by Irish Myths
and the heron, and the noise of the waves of Traig Liath, the song
of the three sons of Meardha, the whistle of Lugaidh's Son, and the
voice of the cuckoo in the beginning of summer, and the grunting
of the pigs on the Plain of Eithne, and the shouting of laughter in
Doire." And it is what he said: "The Dord in the green-topped
woods, the lasting wash of the waves against the shore, the noise
of the waves at Traig Liath meeting with the river of the White
Trout; the three men that came to the Fianna, a man of them gentle and a man of them rough, another man of them ploughing the clouds, they were sweeter than any other thing.
"The grey mane of the sea, the time a man cannot follow its
track; the swell that brings the fish to the land, it is sleep-music,
its sound is sweet.
"Feargall, son of Fionn, a man that was ready-handed, it is
long his leap was, it is well marked his track is; he never gave a
story that did not do away with secrets; it is his voice was music
of sleep to me. "
And when Finn had answered all the questions so well, Conan
said he would give him his daughter, and that he would have a
wedding-feast ready at the end of a month.
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They spent the rest of the night then in sleep; but Finn saw a
dreadful vision through his sleep that made him start three times
from his bed. "What makes you start from your bed, Finn? " said
Diorraing. "It was the Tuatha de Danaan I saw," said he, "taking up
a quarrel against me, and making a great slaughter of the Fianna."
Now as to the Fianna, they rested at Fotharladh of Moghna
that night, and they were downhearted, having no tidings of Finn.
And early on the morrow two of them, Bran Beag and Bran Mor,
rose up and went to Mac-an-Reith, son of the Ram, that had the
gift of true knowledge, and they asked him where did Finn spend
the night. And Mac-an-Reith was someway unwilling to tell them,
but at last he said it was at the house of Conan of Ceann Slieve.
The two Brans went on then to Conan's house, and Finn made
them welcome; but they blamed him when they heard he was
taking a wife, and none of his people with him. "Bid all the
Fianna to come to the feast at the end of a month," said Conan
then. So Finn and Diorraing and the two Brans went back to
where the Fianna were and told them all that had happened, and
they went on to Almhuin.
And when they were in the drinking-hall at Almhuin that
night, they saw the son of the King of Ireland coming to where
they were. "It is a pity the king's son to have come," said Finn;
"for he will not be satisfied without ordering everything in the
hall in his own way. " "We will not take his orders," said Oisin,
"but we will leave the half of the hall to him, and keep the other
half ourselves."
So they did that; but it happened that in the half of the house
that was given up to the King of Ireland's son, there were sitting
two of the Men of Dea, Failbhe Mor and Failbhe Beag; and it is
what they said, that it is because they were in that side of the hall it
was given up. "It is a pity," said Failbhe Beag, "this shame and this
great insult to have been put on us to-night; and it is likely Finn
has a mind to do more than that again to us," he said, "for he is
going to bring away the woman that is promised to the third best
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man of the Tuatha de Danaan, and against the will of her father
and mother." And these two went away early in the morning to
Fionnbhar of Magh Feabhail, and told him of the insults Finn and
the Fianna of Ireland had a mind to put on the Tuatha de Danaan.
And when Fionnbhar that was king over the Tuatha de
Danaan heard that, he sent out messengers through the length of
Ireland to gather them all to him. And there came six good battalions to him on the edge of Loch Derg Dheirc at the end of a month; and it was the same day Conan had the wedding-feast
made ready for Finn and his people.
And Finn was at Teamhair Luachra at that time, and when he
heard the feast was ready, he set out to go to it. And it chanced
that the most of the men he had with him at that time were of the
sons of Morna. And when they were on their way, Finn said to
Goll, "O Goll," he said, "I never felt any fear till now going to a
feast. And there are but few of my people with me," he said; "and
I know there is no good thing before me, but the Men of Dea are
going to raise a quarrel against me and to kill my people. " "I will
defend you against anything they may do," said Goll.
They went on then to Conan's house, and there was a welcome before them, and they were brought into the drinking-hall, and Finn was put in the place beside the door, and Goll on his
right and Finndeilb, of the Fair Shape, on his left, and all the rest
in the places they were used to.
And as to Fionnbhar of Magh Feabhail and the Tuatha de
Danaan, they put a Druid mist about themselves and went on,
hidden and armed, in sixteen battalions, to the lawn before
Conan's house. "It is little profit we have being here," they said
then, "and Goll being with Finn against us." "Goll will not protect him this time," said Ethne, the woman-Druid, "for I will entice Finn out of the house, however well he is watched."
