Irish Folk and Fairy Tales

by Gordon Jarvie

  The hunter went away, and went straight to the palace of King Connachar. He sent word in to the king that he wished to speak to him if he pleased. The king answered the message and came out to speak to the man. ‘What is the reason of your journey?’ said the king to the hunter.

  ‘I have only to tell you, O king,’ said the hunter, ‘that I saw the fairest creature that ever was born in Erin, and I came to tell you of it.’

  ‘Who is this beauty and where is she to be seen, when she was not seen till you saw her, if you did see her?’

  ‘Well, I did see her,’ said the hunter. ‘But, if I did, no man else can see her unless he get directions from me as to where she is dwelling.’

  ‘And will you direct me to where she dwells? and the reward of your directing me will be as good as the reward of your message,’ said the king.

  ‘Well, I will direct you, O king, although it is likely that this will not be what they want,’ said the hunter.

  Connachar, King of Ulster, sent for his nearest kinsmen, and he told them of his intent. Though early rose the song of the birds mid the rocky caves and the music of the birds in the grove, earlier than that did Connachar, King of Ulster, arise, with his little troop of dear friends, in the delightful twilight of the fresh and gentle May; the dew was heavy on each bush and flower and stem, as they went to bring Deirdre forth from the green knoll where she stayed. Many a youth was there who had a lithe leaping and lissom step when they started, but whose step was faint, failing, and faltering when they reached the bothy on account of the length of the way and roughness of the road. ‘Yonder, now, on the mountainside at the top of the glen is the bothy where the woman dwells, but I will not go nearer than this to the old woman,’ said the hunter.

  Connachar with his band of kinsfolk went up to the green knoll where Deirdre dwelt and he knocked at the door of the bothy. The nurse replied, ‘No less than a king’s command and a king’s army could put me out of my bothy tonight. And I should be obliged to you, were you to tell who it is that wants me to open my bothy door.’ ‘It is I, Connachar, King of Ulster.’ When the poor woman heard who was at the door, she rose with haste and let in the king and all that could get in of his retinue.

  When the king saw the woman that was before him that he had been in quest of, he thought he never saw in the course of the day nor in the dream of night a creature so fair as Deirdre and he gave his full heart’s weight of love to her. Deirdre was raised on the topmost of the heroes’ shoulders and she and her foster-mother were brought to the Court of King Connachar of Ulster.

  With the love that Connachar had for her, he wanted to marry Deirdre right off there and then, no matter what. But she said to him, ‘I would be obliged to you if you will give me the respite of a year and a day.’ He said, ‘I will grant you that, hard though it is, if you will give me your unfailing promise that you will marry me at the year’s end.’ And she gave the promise. Connachar got for her a woman-teacher and merry modest maidens fair that would lie down and rise with her, that would play and speak with her. Deirdre was clever in maidenly duties and wifely understanding, and Connachar thought he never saw with bodily eye a creature that pleased him more.

  Deirdre and her women companions were one day out on the hillock behind the house enjoying the scene, and drinking in the sun’s heat. What did they see coming but three men a-journeying. Deirdre was looking at the men that were coming, and wondering at them. When the men neared them, Deirdre remembered the words of the huntsman, and she said to herself that these were the three sons of Uisnech, and that this was Naois, he being head and shoulders taller than all the men of Erin. The three brothers went past without taking any notice of them, without even glancing at the young girls on the hillock. What happened but that love for Naois struck the heart of Deirdre, so that she could not but follow after him. She girded up her robe and went after the men that went past the base of the knoll, leaving her women attendants there. Allen and Arden had heard of the woman that Connachar, King of Ulster, had with him, and they thought that, if Naois, their brother, saw Deirdre, he would have her himself, more especially as she was not yet married to the King. They perceived the woman coming, and called on one another to hasten their step as they had a long distance to travel, and the dusk of night was coming on. They did so. Deirdre cried: ‘Naois, son of Uisnech, will you leave me?’ ‘What piercing, shrill cry is that – the most melodious my ear ever heard, and the shrillest that ever struck my heart of all the cries I ever heard?’ ‘It is nothing else but the wail of the wave-swans of Connachar,’ said his brothers. ‘No! yonder is a woman’s cry of distress,’ said Naois, and he swore he would not go further until he saw from whom the cry came, and Naois turned back. Naois and Deirdre met, and Deirdre kissed Naois three times, and a kiss each to his brothers. With the confusion that she was in, Deirdre went into a crimson blaze of fire, and her colour came and went as rapidly as the movement of the aspen by the streamside. Naois thought he never saw a fairer creature, and Naois gave Deirdre the love that he never before gave to thing, to vision, or to creature but to herself.

