Stories from Irish History

By James M Bourke

Stories from Irish History is a collection of 13 stories based on selected episodes in Irish history, some of which are unremembered. They are historical fiction, a popular modern genre which has great appeal for many readers. Even though the stories are partly fictional, they are based on extensive historical research. We have to go back in time in order to discover ourselves and our culture. We do not have to live in the past but neither should we deny it. Our history is all around us, in the very air we breathe, not only in our history books but in the hills and valleys, in our lore and literature, in our art and architecture, in our songs and poetry. We know that the past is never past. We need to know who we are and who we used to be. We need to know about our cultural heritage, our pre-history, our lore, our local history and the story behind placenames. Ireland is a nation of story-tellers and historical fiction keeps that tradition alive not only in Ireland but also among the Irish diaspora in the UK, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Dec 3, 2021
• ISBN: 9781665595049

James M Bourke

JAMES M BOURKE is currently living in Dublin but he has lived for short periods in counties Tipperary, Laois, Waterford and Cork. He is a retired university lecturer who specialised in Applied Linguistics. He lived and worked overseas for the best part of 40 years in Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. He has published many academic papers and monographs on various aspects of language education. Since taking retirement in 2008, he has turned to creative writing and published two novels, two collections of short stories and two plays. He is especially interested in the short story and historical fiction. His most recent book is a collection of critical essays entitled Requiem for the Republic published in July 2021 by AuthorHouse UK. For further details of the author and his previous publications, see his website at http://jamesmannesbourke.net Academic qualifications: Diploma in Education, Dublin 1960; BA General, UCC 1968; MA Applied Linguistics, University of Essex, 1978; Ph.D. Applied Linguistics, TCD, 1992.

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© 2021 James M Bourke. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or

transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Stories from Irish History is a work of fiction based on history. Research sources are

cited in endnotes and further reading is suggested in a select bibliography.

Published by AuthorHouse  12/01/2021

ISBN: 978-1-6655-9505-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6655-9504-9 (e)

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expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the

views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

A generation that ignores history has no past and no future.

- R.A. Heinlein

ABOUT THE COVER IMAGE

The cover image shows the famous Sword of Light (An Claidheamh Soluis) which appears on the definitive stamps of Ireland (Éire) which were issued between 1922 and 1937. The Sword of Light symbolises a number of ancient Irish beliefs, in particular ‘sword land ‘which means land won by the sword and held by the sword. It also symbolises the fight for Irish freedom. In Celtic times, it symbolised the victory of light over darkness.

Mise Éire

Mise Éire:

Sine mé ná and Chailleach Bhéarra.

Mór mo ghlóir:

Mé a rug Cú Chulainn cróga.

Mór mo náir:

Mo chlann féin a dhía mathair.

---o---

I am Ireland:

I am older than the Hag of Beare.

Great my glory:

I who bore Cuchulainn, the brave.

Great my shame:

My own children who sold their mother

(Pádraig Pearse,1912)

INTRODUCTION

The stories in this collection are all based on Irish history. They are historical fiction, a popular modern genre. As such, they are likely to make professional historians wince since they jealously guard their territory and take exception to the non-historian entering their preserve. However, we all see things differently and the perceptions of the outsider, whether writer or artist or poet can add a dimension to the bare facts of history. Historical fiction, if well written, can bring history alive. There is a need to fill the gaps in the historical narrative and to go beyond the bare facts of the history book. How far one may go beyond recorded history is a moot question.

The problem with textbook history is that it is not very good at explaining why things happen. Furthermore, some events are disremembered; historians, like the rest of us, tend to intrude their own opinions. Historical fiction, on the other hand, offers a channel into the mind and motivation of the great historical movers and shakers. It aims to convey the mindset, spirit, manners and social conditions of a particular past period or episode of national importance. It does not deny or distort the facts of history; it simply adds context. Some historical fiction is pure fantasy but most writers nowadays prefer to stay within the remit of attested history. When you read the great exponents of the genre - Leo Tolstoy, Robert Graves, J.G. Farrell, Thomas Keneally, J.M. Coetzee, Hilary Mantel, Robert Harris - you will see that this is so. They all bring historical episodes brilliantly alive. Historical fiction, when based on research, is not at all counterfactual.

