Shaun O'Day of Ireland Read online

  Shaun O'Day of Ireland

  PART I

  CHAPTER I

  ISN'T IT A GREAT WONDER?

  The wee word "why" Is a fairy gift To little babes at birth, It opens wide the wonder world To every child on earth.

  Isn't it a great wonder--the fair green Emerald Isle?

  And do you know why Ireland is so green? It is because the rain fairieslove Ireland. They have made it the greenest spot on earth. They do besprinkling it forever with the drops of their fairy rain.

  Ireland is divided into four provinces. They are Ulster, Leinster,Munster, and Connaught.

  In Connaught is the County of Galway. In the County of Galway is theDistrict of Connemara.

  In Connemara there is a village that looks out upon a lake. And in thatvillage are wee houses covered with thatched roofs--roofs of straw.

  WEE HOUSES COVERED WITH STRAW ROOFS]

  Inside one of these houses there lived a boy, Shaun O'Day. But I am notgoing to tell you now about Shaun O'Day, nor of the strange thing thatbefell him. Not now.

  First, I shall tell you about his country. I shall tell you about hiscountry because all children love to know the why and the wonder ofthings. And great is the wonder of Ireland.

  This is the tale of the Province of Connaught and how it got its name.Long ago the western districts of Ireland were named after the personwho took possession of them.

  At this time there reigned a powerful king whose name was Conn. He wasgood as well as great, and dearly loved by his people.

  His Queen was equally beloved. Her name was Eda. Their son was a blessedand good boy. They named him Conn-eda, after both his parents.

  As Conn-eda grew to manhood, his strength and goodness grew with hisyears. All was harmony in the west until a great sorrow fell upon theland. The Queen died. The country mourned for a year and a day.

  And then the King married again. But the new Queen was not good and kindas Queen Eda had been. She was wicked and cruel.

  CONNEMARA PEOPLE ENGAGED IN SPINNING]

  She had several children of her own, and was jealous of Conn-eda, whowas the favorite of the King and the darling of the people.

  She clearly foresaw that Conn-eda would be King after the death of hisfather. She wanted her own son to become King some day.

  And so she planned to destroy Conn-eda or have him exiled from thecountry. With envy and hatred in her heart, the wicked Queen went toconsult a witch.

  The witch gave the Queen a chess-board and told her to invite PrinceConn-eda to play a game of chess.

  The witch said to the Queen, "The loser of this game shall be obligedto obey the orders of the winner. And, you, great Queen, shall win thegame! Having won the game, you are to send the Prince Conn-eda upon adangerous journey. He must seek and bring to you, within a year and aday, three golden apples, a magical black steed, and the Hound ofSupernatural Powers. These things are so well guarded that the Princewill surely lose his life in attempting to seek them."

  The Queen was delighted and hastened to invite Conn-eda to play a gameof chess. He agreed to the conditions of the game, and it came about asthe witch had promised. The wicked Queen won.

  SUBSTANTIAL HOMES IN A WOODLAND SETTING ON THE KILLARNEY RIVER]

  But so pleased was she with her triumph and so greedy for furtherpower that she challenged the Prince to another game. To the Queen'sastonishment and horror, Conn-eda won this second game.

  "Since you won the first game," said Conn-eda, "you shall be first tocommand your reward."

  The Queen said, "My reward shall be the three golden apples, the BlackSteed, and the Hound of Supernatural Powers. These you must seek andbring to me within the space of a year and a day. If you fail you mustleave your country forever or lose your life."

  Conn-eda answered, "Then my order to you is that you sit upon thetopmost spire of yonder tower until I return. If I do not return, youmay come down at the end of the year and a day."

  Conn-eda was troubled and went to consult with a great Druid. The poorPrince had no idea how he was to find these magical treasures.

  The great Druid gave the Prince a little, shaggy pony. He bade Conn-edaobey this little horse.

