F. fern, the alder of the Ogham alphabet.

The name for the

day called di-sathurna, Saturday. The bird is faelinn, the
gull, the colour flann, crimson, the dates March 19 until
April 14.

FACHAN, a spirit of the sea-side described in folklore as

possessing a single eye, hand and leg. This is also
descriptive of one form of the shape-changing Famhaire.
Related to fachant, puny, false, fachaint, ridicule, scoffing,
satire, from fo + cainnt, under-speaking, speaking so as not
be overheard; fachail, strife. Fachach, the sea-going puffin.
Corresponding in kind with the unipedes maritimi whose
name appears inscribed in the extreme northeast of
Greenland on the Nancy map of Claudius Clavus (1426 A.D.)
In the Norse Heimslÿsing and in the Rymbegis mention is
made of the Einfötingar, the “One-footer,” with “a foot so
large they shade themselves with the sun with it while
asleep.” In the saga of Eric the Red these is also the
incident of the encounter with a North American uniped, and
the pursuit of him is described in an entirely believable and
realistic manner. In this same account there is reference to
the American land of Einfötingland where all the residents
possed a single foot. Anglo-Saxon facen, treachery, crime;
facenful, treacherous + han, cock, by extension a
promiscuous male animal. May confer with fecchan, to seek,
fetch, gain, take by force or cunning, bring back. Notice
fetch, a mythological English sea creature a guardian of men
at sea. Note also the Lunenburg dialectic verb, fachent,
withered.

According to Gaelic myth, the island now called

Ireland was first inhabited by Fomorians, who came from
the west "out of the sea." Some of these were very credible
humanoids, but others had the heads of beasts or were
misshapen in some part. When Partholan's race fought
against them, they were described as man-like but "with
one foot, one hand, and one eye." Irish historian Katherine
Scherman thinks they represented a memory "of mesolithic
man, who crept round the edges of the country catching
what food he could with his rude stone weapons...offering
paltry resistance to more progressive successors." If so,
they must have shown considerable damage from their
battles with the "men" who pursued them. Thousands of
years after their domination of the British Isles failed,
their descendants inhabited the north-western coasts
where they lived through thievery.

When Europeans began to explore the sea-routes

around Africa to India and China they brought back reports
of similar creatures. Marco Polo heard that they existed in
northern China and reported coming close to a colony of
them in India. They were routinely illustrated on the
margins of maps,. The natives of eastern North America
convinced Jacques Cartier that unipeds existed in parts of
the New World and he sought them out. His countryman,
Marc Lescarbot, was incredulous: "(Cartier) says that he
chased a two-footed beast, and that in the land called
Saguenay, found men dressed like us in woollen cloth, as
well as others of a kind who eat no food because they have
no rectum. This is no more likely than his one-legged men
or the pygmies who supposedly live further west, or the
great fresh-water sea (the Great Lakes) which he thinks
lies in the interior of this land."

While the Wabenaki Indians of North America do not

appear to have made mention of this singular character, the
Ihalmuit, or people of the Barrens have, and she is called
Paija:: "Of those evil spirits, the foremost is Paija, an
immense female devil. She is a giantess who has but a
single leg, springing from her generative organs, and who is
clothed only in flowing black hair, Paija stalks abroad in
the winter nights, and her single track is sometimes found
in the new snow, an immense twisted impression of a
human foot. No man can tell you much about her, except
from hearsay, for to see Paija is to die with the sight of her
frozen in the mind..."

FACT GOIBNU, the “Ale of the Smith." At the investiture of

the Tuatha daoine within the elder religion of the sea-gods,
they were given three gifts: the cloak of invisibility, an
unending food source, and the "ale of old age", or fact
goibnu. The drinking of this ale guaranteed virtual
immunity from death except by "misadventure." Notice that
this "smithy" confers with the Wayland Smith of English
mythology, who is the Gaelic Culann also known as Manann
mac Ler.

FADH, obs. Science, druidic practise. Fadhach, black,

blackness, confusion.

FADH, FAEDH OR FAIDH FIADA, FAET FIADA, FACT FIALA, the

deer-magician; the cloaks of invisibility, granted to the
Tuatha daoine when they became liege to Manann mac Ler
and the elder gods of the sea; faec, see, "the "f" is
prophetic; fiadh. the deer, Ir. fiadach, the god-like one, Br.
guez, savage, wild-man, linguistically related to the English
wood, whose root-word is Woden or Odin. The sith-woman
named Ethne lost her cloak after Finnibar "insulted her."
When this happened the bafinn that granted her invisibility
fled, but a Christian angel came, instead to her side. With
this, her kinship with the Daoine sidh ceased, but she had
gained a Christian "soul." The angels of God were capable of
bestowing this magic on those they favoured, for when
Saint Patrick chanted the incantation known as "The Deer
Cry", he and his flock were able to pass through enemy lines
without being perceived as human. Notice that this magic
was a form of visual misdirection, as those that practised
it often remained visible, but as unrecognizable beasts of
the forest.

FAFNE MAC BRIC. The brother of Aige. The death of his

sister at the hands of King Melige’s warriors prompted him
to compose a satire, which caused three blotches to appear
on the face of the high king. For this he was condemned to
death.

FAGAIL, curse, fate, fatality, custom, habit, failing,

destiny, the act of leaving.

FAIDBHILE, FAIDHBHILE, a beech tree, Ir. faegha, fagh-vile,

the Lat. fagus, cf. bile, the old word for a tree, having the
same origin as bile, a leaf. Having reference to Bile or Bil,
the god of death. The leaves of the beech tree were thought
capable of causing death at the midnight hour.

FÀIDH. a prophet, seer, soothsayer, OIr. faith, vati-s, the

Latin vates; Norse othr, a song, MEng. wood, Scand. wud,
mad, Der. wuth, rage. Ultimately Woden or Odin. One of the
branches of druidic tradition the others being the bards and
the senachies or historians. Allied is faidhbhile, the OG.
bile, a tree, a beech-tree. Note the death-god Bil.
Faidheadair, a prophet; faidheadaireachd, propecy,
prediction, divination. The leaves of the beech tree brushing
the face after dark were thought to cause death.

FAIDHHIR, fair, market, cattle sale, founded on English fair.

Adjuncts of the Quarter Days.

FÀIL, a ring, OIr. foil, additionally a well, a stye, a bathing

place, to bathe, to lave. Alternately, fàinne, a ring, OIr. foil,
a twisted circle of vines; root, vel, circle. Fâinne, a ring,
Lat. annulus, Eng. annular. the Lat. anus, Eng. anus The
Celtic symbol for eternity and unending reincarnation. Hence
finger-rings, often seen studded with magical amulets.
Magical rings were so innately linked with pagan magic,
Christian priests would not wear rings unless they were so
simply designed that it was patent that they carried no
amulets. Notwithstanding, rings were commonly used by the
Christian laity and many superstitions still attach to
wedding-rings. An old book of occult information says that
the moment when the husband gives the ring to his bride is
significant in determining who will rule: “If the husband
allows the ring to remain on the end of her finger and does
not push it beyond the second joint, the woman will
dominate him; but if he pushes the ring to the base of her
finger, he will be her lord and master.” See Lia Fail.

FAILC, to bathe or lave on, Ir. folcadh, OIr. folcaim, Bry.

goalc’hi, to wash. Teut. volce, to bathe, a peculiar habit
which the Germans noted in the Rhinish Gauls. They entitled
them the Volkâ, or “bathers,” and called their country
Volcae or Wolcae. Not also the god Voli or Vali, a son of
Odin, supposedly destined to survive the “twilight of the
gods” and the promised avenger of his slain brother Baldur.
Odin surrounded himself with a personal guard of females
known as the Valkyra or Walkyra. They were those who
built the first structures which the Anglo-Saxons termed
waeals, the palisades we call walls.. When the Anglo
Saxons came to Britain they reapplied the name Wealas or
Walas to the country occupied by the peoples of western
Britain. The form Wylisc became the modern word Welsh,
and Wyliscemen evolved into Welchmen. The singular for
Wealas is wealh, a stranger or foreigner. The word is
similar to OHG. wath, an outlander and to the Celt./Germ.
wal, which has similar meaning. Wal appears as a prefix in
the Germ. wal-nuss, our word walnut.

FAIGH, FAIDH, prophet, seer, sooth-sayer, begging under

license, use, obtain, acquire information.

FAILEAS, FALIAS, INNIS, fa or fo + leus, fo + Lugh, “under

the light,” shadowy, a shadow, reflected image, spectre,
ghost, cf. ail, mark, an impression, a rock. An island in the
western ocean where the Tuatha daoine received their
education in druidism; the Underworld.

FÀIL INIS, fail, corrupt, from vel, to bubble, Norse vella,

Eng. well. A hound owned by the king of Ioruiadh said to be
invincible in battle. One of the prizes brought back to
Ireland by the sons of Tuireann to compensate Lugh for the
slaying of his father Cian Contje.

FAILNEAS, the unconscious mind, fail + neas, that which

boils or bubbles + neas, a weasel, boil, wound, cut.

FÀILTE, welcome, hail! OIr root vál, to glow (with warmth

from the sun). The Germanic heil as in Heil Hitler! Address
aimed at the sun-god Lugh. The English wealth. See féile.

FÀINNE, ring, OIr. ánne, Lat. ánus, Eng. annular. Probably

connected with the old Gaelic goddess Anu or Danu. See fail.

FAIR, FAR, a fetch, to fetch, bring. A shortened form of

tabhair, cf. with thoir. A supernatural light seen on the
ocean or over water. The word relates with the old Norse
god Thor, see clann-thoir, a light seen over water. See next.

FAIR CHLAIDH. The fetch of the chlaidh, burying place,

mound, dyke, trench, hollow. The last person buried was
considered the soul-warden of all those previously put to
earth. In Cape Breton two elderly miscreants were equally
at hazard from Death. The elderly man’s friends busied
themselves at the traditional business of clipping his finger
and toe-nails, a traditional activity to keep the ghost from
scratching the living. Aroused by this, the old fellow set
bolt upright and exclaimed: “Stop, stop, you do not know
what use I may have for them, for all my nails, in
compelling Kate Raudh (his nemesis) to keep fair’e chlaidh
(watchmanship of the grounds) in place of doing it myself.”

FAIRC, the Eng. park. Originally tidal lands sometimes

covered by the sea. Fomorian real estate. To bathe. Fairge
(pro. fairce), the ocean, Ptolemy’s Vergiovios, the “Green”
or Irish Ocean, the temperate portion of the North Atlantic.
In Sutherlandshire fairge indicates the “ocean in storm.”
The Cym. Môr Werydd, “Great Morgan’s Ocean.” fairsing,
wide. Same as fairg.
FAIRCE TEINE, EIr, forcha tened, mallet of fire, a
thunderbolt,as delivered by the Cailleach bheurr or the
Norse god Thor.

FAIRG, FAIRC, the Ocean, particularly the Atlantic Ocean, Ir.

fairge, Ptolemy’s Oceanus Vergivios, from the root fearg,
wrathful, puffed up, provoked to storm. Cy. Mor Werydd, the
“Ocean of the Weirds” or Fates. Eng. weird, feirce. See fairc.

FAISNEACHADH, FAISTINE, a prophecy, an omen, from

faisneis, a speaking, a whispering in the ear from the Ir.
root vid, to know by seeing (a vision). Faisnear, a prophet or
soothsayer. faisniche, a wizard. The Gaels believed that
those with the "two-sights" could perceive other places and
times by sending their runner into the past or the future.
Omens of up-coming events, or times past, were typically
seen as a vision overlying reality.

FÅITH, obs., heat, warmth, a prophet or seer among the

druids. The vates mentioned by the classical writers.

FALA-DHÀ, FEALA, Eng. fa-de-dah, a jest, irony, fun. A sense

of humour was considered god-given.

FALAIR, burial of the dead, funeral entertainment, a wake.

See also alnachus, burial customs.

FALGAS. FALGA. Synonymous with the Isle of Man a holding

of the god Manann mac Ler. “Some say that the smith Culain,
that gave his name to Cúchulain, was Mananann himself, for
he had many (names) and shapes. Anyway before Culain came
to Ulster, he was living on the Island of Falga, the location
of one of the palaces of Manann mac Ler. And one time came
to the kingdom (of Ireland), and he asked advice of a Druid,
and the Druid bade him go to Falga and to ask Culain, the
smith he found there, to make arms for him. So Conchabhar
did so, and the smith promised to make a sword and spear
and shield for him.” The likeness of the sea-princess
Tiabhal was placed on the shield and using it as a totem the
king found his personal strength, and that of his kingdom,
increased. In thanks, Conchabhar gave Culain lands and a
building on the plains of Muirthemne. “And whether he was
or not Manannan, it is known that he gave Cúchulain good
teaching.” This may be the Tuathan island known as Fal or
Falias. See next.

FALIAS. One of the four mythic islands of the “northern

ocean” where the Tuatha daoine perfected their knowledge
of druidism.

FA, FAN, FO, under, low. See next.

FA
MH
AI
R ,
Ir.
f o
m
ho
r ,
a pirate, a giant, champion, mole-catcher, a man used to
burrowing underground (having reference to the banishment
of this race), famh-uir, earth-mole, EIr. fomór, fomórach,
Eng. Fomor, Fomorian. The mythic elder race of the British
Isles. Fo+mór (from) under the sea. muir, the ocean. Mor or
Morach, confers with the goddess Mhorrigan, and is the
Gaelic morach or night-mare. plural. famhaire or
famhairean. The “sub-mariners. the race of mythic sea-
creatures, shape-changers who came from the mid-Atlantic.
The sea-kingdom of An Domhain was in the hands of Dom and
his consort Domnu . Like the Atlanteans, his famhair, or
“undersea people,” appear to have been god-like. When the
spirit of the creator god, as expressed in his offspring,
became mixed with that of mortal men, who they met on the
shores of Europe, “they became unseemly, creatures of
darkness and ill.” Similarly, Plato wrote that the
Atlanteans subjected the continent to their will: “parts of
Libya as far as Egypt, and Europe as far as Tyrrhenia
(Germany)...” These may have been the same mythological
folk.

The famhairaig aparriar, or “western under-sea

mercenaries” were similarly war-like, “a sept descended
from one of the sons of Nodha.” The Annals of
Clommarcnois represent Nuada as “Noah,” but characterize
them properly as “those that lived by pyracie and the
spoiles of other nations, and were in their days very
troublesome to the whole wide world.” As a result, the land
“gods” headed by the Dagda, gathered what forces they
could find in Ireland, and fought a decisive war with the
Fomors.

During the last battle the sea-folk carried off the Dagda’s
harp, and he followed ravaging An Domhain and looting it of
the famed “Kettle of Regeneration.” As this device was the
essential genius-astral of the Atlantid-dwellers, their sea
kingdom was never able to rise again against its enemies.
The Kettle was transferred to Hugh’s Hill, at a site between
the four provinces of ancient Ireland, and this place became
known as the navel of the land-world.
Although they were defeated by men and the “gods,” some of
their kind supported the human warrior-wizards known as
the Tuatha daoine. In particular, there was Manan mac Ler,
son of the immortal Ler, who fostered the land-god Lugh,
the opponent of Balor of the Evil Eye. Before the final
battle, Manann loaned Ler the use of his sea-horses,
invincible armour, and a sword that was "flesh-seeking."
When the Tuathans were themselves defeated by the
Milesians, Manann met with the survivors at the Brugh-na-
Boyne and granted them sanctuary in Tir-nan-Og in exchange
for their promise of loyalty.

In point of fact, the forerrunners of modern men were

in England as long as 500,000 years ago and Homo sapiens
has been in the British Isles for 50,000 years. Since
glaciation buried the relics of these first men, and melt
waters inundated relics from 10,000 years in the past,
most of what we know of men in this part of the world
pertains to the relatively "modern" culture, termed
Aurignacian. These people are thought to have originated in
the Near East settled in France and pursued game across the
land bridge to England some 30,000 years ago. These
nomads were sometime residents of southern England;
Scotland and Ireland still being under the ice. It is
suspected that they may have been driven out by the final
advance of glaciation sinces the caves they inhabited have
been found blocked by glacial till.

After the Aurignacians came the Gravettians, a

culture of herdsmen who came out of southern Russia by
way of Spain. THey may have been associated with the
Solutreans, who also came to England from France and
Spain. These people lived in a time when bison, horses, wild
oxen, mammoths, reindeer and the woolly rhinoceros were
the chief game animals of the region. At that, few humans
preferred Britain and it has been estimated that the winter
population was no more than 250 people.

As the cold and the ice receded, some of these hunters

settled the far west. By 10,000 B.C., the Magdalenian
culture had come to the Continent. These people were a
highly advanced stone-age culture, but there equal was not
found in Britain. Some archaeologists have suggested that
the islands were too cold to attract the newcomers, but
otherrs suggest that by then the North Sea had developed
out of melt-water separating the ancient islanders from the
advantages of commerce with the rest of Europe.

After the North Sea separation other immigrants

began to arrive, presumably by boat, although the first "sea
voyages" involved nothing more than crossing what would
now be considered a wide river. The earliest arrivals were
the Tardenoisians, users of flint tools, who brought with
them the first dogs and either assimilated or were
incorporated into other tribes already on the islands. The
oceans were better established when the shore-loving
Azilians arrived. "They hunted with dogs, fished and rarely
pushed inland from the coast. Some of them survived into
the bronze age."