The stories in this collection represent a cross section of Irish history from Celtic times to Independence in 1921. They are, of course, selective and there are huge gaps but each story is about a pivotal period in Irish history and the focus is sometimes on personalities and episodes that are not part of mainstream history, namely, what we find in our history textbooks; in other words, what we wish to remember or, more correctly, what professional historians want us to remember. In several of the stories, issues are raised which historians ignore, gloss over or erase.

We know that Ireland (Éire) became an independent nation a hundred years ago in 1921. However, prehistoric Ireland (Hibernia) is older than ancient Egypt. For instance, the Newgrange passage grave dates to 3,200 BC, at least 600 years before the pyramid of Giza. Recent research based on carbon-dating of a reindeer bone bearing the mark of stone axe indicates that we have to go a long way back before the ice age, 40,000 years ago, to discover that humans may have lived in Ireland 33,000 years ago.

Readers must not overlook the fact that I am a storyteller, not a historian. My objective is to bring history alive and give the reader an enjoyable reading experience. At the same time, I hope that my stories will raise awareness of some great moments in Irish history. For me, the past is never past. Our greatest treasure is out history and our heritage. A former Irish Minister for Education once removed the teaching of history from the Junior Certificate curriculum. President M.D. Higgins, quite rightly, reminds us that history is ‘the inheritance of all our people’. Finally, I should caution students of history not to cite my stories in an academic assignment. I expect that most teachers prefer fact-based history.

James M. Bourke

24 November 2021.

CONTENTS

1.     The Táin

2.     A Monk On A Mission

3.     A Viking Voice

4.     A Noble Norman Lord

5.     The Curse Of Cromwell

6.     The Woods Of Gortnamona

7.     The Liberator

8.     Dies Irae

9.     A Fenian Fugitive

10.   The Rise And Fall Of Parnell

11.   Easter, 1916

12.   A Rebel Countess

13.   A War Poet

Acknowledgements

1

THE TÁIN

The Celtic epic, the Táin Bó Cuailnge (The Cattle Raid of Cooley)¹ is said to be Ireland’s own Iliad. Like all epics, it is not real history. Its fabulous characters - Queen Medb and her husband Ailill, Cú Chulainn, Fer Diad, and Daire, (the owner of the Brown Bull of Cooley which sparked the war between Connacht and Ulster) - may be a Celtic invention but the Táin nonetheless tells us something about the Celtic (Iron Age) people of Ireland. The central focus of the story is Queen Medb (in translation, Maeve) and all the epic events in the tale revolve around her and her plan to capture the prize brown bull of Cooley. The Táin is about the mythological Queen Medb but there there may have been a real Queen Medb in Connacht during the Celtic period. However, there is no credible evidence for her existence even though several different locations are associated with her. The following story recounts the legend of the Medb of the Táin. It seems that she was no ordinary woman. She was a warrior queen who ruled over Connacht for 60 years from Rath Crúachan (in present day County Roscommon.) She was blamed for many dark deeds including the death of her sister Clothru. She was famous for her beauty and sexual prowess. She had five recognized husbands and many lovers. She must have been wily to survive so long since she had enemies on every side, especially her arch enemy and former husband, Conor Mac Nessa, king of Ulster. He was evil but she was avaricious, cunning, and resolute, perhaps the prototype of many a real queen, obsessed with power. Like many heroic figures, her life ended in tragedy. She was killed by her nephew while bathing in a pool on an island in Lough Ree. She is supposedly buried under a large cairn on top of Knocknarea (County Sligo) standing upright in full battle dress. The Táin story begins in bed with pillow talk between Queen Medb and her husband Ailill. Her majesty is in a bad mood.

THE BEGINNING…

‘You can’t be serious!’ said her majesty, in her most disdainful tone of voice. ‘We’ve been over all this before and every dog in Rath Crúachan knows very well that I have more of everything than you - more and better land, more and better cattle, more and better chariots and not least, more and better lovers.’

‘I do not dispute any to that,’ said Ailill ‘and may the curse of Balor² be upon you for all your infidelities. However, let me remind you that you have no animal to match my white bull, Finnbheannach. He is the pride of Connacht, bred from one of your own herds and he must surely be wise too since he refused to be owned by a woman and will serve none but my cattle.’