  After further instructions from the great Druid, Conn-eda mounted theshaggy steed and set out upon his journey.

  His adventures were many. Through them all, the little shaggy horsehelped and guided him. The animal had the power of speech.

  After days of hardship and danger, Conn-eda reached the walls of agreat city. Two huge towers stood on either side of the gate and sentforth flames of fire. The pony bade Conn-eda alight from his back andtake from his ear a small knife.

  "With this knife," said the steed, "kill me! Then wrap yourself in myskin, and you shall be able to pass the gates of the city unharmed. AllI ask is that you return to my body and pour a drop of this powerfulointment upon my poor flesh."

  With these words the pony gave Conn-eda a bottle of magic fluid.

  The Prince cried, "Never, never! I would rather die than kill you, mygood friend!"

  But at last the pony persuaded Conn-eda, and the Prince stabbed hisnoble steed. His heart bled, and he was in despair at what he had done.

  But he suddenly thought of the bottle of fluid which the steed had givenhim. Following the animal's advice, the Prince poured the ointment overthe horse's body.

  No sooner had he done this than the horse's shape changed to the form ofa handsome young man.

  "Behold!" cried the noble youth. "You have freed me from a wickedenchantment. I am brother of the King of the city. It was a wicked Druidwho kept me so long in the form of a shaggy steed. Now, through yourbrave act, you have broken the spell, and I shall help you in yourquest."

  LOCH DERG AT KILLALOE, EMPTYING INTO THE RIVER SHANNON]

  The handsome Prince asked his brother, the King, for those treasureswhich Conn-eda sought. Gladly did the King give to him the apples fromhis magic tree, the Black Steed, and the precious hound. With thesethree treasures did Conn-eda return to his country.

  The wicked Queen, who was sitting upon the top of her tower, sawConn-eda approaching. She saw him riding upon a prancing steed andleading a curious animal by a silver chain.

  The Queen knew that he was returning in triumph. In despair she castherself from the tower.

  That was her end. And that was also the end of trouble in the kingdom ofthe west. For at the death of the good King Conn, his son Conn-eda wasmade king. Conn-eda ruled wisely, and it was after his name that theprovince of Connaught was called.

  In Connaught is the County of Galway. Sheep are raised in Galway. And ithas a rugged, wild seacoast.

  It was on this coast that the wreck of part of the Spanish Armada tookplace in 1588. For this reason there is still to be found, in this partof Ireland, people of Spanish descent. And the fairies are said to lovethe County of Galway. In Galway County is the District of Connemara.

  Once upon a time there dwelt a powerful family named Conmac. In Irish"Connemara" means "Seaside of the Conmacs," for it was this wild androcky shore that was used by these ancient royal people as theirseaside.

  Connemara is called the Congested District of Ireland. The word"congested" means "overcrowded." But in this case it does not mean thatthe country is overcrowded with people. For the people are few here inthis wild land.

  But the barren soil does not yield enough for those few people. Andthere is much poverty in Connemara.

  But there also are lakes of great beauty, and valuable marble, knownas Connemara marble. And there are fairies! Well do the fairies loveConnemara!

  IRISH FARMER AND HIS SON PATCHING THE ROOF OF THEIR OLD STONE HOUSE]

  In Connemara there is a village, and in that village lived a boy namedShaun O'Day.

  Do you know the why of that name Shaun? It is the same as the name John.But it is an Irish name. It is spelled "Sean" in Irish and pronounced"hwan."

  It is Jean in French, and Giovanni in Italian, and Hans in German, andIvan in Rus
sian. It is Juan in Spanish, Jock in Scotch, and Johnny inAmerican.

  It is a Hebrew word and has a very beautiful meaning: "Gift of God." Doyou wonder that so many boys all over the world are given the nameJohn?

  Here we have the why and the wonder of the land of Shaun O'Day. So nowwe shall hear of the strange things that befell this lad, who lived inthe Emerald Isle.