races of people who, though primitive, were not without 
 skilled rulers, without knowledge and laws. Job cries out in his 
 hour of trial : " Who will grant me that my words may be written ? 
 Who will grant me that they may be marked down in a book with an 
 iron pen, and in a plate of lead, or else graven with an instrument in 
 flint stone ? " 
 
 The pillar stones are then another proof of the Eastern origin of 
 the early Keltic races of Eire. The secret writing inscribed on them 
 is traceable to the same source that gave form to the Cypriote, and 
 the ancient Sanskrit, and the arrow-headed letters of the East. 
 
 Wooden Tablets. 
 
 Wood, and brass, and lead, and tablets of wax and linen came 
 into use at a later date, but inscriptions on stone were still continued. 
 
 "As regards the material," says O'Curry, "on which the pre- 
 Christian Gaels wrote, beside stone, we find it mentioned under four 
 different names, Tamh-lorya Filidh, that is, memorial tablets of the 
 poets ; stabhala lorga, table staves ; taibhli filidh, tables of the poets ; 
 smdjleasgjili, the wand of the poet."— O'Curry, MS. Materials, p. 464. 
 
 With respect to the name, Taibhli Filidh, tablets of the poets, the 
 ancient Gaelic tablet took, I believe, more the form of a fan than of a 
 table, a fan, which when closed, took the shape of a staff {lorg), and 
 which, indeed, actually served as such to the poet and the historian. 
 
103 
 
 Conclusion. — Seasoning a priori, it is evident that the Danann 
 tribes cultivated the art of writing, especially in Ogham, engraved on 
 wood and stone. But no certain, undoubted fragments, referring 
 especially to the Danann race, have come down to the present, sur- 
 viving the wreck of the past three thousand years. 
 
 " No Ogham inscriptions have, however," says O'Donovan, " been 
 as yet found in any of the monuments ascribed by the Irish writers 
 to the Tuatha De Dananns, excepting the cave at the mound at New 
 Grange, which, exhibits a few Ogham characters, and near them a 
 decided representation of a palm branch and a series of concentric 
 circles." — Irish Grammar, p. 38. 
 
 Since writing these lines the author of this work has visited New 
 Grange, — which lies near the main road between Navan, Slane, and 
 Drogheda. ' Having closely inspected the circular Ogham and the 
 writing in form of a palm branch, — he is of opinion that the latter 
 is the same in primitive rudeness of outline with the early written 
 Cypriote character. 
 
 Q. 3. Is it not still a subject of controversy, 
 whether or net, Ogham "writing has had its origin in 
 pagaD or Christian times ? 
 
 A. That is true. But questions of the highest certainty in history 
 have been called into the region of doubt, by those who do not wish 
 to credit the truth of facts which the finger of the historian 
 points out. On the present subject tomes have been written within 
 the past century. 
 
 Regarding the origin of Ogham writing there have been two schools 
 of opinion, one maintaining the pagan theory, the other, the Christian. 
 
 The South Munster Society of Antiquarians, whose literary centre 
 is Cork city, contend for the pre-Christian origin of this species 
 of writing. The members of the Royal Irish Academy, especially 
 those of the past fifty years, have, on the contrary, contended that 
 Ogham was derived from the Scandinavians,fand that the ^numerous 
 Ogham inscriptions, which have been and are being at present 
 recorded, belong to the Christian period. 
 
 It is a curious coincidence, that advocates for the pre-Christian 
 progress in Ireland go in, not only for the pagan antiquity of Ogham 
 writing, but for a marvellous development of literary life as soon as 
 the sun of Christian knowledge shone over the island. They main- 
 tain that the pagan advance in mental activity was, as in Greece 
 
104 
 
 at the time when St. Paul preached the Gospel to the Athenians. 
 a natural preparation for the reception of the seed of Christian faith. 
 On the other hand, those who look up to Christianity as the sun ot 
 civilisation and literary life, deny that St. Patrick, his fellow -laborers, 
 or successors had any share worth naming in the work of literary 
 development; that it is to the Scandinavians the Irish owed their 
 literary knowledge, that from them the Ogham letter first came, and 
 that to the Danes, Irishmen are beholden for^ the blessings of 
 Christian enlightenment. 
 
 The state of the question is fairly put by Dr. Graves in the follow- 
 ing words : 
 
 " Those who maintain the affirmative, that the ancient Irish, before 
 the Christian era, prof essed a primitive alphabet (Ogham), appeal to 
 the concurrent authority of the most ancient manuscript histories, 
 according to which an alphabet, called Ogham, was introduced into 
 Ireland by the Tuatha De Danann. They refer to the oldest 
 romances which contain frequent allusions to the Ogham, either for 
 the purpose of conveying intelligence, or in sepulchral inscriptions 
 or pillar-stones. Finally, they point to existing monuments of this 
 very kind, presenting inscriptions in the Ogham character, and argue 
 that they must be ascribed to a pagan period. 
 
 " Those, on the other hand, who dissent from these views, allege 
 that (a) the legendary accounts of the invention of the Ogham bear 
 all the marks of fiction ; and they contend, that the nature of this 
 alphabet, in which the vowels and consonants are separated ; (&) 
 furnishes internal evidence of its having been contrived by persons 
 possessing some grammatical knowledge, and being acquainted with 
 alphabets of the ordinary kind ; (c) they impugn the authority of 
 romantic tales, by questioning the antiquity of those compositions ; 
 (Y7) lastly, they assert that a considerable number of the existing 
 Ogham monuments are proved by the emblems and inscriptions 
 which they bear, to belong to Christian times." 
 
 A Third Opinion. 
 
 According to the view just presented, there are two opinions on 
 this question, to which the present writer adds a third, namely, 
 that Ogham writing dates from the earliest pagan period, but that 
 it was afterwards practised in Christian times. 
 
 In his work on the " Aryan origin of the Gaelic Race and Lan- 
 guage," p. 286, the author says :— " It is certain, that in the pre- 
 Christian period, the Druids and the learned Gaels made use of a 
 
105 
 
 secret writing called Ogham, of which there were several kinds ; and 
 that even in the Christian period, this kind of writing was not, and is 
 not wholly forgotten." 
 
 The only historic point that rests in doubt is, whether or not the 
 books compiled by the Druids were written in Aryan letters resem- 
 bling those used by the Phoenicians, the Greeks, or Latins, or in their 
 own secret characters. On this point also, the writer's views are, 
 that records were written in characters peculiar to each. The Druids 
 wrote in Ogham those works intended for the druidical order, or for 
 private use ; while the public records like the " Seancus Mor," were 
 written in a common, well-known, and not secret letter, be it Aryan, 
 or Keltic, or at a latter period — Roman. 
 
 The reasons that go to confirm the foregoing view, are (a) The 
 historic statements and archaeological analogies presented already 
 to the reader in chapter X., pages 90 to 97. It is evident that the 
 Ogham alphabet came from the East at a primeval period. 
 
 (&) The linear form of the letters, their number, their names, their 
 power, their affinity in form with kindred alphabets existing at the 
 earliest times in Asia, point to this conclusion as certain. But recent 
 discoveries put the truth beyond all manner of doubt. 
 
 (c) Long before the discovery of Ogham pillar-stones, nearly all 
 Irish codices contained the fullest account of this style of writing. 
 
 (d) The legendary Irish tales, in which mention is made regarding 
 this secret art, are of themselves by no means a proof of its origin or 
 antiquity ; neither does the authority of the tales, even if proved 
 authentic, reach so high as the first century ; they do not, therefore, 
 constitute proof sufficient to produce certainty regarding the origin 
 of Ogham. They confirm, however, the truthfulness of other proofs, 
 which clearly point out the pagan origin of this secret writing. 
 
 (e) The Ogham monuments, which some antiquarians pronounce 
 from the Christian symbols found on them, to have been engraved in 
 Christian times, are nevertheless pagan, for, in most cases, the 
 Christian symbols have, on inspection, been shown to be the work 
 of a later and a ruder artist.* 
 
 Authors who uphold the Second Opinion,— The Christian Origin op 
 Ogham Writing. 
 
 * Rev. Edward Ledwich, 1738-1823, writes: — "The pretensions of 
 the Irish to an original alphabet have been examined and rejected." 
 
 Again — " Irish literature in pagan times is ideal." — Antiquities of 
 Ireland, 2nd ed., p. 349. 
 Edward Ledwich was a Protestant minister, LL.D., F.S.A., of London, 
 
106 
 
 Q. 4. Are there features connected with the inscribed 
 Ogham stones pointing out that they are Druidical, 
 and were therefore Pagan, and not Christian ? 
 
 A. Yes ; it is well known that the Druid priests adored, turning 
 the face to the East. The very name of front, in Irish oir, signifies 
 east ; the same word iar denotes west, and rear, the right hand side 
 deas signifies south, and left, tuath, means north.. The Druids facing 
 the east, had the right side, deas (dexter), turned to the south, and 
 the left, tuath, to the north ; while the west, iar, was in the rear. The 
 druid tumuli, or mounds, open to the east. How is it with the inscribed 
 pillar-stones in Ogham ? (a) Wherever the Ogham stone is found 
 
 and Scotland, and member of som^e of the most distinguished literary 
 societies of Europe ; Secretary to the Committee of Antiquities of the 
 Eoyal Irish Academy. His knowledge was slight; it merely pointed out 
 the pathway which prejudice preferred to tread ; his lore for truth — nil. 
 
 Another Irish antiquary, Thomas Wood, M.D., in his " Inquiry con- 
 cerning the Primitive Inhabitants of Ireland," addressed to the members 
 of the Eoyal Irish Academy, and published in Cork in 1821, writes: — 
 •' The vanity of Irish writers has induced them to affirm that the letters 
 of their present alphabet,, which are not probably older than the ninth or 
 tenth century, were used by the bards more than a thousand years before- 
 the Christian era ; but they are of Phoenician origin." — p. 198. 
 
 Eev. Thomas Innes, M.A., a Scotch priest, in his " Critical Essay on 
 the Ancient Inhabitants of tbe Northern Parts of Britain or Scotland : 
 London, 1712, writes : — " The Irish Ogham alphabet, known as the Beith- 
 luis-nion, is nothing else than an invention of some Irish seanachie." 
 
 Authors who Suppoet the first Opinion, — The Pagan Origin of 
 Ogham Writing. 
 On the other hand, O'Curry writes : — " The Ogham characters are 
 still to be seen in some of our oldest books, as well as in many stone monu- 
 ments, the remote antiquity of which cannot, I think, be denied. It is 
 repeatedly spoken of in all our historical books." — MS. Materials, p. 464,. 
 Appendix ii. 
 
 Ogham writing is spoken of as having been employed to record 
 historical events, and sustained historical romantic tales, long before the 
 introduction of the Eoman letter. — Ibid. 
 
 Sir William Wilde's " Catalogue of Antiquities of the Eoyal Irish 
 Academy," pp. 134-144 — " Ogham stones are found built into the walls 
 of castles, they are not coeval with such edifices nor even with the date 
 of the churches, — but were removed from earlier buildings." 
 
 O'Flaherty states in his Ogygia — " Duald MacEirbis wrote me 
 an account of his being in possession of the Ogham tablets, of 
 different forms to the number of one hundred and fifty, and of Craobh 
 Ogbam, i.e. Ogham characters." " To me," says O'Curry, " it appears 
 that O'Flaherty must have mistaken MacFirbi?, and that instead of 
 
107 
 
 in situ, the inscribed face is surely turned towards the east, or north- 
 east. If there are two lines, the first is found on the north-east 
 and the other towards the south-east angle of the stone. If only 
 one line of inscription is found, it fronts the eastern angle. 
 
 It must be borne in mind, that the inscription commences at the 
 base, and is continued along the corner of the stone to the top, and 
 over the top, at times running down along the opposite angle. 
 
 (&) If the stone has been moved from its vertical position, and placed 
 horizontally, with the base towards the left hand, it then represents a 
 page of a modern book, on which one can read the inscription from 
 left to right, but with this difference, that the lines commence Mow 
 and continue upwards, while the inscribed record is being read. 
 
 (c) The word San, sacred ; and leac, or lee, or Hag, a flag, is omitted : 
 The first word of the Scripture is usually found, not in the nomina- 
 tive, but in the genitive case. 
 
 (d) The letter p has been found in the oldest Irish manuscripts, but 
 there was a time in which it was not employed, o was made use of 
 instead. It is curious, that in all the Ogham inscriptions, the letter 
 has not been found, thus showing that those inscriptions were made, 
 speaking generally, at a period anterior to the introduction of that 
 
 letter. 
 
 These proofs from internal evidence are very strong and convinc- 
 ing — pointing to the pagan p eriod.* _______ 
 
 tablets, he ought to have understood him as meaning alphabets, such as 
 are preserved in the " Book of Ballymote." 
 
 Roderick O'Flaherty (1629-1718), writes ;-« Danannse kteris ... 
 apprime exculti tradunt Ogygia." And, quoting Sir James Wares 
 "Antiquities," chap. ii. :-" Prater characters vulgares utebantur etiam 
 veteres Hiberni variis occultis scribendi formulis, seu artificiis Ogum 
 dictis, quibus secreta sua scribebant."— Ogygia ed 1685 p. 223. 
 
 Besides the common characters, the ancient Irish used various occult 
 
 or artificial methods of writing called Ogham, in which they wrote their 
 
 secret and mysterious affairs. lQ++ora 
 
 < < I have/' says Ware, " an old book filled with them. The letters 
 
 themselves were anciently called feadha, i.e., woods. 
 
 In the "Book of BaUjmote" MS.:-" What is the place, and time, 
 and person, and cause of the Ogham?. The place of it, Hibenna. Insuto 
 quam nos Scoti habitamus; in the time of Bres son of Elathan ; its 
 person, Ogma, brother of Bres," &c, foL 167 6, b„ to be seen at the 
 Boyal Irish Academy, Dublin. 
 
 * Baring-Gould, author of " Origin and Development of Rehgiom 
 Belief" and of "Lives of tbe Saints," in 12 vols., expresses his views on 
 prtchristian crosses in these words: "The Phallic origin attributed to 
 the cross is destitute of evidence. I have conscientiously examined the 
 question. If I saw that there was sufficient evidence to substantiate tnc 
 
108 
 
 It is true, that Christian monuments in Ogham are found. 
 Wherever one meets a monument of this class, two distinctive features 
 connected with its Christian character attract the attention of the 
 antiquarian : first, the cross is elaborately ornamented, and not cut 
 rudely, or hastily scratched as in Christianised Ogham monuments ; 
 and the literary inscription commences with the words oroitfor; 
 or, — oroit, for anam, etc., a prayer for the soul of, etc. The term 
 oroit is equally written thus : or, — " or," with a stroke over the two 
 letters, the contracted form found in MSS., and on pillar stones. 
 Finally, it is worth observing that the Ogham inscribed stones, 
 are freestone, sandstone, claystone, limestone, or granite. 
 
 If all the inscriptions discovered up to the present were collected 
 in one book, there would be thus obtained about from five hundred 
 to six hundred lines of pre-Christian writing. For purposes of 
 philology and antiquarian research, this amount would be con- 
 siderable. One must bear in mind, that all Irish pagan literature 
 had been almost entirely destroyed by St. Patrick and his committee 
 of nine, who were appointed to revise the laws and writings of the 
 pre-Christian Irish. 
 
 For the past half century, very little practical benefit has been 
 obtained from this field of antiquarian research. The learning and 
 energy of Irish savants have been wasted on partisan views, and the 
 main question of the utility of these discoveries allowed to be in 
 abeyance. 
 
 Q. 5. Explain the forms of the Ogham letters. 
 
 The best way to do so, is to present the letters engraved to the 
 eye in the following paradigm : — 
 
 theory, I would adopt it without hesitation. An article on Sun-worship 
 in a certain periodical, assumes the identity of the cross with the phallus. 
 The assertions are bold and reckless, and not supported by evidence," 
 
 The speculations of the learned on the signification of the Egyptian 
 Hieroglyphics previous to the discoveries of Champollion, are devoid of 
 weight. The " crux ansata," that is, the cross and the circle it is said, 
 was the sign of Venus, or Sensual Love and it is still the astronomical 
 symbol of the planet which,, bears her name. Now, the crux ansata was 
 not exclusively the symbol of Astarte ; it was a sign of divinity simply, 
 and was placed near every god to indicate him as being divine. It 
 appears beside Baal as well as Astarte: 
 
 Neither can it be stated that the Indian cross is of the character 
 alluded to. 
 
 The Indian cross is entirely and radically distinct from any form of 
 phallic worship. 
 
 Appendix C, to Myths of the middle ages. S. Baring-Gould. 
 Eivingtons, Waterloo-place, London. 1877. 
 
Beth-luis-niov, Name special to the Ogham Alphabet 
 
 Bob el-loth, J 
 Name of the 
 Common 
 Alphabet 
 
 Order 
 
 Figure 
 
 Power ; conventional 
 
 or Name 
 
 Ph .°. n - | amongst the 
 
 ,, et i lc ! Ancient Irish 
 Value 
 
 English 
 
 meaning of 
 
 these Names 
 
 The second, or 
 
 common 
 
 Alphabet 
 
 amongst the 
 
 Ancient Irish ; 
 
 Keltic, or 
 
 Ola Roman, 
 
 known as the 
 
 Irish letter 
 
110 
 
 From this line of letters it is seen, that commencing below, or so 
 to speak at the root, one stroke to the right represents &, two, I ; 
 three, / ; four, s ; five, n. Again, one stroke to the left, drawn 
 perpendicular to the directing line, is 7i ; two to the left, d ; three 
 t ; four, c ; five, q. Next, the strokes cross the line at an acute 
 angle, and one of these constitutes m ; two, g ; three, ng ; four, st, 
 ts, z ; five, r. Lastly, the lines are drawn across at right angles, one 
 such stroke is a • two, o ; three, u, the broad vowels ; and e, i, slender 
 vowels, are told off with four cross lines for e, and five for i. Thus 
 by a series of five short strokes (a) to the right, and (&) left, at (c) 
 an angle, and perpendicularly across the line, twenty alphabet letters 
 are at once formed. The mode is <v§ry simple, and very like the 
 process adopted on the invention of telegraphy in this country. 
 There are four series of groups of short strokes springing like 
 branches from a tree from one main linear stem. In these twenty, 
 there are two double letters, and one (g), which has been rarely, if at 
 all employed. 
 
 To this primitive 'alphabet, the following were added to represent 
 the sounds of p, and of the five dipthongs : — 
 
 26 | 
 
 
 P 
 
 Peth-boc 
 
 soft B, or secondary B 
 
 H- 
 
 25 ;: 
 
 It 
 
 AO 
 
 amhan-choll 
 
 river-hazel 
 
 24 
 
 # 
 
 10 
 
 Ifin 
 
 gooseberry 
 
 23 
 
 -3 
 
 111 
 
 Uilleann 
 
 woodbine 
 
 22 
 
 CD 
 
 Ol 
 
 Oir 
 
 spindle -tree 
 
 21 
 
 >< 
 
 eA 
 
 Eabhadh 
 
 aspen 
 
 In the order of letters, b holds the first place, I the second, / the 
 third, or rather w, according to the manuscript authority of the 
 Books of Ballymote and Lecan. B, L, N, were regarded as the three 
 letters which held the leading place, and therefore, the Oghams 
 alphabet was called beidi-ttnf-nion. 
 
 Irish grammarians followed, generally speaking, the views of 
 O'Flaherty, and have applied the term Beath-luis-nion to Irish alphabets 
 without distinction ; but, it is right to say, that the term is special, 
 and denotes the Ogham alphabet, according to the highest authorities, 
 
Ill 
 
 namely, the "Book of Ballymote," and Book of Leean," to which 
 may be added the authority of Dr. O'Donovan. 
 Bobel-loth and subsequently the Roman alphabet 
 
 As has been already shown, the Kelts of Ancient Eire were, like 
 the Egyptians and Phoenicians, the Assyrians and Persians, in pos- 
 session of a second alphabet, which was in use among persons of 
 learning generally, and not employed for hidden or secret science. 
 This second alphabet was called, from the names of its leading 
 letters, Bobel-loth. It consists simply of the letters in old Keltic, 
 Gaelic or Phoenician ; or, after the coming of St. Patrick, Roman — 
 
 b, t, ■£, f, n, h, -o, u, c, <\, m, 5, nj, ft;, ]\, a, o, u, e, 1. 
 The letter^* is not found in the " Book of Ballymote." — O'Donovan. 
 p. 31, Book of Ballymote, fol. 167, R.I. A. 
 
 After tho time of St. Patrick the order of the old alphabet 
 was changed from &, I, f, to a, b, c — the number of letters however 
 (17) is retained to this day. 
 
 Q. 6. Name a few of the unpublished Manuscripts 
 written in Irish Gaelic that contain records regarding 
 the De Dannan tribes. 
 
 A. There are, as has been stated, in the Royal Irish Academy 
 alone, sixty-four tracts in MSS. relating to this wonderful people 
 (1) A list of the Danann Kings. (2) A poem by Bochy O'Flynn, 
 who died 984, on their history. O'Curry quotes largely in his 
 " Manners and Customs of the Ancient Irish," from the writings of 
 this remarkable poet. (3) An account of the Conquest of Ireland 
 by the Danann race — Book of Lecan, fol. 278. (4) Four other 
 tracts in the same book on the Danann people, fol. 280 a a, line 
 40. (5) An account of their battles. (6) An account of the 
 Invasion of Ireland by the Tuatha De Danann. (7) An account of 
 their arrival in Ireland. (8) A poem on the Tuatha de Danann in 
 the Book of Ballymote, fol. 18, a a., line 45. (9) Another poem 
 by Eochy O'Flynn. (10) A poem on their Kings by Tanaidh 
 O'Maolconaire. (11) Another poem by Flann Mainistreach, who in 
 the eleventh century was chief professor of the school of St. Buite 
 at Monasterboice. He died in a.d. 1056. He it styled by the Four 
 Masters " Chief Professor of St. Bute's Monastery," and declared to 
 
 * According to the authority of the late William Williams, of Dungarvan, 
 who deciphered most of the Ogham inscriptions, the equivalents of q,ng, 
 or st, p, have not been found ou ancient Ogham inscriptions. 
 
112 
 
 have been the wise teacher of the Gaedhals in literature, history, 
 philosophy, and poetry. Flann's poems are in the Book of Leinster. 
 (12) A poem on the deaths of the principal Danann men and women, 
 Book of Lecan, fol. 2S1. (13) A short history of the kings, 
 chieftains, poets, artists, and remarkable women of the Tuatha De 
 Danann, Book of Lecan, fol. 27, h. a., line 30. (14) In same book 
 (MS.) a genealogical account of their chiefs and principal women. 
 (15) Different opinions on their origin and their history, Book of 
 Lecan, fol. 183. (16) A poem on the Tuatha De Danann Kings of 
 Ireland, by Giolla Caoimhghin, the most celebrated poet and historian 
 in Ireland during the eleventh century a.d. 1072. (17) The names 
 and the reigns of the kings. (18) The Tuatha De Danann — lovers 
 of music, Book of Lecan, fol. 247. (19) Poems by Maolmuire of 
 Fathan. Obiit a.d. 884, b. ?;., line 17. The other poems and prose 
 narrations regard all that the Tuatha De Danann did during the time 
 they ruled Ireland, what they knew, what they achieved, what they 
 taught, how eventually they were conquered by another race known 
 as the Milesian. 
 
 " The pre-Christian period of Irish history presents difficulties 
 from which," says a certain writer, " the corresponding period in the 
 histories of other countries is free. The surrounding nations escape 
 the difficulty by having nothing to record. The Irish historian is 
 immersed in perplexity, on account of the mass of material ready to 
 his hand. The early British have lost utterly all record of those 
 centuries before which the Irish historian stands with dismay and 
 hesitation, not through deficiency of materials, but through their 
 excess." 
 
113 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 FABLE AND FACT : MYTHOLOGY REDUCED TO A SYSTEM : 
 THREE VIEWS: THE DANANN AN INTELLIGENT PAGAN 
 PEOPLE : THEIR FORM OF GOVERNMENT : CLAN SYSTEM : 
 KINGS : LAWS : RELIGION : DRUIDISM : SOCIAL HABITS, 
 MUSIC THE "CAOIN": MARRIAGE: ARTS: PUBLIC 
 GATHERINGS : DWELLINGS : HOW THEY LIVED, 
 
 Q. 1. In order to sift fable from fact, how is a 
 writer to act in penning that which appears reliable 
 and trustworthy in the history of those remote pre- 
 Christian times ? 
 
 A. A writer must exercise a large share of critical judgment in 
 collating records that are in part mythical, or, that relate to epony- 
 mous personages, (a) He must weigh well the views of other 
 writers of the present and of the past — intelligent scholars and men 
 of acknowledged ability, in unveiling the mythical figures which 
 antiquity has handed down to the present generation. (&) He must 
 not confine those views to the laws and customs of any one race, but 
 look to the habits and manners of several races, and see what is com- 
 mon to all countries, and what is special to each, separating accord- 
 ing to the laws of aesthetic criticism eponymous from individual 
 character. Let us borrow an illustration from astronomy. With a 
 powerful telescope and a good focus-glass an astronomer sees a group 
 of stars where, to the unaided eye of the ordinary observer, only 
 one star appears ; in a similar way a critical writer must, by enlarged 
 views, endeavour to eliminate the mythical and eponymous from the 
 individual character as far as can be done. 
 
 Q. 2. Alluding to mythology — what is the latest 
 interpretation of those myths and legends recorded in 
 the early history of almost every ancient people ? 
 
 A. Amongst the nations of mankind, it is true that a number of 
 legends and mythic stories is found, in substance the same — though 
 
114 
 
 varying in form, in character, in place and time — colored according 
 to the genius of each distinctive people, to suit the prevailing views 
 and the circumstances of the age and race. 
 
 All Myths and ancient legends may be reduced to one or the other 
 of two principles on which, in the opinion of eminent scholars, they 
 rest for any degree of value which furnish them with form or attrac- 
 
 THE WORLD S LEGENDS AND MYTHS REDUCED TO A SYSTEM, 
 AND EXPLAINED NATURALLY, 
 
 First View. 
 
 The first view is that proposed by the Right Honorable William 
 E. Gladstone and his school. Its foundations are Revelation and 
 Science. 
 
 He maintains that under corrupted forms, mythology — that of the 
 Greeks for instance — "presents the old Theistic and Messianic 
 traditions, that its course was from light to darkness, from purity to 
 uncleaimess. Its starting point was the idea of a Being infinite in 
 power and in intelligence, and though perfectly good, yet good by an 
 unchangeable internal determination of character and not by the 
 constraint of an external law." 
 
 Second View. 
 
 The second is given by Rev. G. W. Cox, M.A. It rests on nature 
 but does not exclude revelation. (See Mythology of the Aryan 
 Nations, Vol. I.) " Of one fact, the importance of which can 
 scarcely," he says, " be exaggerated, I venture to claim the discovery ; 
 — that the Epic poems of the Aryan nations are simply different 
 versions of one and the same story, and that the story has its origin 
 in the phenomena of the natural world, and the course of the day 
 and year « 
 
 " The Mythology of the Vedic and Homeric poets contains the 
 germs of almost all the stories of Teutonic, Scandinavian, and Keltic 
 folk-lore. This common stock of materials which supplements the 
 evidence of language for the ultimate affinity of all the Aryan nations 
 has been moulded into an infinite variety of shapes by the story 
 tellers of the Greeks and Latins, of Persians, of Englishmen and 
 Irishmen, of the ancient and modern Hindus, of Germans, Nor- 
 wegians, of Icelanders and Danes, Frenchmen and Spaniards. On 
 
115 
 
 this common foundation the Epic poets of those scattered and long- 
 separated children of one primitive family have raised either their 
 magnificent fabrics or their cumbrous structures. 
 
 " Momentous as this may be, it is one involved strictly in the facts 
 registered by all comparative mythologists." 
 
 This view is supported by Grimm, Max Muller, and the German 
 school of philologists and antiquarians, and in England by 
 H. H. Wilson, Lewis, Grote, and Thirlwall. 
 
 Third View. — The Author's Own. 
 
 In the opinion of the Author who writes these lines, the objective 
 character of pagan mythology arose from both these causes combined. 
 Man lost sight of the Creator and deified the creature. This is 
 St. Paul's explanation : " The invisible things of God, his wisdom, 
 power, providence, and Divine nature, which are clearly seen from 
 the works of creation that surround us," they did not see, but took 
 without reasoning, influenced by passion or fancy the things created 
 for the Creator. " They changed the glory of the incorruptible God 
 into the likeness of the image of a corruptible man, and of birds, and 
 of four-footed beasts, and of creeping things. " (Ep. to the Romans, 
 c. i. v. 21.) 
 
 Man had thus fallen from light to darkness ; and in this dimmed 
 and untutored state he was unable to comprehend either abstract 
 notions, or spiritual embodiments of power, except under concrete 
 forms. Consequently the pagan world personified, according to 
 Rev. Mr. Cox's theory, the powers of the sun and moon, of morning 
 and evening, of day and night, of summer and winter, spring-time 
 and autumn, of sunshine and storm, of light and darkness, and they 
 peopled with beings created by fancy, land and sea, mountain and 
 vale, fountain, stream, and lake, — the far-off stars that dash through 
 space, or the shells that rest in the caverns of the blue deep. 
 
 The next process was to deify these fancied creatures — " to attri- 
 bute the glory of the incorruptible God to the fancied image of cor- 
 ruptible man, — or of birds or of beasts, or creeping things." 
 
 At times pagan notions endowed the living hero, or monarch, with 
 the fancied powers of a favorite god. The people attributed to 
 beneficent kings, the qualities which supernatural beings should 
 possess. In this way demi-gods, that is human beings with supposed 
 divine qualities, were introduced into the pages of history. 
 
116 
 
 Q, 3. Can the pre-eminence of the Danann races in 
 Knowledge be accounted for on the principle pro- 
 pounded by Mr, Gladstone ? 
 
 A. Certainly: Taking it as true that the Danann is that race of 
 Kelts who flourished in Eire some seventeen hundred to eighteen 
 hundred years before the coming of Christ, they were nearer than the 
 Milesian race to the period of revealed light, and of superior natural 
 knowledge. As ages rolled on, men as a body, had no intellectual 
 exercise such as meditating on the invisible and supernatural world 
 had supplied. They became less given to abstract thought, or to the 
 exercise of mind, and in consequence they grew gross in their views, 
 and mentally less active. If men of this class showed any knowledge 
 of the mixed sciences, such as architecture, navigation, medicine, 
 music, it was at best, empirical and merely imitative, copying what 
 had been handed down from their forefathers, but never adding to, or 
 improving their original stock of knowledge.* 
 
 Q. 4. Be those races called by the name Danann or 
 any other, — please give some authoritative testimony 
 that they could have been in Ireland eighteen centuries 
 before the Christian period ? 
 
 A. Geology, as far as it is a science, shows plainly that the 
 world was, as Moses writes, created in long ages past, — " in the 
 beginning ;" — that is, millions of years ago ; so, too, the science of 
 
 • " The pillars of Persepolis still standing ; the remains of Ecbatana* 
 the grand palaces of Karnac and Luxor, with the ruins of Memnomium 
 near Thebes, the inscriptions found on the pyramids along the Nile, the 
 Tablets of Umbria and Samnium, the excavations that have been made 
 at the plain of Troy and the monnd of Hissarlik, prove beyond all doubt, 
 that the people of the very earliest periods had in knowledge of the arts 
 and sciences, been far away superior to those who succeeded them, and 
 to those who came immediately before the time when the sun of 
 Christianity arose, spreading its light on the face of a benighted world." — 
 Aryan Origin of the Gaelic Race and Language. 
 
 As a matter of fact, the more ascient the period in the pagan times, the 
 greater the learning. Individuals arose in Cyprus, in Asia Minor, in 
 Greece and Rome, superior to their class, such were Cyrus, Pericles, 
 Plato, Archimedes and Cicero. These were men of thought and of great 
 learning, but they had to go back to the ancients of past days to acquire 
 wisdom and to drink from the fountains of early knowledge. 
 
117 
 
 language points out clearly that people from the far East had, 
 thousands of years ago, come to this far West to the " Noble " 
 Island, as they called it, Eir-i("eirf or " ar" noble, renowned, 
 famous; and "i," island). "Languages are to a philologist what 
 strata are to a geologist : " words are his fossils. 
 
 LANGUAGE, ARCHITECTURE, VERSIFICATION, LAWS, 
 DRUIDICAL RITES ; THE ART OF WRITING ; POINT TO 
 THE DANANN RACE. 
 
 Adolphe Pictet of Geneva who has written a volume on this subject 
 shows that the Keltic race began to extend to Western Europe about 
 two thousand years before the Christian era ; that in their passage 
 westward they found a stream of people sprung from the same 
 blood, but no longer regarding each other as brother tribes. 
 
 All Europe — Russia excepted — was at one period, when the 
 Pelasgi lived in Greece, filled with nations of Keltic kith and kin. 
 
 Max Miiller states positively that the Kelts were, in his opinion, 
 the first to arrive in Europe, and that their coining was about two 
 thousand years before the Christian era. Now the very earliest migra- 
 tions settled in Ireland. From external authority therefore, it is clear 
 there were tribes or races in this island two thousand years and 
 earlier before the Christian period. 
 
 " It is a recognised fact in science," says W. K. Sullivan, President 
 of the Queen's College, Cork, " that from the Indus to the Atlantic 
 Ocean, and thence across the American Continent to the shores of 
 the Pacific, the descendants of the one primitive blue-eyed, fair- 
 haired race divided into several branches, and speaking dialects of 
 what was once a common language held sway." — Manners and Custom 
 of the Ancient Jrish, Vol. I. 
 
 Q. 5. (a) What form of Government did the Danann 
 tribes enjoy ; (b) what form of religion did they pro- 
 fess? 
 
 The Clan System. 
 
 A. Their government can best be described as Patriarchal. The 
 family was the earliest standard of social government. Those who 
 lived under one fatherly guide and governor were known as a " clan." 
 The word " clan " in Gaelic signifies children or family, and the 
 
118 
 
 members of a tribe, or of a community, were to the chief what 
 children in a household are to the head of the house. He was to all 
 the members, no matter bow numerous, a father or pater, styled in 
 Latin " Pater Jamilias" father of the household, not family alone, 
 but a father to all the children, servants, and clients ; his apxn ov 
 government, patriarchal like that of Job in Arabia, or Abraham in the 
 Land of Promise. " The clan system," says Professor Blackie, " was 
 simply a type of social Organism in which the members of society 
 were bound together as brother to brother, under the leadership of a 
 
 common father It was not only, not a bad system, but in 
 
 respect to the moral cement which held the different classes of 
 society together, it was the best possible system that ever has been 
 or ever will be devised. ... As a matter of public history and of 
 personal experience, did this bond exist and assert itself under the clan 
 system, by deeds of devotion and fidelity, generosity and self-sacri- 
 fice, so that as far as the true cement of the social edifice is concerned, 
 the clan system, within its own limits, was the best possible- One 
 defect it had ; it had a tendency to weaken as the circle of its action 
 widened, and was thus not fitted for a great kingdom. But to the 
 clan-chief, the idea of dissociating the land from the people who lived 
 on it, was as strange, as to a father would be the idea of disinheriting 
 his children. The spirit of the family system taught, that the 
 members had aright to be supported by the head of the family (clan) 
 or, at all events, to be allowed to support themselves by honest labor 
 on the part of the family inheritance. Those who are now called 
 tenants or crofters, were then in a sense, co -proprietors." — 
 Inaugural Address as Chief of the Gaelic Society of Perth. 
 
 The government then of the Danann was, tribal or patriarchal, such 
 as the " clan" system is known to have been. The " clan" gradually 
 grew to a tribe ; and an aggregate of tribes formed a nation, and 
 finally a number of minor nationalities constituted a kingdom under 
 one supreme ruler, — righ = high man = as " Ab-' ram" 5 was called, 
 " high-father." The King-in-Chief, was styled Ard Righ. Each. 
 clan had its special ruler, or Righ (King), whilst the chief ruler,* 
 Ard-Righ, was king of all. 
 
 * " Ri, or righ, ro, ra," in Irish and Sanskrit, mean high, elevated, 
 chief in position or dignity, and the converse of this form, ar, and " or" 
 and ir has the meaning of high, elevated, noble, grand. It is found in all 
 the European languages. In the Hebrew, though not of the same family, 
 " ram," signifies high. We have in Irish rath, a fort; ard, high; or, 
 rapidity, excess; re, moon; ri, a king; ara, an elevated land; rath, in- 
 crease, luck. 
 
119 
 
 Laws. 
 
 The Laws by which they were governed were the Aryan customs 
 that had come from the East, and which handed down from age to 
 age eventually formed the nucleus of the Brehon Law. 
 
 As the laws compiled by King Alfred were only collections of 
 ancient customs, so the Brehon code, compiled, or rather expurgated 
 in the fifth century, and published lately, is a digest of customs 
 that were known to exist amongst the Kelts of Eire long before the 
 time that Samuel ruled the people of God, and Saul, or David, or 
 Solomon governed the Israelites. In this way the Brehon law 
 throws a reflex light on the Danann period. It is certain that 
 Seanachaidhs, Druids, poets, Ollamhs, Breitheamana, or judges and 
 Kings, were a standing political or social institution amongst the 
 Danann clans. The laws, therefore, by which they were governed 
 were primitive forms of that Archaic code presented to us in those 
 volumes published within the past ten years by order of the British 
 Government. " Of this code," Sir Henry Sumner Maine says, 
 " that it is an accretion of rules which have clustered round an older 
 nucleus." And again, " The Brehon laws are in no sense a legislative 
 construction. They are an authentic monument of a very ancient 
 group of Aryan institutions ; they are a collection of rules which 
 have been gradually developed in a way highly favorable to the pre- 
 servation of Archaic peculiarities." 
 
 These Archaic customs enable one to look back not only to the 
 Danann times, but beyond them till one reaches the Aryan era. 
 
 The means adopted to preserve these ancient customs intact were, 
 (a) secret writing or Ogham ; (b) tradition conveyed in rhythmical 
 numbers by the poets from one generation to another ; and (c) a stern 
 tenacity of purpose peculiar to the Keltic race in clinging to ancestral 
 habits and customs. All legal forms and traditionary rites were 
 clothed in verse. The law-makers of ancient Eire were obliged, as 
 in the days of Job in Arabia, to promulgate their laws in verse. 
 
 Religion. 
 
 The religion of the Danann was pagan. The people did not 
 believe in the One true and only God, who created and who directs 
 all things. Knowledge regarding the true God had been lost. Kings 
 and peoples adored in the cpen sunlight, and not shut up within 
 temples, the god of day ; they erected idols in groves, and they 
 assembled for purificatory purposes around fountains. 
 
120 
 
 The Ancient Irish did not Offer Human Sacrifices. 
 
 The manuscript records regarding these times and the Danann 
 race, contain no reference whatever to the offering of human sacri- 
 fices. It is the opinion of Dr. O'Donovan and of O'Curry, and of 
 the best living Irish antiquarians that neither the Danann race nor 
 the Belgian, nor the Milesian Kelts offered human sacrifices. 
 Although infidel, they had not sunk to the barbarous level of Asiatic 
 or African pagans. 
 
 Druidism. 
 
 Druidism did not take its rise in Gaul nor Britain, neither did it 
 originate as an institution in Ireland. We have to travel to the far 
 East to find the source from which it sprung. The Druids in 
 Ireland were kindred in origin and in profession to the Magi in the 
 East. Druidism had been an institution in ancient Eire, not only 
 during the time of the Danann Dynasty, but long before, during the 
 period that the Firbolg ruled, even two hundred years earlier than 
 the coining of the Danann ; and anterior to the Belgian era, — 
 when the followers of Nemedh and those of his predecessor had 
 lived in the " farthest island" of the West, — that is, back in the most 
 remote period kn own in history that can be reached on traditional 
 lines or by philological comparisons. Israoi, the Keltic for Druid, is 
 by metatiiesis for Diaear (i.e., god-man, dia-fhear.) Dai?-, Jr., an oak ; 
 Gr. 8pvs — is not the root, as is generally supposed, but "Dair," an 
 oak, is most likely called by that name on account of the " Druid " 
 having selected it, as one deserving his special care. Pru, in Sanskrit, 
 means a tree, and especially the king amongst trees, — the Royal oak.* 
 
 Q. 6. Tell us of their social habits and manners, 
 and their knowledge of domestic arts ? 
 
 A. Although no rhymes written at that remote period exist, or 
 have been recorded in our oldest manuscript authorities, still it is 
 certain that the laws of that time were transmitted in verse. The 
 people were therefore acquainted with the art of rhyming ; and the 
 bards, poets, Brehons and Ollamhs were skilled in versification and in 
 the measured form of rhymthical numbers. 
 
 * Le chene semble avoir ete designe amsi commel'arbre par excellencf 
 et le respect presque religieux dont on l'entourait chez les Celtes surtout, 
 et les Germams, pourrait bien remonter jusqu' aux origines ariennes. 
 Les Origines Indo-Europeennes ou les Aryas primitifs, p. 2 J 4, par Adolph* 
 Pictet. 
 
121 
 
 Music and song came naturally in the wake of poetry, musical 
 instruments were not then unknown. 
 
 The Caoen* of Eastern Origin. 
 
 The wailing of the Keltic clans over the dead was a wild weird kind 
 of music which has been from age to age handed down even to the 
 present day. The wild wailings are not only sad, and soul-stirring, 
 but they are measured and tuneful, like the melodious lamentations 
 of the prophet Jeremias. or the loud lament of the Hebrews over the 
 dead body of Jacob, or the dirges of the Trojan matrons celebrating 
 the funeral obsequies of Hector. The plaintive cries, heard still in the 
 north of Mayo, are the echo of the funeral wailings described by 
 Moses, or Homer. Even in this social habit, the Irish Kelt preserves 
 a special trait of his Eastern origin. 
 
 The Danann possessed a knowledge of colours and of dyeing 
 fabrics, and of painting, to a certain extent. 
 
 As a people they were skilled to a fair degree in a knowledge of 
 letters. This has been shown fully in the foregoing chapters. 
 
 One proof more, the last that will be presented here, is the fol- 
 lowing : That the Danann must have had a literature, is shown by 
 the fact that all the Keltic names in C Bart works are in accordance 
 with the spelling of the Danann period. 
 
 Marriage, as an institution, was held in honour amongst them • 
 they respected women's rights : nay they bestowed the most honor- 
 able position on woman, not only in the family, or tribe, but in the 
 State. Ladies were allowed to study medicine, and to practise as 
 physicians : to write poetry and to contend for the honors awarded 
 to those most skilled in the arts : nay. they were allowed to direct 
 armies, or at least to incite the soldiers to battle, and to assist by 
 counsel and material aid those who were to risk their lives in the 
 field fighting. "Witness the names already recorded of the Mor 
 Righaiu the wife of Daghda Mor, of Tailte, of Etana, of Airmed. 
 
 From all that has come down to the present time one can say, that 
 the Danann was skilled in architecture. He erected raths, duns, 
 earns, caiseals, many of which are to be seen in Ireland to this day. 
 They interred their dead in those hills of Cyclopean skill on the 
 banks of the Bovne. 
 
 ♦See O'Cuxry's Manners and Customs of the Ancient Irish. Vols. i. 
 and iii. 
 
122 
 
 Cremation, or burning of the dead, was not unknown. Proofs 
 from past times go to .show that cremation was practised, but at rare 
 intervals, the prevailing custom had been to bury the dead. 
 
 As far as can be gleaned from the Irish records that still remain, 
 the Dananns had no knowledge of sculpture. They chiselled and 
 squared stones for building purposes, but to prove that they practised 
 sculpture no records remain. They did not build house-like graves 
 for the dead, as did the people of ancient Etruria and Cyprus. 
 
 A Common Error. 
 
 It is certain that it is to the Danann race we owe those magnificent 
 raths, duns, caiseals and the like which abound in Ireland, yet the 
 simple peasant people and others who have acquired crude notions of 
 Irish history at school, ascribe these works not to the Danann race 
 but to the Danes. This error has risen from the similarity between 
 the sounds of Danann and Dane ; and from the teaching of such men 
 as Ledwich. The Dananns had been wont to build, the Danes to 
 destroy whatever they found built. 
 
 Q. 7. Lastly — it is well to know how they lived in 
 public ; and how in private life at home. 
 
 Public and Periodic Gatherings of tee Nation. 
 
 A. The place of Carmen in Wexford, and the mounds of Tailltenn 
 and Tara in Meath, the Brugh by the Boyne, with Cruachan, county 
 Roscommon, are monuments that tell of the great social gatherings, 
 which, according to the annals of the Danann period, were held each 
 year in spring, summer, at the close of the harvest time, and at 
 November. These gatherings did not cease fully, up to the twelfth 
 century. On these important occasions games were celebrated, in 
 some measure not unlike the games at Greece of old. The places 
 became the centres of a certain kind of civilization and of national 
 life. As at the Isthmean and Olympic games, so at these, poets 
 recited legends, narrated stories in verse, sang songs, historians read 
 records, brehons promulgated laws ; guardians and parents proposed 
 alliances ; enmities were set aside ; friendships cemented ; marriages 
 of State importance, contracted and celebrated, and a healthy tone 
 given to the social and commercial life of the whole nation 
 
123 
 
 Houses in the Danann Times. 
 
 Sufficient evidence has been shown that the early Kelts were 
 Aryans. Those who at the remotest period came to Ireland knew 
 all that related to domestic comfort and home happiness, as far as the 
 civilised peoples of the East had pursued such social practices. 
 
 Evidence quite ample on this point is still accessible, to show that 
 the Dananns built their dwellings of wickerwork and plaster, formed 
 of beaten earth or of mortar. The houses were usually oblong. 
 There were also cylindrical edifices having a cup-shaped roof. There 
 were usually three or more of these edifices clustered together to form 
 a home or dwelling — a house for the men, and a house for the women 
 apart as among the early peoples of Asia Minor, and one for the 
 domestic servants. No evidence, written or monumental, exists to 
 show that the houses contained an upper story. The probability is 
 that they did not. There was an aperture for admitting light and air, 
 and one for the emission of smoke. In that way the dwellings of the 
 people were constructed. As a nation the Danann were skilled in 
 the art of building with stone, and perhaps with mortar, for some 
 traces of cement are to this hour found in the Cyclopean edifices on 
 the banks of the Boyne. 
 
