Macausteu — Temair Breg : ttetnaina and Traditions of Tara. 267 



in Ireland — there must have been a number of intermediate roof-trust 

 These I assume to have been at the place where the side doors were pierced 

 in the wall: and pillars are suggested in the restoration, rising from the 

 intersections of the pew- screens. The roof, as in all early Irish build i _ 

 must have been high-pitched ; and it was possible by running a floor across 

 the building at the level of the top of the wall to make an upper storey. \\>- 

 tind this upper storey, translated into stone, at St Columha's House. Kells. 

 and at St Kevin's "Kitchen" in Glendaloch. No staircase was provided to 

 give access to this loft ; a ladder would be necessary. 



In applying these principles to Tech Midchuarta, we derive valuable help 

 from the opening paragraphs of the tale called Fled Bricrend. Bricriu Venom - 

 tongue made a feast for the Ultonians, and built a house especially for their 

 accommodation. This house, we are told, was designed after the model of 

 Teeh Midchuarta. The naive anachronism need not trouble us ; the writer 

 has forgotten that constant tradition ascribed the building of Tech Mid- 

 chuarta to Corniac mac Airt, whose floruit is some three centuries later than 

 the alleged date of the Ultonian braves. If we assume a date somewhere in 

 the middle of the ninth century for the origin of Fled Bricrend in its present 

 form — it is doubtless founded on still older materials — even then we are 

 brought back to a time when traditional knowledge as to the general 

 appearance of Tech Midchuarta was still living and accurate. There was 

 doubtless a great deal more known about Tech Midchuarta and its arrange- 

 ments hi the ninth century than there was when the Leinster and the Lecan 

 plans were copied into their respective manuscripts. If then a writer of the 

 ninth century says that a certain building was built after the model of Tech 

 Midchuarta, while we need not believe a word of the story he is telling unless 

 we have a mind to do so, we may very fairly conclude that in the description 

 of the building of his tale he is actually giving us some sort of description of 

 Tech Midchuarta, as he pictured it in his imagination. 



Bricriir's house, like Tech Midchuarta, was divided into pews, separated 

 with screens of bronze enriched with a garnishing of gold. At one end was 

 the couch of King Conchobar. raised high above the floor of the bouse : and 

 level with the couch was a griandn or seller which Bricriu made for himself, 

 with windows through which he could watch the strife stirred up by his 

 devices. For Bricriu knew that the Ultonian- would uot allow 1dm to come 

 in among them owing to his numerous objectionable qualities. 1 ' From this 

 description we derive the conception of a rectangular building (not necessarily 

 of the same proportion.- as Tech Midchuarta) with a lofty royal couch at one 



' Fttd Bricrend (Irish Texts Society, vol. ii), ad init. 