  Then Naois placed Deirdre on the topmost height of his shoulder, and told his brothers to keep up their pace, and they kept up their pace. Naois thought that it would not be wise for him to remain in Erin on account of the way in which Connachar, King of Ulster, his uncle’s son, would turn against him because of the woman, though he had not married her; and Naois crossed over to Scotland. He reached the side of Loch Ness and made his habitation near there. He could kill the salmon of the torrent from out his own door, and the deer of the grey gorge from out his window. Naois and Deirdre and Allen and Arden dwelt in a tower, and they were happy so long a time as they were there.

  By this time the end of the year came at which Deirdre had promised to marry Connachar, King of Ulster. Connachar made up his mind to take Deirdre away by the sword whether she was married to Naois or not. So he prepared a great and gleeful feast. He sent word far and wide through Erin to all his kinspeople to come to the feast. Connachar thought to himself that Naois would not come even if he should bid him; and the scheme that arose in his mind was to send for his father’s brother, Ferchar Mac Ro, and to send him on an embassy to Naois. He did so; and Connachar said to Ferchar, ‘Tell Naois, son of Uisnech, that I am setting forth a great and gleeful feast to my friends and kinspeople throughout the wide extent of Erin, and that I shall not have rest by day nor sleep by night if he and Allen and Arden will not partake of the feast.’

  Ferchar Mac Ro and his three sons went on their journey, and reached the tower where Naois was dwelling by the side of Loch Etive. The sons of Uisnech gave a cordial kindly welcome to Ferchar Mac Ro and his three sons, and asked him the news from Erin. ‘The best news that I have for you,’ said the hardy hero, ‘is that Connachar, King of Ulster, is setting forth a great sumptuous feast to his friends and kinspeople throughout the wide extent of Erin, and he has vowed by the earth beneath him, by the high heaven above him, and by the sun that wends to the west, that he will have no rest by day nor sleep by night if the sons of Uisnech, the sons of his own father’s brother, will not come back to the land of their home and the soil of their nativity, and to the feast likewise, and he has sent us on an embassy to invite you.’

  ‘We will go with you,’ said Naois.

  ‘We will,’ said his brothers.

  But Deirdre did not wish to go with Ferchar Mac Ro, and she tried every prayer to turn Naois from going back with him, saying:

  ‘I saw a vision, Naois, and you may interpret it to me,’ said Deirdre – then she sang:

  O Naois, son of Uisnech, hear

  What was shown in a dream to me.

  There came three white doves out of the South

  Flying over the sea,

  And drops of honey were in their mouth

  From the hive of the honey-bee.

  O Naois, son of Uisnech, hear,

  What was shown in a dream to me.

  I saw three grey hawks out of the
South

  Come flying over the sea,

  And the red red drops they bare in their mouth

  They were dearer than life to me.

  Said Naois: –

  It is nought but the fear of woman’s heart,

  And a dream of the night, Deirdre.

  ‘The day that Connachar sent the invitation to his feast will be unlucky for us if we don’t go, O Deirdre.’

  ‘You will go there,’ said Ferchar Mac Ro; ‘and if Connachar show kindness to you, show ye kindness to him; and if he will display wrath towards you, display ye wrath towards him, and I and my three sons will be with you.’

  ‘We will,’ said Daring Drop. ‘We will,’ said Hardy Holly. ‘We will,’ said Fiallan the Fair.

