Myths and legends ; the Celtic race . f their warriors,named Sreng, to interview the mysterious new-comers ;and the People of Dana, on their side, sent a warriornamed Brcs to represent them. The two ambassadorsexamined each others weapons with great interest. Thespears of the Danaans, we are told, were light andsharp-pointed ; those of the Firbolgs were heavy andblunt. To contrast the power of science with that ofbrute force is here the evident intention of the legend,and we are reminded of the Greek myth of the struggleof the Olympian deities with the Titans. Bres proposed to the Firbolg that
Myths and legends ; the Celtic race . f their warriors,named Sreng, to interview the mysterious new-comers ;and the People of Dana, on their side, sent a warriornamed Brcs to represent them. The two ambassadorsexamined each others weapons with great interest. Thespears of the Danaans, we are told, were light andsharp-pointed ; those of the Firbolgs were heavy andblunt. To contrast the power of science with that ofbrute force is here the evident intention of the legend,and we are reminded of the Greek myth of the struggleof the Olympian deities with the Titans. Bres proposed to the Firbolg that the two races shoulddivide Ireland equally between them, and join to defend itagainst all comers for the future. They then exchangedweapons and returned each to his own camp. The First Battle of Moytura The Firbolgs, however, were not impressed with the superiority of the Danaans, and decided to refuse their offer. The battle was joined on the Plain of Moytura,^ ^ Moytura means The Plain of the Towers—i.^., The Two Ambassadors To67] THE EXPULSION OF KING BRES in the south of Co. Mayo, near the spot now calledCong. The Firbolgs were led by their king, mac Ere,and the Danaans by Nuada of the Silver Hand, whogot his name from an incident in this battle. His hand,it is said, was cut off in the fight, and one of the skilfulartificers who abounded in the ranks of the Danaansmade him a new one of silver. By their magical andhealing arts the Danaans gained the victory, and theFirbolg king was slain. But a reasonable agreementfollowed : the Firbolgs were allotted the province ofConnacht for their territory, while the Danaans took therest of Ireland. So late as the seventeenth century theannalist Mac Firbis discovered that many of the inhabi-tants of Connacht traced their descent to these sameFirbolgs. Probably they were a veritable historic race,and the conflict between them and the People of Danamay be a piece of actual history invested with some ofthe featu
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjectcelticl, bookyear1910
