wife of the slain King of Connaught, and daughter of the King of the Picts, who was pregnant, and visiting her father in Alba at the time of the great massacre, had borne a son, Feradach. And Feradach Finn-feactnach, the Fair Righteous One, now recalled from Pict-land, became King of Ireland.

But his reign was a troubled, unhappy one. For the unruly elements were reluctant to settle down, after having tasted revolution and rapine. Even the so-called legitimate chiefs who had come to their own again were restless and rebellious. In the reign of Fiacha of the White Cows, occurred another revolution-in which the provincial Milesian kings and the Aithech Tuatha seem to have been banded together. They overturned the reigning house, slew Fiacha, and placed on the throne Elim of Ulster-who, by repressing the Legitimists, and holding the favour of the Aithech Tuatha, managed to hold to his insecure position during a stormy reign of 20 years.

But the favour shown the Aithech Tuatha, and the power they were permitted to exercise, so angered and aroused the Milesian classes that they recalled from his exile (in Britain) Tuathal Feachtmar-that is to say, Tuathal the Desired-the son of Fiacha (and sixth in descent from Eochaid Feidlech, the father of Medb). A great portion of the nation joyfully hailed the Desired and rallied to his standard. And at the Hill of Scire in Meath he overthrew Elim, who was killed in the battle. But before he felt secure upon the throne of Ireland, Tuathal had to fight 133 battles! Tuathal broke up the tribes of the Aithech Tuatha and scattered and redistributed them over the land in such way that they could not easily combine and conspire again.

This was a man of strong character, marked ability, and great moral power, whose reign influenced the future of Ireland. He established order in a land that had been for half a century in chaos. He fostered trade, and instituted laws for its protection and propagation. He made a new and important fifth province of Meath-which became fixed henceforward as the Ard-Righ's (High-King's) province. Before his day the other provinces met at the hill of Uisnech in that part of Ireland which is now called West Meath. From each of these he cut off a portion, which, attached to the former small domain of Meath made an important, rich, and royal Meath-enlarged from its former one tuath to eighteen tuatha. From a little district Meath then became an important province-the province of the Ard-Righ or High King of all Ireland. In each of the four cut off portions, moreover, he erected a royal residence-at the famous location where the four

great provincial fairs were held, namely, at Tlachtga in Leinster; at Uisnech in Munster; Cruachan in Connacht; and Taillte in Ulster. Tuathal also re-organised the great National Fairs of Ireland, and re-established the interrupted Feis or Parliament of Tara.

And thus did the country and the Milesian dynasty recover, under this strong man from the staggering revolution of the Aithech Tuatha.

One other most notable happening in this king's reign was the laying upon Leinster of the famous Boru tribute-a crime which, for long centuries, was to be the cause of bloody wars that should shake the Island.

This was the origin of the Boru tribute: Of Tuathal's two beautiful daughters, Dairine and Fithir, the former wedded King Eochaid of Leinster. After some time, however, either tiring of her or coveting the beauty of her younger sister, Eochaid put Dairine away, and confined her in a tower. Giving out that she was dead, he went in mourning to the court of Tara, to seek consolation. Tuathal gave him that, by presenting to him Fithir for wife. Eochaid took Fithir with him to the court of Leinster, where, after a time, and through an accident, the two sisters met face to face, thus discovering a hidden, horrible truth. The shocking discovery of the double shame he had put upon them overwhelmed with mortification and grief the two sisters; and they died, broken-hearted.

When their father, the High King, learnt how that Eochaid had brought about his daughters' dishonour and death, he rallied auxiliaries to his aid, and marched into Leinster, ravaging it as he went. The province and its king were saved only by Eochaid's humiliated submission, and his binding the province to pay to the High King at Tara, every alternate year for an indefinite period, the tremendous tribute which came to be known as the Boru or cow-tribute-five thousand cows, five thousand hogs, five thousand cloaks, five thousand vessels of brass and bronze, and five thoud ounces csilver.

This crushing tribute was henceforth laid upon Leinster, by the High King of Tara from the time of Tuathal forward till the reign of Fionnachta, a period of five hundred years-but in most cases having to be lifted with steel hands. It caused more bloody history than did almost any other festering sore with which Ireland was ever afflicted. During these five centuries hardly a High King sat upon the throne of Tara, who did not have to carry the bloody sword into Leinster again and again, forcibly to hack his pound of flesh from off that province's palpitating body. And only some

times was the fight fought between Meath and Leinster alone. Often, through alliances, mutual sympathies, antagonisms, hopes, or dangers, half of Ireland, and sometimes all of Ireland was embroiled. So, together with much that was good Tuathal left to his country a bloody legacy.1

1 Tuathal's son, who succeeded him, Feidlimid Rechtmar, the Lawgiver, successfully pursued his father's policy of making the laws respected,—and the better to achieve the noble purpose, devoted himself first to making them just-according to his lights. He established the Lex Talionis-the law of an eye for an eye-a rude and severe justice, which held thereafter in Ireland until the coming of Patrick. With the more lenient spirit of Christ, which he introduced, Patrick ended the reign of Feidlimid's Lex Talionis.

