Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 24, 1913.djvu/120

 1 04 Collectanea.

brain the deer made a wondrous leap into the pool, and Bran followed. Neither was ever seen again. ^s Finn had "hunting lodges" at Formoyle to the west of Inchiquin, and at Shallee {Selga, a hunting seat). In eastern Clare Finn, Oisin, Dcrmot, and Grainne were in my boyhood usually described as giants.

The next important Finn saga is found at Loop Head, where in 1839 it remained much the same as written by Comyn about 1750 in The Adve?Uiires of the Three Sons of ThorailbJi mac Stairii. Crochan, Sal, and Dahlin were three brothers to whom a druid foretold a fearful end if their beautiful and only sister ceased to be a virgin. Accordingly, they built a fort for her, still called Cathair na haon 7nna (" the fort of the lone woman "), and three other forts to guard her at Cahercrochaun ("the fort of the knoll"), Caher- saul ("the fort of the brine"), and Dundahlin. For long they guarded her, until their cattle were carried away by three other brothers, — Ceanuir of Liscannor, Ruidhin of Moherui ruidhin at the giant cliffs of Moher, and Stuithin of Kilstuitheen (now under the waves of Liscannor Bay). The Loop Head chiefs overtook and slew two of the raiders (Stuithin escaping to his magic home, which sank under the waves), and returned home with the spoils. Now the amorous Diarmuid Ua Duine was waiting on Mount Brandon, and, as soon as he knew of their absence from his ring,^* he set off in his magic square currach (boat) of wax. He choked with his ring the hideous //a^-/ Dabhran which opened its jaws to seize him at the cliff, and reached the lady. She consented gladly to fly with him, and her brothers returned to see her landing far away in Kerry. They tracked her footsteps as far as Aill an triitr, where yawned the deep chasm of Poulnapeiste, the dragon's lair. Fearing a worse doom, they seized each other's hands, and sprang over the cliff into the hungry waves.^o

-^Dr. G. U. MacNamara, The founial of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, vol. xxxi., p. 206. The name, of course, means Mac Brain's land.

-9 It was given by Angus of the Brugh on the Boyne and had a red stone ; when the desired event occurred, the stone turned green.

'^^ Ordnance Suii'ey Letters (Co. Clare), vol. ii., p. 71 ; The four ttal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, vol. xxxviii., p. 350. It will be noted that Crochan and Sal are the " humped knoll " and the " brine " of that wild peninsula. Much of the story is given in the fonrnal of the Kilkenny Archceo- logical Society, vol. ii., pp. 303-6.