by Irish Myths
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Fianna, or to bring them to his smithy, he started running, and
they followed after him all through Ireland, to Slieve-na-Righ,
and to Luimnech, and to Ath Luain, and by the right side of Cruachan of Connacht, and to Ess Ruadh and to Beinn Edair, and so to the sea.
And wherever it was they found the smithy, they went into
it, and there they found four smiths working, and every one of
them having seven hands. And Finn and Caoilte and the rest
stopped there watching them till the swords were made, and they
brought them away with them then, and it is good use they made
of them afterwards.
And besides his sword, Mac an Luin, Finn had a shield was
called Sgiath Gailbhinn, the Storm Shield; and when it called out
it could be heard all through Ireland.
And whether or not it was the Storm Shield, Finn had a wonderful shield that he did great deeds with, and the story of it is this:
At the time of the battle of the Great Battle of Magh Tuireadh,
Lugh, after he had struck the head off Balor of the Evil Eye, hung
it in the fork of a hazel-tree. And the tree split, and the leaves fell
from it with the dint of the poison that dropped from the head.
And through the length of fifty years that tree was a dwellingp lace of crows and of ravens . And at the end of that time Manannan, son of Lir, was passing by, and he took notice of the
tree that it was split and withered, and he bade his men to dig it
up. And when they began to dig, a mist of poison rose up from
the roots, and nine of the men got their death from it, and
another nine after them, and the third nine were blinded. And
Luchtaine the Carpenter made a shield of the wood of that hazel
for Manannan. And after a while Manannan gave it, and a set of
chessmen along with it, to Tadg, son of Nuada; and from him it
came to his grandson, Finn, son of Muime and of Cumhal.
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CHAPTER VI.
LOMNA:S HEAD
Finn took a wife one time of the Luigne of Midhe. And at the
same time there was in his household one Lomna, a fool.
Finn now went into Tethra, hunting with the Fianna , but
Lomna stopped at the house. And after a while he saw Coirpre, a
man of the Luigne, go in secretly to where Finn's wife was.
And when the woman knew he had seen that, she begged and
prayed of Lomna to hide it from Finn. And Lomna agreed to that,
but it preyed on him to have a hand in doing treachery on Finn.
And after a while he took a four-square rod and wrote on Ogham
on it, and these were the words he wrote:-
"An alder stake in a paling of silver; deadly nightshade in a
bunch of cresses; a husband of a lewd woman; a fool among the
well-taught Fianna; heather on bare Ualann of Luigne."
Finn saw the message, and there was anger on him against the
woman; and she knew well it was from Lomna he had heard the
story, and she sent a message to Coirpre bidding him to come and
kill the fool.
So Coirpre came and struck his head off, and brought it away
with him.
And when Finn came back in the evening, he saw the body,
and it without a head. "Let us know whose body is this," said the
Fianna. And then Finn did the divination of rhymes, and it is what
he said: "It is the body of Lomna; it is not by a wild boar he was
killed; it is not by a fall he was killed; it is not in his bed he died; it
is by his enemies he died; it is not a secret to the Luigne the way
he died. And let out the hounds now on their track," he said
So they let out the hounds, and put them on the track of Coirpre, and Finn followed them, and they came to a house, and Coirpre in it, and three times nine of his men, and he cooking fish
on a spit; and Lomna's head was on a spike beside the fire.
And the first of the fish that was cooked Coirpre divided
between his men, but he put no bit into the mouth of the head.
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IRISH MYTHS AND LEGENDS
And then he made a second division in the same way. Now that
was against the law of the Fianna, and the head spoke, and it said:
"A speckled white-bellied salmon that grows from a small fish
under the sea; you have shared a share that is not right; the
Fianna will avenge it upon you, Coirpre." "Put the head outside,"
said Coirpre, "for that is an evil word for us." Then the head said
from outside. "It is in many pieces you will be; it is great fires will
be lighted by Finn in Luigne."
And as it said that, Finn came in, and he made an end of Coirpre, and of his men.
CHAPTER VII.
ILBREC OF ESS RUADH
One time Caoilte was hunting on Beinn Gulbain, and he went on
to Ess Ruadh. And when he came near the hill of the Sidhe that is
there, he saw a young man waiting for him, having a crimson
fringed cloak about him, and on his breast a silver brooch, and a
white shield, ornamented with linked beasts of red gold, and his
hair rolled in a ball at the back, and covered with a golden cap.
And he had heavy green weapons, and he was holding two
hounds in a silver chain.
And when Caoilte came up to him he gave him three loving
kisses, and sat down beside him on the grass. "Who are you,
young champion? " said Caoilte. "I am Derg, son of Eoghan of the
people of Usnach," he said, "and foster-brother of your own."
Caoilte knew him then, and he said: "And what is your life with
your mother's people, the Tuatha de Danaan in Sidhe Aedha?"
