558 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



which was scarcely discernible, skirting Belleville through Creevenulla to the 

 Ballyboraii Eoacl, at Andy Murphy's cottage. The whole track seemed 

 thoroughly familiar to her ; but except near the Split Hills, there were no 

 e\'ident remains of the existence of former entrenchments. The line was said 

 to have gone to Ballykieran, and as that is beside the most easterly extension 

 of Lough Eee, it is the point at which one would expect the entrenchments to 

 terminate, rather than at the site of the present town of Athlone ; but I was 

 unable to find any resident tliere who could point out any remains. 



So far I have set out the alignments of these three territorial boundaries, 

 following the traditional routes which are in some portions substantiated by 

 the discovery of earthworks of more or less remarkable character. Their 

 identification as frontiers has been for the most part corroborated by local 

 names and surviving legends. I have ventured to arrange them arbitrarily 

 as regards their respective antiqmty in a series of which the most southern is 

 presumed to be the most ancient. 



Nevertheless, it may be held that the inverse order might be the correct 

 one, the most northerly defining the limit of ancient Ulster previous to 

 successive acquisitions of territory southwards. In support of the former 

 view, however, and also possibly to elucidate in some degree the periods to 

 which we may refer their erection as well as their topographical features, 

 I shall attempt to put forward some historical data and other suggestive 

 references. Though the early historical records of Ireland are by competent 

 scholars confessed to be unreliable, and the chronology quite uncertain, yet 

 we cannot doubt the general consensus of all tradition shows that long 

 centuries before the reign of Cimbaeth (third century B.C.) (which is the 

 earliest date historians allege as the commencement of reUable history, while 

 recent scholars, such as MacNeill, put it as late as the second century a.d.), 

 the province of Ulster was constantly engaged in warfare with some or all of 

 the other four provinces, and for the most part vindicated its claim to be the 

 prepotent power. For instance, we read that in 4020 a.m., long before the 

 founding of Emania, Sirna, the son of Dian, " wrested the government of Tara 

 from the Ulta." It was he, too, that " avenged upon them the death of 

 Eoitheachtach MacMain, whom they had slain at Cruaghan.''' But in 

 4423 A.M. Airgatmhar, King of Ulster, was monarch of Ireland, to which 

 dignity his grandsons succeeded, one of whom was Cimbaeth, and another 

 claimant was iJithorba, who ruled the territory of Uisnech. 



Of Macha, from whom Ardmagh took its name, we read that when asserting 

 her claim to the kingdom before she became the wife of Cimbaeth, she led an 



' Aun. Four M.-istei-s. 



