C<»FPEY — Intercourse of Gaul loith Ireland before First Vcnlur/j. !(9 



reliable details on the " History of Irclaml," though mixed with fabulous 

 matter. One of the most interesting tales is the story of the return 

 to Ireland of Labraid Loingsech with an army of Gauls, about ^00 B.C., from 

 which time I am inclined to date the general use of iron weapons in Ireland, 

 though some iron weapons may have reached the island Ijefore. This 

 tale has been critically examined with i-egard to the Gauls by Professor 

 D'Arbois de Jubainville in an admirable paper, in the " Kevue Celtique," 

 vol. xxviii., where the chief incidents are told.' 



Two somewhat different versions have come down to us from before the 

 twelfth century. One, of which we have several more or less h\\\ copies, 

 is translated by Whitley Stokes from the fullest copy in the " Book of 

 Leinster," a MS. of the twelfth century. (Zeitschrift fiir Celtische Philologie, 

 Band III., s. 1.) The other from the Scholia of the Amra Choluimb Chille, 

 also translated by Wliitley Stokes fi-om a twelfth-century MS., " Eevue 

 Celtique," vol. xx., p. 30. There are also several other texts of this version 

 mentioned by him. Though there are differences in the stories as told in the 

 two versions, the main facts with which we are concerned substantially agree. 



Cobthach Coel Breg, having murdered his brother and nephew, secured 

 the supreme kingship. Ultimately Moen, his grandncphew, subsequently 

 called Labraid Loingsech (the exile), took refuge in Brittany amongst the 

 men of Menia, identified by M. D'Arbois de Jubainville with Menapia. 



The King of Menapia gave his friendship to Labraid, who was made known 

 to him as the son of the King of Ireland ; and in time sent him back to 

 recover his kingship. He returned with a number of Gauls in 800 ships, 

 and landed on the east coast of Ireland. 



This is very interesting, as M. D'Arbois identities the men of Menia with 

 the Gauls of Menapia established on the Continent ; for the Irish did not 

 pronounce the letter jo: so Mena(p)ia becomes Menia. The word 'Menia' 

 occurs in an important fifteenth-century vellum MS. in the British Museum 

 (Egerton, 1782). In others the passage was not understood and probably 

 corrupted. Thus Menia became Morca ; and we are told how Labraid 

 went eastward till he reached the Island of the Britons and the land of 

 Armenia. The expression tir fer Menia — ' land of the men of Menia ' — 

 becomes easily tir Armenia ; and Menia was sometimes corrupted into Morca 

 (see D'Arbois de Jubain\alle). 



' Eeprinted in the Introduction to M. D'Arbois' transliition of the Ttiiii: — " linl^vement du 

 Taiireau Divin et des Vaches de Cooley. La plus ancienne epopee de I'Europe otcidentalc." — Livr. i., 

 Paris, 1907. As these pages were passing through the press, M. D'Arbois de Jubainville passed 

 away in the fulness of years, an irreparable loss to Celtic studies which he did so much to foster both 

 in France and iu these countries. The translatinn of the Tain, of which only a portion has appeared, 

 occupied the last few years of his life. 



