Fionn and the Legend of the Blood Emeralds

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Fionn and the Legend of the Blood Emeralds Page 34

by Tom O'Neill


  Chéile

  Free members of a clan.

  Choill Rúa

  Red woods. Pronounce quill roo-a.

  Cilian

  Pronounce kill-ee-an.

  Ciss

  A punishment or penance imposed on someone usually by a brehon to allow him to make good for wrong doing.

  Coinín

  Rabbit. Pronounce quin-een.

  Conán

  (See also Mac Liath). Pronounce Cunn-awn.

  Conmaicne Mara

  Now Connemara.

  Corco Roíde

  In the south west. Pronounce cork-o-reeda.

  Cornobhachs, Cornobhí

  Fellows from Cornobha, Celtic clan lands in present day Wales.

  Craic

  Fun, things in general, as in ‘What’s the craic?’, meaning ‘What’s happening?’ A Gaelicisation rather than an original Irish word. .

  Créidhe

  A fairy woman of the Tuatha dé Danann, she was wooed by the poetry of the young Fian, Cáel; she followed him to the battle of Ventry and helped the Fianna win, but Cáel died on the last day of the battle of Ventry and her sad lament for him is still remembered.

  Cumhall

  (Father of Fionn Mac Cumhaill). Pronounce Cool.

  Daghda

  (The good god – the senior deity). Pronounce Day-dah.

  Daghda dhuinn

  Daghda for us, God be with us.

  Dair

  Oak tree (represented by the symbol ╡ in ogham script, see below).

  Dál Riata

  A kingdom based in the north east of Ireland that included a large section of north western Scotland. Pronounce Dawl Reeta.

  dé Danann

  As in the Tuatha dé Danann, the people of the Goddess Dana, the vanquished people who became the fairy people of the raths. Pronounce day-donan.

  Deimne

  The childhood name of Mac Cumhaill before he was given the nickname of Fionn. Pronounce Demna.

  Déisi

  An argumentative class of people found in the area recently known as Waterford.

  Diarmuid

  Pronounce Dear-mid.

  Dreoilín

  Literally means wren, was the name taken by the most powerful druid in Fionn’s time, one who often preferred the form of a wren. Pronounce Dro-leen.

  Drombeg

  West Cork site of a stone circle also called the Druid’s altar; an excavation here revealed the cremated remains of an adolescent boy.

  Dunbeacon

  Remote West Cork site where two extraordinary ogham-inscribed ‘standing stones’ are aligned with a stone circle on a hill 500 metres away.

  Eejit

  Idiot.

  Éire, Éirinn

  Different grammatical forms of the same word, meaning Ireland. Pronounce Aira, Airan.

  Eithne ní Dúlaing

  Pronounce ethna nee dooling.

  Emhain Macha

  Armagh, centre of power of the kings of Uladh (Ulster). Pronounce Ow-an Maha.

  Eoghan

  Pronounce Owen.

  Faolchú

  Wolf.

  Feac

  Spade. Pronounce fack.

  Fear Dearg

  Literally ‘red man’, like a púca, a lone traveller from the realm of the little people, given to practical jokes; those who crossed him could expect bad fortune. Pronounce Far Jar’g.

  Fiachna

  Son of Fionn, died in the battle with Midac at Bruidhean Chaorthainn the Palace of Quicken Trees. Pronounce Feek-na.

  Fianna

  A group of Fionn’s warriors. Pronounce Feena.

  Fine

  An extended family or clan, governed through a council abiding by a complex and detailed set of (Brehon) laws. Pronounce fin-eh.

  Fionn

  Fair-haired. Pronounce Finn or Fyunn.

  Flaith

  Head of a fine, selected for the role by the council of the fine; a minor chieftain. Pronounce fla.

  Fleadh

  Festive occasion, celebration.

  Fleatharta

  Pronounce flah hart ah.

