Macamsthk — Temair Breg : tic mains and Traditions of Tara. 305 



will serve as well as any other, and will be used throughout. Slainge is said 

 to have begun his reign in Anno Mundi 3266 (= B.C. 1933). 



The royal succession, as conceived of by the historians, is rarely one of 

 immediate heredity. It is based on the theory of an eternal blood-feud, 

 carried on through the centuries. Say there are three successive kings, 

 X, Y, and Z. Y reigns after killing X, the latter having ascended the throne 

 after killing some relation of Y, who had reigned previously ; and Y remains 

 king until in his turn he is killed by Z, a relative of X. We have to return 

 to the subject of this alleged blood-feud in a later section, so that we need not 

 discuss it further at the moment. But we must note that in one place, in 

 the course of the roll of kings, it is interrupted by a short intrusive dynasty, 

 which runs as follows : — 

 A.M. 

 i. 3883 Eochu, surnamed Ollom Fodla, son of Fiachu Findscothach. 



ii. 3923 Elim, surnamed Finnachta, son of (i). 



iii. 3943 Slanoll, son of (i). 



iv. 3960 Geide Ollgothach, son of (i). 



v. 3972 Fiachu Findoilches, son of (ii). 



vi. 3992 Berngal, son of (iv). 

 vii. 4004 Oilill, son of (iii). 



For convenience of reference we may call this the " Ulidian " dynasty. It 

 is said to belong to the province of Ulaid ; and indeed Lehor Gabdla 

 , gravely tells us that that province derived its name from Oll-flaith, " Big 

 Prince," with reference to Eochu Ollom Fodla. This evidently means, 

 though we are not told so in so many words, that Oll-flaith was a by-name 

 or a nickname of the monarch in question. Otherwise theie would have been 

 no point in dragging the etymology in. 



We learn further from the same authority that Ollom Fodla was chosen 

 by the men of Ireland to reign over them, for his wisdom. To him is 

 ascribed the establishment of the periodical fiis of Temair, and the building 

 of the structure known as Mur nOlloman. His son and successor Elim derived 

 his by-name Finnachta, explained as fin-shnechta, " wine-snow," from the 

 remarkable fact that " snow with the taste of wine fell in his time.'' Slanoll 

 was so called (" sldn-oll, "healthy-great ") because " everyone was healthy in 

 his time." We further learn that he himself was found dead in Temair of an 

 unknown disease, " but the colour of his body changed not, neither did it 

 decay, for forty years afterwards it was exhumed and found in perfect con- 

 dition." 1 Geide was called Oll-gothach, " Big-voiced," for the inadequate 



1 Compare what we are told of the body of Chilian of Dai nil in jr, in hV-ilire Oii./i's.m', 

 annotations, 24 November. 



