Page 47 - Demo

Chapter two 47
Read thse faint runes of Mystery
O Celt, at home and o’er the sea; Bond is loosed--he poor are free— he world’s great future rests with thee! Till the soil--bid cities rise—
Be strong, O Celt—be rich, be wise— But still, with those grave eyes, Respect the realm of Mysteries. (he Book of Orm)
Always, the Irish people have been celebrated for their stories, most especially for their hero tales and epic poems. In ancient Ireland every King had in his house- hold a learned man called a Bard or Ollamh, whose duties in part were to entertain the king and his court with stories, poems and music. The Ollamh sang the praises of heroes and heroines and in turn his songs and stories were memorized by the people and passed on orally from generation to generation, until, inally, with the introduction of the written word, these beautiful epics were recorded on vellum parchments by the scribes. As previ- ously mentioned, while many of these stories concerned purely legendary heroes, equally so, but more importantly, many others had their origins in historical fact.
The old Irish tales may be divided into three classes or cycles:- The Mythological Cycle, The Red Branch or Ulidian Cycle and the Fenian Cycle. The Mythological Cycle is con- cerned mainly with the endless deeds and exploits of the pagan gods and goddesses once worshipped by the ancient, pre-Celtic Irish-the Fomorians, the Fir Bholg, and most especially, the Tuatha Dé Danann.
Great tales exist detailing the exploits of some of those already mentioned, individuals such as Balor of the Evil Eye, the Giant Fomorian King who slew Nuada Airgead-Lámh- ‘Nuada of the Silver Arm’; of Lugh Lámhfhada- ‘Lugh of the Long Arm,’ who in turn slew