[XVIII.] demon of the air was held in great abhorrence by the ancient Irish.
[XIX.] The Milesian people; the colony who conquered and succeeded the Dedannans. ([See note 1] at end.)
[XX.] The Dedannans were regarded as gods, and were immortal or semi-immortal. ([See note 1] at the end.)
[XXI.] It must be remembered that the children of Lir had some obscure foreknowledge of the coming of Christianity.
[XXII.] Many of these old poems begin and end with the same line or couplet.
[XXIII.] Fairy host; i.e. the Dedannans. ([See note 1] at the end of the book.)
[XXIV.] Iniskea; a little rocky island near the coast of Erris, in Mayo. "The lonely crane of Iniskea" was one of the "Wonders of Ireland." According to an ancient legend, which still lives among the peasantry of Mayo, a crane—one lonely bird—has lived on the island since the beginning of the world, and will live there till the day of judgment.
[XXV.] Donn's Sea Rocks—called in the text Teach-Dhuinn, or Donn's House, which is also the present Irish name; a group of three rocks off Kenmare Bay, where Donn, one of the Milesian brothers, was drowned. These remarkable rocks are now called in English the "Bull, Cow, and Calf."
[XXVI.] These are well-known historical personages, who flourished in the seventh century.
[XXVII.] Among the ancient Celtic nations, the dead were often buried standing up in the grave. It was in this way Finola and her brothers were buried.