In legend, a similar people are recalled as the Fomors

(Gaelic fo+mor, under+the sea). They are remembered by
their numerous enemies as "gloomy sea-giants...warlike and
very troublesome to the world." Some said that they were
"sea-demons...creatures of darkness and ill." It was
generally agreed that all of their kind were huge, deformed
in some way, often with a single eye (and sometimes a
single arm and leg to match), or with the heads of animals.
The malignant giants of fairy-tales and nursery rhymes
were invariably sea-giants, the land-giants being regarded
as a separate race, who damaged through bumbling
misadventure rather than with purpose. Aside from their
"wild, unsociable, behaviour", the Fomors had the nasty
habits of shape-changing and anthrophagy (i.e.they ate
people). The Fomors were supposedly led by an immortal
sea-god named Ler (Gaelic) or Llyr (Cymric), who was
singular among their kind.

It was guessed that the Fomorians originally lived far

out in the depths of the Atlantic Ocean in caverns where
they were able to breathe the oxygen of the water. Although
they could remain beneath ordinary water for long periods,
it was agreed that they could drown like ordinary men when
deprived of their "sea-suits". These took various forms
including that of seals and large ocean-going fish.
Sometimes the sea-people travelled as creatures that
appeared to be men from the waist up and fish from their
down. It was noticed that giants who were deprived of
their ocean-gear were unable to return to the sea.

Most historians argue that the Fomors were "African"

sea-rovers, in which case they might have been surviving
descendants of the sea-peoples worshipped by the
Atlanteans. The animal heads could have been masks, and
shape-changing a primitive misconception. The first men
mounted on horseback were sometimes mistaken as unusual
four-footed creatures who might also appear in two-footed
form. The Innu in his kayak apppears to walk waist high in
the water. Taking events at face value, he removes his
"tail" on land, and cannot satisfactorily re-enter the water
without it. Since primitive people knew nothing of the
curvature of the earth ships coming to shore seemed to rise
out of the water; while those departing, went to some
subterraneran kingdom. The accusations of cannibalism
have to be taken in context, since the Fomors were rarely
allowed to characterize themselves. It was later
maintained that witches feasted off roast babies (and) the
same charge was levelled at the Jews in the Middle Ages
and in Nazi Germany. At one time the Roman Catholics made
a similar criticism of the Protestant Clergy, while they
charged monks, nuns and priests with the same vice.

The Irish historian, Katherine Scherman has noted:

"This race surfaces time and again through The Book of
Invasions, always uncouth and vicious, always seeping in
from the shore and being driven back again by the more
civilized and better equipped newcomers." The first
protagonists were the Partholans (whose descendants are
called the Macfarlanes). They landed on the ancient land,
 now called Ireland, with nine thousand settlers. The Fomors
seemed to have favoured the western coast of that island, a
major stronghold being located on Tory Island, to the
northwest, with others of their kind located on the Isle of
Man and inb the Hebrides. The Fomors built towers on the
plains of Sligo in Connaught County and it is presumed they
were herders since, "they made sheep land". They were
apparently not an agricultural people, and Partholon, the
patriarch of the opposing race, noted that they had no
control of fire and "ate poorly". He was the first to note
that they possessed only "one foot, one hand and one eye",
but nevertheless he found them worthy antagonists.

Scherman supects that the Fomors "represent a faint

memory of mesolithic man, who crept about the edges of the
country catching what food he could with his rude stone
weapons...presenting his infelicitous countenance and his
paltry resistence to more progressive successors." 1 Other
scholars surmised that the Fomorians represented older
sea-gods worshipped throughout Ireland before the Celtic
deities arrived. There is even blood of this race in the
Celtic Cailleach Bheur, who has been described as a one-
eyed giantess, who sometimes shape-changed into a gray
mare. The "winter hag" had charge of the "geamhradh"
(season of thunter), and had care and charge of the animals
of the wilderness. Celts who harvested these animals were
careful to propitiate this spirit, who strode from mountain
to mountain carrying a staff which showered snow and
could blast men with lightning.

These descriptions of pre stone-age peoples do not

correspond with the Fomorians that Nemed encountered
when he sailed his thirty-four ships out of the Caspian Sea
into the boundless Atlantic: "There appeared to them a
golden tower in the sea close at hand. Thus also it was:
when the sea was in ebb the tower appeared above it and
when it flowed the water rose above the tower. Nemed
went with his people towards it for greed of gold." Their

1Katherine Scherman, The Flowering of Ireland, p. 255.

first sorties were ineffectual and they were forced to
retreat to Ireland. There they dammed the rivers to create
new lakes and cleared plains for farming. They were
harassed by the Fomorians who demanded two-thirds of
their milk, corn and children as "crop insurance". The
Nemedians sent word to their Greecian allies that they were
being oppressed. Their plea must have been persuasive for
soon help came in the form of "an immense host of warriors,
along with druids and druidesses, all accompanied by
venomous animals, hurtful, strange creatures." Whatever
the nature of this beast, it helped them take the sea-towers
of the Fomorians. They lived in prosperity until "a great
wave" swept in from the sea and "drowned an annihilated"
both men and giants. Some Nemedians survived this
catastrophe but "downcast and fearful of the plague" these
neolithic farmers abandoned Ireland for England and
ultimately returned to the Near East. The sea-islands
presumably returned to the control of the Fomors while "the
land of Ireland was desert for the space of two hundred
years."

The Firbolgs and roving Firgallians

Came next like the waves in their flow;
The Firdonnans arrived in battalions.
And landed in Erris - Mayo.

These newcomers, equipped with only slightly better

weapons that the Fomors, held them off well enough to
estalish themselves at Tara. They were unequal to the next
invaders of Ireland, the warrior-wizards known as the
Tuatha daoine. These bronze-age folk fought decisive wars
with both the Firbolgs and the Fomors and forced both host
to retire to the western “undersea kingdoms” and the
“hollow-hills” of Great Britain.

FANAID, Eng. FAND. “Mockery,” Ir. Fanomhad, cf. with EIr.

fanomat, a compound of va-nom-anto, from the root nem,
the verb “to take,” from which nàmhad, an enemy, similar to
the Germ. nâma, rapine, the Eng. nimble, Cy. & Bry. nam,
blame. From this same root, néamh, heaven, the Lat. nemus,
a scared grove, OIr. nemed, a druidic place of worship, also
OIr. ném, a pearl, an onyx, hence her nickname, the “Pearl of
the Ocean.” The “wife” of Manan mac Ler who lived with
him at Tir Tairnigri, the “Land of the Daughter of Thunder.”
Alienated from him, she was attacked by three Fomorian
chieftains, and promised her love to Cuchullain if he would
help defend her kingdom. He did as asked and became her
lover but Cúchullain’s wife Emer was outraged and so was
Manann. In the end, the sea god insisted that Fand choose
between him and the mortal. Noting that Cúchullain already
possessed Emer, the sea-goddess allowed her husband to
shake his cloak of forgetfulness between her and her human
lover, and they parted. See the related Eumhann.

FÀNAS, the void, space, a rent in the wall, from Lat. vanus.
Confers with vei, wind, after the Old Norse god Ve, one of
the trinity of elemental spirits present at the creation. A
god of the upper air.

FAN LEAC, altar of rude stones, a leaning stone. Fan, obs. A

temple, chapel,

FAOBH, booty, a dead man’s clothing, carcase, unlooked for

good fortune - a windfall, Ir. fadhbhaim, I despoil. Skr. vadh,
slay, Eng. wager. Next.

FAODAIL, goods found by chance, a waif, a foundling.

FAOIDH, a-gathering, going the rounds to get food and drink

for sacrodental or personal reasons. “Gentle begging
expeditions.”

FAOL, FAOLCHU, obsolete, EIr. fael, fael-chu, Cy. gweilgi,

the sea; "wild-dog", wolf, a wild thing, a sith. The
travelling-form preferred by the goddess Mhorrigan. See
next two entries.

FAOILLEACH, FAOILLTEACH, last fortnight of winter and the

first fortnight of spring; a period from mid-January to mid-
February. a Gaelic month formerly extending from mid
January to the middle of February. Ir. faoillidh, holidays,
carnival, days formerly devoted to the goddess known as the
Cailleach bheurr, or “Winter Hag.” From faol, wolf, thus
"wolf-month". Currently, February in Scotland, the month
called Brighde, or "Saint Brigit's Month" in Ireland. The
Cailleach's Day was February 2. Also known as the "Bear's
Day", which we call "Groundhog Day" in eastern North
America. Sometimes the first half of this month is called
Am Faoilleach Geamhraidhe and the second, Am Faoilleach
Earraich. In this case, it is presumed that fitfull weather
in the last half prognosticates a fruitful season to follow.
Faoilteachd, the business of extending hospitality.

FARACHAN, death-watch beetle or click-beetle, the

“hammerer.” from fairche, hammer. These “bugs” still live
between the walls of buildings and may be heard ticking
when the temperature is right. They sound exactly like an
old mechanical wall clock and are considered a death omen.

FARAGAS, the most technically involved magic, e.g. the

taghairm of rats (which see).

FARFONAD, a warning, Indo-European vor-svon as seen in the

G. fathunn, news, a rumour, sven, a sound. Or. atboind,
proclaims.

FASGADH, FASGAIDH, a shelter, the cleansing of vermin

through the application of Quarter-Day smoke within an
enclosure, or more simply by “picking.” Fasgnadh, to purge.
Based on G. sgath, a shade.

FAR-AINM, "nick-name." A necessity in lands where it was

believed that knowledge of the birth-name gave one’s
enemies magical advantages if it was known.

FAS IS GNATHA IS TORADH. “Growing indigenous and fruit-

bearing.” On New Year’s morning a branch or twig was
brought into each household for good luck. This bit of nature
had to have life in it, had to be plucked directly from a tree
on the land, and could not be a non-native species. If this
custom was followed it was believed that the fruit trees
would prosper.

FATHACH, giant, monster, genius. This spelling was the

form in the oldest tales, now often seen as athach. Obs.
fathach, prudence, knowledge. fathas, skill, poetry,
prudence. fathbhan, or famhan, a mole hill.

FATH-FIDH, fath, awesome + fideadh, from the root vid,

wit, cf. with the English witch. Note also figheadair, a
weaver. A word that has special reference to the sian, or
charm employed to make persons or things invisible, or to
conjure a magic mist which might hide them. Fathamas,
awe, fear, a warning; fathunn (see next), news, “floating”
information, a hag’s rumour. Also confers with feath, from
the Celtic root vei, the Eng. wind and weather, the two
most important provinces of witchcraft, see next entry

FATHUNN. FATHANN, communications, ordinary and occult,

telepathy; also news, particulary rumour. The root is svenn
or tabhann, sound, similar to the English ban and banshee.

FÈ, wild, inconsistent in fury,OIr. fèth. Root vei, to blow.

Eng. wind, perhaps after the ON Ve, the god of the upper air.
Confers with the English weather and witch, both words
linguistically attached to Woden or Oden. Also fe, an aspen
rod used to measure corpses as a preparation for burial.
Inscribed with ogham it could not be touched by any person
other than the undertaker. Also, the name given one of the
sons of Brigit. Her other son was Femen. Together they
were termed “the oxen of Dil.”

FEA. See last and following entries. The goddess wife of

Nuada. A warrior-woman who confers with the Macha or the
Cailleach Bheurr. From this perhaps the Middle English,
faee, related to the Old French fee, witch-women of the
ancient Gauls, supposedly located on L'Isle des Saints, off
the French coast near Brest. See our companion volume for a
dissertation on the land fairies. Notice that the ending "ry"
diminishes the significance, and power, of this spirit; thus,
the "fairies" are adherents of original "fee." Writing of
these Celtic women Pomponius Mela said they were nine in
number "having singular powers to raise by their charms the
wind and the seas, to turn themselves into what animals
they will, to cure wounds and diseases incurable by others,
to know and predict the future; but this they do only for
navigators who go to their island to consult them." Helen
Creighton noticed a survival of this tribe in the expression
"That was the fairy (belief) of the time." In Lunenburg
County, Poteet was told "fairies painted the water", when
seamen wished to express the idea of a colourful sunrise or
sunset over the ocean. These are the white-women, or
witch-women, described elsewhere. Anne Ross suggests the
heroes, fairies, shape-shifters and pseudo-historical
characters of Irish myth are personages “into which the
Church transformed the gods and goddesses of the pre-
Christian world.”

FEAD, a whistle, hiss, blast, relating vei, wind, MIr. fet, a

flute or whistle, Lat. sibilus, the Eng. sibilant. The chief
means of sympathetically influencing the velocity of the
wind. “Whistling up the wind” was accomplished by
increasing the intensity of sound generated from the human
vocal cords. “Whistling down the wind” required that the
whistler decrease the intensity of sound being produced.

FEADAN MOR, “of Great Extent or Length,” a gully situated

in the western part of Sutherlandshire. It was claimed that
a hogshead of gold was concealed there by Duncan MacRae
after being shipped to the Highlands to aid the Jacobite
cause. Duncan was known to have been endowed with the
two-sights and the ability to make objects invisible. It was
hoped that the gold might prove useful to Charles Stuarts
cause, but Bonnie Charlie never passed that way. It was
claimed that the gold became visible in cycles of nine
years, and in 1845, a century after it was hidden, the gold
was seen by a country-woman as she stood spinning while
watching her cattle. Wishing to set the location she stabbed
her distaff into the ground and went to find her neighbours.
When they returned neither the marker nor the gold could be
located.

FEADELMA. “The Hissing One,” The fay-woman approached

by Queen Mebd when she sought information concerning the
outcome of the Tain war. Although this yellow-haired,
green mantled lady predicted the downfall of Connacht,
Mebd went ahead with battle plans.

FEALL, treachery, false, EIr. fell, Cy. gwall, a defect, Bry.

goall, Cor. gal, evil, Bry. gwall, cf. G. gall, lowlander, a
stranger, the root vel which is also seen in the ON. vel,
deceit, Eng. wile, through combination we have the Goth.
ubils and the Eng. evil.

FEALLA-DHÀ, joking, irony, literally “double-dealing.

Another ability considered a gift of the gods.

FEALLSANACH, the Lat. philosophus, Eng. philosopher. Note

the above and feall, treachery, cheating, deceit, the Eng.
wile and evil.

FÈANNAG, the Hooded Crow (Mhorrigan) and hooded crows

generally, the latter being a particular familiar of the
Gaelic magicians, “He thought on the hoodie, and went into
his hoodie.” cf. fionna, piled, the crow with piled feathers
about the neck (Celtic Monthly, p. 19). In Welsh myth Llyr
is said to have mated with Penardun, the daughter of Doon,
the Gaelic Domnu. Her father was Beli, the Gaelic Bil or
Beul, the god of death, whose holiday is still Beultuinn, or
“Beltane,” the first day of May.

In the Cymric tales, their son Manawyddan (the Irish

Manann) is said to have allied himself with Rhiannon, who is
Mhorrigan in the Erse tales. This makes sense when one
considers that the Gaels said that Mannan was wedded to
Fand. Her name is a version of the Gaelic word feannag.
There is a further association with the word feann, to flay,
relating to the fact that this bird is a scavanger. Mhorrigan
, sometimes Mhorrigu, has a name which translates as,
“born of the sea,” but she defected to the land after mating
with the Dagda.. She afterwards became the sovereign-
goddess-queen of the land-folk, the deity their king had to
annually “marry” in order to hold power. The “rape” of the
“Cauldron of the Deep” parallels this story.

The feannag was a triune deity, often represented as

the bas-find, or befind, the death-maidens, who also appear
in Norse myth as the nornr or valkyra. These three ladies are
known elsewhere as the Fates. Mhorrigan’s favourite bird-
familiar was the black crow or the raven, and it will be
remembered that two of these birds always travelled about
on Odin’s shoulders. It was as a crow, Mhorrigan assisted
the tribe known as the Tuatha daoine at the battle of Mag
Tuireadh, the “Plain of Thundering Tears;” appearing before
their individual enemies as a foretelling of death. At other
times she flew above the fray, cawing to encourage her side
to greater effort. She appeared as a woman to Cuchullain
when he held the pass of Ulster against the southern Irish.
When he rejected her offer of sex she brought about his
death by magic, and in crow form, settled at last on his
shoulders and plucked out his unseeing eyes. She was also
the forerunner to Conaire Mor prior to his death at Da
Derga’s Hostel. The famous whirlpool of Coryveckan, off the
Hebrides of Scotland, was frequently referred to as Coire-
mhorrigan , “Mhorrigan’s kettle,” in the old tales. Since it
is also named Coire-cailleach bheurr, the Winter Hag’s
Kettle, we know that Mhorrigan is synonymous with this
winter huntress of souls.

Peter Ellis gives the befind triune as Macha, Badb and

Nemain, but the more usual listing is Mhorrigan, sometimes
translated as Great Queen; Badb, Mebd or Maeve, the
Carrion Crow; and Macha, The Hag or Cailleach. Nemain is
frequently identified as the wife of Nuada, as is Macha, so
it is probable that they represent local forms of the same
goddess.

FEANNADH, friction, sexual gratification, a lazy-man's bed.

Resembles EIr. fennaim, I skin, cf. English wound. One of the
means of gaining personal power, the flow of spirit being
always towards the more inspirited individual, whether
male or female. This was once considered a means of
gaining power.

