Myths and Legends of the Celtic Race - Knowledge Rush

238 Myths and Legends of the Celtic Race[277][278]This tale, which I take from S.H. O'Grady's edition in “SilvaGadelica,” relates that Finn once made a great hunting in thedistrict of Corann, in Northern Connacht, which was ruled overby one Conaran, a lord of the Danaan Folk. Angered at theintrusion of the Fianna in his hunting-grounds, he sent his threesorcerer-daughters to take vengeance on the mortals.Finn, it is said, and Conan the Bald, with Finn's two favouritehounds, were watching the hunt from the top of the Hill ofKeshcorran and listening to the cries of the beaters and the notesof the horn and the baying of the dogs, when, in moving abouton the hill, they came upon the mouth of a great cavern, beforewhich sat three hags of evil and revolting aspect. On threecrooked sticks of holly they had twisted left-handwise hanks ofyarn, and were spinning with these when Finn and his followersarrived. To view them more closely the warriors drew near,when they found themselves suddenly entangled in strands ofthe yarn which the hags had spun about the place like the webof a spider, and deadly faintness and trembling came over them,so that they were easily bound fast by the hags and carried intothe dark recesses of the cave. Others of the party then arrived,looking for Finn. All suffered the same experience—they lost alltheir pith and valour at the touch of the bewitched yarn, and werebound and carried into the cave, until the whole party were laidin bonds, with the dogs baying and howling outside.The witches now seized their sharp, wide-channelled, hardtemperedswords, and were about to fall on the captives and slaythem, but first they looked round at the mouth of the cave tosee if there was any straggler whom they had not yet laid holdof. At this moment Goll mac Morna, “the raging lion, the torchof onset, the great of soul,” came up, and a desperate combatensued, which ended by Goll cleaving two of the hags in twain,and then subduing and binding the third, whose name was Irnan.She, as he was about to slay her, begged for mercy—“Surely itwere better for thee to have the Fianna whole”—and he gave her