A Short

History of the Irish People

BOOK I

GAELIC IRELAND

CHAPTER I

IRELAND TO THE FIRST CENTURY B.C.

SECTION I. EARLY INHABITANTS

Early Races in Europe. From the earliest times of which we have any knowledge, Ireland was inhabited by people speaking a language which they called Gaelic. This was one of the languages spoken by the Celtic group of the " Aryan" branch of the human family. The "Aryan " or "Indo-European," or " Caucasian " race had occupied Europe before the dawn of history, having absorbed or exterminated the pre-Aryan races. They formed four great groups which were situated approximately as follows: the Græco-Latin along the Mediterranean; the Teutonic around the Baltic; the Sclavonic in the East, and the Celtic in the Centre and West. Almost all the languages spoken at the present time by the nations of Europe belong to one or other of those great groups. The "Celts."-The most important to us of those families of mankind are the Celts '—a name, however, which was not their own, but was given to them by the Greeks. Their original home appears to have been on the Upper Danube from whence they had spread over Central and Western Europe, and had entered Spain and Northern Italy four centuries before the Christian Era. More than a century later some Celtic tribes crossed into Asia Minor, where centuries afterwards they were known to St. Paul as the Galatians. This last migration, however, seems to have been due to some serious upheaval. The power of the Celts thenceforward declined, and they gradually sank under Roman influence on the South, and Teutonic influence on the North.

* "Galicia" in Spain and " Galicia" in Austria similarly derive their names.

Language versus Race. Whenever the various races came into contact, much intermingling took place. Tribes of one race were often interspersed with those of another race. This appears to have occurred in particular in the North, where many of the Teutonic tribes, prior to the third century B.C., were tributary to their Celtic neighbours. There was much similarity in the social and economic systems of both, especially in the tenure of land-so important in primitive societies. To this is probably due the fact that in later history we find some tribes of Teutonic race speaking a Celtic language. Neither in early history nor in modern times is the language spoken by a people a reliable test of the race to which that people belongs.

The Earliest Inhabitants.-The fact that a Celtic language was the earliest tongue that we know with certainty to have been spoken in Ireland is not, therefore, a sure indication that the earliest inhabitants of the country in historic times were purely of Celtic race. It is certain that Ireland was early occupied by pre-Aryan peoples, traces of whose language even are said to be found in some of our place-names. The extent to which these were absorbed by the later Aryans is uncertain. Our annals suggest that the early colonies completely disappeared, and that the later ones were almost altogether supplanted by their respective successors. Modern critical students hold, on the other hand, that a large proportion of the inhabitants of Ireland were pre-Aryan in race, whose identity became merged in that of the later Celtic speakers.

There is uncertainty, too, as regards the origin of the Celtic speakers themselves. We know nothing positive as to their race, the countries from which they came to Ireland, the number of colonies which came, or the respective periods at which they arrived. Tradition says nothing of their race, but tells, as we shall see, of various waves of immigration, all of which are said to have originated in Greece and the countries on the east of it, and to have come to Ireland, some from the North, and some from the South, each succeeding wave supplanting the one which preceded it. It is also held, on the other hand, that the process of colonisation was gradual, and that some of the latest arrivals of Celtic speakers were originally Teutonic in race.

The Gaels and the Brythons.-The one fact of which we can be certain, therefore, is that when first we get a definite view of early Ireland we find it inhabited by a people who called themselves Gaels. They spoke a Celtic language which they called Gaelic, and which still lives. under that name. Gaelic was the language of the earlier of the two Western waves of Celtic immigration whose tongues are still spoken. The second wave-which did not reach Ireland-was that of the Brythons or Cymry. To the Gaelic branch belong Irish and Scottish

Gaelic, and Manx: Welsh, Cornish, and Armoric or Breton (spoken in Brittany in France) are of the Brythonic branch of the "Celtic " group of languages.

Physical Features.-The country thus inhabited by the Gaels was an island fringed almost entirely by mountain chains. The interior was mostly a level plain, much of which consisted of bog and swamp, from which numerous rivers flowed slowly to the sea. The plains and the mountain sides were thickly wooded, and in many places covered with dense forests. The early settlers had gradually established themselves in scattered bands in the cleared spaces on the slopes of the mountains, or on the banks of the rivers along which they had penetrated into the country. The Names of Ireland.-The island was known amongst the Gaels by various names which figure prominently in our literature. Of these the chief was Eire (Eire); while fodia (Fodhla) and Banba (Banba) were also common. The three are said to have been the names of three queens of the Tuatha Dé Danann. Another name which is still in common use was that of Inis Fail (Inis Fail) or the Isle of Destiny. To Latin writers it was known chiefly as Hibernia or Scotia. The Irish were known on the Continent as the Scots until as late as the fifteenth century.

The Divisions of Ireland.-Tradition tells of various divisions of the country, but of these the names of only two survive. The first was the five-fold division into the "Cúig Cúigi" or "Five Fifths" attributed to the Firbolgs (page 4): Ulard (Ulaidh) or Ulster; Laigin (Laighin) or Leinster; Connaċta (Connachta) or Connaught; and Dá Mumain (Da Mumhain) or the two Munsters. To these was afterwards added the central territory of Mroe (Midhe) or Meath (page 13). The second division was that made in the time of Conn of the Hundred Battles into Leat Cuinn (Leath Chuinn) or Conn's Half-Northern Ireland—and Leat Moga (Leath Mogha) or Mogha's Half-Southern Ireland (page 14).