"There is nothing wanting to us there of food or clothing," said
the young man. "But for all that," he said, "I would sooner live
the life of the worst treated of the serving-boys of the Fianna than
the life I am living in the hill of the Sidhe." "Lonely as you are at
your hunting to-day," said Caoilte, "it is often I saw you coming
to the Valley of the Three Waters in the south, where the Siuir
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259
and the Beoir and the Berba come together, with a great company
about you; fifteen hundred young men, fifteen hundred servingboys, and fifteen hundred women. " "That was so," said Derg;
"and although myself and my gentle hound are living in the hill
of the Sidhe, my mind is always on the Fianna. And I remember
well the time," he said, "when you yourself won the race against
Finn's lasting black horse. And come now into the hill," he said,
"for the darkness of the night is coming on. "
So he brought Caoilte into the hill with him, and they were set
down in their right places.
It was at that time, now, there was great war between Lir of
Sidhe Fionnachaidh and Ilbrec of Ess Ruadh. There used a bird
with an iron beak and a tail of fire to come every evening to a
golden window of Ilbrec's house, and there he would shake himself till he would not leave sword on pillow, or shield on peg, or spear in rack, but they would come down on the heads of the
people of the house; and whatever they would throw at the bird,
it is on the heads of some of themselves it would fall. And the
night Caoilte came in, the hall was made ready for a feast, and
the bird came in again, and did the same destruction as before
,
and nothing they threw at him would touch him at all. "Is it
long the bird has been doing this?" said Caoilte. "Through the
length of a year now," said Derg, "since we went to war with
Sidhe Fionnachaidh."
Then Caoilte put his hand within the rim of his shield, and he
took out of it a copper rod he had, and he made a cast of it at the
bird, that brought it down on the floor of the hall. "Did any one
ever make a better cast than that?" said Ilbrec. "By my word," said
Caoilte, "there is no one of us in the Fianna has any right to boast
against another. " Then Ilbrec took down a sharp spear, having
thirty rivets of gold in it, from its place, and he said: "That is the
Spear of Fiacha, son of Congha, and it is with that Finn made an
end of Aillen, son of Midhna, that used to bum Teamhair. And
keep it beside you now, Caoilte," he said, "till we see will Lir
come to avenge his bird on us."
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IRISH MYTHS AND LEGENDS
Then they took up their horns and their cups, and they were at
drinking and pleasure, and Ilbrec said: "Well, Caoilte," he said, "if
Lir comes to avenge his bird on us, who will you put in command
of the battle?" "I will give the command to Derg there beyond,"
said he. "Will you take it in hand, Derg?" said the people of the
hill. "I will take it," said Derg, "with its loss and its gain. "
So that is how they spent the night, and it was not long in the
morning till they heard blowing of horns, and rattling of chariots,
and clashing of shields, and the uproar of a great army that came
all about the hill. They sent some of their people out then to see
were there many in it, and they saw three brave armies of the one
size. "It would be a great vexation to me," said Aedh Nimbrec, the
Speckled, then, "we to get our death and Lir's people to take the
hill. " "Did you never hear, Aedh," said Caoilte, "that the wild
boar escapes sometimes from both hounds and from wolves, and
the stag in the same way goes away from the hounds with a sudden start; and what man is it you are most in dread of in the battle? " he said. "The man that is the best fighter of all the Men of
Dea," said they all, "and that is Lir of Sidhe Fionnachaidh. " "The
thing I have done in every battle I will not give up to-day," said
Caoilte, "to meet the best man that is in it hand to hand. " "The
two that are next to him in fighting," they said then, "are Donn
and Dubh." " I will put down those two," said Derg.
Then the host of the Sidhe went out to the battle, and the
armies attacked one another with wide green spears and with little casting spears, and with great stones; and the fight went on from the rising of the day till midday. And then Caoilte and Lir
met with one another, and they made a very fierce fight, and at
the last Lir of Sidhe Fionnachaidh fell by the hand of Caoilte.
Then the two good champions Dubh and Donn, sons of Eirrge,
determined to go on with the battle, and it is how they fought,
Dubh in the front of the whole army, and Donn behind all, guarding the rear. But Derg saw that, and he put his finger into the thong of his spear and made a cast at the one that was nearest
him, and it broke his back and went on into the body of the other,
HUNTINGS AND ENCHANTMENTS
26 1
so that the one cast made an end of the two. And that ended the
battle, and all that was left of the great army of Lir went wearing
away to the north. And there was great rejoicing in the hill at Ess
Ruadh, and Ilbrec took the spoils of the beaten army for his people, and to Caoilte he gave the enchanted spear of Fiacha, together with nine rich cloaks and nine long swords with hilts and guards
of gold, and nine hounds for hunting. And they said farewell to
one another, and Caoilte left his blessing to the people of the hill,
and he brought their thanks with him. And as hard as the battle
had been, it was harder again for Derg to part from his comrade,
and the day he was parted from Finn and from all the Fianna was
no sadder to him than this day.
