Page:Heroes of the dawn.djvu/38

 Boyne he went forth boldly into all parts of Ireland, without fear of the hostile Clan Morna. Though the Clan Basna was supposed to have been exterminated by the Clan Morna at and in the years following the battle of Castle Knock, yet towards the close of the second century—when Conn's son, Art the Lonely, was reigning over Ireland—we find the Clan Basna re-arisen to greater power, under the leadership of Fionn, than it ever held before. So powerful indeed were they, and so great was Fionn's fame throughout Ireland on account of his wisdom and heroic deeds, that Art—some accounts say Conn the Hundred-Fighter—gave him the chieftainship of the Fianna Eireann; and Goll mac Morna with his Fians, putting their ancient enmity with the Clan Basna aside, placed their hands in Fionn's and vowed to serve him and be faithful to him as long as they lived.

Now, too, came the Fianna of other provinces, who took vows of faithfulness also, and the legends tell us that strong and mighty warriors came from Scotland and Britain and far-off countries, craving to be admitted into