  Fulacht fian

  A wide circular pit where meat was boiled by rolling red hot stones into the contained water; the commonest field monuments across Ireland today are the recesses where fulachta fiadh once existed; plural fulachta fiadh. Pronounce full-act fee-an.

  Gáire

  Laughter; here used as a play on the name of the Brehon Guare. Pronounce gaw-ra.

  Garda

  Irish police force; also, a police officer.

  (correctly Garda Síochána)

  Gardaí

  Plural of garda, often used collectively to mean the police (or ‘the guards’) in general.

  Garsún

  Boy. Pronounce garsoon.

  Geis

  A spell or obligation that must be observed.

  Gob

  Mouth.

  Gobshite

  Rude term for a harmful fool.

  Gom

  Derogatory, idiot.

  Gombán

  Yet another variety of fool.

  Grá

  Love, affection for. Pronounce graw.

  Guard

  Police officer (also known as a garda).

  Heron

  A tall grey bird that often stands alone in Irish wetlands.

  Hurling

  The fastest field game in the world, played with hurleys (ash sticks) and a sliothar (hard leather coated ball).

  Imbolg

  The first day of spring, the first of February, the feast of Brigid.

  Innsa

  Foster son of Mac Cumhaill, beheaded by Midac in the battle at Bruidhean Chaorthainn, the Palace of Quicken Trees.

  Laigin

  Leinster, eastern province. Pronounce Lion.

  Liath Luachra

  Father of Conán Mac Liath, killed by Fionn when reclaiming his corrbolg or magic pouch. Pronounce Leah Lu-ucra.

  Liath Ní Choinchin

  Pronounce Leah Nee Hun-hin.

  Lishín

  Blanket bog expanse in Tipperary. Pronounce Lisheen.

  Mac Airt

  Son of Airt, in this case referring to Cormac, the High King of Ireland.

  Mac Cumhaill

  Son of Cumhall. Pronounce McCool.

  Mac Liath

  Son of Liath – Fionn’s ally Conán being the son in question; Liath Luachra, the father, was slain by Fionn in a fight to recover his corrbolg, a pouch of magical posessions.

  Mac Morna

  Son of Morna – Goll being the son in question; never fully trusted previous head of the Fianna, who killed Fionn’s father Cumhall on the orders of a previous king.

  Maire Fada

  Long Mary, the name by which the heron went until recent times.

  Matha

  Pronounce Ma-ha.

  Midac

  Son of foreign king defeated by the Fianna, his life was spared and he was treated to wealth and lands; brought foreign forces against Fionn in the battle at Bruidhean Chaorthainn the Palace of Quicken Trees.

  Mide

  One of two middle kingdoms that existed between Laigin (Leinster) and Uladh (Ulster). Pronounce Mid-eh.

  Milesian

  The ancestors of the current inhabitants of Ireland, led here from Spain by a king who vanquished the Tuatha dé Danann.

  Mitch

  Play truant.

  Mórrígan

  Great Goddess queen, the Crow of Battle. Pronounce More-ree-gan.

  Mumhan

  Munster, southern province. Pronounce Moo-an.

  Murtagh

  Pronounce Murta.

  Niamh

  Pronounce Nee-av.

  Noble Lady

  The stoat, for some uncertain reason, was commonly known as this by the old people.

  Ógarmach

  Greek champion warrior hired to fight with Bolcán in the Battle of Ventry, killed by Fionn.

  Ogham

  Old Irish alphabet inscribed on sto
ne monuments, also called the Celtic tree alphabet as each letter represented a type of tree. Pronounce Oh-am.

  Oleán

  Harmless fool. Pronounce oh-lee-awn.

  Ollamh

  A wise and learned person. Pronounce ullav.

  Ologón

  Mournful wailing. Pronounce ullag-own.

  Osraighe

  Equivalent roughly to present day Ossory, a kingdom that existed between Laigin (Leinster) and Mumhan (Munster).

  Peigín’s Eoghan

  Eoghan, son of Peigín.