 Those authorities who affirm that there was no stone building 
 known to the Kelts of Gaul or of Ireland till they received a know- 
 ledge of such buildings from the Romans, should bear in mind that 
 the earliest progenitors of each people came about the same period 
 from the same Aryan land in the far East ; and that the old Etrurians 
 who had an established monarchy — patriarchal if you will, centuries 
 before Rome was founded, — were skilled in the art of building with 
 stone, that thus the Kelts of Gaul had learned from them, or the 
 knowledge of the art had come down from their Aryan forefathers. 
 In the oblong habitation there were two doors, one opening to the 
 east, the other to the west ; and in this single room the children with 
 the father and mother of the family dwelt. The house was by day 
 a public parlour, where all met, and at times a refectory ; a sleeping 
 apartment by night, not unlike some of the country cabins in Ireland 
 at the present time. The household made use of beds of rushes, or 
 straw or heather ; the wealthier classes beds of feathers, with sheets 
 «f linen and blankets of wool, and coverlets of varied form and 
 diversity of colour. 
 
 The house or dwelling of a chief was not unusually built on a rath i 
 or elevated ground, with an " air 'lis " or area in front, and a lios (fort) 
 
124 
 
 protecting the inner buildings, while a caiseal, that is, a strong 
 defence of stone surrounded the houses, the rath, the air-lios, and the 
 
 " lios." 
 
 Mills. 
 
 From the presence of the Ird, or handmill, of which frequent 
 mention is made, the women of each household are known to have 
 ground the corn, oats, wheat, barley, rye, of which bread was then 
 made in each house and baked on the hearth, either on flagstones or 
 on framers of wood or iron. The women were like those of the 
 eastern nations, employed at carding wool, spinning, or working at 
 the loom ; forming fabrics for family and friends ; at dyeing cloth 
 according to the variety of colour prescribed by the Keltic customs, 
 or in attending to the wants of the household, to the care of the sick, 
 perhaps, for many of them were skilled in the healing power of herbs 
 and plants. 
 
 Arts. 
 
 The mechanical arts were not neglected by the men, the tilling of 
 the land, making implements of agriculture, as we see in the history 
 of Lugh, who, king as he was, yet, like Peter the Great, made 
 himself acquainted with the mechanical arts. The terms in the 
 Gaelic language for the arts coming down from the period of the 
 Danann power to the present time, are proofs sufficiently convincing 
 of those statements. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE DEFEAT OF THE DANANN DYNASTY BY A COLONY OF 
 KELTS FROM THE SOUTH OF EUROPE : CERTAINTY OF A 
 KELTIC COLONISATION : UNCERTAINTY OF THE RECORD 
 CONTAINED IN IRISH MANUSCRIPTS : HEROIC DEEDS OF 
 MILESIANS RECOUNTED BY THE BARDS. 
 
 Q. 1. Was the Danann Dynasty after a continuous 
 sway of one hundred and ninety- seven years defeated 
 by a Colony of Kelts from the south of Europe ? 
 
 A. Yes : And if no record in Irish-Gaelic were ever penned pro- 
 claiming the event, and pointing to it as a grand landmark in the 
 
125 
 
 ancient history of the Irish race, the footprints still visible of a con- 
 quering people speaking the same language, ruled by the same laws 
 in origin known to have been of the same kith and kin, tell the 
 antiquarian that a colony of Kelts, better trained, better armed, 
 came at one time from the south of Europe, not from Britain or 
 Gaul, landed on this island, and after some fierce fighting obtained 
 complete possession of the land. 
 
 (a) The names of places without number on Irish soil, the 
 language which our fathers spoke, and which some Irish natives speak 
 still, the Brehon laws, the record of numberless battles, and of great 
 national events, the names of hundreds of families who pride them- 
 selves on their Milesian origin, point to the coming into Ireland of a 
 race of Kelts different entirely from the Tuatha de Danann, from the 
 Firbolg, the Fomorians, and the older Nemedians. A student 
 tolerably trained in the science of ethnology can to this day perceive 
 the marked difference that exists in the facial and cranial outlines 
 between a Milesian and a man of Belgian descent, between a Milesian 
 and the descendants of the Danann. 
 
 (/>) This leading truth receives additional confirmation from the ex- 
 tensive proofs furnished by Max Muller, by Latham, Prichard, and 
 Adolphe Pictet, and the German school of Savants, namely that 
 about seventeen hundred years before the Christian period, the south 
 of Europe, and especially Spain, Iberia, Helvetia, Italy, Gaul, were 
 peopled by Keltic tribes who, as a race, were always on the move 
 westwards to lands still more remote. 
 
 Two leading lines of proof thus mark the coming of a Keltic 
 colony to Inisfail, about the seventeenth century anterior to the 
 Christian period, long before King Priam ruled in Troy. 
 
 The proofs which the modern German school supply and those 
 which are furnished by writers on the Aryan origin of the Gaelic 
 race, rest on the truths of comparative philology, topographical 
 names, ancient law, versification, architecture, music, international 
 archaic manners and customs. 
 
 Thus, apart altogether from the heap of Irish national records either 
 published or yet in manuscript, which from age to age tell of the 
 coming at one time of the Milesian heroes to Ireland, extensive 
 proofs are at hand to show that a Keltic colony, call it by any name 
 you wish, landed about the seventeenth century, B.C., and gained 
 from the Danann tribes dominion of the island of destiny. 
 
 Take this great fact, as the major proposition of the historical 
 
126 
 
 syllogism: "It is certain that a Keltic colony from southern 
 Europe landed in Ireland within a fixed period, and gained posses- 
 sion of the island." The minor proposition which is furnished by 
 Irish annals and Irish manuscript history declaring with one voice 
 imbroken for fifteen hundred years, that the special colony who 
 then arrived on Irish soil and who became owners and masters of it 
 were the children and clan descendants of a brave chief known by the 
 name Galainh (" ga," a javelin, and " lamh," to handle), or Miledh (a 
 soldier), whose name Latinised is known as Milesius, is true in sub- 
 stance but not in form, or in the coloring, — as presented by Irish 
 Antiquarians. Some such colony certainly came. 
 
 The chief works in the hands of Irish historians, admitted by all to 
 be authentic, are, The Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland. The Book of 
 Leinster, now published ; manuscript history contained in The Book 
 of Ballymote, and in The Book of Leacon, The Book of Rights, Leaoar 
 na g-ceart, by the King-Bishop of Cashel ; The Duan Eireannach, or 
 poem of Ireland, written in the ninth century by Maolmuire, of 
 Othkn, now Fahan in Donegal, and published in 1848, tor the Irish 
 Archaeological Society by Dr. James Henthorn Todd, Fellow of 
 Trinity College, Dublin, and by the Hon. Algernon Herbert, in the 
 volume containing the Irish version of the History of the Britons by 
 Nenmus. A short account in the body of the work by N ennuis. In 
 each of these, and in numberless ether poems and prose pieces of a 
 later date, such as that attributed to O'Connell, Bishop of Kerry, 
 1704, is contained the record of the coming of the sons of Galamh or 
 Milesius from Spain. In the history written in Irish-Gaelic by the 
 Rev. Geoffry Keating (1570-1644) the same event is narrated, and 
 the story of their coming and of the conquest they made is detailed 
 most circumstantially and minutely. Dr. Keating quotes another 
 manuscript history known in his day — but since then lost — the 
 " Cinn Droma Sneachta." This work was compiled in the early part 
 of the fifth century from records of a still earlier date by Ernin, the 
 son of Duach Gallach, and consequently grandson of Brian, King of 
 Hy-Many, in the opening of the fifth century, when the apostle of 
 the Irish came to preach the faith to our pagan ancestors. 
 
 Those Milesians were the Normans of that remote period. They 
 were a dashing, spirited race, noble in their bearing, portly in their 
 personal appearance, athletic, well-built, brave, fair in features, and 
 finely framed in figure ; excelling the Danann in physical develop- 
 ment, though not his equal in technical or mental culture. The 
 
127 
 
 knowledge of the Danann, like the knowledge of the Turks at the 
 present day, or of the pagan priests of ancient Greece and Rome was 
 fixed in a kind of moral groove, beyond which it was not permitted 
 to pass. Naturally, knowledge so confined began to lose its force 
 and effectiveness, and yielded at length to the fresh and active mental 
 and physical vigor of the invading Milesians. 
 
 Q. 2. Is the history then of the Milesian colony, as 
 told by Irish annalists, and the invasion and subse- 
 quent possession of Eire by them perfectly certain ? 
 
 A. The invasion by some such Keltic colony is certain. In the 
 question put there are two points which differ as widely one from 
 the other as the poles of a magnet, while they actually aim at confirm- 
 ing the truth of the same subject. 
 
 The Milesian colonisation of Ireland is one thing, the record of it 
 by the historians and Keltic bards is another. The colonisation may 
 be true, and is true, while the accoimt of it may be quite untrue. The 
 coming of the Keltic colony to Ireland has been recorded by the 
 native historians and bards in such a fashion, that no reasoning or 
 intelligent student can for a moment credit the narrative ; and if no 
 other authority were found to furnish proof, then, few indeed who 
 loved truth before family fame would give heed to the fables of 
 ancient Irish writers regarding the story of the Milesian invasion. 
 
 When the writer of these pages was a juvenile collegiate student 
 learning Irish history, he read again and again the account of the 
 Milesian colonisation. He took the trouble of noting all that 
 Dr. Keating has written regarding Fenius Farsa, that he was king of 
 Scythia, that he purposed to found a great school or university on 
 the plains of Shenaar ; that at his own expense, he sent young men 
 of mind and courage from the kingdom of Scythia to all the nations 
 then known in Europe, Asia, and Africa ; that they returned, every 
 man of them, having acquired much knowledge and experience in 
 foreign lands; that with the aid of these seventy-two sages he 
 founded something like the present Propaganda College established 
 some three centuries ago at Rome ; that professors of the principal 
 languages drew up outlines or elementary forms intended for the 
 students of that school ; that the leading languages taught there, if 
 one can credit the authority of Kennfaelad, who died a.d. 677, were 
 Hebrew, Greek and Latin. Fenius, King of Scythia, patron and 
 head master of this famous primeval school, was son of Agenor, King 
 of the Phenicians, for he is declared to have been brother of Cadmus 
 
128 
 
 and Europa of classic celebrity. Fenius left at his death, Nenual, 
 his eldest son, heir to the throne of Scythia ; — but Naul or Nel, his 
 inheritor in knowledge, the established Chancellor of the University 
 at Shenaar. 
 
 The account is very interesting, and the story does not lack in 
 interest even when one has heard more of Fenius. For, we are told 
 that the fame of the Chaldean Chancellor at Shenaar reached the 
 ears of Pharaoh, Cingris King of Egypt, and that he was sent for 
 by his Majesty. He came to Memphis to the palace of the Pharaohs, 
 received a warm welcome, became famous as a teacher and a master 
 of knowledge in directing the king ; he obtained the hand of Scota, 
 the king's daughter, in marriage, and received as a dowry a territory 
 " Capa-cirant" near the Red Sea, the present Matarra ; we learn that 
 he had in his new home a son born to him, whom he called Gaodal 
 " glas ;" that the child was a contemporary of Moses, and when 
 bitten by a serpent the babe received a complete cure from, the hands 
 of the leader of God's people ; that Niul and his numerous clients 
 beheld the Israelites passing the Red Sea, and trained in the way of 
 adversity Niul befriended the Hebrew race as far as lay in his power. 
 Lastly that it is from Fenius is derived the name " Feni," as applied 
 to the cultivated Gaelic speech, and to Military Heroes known in 
 Ireland at the time of Fionn the son of Cumhal in the third century 
 of the Christian period; from Scota, the Irish Nation were at a 
 subsequent period called Scoti, and from Gaodal, Scota's son, the 
 Egyptian prince, the people of Ireland after the Milesian invasion 
 was styled " Gaedail," and the language which they spoke was named. 
 Gaedilge.* 
 
 * The name of the Lady Scota, daughter of Pharao may have been 
 derived, if the root is Aryan, from Scoth (Irish-Gaelic), signifying a 
 full-blown flower, just as Latin Rosa, Iri?h Ros, a rose, is a name 
 applied to ladies. Her son's name, Gaedal, the supposed ancestor of the 
 Gadeleans, and of the " Gael," may well be derived from " Ga" (gen. case 
 Gae), a javelin, spear, dart, da, skilled, ail, prodigious, famous, renowned, 
 mighty, or trained. Hence the name " Gao- da -aV\ means one famous 
 for his skill in hurling his lance ; and " Gaels," mean lancers, spearmen, 
 or warriors. The derivation of " Feni 1 ' is from "Finn," clear, intelligent, 
 skilled, full of knowledge and capable of communicating it ; Finue, fair- 
 ness, whiteness, clearness. A kindred term is found in phain of the 
 Greek, phaino, meaning shiniug, beaming, bright, showing off, appearing 
 in public. In was in this way the supposed Fenius employed his time. 
 The Phenicians of Homer's time were ' ; publicly known," for their skill 
 not alone in commerce and arts, but in letters. It is no wonder they 
 were called Pheni. J a, or bha, i.e., fa, Sanskrit, means to shine; fen t 
 Xatin. clear, pellucid. 
 
129 
 
 All this is very pleasant reading, but an intelligent student will ask 
 the qaestioD, are the events narrated true ? Boys and girls in the 
 days of early youth believe whatever they see printed in books, and 
 especially in historic manuals. For years the writer of these pages 
 ga\e credence to all he had read in Dr. Keating's " Forus Feasa." 
 Professors in College gave no opinion regarding Irish history. 
 
 Years rolled by. The student of 1848 became professor in 1858. 
 Amongst other duties, the teaching of Irish history was entrusted to 
 his control. In the College of Maynooth he had been trained to 
 think accurately, and to take no statement put forward by historians 
 without good authority. 
 
 The whole story succintly told in the foregoing pages regarding 
 Fenius is entirely opposed to the truth as shown by comparative 
 philology, by chronology, geography, facts relating to eponymous 
 heroes of the same social period. 
 
 1. Objections to the Story Regarding Fenius Farsa and his Son 
 
 (a) What does the history of languages teach regarding Latin ? 
 That it was not a formal language till some three hundred years after 
 the foundation of Rome had been laid. 
 
 The early Romans and Sabines spoke, as Professor Newman shows , 
 a mixed form of Keltic, Pelasgic and Etrurian, including under the 
 term Keltic the Oscan and Umbrian elements. That is, Latin was 
 not depurated into a special language until about five hundred years 
 before the Christian era. Now, according to the story of the Shenaar 
 school, at what time did Fenius flourish ? Some two thousand f our 
 hundred years at least before the coming of Christ. There is then 
 a mistake of nigh two thousand years in assigning Latin to have been 
 one of the three leading languages taught by Niul, son of Fenius and 
 the professors. 
 
 (b) The same is true of Greek, which, as a language, and in the 
 root-words from which it has germinated is a younger offshoot of an 
 Aryan stock than Latin. 
 
 (c) And with regard to the Hebrew tongue, the old language was 
 written in the Samaritan or Phenician letter, and not in the 
 Chaldaic, which is comparatively modern. (See c. x., supra.) 
 
 2. These professors could not therefore have given alphabets of 
 languages that, at the time, had no existence, or, if they did exist, like 
 Hebrew, had no special letter. The language spoken by the descen- 
 dants of Cham or Ham in Egypt was, and is, as everybody knows, 
 
130 
 
 toto coelo different from the Hebrew spoken by the sons of Sein ; and 
 of course it had no relation in common with the Aryan dialects. 
 Nevertheless the writer of this story regarding Fenius Farsa and his 
 son Niul, seems to think, that Hebrew, Greek and Latin were 
 from the commencement the three great languages known to 
 the learned of the world, and that Hebrew and Latin did not 
 differ much. He knew nothing of their character, and nothing as we 
 have shown of their origin. This opinion regarding languages pre- 
 vailed at the time of St. Jerome, and from that time has been handed 
 down in the Irish Catholic Church amongst the Canons Regular who 
 had so many religious foundations in Ireland from the fifth century 
 to the sixteenth. This view leads one to believe that the whole story 
 regarding Fenius Farsa and his son Niul, and the great school at 
 Shenaar was an invention of some Christian romancer. The intro- 
 duction of Pharaoh and Moses confirms this opinion. 
 
 3. But there are other objections: (a) from chronology — How 
 comes it that Niul, son of Fenius, fifth in descent from Japhet, was 
 contemporary with Moses, who flourished say 800 years after Japhet ? 
 Keating puts this objection, but cannot well solve it. He says the 
 predecessors of Niul on the one side lived each some hundreds of 
 years, as did Abraham, or Seth : but, if the progenitors of Niul were 
 so long-lived, why did not the forefathers of Moses in a climate quite 
 as healthy, live as long as their neighbours ? The objection cannot 
 be answered. Again in topography, how was there a town called 
 Athens, close by the Shenaar school ? 
 
 4. Regarding Fenius as brother of Cadmus and King of Scythia, 
 there are points which a critical writer must discuss. Every respectable 
 scholar of the present day after Henry Nelson Coleridge (see his 
 "Introduction to the study of Greek Classic Poets," London, John 
 Murray, 1846) admits that there was no individual known as Cadmus. 
 The name is eponymous. It represents a class of men who intro- 
 duced a knowledge of literature into Greece. If Cadmus had no 
 existence, he had no brother, and e converso, it is untrue to say that 
 Fenius. as an individual had some being of the imagination as a 
 brother. The same reasons that show Cadmus to have been an 
 eponymous personage prove Fenius too to have been eponymous, and 
 therefore to have had no personal existence. The real truth is, that 
 he existed only in the mind of the first Irish romancer, although the 
 reality of his life has been believed in by so many thousands, even 
 by men having some acquaintance with scholarship. 
 
131 
 
 Why write so much to disprove a matter so plain ? Because even 
 now there are numbers cf Irishmen who will follow the story as told 
 by the poets and seanachaidh of the past, by Dr. Keating, and lately 
 by many other writers, just as there are many who believe that Rome 
 was founded by Romulus and Remus, and that they were the twin 
 sons of Mars and Rhea Sylvia. 
 
 Lastly, regarding Scythia as a country or a kingdom, where was it 
 situated ? Anterior to the Pelasgic period Scythia was a name applied 
 to the whole world, excepting Greece, Asia Minor, portions of Europe 
 south of the Danube and of the Alps, and the north of Africa. 
 
 In the time of Herodotus, Scythia embraced all Europe to the 
 north of the Danube ; all Asia to the north of the Caspian reaching 
 over to China and Bhering's Straits. Such a view of a special king- 
 dom is vague. Writers in the early centuries knew comparatively 
 nothing about geography : Dionysius, Strabo, Pliny, and Ptolocmy, 
 masters of geography in their day, were as ignorant of the earth's 
 surface as the poorest school-boy is at present. 
 
 It is only right therefore to conclude from the incorrect chronology, 
 false geography, untruthful system of languages adopted, setting 
 down as current speech languages that were not developed for 
 thousands of years later ; that the whole record regarding Fenius 
 Farsa as king of a country called Scythia, or as patron of learning in 
 the Chaldean district of Shenaar, is a fiction, that Fenius is a myth, 
 and his progenitors and descendants are offspring of the imagination. 
 
 In like manner the story of Niul, son of the supposed Fenius going 
 to the land watered by the Nile, aud marrying Scota, is a pure inven- 
 tion of some seanachaidh who had studied the Pentateuch, and is 
 from two sources of proof, devoid of all foundation. Derivations in 
 harmony with the principles of etymology can be given for Scoti, and 
 for Gaodail, Gaoidelge ; and for the Fenian language and Militia.* 
 
 * The derivations of Scota and Gadelus or Gaodal have been already 
 presented. Of course one does not declare that these derivations are 
 certain, or that they will please all parties. But they are clear and natural 
 aud certainly better than those commonly furnished by Irish writers 
 poets, or historians. 
 
 The name of Scythia is variously derived. If it is Greek, then it is said 
 to come from a-Koria, darkness, of the same origin with cruta and crKoa 
 a shade ; in Irish scath^a. shade, and skiath, scatk, a shield which covers or 
 protects one under its shadow. These Aryan radices Greek or Gaelic are 
 said to give rise to the name Scythia, because to the Phenicians.who were 
 (foeni, or feni) bright, enlightened, the Scythians were in moral and material 
 
132 
 
 Opinions of Irish Scholars. 
 
 The early history of the Gadeleans of Fenius Farsa, his son Niul 
 and Scota, and their son has been rejected by the Most Rev. Dr. 
 O'Brien, Bishop of Cloyne,the author of the Irish-English Dictionary. 
 See (a) Preface to his Dictionary, also (6) remarks under the letter A. 
 
 " Nothing," says he, " could be of greater prejudice or discredit 
 than asserting those fabulous genealogies and the stories of the 
 travels of the supposed leaders and chiefs of their ancient colonies- 
 such as have been rejected with just contempt by all learned nations y 
 first invented in Ireland by bards and romancers after they had come 
 to some knowledge both of the sacred writings and profane histories, 
 and in Britain by Nennius and by Geoffry of Monmouth." 
 
 Again : This discovery (regarding Moses and Pharao and Scota) 
 was reserved to our Christian bards, as their heathenish predecessors 
 most certainly could have had no notion of the plain of Shenoaar, 
 of Pharao, or of Moses. 
 
 Charles O' Conor of Belenagare is of the same opinion. " We find 
 no history of the original of the Scots upon which we can with cer- 
 tainty depend." Nennius expresses himself much in the same fashion, 
 
 Haverty, in his History of Ireland, says : — 
 
 " There is no part of our primitive history that has been so fre- 
 quently questioned or which modern writers so generally reject as 
 fabulous, as these first accounts of the Milesian or Gadelian race ; 
 yet they are so mixed up with our authentic history, and so frequently 
 referred to, that they cannot be passed over in silence." p. 10. 
 
 In his Dramatic History of Ireland, Standish O'Grady writes : 
 
 " There is not, perhaps, in existence a product of the human mind 
 so extraordinary as the Irish Annals. From a time dating more than 
 two thousand years before the birth of Christ, the stream of Milesian 
 
 gloom. Scythia was a country about which people in the old times knew 
 very little. It was in darkness, it was away in the north too, far from 
 the warm sun and the light. 
 
 Others say, Scythians signify bow-men, archers, from skolios, crooked, 
 bent, and Scdlitoi, contractedly Scotoi, bow-men. This is forced, not 
 natural. O'Mahony derives the term " Scot," and Scoti from the Irish- 
 Gaelic scaoth, a swarm, because ^he colonists, came as they come to-day 
 in swarms to their new settlements. 
 
 The derivation from scotfy a blooming flower, is pretty. I am of 
 opinion that O'Mahony's derivation is correct as to the origin of the term 
 Scoti. They were always a vigorous race. I do not derive Scoti from 
 Scythia. They are different altogether, Scythia = shadow-land, unknown 
 land as opposed to Phoenicia, the land of light. 
 
133 
 
 history flows down uninterrupted, copious and abounding between 
 accurately defined banks, with here and there picturesque meander- 
 ings, here and there flowers lolling upon those delusive waters, but 
 never concealed in mists, or lost in a marsh . . . To think that 
 this mighty fabric of recorded events, so stupendous in its dimen- 
 sions . . . should be after all a mirage, a delusion, a gorgeous 
 bubble. . . . 
 
 " Early Irish history is the creation mainly of the bards. . . . 
 " Doubtless the legendary blends at some point with the historic 
 narrative. The cloud and mist somewhere condense into the clear 
 stream of indubitable fact. But how to discern under the rich and 
 teeming myths of the bards, the course of that slender and doubtful 
 rivulet, or beneath the piled rubbish and dust of the chroniclers, 
 discover the tiny track which elsewhere borders into the byway of 
 a nation's history .... where to fix upon any one point and 
 say, here is the first truth. It is a task perilous and perplexing." 
 pp. 19, 20, vol. i. 
 
 The opinion of Dr. O'Donovan on this subject is important. He 
 states, Irish Grammar, p. 30, " Until we discover some real authority 
 to prove by what means the Scotic or Gaelic race were able to pre- 
 serve the names of all their ancestors from the time of Moses to the 
 first century, we must regard the previous line of pedigree — thence 
 up to Niul and to Fenius as a forgery of the Christian bards. Oral 
 tradition at the present day does not preserve the names of ancestors 
 with any degree of certainty beyond the sixth generation." 
 
 It must be said, however, that this was not a great difficulty, for 
 they could have preserved the names by means of Ogham writing, 
 and by mnemonic rhymes in which their famous deeds could have 
 been recited. 
 
 Q. 3. In the bardic accounts of the Scoti is there 
 any other strange episode regarding the wanderings 
 of the Gadelians ? 
 
 A. Yes : We are told that under the command of Sru they pro- 
 ceeded from the land of Egypt through the Red Sea, and proceeded 
 east to the island which is called by them Tabra-fena, or " Well of 
 Fenius," supposed to be Ceylon, and that they proceeded by a north- 
 eastward course, which to men of the present day, having a know- 
 ledge of the earth's surface, must mean, by the Chinese Sea and 
 
134 
 
 Bhering's Straits. All this is impossible, and doubly so when we are 
 sold that they finally settled in Getulia (south of Mauritania in 
 north-western Africa). 
 
 Another version has it, that from Egypt they returned under 
 Heber Scot by Crete to the kingdom of their forefathers in Scythia. 
 This was in the nineteenth century before Christ, according to the 
 chronology of the Four Masters. 
 
 About one hundred and fifty years later another leader arose, named 
 Bratha, father of Breogan — nineteenth in descent from Fenius, the 
 founder of the Scythian dynasty — marshalled his followers and set 
 sail, " ploughing the Mediterranean Sea with his fleet." He passed 
 Crete and Sicily, and went by the pillars of Hercules to Spain, the 
 peninsula. Here he acquired by force of arms some territory for his 
 followers, and at his death left Breogan to rule the new nation— the 
 Brigantes. 
 
 For the sake of clearness it is well to show the line of descent 
 which Irish chroniclers furnish regarding the progenitors of Milesius 
 up to the time of Noah. The following is that furnished by Cormac 
 MacCuillenan, King-bishop of Cashel : — 
 
 Forefathers of Milesius or Galamh. 
 
 1. Noah 
 
 2. Japhet 
 
 3. Magog 
 
 4. Baath 
 
 5. Fenius Farsa 
 
 6. Niul 
 
 7. Gaedal Glas 
 
 8. Esru 
 
 9. Sru 
 
 10, EberScot 
 
 11. Beogamhan 
 
 12. Eogamhan 
 
 13. Tath 
 
 14. Agnon 
 
 15. Lamh Finn 
 
 16. Eber Glunfmn 
 
 17. Febric Glas 
 
 18. Nenual 
 
 19. Nuadath 
 
 20. AUoid 
 
 21. Arcadh 
 
 22. Degatha 
 
 23. Bratha 
 
 24. Breoghan 
 
 25. Bili 
 
 26. Galamh or 
 
 Milesius 
 
 27. Eber Finn ; 
 
 Heremon, who 
 took possession 
 of Ireland 17 
 centuries B.C. 
 
 In the foregoing tableau the real or imaginary historic cha- 
 racters are presented in due order, and the student will perceive 
 clearly the supposed relation of each, as has been explained, with 
 Galamh, the founder of the Milesian race. Fenius Farsa is the fifth 
 after Noah ; of him and his son Niul, and of Gaedal (glas) born of 
 Scota in Egypt, enough has been written just now. Sru and Eber 
 Scot were leaders of the Gadelians to Gaetulia. Finally, Bratha (23) 
 led them to Spain, and Broghan became the founder there of the 
 
135 
 
 Brigantes. From him, in the second generation, was descended 
 Galamh of whom much will be said presently. There are twenty-two 
 generations from Fenius to Eber Finn, and this number covers a 
 period of at least seven hundred years. It must be borne m mind 
 that according to the Annals of the Four Masters, the sons of Mile- 
 siuscame to Ireland before the Christian era seventeen hundred years. 
 Add seven hundred to seventeen hundred and you are back almost 
 to the days of Nimrod and the Tower of Babel. 
 
 Phaleg was fifth in descent from Hem ; Belus, fifth from Sham, or 
 Ham ; and Fenius fifth from Japheth. 
 
 Conclusion. 
 
 To sum up (a) it is evident that the account of the Scotic colony 
 known as Gadelian before their arrival in Spain, and Milesian after- 
 wards, is quite mythical ; that the bardic stories regarding them from 
 the time of Fenius Farsa to the age of Milesius are pure romance. 
 
 (6) Nevertheless, the coming of a Keltic colony, their landing 
 in Ireland and making it their own is true ; but the truth of it rests 
 for certainty on evidence supplied from extrinsic and scientific 
 sources, and from the effects manifest to this day in the topography 
 of the island, the names of the tribal families, the physical type of 
 the Milesian race, the language they have spoken. 
 
 It remains to tell the exploits of Galamh as told by the bards, 
 and to show how after his death, his sons fitted out the expedition 
 from the north-west of Gall/cia in Spain and landed in Inis Fail. 
 
 Q. 4. It is well to know the famous deeds that are 
 by ancient Bardic writers told of Galamh, or Milesius, 
 the founder of the leading Irish families — what are 
 they? 
 
 A. It is stated that he was a man of great power of body and 
 mind ; that not content with the possessions which he enjoyed in 
 north Spain, he set sail for Scythia, the country of his forefathers ; 
 he manned thirty ships or large boats, such as were usually built at 
 that early period, entered the Mediterranean Sea by the pillars of 
 Hercules, and set sail north-east by the island of Sicily and Crete ; 
 sailing still to the north-east, he at length arrived in Scythia, which 
 in the opinion of the Scotic seanachaidhs must have been north of 
 Asia Minor, and north of the Euxine towards Colchis, or Iberia. 
 
136 
 
 Arriving at the land of his progenitors he found a king named 
 Renoir on the throne of that nation. Renoir gave a glad welcome 
 to Galamh and to the men who accompanied him. He was soon 
 appointed general-in-chief of the king's troops, and he received in 
 marriage the king's daughter Seng, which in Gaelic means slender m 
 Galamh being of powerful build of frame, and gifted in mind, made 
 his presence felt ; and accordingly he achieved many victories. The 
 story of his presence at the court of Refloir is very like that told of 
 the conqueror of Goliath at the court of Saul, King of Israel. David 
 " who slew his tens of thousands," received Michol, Saul's daughter, in 
 marriage ; the father-in-law grew jealous of the popularity and grow- 
 ing power of his son-in-law, and consequently sought to kill him. In 
 the case of David, who was a man that believed in the God of Israel, 
 and in a just Providence, he did not retaliate on Saul, but abstained 
 from imbruing his hands in the blood of the king. It was not so, as 
 the story goes, with Galamh. His father-in-law grew jealous and 
 sought every opportunity to slay the adventurous hero of the thirty 
 ships and the victorious general of the Scythian hosts. Galamh 
 thought it best to try at length to escapedeath by putting his father- 
 in-law to the sword. He did so, and forthwith set sail with sixty ships 
 on the Euxine again, making his way good southward to the mouths 
 of the river Nile. He entered and sailed up to Memphis. An 
 embassy was fitted out by him to Pharao, King of Egypt, who in turn 
 invited the commander of sixty ships to court; after some days 
 created him general-in-chief of the Egyptian armies and commander 
 of the fleet. He obtained one of the king's daughters in marriage, 
 by name Scota, — a name remarkable because it was the same which the 
 mother of Gaedal bore when she was given in marriage by her father 
 to Niul, son of Fenius Farsa. The Bards contend on this point 
 whether the descendants of Milesius were called Scoti from the name 
 of Scota the elder, or Scota the younger. It is a silly dispute. 
 Galamh, as the story runs, was now free to marry, for the princess 
 Seng had died. She was the mother of two sons in Scythia, " Heber 
 Ponn" and " Arech Februadh." Scota, his second wife, bore two 
 fcther sons, who were afterwards remarkable on the occasion of the 
 >lilesian invasion of Ireland, Heber Finn and Amergin — the latter 
 became the poet and prophet of the nation. There are still extant 
 in ancient Gaelic three short poems said to have been composed by 
 Amergin. 
 It was fortunate for the fame of Galamh, that at this precise time 
 
137 
 
 Pharao was fighting with the kingdom of the Ethiopians. Of course 
 Galamh soon subdued these semi-civilised sons of Cham. He was 
 also a man of forethought, and immediately on settling down in 
 Egypt, he had sent twelve chosen men of his people to acquire a 
 knowledge of the arts and sciences as they were then known in Egypt. 
 He began to grow tired of a quiet home after seven years in the land 
 of the Pharaos. He announced his intention to leave. He brought 
 with him all his clan and retinue in three ships, his wife Scota and 
 sons, and he set sail, now the third time, on the Mediterran ean 
 steering this time straight to the north. He sailed through the 
 islands of the Archipelago, and settled for a short time near Thrace ; 
 Scota gives birth to a son " Ir " in an island near its borders, perhaps 
 " Samos," i.e., peaceful island, called by the bards Irene. Northward 
 still was the cry, and after a year another son, whom he named 
 " Colpa," or the swordsman, was born to him. 
 
 What is the strangest thing of all in this romantic story is, that 
 the bards tell us Galamh marched onward still, till he arrived in the 
 Northern Sea and reached Alba, that is Scotland or ancient Britain, 
 from which, leaving Britain and France, he sailed to the west, till, 
 steering through the Bay of Biscay, he arrived at the tower which 
 his grandfather Breoghan had built near Corunna. 
 
 On his return, two other sons were born to him by his wife Scota, 
 these were, Arannan and Heremon. Thus he had eight sons — Donn, 
 and Arech Februadh, Heber Finn, Amergin, Ir, Colpa, Arannan and 
 Heremon. Of these the most notable are Heber Finn and Heremon, 
 from whom the leading Milesian families are descended, and Amergin 
 the poet of the colony. 
 
 After Galamh's arrival, he found that his people were oppressed by 
 the surrounding tribes. On these he showed his valour ; he gained 
 fifty-four victories. The children and grandchildren of Breoghan 
 had multiplied prodigiously. They wanted larger territories : these 
 they could not find. A famine came. A continued drought pressed 
 on the comforts and natural wants of the people. 
 
 They formed a council. A resolve was made to acquire new 
 homes. Accordingly Ith, uncle of Galamh, brother of his father 
 Bili, was selected for the enterprise. A ship, with a crew of one 
 hundred and fifty men, was fitted out for him. He had learned that 
 there were lands to the north. He steered his course to Eire, or fate 
 directed his ship to the land of Destiny — Inisfail. Breoghan, the 
 father of Ith, and grandfather of Galamh, had ten sons, nine of whom 
 were uncles of Milesius. 
 
138 
 
 They were known by the names. 
 
 8. Nar 
 
 9. Ith 
 
 10. Bill, father of Galamh 
 
 1. Breoga I 5. Cuala 
 
 2. Fuad J 6. Bladh 
 
 3. Murthemni | 7. Ebleo 
 
 4. Cuailngi 
 
 The names of these distinguished men occur in the account of the 
 invasion of Ireland under Heber and Heremon, and it is well, accord- 
 ingly, that the student should be acquainted with them, and know 
 how they were related to the chiefs of the expedition. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 MISSION FROM SPAIN TO IRELAND ; ITH, HIS DEATH ; 
 PREPARATION FOR THE INVASION OF INISFAIL ; THEY 
 COME, STRANGE DETAILS ; STORY OF THE MILESIAN 
 LANDING. 
 
 Q. 1. Taking the Milesian invasion to mean 
 historically, that at a very early period, a Keltic colony 
 from Gallicia, in Spain, set sail for the " isle they had 
 seen in dreams," how did Milesills , sons and his brethren 
 of the clan Breogain prepare for so important an 
 enterprise ? 
 
 A. They sent, like the Hebrew people in their journeying under 
 the leadership of Moses to the promised land, a party of their own 
 people to inspect the territory of which they had intended to gain 
 possession ; to bring back an account regarding the climate whether 
 it was hot or temperate — "the land whether it was good or bad, and 
 the cities walled or without walls— the soil fat or barren, woody or 
 without trees, — regarding the inhabitants, whether they were strong 
 or weak, few in number or many." 
 
 The name of the level land, southwest of the town of Lifford, 
 county Donegal, near the bend where the river Finn unites with the 
 Foyle, and known even to this day to the Gaelic-speaking natives, as 
 Slemhna Magha Itha, or the slippery parts of the plain of Ith, — points 
 out the spot where Ith, son of Breoghan, and uncle to Miledh of 
 
139 
 
 Spain, accompanied by Lughaidh his son, with a body of one hundred 
 and fifty men drew up their " long " boat after a safe voyage through 
 Biscay and Feabhal lake, now Lough Foyle. In kindred Keltic he 
 inquires of the natives living on the banks of the river Foyle, who 
 is it that held the sovereignty, and where did he reside ? He received 
 for answer that the sovereignty rested in the hands of the three 
 sons of Kermad Miibeoil, son of Daghda, that they reigned each a 
 year.in turn, that just then the sovereigns were holding at Aileach 
 Neid, a short distance to the north-west, and seen to-day in the 
 magnificent ruins known as Grianan Aily, — a council composed of 
 princes, druids, bards, Breitheamhas, or judges, to decide a grave ques- 
 tion for some time in dispute regarding the amount of wealth and 
 territory to which each of the royal brothers was by right of in- 
 heritance entitled. 
 
 Ith with one hundred of his followers soon presented himself at 
 the palace of Aileach. He was graciously received. He told the 
 object for which he had come, pretended stress of weather as the 
 immediate cause of landing on the shores of their island. 
 
 The Tuatha De Danann, chieftains and people, deemed the 
 foreigner a man of ripe intelligence as well as of princely position. 
 The three kings unbosom their thoughts to the distinguished 
 stranger regarding their respective hereditary rights ; they ask his 
 opinion on the question that they had come to settle. Ith with 
 great judgment replied: That the wealth in dispute ought to be 
 divided into three portions, that the brothers should each become 
 owner of a single portion ; that in like manner the whole island 
 should be divided into three parts, and that each sovereign ought to 
 be lord and master of his allotted territory. With still greater 
 freedom he gave a kindly admonition to the contending princes, 
 telling them to cast away the spirit of contention, to be at peace 
 with one another, to rest satisfied each with his allotted share of 
 wealth, of land and followers ; that further, they should guard the 
 region committed to their keeping, and govern their subjects with 
 energy combined with wisdom, having in view the happiness of the 
 governed as well as their own. 
 
 Recipients of the rights of hospitality Ith and his son Lughaidh, 
 with their followers, could not have been molested. They had, how- 
 ever, only reached Northern Magh Itha, on their return to join their 
 companions at the ship, when a body of one hundred and fifty 
 warriors, under command of MacCoill, one of the sons of Kermad, 
 attacked them. Ith defended the rear ranks of his unsuspecting band 
 
140 
 
 and in the conflict received a mortal wound. By his faithful followers 
 he was borne to the ship. On the return voyage from the Foyle to 
 Corunna he died of his wounds. Loud and long was the wailing, 
 amongst the clan Breogain, and deep the desire of revenge that seized 
 the souls of Ith's brothers and nephews, and especially the sons of 
 Galamh or Milesius. To the many motives that urged the clan 
 Breogain to leave North Spain and acquire new territory, another 
 strong incentive — revenge — was now superadded. They must 
 become masters of the isle of destiny — and avenge the death of 
 their kinsman, so treacherously slain far from home and friends. 
 The cry is raised, — To Inisfail, — to Inisfail. 
 
 Q. 2. Tell the leading facts of the Milesian inva- 
 sion as recorded by the Bards and Seanachaidh. 
 
 A. Shortly after Ith had set out on his exploring expedition — 
 the Patriarchal Chief Miledh, sovereign of the Kelts of Gallicia, or 
 of that portion of them known as Brigantes, — i.e., the clan Breogain — 
 died. His eight sons, Donn, Arech Februadh, Eber Fionn 
 Amergin, Ir, Colpa, Erimhon, and Arannan, seem to have inherited 
 his energy, his martial bravery, his dauntless intrepidity. They 
 enter into council with their cousin Lughaidh, son of Ith, and their 
 kinsmen; finally they resolve to set sail for Inisfail. They have 
 been contending with many foes in the country in which they are now 
 dwelling : The island " they had seen in dreams " was promised 
 them by the Fates, and hence it was long known as Inis-fail, island- 
 of-fate. It was not befitting, they said, a great and a courageous 
 people to allow the death of so dear a friend, and so great a leader 
 as Ith, to pass unavenged : and then the land of Eire was open to 
 them ; the people who dwelt in that country were divided in their al- 
 legiance ; the subjected clans were suffering in silence ; they were ready 
 to revolt, — they wished that some courageous nation would invade the 
 island ; and positively, the climate was pleasant, not too hot, and yet 
 not too cold. If the invasion were not attempted now it would 
 never be undertaken with such promising omens of success. The 
 voice of the gods above, and of heroes on earth, the natives of the 
 island, — the spirit of their brave fathers called the children of 
 Breogain to the enterprise. 
 
 In the spring time of the year they set sail with a fleet of thirty 
 ships, each conveying thirty warriors, besides women and children, 
 that is nine hundred warriors prepared for battle. 
 
141 
 
 Probable Number of the Invading Force, 
 It seems surprising that warriors so few in number, brave and 
 valiant though they may have been, — could have been able to conquer 
 a people undoubtedly courageous, and, at that time, numbering at 
 least a million of souls. The account given by Nennius, a British 
 writer (a.d. 850), presents features of a historic character which 
 appear more in accordance with truth. He states that the Milesian 
 expedition consisted not of thirty but of four times thirty, that is, 
 one hundred and twenty long boats or ships, named cuili, — a term ? 
 according to Dr. Todd, in his Annotations on the Irish Version of 
 Nennius, — cognate in sound and sense with the Anglo-Saxon ceol, 
 a long boat, — found in the modern English term " Keel." Each of 
 these 120 cuili carried, we are told, " thirty couple," — that is, men 
 fit to fight, with their wives, and doubtless, many children. They 
 did not leave all the youthful members of their respective families 
 behind them in the land of the " Olive and Vine." Taking this view 
 as more in accordance with the facts as known before the Brigantes 
 had left Gallicia,— and with the successful issues connected with 
 their landing in Ireland — while opposed by the might of a great 
 people,— there must have been thirty times one hundred and twenty 
 warriors, or three thousand six hundred men in the expedition that 
 set out for the " Emerald Isle.' 3 The student who has read these 
 pages is already aware that amongst the Kelts, ladies of learning 
 and high station held a very commanding position before the public. 
 They had a voice in council ; they commanded not only in the 
 cabinet but in the field. Scota — the Queen Mother of Miledh's 
 sons, — like Semiramis of old, or Maria Theresa in comparatively 
 modern times, headed the invading forces. 
 
 When the Milesian fleet neared the shore of Mother Eire,— the 
 Emerald Isle, as bards tell us, appeared, — a fitting figure of her 
 destiny in ages to come — clothed in mist, so that her headlands and 
 green hills, — her mountain ranges and meadow slopes, were not 
 visible to the eye. She lay bathing in the waves of the Atlantic, 
 like a Leviathan of the deep, undisturbed in its placid waters, while 
 her form was shrouded from view in a mantle of mist. Soon, how- 
 ever, the clouds cleared off. The setting sun shone out, and scattered 
 a shower of golden rays on the land which the children of Breogain 
 " had seen in dreams." And now the distant hills appear to raise their 
 heads clear and well-defined with the blue sky in the back -ground ; 
 the mountain-slopes and meadow lands assume an inviting tint of 
 
142 
 
 green and gold ; the bright headlands glitter in the sun's reflected 
 light ; the island so long sought, arises revealed in all her beauty ; 
 the emerald bosom of dear mother Eire expands as it were, to receive 
 her children. The sons of Miledh take the cheering prospect as a 
 happy omen, and filled with joy at the idea of coming to land, and 
 of obtaining a permanent and a happy home, they raise the cry : 
 " 'Tis Inisfail, 'tis Inisfail." This event, recorded by Milesian bards, 
 Thomas Moore, our national poet, makes the theme of the following 
 sweet song: — 
 
 I. 
 " They came from a land beyond the sea, 
 
 And now o'er the western main, 
 Set sail, in their good ships, gallantly, 
 
 From the sunny land of Spain. 
 1 Oh, where's the Isle we've seen in dreams, 
 
 Our destin'd home or grave ?' 
 Thus sang they as, by the morning's beams, 
 They swept the Atlantic wave. 
 
 II. 
 
 " And lo, where afar o'er ocean shiues 
 A sparkle of radiant green, 
 As though in that deep lay emerald mines, 
 
 Whose light thro' the wave was seen. 
 4 'Tis Inisfail, 'tis Inisfail,' 
 
 Rings o'er the echoing sea ; 
 While bending to heav'n the warriors hail, 
 That home of the brave and free. 
 
 III. 
 
 " Then turn'd they unto the Eastern wave, 
 
 Where now their Day-God's eye, 
 A look of such sunny omen gave 
 
 As lighted up sea and sky, 
 Nor frown was seen through sky or sea, 
 
 Nor tear o'er leaf or sod, 
 When first on their Isle of Destiny 
 
 Our great forefathers trod." 
 
