164 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



Ireland, and its counterpart, the Donnotaurus in Gaul.' The Bull of Cualnge 

 and his rival were reincarnations of human beings, and the step " from his 

 brother the beast to his brother the god" was a short one in the ancient 

 faiths. There are a great number of supernatural persons named Bonn in 

 later Irish literature ; perhaps local forms of the same god. In the " Battle 

 of Ventry " 2 we have a list of the (human) Tuatha De, who hasten to defend 

 Ireland against the allied armies of the whole outer world. Seven bear the 

 name, Donn from Sid bee Uisge, Donn Fritgrinne ( ] Firinne), Donn Teimneach 

 Donn Senchnuic, Donn Chnuic an dos (evidently bwo hill gods), Donn of the 

 Sandhill (Dumach, now Dough, on Liscannor Bay, Co. Clare), and Donn of the 

 Swamps. In the " Triumphs of Congal Clairingneach,"' appears Donn, a Sid 

 king, son of Iomchad, descendanl " ><i the Dagda, of the prime slock of the 

 Tuatha De" Danann." Another Donn, sun of Fionnlaoch,' lmntght 100 women 

 from the Sid of Aed (Assaror, Donegal), to the Sid of Mis (on Blievemish, in 

 Kerry). Among them was Aedh's wife ; and she, jealous of her rivals, turned 

 them into deer, and Donn into a stag, which was eventually slain by Bran 

 and Finn's other hounds at "Cenn Maghair," on the coast. The Bruden da 

 Derga* has a Donn Tetscorach of the Sid mounds; the Agallamh has Donn, 

 son of Midir, whose Sid wi Ited once a year by the Tuatha De.' Irish 



- (like th Q • i did not hesitate to fight their own kindred, or we 



might suppose him of some other race. We arc also told that Lir of Sid 

 Piennaohaid, " the man who excelled in prowess all the Tuatha De," was slain 



by Uaeilte (a late mark), who also slew Lir, Dub and D i of the forces of the 



It is impossible to regard the Welsh goddess Don the Irish Donn) as 

 in any way conni peia's chair was hei fort, Llys Don, but at least 



we b ive the name Donn foi a god, a goddess, and a holy bull. 



D inn, son of Midir, or " Donn of rjisnech," was closely connected with 

 our district, foi his Bons, Eogabal and Uainide, and the children of the first, 

 Aine and Ferfi, loomed large among its gods. He was in touch withNechtan, 

 who recommended the migration, and therefore with Cuil of Oenach Chuli. 

 I think it very probable that the Donn of limine, the god of the long ridge, 



1 Hib. Lcct., iv. p. D2n, Holder, i, c. 1307, sec also " Donnus," ibid., " Uegius Donni 

 Ti 1 1 u - . " 



th. Finntraga (ed. Meyer), pp. 16, 260. 

 Ir. Ti v - r J i. p. 77. 



' " Dunnaire Finn " (ed. J. MacNeill), p. 131. Cf. other fairy deer, Metr. Dind S. vii, 

 p. 11, and Rev. Celt., w, p. 273, with a Christian equivalent in the Tripartite Life of 

 .St. Patrick. 



I: Celt., xxii. i 



\_illamh ii, p. •_' - J4 and (ed. Stokes) p. 1 M). 



Agallamh, ii, p. 1 



