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In Fermoy, Ireland |
| The Legend of Róisín Dubh |
By Theo Stoof Many score years after the greatest hero of the western hemisphere, Cú Chulaind, son of the god Lug, made his last stand before the army of Medb the queen of Connachta, there lived in Ériu near Briug na Bóinde a council of Druids. Apart from the common knowledge of Druids, these Druids had a vast amount of forbidden knowledge of the Ways of Nature, that earned them an almost godlike reverence from the common people and an envious attitude from their peer Druids. It was whispered that even Síde, the people of the otherworld, who were also known as the Túatha Dé Danand, marvelled at their deeds and feared their wrath. These Druids wore black and red robes on which their symbol, the Róisín Dubh, the Black Rose, was visible. They lived in a small mansion which none other than they ever entered. At night an eery light wich slowly varied from one unnatural colour to another shone through the few windows of the house, but this never flickered like that of a candle or fire. Sometimes loud noises such as supernatural songs and ecstatic screams were heard coming from the mansion, and in surrounding villages it was rumoured that the Druids feasted upon the bodies of the dead at night. The council of the Róisín Dubh numbered ten Druids and only the following was known about them. 1. There was Íain the Silent who spoke only scant words during the day and who seemed to do so only very reluctantly. 2. There was Fréot the Bright Eyed who was believed to be able to reflect the sun with his eyes in any direction he chose to and who seemed to like the presence of dire straits. 3. There was Béoirt the Nasty of whom it was whispered that his thoughts were solely devoted to filthy subjects too horrendous to mention and who was sometimes seen throwing orange fireballs into baskets attached to walls. 4. There was Páill the Cursing who was said to have turned various innocent villagers into unamable things only by means of his terrible, carefully woven spells. 5. There was Lláeonn the Pigherd of whom it was said that he did things of such abomination with his herd that no healthy man would ever be able to remain sane at the sheer thought of them, and who was invariably seen with an instrument that was able to send shivers down the bravest man's spine with its ghastly sounds. 6. There was Stéif the Rude who was widely known for his complete lack of any form of elementary politeness and good manners and who was supposed to have knowledge of any Geiss. Of him it was said that he had once been cursed so that it was now impossible for him to give his tongue a moment's rest. 7. There was Mbairc the Balding of whom it was rumoured that he was born with his head fully covered with hair but that his hairline had been receding from the moment of his birth. He was seen extremely often waving long shiny sticks towards the ground in order to hit small white crystal balls that in the end invariably disappeared into the earth. 8. There was Haíllíui the Sorceress who was the only woman in the council. She was sometimes observed around noon eating the most revolting combinations of food her wicked and twisted mind could conceive of and was regularly seen trying to lead little girls into the realms of her forbidden knowledge. 9. There was Ttwaind the Wild who was believed to be the son of a dragon because of the fact that he exhaled smoke on every occasion. His appearance was mostly feared by worried parents who feared for their daughter's virtues. 10. There was Táeói the Foul Tempered who was feared much for his sharp tongue, his rapidly changing moods and his negative attitudes. He was known to be able to call up without incantations a body-paralysing, mind-wasting and senses-numbing breeze with an odour that no smell from a rotting corpse of a bubonic plague victim could surpass. The only further thing known about the council of the Róisín Dubh is the fact that after terrorising the country for more than fourscore years the mansion in which the council had lived for all those years was attacked by inhabitants of the surrounding villages who were helped by envious Druids. In the ensuing battle the mansion and all the forbidden knowledge of the council was destroyed. Less is known about the fate of the Druids of the council. Some boldly proclaim them to be mercilessly slaughtered by the enraged mob, but bodies were never found and therefore others more carefully whisper that the Druids of the Black Rose are not dead but lie asleep in a place only known to them and that they will rise from their tombs in the distant future to scourge the face of the earth once again ... Another version of Roisin Dubh Roisin, have no sorrow for all that has happened to you the Friars are out on the brine,. they are travelling the sea your pardon from the Pope will come, from Rome in the East and we won't spare the Spanish wine for my Roisin Dubh Far have we journeyed together, since days gone by. I've crossed over mountains with her, and sailed the sea I have cleared the Erne, though in spate, at a single leap and like music of the strings all about me, my Roisin Dubh You have driven me mad, fickle girl- may it do you no good! My soul is in thrall, not just yesterday nor today You have left me weary and weak in body and mind O deceive not the one who loves you, my Roisin Dubh I would walk in the dew beside you, or the bitter desert in hopes I might have your affection, or part of your love Fragrant small branch, you have given your word you love me the choicest flower of Munster, my Roisin Dubh If I had six horses, I would plough against the hill- I'd make Roisin Dubh my Gospel in the middle of Mass- I'd kiss the young girl who would grant me her maidenhead and do deeds behind the lios with my Roisin Dubh! The Erne will be strong in flood, the hills be torn the ocean will be all red waves, the sky all blood, every mountain and bog in Ireland will shake one day, before she shall perish, my Roisin Dubh. **** |
