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Archdeacon Bowan, on November 8th, 1858. Now, the account given 

 by the bardic historians of the speedy subjugation of the whole island 

 to the Gaedhil, as the Clanna-Milidh are more generally called from 

 their ancestor Gaedhelas, is perfectly fabulous, and unworthy of credit ; 

 a handful of adventurers could not in so short a space of time conquer 

 the native population, and occupy so large an extent of country, forest- 

 grown, and full of natural fastnesses. We must remember that, after 

 near five centuries of military occupation and warfare, the English, in 

 the reign of Queen Elizabeth, were compelled to cut down all the 

 woods before they succeeded in reducing the country to submission. 



We must, I think, conceive that the progress of the Gaedhelic power 

 in Ireland was of such a nature as I have already described. 



Again, it is a strong corroborative fact, that in the very county in 

 whieh the Gaedhil are said to have first landed are found by far the 

 greatest proportion of Ogham monuments ; that they are found on the 

 reputed scene of their first battle, and in very remarkable numbers in 

 and about the very localities where they made their first appearance 

 and sojourn. The advent of the Spanish colonists was, no doubt, an 

 epoch in the primitive history of Ireland to them. I believe she is in- 

 debted for her Brehon laws, her poetry, her music, and that system of 

 Oriental paganism of which so many relics remain to us. 



It may be very naturally asked, have we any evidence of the exist- 

 ence of such a people in Spain ? or is there any historic evidence of the 

 state of that country, or of the people inhabiting it, at the remote period 

 claimed for the Gadhelian invasion ? I think that Strabo provides an 

 answer to so natural a query in his description of the Turdetani and 

 Turduli — a people or peoples inhabiting southern Spain. Hear what he 

 says of them : " These people are esteemed to be the most intelligent 

 of all the Iberians ; they have an alphabet, and possess ancient writings, 

 poems, and metrical laws, six thousand years old, as they say. The 

 other Iberians are likewise furnished with an alphabet, although not of 

 the same form, nor do they speak the same language" (Strabo, Bonn's 

 edit, vi., p. 209). He further states that the people called themselves 

 Turdetani, and their country Turdetania ; this word is pure Gaedhelic, 

 Tir-de-Tana, from Tir, a country, land ; de, of; Tana, a drove, a herd, 

 (i the land of herds." The Greek geographer states, " that Turditania 

 bred a superabundance of cattle (ibid,, p. 217), and that they were famous 

 for the production and export of wool, and that rams for the purpose of 

 covering fetched a talent" (ibid., p. 216). He further states that they 

 were also called " Turduli ;" but whether they were two distinct tribes, 

 or one tribe having two appellations, he could not exactly say. Now, 

 Turduli is as intensely Gaedhelic as any word can be ; "Tir-duile," 

 from Tir, a country, land (in the Sanscrit, Tir means land border), and 

 Duile, a pleasant land or country. How indicative both these names 

 are of the beautiful and fertile Andalusia, the richest province of 

 southern Spain, originally inhabited by those people. I am well aware 

 how delusive etymological likenesses are, and how apt to lead us astray 



