SHEEP 213 



sheep, when gathered by a dog into a comer are described in Aran 

 Irish Gaehc as "ta na caoraigh sainnighthe aig an madadh/' "the 

 sheep are gathered in a corner by (at) the dog," " sainne " meaning 

 a corner. The "Curragh" of Kildare means just a sheep-walk or 

 run, from caora. The term " Gonadal," translated a stray sheep, 

 also means sheep that do not belong to the farm, while "deat" 

 is generally applied to an unshorn year-old sheep or wedder, as — 



'S coslach ri deata Bealltuinn do thaobh. 



Like to an unfleeced old sheep thy side. — (Rob Donn.) 



The word "peallaid" means a sheep-skin, while a mangled 

 carcase is "peileid" or " riasglach." The leader among sheep 

 is termed " Ceannciorra " or " Caoracheann." It is said that the 

 word "aodh," given for "sheep," originally meant "fire," and was 

 the Vesta of the ancient Celt — or Irish Celts at any rate ; while 

 another meaning for "aoi" is isthmus. "Cor-lan" (caor-lann) is 

 Welsh for sheep-fold, while an old name for sheep is "ma-is," 

 probably from the bleat of the animal; "ret" in Sheffield is a 

 term for sheep-fold — or strictly speaking, the right entrance or 

 road to the fold or cro, as it is there also called; "rettack" is 

 sometimes also used as a fuller term. " Pluc " also is another 

 term for sheep-cot. Dr Walker describes the old native sheep 

 of the Highlands as the smallest of its kind, of a thin lank shape, 

 with short straight horns, ffice and legs white, tail extremely 

 short, and the wool of various colours, i.e., black and white, 

 sometimes blueish grey, brown, deep russet, etc. ; frequently the 

 same animal was blotched with two or three of these colours or 

 tints. The wool, however, was generally of the finest, except in 

 the case of mountain sheep, which had often four and sometimes 

 six horns. The souming of sheep was eight or ten to one cow, 

 while two cows went to one horse. 



Black sheep were said to be the form which witches frequently 

 assumed, as being likely, from their innocent or stupid appearance, 

 to mislead people, but sheep, though apparently stupid, give 

 many proofs of strong instinct and intelligence — notably, their 

 wonderful attachment to the place of their birth, in regard to 

 which many interesting tales are and could be told. One black 

 sheep in a flock is said to be lucky ; several the reverse. It 

 was "infamous" of old to steal a sheep, though considered 

 "honourable" to lift a cow, etc. In St Kilda the sheep there 

 are thought to be a special, or at least peculiar, breed, being hairy. 

 This, however, most likely arises from the wool having run to 

 hair through poor feeding, exposure, etc. St Kilda is called there- 

 from "Irt nan caoraich feann," Hirt of the hairy sheep, while the 

 island of Soa means sheep isle — so-ey. Lightfoot, in his Flora 

 Scoiica, says that Bcethius speaks of great horned sheep (some 

 say four-horned) in St Kilda, supposed to be the musimon. A 

 record in the Aniials of the Four Masters tells us that, in 1355, a 



