“He said, Methinks Martheoke’s son Right as Gow-mac-Morn was won, To have from Fingal his menzie.”
It would appear, from the analogies of the Gaelic language, to be the complete form of the word. “Fionn” means fair, being in reality an adjective noun; “Gal” is a common termination of Celtic proper names. Hence, “Fionn Ghal,” or “Fingal,” means the “fair-haired one.“ In like manner, we have “Dubh,“ black, “Ghal,” “Dubhghal,” or “Dugald;” “Donn,” brown, “Ghal,” “Donnghal,” Dungal, Donald, the brown-haired one. Hence, Fionn is a contraction of the name. It is remarkable as an instance of the changes which take place in the use of words, that in modern times “Fionnghal” is the name of a woman, and is usually translated “Flora.“
[ [42] In the original the word translated here, “household,“ is “tylych,“ or “teaghlach,“ a family. The literal translation would be, “the family of Art.” But this would not convey the idea in the original, the Celtic family in such a case as this implying the military followers of the head or chief. It seems probable that these ancient Celtic chiefs, like chiefs in more recent times, had their armed followers in constant attendance on them.
[ [43] Art was King of Ireland, according to Irish authorities, in the beginning of the third century. Tradition says that he was the father of Grainne, the wife of Finn, whose defection and escape with Diarmad led to the event so famous in ancient Celtic poetry, the death of Diarmad. A poem relating the event will be found in this collection.
[ [44] “Mac an Loinn,” or “Luno’s son,“ was the famous sword of Fingal, manufactured by Loinn mac Liobhaidh, the celebrated smith, or “Vulcan,“ of the Celts. The sword was so effective that in no case was it ever required to give a second stroke. The Gaelic words are, “Cha d’ fhàg e fuigheall beuma,”—It left no remnant for its stroke. We have heard of a remarkable instance of the effective use of this phrase in the pulpit by a distinguished Highland minister, Mr. Lachlan M’Kenzie of Lochcarron. In illustrating the completeness of the one sacrifice of our Lord, he said, and to a Highland audience it was electrifying, “Chuala sibh mu ’n chlaidheamh bh’ aig Fionn, nach d’ fhàg riamh fuigheall beuma,”—You have heard of Fingal’s sword, which never needed to give a second blow. “Loinn mac Liobhaidh,” the “Vulcan” of the Celts, is in reality Brightness, the son of polishing, a fact which would go far to prove the mythical character of this famous artisan.
[ [45] This piece is extracted and printed in the report on the Poems of Ossian, published by the Highland Society. Dr. Smith, however, who made the extract, appears not to have read it with much care or accuracy, and the concluding portion, from the twentieth line downwards, is suppressed altogether. This seems to have arisen from a desire to suppress all the references in those poems to St. Patrick, and thus to establish by all possible means their Scottish origin. If any of the Poems are the genuine compositions of Ossian, there is sufficient evidence that the references to the Saint are of more recent introduction, in the fact, that if Ossian saw Art, who lived in the opening of the third century, as he tells us in the preceding fragment, he could hardly hold a dialogue with St. Patrick, who flourished in the fifth. In the present publication the poems of every kind are given just as they stand, without any reference to the effect on existing systems and theories, Scotch or Irish.
[ [46] The bells used in Christian worship. “Patrick of the bells,” is a common appellation of St. Patrick in these compositions.
[ [47] “Sliabh nam ban fionn,” or the “hill of the fair-haired women,” is said to be one of the mountains of Tipperary, in the neighbourhood of Clonmel. It is now called “Sliabh nam ban,” and has several traditions of the Feine associated with it. The writer is not aware of any mountain of the name in Scotland; besides, although the word “Sliabh” is well known and in common use among the Scottish Highlanders, it is seldom found in the topography of the country, in which the almost uniform term for a mountain is “Beinn,” the English “Ben.” This is one of the marked differences between Irish and Scottish topography. The term under consideration has sometimes been called in Scotland “Sliabh nam beann fionn,” “the hill of the fair hills,” a manifest mistake, which the meaningless tautology should be enough to prove. Topographical phrases in the Gaelic language are usually not only grammatically accurate, but of remarkable elegance in their structure. The interpretations often put upon them are a monstrous outrage upon this sound and invariable principle.
[ [48] It is obvious that parts of these compositions are dialogues, for the most part between Ossian and St. Patrick. The dialogue portion in these editions of Dean M’Gregor’s is generally either prefixed or added to the body of the poem. This is quite consistent with the genuineness of the work, and can be explained upon the supposition, that these portions were either prefixed or adjoined at an after period by some other hand to serve a purpose. This cannot be said of those poems which are in the form of dialogues throughout.
[ [49] Bran was the famous hound of Finn. The word means “a raven,” but used as an adjective it signifies “black,” which is apparently the origin of the name. Another of his dogs was called “Luath,” or “Swift,” also an adjective. These are common names for staghounds in the Highlands at this day. Reference is made a few lines before this to a white dog, “achoin ghil,” translated “snow-white,” “geal,” implying the most intense whiteness.