152 CORNISH DEDICATIONS. 



His narrative is clearly based on popular tradition. Tliere is 

 always some truth at the bottom of such traditions, but it is not 

 always easy to arrive at it. 



The truth would seem to be this, that Fingar was obliged to 

 fly Ireland, to save his life. If, as is possible, he were one of 

 the Hy Bairrche who were disposessed by Crimthan and the Hy 

 Connselach, then we have a reasonable explanation. Ailil's 

 brother, later, assassinated Crimthan and recovered his own patri- 

 mony ; and, perhaps, a rumour to this effect reached Rngar, and 

 he returned to Ireland to try his luck, but the Hy Connselach were 

 too powerful, and he was obliged at the head of a fresh party of 

 exiles from the Hy Bairrche country to attempt to return to 

 Brittany, where he had already settled and established a -plou. 

 Unfavourable winds, however, drove him on the Cornish coast, 

 and there Tewdrig, who had suffered severely fi'om Irish invasions, 

 slew him and some of his followers. We are not, however, told 

 that either Hia or Piala (Kiara) were put to death. 



There were later descents of Irish, soon after, under Breaca 

 and Buriana, and these effectually planted themselves in Penwith 

 and Carnmarth, and then the cult sprang up of their fellow Irish- 

 men who had preceded them. 



As already intimated, Fingar is honoured not only in Morbi- 

 han, but also in Finisterre, at Ploudiri, where he is the patron of 

 the daughter church of Loc-equinger. But as there is another com- 

 mune of the same name with the same dedication in S. Thegonec, 

 in Finisterre, we may conclude that, although the legend says 

 nothing about it, Fingar brought over a second colony fi-om Ire- 

 land which he planted in Leon, and this expedition in which he 

 lost his life was actually the third. 



Lobineau and the Bollandists put the date of the martyrdom 

 at 455, and this is possibly too early. S. Fiacc who belonged to 

 the same generation as Ailill, was born about 435 and died about 

 520. But it is, it must be understood, mere conjecture in making 

 Fingar a son of Ailill of the Hy Bairrche. It is needless to say 

 that no Irish historian knows anything of Clyto. S. Fiacc would, 

 if the identification be admitted, be a half-brother of Fingar, and 

 that may help to account for the incident of the rising out of 

 respect to S. Patrick being transferred from Fiacc to Fingar. 