 Q. 3. Continue the story of the Milesian landing 
 as told by the Bards and Seanachaidh. 
 
 A. The fleet made good its way to Inber Slaingi, known at a later 
 period as Loch Garmen or Carmen, and in modern times as Wexford. 
 The Tuatha De Danann mustered their forces to oppose the invading 
 host. On this account the sons of Miledh sailed round the island 
 
143 
 
 seeking for a harbour safe to land in, and free from all opposition on 
 the part of the inhabitants. They landed at length at Inber Skeine, the 
 bay of wild beauty, or of fright, known in later times as the bay of 
 Kenmare. The bards state that from Kenmare the invaders marched 
 northward to Sliabh Mis, a mountain tract situate between Castle- 
 maine and Tralee. In this plateau they met one of the three native 
 queens — Banba — accompanied by a number of female attendants and 
 her druids. Amerghin, the chief bard of the invaders, asks her, — 
 " What is your name," " My name is Banba," she replies, " and from 
 me the island is called Banba." From Sliabh Mis they continue their 
 journey in a north-eastern course, till they reach Sliabh Eblind, — 
 the modern Sliabh Felim, that raises its head high along the borders 
 of North Limerick, looking right across the river Clare into the 
 modern towns Newport and Castleconnell in Tipperary. On this 
 height, they meet another royal dame, with a suitable company of 
 ladies and their bards. Amerghin, who appears to have the privi- 
 lege, — as chief bard, — of the Milesians, to divine all that was hidden 
 or sacred, asks her name. The sovereign lady replies, that " her 
 name is Fodla, and the island is called from her by the name 
 Fodla." The invaders continue their route, and pass from 
 Tipperary, till they reach the ascent so well known in ancient times, 
 the centre, as it were, of the island, the famed hill of Uisneach 
 situated to the north of Castletown along the line of the Midland 
 Great Western Railway, — in the barony of Rathconrath, county 
 Westmeath. Here they meet a third queenly personage, and 
 Amerghin asks her name, she replies that Eri is her name, and that 
 the island is called Eri after her. This narration regarding the 
 interviews between the several sovereign ladies and the invaders is 
 very poetic, and is in a sense interesting, as it presents a picture 
 fancied^or real, of the custom of the period, — reminding one of the 
 patriarchal manners of Jacob, Esau and Laban ; — or of Abraham and 
 Lot. From Uisneach they proceed in a body to the residence of the 
 Ard-righ, or sovereign king at Teamhra. Here they find the three 
 kings, the three sons of Kermad, surrounded by the nobility of the 
 kingdom, by their bards, judges, poets, and warriors. The Milesians 
 then proclaim their arrival and demand quiet possession of the 
 island, and assert their claim to the sovereign power, and that if not 
 yielded to them quietly, then it should be gained by the sword. 
 The Tuatha De Danann sovereigns did not wish to resign ths 
 supreme power in so quiet a fashion, — they did not like the idea of 
 
144 
 
 letting so rich a guerdon as the " emerald gem of the western world" 
 drop so readily into the lap of the adventurous stranger. So accord- 
 ingly they replied in a civil sensible style, in language peculiar to the 
 period, that the invaders had not acted like heroes and men of 
 prowess, and in accordance with the laws of chivalry and combat 
 amongst men of valour. They demand that they should return to 
 their ships, at Inber Slaingi, or Inber Skeine, and then again invite 
 the natives to battle, and strive by martial daring to gain the 
 mastery. The Danann chiefs further declare that they were willing 
 to leave this matter in which were involved a question of honour and 
 of prowess on the one side, and on the other right and supreme 
 authority — to the judgment of the Milesian chief bard, — Amerghin. 
 What a strange proposal when regarded according to the manners 
 of modern times ; yet, stranger still, their own bard and brother 
 decided against the sons of Miledh and his kinsmen. His judgment 
 is pronounced ; it is, that the Milesians are bound in honour to 
 return to the ships and challenge the sovereigns and their people, 
 then by skill in war and by martial bravery to strive for the 
 mastery. According to the usages then known amongst warriors 
 and heroes the Danann claimed only what was fair. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 A STORM : QUEEN SCOTA UNFURLS THE SACRED BANNER : 
 BATTLES OF MIS, OF TAILTEAN, OF DRUIMLIGHEAN : 
 DEFEAT OF THE DANANN TRIBES : HOW THE LEADERS 
 OF THE DANANN CLANS SELECT THE " SIDHE " OR BEST 
 SITES THROUGHOUT THE LAND : THEY FINALLY SETTLE 
 AMONGST THE PEOPLE : STORIES RELATIVE TO THAT 
 AGE. 
 
 Q. 1. Did the invaders retire to their ships, and 
 with what result ? 
 
 A. Yes ; accordingly they made their way back to Inber Skeine 
 east of the estuary of Kenmare, and boarding their ships they sailed out 
 into the Atlantic a certain distance known by the measure of nine 
 waves A wave's length meant at the time a certain determinate 
 
145 
 
 distance. Suddenly and before a second landing could be safely 
 effected a storm arose. Some of the ships were during the gale, not 
 uncommon then even as now, rushing across the Atlantic, driven 
 south and west ; others were forced to seek shelter in the 
 islands further north on the Kerry coast. Those that sailed round 
 Cape Clear and the Old Head of Kinsale were driven through ths 
 channel Muir Icht along the Irish Sea, till they reached the estuary 
 at the Boyne This portion of the fleet was under the command of 
 Heremon. Here he effected a landing — but his brother Colpa of 
 the Sword, son of Miledh. was drowned as he strove to gain 
 the beach. From that fatal accident to Colpa, the estuary at the 
 mouth of the Boyne had been for long centuries later on, known as 
 Inber Colpa — or the estuary where Colpa the Milesian warrior met 
 a watery grave. 
 
 The galleys driven by the force of the storm north-west were under 
 the command of Donn, brother of Arach and Februadh, and of Ir, who 
 were accompanied by five other leaders. The ship that bore Donn 
 and his two brothers was wrecked on the sand-hills* near Smerwick 
 harbour, while the vessel that bore Ir was flung on the Skellig rocks, — 
 all hands on board dro vvned in the waves. Thus of the eight sons of 
 Milesius, five have already perished by the storm ; five other leaders 
 and a great number of the men fitted to meet the enemy in battle 
 have found a watery grave. 
 
 Q. 2. Tell us of the Battle of Sliabh Mis. 
 
 A. Meantime Heber and those who manned his fleet mastered 
 the force of the gale and landed safely at Inber Skeine or Kenmare 
 harbour. Here it was that Skein, the wife of Amerghin, was drowned, 
 and from her name the estuary, according to some writers, was 
 known in the ancient Milesian writings as " Inber Skeine." On 
 landing the ex-queen Scota unfurled the sacred banner. The invading 
 host now deemed it well to hasten, as they had done after their 
 former landing, to Sliabh Mis. Here, on the third day, they 
 encountered the Tuatha De Danann in great force, led on by Queen 
 
 * Teach Duinn. — This was the burial place of Donn, the eldest son 
 of Milesius, the leader of the colony from Spain to the south coast 
 of Ireland. He was drowned with his ship's company at the Dumhacha. 
 or Sand-hills, in the west of Kerry, where all found a grave: and hence 
 these sand-hills have ever since retained the name of Teach Duinn, or 
 Donn's house ; yet for all that their position has been lost in 
 modern times. u I believe," says O'Curry, " it was in the harbour of 
 Smerwick." O'Curry, Atlantis, No. 7, p. 148. London : Longmans, 
 Brown and Green. 
 
146 
 
 Eri. A hot battle ensued. It was contested much in the same 
 manner as those which we [have already described that had been 
 fought at southern and northern Moy Tura. The troops of the 
 Milesians were in numbers three thousand. They were fresh and 
 full of courage and bounding with hope, anxious to ennoble their 
 name and make it famous for heroic deeds; and to conquer the 
 kingdom for themselves ; besides, they felt positively assured that 
 destiny had called them to win the land for which they had sailed. 
 Their armour, such as it was in those days, was superior to that in 
 use by their antagonists. Scota, the ex-queen, led them to the 
 contest. They were united and they felt resolute and certain of 
 success. On the other hand, the Tuatha De Danann were not 
 united ; they were not sanguine of success ; their leaders differed in 
 council ; they were jealous of those who assumed the supreme 
 control. They had been unaccustomed to warfare. Their armour 
 was not as well fitted for battle as that of the Milesians. They were 
 given to the notion eo common at this period and in the Homeric 
 ages, subsequent to their time, to challenge their opponents to 
 single combat. Each brave man selected some distinguished hero ; 
 singled him out from amidst many, and aimed at the glory of being 
 victor. The Tuatha De Danann seemed to be under the impression 
 that the Fates, as it is said, were against them, and that they could 
 not succeed. And so it happened. They were defeated. One 
 thousand men on their side lay stretched on the plain at the foot of 
 Sliabh Mis. Three hundred of the victorious invaders were sacrificed in 
 the slaughter of that terrible fight. Those individuals of name slain 
 were — Scota, the queen mother of Miledh's sons, with Fas and two 
 druids. Feal, the wife of Lughaidh, was drowned soon after, and 
 from her the river known as Feale takes its name. The Milesians 
 claiming the victory remained on the battlefield and buried their 
 dead, placing flagstones, with Ogham inscriptions, over the spot 
 where each hero or heroine lay in the unbroken rest of the grave. 
 
 Q. 3. Besides the fact that the record of the battle of 
 Sliabh Mis in Kerry is still found in the annals of Ireland's 
 story, is there any recent authentic circumstance that 
 goes to show the truth of the bardic narrative ? 
 
 A. Yes. Within the past thirty years the very flagstones placed 
 over the graves of the fallen heroes and heroines — those of Scota and 
 
147 
 
 Fas have been discovered " between Sliabh Mis and the sea,'-' and the 
 Ogham inscriptions have been deciphered and explained by the late 
 William Williams, Esq., of Dungarvan, one of the most advanced 
 scholars in Ogham writing and antiquities known in modern times. 
 
 Q. 4. Was this battle the last fought by the 
 Danann chiefs against the Milesians ? 
 
 A. No. There were two other battles, one at Tailten (modern 
 Teltown, near Navan in Meath), the other at Druhnlighean, now 
 Drumleen, in the barony of Raphoe, Co. Donegal. After the final 
 defeat at Drumleen the Danann tribes never again, as a people, 
 raised the standard of authority in Eire. Of the three battles fought 
 on this occasion by the sons of Milesius, that at Teltown was the 
 greatest and the most crushing. The first at Sliabh Mis was only a 
 mere trial of strength, and the last at Drumleen was the struggling 
 effort of a fallen foe. 
 
 After the victory obtained in the glens of Kerry, Heber Fionn 
 the third born with his brother Amerghin, marched their forces 
 through the country known afterwards as Limerick and King's 
 County, crossed into Westmeath, reached Tara, and united their 
 troops with those that had come by Drogheda and the Boyne, led by 
 Heremon. The three Milesian brothers drew up their army to fight 
 the foe at Teltown, the site selected by the three Danann kings — 
 MacCoill, MacCeacht and MacGreine. The native kings and their 
 queens, Fodhla, Banba and Eire, left Tara, and selected for a battle- 
 field, Teltown, the place officially set apart for the martial exercises of 
 the warriors of the nation. Each people put forth on this occasion all 
 the ability and martial power that was at their command : the three 
 native kings and their queens, in order that they might hold the 
 regal sway that had been hitherto enjoyed by them ; the three 
 Milesian brothers — in order to acquire regal power in a country not 
 yet their own, and in which themselves and their followers were 
 sure to perish to a man, if they should suffer defeat. The Milesians 
 flushed with the partial victories already achieved, and desirous of 
 establishing their dynasty, entered the struggle like men who saw 
 they were destined to be victors. The Danann clans appeared 
 stricken with the idea that they were doomed not to succeed : the 
 Firbolg foe who had been to them as serfs were not devoted to the 
 cause of the ruling powers. They fought not in favour of their 
 masters, for in their souls they seemed glad that the Milesian 
 
148 
 
 invaders were gaining the ascendant. According to the manner of 
 fighting in those days each distinguished warrior selected an opponent 
 worthy of his lance from amidst the ranks of his foes, and conquered 
 or died. Heber marched against MacCoill, one of the kings, and 
 after a severe fight laid his foe stretched on the plain ; Amerghin, the 
 poet and warrior, faced MacGreine, and after a time pierced his 
 opponent's thigh ; and finally, Heremon, the third brother, turned on 
 MacCeacht, the last of the kings, and laid him low in the arms of 
 death. The three queens likewise perished ; Eire was slain by Suirghe, 
 Fodhla by Edan, and Banba by Caicher. The kingdom of Ireland 
 had been for centuries after that period called, and to this hour is so 
 styled by the Irish-speaking natives, Eire, or Fodhla, or Banba. 
 
 Q. 5. What followed ? 
 
 A general route of the Danann battalions, and of the inferior 
 chieftains by whom they were commanded, followed. The Milesians 
 lost two of their generals in the battle, and, following up the victory 
 in pursuit of the fleeing Tuatha De Danann, another chieftain, Fuadh, 
 perished at that mountain district which since then has borne his 
 name, — Sliabh Fuadh, near Newtown Hamilton, in the county 
 Armagh : and yet another, Cuailgne, fell at a place called after the 
 name of the fallen chieftain from that day to the present — Sliabh 
 Cuailgne, or Cooley, near Carlingford, comity Louth. In this wise 
 the Danann fugitives were pursued northwards and westwards towards 
 the palace at Aileach, till finally they made a stand at Druimlighean, 
 but then it was only to be totally and completely beaten. 
 
 Q. 6. What plan for their own safety did the 
 Danann survivors adopt after this ? 
 
 The surviving leaders of the Danaan forces formed an assembly ; 
 they took counsel what was best to be done. First they elected one who 
 as king was to be obeyed by them. The choice fell upon Bodhbh 
 Dearg, son of the Daghda. For themselves they deemed it best to 
 offer the conquering Milesians no further resistance. It was not 
 their wish, however, to mix with the common people of the country 
 —the Firbolg races, whom hitherto they had treated as serfs. They 
 adopted a middle course. They secretly acknowledged Bodhbh 
 Dearg as their king, and made choice for themselves of the leading- 
 sites or hills throughout Ireland. In the west, and north, and east 
 the Danann still reigned in the " high " places. These they called 
 
149 
 
 sidh or shee, that is, sites or commanding positions. They erected 
 duna, or fortified residences, surrounding each with a lios and 
 a caiseal. They seldom mixed with the inhabitants of the country. 
 The lower orders regarded them as beings of great and hidden know- 
 ledge, and thus in time looked upon them as in some measure super- 
 natural. Hence the name sidh (shee) in Irish Gaelic is applied to 
 Faery— the spirit of the "hills," — of whom people know little. In 
 process of time their descendants dwelt like others in the plains, and 
 formed a considerable element in the mixed races of whom Irishmen 
 of the present day are made up. These facts are known from 
 MacFirbis, and from those family names which are manifestly Danann, 
 and of which mention has been already made in pages 70-71 (supra)* 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 Stories and Romances regarding the early Irish 
 
 Period, 
 
 For over fifteen hundred years' stories in part historical and con- 
 sequently true — imaginative in part and belonging accordingly to 
 the region of romance have been told among the people of Ireland, 
 and have by the force of tradition been transmitted from generation 
 to generation to the present, relative to the " Tuatha D'e Danann 
 Tribes" their cleverness, their power, and their force of character as 
 rulers. 
 
 There are four remarkable stories of this class, which for the past 
 thousand years have been committed to writing : — They embrace the 
 famous three Irish stories which are known so well to Irish 
 Seanachaidhs, or story-tellers, as the cpi cptiAi§e ha f5euUnj;eAccA, 
 i.e. the three sorrowful tales of story-telling, together with that 
 famous tale known as the story relative to the Lady Curchog. 
 
 Two of the four stories refer to the period directly after the defeat 
 of the " Tuatha Tribes," and after the almost total destruction of the 
 
 * This battle took place at Tailten, now called Teltown, county Meath 
 between the three Milesian brothers and the Tuatha De Danaan kings, in 
 which the latter were subdued. The mere fact only of the occurrence of 
 this battle is given in the Book of Invasions, but in the MS. H, 4. 22, 
 T.C.D., there are some details given. The full text, however, has not 
 come down to us. — O'Curry, MS. Materials, p. 580. 
 
150 
 
 Danaim Dynasty ; another deals with the rise of the Danann power in 
 Eire, and brings the reader back to the great battle fought at 
 Northern Magh Tura, when the Fomorians and their abettors were 
 totally routed by the steady and skilled bravery of the Danann Chiefs 
 and their warlike followers. The fourth story is of a later date, and 
 has reference to the Milesians : it presents a picture of the manners 
 of the times, when Conor MacNessa was Monarch of Ulster, about 
 the first century of the Christian era. 
 
 Stories of this Class 
 furnish the reader with a tableau vivant of a period and of the people 
 who lived then, in a style far more natural and exciting in its details, 
 than the most glowing and life-like description which the ablest 
 historian can in words convey, or with pen pourtray. It is in this 
 sense and not as a reliable historic record that the writer presents 
 here a summary of a few of these stories. The reader who wishes 
 to learn more fully concerning these historic-novel tales is referred to 
 the publications of the Gaelic Union, and the Society for the 
 Preservation of the Irish Language ; and to the works written by 
 the late Eugene O'Curry. 
 
 Story of Lady Curchog. 
 
 Lady Curchog was daughter of Manannan, the great Danann Chief, 
 and Druid of the Danann races. The story told of her, and that 
 tale regarding the fate of the children of Lir, have reference in an 
 especial manner to the events that transpired directly "after the defeat 
 of the Tuatha De Danann, and on the accession of Miledh's sons, 
 Heber and Heremon to the sovereignty of Ireland. Professor 
 O'Curry was so familiar with these tales, that he believed not only in 
 the outlines, but in much of the details. His views on the reality of 
 the Danann Tribes as a race, who at one time dwelt in ancient Eire, 
 have been already quoted. " No matter," he states, " how romantic 
 and legendary the details of this people may be found, there is as 
 much reason to believe in the actual existence of the race as there is 
 in the origin and existence of their collateral and contemporary 
 races — the Firbolg and the Milesian." (Atlantis, No. 6, p. 382). 
 
 And respecting these two stories, one the " Tale of Woe of 
 the Children of Lir," the other that regarding Lady Curchog, 
 O'Curry writes : " It is to the disastrous battle at Tailtin that 
 the tale of the children of Lir at its opening refers, but the 
 account," he says " of the convention of the sorrowing chiefs of the 
 
151 
 
 Tuatha De Danann is taken from another— that known relating 
 to the Lady Curchog. This latter is found fully narrated in 
 the Book of Fermoy, which fortunately was purchased by the late 
 liberal-minded Dr Todd, S.F.T.C.D." 
 
 " It is not intended to claim for this tale the rank of a sober 
 historical document, but it may be received as founded on history. 
 However wild the fairy incidents which it is allowable to work into 
 ancient tales of this class, the main events referred to, and the 
 principal personages named, are always in accordance with the records 
 and traditions of true history. In this point of view the names 
 referred to in the tale of Curchog will be found interesting, and in a 
 measure supporting the still wilder legend regarding the children of 
 Lir." Ibid. p. 369. 
 
 " It is in this tale relative to Lady Curchog," continues O'Curry, 
 " and now for the first time published, that the ancient legend putting 
 forward the cause, origin, and history of the disappearance of the 
 luatha De Danann from the ordinary intercourse of men, and their 
 voluntary retirement to an invisible and supposed immortal existence 
 in our hills, lakes, and mountains has been authoritatively placed 
 before the world." 
 
 No doubt, the statement made by O'Curry on this subject is 
 correct. Every scholar now-a-days feels certain, since the dis- 
 coveries made in the Troad in 1874, that all the great events connected 
 with the nine years' war, and the taking of Troy by the Greeks are 
 true ; that there was such a town as Troy, and a King Priam who 
 ruled over it ; that Grecian Kings, known as Achilles, Agamemnon, 
 Menelaus, Ajax, and Ulysses from Greece had come to attack it, 
 although in the poetic story in which these things are told, much is re- 
 corded regarding false deities and fanciful meetings and councils, aye 
 and supernatural interpositions which had no existence except in 
 Homer's head. In the same way, there are certain features which may 
 be deemed historic in Keltic tales, clothed though they be with much 
 that the imagination alone has furnished, or the mind of the poet 
 conceived. 
 
 The precise time at which the tale of " Lir's lonelydaughter" and 
 her brothers comes in, is plainly seen from all that is narrated in the 
 story itself, and in the tale referring to Lady Curchog. 
 
 Directly after the disastrous battle of Druim Lighean, in the 
 present barony of Raphoe, the surviving chiefs of the Tuatha De 
 Danann Dynasty deemed it their duty to hold a convention in order 
 
152 
 
 to see what was best to be done. They had now no king, no territory 
 no power. 
 
 They assembled accordingly at the palace known by the name, 
 Brugh-na-Boinne (the Big House on the Boyne) the residence of 
 iEngus Og, situate not far from the well-known mound hard by Slane, 
 n Meath. These were Bodbh Dearg or Bodbh the Red, iEngus Og, 
 (young JEneas), sons of the Daghda; Ilbreac (many spotted), Lir, 
 Midhir (the proud) ; Sighmall, .Finnbar, Tadhg Mor, and Dearg 
 Dianscothach : Manannan, son of Lir— called the meeting to order 
 and presided. 
 
 The object of this gathering of the chiefs was first to select some 
 leader or king; next how best to hold their own strongholds, 
 against their Milesian masters. A leader, whom all alike should 
 acknowledge and obey, they had none, and they had lost nigh all their 
 territory. It was, therefore, their duty to select safe positions for 
 themselves, throughout the land, and to strengthen their castles, so 
 as to be able to bid defiance to the Milesian hosts, if at any time the 
 latter should attack them. 
 
 Lir, and Ilbreac, and Midhir. with the two sons of the Daghda 
 declined to take an active part in the council, for each had been under 
 the impression, that it was himself and no other that was likely to be 
 elected. Bodbh Dearg, however, was made choice of by the council, 
 and he was declared to be the head or King whom all the Danann in 
 f ature should obey. On learning the choice that had been made Lir 
 grew angry ; he left the assembly, repaired shortly afterwards to his 
 Dun or fortified castle. 
 
 Having chosen a king they next proceeded to select secure sites 
 (sidli) within which they should be able to protect themselves and 
 their clientela from any open or secret attacks that might in time to 
 come be made by the Milesian conquerors. As a royal home for 
 Bodbh Dearg, a hill south of the present Portumna, near Lough 
 Dearg on the Shannon was selected, being as nearly as could be in 
 regard to the selection of commanding positions, the centre of Ireland- 
 Ilbreac received his appointment to go to Ballyshannon and to take 
 possession of the mound to the north of that ancient town, over- 
 looking the Waterfall, known as Eas-Aoidh-Ruaidh— or the Waterfall 
 (eas) of Red Hugh. Lir was to keep watch and ward on the mount, 
 known since the late defeat as Sliabh Fuaidh, and his castle there has 
 become known as " Sidh Finneachaidh," near the present Newtown 
 Hamilton, county Armagh ; Midhir the proud, of Bri-leith, west of the 
 
153 
 
 village of Ardagh, county Longford, was told to erect his Dun, 
 or to fortify the house he had erected on Sidh Truim. Sighniall took 
 possession of Sidh Neanta, in modern times, known as " Fairy Mount" 
 in the parish of Kilgefin, county Roscommon, not far from the pre- 
 sent village of Lough Glynn. Fionnbar was sent west to Sidh 
 Meadha, known to-day as Cnoc Meadha, near Tuam, in the county of 
 Galway— a lovely mound, wooded this hour to the top, and known 
 amongst the peasantry of Connacht as Finnbar's hill — or the hill of 
 the Galway and Mayo fairies. In connexion with all these sites there 
 have been in after times, anecdotes and stories of an interest- 
 ing kind, handed down from generation to generation amongst the 
 simple people. Tadhg Mor, son of Nuadhat, was made Lord of 
 Sidhe Jjroma Deine, close to the mound known at the present day as 
 *he hill of Allen, county Kildare. Dearg Dian-Scothach was con- 
 stituted possessor and defender of Sidh Cleithigh, south of the 
 Boyne bridge, near Slane. 
 
 The 'chieftains repaired to their allotted abodes; they fortified 
 and rendered impregnable their homes, ;and helped to protect the 
 weaker members of the Danann Tribes from oppression or from 
 slavery. 
 
 The Story of the Children of Lir. 
 
 On returning to his mansion on the hill of Sliabh Fuaidh, Lir con- 
 tinued to indulge for a time in the jealous fit arising from the fact 
 that he had not been selected to be king over the Danann tribes. 
 Shortly after this occasion his wife died. Bodbh Dearg, in his royal 
 residence at JPortumna, heard of the sad event. As Danann king, he 
 deemed it well to offer to Lir now — like Achilles brooding in his sulk 
 over defeat and the late loss — the expression of his sovereign con- 
 dolence ; and at the desire of the other chiefs, whose opinion he had 
 sought and received, he sent a special invitation to Lir to come to 
 the royal castle at Loch Dearg, on the Shannon. Lir came ; Bodbh 
 offered him for wife his choice lady of three — the fairest princesses in 
 Eire. They were,' moverover, Bodbh's own'i foster children — 
 namely, Aobh, Aoife, and Ailbe, daughters of Oilell (or Oichell) 
 Arann - that is, Oichell, chieftain of Arann, the island so well known 
 in the bay of Galway, together with the western district comprising 
 part of Clare and Galway counties. 
 
 Lir accepted the offer. He made choice of Aobh, the eldest of the 
 princesses. This selection pleased Bodbh. In due time Lir returned 
 
154 
 
 home with his bride. The first year she bore him two babes at a 
 birth — a daughter, Fionn-ghuala, or " Fair Shoulder," and a son* 
 Aodh, or Hugh, that ;is, " the Blushing." Soon again, at another 
 birth, she bore two other children — both sons — Fiachra, or " the 
 Hunter," and Conn (hound), or " Swift Hero," and then, like Rachel 
 the mother of Benjamin, brother of Joseph, Aobh — after great 
 puerperal pain — died. Thus a second time was Lir left a wailing 
 widower. A second time was he invited by the king at Portumna to 
 come to his palace to seek consolation. He did come. The Danann 
 Director-in- Chief pointed out to Lir that there was no use regretting 
 the past, that he could not undo the work of death ; that now he had 
 no matron to look after the care of his house, and his dear children 
 had no mother to look after their proper training, that the best thing 
 he could do accordingly was to take to wife the second daughter of 
 Oilell Arann — a princess more beautiful, if possible, than his late 
 spouse. Lir thought that his chief reasoned very correctly. Accord- 
 ingly he agreed to the proposal. The lady gave her consent ; there 
 was a new marriage and a second wedding at the royal rooms at 
 Portumna. Lir in due time brought his new bride to the fairy home 
 at Sidh Finneachaidh. 
 
 Things went merrily on for a time. It is not stated that his new 
 wife became the mother of children, but it is distinctly told that the 
 three sons and the only daughter of Aobh grew up in beauty and 
 princely grace before the eyes of their father and their many friends. 
 Accordingly they became the admired of all, and, in an especial 
 manner, beloved by their father, and even by Bodbh himself, to 
 whose home they were taken occasionally both by their father and 
 stepmother. All their childlike grace and attractiveness, their 
 blooming features, the love bestowed on them by their father, 
 became to Aoife — their aunt and stepmother — a source of jealousy, 
 and this envious feeling increased to such a degree that Lir's wife 
 resolved finally to slay the children with the sword. In this project 
 she failed. Coming, however, on one occasion from Armagh to 
 Portumna to pay, as usual, a visit to Bodbh Dearg, she caused the 
 children to bathe in the lake which lies near the present town of 
 Castlepollard, in County Westmeath — known in those ancient times 
 as Loch Dairbreach (or Lake of the Oaks.) While the children were 
 enjoying their bath, though not wholly free from fear, their step- 
 mother, the Lady Aoife, by her magical power changed them in an 
 instant into swans, and condemned them to roam over the lakes and 
 
155 
 
 seas of Ireland during the space of nine hundred years and longer, 
 until the time would at length arrive when the Mass-bell of Christian 
 Ireland should awaken them from their forlorn state, and restore 
 them to faith and freedom, and awaken human life. They were 
 condemned to spend three hundred years on Loch Dairbreach ; three 
 hundred years on " sruth na Maoile^ the stream of the Maoil, or 
 Mull, the " bald " headland bounding Ceantire in Scotland, called 
 by Thomas Moore the " Moyle ;" three hundred years on the west- 
 ern coast of Ireland at Iar-ros Domnann, now Erris, in the County 
 of Mayo, and Inis Gluaire of Brendain (now Inish-glory.) The nine 
 hundred years express only an indefinite period, from the time of the 
 defeat of the Danann tribes to the coming of the apostles of the 
 Christian faith into Ireland. In the tale we are told that the enchant- 
 ment would come to an end, and the metamorphosed swans would 
 assume their human form when the sound of the Mass-bell should 
 for the first time tingle in their ears in holy Ireland, and when the 
 woman from the south and the man from the north should be 
 united. The man was to be Lairgnen, son of Colman, son of Cobh- 
 thach, King of Connacht; and the woman Deoch, daughter of Finghin, 
 the son of Aridh Alainn, King of Munster (sixth century of the 
 Christian Era.) " The reader," says Thomas Moore, " must be con- 
 tent to learn that Fionn-ghuala, the daughter of Lir, was by some 
 supernatural power transformed into a swan, and condemned to 
 wander for many hundred years over certain lakes and rivers in Ire- 
 land till the coming of Christianity, when the first sound of the 
 Mass-bell was to be the signal of her release." 
 
 Song of Fionghuala. 
 
 " Silent, O Moyle, be the roar of thy water, 
 
 Break not, ye breezes, your chain of repose, 
 While, murmuring mournfully, Lir's lonely daughter, 
 
 Tells to the night-star her tale of woes. 
 When shall the swan, her death-note singing, 
 
 Sleep, with wings in darkness fuiTd, 
 When will heaven, its sweet bells ringing, 
 
 Call my spirit from this stormy world ? 
 
 * The whole story, with an English translation and notes, together 
 with a copious Vocabulary in Irish Gaelic, has been published in a small 
 volume, sold cheaply, by the firm of Gill and Son, Dublin, for the 
 Society for the Preservation of the Irish Language. 
 
156 
 
 ii. 
 
 Sadly, O Moyle, to thy winter- wave weeping, 
 
 Fate bids me languish long ages away ; 
 Yet, still, in her darkness doth Erin lie sleeping, 
 
 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 ?"* 
 
 CHAPTEE XVII. 
 
 FATE OF THE CHILDREN OF TURENN : A STORY 
 RELATING TO THE EARLY DANANN PERIOD. 
 
 The second tale, known as " The Fate of the Children of Turenn," 
 — which is the third of the three sorrowful stories of ancient Eire, 
 relates to the early record of the Danann people, about the time 
 when Nuada Airgid-lamh (of the Silver Hand), ruled at Tara. It 
 tells of the coming of the Fomorians,t or seafaring men, from the 
 land of lakes and estuaries, say from the countries known to-day as 
 Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. 
 
 These foreigners oppressed the natives of Eire, who, as the story 
 states, were obliged to pay tax for the quern, tax for the baking-flag, 
 for the kneading-trough, and to pay an ounce of gold every year as 
 a poll-tax, or in default thereof the individual should suffer the loss 
 of his nose. 
 
 Lugh of the Long Arm, a famous princely warrior, who, at a sub- 
 sequent period became king, resisted this crushing impost. Hence 
 
 * For a full account of this tragic tale consult the little work published 
 by Gill ; or " Oidhe Cloinne Lir" in the Atlantis, by O'Curry ; or the 
 story as it is told by Gerald Griffin. From internal evidence, and from 
 the language of the bards that pervades the tale, it] is likely that the 
 story was composed in the seventh or eighth century. 
 
 f Foghmarach is the Irish term from which " Fomorian " is taken. Its 
 meaning is seen from its component parts, fogh, booty, spoil ; and inara, 
 gen. case oimuir, Keltic for sea ; Fograarach therefore means one who 
 lives by plunder or spoil collected from the sea in any way — therefore a 
 sea pirate, or a seafarer of any kind. To this hour those who repair in 
 summer time to the seaside for the purpose of taking baths in the waters 
 of the Atlantic, are along the coast of Galway and Mayo called by the 
 seaboard dwellers, Foghmaraigh. 
 
157 
 
 resulted the famous battle of Northern Magh Tura, in which the 
 foreigners were completely defeated, and peace was once more 
 restored to the Danann tribes of ancient Eire. 
 
 It was at the period immediately before this battle, when prepara- 
 tions were being made to meet the invaders at Ballysadare, in County 
 Sligo, that the three sons of Turenn had slain Kian, the father of 
 Lugh. To be avenged of this foul murder, Lugh, the son, in the 
 presence of the king and council assembled at Tara, imposed, accord- 
 ing to law, an eiric, or fine, on the three sons of Turenn. 
 
 The interest of the story rests in the record and recital of the 
 strange deeds — something like the adventures of Aladdin, or of 
 Sinbad — which those three heroic brothers were, in the language of 
 the narrative, obliged to perform, in order to atone for the crime 
 which they had wantonly committed on the father of one who was 
 destined in a few years to be the sovereign ruler of the land of 
 Fodla. Without any definite description of the countries on the 
 globe, to which they went, for geography was not then much known 
 and very imperfectly cultivated, it is stated by the author of the first 
 written version, say in the seventh century, that the sons of Turenn 
 were doomed to proceed from the palace at Tara in Meath, to the 
 far east beyond the Hellespont, to the unknown territory of Scythia, 
 to countries south of the Mediterranean, not fully into the heart of 
 Africa, or south-west of the Soudan, which even to-day is not well 
 known to Europeans ; and again to journey as far north as Iceland, 
 performing labours incredible, not only by sea, but by land, till at 
 length after years of travelling and fighting, and undergoing hair- 
 breadth escapes, they return the second time to Eire, wearied and 
 wounded, to sink into the arms of death, while their father Turenn 
 and their beloved sister Ethnea, were looking at their dearest sons 
 and brothers perishing, unable the while to console or relieve them. 
 The sons having thus miserably, and after infinite fatigue and labours 
 not unlike those of Hercules, perished, Turenn, their father, and 
 Ethnea, their sister, threw themselves on the dead bodies, and died. 
 In this story regarding the children of Turenn, there are features 
 which, divested of the veil of Keltic texture in which they have 
 been presented, resemble very much the incidents recorded in the 
 life of the Greek Herakleos, and Latin Hercules, or of the famed 
 Perseus, or Theseus, proving again that the poems or stories of the 
 Aryan nations, are simply versions in Greek, Latin, or Keltic, of one 
 and the same primeval subject, and " that they have their origin in 
 
158 
 
 the phenomena of the natural world," or that, according to another, 
 they are diversified accounts of some of the truths revealed in Sacred 
 Scripture, or handed down by tradition from the earliest patriarchs 
 of the human family. 
 
 That the language of the stories is ancient if we look to the time 
 of their composition, is plain, and that the period to which they 
 refer is remote, appears clearly from the introduction of the magic 
 art into the incidents recorded. This fact is another link in the 
 chain of proof connecting the early races of Ireland with those of the 
 East from the Indus to the Tigris and Euphrates. To this hour 
 magic is regarded as an accomplishment among the peoples east and 
 south of the Punjaub, from Cabul to Cape Comoron. The people 
 in these parts practice magic not precisely as something opposed to 
 God's law, but as a species of occult science, or rather a collection of 
 facts and hidden views, of which all people of position are expected 
 to have acquired a knowledge. Magic is to the thinking of the 
 people of the Eastern nations allied to the knowledge of medicine, 
 and of those arts which persons of learning are supposed to know. On 
 this account we find that the sons of Turenn in the story before us, 
 were quite a match in their display of magic power with Kian, the 
 father of Lugh ; and in the tale relative to the children of Lir, Aoif e, 
 his wife, seems to have had, as a matter of course, a ready knowledge 
 of magic, when at a moment's thought, she exercises the power of 
 changing at her pleasure her step-children into swans, just with much 
 the same skill, as if she administered medicine to them in case they 
 had been ailing. Bodbh Dearg, the king, avenging the wickedness of 
 Lir's wife, struck her in turn with a magical wand, and changed her 
 into a fiend doomed to wander for ever through the air. Magic in 
 the homes of the Danann chiefs seemingly was regarded with much 
 the same respect that it was held in the court of Pharaoh, in Egypt, 
 or in Babylon, or in Persepolis. Thus the habits of the ancient 
 people of Eire, and of those living in the far east, were in the know- 
 ledge and practice of magic the same. 
 
 Those Keltic tales bring the reader back to the oldest period of 
 Grecian story, to the ages when pagan divinities and demigods 
 possessed seemingly some power over the forms of animate and 
 inanimate nature, as is seen in the stories which make up Grecian 
 mythology v.g., Zeus aiidEuropa ; Zeus and Danae ; Zeus and Leda. 
 The Olympian god comes to Leda in the guise of a swan ; to Danae 
 he appears in the form of a golden shower. With the Danann or 
 
159 
 
 Keltic races of Ireland, Fionn-ghuala, " Fair-shoulder," holds the 
 same place that Leda (the swan) does amongst the ancient Greeks, 
 or " Helen," Leda's daughter, perhaps. 
 
 " The ideas of enchantment and transformation once awakened 
 ran riot in a crowd of stories," says Rev. G. W. Cox in his 
 Mythology of the Aryan Nations, vol ii., p. 285, " which resemble 
 in some of their features, the myths of which the tale of Psyche and 
 Eros is a type. . . in others again the narratives of jealous wives 
 or stepmothers found in the mythology of all the Aryan tribes. 
 Even in mediaeval times this idea prevailed. Thus the ship and swan 
 are both prominent in the mediaeval romance of the Knight of the 
 Swan, in which the son of Queen Matabrune havmg married the 
 beautiful Beatrice, leaves her in her mother's charge. After his 
 departure, Beatrice gives birth to six sons and one daughter, each 
 with a silver collar round its neck. These children the stepmother 
 
 seeks to destroy They are at length deprived of their 
 
 collars, and the loss changes them into swans, all but the youngest, 
 Helias." 
 
 This romance Baring Gould regards as a local myth. He says the 
 name Helias is a corruption of the Keltic Ala, or Eala, or Hala = a 
 swan. 
 
 Each nation branching off from the great Aryan stock, tells in 
 those ancient tales the same f story symbolizing some striking 
 features of nature, or the altered forms of a purer revelation, so as 
 to suit the genius of its own special race, and the ever- varying 
 character of the times as they change in their onward descent along 
 the vale of ages. 
 
 Third Danann Story. — The Lady Curchog. 
 
 And this leads to the third romance connected with the Tuatha Pe 
 Danann race. It is the story relative to the Lady Curchog, daughter 
 of the great chieftain known among that versatile people as 
 Manannan. The time to which I refer is just after the two terrible 
 disasters endured by these people at Telt own and at Druimlighean, 
 a mound situated in the barony of Raphoe, County Donegal, a few 
 miles north of the present town of Lifford. The antiquity of the 
 story is satisfactorily shown from the fact that it is contained in the 
 Book of Fermoy. 
 
 As to the value of the narration, the opinion of O'Curry is, that 
 the facts referred to, and the principal personages named are always 
 found to be in accordance with the records and traditions of true 
 
160 
 
 history. The story, like all historic tales, consists of two parts, — 
 one, strictly and rigidly historic in the true sense of the term, and 
 therefore truthful and real, the other full of those incidents and play- 
 ful embellishments which excite the curiosity of the reader, and deal 
 largely with the marvellous, with the magical, and the apparently 
 supernatural. This manner of writing was in keeping with the age 
 in which the story was first composed, when the magical and the 
 marvellous were not devoid of reality. 
 
 The historic portion of the tale tells how the defeated chieftains 
 assembled at Brugh-na-Boinne ; how Manannan presided at the 
 meeting, and guided the counsels of the assembly ; how he directed 
 that the chieftains should in self defence select well secured sites for 
 their Duns on the summits of hills, well known all over Eire. All 
 this has been told in the foregoing pages. The marvellous part of 
 the tale relates how he wished to render the nobles [of Ireland 
 invisible to their conquerors, the Milesians, to make them immortal 
 like the gods of Olympus ; and thirdly to have for them delicious 
 food always ready and yet never entirely consumed. 
 
 To effect the first object he had a druidical charm composed 
 known ever since under the name -pe pAt),* by reciting which 
 a person became concealed from his adversary ; next, to render 
 mortal life undying, he established a form of feast known amongst 
 the ancient Irish by the name, " The Smith's Banquet," or in the 
 original phrase, Fleadh Goibhneann {fleadh = banquet j^Goibhneann, 
 of one named Goibhne, or Smith ; for the third, Mucca Mhanannain 
 (Manannan's pigs) to be killed, yet to be always alive for the 
 warriors. In the " Arabian Nights Entertainment," the enchanting 
 process, and the banqueting preparations, with kindred modes of 
 acting, are not much unlike those named in the story of Lady 
 Curchoo-. 
 
 * According to O'Curry the term Fiadh, in ancient, Irish means 
 presence. This is true, for the term is found in Fiadhnuise, presence 
 or evidence. What pe means, he is not able to say. It appears to 
 the present writer to be of kindred origin with £a and J?aoi, under, 
 apart, aside, and therefore " out of the way," "hidden." j:a, though a 
 preposition was originally a noun, not unlike the term "fetch," 
 English. With this meaning, -pe pAit), fas a name applied to the 
 charm, means " concealing of the presence." And that is precisely what 
 it was intended to effect. 
 
 It is curious, however, that the same name is applied to the Christian 
 prayer offered to the true God by St. Patrick, on the occasion when he 
 and his clerical companions followed by the youthful Benin, proceeded 
 
161 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 A NEW DYNASTY ; HEBER AND HEREMON ; DIVISION OF 
 IRELAND ; NEW POSSESSION ; A FALLING OUT ; BATTLE 
 OF GEASHILL ; DEATH OF HEREMON ; NAMES OF PLACES 
 TELL TO THIS DAY OF THE MILESIAN DYNASTY. 
 
 Q. 1. What was the result of the successful battles 
 which the conquering Milesians had gained ? How 
 and where did the conquerors settle down ? 
 
 A. Heremon and Heber Finn assumed the joint sovereignty of 
 Ireland, and divided the country between them. Heremon took as 
 his share the northern portion of the island — making the Boyne, and 
 the Bron, and the Shannon from Lough Bee south-westward, the 
 boundary of his division ; the southern half, from the Boyne and the 
 Shannon to Tonn Cliodna, became the possession of Heber Finn ; 
 Amergin, the third surviving son of Milesius, poet and physician of 
 the Spanish Brigantian race, was constituted chief bard and philosopher 
 of the nation. His descendants were to be, in a measure, like the 
 tribe of Levi amongst the Jews. On this point O'Curry states : 
 " Heber Finn and Heremon divided the island into two parts 
 between them, the former taking all the southern part from the 
 Boyne and the Shannon to Cape Clear, and the latter taking all the 
 parts lying to the north of these rivers." 
 
 Dr. Keating is in favour of a second view recorded by ancient 
 Irish annalists regarding the division of the island, made by 
 
 from Slane towards the hill of Tara in Meath. (See the Book of Hymns, 
 Liber Hymnorum, fol. 19 — a very ancient manuscript in the Library of 
 Trinity College, Dublin). The hymn is now very common ; it was published 
 by Dr. Petrie in his Antiquities of Tara Hill in 18-39. It has been published 
 by several others. (See in College Irish Grammar, Prosody, the 
 original with modern Irish version and translation by Clarence Mangan.) 
 Burns & Oates, London, and GiU & Son, Dublin, have published this 
 magnificent prayer of the Irish Apostle in thousands. Father Colgan 
 says it was called by the ancient Irish \:6 pA-oh, and by others, the 
 "ItnpeAC pAUfunc, or the Breastplate of St. Patrick. People say -oaja 
 ■piA'o, by my ghost or spirit. 
 
 To this day it is a common saying amongst the Irish -speaking 
 peasantry — " to partake of Goibhnean's banquet," meaning to obtain a 
 long lease of life. 
 
 M 
 
162 
 
 Heber Finn and Heremon directly after the conquest of the Danann 
 tribes. He is of opinion, that Heber Finn took the territory south 
 of the Shannon, allotting to Lughaidh, son of Ith, his father's 
 cousin german — he who had brought his father's body home to Spain 
 from the shores of the river Foyle — the district known ever since as 
 Corca Lughaidh. 
 
 Corca Lughaidh, or Luis' district lies at the extreme end of the 
 present County Cork, and embraces the two baronies of West 
 Carbery and East Carbery — extending from Bantry Bay on the west, 
 to the old Head of Kinsale in the east. Historians have taken note 
 of the fact that the descendants of Lughaidh — so devoted to his 
 father — continued to hold a distinguished position, with their hered- 
 itary possessions, and an honoured name longest of all the other 
 descendants of the race of Breoghan. 
 
 While retaining the sovereignty, Heremon gave the province of 
 Leinster to the chieftain of the Firbolg clans, Crimhthan Sciath-Beul, 
 for the faithful services which he and his people had rendered during 
 the late invasion, and probably for having invited the Milesians to 
 come and conquer the country — wresting the chief authority from so 
 feeble and so faithless a power as had been the Danann Dynasty. 
 To Heber, the son of Ir, he assigned a large amount of territory 
 in Ulster ; while he reserved to himself the principal patrimony of 
 Connacht and the rest of the northern province. 
 
 Whatever arrangement may have been made at the early part 
 of their joint reign did not continue long — only a year ; and when 
 Heremon became sole ruler of the island, he gave the Belgic or 
 Firbolg King the sceptre of Leinster. The student will note that 
 there were two chieftains known by the name Heber; one the 
 brother of Heremon— Heber Finn, the other his nephew — the son of 
 Ir, who had been drowned at the Skellig Rocks, south of Valencia 
 off the coast of Kerry. It is true then to say, speaking generally, 
 that natives of Munster are descended from Heber Finn ; natives of 
 Ulster and Connacht, from Heremon ; at the same time, many of the 
 Ulster clans claim descent from Heber, son of Ir. To the east and 
 west of the Shannon are many clans of Belgic descent, or of the 
 Danann or Nemedian tribes. To this very day, one who cares to 
 study the facial forms of the various races can readily read in the 
 features, in the crania, in the stature, and in the figure of the peasant 
 inhabitants, those that are of Belgic origin, those who are Danann 
 or Milesian. 
 
163 
 
 Each of the brothers, Heber Finn and Heremon, made a selection 
 of the surviving Milesian chiefs, who had commanded ships, or 
 headed battalions in the field. Heremon's friends built "duns" or 
 fortified castles. Amergin built a dun, and fortified it, at Tochur — 
 Invir mhoir, or Abhain mhoir— now known as the Causeway at 1 Arklow, 
 County Wicklow. Another leader erected a dun, which became 
 known after his name as Dun Sobharke. There was a third built in 
 the little island of Dalkey by Sedga, one of the chieftains, and 
 known in Irish Story as Dun Deilginnis — the fortification on the 
 "thorny" island — contracted in process of time into the present 
 Dalkey (i, or innis = island, dealg, of thorns). In the Mourne 
 Mountains another was erected — known as Cathair an Nair, the 
 town of Nar, named after one of the sons of Breoghan, and uncle to 
 Milesius. This citadel was built under the direction of Gostenn, one 
 of the forty captains who had set sail from northern Spain. Finally, 
 by Suirghi, a castle, Dun Edair, was erected on the hill of Howth — a 
 hill known at that time as Benn Edair. Heremon himself selected 
 the banks of the Nore (Eoir) in Ossory, as the site of his royal 
 residence at Airged Ross. The Rath called Rath-Beathaigh is now 
 known as Rath-Beagh, County Kilkenny. On the other hand, those 
 five chieftains who followed the fortunes of Heber, namely, Caicher, 
 Mantan, Un, Ughi, Fulman also erected duns : Caicher built Dun-Inn 
 in the west of Ireland ; Un, a " rath " near the town of Galway, 
 which to this day is known as Ralwon, i.e., Rath-Uin, Un's rath. 
 
 Q. 2. How long did the Milesian monarchs 
 
 Heremon and Heber, as joint sovereigns, live in 
 
 peace, and what was the immediate cause of their 
 deadly strife? 
 
 A. Heremon and Heber continued not longer than one year in 
 brotherly, or even in friendly relations. Like the founders of the 
 kingdom that grew up on the banks of the Tiber, they were jealous 
 each of the share of authority which the other possessed. 
 