FÈAR ANACH, a philosopher, fear, man; anacail, to defend;

feallsanach (see above), philosophy.
FÈAR DREAG, , fear (f-ar), pl. fir, a man; Confers with the
Cymric gwr, super, or above normal, and the Anglo-Saxon
wer. dearg (d-areg), red, a red-man, probably referring
originally to his hair and skin colour. The Anglo-Saxon
deorc, from which the English dark, is similar. "red-man",
"meteor-man". This phenomenon consisted of "a big ball of
light with a tail," usually considered to presage the death of
a relative or friend. When it appeared as a forerunner of
death it materialized before an immediate relative as a
“dead-light” or as a double (doppelganger) of the dying
individual; finally presaging the path of the corpse from the
death-place to the wake-house and on to the site of
cremation or burial. The light which this sith carried was
known in English lore as "the corpse-candle."

"The Hebridean Sir Lachlan (Maclean) was avenged by

his sons in a terrible massacre of the Islay folks lasting
three days. His own death had been presaged by a fiery
comet as befits the doom of princes..." (The Hebridean
Connection, p. 74).

"Among all the things they used to talk about - I heard

about the "fear dreag". It seems it was like stars - as they
say a shooting star - except that it passed very low. They
would see the light going past and it would look as if there
were sparks or a tail of light following in its trail. The
longer it was - the more light there was behind it - that
would be a teacher or that would be a clergyman. It might
be a priest or teaching minister and since the congregation
would follow him to the funeral, that accounted for the
"dreag" of one of them being longer. It would be drawn out
longer in the firmament of the sky than that of a lay person.
I never saw the "dreag" but I heard it being described quite
often." (Tales Until Dawn, p. 210).

"Old MacLean on this day was haymaking, raking near

the door and she seen this ball of light coming. fell right by
the door, right along-side him, and she (his wife) started to
cry. He said,"Don't cry. You may come ahead of me yet."
Fortunately this forewarning was perceived in the early
morning, indicating that death was not imminent. In this
case, the man in question remained for twenty more years
and did outlive his wife. If the "dreag" had appeared close to
dusk he would have been agitated as this indicated his
immediate departure from earth. "The appearance of
mysterious lights was looked upon as a warning of death...A
light seen going very quickly towards the graveyard was
regarded as a sure sign of death. A clear, round light
indicated the death of a man; a light with little rays around
it or sparks after it, that of a woman. If you could see the
house it started from, you would know where the victim
was. A falling meteor brought death to one belonging to the
person who saw it."

The Gaelic "fire-man," the Scottish equivalent of the

Anglo-Saxon dracan, and a cousin of the Atlantic Canadian
"gopher." The "dearg" in fear dreag may have referred to the
red colour of his hair and skin. Probably related to various
northern fire-gods, for example the Norse, Lokki; the Gaelic,
Aod; the Cymric, Hu.

Here is a description of this creature from the last

century: "It came one night, during a storm of wind and
rain, knocking at the door of her father's cabin, a voice like
that of a feeble old man craving admission. On the door's
being opened, there came in a little old man, about two feet
 and a half high, with a red sugar-loaf hat and along scarlet
coat, reaching down nearly to the ground, his hair was long
and grey, and his face yellow and wrinkled. He sat over to
the fire (which the family had quitted in their
apprehension), sat down and dried his clothes and began
smoking a pipe which he found there. The family went to
bed and in the morning he was gone. About a month after he
began to appear regularly at eleven o'clock. The signal
which he gave was a thrusting of his hairy arm through a
hole in the door, which he opened, and the family retired to
bed, leaving him the room to himself. If they did not open
the door, some accident was sure to happen the next day, to
themselves or the cattle. On the whole, however, his visits
brought good luck, and the family prospered, till the
landlord put them out of their farm, and they never saw the
fear dearg more."2

This fellow is reminiscent of Washington Irving's,

"King of the Golden River". In the Kilmarnock woods of New
Brunswick, they still tell tales about Smoky Joe, a little
one-eyed man who wandered in from the forest looking for
work. Men who spoke with him learned that he claimed to
have fought in an English battle under the command of
Oliver Cromwell. While he worked in the camp unfortunate
happenings occurred almost daily: horses halter ropes were
found untied from hitching posts, and these animals
frequently stepped free of harnesses which had been
carefully secured. It was seen that this new workman could
do the labour of four ordinary individuals which would seem
to have made him an asset, on the other hand it was
rumoured that he talked with the crows, ravens and jays,
and he was seen to generate fire by rubbing his fingertips.
When he was in camp, spontaneous fires erupted in remote
lean-to and "accidents" plagued the cook-house and the
cookie. Finally the little man saw a lightning bolt take
down a tree and predicted that would mean the loss of life.
The next day a co-worker struck his leg with an axe and
bled to death before he could get help. After this, the

2Keightley, Thomas,as, World Mythology, p. 369.

 attitude of the workers shifted against the fear dreag and
the men went to the "main john" insisting that he be fired.
The boss of the woods was loathe to part with such a good
worker and refused the request but, sensing hostility, the
fear dreag left by himself. He departed the camp on a snowy
moonlit night but no one saw him leave and in the morning
there were no footprints in the snow.

Some Miramichi woodsmen afterwards saw his "light"

in the forest and a lesser number said they saw him sitting
on a log by a lumber-road, pointing to his empty pipe. No
one dared refuse him a plug of tobacco. The fear dearg was
frequently considered a death omen, and as such, appeared
carrying the "copse-candle", "death-light" or "gopher light".

As the fear dearg could be invisible, those who

observed the phenomena, often termed the “will o' the
wisp,” usually saw nothing more than a sphere of "cold
light". Hugh MacKinnon of Glendyer Mills, Cape Breton, said
that one had come to visit a neighbour he identified as "Old
McLean": "(He was) haymaking on this day and (his wife)
seen this ball of light coming, fell right beside the door,
right alongside of him...He died ahead of her yes. But it was
a forerunner. It dropped right near the man's toe...It's only
light you know... This light would go in the direction of the
graveyard or come from that direction and stop at this
man's house. One ball of light and a bit of a tail on it." 3

Mary L. Fraser has said that, "The appearance of

mysterious lights was looked upon as a warning of death...A
light seen going towards the graveyard was regarded as a
sure sign of death. A clear round light indicated the death
of a man; a light with little rays or sparks after it was
that of a woman. If you could see the house it started from,
you would know where the victim was." 4

3Caplan, Ronald, ed., Down North, p. 30.

4Fraser, Mary L., Folklore Of Nova Scotia, p.50.

 Joe Neil McNeil characterized the fear dearg as
follows: "It seems it was like stars, as they say a shooting
star, except that it passed very low. They would see the
light going past and it would look as if there were sparks or
a tail of light following in its trail. The longer it was, the
more light there was behind it, that would be a teacher or
that would be a clergyman...It would be drawn out longer in
the firmament or the sky than that of a lay person. I never
saw the fear dreag but I have heard it described quite
often."5

Sadie Campbell added that the dearg might drop to the

ground in which case its light expanded to cover a very wide
area, sometimes becoming attached to physical objects:
"It's an eerie light. You know it's not a natural thing. I have
seen one in a house. It was about midnight I guess. It was
in the wintertime. We had a horse and sleight. And this
was a house where after nine o'clock you'd never see a light,
they'd gone to bed. We stopped at the brook to water the
mare. I looked up at the house and just joking to my sister,
I said, "This old lady" - he name was Ann - "she must have a
bridge club or something tonight. The house is all lit up."
The house was lighted upstairs and down...And you couldn't
see anybody moving in the house. Not a shadow in the
windows." Sadie's husband, Malcolm Campbell added that, "A
very short time after that the old lady died and it came a
snowstorm. She had a son away and a daughter and they
waked the body four or five nights -maybe they were a
whole week, waked the body. And that was a very unusual
thing for because it was two nights usually...and there were
lights on every night, all this time. People congregating at
the wake. The house was lighted up every night." 6

Bodb Derg has a counterpart in the "little man" known

as the fear derg (red man), a continuing resident of Gaelic
countries. Folklorist Crofton Crocker heard that he often

5MacNeil, Joe Neil, Tales Until Dawn, p. 210.

6Caplan, Ronald, editor, Down North, pp. 30-31.

 came to remote farmstaeds at the onset of thunderstorms.
When he knocked, residents opened the door on what
appeared to be a feeble bodach, "about two and a half feet
high, with a red sugar-loaf hat and a long scarlet coat,
reaching down nearly to the ground, his hair long and grey,
and his face yellow and wrinkled." Typically this visitor
went straight to the hearthfire where he twisted the
moisture from his clothing, and began smoking a pipe as his
garmentys dried out. Although fearful, the family ended by
going to bed and in the morning found that the little man had
vanished. Unfortunately, the fear derg formed attachments
for particular households, and once seen was likely to
reappear, coming regularly at eleven c'clock. His arrival
was usually uncanny, as he thrust a hairy arm through the
latch-string hole to announce that he wanted admittance.
When it was opened, he went to the fire and the
householders to bed, leaving him with the keep to himself.
"If they did not open the door, some accident was sure to
happen next day to themselves or their cattle. On the
whole, however, his visits brought good luck, and the family
prospered..."7

The red man appeared on the moors as a wandering

light after the fashion of the gopher light or will o' the
wisp, and is mentioned as a death omen among the Gaels of
Cape Breton, Nova Scotia: "It seems that it was like stars -
as they say - a shooting star - except that it passed very
low. They would see the light going past and it would look
as if there were sparks or a tail of light following in its
trail. The longer it was - the more light there was behind it
- that would be a teacher or that would be a clergyman. It
might be a priest or a teaching minister and since the
congregation would follow him to the funeral, that
accounted for the "dreag" of one of them being longer. It
would be drawn out longer in the firmament or the sky than
that of a lay person. I never saw the "dreag" but I heard it

7Croker,quoting Mr. M'Clise, the artist, from Thomas Keightley,

Gnomes Fairies Elves, p. 370.
 being described..."8

Nancy Arrowsmith suspected that the fear dreg were

not true sidh, but those born of unions between the sidh and
humans. They were generally stouter and darker than the
sidh "and some," she said, "have large pot-bellies. They
dress in local peasant costumes of the eighteenth century,
preferring reds and plaids." She noted that they were
mortal but long-lived and were capable of shape-changing. 9

FEARG, wrath, EIr. ferand, OIr. ferc, the root vergo, to swell,
puffed up. From these feargnadh, provocation.

FÈAR GOITAC, the "hungry grass", goirt, sour, salt, bitter;

fear, man. The Daoine sidh were once men, reincarnated by
the sea-giants as earth-gods. As such they expected their
"due", a small portion of food and drink from every repast
eaten out-of-doors. Where this little ritual was omitted,
the under-earth people reacted by creating "hungry grass"
wherever an offense took place. This grass corresponded in
form to our quitch, couch, or crab grass: luxuriant, tall and
deep green in colour. It was also said that this grass grew
wherever human blood was shed, or where an unavenged
murder took place. There is still a patch between two great
stones at Omeath, Ireland, at a place where "no scraps were
left for the gods." It is said that any man who falls within
this grass will not arise alive unless he first eats a “grain
of the soil.” Where there was hungry grass, wise travellers
carried a few grains of the local "corn", since the smallest
portion would relieve the starving hunger that arose among
all men who passed through its "cutting" blades.

FÈARNA, the alder tree, believed to be the spiritual

wellspring of all men. Men were sometimes said to be
spirits released from an alder; women had their genesis in
an elm.

8Joe Neil MacNeil, Tales Until Dawn, translated by John Shaw, p. 210.

9Nancy Arrowsmith, A Field Guide to the Little People, p. 83.

FEARANN TUATHA, “Northern people’s custom,” the so-
called run-rig system of land ownership. By it, pasture land
and lands surrounding a village were held in common,
tenancy and individual ownership being unknown. The arable
land was divided under the supervision of an official called
the maor. See tuath.

FEART, obs. a grave. tomb, miracle, host, OIr. fert, a

tumulus, the root ver, cover, enclose, seen also in fearann,
land. Burial ritual is concerned with and mirrors Otherworld
beliefs. In the Celtic world death was no more than a
progression within reincarnate life. This idea made it
natural that graves should be the focal points for ritual and
the religious games that the Gaels like so well. Tara, in
Meath, and Emain Macha, further north in Ireland, were
prime sites for tribal and festive gatherings. These places
were never the site of human habitation, although it was
said that Daoine sidh lived there. Nevertheless there is
evidence that people were periodically on these grounds at
least from the time of the Bronze Age. The burial mound,
like the well, the cave, and the sea, was regarded as a
jumping-off point for the Otherworld beyond the western
ocean. The great tumulus at New Grange, on the Boyne, was
thought to house deities. It may be that the sidhe, or “side-
hill” of the fay-people originated in burial mounds. Traces
of shrines have been found on the mounds.

FEARTAN, a little miracle. grave, tomb, Feart, to get

attention or notice, Eng, ward.

FEARTHUINN, rain, EIr. ferthain, feraim, I pour, from the

root verao, rain. The Lat. urina, Norse ur, a drizzle, AS. war,
the sea, Skr. vari, water, Eng. urine. The control of weather
was thought to rest, ultimately, with the bafinne.

FEAR ULOH, “man-wolf,” a werewolf, a “man-brute.” Fear

corresponds with the Eng. were, from AS. wer, a man + uloh,
literally “you brute!” from the Norse ulfr, a wolf. also
similar to mere, and the Latin merus, a body of water,
particularly a lake; and also, moor. Perhaps from the Gaelic
mor, wide or great and their word muir, the ocean. Similar
to the Norse mooer, famous or powerful. See mhorga, who
was frequently described as the "wolf-queen."

FEATH DUBH,” black breeze.” A “dead breeze.” A deal calm in

the paralance of hill-folk.

FEATH GEAL. A “white” breeze.” Again a dead calm but in

the tongue of shore-dwellers. See next.

FEATHNAN CUN FIONN. Euphemism for a hurricane. The state

of calmness.

FEDELMA. A female soothsayer of the Tuatha daoine who

prophesied that Mebd’s efforts to take the Brown Bull by
invading Ulster would fail. She was described as a yellow-
haired maiden dressed entirely in green and is thus the
Samh.

FE FIADA, fe, calm, from the word ve, to blow. Relates vei,
wind, and to the Norse god Ve, said to have control of the
winds. Fiadh, deer; the deer wind, also known as the ceo-
druidechta (druid’s fog). The magic mist which the Tuatha
daoine employed when they invaded Ireland. A device
retained by them to hide their Atlantic islands and their
entrances to the Otherworld after they became the Daoine
sidh.

FÉILE, obs. charm, incantation, an antiquated word no longer

in use. EIr. éle, héle, fhéle, the ON., heill, an auspice or
omen, after their goddess Hel, controller of the Underworld
and ruler of Scotland, sometimes entitled Hellrland. The
English words: hell, heel, heil, hale, helm, helmet, heller,
holy, holly. etc. etc. allied to OIr. cél, to con-ceal and the
Eng. cell. The Gaelic ceòl, music, particularly wails of grief.
From the idea of concealment the modern féileadh, a kilt.
Eng. veil, literally, “he might clothe us.” The word is allied
with fàilte. Cf. Germ. heulen, to howl. Eng. Celt and kilt.
FÉILL, a fair, feast; vigil, market, fair, holiday, banquet, Ir.
feil, festival, holiday, OIr. feil, Eng. vigil, wake. festival
market, e.g. Feill-Brighhde, Feill-Micheil. An offshoot of
Quarter Days rites and activities. The Celtic words are
believed borrowed from Latin vigilia, a watch. Note
alnachas, burial customs.

FÉILL BRIGHDE, Once known as Imbolc, February first is still

remembered at St. Bride's Day in Scotland. Those who
remember her attachments to pagan rites may prefer
Candlemas. In either event, it is the beginning day of
Gearran, the month of complaints. The obselecent English
verb "imboak" relates to the Gaelic "imbolc", and these are
confluent with the Italian ""imboscarsi", to retire into the
woods. These words relate to "ambush", which indicated
"concealed, as in bushes or trees."

The Brigantes were a continental tribe, who came to

Ireland and hence Scotland, by way of England. Driven from
this last location by the Romans, they re-established
themselves in County Covan and near Tara. They claimed
that their matriarchal-goddess was Brigit, Brigid, or Bride.
People bearing the names Bird, Burden, Burdon, Bryden,
Brydon, Brydie, or Bryde came claim some relationship to
this clan. The Gaelic word brigh indicates something which
is the true essence or meaning. The Anglo-Saxons also had
a related word, bridd, the young of an animal. I

n the old tales, it was claimed that the goddess was

born with a corona, or wil o' the wisp, encircling her head, a
certain proclamation of her divinity. Her people took
lighted flames from this ambience and with it established a
perpetual fire near Tara and elsewhere in Ireland. These
flames were guarded by a house of virgins, who specialized
in metal crafts and medicine. The legend laps over into
history because Dunlaing MacEnda, King of Leinster broke
into one of these retreats and put the ladies to the sword.
For this, the High King decreed the death of MacEdna and
extracted the Tara Tribute from succeeding kings.
 Bridd's kind preceded the Christian monks to the
Scottish village of Abernathy, where they converted the
Picts, who came to regard her shrine as the most sacred in
the country. The Columbian monks centred their earliest
attempt at conversion against this "notorious" pagan place,
building the round tower of Abernathy, which they dedicated
to "Saint" Brigit. The fires here were extinguished, but in
parts of Ireland virgin nuns replaced the tenders and they
were not damped for several more centuries.