Medb sat up, seething with fury, knowing that her lily-livered husband had outsmarted her, being the owner of a magnificent white bull, which, when a mere calf, abandoned her herd and became Ailill’s property. That was a bad mistake on her part, but she was not going to let him win the argument. She was determined, come what may, to find a better bull, even if it meant going to war. In Celtic culture, the monarch was regarded as the bull of the clan – the one with balls. A magnificent bull was regarded as a symbol of the monarch’s sovereignty; any misfortune befalling a royal bull was regarded as a bad omen – possibly the end of a dynasty. In other words, a prize bull was more precious than the crown jewels.

At that time, Medb was having an adulterous affair with Fergus Mac Róich, the exiled brother of the King of Ulster and it was he who suggested to her that she could find a bull the match of Alill’s in the province of Ulster. Furthermore, he confirmed that he knew where to find such a bull. It was owned by Dáire Mac Fiachna in the district of Cooley. The bull’s name was Donn Cúailnge, which is rendered in English as the Brown Bull of Cooley. Accordingly, she lost no time in sending her trusted messenger, Mac Roth to Cooley, which was then part of Ulster. His mission was to make a deal with Dáire, the bull’s owner, by asking him to exchange Donn Cúailnge for a large tract of land and a chariot worth 21 bondmaids. At first, Dáire is tempted to accept, but on reflection he rebuffs the offer, partly out of fear of incurring the wrath of the irascible King of Ulster, Conchobar (Conor) Mac Nessa, who happened to be Medb’s first husband and now her sworn enemy. At that point, Mac Roth makes a second offer. In return for a year’s loan of the Brown Bull, Queen Medb would return the animal together with fifty heifers, and should Dáire himself bring her the bull, she would reward him with ‘the friendship of her own thighs.’ That was an offer that Dáire could not refuse and he invited Mac Roth to join him in celebrating the deal. Unfortunately, over drinks, Mac Roth foolishly intimated that if Dáire had not consented, Medb would have sent an army to take the bull by force. Furthermore, he boasted that no raven was more ravenous, no bull more ferocious than the fearless Medb. When that remark was passed to Dáire he flew into a rage and cancelled the deal. Poor Mac Roth, fearing the worst, returned empty-handed to Medb. However, she did not punish him, for it seems that she half expected Dáire to decline her overtures. Being a practical woman, she does not let the grass grow under her feet. She stirs up old animosities between Connacht and Ulster, and having secured the support of her husband Ailill Mac Máta and her lover, Fergus Mac Róich, she musters a vast army, including a detachment of Leinster mercenaries. People may think that it was vain of Medb to declare war over such a trivial matter, but in her Celtic mind, it was a matter of great honour. The Brown Bull of Cooley was a symbol of sovereignty and that was something that she, as monarch of Connacht, deemed worth fighting for. The honour of Connacht was at stake. The province was put on a war footing.

Crúachan had never seen such a large army, consisting of 18 divisions, each of which was 3,000 strong. They were handsome young warriors looking ever so fine in their embroidered tunics and their cloaks of many colours and designs. Each warrior was armed with a long shield, a double-edged sword and a razor-sharp spear. Among Medb’s generals were several Ulster nobles, including Cormac, son of Conchobar mac Neasa, the King of Ulster and Fergus mac Róich, who had been King of Ulster for seven years until ousted by Conchobar. These powerful nobles, and many more besides, had been exiled from Ulster after a bitter quarrel with the king. It was agreed that Fergus should lead Medb’s army because for him and the other exiled Ulster princes it was a grudge war. There was much feasting for a fortnight as the warriors prepared for battle. Medb was well pleased with the preparations. She would lead the men of Connacht to a glorious victory over Ulster and her vile ex-husband, Conchobar.

