No More Learning

Felim the son Murtogh Roe, son Bryan
Ballach O’Neill, was killed Donal, the son
Hugh Oge, son Hugh Buighe, son Bryan
Ballach, Ros Earcain, and Donal himself was
Teige Roe, the son Carbry O'Conor, died. Teige, the son Malachy Mac Rannall, was
REIGN OF HENRY VII.
335
\
Mac Sweeney, and sixteen others, were taken pri soners. The following were the chiefs who were slain along with Con on that occasion, namely,
Donal, the son of Manus Roe, son of Niall O'Donnell; Edmond, the son of Felim Riavach,
son of Niall Garv; Bryan, the son of O'Boyle,
i. e. of Torlogh, son of Niall; Donal, the son of Lisagh; and Cedach himself, together with his son Tuathal O'Gallagher; Edmond, the son of Do Lisagh; Donal, the son John, son Bryan, nogh, son of Tomaltach O'Gallagher; Conor, the lord Clanawley; Gerald, the son Hugh Oge, son of John, son of Conor O'Donnell; Niall, the lord Moy Treagh (both Longford), and many son of Conor, son of Felim Riavach O’Donnell; others, were slain.
Conor, the son of Hugh, son of Conor-na-laimhe
(of the hand) O'Boyle; Conor, the son of Mur
rogh Mac Sweeney, of the men of Fanat; and
William Mac-an-Easpuig O'Gallagher, &c. That O'Ferrall, was killed Bryan Buighe, the son
battle was fought on a Tuesday, being the 14th of Roderick, son John O'Ferrall.
the Kalends of November, and O’Neill, on his Hugh Buighe, the son O’Rourke, i. e. Felim,
return home, took the castle of Derg, and having the son Donogh, son Tiarnan Oge, was slain
put Niall O’Neill in possession of victoriously
arrived his home with great spoils; and Hugh Roe (O’Donnell), re-assumed his lordship the will of God and of men.
The son O’Donnell, Hugh Duv, the son Hugh Roe, was liberated from his imprisonment the 7th the Ides November, and was
by the son Teige, son Cathal, son Tiarnan O’Rourke.
Eiver and Tuathal, the sons Mac Mahon, i. e. Hugh Oge, the son Hugh Roe, along with four
teen men their party, were slain by the people Orior Armagh); Manus Riavach, and Manus Oge O’Hanlon, with fifty the people Orior,
afterwards treacherously slain the tribe ley), was killed prison the cast javelin.
Donal Caol O’Neill.
Bryan, the son Cu-uladh, son Hugh, son Owen, son Niall Oge O’Neill, died.
Teige O'Rodaghan, the coarb St. Caillin (abbot Fenagh, Leitrim), man whose worth could not well described for its greatness and extent, died his own house.
An awful famine happened this and the following year throughout Ireland, that the people ate food which not mentioned, such was never served on dishes for human beings.
Murtogh, son Hugh Buighe O’Neill, was killed
son Murtogh Roe, son O’Neill.
Oge, son the sons
Hugh Felim,
Niall, the son O’Neill, i. e. the son son Owen, died.
Henry,
Bryan Ballach
Elinora, daughter Thomas, son earl Kildare, the wife O’Neill,
son Henry, son Owen, died. O'Ferrall, i. e. Cedach, the son
John Cam, Con, the
Thomas, son Cathal, son Thomas, and his kinsmen, were
defeated John Roe, the son Carbry, son
Glaisne, the son John O’Hanlon, was killed the sons O'Byrne.
Murrogh, the son Conmac, son John
accompanied
O'Donnell, Hugh Roe, proffered the lord
ship his son Hugh Oge, namely, Hugh Duv, Thomas Maguire, died. which, however, did not accept, and after
having refused the offer, they both conjointly com
menced govern their principality, subdue
both their neighbouring and distant opponents,
who had become disaffected on account the
contentions which had been carried on between
Thomas Oge, son
Sligo), Bryan, Tomaltach, died.
killed the son Murrogh Mac Rannall, had deserved.
The Giolla Duv, son Felim Buighe, was killed Cluan Plocain, the tribe Teige O'Conor. The Calvach, son Carbry O'Conor (of Offa
Mac Donogh Corran the son Mulroona, son
Donal, son Malachy O’Beirne, the fountain hospitality Hy Briuin the Shannon, and
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336 ANNALS OF THE FOUR MASTERS, A. D. 1498.
A. D. 1498. slain on that occasion, among whom were Henry, Mac Maghnusa, of Seanaid, i. e. Cathal Oge, the son of the forementioned Donal; Mac Cagh the son of Cathal, son of Cathal, son of Gillpatrick, well, i. e. Gillpatrick; Felim, the son of Redmond
son of Matthew, &c. , a man who kept a house of Mac Mahon; the two sons of James, the son of
general hospitality, and a Biatach in Seanaid
Mac Manus, a canon of the chapter of Ardmagh
and of the see of Clogher, parson of Iniskeen, dean
of Lough Erne (dean of Clogher), a deputy of a
bishop (or coadjutor bishop) in Clogher for fifteen
years before his death, a patron of learning and
Eochy More Mac Mahon ; and Malachy, the son of Felim Roe, son of Con Mac Mahon, along with a great number of the people and of the friends of the tribe of Redmond Mac Mahon; Hugh, the son of Mac Mahon, i. e. Bryan, the son of Redmond, was taken prisoner there, and they lost the most part of their horses and accoutrements; and the
arts in his own country, a chief conservator of the
canons, a fountain of charity and mercy to the person by whom they were brought thither,
poor and unprotected of God’s people, a man who namely, Felim, received a wound on his head by collected and brought together many historical the thrust of a spear, from the violent effect of books, from which he compiled for himself the which he died.
Book of Annals of Bally Mac Manus,' died of the Con, the son of Murtogh, son of Owen O’Neill, small-pox, on the tenth of the Kalends of April, was killed by the sons of Bryan Bacach, the son
being on a Friday, in the 60th year of his age.
O'Neill, i. e. Henry Oge, the son of Henry,
son of Owen, lord of Tyrone, was slain in the house of Art, the son of Hugh, son of Owen O’Neill, in Tuath. Eachach (Iveagh, in the county of Down), by the two sons of Con, son of Henry, son of Owen, namely, Torlogh and Con Bacach, the sons
of Edmond Roe O’Hanlon.
of the earl’s daughter (the earl of Kildare's daugh
ter who was married to Con O'Neill), in revenge of Malachy, the son of Niall, son of Art, was slain by their father Con, who had been previously killed O'Donnell; and O’Donnell pursued them to Cais by Henry, in the year 1493. lean Maol (Castlemoyle, in Tyrone), took the cas
Donal, the son of Henry, son of Owen O’Neill, tle, seized on seventeen pair (or suits) of armour, who had been nominated O’Neill previous to and took fifteen hostages, along with the two sons
that, collected together his friends and connec of Henry Bacach, the son of Roderick, son of Eig
tions, namely, the tribe of Redmond Mac Mahon, nachan O’Neill, namely, Felim and Hugh, and with whom he marched to Dungannon; they also Naghtan, the son ofOwen O’Donnell, and
remained for some time about the castle, and a the son of Eigneachan O’Donnell.
night at Cros Caibhdeanach (Crosse Kevin); O’Kane, i. e. John, the son of Aibhne, died, and
Felim, son of O’Neill, i. e. Henry Oge, the son of his brother Thomas succeeded him.
Henry, who had been killed, brought Niall, the son of Art O’Neill, with all his forces on them, on a Tuesday morning, when he found them asleep, attacked them at the break of day, and defeated them, and many of the chiefs of the province were
A. D. 1498.
1. The Book of Annals of Bally Mac Manus was the cele brated work on Irish history and antiquities called the Annals of Ulster, of which a Latin translation was made by the learned and Rev. Dr. Charles O'Conor, and published in his great work, the
The castle of Dungannon was taken by the king of England's deputy in Ireland, the earl of Kil
dare, namely, Gerald, the son of Thomas, who had
come thither at the invitation of O’Donnell, i. e. Hugh Roe ; of Torlogh, the son of Con O’Neill; of Maguire, i. e. John, the son of Philip, and of
situate in the county of Fermanagh ; hencethese Annals have been sometimes called Annales Senatenses, or Senatensian Annals, and sometimes the Annals of Bally Mac Manus. The Annals of Ulster contain the history of Ireland from the first to the latter end of the fifteenth century, being carried down to the time of the Author's
Rerum Hibernicarum Scriptores Veteres. The Cathal Mac death; but someadditions were afterwards made to them, and Manusa, above-mentioned, was Cathal, or Charles Maguire, an they were continued to A. D. 1541, by the learned Roderick O'Cas eminent ecclesiastic and learned man, who collected and compiled sidy, archdeacon of Clogher, according to Ware's Writers.
those Annals, as stated in the text, at Senaid Mac Manus, a place
Niall, the son of Hugh Roe, son of Niall Garv O'Donnell, died in his imprisonment; and Donal,
son of Naghtan, son of Torlogh, son of Niall Garv O’Donnell, died of the small-pox.
