Gerald Gearoid Mór Fitzgerald KG, the 8th Earl of Kildare

Here's an article pertaining to Gearoid Mór, Earl of Kildare during the
reigns of Edward IV, Richard III and Henry VII. He was fairly dept at
keeping his head. There are several interesting aspects to this story.

* Like King Arthur, he rests in a cavern until his promised return
* Like Odin, he rides a white horse at the head of a wild hunt
* Like Melusine, he shape-shifts in secret. When his secret is
discovered, he disappears

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_FitzGerald%2C_8th_Earl_of_Kildare.

Here is a list of 'Once and Future Kings'
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_in_the_mountain

It is fascinating that the legends of Gearoid Mór appear so late.
Several weeks back we discussed Jacquetta of Bedford's involvement in
the black arts, and the legend of Melusine came up. From the legend of
Gearoid Mór, it seems the story was certainly well known at the time.

Note also that Kildare was a KG. Even gentry who had gone somewhat
native were not unknown in the halls of court. and so much for the
Statutes of Kilkenny. The man's name indicates that he was certainly not
above sporting Irish given name and nickname, even while preserving his
Norman surname. He certainly had the best of both worlds, but he was far
from the first Anglo-Irish lord to do so.

--- In , Bill Barber
<bbarber@...> wrote:
>
> Here's an article pertaining to Gearoid Mór, Earl of Kildare during
the
> reigns of Edward IV, Richard III and Henry VII. He was fairly dept
at
> keeping his head. There are several interesting aspects to this
story.
>
> * Like King Arthur, he rests in a cavern until his promised
return
> * Like Odin, he rides a white horse at the head of a wild hunt
> * Like Melusine, he shape-shifts in secret. When his secret is
> discovered, he disappears
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_FitzGerald%
2C_8th_Earl_of_Kildare.
>
> Here is a list of 'Once and Future Kings'
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_in_the_mountain
>
> It is fascinating that the legends of Gearoid Mór appear so late.
> Several weeks back we discussed Jacquetta of Bedford's involvement
in
> the black arts, and the legend of Melusine came up. From the legend
of
> Gearoid Mór, it seems the story was certainly well known at the
time.
>
> Note also that Kildare was a KG. Even gentry who had gone somewhat
> native were not unknown in the halls of court. and so much for the
> Statutes of Kilkenny. The man's name indicates that he was
certainly not
> above sporting Irish given name and nickname, even while
preserving his
> Norman surname. He certainly had the best of both worlds, but he
was far
> from the first Anglo-Irish lord to do so.

The earls of Kildare and Desmond lived between the English and Gaelic
worlds. That's a fascinating article in Wikipedia, but strangely, I
have read of somewhat similar lore surrounding the third earl of
Desmond (d.1339), who was also named Gerald FitzGerald. I wonder if
the author of the Wikipaedia article may have mixed them up. He was a
well regarded poet in the Irish language, and remembered amongst the
Gaelic Irish simply as Gearoid Iarla - Earl Gerald. He is said to be
the son of the fairy Aine (generally accepted as havng once been the
local goddess). His father, the story fgoes, saw Aine bathing and
stole her cloak, refusing to return it unless she became his bride.
She said she'd stay on condition he never showed surprise at
anything.

"Gearoid's mystical powers caused his father to show surprise;
something Aine had warned him never to do. Gearoid disappeared
beneath the water at this mistake and every 7 years he rides around
the lake on a white horse of the silver shoes. When the shoes are
finally worn out, the glory of the Desmonds will be restored.

Another tale relates to a man who tries to sell his horse at market
for £5 but fails. On the road home, he meets a gentleman offering £4
10s. The man accepted the deal and was taken to a fine, spacious
castle to be shown the horse of the Earl of Desmond. The horse had
only three horseshoes; once he had the fourth the Earl would return
for his horse complete with his armed guard
aroid Iarla - Earl Gerald." (from
http://homepage.eircom.net/~loughgur/folklore.htm)

He disappeared in 1398, and is said to sleep either under Lough Gur
or in a nearby cave. When he rises from sleep and rides his silver-
shod horse, he will again rule over the plains of Desmond.

Either Gerald or his father is known as 'The Magician', but I'm not
sure which one.

These kind of stories are of course widespread, but very typical of
Ireland. The island my grandmother's people came from in Donegal has
a story that a local man once married a mermaid and hid her magic
cloak so she would not be able to return to the sea. But of course
she found it and took to the water again. Versions turn up in
Scotland and I think other parts of the Irish west coast.