 The ostensible reason for falling out was that Tea, wife of 
 Heremon, was not content with all the splendid hills north of the 
 Shannon and Boyne; she desired to get possession of (1) Druim 
 Clasach in Hy Mani, from Loughrea to Ballinasloe, perhaps the hill 
 of Aughrim— i.e., correctly "Eac-Druim," steed-mound; (2) Druim 
 Bethaigh, in Maen Magh, near Loughrea, extending to Skarif at the 
 
164 
 
 Shannon ; (3) Druim Finghin in Munster. It divides the Decies 
 within Druim, from the Decies without ; it extends from Castle-Lyons 
 Comity Cork, to the Bay of Dungarvan. 
 
 Apparently to satisfy the wishes of his wife Tea, and to gain 
 these hills, Heremon determined to resume fighting. 
 
 The name " Heremon," means the superior man, or the conquering 
 man ; Her or EV, high, superior, and men. gen. case of mo, a person. 
 " Heber " means one having possessions ; Ber or Bar or Bur, growing, 
 acquiring, and aodh (pr. se), fire, reddish (man). 
 
 Q. 3. Tell all that is on record regarding the battle 
 of Geashill, in which Heremon was victorious. 
 
 A. The brothers Heremon and Heber determined to decide by the 
 sword which of the two should be sole sovereign, or Ardrigh. They 
 summoned their counsellors ; the wise men and the leading advisers 
 of each chieftain gave their views, not on the merits of the case, or 
 the probable success of the issues, but, like the young counsellors of 
 Roboam, they gave such advice as pleased their lord and master, and 
 that which they perceived was the view and the bent of their respec- 
 tive chieftains. Advisers of this class are always in force around 
 proud and selfish commanders who are guided by passion, prejudice, 
 and lust of power. " To arms ! " was the cry raised by each party. 
 Those invaders who only a few years before had passed through the 
 land as conquerors, like brothers, united as one man, were now 
 ranged in hostile camps. Heber and his four sons marched their 
 forces to meet those of Heremon. Heremon, on the other side, 
 with his four sons, prepared his followers to meet their foes. 
 
 The encounter came off in the barony and parish known to this 
 day by the name Geashill, as it were the land of mighty deeds (for 
 ^earA means feats imposed, and aiII wonderful), situate in the 
 eastern portion of the King's County, The precise district was a 
 place known in ancient times as ftju-'OAtii, or ox-mount (b]\i mount, 
 and -oAtri, ox), and on a " tocher, 5 ' that is, a highway between two 
 level districts—" tocher-eider-da-maigh." The " tocher," or cause- 
 way, is still, philologically speaking, traceable in the name, " Baile- 
 an-tocher," or, in modern spelling, Ballytogher, a village in the 
 same district ; and the plains (two) are represented to-day by the 
 baronies of Warrenstown and Cootestown, which some thousand 
 years ago were known as Tuaitli da Maigh, and Englished by the term 
 " Tethmoy." The actual fighting must, therefore, have happened in 
 the district between Geashill and Philipstown on the west, and 
 
Edenderry on the east, on the left bank of the Boyne, near its rise in 
 King's County. 
 
 The Ester Riada passes through what is still called Moleana 
 (Magh Leana), between Tullamore and Durrow, about a mile to the 
 north of the former, and through the townlands of Bracklin and 
 Tullaghbeg. 
 
 The following note of Dr. O'Donovan is taken from the Four 
 Masters : — 
 
 " This was the year (3501 a.m.) in which Heremon and Heber assumed 
 the joint sovereignty of Ireland, and they divided it into two between 
 them. Towards the end of the year a contest arose between Heremon 
 and Heber on account of the three most noble Druims (or hills) — Druim 
 Clasaigh, in the country of Maini ; Druim Beith, in Maonmaigh ; and Druim 
 Finghin, in Munster. A battle was fought between them in consequence, 
 on the banks of the ' Bri-damh, ' at Tocher-idir-da-Maigh. It is it that was 
 called the battle of Geashill." (See also ' Ogygia,' Vol. II., Chaps. 17 and34.) 
 
 In this battle Heber and his people were slain ; O'Donovan says : 
 
 " Heremon killed his brother on the borders of Bri-damh, at Geas- 
 hill, in Hy Falgia (Offaly), a part of Leinster, where the brothers fought 
 with the greatest intrepidity," 
 
 After the death of Heber, Heremon made a fresh division of the 
 territory of Ireland. He divided it into four provinces, or kingdoms ; 
 he gave Ulster to Heber, son of Ir, his brother ; Munster to the 
 four sons of Heber Finn, his nephews ; Connacht to Un, who, as has 
 been stated, settled near Galway, at Eath-Uin ; and Leinster to the 
 Belgic Prince, Crimhthan Sciath-Beul. 
 
 Amergin fell in battle by Heremon's sword, in Bregia, in Meath. 
 
 Heremon reigned fifteen years, and died in his own palace at iiath- 
 Beathaigh, now Rath-beagh, over the Eoir river (Nore), at Argat-Ros. 
 
 The Firbolg people and the Danann tribes, and perhaps the 
 Nemedians, too, were a power in the land. The Belgians had a king 
 of their own, selected and established by Heremon over the province 
 of Leinster. They were a powerful party also in the west and north- 
 west of Connacht. The Tuatha De Danann were in possession of 
 the high places, and the Fomorians and Nemedians were holding 
 commercial and social relations with the masses of the people 
 throughout the land. 
 
 Q. 4. Are footprints of the early Milesian leaders 
 still to be found in the names of places in Ireland ? 
 
 A. Yes, and these names confirm more strongly still the historic 
 fact that there was such a people, and that what has been recorded 
 of them is true at least substantially. 
 
166 
 
 The names Chanaan, Chus, Shem, Madai, Gomer; Alexandria, 
 Caesarea, Ptolemais, America, Columbia, Van Dieman's Land, are 
 proof that at one time Chanaan, and Alexander, and Caesar, and 
 Columbus lived ; so also the names Inver " Colpa," and Teach 
 " Doinn," and Sliabh " Fuaid," County Armagh, and Glean " Scotin," 
 and Giean " Faise," show that Milesian leaders, men and women like 
 Colpa, and Donn, and Fuad, and Scotin, and Fais, lived and flourished 
 for a time in this country. There is a long list of names of places 
 called after Milesian heroes — Inver Skeine ; Inver Colpa, Sliabh 
 Ebhleon (in Tipperary north) ; Sliabh Bladhma (now Sliabh Bloom) 
 Magh Muirtheimne, Sliabh Cuailgne, in County Louth; Sleamhna 
 Ita, Ros Nair, in King's County ; Sliabhtha Cuaileann, Rath-Uin, 
 Loch Conn. The foregoing names suffice. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 The families descended from HEBER FIONN ; FROM 
 
 HEREMON ; AND FROM IR, OR HEBER SON OF IR ; THE 
 LEADING PRINCELY MILESIAN FAMILIES OF IRELAND 
 TRACE THEIR DESCENT FROM THOSE THREE PRINCELY 
 HOUSES — OF HEBER FIONN, HEREMON, AND IR; LENGTH 
 OF TIME DOES NOT DESTROY CERTAINTY OF CONNEC- 
 TION ; THE CHIEF MONARCHS UP TO THE TIME OF 
 CONOR MAC NESSA ; A KINGLY GOVERNMENT EXISTED IN 
 EIRE FOR OVER TWO THOUSAND YEARS, " eifie A}YO, imr 
 nA nig," NOBLE EIRE, ISLAND OF KINGS, 
 
 Q. 1. Besides the names of places — those footprints 
 of the early Milesian landing on the soil of Ireland — 
 are there other links that bind still more closely the 
 living present with the remote past in connection with 
 the colony of Kelts from Spain ? 
 
 A. Yes ; the names of the princely and historically noble families, 
 ready at hand to be found in each of the four provinces — in Ulster, 
 in Connacht, in Leinster, and Munster. 
 
167 
 
 It has been already shewn that Heremon gave possessions in the 
 two Ministers to the sons of his brother, Heber Fionn. It is 
 natural, therefore, that the princely families descended from Heber 
 should be found in Munster and not in Ulster or Connacht. And 
 so it is. The MacCarthys and O'Briens trace their origin to Heber 
 Fionn, and not to Heremon nor to Ir. 
 
 Before the time of Mogha Nuadhat (second century) the house of 
 Heber gave twenty-eight monarchs to Ireland ; but in the third 
 century of the Christian period, the Royal house of Munster was 
 saved from extinction by a marriage alliance between Oilial Olom, 
 descended of Heber, and Saba, daughter of Con of the Hundred 
 Fights, descended of the line of Heremon. 
 
 Of this marriage were born three sons, Eogan Mor, Cormac Cas, 
 and Teige. From the first of these patriarchal princes, Eogan Mor, 
 the MacCarthy family has descended; from the second, Cormac 
 C&s, the O'Briens, the O'Kennedys, MacMahons, and the 
 MacConnamaras (now written MacNamara). The O'Haras, O'Garas, 
 the O'Carrolls of Eily also are descended from Oilial Olom through 
 Kian, the youngest son, and are ranked amongst the princely 
 families. 
 
 Q. 2. Name some of those living in the other 
 provinces who claim descent, and rightly too, from 
 Heremon, the leading conqueror of the Milesian race. 
 
 A. From Heremon are sprung the leading families of Connacht, 
 of Ulster, and of Leinster. The O'Conor Don, and all the blood 
 relations of that regal family ; the MacDermotts, the O'Rourkes, 
 the O'Kellys of Hy-Mani, in the county of Galway. Then there 
 are the O'Murphys of the Hy-Briain line ; O'Maddens, and those 
 connected by blood with the progenitors of the O' Kelly family ; the 
 O'Flahertys of Iar-Connacht, the O'Malleys of the west ; the 
 O'Douds, or Douda, or Duddy of Ballina, Tirawley, and Tir-fiachra. 
 
 In Ulster we have the O'Neills, the northern and southern 
 branches, and all who claim descent from Niall of the Nine 
 Hostages; the O'Donnells, therefore, and the O'Kanes, the 
 0'Gallaghers,0'Boyles,0'Doghertys,the Malachlins,MacGeoghagans 
 MacAuleys, O'Molloys, Foxes, MacDonnells, O'Reillys, O'Fallons, 
 O'Loughlins, O'Malones, the MacGuires, MacDowdels. In south 
 Leinster the MacMurraghs or Kavanaghs, the O'Byrnes, O'Tooles, 
 the Fitzpatricks of Ossory, O'Murphys of Leinster, claim descent 
 
168 
 
 from Heremon. There must have been, therefore, some being 
 known by that name from whom all these families claim to 
 be descended. He was no imaginary person from whom so 
 many families for over three thousand years have sprung. So 
 many could not have erred in looking up to him as their common 
 progenitor, even as the Jews look back to Abraham as their father. 
 The records containing the narration were public. They were kept 
 with the greatest care, and had for object some of the highest 
 interests of the entire nation and people. Even if one family might 
 possibly have erred, the mistake would in time have been made right 
 by the others The family records of each princely clan were every 
 third year publicly revised at Tara, and collated with other well- 
 known public records. All are agreed that those named are des- 
 cended from Heremon, and not from Heber Fionn, nor from Ir, or 
 from Ir's son, Heber. ( See O' Curry's lectures.) 
 
 Q. 3. To the son of Ir, Heremon allotted posses- 
 sions in Ulster ; what families claim descent from 
 him ? 
 
 A. Amongst the remarkable monarchs in the long line of Ard-righs, 
 or sovereigns of Ireland, is Ruadh-raidh (pr. Roory). Like Ollamh 
 Fodla, he was descended from Ir. He nourished as supreme king of 
 Ireland about the second century before the Christian era. From 
 Ruadhraidh sprung in the fifth generation Conal Kearnach, a hero 
 who lived in the days of Meav, Queen of (Jonnacht. Conal was 
 famed amongst the most eminent military knights of that remark- 
 able period. He was known as being one of the " Clan Ruadhraidh," 
 i.e. , one of the descendants of Ardrigh Ruadhraidh, who were then 
 called and known by that title, and the only surviving branch of the 
 stock of Ir. Conal had two sons — the progenitors of princely 
 families from Ulster. The names af these two were Irial Glunmhor 
 (large-knee), and Laisach Lanmor (large -spear). From the former 
 came the Dal-Aradian race of whom MacGennis i.e., MacAonguis 
 was the chief family. From the latter are descended the " O'Mores " 
 of Laoighis or Leix in Queen's county. Now there was another 
 remarkable personage at the period when Conal Kearnach lived, who 
 had been king and a knight of the Red or Royal branch. He is 
 known as Fergus MacRoigh, ex-king of Ulster. In his early years 
 he was monarch of the province of Ulster. By the cunning of Nessa, 
 the mother of the youthful king Conor, Fergus was deprived of his 
 
169 
 
 kingdom. He lived however for many years afterwards in Ulster. 
 His name is connected with the heroic deeds of the knights of the 
 Red or Royal branch who flourished in Emania. After the treachery 
 of King Conor, and his treatment of Deirdre — as is told in the third 
 tale of the Three Sorrowful Stories of ancient Eire — Fergus accom- 
 panied by a great nmnber of military came to Connacht and offered 
 his services to Queen Meav. This is the heroic period, so to speak, 
 in 'Irish History. It corresponds with that in which Antony and 
 Augustus flourished at Rome. Queen Meav at Cruachan, county 
 Roscommon, bore to Fergus, three sons at one birth. These were 
 named Kiar, Core, and Conmac. They, too, and their descendants 
 were known as " Clan Ruadraidh." From those three are descended 
 —from Kiar, the O'Connor Kerry, a princely family ; from Core, 
 the O'Connors of Corcomroe, and the O'Loghlins of Burren ; from 
 Conmac, the third son and youngest, a great number of princely 
 families have been descended. Conmac had possessions in the west, 
 in Conmac-ne-mara, or Conmac-by-the-sea, now known (by omitting 
 mac) as Connemara. His descendants lived there in the barony 
 afterwards known as Ballinahinch. Conmac had lands in the barony 
 of Dimmore, and some of his descendants lived there. St. Jarlath, 
 first Bishop of Tuam, was of that race. The descendants of Conmac 
 lived also in a place known afterwards as the barony of Kilmaine. 
 There, too, Conmac's descendants flourished in the second, third, and 
 fourth centuries. The whole of the south of county Leitrim was 
 possessed by the children of Conmac ; and from them are descended 
 the princely house of Reynolds, or Rannall or MacRannall, called 
 in Irish " intmicip; eolwr " or the people of knowledge. Lastly 
 Conmac's sons settled in Longford. That portion of the diocese 
 of Ardagh, situate in county Longford was known in the early Irish 
 Church by the name of " Conmacne," up to the ninth century. The 
 heads of the race in that district are the O'Ferralls and the O'Quins. 
 These are princely families descended from Ir, brother of Heremon. 
 Conmac-ne means descendants of Conmac. Ne in old Irish signifies 
 people, oif spring, heroes. Ne is plural of naidh, or nai, a hero. 
 
 Q. 4. How many Ard-righs or supreme kings 
 reigned in Eire from the time of Heremon up to the 
 first year of the Christian era ? 
 
 A. Historians differ on this particular point. They differ also in the 
 chronology which they respectively adopt. The writers of the 
 
170 
 
 " Annals ; ' known as those " of the Four Masters," follow the 
 chronology of the Septuagint. Although considerable difference 
 exists, nevertheless in substance the record of the supreme kings is 
 the same in all. One can safely say there flourished one hundred 
 kings from Heremon inclusive to Crimhthan Naidh-Nair, in the 
 twelfth year of whose reign Christ our Lord was born, or in the 
 reign of Conaire the Great, according to others. 
 
 Total Number of Kings up to the Coming of St. Patrick. 
 
 O'Flaherty in his " Ogygia," part hi., chapter 89, writes thus of the 
 pagan kings of Ireland : — 
 
 " We have given the heathen kings of Ireland to the number of 
 one hundred and thirty-six (136), besides ten others whom some 
 writers insert in the catalogue of Irish kings, though they did not 
 attain to the monarchy of the island. . . ." 
 
 HOW THEY WERE DESCENDED. 
 
 But the 136 were absolutely kings, of whom nine were of Firbolgic 
 descent ; and nine, Danann. Heremon and his posterity as kings 
 amounted to sixty of the remaining one hundred and eighteen. Of 
 these sixty, thirty-seven were lineally descended from him down to 
 Niall ; seven others left no issue. There were eight kings from 
 Leinster; three from Ulster, one named Colla Uais of the 
 Orgillians ; one from Connacht, 'Dathy. Twenty-nine of the 
 posterity of Heber Fionn (Munster) ; twenty-four of the line of Ir 
 (Ulster) : Macha, a queen in her own right ; three of the family of 
 Lughad, the son of Ith ; and one elevated from the ranks of the 
 plebeians, Carbry Cinn-chait. 
 
 How they Reigned. 
 Some of these kings reigned in turn one year each. For instance, 
 the three sons of Heremon who succeeded to the throne on their 
 father's death, assumed the power of Ardrigh, each in turn for one 
 year. This system was very defective. 
 
 How they Died. 
 Of these 136, one hundred perished by the sword ; seventeen died 
 a natural death ; six were taken away by plague ; three were killed 
 by lightning : and ten departed this life, called away by accidents of 
 different kinds. One set himself up like Jeroboam to establish 
 idolatry in the island, Tighearnmas; one died in the most ex- 
 cruciating tortures ; another was crucified : another expired without 
 
171 
 
 any visible cause or mark ; one was drowned ; another burned to 
 death ; one died of grief ; another was killed by his horse ; another 
 was choked by the bone of a fish ; and finally, another was poisoned. 
 The ancient annals are particularly accurate in recording the leading 
 events connected with the history of each of these Ardrighs. 
 
 Q. 5. How many of these were in any degree 
 remarkable above the ordinary run of supreme pagan 
 kings up to the Christian period ? 
 
 A. Not more than a dozen. Each supreme monarch lived like a 
 prince just as his predecessor had done at Tara ; or in the palace of 
 Emania during the period that it flourished, or in the northern 
 palace of Aileach near Derry. It is pitiable,' to read the records 
 how the ancient Irish kings, like the kings of the Heptarchy in 
 England, or the emperors of Rome, perished — one hundred of them 
 by the sword. Those remarkable above the rest are (1) Tighearnmas ; 
 (2), Enna Airgetheach ; (3), Ollamh Fodhla; (4), Siorna ; (5), 
 Kimbaeth, who first built the palace of Emania ; (6), Hugony Mor ; 
 (7), Labhraidh (or Lowry) Loingseach ; (8), Ruadhraidh Mor, 
 descended from Ir; (9), Eochaidh Feidleach (Meav was his daughter); 
 (10), Fergus MacRoigh ; (11), Conor MacNessa; (12), Conaire 
 Mor. 
 
 Tighearnmas is a name that implies power, command, or 
 sovereignty, from Tighearna, Lord, and mos, manner. He lived, 
 it is said, eighty years, in the second century after the death of 
 Heremon. Discoveries in gold were made in Wicklow, and vessels 
 in gold were fashioned during his time. 
 
 He was victorious in battle against all his enemies. He conquered 
 the Firbolg people who arose against him. He chastised the 
 Fomorians or pirates who had attacked the sea-board. He overcame 
 all the enemies of his sovereign power. 
 
 He it was who formally introduced idol worship. It is not known 
 whether or not the ancient Irish regarded the sun itself as a god, or 
 merely the symbol of a god-like power, and therefore whether they 
 gave supreme adoration to the sun, like the Persian fire -worshippers, 
 or merely respected it as a sign of divine agency which sustains all 
 things. It is stated that there were no idols in Eire up to the days 
 of Tighearnmas. At all events, it is certain, as far as can be known, 
 that there were no human sacrifices ever offered in Eire. 
 
172 
 
 Tighearnmas lost his life at a sacrifice offered in the plains of 
 Magh-sleacht (field of worship) in Breffni, in the County Cavan, to 
 his idol, Crom Cruach. (The meaning of Crom is bent, r crooked ; 
 and Cruach, a " lumpy figure," a term applied to this day to a 
 mountain, or to a stack, or corn-rick.) 
 
 The first Sunday in August is to this day called by the peasant 
 people " Domhnach Crom Duibh'" — the Sunday of Black Crom — 
 probably because at that season the idol received special honors from 
 the pagan progenitors of the Irish people. (See Life of St. Patrick 
 by Canon O'Hanlon.) 
 
 (2). Enna Airgetheach, that is Enna the Silverman. He it was who 
 ordered the making of silver spears. 
 
 (3). Ollamh Fodla is named here in third place. His real name 
 was Eachaidh, a common name amongst the Irish kings, and like 
 Marcus, from Marc, a horse, signifies " horseman ; " from each or 
 eoch, a horse. He] was called Ollamh on account of his learning, 
 and Fodla which is an ancient name of Ireland— that is, he was, at 
 the time, " the learned man of Ireland." It was he who built at 
 Tara the great hall for the learned men of that period. The hall 
 was known by the name Mur Ollamhan or the " stone-house of the 
 Ollamhs." He it was who instituted the triennial parliament at Tara. 
 The meetings were held at Samhain time, that is, " the close of good 
 weather." Now, the name of November in Irish Gaelic is Mma 
 Samhna. Samhain is derived from Samh, pleasant, fine, and fuin, 
 end— that is end of good weather. Ollamh Fodhla appointed rulers 
 and governors over districts and towns. He is one of the most 
 renowned amongst the ancient monarchs of Eire. 
 
 (4). Sirna — Another Irish Ardrigh is said to have lived one 
 hundred and fifty years, one hundred of which he ruled prosperously 
 as chief king. Sir in Gaelic means continuous, or always, and nai, a 
 hero. 
 
 (5). We come now to Kimbaeth, of whom Tighearnach, Abbot of 
 Clonmacnoise in the eleventh century (1088 a.d.) writes, " that all 
 the records of the Scots up to the time of Kimbaeth are uncertain." It 
 is to be noted that Tighearnach does not state that the coining of the 
 Milesians to Ireland, or any of the events of a public kind, connected 
 with the race is uncertain, but the records were, in his opinion, 
 uncertain, or not as certain before that period as they were at a 
 subsequent period. 
 
 King Kimbaeth was the first who dwelt in the palace of Emania 
 which he had built and embellished. 
 
173 
 
 (6). The next on the list of remarkable Ard-righthe or chief kings 
 is Hugony Mor, or the Great, called by that title on account of the 
 deeds ascribed to him, namely, that he gained sway by his military 
 prowess over much of Western Europe ; that he commanded his 
 fleets, such as they were in those days, and led them through the 
 Mediterranean, that he made successful incursions into the islands 
 and effected a landing in Sicily. He was great in the numerous 
 progeny of whom he was parent and progenitor. He had twenty- 
 two sons and three daughters. He determined to make each indepen- 
 dent and to lower the power of the sub-kings. Accordingly, he 
 divided each of the five provinces into five parts, or the whole 
 island into twenty-five portions — assigning one for each of his 
 children. He thus satisfied their desire for power and the exaction 
 of dues usually paid to chieftains. He prevailed on the subordinate 
 kings, and on the people, to swear by the sun and moon and by the 
 elements, that they would never disturb any of his posterity in this 
 settled sovereignty, which, he thought, he had now firmly established. 
 This arrangement continued for three centuries. The monarch 
 himself was slain after a reign of forty years. 
 
 (7). His great grandson, Labhraidh Loingseach, was another 
 remarkable sovereign. To avoid being murdered in his tender 
 years, he was, when a child, sent to his relatives in Gallia or 
 France. When he grew to be a man he was invited home. He 
 returned by the largest boat that could then be made. Hence he 
 was called by the name " Loingseach," or the " Shipman," long 
 means ship in Gaelic. " Maen " was his real name. The term 
 " Labraidh," means " speaks," or " talks," — and he was styled so 
 because he talked either like a foreigner, or like a seaman. 
 
 (8). Ruadhraidh Mor, or Rory the Great, from ruadh, red, and 
 righ, king, — was a remarkable Ardrigh. Like all monarchs styled 
 gi-eat in those days, he fought many battles in Ireland and out of it 
 and won them. It is stated by some writers, that Ruadhraidh aided 
 the African King Masinissa in his wars against the Romans. He is 
 remarkable for the length of years he reigned as sovereign — seventy 
 years according to some authorities. This Ardrigh is especially 
 remarkable in his descent and in his posterity. He was descended 
 not from the line of Heber or Heremon, but from Ir, — and the 
 leading saints and sovereigns of Ireland in the Christian period 
 have been of the line of Ruadhraidh. His descendants were known 
 by the name clanna Ruadhraidh, or the children of Rory. This 
 sovereign had four sons of whom three reigned as kings ; his son 
 
174 
 
 Ross was the father of Fergus at one time King of Ulster ; Cas, 
 father of 1'actna the wise, whose son was the famed Conor Mac 
 Nessa, King of Ulster at the time of Christ ; Conga, a third son 
 was father of Conall Kearnach ; these men and their cousin Cuchulainn 
 were the leading heroes of the Eed Branch Knights who flourished 
 about the opening of the first century of the Christian period — say- 
 in the days of Julius Caesar and Pompey. 
 
 (9). Eochaidh Feidleach father of the renowned Queen Meav, 
 restored the pentarchy. 
 
 (10). Fergus Mac Roigh, was so called, from his mother's name 
 Roigh. His father was Ross, son of the Ardrigh Ruadhraidh. 
 Fergus was King of Ulster ; he made love to Nessa the widow of 
 his deceased cousin Factna, and she consented to become his wife, 
 on condition that he should permit Conor, her son, to sit beside him 
 on the judgment seat of his kingdom for one year. The superior 
 manner of Conor, like another Absolom, and the plotting and 
 seductive bearing of his mother, Nessa, gained the affections of the 
 people. After a time the people wished to dethrone Fergus and to 
 make Conor Mac Nessa, king. Fergus quietly resigned in favour 
 of his stepson. The great Irish story known as Deirdre, the third of 
 Three Sorrowful Tales of story-telling among the Gael, relates to this 
 period. King Conor Mac Nessa, and ex-King Fergus Mac Roigh, 
 with their cousins the sons of Uisneach and their followers are the 
 leading characters in this dramatic story. 
 
 The Tain-bo-Cuailgnc in Irish, or the Tain-quest by Sir Samuel 
 Ferguson or, Lady Ferguson's Ireland before the Conquest, should be 
 read in order to get an insight to the manners and customs of this 
 period, and to learn the achievements of the heroes who lived and 
 fought for duty, for reward or glory. The manners of the people of 
 the time, and the spirit that animated the knights and military heroes 
 are not unlike those of the Homeric period — when Agamemnon 
 King of Men, Achilles and Ulysses flourished. See the Foray of 
 Queen Meav by Aubrey de Vere, and other legends of Ireland's heroic 
 age — amongst those legends that known as " the Sons of Uisneach," 
 is worth the student's perusal. 
 
 The best and fullest version of all yet published regarding the 
 Sons of Uisneach and the Irish Deirdre is the neat volume from the 
 pen of Dr. Robert Dwyer Joyce, M.D,, M.R.I. A. Dublin ; M. H. 
 Gill and Son, O'Connell-street upper, 1877. 
 
175 
 
 Q. 6. For the sake of clearness and distinctness 
 mark the era that elapsed from the time of the Kings 
 Fergus Mac Eoigh and Conor Mac Nessa to the death 
 of Dathi, the last of the Pagan monarchs. 
 
 A % For students it is best to divide that term of years into three 
 periods. The first is known amongst antiquaries and Irish literary- 
 men as the Heroic period, sometimes called the " golden age " of 
 Irish story — the second is known practically as the Fenian period ; 
 the third may be termed the Christian dawn, or the marauding period, 
 
 This division has not hitherto been formally made ; nevertheless 
 there should be a line drawn between the two periods first and second 
 named above. Sir Samuel Ferguson hints at this division in his 
 introductory note to the poem " The healing of Conall Carnach," 
 when he says alluding to the story of Deidre, " the best part of Irish 
 heroic tradition connects itself with the reign and period of Conor 
 Mac Nessa, preceding, by nearly three centuries, the epoch of 
 Cormac Mac Art and the Fenian or Irish romances." The line 
 cannot well be drawn pointing out the exact year that separates the 
 first period from the second, but Conor Mac Nessa may be 
 regarded as the central figure around which may be grouped all the 
 events connected with the first period — say from the reign of Ruadh- 
 raidh to the days of Conn of the Hundred Fights, a.d. 145. This 
 includes the historic exploits of Conor himself ; the story of ex-king 
 Fergus Mac Roigh ; the tale of Deidre, and the part taken by the 
 sons of Uisneach ; the flight of Fergus and his followers to Connacht • 
 the exploits of Queen Meav, her character as a historic personage, 
 and her subsequent mythical existence ; the events connected with 
 the palace of Emania, or Navan near Armagh ; the five orders of 
 Knighthood then flourishing in Ireland — namely : — 
 
 (a). Niagh Nasc, — or Knights of the Golden Collar. 
 
 (&). Curraidh na Craoibhe ruaidhe, or Knights of the Red Branch 
 
 or, as O'Curry thinks, Knights of the Royal Branch. 
 (c). Clanna Deagha,— the Munster Knights, 
 (J). Clanna Baoisgne, — Leinster Knights, 
 (e). Clanna Morna, — Connacht or Belgian Knights. 
 The " Fenian " period, on the other hand, includes from the reign 
 of Conn (a.d. 145) or of his grandson Cormac Mac Art, up to the year 
 A.D. 350. And from a.d. 350, up to the death of Dathi may be called 
 
176 
 
 the "Christian dawn," for Ireland, a period when the Kings of 
 Eire made it the study of their lives to make incursions into Alba, 
 and into Britain, into Armoric Gaul and even, like Dathi, to 
 cross rivers and mountain ranges till they reached the Alps. It was 
 during those years that the Picts and the Scots dashed into Britain 
 and drove the native inhabitants from the south of Alba, and from 
 the territory north of the Humber southwards. It was then the 
 natives called on the Roman authority for help — and the Irish 
 soldiers — the " Scoti,'' were brave enough (to meet the Roman 
 legions face to face in the field of battle. This time may well be 
 called the marauding period. The heroes of the Fenian period are 
 quite distinct in time, in character, in place and in exploits, from 
 those who flourished at an earlier date. Such are Fionn Mac 
 Cumhaill the leader of the Fenian hosts, son-in-law of the monarch 
 Cormac, Diarmaid, Graine, daughter of the reigoing monarch, 
 Cailte Mac Ronain, Oisin, Oscar ; and then the place around which 
 these heroes figure is usually the hill of Tara — or, Fionn's residence 
 at the hill of Allen near Kildare. The heroes of the "golden" 
 period — time of Conor Mac Nessa — are connected with the palace 
 at Emania, or with Cruachan. It is true that the spirit of Knight- 
 hood had continued from the first age up to the time of Treunmor, 
 of Cumhal, of King Cormac and his son-in-law Fionn, when it 
 it attained its fullest development. Garaidh Mac Moma was at this 
 time chief of the Fiann of Connacht. 
 
 A fair sized volume could readily be compiled on each of those 
 two periods, the heroic or golden, and the Fenian period, properly 
 so-called. Another volume to explain the events fully, should 
 present the Scoti and the neighbouring nations, with the kings 
 and their followers who invaded Alba and Britain and the kingdoms 
 of Western Europe in the fourth century of the Christian era. 
 
177 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 Ireland's royal backbone : her line of kings 
 reaches nigh three thousand years. the 
 nature and character of the brehon laws, best 
 test and proof of the social state and manners 
 of the irish in the far past ; the clan system — 
 the rights of the clan and of the chief : — 
 elective power, tanistry ; gavel kind ; moral and 
 physical characteristics of the irish people. 
 
 Q. 1. A certain writer on Irish History styles a 
 continuous line of monarchs u the spinal column of a 
 Nation f using this metaphor, he boldly states " the 
 History of Ireland is invertebrate/' i.e., it has no such 
 regal backbone — be good enough to say is there any 
 truth in that statement. 
 
 A. The detailed record already presented in the preceding pages 
 supplies the answer — that there is no truth in the statement ; nor 
 even the shadow of a foundation for such an expression of opinion . 
 
 It is enough for one to go back to the second race of immigrants 
 who had landed in this country before the coming of the Milesians 
 from the south of Europe. These were the Belgse or Firbolgs, as 
 they are called in our national annals. They ruled in this land 
 before the arrival of another Keltic shoal of immigrants known as 
 Tuatha De Danann. Each people spoke a tongue known as Keltic ; 
 each were ruled by primitive laws, kindred to those known amongst 
 the early Latin and Greek races. These people had a government 
 directed by kingly power and authority ; — they had rulers and an 
 Ardrigh, or supreme king who was monarch of all. 
 
 Dr. Petrie, in his history of Tara Hill, tells us that the " Firbolg 
 was the first who erected a palace at Tara, and divided the island into 
 five provinces, that each province had its own king, and that the 
 Ardrigh or supreme monarch ruled the whole island." 
 
 N 
 
178 
 
 Reckoning a regal succession in Pagan or Christian Ireland, it is 
 the Ardrigh or monarch who alone, is taken into account, and not 
 the kings of subordinate power or position. Now those two Keltic 
 races just named had laws and a civilized state of society and a regular 
 established policy carried out with efficiency and success, considering 
 the early period in which those dynasties flourished. They had a 
 parliament too ; they recognised religious rites : they had military 
 orders even then, or early model combinations that subsequently 
 produced the military systems so famous in Ireland in later Pagan 
 times ; they had Ollamhs, that is doctors learned in science and art ; 
 they had Druids, and at a later time Brehons or Judges and Bards, 
 Chroniclers and professional story writers, or Seanachaidhs. 
 
 Next the Milesian immigrants succeeded the Belgse and the 
 Danann races ; and of the Milesian line alone, there flourished, ac- 
 cording to O'Flaherty, one hundred and thirty-six (136) monarchs 
 in Ireland before the people came under the influence of Christianity. 
 
 One dynasty possessed regal power in Ireland for three thousand 
 years, up to the time when Henry II. landed in this country. That 
 was rather a large backbone ! The last elected Ardrigh of Ireland 
 was Monarch Roderick O'Conor — who finally retired from the 
 turmoil of a troubled life, and found place in the seclusion of 
 religious retirement at Cong in Connacht. 
 
 Taking the Belgian and the Danann lines of chief monarchs along 
 with those of the Milesian race, from Heremon to Roderick O'Conor 
 — what a lengthy array of monarchs presents itself, forming " a spinal 
 column " and a " royal backbone " such as no other nation can boast 
 of. In fact no country west of China, has had another such spinal 
 column — extending through three dynasties along a period of years 
 calculated by thousands. If the history of a nation is, as some state, 
 the biography of her kings, Ireland even in pagan periods has had a 
 sufficiently full history in the record — if nothing else — of those famous 
 monarchs, who hold an honoured name in the ancient annals of our 
 people. 
 
 The statement, therefore, that Ireland had no royal backbone ; and 
 that she was not a nation before the conquest, is a gratuitous 
 assertion, devoid of even a shadow of truth, and quite opposed to 
 the facts of history. 
 
 Q. 2. Give some idea of what the Brehon laws 
 are — that body of laws under which in ages past, 
 
179 
 
 the natives of Christian as well as Pagan Ireland were 
 governed. 
 
 A. The name Brehon in Irish-Gaelic means a judge — one who 
 decides or pronounces on a case according to an established code of 
 customs or of law. It is formed from the Keltic term heir, to bear, 
 to carry, to bring forth, like the Latin and Greek few. The mind 
 grasps as it were the bearings of the question to be adjudicated and 
 efformates the correct decision and pronounces it, or puts it forth. 
 Hence the name " Brehon " phonetic form of BreitheamJian, genitive 
 case of Breitlieamh, a judge : genitives ending in an come to us 
 from the time when the Belgse were a power in Eire. 
 
 " There are " says Maine (Lecture II. p. 32) " some strong and even 
 startling points of correspondence between the functions of the 
 Druids in the pagan time as described by Cresar, and the office of the 
 ' Brehon ' as suggested by the law tracts (of ancient Ireland). The 
 extensive literature of law just disinterred testifies to the authority 
 of the Brehons in all legal matters, and raises a strong presumption 
 that they were universal referees in disputes." What then were the 
 functions of the Druids ? Csesar says that the Druids were supreme 
 judges in all public and private disputes ; and that all questions of 
 homicide, of inheritance and of boundary were referred to tbem for 
 decision. The Druids presided over schools of learning to which 
 the Keltic Irish flocked eagerly for instruction, remaining in them 
 sometimes for twenty years at a time. The pupils in these schools 
 learned an enormous quantity of verses which were never committed 
 to writing. By this means the memory was strengthened. At 
 their head there was a chief Druid, whose place at his death was filled 
 by election, and the succession occasionally gave rise to violent 
 contests of arms. CDe Bello Gallico, VI. 13. J 4). 
 
 The schools of literature and law were numerous in ancient Ireland, 
 and Professor O'Curry states that the course was over twelve years. 
 All literature, including law seems to have been then identified 
 with poetry. All the instructions given, all records and events, 
 precepts of law, counsel imparted, like King Cormack's advice to a 
 Prince, were all delivered in verse and committed in rhyme to memory. 
 The Brehon was the teacher and director in those schools. He was 
 to the Irish at a later date, what the Druid was to the Keltic Gauls 
 in Cassar's time. 
 As to the origin of the Brehon Laws : they were in the earliest form 
 
180 
 
 a collection of the primary principles of moral right and wrong, ex- 
 isting amongst a number of families or a community. They were 
 like the laws of the Twelve Tables ; or like the Hindu laws of the 
 present time. 
 
 The law of England has come in part from the Koman law and 
 from the law of the Catholic Church and from Statute law. The 
 Koman law was founded on the laws of the Twelve Tables. These 
 Koman archaic laws came from Eastern lands. The JBrehon law, 
 and the Koman law, and therefore the law of England, were in their 
 earliest forms the same in the far past. They were the outcome, so 
 to speak, of the law of nature. From the same early germs have 
 grown — each assuming a different form and shape — the corpus of 
 Koman Law, and of English Law, The Brehon Law is to day just 
 what it was fourteen hundred years ago. The books of law present 
 the primitive texts, with the comments- of Irish Brehons and sages. 
 We quote the following from the pages of The Aryan Origin, strength- 
 ened by the views of Sir Henry Sumner Maine, and the view of the 
 writer of the preface to Vol. III. of the Brehon Laws, now published. 
 
 The Brehon Law, like the rich vases and works of art that lay 
 buried in the tombs of Etruria, had not only been sealed up hi the 
 Irish language, unseen by the eye of any scholar outside Ireland, 
 but had been for a period lost. Now, at length, they have been dis- 
 covered, and are open to the view of the whole literary world. 
 
 Thus, the present generation^of inquirers are brought back, at a 
 bound, to the time when they can behold the social and civil state of 
 Ireland in the fifth century, and even at a period much more remote. 
 
 " Up to the early dawn of civilisation, the very causes," says Sir 
 H. Sumner Maine " which have denied a modern history to the Brehon 
 law, have given it a special interest of its own, in our day, through 
 the arrest of its development." It is this arrest of the development 
 of the Brehon laws in the past, that causes the translation and publi- 
 cation to be so much prized at present. Like the Kound Towers, like 
 the family features of the Japhetic race, like the laws of linguistic 
 science, the Brehon Law comes in and forms an arc, in the circle of 
 newly-discovered truths, that point up to the primitive Aryan period, 
 full of knowledge, of action, of cyclopean power and grandeur. 
 
 It is in no way surprising that the Brehon code should appear 
 archaic to moderns. The text now presented to the public — w&h 
 translations by O'Donovan and O'Curry — has been a literary fossil 
 for over a thousand years. 
 
181 
 
 This fossil condition of Ireland's ancient law, morally speaking, is 
 owing to four causes — the insular position of Ireland, its freedom from 
 Imperial Rome, the antagonism of Britain and of British Law, the 
 love of the Keltic race to preserve traditional usages. 
 
 V ALUE FTH E L AW 
 
 " The value which the ancient laws of Ireland — the Brehon Laws — 
 will possess when they are completely published and interpreted, may," 
 says Maine, " be illustrated in this way. Let it be remembered that 
 the Roman Law which, next to the Christian religion, is the most 
 plentiful source of the rules governing actual conduct throughout 
 Western Europe, is descended from a small body of Aryan customs, 
 reduced to writing in the fifth century, before Christ and known as 
 the Twelve Tables of Rome. 
 
 " Let it be further recollected that the Roman Law was at first ex- 
 panded and developed, not at all, or very slightly by legislation, but 
 by a process which we] may perceive still in operation in various 
 communities — the juridical interpretation of authoritative texts by 
 successive generations of learned men. Now the largest collection 
 of Irish legal rules which has come down [to us, professes to be an 
 ancient code, with an appendage of later glosses and commentaries. 
 This ancient Irish code corresponds historically to the Twelve Tables, 
 and to many similar bodies of written rules which appear in the early 
 history of Aryan societies." 
 
 That a kernel, or some kernels of written law existed is highly 
 probable ; and it is also probable that the whole of the Brehon Laws 
 consists of them, and of accumulations formed upon them. The 
 Brehon Laws are in no sense a legislative construction ; and thus 
 they are not only an authentic monument of a very ancient group of 
 Aryan institutions : they are also a collection of rules which have 
 been gradually developed in a way highly favorable to the preserva- 
 tion of archaic peculiarities. 
 
 The Brehon Law had been expanded by the juridical interpretation 
 of authoritative texts, just like the laws of the Hebrew race, or like the 
 code of the Spartan State. The Roman'Law became transformed and 
 modified by legislation, to suit the altered times, the varied new 
 forms of society, the changes connected with growing States and 
 with diverse races. 
 
 " Two causes (says Maine) have done most to obscure the oldest 
 institutions of the portion of the human race to which we belong. 
 
182 
 
 One, the formation throughout the west of strong centralised 
 governments ; the other has been the influence, direct and indirect, 
 of the Eoman Empire, drawing with it an activity in legislation un- 
 known to the parts of the world which were never subjected to it* 
 Ireland had never been exposed to these influences — she never formed 
 a part of the Roman empire ; she had a central government, but 
 never a strong one, capable of exercising — like Rome of old, or 
 England at present — a special centralising, legislative power." 
 
 " Under these circumstances, it is not wonderful that the Brehon 
 Law, growing together without legislation upon an original body of 
 Aryan customs, and formed beyond the limit of that cloud of Roman 
 juridical ideas which for many centuries overspread the whole 
 continent, and even at its extremity, extended to England, should 
 present some very strong analogies to another set of derivative 
 Aryan usages, the Hindu law, which was similarly developed " (Maine). 
 
 The laws of Europe, divested of their legislative and judicial 
 accessory forms, and reduced to first principles, are found to be 
 identical — one with the primitive Aryan. " Wherever (says Maine) 
 we have a body of Aryan customs, either anterior to, or slightly 
 affected by, the Roman empire, it will be found to exhibit some 
 strong points of resemblance to the institutions which are the basis 
 of the Brehon law." 
 
 To conclude, the Brehon Law is not what the Parliament of Kilkenny 
 or Edmund Spenser, or Sir John Davies pronounced it to be — either 
 " wicked " or " damnable " " repugnant to God's laws and man's," or 
 "lewd" or "unreasonable." On the contrary, it has been shown to 
 be, and scholars versed in law declare that it is, just, and in accord with 
 the natural law, and with the written law, which is from God. It comes 
 to us from the Aryan period. It is twin sister, in legal parentage, 
 of the code known as the " Laws of the Twelve Tables." It is there- 
 fore kindred in its institution to European law, and especially to the 
 laws of England. The Eastern or Hindu law and itself flow from 
 the same source, and have been in time enlarged and extended quite 
 in the same fashion. 
 
 Irishmen governed, in days that are gone, by such a code, must 
 have, like other nations grown up, children of honour and truth, with a 
 strong aptitude for religion. The men must have been, as they were, 
 truthful, brave, chivalrous and noble ; the women, free, honored, 
 devoted ; learning was fostered and respected ; the arts and sciences 
 cultivated ; works of civilisation and material progress patronised. 
 
183 
 
 The good resulting from such a code, was manifold, not alone in 
 social life, and in the political, but in the religious and the literary. 
 
 It was admirably suited to the times and the people. 
 
 The best way to become acquainted intimately with the social life 
 and manners of the early Milesian races is to read, or rather study 
 the volumes of the Brehon law now published. 
 
 Q. 3. Explain the " Clan" System amongst the 
 Gaels ; and the customs known as Tanistry and 
 Gavel Kind. 
 
 A. The " Clan " System which existed in Ireland up to a late period 
 and nourished in the Highlands of Scotland, presents nothing more 
 than the idea of the family system, enlarging its bounds as widely as 
 one chooses, or grouping different families together, all under one 
 Keann or head, i.e., King. The term Clan means children in 
 the Gaelic tongue, and Keann signifies head or chief. It is the 
 patriarchal system, which is fully illustrated in the life of Abraham ; 
 or it is like the family system kept up to this day by the Slavs in the 
 Eastern confines of the empire of Austria — say in Croatia or Servia. 
 
 In a small tract known as A Plea for the Evicted Tenants of Mayo, 
 written by the present writer, and published by Browne and Nolan, 
 Nassau-street, Dublin, 1883— the following view of the clan system 
 is presented: — 
 
 The "Clan" System. 
 
 " The peasants of Ireland still cling to the idea that every Govern- 
 ment ought to be paternal in regard to its subjects. It is now some 
 two hundred and seventy years since the Brehon laws ceased to have 
 any legal directive force in Ireland. The " clan " system, as it was 
 called, had prevailed up to the " flight of the Earls." These laws— 
 or the first principles of them — have come down from the very 
 infancy of human society. The family, it is well known, was the 
 earliest standard of social government. Those who lived under one 
 fatherly guide and governor were known as a " clan," which in Irish 
 Gaelic signifies children or family. The members of the tribe were 
 to the chief what the children of a household are to the head of the 
 house. To all the members, no matter how numerous, the chief was 
 a "father" or " pater," and his apxn government " patriarchal." It 
 is worth keeping in memory that wherever the " clan " system 
 prevailed, as it did invariably amongst the Kelts — the clan Chief, in 
 times past, could no more entertain the idea of dissociating the land 
 
184 
 
 from the people who lived on it, than a lather could entertain the 
 notion of dispossessing his children. The chieftain in past times 
 was regarded by the Gaels as head of the clan — that is chief father 
 Such was the iform of government amongst the Gaels in Ireland. 
 To this hour the traditionary notion abides in the minds of the masses, 
 that the ruling administration ought to be fatherly. 
 
 Other Peoples' View — The Governing Power as Fatherly. 
 " The Keltic race is not singular in its views of early primitive 
 sovereign authority. In the East, throughout Hindustan, from 
 Pekin to Stamboul, the inhabitants look up to the " King " as to a 
 great father, and the Q,ueen, or Empress, as a great mother. King- 
 doms have been altered, and the forms of government changed, but 
 the essentials of good government have never changed, and cannot 
 change. The patriarchal spirit influenced the Emperors Augustus and 
 Trajan, as well as it did Romulus or the early kings of Alba-Longa, 
 We find that Assuerus, who reigned from India to Ethiopia over one 
 hundred and twenty-seven provinces, was as fatherly as ever had 
 been Astyages, the grandfather of Cyrus the Elder— the founder of 
 the Persian Empire." 
 
