2 



Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



female of every species of wild animal in Ireland were brought to 

 him at the ancient city of Tara. The result of Mac Cumhaill's 

 mission, which was successfully accomplislied, is described in this 

 poem. Reference is made to a large number of wild mammals and 

 birds. Among them are some names of wliich the meaning is still 

 unknown. But of particular interest is the allusion to two cats which 

 were brought from the cave of Cruachain (p. 191) as ransom to Cormac, 

 indicating that Wild Cats were then known to exist in Ireland. 



At a meeting of the Dublin jN'atural History Society/ Mr. William 

 Andrews stated that he had every reason to believe that the true Wild 

 Cat was at one time well known in the remote glens of the western 

 parts of Kerry. The Marten, he says, was called ' Cac Cpann ' 

 ('Tree Cat') in Kerry; the W^ild Cat was known as 'Cac pia&ac' 

 ('Hunting Cat '). 



In the year 1885 Mr. W. B. Tegetmeier exhibited a specimen of a 

 cat before the London Zoological Society which had been obtained in 

 Donegal, and which he referred to as the Wild Cat {Felis catus). 

 Dr. E. Hamilton, however, showed subsequently (p. 211) that this 

 specimen was not Felis catus, the difference in the tail and feet being 

 very distinct. He concluded that it was the offspring of a Domestic Cat 

 which had run wild, and bred in the woods and mountains of the district. 



As I shall demonstrate in the following pages, there can be no 

 doubt that a Wild Cat did exist in comparatively recent times in 

 Ireland. That Wild Cat was not identical with the European Wild 

 Cat {Felts catus), but with the African, which has not a bushy tail. 

 It is possible, therefore, that the cat obtained in Donegal may have 

 been one of the last survivors of the genuine Irish Wild Cat. Indeed, 

 Mr. E. C. AYallace assures me that he saw a magnificent Wild Cat near 

 AnnaghdowT), County Galway, about 1883, when rabbit-shooting. I 

 ventured to express a hope in the Irish Naturalist that renewed efforts 

 might be made to ascertain whether some member of the Wild Cat tribe 

 may not be lingering on at present in the more remote regions of the 

 West. Mr. Ilobert Warren held out little hope that such efforts would 

 be successful ; while my note elicited some interesting historical 

 evidences as to the former existence of the Wild Cat in Ireland 

 (cf. Irish Naturalist, 1905) from Mr. W. F, de V. Kane and 

 Mr. R. Welch. 



When Dr. Eorsyth Major was engaged in examining the collection 

 of fossil Mammalia in our National Museum some years ago, he 



1 Cf. Proc. Dub. Nat. Hist. Soc, vol., i. p. 69. 



