The Kelpie And The Chieftains’ Sons

One day, all the sons of the chieftains on the Western Isles decided that

it would be a beautiful day to go fishing together. These were the sons

who were tanists, and therefore next in line to rule their father’s

kingdoms. As the weather was perfect for fishing, as a group they

headed out onto the waters of An Cuan Barragh. The lads went out to

fish, but they never came home again.

Seven days passed, and the lads were still missing. In desperation, the

King of the Island of Sgìtheanach called a meeting of the chieftains of all

the islands. They were requested to come to Port Rìgh, which was the

harbour belonging to the Lord of Sgìtheanach. As requesting, the lords

came. They came from all areas, including: Arainn, Cinn Tire, Ile and

Diura, Colbhasa, Muile, Tirodh, Colla, Eige, Uibhist-a-Deas and Uibbist-

a-Tuath, Na hEaradh, and Leodhas.

Once the Lords were gathered, the King of the Islands told them all

about the missing heirs and it was apparent from their faces that they

were amazed by the news. Standing beside King of the Islands was a

young shield bearer by the name of Donall. Donall had been with the

sons when they left to go fishing, but he was the only one who has

returned.

The other lords demanded to know whether it was possible that their

own sons were still alive, and why they had not returned yet Donall had.

It was at that time that the lords saw that Donall’s hand was wrapped in

a bloody dressing and they thought to themselves that something must

have happened to Donall has he escaped from whatever fate had

befallen their son.

The Lord of Colbhasa demanded that Donell tell him whether or not his

own son had perished on the fishing trip, and visibly upset, Donell

confirmed that he was indeed dead along with the other sons. Grief

flooded through the gathered lords until finally, the chief of Ile asked a

question that many of the lords had been thinking as they knew about

the risks of fishing on the An Cuan Barragh.

“Who was it that brought about the Kelpie upon our sons?”

Donell was afraid to answer as it would mean putting blame on one of

the sons, but the King of Sgìtheanach told Donall to speak the truth,

even though it would bring pain to both him and the king. Donall

admitted that the person who had first approached the Kelpie had been

the son of the King of Sgìtheanach, a lad by the name of Iain. Donell

begged the other lords not to blame Iain, as it had been an event that

could not be avoided.

Donall went on to tell the tale of how the sons of the lords had met their

end and how he alone had survived. This is the tale Donall told –

As the ship sailed along, Iain, the son of the King of Sgìtheanach had

noticed a beautiful white horse on the shore who had whinnied and

called out to them. When Prince Iain saw the horse, he was mesmerised

by its beauty and called for the ship to go back to shore so he could

meet the beautiful horse. Iain, said Donell, as everyone knows had a

love for horses and so he was unable to resist meeting such a beautiful

creature.

Once the ship was back at the shore, Iain had walked towards the horse

with his hand held out in front of him.

As Donell told his tale, the lords cried out in disbelief at what they saw as

the stupidity of Prince Iain. They shouted out that surely, he should have

known that he was walking towards a Kelpie as all children were taught

to ancient lores of the area. Donell told the lords that they did know the

stories, but they had never believed them, thinking instead that they

were just stories told to children to frighten them into behaving and not

causing trouble for their elders.

When the lords were settled Donell continued with his story. All the sons

went forward to pet the beautiful horse and thinking that the horse must

be lost they should try and find its owner, after all a horse of such beauty

must belong to someone of great importance. Iain then suggested that

they ride the horse in their search. He climbed onto the horse and one

by one all the other sons, including Donell the shield bearer, clambered

onto the horses back.

Once they were all on the horses back, it ran towards the sea and to the

astonishment of the boys, ran out across the water as though it was

solid ground. There was no escape as the riders found that they were

stuck to the horses back. It was at that point that Donell managed to act,

and grabbing his knife hacked at his fingers to free himself from the

Kelpie. Once he had managed to severe his own fingers, Donell was

free to jump from the Kelpie’s back. The last sight he had of the Kelpie

and its captives was as they plunged down into the Corrievreckan, a

whirlpool which some said was the entrance to the Otherworld. Donell

was amazed to see that even then the sons were laughing and having a

good time as they failed to see the danger they were in.

Once the Kelpie had disappeared, Donell had found the strength to swim

and with the help of the tide, finally found his way back to shore at Dùn

Bheagain, and then home to the King of Sgìtheanach.