 How exceeding like the " clan " system amongst the Gaels is the 
 system of " house-communions " amongst the Slavs, the following 
 quotation from a note in vol. III. of the Brehon Law plainly shows : — 
 
 " The system of house -communion stated succinctly is as follows : 
 The land in the countries and among the classes in which it prevailed 
 did not belong to individuals, but was held as a sort of trust in perpetual 
 entail for the benefit of house-communions. A house-communion 
 consisted of a number of individuals united by an actual, or occasion- 
 ally a fictitious tie of consanguinity. All the children of members 
 of the house-communion were ipso facto co-partners in the property 
 of what we may call the family corporation. Membership in a 
 house-communion descended only through the male line. Unmarried 
 women belonged to the house-communions of their fathers, and 
 widows to those of their late husbands. An adopted member took 
 the surname of the house-communion — (in Ireland the name of the 
 clan) into which he was adopted." — Quoted from the Fortnightly 
 Review. No. LXIV. pp. 372, 373. 
 
 The head of each house-communion had no right to sell or do away 
 with, or give up any part of the property of the house-communion, 
 without consulting the members of the communion. In like manner 
 
185 
 
 no chieftain amongst the Gaels had any right to resign or appropriate 
 the property of the clan of which he was head. He held the lands 
 for the whole tribe and not for himself. 
 
 Tanistry. 
 
 The chief of a clan, was at first in ruling, patriarchal. The interests 
 of the community demanded that the head of the clan should be a 
 man of sound sense and of a healthy frame, capable to guide and to 
 defend those under his charge. When the days of patriarchal 
 government amongst the Hebrews had passed away, and when God's 
 chosen leaders, were, as in the case of the prophet Samuel set aside, 
 then the people were allowed to elect leaders, such as Saul and David. 
 So it was amongst the Gaels. After a time the " Leadership " became 
 elective. No one with any corporal or mental blemish was eligible 
 to the position of chief of a " clan." Tanistry then means simply 
 the election by the voice, or the votes of the people composing the 
 clan, of one worthy to rule and lead the family community. The 
 term tan signifies land, wealth, and tain booty, power, wealth; 
 tainte in the plural has that meaning — as " is fearr an slainte na an 
 tainte " an Irish adage, meaning that " health (slainte) is better than 
 wealth (tainte.) 11 Tain, then is applied to one having wealth and 
 dignity; and tdnaiste is the name given to one elected to the 
 position of lord or dynast, or ruler of a clan ; it is also applied to 
 the presumptive or apparent heir to a chieftain or prince. 
 
 Gavel-Kind. 
 
 What does it mean ? The term Gdbli in Gaelic means, to hold, 
 to seize, to get possession of, the infinitive form is Gdbhail or 
 Gavel. Hence Gabhaltas is the term in use to this hour 
 amongst the people to express a Jwld-ing " of land. 1 ' Kinn, a clan 
 under the same head, — was written in former times Kind, nd for 
 nn. The compound term " Gavel-kind," means then, the possession 
 of the " clan," as opposed to individual rights. The land belonged 
 to the whole community and not to any special family. Hence on the 
 death of any particular householder, his portion of the common 
 property did not descend by entail to his eldest son, or to any of his 
 children, but became the property of the entire clan. It was the 
 Gabhaltas of the Kinne,* and not of a special family. When a land- 
 
 * Kinne is gen/case of Kinn a Sept — Kinn is a Sept, under one Keann, 
 or head. 
 
186 
 
 owning member of an Irish Sept died, its chief made a re -distribution 
 of all the lands of the Sept. He did not divide the estate of the dead 
 man among the children, but used it to increase the allotments of the 
 various house-holders of which the Sept was made up. 
 
 Q, 4. There is one other question, a very practical 
 one : first, what are the moral and physical characteris- 
 tics of the Irish as a people, comparing the three 
 different races, the Firbolg, the Tuatha De Danann 
 and the Milesians with one another, and next contrast- 
 ing Irishmen as a body, those descended from early 
 and later settlers, with Englishmen, Scotchmen, 
 Flemings and Frenchmen ? 
 
 A. The question consists of two parts, the first refers to the three 
 great races of which Irishmen, in the pre-Christian period were 
 composed, namely, the Firbolg race, the Tuatha De Danann, and the 
 Milesian race. We must bear in mind that the first people were 
 brought into subjection by the second, and the latter in turn were 
 conquered by the Milesians. It is clear that all along the Belgian- 
 Irish were more or less held down as a conquered race, not alone by 
 their conquerors, the Tuatha De Danann, but by the Milesians who 
 conquered both. It is true that the Belgian body of Irish in the 
 time of Heremon arose to the social rank of having a ruler of their 
 own race appointed King of Leinster, and that they were the recipients 
 of favours from the Milesian dynasty, still the spirit of subjection 
 special to a subdued people grew up within them, and shaped their 
 lives. 
 
 In the far past the Grecian heroic poet sang that 
 
 " Jove decreed that whatever day 
 Makes man a slave takes half his worth away." 
 
 In this manner the Firbolg clans became when contrasted with 
 the Danann tribes, less noble in their bearing, less enlightened in 
 their training, and like the Hebrews amongst the Egyptians, they 
 were in the eyes of their conquerors, mere hewers of wood, and 
 drawers of water; they were consequently amongst their Keltic 
 brethren held in disesteem, at least in those days anterior to the 
 Christian religion in Ireland. 
 
187 
 
 On the other hand the Tuatha De Danann in Eire, who had them- 
 selves been conquered by their Milesian superiors, arose to a certain 
 extent, above the waters of slavery ; they kept together more, held 
 councils amongst themselves, assisted each other ; and like the Jews 
 in the dispersion, they followed some calling or business which made 
 their neighbours look up to them as a clever people ; for, they were 
 either merchants, or music masters, or medicine-men, or mediums of 
 occult science — the black art, and in some way they made a show of 
 knowledge high above that which their Belgian neighbours did 
 not even pretend to possess. Thus nature and circumstances com- 
 bined to draw a marked distinction between two of the greatest races 
 known in pre-Christian Ireland. The Milesians were the conquerors 
 — they were the lords of the land, the sovereigns of the whole island 
 and rulers of the provinces ; they were the aristocracy, they were 
 learned in law, in general knowledge and in religious rites. Physically 
 they were endowed with a commanding appearance, symmetric in 
 form, fair-haired, able-bodied, tall, like Saul amongst his brethren, 
 fit to command and to take the mastery. 
 
 This distinction between the three leading races of Irish Kelts 
 before the Christian period has been noticed from the earliest date 
 and put into verse and transmitted from generation to generation to 
 the present. Duald MacFirbis, the last of the great genealogists of 
 Eire has published it (a.d. 1650-1656) in his writings, and O'Curry 
 presents it to his readers in lecture, x., p. 223. 
 
 " Here, too, is the distinction which the profoimd historians draw 
 between the three different races which are in Erinn — that is, between 
 the descendants of (1) the Firbolgs, Fir-Domlinanns and Gailiuns (as 
 one), and (2) the Tuatha De Danann and (3) the Milesians. 
 
 "Every one who is white [of skin], brown [of hair], bold, honourable, 
 daring, prosperous, bountiful in the bestowal of property, wealth 
 and rings, and who is not afraid of battle or combat ; they are the 
 descendants of the sons of Milesius in Erinn. 
 
 " Every one who is fair-haired, vengeful, large ; and every plunderer ; 
 every musical person ; the professors of musical and entertaining 
 performances ; who are adepts in all Druidical and magical arts ;'they 
 are the descendants of the Tuatha De Danann in Erinn. 
 
 " Every one whois black-haired, who is a tatler, guileful, tale-telling, 
 noisy, contemptible ; every wretched, mean, strolling, unsteady, harsh 
 and inhospitable person ; every slave, every mean thief, every churl, 
 every one who loves not to listen to music and entertainment, the dis 
 
188 
 
 turbers of every council, and every assembly, and the promoters of 
 discord among people, these are the descendants of the Firbolgs, of the 
 Gailiuns, of the Liogairne, and of the Fir-Domhnanns in Erinn. 
 But, however, the descendants of the Firbolgs are the most numerous 
 of all these. " 
 
 " This " (the foregoing), says MacFirbis, " is taken from an 
 old book." He does not go in for anthropology ; he does not think 
 it possible to identify a race by their present facial appearance. It is 
 not surprising that a writer at that period, a.d. 1650, should think and 
 say so. Truly it is difficult, but to a person who has made the 
 doctrine of races a study, it is not quite so difficult. At the present 
 time the races of Irishmen are much more mixed than they had been 
 even in the days of Oliver Cromwell. Other races have come to 
 Ireland since then, and like the Anglo-Normans of the twelfth 
 century and later, and the Welsh of the thirteenth and fourteenth, 
 their descendants are to-day more Irish than the Irish themselves. 
 
 Commenting on the words of MacFirbis, the characteristics of the 
 races are to be taken only in the moral acceptation of the terms. 
 It does not follow that every undignified individual Irishman was of 
 the Belgian race; or that every man of high) moral tone was a 
 Milesian. The statement was, at best, true only in a limited sense. 
 It is true to this day, that the Milesian Irish are taller and more 
 symmetric than those of Belgian descent. The present writer in 
 travelling through Flanders was forcibly reminded of the almost 
 perfect likeness between the Flemings and some of the peasant 
 people of north east Mayo, and of parts of Counties Galway and Clare. 
 
 The second part of the question contrasting Irishmen as a body 
 with English and Scotch, with Flemings and French is one that 
 naturally arises from the foregoing, as the present people have to a 
 great extent been descended from those races already described . 
 
 It is now well known that the early inhabitants of England, of 
 Wales, of Devonshire and Cornwall are a Keltic race, like the Irish. 
 The Saxons even are, like the Irish, Aryan in their early origin 
 The Scots, are merely a branch of the Milesian Irish who went over, 
 settled in, and gave a name to Argyle (pp-S^el)!; and their race with 
 the Picts spread through Alba. Thus the early inhabitants of Britain, 
 north and south, and of all the islands are the same in race and origin 
 with the Irish. Nevertheless in periods now past, and even lately 
 Irishmen have been caricatured and held up to scorn, as no people 
 under heaven have been, pointed to as creatures not connected with the 
 
189 
 
 human family"; ay ! at this very day for the amusement of the British 
 public are presented in the pages of Punch cartoons of Connacht 
 peasants, that bespeak the type of the baboon, or that of the u missing 
 link." Is this fair, is it honorable, is it truthful ; nay, rather is it not 
 a libel, a gross libel on Irishmen, a scandal to Christendom, " a 
 conspiracy against truth ?" Even at home in the capital of Ireland 
 was published some years ago in the Ihe Dublin University Magazine, 
 a libellous description of some of the peasantry of Mayo or of 
 county Sligo, representing them as dwarfish, pot-bellied, wry-featured 
 abortions, more like brutes than men. It was written regarding a 
 few, as a specimen evidently of a class, connected with the aboriginal 
 type of the pagan period Irishman. The person who penned that 
 libellous word-picture thought himself Irish, and fancied himself 
 a scholar, but he was certainly a degenerate son of Eire, and in 
 reality his knowledge was only the tinsel of fancy. He was not 
 an honest man for he sold himself to be the instrument of a 
 party, and sacrificed historic truth at the shrine of bigotry begotten 
 of hate and party spirit. 
 
 The Irish people of to-day are all one — whether descended from 
 Belgian, Danann or Milesian ancestors, or whether the blood that 
 flows through one's veins came down from the Fomorian pirates, or 
 Danish plunderers, or the Anglo-Normans or Welshmen, — or German 
 soldiers. We are all one nation, born in the same mother-land, 
 just as Americans are one nation, though her sons to-day 
 are born of parents of different and varied nationalities. As 
 Irishmen, what opinion do Englishmen and Frenchmen of learning 
 and knowledge entertain of us ? Let us hear : go back to the 
 thirteenth century. What does Giraldus Cambrensis say regarding 
 the physical qualities of Irishmen? " All animals of Ireland were 
 smaller than those of other lands, — man alone retaining all his 
 majesty. Nature alone has moulded the Irish : she has given them 
 countenances of most exquisite colour, and bodies of great beauty, 
 symmetry, height and strength." 
 
 Barnaby Rich (1610) writes : " the Irish appear to every man's 
 eye to be of good proportion, of comely stature and of able body." 
 The poet Spenser writes : 
 
 " I have heard some great warriors say, that in all the services 
 which they had seen abroad in foreign countries, they never saw a 
 more comely man than the Irishman, nor that cometh on more bravely 
 in his charge. „ . . They (Irishmen) are very valiant and hardy, 
 
190 
 
 for the most part great endurers r of cold, labour, hunger and all 
 hardness, very active and strong of hand, very swift of foot, very 
 vigilant and circumspect in their enterprises, very present in perils, 
 very great scorners of death." 
 
 In the life of Sir Walter Raleigh by Sir John Pope Hennessy 
 (London, Kegan Paul, Trench and Co. 1883) it is stated that the 
 bodies of those slaughtered in November, 1580 in cold blood by order 
 of the Queen's Deputy, Lord Grey de Wilton, at Smerwick, were 
 stripped and laid out on the sands. Most of those slain were Irish. 
 Lord Grey writes regarding them that " they were as gallant goodly 
 personages as ever were beheld." 
 
 Sir John Davies writes : " the bodies (of the Irish) are endued with 
 extraordinary abilities of nature." 
 
 In the seventeenth century, two companions of the Nuncio 
 Rinuccini observed that the men of Ireland were good-looking, of 
 extraordinary strength, swift runners, able to bear patiently and with 
 alacrity any hardship and were all given to arms. The women are of 
 surpassing height and exceeding beauty and with comeliness combine 
 matchless modesty and piety by which their native attractions are 
 enhanced. They have large families and their children are very 
 handsome, of great stature and muscular strength ; the majority of 
 them have fair or yellow hair and white and ruddy complexion. 
 
 Swift represents the close of the seventeenth and early part of the 
 eighteenth century. He writes : "I do assert from several ex- 
 periments I have made in travelling over both Kingdoms, I have 
 found the poor cottagers here who could speak our language to have 
 a much better natural taste for good sense, humour, and raillery, 
 than ever I observed among people of the like sort in England, 
 
 I have known crowds of English coming about 
 
 an Irishman in a country town, and wondering to see him look much 
 better than themselves." Swift's Works, vol. VIII., vol. XII. p. 257. 
 
 Arthur Young made his tour through Ireland in the last quarter 
 of the eighteenth century. He writes : " When I see the people of 
 a country, with well-formed vigorous bodies, and their cottages 
 swarming with children, when I see their men athletic, and their 
 women beautiful, I know not how to believe them subsisting on un- 
 wholesome food : Every unprejudiced traveller who 
 
 visits them, will be as much pleased with their cheerfulness, as 
 obliged by their hospitality, and will find them a brave, polite and 
 liberal people." 
 
191 
 
 "We have in the nineteenth century the testimony of Dr. Brownson 
 when he states, "the race is remarkable for its manly and female 
 beauty, and unmatched strength. This may be explained by their 
 freedom from vice, and from the purity of their women." 
 
 Dr. George Petrie descended of Scotch parents, praises the Irish 
 people for their primitive simplicity, ingenuous manners, singular 
 hospitality and honesty. " They are," he says " brave, hardy and in- 
 dustrious, enterprising, thoughtfully intelligent, innocent. They are 
 healthy, comely and prepossessing, of fine intellect and delicate 
 sensibility." 
 
 " The race " says De Lasteyrie " possesses every charm, grace 
 elegance, beauty and misfortune." Another Frenchman Count 
 d'Aveze observes that " The women of Galway have oval faces, hooked 
 noses, and blue eyes. The colour of their hair is brown, and their 
 skin is singularly white. The smallness of their hands and feet rivals 
 that of the ladies of Andalusia. The men have handsome and 
 strongly marked features with bright intelligent eyes, their build 
 is generally athletic and slender and their bearing is noble. Artists 
 will find in this remote corner the purest specimens of the original 
 
 race of this island To conclude, the beauty of 
 
 the peasant women of Connacht is one of the greatest surprises that 
 a traveller in Ireland will meet with."* 
 
 From measurements made in colleges, where youths from 
 England, Scotland, Belgium and Ireland, are on equal footing and in 
 the same relations, it has been found that the Irishman is uppermost 
 in the scale of stature and in physical strength and muscular power. 
 
 The conclusion from all that has been here shewn, is that, 
 contrasting Irishmen as a body, those descended from early 
 and later settlers — with Englishmen, Scotchmen, Flemings and 
 Frenchmen, the Irishman is uppermost in height, in strength, in 
 symmetry, in muscular power, and in those moral and physical 
 features of which a well-developed manly form is at once the 
 expression and the type. 
 
 * Consult on this subject an able article in the Month, March, 1887, 
 written by Rev. Edmund Hogan, S.J. 
 
192 
 
 CHAPTER XXL 
 The question of the round towers of Ireland ; 
 three leading opinions regarding them, — the 
 christian theory as it is called, advocated by 
 dr. petrie and his followers ; the pagan theory ; 
 a third opinion, that many of the towers were 
 erected in the christian period, that others 
 had come down from pagan times — but in all, the 
 figure and form of the edifices, and the 
 purposes for which they were first erected were 
 of pre-christian origin and growth. reasons for 
 the different opinions, the controversy not yet 
 closed; the towers described; their probable 
 number ; their durability. 
 
 Q. 1. The controversy regarding the Kound Towers 
 has been renewed within the past year, 1886 : — what 
 phase of this interesting subject is at present before 
 the literary public ? 
 
 A. Within the past year a brochure, has been published in Belfast 
 ; ' On the Round Towers in Ireland, their Origin and Uses." 
 
 The pamphlet is a summary of the matter — (omitting the 
 quotations) — contained in .the large volume from the pen of Dr. 
 Petrie — it is issued in its present form at a cheap price for the 
 benefit of the masses. It brings the controversy up to the present. 
 
 The writer of the brochure is a great admirer of Dr. Petrie, and 
 throughout he follows his leader's views in all their fulness, — namely 
 that the Round Towers are of Christian origin, that they were built 
 within the period that passed from the year a.d. 432 when St. Patrick 
 came to preach the Christian faith in Ireland, up to the thirteenth 
 century, when the Anglo-Normans came to make a home for them- 
 selves within the shores of Eire. The object intended in their 
 erection was to serve as appendages to ecclesiastical establishments 
 
193 
 
 as belfries, as monastic castles, as homes of safety in the hour of 
 danger or of surprise, as towers of defence for ministers of religion, 
 as safes for vessels and vestments used at the holy altar. This 
 opinion which appears so natural, was put forward by Dr. Petrie — 
 himself a Protestant — and has been ably defended by him in a large 
 vol. of 450 pages, imperial octavo, entitled : " The Ecclesiastical 
 Architecture of Ireland, anterior to the Anglo-Norman Invasion 
 comprising an Essay on the origin and uses of the Round Towers of 
 Ireland." Dublin : Hodges & Smith, 1845. 
 
 The opinion of Petrie is at present held commonly by all the 
 ecclesiastics in Ireland who have read his work : it is the view of a 
 great many scholars who have, in a passing way, paid any attention 
 to the subject. 
 
 There was an idea entertained at one time by some savants, but 
 not now, that the Round Towers had been erected by the Danes. A 
 strange opinion certainly, — for the unconverted Danes were always 
 destroyers of every edifice they could seize which had been erected 
 by Christian hands. 
 
 This notion arose from a vulgar tradition which gave the name 
 Dane for that of Danann, who were the real builders. 
 
 The second theory regarding the Round Towers is that they are 
 of pagan origin. The advocates of this opinion are General Vallancey, 
 Mrs. Beauford, Dr. O'Conor, Moore^ D Alton, Windele, O'Brien 
 Keane, and others amongst whom may be classed Giraldus Cambrensis. 
 
 The third is one put forward by the writer of these pages, some 
 twelve years ago, when he penned the work known as The Aryan 
 Origin of the Gaelic Race and Language: "That the Round Towers 
 were first built in the early pagan period by those of the Aryan race 
 who had settled in this island of destiny (say, the Firbolg or the 
 Tuatha De Danann or both), jbut that after the Gospel had been 
 preached in Ireland St. Patrick turned the Round Towers, as he did 
 the pagan fountains to the service of Christian rites and hallowed 
 them by Christian practices and religious associations.' 3 In those 
 words he expressed his views. To these he now adds that which 
 had been always in his thoughts, that some at least of the towers must 
 have been built in Christian times, but copied and improved from 
 specimens of pre-Christian Irish Keltic architecture. 
 
 There are two Round Towers in Scotland, one at Abernethy, at 
 Brechin the other. No one can deny that these towers were " built 
 in imitation of the Round Towers of Ireland," as Sir Walter Scott 
 
194 
 
 writes, "and under the direction of Irish Monks who brought 
 Christianity into Scotland." In like manner no one can deny that 
 the tower of Hythe in Kent (England), or that at Peel in the Isle of 
 Man had been erected in imitation of the Towers in Ireland, by Irish 
 Missionaries, who went *as was usual in numbers to Britain ; or by 
 some English ecclesiastics who had been for a time in Ireland. 
 No one could deny that the Round Tower in memory to the 
 Liberator O'Connell in Glasnevin has been erected in modern times. 
 
 Q. 2. Be good enough to give the arguments which 
 Dr. Petrie furnishes in favour of his own opinion 
 known as the "Christian" theory, and which the 
 Author of the brochure just published recapitulates* 
 
 A. The arguments made use of by Dr. Petrie may be classed as 
 positive and negative. They are (see Aryan Origin p. 360.) (1) 
 That the towers are never found unconnected, as a rule with 
 ancient Ecclesiastical foundations. (2) That the uses to which the 
 Round Towers are known by a uniform and concurrent tradition of 
 the country to have been applied — a tradition corroborated by 
 written testimony and authentic evidence — accord precisely with the 
 Christian and ecclesiastical character of those ancient buildings. 
 (3) That Christian emblems are observable on several of those 
 cylindrical edifices. (4) That they are of the same style of 
 architecture as that found in well-known Irish Ecclesiastical 
 buildings of the early Christian period ; or, as Dr. Petrie states, that 
 the Architectural style of the towers exhibits no feature or peculiarity 
 not equally found in the original churches with which they are 
 locally connected, where such remain. And (5) that in some few 
 records of an early date, it is actually stated that bell-houses had 
 been erected at a certain period of the Christian era. This last is one 
 of the strongest. 
 
 The negative arguments are ; (1) That the reasons assigned by 
 General Vallancey for the pagan theory are futile and that they 
 prove nothing. (2) That the arguments furnished by Dr. Lanigan, 
 Mr. D'Alton, Thomas Moore, Mr. Windele, can be reduced (he says) 
 to the same category with those put forward by Vallancey, and hence 
 can be refuted by the same process of reasoning as Vallancey's have 
 been. (3) That supposing the towers had been built in pagan times, no 
 one can tell either the precise period, or the special purpose for which 
 
195 
 
 they were erected. (4) That no mention is made by any writer in any 
 of the early authentic records that the towers had been built in pagan 
 times. (5) That the pagan Kelts did not know how to build. 
 
 Take the first argument of a positive kind, namely that the Round 
 Towers are, as a rule, found close by, or within the precincts of those 
 ruins which all confess to be the remains of Ecclesiastical buildings, and 
 therefore that they had been made use of and erected by the growing 
 Christian Church of Ireland. Next, the Round Towers were made 
 use of by the early Christians of Ireland for the service of religion, 
 for the safe-keeping of vestments, altar plate, as citadels of safety, and 
 of defence for priests and religious in troublous times. Some of 
 them had been belfries perhaps, — indeed the specimens of bells then 
 in use were rather small for such towers. They served as signal 
 turrets to light and direct pilgrims to the sacred shrines. We grant 
 the argument which taken as a whole|is one of Dr. Petrie's strongest. 
 But what then? Does it prove that the towers were built by 
 Christian hands ? By no means. The argument proves equally in 
 favour of the opinion of the writer, that St. Patrick selected the 
 site of the Round Tower or near it, as a suitable place on which to 
 erect a church, just as he made choice of the localities where the 
 Druids had their sacred fountains. The Apostle with a kind of 
 worldly wisdom and good common sense selected the places most 
 frequented and held in [greatest veneration for some cause or other 
 by the pagan teachers. In that case, the adopted monumental tower 
 would be as much an Ecclesiastical house, as if the Christians had 
 erected it for church purposes. So much for arguments first and 
 second. 
 
 But it is said the tower was called (1) Cloig -teach ; and 
 Coilgeach, reed, which according to Dr. O'Brien is by metathesis 
 for Cloig-teach that is " bell-house," just as epscop is turned into 
 easpoc bishop; or apstol, apostle, into easpol : — It is called Cloch- 
 teach, that is "stone-house." The towers are also called gail, 
 pillar stones, — and so they were ; they are styled Clogad from 
 clog, a bell, and ed, dress, that is a cover for bells ; we 
 answer, — they were so called, and rightly for they served 
 purposes expressed by those names. (3) Christian emblems are 
 carved on some of the towers. That only proves that the towers 
 were turned to Christian uses. That fact proves as much in favour 
 of our thesis as for that of Dr. Petrie. (4) That they are of the 
 same style of architecture as that found in well known Irish 
 Ecclesiastical buildings. — granted that the proposition is true of 
 
196 
 
 some of the Hound Towers. It must be admitted that some of the 
 Round Towers were built,— or at least re-constructed in the 
 Christian period. In Clon-mac-noise, the writer examined one of 
 the towers some years ago, and to him it appeared that the building 
 of the tower 'was dove-tailed into that of the church or monastic 
 building. There was manif estly a distinction between the two, both 
 in the manner, and the matter of the work to suggest that the 
 Round Tower was anterior to the Church. (5) That in some few- 
 records of an early date, it is actually stated that Round Towers 
 had been erected within the early Christian period. This also may 
 be granted. All these arguments may be true, and granted that they 
 are true, still it is equally certain that the first models and the idea 
 and taste connected with such structures had come from the pagan 
 period as shall be shown in reply to the coming question. 
 
 Regarding the negative arguments of Petrie in support of his theory 
 it is well to state that the refutation of false or useless arguments 
 does not prove in every instance, that the opinion is erroneous, or the 
 thesis false ; it does not prove that another view offered in its stead 
 is correct. The theory may be right, like the theory of eclipses of 
 the sun and moon, although the person who undertakes to explain 
 the subject, does not understand its bearings fully. 
 
 (1) It does not follow as a logical sequence because General 
 Vallancey brought worthless arguments in favour of his theory, that it 
 was not for all that, correct. The only right conclusion to be drawn 
 from the refutation of General Vallancey's arguments is, that they 
 were of no avail id proving the particular thesis. 
 
 Dr. Lanigan says, he sees no reason to deny that the Round Towers 
 existed before Christianity, and that their style proves them very 
 ancient. Now that is true ; and Dr. Lanigan is as much entitled to 
 hold that opinion as Dr. Petrie is to hold his own views. 
 
 Dr. Charles O'Conor is of opinion that the Round Towers have 
 come to us from pagan times " that they are from time immemorial." 
 Certainly Dr. O'Conor was as conversant with Irish antiquities as 
 Dr. Petrie, — perhaps more so ; he wrote much and studied much on 
 things Irish, relating to pre-Christian times. In any case his opinion 
 is as trustworthy as that of Dr. Petrie. Thomas Moore states : — 
 
 "To be able to invest, even with plausibility, so inconsistent a notion 
 as that, in times (6th century and 7th) when the churches were 
 framed rudely of wood, there could be found either the ambition or 
 the skill to supply them with adjuncts of such elaborate workmanship 
 is, in itself, no ordinary feat of ingenuity." Dr. Petrie simply puts 
 
197 
 
 his own opinions against those of Moore, Windele, D'Alton, and Dr. 
 Lanigan ; such a proceeding is no refutation of the opinions of those 
 learned men, and of others who believe that they had good reasons 
 on which to ground their views. (3) The third negative argument 
 is of no importance no one can tell the precise period (in the pagan 
 time) when they were built. Therefore, they were not built then. 
 There are many who cannot tell the precise date of their birth. 
 Does it follow that they were never born ? (4) No mention is 
 made by any early writer that the Round Towers were built in 
 pagan times, therefore, &c. The reply is — no direct mention 
 is made of those special Towers now known to us, but direct 
 mention is made that Towers were de facto built ; this fact 
 indirectly shows that others too, may have been built. (5) Finally 
 Dr. Petrie denies that the pagan Kelts knew how to build such 
 structures, and therefore they did not build them. 
 
 It is simply untrue to state that the ancient Tuatha De Danann 
 did not know how ; for, as a matter of fact, they built several as we 
 shall show in reply to question (3). 
 
 Q. 3. What are the arguments that go to support 
 the opinion, that many of the Round Towers were 
 erected in the pagan period, and that the figure and 
 form of these cylindrical piles, and the custom of 
 making such memorials had come from an Irish Keltic 
 source, and were not either ecclesiastical as such, nor 
 derived from any foreign source ? 
 
 A. In proposing the first argument, the writer refers to his work, 
 The Aryan Origin in which he treats at page 333, of the early art of 
 Keltic Illumination of manuscript writing. Books written and em- 
 bellished by the art of the limner are found in all parts of the civilized 
 world. There are various styles of limning. Amongst those there 
 is one known as distinct from all others, and regarded as the best, the 
 grandest, and most ancient of all— namely, the Keltic or Irish. " The 
 Book of Kells " written in this style by the fingers of St. Columba 
 about the year, a.d. 540, is the wonder of the artists of the world. 
 
 The argument then is, the Book of Kells has been written by St. 
 Columba, or by him and his Irish monks. The work is no myth or 
 fancy. It is to be seen and read, if^one please, in Trinity College, 
 Dublin. The writer has seen it, handled it, read some of its pages. 
 
198 
 
 How did St. Columba learn the art of illuminating to such a pitch of 
 perfection ? Who taught him ? St. Patrick, or St. Patrick's disciples 
 those of the same school to whom he had taught the Roman letters ? 
 No : Why ? Because St. Patrick himself did not know ; neither did 
 any of his disciples of the Roman school of learning know the art 
 themselves. There was nothing like the Keltic art known in Rome. 
 That is certain. How then did St. Columba learn ? By inventing 
 it? No. It is not given to man to invent an art, and become 
 perfect in it in a day. — How then ? — the only answer to the question 
 is, that the art had been taught him by the Irish masters, and that 
 they had learned the art of writing, and of illuminating from other 
 masters who went before them in Ireland, who were acquainted, not 
 only with letters ; but with the art of painting, and of mixing colours. 
 This view is confirmed by the opinion of Lady Wilde, and of O'Curry. 
 In this manner the argument regarding the Round Towers can bo 
 put. It is admitted by Dr. Petrie and by nearly all his followers 
 that Round Towers were built in the fifth century ; they admit that 
 certainly Towers were erected in the sixth century, and in the seventh. 
 Very well, who taught the Irish ecclesiastics to plan such edifices, or 
 the builders — the Gubain Saora of the time — to erect them ? Was it 
 St. Patrick or those whom he had instructed in Roman art ? No, — 
 on the contrary we are time after time told in the early records that 
 he planned Domhnachs or churches, and basilicas having four walls, 
 square like, that is, in form like a parallelogram. He taught as he 
 had seen and had learned. Who then taught the Irish house-builders 
 to erect circular towers ? Was it an invention cogitated at the 
 moment, and brought to perfection at once ? That could not be, 
 or had the Irish builders or architects seen anything like the Round 
 Towers in England, or France, or Spain, or Italy? Nothing like 
 them had been seen in those countries. Neither Rome had taught 
 them, nor the example of the builders throughout Europe, neither 
 was the style an invention cogitated at the time ; what then ? It follows 
 that it had been handed down from the forefathers of the Irish race for 
 ages previously, and in addition that the new builders copied from 
 those edifices^they had with their eyes beheld in their native island. 
 The very houses in which they dwelt were circular, the raths, so 
 numerous in the land for nearly two thousand years since the days 
 of the Belgic power, and the coming of the Tuatha De Danann, were 
 circular ; the Caisils and Catliairs made of stone were circular or 
 rotund ; the Tumuli or Tombs erected over the departed nobles were 
 rotund, the hillocks erected over the champions of their race were 
 
199 
 
 rotund. The Towers commemorative of battles were round, and 
 why should not the Keltic idea and the Keltic art be seized and 
 improved, if needed, by Irish artists. 
 
 But it is too great a stretch for one at the present day to believe 
 that men deemed ignorant at that far-off period, could have erected 
 such piles, One can safely say in reply, it was not too much for men 
 skilled as manifestly those were, who taught the arts of limning, of 
 colouring and of drawing. Who says they were unskilled? Those 
 who have not studied their history, or who cared not to study it ; 
 and those who take a notion regarding anthropology, and fix a view in 
 their minds, and take it as a certainty, that man in ancient times was 
 growing from the state of barbarism to that of civilized society. 
 Men of this class are poor judges of the early civilization of the Irish 
 Kelt, pagan or Christian. 
 
 The conclusion then to be drawn from this first argument is that 
 the figure and form of the Round Towers, and the custom of 
 erecting them came to the early Irish from the pagan period — and 
 that some at least of the towers were built by pagan hands, improved 
 and adopted by the early Christians. Second argument, Dr. Petrie 
 admits the towers were called gail or pillar stones ; and such 
 they were in pagan times. Towers were built by the Tuatha De 
 Danann — first after the battle of " Magh Tura Conga," or Moy Tura 
 of Cong, fought between the Belgse and the invading forces of the 
 Tuatha De Danann (see pages 22 to 36 of this history supra) next 
 after the battle of " Magh Tura of the Fomorians " fought twenty- 
 seven years later between the Tuatha De Danann and the Fomorians 
 their invaders, the pirate robbers, known by that name. Magh Tura 
 means " plain of towers." 
 
 The second battle was fought in Tir-Errill the south eastern 
 barony of the county Sligo. The final struggle took place on the 
 strand south west of Ballysadare. To this day, or up to a few years 
 ago, monuments of the battle were to be found north of Loch Arrow 
 and hard by Keish Curran. It is enough for the argument that these 
 memorial erections deserved, and were called by the name of Tura, 
 or towers. Every tower, as such, in the olden time amongst the 
 Kelts was rotund. It is silly therefore to state — " Oh ! they are not 
 stated to have been round " — well, when one names a circle he does 
 not say it is "round," for the very term conveys the idea of rotundity 
 when one says " egg" he does not say it is " oval" for the idea of 
 egg expresses the shape, — so with the ancient Irish in naming the 
 tower or Tur. There is a village near Lough Mask, known to this 
 
200 
 
 day as Tuirin, or the village of the little towers, called by that name 
 on account of the number of towers, Tuir, erected to the memory 
 of those heroes, who fought with ;and against Eachy, King of the 
 Firbolg, who on the fourth day of the fight, while fainting with 
 thirst ran towards Lough Mask. He was slain near the shore by the 
 phalanx of Danann heroes who went after him in pursuit. He was 
 defended by one hundred of his own forces. The bodies of those 
 heroes on both sides were there interred and Tuirin, or little 
 towers erected over them as a memorial of the last day's fight in 
 that terrible battle. 
 
 Similarly " Tory" Island is so called on account of the early Tor 
 ■ or tower erected there. To deny that there was such a tower in this 
 island is puerile ; or to say the island was called " Tory " because it 
 was like a tower, — that is playing with the question. 
 
 Again in page 155 of his Essay on The History and Antiquities of 
 Tara Hill, Dr. Petrie admits there was a (roimd) Tower on Tara. He 
 says, " that Cathair Crofinn, was called in Ancient Irish Poems by 
 the name 'Uiij\ cpetm reAtfifVAc, 5 the strong Tower of Temur, an 
 appellation constantly applied to a circular stone forty 
 
 From all this we draw the inference that the pillar towers were 
 known as memorials of battles and great events, or, were strong-holds 
 and erected for that purpose — such were the towers just named- 
 The name gail applied to them points to this view. 
 
 3. The erection of the palace of Aileach in which there is a round 
 tower. The fact proves two things, that the early Keltic Irish knew 
 what Round Towers were, and knew how to build them, although 
 Dr. Petrie states that the Pagan Kelts did not know how to build, 
 and therefore they could not have erected them. 
 
 " I must observe," says CTCurry, Manners and Customs of 
 the Ancient Irish, vol. ii., " that the ancient name of Aileach was 
 certainly Aileach Neid; and the investigations of antiquaries (includ- 
 ing the cautious Dr. Petrie) have led to the same conclusion to which 
 we should come by following the ancient MS. authorities, — that the 
 stone ruins at Aileach as well as several other similar stone erections 
 m several parts of Eirrinn must be referred to the Tuatha De Danann, 
 if not to the Firbolg ; certainly to a race prior to the Milesians. 
 The Milesians always used wooden buildings in preference to the stone 
 used by their predecessors ; we can easily understand why they should 
 emphasize such an erection under the name of Aileach. The word 
 Aileach in fact signifies stone building, since ail is a stone, or cliffy 
 and ach the common adjective termination : — so aileac means 
 building made of stone." 
 
201 
 
 " The next great building in point of antiquity and historical 
 reminiscence is the great CatJiair of Aileach (in the County Deny) 
 so well described by Dr. Petrie in the Ordnance memoir of the parish 
 of Templemore. This great CatJiair is said to have been built by 
 the Daglida, the celebrated King of the Tuatha De Danann, who 
 planned and fought the battle of the Second or Northern Magh Tura 
 against the Fomorians." Aryan Origin, -p. 387. 
 
 Duald MacFirbis in his Book of Genealogies writes : — 
 
 " The place, time, author, and cause of writing this book are — the 
 place, the College of St. Nicholas, in Galway ; the time, the time of 
 the religious war between the Catholics of Ireland, and the heretics 
 of Ireland, Scotland and England, particularly in the year 1653 ; the 
 person or author, Dubhaltach, the son of Giolla Isa Mor MacFirbisigh, 
 historian, &c, &c. ; the cause of writing the book is, to increase the 
 glory of God, and for the information of people in general." 
 
 MacFirbis, in his Book of Genealogies, just described, after giving a 
 long list, say twenty or more names of famous builders in stone — 
 such as Casruba, stone-builder of Ailinn, the palace of the Kings of 
 Leinster already named ; Troigli Leathern or Broad-foot, the rath- 
 builder of Tara ; Bole, the son of Blar, the rath -builder of Cruachain, 
 the palace of the Kings of Connacht, Bainchre, or Fair Face, the 
 builder of Emania, writes : — 
 
 " We could find a countless number of the ancient edifices of 
 Erinn to name besides these above, and the builders who erected 
 them, and the kings and noble chiefs for whom they were built, but 
 that they would be too tedious to mention. Look at the Book of 
 Conquests, Leabhar na n-Gabhala, if you wish to discover them ; and we 
 have even besides that, evidence of their having been built like the 
 edifices of other kingdoms of the times in which they were built ; — 
 and why should they not ? For there came no colony into Erinn 
 but from the Eastern World ; and it would be strange if they should 
 not have the sense to form their residences and dwelling after the 
 manner of the countries from which they originally went forth, and 
 through which they travelled. . . . And if those colonists of 
 ancient Erinn erected buildings in the country similar to those of the 
 countries through which they came, as it is likely they did, what is 
 the reason the fact is doubted?" 
 
 Compare, then, the buildings erected hmidreds and thousands of 
 years ago with these, and it is no wonder, except for the superiority 
 of the ancient building over the modern, that not a stone nor an 
 elevation of the ground should mark their situation ; yet, such is not 
 
202 
 
 the case ; for, so great is the stability of the old buildings, that there 
 are immense royal raths or palaces and forts {Liosd) throughout 
 Erinn, in which there are numerous hewn and polished stones 
 
 The only cause of doubt is because lime-cast walls are not seen 
 standing in the place, in which they were erected a thousand and a 
 half, or two thousand, or three thousand and more years since : it is 
 no wonder they should not be ; for shorter than that is the time in 
 which the ground grows over buildings, when they are once ruined, 
 or when they fall down of themselves with age. In proof of this, I 
 have myself seen, within the last sixteen years, many lofty lime-cast 
 castles built of limestone ; and at this day (having fallen) there 
 remains of them but a mound of earth ; and hardly could a person 
 ignorant of their former existence know that there had been buildings 
 there at all. 
 
 I leave this, however, to the learned to discuss, and I shall return 
 to prove the fidelity of our national history, to which the ignorant 
 do an injustice. — From O'Curry's Lectures on the Manuscript Materials 
 of Ancient Irish History, delivered in the Catholic University of 
 Ireland, pp. 222, 223 ; translation from MacFirbis's Book of Genealogies t 
 the Irish original of which is given in an appendix to the same work. 
 
 Q. 4. Describe the Round Towers and tell the 
 probable number still standing, wholly or in part. 
 
 A. The probable number is seventy-six. There had been over 
 one hundred Round Towers. Latterly greater care has been taken 
 of these buildings than had been in days now past. 
 
 The best description given of these perennial piles is from the pen 
 of Dr. Petrie : — He says of them : — 
 
 " These towers are rotund, cylindrical structures, usually tapering 
 upwards, and varying in height from fifty to perhaps one hundred and 
 fifty feet ; and in external circumference, at the base, from forty to 
 sixty feet, or somewhat more. They have usually a circular, pro- 
 jecting base, consisting of one, two, or three steps, or plinths, and are 
 furnished at the top with a conical roof of stone, which frequently, 
 as there is every reason to believe, terminated with a cross formed of 
 a single stone. The wall, towards the base, is never less than three 
 feet in thickness, but is usually more, and occasionally five feet, 
 being always in accordance with the general proportions of the 
 building. In the interior, they are divided into stories, varying in 
 number from four to eight feet, as the height of the tower permitted 
 and usually about twelve feet in height. These stories are marked 
 
203 
 
 either by projecting belts of stone, sets off, or ledges, or holes in the 
 wall to secure joists, on which rested the floors, which were almost 
 always of wood. In! the uppermost of the stories the wall is perforated 
 by [two, four, five, six, or eight apertures, but most usually four, 
 which sometimes face the cardinal points, and sometimes not. The 
 lowest story, or rather its place, is sometimes composed of solid 
 masonry, and when not so, it never has any aperture to light it. In 
 the second story the wall is usually [perforated by the entrance 
 doorway, which is generally from eight to thirty feet from the 
 ground, and only large enough to admit a single person at a time. 
 The intermediate stories are each lighted by a single aperture, placed 
 variously, and usually of very small size, though in several instances, 
 that directly over the doorway is of a size little less than that of the 
 door-way, and would appear to be intended as a second entrance. 
 In their masonic construction they present a considerable 
 variety, but the generality of them are built in that kind 
 of careful masonry called spauled rubble, in which small stones, 
 shaped by the hammer in default of suitable stones at hand 
 are placed in every interstice of the larger stones, so that very 
 little mortar appears to be intermixed in the body of the 
 wall ; and thus the outside of spauled masonry, especially, presents 
 an almost uninterrupted surface of stone, supplementary splinters being 
 carefully inserted in the joints of the undried wall. Such also is the 
 style of masonry in the most ancient churches ; but it should be 
 added, that in the interior of the walls of both, grouting is abundantly 
 used. In some instances, however, the towers present a surface of 
 ashlar masonry (but rarely laid in courses perfectly regular), both ex- 
 ternally and internally, though more usually on the exterior only ; 
 and in a few instances, the lower portions of the towers exhibit less of 
 regularity than the upper parts. 
 
 " In their architectural features an equal diversity of style is obser- 
 vable, and of these the doorway is the most remarkable. When the 
 tower is of rubble masonry, the doorways seldom present any decora- 
 tions, and are either quadrangular and covered with a lintel of a 
 single stone of great size, or semicircular-headed either by the con- 
 struction of a regular arch, or the cutting of a single stone. There 
 are, however, two instances of very richly decorated doorways in 
 towers of this description, namely, those cf Kildare and Timahoe. 
 In the more regularly constructed towers, the doorways are always 
 arched semicircularly,andare most usually ornamented with architraves 
 or bands on their external faces. The upper apertures but rarely 
 
204 
 
 present any decorations, and are most usually of a quadrangular form. 
 They are, however, sometimes semicircular-headed, and still oftener 
 present the triangular or straight -sided arch. I should further add, 
 that in the construction of these apertures, very frequent examples 
 occur of that kind of masonry, consisting of long and short stones 
 alternately, now generally considered by antiquaries as a charac- 
 teristic of Saxon architecture in England." 
 
 As to the doorways of Irish Round Towers : of the seventy-six 
 towers which remain, only forty-six have got doorways ; the others 
 are reduced to their foundations, or else have lost their original 
 entrances. 
 
 "Of these forty-six doorways thirty-four are round-headed : the 
 remaining twelve doorways are square-headed. Round-headed 
 doorways generally exhibit a better style of workmanship and 
 materials than are found in the quadrangular specimens." — Towers 
 and Temples of Ancient Ireland, Keane, pp. 392, 322. 
 
 All dwellings among the pre-Christian Irish were round ; oblong 
 buildings were introduced by St, Patrick. See on this subject vols. 
 i. and hi. of O'Curry's Manners and Customs of the Ancient Irish. 
 Williams & Norgate. 1873* 
 
 *!From the term Cloich-teach, stone house, applied in ancient times to 
 the pillar-tower in Ireland, an argument has been drawn in favour of the 
 Clrristian origin of those stately piles. It appears to the author, that 
 from the same term an argument in favour of their pre-Christian origin 
 can with logical sequence be drawn. 
 
 Let it be borne in mind that the Milesian Irish, as a rule, built in wood 
 not in stone. This is a historical truth. The stone -buildings then are 
 non-Milesian. It was most natural therefore as their own buildings were 
 of wood, that they should call the other buildings ■ " stone -houses." That 
 is precisely what they called the Round Towers. A stone house for them 
 was specially significant — just as they styled the royal stone residence of 
 their predecessors Aileach which means high stone-building. 
 
 The three terms Cloich-teach, Cloigteach, bell-house, and Coilceach, reed 
 or Coilgeach, are phonetic forms of the same term Cloich-teach, although, 
 they appear different, and each has a distinct and special meaning. 
 Cloig-teach does mean '• bell-house ;" but as applied to the towers, it is 
 a soft pronunciation of Cloich-teach, stone house, the guttural ch, being 
 sounded like the medial g ; and although Coilceach, means a reed, it is 
 in those instances when applied to the towers a ready form by metathesis 
 of articulating the hard consonant c, by" inserting ' the vowel sound, 
 oi, before the liquid. The argument taken from the three terms is 
 therefore only a single argument and its historical and logical force goes 
 in favour of the pre-Milesian, or pre-Christian origin of the Towers. 
 
