Corpus of Electronic Texts Edition
The Death of Dermid (Author: Samuel Ferguson)
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Introductory Note
[King Cormac had affianced his daughter Grania to Finn, son of Comhal, the Finn Mac Coole of Irish, and Fingal of
Scottish tradition. In addition to his warlike accomplishments, Finn was reported to have obtained the gifts of poetry, second
sight, and healing in the manner referred to below. On his personal introduction, his age and aspect proved displeasing
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to Grania, who threw herself on the gallantry of Dermid, the handsomest of Finn's attendant warriors, and induced him
reluctantly to fly with her. Their pursuit by Finn forms the subject of one of the most popular native Irish romances. In
the course of their wanderings, Dermid, having pursued a wild boar, met the fate of Adonis, who appears to have been his
prototype in the Celtic imagination. Finn, arriving on the scene just before his rival's death, gives occasion to the most
pathetic passage of the tale. The incidents of the original are followed in the piece below, which, however, does not
profess to be a translation. The original may be perused in the spirited version of Mr. O' Grady, "Publications of the Irish Ossianic Society," vol. iii. p. 185. It is from this Dermid that Highland tradition draws the genealogy of the clan Campbell, "The race of brown Dermid who slew the wild boar."]