Then, out of thin air, a beautiful young lady appears - a prophetess, named Fedelm. Naturally, Medb asks her what lies ahead and the beautiful Fedelm replies: ‘I see crimson. I see red.’ Then, being a poet as well as a visionary, she chants a long verse about a fearsome warrior called Cú Chulainn, who ‘stains red his every foe.’ Furthermore, this all-conquering ‘hound’ will lop off heads in great profusion and leave a river of blood over many lands. Medb was not too perturbed at this revelation and her assembled force set out the Monday after Samhain, which was a propitious time. It so happened that at that time, a period of several months, the warriors of Ulster were laid low with the Curse.⁴ No man was fit to fight; they were all smitten by the Curse of Macha, that is, all except Cú Chulainn and his father. As a result, it fell to Cú Chulainn to defend the province and he embarked on a one-man campaign of harassment of the invading army. It seemed a futile task - one man against a vast army but Cú Chulanin was not quite alone. He was helped by magic as well as various spirits from the Otherworld and he was accompanied by his loyal charioteer, Láeg. He enjoyed taunting the enemy by leaving warning messages at various points. He would the cut a message in ogham on a pole and plant it at a ford on a river. When a patrol party came by and tried to pass, he would cut off their heads and impale them on the fork of a tree. A lot of the action happens at fords and Cú Chulainn continues lopping off heads and spiking them on a forked pole. He lies in waiting and picks off soldiers with his deadly slingshot.

Medb’s army encounters all manner of obstacles on its way to Cúailnge. Meanwhile, Mórrígan, the war-goddess, appears out of nowhere, in the form of a raven and warns the Brown Bull to flee to safety on Sliab Culinn. Medb divides her army into two in order to avoid Cú Chulainn’s constant furtive attacks and when they meet up again on the plain, Ailill sends for Fergus, who has been caught in bed with Medb. The two men play a vengeful game of chess, seemingly oblivious to the war they are waging. It was Cuillius, Ailill’s charioteer, who had found the pair in bed and before withdrawing, he secretly removed Fergus’s sword and left the sheath empty. One may wonder why the loss of a sword should be the subject of a verbal game played by Ailill and Fergus. The loss of one’s sword was considered a shameful act. Sleeping with another man’s wife was bad enough, but losing one’s sword in the process was unforgivable. It indicated that passion had prevailed over prudence. The chess game is a metaphor. The game is up. The King has trapped the Knight out of his tunic. Medb rebukes her lover and advises him to keep his sword in its sheath (whatever that may mean). She is in no mood for silly games. She has a serious problem on her mind - how to get past that troublesome upstart, Cú Chulainn and find the Brown Bull of Cúailnge. She wants action, not silly talk.

The word goes out to advance and capture the villainous Cú Chulainn. They spot him in his chariot with Láeg making for a ford on the river and they give chase. Cú Chulainn, of course, knows what to do. He summons the water to come to his aid and the water rises to the tree tops. Sixty of Ailill’s men are drowned. It is a grave setback for Medb but her army keeps advancing. They rape, plunder and murder but the men of Ulster cannot respond as they are still immobilised by the Curse. Cú Chulainn keeps sniping at the Connacht men, picking off a hundred or more each day.

Having lost so many men, Medh decides it is time to send a messenger to parley with Cú Chulainn. A deal is agreed. Henceforth, Cú Chulainn will engage the enemy in single combat each day. He sees this as a good delaying strategy, playing for time while the Ulstermen get over the Curse. The result is predictable. The challengers are literally cut down, in fact, often split in two by Cú Chulainn. Meanwhile, Medb’s men find the Brown Bull and bring him into the camp. None of Medb’s heroes can get the better of Cú Chulainn. He is victorious but he is worn out by combat. Then, out of the blue, he is approached by Lugh.⁵ He has come from the Otherworld to counsel and console Cú Chulainn, who falls into a deep sleep for three days, while Lugh applies healing herbs to his wounds. Then feeling invigorated, Cú Chulainn dons his battle-garb. As he does so, he is transformed by battle-frenzy into a grotesque monster. His whole-body twists and contorts into a fearsome shape. His limbs become like tree trunks, his mouth becomes a cave and emits sparks, while his hair becomes spiked and glowing. Transformed by the Rage, he takes to his chariot, which is now enhanced by added blades, hooks, prongs and spikes. It is hitched to a pair of eager, battle-ready horses which race in a great circle around the four provinces of Ireland, ploughing the ground deeply into dikes with the chariot’s massive iron wheels. We are not told why Cú Chulainn chose to do that. It had no bearing on his defence of Ulster. Perhaps his idea was to corral all his enemies. He suddenly remembers that he is pledged to defend Ulster and especially the Mag Muirthemne ⁶ in which the Brown Bull resides. He finds a detachment of Medb’s army camped on the plain and he unleashes what has become known as ‘The Great Slaughter’. He encircles the enemy and performs a ‘thunder-feat’ killing hundreds of warriors including many kings. It is a stunning rout of the Connacht army but the war is far from over.