O'Donnell, i. e. Hugh Roe, made an attack on the sons of Art O’Neill, and they had an engage ment, in which the sons of Art were defeated, and
Owen, son Torlogh Roe O'Neill,
and after that they left the town Donal O’Neill.
the castle; possession
Thomas Oge, the son Thomas the earl, son
which comprised the present county Down and the southern
part Antrim, and this name has been latinised Ulidia, while Ulster was latinised Ultonia.
Ertent. —Ancient Ulster comprised the following territories, namely, Oirgiall, now forming the counties Louth, Monaghan, and Armagh, with some parts Tyrone and Fermanagh; Dala radia Ulidia, now the county Down, and the southern part
REIGN OF HENRY VII. 337
Donal O’Neill, with his sons and friends; the Gerald the earl, and Cormac Oge, the son greater portion of the Irish of the province were Cormac, son Teige Mac Carthy, went pur along with them, about the castle, which they at suit Owen, the son Teige, son Cormac length took by great guns, and released many Mac Carthy, recover prey; and Owen him prisoners who were confined in among whom self, with his two sons; O’Sullivan Beara,
were Donal, the son O’Donnell, who had been Philip, the son Dermod, with his son; Teige imprisoned there for year, and Art, the son an-Chaonaigh O'Sullivan, and Bryan Oge Mac
O'Neill More, Henry, with his two sons, and Sweeney, with many others, were slain by them many other prisoners besides. They took im that occasion.
mense booty out and slew Con, the son
Donogh, the son O’Donnell, and the two sons Tuathal O'Gallagher, namely, John and Tor
logh, returned from Moylurg, where they were - imprisoned.
Slaine, daughter Mac Namara, Sioda
The Kingdom Ulster. —The following account the an water, between Kells and Navan, explained the note on cient history Ulster has been collected from the works the Meath.
various old annalists and historians, and also numerous modern Mountains and Scenery. —Many parts Ulster abound writers, frequently quoted the course these annotations. scenery great magnificence and beauty, both the interior and
Name. —The name Ulster, Irish Uladh, and pronounced along the sea-coast. The Giant's Causeway, the coast An
Ullagh, derived, according Keating and others, from Ollsaith,
which signifies Great Wealth, the word Oll meaning great, and
Saith wealth, and was called from the richness that pro
vince ancient times; or, according others, the name was art, one the most remarkable natural curiosities any derived from Ollamh, celebrated king Ulster, and monarch country. There are many majestic mountains the different Ireland many centuries before the Christian era, who was called counties, those Mourne Down, the chief which, Slieve
Ollamh Fodhla, name pronounced Ollav Fola. was also Donard, rises 3,000 feet above the level the sea; Slieve Gullion
called Cuigeadh Uladh, which signifies the Fifth, province Ulster; the term Cuigeadh meaning fifth part, being applied
province, Ireland was divided into five provinces kingdoms,
Armagh also very remarkable and lofty mountain and Antrim, Tyrone, Derry, Donegal, and Fermanagh, are many great mountains too numerous here mentioned Cavan also are
namely, those Meath, Ulster, Connaught, Leinster, and Mun many large mountains, particularly the towering Cuileagh the
ster; thus forming Pentarchy the early ages. Ulster was borders Cavan and Fermanagh, whose base the source
the mighty Shannon, which rolls its waters along eleven counties, onward to the Atlantic.
The province Ulster remarkable containing countless hills various sizes, mostly conical form and very beautiful, not rocky and barren, many other countries, but covered with earth and exquisite verdure, and fertile that their very tops they are capable cultivation. There are many fine and fertile plains, beautiful valleys, and romantic glens; and the country abounds splendid seats and extensive demesnes nobility and gentry, well wooded, and presenting magnificent and beautiful scenery along the lakes and rivers.
also sometimes called Ullin by the bards, and the inhabitants were
called Ulltaigh, meaning Ultonians. The name Uladh was
after times confined chiefly the territory also called Dalaradia,
Antrim; Dalriada, now the northern part Antrim; Tir
Eogain and Tir Conaill, now forming the counties Tyrone,
Derry, and Donegal; and lastly, the present county Ferma
magh. The boundaries between the kingdoms Meath and Ulster game. The bogs the different counties are numerous and exten were the river Boyne from Drogheda Slane and Navan, and the
river Blackwater from Navan Kells, and Lough Ramor near Virginia, the county Cavan; thus ancient Ulster contained the present county Louth, and that part the present county
sive, and the whole the province estimated contain about
Meath north the rivers Boyne and Blackwater, the baro entire the country remote times. Oak forests particularly nies Slane, Kells, and Morgallion, and also portion East abounded Ireland ancient times, and the Irish oak was
Brefney, now the county Cavan, the baronies Clankee and Castlerahan, bordering Meath; therefore ancient Ulster differed extent from the modern province, contained the county
very durable, that was found superior that any other coun try for ship-building, timber for houses, furniture, and various
other purposes. our old historians are accounts the clearing many great plains and cutting down forests various parts
Louth with parts Meath, now included the province
ster, and also small portion Cavan, but the whole Brefney Cavan, which mostly belonged Connaught
times, was, the reign Elizabeth, added Ulster.
second century the celebrated monarch Tuathal Teachtmar took
Ireland the earliest ages, some them more than years before the Christian era. the clearing out plains the forests were destroyed, and great quantities
Meath, took the present counties Cavan and Meath; and this portion was
found deeply buried the bogs; and the formation
portion from each the four provinces, which added and thus formed the province kingdom Meath; and from Ulster those parts north the Boyne and Blackwater,
the surface, and these trees generally prostrated horizontal position, and have the appearance being burned the bottom their trunks and roots, fire having been found far more powerful
erected one the royal palaces Tailtean, near the river Black
Lein East ancient the
trim, which consists immense size and
prodigious collection basaltic columns volcanic origin, but formed and arranged present the appearance vast work
with such regularity,
Bogs and ancient Forests. -In various parts Ulster are ex tensive moors and wild heaths, famous for hares, grouse, and other
two three hundred thousand acres. These bogs are chiefly
composed the remains ancient forests oak, pine fir, yew, ash, alder, birch, hazel, thorn, willow, &c. , which covered the
thousand these great trees are the grand canal, when cutting through the Bog Allen Kildare, oak, fir, yew, and other trees, were found buried twenty thirty feet below
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338 ANNALS OF THE FOUR MASTERS, A. D. 1498.
Virgin Mary, at Aghamore, the town of O'Fla nagan (in Fermanagh).
Sabina, the daughter of Art O’Neill, who had
been the wife of Redmond, the son of Philip Ma Mac Manus, was slain in Botha Muintir Fialain
Cam, the wife of Mac William of Clanrickard, namely, Ulick, the son of Ulick, died.
guire, died.
Margaret, daughter of Donal Ballach Maguire,
(Bohoe, in Fermanagh), by the sons of Cathal O'Gallagher.
the wife of O'Flanagan of Tura, i. e. Gilbert, died,
and was interred at Donegal, after the victory of died.
repentance. It was by this couple that a chapel was founded in honour of God and the Blessed
in prostrating those forests than cutting them down with the axe ; and the great depth at which those trees are found in bogs, shews that they must have lain there for many ages.
The Irish Elk. —In Boate and Molineux's Natural History of Ireland, Ware's Antiquities, and other works, particularly by Dr.