The Pictish kings favoured the name Bruide, as a male

manifestation of this goddess, who was considered the
patroness of conjugal love, poetry, hearth, home, fields and
crops. In the Highlands, the revival of vegetation in spring
was, until recently, celebrated on the Bride's Day, the first
of January. In the Hebrides (obviously named for the Bridd),
the people in each home used to dress a sheaf of oats in
woman's clothing and place it in a basket with a wooden
staff or club on the nearby floor. This they explained was
the "Briid's bed". at dusk, the residents assembled on the
door-stoop and called out three times: "Briid is come; Briid
is welcome!" In the morning, they would inspect the ashes
on the hearth to see if they had been disturbed during the
night by Briid's club. If so they expected a good crop and a
prosperous growing season, but the contrary was taken as a
bad omen.

The marriage of the spirit of vegetation was implied

in certain May Day celebrations where a human
representative was named the May Queen or Bride. Thus in
villages of the north at Whitsuntide, boys carrying a May-
tree, led by a one dressed in ferns, vines and flowers,
paraded about. At the same time, a similar group of girls
accompanied a white-gowned May Bride from door-to-door,
singing songs and asking for small gifts as an offering to
the spirit of fertility. In parts of Germany, the girls asked
for eggs, which are a symbol of procreation. References to
Saint Bride or Saint Brigit are threadbare attempts to
disguise the nature of this very old goddess of agriculture.
FEILLEACHADH. The keeping of holidays. In pagan times there
were severe penalties for non-attendance. Feillachd,
festivity.

FÉINN, g. FÉINNE, FEINNTAIDH, the Fingalians (white

strangers) of southern Ireland. EIr. fian, a hero; root vein,
to strive (against adversity). Lat. vénari, to hunt; Skr.
vénati, to go. Perhaps from the Norse fjandi, an enemy, the
Eng. fiend. Some have supposed that these Irish troopers
were so feared they were compared with the Norsemen. A
band of warriors raised to guard the High King of Ireland
especially against intruding Norsemen. Gathered in 300 B.C.
by Fiachadh ard-righ, they consisted of cern, or back-
country rustics in twenty-five battalions. they became an
elite band, mostly members of Clan Bascna and Clan Morna.
Fionn mac Cumhail was their most noted leader, and their
adventures comprise the Fenian Cycle. During the
nineteenth century this name was revived for members of
the Irish Republican Brotherhood, and Fiann Fáil (shin fain)
is still used to identify Irishmen who see themselves as
politically motivated Robin Hood-like characters.

FÉISD, FÉIS, FÉUSD, obs. Convocation, synod, sexual

intercourse; now: feast, formerly a preliminary to Quarter
Day fire-festivals. Some of the gatherings were principally
banquets, the great feasts of the past being Féis Temrach
(Tara), Féis Cruachan (Croghan, in Connacht) and Féis Emna
(that at Emain Macha). The gatherings at Tailltenn, Tlachtga
and Uisneach were more in the nature of aenachean, or fairs.
The word is neither cognate with the Latin festus nor the
English festival .

FÉISDREAG, comedienne, an actor, feis + dreag, feast + red.

This art was considered god-given.

FÉIS GOIBNIU. feast against aging, gob + nios, morsel + from

the weasel, up from below. The Tuatha daoine, as part of
their contract with Manann mac Ler, received from him the
"Pigs of the Sea", a source of inexhaustible nutrition, as
well as proof against aging. Seasonal feasts were other held
at the burial place of supposed deities. Thus Carman came
to southern Ireland with three violent sons. She brought
blight on the land through witchcraft but they were filled
with rapine and plunder. It is said that the Tuatha daoine
sang lampoons about these boys and with their superior
witchcraft forced them to retreat back across the sea. When
Dian, Dubh and Dothur retreated their mother was seized as
a hostage against their possible return. After she died of
loneliness and grief the ever-wise Tuathans gave her own
oenach, or “rites,” along with a fair which was held at her
burial place. See muc.

FÉIS POCA, BOCA, Puck Feast, Puck Fair, more fully referred
to as "The Puck Fair and Pattern." Annually at Killorglin on
the river Luane which arises from the lakes of Killarney,
Ireland. "There can be no doubt that the Puck Fair was
originally associated with the Festival of Lugnasad (named
after the sun god Lugh), one of the four great festivals of
ancient Ireland. The Lugnasad was sometimes said to
coincide with the taking of the first fruits of harvest.
Similar fairs continue at Mullinavat in Kilkenny where a
goat is enshrined. At the Cappawhite Fair in Tipperary a
whitewashed horse takes the place of this animal. This
celebration is keyed to the old Gregorian calendar, and thus
commences about the time of the Lugnasad (Old Style). It
lasts, three days, August 10 being termed "Gathering Day;"
August 11, "Puck Fair Day" (the Lugnasad proper) and August
12, "Scattering Day." Throughout West Munster all native
men and women consider it mandatory to "go home for Puck."
For many, the ancient pattern makes this more routine and
necessary than going home for Christmas. On the evening of
the first day a procession gathers at the bridge end of town
and a large "boca", a male goat (enclosed in a large cage and
all bedecked with ribbons and rosettes), is born into the
village to a three-story platform in the town square. Here
the animal is "enthroned" for the next two days, presiding
over a great cattle and horse show which is superintended
by the hereditary "Baron of the Puck.” The title is more
than an honour, for with it goes the right to collect a toll on
every animal sold. For three days the King Puck and King
Carnival reign, and for three days all shops are open
twenty-four hours a day. On the second day all commercial
transactions take place. On the last day, sometimes
referred to as "Children's Day" gaily dressed children
working at defrocking the Puck. He is paraded three times
round the town and back at the bridge is released into the
wild, his reign ending for another year. See A Treasury of
Irish Folklore, p. 406 for guesses as to why these actions
are taken. All are incorrect, the Puck and the "king" clearly
represent the incarnate sun-god Lugh. In former times, one
or the other (or both) would have been burned to return the
spirit of the god to the soil, for the benefit of plants,
animals and men.

FÉISSI, obsolete, literally, the “she-feast,” a sow. The EIr.

feiss, related to the Latin festia and the Engish feast. The
male “boar” is cleitech. Having reference to the sea-born
daughters of Ler (or Manann mac Ler), “the pigs of the sea,”
who were periodically eaten but became reincarnate by the
next dawn. See saigh, a bitch, sod and Mhorrigan. See above
entries. See muc.

FÉISTEARRAS. baseness, blackguard, villainy, féis +

tearuinn, feast + escape from. Those unwilling or unable to
participate in the pagan feasts and allied rites. These
individuals were sometimes ostracized but could be put to
death.

FELIM, FEDILIMID. The father of Deirdre of the Sorrows. A

bard to Conchobhar mac Nessa, he was entertaining for him
when news of her birth arrived. Cathbad the druid cast her
horoscope and prophesied: “This infant shall be the fairest
among women and will wed a king but because of her death
and ruin will fall upon all Ulster.”

FENIUS FARSA. The king of Scythia whose son Niull went to

Egypt and married Scota, a daughter of the Pharaoh. Their
son was Goidel, the”father” of the Gaels.

FEORN. things of opposing qualities, as: hot and cold; large

and small; hard and soft etc, similar to feoirne, a board-
game resembling chess (see fidchell). The “ying” and “yang”
of Gaelic philosophy.

FERADACH FECHTNACH. FERADACH FURBAIDE, “Fortunate

Horned One,” a hero described as having two horns growing
from “his fair staunch head.” In a second reference it is
seen that he had a helmet made to accommodate them,
“having two projections of silver and one of gold.” Perhaps
he developed a third horn as he aged? Actual horned
individuals are recorded from our own time and this
actuality is the basis for the idea of horned gods. Whether
this, or the reverse, men and women who were horned were
regarded as having magical attributes and connections with
deities. A high-king of Ireland whose sons, Tuathal and
Fiacha followed the old tradition of dividing Ireland into a
northern and southern half.

FERAMORC or FIR MORC. The “People of Land Liable to

Flood.” The kingdom of Gaul (France & Belgium). Having
particular reference to the people living in the lowland
portions of these countries.

FER CHERDNE. The bard of Cú Roi who, seeking vengeance for

his lord’s death, seized Blathnat and carried her over a
cliff to their mutual death. See Cú Roi.

FER COILLE. The “Man of the Wood.” A monstrous black man

with a single eye, one hand and one foot whose mate was a
similar loathsome woman. He predicted the demise of king
Conaire Mor at Da Dearga’s Hostel. In Gaelic, tree-names
often appear incorporated as family names suggesting the
former cult importance of trees. Thus we have the hero
named mac Cuill, the “son of the Hazel. There is also mac
Cuilinn, the “son of the Holly,” and mac Ibhar, the “son of
the Yew.” In the Finn legend we note the related “Man in the
Tree,” an Otherword being who is clearly an incarnate god.
See famhair.

FER DOIRICH. The Dark Druid who turned Bobd Dearg’s

daughter into a fawn. In this form Sadb met Finn mac
Cumhail whose love enabled her to temporarily overcome
this disability.

FER FERDIAD, the Tuathan druid to Manann mac Ler.

Disguised as a woman he abducted the beautiful Tungee to
Manann’s realm. Leaving her magically enthralled and
unconscious on a beach, while he went to search out a boat,
she was drowned. Finding her less than diverting as a
corpse, Manann slew the magician.

FER FOGNAMADH, a servant man. Also called fer for ban

thincur, a man under the power of a woman.” One possessing
less wealth than his mate. Thus “King” Ailill was
completely under the will of Queen Mebd because of her
superior standing in this and other respects.

FER GRUACH, The druid to Meagragh of the Green Spears and

his wife Aille the Fair. When Meagragh was slain by Osgar,
one of the Fianne, Aille had this magician drug and abduct
Fionn mac Cumhail, the leader of this tribe. The Féinn
pursued Fer Gruach and Aille, but were entrapped by magic,
until Conan tricked him into lifting the spell. Osgar killed
the druid and the lady committed suicide.

FERGHAS MAC ERC. A brother to the Irish high-king Murtagh

(512 - 533 A.D.) He asked his brother to loan him the
magical stone Lia Fail for his coronation as king of Dal
Riada. After the ceremony he failed to return it from
Scotland.

FERGHAS MAC LEIDE. Ferghas mac Leda is often represented

as a king of Ulster, but as he was a contemporary of
Conchobar ard-righ and it is necessary to assume that he
was a princeling, after the manner of Cúchullain. He fought
with the forces of Ulster and survived all the troubles with
the south. While he lived a race known as the Fiolan, the
“Earwigs” or “Maggots,” dwelt in the far west led by a king
known as Lubdan (pronounced youb-dan). This is an obvious
compound of Lugh with Donn .
 The king’s bard, a man named Eisirt, had heard of a
huge race of men living in the east in a land called Ulster,
each of these giants able to annihilate a whole battalion of
the little people. Thinking his own kingdom the centre of
all power, Lubdan reacted by clapping the poor poet into
prison while he rethought his concept of the lands overseas.
The little fellow was a solid scientist and demanded to be
allowed to travel to Ulster so that he could bring back
artifacts which would prove his point. The king allowed
this, and it was thus that Ferghas found a little man at his
gates, a persona able to be borne on the hand of the dwarf of
the court. Notwithstanding his size, Eisirt proved a strong
source of entertainment at court, being both wise and witty.

Eventually, the bard was allowed to return to the

west, taking with him Æda , the court dwarf, who seemed a
Fomorian giant in the eyes of Lubdan. Convinced that a race
of giants existed in Ireland, Lubdan and his wide Bubo
travelled there to see the sights in that strange place. Thus
it was that Lubdan’s white steeds bore their chariots to the
gates of the rath of Ferghas. Here, the couple were so
amazed by the proportion of things that they decided to go
no further than the king’s kitchen, where they might find a
bit of porridge before returning home. There Lubdan found
he could only reach the rim of the porridge bowls set out for
breakfast, by standing on his steed’s back. In the act of
eating he became overbalanced and slid into the oatmeal,
and was found there by the scullions.

Taken to Ferghas , the pair were well treated but he

refused all appeals to let them return to the west. The
nubile Bubo (Boann?), who is obviously a type of the Mebd
engaged in several spirited but difficult assignations with
the giants, while her husband was diverted in telling the
gilles how to do their work. At last, a host of wee folk came
to Ulster seeking the release of their king. When Ferghas
refused, he soon found that the Daoine sidh were not
without power: Soon the country was plagued by dry cows,
defiled wells, and aborted pregnancies and blighted by crops
that shrivelled without cause. But the king was obdurate
and tried to ignore the dei terreni or “earth-gods.”

At last Ferghas agreed to return the tiny monarchs if

they would ransom themselves with some valuable from the
Otherworld. Thus, Lubdan suggested some objects for
consideration: the cauldron which was always filled with
food and drink, the harp that played without hands upon it,
and water shoes, which allowed people to walk upon or
under the water. Fergus was most impressed by this last
object and agreed to take it in exchange for the release This
was not the end of the matter, for it is never easy for men
to outwit the sithe. With the “water-fins,” Ferghas never
tired of exploring the undersea lakes and rivers of Ulster.
However, one day, in Lake Rury, he encountered the muirdris,
a spine-covered sea-monster, from which he barely saved
himself by flying to the shore. From terror (or from
poisonous contact) his mouth became twisted awry. As no
monarch could hold power with a blemish, the members of
the court put away all mirrors to keep his condition from
him. One day he unjustly struck a servant and the girl cried
out: “It would be better for you to avenge yourself against
the fish that has so twisted your mouth than do brave deeds
against women.” Ferghas demanded to see a mirror and soon
saw what she meant. Ferghas now put on the magic shoes
and went seeking the muirdris or “sea-bramble,” (a huge
sculpin?) The Ulstermen who stood watching on the shore
saw the loch boil and redden with undersea action, and
eventually the king rose with the monster’s head in his hand
and his sword in the other. The blemish was gone, but tired
from the effort he sank back into the water and drowned.

FERGHAS LETHDERG, “Redside.” A Nemedian leader who

escaped the sea “victory” which forced his folk to abandon
Ireland.

FERGHAS MAC NEMED. The slayer of the Fomorian giant

Conan, the latter having a redoubt located on Tory Island.

FERGHAS MAC ROTH. A one-time king of Ulster he loved

Nessa, the widow of his half brother, but she would only
marry him if he surrendered his kingship to her son
Conchobar mac Nessa for one year. Conchobar was so
popular that the people supported him when mac Roth tried
to reclaim his kingship. Notwithstanding, Ferghas served
the new king as ambassador to Scotland, going there to
extend a pardon to Deirdre and Naoise. Conchobar had all of
that party murdered forcing Ferghas to lead dissidents
against the young king. With his supporters he wasted Emain
Macha and was forced into exile where he took refuge with
Aileel and Mebd of Connacht. For sixteen years the three
thousand exiled Ulstermen made certain “that the weeping
and trembling never ceased in the north.” It was said that
the Táin wars were first described in Ogham by Ferghas, but
became lost to the Gaels when the wands of writing were
taken by a druid to Italy. Ferghas was eventually killed by
the jealous Aileel when he was found bathing in a lake with
Mebd.

FERDIAD (fer-dee-ah) MAC DAMAN, a Firbolg and the closet

friend of Cuchulainn when he trained in Scotland as a
warrior. In the Tain war he fought for the south and sought
to avoid direct contact with the northern hero. In the end
Queen Mebd goaded and bribed him into single combat which
he lost after five days of fighting. Cúchulllain suffered so
grievously from this encounter he was left for dead, but he
recovered to renew hostilities.

FERGNA. One of the three sons of Partholon.

FER IUBHAR, FER HI, the “Man of the Yew,” the son of
Eoghbail (the death-god Bil) fostered to Manann mac Ler. He
probably confers with Fergus mac Roi or mac Roth of the
Deirdre story, who was said to possess a pilotless ocean-
going ship (Manann’s ship of the dead). The name is
interesting in linking the EIr. ibar, a yew with i, she. This is
the Irish í or sí, conferring with the Cy and Bry. hi, the
Germ. sie, they. See iubhar.

FERONN, FERON, the seal-man. Confers with Finntann, one of

three Irish survivors of the World Flood. In some of the
tales this gentleman survived as a fish, elsewhere he is
noted as having spent the time in a “flood-barrel.”

FEUN, a wagon, a wain, hollow of the hand, OIr. fen, Cy.

cywain, a vehicle, from vegh, to carry. Lat. veho, vehiculum,
Skr. vahati, to carry. The constellations of stars were often
spoken of as “wagons in the sky.” Those about the north star
were considered to be the wagon of the creator-god. The
bodies of wealthy chieftains were sometimes laid out,
unburnt, on four-wheeled wagons made of oak, which were
then covered with rocks and earth. These burial mounds
were often considered appropriate places for making
contact with the Otherworld.

FEUR-GOIRTAC or FÈAR GOIRTAC, hungry, sore, sour, bitter,

rough grass, EIr. goirt, bitter, rough. Our quitch or couch
grass, of unusual dark green colour and intense lushness. It
was said that one needed to carry food to cross safely over
the "hungry grass." This grass grew where blood had fallen
upon the earth or where men had failed to leave a remnant
of food for the earth-gods or Daoine sidh. If a person
slipped in this grass it was said that he could not rise
without eating. See note under alternate spelling.

FEUSD-TEINE, “Feast of the Fires.” Also feusda, feisd, feis

from EIr. feiss, cf. Latin festa and the English festival. OIr.
tene, Cy & Br. tan, from which the proper name Tanner.
Celtic root tep, hot. Eng. tan, all from the Gaelic goddess
Anu or Danu.

FIACAILL NA’ FIOS, the “Tooth of Knowledge.” Prophets

often consulted their muse by touching a tooth. See
Cúchullain.

