MSS. are translated. One thing is certain: there was very little drunkenness amongst the ancient Irish; to my knowledge, there is only one mention of it, in a tract called the 'Meicera Ulladh,' or 'Drunkenness of Ulster,' when Cuchullain, and some more of the 'boys' of the period, got. drunk, and for a long time, too; for they never stopped until they reached Kerry, having set out from Armagh! Whiskey is never once mentioned in the old MSS. They seem to have known no drinks but wine, fion; and lann, ale."
VI.
THE ANCIENT GAMES AT TAILTEN AND CARMAN.
The Corinth and Olympus of ancient Ireland were Tailten and Carman, where the national fairs were periodically held.
"The great fairs anciently held in Ireland," says Prof. W. K. Sullivan, of the Royal College of Science, "were not, like their modern representatives, mere markets; but were assemblies of the people to celebrate funerals, games, and other religious rites, during pagan times; to hold parliaments, promulgate laws, listen to the recitation of tales and poems; engage in, or witness, contests and feats of arms, horse-racing, and other popular games. They were analogous, in many ways, to the Olympian and other games of ancient Greece."