These divisions, however, were not permanent political divisions, but their names continually occur in our literature, and they are still in ordinary use amongst Gaelic speakers.

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SECTION II. MYTHOLOGY AND LEGEND

Mythological" History.-The traditional accounts of the earliest colonies are frankly mythological, and convey no impression of an attempt to deal with real events. The exploits of gods, heroes, and men are narrated without distinction, and incredible details are given with a minuteness which defies reason. Whether these fables are based upon any real events of importance, and what the nature of such events may "-ster " was a Norse suffix added to three of the native names.

have been, are questions of the merest conjecture. This applies especially to the accounts of all the colonies which are said to have landed before the coming of the "Milesians," and they may, therefore, be summarised as "mythological" history.

Earliest Colonies.-The first colony after the Flood is said to have been that led by Partholan, whose followers occupied the plains of Moynalta, north of the Liffey, for 300 years until they were all cut off by a plague. Thirty years afterwards the Nemedians came from Scythia. Their possession of the island was contested by the Fomorians, a race of sea-robbers of uncertain origin, whose great stronghold was in Tory Island. So oppressive were the exactions of the Fomorians that after two hundred years the bulk of the Nemedians fled from the country in three bands, from which eventually sprang the Firbolgs, the Tuatha Dé Danann, who were successive colonists of Ireland, and the Britons, who occupied what is now England and Wales.

The Firbolgs. Two bands of the Nemedians had fled to Greece. The descendants of one of these bands, after a lapse of two centuries, again returned to Ireland under the name of the Firbolgs. They landed in three separate bodies, numbering 5,000 in all, and occupied the country without opposition. They divided the island amongst five of their princes, and thus originated the popular conception of the five provinces." To the Firbolgs is ascribed the erection of the great stone forts such as Staigue Fort in Kerry and Dun Aengus in Arran.

The legend of the Firbolgs is generally accepted as representing a real race of men, who probably settled in various small groups in Ireland. Who they were, however, is uncertain. They are thought to have been related to the Belgae, a Celtic-speaking people, probably Teutonic in race, one branch of which occupied the south-west of Britain, while another branch was situated on the rivers Seine and Marne, between the Celts of Gaul on the South and the Teutons on the North.

Tuatha Dé Danann.-The next colony consisted of the descendants of the other Nemedian band which had settled in Greece. These were known as the Tuatha Dé Danann. They had become skilled in all the arts, and were feared on account of their magical powers. They travelled across Europe to Lochlann or Scandinavia, where they remained for a time teaching in four cities. Next they moved to the north of Britain, where they stopped for seven years. Thence they came to Ireland on the heels of the Firbolgs, when the latter had been only 36 years in occupation of the country. Under their King, "Nuadha of the Silver Hand," they defeated the Firbolgs in the battle of South Moytirra near Cong (in Co. Mayo), and 27 years afterwards defeated the Fomorians

who still infested the country-at the battle of North Moytirra (in Co. Sligo). For two centuries they retained possession of the island. Many of the Firbolgs remained, however, especially in the West; and they figure as a distinct people long after the Tuatha Dé Danann themselves had been swept away.

To this people are ascribed the great sepulchral monuments at New Grange on the River Boyne. They, too, are said to have brought to Ireland the Lia Fáil, or "Stone of Destiny," upon which the High King was crowned at Tara. Some believe that this famous stone was brought in later times by an Irish Colony to Scotland, and was thence taken to Westminster by Edward I of England. It is more strongly held, however, that the stone is that which still crowns the hill of Tara.

It is fairly certain that the fabled Tuatha Dé Danann were not a real people. The references to them are not definite; and they disappear after the coming of the Milesians, when they vanish into the hills and raths to reappear as fairies. Their chief personages were probably the gods of the Pagan Irish, who, after the introduction of Christianity, came to be looked upon as having been human beings. It is probable also that to this mythical people were ascribed many of the adventures of other colonists in their struggles with the earlier inhabitants.

"Legendary" History. The traditions of the coming of the "Milesians "the last of the Celtic-speaking colonies which came to Ireland-are more definite than those of the earlier colonies. They convey a clearer impression of dealing with real people and real events. They are, however, full of impossible details, and abound in absurdities and inconsistencies. The details which are given of the prolonged travels of the Milesians from Scythia through Egypt and Spain are obviously improbable: while the list of unimportant kings-nearly every one of whom is alleged to have been killed by his successor—is also obviously fictitious. But the purely mythological nature of the earlier traditions is absent, and the stories, incredible as they are in many respects, appear to be based upon some truth in the important events. The accounts of the early "Milesians " may, therefore, be termed "legendary" history.

Origin of the "Milesians."-The "Milesians," the last and most famous in tradition of the early colonies, arrived, according to various accounts, between 1700 years B.C. and 1000 years B.C. The legends speak of their extensive journeyings during many centuries from their original habitation in Scythia through Thrace, Egypt, "Gothland,” Britain and Spain. One of their leaders, named Gadelius, from whom the name of Gaedheal is said to be derived, is mentioned as a contemporary