340 Proceedings of the Roi/ul Irish Academy. 



on the same spot ; the missionaries and early fathers of the church in Ireland 

 being desirous of diverting the sanctity of the island from the false to the 

 true Faith. This is certainly the case of Inis Muiredaig in Sligo Bay ; the 

 church there, called Teampull na T> ineadh, with its sacred tire-hearth (site of 

 "one of the three sacred perennial tires of Ireland "i. 1 preserves the memory 

 of some fire-ceremony that assuredly was not Christian. It seems also to I e 

 the case at Inis L'ealtra. where as I have Bhowu in my account of the site. 

 there is very complete evidence for the former existence of a sacred tree. 

 Ami the name of Inis Fail affixed to the island of St. Ibaruan only mean that 

 this island was a centre of riles similar t" those which centred in the stone 

 • if Fal ; at least, that in some way or other the god immanent in the stone 

 "i Fal « i- there honoured. 



Of the servant of Christ who founded and laboured in the church of Beg 

 Eire, and who now enjoys his reward, nothing is known. For it is clear that 

 the few facts recorded of him bt _ t to him. hut to his pagan pre- 

 decessors. His very nan, y ben; that of the sacred yew-tree (tbar) 

 of the island substituted. Another island in Wexford Harbour had 

 a sacred oak-tree upon it, from which it derived the name Dair-inis, " Oak 

 id." Probably I . had an alternative name analogous to this 

 island of the yew- In time this was understood to mean 

 "Island _ the forgotten foundei of the 

 monastery. In like manner, the unknown hermit of Ini~ Cathaigh has l>een 

 tricked out in _ with the name of the river-god Senan.who probably 

 nctuary in ti ad at the mouth of the river. 



that the historicity of these saints is not in 

 question. I! jted by thi e ruins of the religious 



houses., with them ones have suffered the usual fate of 



names 1 1 with other names 



whi a much longer history, Btretching far back into the 



unk' . per impression on popular 



mem 



A kable than the two above cited is that of the 



foul the nuni Kildare. There was doul it less here, in pagan 



tine ege of priestesses who tended a perpetual fire, and who (j 



sumably with orgiasti semblingt ralisb priestesses of Sena i 



honoured the fin. _ tivinity l>ein^ immanent in the sacred 



sun-oak which gave I he name that it still bears, l'robably the 



head of the c as tegarded as an incarnation of the goddess, and su bote 



I i lelica, i, 12 .. il \\ ik. lu.iii. fm'immwfi pp. ol-oU. 