Hart of the Royal Dublin Society, accounts are given of the great Irish elk, or Moose deer, designated by Dr. Hart Cervus mega ceros, or the great-horned deer, the horns, heads, and bones of
which have been frequently found buried from six to twenty feet deep in bogs and marl-pits, and also in lakes, in various parts of Ireland, which circumstances shew the vast length of time the ancient forests have been prostrated, and the bogs formed out of them, as well as the many ages those gigantic animals whose remains are found so deeply buried, must have lain in those bogs. The im mense size and strength of the Irish elk is shewn by its huge broad and branching antlers, each of the two horns measuring five or six feet in length, and having ten or twelve branches on each, and measuring between the extreme tips of the horns on both sides ten or twelve feet, and these horns so large and massive as to be from
sixty to eighty pounds weight, so that the animal capable of carrying them must have been of great size and strength, and is
considered to have been eight or ten feet in height, and body about the same length, being far larger than ox, and next size
Maine, the son of Malachy, son of Matthew
O’Curnin, i. e. Conor Carrach (of Leitrim), Mac Ward, of Oriel, died of the plague.
wooded islands, abound most delightful scenery. Strangford Lough, the county Down, Lough Foyle, Derry, and Lough Swilly, Donegal, are magnificent sheets water, great lakes, formed inlets the ocean. Loughs Melvin and Mac mean, between Leitrim and Fermanagh, are very fine and large lakes, and Lough Oughter, Cavan, great chain lakes, extending eight ten miles length and the same county
Lough Ramor, and the borders Meath the splendid Lough Sheelin. Monaghan also are great many handsome lakes, and throughout the entire Ulster are vast numbers minor lakes, abounding beautiful scenery.
Eruption Lakes. —Accounts are given our ancient annal ists great lakes various parts Ireland having suddenly burst forth very remote times; and Ulster the following are the chief instances recorded:—More than thousand years before the Christian era, Lough Foyle, Derry, said have burst forth, overflowed the adjoining plain, and drowned its waves Feabhal, Feval, the son Lodan, one the Tuath De Danan chiefs, from whom was called Loch Feval, now Lough Foyle. About eight centuries before the Christian era, the reign Fiacha Labhruine, one the Milesian monarchs, stated by all our annalists that the great lake called Loch Saimer, after wards Lough Erne, suddenly burst forth, and overwhelmed an
the elephant. resembled the great Moose deer elk Ame immense tract land called Magh Geannain, the Plain
rica, and considered have been the same species, and also had great resemblance the European elk rein deer Nor way, Sweden, and Lapland; and may observed, that the huge
skeletons some fossil elks like the Irish, have been found buried deep the earth the Isle Man, and also France and Germany. The remains the Irish elk have been frequently found various parts Ireland, but mostly Ulster and Meath and its huge horns are seen the Dublin Society House, and other museums. No doubt great numbers them are still buried
bogs, and these magnificent animals must have been very nume rous Ireland remote times, but the race has become extinct for ages, and the era their existence beyond the reach his toric records, though once inhabitants the great forests that waved upon the surface the primeval lands.
Boate's Natural History also given an account the bones and teeth elephant, found the year 1715, the bishop Kilmore's lands, place called Maghery, about eight miles from Belturbet, the county Cavan, near small river that separates that county from Monaghan. These remains were found when sinking the foundation for mill, four five feet deep
the earth, bed which had beencomposed ferns and rushes, and they consisted four immense teeth, the two larger ones weighing about three pounds each, together with parts the huge head the animal, and some fragments bones; and con
sidered that this enormous animal must have lain there for many es.
Lakes. —Throughout the province Ulster are innumerable lakes, and many them magnificent, Lough Neagh, the counties Antrim, Tyrone, Down, Armagh, and Derry, the largest lake the British Islands, being about 20 miles long,
broad, and 80 circumference, and estimated cover an area nearly one hundred thousand acres. Lough Erne, Fer managh, between and miles long, and from broad
some places, and its shores, and many large, beautiful, and
Geannan, which was named from Geannan, one the Firbolg. kings. the reign Lughaidh Riabhdearg, who was monarch
Ireland the first century, the lake called Lough Neagh sud denly burst forth, A. D. 62, according the Annals Tigearmach,
and overwhelmed its waters the surrounding plains, with all the houses and inhabitants; and Giraldus Cambrensis, who wrote the twelfth century, speaking the Round Towers, states that tradition prevailed down his time, that when the fishermen sailed over Lough Neagh, they could, the clear lake, calm weather, manifestly see beneath the waters the Round Towers, which, with the towns, had been covered its inundation; and this statement has been adduced argument corroborate. the vast antiquity attributed the Round Towers. Moore,
one
his melodies, thus alludes the subject:—
“On Lough Neagh's banks, the fisherman strays,
When the calm clear eve's declining, He sees the Round Towers other days In the waves beneath him shining. ”
About three hundred years before the Christian era, the great lake called Lough Melvin, the borders Leitrim and Fermanagh, stated our annalists have had its origin bursting out
suddenly like the other lakes before mentioned, while the people were constructing sepulchral mound there the burial place
Meilge, monarch Ireland, and hence the lake was called Loch Meilge, now Lough Melvin. These accounts our old annalists about the formation lakes by the sudden flow subterranean waters are not improbable, and the phenomena may have some casesarisen from volcanic action, earthquakes; and may observed, that basaltic columns, now admitted volcanic origin, are found along the shores Lough Neagh. Even
comparatively modern times similar occurrences the bursting forth these lakes have taken place; and these Annals, A. D. 1490, recorded that sudden eruption the earth took
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REIGN OF HENRY VII. 339
# -
A. D. 1499.
OGHLIN MacGillachalma,
vicar of Cuilmaine, a learned and pious cleric, died.
of Moylurg, a prosperous, undaunted man, who
spread terror into every neighbouring country, died
on the rock of Lough Kea, after having gained the
victory over the world and the devil, and was suc
ceeded by Cormac, the son of Roderick Mac Der mott.
O’Brien, i. e. the Giolla
Duv, whose name was Tor terms towards the English, to pay a visit to the
logh, the son of Torlogh O’Brien, lord of Thomond,
died, and was succeeded by Torlogh, the son of Teige O'Brien.
Teige Mac Dermott, the son of Roderick, lord
place at the Ox Mountains, in Sligo, and a lake was formed called Lough Easky, which is still to be seen there, situated at the nor thern side of the mountains; and in this eruption it is stated that onehundred personsperished, along with the son of Manus Crosach O'Hara, and that many horses and cows were also destroyed. The phenomena which have so frequently happened in various parts of Ireland in modern times of moving bogs,which, by the action of subterranean waters, have suddenly burst out in a half liquid form, and overflowed extensive tracts of land, appear to have been something similar to the bursting out of the lakes in ancient times.
Rivers. -In the different counties of Ulster are many fine rivers,
king of England’s representative.
Mac Donnell, of Clankelly (in Fermanagh),
i. e, Cormac, the son of Art, a charitable and hos pitable man, died, and was buried at Clones.
Bryan, son of Maguire, i. e. John, the son of
extensive quarries of granite, freestone, limestone, marble, basalt, porphyry, and slates, found in various counties, are very valuable for furnishing building materials, millstones, &c. ; and jasper,agates, gypsum or alabaster, chalcedony, garnets, and other precious stones, are also found in many places, and also pearls found in the Bann, and other rivers of Ulster; and the waters of Lough Neagh are famous for petrifying wood, and of these petrifactions excel lent hones are manufactured. If the valuable mines and quarries in the various counties of Ulster were properly worked, they would afford vast sources of wealth ; but the mining and manufacturing industry of Ireland is yet in its infancy, though it is to be hoped that Dr. Kane's excellent work on the “Industrial Re sources of Ireland” will awaken proper attention to these impor
too numerous to be here mentioned, and several of them very large
and beautiful. The Bann, in Antrim and Derry, and the Erne, in tant subjects. The Newry and Lagan Canals, and navigation of
Fermanagh and Donegal, are famous for their salmon fisheries, and there is another great salmon fishery at Bundrowes, on the borders of Leitrim and Donegal; and it may be observed, that all the lakes and rivers of Ulster abound with fish in vast variety.
