312 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



memoration of the event. An almost identical tale is told of Cuunmue Fota 

 in the glosses to F&lire <■ : showing that (as is so often the ease) 



the explanation offered for the name is not a mere etymological invention, 

 but an adaptation of a fragment of folk-lore previously existing. This is the 

 - .n why the •■explanations" are almost always so pitifully inadequate* 

 The name Fer-mara is clearly theophorous, meaning " Man of the sea (-god)," 

 -• is Fer-Loga means "Man of (the god) Lug." 

 But how did such a story of a father-and-daughter union come to be told? 

 It is not a solitai • mother instance is the case of Oengus Nic another 

 Oeng i of the LeinBter king Cathaeir Mor by his daughter Muchna. 5 



In fact we eral times of such occurrences, always explained by 



intoxication. This explanation is probably an attempt on the part of a 

 Christian historian, with a recollection of the story of Lot and his daughters 

 in his mind,* to tone down an offensive incident. But the true explanation 

 of this type of different. In an exogamous society founded 



on mother-right, the father and the "laughter belong to separate clans, and 

 man 2 tween them is ii"t necessarily .1 thing forbidden. Unless the 

 trii ■ implex organization of the Australian aborigines, 



in which by a further subdivision of the clans into exogamous phratries and 

 h unions icclnded automatically, there is nothing to 



them. In the original version of this and similar tales tl e union of father 

 and daug likely treated as a matter of course, to the very 



aatural - Christian editors. There is no use trying to worry 



out ingenious the evidence that m _ in early Britain and 



Ireland 1 Ferent from those now in force Much 



indignation ertion that the British tribes 



pi , in which the husbands were father and son-.' 



E •■!! if it were a libel, it might surely be taken with philosophic calm after 

 two thousai but it is not a libel — it h ntly been noticed 



that we have the n - in the Lismore TA.fi of 



which in) • one Donnan, brother's son of Senan, who 



in. 



I . •ruiniie. is known by the surname 



" — not an unnatural name to ;_'i\e a warrior. 



It reminds us ii"t a little oi the surname 011-gothach given to Glide. It is 



' Bradshsw Edition, pp - 



■ Donovan, pp. 198, im. 



' //' Bdto QaUieo V. xiv. 



- kea, line 4362. 



