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rall kinds of good trouts, specially that which they call the lough trout, which hath very fair red and azure spots; it is as big as any salmon, and far more dainty. There are alsoe medicinall leeches on the south side of the lake. Here is one rarity more, which we may terme the Irish crocodil', whereof one as yet living, about ten years ago, had sad experience. The man was passing the shore just by the waterside, and spyed far off the head of a beast swimming, which he tooke to have been an otter, and tooke no more notice of it; but the beast it seems there lifted up his head, to discern whereabouts the man was; then diving, swom under water till he struck ground; whereupon he runned out of the water suddenly, and tooke the man by the elbow, whereby the man stooped down, and the beast fastened

his

waters of both lakes had long since, like kindred drops, been mingled into one. If these two lakes were connected by means of a canal, it would tend considerably to the improvement of the west of Ireland. 66 To open a communication between Killala and Galway, by means of the Moy, Lough Mask, and Lough Corrib, was one of the practicable projects of those who were employed to survey the navigable rivers of Ireland in the early part of the eighteenth century, and, if carried into effect would have proved a most important addition to the internal navigation of this country."-Hist. Galway, p. 4.

• Medicinall leeches.-Ir. Dallog. The leeches found here are stated to be of a good kind, but whether they are used or approved of by medical men, for topical bleeding, I have not ascertained. The country people in the neighbourhood use

them with good effect.

t Crocodil. This was rather a formidable class of animals, wherewith to rank a beast" of the pitch of an ordinary greyhound." But the story seems to have been introduced by our author, to enliven his subject, as painters introduce a tree or a ruin to give variety or effect to a barren landscape. That animals, such as that above described, or somewhat similar, inhabit the lakes of Ireland, is believed by the people in their vicinity. All have heard of them, and believe in their existence, but none can be found who have ever seen them. In these western parts, this animal is generally called Each Uisge, which means a water horse, and he is described as having "a black shining skin," and a switch tail "without hair." The story related by our author is yet told in the neighbourhood of Lough Mask.

his teeth in his pate, and dragged him into the water; where the man tooke hold on a stone by chance in his way, and calling to minde he had a knife in his pocket, tooke it out and gave a thrust of it to the beast, which thereupon got away from him into the lake. The water about him was all bloody, whether from the beast's bloud, or his own, or from both, he knows not. It was of the pitch of an ordinary greyhound, of a black slimy skin, without hair, as he immagined. Old men acquainted with the lake do tell there is such a beast in it, and that a stout fellow with a wolf dog along with him met the like there once; which after a long strugling went away in spite of the man and dog, and was a long time after found rotten in a rocky cave of the lake, as the water decreased. The like, they say, is seen in other lakes of Ireland; they call it Dovarchu, i. e. a water dog, or Anchu, which is the same.

Lough Orbsen", so called from Orbsen Mac Allod, one of the Dannann

"Lough Orbsen.-Lough Oirb, or, as now always corruptly called Lough Corrib. For the derivation of the name from the merchant Orbsen, commonly called Manannan, and surnamed Mac Lir, i. e. the son of the sea, see our author's Ogygia, p. 180. This Manannan was one of those Carthaginian merchants who are said to have visited this part of the world at an early period, and he is stated to have made the Isle of Man his principal residence and deposit. Our learned countryman, Cormac Mac Cuilenain (whom Caradoc of Lhancarvan, at A. D. 905, Evans's Ed. Lond. 1774, p. 44, calls, "Carmot, king and bishop of Ireland"), notices Manannan, in his Glossary, as follows: "Manandan mac lip .. Cendaide amra boi i n-inis Ma

nand. ba he luamaire is deċ boi i n-iar-
cap domain, ro Fhinoad tria neṁżnaċt
in wired nobeit in tsoinend acos in doi-
nend acas in tan nos claeclobaò ceċ tar
de ap pe, inde Scotici Britonesque eum
Deum vocaverunt maris, eumque filium
maris esse dixerunt.1. Mac lip de nomine
Manandain insola Manandan dicta est."
Thus translated: "Manannan Mac Lir, a
famous merchant who dwelt in the Isle of
Man. He was the greatest navigator of
this western part of the world, and used
to presage good or bad weather from his
observations of the heavens, and from the
changes of the moon, wherefore the Scots,
i. e. the Irish, and the Britons, gave him
the title of God of the sea.' They also
called him Mac Lir, that is, the son of the

Dannann nation, a very spacious and large lake, hath its source at Bonbanann, in the halfe barony of Rosse, and thence extends eight miles eastward to the river of Cong, having the half barony of Rosse partly on each side, partly dividing Rosse from Moycullin barony, and partly having Ross on the north side; it extends southward twelve miles in length, till it discharges itself into the river of Galway, having the baronys of Kilmayn and Clare on the east, and the barony of Moycullin on the west; somewhere four miles in breadth, and somewhere less than a quarter of a mile'.

It is said to have as many islands as are days in the year", all of them belonging to the west, as far as where a boat can pass be

sea; and from him the Isle of Man had its name."

William Sacheverell, Esq., "late governour of Man," in his "Short Survey" of that isle, 8vo. London, 1702, p. 20, states, that the "the Mank's Nation believe Mannan-Mac-Lir, the father, founder, and legislator of their country, and place him about the beginning of the fifth century!"