For still one other thing Feidlimid's name is somewhat memorable. The old seanachies quaintly record of him that "he died on his pillow," a phrase which indirectly throws a flood of light upon the abrupt manner in which the kings (of all countries) in those days usually made their exit from the world.

CHAPTER IX

CONN OF THE HUNDRED BATTLES

THE celebrated Conn of the Hundred Battles was a son of Feidlimid, the son of Tuathal-though he did not immediately succeed Feidlimid. Between them reigned Cathair Mor, who was the father of thirty sons, among whom and their posterity he attempted to divide Ireland, and from whom are descended the chief Leinster families.

And we may pause to note that Cathair Mor is immortalised in Irish history by reason of a famous ancient will ascribed to him -a will that is of value because of the light it sheds upon many things of prime historical interest in early days. In this will we read, for instance, that he left to Breasal, his son, five ships of burden; fifty embossed bucklers, ornamented with border of gold and silver; five swords with golden handles; and five chariots. To Fiacha-Baiceade, another son, he left fifty drinking cups; fifty barrels made of yew-tree; and fifty piebald horses, the bits of the bridles made of brass. He left to Tuathal-Tigech, son of Maine, his brother, ten chariots; five play tables; five chess-boards; thirty bucklers, bordered with gold and silver; and fifty polished swords. To Daire Barach, another of his sons, he left one hundred and fifty pikes, the wood of which was covered with plates of silver; fifty swords of exquisite workmanship; five rings of pure gold; one hundred and fifty billiard-balls of brass, with pools and cues of the same material; ten ornaments of exquisite workmanship; twelve chess-boards with chess men. To Mogcorf, son of Laogare Birnbuadach, he left a hundred cows spotted with white, with their calves, coupled together with yokes of brass; a hundred bucklers; a hundred red javelins; a hundred brilliant lances; fifty saffron-coloured great-coats; a hundred different coloured horses; a hundred drinking cups curiously wrought; a hundred barrels made of yewtree; fifty chariots of exquisite workmanship; fifty chess-boards; fifty tables used by wrestlers; fifty trumpets; fifty large copper boilers, and fifty standards; with the right of being a member of

the council of state of the king of Leinster. Lastly, he bequeathed to the king of Leix, a hundred cows; a hundred bucklers; a hundred swords; a hundred pikes, and seven standards."

Cathair Mor was succeeded by Conn who overthrew him in a great battle in Meath. As Conn's title suggests, his reign was filled with battling. Conn's strenuous militancy and the suggestive title that it won for him, made him famed beyond worthier menfamed through the generations and the centuries-so that it was the greatest pride of some of the noblest families of the land a thousand years and more after his time to trace back their descent to him of the Hundred Battles.

But against Mogh Nuadat of Munster many of his most notable battles were fought. And in Mogh, Conn had an opponent worthy of his mettle.

The Southwestern province, Munster, used to be reigned over, says Keating, alternately by the two races that inhabited it, the Ithians, descendants of Milesius' uncle, Ith, who occupied the extreme Southwestern angle, comprising the remote corners of the modern counties of Cork and Kerry-and the Eberians, descendants of Milesius through Eber, who occupied the remainder of the province. There was an amicable arrangement between these two races that each in turn should rule Munster. And when one race supplied the king, the other supplied the chief judge, and vice

versa.

This arrangement lasted till about half a century before the Christian Era, when there came South a portion of the Northern warlike Earnaan, from their late territory along Loch Erne, whence they had been forced out by the jealous Rudricians, the royal race of Rory, who ruled Ulster. By King Duach, who then ruled in Munster, the Earnaan were granted a settlement in Kerry. But, lustful of power, dominant and aggressive, they imposed themselves as rulers upon Munster, when King Duach died. Their great leader, Deagad (from whom that portion of the Earnaan were afterwards called Deagades), became king of Munster. And for more than 200 years after, these Northern intruders held the Munster kingship in their tribe-to the complete exclusion and subjection of both Ithians and Eberians.

It was in the time that Conn reigned in Meath as Ard-Righ, that Mogh Nuadat, an Eberian, roused his fellow Munstermen to battle for freedom from the tyrannical Earnaan. The monarch, Conn, jealous of the Munstermen, and sympathetic toward his fellow Northerners, the Earnaan, gave his aid to the latter. Nevertheless, the power of the Earnaan in Munster was over