322 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



against Ulster took place in 236 and 237 by the then King of Ireland ; and 

 that the series of fights all took place at localities on the line of the Dyke, or 

 south of it, as follows: — 



A.D. 236. The battle of Granard by Cormac son of Con against the Ulster- 

 men. The battle of Sruth (Co. Louth) against the Ulster- 

 men. The battle of Slieve Cualnge (Slieve Gullion). 



A.D. 237. The battle of Ath Beatha (Ballybay, Co. Monaghan).i 



It seems therefore probable that the making of this formidable ditch 

 dates about the year 200 of this era, if we can place reliance on these early 

 Irish Chronicles, which of course long precede any known written history. 

 But the identification of this chain of ancient earthworks as conterminous 

 with the frontier of Ulster as set forth by these historic legends^a frontier 

 which differs widely from that described by the earliest written authorities as 

 existing in their time — seems a remarkable and unexpected proof of the truth 

 of these traditional narrations, whether we accept their chronology as 

 accurate or not. 



Perhaps, in conclusion, I should refer to a frontier ditch which is said to 

 have been made by order of Poynings' Parliament in 1494, to define the then 

 marches of the Pale. It ran through Kildare, Meath, and Louth, to the Pane 

 Eiver. A section of it is extant at Syddan, I am informed, three miles west 

 of Ardee. I only make this reference to it lest it might be confounded with 

 similar earthworks of prehistoric date. 



LEGENDS OF THE "BLACK PIG." 



In folk-lore as well as in zoology wide distribution is accepted as evidence 

 of great antiquity. Throughout the whole of Ireland the legends about Swine 

 are extremely numerous, and the Irish word " muc " or pig is constantly a 

 component of place-names. In many instances there is no special tradition 

 to explain the designation, which are simply survivals of the chase of the 

 wild boar ; but in some cases there are stories attached to these localities 

 which may be relegated to one of two groups of ancient legends. The first 

 belongs to the mythological division of Celtic tales of the Ossianic period, 

 and is preserved in the Dindshenchas of Dumse Selga, "The Mound of 

 Hunting." It is given by Borlase thus- : — " Six swine are mentioned and 

 called the Swine of Derbrenn, the daughter of Eochaid Fedlech (of the race of 



' Annals of the Four Masters. =* <. ^he Dolmens of Ireland," vol. iii , p. 867. 



