slats of wood, from the Eó Rossa. From a passage in St Bernard’s life of Malachy we learn that the custom of building oratories of wood continued in Ireland as late as the twelfth century.
DUBLIN
Dubh Linn, ‘black pool’, the name preferred by the Vikings and later by the Anglo-Normans; later in Gaelic as Baile Átha Cliath, ‘the homestead at the ford on the wattles’
The earliest mention of Dublin is as Eblana polis on the map of Ptolemy from the second century AD. This is the oldest contemporary document for Irish history. Ptolemy lived in Alexandria in Egypt, and his map of Ireland (Iouernia) was derived from sailors and merchants who presumably had their information from other mariners. The map’s blank interior of Ireland is testament to the fact that knowledge of the island was limited to its shores. Howth is named Edros, which corresponds to Edar in the Gaelic name for the place, Beinn Edair.
Three miles south from Tallaght on the R114 is Glenasmole (gleann an smóil, ‘the glen of the thrush’) [50], which is at the source of the River Dodder and possesses a large lake now used as a reservoir. Oisín,* a son of Finn mac Cumhail* and a hero of the Fenian Cycle of sagas, has a strong association with Glenasmole. It was at this place that tragedy struck for the warrior when he returned to Ireland after 300 years in Tír na nÓg (‘the land of eternal youth’). A group of men asked him to help them raise a huge stone onto a wagon, and when he stooped to do so the reins on his horse snapped and he fell to the earth. As a result, he changed suddenly to be a very old man, and because of his fall he could no longer return to Tír na nÓg. Oisín had been taken to this world, also known as Tír Tairngire (‘the land of promise’) and Magh Mell (‘the plain of honey’), by Niamh, an otherworldly princess. She told him that:
It is the most delightful country to be found,
of greatest repute under the sun
trees drooping with fruit and blossom
and foliage growing on the tops of boughs.
Finn mac Cumhail’s* father was Cumall mac Trénmór, and he fought in a battle at Castleknock at the Battle of Cnucha located in present-day Castleknock at the north end of the Phoenix Park [50]. Cumall was King of the Leinster Fianna,* and he was defeated and killed in this battle by Goll mac Morna of the Connacht Fianna who were supported by the Lagin. The ‘hills’ referred to in the word cnucha are within the grounds of Castleknock College; a request to walk around the site should be made to the school authorities. The cause of this battle was Cumall’s abduction of Muirenn, the daughter of the druid Tadg who complained to the king, Conn Cét Chathach, or ‘Conn of the Hundred Battles’ (177–212 AD). Cumall refused to either send Muirenn back or pay restitution, and he refused to attend a meeting at Tara with Conn to seek a resolution. As a result, Conn promised leadership of the Fianna to Goll mac Morna. After the battle, Muirenn who was now pregnant with Finn mac Cumhail, attempted to return home to her father, but he refused to admit her because she was pregnant. He told his people to burn her, but mercifully this was not carried out. On the eve of the battle, Cumall sent the following message to Muirenn: ‘When my son is born, flee away with him, and let him be brought up in the most secret places you can find. Conmean the druid has foretold his fortune, and that under his rule the Fianna of Érinn shall much exceed what it enjoys under mine. Entreat the forgiveness of the golden haired Muirrean for me. Farewell.’
Another battle involving the Fianna* was fought at Garristown [43] in 285 AD (although it has on occasion been mentioned as having been fought in Meath, presumably because of changing boundaries). Known as the Battle of Gabhra, it ended the power of the Fianna in Ireland. The background is as follows: King Cairbre Lifechair wished to marry his daughter Sgéimh Solais (‘beauty of light’) to a prince, but the Fianna wanted her to marry one of them – or, failing that, they demanded to be paid a ransom of twenty ounces of gold. When Cairbre refused both requests, the Fianna marched on Tara and both sides met in a field known as the Black Acre in Garristown, where Oscar, the son of Oisín,* was carried from the field on a bier after being fatally wounded. The Book of Leinster tells a different story, stating that Cairbre was slain by Oscar, and Acallam na Senórach (‘Discourse of the Elders’) concurs with this. However, the local people to the present day believe that the Fianna lost the battle, and as an act of respect to the Fianna who fell at the battle they erected a large Celtic cross towards the end of the nineteenth century. This was blown down by a strong wind in the twentieth century, and the author met some local people who had removed the shaft of the cross to an adjoining ditch. A headstone has been erected in front of the library at Garristown, and the ogam writing on it commemorates the Battle of Gabhra; it translates as ‘Oscar son of Oisín, grandson of Finn’.
