Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 28, 1917.djvu/133

 Collectanea. lOi

Folklore from Ireland.

The Each Ceanna/i Diihh.

The Each Ceannaii Dubh was said to be an enchanted horse. It was a large jet-black animal with fiery eyeballs, and it was said to have a spear protruding from its breast. This horse had its haunts close to a little lake known to-day in Rathlin as Loch an Eich, in the townland of Shandra. As this horse was always dreaded by the inhabitants of the island they made it a rule never to stay out after dark, but on a certain night it happened that a woman belonging to this locality was out late, and as she was halfway across the mountain of Cille Phadraig she heard the sound of the dreaded horse. Seized with terror, she yet collected her senses sufficiently to make off across the mountain towards a high wall which stood close to her dwelling-place. She succeeded in getting over the wall before the horse could come up, but no sooner was she over the wall than she fell in a faint on the other side. The horse came up after her with such force that it sent the spear which was in its breast back through its heart as it struck the wall, and it fell dead.

On the following day the natives all gathered and dragged the dead horse to the place now known as Lag an Eich or "The Steed's Hollow," in the neighbourhood of Dun Eoghan Ruaidh or " Owen Roe's Fort." Here they buried it, and piled a cairn of stones over its grave.

On that night there was heard a sweet, sad lament in the air coming from the direction of the grave. The words of the keen ran as follows :

Leag's cha do thog iad e Leag's cha do thog iad e Leag's cha do thog iad e Bealach an gharraidhe

O mo each ceannan dubh O mo each ceannan dubh O mo each ceannan dubh Bealach an gharraidhe