  Púca

  Mischievous loner of the little people. Pronounce pook-ah.

  Raiméis

  Nonsensical talk. Pronounce rahmaysh.

  Rath

  Variously called ring fort, fairy fort, or liss; usually circular and overgrown; may have been iron age encampments; believed by many country people to be the dwellings of fairies or the little people, the descendants of the vanquished Tuatha dé Danann. Pronounce ra.

  Saile

  A wicked and greedy wizard previously banished from Éirinn by Fionn Mac Cumhaill.

  Samhain

  The first day of the last quarter of the year (Hallowe’en), when people from other worlds can roam freely in ours. Pronounce sow-an.

  Saor

  Free. Pronounce say-er.

  Sceach

  Whitethorn (hawthorn) bush, sacred to the little people. Pronounce skyak.

  Sebhern

  Pronounce severn.

  Sí

  Fairy; fairy people. Pronounce shee.

  Slag

  Skit, tease.

  Sleeveen

  Miserable, ingratiating creature.

  Sliabh Bladma

  Mountains of Bladma, after an early Silesian invader, on borders of present-day Offaly and Laois. Pronounce Slieve Bloom.

  Sliabh Laigin

  Mount Leinster; since being moved by Mac Cumhaill this has been situated on the Carlow-Wexford border. Pronounce Slieve Lion.

  Sliabh na mBan

  Mountain of the women, in present-day Tipperary. Pronounce Slieve-na-monn.

  Sogain

  A place far west.

  Tíreach

  Pronounce Teerok.

  Townland

  An area of land that may include several farms and homes; a dispersed village. Ireland is divided into over 61,000 townlands; most have old Irish names predating plantations and the boundaries are still known to the inch by the people of the country.

  Treasa Ní Domhnaill

  Pronounce trassa nee gonall.

  Trócaire

  Compassion and charity, also the name of a charitable NGO. Pronounce trow-carra.

  Tuatha

  a people or nation (as in Tuatha dé Danann). Pronounce too-ah.

  Uí Néil

  A noble people, the rightful rulers of Éirinn.

  Uladh

  Ulster, northern province. Pronounce Ulla.

  ENDNOTES

  1. There is a series of great standing stones along the once much travelled route west, running out past Rockchapel under the Mullahareirk hills. Back then this raised bog was solid enough for people from other realms to build a dwelling on. When standing at one stone, you could see the next stone along. Now one stone is missing. The lake underneath came back and swallowed it.x

  2. The heron is the finest but also the most fanciful of the birds. The old people used to call her Maire Fada, or Long Mary.

  3. Jack Curtis was a gentle man. He had a kind ear for every person and spoke ill of no person. He spent his days at markets selling paintings of his dogs and twenty-year-old pet cattle. He always told me that he had no living relatives.

  4. Worrying is voluntary. Anyone is free to decide against it.

  5. The rath is the last refuge of the Tuatha dé Danann. Since our kind vanquished them, those good little people can be touchy about any further encroachment. Very bad things can befall the uninvited visitor.

  6. You should pay attention to the restless collie. Look in her eyes and you see the wolf looking back. She is a daughter of the country and well-attuned to everything that goes on in it.

  7. You may know a person by the way he treats the defenceless.

  8. Science calls her a stoat. The old people around here called her the Noble One, or Noble Lady. Either way, she is not a weasel.

  9. Good people come in surprising shapes and sizes.

  10. The pit was filled with water from the river. Then stones were reddened in a fire and rolled into it so as to slowly boil whatever sinewy old ram the gathering was about to share.

  11. You can’t control what happens. But you can take hold of how you think about it.

  12. Some say Joey’s unbalanced. The least interesting people are the balanced. I myself strive to avoid balance in all things.

  13. There are those who believe that night time in this country was never conquered – once the blanket of darkness falls, the Mac Tíre and all the other old clans still own it and roam over it freely.

 

 

 


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