You can read one of Gearoid Iarla's poems here in praise of women
(I'm afraid the link doesn't work):
http://www.searcs-web.com/fitzgerald.html

I have also heard the tale told of Gearoid Iarla. Perhaps the bards
themselves mixed up the identities. I think that many early European
leaders were imbued with the characteristics attributed to Gearoid Mór.
It's almost as if no clan wanted to take a back seat to another clan.
Perhaps discussions between different clan poets would go something like:

First poet: "My leader is a shape-shifter!"
Second poet: "That's nothin'! My leader is a shape-shifter, AND he rides
out of a cavern on a white horse and raises hell once every seven years!
Oh, yeah, AND he's not really dead either!"
First poet: "Yeah?"
Second poet: "Yeah!"

I call it the 'My-Old-Man-Can-Beat-Up-Your-Old- Man' Syndrome.

Who knows? Remember, the Irish came up with the Blarney Stone :-).
Before anyone gets upset, I've got a fair amount of Irish blood in my
veins, but then, so does all of Europe. To be fair, the Irish were
certainly not the only ones who invented tales about themselves. Wyatt
Earp* comes readily to mind. That time-honoured tradition carries on to
this day.

*Don't want to go too far off topic, but the gunfight at OK corral
between the Earps and the Clantons/McLowerys has the hallmarks of a good
old-fashioned Celtic/Viking blood-feud. These lads were not too long out
of the old county.

mariewalsh2003 wrote:
>
> --- In
> <mailto:%40yahoogroups.com>, Bill Barber
> <bbarber@...> wrote:
> >
> > Here's an article pertaining to Gearoid Mór, Earl of Kildare during
> the
> > reigns of Edward IV, Richard III and Henry VII. He was fairly dept
> at
> > keeping his head. There are several interesting aspects to this
> story.
> >
> > * Like King Arthur, he rests in a cavern until his promised
> return
> > * Like Odin, he rides a white horse at the head of a wild hunt
> > * Like Melusine, he shape-shifts in secret. When his secret is
> > discovered, he disappears
> >
> > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_FitzGerald%
> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_FitzGerald%>
> 2C_8th_Earl_of_Kildare.
> >
> > Here is a list of 'Once and Future Kings'
> > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_in_the_mountain
> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_in_the_mountain>
> >
> > It is fascinating that the legends of Gearoid Mór appear so late.
> > Several weeks back we discussed Jacquetta of Bedford's involvement
> in
> > the black arts, and the legend of Melusine came up. From the legend
> of
> > Gearoid Mór, it seems the story was certainly well known at the
> time.
> >
> > Note also that Kildare was a KG. Even gentry who had gone somewhat
> > native were not unknown in the halls of court. and so much for the
> > Statutes of Kilkenny. The man's name indicates that he was
> certainly not
> > above sporting Irish given name and nickname, even while
> preserving his
> > Norman surname. He certainly had the best of both worlds, but he
> was far
> > from the first Anglo-Irish lord to do so.
>
> The earls of Kildare and Desmond lived between the English and Gaelic
> worlds. That's a fascinating article in Wikipedia, but strangely, I
> have read of somewhat similar lore surrounding the third earl of
> Desmond (d.1339), who was also named Gerald FitzGerald. I wonder if
> the author of the Wikipaedia article may have mixed them up. He was a
> well regarded poet in the Irish language, and remembered amongst the
> Gaelic Irish simply as Gearoid Iarla - Earl Gerald. He is said to be
> the son of the fairy Aine (generally accepted as havng once been the
> local goddess). His father, the story fgoes, saw Aine bathing and
> stole her cloak, refusing to return it unless she became his bride.
> She said she'd stay on condition he never showed surprise at
> anything.
>
> "Gearoid's mystical powers caused his father to show surprise;
> something Aine had warned him never to do. Gearoid disappeared
> beneath the water at this mistake and every 7 years he rides around
> the lake on a white horse of the silver shoes. When the shoes are
> finally worn out, the glory of the Desmonds will be restored.
>
> Another tale relates to a man who tries to sell his horse at market
> for £5 but fails. On the road home, he meets a gentleman offering £4
> 10s. The man accepted the deal and was taken to a fine, spacious
> castle to be shown the horse of the Earl of Desmond. The horse had
> only three horseshoes; once he had the fourth the Earl would return
> for his horse complete with his armed guard
> aroid Iarla - Earl Gerald." (from
> http://homepage.eircom.net/~loughgur/folklore.htm
> <http://homepage.eircom.net/%7Eloughgur/folklore.htm>)
>
> He disappeared in 1398, and is said to sleep either under Lough Gur
> or in a nearby cave. When he rises from sleep and rides his silver-
> shod horse, he will again rule over the plains of Desmond.
>
> Either Gerald or his father is known as 'The Magician', but I'm not
> sure which one.
>
> These kind of stories are of course widespread, but very typical of
> Ireland. The island my grandmother's people came from in Donegal has
> a story that a local man once married a mermaid and hid her magic
> cloak so she would not be able to return to the sea. But of course
> she found it and took to the water again. Versions turn up in
> Scotland and I think other parts of the Irish west coast.
>
> You can read one of Gearoid Iarla's poems here in praise of women
> (I'm afraid the link doesn't work):
> http://www.searcs-web.com/fitzgerald.html
> <http://www.searcs-web.com/fitzgerald.html>
>
>