FIACHA MAC FIRBA. A warrior for Connacht in the Táin

wars. Nevertheless, when he saw Ulster warrior Cúchullain
opposed by the Calatin magicians he cut off their heads and
rescued this enemy champion. In later myth he kept the
sword which gave strength and battle fury when it was held
against the forehead, and this he gave to Finn mac Cumhail.

FIACHA FINAILCHES. “It was by this king that earth was

first dug for the wells of Ireland.”

FIACHADH, FIACHADH, FIACHNA, FIACHRA, FIANN. The Irish

high-king of Ireland, who organized the Féinn as a personal
bodyguard about the year 300 B.C.

FIACHAIL MAC CONCHINN. A champion of the Féinn, who

visited the Paps (Breasts) of Anu on Samhain eve. When he
saw two sidhe opening he bolted in spite of the fact that he
carried twelve lead balls as talesmen against the Daoine
sidh.

FIACHNA FIONN. The one-time king of Dal Riada, Scotland.

Hard pressed while fighting in Lochlann (Norway) he was
offered help by a huge warrior (afterwards identified as
Manann mac Ler) who agreed to help him for bed privileges
with his wife Fiachna. Fionn accepted the deal and she bore
Mongán, who Manann fostered in the Land of Wonder.

FIACHNA MAC DARI. He fished a “water-worm” from a river

in Cuailgne and this was swallowed by one of his father’s
cows, which thus impregnated gave birth to the Brown Bull
of Cuailgne. This worm was the reincarnation of Donn, a
swineherd to the Tuathan Boabd Derg.

FIACHRA. A son of Ler, who with a brother and sister, was

turned into a swan by a malevolent step-mother.

FIAM, awe, reverence,fear, obs. ugly, horrible, EIr. fiam,

horrible. Cf. EIr. feth, aspect, having the look of.

FIANN, the mythic Fingalians, or “White Strangers.” See

Feinn which is more often used, although this word is the
true nominative case. Fiannach, the month of August, heroic,
gigantic, like a Fingalian, also a thin slender fellow.
fianntachan, a Fingalian dwarf.
FIANCHUIBHE. anglicized as Finorchy. A sunken island in the
Atlantic from which the sons of Tuireann recovered a magic
spit for Lugh. It will have been noticed that the objects
that the Tureens sought were former possessions of Lugh.
Some of these magical objects had been lost to Fomorian
enemies in the heat of battle, so the sun-god was naturally
anxious for their return. In six years the three brothers had
obtained five of the required six objects needed to complete
their imrama. Because of his ability at farsight, Lugh knew
what had been accomplished by the Tureens, and wishing to
have the treasures so that he could keep the Fomorians in
their places of exile, he threw a spell upon the these men,
so that they forgot the remaining requirement of their quest
and returned to Ireland. There Lugh took from them the
apples, the spear, the pigskin, the horses and the swine,
and smiled wryly as the warriors boasted of their exploits.
Having had his moment Lugh reminded them that the spit
from Fianchuibhe was not in evidence. The unhappy men
were therefore required to turn their ships westward one
more time, the undersea kingdom of the “white out-beings,”
of mhorgu, those “born of the sea.” This appears to be the
first mention of the “land of women” in Gaelic mythology.
To get there Brian had to obtain and put on the colleen
druith, or “water helmet,” which the sea-maidens used to
pass from the world of men to their own island beneath the
sea. As Brian was not unattractive he was only a short
while persuading the thrice fifty maidens who guarded the
mythic “cooking-spit of the deep” that they should pass it
into his hands.

FICH, nasty, an interjection in speech, obs., a country

village, Eng. fie, ON. fy, Germ. pfui. There is also G. fuich,
fuidh, rotteness.

FIDEAN, a green islet or spit uncovered at high tide, where

men were sometimes staked down prior to death by
drowning. ON. fit, the webbed foot of a waterfowl,
meadowlands on the banks of firths or rivers, Eng. fit and
fid, a pointed peg for staking things.
FIDHAICH, wild, awful, terrible. See next.

FIDCHELL, FIDCHEALL, an ancient board game said played

among the gods in order to maintain order in a chaotic
universe. See entries below. The Irish form is usually
called Brandubh, which, see. This game remembers the fact
that the chief totem of the Fomors was a black bird
sometimes identified as the European hooded crow or the
raven. Interestingly, the people of Dagda and Danu also used
this symbol because of their deep blood ties with the sea
folk. When the Cauldron of the Deep was purloined to the
land, the work of the Befind tended to be routed through the
sun-god Lugh and his offspring, who frequently played at the
game of the gods, in order to see that a balance was
maintained between the Middleworld and the Underworld.

Odin’s gods had a similar magical preoccupation in

the game they called Nnefatafl. The brandubh, or “black
raven,” was played upon a grid of seven squares to the side,
and had a fid or peg placed in a hole at dead centre to
represent the raven-leader. Surrounding squares were
filled with smaller pegs meant to represent defenders of
the “navel of all things.” The raven seems to represent the
Cauldron of the Deep, for game boards which have been
recovered, often feature a head feet and hands at the four
sides, indicating that the board itself is the slain giant, so
well known to Indo-European cosmology. The god who
expired, his blood becoming the oceans of the world, is of
course the creator-god, or Allfather as embodied in his
first gigantic creation, the sea-world known as An Domhain.
In later days the “gods” suggested that the deity who died
was some lesser giant. In Norse tales his name was given
as Ymir, in the Celtic realms as Don, but this was all
creative propoganda.

In some of the tales it was clearly the stated that the

magical object taken from the depths of the sea was not a
cauldron, nor a belly-button, but a talking head, or some
other object representing masculine powers of
regeneration. Whatever this object was, it served as the
talisman of the west, protecting it against invasion. In the
fifteenth century an Arab writer noted that a Genoese
mariner named Kolombo (Christopher Columbus) had just
returned from the far lands bearing this talisman
westward, thus opening the western Atlantic to
development (?).

FIDEAN, a bog, a marsh, a fen, a green islet or spit

uncovered at high tide. Meadow land on the bank of firths or
rivers.

FIDHLEIR. fiddler, borrowed directly from English. Fid, a peg

for tying hostages to the earth; Leir or Ler, the supreme
ocean-god, cf. fiodhull, a fiddle from Low Latin vitula,
whence the Eng. viola. Also, fidchell, the board-game of the
gods, which they played in attempts to regulate chaos on
earth. Thus, the musical instrument known as the fiddle
was said to be the instrument favoured by English devils, in
particular, the Devil. The Anglo-Saxons had much the same
outlook on the rural bag-pipes of the Scottish countryside.
Both instruments were implicated in the left-hand dances
of pagan times and in the rituals of witchcraft.

FIGHEADAIR, a spider, a weaver, a maker of quarter-day

garlands, a plaiter, a twister, a knitter, figh, to weave, EIR.
fighim, Cy. gweu, Br. gwea, MBr. gweaff, Germ. wickeln, to
roll, wind or curl, wieche. our English word wick. AS. wicca,
wicce, witch. "Usually referred to the root word vei, ve, the
wind. Cf. the ON elemental god Ve. See fath, fid, fe, fead,
filidh.

FIGOL MAC MAMOS. The Tuathan druid who created charms

that reduced the Fomorian warriors strength so that they
could be beaten in battle. “I will cause three showers of
fire to fall upon them. I will take away two-thirds of their
bravery and strength and give them illness instead. As for
our men, every breath they breathe will increase the
strength and bravery within them, and if they have to battle
seven years they will never be tired.”
FILBHEAS. apparition, shade, a ghost of the dead, OIr. fili +
beag, seer + little. All ghosts were thought capable of
rendering foresight and hindsight and were consulted by
necromancers.

FILIDH, FILE, a poet, OIr. fili, a seer, Cy gwelet, to see, Br.

guelet, sight, ON. vulva, valva, valkyra, seeress, prophetess,
sibyl. The old Germanic goddess Veleda. These men
belonged to the bardic orders of the druids. In the ancient
social order the "filid" held a rank near that of the king. At
the eating-table he sat nearest royalty and was entitled to
the "king's haunch" of meat. In sacredness of person, he
ranked above the ard-righ; kings and princes were often
assassinated but the life of a poet was not often taken.

An exception was the poet who confronted Cúchullain

demanding he surrender his potent gae-bulgae. At first the
hero refused, but finally let him "have" the weapon directly
between the eyes. The dying poet cursed Cúchullain and the
Ulsterman’s history was downhill from that point. On the
other hand, Fachta Finn, chief poet at Ulster long before the
Christian era, learned that Ulster chieftains plotted against
their kings and deliberately seated the latter between poets
at the crucial banquet. The assassins had to stay their
plans in case the poets might be accidentally harmed. When
Cuain O'Lochain, chief poet of all the land of Erin, was killed
in 1024 it is said that his murderers soon revealed
themselves, "for about them there clung an evil scent of the
grave." It was explained that "God manifestly wrought a
poet's power upon the parties who killed him, and when they
were found they were put to a cruel death." See fath, fe,
fead, fid, filidh, fidhler, figheadair.

FINDBHAIR of the Fair Eyebrows. The daughter of Ailill and

Mebd, who fell in love with Fraoch and helped him kill a
muirdris or water demon. She was offered to the warrior
Ferdiad when he balked at entering single combat against
his Ulster friend Cuchullain.

FINÉ, a tribe, kindred, clan, nation; Old Norse vinr, a friend;

AS. wine; Latin Venus; English venerate. From the Irish root
ven, love. A term applied to almost any subdivision of
Gaelic society from the tuath, through the clann to the
individual family.

FINÉ-AGHAIDH, the “Tribe of Old Men.” When the Celtic

Gaels came to Ireland they left nothing to the Tuatha
daoine except the hollow hills where space and time had
little dominion. When Boabd Dearg, the “Red Crow,” was
elected their leader, his candidacy was opposed by Ler or
Lir nan Finaghy. Ler’s original kingdom was An Domahin,
and renaming it Fine-aghaidh, the “tribe or kindred of the
aged faces,” suggests its decline in influence after the sea-
people were defeated by the Tuathans and the Milesians.
Having lost his bid to control the Daoine sidh, Ler quietly
retired from politics, leaving dominion of the seas in the
hands of his son Manann mac Ler. For his part, Ler would
give neither fealty nor tribute to the new chief of the
Daoine sidh, and this attitude was also that of his son. Ler
was an immortal, but he married Aobh, sometimes given as
Aebh, the eldest daughter of Ailell of Aran, a foster-child
of the despised Boabd Dearg. She had two pairs of twins by
him, but died giving birth to the last set, On the death of
this princess of the Tuathans, Boabd Dearg and his old rival
were somewhat reconciled, when the former suggested that
Ler take his second daughter Aoife in marriage.

FINIAS, FINEAS, FINIAS, from fionn, white. One of the four

mythic islands where the Tuatha daoine studied magic
before they invaded Ireland. The magic spear of Lugh was
purloined from this place.

FINEGAS. “Fair but strong,” obs. The druid-teacher of Finn

mac Cumhail. He caught and hoped to eat the Salmon of
Knowledge in order to obtain the wisdom of the ages. His
pupil, Fionn, after boiling the fish burnt his thumb on the
animal and inadvertently stuck the injured member in his
mouth, thus acquiring the knowledge intended for his
master.
FINNBEARA, FIONNBHARR. the “White Bear," a king of the
Daoine sidh at home in Connaught under Cnoc Meata
(Knockmara). It was noted that good crops were to be had
when Finnbeara was seen in the fields, but they failed when
he was absent. He had seventeen sons and took part in the
famous uprooting of the palace of Midir. He and his wife
Oona became known in the latter days as the king and queen
of all the “fairies” in Ireland.

FINNBEARA, 2. Originally named Loan, the illegitimate son

of a metalworker and a woman of noble birth. In his youth he
used magic to rid an Irish town of its resident dragon. His
monastery attracted a large following in Cork, and his
reputation as a healer was very wide. It was said that
Finnebar could cause hazel nuts to ripen on the branch by
merely looking at them. When the Pope expressed his wish
to come to Ireland to anoint Finnebar as a bishop, the saint
refused explaining that Heaven would make the
arrangements, and indeed it was claimed that the rite was
preformed by angels. During the ceremony it is rumoured
that Christ appeared in person, taking Finnebar by the right
hand, which afterward emitted a ray of healing light. While
crossing the English Channel he encountered Saint Brendan,
heading westward toward America. At his death it was
claimed that the sun remained visible in the sky without
setting for two weeks.

FINN-SGEUL, romance, fiction, untrue tale.

FINN-TANN. FINN-TUNN,. It is said that Bith, Finntan and

Ladra built an idol in the form of a standing stone. This
structure spoke to them warning them that the Near Eastern
land of their birth would be submerged by a deluge and
strongly suggested that they construct a ship and sail away
if they hoped to escape their fate. They all fled to Ireland,
but the flood-waters followed and all butFinntann were
drowned. A cautious man, he secretly constructed and
provisioned a tul-tunna or “flood-barrel” which he anchored
at the crest of the Irish mountain which still bears that
name. When he saw the waters closing about him this
“gentleman” quietly stole away from his wife and...

For a year, while the waters encumber

The Earth, at Tul-tunna of strength,
I slept, none enjoyed such sweet slumber
As that which I woke from at length.

In an alternate myth Finntann shape-changed himself into a

salmon and so remained until the skies cleared. However he
managed, duplicity had its rewards, and Finntann, the
grandson of Nodha, having escaped his fate, lived afterward,
as a virtual immortal, at Dun Tulcha,, in southwestern
Kerry. He lived for a very long time, once commenting that
he had passed one day through the woods of west Munster
and brought home the red berry from a yew tree. He planted
it and saw it grow to a size which allowed “a hundred
champions to recline beneath its foilage.” When it died he
had seven huge vats made from its wood. When the hoops of
the vats decayed from old age he made other objects from
the wood, until all was finally reduced to a single wooden
cup. At that, he outlived the cup which fell into dust while
he continued in ruddy good health. Thousands of years later
Fintann was called to court by Diarmuid mac Carroll to
solve a question of the limits of the Royal propoerties.
When he travelled he brought with him nine companies of
direct descendants, and nine additional companies of his
close kin. Incidentally the name Finn-tann translates as
“the slender white one,” and this may be decriptive of his
condition on emerging from his long sleep at sea.

FINNE, a maiden from fionn, white, fair, pale, sincere, true,

certain, small, fine, pleasant, pale, wane, somewhat cold,
resplendent, bright, prudent, a known entity. But note: milk
(which is white), cow, a cataract in the eye (also white), a
sow. See next entry.

FIODH, wood, OIr. fid, Cy. guid, gwydden (sing.), Cor. guiden,
Bry. gwezenn, a tree, Gaul. vidu, Eng. wood, AS. widu, falling
back on their god Woden or Odin. Thus we have fiodhcheall,
the “game of the gods.” Thus also the EIr. fidchell, which is
a combination of fiodh with ciall, and is sometimes
interpreted as “wood-sense.” From this same word fiodan, a
wooden cheese vat. The veneration of trees and groves in
Gaelic pagan Britain is well-known. The link between trees
and deities in without question, the largest specimens being
considered their incarnations. Celtic toreutic tradition
shows heads adorning metalwork, and these frequently are
seen wearing woodsy-crowns, or are seen emerging from a
background of foilage. We also know that many Celtic idols
were carved from wood, and it has been guessed that “an
actual anthropomorphic representation of the deities was
attempted.” Place-names derived from the word bile,
“tree,” make it evident that trees were important to these
folk. Furthermore, certain trees were sacred, individually
and sometimes as an entire species, viz. the oak.

Although almost all remaining Celtic art is inscribed

or cut from stone, or cast in metal, we know that they made
extensive use of wood. Much of Britain is now stripped of
forests but three thousand years ago, when the Milesians
invaded Ireland, the land was entirely forested. The trees
were designated by law as chieftain, common or brambles,
the first being protected for their superior usefulness.
"Chieftain" trees included the oak, yew, ash, pine, holly,
apple and hazel. The oak was a superior building material
whose acorns fed pigs, possessing a bark which was used to
tan leather. The hazel also yielded nuts and had flexible
branches useful in making the frameworks of the half-
spherical boats and houses of the sons of Mil. Yew was
considered for manufacturing kitchen containers and fine
furniture. From the ash came shafts for spears, while pine
went into barrels and casks. Holly was almost iron-hard,
yielding shafts for chariots. The apple yielded fruit in
addition to tanning chemicals. In the "common" catergory
were the alder, willow and hawthorn and the shrubs: "the
blackthorn, elder and arbutus. The "brambles" were the
furze, bog myrtle, broom and gooseberry.

The legendary home of Queen Maeve, the Rath

Cruachain may have been beneath a "hollow-hill" but "the
house was composed of beautifully carved red yew"
arranged in seven concentric compartments, all faced with
bronze from foundation to roof-line. The outermost wall
was of pine, "with a covering of oak shingles,"and beyond
this stood thirteen foot walls of dry masonry, beyond which
were five concentric ramparts. See next.

FIODHULL, a fiddle, EIr. fidil, said descendant from Lat.

vitula whence the Eng. viola, viol and violin. By implication
an instrument of the father-god.

FIOMHALACH, a giant from fiamh, fear, awe, reverence, ugly,

horrible. Confers with fiam, horrible. The Famhaire, Eng.
Fomorians.