Medb and Ailill realize that they cannot succeed in their mission unless Cú Chulainn is disposed of. Their only hope is to persuade Ireland’s greatest warrior, Fer Diad Mac Damáin,⁷ to stand against him. Fer Diad and Cú Chulainn are foster-brothers and the closest of friends, schooled in warfare together by the female warrior Scáthach in Scotland. Medb sends for Fer Diad and implores him to take on Cú Chulainn in ford-combat. At first, he refuses because of his friendship and respect for Cú Chulainn. Medb then offers him a number of rewards – a magnificent chariot, the Plain of Aí, freedom from tax and tribute, a leaf-shaped brooch of gold, her beautiful daughter Finnabair, and to cap it all, the friendship of her own thighs. However, Fer Diad continues to refuse until Medb lyingly asserts that Cú Chulainn has been boasting that Fer Diad is no match for him. That remark gets Fer Diad’s dander up and he agrees to fight his old friend and defend his honour.

They meet at a ford on the river Dee - at a place now known as Ardee. They agree on the rules and the weapons and begin four days of fierce fighting. Each evening, they put their weapons aside, renew friendship and exchange food, drink and healing herbs. They resume combat the next morning. It was a battle of the Titans. So fiercely did they fight that they hacked great lumps of flesh off each other. So fiercely did they fight that the river ran red with blood. So fiercely did they fight that their spears bent and buckled from end to end. On the fourth day, Fer Diad was getting the upper hand and seeing that his master was in mortal danger, Láeg passed the ‘gae bolga’ ⁸ downstream to Cú Chulainn, who used his foot to direct it at his adversary, and it ‘entered the rear portal of Fed Diad’s body’ (Carson 2007: 151). At that moment, Fer Diad lowered his shield and Cú Chulainn pierced him through the heart. Fer Diad fell forward and died in the arms of Cú Chulainn, who, far from rejoicing, was overcome with grief. He was inconsolable and began to mourn and lament for his dead comrade. Then, Láeg cut Fer Diad open and took the ‘gae bolga’ out of him.

While Cú Chulainn is recovering from the wounds that almost finished him off, Conchobar and the men of Ulster have been released from the Curse, risen from their sick-bed and begun to assemble for the final battle at the hill of Slane in Meath. Medb’s spies watch in horror as, not one or two but fourteen divisions of battle-ready Ulster warriors march towards the hill of Slane ‘with a fearsome clattering of arms’ (Carson, op. cit. 186). The final battle begins at sunrise next day. The two massive armies face each other, their weapons gleaming in the morning sun, all poised for vengeful blows. Ailill calls Fergus aside, gives him back his sword and orders him to lead the attack. Wielding his mighty sword and announcing woe on the enemy, Fergus charges towards the fighting and takes out a hundred men in his first foray. Medb also seizes her weapons and plunges into the fray. Then, Fergus comes face to face with Conchobar, but he cannot raise his sword against the Ulster king. Instead, he turns away and cuts down another hundred Ulstermen. Later, he comes up against Conall Cernach. Once more, Fergus cannot raise his sword against his own kith and kin. Instead, he shears off the top of three nearby hills. Seeing that her army is losing the battle, Medh has the Brown Bull dispatched to Crúachan. The next day, her defeated army makes a hasty retreat across the Shannon to the safety of Connacht.

Meanwhile, Ailill’s prize bull Finnbennach takes exception to another bull - the much bigger Brown Bull of Cooley - invading his patch. The two bulls, full of rage and fury, fight each other in a savage encounter. Eventually, the Brown Bull gores Finnbennach to death but, shortly after that, having being mauled in the fight, he falls dead. After all that strife and bloodshed, Medb and Ailill make peace with the Ulstermen and Cú Chulainn.

