698 CURIOSITIES OF IRISH LITERATURE. 



of yore: "Fin Mac Coilc, one of the principall captaines of the 

 Danish sept, was in Rome at the time of this field (the battle of Ard- 

 kath). Many things are reported of him worthy remembrance. His 

 chiefe house was called Barragh-llys, in Ulster. He was a man, in 

 his prosperitie, of great command in Ireland ; so that the Danes and 

 Norwegans had, through him, great dealing and entercourse with 

 Ireland, and Ireland with them. But yet as it sometimes falleth 

 out among the deerest friends many jarres and broiles and factions 

 fell betweene them, and especially betweene the sept of Clan ne Morne 

 and Clan ne Boisken, both which sides still relieved themselves out of 

 Denmarke. The King of Denniarke, at last hearing of the fame of Fin 

 Mac Coile, sent for him and tooke such a liking to him, that he 

 concluded to marry him unto his daughter. Fin went thither with 

 three thousand souldiers. The king, one day as they conversed 

 together, asked after the manner of the death of his three sonnes, 

 Comen, Latv-ne-Meyd, and Feagh, who formerly went into Ireland to 

 maintaine one of the factions. Dermot O'Doyne, one of Fin's com- 

 pany, answered, ' Trouble not thyself, O king ; this is the hand that 

 killed thy sonne Comen !' One Osker said, ( This is the hand that 

 killed thy sonne Law-ne-Meyd !' Keyn Mac Finn also said, f This 

 is the hand that killed thy sonne Feagh ! ' Herewith the king was 

 wroth, and said, f Fin Mac Coile, thou and thy men are my prison- 

 ers/ Forthwith they drew their skeynes ; the king's guard, for 

 fear, fled ; they tooke him prisoner, carried him aboord their shippes, 

 hoised up saile, and brought him to Ireland ; so as the marriage was 

 dasht, and the king driven to pay a ransome for his libertie, before 

 he could get from them. 



" This Fin Mac Coile also fought with a gyant, that landed at 

 Houth, and came to challenge combats for tribute, and by policie, not 

 by strength, overcame him. His policie was this : he caused him in 

 the night, (for the space of three nights) to be kept waking, and in 

 the day time to be fought withall, and thereby weakened his strength, 

 and foiled the gyant. 



" Towards his end, one Gorre, an old man, after their former 

 warres and troubles, came to his house (before spoken of), and 

 boasted unto the gentlewomen then present, of hisfeates in warre, and 

 the combats he had fought; whereat they laughed. He being 

 offended with them, sware in his anger that he would burne them 

 all, got old timber and straw, put it in the house, fired it, made fast 

 the doores, and compassed about the house with men that none 

 might escape. They cryed unto him out of their windowes to save 

 their lives ; but he was inexorable, and could not be drawne to any 

 compassion ; and when the house was readie to fall, he fled into 

 Mounster, and there hid himselfe in a cave. Fin Mac Coile came 

 home from hunting, and beheld this wofull desolation, how his wife, 

 his maides, his old souldiers, his horses, his greyhounds, his plate 

 and household stuffe, his shields, jackes, and shirts of maile, and 

 his instruments of musicke, were consumed to ashes made after 

 Gorre into Mounster, where he found him, and after some skirmish 

 of both sides, tooke him, and brought him to the place where he 

 had committed this villany. Gorre, when he beheld the bones of 



