Irish Fairy Tales · Chapter
IV explained
Finnian, recovering from his initial shock, urges Tuan to recount the early history of Ireland.
What happens
Finnian, recovering from his initial shock, urges Tuan to recount the early history of Ireland. Tuan describes the arrival of Partholon and his people, the idyllic land they found, and the sudden plague that wiped out all but one man—Tuan himself.
Themes in this chapter
Memory and the Past
Tuan's recollection of the ancient past, spanning from the beginning of time in Ireland, highlights the theme of memory and the endurance of history.
Characters to notice
- Tuan mac Cairill
Tuan recounts the story of Partholon's arrival in Ireland and the plague that killed all but himself.
- Partholon
Partholon is described as a greatly bearded, greatly shouldered man who led the first settlers to Ireland.
Key passages
“He came to Ireland in a ship. Twenty-four men and twenty-four women came with him. But before that time no man had come to Ireland, and in the western parts of the world no human being lived or moved.”
Partholon arrived in Ireland by ship with twenty-four men and twenty-four women, marking the first human settlement in the western world.
Tuan describes the first arrival of people in Ireland.
“Then, sudden as a rising wind, between one night and a morning, there came a sickness that bloated the stomach and purpled the skin, and on the seventh day all of the race of Partholon were dead, save one man only.”
A sudden plague struck, causing bloated stomachs and purple skin, and within seven days everyone of Partholon's race died except one man.
Tuan recounts the plague that wiped out Partholon's people.