The stories throughout the “Tales of the Elders of Ireland” are those that can be considered “mythic history,” of the ancient Irish Celts, where it can be found a mixture of fantastic, mystic and even Christian elements. Given the fact that the narrative within these tales does not have a precise structure or division between them, it is necessary to understand the implicit forms that determine the beginning of a story through the whole story itself. For example, one way that a tale or a verse could usually start is with the use of a question. Thus, the question made by St. Patrick to Caeilte of “…why is a certain wave called tonn Chlíodhna or ‘of Cleena,’ and another one tonn Téide or ‘of Teide’?” (O’Grady, 1999) Initiates a story after it is asked.
As most of the tales in Acallam na Senórach this one has at its beginning a relation with Finn, the leader of the warriors known as Fianna. The story narrates how Ciabhán, “son of Eochaid Red-weapon king of Ulidia in the north,” and one of the warriors of the Fianna, has to be sent away by Finn. This, because of his beauty and the jealousy of all the other man since “among them was no woman, mated or unmated, that was not in love with him” (O’Grady, 1999) Under those circumstances, Ciabhán leaves and gets to the “Strand of the Strong Men” where he finds and joins Lodan, the son of the king of India, and Eolus, son of the king of Greece (O’Grady, 1999
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"Tales of the Elders of Ireland: “Wave of Clíodhna”".
At this point in the story, some of the common characteristics of the tales are already presented. For instance, the local acknowledgment of places that still to the current times have a relation with the pseudo-historical tradition, such as the “Strand of the Strong Men” or dún Sobhairce which is known today as Dunserverick. Thus, the story continues with the encounter of those three men, Ciabhán, Lodan, and Eolus, with a rider (or an óglaech) on a dark-grey horse that emerged from the sea and rescues them from the gigantic waves that were threatening their lives. After making the three men paying him by been loyal and offer service to anyone who will help them, the personage leads them safely to The Land of Promise.
Then, they arrived at loch luchra and got to Manannan’s stone fort, where a banquet was already occurring. This part of the story shows important elements that are common in all of the Tales of the Elders: the music, the celebration, and the places. The loch luchra, today known as Ballylochloe, for instance, is an important place for Irish history and tradition itself, and not to forget that The Land of Promise can be interpreted as a part of the Irish Otherworld. This meaning, that such land could be considered as a place where beauty, joy, and wealth are abundant. Afterward, in the celebration, the three warriors met the three daughters of a chief Druid: Clíodhna, Aeife, Edaein, whom felt in love immediately with them and made a plan to escape altogether at the very next day.
Consequently, while Eolus and Londan go with Aeife and Edaein in a currach (a type of Irish boat), Clíodhna and Ciabhan go on a separate ship. However, once they get to their destination, Teite’s Strand, Ciabhan went for hunting but bgkiin that time “the outer swell rolled in on Cleena, whereby she was drowned there, and from her, it is called tonn Clíodhna” (O’Grady, 1999). After lamenting the tragical death of Clíodhna, Caeilte explains how Wave of Teite’s was a “haunt of chiefs,” and it was the name the spot had until Clíodhna, or Cleena, drowned in the same place. Nonetheless, he had previously told as well the story behind the name “Teite’s” which had to do with Ragamain’s daughter, ‘Teite’ that had also drowned in the same waters.
In this manner, Caeilte not only exalts the awfulness of the deaths occurred but he also always brings the description of those places that are of so much meaning for the Irish historical tradition. These is a constant trough out the whole tales, which is no surprise, since the warriors of Fianna long for the olden days and customs, yet always agreed that Christianity is the way spirituality should be. Thereafter, Ciabhan returns to the warriors of the Fianna, only to die the same night among his companions and Finn himself. Caeilte, as he describes the moment of Ciabhan death he also clarifies that he dies in the Ridge of Asal mac ú-Móir,
Notes on the “Tales of the Elders of Ireland”
It is possible to observe the forms of Celtic deities throughout the whole history of Tales, in the case of Wave of Clíhdhna it is expressly the Manannan God who is more present, and given the nature of the story itself is understandable. As Ciabhan’s travel by sea, and also the drowning of Clíhdhna, the god Manannan, which could be considered the Irish version of Poseidon, is always present in one form or another.
The mythical Manannan comes from the fourth out of the six ancient invasions of Ireland that can be found in the Book of Invasions (Lebor Gabála Érenn), and is known for representing the mythical old gods of Ireland: Tuatha Dé Danann. Clíodhna is also considered by some of the traditional Irish stories as a goddess. There are many references to the fantastic and the mythical in “Wave of Clíodhna,” among them, the affirmation on the part of Caeilte that the sons of Ildathach, who also drowned in the same place as Clíodhna, will be the ones that who pursuit her love.
On the other hand, the teller of the story, Caeilte, distinguishes himself for his wide descriptions of the places in which the personages are, which allows transmitting more detailed from the different landscape that exists in those days. The “Wave of Clíodhna” is not the exception of that, many of the places described by Caeilte in the story maintained names that originally come from those mystic stories, and the Wave itself, even though no longer carries the same name, in the village of Glandore the story is not forgotten. In the present, when the wind is high and the sea rises, the people of the town call the phenomenon “Cliona’s wave.”
Although they are not related to Christian beliefs, Saint Patrick is precisely the one who continues to ask Caeilte on the mythical stories of places like “Wave of Clíodhna” and “Maeve’s rath.” Even though they are considered as paganism, Saint Patrick is relieved of such fear when his two guardian angels appear and comfort him assuring that his fascination with Ireland’s myths is nothing to be afraid. They even order him to listen to the Caeilte and ensure that his stories are preserved in time for the entertainment of future.
Ultimately, they are different version of the story of Clíodhna. While in the one that is told to Saint Patrick she dies drowning by accident, other versions tale how Manannan, the God of the Sea, plays a melody to make the goddess fall asleep and thus, drowning so she can no longer escape with her mortal lover.
- The Colloquy with the Ancients (S. H. O’Grady, Trans.). (1999). Retrieved November 29, 2016, from http://www.yorku.ca