▾ Mile.-Our author here, as in the whole of this treatise, uses the great Connaught miles, one of which contained, at least, two modern British miles. This long measure was probably adopted in this province from the Spaniards, between whom and the western part of Ireland, there formerly subsisted much commercial inter

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tween

fore referred to, passing through this district, observed: "The prospect of LoughCorrib is very fine; it is covered with islands, the majority of which are cultivated. If you ask the number of these islands you will be told three hundred and sixty-five, one for every day in the year. I saw three lakes in Ireland, where there was the same number, or rather to avoid the trouble of counting them, the peasants mention this number in preference to any other." Vol. ii. p. 25. In like manner they tell that there are three hundred and sixty-five islands in Clew Bay (anciently Cuan Modh), in the Co. Mayo.

* West. It is probable, that when the O'Flaherties were obliged to emigrate from their ancient territory of Magh Seola (the present barony of Clare) to Iar-Connaught, as will appear in the sequel, they claimed or retained the islands of Lough Corrib. Some of those islands, however, now belong to the barony of Clare.

tween them, and the east side. Of these, Insequin' and Insimictrir contain a quarter of land each; some half a quarter, some a cartron, some an acre, and most of them but few acres. On that island of Insequin St. Brendan (ejus Vit. 16 May, cap. 59) built a chappell and worked divers miracles". In the same island St. Meldana, whose festivall day is on the 7th of February, was abbot of a fameous abby about the year 580. He was spiritual father to [the] great St. Furse of Perone in France; who carried the relicques of this saint along with him, and inshrined them at Perone.

The isles of Lough Orbsen were pillaged, Anno 927, by the Danes of Limerick.

▾ Insequin.-Now called Inis ui chuinn. This is one of the most remarkable of the Lough Corrib islands. It was anciently so celebrated that the entire lake was sometimes called Inre ui Chuinn from it. "Miracles.-See Colgan, in vita S. Moeni. That saint accompanied St. Brendan in his seven years' voyage, and afterwards remained with him in this island of Inis mac Hy Chuinn, where one of the miracles alluded to was performed. "Ubi meritis utriusque, legitur quidam istarum partium princeps (probably one of the "ferocious" O'Flaherties) viris Dei exitium minitans, miraculo perculsus, ab intentato flagitio destitisse, et ad pacem et pœnitentiam reductus."-Acta, SS. p. 413.

a St. Meldan.-This saint was descended from Con Cedchathach (i. e. Con centum præliorum, monarch of Ireland in the second century), whose descendants were called Hui Cuinn; and, from the saint

Echinis,

and his kinsmen, the island of Inis ui
Chuinn is said to have taken its name,
Inis mac Hua Cuinn, i. e. the island of the
descendants of Con. See Colgan, in Vita
S. Meldani, p. 269. His festival, as above,
was, for
many ages, celebrated in this island.
St. Furse.-he patron saint of the
O'Flaherties. See his life in Colgan, ut

supra, p. 75. St. Meldan was his spiritual
father and director. "S. Meldanus filius
Hua Cuind de Loch-Oirbsean in Conacia
fuit sinedrus seu Pater spiritualis S. Fur-
sæi."-Id. p. 90, n. 19. See his life in Ven.
Bede's Eccl. History, b. iii.; given also in
Colgan, p. 87.

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Echinis", i. e. Horse Island, now Inis Gearain, or Garon Island, the same in sense as Horse Island, lyes very near Enagh-Coelain continent, but nearer Ard, part of Aghnenure. In this island St. Enna of Arann visited St. Coelan, priest on Lough Orbsen. This St. Coelan is worshipped the 25th of April, (Vita S. Endei, 21 Mar. cap.

A. D. 1061, the Muintir Murcha (i. e. the O'Flaherties of Magh Seola, or the country of Hy Briuin Seola, now the barony of Clare, in the county of Galway), took possession of Lough Orbsen, and expelled or deposed Aodh (Hugh) O'Conor.-Id. During the violent contentions which took place between the O'Conors of Connaught for the sovereignty of the province after the death of Cathal Crovdearg, in A. D. 1224, Hugh, the son of Cathal, and his English allies, in A. D. 1225, marched with an army towards Lough Orbsen, and compelled Hugh O'Flaherty, lord of the lake and its islands, to deliver up to him the islands of Inis-creawa and Oilen na Circe, with all the vessels on the lake. Id. In A. D. 1256, Walter de Burgo, lord of Connaught, and first Earl of Ulster, marched against Roderick O'Flaherty, plundered the territories of Gnomore and Gnobeg, west of Lough Orbsen, and took possession of the lake, its islands and castles. These he fortified, and by that means considerably increased the power of the English in Connaught.

Echinis.-Now Inisgerraun, near the castle of Aghnenure. For this castle see the note next following. Echinis, and the other islands above mentioned, lie towards

the western margin of the lake. Inisgearrann and Ard-island are still known by the same names. Enagh Coelain is now called Annagh Keelaun. For the visit of St. Enna to Echinis, see Colgan, Acta SS. P. 709, n. 26.

e

Aghnenure.-A celebrated castle on the west side of Lough Orbsen, originally built by the De Burgo's, but considerably enlarged and fortified in the sixteenth century by Morogh na d-tuagh O'Flaherty, as will appear in the sequel. The learned De Burgo, in his Hib. Dominicana, p. 309, has fallen into some mistakes respecting this castle, which it may be necessary to allude to in another place.

f Worshipped.-i. e. his memory celebrated, as our author further on expresses it, when speaking of St. Coelain, in the account of Balinahinch barony, viz., that his memory was celebrated, that is, respected, honoured, or treated with reverence, which was the ancient sense of the term "worship," as still used in the Office of Matrimony of the Church of England, and by our author. So Ussher, passim, viz. of St. Mocteus, "ejusque ad hunc usque diem celebratur memoria.”—Primord. 855. "S. Patricii Hiberniæ Apostoli honoratur memoria."-Id., 897. "Duo Finiani quo

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