guard of Tara, at others in exile and disgrace; the
_Clan-Degaid_ of Munster, and the _Fiann_ of Connaught.
The last force was largely recruited from the Belgic race
who had been squeezed into that western province, by
their Milesian conquerors, pretty much as Cromwell
endeavoured to force the Milesian Irish into it, many
hundred years afterwards. Each of these bands had its
special heroes; its Godfreys and Orlandos celebrated in
song; the most famous name in Ulster was Cuchullin: so
called from _cu_, a hound, or watch-dog, and _Ullin_,
the ancient name of his province. He lived at the dawn
of the Christian era. Of equal fame was Finn, the father
of Ossian, and the Fingal of modern fiction, who flourished
in the latter half of the second century. Gall, son of
Morna, the hero of Connaught (one of the few distinguished
men of Belgic origin whom we hear of through the Milesian
bards), flourished a generation earlier than Finn, and
might fairly compete with him in celebrity, if he had
only had an Ossian to sing his praises.

The political boundaries of different tribes expanded or
contracted with their good or ill fortune in battle.
Immigration often followed defeat, so that a clan, or
its offshoot is found at one period on one part of the
map and again on another. As _surnames_ were not generally
used either in Ireland or anywhere else, till after the
tenth century, the great families are distinguishable at
first, only by their tribe or clan names. Thus at the
north we have the Hy-Nial race; in the south the Eugenian
race, so called from Nial and Eoghan, their mutual