The lords were distraught as they thought their sons were gone, but the

Lord of Barragh called out that this did not have to be the end. and they

should fight back against the Kelpie and its magic by also using magic.

The Lord of Barragh was considered to be extremely wise and he was

knowledgeable about the gods and the goddesses as their home was in

his kingdom.

The other lords argued for a while, but then it was decided that a warrior

would be sent to Dall, the Blind One who was a person with knowledge

of the old ways and who lived on the Hill of the Red Fox. The lords were

not sure what he could do, and some were of the opinion that nothing

could be done, but Donall, in anger, yelled at them as he thought they

were hiding instead of fighting. In his anger, he volunteered to be the

one to go to Dall, the Blind One. It was then agreed that no one, other

than those present at the meeting, would know of Donall’s journey in

case the Kelpie found out about their plan. Whilst Donall travelled to the

Hill of the Red Fox, the lords would act in the manner of fathers who

were grieving the loss of their sons, with wailing and lamentations.

Donell was successful in his quest, and he came across Dall, the Blind

One at his home on the Hill of the Red Fox. Donall explained to Dall

what had happened and asked for help in retrieving the sons from the

Kelpie. Dall considered the request, and asked Donall a question.

“Do you trust me?”

Dall explained that in a fight as hard and dangerous as the one what

would be needed to defeat the Kelpie, it would be vitally important that

there was trust in Dall at all times. Donall was silent for a while as he

thought about what Dall had said.

Dall repeated his question, “Do you trust me?”

“Who else can I trust? I trust you,” Donall replied.

Dall smiled and reaching out took hold of Donall’s injured hand, noticing

that the fingers had been severed. He let go off Donall’s hand and

pointed over to the fire where a cauldron was being heated. He looked at

Donall and said,

“If you trust me as you say you do, put your hand into the cauldron”

Donall was a clever boy, and he knew that the water within the cauldron

must be boiling as it was over the fire, but he did not hesitate as he

wanted to prove to Dall that he did indeed trust him. Donall thrust his

hand into the cauldron, and to his surprise he felt no pain from the hot

water. Dall smiled and told the boy to take his hand back out of the

cauldron. Donall did as he was instructed and cried out, not in pain but in

surprise, as his hand was fully healed, and his fingers regrown. He

stared at his hand, hardly daring to believe what he saw, but then he

realised that he had seen the power of the great Dall.

“We will be successful, how can we not?” he shouted.

Dall nodded at his enthusiasm but warned that there was only one night

in the year that they would be successful in their efforts and that night

was in a few days’ time. On the night of the feast of Samhuinn, Dall told

him, once the sun had gone to its evening rest, then it would be possible

to see the Otherworld where his friends were being held. It was only at

that time that souls were able to travel from the Otherworld to the moral

realm. Dall admitted he did not know exactly how this would be achieved

but if Donall had faith in him then it was possible he would be successful

in his task.

Dall went on to explain that at midnights on the feast of Samhuinn, he

would travel to the home of the King of Sgitheanach, and he would

attempt to return the sons to their fathers. He would be pitting his own

strength against that of the Otherworld, and he would stretch out his

hands to try and return the sons to mortal world.

Having achieved what he set out to do, Donall returned to the King of

Sgitheanach to tell him what old Dall had said. The information was not

passed on to the King’s daughter, Dianaimh who was a close friend to

Donall. Donall saw Dianaimh as his sister, and he was madly in love with

Dianaimh’s cousin, Faoineis.

Dianaimh was lamenting as were all the women of the court, but she

was unable to feel too sad about the situation as she was in love, and

that was all she could think about. She had been sitting looking out over

the sea, watching the birds and they swooped and soared in the blue

sky, like a dance. She was singing a song, which told the story of a lost

love.

Cold are the nights I cannot sleep,

Restless are the nights when there is no repose,

Thinking of you my love,

Dreaming of the nights we were together

And now you are no longer at my side.

She became distracted when a man walked in front of her. The man had

the whitest skin she had every seen, and his eyes were as green as

emeralds. His hair was the colour of the water as it broke against the

shore and flowed like the waves over his shoulders. He was wearing a

shirt which was as white as his skin, and a green kilt.

