In old times there arose one day a maiden from the sea, a beautiful Berooch, or mermaid, and all the people on the Western Coast of Eirè gathered 'round her and wondered at her beauty. And the great chief of the land carried her home to his house, where she was treated like a queen.
She was very gentle and wise, and after some time she acquired the language, and could talk to the people quite well in their own Irish tongue, to their great delight and wonder. Then she informed them that she had been sent to their country by a great spirit, to announce the arrival in Ireland of the three sacred cows
--Bo-Finn, Bo-Ruadh, and
Bo-Dhu--the white, the red, and the black cows, who were destined to fill the land with the most splendid cattle, so that the people should never know want while the world lasted.
This was such good news that the people in their delight carried the sea-maiden from house to house in procession, in order that she might tell it herself to every one; and they crowned her with flowers, while the musicians went before her, singing to their harps.
After dwelling with them a little longer she asked to be taken back to the sea, for she had grown sad at being away so long from her own kindred. So, on May Eve, a great crowd accompanied her down to the strand, where she took leave of them, telling them that on that day of the next year they should all assemble at the same place to await the arrival of the three cows. Then she plunged into the sea and was seen no more.
On that day all the people of Ireland assembled on the shore to watch, as they had been directed by the beautiful sea-maiden, and all the high cliffs and all the rocks were covered with anxious spectators from the early dawn. Nor did they wait in vain. Exactly at noon the waves were stirred with a mighty commotion, and three cows rose up from the sea--a white, a red, and a black--all beautiful to behold, with sleek skins, large soft eyes, and curved horns, white as ivory. They stood upon the shore for a while, looking around them. Then each one went in a different direction, by three roads; the black went south, the red went north, and the milk-white heifer--the
Bo-Finn--crossed the plain of Ireland to the very centre, where stood the king's palace. And every place she passed was named after her, and every well she drank at was called
Lough-na-Bo, or
Tober-Bo-Finn (the well of the white cow), so her memory remains to this day.
In process of time the white heifer gave birth to twins, a male and female calf, and from them descended a great race, still existing in Ireland; after which the white cow disappeared into a great cave by the sea, the entrance to which no man knows. And there she remains, and will remain, in an enchanted sleep, until the true king of Eirè, the lord of Ireland, shall come to waken her; but the lake near the cave is still known as
Lough-na-Bo-banna (the lake of the snow-white cow).
The path of the white cow across Ireland is marked by small crude stone monuments, still existing. They show the exact spot where she rested each night and had her bed, and the adjoining lands have names connected with the tradition--such as, "The plain of the Fenian cows;" "The hill of worship;" "The pool of the spotted ox," called after the Ox because he always waited to drink until the white cow came, for they were much attached to each other.
The plain of the death of
Bo-banna (the white Cow), where she gave the roar that shook all Ireland is called "the plain of lamentation." It never was tilled, and never will be tilled. The people hold it as a sacred spot, and until recently it was the custom to have dances there every Sunday.
