The Irish standard., 1886-04-17
FAMOUS IRISH WARRIORS.
Brian Boroimhe is as Historical Person
age as o. 'Conneu or Grattan, or silken
Thomas, Or Shane 0'Neill."
HE WAS BORN IN THE. YEAR 941,

HE WAS BORN IN THE YEAR 941.
From His Earliest Boyhood he Hated the
Danish Invaders, the Scourge Of the
Native Irish Princes.
Many persons Of playful tempera-
ment and unincumbered by any wealth
Of historical or other information are
accustomed to ailude to Brian Boroinhe
in all lightness of heart, as a more or
less mythical individual, whose deeds
and words are to be placed on the same
footing as those of Cucullain or Finn
MacCoul. 1 am not at all prepared my
self to abandon the right to distinct
historical recognition of SO distinguish
ed & warrior as Cucullain Or SO eminent
a monarch as Finn. In an age which
excavates Troy and unearths from the
dust of MycenB The mouldering re-
mains of the King of the Men, the
scholar would be rash, indeed, who de-
MED to the Teni and their forefaJhers
the respect due to the heroes Of Homer
ic epic and Athenian tragedy. But while
we may frankly admit that the case for
the historical existence Of Oisin or Der
mot is not vet conclusively made out,
we must insist, wherever such insis-
tance is necessary, upon the very differ
emit decree OF authencity which attaches
20 the memory of the famous and fear
less king who made himself the terror
Of the Danes, Brian Boroimhe is as his
torjcal parsonage as O'Connell or
Grattan, or Silken Thomas OF Shane
O'Neill. To relegate him in any way
into the ghostly company of Oss1anic
heroes. who haunt the twilight regions
Of romance, is to commit grave Of
fence of lese majestic against that most
high and potent prince. Brian Bor-
oimhe, CT Brian of the Tribute, was
the greatest king of the old Dalcassin
line, which was founded by Cormac
Cas-, in the third century. In alterna-
ton with the princes of the Eugenlan
line. the Dalcassian princes had ruled
over Munster for seven centuries, when
a son was born to Cinneidigh, who was
christened Brian. Before I explain the
Specification of the surname, Which
was afterwards given to the glory OF
the Dalcassian House, I may not inap-
propriately quote passage from O'Cur-
ry's delightful lectures, in which one
valuable social reform, in itself enough
to illuminate a kingly house, is set
FORTH
'sPrevious to the time of the Mon
arch. Brian .Boroihme--about the year
lOOO-there was no general system of
family names in Erinn; but every man
took the name Of his father or his
grandfather for a surname. Brian,
however. established a new and most
convenient arrangement-namely, that
families in future should take perma-
nent names, either those Of their inn
mediate fathers or of any person more
remote in their line of pedigree. And
thus Muireadhach, the son OF Carthach,
took the surnam of MacCarthaigh
(now Mac Carthy) Mac being the Gae-
lie for SON, Toirdhealbhagh, or Tur-
}och, the grandson of Brian himself,
took the surname of O'Brian, or the
grandson of Brian'-'O' being the Gea-
lie for grandson Cathbarr, the grand
son of Donnell, took the name Of
O'Donnell; Donnell, the grandson Of
Mall Glendubh, took the surname Of
O'Neill; Tadgh, or Teige, the grandson
of Conor, took the name Of O'Conor Of
Connacht; Donogh. the son of Muir
chadh, or Muroch, took the surname Of
MacMurogh Of Leinster; and so as to
all the other families throughout the
Kingdom
Brian was born in the year 941. When
he was ten years old his brother Mahon
succeeded to, the kingship. At that
time the Danes were the scourge and
dread of the native Irish princes. Their
wild Vikings came from the far north,
in their long ships, and settled eagerly
upon the smiling Irish shores, plunder-
ing and devastating in all directions,
and encroaching more and more upon
the soil, and pushing the lines of their
settlements further and further away
from the sea. From his earliest boy
hood Brian seemed to have been ami
mated by the fercest hatred against the
invaders, and by consuming indigna-
ton at the humiliation involved in the
presence Of their marauding encamp-,
ments on Irish soil. Hitherto no prince,
or league Of princes, had been found
strong enough to drive the Danes back
over the swans bath to their homes in
the frozen n orth. The desperate cour-
age, the vast physical strength, the ri
gantic frames Of the Mortimer made
them exceedingly dangerous adyersar-
les, and. moreover, they settled upon
the country in such numbers as made
any attempt to overthrow them difficult
in the extreme. Brian s patience seems
R;u