  ‘I have three sons, and they are three heroes, and in any harm or danger that may befall you, they will be with you, and I myself will be along with them.’ And Ferchar Mac Ro gave his vow and his word in presence of his arms that, in any harm or danger that came in the way of the sons of Uisnech, he and his three sons would not leave head on live body in Erin, despite sword or helmet, spear or shield, blade or mail, be they ever so good.

  Deirdre was still most unwilling to leave Scotland, but she went with Naois. Deirdre wept tears in showers and she sang:

  Dear is the land, the land over there,

  Scotland full of woods and lakes;

  Bitter to my heart is leaving thee,

  But I go away with Naois.

  Ferchar Mac Ro did not stop till he got the sons of Uisnech away with him, despite the suspicion of Deirdre.

  The coracle was put to sea,

  The sail was hoisted to it;

  And the second morrow they arrived

  On the white shores of Erin.

  As soon as the sons of Uisnech landed in Erin, Ferchar Mac Ro sent word to Connachar, King of Ulster, that the men whom he wanted were come, and let him now show kindness to them. ‘Well,’ said Connachar, ‘I did not expect that the sons of Uisnech would come, though I sent for them, and I am not quite ready to receive them. But there is a house down yonder where I keep strangers, and let them go down to it today, and my house will be ready for them tomorrow.’

  But Connachar then felt it long that he was not getting word as to how matters were going on for those down in the house of the strangers. ‘Go you, Gelban Grednach, son of Lochlin’s King, go you down and bring me information as to whether her former hue and complexion are on Deirdre. If they are, I will take her back with edge of blade and point of sword, and if not, let Naois, son of Uisnech, have her for himself,’ said Connachar.

  Gelban, the cheering and charming son of Lochlin’s King, went down to the place of the strangers, where Deirdre and the sons of Uisnech were staying. He looked in through the peep-hole on the door-leaf. Now she that he gazed upon used to go into a crimson blaze of blushes when anyone looked at her. Naois looked at Deirdre and knew that someone was looking at her from the back of the door-leaf. He seized one of the dice on the table before him and fired it through the peep-hole, and knocked the eye out of Gelban Grednach the Cheerful and Charming, right through the back of his head. Gelban returned back to the palace of King Connachar.

  ‘You were cheerful, charming, going away, but you are cheerless, charmless, returning. What has happened to you, Gelban? But have you seen her, and are Deirdre’s hue and complexion as before?’ said Connachar.

  ‘Well, I have seen Deirdre, and I saw her also truly, and while I was looking at her through the peep-hole on the door, Naois, son of Uisnech, knocked out my eye with one of the dice in his hand. But of a truth and verity, although he put out even my eye, I would have liked still to remain looking at her with the other eye, were it not for the hurry you told me to be in,’ said Gelban.

  ‘That is true,’ said Connachar; ‘let three hundred brave heroes go down to the abode of the strangers, and let them bring hither to me Deirdre, and kill the rest.’

  Connachar ordered three hundred active heroes to go down to the abode of the strangers and to take Deirdre up with them and kill the rest. ‘The pursuit is coming,’ said Deirdre.

  ‘Yes, but I will myself go out and stop the pursuit,’ said Naois.

  ‘It is not you, but we that will go,’ said Daring Drop, and Hardy Holly, and Fiallan the Fair; ‘it is to us that our father entrusted your defence from harm and danger when he himself left for home.’ And the gallant youths, full noble, full manly, full handsome, with beautiful brown locks, went forth girt with battle arms fit for fierce fight and clothed with combat dress for fierce contest fit, which was burnished, bright, brilliant, bladed, blazing, on which were many pictures of beasts and birds and creeping things, lions and lithe-limbed tigers, brown eagle and harrying hawk and adder fierce; and the young heroes laid low three-thirds of the company.

  Connachar came out in haste and cried with wrath: ‘Who is there on the battlefield, slaughtering my men?’

  ‘We, the three sons of Ferchar Mac Ro.’

  ‘Well,’ said the king, ‘I will give free passage to your grandfather, free passage to your father, and free passage each to you three brothers, if you come over to my side tonight.’