FIONGHAL. The legal term denoting the killing of a kinsman

or relative. It supposedly derives from the misfortunes of
Fionghal Ronan, and elderly Irish king who married a young
wife. She preferred his son, but he was non-compliant. As a
result she accused him of rape and he was put to death by
his father. Ultimately, Fionghal discovered the truth and
died of grief.

FIONGIN MAC LUCHTRA. A king of Munster who took advice

from a prophetess who he consulted each Samhain.

FIONN, white, OIr. find, Cy. gwyn, thus the names Fionn and
Gwyn corresponds. Bry. gwenn from which Gwenn, Gaul.
vindo, from Celtic root vid, the G. fios, foresight,
knowledge, Lat. video, I see. A variant is the Gaelic word
fion, which relates directly with the Latin vinum, the
English wine and the Old Norse win or vin, “white or clear
wine.” The Gaelic heroes were often named Fionn in
consideration of their war with the fer dubh or “black
men.” In Welsh myth we have Gwyn ap Nudd who had annual
battles with Gwythur ap Greidawl for physical possession
of Creudylad the summer goddess and there is a parallel
between this and Lugh’s annual search and rescue of the
Mhorrigan or Samh by May-day of each year. Lugh was, of
course, the sun-god and thus a god of “whiteness.” His
enemy was Cromm dubh, “Black Crom.” See Tir na Fionn,
Fionn mac Cumhail. Note also ban, “white (woman).”

FIONNACH, ach, an expression of disgust. An aged “maiden.”

hairy, rough, shaggy, old antique.

FIONNAR, the “finger-cooler,” a nickname given Fionn mac

Cumhail after he inadvertently touched the Salmon of
Wisdom and cooled the burnt finger in his mouth. This act of
sympathetic magic gave him supernatural wisdom. See
entries above and below.

FIONNBHENACH. The White-Horned Bull of Connaught, part of

the herd of Queen Mebd. This creature was the reincarnate
swineherd of Oichill Ochne, the arch-rival of the swineherd
to Boabd Derg. This bull considered himself misplaced in the
herd of a woman and had himself transferred to that of her
“husband” Ailill, thus setting the stage for the Tain war
against Ulster. This bull was eventually slain by his rival
Donn.

FIONNDRUINNE, obsolete designation for white bronze, EIr.

findruine, fionn (b) ruine, the latter conferring with the Eng.
bronze.
FIONNGHALL, “tribe of strangers.” A well known district in
Ireland settled by the Danes of Dublin. They resettled
Galloway, Scotland in 1014 and were well known for being
fair-haired blue-eyed and having “wunnerf’ feet for size.”
As opposed to the Duibhgall who hailed from Norway.

FIONNLA, Fionnlagh, Finlay, MG. Finlay or gen. Finlaec,

sometimes Fonnlaoich or Finlaeg, ON. Finnleikr, from
fionn+laoch, fair+hero. A rendering of the earlier Finnlug,
relating to the god Lugh. From these Finlayson, Mackinlay
and the G. M’Fhionnlaigh. See Lugh and Fionn.

FIONNLADH MAC IAIN ‘IC DHUIBH-SHITH, “Finlay, Son of Ian,

Son of the Black Fairy.” A largely human individual allied
with a fay-sweetheart. On Beinn Phi he heard fairy music.

FIONN MAC CUMHAIL, the “Fair One.” Anglicized as Finn Mac

Cool. the southern equivalent of Cúchullain. His father was
Cumhail of Clann Bascna, the first leader of the royal
bodyguard to the high-king Conchobar mac Nessa. This
organization entitled the Feinn was put together some seven
hundred years after the defeat of the Tuathans on the orders
of Fiachach ard-righ. They consisted of twenty-five
battalions of men, and constituted a military élite, mainly
drawn from back-country cernach of Clann Bascna and Clann
Morna.

A man named Cumhail was their first leader but their

most prominent hero was Fionn mac Cumhail , his son. The
king’s manadate said that this army was raised, “To uphold
justice, and put down injustice, particularly that instigated
by the lords and princes of the realm, and to guard harbours
from foreign invasion.” These men were soldier in time of
war and police in times of peace. They prevented and halted
robberies, exacted fines and tributes, and put down public
enemies all over Ireland. This ability was due to the fact
that they were wood’s runners rather than cavalrymen,
living upon the land from between Beltain and Samhain,
camped in the open, living on the produce of the chase.
During the long winter they bivouacked at the expense of the
people. Notwithstanding, Fionn was a wealthy prince in his
own right with a residence upon the Hill of Allen (Alma) in
Kildare.

The Fiann recruited at the times of the annual fairs

and had extremely high physical standards for admission to
their ranks. Fionn. like most Irish heroes had the blood of
the Daoine sidh in his veins. His mother Murna was the
grand-daughter of the “god” named Nuada who was
identified with the mortal named Cian Contje. It will be
remembered that he impregnated Ethlinn the daughter of
Balor, giving rise to the sun-god named Lugh. She had later
married Cumhail mac Trenmor, the head of clann Bascna,
who became Fionn’s father. Unfortunately Murna’s father
was the leader of the rival clann Morna and did not approve
of the union. Cumhail was pursued and killed by members
of clann Morna, and the wrathful grandfather would have
eliminated his new grandson except that he was hidden with
two “woods-women.”

As a youth, mac Cumhail, who was then named Demna,

killed Lia, lord of Luchra, and recovered the magical
treasure bag which had once been the chief possession of
the Fiann. This bag was made from the skin of the air-
daemoness known as Aoife, who had been caught and killed
in crane-form. The “treasures” in question were all from
the western sea-realm, and included the knife and shirt of
Manann mac Ler. These objects had the property of
becoming visible at full tide and disappearing at the ebb.
With this in hand, mac Cumhail sought out his uncle
Crimmal who now held leadership of the Fiann. As Demna
was not old enough to become a warrior-hunter, he was
fostered to Finegas, a druid who dwelt near the Boyne where
he had spent years attempting to catch the mythic Salmon
of Knowledge whose name was Finntann.

As mentioned elsewhere the apprentice-druid burnt

his finger while cooking the salmon for his master, and
accidently acquired the wisdom of the ages. Afterwards he
was nicknamed the fionnar, or the “finger cooler,” a name
contracted as Fionn. Having defended the high king’s palace
against an invading demon in a Beowulf-like episode, he was
made head of the Fiann by Cormac mac Art. thus by-passing
Goll of Clann Morna one of his traditional enemies.

Although this private army was supposed to uphold the

power of the ard righ, the oath of fealty of members was to
their chief rather than to that more distant power. While
mac Cumhail always supported his patron, he was less fond
of his successor Cairbre Lifeachar and joined Breasil, king
of Leinster in resisting the old Boru tribute. One reason for
this revolt was Caibre’s open support for Clann Morna a
Connaught off-shoot of the Feinn led by Aedh the Comely. He
had many loves during a long career, but was most devoted
to Grainne, who eloped with one of his warriors, a man
named Diarmuid. Fionn overcame Donn, “King of the World.”
but was killed while trying to suppress an uprising among
his own men. Some say that Fionn did not die but sleeps in a
cavern awaiting a second coming in some future time of
need. He is thus seen to be the ancient prototype of the
slumbering King Arthur.

FIONN MAC OISIN, born of Fionn mac Cumhail’s son Oisin

when he tarried with Niamh in the Otherworld.

FIONN-SGUEL, a romance, one of the chief classes of tale.

FIONNTUNNA, Finntann, fionn + tunna, wine cask. One of

the settlers of Ireland who sailed with Bith from the
Mediterranean in an attempt to outrun the World-Flood.
Finntann was not caught off guard by the great inundation of
the British Isles. A cautious man, he secretly constructed
and provisioned a tul-tunna or “flood-barrel” which he
anchored at the crest of the Irish mountain which still
bears that name. When he saw the waters closing about him
this “gentleman” quietly stole away from his “wife” the
Lady Cassir and...

For a year, while the waters encumber

 The Earth, at Tul-tunna of strength,
I slept, none enjoyed such sweet slumber
As that which I woke from at length.

In an alternate myth, Finntann shape-changed himself

into s salmon and so remained beneath the waters until the
skies cleared. However he managed, duplicity had its
rewards, and Finntann, the grandson of Nodha or Nuada
(frequently given as Noah) having escaped his fate, lived
afterward, as a virtual immortal, at Dun Tulcha,, in
southwestern Kerry. He existed in the flesh for a very long
time, once commenting that he had passed one day through
the woods of west Munster and brought home the red berry
from a yew tree. He planted it and saw it grow to a size
which allowed “a hundred champions to recline beneath its
foliage.” When it died he had seven huge vats made from its
wood. When the hoops of the vats decayed from old age he
made other objects from the wood, until all was finally
reduced to a single wooden cup. At that, he outlived the cup
which fell into dust while he continued in ruddy good health.

Thousands of years later Fintann was called to court

by Diarmuid mac Carroll to solve a question of the limits of
the Royal properties. When he travelled he brought with him
nine companies of direct descendants, and nine additional
companies of his close kin. Incidentally the name Finn-tann
translates as “the slender white one,” and this may be
decriptive of his condition on emerging from his long sleep
at sea. There is a similar tale in Welsh mythology connected
with the river Dee: "The Dee springs from two fountains
high up in Merionethshire, called Dwy Fawr and Dwy Fach,
the great and little Dwy (Huy), whose waters pass through
the Lake of Bala, without ever mingling, and both come out
at its northern extremity. These fountains had their names
from Dwy Fawr and Dwy Fach, who escaped from the Deluge
when all the rest of the human race were drowned..." (Wild
Wales, pp. 28-29)

FIONNTUNNA. An eighth century Irishman who led a strict

order of monks. They subsisted on bread and muddy water,
and that taken only after sunset. A gifted prophet,
Fionntunna was surrounded in prayer by a light so bright it
once struck a fellow cleric blind. Neighbouring monks were
intimidated by Fionntunna’s austerities and tried to
convince him to lift his restrictions. At first he refused
until he cured a deaf mute, and the first words from this
man were a request fora lifting of this regime. Afterwards
he accommodated these “weaker vessels,” while continuing
on his own conservative way. The heads of buried Celtic
warriors used to be buried near Fionntunna’s tomb in the
belief that the proximity of the saint would hasten their
salvation.

FION UANN, foaming wine, cf. anguis, a snake, aoneagan,

wallowing. Said to consist of fifteen ingredients, the recipe
being long lost to men. Somewhat like champagne, a holy-
day drink meant to inspire poetry and sexual activity “for
the good of the land.”

FIODH, wood, OIr. fid, Cy. guid, Cor. guiden, Br. gwezenn,
tree, Gaul. vidu, Eng. wood, AS. wudu, OHG, witu, all
conferring with witch and Woden or Odin. Hence
fiofhcheall,, the Ir. fidchell, literally "having wood sense."
See fath, fe, fid, fead, filidh, fidhleir etc.

FIODHAGACH, the bird cherry, whose wood was never used

for building, fiodh + aghach, wood + warlike. It was believed
that those who lived within a structure made of this wood
would invariably quarrel.

FIOLAGRAS, sophistry, a formal argument intended to

deceive.

FIOLLAIRT, alliteration; a means of memorizing the Gaelic

ranns of blight and blessing. The druids believed that it
was bad luck to commit these expressions to permanent
form on paper or wood. In addition, the bardic system
prevented these "old saws" from becoming general
knowledge.
FIOMHALACH, a giant, from fiom, horrible, inspiring fear,
awe and reverence A Fomorian.

FIONN, white, fair, pale, sincere, true, small, pleasant, fine,

pale, lilac, resplendent, bright, known, prudent; also, to fly
or skin, to strip away the surfae, to find secrets, chief,
hewad, milk, cataract in the eye, sow, pretty female, obs.
cow; fionnachdainn, experience, knowledge. Investigation.

FIONN-BHRUINNE, fine brass.The divine race of mortal

deities arose from the Tuatha daoine, who were skilled
magicians but possessed brass and bronze weapons where
the Milesian invaders carried iron. When they were finally
defeated in battle at Taillte, the newcomers shrewdly
deeded them all lands beneath the earth and beyond the
horizon. History suggests that many of them fled to the
largest island of Britannia (Great Britain), while others
took residence among the "giants" on the mythic island of
Tyr-na-N'Og, the Land of Youth, somewhere in the western
Atlantic (possibly America). Celtic myths suggest that the
rest "vanished" into the very real souterrains of Ireland and
Scotland. The occasional reappearance of these cave-
dwellers may have led to stories of the "sidh", or side-hill
people, who were censored for their riotous life-style, but
feared because of their god-like magic.

FIONN FAOILIDH NA SGOILE DUIBHE, a phrase: "the secret

teachings of the school of black arts," occultism. See dubh,
dub luidneach and the like.

FIOSAICHE, a fortune-teller, sooth-sayer, augur, diviner,

sorcerer; fiosachd, sorcery. augury. foretelling, diviniation,
fortune-telling.

FIOS FITHICH, foresight of the raven, foresight generally.

The raven was said to sense the presence of carrion even
before it was available as food. Fios, knowledge, root word
vid, to know. Lat. video, to see. Fios was one of the three
druids travelling with Partholon’s entourage. See bran.
FIR ALBAINN, the Gaelic appellation for the “men of Alba,”
this being at first construed as the new Gaelic kindom in
Dal Riada. Aedan mac Gabrain was thus noted as ri Albainn,
the “king of Alba.” His kingdom was considered distint from
Cruithentuath, the “british folk.” who occupied “Pictland”
the eastern side of Scotland north of the Firth of Forth.
Later this designation was that of the larger Gaelkic
kingdom centered at Scone. Adamnan writes that the Scots
were separated from the Picts by montis dorsi Britannici,
which the Gaels used to call Druim Albainn. In the fourth
century it si noted of Niall noi-ggallach that “many shall be
his deeds upon Druim nAlpuind, which is exactly the same
word. The headwaters of the Tay are still known as
Braghaid Albainn, rendered into English as Breadalbane. One
of my ancestors transferred this place name to the bankdsof
the Maguaguadavic River in Charlotte County, New
Brunswick. An assocuiated Scottish river is Locha Albainn.
These Gaels extended their control into Sutherlandshire in
the far north where we have Allt an Albannaich, the “Burn
of the Albans.” The people who render this, and many
similar names, obviously considered themselvres distinct
from this Scottish race, and all date from a time when Alba
was thought of as being south of the Spey. It was only in
Caesar’s time that the larger island was termed in Latin
“Britannicus,” some form of the above names being common
in earlier times.

FIRBOLG, fir + bolg, plural of fear, thus men, from root ver,
supermen + of the goddess Bolg (the Belgae, see separate
entry). Some translate bolg as bag, thus travelling men,
wanderers. Some have suggested they were miners who
carried the dross off in bags. The first "humans" to
successfully colonize Ierna, later termed Hibernia or
Ireland.

The Firbolgs and roving Firgallions

Came next like the waves in their flow;
The Firdonnans arrived in battalions
And landed in Erris - Mayo.
As noted the Firbolg or Vir-bolc. were the first of these
related peoples. They came ashore about 400 years after the
Nemedians; the Firdonnans were next after them and the
Firgallions, or Gauls, the third tribe of invaders. The form
Ver-bolc is the older designation, but the Gaels had trouble
sounding that first letter and it became an “f” rather than a
“v.” It is guessed that the first part of the word confers
with the Sankrist vira and the English word virulent, The
Welsh equivalent appears to be ver , “super.” having unusual
strength. The last part of the name seems to arise from bó,
a “cow,” added to leagh, “leaky or dripping.” Taken as a
whole: the “super-abundant cow,” and indeed these folk
should be identified as the fir, or “people” of Bolg, the cow-
goddess. Most wordsmiths miss this connection, identifying
them as the “people of the bag.”

We do not know what type of ship the earlier races used to

reach Eiru but the Firbolgs are known to have travelled in
coracles, hide-covered sailing ships. The Roman writer
Nennnius says that the people of the Bolg came from
“Spain” which makes us suspect another rationalization of
the Celtic word for the Kingdom of the Dead. It is very
certain that this new race was at least acquainted with
westerners for their king Eochy (pronounced yeo-hee) mac
Erc is recorded as having married Taltiu or Telta, a daughter
of “the Great King from the Great Plain (of the Ocean).” In
the later tales this lady is sometimes connected with the
great sea-lord Manann mac Ler, a son of the god Ler who is
generally equated with Domh (in Wales he was identified as
Manawyddan, the son of Dön ). Telta had a palace at Teltiu,
and after her death a great annual festival was held there,
an assembly that persisted into medieval times.

Gerald S. Hawkins interprets "bolg" as "bag" and explains

that these people created fertile fields through the labour-
intensive practise of carrying sub-soil to their land in
leather bags: "They made clovery plains of the rough-headed
hills with clay from elsewhere." These "people of the bags"
found the work tedious and their masters, "the well-greaved
Acheans", increasingly demanding. In the end, they grew
"tired, weary and despondent", and threw off their
"intolerable bondage." Creating "fair vessels of the skins of
animals" they quit the Mediterranean for the lands of
northwestern Europe.

Hartley Alexander, a one-time professor of philsophy

at the University of Nebraska, has identified these Firbolg
races as "a dark population of short stature, believed to
have Iberian (Spanish) affinities. He equated them with the
Silures, another pre-Celtic people who occupied southern
Wales. His translation of Firbolg was "people of the
goddess Bolg".The Irish historian Catherine Scherman
considers them to have been "an offshoot ofd the
continental tribe known as the Belgae." This is tenuous
since the Belgae were first recorded in Caesar's time as
"residents of northern France and Belgium." The Firbolgs, on
the other hand, were in position in Ireland before the arrival
of the Celts in 1,000 B.C.

