Ferguson — Evidences on Sun-worship at Mount Callan. 267 



" It seems to me that the assemblies on Buaile na Greine were the 

 representatives of the ancient Oenachs, fairs, and Tocomracs, or general 

 .•assemblies, of that part of the conntry. 



"You will see by the passages I translate from Michael Comyn's 

 account of the adventures of Torolb Mac Stairn and his three sons, 

 that the slaying and immolating of quadrupeds formed part of the 

 ceremonies at Altoir na Greine, and, indeed, I may say we have no 

 other ceremony but that, and we have the important additional state- 

 ment, that the ceremony closed with the cooking and eating of the 

 •quadruped killed there. This killing of the quadrupeds at Altoir na 

 Greine goes far in support of my view that those assemblies represented 

 the more ancient Oenachs. The poem on the celebrated Oenach Tailten, 

 preserved in the books of Lecan and Ballymote, contains the following 

 quatrain, from which it appears that a similar practice formed part of 

 the rites of that ancient fair : — 



' The three forbidden bloods, 



Patrick preached [against] in it (i. e., in the fair of Tailten) : 



Yoke oxen, and slaying of milch-cows : 



And the burning of the first-fruits (first born) .' 



" This allusion to the slaying of quadrupeds in the ancient poem on 

 "the fair of Tailten, and that mentioned by Michael Comyn in his 

 romance, founded on the traditions of the inhabitants of the place, and 

 written so late as the year 1749, show some analogy between the 

 •assemblies on Buaile na Greine and the more ancient Oenachs and 

 public assemblies. 



" The Oenach of Buaile na Greine dwindled down to be little more 

 than a local patron ; but, however thinned the population was by ex- 

 termination and other misfortunes, the traditional custom of meeting 

 on Buaile na Greine still continued in one form or other. The same 

 delightful eminence on which Altoir na Greine stood still continued a 

 favourite resort on certain festive occasions; and the sports, games, 

 and feasts were celebrated till very recently. The games and sports 

 of latter days were nothing more than hurling, wrestling, jig dancing, 

 and other simple feats of that class, and as the inhabitants of the place 

 were not over wealthy in latter days, the feasts were of a homely sort, 

 and very simple. 



■ ' The three principal feasts of the year were on Easter Sunday, 

 Patrick's Day, and Lammas Sunday. 



' ' On Easter Sunday all went there to make their Pruachais Cdsca, 

 or Easter feast of eggs, oatmeal-bread, and new Easter ale ; to hold 

 their Easter conversazione on the topics of the day, and to open the 

 sports of the season with a chorus of bagpipes, and a moneeti dance. 



" On Patrick's Day all went there to drink their Pota Patrarg, or 

 Patrick's pot of good old poteen whiskey, and Beoir Marta, or March 

 beer. 



" JDomnach Lunasa, or Lammas Sunday, the first Sunday of the 



