Irish Wolfhound Lore: A Trio of Tales to Celebrate an Irish Icon BY DAN SAYERS continued
before Conbec would head him off and run him right back up to Finn’s main pack, and to their attendants.” When Conbec was drowned at Traig Chon- bicce by a rival of Fionn’s called Goll, son of Morna, his passing was mourn- ed by the poet Caílte mac Rónáin. The poem reads, in part, “Conbec of perfect symmetry, I have not seen a more expert of foot, in the wake of wild boar or stag.” SAINT PATRICK AND THE SHIP OF HOUNDS “My name is Patrick. I am a sinner, a simple country person, and the least of all believers. I am looked down upon by many.” So wrote the young man who would be known throughout the world as Ireland’s patron saint. Born in Roman Britain in the 5th century, the future Saint Patrick was given the name Maewyn Succat by his parents. At the age of 16, he was captured by a group of Irish mercenaries and sold into slavery in Ireland were he labored as a shepherd for six years and became fluent in the language. One day, encour- aged by a dream in which his favorite sheepdog was transformed into an angel, Succat abandoned his servitude and made his way toward the coast where he encountered a ship com- madeered by pirates. Unfortunately for the unruly crew, the ship could not set sail since its cargo included 100 terrified and terrifying Irish Hounds. Bemused, the boy offered to calm the savage beasts in exchange for passage back to Britain. Various accounts of the voyage have the ship running aground or alternately reaching a foreign shore where the men search in vain for food to sustain them. (One legend places the ship in French waters where Succat is again captured and placed in captivity in Tours.) After several weeks stranded and nearing starvation, Succat is said to have made his way into the forest with a pack of hounds. The following day, he returned with wild boar the hounds had managed to kill. Saved from star- vation, the pirates granted Succat his freedom whereupon he returned to his family in Britain. While home, he had another vision that encouraged him to return to Ireland where he was instructed to introduce Christianity to the people. How much of this account is fact or fiction remains for believers to decide. As for the Irish Wolfhound’s sta- tus alongside Saint Patrick as one of the Emerald Isle’s most iconic symbols, the evidence is incontrovertible.
The Irish Wolfhound has been celebrated through legend and lore as one of the Emerald Isle’s most powerful symbols. Illustration by: Dan Sayers
“AS FOR THE IRISH WOLFHOUND’S STATUS ALONGSIDE SAINT PATRICK AS ONE OF THE EMERALD ISLE’S MOST ICONIC SYMBOLS, THE EVIDENCE IS INCONTROVERTIBLE.”
86 • S how S ight M agazine , M arch 2018
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