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 THE DEATH OF OSCUR

had grown very old; he had watched three kings reign and die—Conn the Hundred-Fighter; Art the Lonely, son of Conn; and Cormac mac Art. Cairbre, son of Cormac, now ruled over Ireland, and at the beginning of his reign the old blood-feuds and jealousies between the Clan Basna and Clan Morna reawakened, for Fionn and his men never forgot that Goll mac Morna had slain Cumall, the father of Fionn. Cairbre, too, was jealous of the power that Fionn and his heroes had attained to, so it was an easy matter for the Clan Morna to persuade him to depose Fionn and the Clan Basna from the headship of the Fianna Eireann, and appoint them instead.

At this time there was discontent between Fercorb, King of Munster, and Cairbre; and when Fionn was deposed from power seven

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