 In the Census of Ireland 1861 , there are over one hundred names of places 
 commencing with tur, or tor, having the meaning of tower, at least inmost 
 of them, as Turlough near Castlebar for Turloc that is tower-place. 
 
205 
 
 APPENDIX I. 
 
 A SUMMAEY OF Dr. PETRIE'S HISTORY AND 
 ANTIQUITIES OF TARA HILL, 
 
 (Irish Quotations omitted.) 
 
 The locality to which this paper relates is the well-known hill of 
 Tara — a spot which has been celebrated by native as well as foreign 
 writers, as the chief seat of the Irish monarchs, from the earliest 
 dawn of their history, down to the middle of the sixth century, at 
 which period it was deserted. But, though its ancient splendour has 
 been the theme of most modern Irish antiquaries and historians, their 
 labours have thrown but little light either on its past state or 
 existing remains, and have made but little impression on the minds 
 of the learned. Nor could a different result have been anticipated 
 from the careless and inaccurate notices of its ruins, and conclusions 
 drawn from vague references to Irish authorities. The progress of 
 the Ordnance Survey at length afforded an opportunity for a more 
 satisfactory, because a more accurate, investigation ; and by a 
 scientific plan of the remains of Tara, joined to an examination of 
 such ancient descriptive notices of its former state as are still 
 remaining, we are put into possession of all the information now 
 likely to be obtained in any way leading to its successful illustration. 
 Before, however I lay the result before the public, it may not be 
 uninteresting to give some detail of the mode of investigation 
 adopted on this occasion. 
 
 While this survey was in progress, a careful search was made in all 
 the ancient Irish manuscripts accessible, for such documents of a 
 descriptive or historical character as would tend to identify or 
 illustrate these existing vestiges. The success which had already 
 attended this mode of investigation in respect to the ancient fortress 
 of the kings of Ulster on the hill of Aileach, near Derry, led us in 
 the present instance to anticipate an equally fortunate result, and 
 we were not disappointed. In the same ancient Irish topographical 
 work — the Dinnsecmchus in which the account of Aileach was 
 discovered, we found several ancient documents relating to this spot, 
 some of which describe, with considerable distinctness and accuracy, 
 the remains existing on Tara hill at the periods of their composition. 
 
 Our first labour was to go over the ground with the map, in order 
 
206 
 
 to be satisfied of its accuracy, and that no vestige of any ancient 
 remain had been omitted. The propriety of this examination was 
 soon apparent : in our progress many important features were 
 discovered, not previously noticed, and which required the aid of 
 antiquarian science to appreciate ; and some interesting traditional 
 information was obtained respecting objects now changed or 
 obliterated. 
 
 This examination, fortunately, we were able to make with little 
 difficulty, as the first object mentioned was one in the identification 
 01 which we could not be mistaken, namely, a remarkable spring, 
 whose locality on the side of the hfll is distinctly pointed out, and 
 which is stated to be the source of a stream which turned the first 
 ivatermill ever erected in Ireland. 
 
 The hill of Tara, though undistinguished either for altitude or 
 picturesqueness of form, is not less remarkable for the pleasing and 
 extensive prospects which it commands, than for the associations 
 connected with it, as the site of the residence of the Irish monarchs 
 from the earliest times. In both these circumstances it bears a 
 striking similitude to the hill of Aileach, near Derry — the residence 
 of the kings of Ulster — and to the hill of Emania, near Armagh, 
 another residence of the Ulster kings, but who were of a different 
 race. All these localities have shared a similar fate in the destruction 
 of their monuments at distant periods, and all equally present 
 striking vestiges of their ancient importance. 
 
 According to the. Irish Bardic traditions, the hill of Tara became 
 the chief residence of the Irish kings on the first establishment of a 
 monarchical government in Ireland under Slainge, the first monarch 
 of the Firbolgs or Belgae, and continued so till its abandonment in 
 the year a.d. 563. 
 
 The Bardic history of Ireland states, that there reigned within 
 these periods one hundred and forty -two monarchs, viz., one hundred 
 and thirty- six Pagan, and six Christian. 
 
 It is stated in the ^Annals of the Four Masters, from the book of 
 Clonmacnoise, that Ollamh Fodhla, the fortieth monarch of Ireland, 
 according to the lists, first instituted the triennial assemblies, and 
 erected the Mur Ollamhan or house of Ollamh at Tara. 
 
 The additional facts of importance stated by the Four Masters 
 are three. Firstly, that Cormac was the author of the ancient tract 
 called — Teagasc na Riogh, or Instruction of the Kings; secondly, 
 that he was the author or compiler of laws which remained in force 
 among the Irish down to the seventeenth century to be compiled in 
 one volume, which was afterwards called the Psalter of Tara. On 
 each of these facts a few remarks may be permitted. The work 
 called Teagasc na Riogh, has been ascribed to Cormac by the Irish 
 universally from a very remote period, and whether it be his or not 
 it is certainly one of the most ancient and valuable documents 
 preserved in the language- 
 
 In concluding this notice of the most important facts connected 
 
207 
 
 with Tara during the reign of Laoghaire, it may be briefly stated 
 that it will be shewn from very ancient historical evidences, that 
 Laoghaire was interred after the manner of the pagans, within his own 
 rath on the hill of Tara. 
 
 The existing remains on Tara hill, though but time-worn vestiges, 
 are the best evidences of the original character and extent of the 
 works which the Keltic people, not far advanced in civilization, raised 
 in distant ages ; and whatever claims to truth the ancient accounts 
 of the place may have, they must now rest on their agreement with 
 these vestiges. And it will also appear, from an examination of the 
 ancient Irish accounts of these remains, that their origin is not 
 assigned to a period which may properly be regarded as beyond the 
 limits of true Irish history. It should not indeed be expected that 
 such accounts would be wholly free from fable, particularly in what- 
 ever relates to the earlier national traditions ; but it should be 
 anticipated that the names and particular descriptions of the state of 
 the monuments at the time would necessarily have the character of 
 truth, as there could be no inducement for fable in such matters ; 
 and, that they really have this veracious character, will appear quite 
 manifest from* their agreement with the present vestiges of the 
 monuments to which they refer. 
 
 The principal ancient Irish tracts written in illustration of the 
 origin and names of Tara, and describing the localities &c, of the 
 hill and its monumental remains, are preserved in the ancient 
 topographical work called Dinnsemichus, a compilation of the twelfth 
 century. Most of the documents found in this work are, however, 
 evidently of an earlier age, though in many instances not of the 
 antiquity ascribed to them ; and though some of them are of little 
 value to the present investigation. 
 
 The Remains of Ancient Monuments to be seen on Tara Hill. 
 
 Taking the ancient documents as a guide, the remains on the 
 hill have been identified with the descriptions given on them, in the 
 following order : — 
 
 First. — The Well Neamlinach (Heaven-Spring). This is marked 
 in the poem as lying east of the Mur Tea (Tea's House; which is 
 within the principal rath of Tara ; and more accurately inr the prose 
 tract, as north-east, and supplying the stream on which the first 
 mill was erected in Ireland. This well was at once identified, as it 
 is the source of a stream which has turned a mill on the site of the 
 ancient one to the present day. 
 
 Second. — The next grand feature indentified was Rath na Riogh 
 (Fort of the Kings), the most important inclosure on the hill, which 
 1s clearly pointed out by its locality in relation to the well Neamlinach. 
 
 Third. — These two points being ascertained no doubt remained of 
 the situation of Rath Laoghaire, (Lowry's fort), which was situated 
 immediately south of Rath na Riogh. Having ascertained beyond 
 question these three grand features, the smaller monuments within 
 
208 
 
 the enclosure of Ratli na Riogh, were at once indentified. These are 
 described in the prose only, and are as follows ; , 
 
 Fourth. — The ruins of the House of Cormac, in the south-east of 
 the Rath, facing Rath Laoghaire, which is to the south. 
 
 Fifth. — The ruins of the Forradh (meeting) beside the House of 
 Cormac Which is to the east. 
 
 Sixth. — Tea-Mur the ruins of which were, according to the prose, 
 as given in the Book of Glendalough, situated between the mur of 
 the Forradh, or meeting house and the House of Cormac. 
 
 Seventh. — The Mound of the Hostages, which according to the prose, 
 lies to the north-east of the ruins of the Forradh. 
 
 Eighth. — The Mound of Glas Teamrach (qlas means stream), which 
 according to the prose, lies to the west of the mound of Hostages. 
 
 Ninth. — The Lia-Fail (stone of destiny) which lies by the side of 
 the mound of the hostages. 
 
 Tenth. — The Rath of the Synods, was the monument next clearly 
 identified. This according to both verse and prose, was situated 
 immediately to the north of the Lia-Fail, and the mound of the 
 hostages, and within it were the remains of Adamnarfs pavilion. 
 
 Eleventh. — The Cross of Adamnan, which, according to the prose, 
 was situated to the east of this rath, is found in the situation 
 pointed out, but in a mutilated state. 
 
 Twelfth & Thirteenth. — South of these was the Mound of Adamnan, 
 but this as well as the House of Mariseo, to the north of the Well 
 NeamJinach, have long been destroyed, and their site occupied by the 
 church dedicated to St. Patrick, and erected since the time of the 
 writers of these ancient documents. 
 
 Fourteenth. — However clearly the preceding remains were identi- 
 fied, they were less distinctly pointed out than the next grand 
 monument now to be noticed — namely, the Tea,ch Miodhchuarta, or 
 banqueting house, which is described with a remarkable accuracy as 
 an oblong structure, having its lower end to the north, and higher 
 end to the south, with walls to the east and west. In these walls, 
 according to the prose account, there were twelve or fourteen doors, 
 six or seven on each side ; and it is a curious fact, that there is a 
 difficulty in ascertaining, at the present moment, whether the 
 number was twelve or fourteen. 
 
 Fifteenth. — The next important feature is the ShesJcin, or Marsh 
 of Tara, which is described as lying to the north-west of Teach 
 Miodhchuarta. This spot though now dry, was a marsh, within the 
 memory of the present inhabitants, one of whom, by stopping the 
 well and cutting a drain below it, has changed its ancient character. 
 The ancient name of the well is however, still preserved, namely, 
 Tobar Finn. This feature being ascertained, the few which remain 
 were at once identified. 
 
 Sixteenth. — Rath Graine which, according to the verse and prose 
 lies west of the ShesJcin, on the height of the Hill. 
 
 Seventeenth. — Fothath ratha Graine (foundation, or declivity of 
 
209 
 
 Graine's rath) which, according to the same authorities, lies to the 
 south of the preceding. 
 
 Eighteenth. — The Rath of Caelchu, which, according to the prose, 
 was near the northern head of Long na ?n-ban, the stronghold of 
 the women. 
 
 The monument of first importance, both as to size and antiquity 
 of construction, seems unquestionably to be the great Rath, or 
 enclosure, marked in the description by the name Rath na Riogh or 
 the Rath or Fortress of the Kings. This great enclosure seems to 
 have been formed of two murs, or parapets, having a ditch between 
 them, as described in the prose account. The great or external 
 diameter, taken north-west and south-east is eight hundred and 
 fifty-three feet, the interior seven hundred and seventy -five. It 
 encircled the southern brow of the hill ; the northern side being on 
 its top, and the eastern, southern, and western, on its slopes. The 
 rings in most parts have been removed ; and, it is to be regretted, 
 that the proprietor is yearly removing, more of them to spread on 
 his land. A portion of the outer ring still remaining is two and a-half 
 feet above the natural hill ; and the ditch, or bottom, four feet 
 below it so that from the bottom of the ditch to the top of the outer 
 ring is six and a-half feet. 
 
 The Bardic etymology of the name Teamur, may, at all events, be 
 very well rejected as legendary : nor is it necessary to adopt the 
 mere conjecture of Cormac of Cashel, and other ancient writers 
 respecting its Greek derivation, as a more probable origin of the 
 name appears to be found in the Irish words, teach, a house, and mur 
 a wall — Teachmur = house of the walls, or enclosures for defence ; 
 a name particulary applicable to the place. As it is obvious then that 
 Tea-mur and Rath na Riogh are but different and equally appropriate 
 names of the same fortified regal habitation, there can be no rational 
 doubt of the priority of origin to be assigned to this work above 
 all others circumjacent to it. But, though its great antiquity is thus 
 established, it would be a useless labour to endeavour to assign a 
 period to the f oundation of a work erected so long anterior to the 
 dawn of chronological history. That it was considered by the Irish 
 as of the most remote age is clear from their historical tradition 
 which assigns its first erection to the Fir-bolg and the Tuatha De 
 Danann colonies, the predecessors of the Milesians or Scots, and by 
 the latter of whom it was called Cathair Crofinn, a name explained 
 by the bards, as signifying the city of Crofinn, a Tuatha De Danann 
 queen, but the most obvious interpretation of which appear to be 
 " the circular stone-i ortification of the fair house " or enclosure. It 
 may, indeed, be objected to the truth of this historical tradition, and 
 to the interpretation here given of the name, that no remains of 
 a Cathair — a term never applied by the Irish to any but a circular 
 stone fortification, without cement — are now to be found on the 
 hill ; but a negative objection of this kind should have but little 
 weight in reference to a monument so long subjected to every 
 
 P 
 
210 
 
 destructive influence, and, if it were allowed, it would equally apply 
 to all the stone monuments described as existing on the hill in the 
 twelfth century, and of which but few vestiges can now be found. 
 
 PUBLIC ROADS. 
 
 There were five principal roads leading from Tara to the provinces, 
 accordingto the Irish Topographical work — called Dinnseanchus. 
 They were called by the following names viz., Slighe Dala, Slighe 
 Asail, Slighe Midhluachra, Slighe Cualann and Slighe Mor. 
 
 Slighe Dala was the great south-western road of Ireland which 
 extended from the southern side of Tara Hill in the direction of 
 Ossory. 
 
 Slighe Asail was a western road extending from the Hill of Tara 
 towards Mullingar. 
 
 Slighe Mor was the great western road, the lie of which is defined 
 by the Eiscir Riada, a line of gravel hills from Dublin to Galway. 
 
 Slighe Midhluachra a northern road passing by way of Dundalk. 
 
 Slighe Cualann extended from Tara by way of Dublin and Bray. 
 
 u Stoney-Batter " in Dublin, and " Booterstown " point out the 
 direction of Slighe Cualann for " Batter" in the one and " Booter " 
 in the other, are broken forms of the Irish term for " road " namely 
 Bothar (pr. Bohar). Like most roads in the olden time the " Slighe" 
 Cualann was paved with large stones. Hence the name " Stoney- 
 Batter." At Booterstown a portion of the old high road is still to 
 be seen. 
 
 For a fuller account see Book of Bights, (Leabhar na g-Ceart) 
 translated by Dr. O'Donovan — introduction, pp. 58, and 59, — 
 also — Dr. Petrie on the History and Remains of Tara Hill, p. 228, 
 and Dr Joyce, Irish Names of Places. — 
 
 There are ten or more names in Irish for " road :" Set (not in use) 
 like the Latin Semita, a path of one animal, Ro-shet,— (sh, has the 
 sound of h alone) contracted into roat, and rot a great path, wider 
 than a set. 
 
 Rot, is pronounced with 5 long like the English term road, and is 
 perhaps, its root. 
 
 Ramhat, — wider again than a rot ; an open space before a house, — 
 an area. 
 
 Lamh-rbta, a hand-road, that is a road joining two public roads. 
 
 Tuagh-rota, a farm road. 
 
 Cdsan from cos, a foot, a foot-path. 
 
 Bealach, a way, or line of road as " fag an Bealach" " clear the way " 
 battle-cry of the 88th Connacht Rangers. 
 
 Bothar {pr. Bohar) from Bo, a cow and tar, over, athwart, " two 
 cows fit upon it, — one lengthwise, the other athwart." 
 
 Bothar- mor, a high-road; Bothairin, a small road, a path, a bridle 
 road. 
 
 Caoi, a way, the direction to a place. 
 
 Slighe, a public road. 
 
211 
 
 APPENDIX II. 
 
 THE BEST HUNDRED IRISH BOOKS. 
 
 CANON ULICK BOURKE, P.P., M.R.I.A. 
 
 TO THE EDITOR OF THE FREEMAN. 
 
 Clarernorris, March, 29th, 1886. 
 
 Dear Sir — Accept rny best thanks for having sent me an advanced 
 proof of the able essay by " Historicus " on the subject " The Best 
 Hundred Irish Books," or, rather, as I must take it from his own 
 views — the himdred best books relating to Ireland and to her people. 
 
 Its publication in the pages ot the Freeman's Journal has been 
 earlier than I had expected. 
 
 His Lordship the Bishop of Achonry has given expression to the 
 thought that came to my mind directly on reading the praise lavished 
 on Lecky's writings in reference to Ireland — that what he did write 
 has been over-estimated. The rarity of such honest writing by pro- 
 English historians in treating of Ireland and her children in the past 
 has, like water in a desert land, added immensely to the literary and 
 historic value of Lecky's views in his " History of England in the 
 Eighteenth Century," and his " Leaders of Public Opinion in Ireland." 
 With some of your distinguished contributors I largely share surprise 
 at the very ample extension given by " Historicus " to the complex 
 term " Irish Books " — meaning books, or parts of books, written, no 
 matter by whom, about Ireland or the Irish. For my own part, I 
 am pleased with the definition, for it enables one to haul with his 
 literary net all sorts of books relating to Ireland and her people, and 
 then he can sit leisurely on the shore of his own home, and select, 
 according to taste, a hundred which he sets store by, and make them 
 the nucleus of a good Irish library. I see that one critic in the issue 
 of Saturday last (27th March) is quite out of sorts when " Historicus " 
 has not named the valuable work, " Spicilegium Ossoriense," a 
 series of extracts relating to Ireland during the " Cromwellian 
 Campaign," copied from documents in the Vatican Library, Rome, 
 and other sources, and edited by Cardinal Moran. This work, so 
 lauded by the critic, does not, after all, say much that is not already 
 known regarding Ireland and things ecclesiastical. The readers of 
 the "Spicilegium" should be familiar with Latin, Italian, Spanish, 
 medieval French, and Queen Anne English, or rather the quaint 
 language spoken and written connected with the Elizabethan period. 
 
212 
 
 It appears, at all events, that parts of books written no matter by 
 whom and in any language fell, in the opinion of the writer or critic, 
 under the definition of " Irish books," as expounded by " Historicus." 
 Others, who have written, claim as " Irish " books those regarding 
 Ireland or her peorjle, though the works be in Latin, French, German, 
 Italian, Old English, or Irish of the early, middle, or modern periods. 
 Judge Barry well observes some of the works named by " Historicus," 
 treat of propositions once disputed, but not so any longer. Those 
 works were accordingly of only ephemeral interest. Mere knowledge 
 of the title and purport of such works is enough ; take for instance 
 much of what has been written by Swift. "Controversial" details 
 regarding the "Union" or "Emancipation," are now of no value. 
 All that has passed away. The events remain. Able writings like 
 those of Edmund Burke, or the speeches of Grattan,will always be 
 read with pleasure, not for the events recorded so much as for the 
 beauty and the grace of the language in which they have been clothed. 
 The able essay of " Historicus " has received praise on the score that 
 it is impartial. On this head I too wish to bestow praise ; never- 
 theless I should not like to recommend Dr. Todd's Life of St. Patrick 
 without telling my readers to purchase a copy of Dr. Gargan's able 
 critique of that work — or the volume, "St. Patrick, Apostle of 
 Ireland," by my friend, Father William Bullen Morris, Priest of the 
 Oratory. I should not like to see " Hibernia Expugnata " — written 
 by Cambrensis in the twelfth century — recommended for a place 
 amongst any hundred books, good or bad, and the able work 
 " Cambrensis E versus," from the pen of our countryman, Rev. John 
 Lynch, Archdeacon of Tuam (Born A.D. 1600), so full of real history, 
 denied a place. One of the best books in its way than can be put 
 into a student's hands is " Cambrensis Eversus," translated by Rev. 
 Dr. Matthew Kelly of Maynooth, and edited with original text by 
 him, in the years 1849-52 (3 vols, price 80s). Along with the Life of 
 Bishop Bedel, I should like to have that of the Lord Primate, Dr. 
 Oliver Plunkett, written by Cardinal Moran, a small volume, yet, 
 like the Life of Hugh O'Neill, by Mitchell, one replete with interest. 
 Bedel and Plunkett, flourished in the same century, and are symbols 
 of opposing interests and of religious life in the seventeenth century. 
 Miss Charlotte O'Brien will, I feel convinced, thank me for telling the 
 title of the " Very Old Irish Dictionary," full of curious old English 
 words and country phrases, " which in her copy has been lost." It 
 is "The English-Irish Dictionary," compiled by Father Connor Begley, 
 and edited by Hugh Buidhe MacCurtin, published in Paris, Anno 
 1732. It is commonly known as MacCurtin's "English-Irish 
 Dictionary," the first ever published. 
 
 Sir Charles G. Duffy suggests that the lists of the best Irish 
 books be formulated — one for the Students' Irish library, the other 
 of works for general reading. I have made a selection of the best 
 hundred Irish books, not for general reading, but for the student of 
 Irish history, or the young historian. The works in this list will 
 
213 
 
 show what Ireland has been in the days before Niall the Great, and 
 during the golden age of Catholic Ireland from A.D. 432 to 800, and 
 during the incursions of the Lakemen or the Norsemen ; again in the 
 period of the renaissance from A.D. 1014 to 1172 ; and next to the 
 penal period ; and from the commencement of the penal period to 
 the present. 
 
 The thanks of Irishmen at home and abroad, and of Irishmen 
 unborn, are due to the Freeman's Journal, and in their name I offer 
 the grateful thanks of a people whose history has hitherto been 
 to a great extent neglected. — I remain your faithful servant, 
 
 U. J. Canon Bourke, P.P., M.R.I.A. 
 
 A LIST OF THE BEST HUNDRED IRISH BOOKS. 
 
 Ancient laws of Ireland, known as the Brehon laws, the Seanchus 
 Mor ; the Book of Aichill, 4 vols. 
 
 Dr. Keating's Ireland, edited with notes by John O'Mahony. 
 Haverty, New York. 1857. 
 
 O'Curry's Manners and Customs of the Ancient Irish, edited by 
 W. K. Sullivan, 3 vols. The first volume as introduction is from 
 the pen of W. K. Sullivan, 1873. 
 
 Lectures by O'Curry on the M.S. Materials of Ancient Irish History. 
 Dublin : James Duffy, 1861. 
 
 Sir William Wilde's Beauties of the Boyne and Blackwater. In this 
 work the writer gives an account of the pre-Christian mounds 
 situate on the banks of the Boyne. They present an antiquity 
 considerably beyond three thousand years. 
 
 Sir William Wilde's Loch Corrib. The fight between the Fir-Bolg 
 and the Tuatha De Danann is recorded in this volume. 
 
 Sir Henry Maine's Lectures on the Early History of Institutions. 
 London : Murray, 1875. 
 
 Dr. Petrie's Tara Hill — Tranactions of the Royal Irish Academy ; 
 vol 18, Part 11, 1839. Every Irish scholar should have a copy. 
 
 Dr. Petrie's Round Towers of Ireland — The Ecclesiastical Architec- 
 ture of Ireland. Hodges and Smith, Dublin, 1845. 
 
 The Four Masters — The Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland, trans- 
 lated, with notes, and edited by Dr. O'Donovan, 6 vols. 
 
 A Series of County Maps, say that by Philips or that by Dr. Joyce. 
 
 Sir William Wilde's Catalogue of the Royal Irish Academy. A 
 week's study of all that is to be seen in the Royal Irish Academy 
 will add much to the knowledge of any student of Irish Antiquities. 
 
 The Transactions (some volumes) of the Royal Irish Academy. 
 
 The Transactions of the Kilkenny Arch?eological Society. 
 
 The volumes published by the Ossianic Society. 
 
 Transactions of the Gaelic Society. 
 
214 
 
 The Celtic Society and Archaeological Society volumes. 
 
 The Ulster Archaeological Society. One volume of the work done 
 by the Ordance Survey of Ireland — The County of Londonderry. 
 Colonel Colbey, superintendent ; Hodges and Smith, 1837. This 
 is the only volume of the rich mine of literary and antiquarian 
 wealth dug up by the staff of the Ordnance Survey of Ireland. The 
 History of the County Londonderry was too good to have it pub- 
 lished. The landed proprietors at the time felt the bitterness of 
 the truth told in its pages, and contrived by Parliamentary pressure 
 to put a stop to the publication of the MS. records connected with 
 the other thirty-one counties. But are these records to be had ? 
 Certainly. In the Royal Irish Academy there are about one 
 hundred MS. volumes in quarto, three, and in some instances four 
 volumes, relating to each county, containing an account of the 
 past history of each townland and barony in each district in Ireland. 
 No Irish Scholar, no historian can know thoroughly the history of 
 any townland without having had a peep into the pages of this 
 thesaurus of Irish native lore. 
 
 The Book of Rights. 
 
 The Book of Fenagh, edited by William M. Hennessy. 
 
 Lives of Illustrious Irishmen, by James Wills ; 12 vols. 
 
 The same in another form — The Irish Nation, its History and its 
 Biography ; 4 vols. J. Wills. 
 
 Chronological account of Irish writers and a descriptive catalogue of 
 their works by Edward O'Reilly, a volume published by the Iberno- 
 Celtic Society 
 
 Compendium of Irish Biography ; Alfred Webb. Dublin : Gill. 
 
 The Genealogies, Tribes, and Customs of Hy-Fiachrach ; edited by 
 O'Donovan ; one of the Archaeological Society publications. 
 
 Battle of Magh Rath. 
 
 Archdall's Monasticon Hibernicum ; edited by Cardinal Moran and 
 his literary associates, with notes. 
 
 Loca Patriciana, by Father John F. Shearman. 
 
 History of Ireland, by Haverty. 
 
 History of Ireland, by Miss Cusack. 
 
 History of Ireland, by Thomas Moore. 
 
 History of Ireland by MacGeoghegan. 
 
 Lays of the Western Gael, by Sir Samuel Ferguson. 
 
 Romances connected with this period. 
 
 The Three Sorrows of Story-Telling ; found in Atlantis from the 
 pen of O'Curry ; narrated by Dr. Joyce in his Celtic Romances. 
 Lay of the Children of Lir ; Lay of the Children of Tuirenn and 
 Deirdre. The Tale of Deirdre is told in prose in the transactions 
 of the Gaelic Society and in verse by R. M. Joyce, M.D. To these 
 may be added — 
 
 Queen Meave, and other Legends of the Heroic Age, by Aubrey de 
 Vere ; also the Fair of Carman, The Fight of Ferdiad, and the 
 Feats of the Heroes of the Red Branch. 
 
215 
 
 Works on Keltic Philology throw much light on the early history of 
 
 the Gaelic race. Of this class are — 
 Pritchard's Eastern Origin of the Keltic Race. 
 The Aryan Origin of the Gaelic Race and Language. 
 Some of Max Muller's Lectures. 
 Ancient Rome, by Newman. 
 
 Zeuss' Grammatica Celtica (preface and prosody). 
 Les Origines Indo-Europeenes, ou les Aryas Primitifs, par Adolphe 
 
 Pictet. 
 Language and Literature of the Scottish Highlands. 
 Harris's Ware 2 vols. ; price £6. 
 
 Lhuyd's Archaeologia Britannica. 1707. Oxford ; price £2. 
 Census of Ireland. 
 Irish Manuscript publications. Every volume from the able pen of 
 
 J. T. Gilbert, author of the History of the City of Dublin, should 
 
 have a place in an Irish student's library. 
 Irish MSS. Edited by Professor Zimmer. By Whitley Stokes. 
 Irish MSS. By Constantine Nigra. 
 W. M. Hennessy's Works and Translations from the Irish, such ag 
 
 that found in Miss Cusack's St. Patrick. 
 Romance, The Last Monarch of Tara. By Eblana. Gill, Dublin. 
 
 In this work the manners, way of living, learning, and civilization 
 
 of the Ancient Christian Irish are painted with a graphic pencil. 
 Battle of Magh Leana. 
 Feast of Dun-na-gedh. 
 
 Halliday's Scandinavian Kindgom of Dublin. 
 Joyce's Names of Places. 
 
 Irish Version of the History of the Britons. By Nennius. 
 The Battles of the Gael with the Gaill. Translated and edited by 
 
 Dr. Todd. 
 Lanigan's Ecclesiastical History, 4 vols. 
 The Trias Thaumaturga and Acta SS. By Colgan. 
 The Life of St. Patrick, large edition. By Miss Cusack. 
 The Life of St. Patrick. By Father Morris. 
 The Life of St. Patrick. By Dr. Todd. 
 Critique. By Dr. Gargan, Maynooth. 
 
 Lives of Irish Saints. By Canon O'Hanlon ; by Rev. John Colgan. 
 Life of St. Columba. By Adamnan. Edited by Reeves. 
 Life of St. Colmnbanus. 
 Aubrey De Vere's Legends of St. Patrick. 
 Monks of the West. By Montalembert, 7 vols. 
 Irish Saints. By the Bollandists. 
 Life of Caius Ccelius Sedulius the Elder and his Writings. Published 
 
 in the Abbe Migne's Volumes of Patristic History and Writing. 
 O'Neill's Irish Crosses. 
 
 Gilbert's Fac-similes of National Manuscripts. 
 Life of St. Brendan. By Cardinal Moran. 
 Life of St. Brendan. By Canon O'Hanlon. 
 
216 
 
 Christian Schools and Scholars, vol. i, c. ii. Schools of Ireland. 
 
 Lives of Duns Scotus : of Marianus Scotus ; of Dungal. 
 
 It would be well to read the lives of some at least of the three 
 hundred missionary clerics, who left Ireland and preached the 
 Faith in Germany, France, Belgium, Italy, Switzerland — such as 
 SS. Killian, Gall, Livinus, and Saints like Benedict and Martin of 
 Tours, whose teaching moulded, as it were, the religious life of 
 Ireland. 
 
 Ecclesiastical Antiquities. By Father O'Laverty, Belfast. 
 
 The Diocese of Meath By Father Cogan, 4 vols. 
 
 Collections on Jrish Church History. By Very Kev. Dr. Kenehan, 
 President of Maynooth. Edited by Bishop M'Carthy. 
 
 Brennan's Ecclesiastical History of Ireland. 
 
 St. Bernard's or Canon O'Hanlon's Life of St. Malachy, Archbishop 
 of Armagh. 
 
 Life of St. Laurence O'Toole. O'Hanlon. 
 
 Cambrensis Eversus. Edited by Dr. M. Kelly. 
 
 Annals of Loch Ce (2 vols.). Edited by W. Hennessy. 
 
 Richey's Lectures on Irish History. 
 
 Life of Raleigh. By Tope Hennessy. 
 
 Life of the Poet Spenser. 
 
 Spenser's Fairy Queen. 
 
 Burke's Hibernia Dominicana, 
 
 History of Galway. 
 
 History of Iar-Connacht. 
 
 M'Gee's History of Ireland. 
 
 Mitchel's History of Ireland. 
 
 Sullivan's Story of Ireland. 
 
 The Succession of Irish Bishops. By Maziere Brady. 
 
 Life of Dr. O' Gallagher. By Bourke. 
 
 Spicilegiran Ossoriense. 
 
 People's History of Ireland. By T. Mooney. 
 
 Ecc. History of Ireland. By Father Walsh. Published in New 
 York, 1855. 
 
 Life of Cromwell. 
 
 Carte Papers. 
 
 Molyneux' Case Stated. 
 
 Mahony's Reliques of Father Prout. 
 
 Tales by Miss Edgeworth, of G. Griffin, Banim, Carleton. 
 
 La Verte Erinn. By the Abbe Domenech. 
 
 Hayes' Ballads. 
 
 Ballad Poetry of Ireland. 
 
 The Spirit of the Nation. 
 
 The Songs and poems of T. D. S. 
 
 Moore's Melodies. 
 
 Hardiman's Minstrels. 
 
 O'Daly's poets and poetry of Munster. 
 
 Poems by Speranza (Lady Wilde), by D'Arcy Magee, Mangan, 
 Davis, Sir Samuel Ferguson. 
 
217 
 
 Basil's Wearing of the Green. 
 
 Legends by Matthew Archdeacon, author of " Connacht in '98." 
 
 Miss Mulholland's Works. 
 
 Dr. Molloy's Geology and Revelation. 
 
 Lord Dunraven's Ecclesiastical Architecture. 
 
 Sir Robert Kane's Resources of Ireland. 
 
 Miss Stokes's able work. 
 
 Lewis's Topographical Dictionary. 
 
 Castlereagh's Memoirs. 
 
 Cornwallis's Correspondence. 
 
 Mr, Fitzpatrick's Works. 
 
 Grattan's Memoirs by his Son. 
 
 Teeling's History of Ireland — Close of Last Century. 
 
 Jonah Barrington's Rise and Fall of the Irish Nation. 
 
 Curran and his Contemporaries. 
 
 Goldsmith, by Washington Irving. 
 
 Lives of Distinguished Mary landers, 1775. By Miss Esmeralda 
 
 Boyle. 
 Moore's Life of Sheridan. 
 Swift's works. 
 Edmund Burke's works. 
 Goldsmith's works. 
 Froude's English in Ireland. 
 Father Tom Burke ; his Life by Fitzpatrick. His Lectures and 
 
 Sermons. 
 Letters by Dr. MacHale, Archbishop of Tuam. 
 Mrs. Atkinson's Life of Mary Aikenhead. 
 Dr. M'Ginn's Life. By D'Arcy Magee. 
 Life of Dr. Doyle. By Fitzpatrick. 
 Maguire's Life of Father Mathew. 
 
 „ Irish in America. 
 
 Life of Catherine MacAuley. 
 Lecky's Leaders of Public Opinion. 
 New Ireland. By A. M. Sullivan 
 Young Ireland. By Sir C. G. Duffy. 
 Luby's Life of O'Connell. 
 Life of O'Connell. Edited by Mullany. 
 Justin M'Carthy's History of Our Own Times. 
 Duffy's Irish Catholic Magazine. 
 
 MUSIC. 
 
 Moore's Melodies set to music by Sir John Stephenson. 
 
 Edward Bunting's Irish Musical Melodies. 
 
 The Spirit of the Nation set to music. 
 
 Ancient Irish Music By Dr. P. W. Joyce. 
 
 Ancient Irish Song picked up by Dr. Petrie and set to music. 
 
INDEX 
 
 Abernethy, in Scotland, 193 
 
 Abhan nihor, 61, 62, 163 
 
 Abhcan, God of Music, 45n, 65 
 
 Abraham, 2, 93, 118, 130, 143, 168, 183 
 
 Absolom, 28, 174 
 
 Abyssinia, 28, 35 
 
 Academy, Royal Irish, 32, 33, 34, 58, 62, 
 
 69, 72, 82n, 84, 89, 103, 106n, 107n, 111 
 Achadh-Aldai, Cave of, 86 
 Achab, 101n 
 Achilles, 28, 151, 153, 174 
 Adamnan, 208 
 Adleo, 25 
 
 Aedh or Hugh, son of Daghda, 78, S4 
 Aengabla, 27 
 Aenghus Ceile" T>6, 12 
 
 son of Daghda, 88 
 
 Dun, 36 
 
 Og or Young Aeneas, 152 
 
 Africa and African, 34, 120, 127, 131, 134, 
 
 157,173 
 Agamemnon, 151, 174 
 Agenor, King of Phoenicia, 127 
 Agnon, 134 
 
 Ailb£, daughter of Bodhbh Dearg, 153 
 Aileach, or Aily, 37, 39, 70, 72, 75, 77, 
 
 78, 79, 81, 82, 87, 139, 148, 171, 200, 201, 
 
 205, 206 
 Ailinn, Stone builder of, 201 
 Ailm, or Fir, 109 
 Airgead-lamh, or Silver-hand, 42, 88, 156 
 
 Ross, 163, 165 
 
 Air-lis, or Area, 123, 124 
 
 Airmed, 121 
 
 Airmedh, son of Dianceacht, 59 
 
 Aladdin, 157 
 
 Alba, 4, 14, 51, 137, 176, 188 
 
 Longa, 184 
 
 Aldai, 86, 88 
 
 Alder, Ruis, or Fearn, 109 
 Alexander, 166 
 Alexandria, 166 
 Alfred, King, 119 
 Allen, 71n, 153, 176 
 
 Lough, 39, 55 
 
 Allod, or Lear, King, 47, 65, 8S, 134 
 
 Alphabet, 109, 110, 111 
 
 Alps, 9, 131, 176 
 
 Amergin, the Bard, 136, 137, 140, 143, 144, 
 
 145, 147, 148, 161, 163, 165 
 America, United States of, 8, 13, 166 
 Amhan-choll, or river-hazel, 110 
 Ammon, 100 
 
 Ana, wife of Kermaith, 65 
 Andalusia, Women of, 191 
 Anglo-Normans, 188, 189, 192, 193 
 Anglo-Saxon, 141 
 Animals, Small, in Ireland, 189 
 Annals of Ireland, 23, 126, 132, 146 
 
 Annals of the Four Masters, 30, 35, 58, 75, 
 81, 135, 170, 206 
 
 Ulster, S7 
 
 Antiquities, 37, 106, 147, 196, 200, 205 
 
 Antrim, 39, 54 
 
 Aobh, daughter of Bodhbh Dearg, 153, 154 
 
 Aodh, or Hugh, son of Lir, 154 
 
 Aoife, 153, 154, 158 
 
 Aonach, or Fair, 43, 84 
 
 Apollo, 45 
 
 Apple-tree, or Queirt, 109 
 
 Ara, 1, 35, 51 
 
 Arabia and Arabs, 93, 102, US, 119, 160 
 
 Ararat, Mount, 1 
 
 Arcadh, 134 
 
 Archimedes, 116n 
 
 Architecture, 117, 121, 193, 195, 198, 199, 
 
 202, 203, 204 
 " Architecture, Ecclesiastical, of Ireland," 
 
 193 
 Ardagh, 153, 169 
 Ardilaun, or Ard-Oilean, 22 
 Ard-Righ, or Supreme King, 5, 14, 16, 17, 
 
 22, 27, 42, 43, 44, 52, 56, 57, 61, 78, 
 
 92, 118, 143, 164, 168, 169, 170, 171,172, 
 
 173, 174, 177, 178, 205, 206 
 Arech Februadh, 136, 137, 140, 145 
 Argos, 39, 55, 66 
 Argyle, 188 
 Aria, 1 
 
 Ariclh Alainn, King of Munster, 155 
 Ariosto, 68 
 Arklow, 163 
 
 Armagh, 71n, 148, 152, 154, 166, 175, 206 
 Armenia, 1 
 
 Armies directed by ladies (Danann), 121 
 Army, Standing, 14 
 Armoric Gaul, 176 
 Arannan, son of Milesius,137, 140 
 Aran, Islands of, 35, 36, 51, 153 
 Arrow, Lough, 55, 58, 59, 61, 63, 199 
 Arts, 16n, 128 
 Arts, Danann, 113, 121, 124 
 
 Keltic, 198 
 
 Aryan, 7, 8, 11, 13, 36, 47, 49, 67, 6S, 89, 91, 
 92, 94, 95, 97, 104, 105, 114, 116n, 119, 
 120, 123, 125, 128, 129, 130, 131n, 157, 
 159, 180, 181, 182, 1S8, 193, 194 
 
 "Aryan Origin of the Gaelic Race and 
 Language," 193, 194, 197, 201 
 
 Asail, Slighe, see Slighe 
 
 Ash, or Nion, 109 
 
 Ashford, 22, 25 
 
 Asia, 13, 17n, 30, 34, 77, 94, 100, 105, 120, 
 127, 131 
 
 Minor, 67, S6, 87, 116n, 123, 131, 135 
 
 Aspen, or Eabhadh, 109, 110 
 
 Assaroe, 55 
 
 Assuerus, King, 93, 184 
 
220 
 
 Assyrians, 93, 101, 111 
 
 Astarte, 108n 
 
 Astyages, grandfather of Cyrus, 184 
 
 Athens and Athenians, 17n, 23, 55, 104, 130 
 
 Atlantic, 2, 5, 6, 14, 18, 54, 62, 117, 141,142, 
 
 144, 145, 156n 
 Atlantis, 74, 145, 150, 156n 
 Attila, 68n 
 
 Aughrim, or Eac Drnim, 163 
 Augustus, Emperor, 67, 169, 184 
 Aurones, or Auruncans, 8sr 
 Austria, 4, 87, 183 
 Authors who support Christian origin of 
 
 Ogham writing, 105 
 Pagan origin of 
 
 Ogham writing, 106 
 Author's own opinion, 104 
 
 Baal, 108sr 
 
 Baath, 134 
 
 Babel, Tower of, 135 
 
 Babylon, 44n, 95, 98, 102, 158 
 
 Badbh, Goddess of War, 47, 65 
 
 Baile-an-tocher, or Ballytogher, 164 
 
 Bainchre', or Fair Face, 201 
 
 Balkan Range, 4 
 
 Ballina, 81, 167 
 
 Ballinahinch, 169 
 
 Ballinasloe, 163 
 
 Ballymote, Book of, 30, 58, 78, 84, 97, 98, 
 
 Bally O'Douda, 81 
 
 Ballysadare, 23, 24, 39, 61, 62, 63n, 70, 72, 
 
 157, 199 
 Ballyshannon, 3, 54, 59sr, 71n, 152 
 Ballytogher, 164 
 Balor of the Evil Eye, 24, 43, 53, 54, 55, 
 
 56, 58, 60, 61, 63, 65, 67 
 Baltic, 52n 
 Baltra, 61 
 
 Banba, Queen, 143, 147, 148 
 Banquet, The Smith's, 160 
 Banqueting House of Tara, 20S 
 Ban-shee, or Bean-sidhe, 71n 
 Bantry Bay, 162 
 
 Ban-tuathach, or Lady Chief, 48, 49 
 Bards, 124, 144, 178 
 Baring-Gould, 107n, IOSn, 159 
 BastarnEe, The, 14 
 Battle of Magh Tura, 23, 24, 37, 39, 42, 46, 
 
 53, 56, 199 
 
 Eve of, 24 
 
 Ladies in, 83 
 
 of Geashill, 161 
 
 Bealach, a road, 210 
 Bealtaine, 46 
 Beathach, 18 
 Beathaigh, Druim, 163, 165 
 
 Rath, 163, 165 
 
 Beatrice, 159 
 
 " Beauties of the Boyne and Blackwater," 
 
 69,74 
 Beds of the Big Men, 64k 
 
 Fenians, 64n 
 
 Behistun, 101 
 Being, Supreme, 40, 49 
 Beith, or Birch, 109 
 Beith-luis-nion, 106, 109, 110 
 
 Bel, or Beal, 15 
 
 Beleek, 54 
 
 Belfries, or Bell-houses, 193, 194, 195 
 
 Belgae, see Firbolg 
 
 Belgedan Mount, or Benlevi, 20, 21, 22 
 
 Belgium, 4, 6, 10, 191 
 
 Bells, Mass, 155, 156, 195 
 
 Bellona, see Badbh 
 
 Belus, 135 
 
 Benen, Saint, 160N 
 
 Benjamin, son of Rachel, 154 
 
 Benn Edair, 163 
 
 Beogamhain, 134 
 
 Bhering's Straits, 131, 134 
 
 Bible, Modern Hebrew, IOOit 
 
 Bili, father of Milesius, 134, 137, 138 
 
 Birch, or Beith, 109 
 
 Biscay, Bay of, 137, 139 
 
 Blackie, Professor, 68, 68n, 118 
 
 Black Foreigners, 4 
 
 Sea, 3, 4 
 
 Bladh, uncle of Milesius, 136 
 
 Bladhma, Sliabh, 166 
 
 Blar, father of Bole, 201 
 
 Bobel-Loth, or Common Alphabet, 109, 111 
 
 Bodhbh-Dearg, or the Red, 70n,71. 88, 148, 
 
 152, 153, 154, 158 
 Bohemia, 14, 87 
 Boinn, wife of Neckthann, 84 
 Book of Ballymote, 30, 58, 78, 84, 89, 97, 
 98, 107n, 110, HI, 126 
 
 Clonmacnois, 20S 
 
 • Conquests, or Leabhar nan-Gab- 
 
 hala, 201 
 
 Fermoy, 151, 159 
 
 Genealogies, 41, 70, 201, 202 
 
 Glendalough, 208 
 
 Hymns, 161N 
 
 Invasions, 89, 149 
 
 Kells, 197 
 
 Lecan, 29, 30, 46, 58, 78, 89, 98, 
 
 110,111,112,126 
 Leinster, 15, 30, 34, 46, 58, 62, 89, 
 
 98, 112, 126 
 — Rights, or Leabhar-na-gCeart, 
 
 126, 210 
 Bole, son of Blar, 201 
 Bolg, meaning of, 10 
 Bollandists, The, 90 
 Bollandus, Father (S.J.), 90 
 Booterstown, 210 
 Bothar, a road, 210 
 
 mor, or high road, 210 
 
 Bothairin, or little road, 210 
 Boyne River, 37, 44, 46, 75, 79, 83. 84, 85, 
 86, 87, 121, 123, 145, 147, 153, 160, 
 161,163,165 
 Boyne, Brugh on the, 39, 46, 70, 84,87, 122, 
 152, 160 
 
 Great Cemetery of, 84 
 
 Bracklin, 165 
 
 Brass as a writing material, 99, 102 
 
 Bratha, Father of Breogan, 134 
 
 Bray, 210 
 
 Breas, 15, 19, 42, 43, 53, 54, 57, 58, 60, 61, 
 
 88, 107 
 meaning of, 47 
 
221 
 
 Breastplate of St. Patrick, IGIn 
 Brechin, in Scotland, 193 
 Brefni, 39, 172 
 Bregia, in Meath, 165 
 Brehons, or Breitheamh, 15, 29, 48, 119, 
 120, 1 22, 125, 1 39, 178, 179, 180 
 
 Laws, 177, 179, 180, 181, 182, 183, 
 
 184 
 Brendan, St., 155 
 Brennus, 48 
 Breogan, son of Bratha, 134, 137, 13S, 140, 
 
 141, 162, 163 
 Brian, 65, 88 
 
 King of Hy-Many, 126 
 
 Bri-damh, or Ox Mount, in King's County, 
 
 164, 165 
 Brigantes, 134, 135, 140, 141 
 Brighit, meaning of, 47, 65 
 Bri-leith, 152 
 Briotan Mael, 5 
 Britain, 4, 5, 6, 10, 14, 51, 106,120, 125, 126, 
 