The name Gabhra is interesting linguistically in so far as gabhar generally means a goat, but here may mean a white horse or brightness or even the sun; whether there is a connection to Sgéim Solais, the daughter of Cairbre, is open to debate. The Annals of Ulster refer to this battle as follows: ‘Kalends of January third feria, twelfth of the moon [285 AD]. Cairpre Lifechair son of Cormac Ulfhota was killed by Oscar son of Oisín* son of Finn in the battle of Gabhra, and Oscar was killed by Cairpre at the same time.’
Two miles east from the north end of the Glenasmole Reservoir stands Montpelier Hill [50], to the north of which is a megalithic tomb and, to the east, a standing stone; up to the early eighteenth century there stood a large cairn here bounded by a circle of large stones. This site was desecrated in 1725 by William Conolly of Castletown, who used the stones of the cairn in the construction of a hunting lodge generally known as the Hell Fire Club. The roof was originally slated but a sharp wind stripped the roof of its slates so Conolly built a stone roof in its place, much of which stands today.
Local people said the lodge was haunted, due to the desecration of the site and that the devil was responsible for the original damage to the roof. Although Montpelier Hill is mainly associated with the club, most of its meetings were held at the Eagle Tavern on Cork Hill, which was part of a high ridge extending from Dame Street to beyond Christ Church. The drink of choice was known as scaillín or ‘scaltheen’ – a mixture of hot whiskey, butter, sugar and hot milk, which was apparently used as a remedy for a cold in the chest. The Hell Fire Club was founded by Richard Parsons, the first Earl of Rosse, and James Worsdale, the painter. Worsdale’s painting of five members can be seen in the National Gallery of Ireland Dublin. A black cat supposed to represent the devil presided at the meetings, and on occasion at midnight a member of the club would emerge as the devil, wearing the horns and tail of a cow. On one occasion the cat, after being immersed in the punchbowl and set alight, ran out of the tavern on fire, reinforcing the belief among onlookers that the devil was truly present at these sessions.
Two miles north of the post office at Rush on the R128 you come to a crossroads, and here, if you turn right and then take the first turn to the right, you will arrive at Carnhill. To the east you should see Loughshinny, and walking south-east you will arrive at Drumanagh (Druim Manach, ‘the ridge of the Manach’) [43]. It is probably here that the great hero Cú Chulainn* came to woo Emer, the daughter of a local chieftain. The older name for Drumanagh was Luglochta Logo, ‘the gardens of Lug’. Drumanagh is a forty-acre promontory fort overlooking the Irish Sea with Loughshinny to the north and Rush to the south. Emer’s father was Fergal Manach, or ‘Fergal Monks’, and there are still Monks living in the area. The townland of Rathmooney is Rathmanach, ‘the rath of the monks’. This fort of Fergal Manach is four miles due west from Drumanagh. To get there, take the north-west road from the post office at Lusk and turn right after a mile to bring you to Rathmooney. The fort at Drumanagh has three ramparts, and according to the ‘Wooing of Emer’, a story whose earliest extant version comes from the twelfth century, ‘Cú Chulainn reached the fort of Fergal within a day, and performed the Salmon leap across the three ramparts, so that he landed in the centre of the fortress.’
Fergal did not see ‘this wild man from the north’ as a suitable suitor for his daughter and had Drumanagh guarded. Cú Chulainn* slaughtered
