Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 24, 1913.djvu/405

 Collectanea. 379

take off a dark hood, he succeeded in steaHng upon her and catching up the hood so that she could not escape. He seized her "without even saying 'your servant, ma'am!' or any other decent good-morrow," and asked her to be his wife. She consented, and they were married and lived most happily for several years. At last O'Brien of Lemeneagh and others got up races at Coad, and O'Quin went to them, after promising his wife not to invite any guest nor to accept any man's invitation. He forgot his promise, asked O'Brien back to a sumptuous feast, and jolayed cards with him. His wife took her hood, stole out, and disapjjeared. O'Quin staked all he had on the cards, and lost. He lived on, a lonely and miserable man, as a dependent of O'Brien, who allowed him to dwell in " De Clare's Court " or " O'Quin's Ruin " on the Fergus just above the lake.*^

Petrie tells how a young chief of the O'Quins saw a number of lovely swans sporting on the western shore of the lake. He caught one and brought it to his home, where to his amazement it threw off its downy covering and appeared as a maid of the greatest beauty. Madly in love he proposed marriage, and she accepted him on the three conditions that (i) the marriage should be kept a secret, (2) he should never ask O'Brien to his house, and (3) he should avoid all games of chance. Some happy years passed by, and brought two children. Then there were races at Coad, O'Quin asked some O'Briens to his house, and his wife after preparing the feast resumed her swan dress, wept over her children, and plunged into the lake. O'Quin, ignorant of his loss, commenced gambling, and lost all his property to "Tiege an cood O'Brien," the most distinguished of his guests. Petrie is inclined to rationalize the tale, and to suppose that, in consequence of the chief's concealed and probably lowly marriage, the tribe repudiated him, pointing out that the O'Quin pedigree given by MacFirbis breaks off about 1460. But the widespread occurrence of the tale does not favour a local source, although it may have been locally adapted with that love for definite topographical and historic setting so charac- teristic of the Irish.

Dr. MacNamara took pains to get the best modern recension, so I give this in preference to my own scanty notes made ui 1884

« Ordnance Survey Letters (Co. Clare), vol. i., pp. 61-3.