Loretta A. Murphy

In earth's youngest days, there was no green land and no people. It was a place of great wind and fire, stones violently spewing from its bowels. And so it continued, until one day, the smallest of the stones was spit forth from the fire at the hottest point of its anger.  The stone, being so much of a pebble it was almost weightless, catapulted itself right on up to the Heavens.

And although surely it didn't mean  to do any harm, that wee grey stone made the smallest of rips in Heaven's great side.

Out trickled a tear of suprise. One after another they came.  Heaven shed her tears until the tears became rivets.  Then the rivets became a rushing river that poured a waterfall upon the earth. And everywhere Heaven's tears dropped, something happened!

The dry earth became green.

Slowly, the massive fires qwelled. Great steam arose straight up to Heaven's floor, becoming droplets of moisture that fell back down to the earth as rain. Vast oceans basins brimmed over, fed by the waterfall of tears and falling rain. The earth became fertile.

And in the midst of it all, there grew up a sacred oak called Bile.

Bile drank deep of Heaven's waters. These waters were called Dana. From
the great union, two acorns were born. Dagda was the first acorn to fall from the tree and Brigid the second. One male, one female.

"It is your duty," said Bile and Dana to their  acorns, "to fill the earth with the good people of Dana."

So fill the earth they did. The two gave the green earth many  fine children who knew Dagda as the Father of the Gods and Brigid as the Wise One.

Brigid - poetess, healer, and keeper of the flame - taught the Children of Dana to worship the waters and the sacred oak. These worshippers of water and oak became known as Druids. They built the four cities - Falias  with its Stone of Destiny, Gorias - home to the mighty sword Retaliator wielded by Lugh himself, Finias  whose pride was the Red Javelin which could roust its enemy out of hiding, and Murias  with its Caldron of Plenty. The Stone was capable of devining rulers, the Sword and Spear to win their battles, and the Caldron to feed Dana's people.

And things were grande until one day Dagda and Brigid told their children the Land had become too crowded. "Children!" said Dagda, "It is time to go West to Inisfail, the Island of Destiny. There you will meet our cousins, the children of our mother Dana's sister, Domnu. You will have to fight to make your place there because they are different from you. But listen to me! Take along the four Treasures and you shall not fail."

The Druids left with Stone of Destiny, the Retalliator, The Red Javelin, and The Caldron of Plenty.  They gathered in the mountains a huge cloud swept them away to the Isle of Inisfail. With the Druids were three sisters - Banba, Fotla, and Eriu - wives of the sons of Ogma, the poet and master of language who create Ogam writing.

"I wish to be the first to see the new land. " said Banba, peering down from the cloud, "and for it to be named for me."

"No," pouted Fotla, "I wish it to bear my name!"

Shy Erui listened to her sisters argue.  Though she desired the honor just as much as the other two, she held her tongue and instead prayed to Dana.

And as the Fates would have it, such it was that each sister at one time or another did  get her wish. For was not Inisfail named for all of them in its long life?

Ah, but in the end, it was quiet Eiru whose prayers Dana heard best. 

It was she of the three, whose wish came most true, for the poets even to this day still honor Ireland with the beautiful name of Erin.

THE END.