Other Folklore

There is another more localised belief that attributes the earthworks to a large oll-phéist, or serpent, lending the name the Worm Ditch. This was recorded in the 1930s by the Folklore Commission in Monaghan and Cavan. This legend is reflected in the townland name, Cornapaste (Corr na Péiste), in Monaghan, where part of the dyke passes through.

There is very little, if any, early material which relates to this. In later literature, píast, more frequently refers to a creeping reptile, especially worms. This may have been a later import into Irish tradition, as we never had snakes on this island, but further exploration of the names ascribed to similar earthworks elsewhere, including Britain, is required to verify this.

Alternatively, in counties Down and Armagh, the name Danes Cast associates these with the

Danes, who in ‘folklore are not regarded as mere mortals and other monuments, especially mottes and raths (ring-forts), are commonly thought to have been built by them’[1].

Further work is to be done on a comparative analysis of the literary traditions, including later folklore ones, surrounding similar structures in Ireland and Britain to identify, if possible, common traits, symbolisms, and identities that might point to an underlying unified concept(s) of a much earlier continental origin.

These sites include:

• In Ireland: Claidh Dubh, Clad na Leac, Newgrange, Tara, Cruachain and Loughcrew
• In Britain: Offa’s Dye, Wanesdyke, Cleave Dyke system.
• In Europe: Danevirke

Preliminary search of similar structures in Britain, indicates that they sometimes bear names such as Devil’s Dyke. This alludes to the seemingly superhuman effort required to build the largest of these.

The black pig – likely the boar – is a feature of Irish folklore and Celtic mythology, with an interesting association with earthworks. For example, the Leabhar Breathnach, refers to Cladh na muice, a ditch ‘made against the Gales and the Cruithnians’. This ditch would have operated in a similar way to the Antonine Wall, which runs between the Firth of Forth and Firth of Clyde in Scotland. Both the Danes Cast and Antonine wall have associated popular traditions that are remarkably similar, for example, sections of both monuments having a section called ‘The Swine’s Dyke’.

A number of beliefs as to the origin of ‘The Glen of the Black Pig’, including one which attributes this to the ‘enchantress’, Medb at Cruachain, which is particularly interesting given Medb’s involvement in a number of narratives concerning the reshaping of the landscape by pigs.

The linear earthworks referred to as the ‘Mucklaghs’, at Cruachain, to the south of Owenagcat, or, the cave at Cruachain mentioned above, upholds a tradition of magical pig(s) reconfiguring the landscape.