Lough Neagh, and the Great Ulster Canal, recently formed, con necting Lough Neagh and Lough Erne, will do much to promote trade and commerce. But the inland navigation of Ulster is capa ble of far greater extension, along Lough Erne to the Atlantic at Ballyshannon, and on the south by the lakes of Lough Oughter in Cavan, with an additional canal to Leitrim, to communicate with the great coal works and iron mines of Arigna, and connect Loughs
Mines and Manufactures. —In the county of Tyrone are exten
sive coal mines, and there are great collieries, iron works, and
potteries, carried on at Coal Island, between Lough Neagh and
Dungannon. In the county of Antrim there are coal mines at Neagh and Erne with the Shannon; thus forming a magnificent Ballycastle, and these collieries, formerly very flourishing, are chain of navigable communication between Ulster and the other still worked; and there are traces of coal mines having been provinces of Ireland, and developing the vast but comparatively
worked there in the most remote ages. In various parts of Cavan are mines of coal and iron, but not worked; and there are lead mines, which contain some silver, at Cootehill and Ballyconnell; there are sulphur mines in the mountains of Glangevlin, and in various parts of the county are valuable quarries of limestone, freestone, and slate, and also ores of potter's clay, manganese,and other minerals. In the county of Down, the Mourne mountains are chiefly composedof granite, and also Slieve Gullion mountain in Armagh; and in the latter county there are fine quarries of freestone and slate, and also coal, iron, copper, and lead ores. In the county of Donegal, in the Rosses and other parts, are valu able quarries of white, black, and variegated marble, and also slate quarries; and there are ores of iron, copper, lead, and man ganese, found in various places, and some mines were formerly worked. In Fermanagh are very fine marble, limestone, and free stone quarries; and on the borders of Cavan, at Cuileagh moun tain, are abundance of iron ore, and some coal mines, which could be profitably worked. In the counties of Derry and Antrim are vast strata of basalt, of which the Giant's Causeway is composed.
Iron mines were formerly worked in the county of Derry, and there are also some mines of coal, copper, and lead. In Monaghan are very extensive quarries of excellent freestone,and of fine lime stone, equal to marble, and also slate quarries; coal mines were formerly worked near Carrickmacross, and lead mines in the Creeve mountains. In Louth, the Carlingford mountains, a branch of the mountains of Mourne, are composed chiefly of granite, and there
are extensive limestone quarries; there are ores of ironstone, and remains of some ancient iron works, found on the hills in various places; and there is a large pin manufactory at Dundalk. The
dormant resources of the country, in trade, commerce, agriculture,
mines, manufactures, fisheries, and all other branches of industry.
The formation of rail-roads now in progress, and many in contem
plation, throughout Ulster, will still further promote these great
national improvements. The linen manufacture was formerly the
staple trade of Ulster, but has of late years greatly fallen to decay.
Agriculture, though in modern times much advanced, is still ex
tremely imperfect in Ulster, as in other parts of Ireland, and capa
ble of immense extension, by draining, fencing, and other improve
ments. There are more than one million of acres of waste lands,
mountains, bogs, and moors, in Ulster, capable of being profi
tably reclaimed, and the arable land could be made four-fold
more productive than it is at present by proper modes of culti vation.
Antiquities. —In the counties Ulster are found Druidical remains, such Cromleacs, and circles composed huge stones, and remains Druidical temples. Sepulchral Mounds, Tumuli, commonly called moats, resembling hillocks, the sepulchres kings and warriors the Pagan times, are found
the different counties, and also those huge heaps stones called Cairns, likewise used sepulchral monuments, are found
high hills and mountains various places; and that part ancient Ulster now forming the county Louth are many sepul chral mounds, and other interesting antiquities, which accounts will found Wright's Louthiana. Those circular earthen ramparts called Raths are found vast numbers throughout
the counties Ulster. The term Lios, Lis, applied these raths, and they are commonly called Danish forts, from some tra ditions that they were constructed the Danes; but such opinions
O'Donnell, i. e. Hugh Roe, went on amicable
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340 ANNALS OF THE FOUR MASTERS, A. D. 1499.
Philip, was taken prisoner by the sons of Bryan Maguire.
Donogh, the son of Conor, son of Hugh Ma
guire, was killed by the men of Lurg (in Ferma nagh), namely, the sons of Torlogh O'Muldoon.
Manus, the son of Geoffrey Oge, son of Geoffrey
tolain, or Partholan's people, according to our old annalists, and most accurate chronologers, came to Ireland about fifteen centu
ries before the Christian era, under a leader named Partholan, a Scythian, from the country on the borders of Europe and Asia,
near the sea called by the Greeks the Euxine, now the Black Sea, and set sail from the country called Migdonia, part of ancient Macedon or Thrace, and passing through the seas subsequently named the Bosphorus, the Hellespont, the Archipelago, and the Mediterranean, by the coast of Iberia, or Spain, landed at a place
afterwards called Inver Sceine, now the Bay of Kennare, and planted the first colony in Ireland. He was accompanied by his wife Dealgnait, or Elgnatha, and several sons and daughters, to gether with one thousand other followers. After traversing the island, or probably sailing northwards, he fixed his residence some time at an island, which got the nameof Inis Saimer, or the island of Samer, from the circumstance of his having killed there, in a fit of passion, his wife's favorite dog, called Samer; and this place is still traditionally pointed out as the small rocky island near the cataract called the Salmon Leap, a little below the bridge at Bal lyshannon,” in the county of Donegal. The river now called the Erne was, from the island of Samer, named in ancient times the river Samer, and is mentioned by Giraldus Cambrensis under the name Samarium, and hence the monastery near Ballyshannon, called Ashroe, is mentioned by Ware under the name de Samario. The name Loch Samer was also the ancient appellation of Lough Erne, and according to Peter Walsh, in his Antiquities, quoting Cambrensis Eversus, the lake got the name of Lough Erne from
the circumstance of Erna, the favorite waiting-maid of Meiva, the celebrated queen of Connaught about the commencement of the Christian era, having been drowned there. Another remarkable circumstance may be mentioned as connected with the river Erne, namely, that the cataract at Ballyshannon was called in Irish Eas-Aodha-Ruaidh, signifying the Waterfall of Red Hugh, from Aodh Ruadh, monarch of Ireland, having been drowned there about five centuries before the Christian era, and being buried in a mound on its banks; and hence Easroe, or Ashroe, was the ancient name of Ballyshannon. Another circumstance connected with Partholan in Ulster is mentioned: that one of his sons, named Slainge, was buried on a mountain, and a great cairn, or heap of stones, raised over him, and the mountain got the name of Slieve Slainge; it is mentioned by Giraldus Cambrensis as Mons Salanga, and is now known as Slieve Donard, one of the highest of the Mourne mountains, in the county of Down, and it got the name of Donard from Domangart, a disciple of St. Patrick, who in the fifth century built an oratory there, and it became a celebrated place of pilgrimage, and continues so to the present day. Partholan after some time removed from Inis Samer, and fixed his residence at a place afterwards called Binn Eadair, now the Hill of Howth, near Dublin; and, after his colony had been thirty years in Ire land, and fought some battles with the Fomorians, as hereafter mentioned, himself and all his people, amounting to nine thousand persons, were all cut off by a plague, which circumstance, toge ther with an account of their burial place, has been fully related at p. 266, in the notes on Moy Liffey and Bregia.
The Nemedians. —After the death of Partholan and his people, Ireland was uninhabited for thirty years, until another colony of Scythians, called Nemedians, and by the Irish writers named Clanna Neimhid, from Neimhid, or Nemedius, their leader set sail from the Euxine sea, and arrived in Ireland in thirty-four ships, each containing thirty persons, thus making in all more than one thousand followers, together with his wife Macha, and his four sons; and Armagh, in Irish Ard Macha, signifying the height, or hill of Macha, is said to have got its name from Macha, the wife of Nemedius, who was buried there. In the time of Ne medius, several great woods are stated to have been cut down, and large plains cleared, in various parts of Ireland; amongst others, the following plains in Ulster: Magh Tochair, or the bog plain in the territory afterwards called Tir Eogain, or Tyrone; Magh Jugh
are erroneous; for, though some of them may have been made by
the Danes, most of them were erected as habitations and fortresses
by the ancient Irish many centuries before the arrival of the Danes in Ireland.