He stopped in front of Dianaimh and asked her why she was singing

such a sad song as it made him feel upset. Dianaimh felt sorry to see

that a tear was falling down the handsome man’s cheek. She said that

she had not experience of lost love and had just been singing the song.

The stranger asked if she would do him the favour of wiping the tear

from his face.

Dianaimh would never have done such a strange request, but she felt

that she was being drawn towards him to do so. As she wiped the tear

away, it stuck to her finger and then dropped down on her chest, just

above her heart. From that moment, she was in love and asked for the

stranger’s name. The stranger told her that his name was Eich-Uisge,

and that he was the Kelpie from the lake. He told the girl that she should

not fear him, and Dianaimh told him that she did not fear him. There was

a thought in her head that she should fear him, but the teardrop had

worked as magic and turned Dianaimh into the Kelpie’s slave.

Dianaimh and the Kelpie declared their love for each other daily, but the

Kelpie made it very clear that he must leave before night fell. At sunset,

he would leave and return the next day, and he requested that should he

ever fall asleep, Dianaimh should ensure that she woke him before night

fall.

One day, the lovers were laying asleep in the shore and sunset fell. Not

feeling that she could awaken her lover who slept so soundly, Dianaimh

let the Kelpie continue to sleep. However, the Kelpie had a reason for

wanting to leave before night as he would change from a beautiful

human man, back into his true form and the magic spell was broken over

Dianaimh and she realised that he was the one who was responsible for

the loss of her brother and the other sons. She knew now that there was

not future for the love she had felt for the Kelpie, and she crept away as

he still slept.

Every day she could hear the Kelpie calling out for her, but she did not

answer him. However, the day came when she decided that she would

approach him and demand answers from him. She headed back to the

shore where they would meet as lovers and the Kelpie announced his

happiness when he saw her. She, however, told him she knew what he

had done to her and who he really was. The Kelpie pleaded with her,

saying that he needed her love, but Dianaimh was determined to find out

what had happened to her brother and the others.

She told the Kelpie that if he did love her as he claimed then he would

grant her a favour. She asked the Kelpie to return the chieftain’s sons as

a gift to her. The Kelpie knew that Dianaimh was hurt and angry at his

betrayal, and he replied that he knew she would not believe him, but he

would indeed return the chieftain’s sons to the mortal world on the

evening when the Otherworld and the mortal world were both visible.

After he made this announcement, he transformed into a beautiful white

horse and gallop away over the water towards the setting sun.

Dianaimh was not to only one who was in love, Donall was madly in love

with her cousin, Faoineis, but she was a cruel and vain woman who did

not love Donall in return. In fact, she loved to dance and flirt with as

many young men as she could as she loved the attention that it brought

her. She would lure young men into her net, making them feel that they

had a chance of her love and then abandon them with their hearts

broken, such was her nature. Donall saw this behaviour and he was

deeply hurt. Dianaimh who loved Donall as a brother, was upset to see

him treated with such disregard. She confronted Faoineis about her

behaviour and how much she was hurting Donall, but the girl did not

care preferring to have to attention of all the young men. Faoineis also

believed that she was too good for a lowly shield bearer and would not

settle for marriage unless it was with a prince, a king, or a chieftain. She

had a very high opinion of her worth.

Finally, it was the day before the Samhuinn festival and Donall proposed

to Faoineis, but she laughed in his face telling him she would never

marry anyone as lowly as him! Donall was upset, but there was nothing

he could do about it. Around them the day went on and the evening of

the festival got close.

Away from the palace, the Kelpie was stirring as sunset arrived and he

walked through his palace which was beneath the waters of coire-

bhreacain, which today is known as Corrievreckan, the Jura-Scarba

whirlpool. He went to sit in his throne and Ròn Ghlas Mòr, the Great

Grey Seal, came to his side. Ròn Ghlas Mòr was the Kelpie’s best friend

and who advised him as they were both wise in the ways of sea.

Ròn Ghlas Mòr was worried as he could see that the Kelpie was not

himself, and he knew that he was still suffering because he had lost the

love of Dianaimh. Ròn Ghlas Mòr knew that even though she had felt

betrayed, Dianaimh still had some love for the Kelpie, but it was not a

love that could ever work. Ròn Ghlas Mòr said to the Kelpie that he

believed he had made a mistake when he approached Dianaimh and he

should have approached her cousin, Faoineis the Vain, and she was a

woman who made men love her and then betrayed them as she had no

loyalty. Ròn Ghlas Mòr said to the Kelpie that Faoineis would not have

been able to escape as she had no soul.