 132, 137, 176, 181, 188, 194 
 British Law, 181 
 
 Museum, 59n, 102 
 
 Brd, or Handmill, 124 
 Broad-foot, or Troigh-Leathan, 201 
 Bron River, 161 
 
 Brownson, Dr., on the Irish, 191 
 Brugh on the Boyne, 39, 46, 70, 84, 122, 
 152, 160 
 
 of Burra, 79 
 
 or Town of the Dead, 79 
 
 Bruidne, 60, 61 
 
 Buan, 24, 51 
 Bute, Saint, 111 
 Burial of the Dead, 122 
 Burra, 79, 87 
 Burre-n, 169 
 Burta, 75 
 
 Cadmus, 66, 127, 130 
 
 Caelchu, Rath of, 209 
 
 Caen Druim, 44 
 
 Caesar, 9, 13, 65, 67, 96, 121, 166, 179 
 
 Caesarea, 166 
 
 Caherduff , 26 
 
 Cahers, or Cashels, 36, 62, 63, 76, 78, 121, 
 
 122, 124, 149, 163, 19S 
 Caicher, 148, 163 
 Cailte Mac Ronain, 176 
 Cairbre, the Poet, 43, 83, 84 
 
 Cinn Chait, 170 
 
 Caithness, 35 
 Caledonia, 13, 14, 39, 53 
 Calinel, 60, 61 
 
 Cambrensis, Giraldus, 189, 193 
 Canaan, son of Cush, 7, 166 
 Canaanites, 7, 10 
 Caoimhghin, Griolla, Poet, 112 
 Caoin, The, 113, 121 
 Capa-Cirant, near the Red Sea, 128 
 Cape Clear, 145 
 
 Comorin, 15S 
 
 Carbery, West, 162 
 
 East, 162 
 
 Carinthia, 14 
 
 Carlingford, 14S 
 
 Carman, or Wexford, 72, 73, 122, 142 
 
 Cams, 21n, 30, 31, 33, 62, 76, 85, 121 
 
 Carn-an-aoin-Fir, or of the One Man, 31, 33 
 
 . Eochaidh, 27 
 
 ■ na Cluithe, 23 
 
 Carthage, 36 
 
 Cas, son of Rory, 174 
 
 Casan, a footpath, 210 
 
 Cashel, King Cormac of, 12, 46, 126, 134. 
 209 
 
 Caspian Sea, 1, 131 
 
 Casruba, stone-builder of Ailinn, 201 
 
 Castleconnell, 143 
 
 Castleconnor, 81 
 
 Castlelyons, 164 
 
 Castlemaine, 143 
 
 Castlepollard, 154 
 
 Castletown. 143 
 
 Cathair an Nair, 163 
 
 Crofinn, 200, 209 
 
 of Aileach, 201 
 
 Cavan, 39, 172 
 
 Cave, Fingal's. 54 
 
 of Achadh Aldai, 86 
 
 Caves, 36, 63, 84, 103 
 
 Ceantire, Mull of, 155 
 
 Cerastes, The, 95 
 
 Cermet Milbeol, 45sr 
 
 Cesh Corainn, 63 
 
 Cesnola, General, 6S, 77, 83, 92 
 
 Cethe, 88 
 
 Ceylon, 133 
 
 Chaldea and Chaldeans, 2, 93, 94, 100k, 101, 
 128, 129, 131 
 
 Cham, or Ham, 7, 10, 52k, 94, 129, 135, 137 
 
 Champollion, 108 
 Character, Chaldaic, 100k 
 
 Phoenician, 100k, 101 
 
 Ogham (secret), 98, 106k 
 
 Charlemagne^O, 66 
 
 Children of Lir, 150, 151, 153. 154 
 
 - Turenn, 72, 156, 157, 158 
 
 Rory, 173 
 
 China, 131, 178 
 
 Christian, 3, 6, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 21, 33, 39, 
 41, 43, 51, 52, 62, 64n, 72, 75, 80, 81, 87, 
 89, 90, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 99, 100, 102, 
 103, 104, 105, 106, 107x, 108, 112, 113, 
 116, 117, 125, 12S, 129, 130, 132, 133, 135, 
 150, 155, 160n, 167, 168, 169, 170, 171, 
 173, 174, 175, 176, 178, 179, 181, 186, 187, 
 189, 192, 193, 194, 195, 196, 199, 204, 206 
 Christian Theory of Round Towers, 194 
 Church, Early Irish, 35, 195, 196 
 
 Catholic, Laws of, ISO 
 
 Chus, 166 
 
 Cian, a Danann Chief, 61, 8S 
 
 Cinerary Urns, 32 
 
 Cingris, King of Egypt, 128 
 
 Cinn Drom Sneachta, The, 126 
 
 Chait, Carbry, 170 
 
 Circeii, 8 
 
 Circles, 62, 63, 64, S4 
 
 Cirr and Cuirrell, wives of Daghda, 84 
 
 Clan Ruadhraidh. 168, 169 
 
 Clan System, 113, 117, 118, 177, 183, 184, 185 
 
 Clannu Morna, 41, 175 
 
222 
 
 ClannaDeagha, 175 
 
 Baoisgne, 175 
 
 Clare, 153, 188 
 
 River, 143 
 
 Clasagh, Druim, 163, 165 
 
 Clear, Cape, 145, 161 
 
 Clety, or Cleitigh, 70, 71n,153 
 
 Cleopatra's Needle, 82 
 
 Cloghelea, S5 
 
 Cloig-teach, or Clogad, 195, 204n 
 
 Clonmacnois, 84, 172, 196 
 
 , Tighearnach of, 33, 172 
 
 Book of, 206 
 
 Clontarf, 5, 52n, 62 
 
 Cnoc Meadha, 153 
 
 Cobhthach, 155 
 
 Cogadh Gaedhil re Gallaibh, 4 
 
 Coilgeach, 195 
 
 Colchis, 135 
 
 Colgan, Father, 161 n 
 
 Coll, or Hazel, 109 
 
 Colla Uais, 170 
 
 Collooney, 61 
 
 Colman, son of Cobhthach, 155 
 
 Colours, Knowledge of, by Dananns, 121 
 
 Colpa, son of Milesius, 137, 140, 145, 166 
 
 Inver, 145, 166 
 
 Columbia, 166 
 
 Columbus, 166 
 
 Colum Cuaellemeach, 44n1 
 
 Columkille, or Columba, St., 29, 30, 197, 198 
 
 Comorin, Cape, 158 
 
 Conaing's Tower, 38 
 
 Conaire, King, 170, 171 
 
 Conal Kearnach, 168, 174, 175 
 
 Conang, 86 
 
 Conga, son of Rory, 174 
 
 Cong, Cumang or Cuing, 20, 21, 22, 23, 25, 
 31, 36, 37, 39, 58, 63n, 88, 178 
 
 Conmac, son of Queen Meav, 169 
 
 Commacn6, 169 
 
 Conmaic-ne Culaid Tolad, 22 
 
 Conn, Lough, 3, 166 
 
 Conn of the Hundred Fights, 29, 167, 175 
 
 son of Lir, 154 
 
 Connacht, 21n, 29, 35, 41, 48, 55, 71n, 78, 
 153, 155, 162, 165, 166, 167, 168, 169, 170, 
 175, 176, 178, 189, 191, 201, 210 
 
 Connemara, 169 
 
 Connell Maceochegan, 25 
 
 Connor, Dun, 36 
 
 Conquests, Book of, 201 
 
 Conor MacNessa, King, 150, 166, 168, 169, 
 171, 174, 175, 176 
 
 Cooley, or Cuailgne, 148 
 
 Cootestown, 164 
 
 Corann, the Harper, 63 
 
 Corca Lughaidh, 162 
 
 Core, son of Queen Meav, 169 
 
 Lughaidh, 98, 99 
 
 Corcomroe, 169 
 
 Corgenn, a Connacht Chief, 78 
 
 Cork, 5, 103, 106n, 117, 162, 164 
 
 Cormac, Cas, 167 
 
 House of, 208 
 
 King of Cashel, 12, 46, 134, 209 
 
 Mac Airt, 15, 30, 175, 176, 179, 206 
 
 Cormac O'Cuirnin, 59n 
 
 Cornwall, 17, 188 
 
 Corrib, or Orbsen, Lough, 22, 24, 25, 28, 
 
 31,32,35,39,47,48 
 Corr-sliabh,or Curlew Mountains,56,56N,57 
 Corunna, 137, 140 
 Craobh-Ogham, 106n 
 Credne, the Artificer, 27, 45n, 47 
 Cremation early practised, 122 
 Cremthann, 84 
 
 Sciath Beul, 162, 165 
 
 Naidh Nair, 170 
 
 Crete, 134, 135 
 Croatia, 183 
 
 Crofinn, Cathair, 200, 209 
 Cro-Ghaile, 27 
 
 Crom Cruach, 172 
 
 Sunday of Black, 172 
 
 Cromleachs, 30. 39, 62, 63, 64n 
 
 Cross, Village of, 22, 25, 26 
 and Circle, 108n 
 
 of Adamnan, 208 
 
 Cruachan, 39, 74, 84, 122, 169, 176, 201 
 
 Cruach Patrick, 78 
 
 Crom, 172 
 
 Crux Ansata, The, IOSn 
 
 Cu, 88 
 
 Cuaileann, Sliabhtha, 166 
 
 Cuailngi, Sliabh, 148, 166 
 
 Tain-bo, 174 
 
 uncle of Milesius, 138, 148 
 
 Cuala, , 13S 
 
 Cualann, Slighe, see Slighe 
 
 Cuan O'Lochain, Poet, 44 
 
 or Strangford Lough, 3 
 
 Cuige, or Fifth, 5, J4 
 
 Cuigeadh Sreing, 29 
 
 Cuchullan, 64n, 174 
 
 Cullen, Lough, 3 
 
 Cumhal, Finn Mac, 128 
 
 Curchog, Lady, 149, 150, 151, 159, 160 
 
 Curium, 77, 86 
 
 Curlew Mountains, 56, 56n, 57 
 
 Curraidhe na Craoibhe Ruaidhe, 175 
 
 Cush, son of Cham, 7 
 
 Cuthites, 7 
 
 Cyprus and Cypriote, 68, 77, S2, 83, 85,87, 
 89, 92, 93, 95, 102, 103, 116n, 122 
 
 Cyrus the Great, 44n, 65, 11 6n, 184 
 
 Da Chich Danainne,75 
 
 Dacia, 50 
 
 Dada (Father), Origin of, 67 
 
 Dagda, 25, 26, 42, 45, 46, 48, 49, 58, 59, 60, 61, 
 
 65, 67,70, 77, 78, 81, 84, 88, 92, 121, 139, 
 
 148, 152, 201 
 
 meaning of, 44 
 
 Mdr; 44, 57, 64, 67, S4, 88, 89, 121 
 
 Dair, or Oak, 109 
 
 Dairbreach, Loch, 154, 155 
 
 Dala, Slighe, see Slighe 
 
 Dal-Aradian, 168 
 
 Dalkey, 163 
 
 Dalmatia, 14 
 
 Dalton on the Round Towers, 193, 194, 197 
 
 Damnonii, Doruhna, 17 
 
223 
 
 Dana, 49, 50, 65, 91 
 
 Danae, mother of Perseus, 66, 15S 
 
 Danai, or Dani, 18, 50 
 
 Danann, Tuatha de, 2, 4, 5, 6, 15, 18, 19, 20, 
 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, SI, 36, 37, 
 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 44, 45n, 46, 47, 48,49, 
 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 5C>, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 
 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 71sr, 72, 
 73, 74, 75, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 
 87, S7n, 88, 89. 90, 91, 97, 102, 103, 104, 
 107, 111, 112, 113, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 
 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 139, 142, 
 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150, 151, 
 152, 153, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 162, 
 165, 170, 177, 178, 1S6, 187, 189, 193, 197, 
 198, 199, 200, 201, 209 
 
 Danann, Character of, 40, 113, 127, 186, 187 
 
 Dress and Ornaments of, 55 
 
 Meaning of, 48, 50 
 
 Respect for Female sex, 83, 121 
 
 Stories, 149, 150, 151, 152 
 
 Warlike Weapons of, 56 
 
 Danes, 4, 5, 52, 62, 87, 90, 91, 104, 114, 122, 
 189, 193 
 
 Danesfield, 48 
 
 Danube River, 4, 11, 14, 50, 65, 87, 131 
 
 Dathy, King, 170, 175, 176 
 
 D'Aveze, Count, on the Irish, 191 
 
 David, King, 28, 101, 119, 136, 185 
 
 Davies, Sir John, 182, 190 
 
 De, meaning of, 49 
 
 Dead Sea, 100 
 
 Towns of the, 32, 37, 83, 84 
 
 Decies, 164 
 
 De Domnand, 53 
 
 Deirdre, 169, 174, 175 
 
 Delbeth, 47, 58, 88, 89 
 
 Daughter of, 50 
 
 Delt and Drucht and Daithe, 45 
 
 Demotic, 95, 98, 101 
 
 Denmark, 4, 156 
 
 Deoch, daughter of King Finghin, 155 
 
 Derg-Dian-Scothach, 70x, 152, 153 
 
 son of Daghda, 70n, 148, 152, 153 
 
 Derry, 5, 75, 76, 7S, 171, 201, 205, 206 
 
 Destiny, Island of, 6, 137, 142, 193 
 
 Devonshire, 17, 188 
 
 Dianceacht, the Physician, 27, 45n, 57, 59, 
 65, 67, 88 
 
 Diarmaid, 176 
 -meaning of, 27, 47 
 
 Dibon, in Moab, 100 
 
 Dictionary, Dr. O'Brien's, 132 
 
 Digamma, The, 95 
 
 Dinnseanchus, 75, S4, 205, 207, 210 
 
 Dionysius, 8sr, 131 
 
 Dixon, Most Rev. Dr., 100 
 
 Doab, two rivers, 50n 
 
 Doinn, Teach, 166 
 
 Donagh M'Gillapatrick, 72 
 
 Domhnach Crom Duabh, 172 
 
 Domhnachs, or Churches, 198 
 
 Donegal, 5, 39, 54, 71n, 75, 126, 138, 147, 159 
 
 Donn, Heber,son of Milesius,136,137, 140, 
 145, 145sr, 166 
 
 Dowth, 39, 75, 83, 85, 86 
 
 Dress and Ornaments of the Firbolg,56 
 
 Dress and Ornaments of the Fomorians, 55 
 Tuatha de 
 
 Dananns, 55 
 Drogheda, 75, 85, 103, 147 
 Drucht and Delt and Daithe, 45tf 
 Druids and Druidism, 9, 15, 32, 72, 73, 83, 
 
 9S, 104, 105, 106, 113, 119, 120, 139, 143, 
 
 150, 160, 178, 179, 187, 195 
 Druim Beathaigh, 163, 165 
 Druim Clasach, 163, 165 
 Druim Dian, 71n, 153 
 
 — Finghin, 164, 165 
 
 Drumlighean, or Drumleen, 70x, 144, 147 
 
 148, 151, 159 
 Duach Temen, 88 
 
 Gallach, 126 
 
 Duald Mac Firbis, 29, 40, 106, 187, 201 
 
 Duan Gireannach, The, 126 
 
 Dubhaltach, or Duald, 201 
 
 Dublin, 210 
 
 Dumhacha, or Sandhills, 145n 
 
 Dumhas, or Tumuli, 28 
 
 Dun Aenghus, 36 
 
 Dun Connor, 36 
 
 Dundalk, 210 
 
 Dun Deilginnis, 163 
 
 Dun Edair, 163 
 
 Dungarvan, 111n, 147, 163 . 
 
 Dun Inn, 163 
 
 Dun Sobharke, 163 
 
 Dunmore, 169 
 
 Duns, 16, 121, 122, 149, 152, 153, 160, 163 
 
 Durrow, 165 
 
 Dwellings of Dananns, 113 
 
 Dyeing, Knowledge of, by Dananns, 121 
 
 Eac-Druim, or Aughrim, 163 
 
 Eadhadh, or Aspen, 109, 110 
 
 Ealadan, 47, 51, SS, 89 
 
 Eas-Aodha-ruaidh, or Assaroe, 55, 71n, 152 
 
 Eas-Dara, or Dara's Waterfall, 63, 70 
 
 East, The, 1, 6, 38, 45, 96, 99, 101, 102, 105, 
 
 106, 117, 119, 120, 123, 15S, 184 
 Eastern Origin of the Irish, 1, 2, 74, 102, 
 
 121, 158, 159, 177, 201 
 Eber Fionn, 134, 135, 140, 142 
 
 Glunfinn, 134 
 
 Scot, 134 
 
 Ebleo, uncle of Milesius, 138 
 
 Ebhleon Sliabh, 166 
 
 Echtach, SS 
 
 Edana, the poetess, 25, 43, 83, 84, 121 
 
 Edan, 148 
 
 Edenderry, 165 
 
 Ederlamh, SS 
 
 Eily, O'Carrolls of, 167 
 
 Eiscir Riada, 210 
 
 Egypt and Egyptians, 82, S6, S9, 92,. 94, 95, 
 98, 102, IOSn, 111, 128, 129, 133, 134, 
 136, 137, 158, 186 
 
 Eire, or Erin, 1, 3, 10, 13, 14, 16, 19, 28, 29, 
 34, 36, 38, 39, 41, 42, 45, 46, 50, 51,*54, 
 57, 62, 69, 70, 72, 73, 78, 81, 82, 83, 89, 
 90, 92, 95, 96, 99, 102, 111, 116, 117, 119, 
 120, 127, 137, 140, 141, 142, 143, 146, 147, 
 150, 153, 156, 157, 158, 160, 166, 169, 171, 
 172, 176, 179, 187, 1SS, 1S9, 192, 200, 201 
 
224 
 
 Queen, 143,146, 147, 14S 
 
 Uile, 21, 22 
 
 Erimhon, or Heremon, 134, 137, 13S, 140 
 
 Eithlenn, 44, 51, 61, 65, 70 
 
 Elatha, fathei of Breas, 53, 54, 55, 58, 60, 
 
 61, 107N 
 Elbe, River, 39, 50 
 Elias, 101 
 Elijah, 101 
 
 Entania, 169, 171, 172, 175, 176, 201 
 Emperor Augustus, 67, 169, 184 
 
 Charlemagne, 40, 66 
 
 Julius, 67, 174 
 
 Peter of Russia, 44, 124 
 
 — — Trajan, 184 
 
 Empress, or Great Mother, 184 
 
 En, son of Ethornan, 45n, 163 
 
 England, 13, 21n, S5n, 94, 115, 171, 180, 182, 
 
 188, 190, 191, 194, 198, 201, 204 
 English, 47, 67, 70, 87, 90, 94, 97, 109, 114, 
 
 132, 141, 155N, 164, 180, 186, 188, 189, 
 
 190, 194, 210 
 Enna Airgetheach, K., 171, 172 
 Enniskillen, 70 
 
 meaning of, 55 
 
 Eochaidh, Carn, 27 
 
 Garbh, 88 
 
 or Ollamh Fodhla, 172 
 
 Eochy Feidhleach, 171, 174 
 
 King, Mac Ere, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 
 
 24,25,26,27,28, 29, 31, 42, 43, 44 48, 
 
 63n, 200 
 
 M<5r,167 
 
 Eoghamhan, 134 
 
 Eoir, or Nore, 165 
 
 Eothail, 62 
 
 Epic of Aryan Nations, 114, 115 
 
 Ere, 18, 21 
 
 Erne, Lough, 3, 54, 55, 57 
 
 Ernin, son of Duach Gallach, 126 
 
 Eros, 159 
 
 Erris, or Iarros, 17, 41, 155 
 
 Esau, 143 
 
 Esclann, Brehon of Dagda, 84 
 
 Eserg, son of Neid, or God of Slaughter, 
 
 65,88 
 Esker Riada, 165, 210 
 Esru, 134 
 Essay on the History and Antiquities of 
 
 Tara Hill, 200 
 Etan, wife of Ogma, 65 
 Ethoman, 45n 
 Etrurians and Etruscan, 8, 9, 32, 37, 39, 82, 
 
 S3, 94, 95, 122, 123, 129 
 Ethiopians, 93, 137, 184 
 Ethnea, daughter of Turenn, 157 
 Euemeros and Euemerism, 68 
 Euphrates, 6, 94, 158 
 Europa, 128, 158 
 Europe and European, 5, 6, 7, 10, 12, 18, 23, 
 
 34,39,40,41,50,77, 82, 85, 89, 92, 94, 
 
 95, 96, 100, 106n, 117, 118n, 120n, 124, 
 
 125, 126, 127, 131, 157, 173, 176, 177, 181, 
 
 182, 198 
 Euxine, 14, 135, 136 
 Eve of Battle, 24 
 Eye, Evil, 53, 54 
 
 Factna the Wise, 174 
 
 Fag-an-Bealach (clear the way), 210 
 
 Fair Hill, 20*22,25 
 
 of Carman, 73 
 
 Ridge, or Caen Druim, 44 
 
 of Tara, 73 
 
 Fairy Mount, or Sidh Neunta, 71n, 153 
 
 Seat or Sidhe, 71n, 149 
 
 Hills, 82, 149 
 
 Faise, Glean, 166 
 
 Family or Clan, The, 118, 183 
 
 Honourable position of 
 
 women in the, among the Dananns, 121 
 
 Fas, Milesian Heroine, 146, 147 
 
 Fathach, the Poet, 24 
 
 Fathan, Maolmuire of, 112, 126 
 
 Fate of the Children of Lir, 150, 151, 153, 
 154 
 
 Turenn, 72, 156 
 
 Feal, Queen of King Lughaidh, 146 
 
 Feale, River, 146 
 
 Fearainn, Rath, 25 
 
 Fearn, or Alder, 109 
 
 Febal, son of Lodan, 63 
 
 Febric Glas, 134 
 
 Februadh, Arech, 136, 137, 140, 145 
 
 Fe Fiad, 160, 161n 
 
 Feis, or Parliament, 14 
 
 Felim, or E blind, Sliabh, 143 
 
 Fenian Language and Militia, 131 
 
 Period, 175, 176 
 
 Fenius Farsa, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 
 133, 134, 135, 136 
 
 Feradach, King of Scotland, 9S, 99 
 
 Fergus Mac Roigh, King of Ulster, 168, 
 169, 171, 174, 175 
 
 Ferguson, Lady, 174 
 
 Sir Samuel, 174, 175 
 
 Fermanagh, 71n 
 
 " Fermoy, Book of," 151, 159 
 
 Ferthas, or Graves, 28 
 
 Fiachra, son of Lir, 154 
 
 Fiadh, 160, 161n 
 
 Field of Columns, 26 
 
 Fingal's Cave, 54 
 
 Finghiu, 155 
 
 Druim, 164, 165 
 
 Finn, River, 138 
 
 Tobar, at Tara, 208 
 
 Finland, 52n 
 
 Finnbar, 70n, 152, 153 
 
 Finneachaidh, Sidh, 152, 154 ^ 
 
 Fionn, 64n, 128n 
 
 Eber, or Heber, 134, 135, 136, 161, 
 
 162, 166, 167, 168 
 
 ghuala, or fair shoulder, 154, 155, 159 
 
 Mac Cumhal, 128, 176 
 
 Traigh, or White Strand, 62 
 
 Fintan, King of Leinster, 26 
 
 Firbolg, or Belga3,'or Belgians, 2, 4, 5,6,8, 9, 
 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, ] 8, 19, 20, 21, 
 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28. 29, 30, 32,35, 36, 36n, 
 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 44, 47, 51, 52, 57, 58, 63n, 
 64, 67, 7lN, 88, 120, 125, 147, 150, 162, 
 165, 170, 171, 177, 178, 179, 186, 187, 1SS, 
 189, 193, 198, 199, 200, 206, 209 
 
 Firbolg, Character of, 10 
 
225 
 
 Firbolgs as Colonists, 10 
 
 Derivation of, 9, 10, 11 
 
 Dress and Ornaments of, 56 
 
 Intelligence of, 14, 67 
 
 ' Warlike Weapons of, 56 
 
 Fir-Domnnan, or Domhna, 17, 187, 188 
 
 Gael, 188 
 
 Gaileonn, 17, 187, 188 
 
 Fir, or Ailm, 109 
 Fire God, 45 
 
 and Sun Worship. 46 
 
 Fitzpatricks of Ossory, 167 
 
 Five Great Roads, The, 210 
 
 Flanders, 188 
 
 Flann, of Monasterboice, 77, 78,79, 111, 112 
 
 son of Conang, 86 
 
 Fleadh Goibhneann, 160 
 
 Fleasg Fili, or Wand of the Poet, 102 
 
 Flemings, 186, 188, 191 
 
 '- Flight of the Earls," 183 
 
 Fodla, or Ireland, 143, 157, 172 
 
 Ollamh, 171, 172 
 
 Queen, 142, 147, 14S 
 
 Foghmarach, meaning of, 11, 156 
 Fomorians, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 14, IS, 23, 24,36, 38, 
 
 42, 43, 51, 52, 5S, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 
 
 61, 62, 63, 63n, 64, 65, 67, 72, 78, 87n, 125, 
 
 150, 156, 165, 171, 199, 201 
 
 , Dress and Ornaments of, 55 
 
 , Warlike Weapons of, 56 
 
 *' Foray of Queen Meav," 174 
 Foreigners, Black, 4 
 
 White, 4" 
 
 Forradh, or Meeting Place, 208 
 Fort of Heroes, 25 
 
 of fold-like defense, 25 
 
 " Forus Feasa " (Keating's), 129 
 
 Fothadh ratha Graine", 208 
 
 " Four Masters," 4n, 30, 35, 5S, 75, 81, 85n, 
 
 87, 111, 134, 135, 165, 170, 206 
 Foxes, The, 167 
 Foyle, or Febail, Lough, 63, 78, 139 
 
 River, 70n, 138, 139,140, 
 
 162 
 France, 137, 173, 198 
 Franks, The, 40 
 Frenchmen, 191 
 
 French people, 40, 114, 186, 188, 189, 191 
 Froude, James Anthony, 90, 91 
 Fuad, Uncle of Milesius, 138, 148, 166 
 
 ~< Sliabh, 148, 152, 166 
 
 Fulman, Milesian leader, 163 
 
 Gabhaltas of the Kinne, 185 
 
 Gabhar, The, 73 
 
 Gadelus and Gadelians, 131, 132, 133, 134, 
 135, 183, 184, 185 
 
 Gaedhil re Gallaibh, Cogadh, 4, 7 
 
 Gaelic, 2, 7, 9, 11, 19, 37, 38, 39, 42, 43, 46, 
 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 54, 63, 70, 87, 90, 94, 96, 
 104, 111, 112, U6n, 117, 118, 124, 125, 
 328, 131, 133, 136, 13S, 149, 150,172,175, 
 174, 179. 183, 1S5, 193 
 
 Gaetulia, 134 
 
 Gail, or Pillar Stones, 195, 199, 200 
 
 Gailean, or Leinster, 18 
 
 Galamh, or Milesius, 6, 126, 134, 135 136 
 
 137, 138, 140 
 Galatians, 13, 14 
 Galenii, 17 
 
 Gallacia, 9, 135, 138, 140, 141 
 Gallia, 6, 14, 173 
 Gallic, 94, 95, 100 
 Gallicia, 4, 5, 6 
 Galway, 20, 21, 22, 39, 48, 70, 71n, 153, 156n, 
 
 163, 167, 188, 191, 201, 210 
 Gaodhal-Glas, 128, 134, 136 
 
 meaning of, 128n, 131 
 
 Gaul and Gauls, 4, 6, 48, 95, 96, 97, 120, 123, 
 
 125, 179 
 Gavel-kind, 177, 183, 185 
 Gamanraidhi, 41 
 Gamh Mountains, 63, 63n 
 Gara, Lough, 3 
 Garaidh Mac Morna, 176 
 Garbhan, 79 
 Garmen, or Carmen, 142 
 Geashill, Battle of, 161, 164, 165 
 " Genealogies, Book of," 41, 70, 201, 202 
 Geoff ry of Monmouth, 132 
 German, 53, 68, 96, 114, 115, 120n, 125 
 Germany and German, 6, 8, 36n, 50, 64, 189 
 Giant's Causeway, 54 
 Gill, Lough, 63 
 Giolla, Caoimhghin, Poet, 112 
 
 Isa Mdr Mac Firleisigh, 201 
 
 Giraldus Cambrensis, 189, 193 
 Gladstone's (Rt. Hon. Wm. E.) Views on, 
 
 Mythology, 114, 116 
 Glas-Teamhrach, 208 
 Glean-Faise, 166 
 
 mo Ailleam.or Glen-of-men-athletes, 
 
 23 
 
 Scotin, 166 
 
 " Glendalough, Book of," 208 
 
 Glei and Glan, and Gleise, 45 
 
 Gluaire, Inis, or Inishglory, 155 
 
 Gobain Saora, 198 
 
 Gobhnenn, 47, 51, 160, 161n 
 
 God, The True, 83, 115, 119, 128, 136, 160n 
 
 Gold in Wicklow, 171 
 
 Golden Age of Irish History, 175, 176 
 
 ■ Collar, 175 
 
 Goliath, 136 
 
 of the Fomorians, 63 
 
 Goll, son of Morna, 41 
 
 Gomer, 166 
 
 Gort, or Ivy, 109 
 
 Gostinn, a Milesian leader, 163 
 
 Gospel, Tire, 104, 193 
 
 Government, 113, 117, 119, 1S3, 184 
 
 Graine, Princess, 176 
 
 Rath, at Tara, 208, 209 
 
 Graves, Dr., 104 
 
 Great House of the 1,000 Soldiers, 15 
 
 Grecian, 43, 47, 49, 50, 51, 66, 67, 77, 82, 94, 
 
 95, 105, 151, 158, 186 
 Greece, 6, 7, U, 66, 74, 62, 86, 67, 91, 94, 96 
 
 97, 98, 100, 103, 117, 122, 127, 130, 131 
 
 Greek, 8x, 11. 13, 32, 40, 89, 114, 116N, 127, 
 128n, 129, 130, 131, 151, 157, 177, 179, 209 
 Greisa, 44n 
 
226 
 
 Grianan of Aileach, 37, 39, 69, 70, 72, 75, 
 
 139 
 Grimm, 115 
 Grote, 115 
 Gruibne, Poet, 98 
 
 Habits, Social, of Dananns, 113 
 
 Ham, or Cham, 7, 52k, 94. 129, 135, 137 
 
 Hamitic, 94 
 
 Haran of Mesopotamia, 4 
 
 Haverty's " History of Ireland," 132 
 
 Hawthorn, or Huath, 109 
 
 Hazel, or Coll, 109 
 
 Healing Bath, or Sanative Pool, 24 
 
 Heap of the Game, 33 
 
 One Man, 31 
 
 Heath, or Ur, 109 
 
 Heber Donn, 136, 137, 140, 145 
 
 Finn, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 140, 145, 
 
 147, 148, 150, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 
 166, 167, 168, 170, 173 
 
 Glunfinn, 134 
 
 Scot, 134 
 
 son of Ir, 162, 165, 166, 168 
 
 Hebrew, 93, 94, 100, 101, 118*, 121, 127, 129, 
 
 130, 138, 181, 185, 186 
 Hebrides, 35, 52, 53, 54 
 Hector, 121 
 Helen, 159 
 Helias, 159 
 Hellenes, 10, 11, 50 
 Hellespont, 157 
 Helvetia, 14, 125 
 Hem, or Sem, 7, 130, 135 
 Henry II., 178 
 Henschinius, Father, 90 
 Heptarchy, 171 
 Herakleos, 157 
 Hercules, 97, 134, 135, 157 
 Heremon, 134, 137, 138, 140, 145, 147, 148, 
 
 150, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165,166,167,168, 
 
 169, 170, 171, 173, 178, 186 
 Hermes, 97 
 
 Herodotus, 7, 50, 68, 77, 131 
 Hibernia, 14, 107n 
 Hieratic Letter, 94, 95, 98 
 Hieroglyphics, 94, 95, 100, 101, 108 
 Highlanders, 19 
 Highlands of Scotland, 183 
 Hill of Uisneach, 44 
 
 Emania, 44 
 
 Tara, 44 
 
 Hindu Kush Mountains, 1 
 
 Temples, 96 
 
 Laws, 180, 182 
 
 Hindus River, 1, 2, 6, 158 
 
 Hindus, Language of, 114 
 
 Hindustan, 184 
 
 Hissarlik, Mound of, 116n 
 
 Hogah, Rev. E., on the Irish, 191x 
 
 Homer and Homeric, 28, 30, 114, 121, 128*, 
 
 146, 151, 174 
 Hostages, Mound of the, 208 
 House Communions, 184 
 
 — of Cormac, -208 
 
 of Mariseo, 208 
 
 Houses of the Dananns, 123 
 
 Howth, 3, 163 
 
 Huath, or Hawthorn, 109 
 
 Hugh, Red, 55 
 
 Hugony Mdr, or The Great, 171, 173 
 
 Human Sacrifices, The Irish did not offer, 
 
 120 
 Humber River, 176 
 Hurling, 23 
 
 Hy Falgia, or Ofi&aly, 165 
 Hy Mani, 163, 167 
 Hy, the Tower of, in Kent, 194 
 
 Iar-Connacht, 167 
 
 Iarros, or Errus, 17n, 155 
 
 Iberia, 1, 3, 6, 9, 125, 135 
 
 Icelanders, 114, 157 
 
 Idols of Dananns, 119 
 
 Ifin, or Gooseberry, 110 
 
 Ilbreach, 70n, 71n,S8, 152 
 
 Iliad, 30, 68, 68n 
 
 Illumination, Irish, 96, 197, 198, 199 
 
 Illyria, 14 
 
 Imcheall, or Circuit Builder, 79 
 
 Inch, Island of, 75 
 
 Indai, son of Aldai, 88 
 
 Indech, 53, 54, 58, 60, 61 
 
 India, 92, 93, 108*, 120n, 184 
 
 Indus, or Hindus, 6n, 94, 117, 158 
 
 Inisfail, 6, 9, 53, 125, 135, 137, 138, 140,142 
 
 Inis Gluaire, 155 
 
 Kethlen, or Enniskillen, 55 
 
 na bh-f uinedhach, 2n 
 
 Righ, 166 
 
 Saimher, 3 
 
 Innes, Rev. J. (M.A.), 90, 106N 
 
 Intelligence of Firbolg, 14 
 
 " Introduction to Greek Classic Poets" 
 
 (Coleridge), 130 
 Invasion of Ireland, 111, 193 
 "Invasions, Book of," S9, 149 
 Inver Skene', 3, 143, 144, 145, 166 
 Slainghi, 142, 144 
 
 -Colpa, 145, 166 
 -Mhor, 163 
 
 Iobath, or death-healer, IS, 3S 
 
 Iohadh, or Yew, 109 
 
 Iol-Dana, or many arts, 42, 47 
 
 Ir, son of Milesius, 137, 140, 145, 162, 165, 
 166, 167, 168, 169, 170, 171, 173 
 
 Irene', 137 
 
 Ireland, 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 11, 17, 18, 19, 21n, 24, 
 25, 29, 30, 34, 35, 36, 38, 39, 41, 42, 43, 45, 
 46, 47, 52, 58, 62, 66, 67, 70, 71, 71n, 72, 
 75, 76, 77, 80, 82, 83. 85, 87, 89, 90, 91, 92, 
 94, 95, 96, 99, 103,#)4, 105n, 106, 106n, 
 111, 112, 116, 117,120, 121, 122, 123, 125, 
 126, 127, 128, 130, 132, 134, 135, 136, 138, 
 141, 145, 146, 148, 149, 150,152, 155,158, 
 159, 160, 161, 163, 165, 166, 167, 168,, 170, 
 172, 173, 174, 175,176,178, 179,180,181, 
 182, 183, 184, 186, 187, 188, 189, 190, 191, 
 192, 193, 194, 195, 198, 201, 202, 204, 206, 
 207, 210 
 
 Ireland, Annals of, 23, 126 
 
 . Story of, 34 
 
227 
 
 Irish, 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 10, 13, 17, 18, 23, 30, 31, 
 32, 34, 35, 37, 38, 40, 41, 44, 45, 46,47,48, 
 49, 50, 51, 52, 55, 57, 5S, 59n, 62, 63, 63n, 
 64n, 67, 69, 70, 71, 71n,72,74, 75, 76,77, 
 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 87, 89, 90, 91, 92, 
 93, 95, 96, 97, 98, 103, 104, 105, 106, 106sr, 
 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 114, 118n, 
 120, 121, 122, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 
 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 141, 145, 148, 
 149, 150, 155N, 160, 160n,161n 163, 169, 
 170, 171, 172, 174, 175, 176, 179, 180, 181, 
 183, 185, 186, 187, 188, 189, 190, 191, 193, 
 194, 195, 196,197, 198, 199,200, 202,204, 
 205, 206, 207, 209, 210 
 
 Trial Glunmhor, 168 
 
 Iron Mountain, 39 
 
 Isidore, Saint, 90 
 
 Island of Burra, 87 
 
 Destiny, 6, 137, 193 
 
 Dalkey, 163 
 
 Kethlen, 55 
 
 Kings, 166 
 
 the Remote, 2 
 
 Towers, 5, 200 
 
 Noble, 5, 22, 42, 117 
 
 -Tory, 5, 18, 3S, 52, 54, 200 
 
 Islands of Aran, 35, 36, 51, 153 
 
 Archipelago, 137 
 
 Isle of Man, 14, 35, 47, 51, 71n, 194 
 
 Staff a, 34, 35 
 
 the West, 3, 4, 21 
 
 Isles British, 85 
 
 Giant of the, 60 
 
 King of the, 54 
 
 Northern, 43 
 
 Israel, 5, 42, 100, 119, 128, 136 
 
 Ister, 50n 
 
 Isthmean, 122 
 
 Italy, 6, 14, 94, 125, 198 
 
 Ita, Sleamhna, 166 
 
 Ith, uncle of Galamh, 137, 138, 139, 140, 
 
 162, 170 
 Iuchar, 65, 88 
 Iucharba, 65, 88 
 Ivy, or Gort 
 
 Jacob, 39, 121, 143 
 
 Japhet, 4, 7, 8, SS, 130, 134, 135 
 
 Japhetic, 7, 10, 180 
 
 Jarlath, Saint, 169 
 
 Jeremias, Prophet, 121 
 
 Jeroboai::, 170 
 
 Jerome, Saint, 13, 130 
 
 Jews, The, 100, 101, 167, 168, 1S7 
 
 Job the Just, 102, 118, 119 
 
 Joseph, Brother of Benjamin, 154 
 
 Josephus, 99 
 
 Jove, 186 
 
 Joyce, Dr. R. D,, 174, 210 
 
 Judges, 119, 178 
 
 Julius, 67, 174 
 
 Jupiter Tonans, 64 
 
 Jutland, 18 
 
 Karnac, S2, 102, 116n 
 
 Kavanaghs, 167 
 
 Keane on Round Towers, 193, 204 
 
 Keann, or Head King, 183 
 
 Keamach, Conal, 168 
 
 Keating, Dr., 12, 18, 30, 42, 45, 4S, 49, 58, 
 126,127,129,130,131,161 
 
 Keish Curran, 199 
 
 Kells, 44, 70n 
 
 Book of, 197 
 
 Keltic, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 8sr, 13, 36, 39, 40, 45, 48, 
 56, 64, 65, 66, 67, 71, 85, 89, 95, 96, 97, 98, 
 100, 102, 105, 109, 111, 114, 117, 119, 121, 
 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 135, 138, 139, 
 151, 157, 158, 159, 177, 178, 179, 181, 184, 
 186, 188, 193, 197, 198, 199, 200, 207 
 
 Kelts, 4, 9, 10, 11, 14, 3S, 42, 48, 95, 99, 111, 
 116, 117, 119, 120, 121, 123, 124, 125, 140, 
 141, 166, 183, 187, 195, 197, 199, 200 
 
 Kenmare, 3, 143, 144, 145 
 
 Kennfaelad, 127 
 
 Kerb, son of Brian, 24 
 
 Kermaith, 65, 139, 143 
 
 Kerry, 3, 75, 126, 145, 145n, 146, 147, 162 
 
 Kerry O'Connor, 169 
 
 Kesair, Lady, 21kt 
 
 Kethlen, King of Balor, 55, 56, 60, 61, 65 
 
 Kian, father of Lugh, 157, 158 
 
 son of Olial Olom, 167 
 
 Kildare, 44, 71n, 153, 176, 204 
 
 Kilgefin, 153 
 
 Killein, 70 
 
 Kilkenny, 163, 182 
 
 Killower, 28 
 
 Kiar, 169 
 
 Kilmactraney, 57, 58, 59, 63 
 
 Kilmaine, 21, 22, 23, 169 
 
 Kimbaeth, King, 33, 34, 171, 172 
 
 Kimric, 11, 18, 36n 
 
 King Core of Munster, 98, 89 
 
 Eoghan Mdr, 167 
 
 in-Chief, or Ardrigh, see Ardrigh 
 
 Keann, or Head, 183 
 
 Connacht, 155, 201 
 
 Cashel, see Cormac 
 
 Egypt, 128, 136 
 
 Hy Many, 126 
 
 of Ireland. 43, 168, see Ardrigh 
 
 - — Men (Agamemnon), 174 
 
 Offaly, 73, 165 
 
 Phoenicia, 127 
 
 Troy, 125, 151 
 
 Tuatha de Danann, see Danann 
 
 Ulster, 168, 173, 205 
 
 the Firbolgs, see Firbolg 
 
 Danann, see Danann 
 
 Orgiallians, 170 
 
 or Great Father, 184 
 
 Kings, 119, 143, 148, 14», 150, 151, 152, 155, 
 156, 170, 172, 176, 177, 178, 184, 201 
 
 Kings, Fort of the, or Rath na Riogh. 207, 
 209 
 
 Kings, Instructions of, 206 
 
 King's Countv, 59, 147, 164, 165, 166 
 
 Kinsale, Old Head of, 145, 162 
 
 Kirkwall, 79, 87 
 
 Knight of the Swan, 159 
 
 Red or Royal Branch, 16S- 
 
 169, 174, 175 
 
 Knighthood, Five Orders of, 175 
 
228 
 
 104, 
 
 Knock Ainc, 75 
 
 Grc'ine, 75 
 
 Knocks, or Hillocks, 28,64 
 
 Knock Ma, or Meadh, 21,22, 28. 71 n, 158 
 
 , na g-Cuaoh, or " Hill of the 
 
 Cuckoos, 1 ' '27 
 Knooknarea, 82, 68, 64m 
 Knowledge, 14, L16, 119, 121, 12G, 127, 12S, 
 
 130, 149,180, L87 
 Knowledge and Training of Women among 
 
 tlio Dananns, 88, 121 
 Knowth, or Cnoghda, 89, 75, 83, 84, 85, 8G 
 
 Lalsach Lanmor, 168 
 
 Laban, 143 
 
 Labhraidh Loingseaoh, 18, 171,173 
 
 Lactantius, 18 
 
 Lady Physicians, 88 
 
 Ourohog, 151 
 
 Lajghean, or Leinster, 18 
 
 Origin of the name, 18 
 
 Lalrgnen, King of Connacht, 155 
 
 Lakes, 8, L54, 155. 15(J 
 
 Lake of Oaks, 154 
 L.nuh Finn, 184 
 Rota, 210 
 
 Land of Promise, us 
 
 — Prophecy, 71n 
 
 , Youth, 71n 
 
 Language, 117 
 
 ! Irish, 150, 155n, 180 
 
 tk Language, Aryan Origin of Gaelic," 
 
 lilt, 1!>3 
 Lanigan, Dr., on Hound Towers, 184, 10(>, 
 
 197 
 Laoghaire, or Leary, King, 207 
 Laoighis, or Lcix, 108 
 Laateyrie, Dr., on the Irish, 101 
 
 Latham, Dr., on the Kelts, It, 125 
 
 Latin, 47, 07, 89. 02, 07, 127, 128n, 120, 130, 
 
 157, 177, 170,210 
 Latins, 8, 105,114,177 
 Latium, 8, '■•! 
 Law, Breton, 170,180,181,182,200 
 
 1 Catholic Church, 180 
 
 English, 180 
 
 . (Jed's, 182 
 
 — — Hindu, 180, 182 
 
 Man's, 182 
 
 Natural, 182 
 
 Roman, 180, 181,182 
 
 Spartan, 181 
 
 Statute, 180 
 
 Tables of the, 180, 181 
 
 Written, 182 
 
 Laws, Code of, 14, 118, 117, 118, 122,125, 
 
 177, 17S, 17'.), 180, 181, L82,206 
 Leabaidh aa bh-Fian, 64» 
 Leabaidh na bh-Pear -into, 64s 
 Leahhalr-na-h-Uldhre, 88, 88et, 08 
 
 g-Ceart, 12i>, 210 
 
 , n-Gabhala, 201 
 
 Lcaca Mac Nemedh, 28 
 
 or Flagstones, 28, 80 
 
 Lead as a writing material, 99, 102 
 « Leoaln, imuk of," 29, 30, 40, 58, 78, OS, 
 113, 196 
 
 Leda,158,159 
 
 Ledwieh, Dr., !)0, 105N, 122 
 Legends, The World's, 114 
 Leinster, 1 8, 21, 73, 92, 102, 1(52, 165, 1G6, 170. 
 
