Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 28, 1917.djvu/215

 Collectanea.

Finn and the Giants.

Closely connected with the Finn legends is that of the Glas gaibhneach cow, with it long ancestral line of myths and kin- dred tales of many lands and ages. As at Torry Island and elsewhere, the cow is even more closely connected in Donegal and Mayo with the far more archaic legends of the demon-god version from Achill. It begins with a tale of the " Strasburg Clock " or " Prentice Pillar " type. The master mason, Goban Saor and his son build a palace for Balor Beimann and the latter removes the scaffold to leave them to die of starvation lest the}^ should build as good a house for someone else. A girl reminds them that it is easier to throw down seven stones than to put up one, and Balor, seeing the impending ruin of his palace, hastened to let them down. An exactly similar story is told at some of our round towers and castles. To continue, the second part of the tale shows Balor questioning his victims as to the best smith to do the iron-work, Goban replies " the Gavidjeen Go." The latter artificer would want for payment the celebrated gloss (cow) which can fill twenty barrels with milk. Balor gave her without her halter and the Gavidjeen Go used to agree with every champion who came to buy a sword that the purchaser should tend the cow for a day, for she used to graze at Cruachawn of Connaught and drink in the evening at Ulster. Kian was one of the applicants, and was warned that if he did not bring back the gloss in safety he should lay his head on the anvil and be beheaded with his own sword. Kian took the cow by the tail when he was called to hold the sword, and letting her go she ran away. The smith demanded the penalty and Kian asked for a respite of three days to recover her. Kian coming to the sea got the use of a curach (skin canoe from Mananann, and after many adventures over sea got the cow's halter from Balor's daughter and, despite the giant's attempt to slay him, recovered the cow. The story may be profitably compared with the tale of Balor, Kinealy and the
 * ' Balor of the baleful eye." W. Larminie^ gives John MacGinty's

' Irish Folk- Tales (1893), p. I.