The argument that they were people of Bolg is more

likely, this goddess having given her name to the waterway
known as the River Boyne in Ireland. "Boyne" is a
combination word, the latest spelling variation in a long
line of phoenetic interpretations of local dialects. The
Gaelic "bo" indicates cow, while the obsolete "ann"
corresponds with both the Cymric "tan" and the Gaelic
"teine" (fire). Bolg, or Boann, was in fact a fire-goddess
corresponding closely with the Teutonic god Donar, or Thor,
master of the north wind, lightning and thunder. It is also
noteworthy that the prosperity of the Firbolgs ultimately
depended herding cattle, explaining their choice of deity.
This fact also explains the erection of their capital on the
eastern side of the Island, at a place later called Tara, the
site of the best pastures in Ireland. The Scottish clans
bearing the Gaelic prefix "mhac" (son of) or "mhic" (sons of),
or "O'" (grandsons of) frequently claim descent from the
Firbolgs, although this ancestory is far from certain.
We have seen it said that the Firbolgs cleared the forests of
Breg ,divided the country into five principalities, raised
 their chief city on the site of Tara and managed to ward off
the troublesome Fomors for thirty-seven years. Katherine
Scherman insists that the Fir Bolg were “an offshoot of a
Continental tribe, the Belgae,” but we see no evidence of
this aside from a loose coincidence of names. They actually
show a greater affinity with the Firdonnan who worshipped
the goddess Boann or Boyne. These latter were also a cow-
herding folk, who settled near Tara to exploit the best
grassland in Ireland.

Scherman says they held their own against the

Fomorian sea-giants because of "their war like aristocracy".
They brought other novelties to the Island; a system of
monarchy and bronze weapons. This last marked the end of
the stone-age. "They did not disappear from the story like
those that had gone before, but left descendants. Patrician
as they were in their time the remnants of this race was
enslaved by Irelands last pre-Christian conquerors." 10 With
the Firbolgs there were kings in Ireland for the first time.

Scherman has identified the Firbolg tribes with the

Picts, who were displaced from Ireland to northern
Scotland. The Scottish historian MacNeill also feels the
Picts were in Ireland ahead of the Gaels and inhabited
portions of Scotland at the same time. On the other hand,
Seumas MacManus thinks that the Picts arrived well after
the Firbolg settlement, landing in the southwest where they
assisted Gaelic tribesmen in driving off a tribe of
marauding Britons. Afterwards they had quarrels with
Crimthann, the chief of that quarter of the land, and he
arranged their resettlement in Alba (Scotland).

Rolleston says they “play no great role in Irish

mythical history, and a certain character of servility and
inferiority appears attached to them.” Nevertheless, the
Firbolgs did not disappear from history as earlier settlers
had done, nor did they survive as a remnant race, but left
numerous descendants still identifiable in their habit of

10 Katherine Scherman, Ibid, p. 255.

prefixing their names with the words mhic, “sons,” or
mhac, “son,” or with the designation ogha, “grandchild”.
The gene pool of the “mics” and “macs” of Scotland and
Ireland and the maps of Wales continues to flourish as do
the O’Neills, O’Banions, O’Briens and host of similarly
designated men and women.

They were forced to contend with supernatural sea-

giants and the warrior-wizards known as the Tuatha daoine.
Sensing their innate inferiority (the Tuathans had bronze
weapons), they were able to put off the final battle for one
hundred and five days. The Firbolge had overwhelming
numbers, but in the negotiations gave away this advantage,
agreeing to fight man-on-man. At that the Tuathans won a
pyrrhic victory and willingly settled Connaught Province
upon the Firbolgs. When the Milesians defeated the Tuatha
daoine, they did not distinguish between them and the
Firbolgs, who were all given the option of banishment or
retiring beneath "the hollow-hills." At that, the Firbolgs
made a notable return to Ireland during the reign of
Crimmthann. They had been resident in the islands of Alba
(Scotland) but were pressured by the mainland Picts. A
colony of them, led by four sons of their high-king Umor,
sought asylum in Ulster. There they had quarrels with King
Conor mac Nessa, the husband of the amazonian "goddess"
Mebd. At night they fled westward out of the land they had
been granted in Meath and crossed the River Shannon into
their old homeland of Connaught, which (to some extent)
was still inhabited by their kindred. Soon after Mebd parted
from her husband and teamed up with King Ailill, a southern
prince, to rule Connaught. The champion named Ferdiad was
one of this tribe, and he and his friend Cúchullain had gone
surety to the high-king of Ulster for the good behaviour of
the Firbolgs. This race of men marched with Mebd against
the north and Cúchullain single-handedly opposed them with
his magic and battle skills, killing great numbers of the
Umorians. The only survivor was Aonghas, who after the
war, settled his people on the Isle of Aran; there they built
the redoubt still seen and known as Dun Aonghas. See Fir
domnann.
FIR BHREIGH, seen translated as “false men,” actually
fir+brigh, men of pith or power. The circle of standing
stones better known as Callanesg or Callanish (from callan,
to cry out). Located on the Isle of Lewis there name
suggests the legend that they were giants turned to stone
for their failure to embrace Christianity. Another legend
claims that Lugh walks among these stones at sunrise on
Midsummer Day , and at this time it was once thought
appropriate for men and women to come to the stones and
exchange marriage vows. It was also local tradition to visit
the stones at the Beltane. It has been noticed that the
layout of these stones makes them useful in observing lunar
cycles with the moon appearing “within the stones” once
every eighteen and a half years, an event which will next
occur in 2008 A.D.

FIR-CHLIS, dancing people, the northern lights. In Celtic

France they were known as the “Dancing Goats.”

FIR DOMNANN. FIRDONNANS, based on Ecelt. Dubnos, dumnos,

deep, world, as in Dumno-rix, “World-king.” G. domhan, Cy.
dwfu, deep, the deep, world. The Domnnu, the goodess of the
“deep.” Tuatha daoine, the people of Domnu.” Daoine, sidh,
the “side-hill diggers.” “To Ruairaige and Genann with there
people was this name applied. And it was at Inber Domnann
that they took harbour (Malahide Bay, north of Dublin). With
them travelled the Fir bolg, the “bag men” for it was they
that were carrying the earth in bags.”

The folk migrated to the counties of Ayr, Renfrew,

Lanark and Stirlingshire, Scotland. There, they were allied
with the Caledonians on the north and with the Novantae on
their south. In Ireland they were located In Connaught and
gave their name to the peninsula Irrus Domnann, now called
Erris. In the records it is noted that this name was once
applied to the folk of Leinster. It was said that they were
descended from Semion who was of the race of Nemed. They
were therefore of pre-Gaelic stock. Some learned Irishmen
have allied them with the Britons.
 It is worth noting that Cuchullain’s first name was
Setanta which derived from Semion. This suggests he was
of British origin. Remember that Cuchullain was unwilling
to fight the Damnonian named Ferdiad. In explanation he
said: “Thou art my own race, my own kin.” In the “Leabhar
Gabhala” we are further informed that the other
descendants of Nemed included “the Clan Roderick and those
known as the Britons of the Clyde.” Confers with ECelt.
dubnos, deep. Tradition has it that these people were
originally miners. The word confers with the Gaelic
domhain, deep, a hole in the ground, a ravine, and it is
claimed that these folk gained their name because they
were always “digging in the earth.”

It has been guessed that they came to Ireland from

Devon, England and later some of them migrated to
Domanonia in Brittany during medieval times. It is thought
to be more than coincidental that the Scottish tract known
as Damnonii was extremely rich in iron. The name may have
come from the goddess Domnu, who had charge of the great
ocean. She has her counterpart in the land-dwelling Danu.
Since her people were the Daoine sidh, or “side-hill”
dwellers, this mining connection is reinforced.

FIREANN, manniken, dwarf. Ean, obs., water. A “water-man.”

Allied with the next.

FIREUN, fir + eun, man-bird, the eagle. The man-bird, the

totem of the sun-
god Lugh. The eagle was certainly a sacred and magical bird
and the Welsh god Lleu often took the form of an eagle. The
cries and character of flight of this bird was considered
omen-bearing. Considering the powerful aspects of this bird
it has a small place in the vernacular traditions of the
Gaels. Finntann, “The Ancient White One,” is noted as one
who spent part of his reincarnate cycle in eagle-form.

The Welsh god Lleu is known to correspond with Lugh

so it is informative to note that when his wife killed him
Lleu “flew up in the form of an eagle and gave a horrid
scream, and after that was seen no more.” Some time after
Lleu flew away, the magician Gwydion tracked him down,
found him in an ancient oak, and restored him to human
form.

The continental god named Lugus is pictured on the

Lyon silver cup as an eagle and Lleu is once described as “a
being perched in the topmost branches of the magic tree.”
As we know the god Odin frequently took his place at the
apex of the world tree called Yggdrasil, which is, literally
“Odin’s horse.” Odin supplanted the god named Lokki who is
the counterpart of the Gaelic Lugh. In later mythology it is
claimed that King Arthur’s burial place on Snowdon was
guarded by a pair of chained eagles. There is also a current
legend that sixty oracular eagles gather yearly at Loch
Lomond and may be consulted for their views of future
events. In the Irish tradition the eagle is almost as antique
as the owl.

FIRIASE, fir + iase, man-fish, the salmon. Literally, the

man-fish, another totem of the sun-god Lugh. See Fionn mac
Cumhail. Like the owl, the salmon was considered an animal
of unusual sagacity. The salmon was at once sacred and
divine. Anne Ross notes that representations of this fish are
of special interest and she associates it with the Brythonic
god Nodons who is akin to the Gaelic Nuada.. This fish is
associated with sacred wells and it is usually considered
that their wisdom has its source in the Otherworld. Finn
traditionally obtained his great wisdom after he sucked a
thumb burned on the flesh of the salmon of Linn Feic, which
he had been cooking. This animal was the totem of certain
Gaelic chieftains, and the first act of an enemy was often
the destruction of a neighbour’s salmon-pool.

FIRID, FIRIDEACH, prediction after divination, fior + each,

truth, root var, cf. English beware, ward. Before a noun the
spelling is fir + each, horse.

FIRGEAS, intricate spell-casting for the purpose of

divination. fir + geas, truth + taboo, spell, charm.

FITHEACH, (fee-ach), a raven, OIr. fiach. A common familiar

of the shape-changing Fomors and their adherents including
latter day boabhe, magicians and witches. The expression
tha fios fithich agud, (possessing) “the knowledge of
ravens” was often applied to children who appeared
knowledgeable with no apparent means of gaining such
information. Ravens and crows were consulted as
soothsayers out of time. Notice that Odin had a two-part
soul that travelled as ravens and these brought him his
memory and knowledge of the worlds. “Nest at Candlemas,
egg at Inid, bird at Pash. If that hath not the Raven, death he
hath.”

FITHEACH DUBH, the black raven "the means by which a

message from the measureless (see Bafinn) was to be
fulfilled." Just before Iain Mor was drowned he was
informed that he would die by his befind, who appeared to
him first in the form of a woman and then by "a black raven
on his house." (The Hebridean Connection, p. 51). A weregild
or banshee. See Mhorrigan, the penultimate “raven.”

FLACAILL-GLIOCAS, "tooth of wisdom." Some of the druidic

magicians consulted their wisdom teeth, touching them to
prognosticate the future.

FLATH, a chief, prince, Eng. Valid; flaitheanas, the place

where the nobles stay, “the happy hunting-ground,”
currently “heaven.” Flatheanas, The Place of the Nobles,
Heaven. It was believed that these folk lived here in
corporeal form.

FLEADH AISE, the feast of age; the annual festival of the

Tuatha daoine, which took place at each of their palaces in
rotation. At this rite the “little people” consumed food and
drink which was proof against aging.

FLEADH NA MARBH, the feast for the dead. “Samhain, the

month that heralds the rule of darkness, no other festival in
the old Celtic year fires the imagination in the supernatural
mysteries of life and death. Like all Celtic festivals, it was
celebrated on three levels. On the material level it was the
time of
stock-taking on supplies for the winter ahead, bringing
people and cattle in from the hills and glens to their winter
quarters and re-tying the social bonds of kinship. This level
of the festival was practical and necessary but even so it
conformed to the religious philosophy, that all were part of
the great clan spirit that was invoked at this time of year.

To be alone and missing at this dangerous time was to

expose your spirit to the perils of the chaotic Otherworld.
In present times the importance of this part of the festival
has diminished for most people living in this country, but
you should try to see this from the stand- point of a tribal
people for whom a bad season meant facing a long winter of
famine in which many would not survive to the spring.

On the second level this was a very inner time for the
people. As a warrior race Death was never very far away,
yet to die was not the tragedy it is in modern times. What
was of great importance to these people was to die with
honour and to live in the memory of the clan and be honoured
at the great feast Fleadh nan Mairbh (Feast of the Dead)
which took place on Samhain Eve.

This was the most magical time of the year; it was

the day which did not exist. During this night the great
shield of Skathach was lowered, allowing the barriers
between the worlds to fade and the forces of chaos to
invade our realms of order.

At this time the Spirits of the Dead and those yet to

be born of the Clan walked freely amongst the living. Food
and entertainment were provided in their honour. In this
way the Clan was at one with its past, present and future.
This level of the festival was never totally subdued by
Christianityand survives today as Hallowe'en. It has been
adopted by most as the sum and
total of Samhain.

Finally, on the third level of Cosmic event, the rising

of Pleiades, the winter stars, heralds the supremacy of
night over day, the dark half ruled by the realms of the
moon...” (S. McSkimming Dalriada Magazine, 1992).

FLEAGSGAIGH EALADHNA, wand-bearer, bachelor, an

itinerant medicine man. Fleasg, wand, a rod, a garland, the
last sheaf, Eng. wold. From the Celtic is derived the Fr.
fleche, arrow, hence the Eng. name Fletcher, an arrow-
maker. In Gaelic the word is Fleisdear.

FLIDIAS, the wife of Adammair . Next to the Cailleach

bheurr she had the best claim to the title “goddess of
venery and wild things.” She was the owner of supernatural
cattle and the mistress of stags. In other places she was
the wife of Fergus, whom is more often associated with
Mebd. It is said that she was carried behind a chariot drawn
by deer. A female Cernu.

FLÓ, hallucination, ifatuation, stupefaction, related to flod,

floating (mentally).

FOCHLACH, obs., the lowest cast among the poets and

philosophers. Fochaid, a mocker, a minor satirist.

FOCHMART, “Questioner.” One of the three druids of

Partholan; the others being Eolas, “Wisdom,” and Fios.
“Knowledge.”

FODLA, FODHA, FODHLA, FOTLA, (fola), “a sunken rock,”

fodh, obs. Knowledge, skillfulness; one of the three mythic
Tuathan queens of Ireland who offered support to the
invading Milesians providing they would rename the
countryside in their honour. The name was also in use in
Scotland as Åth (New) Fhótla, anglicized as Atholl.

FO-DUINE, “under-man,” fo, below, at the foot of, obs. Good,

King, sovereign, easy, quiet, powerful, decent, honourable.
Now: dwarf, servant, ploughman, farmer.

FOGHAR, harvest, Ir. foghmhar, EIr. fogamur, originally the

last month of autumn, derived from fo + gamur, “under the
winter,” presaging winter, cf. Cy. cynauaf, harvest. Foghar
nam ban braid-gheil, “the harvest of young widows;” any
presage suggesting that men would be slain in battle.
Fogharach, echoing, loud, noisy, clamorous; fogharadh, the
produce of the harvest.

FOIDHIRLISE, the “forests of the deep." Kelp beds, the

dwelling place of the dangerous kelpies and tangies.

FOMACH, FOMHAIR, FAMHAIR, “Under-sea dweller,” a sea-

giant, a pirate.

FOLLAMAN. The youngest son of Conchabhar mac Nessa. He

became the commander of the Boy Corps of Ulster. When the
men of that province were “inconvenienced” by the curse of
Macha they were the only ones left to oppose Queen Mebd.
They held the pass for the required time but were all
slaughtered by the southern armies.

FOMHORACH, a fomach. See above.

FONN, land from Lat. fundus which is connected with the

Gaelic bonn, foundation, Eng. bun and bum.

FORANA, syllogism, for + anam, a super soul, gifted on

heroes by the gods.

FORBAI. The son of Conchobar mac Nessa, remembered for

killing Queen Mebd as she bathed in Loch Riabhach. Knowing
there would be no second chances against this redoubtable
enchantress, this friend of the dead Cúchullain practised for
weeks with his sling and succeeded in striking away her
spirit with a “brain-ball” to the head.

FORCHA TENED, fire mallet, thunderbolt. A weapon

possessed by the Cailleach Bheurr, or “Winter Hag.”

FORGAN, super man, keeness, anger, passionate. Side form of

fearg, puffed up with self importance.

FORS, son of Electra and Seth. He survived the World-Flood

in Ireland and was later killed in the Near East.

FORTAN, for, super; obs. tain, mental endowments, fortune,

luck, particularly good luck.

FORTREEN. The name for the southern Irish settlement of

the Tuatha Cruithne, or Picts, who left here for Alba.
Afterwards the name was given to a Pictish province of
Scotland, and when the Picts were ascendant in Ireland to
Ireland itself. The seven children of the original king
Cruithne were Ce, Cirech, Fiodh, Moireabh, Folda and
Fortreen, names given the provinces after Alba was divided
among them.

FOTARLAS, a false doctrine, fotus, flaw, refuse, rotten pus.