It was a long time after that Caoilte went again to the hill of
Ilbrec at Ess Ruadh, and this is the way it happened.
It was in a battle at Beinn Edair in the east that Mane, son of
the King of Lochlann, made a cast at him in the middle of the battle with a deadly spear. And he heard the whistling of the spear, and it rushing to him; and he lifted his shield to protect his head
and his body, but that did not save him, for it struck into his
thigh, and left its poison in it, so that he had to go in search of
healing. And it is where he went, to the hill of the Sidhe at Ess
Ruadh, to ask help of Behind, daughter of Elcmer of Brugh na
Boinne, that had the drink of healing of the Tuatha de Danaan,
and all that was left of the ale of Goibniu that she used to be giving out to them.
And Caoilte called to Cascorach the Musician, son of Caincenn, and bade him bring his harp and come along with him.
And they stopped for a night in the hill of the Sidhe of Druim
Nemed in Luigne of Connacht, and from that they went forward
by Ess Dara, the Fall of the Oaks, and Druim Dearg na Feinne,
the Red Ridge of the Fianna, and Ath Daim Glas, the Ford of the
Grey Stag, and to Beinn Gulbain, and northward into the plain of
Ceitne, where the Men of Dea used to pay their tribute to the
Fomor; and up to the Footstep of Ess Ruadh, and the High Place
of the Boys, where the boys of the Tuatha de Danaan used to be
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IRISH MYfHS AND LEGENDS
playing their hurling. And Aedh of Ess Ruadh and Ilbrec of Ess
Ruadh were at the door of the hill, and they gave Caoilte a true
welcome. "I am glad of that welcome," said Caoilte. And then
Behind, daughter of Elcmar of Brugh na Boinne, came out, and
three times fifty comely women about her, and she sat down on
the green grass and gave three loving kisses to the three , to
Caoilte and to Cascorach and to Fermaise, that had come with
them out of the hill of the Sidhe in Luigne of Connacht. And all
the people of the hill welcomed them, and they said: "It is little
your friendship would be worth if you would not come to help us
and we in need of help." "It was not for bravery I was bade come,"
said Cascorach; "but when the right time comes I will make music
for you if you have a mind to hear it." "It is not for deeds of bravery we are come," said Fermaise, "but we will give you our help if you are in need of it. " Then Caoilte told them the cause of his
journey. "We will heal you well," said they. And then they all went
into the hill and stayed there three days and three nights at drinking and pleasure.
And indeed it was good help Caoilte and Cascorach gave them
after that. For there was a woman-warrior used to come every
year with the ships of the men of Lochlann to make an attack on
the Tuatha de Danaan. And she had been reared by a woman that
knew all enchantments, and there was no precious thing in all the
hills of the Sidhe but she had knowledge of it, and would bring it
away. And just at this time there came a messenger to the door of
the hill with news that the harbour was full of ships, and that a
great army
had landed, and the woman-warrior along with it.
And it was Cascorach the Musician went out against her, having a shield he got the loan of from Donn, son of Midhir; and she used high words when she saw so young a man coming to fight
with her, and he alone. But he made an end of her for all her high
talk, and left her lying on the strand with the sea foam washing
up to her.
And as to Caoilte, he went out in a chariot belonging to Midhir of the Yellow Hair, son of the Dagda, and a spear was given
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263
him that was called Ben-badb, the War-Woman, and he made a
cast of the spear that struck the King of Lochlann, that he fell in
the middle of his army, and the life went from him. And Fermaise
went looking for the king's brother, Eolus, that was the comeliest
of all the men of the world; and he knew him by the band of gold
around his head, and his green armour, and his red shield, and he
killed him with a cast of a five-pronged spear. And when the men
of Lochlann saw their three leaders were gone, they went into
their ships and back to their own country. And there was great joy
through the whole country, both among the men of Ireland and
the Tuatha de Danaan, the men of Lochlann to have been driven
away by the deeds of Caoilte and Fermaise and Cascorach.
And that was not all they did, for it was at that time there
came three flocks of beautiful red birds from Slieve Fuad in the
north, and began eating the green grass before the hill of the
Sidhe. "What birds are those?" said Caoilte. "Three flocks they are
that come and destroy the green every year, eating it down to the
bare flag-stones, till they leave us no place for our races," said
Ilbrec. Then Caoilte and his comrades took up three stones and
threw them at the flocks and drove them away. "Power and blessings to you," said the people of the Sidhe then, "that is a good work you have done. And there is another thing you can do for
us," they said, "for there are three ravens come to us every year
out of the north, and the time the young lads of the hill are playing their hurling, each one of the ravens carries off a boy of them.
And it is to-morrow the hurling will be," they said.
So when the full light of day was come on the morrow, the
whole of the Tuatha de Danaan went out to look at the hurling;
