156 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



husband, Oilioll Aulom, and Fiacha, his favourite grandson, gave Cairbre 



Muse all eastern Co. Lirneriek from Aine to Lough Derg. The mythology of 



Cairbre Muse seems to have no foothold in fact, and abounds in contradictions. 



On the birth of his misbegotten sons all nature sickened, and the crops 



failed. The tribes ordered that the children should be burned, but a druid 



saved one, Cure, putting it on a red cow's back. After a year the sin entered 



into the cow, who swam out t" sea. and became the " Cow Rock," Bo Bui. 1 



Rhys, s in a very elaborate study (which students should master and assess for 



themselves), equates Cairbre cinn chait, Cairbre. father of Ere ; Cairbre, the 



enemy of Bress; I irbre Muse, the owner of the dog, "Mug Eime," and 



M i\ ■ . (the slayer of Balor, m the Torry Island legend), with the Gaulish 



" Mercury " and Lug. Be this as it may, Cairbre Muse is evidently from first 



to last a mythical personage and a tribal god of any dale before the time of 



the 1. ' 2 bo the third century. W re confronted with a difficulty. 



K. iting alleges that the descendants of Couaire alone were the Ernai. He 



tells how Mog Nuadat expelled the latter from Minister, "so many as would 



not submit." Conaire had an ances Daire Doinmhar, who was possibly 



confused with " Daire " or " Dairine " in the Clann Dedad andCorca Laeghde 



pedigree. Conaire may be confused with another lli'_'li King, Conaire Mor 



(B.C. L 10, son of Eidersceol, a descendant ol I 1 \ of Sin, and of Oilioll 



Li.mii, and successor of Nuada Necht), from whom the chum Dedal claimed 



fin. Tin- three tribes possibly were branches of the Ernai by descent or 



affiliation. Indeed, the [ouernoi of Ptolemy seem to overspread all south- 



Iiil.md up to the Vellabori. Tin- latter have of late been placed as far 



north .i- I out their position may be anywhere from [veragh to the 



Dour." 



Ci.n\ — Another eponymus of the extensive district of Cliu mhail mhic 



Dgaine, in south Limerick and along the Galtees to the Suir, meets 



us in our district. The mighty mountains bore Ins name, Crotta Cliach, " the 



barpsof Cliu," which I ventuj arc the two harp-like cooms, with 



indframi mi gullies, seen on the flank above Aherloe. < 



hov. ibly a pre-Milesiau word, as a tribe named Crotraige dwelt 



along the foot-hills, and the name poss ■ _ ve rise t,. the folk-tale. Cliu 

 may have been connected with the goddess Clidna, for the Mairtene, another 

 non-Milesian tribe, i. e Q . vere called " the champions of Cliu and 



the contentious hosts of Cliodna, ' iting such terms as "champions of 



tar na hUidhre, 54a, and " Book of Leinstcr," "Magh Leana," p. 28. The 

 name Bui is found in the Poitolan Maps, L460 to 1693 Pi R. I. Acad., xxx, p. 117). 

 •... iv, pp. :i\- 

 Hi- . B • xl (It. Ti - -.in, pp. l'-.I. -• 



\Iagh Leana," pp. 77, ~& ; the passage in our present copy possibly refers to the 