Round Towers still exist in almost all the counties of ancient Ulster. In Louth, there is one at Monasterboyce, and another at Dromiskin; and there were in former times one at Drogheda, one at the town of Louth, and another at Heynstown, near Dundalk. In Armagh, there was in former times a Round Tower at the city of Armagh, or, according to other accounts, there were several of them there. In Monaghan, there are two at Clones, one perfect, and the remains of the other, and there is one at Iniskeen. In Down, one at Drumboe, and remains of another at Maghera; a beautiful Round Tower stood at Downpatrick, which, with bar barous bad taste, was taken down about the year 1790, when rebuilding the cathedral. In Antrim, there is one near the town of Antrim, and another at Armoy ; part of one on Ram Island, in Lough Neagh, and ruins of another at Trummery, near Lisburn. In Derry, there was one in former times in the city of Derry, at the ancient cathedral, which was called St. Columkille's Tower. In Donegal, according to the map of the Society for the Diffusion
of Useful Knowledge, there are remains of a Round Tower at Braade, and another on Tory Island, called St. Columkille's Tower,
and there was one in former times at Raphoe. In Tyrone, there was formerly a Round Tower at Erigal Kerogue. In Fermanagh,
there is one on Devenish Island, in Lough Erne, near Enniskillen. In Cavan, there is one at the ancient abbey of Dromlane. Thus,
in ancient Ulster, there are accounts of 23 Round Towers, includ ing those now remaining perfect and imperfect, and others which
have fallen or been thrown down; and no doubt, in remote times, there were many more, of which there are now no records; and it may
be observed, that many of those Round Towers now remaining from barbarous neglect are falling into dilapidation and ruin,
though if repaired, they would stand for a thousand years to come. There are to be found throughout all the counties of Ulster ruins and remains of numerous abbeys, churches, and castles; and in that part of ancient Ulster now forming the county of Louth the venerable ruins of the old abbeys of Drogheda, and of the great Cistercian abbey of Mellifont, in Louth, together with the splendid antique stone crosses at Monasterboyce, near Drogheda, the largest found in Ireland, and superior even to those found at Clon macnois, present extremely interesting memorials of former ages; but the ancient abbeys and churches so celebrated in former times
at Armagh, Downpatrick, Newry, Bangor, Derry Columkille, Louth, Mellifont, Monasterboyce, Drogheda, Ardee, Clogher, Cole raine, Raphoe, Devenish, Clones, Cavan, Dromlane, and various other places, have fallen to utter decay, under the hand of time, or the more destructive fury of fanaticism and war. In various parts of Ulster have been found, at different times, a vast number of an tiquities, buried in bogs, in the ramparts of ancient fortresses, in lakes, &c. , such as spears, hatchets, and arrow-heads, of stone, granite, basalt, and flint ; spears, swords, and battle-axes of bronze and iron; brazen war-trumpets, and various musical instru ments; large pots, and other culinary utensils of bronze or brass; stone hand-mills, called querns; meathers, or large drinking-ves sels, made of yew ; goblets, and various ornaments of gold and silver; torques, or golden collars worn by kings and chiefs, gold chains, large rings, balls, bracelets, crescents, and gorgets of gold, antique bells, gold and silver crosses, and numerous other articles belonging to remote ages, and shewing an early acquaintance with arts and civilization.
Ancient History. —The following sketch of the ancient history of Ulster has been collected from the Four Masters, the Annals of Ulster, the Annals of Tigearmach, O'Conor's Rerum Hibernicarum Scriptores, the Dissertations of Charles O'Conor, O'Flaherty's Ogygia, the histories of Keating, O'Halloran, Mac Geoghegan, and others, and the works of Ware, Usher, Colgan, Lanigan, &c.
The Partholanians, called by the Irish writers Muintir Phar
REIGN OF HENRY WII. 341
Roe Maguire, was killed by the people of Tul by the son of Donal, i. e. Donagh-na-nordog, the
laghaw (in Cavan).
The castle of Bundroos (in Leitrim), was taken
aidh, in Hy Tuirtre, and Magh Seimne, both in Dalaradia, now parts of Down and Antrim; Magh Muirthemhne, now the plain of Louth, and Magh Macha, in Orgiall, now part of Armagh; but it is to be observed that all the places above-mentioned were not known by these names until several centuries afterwards, and they are mentioned by the names they bore at the time the writers gave accounts of them. Several great lakes are stated to have sprung out of the earth, in the time of the Nemedians, in various parts of Ireland, of which accounts are given by Keating and O'Flaherty. The Nemedians fought many great battles in Ulster, with the peo ple called Fomorians, of whom an account is hereafter given, and after being vanquished by the Fomorians, it is stated that Neme dius, together with two or three thousand of his people, died of the plague, at a place called Oilean-Arda-Neimhid, now the island of Barrymore, or Great Island, near the city of Cork.
The Fomorians are called by the Irish writers Fomoraigh, which
signifies sea robbers or pirates, and derived, according to O'Brien,
from fogh, plundering, and muir, the sea, and the word Fomor also signifies a pirate, or a giant. The Fomorians are represented
son of Hugh Roe, from O’Donnell's guards; O'Donnell himself, with his son Hugh Oge, pro
of Conaing, and the island got the name of Tor-Inis, or Tower Island, and is now known as Tory Island, off the coast of Donegal; and Balar Bemen, another famous champion of the Fomorians, who commanded them at the battle of North Moy Tuire, fought against the Tuath De Damans,in which he was killed, had erected another great tower on Tor-Inis, which was called Dun-ard-Balair, or the high fortress of Balar; and the place where it stood is still pointed out on Tory Island in the traditions of the people. Ano ther circumstance connected with the opinion about the Fomorians as great builders, is mentioned by O'Brien in his Dictionary, at the word Fomor, and it appears that the ancient Irish called the Giant's Causeway Clochan-na-Fomoraigh, signifying the Cause way of the Fomorians, considering it to have been constructed by this gigantic race of men, who dwelt in that part of the country; for, though a production of nature, of volcanic origin, yet, from the regular formation of the basaltic columns, it has the appearance of a vast work of art. The four sons of Madain Muinreamhar, or Madan, the thick-necked, Fomorian chiefs, are mentioned by Keating as the master builders who erected the fortresses before mentioned for Nemedius, and one of these builders was named Robhog, from whom, probably, the promontory called by the Greek geographer, Ptolemy, Rhobogdion, took name; and now
as African pirates of the race of Ham, who had cometo Ireland to
avoid the Israelites, or descendantsof Shem, and to have arrived in
great numbers, about the same time as the Partholanians and Ne
medians; or, according to others, they came before them, and known Malin Head, the peninsula Inisowen, the county were the first inhabitants of Ireland. They are considered to have
Donegal, and the Greek name Rhobogdion differs very little
come from the northern parts of Africa, called Lybia or Getulia, and to have been some of the Canaanites, or Phenicians, who had been expelled from the land of Canaan, or Palestine, by Joshua, about fifteen hundred years before the Christian era. A remarka ble record of the expulsion of the Phenicians from the land of Ca naan, and of their settlement in Africa, is mentioned by the historian Procopius, who was himself a native of Palestine, and wrote in the sixth century; he was secretary to the Roman gene ral Belisarius, and in his account of the wars of the Romans with the Vandals, in Africa, he states, that in his own time there were, near the fountain of the Magi, at the place now called Tangier, on the northern coast of Africa, two marble columns with inscrip tions in the Phenician language, to the following effect—“We fly from the face of Joshua the robber, the son of Nun. ” It may be further mentioned, that the people called Berbers and Kabyles, who now inhabit parts of the territories of Algiers and Morocco, are descendants of the aborigines of that country, and who were some of the Canaanites expelled from Palestine by Joshua. These
Fomorians therefore, it is probable, were of the same stock as the Phenicians, Sidonians, and Tyrians, colonies of whom founded Car thage in Africa, and Gadhir or Gades, now Cadiz, and Kartabah, now Cordova, in Spain, more than a thousand years before the Christian era, and as Sidon in Phenicia was a great maritime city in the time of Joshua, fifteen centuries before the Christian era, and its people expert navigators, and as the Phenicians, Sidonians, and Tyrians, in those early ages, were celebrated for their commercial intercourse with Greece, Italy, Gaul, Spain, and Britain, there is nothing improbable in a colony of them having sailed from Africa or Spain to Ireland, and formed settlements there fifteen hundred years before the Christian era, the period assigned for those events by our ancient annalists. The Fomorians are represented as a race of giants, men of great strength and stature, which accords with the accounts given in the Scriptures, in which the Anakim Amo rites, Amalekites, and Philistines, tribes of the land of Canaan, descended from Canaan, the son of Ham, are called the giant race of Ham, and were great warriors, celebrated for their immense strength and stature. The Fomorians are also stated by our old writers to have beenfamous builders in stone, and are mentioned by Keating and O'Flaherty as having beenemployed by Nemedius, and to have erected two great fortresses, one at Rath Ciombaoth, in Seimne, in Dalaradia, now part of Down or Antrim, and another