She went on to the house then, and took her stand before Finn
outside. "Who is that before me?" she said then. "It is I myself,"
said Finn. "I put you under the bonds a true hero never broke,"
she said, "to come out to me here." When Finn heard that, he
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made no delay and went out to her; and for all there were so many
in the house, not one of them took notice of him going, only
Caoilte, and he followed him out. And at the same time the Tuatha
de Danaan let out a flock of blackbirds having fiery beaks, that
pitched on the breasts of all the people in the house, and burned
them and destroyed them, till the young lads and the women and
children of the place ran out on all sides, and the woman of the
house, Conan's wife, was drowned in the river outside the Dun.
But as to Ethne, the woman-Druid, she asked Finn would he
run against her. "For it is to run a race against you I called you
out," she said. "What length of a race? " said Finn. "From Doire
da Tore, the Wood of the Two Boars, to Ath Mor, the Great Ford,"
she said. So they set out, but Finn got first over the ford. And
Caoilte was following after them, and Finn was urging him, and
he said: "It is ashamed of your running you should be, Caoilte, a
woman to be going past you." On that Caoilte made a leap forward, and when he was in front of the witch he turned about and gave a blow of his sword that made two equal halves of her.
"Power and good luck to you, Caoilte ! " said Finn; "for though
it is many a good blow you have struck, you never struck a better
one than this."
They went back then to the lawn before Conan's dun, and
there they found the whole company of the Tuatha de Danaan,
that had put the Druid mist off them. "It seems
to me, Caoilte,"
said Finn, "that we are come into the middle of our enemies."
With that they turned their backs to one another, and they
were attacked on all sides till groans of weakness from the
unequal fight were forced from Finn. And when Goll, that was in
the house, heard that, he said: "It is a pity the Tuatha de Danaan
to have enticed Finn and Caoilte away from us; and let us go to
their help and make no delay," he said.
Then he rushed out, and all that were there of the Fianna with
him, and Conan of Ceann Slieve and his sons. And great anger
came on Goll, that he looked like a tall mountain under his grey
shield in the battle. And he broke through the Tuatha de Danaan till
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he reached to Fionnbhar their leader, and they attacked one
another, cutting and wounding, till at last Fionnbhar of Magh Feabhail fell by the strokes of Goll. And a great many others fell in that battle, and there never was a harder battle fought in Ireland, for
there was no man of one side or the other had a mind to go back
one step before whoever he was fighting against. For they were the
two hardest fighting troops to be found in the four parts of the
world, the strong, hardy Fianna of the Gael, and the beautiful Men
of Dea; and they went near to being all destroyed in that battle.
But after a while they saw the rest of the Fianna that were not
in the battle coming from all parts of Ireland. And when the
Tuatha de Danaan saw them coming, they put the Druid mist
about themselves again and made away. And clouds of weakness
came on Finn himself, and on them that were with him, with the
dint of the fight. And there were many men of the Fianna lost in
that battle; and as to the rest, it is a long time they stopped in
Almhuin of Leinster, till their wounds were entirely healed.
CHAPTER X.
THE SHADOWY ONE
And indeed Finn had no great luck in going to look for a wife that
time; and he had no better luck another time he asked a wife from
among the Sidhe. And this is the way that happened.
It was on the mountain of Bearnas Mor he was hunting, and a
great wild pig turned on the hounds of the Fianna and killed the
most of them, but Bran made an attack on it then and got the best
of it. And the pig began to scream, and with that a very tall man
came out of the hill and he asked Finn to let the pig go free. And
when he agreed to that, the man brought them into the hill of the
Sidhe at Glandeirgdeis; and when they came to the door of the
house he struck the pit with his Druid rod, and on the moment it
changed into a beautiful young woman, and the name he called
her by was Scathach, the Shadowy One.
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And he made a great feast for the Fianna, and Finn asked the
young girl in marriage, and the tall man, her father, said he would
give her to him on that very night.
But when night came on, Scathach asked the loan of a harp,
and it was brought to her. One string it had of iron, and one of
bronze, and one of silver. And when the iron string would be
played, it would set all the hosts of the world crying and ever crying; and when the bright bronze string would be played, it would set them all laughing from the one day to the same hour on the
morrow; and when the silver string would be played, all the men
of the whole world would fall into a long sleep.
And it is the sleepy silver string the Shadowy One played upon,
till Finn and Bran and all his people were in their heavy sleep.
And when they awoke at the rising of the sun on the morrow,
it is outside on the mountain of Beamas they were, there they first
saw the wild pig.
CHAPTER XI.
