Myths and Legends of the Celtic Race - Knowledge Rush

162 Myths and Legends of the Celtic Race[193]familiar by Matthew Arnold's fine poem. In the Irish versionit will be noted that the father is not without a suspicion of theidentity of his antagonist, but he does battle with him under thestimulus of that passionate sense of loyalty to his prince andprovince which was Cuchulain's most signal characteristic.To complete the story of Aifa and her son we have anticipatedevents, and now turn back to take up the thread again.Cuchulain's First ForayAfter a year and a day of training in warfare under Skatha,Cuchulain returned to Erin, eager to test his prowess and to winEmer for his wife. So he bade harness his chariot and drove outto make a foray upon the fords and marches of Connacht, forbetween Connacht and Ulster there was always an angry surf offighting along the borders.And first he drove to the White Cairn, which is on the highest ofthe Mountains of Mourne, and surveyed the land of Ulster spreadout smiling in the sunshine far below and bade his charioteertell him the name of every hill and plain and dūn that he saw.Then turning southwards he looked over the plains of Bregia,and the charioteer pointed out to him Tara and Teltin, and Brughna Boyna and the great dūn of the sons of Nechtan. “Are they,”asked Cuchulain, “those sons of Nechtan of whom it is said thatmore of the men of Ulster have fallen by their hands than areyet living on the earth?” “The same,” said the charioteer. “Thenlet us drive thither,” said Cuchulain. So, much unwilling, thecharioteer drove to the fortress of the sons of Nechtan, and thereon the green before it they found a pillar-stone, and round it acollar of bronze having on it writing in Ogham. This Cuchulainread, and it declared that any man of age to bear arms whoshould come to that green should hold it geis for him to departwithout having challenged one of the dwellers in the dūn tosingle combat. Then Cuchulain flung his arms round the stone,and, swaying it backwards and forwards, heaved it at last out ofthe earth and flung it, collar and all, into the river that ran hard