FOT NA FIRINNE, “the sod of truth,” obtained by Fuat from an

island in the Otherworld. Those who stood upon it could not
escape a falsehood as it turned roots up in response to a lie.
It was transplanted to Sliabh Fuait, Ireland where it
presumably may be found to this day.

FRAOCH, “Wrath” or “Fury.” The son of Idath and Connacht.

The latter was the befind of that western province of
Ireland and a sister to Boann who was the astral genius of
the east. The hero of Tain Bo Fraoch, sometimes taken as
the source for the English Beowulf. He loved Findbhair, the
daughter of Queen Mebd and king Ailill of Connacht, but
could not persuade her to elope. Worried by the attentions
of this penniless swain, the parents plotted his death. On a
quest to seek a magic rowan branch at the request of Queen
Mebd, Fraoch was attacked by a water monster which he
managed to despatch. After this the marriage was allowed
but the new wife was afterwards abducted and rescued
from continental enemies. Also, the swords of Manann mac
Ler which were called Fraoch, Fraoch Mor and Fraoch Beag,
Fury, Grand Fury and Little Fury,

FRAOCH ôL, “furious ale,” ôl, drink, drinking, OIr. oul, the
Celtic po, to drink, Lat. pôto, Eng. potable, drinkable, Skr. pâ,
drink, Possibly borrowed from ON. öl, ale, Eng. ale, “wrath
consumed,” the “furious” fraoch, “heather ale,” said brewed
by “Pictish” distilleries into the last century. This “nectar
of the gods” was not brewed from hops but used aromatic
herbs and plants. Among these were broom and gorse, plants
which shepherds know for their intoxicating effect on
sheep. Another preferred plant was the bog myrtle (myrica
gale). Ale was a continental product, preferred in the
Scottish Lowlands and the north-east coast and largely
ignored by the Gael “who was not a drinker of ale.” McNeill
says that he usually preferred water from a mountain spring
taking uisgebeatha the “water of life,” also known as
“whisky,” for ritual purposes. In 1578 John Leslie, Bishop
of Ross, admitted that Scottish ale was probably inferior to
hop-brewed English ale but noted that the “heather ale”
kept for a few years was “in the opinioune of strange
natiounes thouchte baith (to be) the colour and taste of
Malmsey.”

FRAOILEADH, a clouding of the senses from drinking

alcoholic beverages. The old Gaels were not committed
drinkers, reserving whisky for the fire festivals, when it
was used to rouse sexual activity at the round dances.

FREAGARTHACH, the “Answerer.” The sword of Manann mac

Ler brought by Lugh from Tir na mBeo, the “Land of Women,”
as a gift to the sea-god from the gods of the land.

FREC, crooked, bent, bending, an itch, a pimple, one of the

dwarfs, Eng. freak, Latin pruina, hoar-frost, winter, snow.
This is the Old Norse fryjoosa; Anglo-Saxon, freosan,
frozen, the English freeze. The word is related to the
goddess Freya or Fryja, the daughter of Niord. See next.
FRESEN, fris, OIr. frith, a wild mountainous place, a mythic
island kingdom occupied by Fomorian pirates. Probably in
memory of the Old Norse goddess Freya and/or her twin
“brother” Freas, a god of the sun, war and agriculture. Said
to lay “to the southeast of the Great Plain (of the Sea).”
Cathmann raided Munster from this outpost in the Atlantic
and carried away Liban the wife of Tadg mac Cian, the heir-
apparent to that throne. Following in a hide-covered curragh
the prince and his men spent many months at sea visiting
Tir-nan-Og before completing the liberation of Liban and
the people taken away with her. This lost island in the
Atlantic may confer with Frisland, an island community
often noted as being southwest of Iceland on maps from the
great age of discovery. The geographer to Queen Elizabeth I
noted that his monarch had declared title to “Greenland,
Estotiland and Friseland” in November of 1577. In the
following year his diary notes that “King Arthur and King
Maty, both of them did conquer Gelinda, lately called
Friseland.” On a map issued in 1580, these notes are added:
“Circa Anno 530 (A,D.) King Arthur not only Conquered
Iseland, Groenland, and all the Northern Iles compassing
unto Russia, but even unto the North Pole did extend his
jurisdiction; and sent Colonies thither, and also unto all the
isles between Scotland and Iseland, whereby it is possible
that the last named Friseland Island is of the British
ancient discovery and possession; and also seeing Groeland
beyond Groenland did receive their inhabitants by Arthur, it
is credible that the famous Iland Estotiland was by his
folks possessed.” This being the case, Fresen may confer
with An Domhain which was traditionally located in this
geographical location and was also said ravaged (and
possibly settled) by King Arthur or his kin.

FREITEACH, a vow or resolution, OIr. fristossam, a

renunciation; the root tong, to swear (by the gods or
spirits), to promise, the lowland freit. "Many old Scots
friets are connected with fire. When a man throws a lighted
peat after a married woman, or a lover throws a blazing
stick over his shoulder without looking at whom he aims, or
the shepherds and young folks kindle the Beltane fire on the
hill and dance around in circles, cooking their eggs and
cakes afterwards on the red glowing ashes - how little they
think of Baal...” Same as frith, below.

FRIGRIU MAC RUIDE, the artificer to Crumthmag of Ce in the

time of Fubthaire, king of Alba. He eloped with Ailech,
Fubthaire’s daughter, and fled to Ireland. There he
constructed a home for his lover. It was of yellow yew,
“adorned with gold and with silver and with bronze and with
gems, so that it shone brightly both night and day.” This
gentleman was also known as Crinden and it was said that
he was kin to the Fomorians of Fir Falga (in the Western
Isles?) His redoubt was named Ailech Frigriu,, later Ailech
Neit, “Ailech’s Sanctuary.” Located near Derry it became, in
Columba’s time, the redoubt of Hy Neill. The lady,
ultimately, became the wife of Eochaidh Doimlen and the
sons were the Conlas of Collas.

FRIOBART, false analogy, friog + artan, den + stone. A place

where truth is barred.

FRIOGHAN, FRIODHAN, a bristle, especially a pig’s bristle,

root vrg, cf. Cy. gwrych, a hedge. Hence frioghail, sharp keen.
Relating to the ON deities Frey and Freyja, the former being
a sun-god whose totem was the wild boar, the bristles
being symbolic of sunbeams. See muc.

FRIDE, FRITH, (frid) an itch, a pimple, ring-worm, an elf.,

rock-elf, gnome. EIr. frigit, root MBr. verg, cf the English
wiggle, witch, weather etc. Confers precisely with Woden
or Odin. ON. frid, peace, hence the OS. fridland, a place
where foreigners could live in freedom and where there was
relative peace. The Norsemen who went to Normandy were
granted fridland by the Norman dukes who were of the same
ancestry. Note next entry.
FRIDH, FRIDD, FRIDEOGH, frioghan, bristled, a pig’s bristle, a
hedgerow in forestland. Unltimately after the ON. Frey
whose totem was the pig. Note also frith, a forest, a deer
forest, wild, mountainous. This is a Highland word and is
supposed to have once described the “goddess of forests and
trees.” Fridh is sometimes compared with Bridd the
artificer in metals who used the wood of the dead forest to
fuel her industries. They may anciently have represented
deities of life and death. See frith.

FRIDOLIN, the “Traveller,” a sixth-century monk who

penetrated as far east as the Rhine. At Poitiers in Gaul he
visited a monastery recently sacked by the Vandals, and
miraculously possessed of X-ray vision he helped the
inmates recover the relics of Saint Hilary which were
buried in the ruins. For this he was himself canonized.

FRITH, FREITH, augury, incantation, spell, rage, anger, fate,

a sour or ugly look, profit, gain, advantage, “a kind of
horoscope much in use (Miss Freer, 1901).” “An incantation
to discover if distant individuals remain alive.” From the
ON, fritt, an enquiry of the gods concerning the future. See
friteach. The act requires a vow, or vows, directed towards
a god, or gods. The frith was often enacted using a knowing
stone or divining stone (see entries under clachd). The
family name Frith, Freer or Frere is derived from frithir a
prognosticator, and it was these people who were once
astrologers to the kings of Scotland. As an adj. a small
trifling thing, also asour angry look, Ir. frithir, peevish in
aspect. From the place of such prognostications, frith, a
deer-forest. The frith was enacted before sunrise, the
augurer fasting in advance.

At the time of prognostication, the individual went

head and feet bared, eyes closed to the threshold of the
house and stood with his two hands on the wooden lintel.
With eyes closed the petitioner chanted to the spirits
asking help in pursuit of the unknown. He then opened his
eyes and looked for possible guidance in the scene before
him. Real objects, or supernatural images superimposed
upon reality, were interpreted according to the
peculiarities of the augurer or his clan. In general a man
standing was seen as auspicious; one prone as a bad sign. A
woman standing before the soothsayer was a bad prognosis
for the individual in question, but a woman in motion was
taken as a reasonably good sign. The sight of a red-haired
woman was not wanted; a woman with dark hair was
considered lucky; a brown haired lady seen in that altered
state, luckier still. A lark or dove was thought auspicious,
a raven or crow not, excepting clans having these birds as
their totem. A cat was a desired sight for those who
happened to be attached to Clan Chattan. A pig, or a boar,
was good luck for the Campbells.

A Christianized variant of the ceremony as practised

in South Uist is recorded by Sigismund Freud in his book
Totemism and Taboo: “The frithir or seer, says a “Hail
Mary”...and then walks deiseil or sunwards around the
house, his eyes being closed till he reaches the door-sill,
when he opens them, and looking through a circle made of
his finger, and thumb, judges the general character of the
omen by the first object on which his eye has rested.”

FRIUCH, “Boar’s bristle.” The swineherd of Oichaill Ochne of

Connacht, a man perpetually at odds with Nár, the swineherd
of Bobd Dearg. They fought their way through numerous
reincarnations until Friuch was reborn as Finnbhenach the
White Horned Bull of Connacht And Nár as Donn, the Brown
Bull of Cailgne.

FUAD. “Impressive,” a Milesian hero slain on the slopes of

present-day Sliab Fuad, Ireland.

FUAR, cold, OIr. uar. Root ug, damp. Anciently, a month,

corresponding with the Bry. Ogron, the English October, the
last month of Summer. This month was divided into two
halves. The last half was entitled in Bry. atenouex, “after-
nights,” and may have indicated the waning of the moon.

FUATH, hatred, aversion, abhorrence, hateful object,

scarecrow, insignificant individual, apparition, ghost,
demon, kelpiue, spite, a spectre, a wandering or unbound
spirit. OIr. uath, supernatural forms or figures perceived as
generalized shapes rather than in detail. A shape-shifter,"
awe, terror, terrible. Sometimes, a giant with several
limbs and/or heads.

“The Fuath, or Evil Spirit is sometimes seen, and we

were interested in seeking a description of him. As of old,
he had the power of forming himself into an angel of light,
but he is generally found out in the long run." It is well
known that any being that changes its shape is of evil origin
(this was the chief magic of the malevolent Fomors). When
I asked my informant if such cases were frequent, he
referred me to his sister, who tells that when she was a
servant, the doctor's horse and trap rushed into the yard one
night, the gate being happily open, which was not usual. The
driver followed soon, also in a state of alarm. He had come
to meet the ferry and the doctor was staying the night at
the inn; but there was not room for the trap and he drove on
further. Suddenly the horse stopped, and on getting out to
see what was wrong he saw "a beast climbing up from the
shore to the edge of the road, like a pig. It went up the face
of the brow of the hill, and went back from there like a coil
of heather rope, and after that it went into the shape of a
dog." (Celtic Monthly, p. 164).

It was claimed that the fuath would track those who

fished during the spawning season of that animal.
"Alexander W. of Buaile Mor above Milton, South Uist, about
sixty years ago (1840) was catching fish by night at Seaoch,
when he perceived a man coming down the stream. (This
man) told him to step aside so as not to frighten the fish
and he obeyed. W. had caught a good quantity of fish by this
time, and following up the stream he was surprised to see
something like a mill-wheel rolling down towards him, in a
way he did not think canny. He picked up his fish hurriedly
and put them on a withe (stick), with the exception of one
which he accidently decapitated by tramping on it with his
boot. As he departed he stowed all the fish in a nook where
he could afterwards easily recover them, and hurried away
to the nearest dwelling. On his way over the moor he was
frequently thrown to the ground by some unseen power...In
the morning he returned for his fish but he got none except
the headless one. (Celtic Monthly, p. 193).

Ronald MacD., the bodach of the Rev. John Chisholm, a

priest at Bornish made a similar error in setting gill nets at
spawning time. Pulling the net at midnight he was
confronted by "a man of gigantic stature at the other end of
the next." He was chased from the scene "and believed ever
after that he had encountered a fuath."

FUATHAS, spectre, apparation, prodigy, fright, sudden

alarm..

FUAIM BAS, "death-noise", the three knocks presaging a

death of a relative or close friend. Rendered up by the
befind of the individual at death's door. Sometimes the
double of a dying person was seen by "gifted" individuals
when they opened the door after hearing these sounds. At
other times the death-runner took the form of a globe of
light or a totem animal or was entirely invisible to those it
approached. Alternately, this knock was thought rendered
by an evil spirit seeking admission. If granted access it
was in a position to do harm. "If a knock comes at a door
after midnight, it is not right to say, "Come in." Wait until
the knock is repeated and then say, "Who is there?" My
father being a ferryman many persons came to his door
asking to come in, but my mother always insisted on hearing
a name before it was opened. He used to tell her not to be
so particular, but she said, "The wandering ones would be
often knocking, and when a person would go to open, there
would be nobody there. They would be playing tricks this
way on people." A goblin came thence to a door one night
but failed to get admittance." (Celtic Monthly, p. 163)

FUAMNACH. The daughter of Beothach of Iardanel, fostered

by Bresal Etarlam. She became the first wife of the Tuathan
known as Midir the Proud and grew jealous when he took
Étain Echraidhe as his second wife. Using skills obtained
from her druidic foster-father the lady turned her rival into
a fly in order to part her from Midir. Although clever and
resourceful she was slain by Aonghas Og while he was
helping Midir find his lost wife. Eventually her head
decorated the palace of Aonghas at Brugh na Boinne.

FUARSN, FHUARAIN, well, spring, a green spot. See tobar.

FUATH, FUOAH, a spectre, hatred, awe, terror, from EIr.

uath, terrible. Possibly named for the mythological Fuait. It
is said that he was a son of Bil or Bile. On coming to
Ireland he stopped first at Inis Magdena, whose soil
possessed the property of causing those standing upon it to
utter literal truth. He took a sod from it and removed it to
Ireland where “it pronounced dooms and judgements.” If an
untruth was told before it the sod turned roots upward, so
that none standing upon it could escape their falsehood.
This fot na firinne, or “plot of truth,” was planted upon
Sliabh Fuait. In Christian times this site was well-
remembered and identified as fotan tire tairngiri, the sod
from the Land of Promise.” This creature is a well known
supernatural of Sutherlandshire, Scotland, where reference
is still made to Drocht na Vougha, the “Bridge of the
Spectre.” This is now called Gissen Briggs and is a
baymouth bar across the mouth of Dornoch Firth.

It is claimed that these creatures used to cross in

cockleshells but being subject to the weather resolved to
build a causeway. It was once a real bridge, consisting of
piers and piles all headed with gold. Unfortunately a
passing Christian blessed the workers and their work and
everything collapsed into the sea. The sand accumulated
creating the quicksands found there to this day. There was
also a moulion na fuadh which lived near Tubernan, Scotland.
This creature was captured by a local who tied her to his
horse and kept her quiet by threatening her with a iron awl
and a needle. Coming to the inn at Inveran the man went in
to get his friends and show off his prize. When they came
out and the light from lanterns fell on this creature she
dissolved “and fell to earth like a fallen star” a small lump
of jelly-like material being her only remain.

Notwithstanding, the fuath could mate with humans

and it was said that the Munroes married on of the vough of
Beann na Caluinn. As a result their descendants, for many
years, had manes of hair on their necks and were born with
tails. This condition ceased after four generations. J.F.
Campbell decided that this species was a water-sprite in
its chief haunt of Sutherlandshire. “...there are males and
there are females... thy have web-feet, yellow hair, green
dress, tails, manes, and no noses...they marry men and are
killed by light, are hurt with steel weapons and in crossing
a stream become restless...They are also hairy, have bare
skin on their faces and have two large round eyes.” See
brolaichean.

FUC, push, shove, ram, the waulking of cloth. The Eng. push.
Confers with the field-activities of the pucca. Fuicheall,
lust, lechery.

FUIDIR, fool, lout.clown, quarter-day victim.

FUIL, blood, the root vel, Eng. well, with suggestive

connotations.

FUTHAR, the dog-days (Perthshire) from the Scot. fure-dags.

A period of from four to six weeks, variously placed
between the early part of July and the early part of
September. Also known as the canicular days. They were so
called in ancient times for the rising of the Dog Star,
Sirius, in this period of time. These are the last lazy, hazy
days of summer, its sultry close, a time when dogs were
said to go mad. The conjunction of the rising of the Dog Star
with the rising of the sun was regarded as the cause of the
diseases and heat that plagued that time. This conjunction
is variable at different latitudes and is constantly changing
in each location so there is much variation in the coming of
the dog days. Note that the Sun was considered an
embodiment of Lugh while the dog-star was Cromm. Futhar
an fhoghair, “the height of autumn;” futhar an earraich, “the
height of spring;” futhar an t’samhraidh, the latter half of
July, “high Summer.”