--- In , Bill Barber
<bbarber@...> wrote:
>
> I have also heard the tale told of Gearoid Iarla. Perhaps the bards
> themselves mixed up the identities. I think that many early
European
> leaders were imbued with the characteristics attributed to Gearoid
Mór.
> It's almost as if no clan wanted to take a back seat to another
clan.
> Perhaps discussions between different clan poets would go something
like:
>
> First poet: "My leader is a shape-shifter!"
> Second poet: "That's nothin'! My leader is a shape-shifter, AND he
rides
> out of a cavern on a white horse and raises hell once every seven
years!
> Oh, yeah, AND he's not really dead either!"
> First poet: "Yeah?"
> Second poet: "Yeah!"
>
> I call it the 'My-Old-Man-Can-Beat-Up-Your-Old- Man' Syndrome.
>
> Who knows? Remember, the Irish came up with the Blarney Stone :-).
> Before anyone gets upset, I've got a fair amount of Irish blood in
my
> veins, but then, so does all of Europe. To be fair, the Irish were
> certainly not the only ones who invented tales about themselves.
Wyatt
> Earp* comes readily to mind. That time-honoured tradition carries
on to
> this day.
>
> *Don't want to go too far off topic, but the gunfight at OK corral
> between the Earps and the Clantons/McLowerys has the hallmarks of a
good
> old-fashioned Celtic/Viking blood-feud. These lads were not too
long out
> of the old county.

I've decided to give the Wikipaedia site the benefit of the doubt. In
fact I'd like to read Nuala O'Faolain; I haven't read any good myths
for far too many years. I'd be most interested to know if there is
any historical basis for the Great Earl being a necromancer, or was
the story influenced by that of his Desmond namesake?
I think there are two strands in all this. One is the well-worn hope
that a strong leader will return in time of need. This is the hero
sleeping in the cave story. Well known this side of the water re King
Arthur, also I believe told in Ireland of Finn McCool.
The Desmonds were more Gaelic than the Kildares as they lived in the
extreme west of Ireland.
Note that the sleeping Desmond has a fairy mother, but not Garret Mor
of Kildare. That sort of story wouldn't work too well except among
themedieval Gaelic aristocracy, who practised serial monogamy on a
heroic scale; it was also a society that did not recognise the
concept of illegitimacy.
I'm not sure I entirely go for the boasting bards theary. They
certainly did boast about their patrons, but more on the level of
their courage and generosity. In the case of Gearoid Iarla, it may
have been his versifying that got him a reputation for having
something otherworldly about him. Up until quite recent historical
times Irish poets and songwriters retained an idea of deriving their
inspiration from an otherworldly female muse, referred to as
the 'speirbhean' or skywoman. In Scotland, Thomas of Ercildoune
('Thomas the Rhymer')is said to have spent seven years with the Queen
of Elfland and gained powers of prophecy. Poets and occultists
attract these tales of connection to the Otherworld Lady, I think.