---the end---

ENDNOTES:

1.Táin Bό Cuailnge: The Táin story is taken partly from an ancient manuscript, Lebor na hUidre, which translates as the Book of the Dun Cow - an odd title for a tale about a brown bull. That version (or recension) was compiled by scribes in the monastery of Clonmacnoise c.1106 A. D. Another version comes from the Yellow Book of Lecan, compiled from oral tradition in the 14th century. Yet another version is found in the Book of Leinster. Modern translations of the Táin by Thomas Kinsella (1969) and Ciaran Carson (2007) are based on the first recension. The ‘Lebor’ (old Irish for ‘book) is a work of art, not quite as ornate as the Book of Kells, but the calligraphy is stunning and it is hard to imagine that it was written by hand with a quill pen. It was written by two scribes and later revised by an interpolator. It is the earliest manuscript written in Irish and it contains the earliest version of the Táin as well as other historical material. It can be seen at the Royal Irish Academy in Dawson Street, Dublin. Digitised version: www.isos.dias.ie

Different versions of the Táin spell names differently, for instance, Queen Medb appears as Maebh / Méabh, / Maeve and Fer Diad as Ferdia / Ferdiad / and Fear Diadh. Much of action takes place at fords and place names are central to the story.

2.Balor: Balor of the Evil Eye, the Celtic god of death, who lived on Tory Island.

3.Cú Chulainn: The mythical superhero of the Ulster Cycle. His given name was Setanta. He acquired the name Cú Chulainn (Hound of Culann) by killing a vicious mastiff hound belonging to Culann the smith, by shooting a hurling ball down his throat. In the Táin story, he single-handedly defends Ulster against the great army of Queen Medb. When challenged, this 17-year-old teenager, metamorphasises into a fearsome battle-frenzied warrior. He has a bag of magical tricks and a magical barbed spear called the ‘gae bolga’. He fights from his chariot driven by his loyal charioteer Láeg. He taunts and terrorises the enemy and he kills them with his slingshot, and later, he engages them, day after day in single combat and of course, he always wins. One day, the Mórrígan (the war-goddess) approaches Cú Chulainn in the guise of a lovely young girl and tires to seduce him but he rebuffs her. She does not give up easily but returns under different forms to tease him, as an eel, a wolf and a red heifer but Cú Chulainn does not fall for her wiles. Then, Medb tricks Cú Chulainn into challenging his best friend Fer Diad to single combat. A bloody duel ensues over four days and ends with the death of Fer Diad. Cú Chulainn is inconsolable. The Mórrígan returns and predicts his death. She breaks his chariot wheels and appears as a hooded crow on the shoulder of his corpse.

4.the Curse: The curse or illness of the goddess Macha, which disabled warriors for months. It was known as ‘ces noinden.’ The word ‘cess’ still exists in the phrase ‘bad cess to you’.

5.Lugh: In Celtic mythology, the god of Light, also known as Lugh Lamhfhada (long-armed). He was adept at the use of the javelin and the sling and he slayed Balor of the Evil Eye. The festival of Lughnasa is called after him.

6.Muirthemne Plain: Its exact location has not been established. It is said to be somewhere near Slieve Foy, east of the river Cronn – a mountainous area rather than a plain.

7.Fer Diad Mac Damáin: Sometimes rendered as Ferdia, Ferdiad or Fear Diadh. He was the close friend and foster-brother of Cú Chulainn. His special attribute is his horn-skin. He is tricked into a ford-combat with Cú Chulainn. After four days of fierce fighting, he is slain.

8.gae bolga: Cú Chulainn’s secret weapon – a lethal spear thrust with the foot. When it entered a man’s body, it opened up into 30 barbs.

9.Conal Cernach: An Ulster superhero, next to Cú Chulainn in prestige. He is sworn to avenge the slaying of Cú Chulainn.

SOURCES AND FURTHER READING:

The primary source of my paraphrase is Ciaran Carson (2007). The Táin: A New Translation of the Táin Bó Cúailnge. London: Penguin.

Other sources of interest on the Táin and Celtic Ireland are:

Barry Cunliffe (2003). The Celts: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Liam Mac Uistin (2012). The Táin. Dublin: The