FINN'S MADNESS
One time Finn and the Fianna were come to a ford of the Slaine,
and they sat down for a while. And as they were sitting there they
saw on the round rock up over the ford a young woman, having a
dress of silk and a green cloak about her, and a golden brooch in
the cloak, and the golden crown that is the sign of a queen on her
head. "Fianna of Ireland," she said, "let one of you come now and
speak with me. "
Then Sciathbreac, o f the Speckled Shield, went towards her.
"Who is it you are wanting?" he said. "Finn, son of Cumhal," said
she. Finn went over then to talk with her. "Who are you?" he
said, "and what is it you are wanting?" "I am Daireann, daughter
of Bodb Dearg, son of the Dagda," she said; "and I am come to be
your wife if you will give me the bride-gift I ask. " "What bridegift is that?" said Finn. "It is your promise," said she, "I to be your
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only wife through the length of a year, and to have the half of
your time after that. " "I will not give that promise," said Finn, " to
any woman of the world, and I will not give it to you," he said.
On that the young woman took a cup of white silver from under
a covering, and filled it with strong drink, and she gave it to Finn.
"What is this?" said Finn. "It is very strong mead," said she. Now
there were bonds on Finn not to refuse anything belonging to a
feast, so he took the cup and drank what was in it, and on the
moment he was like one gone mad. And he turned his face towards
the Fianna, and every harm and every fault and every misfortune in
battle that he knew against any one of them, he sprang it on them,
through the mad drunkenness the young woman had put on him.
Then the chief men of the Fianna of Ireland rose up and left
the place to him, every one of them setting out for his own country, till there was no one left upon the hill but Finn and Caoilte.
And Caoilte rose up and followed after them , and he said:
"Fianna of Ireland," he said, "do not leave your lord and your
leader through the arts and the tricks of a woman of the Sidhe. "
Thirteen times he went after them, bringing them back to the hill
in that way: And with the end of the day and the fall of night the
bitterness went from Finn's tongue; and by the time Caoilte had
brought back the whole of the Fianna, his sense and his memory
were come back to him, and he would sooner have fallen on his
sword and got his death, than have stayed living.
And that was the hardest day's work Caoilte ever did, unless
the day he brought the flock of beasts and birds to Teamhair, to
ransom Finn from the High King of Ireland.
Another time Maer, wife of Bersa of Berramain, fell in love with
Finn, and she made nine nuts of Segair with love charms, and sent
them to Finn, and bade him eat them. "I will not," said Finn; "for
they are not nuts of knowledge, but nuts of ignorance; and it is not
known what they are, unless they might be an enchantment for
drinking love." So he buried them a foot deep in the earth.
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CHAPTER XII.
THE RED WOMAN
One time the Fianna were in Almhuin with no great work to
do, and there came a very misty morning, and Finn was in dread
that sluggishness would come on his men, and he rose up, and
he said: "Make yourselves ready, and we will go hunting to
Gleann-na-Smol. "
They all said the day was too misty to go hunting; but there
was no use in talking: they had to do as Finn bade them. So they
made themselves ready and went on towards Gleann-na-Smol;
and they were not gone far when the mist lifted and the sun came
shining out.
And when they were on the edge of a little wood, they saw a
strange beast coming towards them with the quickness of the
wind, and a Red Woman on its track. Narrow feet the beast had,
and a head like the head of a boar, and long horns on it; but the
rest of it was like a deer, and there was a shining moon on each of
its sides.
Finn stopped, and he said: "Fianna of Ireland," he said, "did
you ever see a beast like that one until now? " "We never did
indeed," said they; "and it would be right for us to let out the
hounds after it." "Wait a while," said Finn,, "till I speak with the
Red Woman; but do not let the beast go past you," he said. They
thought to keep back the beast then, going before it; but they were
hardly able to hinder it at all, and it went away through them.
And when the Red Woman was come up to them, Finn asked
her what was the name of the beast she was following. "I do not
know that," she said, "though I am on its track since I left the
borders of Loch Dearg a month ago, and I never lost sight of it
since then; and the two moons that are on its two sides shine
through the country all around in the night time. And I must follow it till it falls," she said, "or I will lose my own life and the lives of my three sons that are the best fighting men in the whole
world." "We will take the beast for you if you have a mind," said
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279
Finn. "Do not try to do that," she said, "for I myself am swifter
than you are, and I cannot come up with it. " "We will not let it go
till we know what sort of a beast is it," said Finn. "If you yourself
or your share of men go after it, I will bind you hand and foot,"
said she. "It is too stiff your talk is," said Finn. "And do you not
know," he said, "I am Finn, son of Cumhal; and there are fourscore
fighting men along with me that were never beaten yet." "It is little
heed I give to yourself or your share of men ," said the Red