. - in Hy Niella, in Meath. Conaing, a celebrated commander of the Fomorians, is stated to have built a strong tower on an island off the coast of Ulster, which was called Tor Conaing, or the Tower
Robog Dun, which signifies the for
from the Irish Dun Robog,
tress Robog. Ciocal,
Irios Domhnon, now Erris,
according others, before Partholan, with six ships, each which were fifty men and fifty women, but Ciocal and all his forces were cut off battle with the Partholanians. In the time the Nemedians, other tribes the Fomorians came Ire land from Africa under commander called Conang, with large fleet and powerful force, and erected the fortress called Conaing's Tower, above-mentioned. Conaing and his forces fought several great battles with the Nemedians: one Slieve Bladhma, now Slieve Bloom, Ossory; one Ross Fraochain, Connaught; and third Murbolg, Dalriada, place near the Giant's Causeway, where Stairn, the son Nemedius, was killed Co maing; and another Leinster, the Nemedians were totally vanquished, and the Africans became masters the country. The Nemedians were reduced state slavery, and compelled deliver up great annual tribute the first day winter, con sisting corn, cattle, milk, and other provisions, and even some their children, and the place where these tributes were received was named Moy Ceitne, signifying the plain compulsion, and called from these circumstances, and this plain was situated be tween the rivers Erne and Drobhaois, between Ballyshannon and Bundrowes, the borders Donegal, Leitrim, and Fermanagh, along the sea shore. At length the Nemedians, unable bear such slavery, collected all their people, consisting said, 60,000, both land and sea forces, attack Conaing's Tower,
Fomorian, stated have landed Mayo, the time Partholan, or,
which Conaing pieces, and the Conaing's Tower was favourite theme the Irish bards, and poem the subject
and fought terrific battle with the Fomorians, the African general was slain, all his men cut tower taken and demolished. The demolition
was written Eochy O'Floinn, celebrated bard and historian the tenth century, who died 984, and whose works account given O'Reilly's Irish Writers. Of this poem, which
contained the Books Leacan and Ballymote, and the Book Invasions the O'Clerys, translation was made by the
translator these Annals, from which the following extracted
passages are
“The demolition Conang's tower by valour, Against Conang the great, the son Faobhar. To which marched the men Erin,
Under the command their three brave chiefs.
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342 ANNALS OF THE FOUR MASTERS, A. D. 1499.
ceeded to the castle, and were joined there by na-nordog and Philip (Maguire), in which they Maguire and Philip, the son of Torlogh Maguire. smote each other severely; but Donogh's horse A personal encounter took place between Donagh however was killed, and himself dismounted and
“Erglan, son of Beoan, the son of Starn,
Simeon, the son of Iarman the fierce,
With ships, the hero of poetic strains advanced,
The son of Nemedius, namely Fergus of the red side.
“Sixty thousand of brave men,
Valiant forces both by land and sea,
Was the number of the army which marched forth Of the Nemedians to destroy the tower.
“Tor-Inis, the Island of the Tower,
The fortress of Conang, the son of Faobhar, By Fergus himself, who fought the foreigners,
Conang, the son of Faobhar, was slain.
“Morc, the son of Dela, came after this With the intention to assist Conang, But Conang was slain before he came, Which was to Morc woeful intelligence.
“Sixty ships was the exact number
Which Morc had brought across the seas, And they were opposed before they landed By the Nemedian clans of bravery.
“After the arrival of the Fomorians
All the men of Erin in this battle
Were drowned by the sea tide,
Excepting thirty in number of their heroes.
“The children of Israel were at that time
On their journey from the land of Egypt, And the descendantsof Gadelus Glas
Were then on their voyage to Scythia. ”
Morc, the son of Dela, as explained in the poem, arrived from Africa at this time, with a fleet of sixty ships, and a powerful force; and, having landed at Tor-Inis, they fought a tremendous
with the forces of Lugar, a prince of the race of Heber, who had brought foreign Fomorians to his assistance. In the account of the celebrated hero Cuchulain, who lived about the commencement of the Christian era, it is stated in the Ogygia that his mother-in law was Tethra, the daughter of Ochman, the Fomorian. It ap pears from O'Flaherty, that the Scandinavian pirates, or Danes, and Norwegians, who in after ages infested the coasts of Ireland, were also called Fomorians, but of course they were of a different origin from the ancient Fomorians of Africa. According to Keating, O'Flaherty, and others, the Fomorians are considered to have been
the first inhabitants of Ireland. They appear to have been of Phenician origin, and probably of the same stock as the Phenician colonies settled in Africa and Spain in very remote ages, the only people in those early times experienced to a great extent in navi gation and commerce, and as they traded to Spain and Britain, they might easily have sent a colony to Ireland; and it may be remarked, that Biobhal, Beabal, and Mannanan, the son of Lir, of whom an account has beengiven in a note at p. 121 in these An nals, are mentioned by Keating, O'Flaherty, and other old writers, as Phenician and Dananmerchants trading to Ireland in those remote ages. It may also be observed, that the Fomorians are mentioned by some ancient annalists as Fine or Feine Fomoraigh, which may signify either the Fomorian tribes, or the Phenician Fomorians; and O'Brien in his Dictionary, at the word Fearmuighe, considers that the ancient territory of Fermoy, in the county of Cork, got its name from the Phenicians of Spain who settled there, and were called Fir-Muighe-Feine, i. e. Viri Campi Pheniorum, or the
Men of the Plain of the Phenicians; and the term Feine, which frequently occurs in the old writers, was often applied as meaning
Phenicians; and it is considered by some that the celebrated war riors in the third century, called Fiana Eireann, or Fenians of Ireland, derived their designation from the same source. The Irish language has also to a great extent been considered to be of Phenician origin by many learned antiquaries, as Charles O'Conor and Dr. O'Conor, O'Flaherty, Vallancey, Betham, and many others; and many arguments are given in support of this opinion by the learned Spaniard, Dr. Joachim Villaneuva, in his work, entitled “Ibernia Phenicea. ” In the learned preface to O'Brien's Irish Dictionary, the affinity between the Celtic, or Irish, and the Phenician and other eastern languages, is shewn from various writers; and in the learned notes, by Huddlestone, to Toland's History of the Druids, is pointed out the great similarity, almost amounting to an identity, between the Irish alphabet and that
battle with the Nemedians on the sea shore, and the conflict was
so fierce that they did not perceive the tide flowing in, and great
numbers of them were drowned on the strand; but the Nemedians
were at length vanquished, and the Fomorians became masters of
Ireland. The remnant of the Nemedians were again reduced to
slavery; but some of them, under the command of Simeon Breac,
son of Starn, son of Nemedius, sailed to Greece, settled there, and
from him and his followers it is stated were descended the colony
called Fir-Bolg, who afterwards came to Ireland. The Fomo brought from Egypt to Greece by Cadmus, the Phenician. The rians were, it appears, about two hundred years possessors of
Ireland, and settled chiefly in Ulster and Connaught; and many places were named from them, as Magh Tuireadh, or the Plain of
the Tower, called Moy Turey of the Fomorians, which was situated near Lough Arrow, in Sligo; and Conmaicne of Moyrein of the Fomorians, which was the territory about Fenagh, and adjoining
parts of Leitrim, and is mentioned in the Annals of the Four Masters. The Fomorians are frequently mentioned by the Irish historians for many centuries after their battles with the Neme dians. About two centuries after the time of the Nemedians the Fomorians became connected by intermarriages with the colony called Tuath De Danan; and Breas, a Fomorian, by his mother's side a Danan, became king of Ireland for seven years over the Danans. And in the Book of Ballymote it is stated that the Milesians, under Heremon, their first king, fought a great battle with the Danans and Fomorians at the river Liffey. And about a hundred years after this time, it is stated in the Ogygia that Sobairce, monarch of Ireland of the Milesian race, who had his residence at the fortress called Dun Sobairce, now Dunseverick, near the Giant's Causeway, was slain by Achy Meann, king of the
worship of the sun, under the names of Bel, Beal, and Baal, the chief deity of Druidism in Ireland, as amongst the Phenicians and Canaanites of Palestine, is also remarkable; and a similarity of
burned by St. Patrick at the assembly of Tara; though it has Fomorians; and, about another century afterwards, Aongus been absurdly asserted by some shallow antiquaries that Olmuchad, monarch of Ireland, is mentioned as having subdued the Irish had no use of letters before the arrival of St. Pa the Ernaigh and Fomorians; and the monarch Sirna, two centu trick; for, though St. Patrick is considered to have introduced ries still later, fought a great battle at Montraighe, in Cianachta, the Roman alphabet and Latin language, the Irish had their own
language and religious rites is justly considered to demonstrate an identity of origin amongst different nations.
