Brothers of the Fish Charm

County Sligo

A long time ago in the county of Sligo, there lived a king and a queen who were unfortunate to have no children. So the king enlisted the help of his chief adviser, who happened to be one of the faery people, to what he should do. The chief adviser told the king about the fish charm.

A servant to the king must fish where Lough Gill, the bright lake, touches Dooney Rock. The seventh fish caught must be brought home and prepared for the queen's breakfast, ensuring that no blister or blob appears on it.

As requested, the seventh fish was caught and prepared for the queen's breakfast. But, as it was in the process of being cooked, a blob appeared on the skin. Hurriedly, as no one was looking, the cook smoothed the blob and then quickly licked her finger.

The queen ate her breakfast which included the fish, with a feeling of extreme gratification. The queen ate all of the fish, except for the head and tail which were thrown out into the yard. Unknowingly, these two items were in turn eaten by the mare and the greyhound.

Not a year had passed, when the queen gave birth to a baby son. The mare had a foal, and the greyhound had three pups. The cook who had also tasted the fish via her finger, also gave birth to a son. The whole kingdom was tickled pink with the birth of the queen's son.

In those days it was traditional to send children to foster parents, who would care for them and nurture them until they grew up. So Dara, the queen's son, and Conn, the cook's son were sent to foster parents. They both returned to the palace of Sligo, when they turned eighteen years old.

They both had high regard for each other, you could say they were like twin brothers because they were inseparable and you could not tell them apart. The queen was none too pleased about this, as she did not believe the cook's son should enjoy a life comparable to that of a of a king's son.

Hence, the queen went to her husband's chief adviser, who in turn instructed a servant to put something similar to a birthmark on Dara's neck. The servant knew who the queen's son was because he would always politely bow his head, when they passed each other in the palace corridors.

As expected, Dara did bow his head ~ and the mark was made on his neck. The queen now knew who her son was, and promptly dismissed Conn from the palace.

Dara kindly provided Conn with a horse for his journey and the two boys who had grown up together, emotionally said there goodbye's, and Conn was carried through by the Faery Wind, "sidhe-gaoth".