jou~AL oF THE: cottNfY DONEGAL HISTORICAL s66rEit'Y. Meenaneary. The Saint then threw a. stone, before which the fog receded. Finalv he tlhrew a bell, and the demons fled before it into the se:a, where they were converted into fishes. Les•t any one shouLd catich and be tempted to eat one of these metamorphosed demons, an identificiation mark has b·een placed up:on t.hem: they bear a red mar.k, and are blind of one eye. Manus Ol'DJnnell further adds that the advent of Columiba was for·etold not merely by pro1uhe1ts but by pagan Druids as well. The ce1e1b.rated Finn Mac C'umhail, by chewing his salmon-sic:orched thumb, could penetmte the secrets of t~e future and dis·cov·er the hidden mysteries of the present. One day he pursued a sta:g as far as the Sean Ghleann, >but ~us usually k·een cing refused to cl:o®e wat.h its q:u:arry. Suspectin~ some. myst~nous cause for the hound s ina.ct10n, F1nn a.pplied himself vfgorousy to h~ Ordog Feasa, and it was re·ve.aled to hllIIl tha,t a man, who should >be kn01wn as C:olumlba would be J::orn nine .generations from Connac, the High King, .and tlhat the pla·ce where the stag stood would be sacred to him. The place was called Bea~ach Damhain, or the path of the sta1g. M .a .place whi·clh, I think, is called Bun na dTri Sruthan, there stands the remains of what is known .as the Spanish Church. In 1756 a Spanish cruiser was wrecked on the coast. It was a stormy night and a Father Owen Garr took st.11el1t~r from the storm at M'alinbeg. Returning home afterwards with an attendian:t, .he heard moaning coming from the directi.on of the cliffs. He climlbed down and found a dying Spanish officer pra:y.ing earnesUy. F.ather Carr, who had been educated in Salamanca, ~e Sipanish weU. He heard the dying man's confession, and giave hiJm the l·ast, rites of the Ghurch. T'h'e officer .gave him his belt, whLch was filled with gold coins. This he gave as a.n offering of thanks for the ministrations of a priest a.It his last moments. Wtth this money Fa1ther Carr repaired the church at F'augher, and built the Spanish Church; whose walls are still stand1inig. Much could be said a1b:ou1t the monastery, the wells, the crosses, and the Turas of Glencolum!bkille, but time does not p~rmit. There is a poem entitled ''Gruach an t8a1g.airt;" whL<;.h has Slia.bh Liag for its setting. It begins: 11..,11'.> me .<\:S i::ru&ll, 'C4·l1l1d111:SI: .<\l1 .<\tl . cle111 "11 FOStl.<\til. The poem is . rather obSlcure. It descrilbes the hospitality of the priest, and ·gives an exa.gger.a1ted description of the natural wealth and beauty of the p~ace. ·Probably this poem was written in the Penal Days when an tAthalr Domhnall $Pent a month on the mountain to minister to the faithful of the surrounding district. It ends thus: 'ClOCf<WO Ol1<\1!l11 411 l.& .<\ mben:) c11umn1U .<\11· -0.11 ().Jn, .Sm nu"111 4 oe.dr c.&c "5 e111se. 'r nil .<\On 1:ie.<\Cdu 4l1Mtil .<\ nue411n mum 1 n;s"n t10r no or .&11u, n&c mibe1u lmn 'n.&11 LJ.ril-rc11ib1nn. f 4l1.<\0l1, 1r r111ne .<\CJ., tn411 C.d01l11S oe4u c.11 r11.&.rn, 6 cMll murn .&11 re.at uiu111, 're .dn i::-0.td1l1 'Oorhn.<\ll dCJ. me 11J.'6, :So 5cutirnt11E;1u lll n-0. 115'11.&ri::' e, 'r 5dl1 .d5d11111 .<.\111 ~C rpJ.r mior.d· In all mountainous disitricts the siheep is a very important possession. Up till very recent times the old Brehon La.ws governing the grazing of .sheep were Observed in Teelin and Glencolumlbkme. The sheep were coralled and countt:d in the s1pring. S10.me trusted man .aeted as bre,hion, and allotted the sheep to each farmer· in propnr1tton to the amount of araible land he possessed.. Tihe peoiple were fond of their sheei>, and one does not, wonder that oome poe·t should be moved to ex:press in song wfia:t is f.elt by the p10ibr owners oif a feiw valued sheep. The Teelin poet, Eamonn O hAsgain, wriote a so,ng, in the form of a d:i:a1o1gue •between himself and a l:Lttle she·el}, in wh~ch he w:arns httr to k·eeip from n~bbling tlhe young corn, le:&t dire consequences should follow: -0. C<\-0114 (le<\5 uil1r, F.<\11 tudr :so C10!111 mior<.l, lr n<i bi tur.d .<\5 frL1u .dti 5eMil"l1 ;s-0.c l.&; 116 oe111re"11 'un w15e tu, boe1'6 uioso.&1t 4' oiu 0111:, 'Sn<.lc q1u<.l.;S uuti:: -0.n ni 'Oe.&nMi1 cu111re-0r tu 'un b.&IJ'. rn conl.<\1111 r-011 01uce .de .<\5 ornM51L 1]' d:S rm.<\01C1(1, So mben:"> cur,, 1 bp11.iorun re<1rc" }'401 c..\111 ; -0.<': c. r1: <>111i11 1110 c1101'6e, fCMC.<\1!1 -0.11 ni <.\Dd1, CUl)Wdr c.n i::rniom .<\11 '00 r:s e d'Odt1Mt1 b.&n. R"c',\11'> mire r1,111 ;so mull.<\(: Ste1f>e l L15 So 1'.>~'Ctcn'> me 4n Flcll -0.t.1111 'Ooti111<\ll. lr p111Je l.10111 n<i lJ.L1<11-11 :so •>Ci'n t.& ·" Going eastwards we pass through the land where the names of Clona1 Gaol, Seanachan and Dalhm ForgaHI still linger on the lips of the seanachaidhe. Around the GWeelblarm we may pick up
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