It is considered that some of those eastern,colonies, Phenicians, Tuath De Danan, or Milesians, introduced the use of letters into Ireland in those early ages. The term Ogham was applied to the occult or secret writing practised by the Druids, and records of events were thus inscribed on stcne pillars, of which many with Ogham inscriptions have been found in various parts of Ireland; but these inscriptions, from their great antiquity, are almost as unintelligible as the arrow-headed characters found on the columns and bricks in the ruins of Persepolis and Babylon, or the Runic inscriptions found on stone pillars in Denmark, Norway, Sweden,
and other northern nations. Modes of writing were, no doubt, used in Ireland many centuries before the Christian era, and
Duald Mac Firbis, and other eminent Irish antiquaries, state that no less than 180 volumes of the books of the Druids were
name paper being derived from the leaves of a plant or reed found in Egypt, called papyrus, which was used for writing on by the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans; and it may be observed, that the word liber, meaning in Latin a book, was also derived from liber, the bark of a tree, which was used as a material for writing, and buch in the German signifies a heech tree, from which was derived the word book, as beechen boards were used for writing on in that country in ancient times. Plates of copper, brass, and other metals, and also ivory, and boards covered with compositions of wax, were also used as materials to write on by the Romans and other ancient nations. It may be further observed, that the word Ogham, or Ogam, in the Irish language signifies occult or sacred, and is considered by Toland, in his history of the Druids, and by other antiquaries, to have originated from Gaul, as the ancient Gauls worshipped Hercules, as the god of learning and eloquence, under the name of Ogmius; or, according to the Book
of Ballymote, the name was derived from Ogma, one of the Tuath De Danan chiefs, who had introduced that occult mode of writing into Ireland. -
Together with those modes of writing and recording events, it is to be remarked that there existed in Ireland from the earliest times an order of hereditary bards and historians, who, along with the Druids and Brehons, transmitted traditionally from one gene ration to another, and preserved in their poems, committed to memory, records of events from the most remote ages; and thus, if modes of writing were even unknown in those early times, accounts of different events could be transmitted for centuries traditionally through successive generations.
Greece, and the posterity this Simeon Breac, and his Neme dians, having settled long time Greece, became numerous people, but being reduced state slavery the Greeks, they resolved leave that country and come back Ireland, where their Nemedian ancestors had been settled, and they sailed from Greece the number five thousand, under their commanders, five brothers named Slainge, Rughraidh, Geann, Geanman, and Seangann, and landed Ireland 217 years after the first arrival
the Nemedians, about thirteen centuries before the Christian era. One division the Fir-Bolg under Slainge, landed place called from him Invear Slainge, the Bay Slainge, now the harbour Wexford, and from this Bay the river Slaney also derives its name another division them landed on the western coast, the bay called Iorrus Domhnon, now Erris
Mayo, probably Blacksod Bay. At the time the arrival the Firbolg the Fomorians were masters the coun try, and had reduced state slavery the Nemedians who had remained Ireland; but the Firbolg, together with their kindred race Nemedians, again conquered the Fomorians, and became their turn masters Ireland. The five Firbolg leaders divided the island amongst them into five equal parts, and the colony appears have been formed into two great tribes, namely, the Fir-Gaillian, name signifying spearmen, who possessed Leinster, and are mentioned by different writers under the name Galenians; the other tribe, called Fir-Domhnon, possessedCon naught, and are mentioned O'Flaherty and other writers, under the name Firdomnians and Damnonians. The Firbolg race, under nine successive kings, ruled over Ireland for period about eighty years, and some their kings resided Tara, Meath, and others Cruachan, Connaught, until they were con quered by the colony Tuath De Danan, hereafter explained. When the Firbolg were conquered the Danans they were reduced state slavery under them for period about two hundred years; but the arrival the Milesians from Spain, the
the Danans, the Milesians,
Bolg has been latinised by O'Brien and others, Viri Bolgia, and Viri Belgici, that men Belgium, considering that they were some the Belgians Gaul, and O'Brien, the word Bolg, de
the Firbolgian forces, who were with difficulty reduced subjec tion; and their contests with the Milesians those early times, they make remarkable figure under the name Martinigh
REIGN OF HENRY VII. 343
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taken prisoner on the spot by Philip, who at once Donogh again to Maguire, who took him to delivered him to O’Donnell ; and on the same his house to have him imprisoned; and O’Don day the town was retaken. O'Donnell delivered nell afterwards gave sixty cows to the son of
Celtic alphabet, and a written Celtic, or Hiberno-Celtic lan manners, disposition, and features, between the Irish peasantry guage, many centuries before that time. The earliest mode and those modern Belgium. The accounts the Firbolgians
by the old Irish writers, are now considered. has been the present article explained the account the Fomorians, that when the Nemedians were conquered the Fomorians, Simeon
of writing was on stone, but afterwards the bark of trees,
and smooth birchen boards, were used ; hence, the first letter of
the Irish alphabet, Beith, signifies a birch tree, and all the letters
of the Irish alphabet take their names from different trees. In Breac, the Nemedian general, led the remnant his people back after times parchment or vellum, and lastly paper, were used, the
The Fir-Bolg. —An account of the colony called Fir-Bolg by
the Irish writers has been given at p. p. 97, 124, in the notes on
North and South Connaught, and also at p. 217, in the note on
Leinster. The name Fir-Bolg has been latinised Firbolgi, and
anglicised Firbolgians and Belgians, as it is supposed by several
antiquaries that they were originally Belgians from ancient Gaul,
from the country called by Caesar and other Roman writers Gal
lia Belgica or Belgic Gaul, which comprised the present kingdom
of Belgium, and some of the northern parts of France. The Bel
gians are celebrated by Caesar and other Roman writers under the
names of Belgae, Bolgae, and Belgii, as amongst the most valiant
nations of Gaul, in their wars with the Romans. The name Fir given many great battles between the Milesian monarchs and
rives the name from Fear, man, and Bolg, quiver; hence, Martineans, chiefly located Leinster, Munster, and Connaught, Fir-Bolg signifies men bearing quivers arrows, and may and under the name Ernaigh Erneans, tribes them being observed that the Scythians, from whom they are said have called from inhabiting the territories about Lough Erne, now been descended, were famous archers. Various other derivations forming parts the counties Cavan, Leitrim, and Fermanagh.
the name Fir-Bolg, are given by Keating and different writers. Camden and other antiquaries consider that the Irish Fir-Bolg were some the Belgae Britain, powerful people who inha
bited the southern and western parts England, and who came originally from Gaul. Some these Belgians are stated have fled Ireland the first century, when Britain was conquered
the Romans, but though some the British Belgians may have come Ireland that time, all our ancient annalists agree their accounts that the Fir-Bolg colony came Ireland many cen turies previous that period, and even more than thousand years before the Christian era. The most probable opinion that the Firbolgians Ireland were originally Belgians from ancient Gaul,
who came here very remote times; and has been remarked many modern travellers and writers, that there great similarity
appears that the Firbolg race were very numerous, but brought
Firbolgians having assisted them the conquest were partly restored their ancient possessions
and were chiefly located Leinster and Connaught;
the Firbolg race became kings Leinster, and they were kings
Connaught, under the Milesians, for several centuries. remote times, several centuries before the Christian era, accounts are
vassalage, and formed the farmers, peasantry, and the soil, while their Milesian masters ruled the the country. About the commencement the
into state
cultivators
aristocracy
Christian era
Leinster and Meath, under Cairbre Niafear, Carbry the War rior, king Leinster, held extensive tracts land, but that exacted such excessive rents from them that they were forced give their farms, and remove into Connaught, where they ob tained lands reasonable terms from Oilioll and Meva, then king and queen that province: thus the system rack-rents appears
have been early date Ireland. the Books Leacan and Ballymote contained poem this subject, composed
Giolla Mac Liag, celebrated bard the beginning the eleventh
recorded that the Firbolgic tribes, residing
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344 ANNALS OF THE FOUR MASTERS, A. D. 1499.
