In the days of old a good king ruled over Mumha, whose name was Marid Mac Carido. He had two sons, Ecca and Rib. Ecca was restless and unruly, and in many ways displeased the king; and he told his brother Rib that he had made up his mind to leave his home, and win lands for himself in some far off part of the country. Rib tried hard to dissuade him; but though this delayed his departure for a while, he was none the less bent on going.
At last, Ecca, being wrought upon by his stepmother Ebliu (from whom Slieve Eblinne (Slieve Eblinne, now Slieve Eelim or Slieve Phelim, in Tipperary, sometimes called the Twelve Hills of Evlinn. "Eblinne" is the genitive of "Ebliu.") was afterwards named), did a grievous wrong to his father, and fled from Mumha with all his people; and his brother Rib and his stepmother Ebliu went with him. Ten hundred men they were in all, besides women and children; and they turned their faces toward the north.
After they had traveled for some time, their druids told them that it was not fated for them to settle in the same place; and accordingly, when they had come to the Pass of the two Pillar Stones, they parted.
Rib and his people turned to the west, and they journeyed till they came to the plain of Arbthenn. And there the water of a fountain burst forth over the land, and drowned them all; and a great lake was formed, which to this day is called the Lake of Rib (Now Lough Ree, on the Shannon.)
Ecca continued his journey northwards; and he and his people fared slowly on till they came near to Brugh of the Boyne, the palace of Mac Indoc, where they were fain to rest. No sooner had they halted, than a tall man came forth from the palace, namely, Angus Mac Indoc of the Brugh, son of the Dagda, and commanded them to leave the place without delay. But they, being spent with the toil of travel, heeded not his words, and, pitching their tents, they rested on the plain before the palace. Whereupon, Angus being wroth that his commands were unheeded, killed all their horses that night.
Next day, he came forth again, and he said to the, "Your horses I slew last night; and now, unless ye depart from this place, I will slay your people to-night."
And Ecca said to him, "Much evil hast thou done to us already, for thou hast killed all our horses. And now we cannot go, even though we desire it, for without horses we cannot travel."
Then Angus brought to them a very large horse in full harness, and they put all their goods on him. And when they were about to go, he said to them---
"Beware that ye keep this great steed walking continually; not even a moment's rest shall ye give him, otherwise he will certainly be the cause of your death."
After this they set out again, one Sunday in the mid-month of autumn, and traveled on till they reached the Plain of the Grey Copse (The Plain of the Grey Copse, according to the legend, was the name of the plain now covered by Lough Neagh.), where they intended to abide. They gathered then round the great steed to take their baggage off him, and each was busy seeing after his own property, so that they forgot to keep the horse moving. And the moment he stood still, a magic well sprang up beneath his feet.
Now Ecca, when he saw the well spring up, was troubled, remembering Angus's warning. And he caused a house to be built round it, and near it he built his palace, for the better security. And he chose a woman to take care of the well, charging her strictly to keep the door locked, except when the people of the palace came for water.
After that the King of Ulaidh (i.e. Ulster.), that is to say, Muridach, the son of Fiaca Findamnas (who was grandson of Cornal Carna of the Red Branch (look up Connor Mac Nessa)) came against Ecca to drive him forth from Ulaidh. But Ecca made a stout fight, so that he won the lordship of half of Ulaidh from Muridach. And after that his people settled down on the Plain of the Grey Copse.
Now Ecca had two daughters, Ariu and Liban, of whom Ariu was the wife of Curnan the Simpleton. And Curnan went about among the people, foretelling that a lake would flow over them from the well, and urging them earnestly to make ready their boats.
| Come forth, come forth, ye valiant men; build boats, and build ye fast! |
| I see the water surging out, a torrent deep and vast; |
| I see our chief and all his host o'erwhelmed beneath the wave; |
| And Ariu, too, my best beloved, alas! I cannot save. |
 But Liban east and west shall swim |
| Long ages on the ocean's rim, |
| By mystic shores and islets dim, |
| And down in the deep sea cave! |
And he ceased not to warn all he met, repeating this verse continually; but the people gave no heed to the words of the Simpleton.
Now the woman who had charge of the well, on a certain occasion forgot to close the door, so that the spell was free to work evil. And immediately the water burst forth over the plain, and formed a great lake, namely the Lake of the Copse. And Ecca and all his family and all his folk were drowned, save only his daughter Liban, and Conang, and Curnan the Simpleton. And they buried Ariu, and raised a mound over her, which is called from her Carn-Arenn.
Of Conang nothing more is told. But as to Curnan, he died of grief after his wife Ariu; and he was buried in a mound, which is called Carn-Curnan to this day in memory of him.
And thus the great Lake of the Copse was formed, which is now called Lough Necca (now Lough Neagh), in memory of Ecca, the son of Marid. And it was the overflow of this lake which, more than all other causes, scattered the Ultonians over Erin.