 175,180,201 
 "Leinster, Book of," 15,80,34,46,58, 62, 
 
 08,112, 126 
 Leinster, Knights of, 175 
 Loitrim, 20, 30, 54, 160j 
 Leix.168 
 Leoghaire, or Leary, King, 92 
 
 Children of, 72 
 
 son of Lughaidh, 70n 
 
 Letters, 92, !»•!, 95, 96, 07, 101, 105, 100, 110 
 
 121,128,170,108 
 Levi, Tribe of, 161 
 Lewis, 115 
 
 Lia-Fail,or Stone of Destiny, 83, 208 
 "Liber Ilymnorum," L6lM 
 Liberator, The (O'Connell), 104 
 Lifford, 70n, 188, 169 
 Ligurians, 14 
 Limerick, 70, 75, 143, 147 
 Linen aa a writing material, 00, 102 
 Liogair-ne*, 188 
 Llos,or Kurt, 123,124,140,202 
 Lir, or Lear, or Allod, 54, 65, 67, 88, 150, 
 
 151, 152,153,154,155,158 
 Literature, Ancient Irish, 121, 170 
 
 Danami, 121 
 
 Livy, 7 
 
 Lombardy, 8n 
 
 Londonderry, 75 
 
 Long Arm, Lugh of the, 156 
 
 Long-na-m-ban, or Stronghold of the 
 
 Women, 200 
 Lot, 148 
 
 Lough Allen, 30, 55 
 -, Arrow, 55, 58, 50, 61, 63, 109 
 
 Conn, 3 
 
 Lough Oorrib, 20, 22, 24, 25, 28, 31, 32, 35, 
 86,89,47 r 48 
 
 Cuan, 8 
 
 Cullen, 3, 4S 
 
 Derg, 152 
 
 Erne, 8, 54, 55, 57 
 
 Fehall, or Foyle, 63, 70, 78, 130 
 
 Gara, 8 
 
 Gill) 68 
 
 Glynn, 153 
 
 Mask, 8, 20, 24, 35, 27, 28, 31, 30, 42, 
 
 63, 200 
 
 lice, 161 
 
 Swilly,70,75 
 
 Lough rea, 163 
 Louth, 70, 84, 148, 166 
 
 Louvain, Library of, 00 
 Louvre, The, 102 
 
 Lowry's Fort, or Rath Laoghaire, 207 
 Luoanian Coast, 
 Ijiichta, sou of Luehad, 44n 
 LuCian, 97,98 
 
 Lugh, <>r Lughaidh, King, 42, 43, 44, 44n, 46, 
 ' 48. 51, 66, 68, 59, 60, 61, 68. 65, 67 j81, 84, 
 ■ss, 92, 98, 124, 189, 140, 110, 150,157, 158, 
 162,170 
 Lugh, meaning of, 47 
 
229 
 
 Lugb Nosa, or August, 43 
 
 Luge, or Lewis, 70 
 
 Luireach Patrulc, IGIn 
 
 Luis, or Mountain Asii, io:> 
 
 Lus-mhagh, or Herb-field, 59 
 
 Luxor, 116n 
 
 Lycia, 92 
 
 Ma, meaning of. 21, !»7 
 
 Muh, or Mabhbh, 21, 21n, 64n 
 
 Mac Ainy, 70 
 
 Airt, Connae, 175 
 
 Allod, or Loid, 70 
 
 Acnguls, L68 
 
 Aulcys, 107 
 
 Carthys, The, 167 
 
 Coill,or Coll, 44, 45n, 47, 70, 139,147,148 
 
 Conn, 70 
 
 Conncmara, 1G7 
 
 Guilleanan, Connac, 13 1 
 
 CumhaL Finn, 128, 176, 
 
 Demotes, 167 
 
 Donnells, 167 
 
 Dowdnls, 167 
 
 Macedonia, 3, 14 
 
 Mac Eithlenn, or Mac Ellen, 70 
 
 Engus,70 
 
 Ere, 43 
 
 Firbis, Duald.29,80, 40,41,70,81,82, 
 
 106,149,127,188.201,202 
 
 Geoghegans, 26, 167 
 
 (Jennie, L68 
 
 Gillapatrick, 72 
 
 Govhii, 70 
 
 Grime, 47, 70, 147, 148 
 
 Guires, 167 
 
 Gunn, or Gunn, 70 
 
 Maclia, a Lady Chieftain, 60 
 
 Queen, 170 
 
 Mac Bugh,70 
 
 Iceacht,or Ceaoht, 47, 147,148 
 
 Mac Kean, 70 
 
 Lachlins, 167 
 
 Lir, or Manannan, 47, 65, 88 
 
 Mahons, 167 
 
 Murraghs, 167 
 
 Morna, I7<; 
 
 Namaras, 167 
 
 Neid, 7o 
 
 Nessa, Conor, King. 160, 166,171, 174. 
 
 175, 176 
 
 Bannall, or Reynolds. 169 
 
 Boigh, Fergus, 168, 171, 171, 175 
 
 Bonaln, Callte, 176 
 
 Shcthor, 70 ' 
 
 Madel. 166 
 
 M.-i< n Magh. 168.165 
 
 or Labhraidh Longseach, 1?:; 
 
 BfaghCullen,orMagh [Jillin,48 
 
 Danaan. or DaneBfleld, 48, 48 
 
 Enne, 6ra 
 
 Itha, L88, 189 
 
 Leana, or Moleana, 165 
 
 Much. 168, 165 
 
 Mdr,48 
 
 Miirtlicniiic, 166 
 
 n-Ealta, 8 
 
 n-Eithrigh, 26 
 
 Magh Ncvy, 21 
 
 Rdin, lit, 20, 39 
 
 Sleacht, 172 
 
 Tuireadh, Mx, 16 23, 24, 55, 146, 150, 
 
 157 
 Conga, IS, 23, 24, 37, 89, 42, 
 
 46,68, 59K, 146, 160. l'.»:i 
 -Battle of, 18, 86, 43, 
 
 44,68,56,60,65,72. L60, L50, l- r .7, 190 
 
 Tnra, meaning of, 26, 80, 81, 82,85,199 
 
 Tnra of the Fomorlans, 28, 24,87, 42, 
 
 48, 45v, 46, 69v, 65, 72, 78, 146, 150, 
 
 157,199,201 ' 
 Magi| The, 120 
 Magog, 88, 131 
 
 Maine, Sir H.Sumner, 119, 179. 180, 181, 183 
 Mainl, liy, 168,165 
 Mainistrcii.il, Flann, 111 
 Malachy II., King, 44 
 Mai in, M 
 
 Man, Isle of, 14, 85, 47, 51, 71n. 194 
 Ma nannan Mac Lir. '17, 65, 67, 70n, 71n, 88, 
 150, 162, 160 
 
 Siangan, Olarei , 161n 
 
 "Manners and Customs of Ancient Irish •' 
 
 (()'( lurry), 16. 65, 72, 78, 80, 111, 117, 
 
 121, 2(h>, 204 
 Mantan, 168 
 
 Maolmuire of Fathan, 112, 12G 
 Marathon, 23, 57 
 
 Marcus, 172 
 
 Maria Teresa, Queen, 1 1 1 
 Mariseo, House of, 208 
 
 Marriage among Hie Dananns, 113,121. 122 
 Marsh of Tnra (Sheskin), 208 
 Mars, 131 
 
 Marseilles, 98 
 
 Mask, Loflgh.8,20,24, 25, 27, 2S, 31,39. 42, 
 
 68k, 200 
 Masiuissa, King of Africa, 173 
 Mass, 68k, 155 
 
 Bell, 155 
 
 Matabrune, Queen, 15!) 
 
 Matarra. 128 
 
 "Materials, MS." (0'0ttrry),84, 57,96, 08, 
 
 100,102, 105, 117, Hi), 202 
 Mauritania, 131 
 
 Mas Mulier, 98,94, 115. 117,125 
 
 Mayo, 3, 17,20,21,22, 33, 3(1, 37, 3!), 41, 12 
 
 68.69N, 70, 121, 1.03, 165, J66N, 183, 188, 
 
 IS!) 
 " Mayo, a Plea for the Evicted Tenants of," 
 
 183 
 Mean-Ulsge, 27, 81 
 Meath, 16, 44, 70n, 72, 75, 147, 149, 152, 157, 
 
 K.In, 165 
 Meat., Queen ofConnacht. 168, 169, 171, 
 
 174, 175 
 
 Meave's Butter roll, 64n 
 
 Media. 101, 102 
 
 Medicine studied by ladles (Danann), 121 
 
 Mediterranean, 3, [84, 186, 137, 167, 173 
 
 Memnomium. Ruins of, ik;n 
 
 Memphis, 10a, 12s, L86 
 
 The Irish, 84 
 
 Mcnelaus, 28, 151 
 
 Men's work among the Dananns, 124 
 
230 
 
 Mercury, 64 
 
 Mesopotamia, 4 
 
 Messianic Traditions, 114 
 
 Meuse, 13 
 
 Michol, daughter of Saul, 136 
 
 Midhir, 70n, 71n, 88, 152 
 
 Midhluachra, Slighe, see Slighe 
 
 Milbeoil, Kermad, 139 
 
 Miledh, Milesiusor Gallamh, 6, 126, 134, 135, 
 
 136, 137, 138, 140, 141, 142, 144, 145n, 
 
 150, 161, 163, 187 
 Milesius, 2, 5, 6, 8, 9, 18,29,41, 64n, 70, 71n, 
 
 74, 80, 81, 83, 87, 91, 92, 112, 116,120, 124, 
 
 125, 127, 128, 132, 134. 135, 136, 137, 138, 
 
 140, 141,142,143,144, 145, 146, 147, 14S, 
 
 149n, 150, 152, 160, 161, 162, 163, 
 
 165, 166, 167, 172, 177, 178, 183, 186, 187, 
 
 188, 189, 200, 209 
 Military Orders, 178 
 Mills, 124 
 
 Mioch, son of Dianceacht, 59 
 Miodhchuarta, Teach, of Tara, 208 
 Mioscan Meidbh, 64n 
 Mis Slieve, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147 
 Moab, 100 
 Moahites, 100 
 Moabite Stone, 99, 100, 101 
 
 Letter, 94 
 
 Modem Hebrew Bible, Letters of, 100 
 
 Mogha Nuadhat, 167 
 
 Moleana, or Magh Lean a, 165 
 
 Moore, Thomas, 33, 34, 38, 46, 96, 142, 155, 
 
 193, 194, ,196, 197 
 Moravia, 87 
 Morna, Clanna, 41 
 Mor Righan, or Great Queen, 64, 84, 121 
 
 Slighe, see Slighe 
 
 Moses, 5, 48, 66, 93, 101, 116, 121, 128, 130, 
 
 132, 133, 138 
 Monasterboice, 78, 78, 79, 111 
 Monks, Irish, 194, 197 
 Monmouth, Geoffry of, 132 
 Monolith, the, 82 
 Monuments, 69, 77, S2, 84, 88, 106n, 199, 
 
 206, 207, 208 
 Mound of the Hostages, 208 
 Mounds, 30, 31, 37, &2, 64n, 84, 85, 86, 88, 
 
 103, 106, 116n, 152, 153, 159, 206, 207, 
 
 208 
 Mountains, Old Cuckoo, 58 
 Mount Brahlieve, 58 
 Mourne Mountains, 86, 163 
 Moy River, 81 
 Moyle River, 54, 155, 156 
 Moytura Conga, 33, 146, 199 
 " MS. Materials" (O'Curry's), 34, 57,96, 9S, 
 
 100, 102, 106, 149n, 202 
 Mucca Mhanannain, 160 
 Muin, or Vine, 109 
 Muintir Eoluis, or People of Knowledge, 
 
 169 
 Muirlcht, 145 
 Mull, 154 
 
 of Cantyre, 155 
 
 Mullingar, 210 
 
 Munster, 21, 51, 92, 98, 99, 102, 103, 155, 
 
 164, 165, 166, 167, 170, 175 
 
 Munster, Knights of, 175 
 Mur Ollamhan at Tara, 172, 206 
 Murthemni, uncle of Milesius, 138, 166 
 Museums, 59, 102 
 Music, 113, 121, 187 
 Mykenae, 32, 39, 55, 66,68 
 Mythology, 68,113, 114, 115, 158, 159 
 Myths of the Early Ages, 113, 114 
 
 Nachor, grandsire of Abraham, 2 
 Napoleon I., 40, 66, 67 
 
 III., 40 
 
 Nar, uncle of Milesius, 138, 163 
 
 Nas, or Naas, 39, 44, 81 
 
 Naul, or Nel, son of Fenius, 128 
 
 Navan,103, 147, 175 
 
 Neale, The, 25, 26, 27, 36 
 
 Nearchu, 24 
 
 Neamhnach, Well of, 207, 208 
 
 Necropolis, 32, 37, 83, 84 
 
 Nechthann, 84 
 
 Neid, or Niat, 60, 65, 70, 78, 88, 139, 200 
 
 Neimheidh, 4, 5, 21, 38, 120 
 
 Nemedians, 2, 4, 6, 9,15, 19, 38, 39 40, 42, 52 
 
 162, 165 
 Nemedius, 4, 6, 18, 47, 125 
 
 Flags of the Sons of, 28 
 
 Nemed Mac Badhrai, 27 
 
 Nennius, 12n, 49, 50, 126, 132, 140 
 
 Nenual, son of Fenius, 128, 134 
 
 Nessa, n*other of Conor, 168, 174 
 
 Netterville, 84 
 
 Nevy's Plain, 21, 22 
 
 Newgrange, 39, 75, 79, 83, 85, 86, 87,103 
 
 Newport, Co Tipperary, 143 
 
 Newtown-Hamilton, 71n, 148, 152 
 
 Ngedal, or Reed, 109 
 
 Nia, Plain of, 22 
 
 Niagh Nasc, or Knights of the Golden 
 
 Collar, 175 
 Niall of the Nine Hostages, 167, 170 
 Nibelungen Lied, The, 68k 
 Nicholas, Saint, 201 
 Niehbur, 36n 
 
 Nile, River, 34, 40, 87, 94, 116n, 131, 136 
 Nimroud, 101, 135 
 Niniveh,98, 101, 102 
 Nion, or Ash, 109 
 
 Niul, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 136 
 Noah, 7, 88, 134 
 
 daughter of, 21n 
 
 Nore, River, 163, 165 
 
 Normans, 29, 9C, 126 
 
 Northern Isles, 43 
 
 Norwegians, 4, 52n, 114 
 
 Norway, 156 
 
 Nuada, King, 22, 25, 26, 27, 29, 42, 43, 47 
 
 49, 53, 56, 58, 60, S8, 134, 156] 
 Nuadhat, 153, 167 
 
 Queen of, 56 
 
 meaning of, 47 
 
 Nymphfield, 23, 25 
 
 Oak, or Dair, 109, 120 
 
 Oaks, Lake of, 154 
 
 O'Boyles, 167 
 
 O'Brien, Dr. (Most Rev.), 193, 195 
 
231 
 
 O'Briens, The, 167 
 O'Bymes, The, 167 
 O'Carrolls of Eily, 167 
 Ocean, German, 53 
 
 Ochtriuil, daughter of Dianceacht, 59^ 
 O'Connell, the Liberator, 194 
 O'Connell, Bishop of Kerry, 126 
 O'Connors of Corcomroe, 169 
 O'Conor, Charles, of Belanagare, 132, 193, 
 196 
 
 Roderick, 43, 178 
 
 Don, 167 
 
 Kerry, 169 
 
 O'Cuirnin, Cormac, 59n 
 
 O'Curry, Eugene, 12, 15, 16, 23 29, 30, 34, 
 38, 52n, 55, 56, 57, 59, 62, 63, 73, 74, 75, 
 78, 80, 81, 83, 89, 91, 95, 96, 98, 100, 102, 
 106, 111, 120, 121n, 145n, 149n, 150, 151, 
 156n. 159, 160N, 161, 168, 175, 179, 180, 
 187, 198, 200. 202, 204 
 
 O'Dayoren, 12 
 
 Oder, 10 
 
 Odin, or Woden, 64 
 
 O'Donnells, 167 
 
 O'Donovan, Dr., 23, 29, 34, 35, 37, 59n, 62, 
 63, 74. 75, 85n, 91, 103, 111, 120, 133, 
 165, 180, 210 
 
 Oe, 84 
 
 Oenach Colmain, 84 
 
 O'Fallons, 167 
 
 O'Farrells, 169 
 
 Offaly, 73, 165 
 
 O'Flaherty (Ogygia), 7, 32, 91, 106, 107, 
 110, 170, 178 
 
 O'Flahertys, The, 167 
 
 O'Flynn, Eochy, 111 
 
 O'Gallaghers, 167 
 
 O'Garas, 167 
 
 Ogham, 89, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 
 103, 104, 105, 106, 107,108, 109, 110, 119, 
 133, 146, 147 
 
 Ogma, 26, 44, 47, 51, 57, 58, 60, 61, 65, 67, 
 84, 88, 89, 92, 97, 98 107n 
 
 Ogmius, 97, 98 
 
 O'Grady, Standish, 16, 34, 132 
 
 Ogygia (C Flaherty's), 32, 106n,107, 165,170 
 
 O'Hanlon, Very Rev. Canon, 172 
 
 O'Haras, 167 
 
 Oidhe, 98 
 
 Cloinne Lir, 156n 
 
 Oidheam, 98 
 
 Oigh, 97 
 
 Oilell, or Oichell Arann, 153, 154 
 
 Oir, or Spindle-Tree, 110 
 
 Oirib, or Orbsen, 20, 47, 48 
 
 Oilial Olom, 167 
 
 Oisin, 176 
 
 O'Kanes, 167 
 
 O'Kellys, 167 
 
 O 'Kennedys, 167 
 
 Ollam, 84 
 
 Ollamh Fodhla, 168, 171, 172, 206 
 
 Ollamhs, 29, 45n, 98, 119, 120, 172, 178 
 
 Oll-Athair, or Great Father, 42, 44, 4S 64, 
 65 
 
 O'Lochan, Cnan, the Poet, 44 
 
 O'Loughlinns, 167, 169 
 
 Olympian God, 158 
 
 Olympic Games, 43, 122 J 
 
 Olympus, 62, 160 
 
 O'Maddens, 167 
 
 O'Mahony, 11, 42, 45, 49, 50, 132n 
 
 O'Malleys, 167 
 
 O'Maolconaire, Tanaidh, 111 
 
 O'Malones, 167 
 
 O'Moores, 168 
 
 O'Mulconry, John, 78 
 
 O'Mulloys, 167 
 
 O 'Murphy s of Hy Many, 167 
 
 Leinster, 167 
 
 O'Neills, 167 
 Onn, or Furze, 109 
 Opinions, Author's, 115 
 
 Coxe's, 114 
 
 Gladstone's, 114 
 
 — of Irish Scholars, 132 
 
 — Three Leading, on Round Towers, 
 
 192 
 
 O'Quinns, 169 
 
 Orbsen, or Corrib, Lough, 20 
 Ordai, son of Aldai, 88 
 Ordnance Survey, 15, 16, 62, 75, 78, 205 
 Orgiallians, 170 
 " Origin and Development of Religious 
 
 Belief," (Baring Gould,) 107n 
 O'Reillys, 167 
 
 Orkney Islands, 35, 52n, 53, 54, 79, 87 
 O'Rourkes, 167 
 Oscar, 176 
 
 Oscans, 8, 9, 94, 95, 129 
 Ossianic, 68n 
 
 Ossory and Ossorians, 73, 163, 167, 210 
 Othian, or Fahan, 126 
 O'Tooles, 167 
 Oughterard. 4S 
 Oxford, 90 
 
 Ox Mountains, see Gamh 
 Ox Mount, or Bri-damh, 164 
 Oxus, 92, 94 
 
 P, The Letter, 107 
 
 Pagan Origin of Ogham Writing, 106 
 
 Theory of Round Towers, 194, 195, 
 
 196, 197 
 Pagan Kelts, 200 
 
 Painting. Knowledge of, by Dananns, 121 
 Palace, Crystal, 103 
 
 Palm-branch, Writing in the form of, 103 
 Papebroke, Father, 90 
 Pap Mountains, 75 
 Parchments as Writing Material, 99 
 Parliament, Ancient Irish, 14, 178 
 
 Kilkenny, 182 
 
 Partholan, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 21, 52 
 
 Patrick, Saint, 22, 30, 43, 80, 92, 95, 96, 104, 
 
 108, 111, 160n, 161, 192, 193, 195, 198, 
 
 204, 208 
 Patroclus, 28 
 Paul, Saint, 104, 115 
 Peel, Tower of, in Isle of Man, 194 
 Pelasgic, 11, 39, 50, 65, 67, 82, 94, 95, 117, 
 
 129, 131 
 Peloponnesian War, 6S 
 
232 
 
 Peninsula, Spanish, 14 
 
 Pentarchy, 14, 35, 174, 177 
 
 Pentateuch, 100, 101, 131 
 
 Persepolis The Pillars of, 116n, 158 
 
 Perseus, 66, 157 
 
 Persia and Persians, 1, 23, 40, 68. 87, 92, 93 > 
 
 111, 114, 171, 184 
 Perth, 118 
 
 Petrie, Dr., 15, 34, 46, 62, 75, 77, 78, 80, 81, 
 84, 91, 161n, 177, 191, 192, 193, 194, 195, 
 196, 197, 198, 199, 200, 201,202, 205, 210 
 Pethboc, or soft B., 110 
 Phaleg, 135 
 Phallic, 107N, IOSn 
 Pharaoh, King of Egypt, 128, 130, 132, 136, 
 
 137, 158 
 Philipstown, 165 
 
 Phoenicia and Phoenicians, 7, 89, 92, 94, 
 95, 100, 101, 105, 106, 111, 127, 128n, 
 129, 131n, 132n 
 Physicians, Danann Ladies, 121 
 Pictet, Adolphe, 2n, 117, 120n, 125 
 Picts and Scots, 176, 188 
 Picture-Writing, 94, 95 
 Pillars of Persepolis, 1 16n 
 Pillar-Stones. 30, 84, 92, 102, 104, 105, 106, 
 
 195, 199, 200, 201, 202 
 Plague, 3 
 Plain, Hill of the, 21n 
 
 of Flocks, 3 
 
 of Nevi, 21,22 
 
 Nia, or Magh Tura, 22 
 
 of the Shield-shell, 26 
 
 of Towers, or Magh Tura, 26, 30 
 
 Pliny, 131 
 
 Poets and Poetry, 119, 120, 122, 131, 179, 200 
 
 Poland, 4 
 
 Pornpey, 174 
 
 Portumna, 152, 153, 154 
 
 Pre-Christian Irish History, 112 
 
 Preservation of Irish Language, Society 
 for, 150, 155 
 
 Priam, King of Troy, 30, 125, 151 
 
 Prichard, 125 
 
 Primitive Inhabitants of Ireland, 106 
 
 Promise, Land of, 118 
 
 Proofs of Character in Firbolg and Danann, 
 from MSS. and Ruins, 15, 82, 125 
 
 Proofs of Pagan Origin of Ogham, 97, 107 
 
 of Burial of the Dead, 122 
 
 that Dananns knew the Arts, 125 
 
 Propaganda College, 127 
 
 Proverbs, Solomon's, 101 
 
 Psalms, David's, 101 
 
 Psyche, 159 
 
 Ptolemais, 169 
 
 Ptolemy, 131 
 
 Public and Periodic Gatherings, 122 
 
 Roads, 210 
 
 Punch Cartoons, 189 
 
 Punjaub (five rivers), 50n, 158 
 
 Pyramids, 82 
 
 Pythian, The, 45 
 
 Queen Cuirrell, 84 
 
 Cleopatra, 82 
 
 Crotinn, 200, 209 
 
 Queen Elizabeth, 170 
 
 Great, or Mdr Righan, 64, 84, 121 
 
 Kothlenn, 55 
 
 Matabrune, 159 
 
 Meab, 64n, 168, 169, 171, 174, 175 
 
 Michol, 136 
 
 Saba, 167 
 
 Tea, 162, 164, 207, 208, 209 
 
 of Tuatha de Danann, 209 
 
 of Connacht, 168 
 
 of Ireland, see Eire and Ireland 
 
 , or Great Mother, 184 
 
 Queen's College, Cork, 117 
 
 County, 168 
 
 Queirt, or Apple-tree, 109 
 
 " Race, Aryan Origin of the Gaelic," <fcc, 
 
 104,:il6N, 133, 177 
 Races, Earliest, 1 
 Rachel, wife of Jacob, 154 
 Rainhat, or area, 210 
 Raleigh, SirW., 190 
 Rangers, Connacht, 210 
 Rannall, or Mac Rannall, 169 
 Raphoe, 70n, 147, 151, 159 
 Raths, 16, 36, 39, 59, 81, 84, IISn, 121, 122, 
 
 123, 124, 198, 201, 202 
 Rath Beathaigh, or Beagh, 163, 165 
 
 Builder of Tara, 201 
 
 Cro-porta, 25 * 
 
 Conrath, 143 
 
 Caelchu, 209 
 
 Fearainn, 25 
 
 Graine, 208, 209 
 
 Laoghaire, 207, 208 
 
 na-Riogh, 14n, 15, 16, 20, 36, 207, 208 
 
 209 
 
 Moilcatha, 81 
 
 of the Synods, 208 
 
 Uin, or Rahoon, 163 
 
 Rathlin, 35 
 
 Rawlinson, Sir Henry, 93, 101 
 
 Red Hugh, 55, 152 
 
 or Royal Branch Knights, 168,169,174 
 
 Sea, 100, 12S, 133 
 
 Reed, or Ngedal, 109 
 
 Ree, Lough, 161 
 
 Refloir, King, 136 
 
 Religious Rites, 15, 178, 187 
 
 Remus, 36, 37, 131 
 
 Respect of the Dananns for the Weaker 
 Sex, 83 
 
 Revelation, 114 
 
 Reynolds, or Rannall, 169 
 
 Rhaetia, or The Tyrol, 14 
 
 Rhea Sylvia, 65, 131 
 
 Rhine, River, 13, 14 
 
 Rich, Barnaby, on Ireland, 189 
 
 Righ, or King, 118 
 
 " Rights, Book of," 126 
 
 Rinuccini, the Nuncio, 190 
 
 River Large, or Abhan Mhor, 61 
 
 Small, or Abhan bheag, 61 
 
 Roads, Public, 210 
 
 Roigh, mother of Fergus, 174 
 
 Roboam, 164 
 
 Roland, 68 
 
233 
 
 Roman, 100, 105, 106,109, 111.176, 180, 181 
 
 182,198 
 Romans, 8, 2S,40, 96, 115, 123, 129, 173 
 Rome. 8, 9, 16, 32, 36, 37, 65, 90, 96, 116n, 
 
 127, 129, 131, 169, 171, 181, 182, 198 
 Romulns, 36, 37, 131, 184 
 Rory, Children of, 173 
 Rosa and Rose, 12Sn 
 Roscommon, 3, 17n, 58, 122, 153, 169 
 Rosetta Stone, The, 101 
 Rosg-Catha, or Eve of Battle, 24 
 Ro-shet, or Road, 210 
 Ross, son of Rory, 174 
 Rot, or Road, 210 
 Ros,*meaning of, 17n 
 
 Ainread, 163, 165 
 
 in England,17N, 35 
 
 in Munster, 17n 
 
 in the Highlands. 17N 
 
 Nair, 166 
 
 na Riogh, 84 
 
 Rostreyor, 17 w 
 
 Roumelia, 4 
 
 Round Towers, 180, 192, 193, 194, 195, 196, 
 
 198, 199, 200, 202, 203, 204 
 Round Towers as Signal Turrets, 195, 197 
 Royal Irish Academy, 32, 34, 37, 58, 62, 69, 
 
 72, 82n, 84, 89, 107N, 111 
 Ruadh-raidh, or Roory, King, 168 
 Ruis, or Alder, 109 
 
 Rurai, or Roderick O'Conor, K. I., 43, 178 
 Ruadraidh Clan, 169, 173 
 
 Mor, 171, 173, 174, 175 
 
 Russia, 117 
 
 Saba, wife of Olial Olom, 167 
 
 Sabines, 8, 9, 28, 129 
 
 Sabh Ildanadh, The, 44 
 
 Sacrifices, Human (none), 120, 171 
 
 Sail, or Willow, 109 
 
 Saimher, 3 
 
 Samaritan, 94, 100, 127 
 
 Samhain, or November, 172 
 
 Samnites and Samnium, 8, 116n 
 
 Samuel the Prophet, 101, 119, 185 
 
 Sand Hills, 145 
 
 Sanative Pool, or Healing Bath, 24 
 
 Sanskrit, 93, 95, 97, 102, 118n, 120, 128 
 
 Saul, King of Israel, 42, 119, 136, 185, 187 
 
 Saxons, 96, 141, 188, 204 
 
 Scandinavia, 5, 54, 90, 103, 104, 114 
 
 Scathall, or Scell, meaning of, 26 
 
 Sceine" (gen. Skene), wild beauty, 3 
 
 Schliemann. 68 
 
 Science, or Ealadhan, 97,114, 116n 
 
 Scota, Ladv, 128, 12Sn, 131, 132, 134, 136, 
 
 137, 141, 144, 145, 146 
 Scotch, 106, 186, 188, 1S9, 191, 209 
 Scoti, 10, 33, 91, 107N, 131, 132, 133, 134, 
 
 135,136, 172, 176 
 Scotin, 166 
 Scotland, 14, 90, 98, 106, 137, 155, 183, 191, 
 
 193, 194, 201 
 Scriptures, Sacred, 100, 107, 158 
 Sculpture (Danann), 122 
 Scythian, 7, 60, 127, 12S, 130, 131, 132lf, 
 
 134, 13G, 157 
 
 Sea'Black, 34 
 
 Northern, or German Ocean, 53,54,137 
 
 Seafield, 62 
 
 Seanachaidh, 12, 106n, 119, 131, 135, 140, 
 
 142, 149, 178 
 Sean Chuach, or Old Cuckoo, 58 
 Seancus M<5r, 105 
 Sean Mhagh, or Old Plain, 3 
 Secret Character of Ogham, 98} 119 
 Sedga, Chieftain. 163 
 Seilg, meaning of, 11 
 Sem, son of Noah, 7, 130, 135, 166 
 Semiramis, Queen, 93, 149 
 Semita, or Path, 210 
 Semitic, 7, 10, 94 
 Seng, wife of Milesius, 136 
 Septs, 184, 185 
 Septuagint, 4n, 170 
 Servia, 183 
 Seth, 99, 130 
 Set, or Road, 219 
 Shannon, River, 21, 152, 153, 161, 162, 163, 
 
 164 
 Shenaar, 127, 128,129, 131, 130, 132 
 Shetland Isles, 52n, 53 
 Sheskin, or Marsh of Tara, 208 
 Sicily, 134, 135, 173 
 Siculians, 8 
 Sidh, or Fairy, 39, 7lK 
 Sidhe, or fairv-hills, 88, 144, 149, 152 
 
 Buidhbh, 71n 
 
 ■ Droma Deine, 153 
 
 Cletigh, 7lN, 153 
 
 Finneachaidh, 152 
 
 Meadha, 71n, 153 
 
 Trium, 153 
 
 Neanta, 153 
 
 Sigean Shore, 28 
 
 Sighmael, 70n, 71n, 152, 153 
 
 Silver-hand, or Airgead-lamh, see Airgead- 
 
 lamh 
 Simon Breac, or Speckled, 5 
 Sinai, 93, 95, 100 
 Siorna, K., 171, 172 
 Six, The, 23 
 Skarif, or Scariff, 163 
 Skellig Rocks, 145, 162 
 Skene", wife of Amerghin, 3, 145 
 
 Inver, 3, 143, 144, 145, 166 
 
 Skins as writing material, 99 
 Slainge, 15, 27, 206 
 
 Inver, 142, 144 
 
 Slane in Meath, 79, 84, 103, 152, 153, 161n 
 
 Slavs, 183 
 
 Slaney, River, 18, 35 
 
 Slemhna Magha Itha, 138, 166 
 
 Sligo, 23, 37, 43, 55, 56, 58, 62, 70. 157, 189, 
 
 199 
 Sliabh, an Iaruin, 39 
 
 Eblind, or Felim, 143, 166 
 
 na m-ban, 39 
 
 Bladhma, or Bloom, 166 
 
 Mis, 143, 144, 145. 146, 147 
 
 Cuailgue, or Coolev, 148, 166 
 
 Fuadh, 148, 152, 153, 166 
 
 Slighe, a public road, 210 
 
 Asail, or Western road, 218 
 
234 
 
 Slighe, Cualann, or Eastern road, 210 
 
 Dala,or Great South Western road, 
 
 210 
 
 Midhluachra, or Northern road, 210 
 
 Mdr, or Eiscir Riada, 210 
 
 Sloe-tree, or Strait, 109 
 
 Smerwick, 145, 145n, 190 
 
 Smith's Banquet, The, 160 
 
 Social Habits ot Dananns. 113, 122, 177 
 
 Solomon, his Proverbs, 101n 
 
 King, 119 
 
 Society for Preservation of IrishLanguage, 
 
 150 
 South Munster Society of Antiquarians, 
 
 103 
 Spain and Spaniards, 6, 9, 17n, 114, 125, 126, 
 
 134, 135, 138, 139, 140, 142, 145N, 161, 
 
 162, 163, 166, 198 
 Spanish Peninsula, 14, 134 
 Spartan State, Code of the, 181 
 Spenser, Edmund, 182, 189 
 Spindle-tree, or Oir, 110 
 Sreng, 15, 19, 20, 26, 27, 28, 29, 42 
 Sruth na Maoile, 155 
 
 meaning of, 19 
 
 Sru, the leader, 133, 134 
 
 Stackallen Bridge, 39 
 
 Staffa, Isle of, 54 
 
 Statute Law, 180 
 
 St. Columbkille, 29, 30, 197, 198 
 
 — Isidore, 90 
 — "Jarlath, 169 
 
 — Jerome, 13, 130 
 
 — Patrick, 22, 30, 43, 80, 93, 108, 160n, 170, 
 
 172, 192, 193, 195, 198, 204, 208j 
 
 — Paul, 104, 115; 
 
 — Nicholas, College of 201 
 Stone as a writing material, 99, 103 
 
 House, or Cloigteach, 195, 198 
 
 Pillars, 30, 84, 92, 99, 102, 199, 200, 
 
 201, 202 
 
 of Destiny, or Lia-fail, 208 
 
 Monuments, 106, 107, 122, 123 
 
 . Dwellings, 198, 199, 200, 201, 202 
 
 Stoney Batter, 210 
 
 Strait, or Sloe-tree, 109 
 
 Strangford or Cuan Lough, 3 
 
 Strabo, 131 
 
 Stream of the Maoil, or Mull, 155 
 
 Styria, 14 
 
 Suir, River, 35 
 
 Suirghe,'148, 163 
 
 Sullivan (W. K.), 1, 91, 117 
 
 (A.M.), 34 
 
 Supreme Being, 40 
 
 Sun and Fire Worship, 46, 205,119, 171, 173 
 
 Sutherland, 35 
 
 Swan, Knight of the, 159 
 
 Sweden, 52n, 156 
 
 Swift, Dean, on the Irish, 190 
 
 Switzerland, 14 
 
 Synods, Rath of the, 20S 
 
 Table lands. 1 
 
 staves, 102 
 
 Tables of the Law, 101 
 
 Poets, 102] 
 
 Tables, Twelve, 9 
 Tablets, Wooden, 102 
 of Wax, 102 
 
 -of Umbria and Samnium, 116n 
 
 Tabra-fena, or Wells of Fenius, 133 
 
 Tadhg Mdr, 70n, 71n, 152, 153 
 
 Taoi and Talom and Trug, 45n 
 
 Taibhli Filidh, 102 
 
 Tailte, Queen of King Eochy, 43, 44, 51, 
 121 
 
 Tailiteann, or Teltown, 43, 46, 70, 70n, 72, 
 74, 84, 122, 144, 147, 149. 150, 159 
 
 Tain-bo-Cuailgne, The, 174 
 
 " Tales, The Three Most Sorrowful, " 74, 
 149, 156, 169, 174 
 
 Tallacht, or Tallaght, 3 
 
 Tamhleacht, meaning of, 41 
 
 Tanistry, 177, 183, 184 
 
 Tara, or Teamhair, 5, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 
 21, 35, 3S, 37, 39, 43, 44n,45n,46,57, 
 58, 72, 73, 74, 78, 81, 84, 122, 143, 147, 
 156, 157, 161n, 168, 171, 172, 176, 177, 
 200, 201, 205, 206, 207, 208, 210 
 
 Tara, Psalter of, 206 
 
 Tath, 134 
 
 Tea, wife of Heremon, 163, 164 
 
 Teach Doinn, 145sr, 166 
 
 Miodhchuarta at Tara, 208 
 
 Mdr Milidh Amus, 15 
 
 Mur, meaning of, 208, 209 
 
 Teagasg na Riogh, 206 
 
 Tea's House at Tara, 207 
 
 Teige, 167 
 
 Templemore, 201 
 
 Tethmoy, or Tuath da Magh, 164 
 
 Tethra, 58 
 
 Teutones and Teutonic, 36n, 65, 114 
 
 Thebes, 102, 116n 
 
 Theistic Traditions, 114 
 
 Theodoric, 68n 
 
 Thor, or Donar, 64 
 
 Thrace, 4, 12, 14, 50, 137 
 
 Tighearnach of Clonmacnoise, 33, 34, 172 
 
 Tighearnmas, King, 170, 171, 172 
 
 Tigh Teamrach at Tara, 15 
 
 Tigris, 40, 92, 158 
 
 Timahoe, 204 
 
 Tinne, 109 
 
 Tipperary, 70, 143, 166 
 
 Tirawly, 167 
 
 Tireragh, 81,167 * 
 
 TirErril, 23,43,55, 56, 199 
 
 Tiri, or Tiree, 54 
 
 Tir-fiachra, 167 
 
 Tir-na-h-oige, 71n 
 
 Tir-Tairrgine, 7Lx 
 
 Tlacta, 46 
 
 Tobur Finn, 208 
 
 Tochur, 163, 165 
 
 Todd, Dr., 12, 126, 141 
 
 Tonn Cliodhna, 161 
 
 Tor, or Tower, 200 
 
 Tory Island, 5, 18, 38, 51, 54/.200 
 
 Tower Conaings, 38 
 
 Hythe, 194 
 
 Tower of Babel, 135 
 
 of Peel 194, 
 
235 
 
 Towers. Island of, 5 
 
 Round, 69, 72, 79, 80, SI, 87, ISO, 
 
 192, 193, 194, 195, 196, 197, 198, 199, 200, 
 
 203, 204 
 Towns of the Dead, 32, 83, 87 
 Traigh Eothaile, or Traigh an Chairn, 63 
 Trajan, Emperor, 184, 
 Tralee, 143 
 Treunmor, 176 
 Treviri, 13 
 
 Tribes and Families, 1S3 
 Triennial Parliament of Tara, 172, 206 
 Trinity College, 35, 59w , 63n, 69, 72, 78, 90, 
 
 126, 149n, 151, 161n, 197 
 Troad, The, 151 
 
 Troigh Leathan, or Broad Foot, 201 
 Troy and Trojan, 25, 30, 32, 67, 68, 116x, 
 
 121,125,151 
 Tuagh-rota, or farm road, 210 
 Tuaith da Magh, or Tethmoy, 164 
 Tuam, 21, 71n, 153, 169 
 Tuatha, or Tribes, 49, 50, 72, 74 
 Tuathach Ban, 48, 49 
 Tuatha de Danann, see Danann 
 
 ■ meaning of, 48 
 
 Tuirin, near Lough Mask, 200 
 
 Tuirenn, Fate of the Children of, 72, 156, 
 
 157, 158 
 Tulach an Triuir, 31, 37 
 Tullaghbeg, 165 
 Tullamore, 165 
 
 Tumuli, or Tombs, 31, 62, 64, 87, 106, 198 
 Tur, or Tower, 200 
 Turanian, 127 
 Turtha, or Columns, 26 
 Tur Trean Teamhrach, 200 
 Tuscany, 8n 
 
 Twelve Tables, 9, 180, 181, 182 
 Tyrol, see Rhaetia 
 
 Ughi, a Milesian leader, 163 
 
 Uilleann, or Woodbine, 110 
 
 Uillin, 47, 48 
 
 Uisneach, 44, 46, 143, 174, 175 
 
 Ulla, Ulladh, or Ulster, 21, 51, 150, 162, 
 
 165, 167, 168, 169, 170, 174, 205,206 
 " Ulster, Annals of," 87 
 Ulysses, 151, 174 
 
 Umbria and Umbrians, 8, 9, 116n, 129 
 Un, a Milesian leader, 165 
 
 Rath, called Rahoon, 163, 165 
 
 Ur of Chaldea, 2, 4 
 Ur, or Heath, 109 
 
 Valencia, 162 
 
 Vallancey, General, on Round Towers, 193, 
 
 194, 196 
 Valley of Sinai, 93, 95, 100 
 Vedic Poets, 114 
 Venice, 9 
 Venus, IOSn 
 
 Vere, Sir Aubrey de, 174 
 Vikings, 52n 
 Vine, or Muin, 109 
 Vistula, 4, 10, 50 
 Volscians, or Volsci, 8, Sn, 9 
 
 Wales, 17n, 188 
 
 Wand of the Poets, or Fleasg Fili, 102 
 
 Ware, Sir James, 91, 107m 
 
 Warrenstown, 164 
 
 Waterfall, Dara's, 63 
 
 of Red Hugh, 152 
 
 Watermill, first in Ireland, 206 
 Wax as a writing material, 102 
 Weaker Sex, Respect for, by Tuatha de 
 
 Danann, 83 
 Weaker Sex, Knowledge and Training of, 
 
 83, 141 
 Weapons, Warlike, 56 
 Well of Fenius, 133 
 Neamhnach (Heaven Spring),"207, 
 
 208 
 Wells, 31 
 
 Welsh, 9, 11,13, 1SS, 189 
 Western Asia, 100 
 Western Continent, 14 
 West, Isle of the, 3 
 Westmeath 44, 46, 143, 147, 154 
 Westminster Abbey, 83 
 Wexford, 18, 72, 122, 142 
 White Foreigners, 4 
 Wicklow, 18, 163, 171 
 " Wideway " Mykenae, 39 
 Wilde, Lady, 96, 198 
 
 Sir W., 10n, 28, 30, 31, 32, 33, 36, 
 
 37, 59n, 63n, 64n, 69, 74, 75, 85, 86, 87, 
 91, 106n 
 
 Williams, W., 111n, 147 
 
 Willow, or Sail, 109 
 
 Wilton, Lord Grey de, 190 
 
 Windele, on Round Towers, 193, 194, 197 
 
 Wolfian Theory, The, 68 
 
 Women's Rights and Position among the 
 
 Kelts, 141 
 — among he 
 
 Dananns, 121 
 Women's Works among the Dananns, 124 
 Wood as a writing material, 99, 102 
 Woodbine, or Uilleann, 110 
 Wooden Buildings, 200 
 
 Tablets, 102 
 
 Worship of the True God, 15 
 
 False gods, 15 
 
 Sun and Fire, 46 
 
 Writing Materials (Ancient Irish), 99 
 Secret, 47 
 
 Young, Arthur, on Ireland, 190 
 Youth, Land of, see Tir-na-h-oige 
 
 Zeuss, 98, 158 
 
Price Is. 6 d. 
 
 The Aryan Origin of the Gaelie Raee & Language. 
 
 BY THE 
 
 Very Rev. U. J. CANON BOURKE, P.P., M.R.I.A. 
 
 SECOND EDITION. 
 
 LONDON : 
 LONGMANS, GREEN & CO., PATERNOSTER-ROW. 
 
 1876. 
 
 OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. 
 
 (From the Freeman's Journal.') 
 
 The consummate skill with which the Very Rev. Author has utilised 
 his ponderous materials, the acumen with which he states and supports 
 his own views, the dexterity with which he aids a concurrent or combats 
 an opponent, these, joined to a great force of expression, signal illustrative 
 faculty, and a wonderful range of learning, make this book altogether out 
 of the ordinary category. Its perusal offers the most conclusive answer 
 to those who question the advantage of exploration in the language, 
 literature, and antiquities of Ireland. From this book the sceptical or the 
 ignorant will learn to look with new sentiments upon what is the fashion 
 to contemn or to neglect ; to the scientific it will be a welcome auxiliary, 
 and no reader, we venture to predict, but will own that he has never spent 
 his time to better purpose than in gathering from the rich stores here 
 provided for him. 
 
 (From the Irish Times. ) 
 
 Canon Bourke shows with admirable skill how, to men learned in 
 the science of languages, a knowledge of the Keltic is a necessary element 
 in their investigation, and he brings a blush to the cheek of Irishmen when 
 
lie informs them that in France and in Germany that language which they 
 are fast abandoning is studied with much interest and zeal by the great 
 philologists of the day. In his researches, the author shows that there 
 is a great similarity between the Latin and G-aelic letters. The depth of 
 thought displayed in this work must raise it above the level of the 
 ephemeral productions which too frequently in latter times have issued 
 from the Press . . . 
 
 (From the Morning Mail. ) 
 
 . . . The work is a most valuable contribution to philological literature ; 
 it displays immense erudition and research, combined with a judicial 
 impartiality not always found in the wotaks of enthusiastic writers on 
 controverted questions of race and language. In style it can be compared 
 for clearness, energy, and aptness of illustration with any work in the 
 English language ; and we should be glad if we could see more works of 
 the kind as the result of the learned leisure of the higher dignitaries of 
 the Roman Catholic Church. 
 
WORKS BY THE SAME AUTHOK. 
 
 Teap, Svo, cloth, limp, price 2s. 6d. 
 The College Irish Grammar. 8th Edition. For the use of Students 
 of Intermediate Schools aud Colleges ; may be used at the 
 Examinations under the Intermediate Education (Ireland) Act 
 of 1879. 
 
 Fcap. Svo, cloth, price 3s. 6d. 
 Easy Lessons or Self-instruotion in Irish. 7th Edition. A KEY 
 is annexed to the end of each Part. 
 
 Crown 8vo, wrapper, price 2s. 6d. 
 The Bull "Ineffabilis Deus." In Four Languages — Latin, Ibish, 
 French and English ; with a Dissertation on the Art of Illuminating 
 in the Past and Present. 
 
 Crown 8vo, price 7s. 6d. {Second Edition). 
 The Aryan Origin of the Gaelic Race and Language. 
 
 Svo, cloth, price 5s. ("Second Edition). 
 Dr. O'G-allagher's Sermons in Irish, English Version ; and a Memoir 
 of the Bishop, and a History of his Times. 
 
 Crown Svo, wrapper, price Sixpence. 
 The Life and Labours of St. Augustin (Bishop of Hippo-Regius). 
 "With an Account of the Canons Regular and of the Augustin Friars 
 in Ireland. Second Edition. 
 
 People's Edition, price Sixpence. 
 I The Doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of the B.V.M. 
 The People's Edition. 
 The Dignity, Sanctity, and Intercessory Power of the Blessed 
 Virgin Mary, Mother of God. 
 
 Fcap. Svo (Second Edition, 210 pages), wrapper Is., cloth 2s. 
 Life and Times of the Most Rev. Dr. MacHale, Archbishop of 
 Tuam and Metropolitan. 
 
 Life of the Most Rev. Dr. MacHale (in Irish). Published in the 
 
 Gaelic Journal. 
 
 Price Sixpenca 
 A Plea for the Evicted Tenants of Mayo. A Letter addressed to 
 
 the Right Hon. William E. Gladstone, First Lord of the Treasury 
 
 and Chancellor of the Exchequer. 
 
DATE DUE 
 
 
 
 
 
 NOV \ ? 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I4N 1 7 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 J 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 UNIVERSITY PRODUCTS, INC. #859-5503 
 
BOSTON 
 
 COLLEGE 
 
 BB 01 189660 2 
 
 D/9 9 if 
 
 Si 7 
 
 fL2l9 
 
 BOSTON COLLEGE LIBRARY 
 
 UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS 
 CHESTNUT HILL, MASS. 
 
 Books may be kept for two weeks and may be 
 renewed for the same period, unless reserved. 
 Two cents a day is charged for each book kept 
 overtime. 
 
 If you cannot find what you want, ask the 
 Librarian who will be glad to help you. 
 
 The borrower is responsible for books drawn 
 on his card and for all fines accruing on the same.