Some Of The Literatures In The Period
Above : Picture From Fenian Cycle
- Cuchulain and the ” Tain Bo.”—The stories connected with the career of the celebrated hero Cuchulain and with the ” Tain B6 Chuailgne,” in which he took a prominent part, form the second section of the ” Red Branch Cycle.” The events take place while Connor Mac Nessa is still on the throne, and follow closely on the deaths of the sons of Uisneach. We are told how the young Setanta leaves his father’s fort at Dun Dealgan (Dundalk) for Connor’s Court, where he gets his new name of Cuchulain (the Hound of Culan), and of his heroic exploits as boy and man. Then the ” Tain ” begins. The ” Tain B6 Chuailgne,” or ” Cattle Spoil of Cooky ” originates in the desire of Maeve of Cruachan to obtain possession of a famous Brown Bull which was the property of the Chief of Cooley—the mountainous district in the north of County Louth, between Dundalk Bay and Carlingford Lough—a vassal of King Connor’s. Sweeping up auxiliaries from all parts of Eire, and aided by Fergus and the other seceding Red Branch heroes, Queen Maeve marches by Kells and reaches the borders of Ulaidh. The Northerners are unprepared, and Cuchulain alone withstands the invaders at the River Dee. Here occurs the famous ” Fight at the Ford,” where Cuchulain encounters, and eventually slays, his former companion-in-arms, Ferdiad. Finally, Cuchulain is slain and the Brown Bull is driven off to the plains of Connacht, but bursts back to its former home—to die.
- “Red Branch”—The most famous of the other characters in the ” Red Branch Cycle ” are: Emer, the gentle and loving wife of Cuchulain ; Conall Cearnach, the ” Victorious ” ; and Bricriu, the malicious satirist and mischief-maker.
- “Fenian Cycle.”—The “Fenian Cycle” is also called the ” Ossianic Cycle ” from the name of Oisin (or Ossian), to whom have been attributed, erroneously, most of the poems which it includes. It deals with a period which begins two centuries later than that of the ” Red Branch Cycle,” and comprises a large and disconnected mass of prose, saga and poems concerning the exploits of the Fianna and of the Kings of Tara. More popular in its appeal than is the Ultonian literature, much of it still remains in the Gaelic traditions of Ireland and Scotland.
- Diarmuid and Grainne.—The period covered by the Fenian literature includes the successive reigns of Conn, Art, Cormac and Cairbre of the Liffey, and these four generations of Kings are represented by four generations of leaders of the Fianna: Cumhal,’and his son Fionn ; Oisin, the son of Fionn ; and Oscar, the son of Oisin. The historical element in this cycle, from the Battle of Cnucha, in which Cumhal fell, to that of Gabhra, where Oscar was slain, has already been dealt with. But the major portion of the Fenian literature is taken up with isolated adventures and romances which are not of historical interest, and do not permit of continuous narrative. The most important of them is ” The Pursuit of Diarmuid and Grainne,” which tells of the elopement of Grainne, daughter of Cormac Mac Airt, with Diarmuid na m-Ban, ons of the Fenian chiefs, in order to escape from marriage with the agid Fionn, and the pursuit by the latter of the eloping pair.
Amongst the other famous heroes of the Fianna were Caoilte Mac Ronain, Fergus Finnbheoil, and Conm Maol; while Goll Mac Morna, a Connacht champion, also figures prominently.
- Miscellaneous Saga.—A good deal of Irish literature is also devoted to miscellaneous saga dealing with events of this period, which relate neither to the Red Branch nor the Fianna. These include the tales of the imposition of the Borumha tribute, and the struggles to enforce it; the foreign expeditions of various Kings ; the wanderings of the tribe of the Deisi, who were expelled from Meath by Cormac, and eventually settled between the River Suir and the sea ; the death of Conaire M6r, who is described as Ard Ri at the time Connor Mac Nessa also reigned, and who was killed by British pirates at Bohernabreena,near Dublin.
- Lost Literature.—Although, as has been pointed out, no literature produced in this era remains, there are references in later writings which indicate the existence at one time of works written at this period. Allusion has already been made to the works attributed to Cormac Mac Airt, “The Saltair of Tara” and “CeAgAfg ftiog.” We are also told of a book called the ” Cuilmenn,” a repertory of history, the ” Cin of Drom Sneachta,” containing history and genealogies, the ” Book of Ua Congbhail,” said to have been in existence in the 17th century ; and the ” Book of Aicill “—all of which are said to have been written ” before the coming of Patrick to Ireland.”