Torlogh (Philip Maguire), as a reward for his Rannall, was taken prisoner by Con Carrach, the
victory.
Malachy, the son of Murrogh, son of Teige Mac
century, who was secretary and historian to the monarch Brian Boru, of which poem the following is a literal translation:
“Historic records thus testify, And it is an indisputable fact,
That the carn erected as ordained by custom,
Is that of Conall, the comely, the son of Aongus.
“Aongus, the son of Umoir, came across the seas, To him Conall was a son;
To this Conall was granted by Meva
Delightful Aidhne for a certainty.
“They came from the land of the cruel Cruthneans, Over the seas came the sons of Umoir,
They arrived at the seat of Carbry the heroic, Situated in Meath, in the midst of the Gael.
“They obtained fair lands whereon to dwell,
Anasteach of Bregia, delightful were its forts,
Rath Cealtchar, and splendid Rath Comar,
Knowth, Rath Cenath, and the palace of Ealcmar's wife.
“The plain of Tailten, the land of Cearmna, Tlachtga of the three Fineammas,
The ford of Sigi, in Meath and Bridam, Were the territories which they possessed.
“It was then that Carbry demanded taxes To be paid to Tara by these sea-faring men; For such was the law with all the tribes
On the plains of Erin of the swift steeds.
“They appointed four princes to guarantee The payinent of a stipulated rent;
Carbry accepted those four chieftains
As sureties for their numerous possessions.
“Those were Ceat, the son of Magach, of the plains of Main; Ross, the son of Deagad, of the pleasant Dun Caoin; Conall Cearnach, whose fame spread from shore to shore, And chivalrous Cuchullan, of numerous exploits.
“From the first settlement in the east
Of this tribe, at Tara of limpid springs, Carbry the heroic so much increased
The taxes that they could not endure them.
“They fled from him with their property To king Oilioll and queen Meva;
They settled along the pleasant coasts As far westward as Dun Aongus in Aran.
“Cime they settled at Lough Cime, And placed Cutru at Lough Cutru;
Aghar was stationed towards the south, And Mil was located at Murbhach.
“Dala took the district of Dala,
Near to whom Eanach his brother raised his fortress; They placed Beara at Cinn Beara,
And at Moylin they planted Modh.
“Irgus obtained Morna Head,
Cing obtained the district of Oigle; At Laighlinne's pleasant plains Bairnech Barnbel was chief.
“Concraidh obtained a fair portion
On the mid island of Arran on the sea; Leathrach obtained Tulach Teand, Taman obtained the point of Tawin.
son of Teige, son of Tiarnan O’Rourke, and by John, the son of Tiarnan O’Rourke; and they took
“Asal took his residence southward of the Shannon, In the pleasant plains of Munster,
A delightful residence he had chosen;
From him charming Drom Asail derived its name.
“Conall obtained the land of Aidhne, Conall, the comely, who was their chief;
Such were the possessions held
By the entire race descendants of Umoir.
“From the day that Carbry heard of their flight He was highly incensed in mind,
And called upon, as a matter of course,
His four guaranteeing princes.
“The two warriors of the Red Branch,
Marched to his palace at the peremptory call;
Rossa came quickly from the south,
And Ceat arrived in haste from Connaught.
“Restore to me, said the vengeful Carbry, The emigrant sons of Umoir,
Or give them battle, man for man,
Of those that dare resist my just demand.
“Then marched from Tara to Rath Cruachan The four dread champions with their hosts,
Determined to conquer, they remained prepared On Cruachan's plains in Connaught.
“The son of Magach granted to them A cessation of arms for that night,
In order that Aongus, the king, might hold A consultation with his friends.
“The questions were, should they go to the east,
Or should they remain as they were in the west, Or should his three brothers and son
Decide the right by battle *
“The resolution to which they came, was, That Cing should be opposed to Rossa,
And that Cime Cetherchend should lead his troops Against Conall Cearnach of an hundred hostages.
“That Irgus who fought in many battles,
Should command his men against Ceat, the son of Magach, And Conal, alas! a great loss to his tribe,
Was opposedto Cuchulain in that conflict.
“The champions who marched from the east, To the east returned with warlike sway, The renowned four by them were slain,
An unutterable loss to the race of Umoir.
“Conall and his father were buried, Beneath this carn composedof stones, Hence the heap derived the name
Of Carn Conall, as certified by sages.
“The three others were interred
In a tomb on Findmaighe,
Hence it is called the mound of chiefs, At the strongly fortified Rath of Umail.
“May the merciful Redeemer from all evils,
Free Mac Liag, the historian of sages!
With unquestionable authority, as can be proved,
I have treated this subject as testified here. ”
Some passages and places mentioned in this poem require an
explanation. The sons of Umoir were some of the Firbolg race, who, in their wars with the Milesians, had been expelled to part”
4– o
REIGN OF HENRY VII. 345
him with them to Inishochta, on Lough-Mac-Nean Murrogh (Mac Rannall), with him to his house, (on the borders of Leitrim, Cavan, and Ferma and O’Donnell, i. e. Hugh Roe, redeemed him magh). Roderick, the son of Torlogh Maguire, from him afterwards; and the castle of Leitrim attacked the two O’Rourkes on the lake, and slew was again given to O’Donnell, by the son of Mur them, along with Mac-an-Chaoich Mac Clancy rogh, i. e. Malachy (Mac Rannall).
|
and his son; and he took Malachy, the son of
The earl of Kildare, i. e. Gerald, the son of
of North Britain, as the Hebrides and the country of the Picts,
who are mentioned in the poem as the cruel Cruthneans, and these
Firbolg tribes having returned from the country of the Picts, got
from king Carbry Niafear, in Bregia, or Meath, the various lands which signifies, according O'Reilly, the plebeian race, or, enumerated in the poem, amongst others, lands at Tailtean, now
Teltown, between Kells and Navan; Tlachtga, the country about Athboy, and various other places in Meath. The securities for
according O'Conor, the giant race, was applied the Firbolg. tribes, and this name was latinised Attacotti, and anglicised Atta cots; and these rebellions the Firbolg race are mentioned by
the payment of their rents were Ceat, the son of Magach, a cham
pion of Connaught, and Ross, the son of Deagad, a chief of Dun
Caoin, in Kerry, together with Conall Cearnach, and Cuchulain,
the two celebrated warriors who were chiefs of the Red Branch
Knights of Ulster. As mentioned in the poem, king Carbry Nia
fear having exacted excessive rents from the Firbolg tribes, they
fled to Connaught, where they got the following territories from
Oilioll and Meva, king and queenof that province, namely, the dis
tricts about Lough Cime, now called Lough Hacket, in the barony
of Clare, county of Galway; about Lough Cutru, also, in Galway;
Murbhach, a place in the island of Aran, off the coast of Galway;
and it may be here observed that the Firbolg chief, Aongus, above
mentioned, built the celebrated Cyclopean fortress called Dun
Aonguis, which still remains on the island of Arran. The Firbolg numbers North Britain, and setted the Hebrides, and near
In the first century, the Firbolg race revolted, and having
formed a conspiracy to wrest the monarchy from the Milesians,
they invited their princes and chiefs to a great assembly and
banquet in Connaught, where they massacred vast numbers of
them, seized upon the sovereignty, and set up as king one of their
own race named Carbry Ceancait, or Carbry Cathead, so called, afterwards acquired any authority Ireland, being reduced the
it is said, from his ears resembling those of a cat; and he reigned, according to the Four Masters, from A. D. 10 to 15, as monarch of Ireland. The place where the Milesian chiefs were massacred was called Magh Cru, signifying the field of blood, and is supposed to have been situated near Lough Con, in Mayo. About thirty years
rank farmers and peasantry, but they were still very numerous, and the present day great many the peasantry, particularly
Connaught, are considered Firbolgic origin.