6 



Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



necromancer, and having the wonderful virtue of showing all the 

 vessels that might he passing that way, no matter how distant." 



In O'Mahony's translation of Keating's ''History of Ireland'^ 

 (New York, 1857), is given the narrative of the invasion of Ireland by 

 the Milesians from the north of Spain, and Keating's opinion that 

 the expedition set out from the Tower of Breogan, in Galicia, and 

 "that it was there that Lugaidh, the son of Ith, landed when he- 

 returned from Ireland with his father's dead body.' 



In the "Historia de Galicia," hy Manuel Murguia (2nd edition,, 

 tome I., CoruHa, 1901), the author cites and comments on this tradi- 

 tion that it was from the Tower of Breogan that the Jktilesian leader 

 discerned afar off, one fine morning in winter, the land of Ireland, like 

 a cloud floating on the horizon" (in the Leabhar Gabala), " J^ot 

 otherwise do the children of the ancient Brigantia narrate, saying that 

 the coasts of England may be seen from the lofty tower ; and we our- 

 selves remember how on clear and tranquil mornings, in the days of our 

 child!) ootl, we felt an intense desire to mount the tower, and see if we 

 could not discern afar off the green Isles, which our youthful imagina- 

 tion caused us to see, rising, as it were, on the horizon, like some 

 beautiful white sail crossing these solitary seas." 



p. 506 (note). — *' This tradition is very ancient. Ethicus, a 

 geographer of the foui^th century, seems to speak under its influence, 

 when describing the Brigantine lighthouse, saying ' that it looks 

 towards Ireland' ; and, in describing this, he says, ' Its most prominent 

 part advances into the ocean of Cantabria, and looks from a distance 

 towards Brigantia, a city of Galicia that points in the direction of the 

 northerly winds that blow towards Africa.' " 



In Major Dalrymple's " Travels in Spain and Portugal in 1777," 

 p. 88, he says: "I found here (on the borders of Galicia) a great 

 change in the language. I could hardly understand the lower class 

 of people, their dialect was so corrupt.' " 



p. 90. — " On the road from Astorga to Coruua the houses were of 

 stone and thatched. I observed in this district that the people 

 threshed out the corn with a flail, as in England, and I noticed also 

 that it was stacked here." 



These citations are given in order to show how markedly Galicia 

 is separated from the other provinces of Spain by its position, its more 

 humid and even moist climate, the difference of race, and consequent 

 differences of manners and customs. Thus, as regards the use of 

 thatch, it is peculiar to Galicia, in the Peninsula, and was so before 



