148 DOG 



The word gadhar is frequently translated " beagle," while 

 madadh stands for (jommon dog, as in Silva Gadclica, where a 

 certain Queen of Ireland is said to have dreamt that her four sons, 

 Brian, Fiachra, Ailill, and Fergus were transformed respectively 

 into a lion, greyhound, beagle, and commonplace dog — Leoman 

 (leomhan), Molchu, Gadur (gadhar), agus madaid (madadh). The 

 term "Slughound" belonged to a class of dogs esteemed as 

 hunters by James I., these appear to have been the Scottish wolf 

 dog. The Irish wolf-dog, it is thought, should have been called 

 Elk-dog, as it was used to hunt the elk. A glen-wherry colley is 

 a distinct and much-valued species still existing in a hilly district 

 near Connor, to which they originally came from Scotland. 



In O'Reilly's Irish Dictionary the definition of cw, ordinarily 

 a dog, is as follows : — " s.m. a moth, an insect that gnaws clothes ; 

 and f. a dog, a greyhound ; s.m. a champion, a hero, a warrior." 

 Hector Maclean in Ultonian Ballads refers to this as follows : 

 " Here are three words different in meaning and gender — in fact, 

 homonyms — the second cu cognate with Latin, Greek, Sanscrit, 

 and other Aryan names for the same animal, the third is probably 

 of pre-Aryan origin, and it borrowed the Aryan declension of cu, 

 a hound." The word cuglass, or water-hound, means in Ireland a 

 foreigner from beyond the sea who had married an Irish woman. 



Cameron's Gaelic names for plants, etc., has the following : — 

 Braoileag or broighleag ran con, red barberry ; teanga-con, 

 teanga-chu, the dog's berry, elsewhere bear whortle, Welsh, tafod 

 y ci from shape of leaves ; barr braonan nan con, common potentil 

 or tormentil, dogs' briar bud ; elsewhere braonan nan con is given 

 as carmillion ; Coin ros or coin dhris, dog or dog's rose ; Earrdhreas 

 or Fearra-dhris (earrad, armour), dog's thorn ; Coin-bhil, bhile 

 or Coinbhaisene, dog-wood or dog-berry ; Sgeachmhadra is Irish 

 for the hip or haw of the dog rose ; Clachan-gadhair is one name 

 for the orchis ; Seisg-madraidh, bur-reed, dog-sedge, said to be 

 so called from being in perfection during dog-days, July being 

 called Miosmhadrail, the dogs' month ; Conan, quaking grass ; 

 Goinear (goin or coin fheur), Irish feur-choinein, crested dog's- 

 tail, dog's grass ; caor' coin, dog-berry ; Lus-ghoinich, dog lichen, 

 cures hydrophobia in dogs ; Gearan, dog's ear ; Crios (or cneas), 

 chuchulainn, cuchullins belt, also my lady's belt, being the 

 meadow-sweet or queen of the meadow ; ChonguUion, yellow bed 

 straw plant (Irish, cucuilean), in Glen Lyon cuchulainn, but not 

 the meadow-sweet. 



Superstitions in connection with dogs are nearly as numerous 

 as those in connection with any other animal, but we limit ours to 

 a few. To meet a dog the first animal in the year is said to be 

 lucky. A dog keeping away from a person whom it formerly 

 followed, thought to be a presage of death to that person — some 

 say to the dog. A stiay dog following a person voluntarily is a 

 lucky sign and bodes success to that person in any errand he or 