>
> mariewalsh2003 wrote:
> >
> > --- In
> > <mailto:%40yahoogroups.com>, Bill Barber
> > <bbarber@> wrote:
> > >
> > > Here's an article pertaining to Gearoid Mór, Earl of Kildare
during
> > the
> > > reigns of Edward IV, Richard III and Henry VII. He was fairly
dept
> > at
> > > keeping his head. There are several interesting aspects to this
> > story.
> > >
> > > * Like King Arthur, he rests in a cavern until his promised
> > return
> > > * Like Odin, he rides a white horse at the head of a wild hunt
> > > * Like Melusine, he shape-shifts in secret. When his secret is
> > > discovered, he disappears
> > >
> > > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_FitzGerald%
> > <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_FitzGerald%>
> > 2C_8th_Earl_of_Kildare.
> > >
> > > Here is a list of 'Once and Future Kings'
> > > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_in_the_mountain
> > <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_in_the_mountain>
> > >
> > > It is fascinating that the legends of Gearoid Mór appear so
late.
> > > Several weeks back we discussed Jacquetta of Bedford's
involvement
> > in
> > > the black arts, and the legend of Melusine came up. From the
legend
> > of
> > > Gearoid Mór, it seems the story was certainly well known at the
> > time.
> > >
> > > Note also that Kildare was a KG. Even gentry who had gone
somewhat
> > > native were not unknown in the halls of court. and so much for
the
> > > Statutes of Kilkenny. The man's name indicates that he was
> > certainly not
> > > above sporting Irish given name and nickname, even while
> > preserving his
> > > Norman surname. He certainly had the best of both worlds, but he
> > was far
> > > from the first Anglo-Irish lord to do so.
> >
> > The earls of Kildare and Desmond lived between the English and
Gaelic
> > worlds. That's a fascinating article in Wikipedia, but strangely,
I
> > have read of somewhat similar lore surrounding the third earl of
> > Desmond (d.1339), who was also named Gerald FitzGerald. I wonder
if
> > the author of the Wikipaedia article may have mixed them up. He
was a
> > well regarded poet in the Irish language, and remembered amongst
the
> > Gaelic Irish simply as Gearoid Iarla - Earl Gerald. He is said to
be
> > the son of the fairy Aine (generally accepted as havng once been
the
> > local goddess). His father, the story fgoes, saw Aine bathing and
> > stole her cloak, refusing to return it unless she became his
bride.
> > She said she'd stay on condition he never showed surprise at
> > anything.
> >
> > "Gearoid's mystical powers caused his father to show surprise;
> > something Aine had warned him never to do. Gearoid disappeared
> > beneath the water at this mistake and every 7 years he rides
around
> > the lake on a white horse of the silver shoes. When the shoes are
> > finally worn out, the glory of the Desmonds will be restored.
> >
> > Another tale relates to a man who tries to sell his horse at
market
> > for £5 but fails. On the road home, he meets a gentleman offering
£4
> > 10s. The man accepted the deal and was taken to a fine, spacious
> > castle to be shown the horse of the Earl of Desmond. The horse had
> > only three horseshoes; once he had the fourth the Earl would
return
> > for his horse complete with his armed guard
> > aroid Iarla - Earl Gerald." (from
> > http://homepage.eircom.net/~loughgur/folklore.htm
> > <http://homepage.eircom.net/%7Eloughgur/folklore.htm>)
> >
> > He disappeared in 1398, and is said to sleep either under Lough
Gur
> > or in a nearby cave. When he rises from sleep and rides his
silver-
> > shod horse, he will again rule over the plains of Desmond.
> >
> > Either Gerald or his father is known as 'The Magician', but I'm
not
> > sure which one.
> >
> > These kind of stories are of course widespread, but very typical
of
> > Ireland. The island my grandmother's people came from in Donegal
has
> > a story that a local man once married a mermaid and hid her magic
> > cloak so she would not be able to return to the sea. But of course
> > she found it and took to the water again. Versions turn up in
> > Scotland and I think other parts of the Irish west coast.
> >
> > You can read one of Gearoid Iarla's poems here in praise of women
> > (I'm afraid the link doesn't work):
> > http://www.searcs-web.com/fitzgerald.html
> > <http://www.searcs-web.com/fitzgerald.html>
> >
> >
>
>
>
>
>

You're probably right, Marie.

I once passed by a wood near Caerphilly in the very early morning. Mist
swirled through the trees about a foot off the ground. I felt that a
group of Arthur's knights would likely ride out of the mist at any time.
On another occasion, I spent the night at a B&B in Llangollen. At night,
I gazed up the hill to Dinas Bran, which was back-lit by a crescent
moon. Positioned within the crescent was a star (probably Venus). The
whole vision seemed to come right out of an Aubrey Beardsley pen-and
ink. To my mind, Dinas Bran just had to be the Grail Castle.