Now as to Liban. She also was swept away like the others; but she was not drowned. She lived for a whole year with her lap-dog, in her chamber beneath the lake, and God protected her from the water. At the end of the year she was weary; and when he saw the speckled salmon swimming and playing all round her, she prayed and said---
"O my Lord, I wish I were a salmon, that I might swim with the others through the clear green sea!"
And at the words she took the shape of a salmon, except her face and breast, which did not change. And her lap-dog was changed to an otter, and attended her afterwards whithersoever she went, as long as she lived in the sea.
And so she remained swimming about from sea to sea for three hundred years; that is to say, from the time of Ecca, the son of Marid, to the time of Comgall of Bangor.
Now on one occasion, Comgall sent Beoc, the son of Indli, from Bangor to Rome, to talk with Gregory concerning some matters of order and rule. And when Beoc's curragh [boat] was sailing over the sea, he and his crew heard sweet singing in the waters beneath them, as it were the chanting of angels.
And Beoc, having listened for a while, looked down into the water, and asked what the chant was for, and who it was that sang.
And Liban answered, "I am Liban, the daughter of Ecca, son of Marid; and it is I who sang the chant thou hast heard."
"Why art thou here?" asked Beoc.
And she replied, "Lo, I have lived for three hundred years beneath the sea; and I have come hither to fix a day and a place of meeting with thee. I shall now go westward; and I beseech thee, for the sake of the holy men of Dalriada [the old name of a territory which included the southern half of the county Antrim and a part of Down], to come to Inver Ollarba [the inver, or mouth of the river Ollarba, which was the ancient name of the Larne Water, in Antrim], to meet me, on this same day at the end of a year. Say also to Comgall and to the other holy men of Bangor, all that I say to thee. Come with thy boats and thy fishing-nets, and thou shalt take me from the waters in which I have lived."
"I shall not grant thee the boon thou askest," said Beoc, "unless you give me a reward."
"What reward dost thou seek?" asked Liban.
"That thou be buried in one grave with me in my own monastery," answered Beoc.
"That shall be granted to thee," said Liban.
Beoc then went on his way to Rome. And when he had returned, he related to Comgall and to the other saints of the monastery at Bangor, the story of the mermaid. And now the end of the year was nigh.
Then they made ready their nets, and on the day appointed they went in their boats to Inver Ollarba, a goodly company of the saints of Erin. And Liban was caught in the net of Fergus of Miluc [or Meelick, the name of an ancient ecclesiastical establishment in the county Antrim]: and her head and shoulders were those of a maiden, but she had the body of a fish.
Now the boat in which she was brought to land was kept half-full of sea water, in which she remained swimming about. And many came to see her; and all were filled with wonder when they saw her strange shape and heard her story.
Among the rest came the chief of the tribe of Hua-Conang, wearing a purple cloak; and she kept gazing at him earnestly. The young chief, seeing this, said to her---
"Dost thou wish to have this cloak? If so, I will give it to thee willingly."
But she answered, "Not so: I desire not thy cloak. But it brings to my mind my father Ecca; for on the day he was drowned, he wore a cloak of purple like thine. But may good luck be on thee for thy gentleness, and on him who shall come after thee in thy place; and in every assembly where thy successor sits, may he be known to all without inquiry."
After that there came a large-bodied, dark-visaged, fierce hero, and killed her lap-dog. Whereupon she was grieved; and she told him that the heroism of himself and his tribe should be stained by the baseness of their minds, and that they should not be able to defend themselves against injuries till they should do penance, by fasting, for her sake.
Then the warrior repented what he had done, and humbled himself before her.
And now there arose a contention about her, as to whom she should belong. Comgall said she was his, forasmuch as she was caught in his territory. But Fergus urged that she belonged to him by right, as it was in his net she was taken. And Beoc said he had the best right of all to her, on account of the promise she had made to him.
And as no one could settle the dispute, these three saints fasted and prayed that God would give a judgment between them, to show who should own Liban.
And an angel said to one of the company: "Two wild oxen will come hither to-morrow from Carn-Arenn, that is to say, from the grave-mound of Liban's sister, Ariu. Yoke a chariot to them, and place the mermaid in it; and into whatsoever territory they shall bring her, she shall remain with the owner thereof."
The oxen came on the morrow, as the angel had foretold. And when they were yoked, and when Liban was placed in the chariot, they brought her straightway to Beoc's church, namely to Tec-Da-Beoc.
Then the saints gave her a choice--- either to die immediately after baptism, and go to heaven; or to live on earth as long as she had lived in the sea, and then to go to heaven after these long ages. And the choice she took was to die immediately. Whereupon Comgall baptized her; and he gave her the name of Murgen, that is, "Sea-born", or Murgelt, that is, "Mermaid."
And she is counted among the holy virgins, and held in honor and reverence, as God ordained for her in heaven; and wonders and miracles are performed through her means at Tec-Da-Beoc.