The Wild Boar

Traditional

One sleepless night, Diarmuid could hear the sound of dogs barking in the distance. This was strange because normally the nights were quiet. Diarmuid decided to go and see what all the commotion was about. Gr‡inne pleaded with Diarmuid not to go as she feared for his personal safety. Her pleas were not heeded.

Diarmuid approached Ben Bulben and saw Finn and the Fianna. They had been hunting there. Finn explained to Diarmuid that the wild boar of Ben Bulben had killed by mutilation, 50 of his finest soldiers. Diarmuid told Finn that he would help to slay the beast.

Within moments, the boar appeared on the peak of Ben Bulben. Without thought for his own safety, Diarmuid attempted to sink his sword into the back of the animal. All that happened was his sword snapped into two parts, and he was knocked to the ground by the boar. Diarmuid hastily arose and jumped onto the boar's back.

In a frenzy, the boar attempting to shake off the gallant Diarmuid, ran down the side of the mountain. Diarmuid held firm. At the bottom of the mountain, Diarmuid was still unhinged, hence the boar decided to run back up to the peak of the mountain in another attempt to shake him off. However, at the top of the mountain, Diarmuid grabbed a sword off a Fianna soldier, and stabbed it into the boar's skull.

The boar was not going to die without a fight, so it rammed it's tusk into Diarmuid's side, lethally wounding him. The boar dropped to the ground, and within minutes was dead.

Diarmuid, the hero, slumped to the ground in a heap. As he lay dying, he told Finn that he could save his life, if he brought him pure water of a spring well to drink. Weakly he exclaimed, "My wound will heal if I drink a quantity of the spring water."

The Fianna told Finn that a well was close by. Finn quickly gathered some of the precious water in the palms of his hand. As he approached Diarmuid, he remembered the fiasco involving Gr‡inne (Diarmuid and Gr‡inne), and he purposely let the water slip through his hands.

Diarmuid was at death's door, but he again managed to persuade Finn to get some more of the healing water. Finn got the water, and again he remembered the fiasco, so he pretended to trip up on a rock, hence the water was lost.

By now the Fianna were not liking Finn's actions. Finn noticing the hate building up in amongst Fianna soldiers, quickly got some more water and gave it to the dying Diarmuid. He was too late, Diarmuid had breathed his last breath on the side of Ben Bulben.