In Ireland earlier this year, I had the same type of otherworldly
experiences. Myriad dolmens, ring-forts, mounds, clocháns, ruined
castles, ruined abbeys, etc., simply begged for mythical explanations,
especially when viewed at night. If I lived in Britain and Ireland, I
could easily be convinced that someone might ride out from an
underground cavern on a white horse. We are so much influenced by our
environment.


mariewalsh2003 wrote:
>
> --- In
> <mailto:%40yahoogroups.com>, Bill Barber
> <bbarber@...> wrote:
> >
> > I have also heard the tale told of Gearoid Iarla. Perhaps the bards
> > themselves mixed up the identities. I think that many early
> European
> > leaders were imbued with the characteristics attributed to Gearoid
> Mór.
> > It's almost as if no clan wanted to take a back seat to another
> clan.
> > Perhaps discussions between different clan poets would go something
> like:
> >
> > First poet: "My leader is a shape-shifter!"
> > Second poet: "That's nothin'! My leader is a shape-shifter, AND he
> rides
> > out of a cavern on a white horse and raises hell once every seven
> years!
> > Oh, yeah, AND he's not really dead either!"
> > First poet: "Yeah?"
> > Second poet: "Yeah!"
> >
> > I call it the 'My-Old-Man-Can-Beat-Up-Your-Old- Man' Syndrome.
> >
> > Who knows? Remember, the Irish came up with the Blarney Stone :-).
> > Before anyone gets upset, I've got a fair amount of Irish blood in
> my
> > veins, but then, so does all of Europe. To be fair, the Irish were
> > certainly not the only ones who invented tales about themselves.
> Wyatt
> > Earp* comes readily to mind. That time-honoured tradition carries
> on to
> > this day.
> >
> > *Don't want to go too far off topic, but the gunfight at OK corral
> > between the Earps and the Clantons/McLowerys has the hallmarks of a
> good
> > old-fashioned Celtic/Viking blood-feud. These lads were not too
> long out
> > of the old county.
>
> I've decided to give the Wikipaedia site the benefit of the doubt. In
> fact I'd like to read Nuala O'Faolain; I haven't read any good myths
> for far too many years. I'd be most interested to know if there is
> any historical basis for the Great Earl being a necromancer, or was
> the story influenced by that of his Desmond namesake?
> I think there are two strands in all this. One is the well-worn hope
> that a strong leader will return in time of need. This is the hero
> sleeping in the cave story. Well known this side of the water re King
> Arthur, also I believe told in Ireland of Finn McCool.
> The Desmonds were more Gaelic than the Kildares as they lived in the
> extreme west of Ireland.
> Note that the sleeping Desmond has a fairy mother, but not Garret Mor
> of Kildare. That sort of story wouldn't work too well except among
> themedieval Gaelic aristocracy, who practised serial monogamy on a
> heroic scale; it was also a society that did not recognise the
> concept of illegitimacy.
> I'm not sure I entirely go for the boasting bards theary. They
> certainly did boast about their patrons, but more on the level of
> their courage and generosity. In the case of Gearoid Iarla, it may
> have been his versifying that got him a reputation for having
> something otherworldly about him. Up until quite recent historical
> times Irish poets and songwriters retained an idea of deriving their
> inspiration from an otherworldly female muse, referred to as
> the 'speirbhean' or skywoman. In Scotland, Thomas of Ercildoune
> ('Thomas the Rhymer')is said to have spent seven years with the Queen
> of Elfland and gained powers of prophecy. Poets and occultists
> attract these tales of connection to the Otherworld Lady, I think.
>
> >
> > mariewalsh2003 wrote:
> > >
> > > --- In
> <mailto:%40yahoogroups.com>
> > > <mailto:%40yahoogroups.com>, Bill Barber
> > > <bbarber@> wrote:
> > > >
> > > > Here's an article pertaining to Gearoid Mór, Earl of Kildare
> during
> > > the
> > > > reigns of Edward IV, Richard III and Henry VII. He was fairly
> dept
> > > at
> > > > keeping his head. There are several interesting aspects to this
> > > story.
> > > >
> > > > * Like King Arthur, he rests in a cavern until his promised
> > > return
> > > > * Like Odin, he rides a white horse at the head of a wild hunt
> > > > * Like Melusine, he shape-shifts in secret. When his secret is
> > > > discovered, he disappears
> > > >
> > > > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_FitzGerald%
> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_FitzGerald%>
> > > <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_FitzGerald%
> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_FitzGerald%>>
> > > 2C_8th_Earl_of_Kildare.
> > > >
> > > > Here is a list of 'Once and Future Kings'
> > > > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_in_the_mountain
> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_in_the_mountain>
> > > <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_in_the_mountain
> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_in_the_mountain>>
> > > >
> > > > It is fascinating that the legends of Gearoid Mór appear so
> late.
> > > > Several weeks back we discussed Jacquetta of Bedford's
> involvement
> > > in
> > > > the black arts, and the legend of Melusine came up. From the
> legend
> > > of
> > > > Gearoid Mór, it seems the story was certainly well known at the
> > > time.
> > > >
> > > > Note also that Kildare was a KG. Even gentry who had gone
> somewhat
> > > > native were not unknown in the halls of court. and so much for
> the
> > > > Statutes of Kilkenny. The man's name indicates that he was
> > > certainly not
> > > > above sporting Irish given name and nickname, even while
> > > preserving his
> > > > Norman surname. He certainly had the best of both worlds, but he
> > > was far
> > > > from the first Anglo-Irish lord to do so.
> > >
> > > The earls of Kildare and Desmond lived between the English and
> Gaelic
> > > worlds. That's a fascinating article in Wikipedia, but strangely,
> I
> > > have read of somewhat similar lore surrounding the third earl of
> > > Desmond (d.1339), who was also named Gerald FitzGerald. I wonder
> if
> > > the author of the Wikipaedia article may have mixed them up. He
> was a
> > > well regarded poet in the Irish language, and remembered amongst
> the
> > > Gaelic Irish simply as Gearoid Iarla - Earl Gerald. He is said to
> be
> > > the son of the fairy Aine (generally accepted as havng once been
> the
> > > local goddess). His father, the story fgoes, saw Aine bathing and
> > > stole her cloak, refusing to return it unless she became his
> bride.
> > > She said she'd stay on condition he never showed surprise at
> > > anything.
> > >
> > > "Gearoid's mystical powers caused his father to show surprise;
> > > something Aine had warned him never to do. Gearoid disappeared
> > > beneath the water at this mistake and every 7 years he rides
> around
> > > the lake on a white horse of the silver shoes. When the shoes are
> > > finally worn out, the glory of the Desmonds will be restored.
> > >
> > > Another tale relates to a man who tries to sell his horse at
> market
> > > for £5 but fails. On the road home, he meets a gentleman offering
> £4
> > > 10s. The man accepted the deal and was taken to a fine, spacious
> > > castle to be shown the horse of the Earl of Desmond. The horse had
> > > only three horseshoes; once he had the fourth the Earl would
> return
> > > for his horse complete with his armed guard
> > > aroid Iarla - Earl Gerald." (from
> > > http://homepage.eircom.net/~loughgur/folklore.htm
> <http://homepage.eircom.net/%7Eloughgur/folklore.htm>
> > > <http://homepage.eircom.net/%7Eloughgur/folklore.htm
> <http://homepage.eircom.net/%7Eloughgur/folklore.htm>>)
> > >
> > > He disappeared in 1398, and is said to sleep either under Lough
> Gur
> > > or in a nearby cave. When he rises from sleep and rides his
> silver-
> > > shod horse, he will again rule over the plains of Desmond.
> > >
> > > Either Gerald or his father is known as 'The Magician', but I'm
> not
> > > sure which one.
> > >
> > > These kind of stories are of course widespread, but very typical
> of
> > > Ireland. The island my grandmother's people came from in Donegal
> has
> > > a story that a local man once married a mermaid and hid her magic
> > > cloak so she would not be able to return to the sea. But of course
> > > she found it and took to the water again. Versions turn up in
> > > Scotland and I think other parts of the Irish west coast.
> > >
> > > You can read one of Gearoid Iarla's poems here in praise of women
> > > (I'm afraid the link doesn't work):
> > > http://www.searcs-web.com/fitzgerald.html
> <http://www.searcs-web.com/fitzgerald.html>
> > > <http://www.searcs-web.com/fitzgerald.html
> <http://www.searcs-web.com/fitzgerald.html>>
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
>