The Kelpie shook his head, saying that would not have been love. It

would have been like trying to love a statue. Shaking himself from his

low mood, he called all the mermaids and mermen to him. He told them

that tonight the chieftain’s sons would be released and Faoineis would

be brought back in their place. Ròn Ghlas Mòr said that he did not feel it

was a fair exchange but maybe in time Faoineis would learn to feel love

for one man.

The Kelpie began to prepare and commanded the mermen and

mermaids to bring his Falluinn na Mhuir-Bhais, which was his Cloak of

Sea-Death, and his Claidheamh Anam, his Soul Sword, which was

capable of cutting into the hardest of hearts and penetrating the darkest

soul without spilling one drop of blood. Prepared for the night, the Kelpie

travelling from the Otherworld to the mortal world as it was the beginning

of Samhuinn Feis.

In the mortal world, Donall was pining in his love for Faoineis, and he

asked her for one dance before he travelled to the Otherworld to try and

rescue the chieftain’s sons with Dall. Faoineis looked around the room

and seeing no handsome men to dance with, agreed to dance with

Donall. They had only just walked onto the dance floor when the doors

swung open, and a handsome man strode into the hall and walked over

to bow before Faoineis asking her to dance.

Faoineis was not called The Vain for no reason and she immediately

dumped Donall to be with the handsome stranger. Donall was

devastated once again, but Dianaimh rushed to his side telling him that

Faoineis was not dancing with a mortal, and she could not help herself.

On the dance floor, the Kelpie was wooing Faoineis with words of

devotion and love. The Kelpie asked her to marry him and requested

she meet him on the shore at the zenith of the moon to give him her

answer. After that, he bowed once more and left.

Donall tried to warn Faoineis that she had been dancing with the Kelpie

and that she was in great danger, but Faoineis laughed an accused him

of being jealous and trying to ruin her happiness. Dianaimh tried to warn

her cousin as well, but Faoineis laughed and said that her cousin was

also jealous, and she flounced out of the room. She was determined that

she would marry the handsome man and return to his kingdom as his

wife.

Faoineis ran down to the shore at the given time and accepted the

Kelpies proposal. The Kelpie pulled her close and put a ring made of

coral on her finger and declared, “Now you are mine forever!!”

Faoineis was chilled but she had no time to think about it before she

found herself on the back of a huge white horse with the voice of the

Kelpie. The Kelpie’s hooves pounded across the water and headed

towards the Corrievreckan. As he plunged into the whirlpool, Faoineis

screamed in fear, but her cries were lost in the roar of the waters. At the

same time, Donall and Dall were at the castle, standing with the king and

his chieftains. As they stood in a circle, Dall raised his voice in a

chanting wail before he stopped and said his magic was finished.

The Kelpie was back on his throne and talking with Ròn Ghlas Mòr. He

told his friend that the deal had been made and it was time to release

the sons of back to the mortal world. The Corrievreckan swirled and

thunder and lightening streaked across the sky. Suddenly, the chieftain’s

sons appeared laying on the shores below the castle. From his throne,

the Kelpie had seen Dall perform his magic which had not been the

reason why the son’s souls had been returned and laughing he said that

Dall would be able to take the credit for it and would be seen as a mighty

magician. The Kelpie was happy to let Dall have the credit, and he

accepted that Dianaimh’s love was now lost to him.

And so, the tale comes to its end. Dall did indeed receive the credit for

the return of the chieftain’s sons, and he was rewarded with a castle

where he could live out the rest of his days. Donall was no longer happy

to just be a shield bearer, and the king made him Lord of Ratharsair and

was rewarded well for the part he played in the sage. Donall and

Dianaimh, whilst not passionate about each other, realised they deeply

cared for each other and were married. The Kelpie heard this news and

cried for his loss, but he turned his attention to Faoineis who was

polishing his throne and ordered her to continue as she would not be

allowed to rest for at least one thousand years. Faoineis bowed her

head in submission to her Lord, the Kelpie and never again would she

be able to break the heart of mortal men.