  ‘Well, Connachar, we will not accept that offer from you nor thank you for it. Greater by far do we prefer to go home to our father and tell the deeds of heroism we have done, than accept anything on these terms from you. Naois, son of Uisnech, and Allen and Arden are as nearly related to yourself as they are to us, though you are so keen to shed their blood, and you would shed our blood also, Connachar.’ And the noble, manly, handsome youths with beautiful brown locks returned inside. ‘We are now,’ said they, ‘going home to tell our father that you are now safe from the hands of the king.’ And the youths all fresh and tall and lithe and beautiful, went home to their father to tell that the sons of Uisnech were safe. This happened at the parting of the day and night in the morning twilight time, and Naois said they must go away, leave that house, and return to Scotland.

  Naois and Deirdre, Allen and Arden started to return to Scotland. Word then came to the king that the company he was in pursuit of were gone. The king now sent for Duanan Gacha Druid, the best magician he had, and he spoke to him as follows: – ‘Much wealth have I spent on you, Duanan Gacha Druid, to give schooling and learning and magic mystery to you. Must these people get away from me today without care, without consideration or regard for me, without chance of overtaking them, and you without power to stop them?’

  ‘Well, I will stop them,’ said the magician, ‘until the company you send in pursuit return.’ And the magician placed a wood before them through which no man could go, but the sons of Uisnech marched through the wood without halt or hesitation, and Deirdre held onto Naois’s hand.

  ‘What is the good of that? that will not stop them,’ said Connachar. ‘They are off without bending of their feet or stopping of their step, without heed or respect to me, and I am without power to keep up to them or opportunity to turn them back this night.’

  ‘I will try another plan on them,’ said the druid; and he placed before them a grey sea instead of a green plain. The three heroes stripped and tied their clothes behind their heads, and Naois placed Deirdre on the top of his shoulder.

  They stretched their sides to the stream,

  And sea and land were to them the same,

  The rough grey ocean was the same

  As meadow-land green and plain.

  ‘Though that be good, O Duanan, it will not make the heroes return,’ said Connachar; ‘they are gone without regard for me, and without honour to me, and without power on my part to pursue them or to force them to return this night.’

  ‘We shall try another method on them, since yon one did not stop them,’ said the druid. And the druid froze the grey ridged sea into hard rocky knobs, the sharpness of sword being on the one edge and the poison power of adders on the other. Then Arden cried that he was getting tired, and nearly giving over. ‘Come you, Arden, and sit on my right shoulder,’ said Naois. Ard
en came and sat on Naois’s shoulder. Arden was long in this posture when he died; but though he was dead, Naois would not let him go. Allen then cried out that he was getting faint and nigh-well giving up. When Naois heard his prayer, he gave forth the piercing sigh of death, and asked Allen to lay hold of him and he would bring him to land.

  But Allen was not long thus when the weakness of death came on him and his hold failed. Naois looked around, and when he saw his two well-beloved brothers dead, he cared not whether he lived or died, and he gave forth the bitter sigh of death, and his own heart burst.

  ‘They are gone,’ said Duanan Gacha Druid to the king, ‘and I have done what you desired me. The sons of Uisnech are dead and they will trouble you no more; and you have your wife hale and whole to yourself.’

  ‘Blessings for that upon you and may the good results accrue to me, Duanan. I count it no loss what I spent in the schooling and teaching of you. Now dry up the flood, and let me see if I can behold Deirdre,’ said Connachar. And Duanan Gacha Druid dried up the flood from the plain and the three sons of Uisnech were lying together dead, without breath of life, side by side on the green meadow plain and Deirdre bending above showering down her tears.

  Then Deirdre said this lament: ‘Fair one, loved one, flower of beauty; beloved upright and strong; beloved noble and modest warrior. Fair one, blue-eyed, beloved of thy wife; lovely to me at the trysting-place came thy clear voice through the woods of Ireland. I cannot eat or smile henceforth. Break not today, my heart: soon enough shall I lie within my grave. Strong are the waves of sorrow, but stronger is sorrow’s self, Connachar.’