The Celtic Riddle

"Mick Byrne had big plans for his son and daughter. Eamon was already working with him in the family business-peat, I think it was at the time. Rose, he planned to marry to a widower in the area, a middle-aged man by the name of MacCallum, who had great landholdings near those of Mick Byrne."

"A strategic alliance, was it?" I asked.

"I suppose you could call it that," Kitty replied. "Between them, the two families would control much of the land in the area." She paused for a moment, taking a sip of tea before proceeding. "But Rose loved another, a young man she'd met at a dance. And his name was…" she started to choke a little.

"Mac Roth," I said taking the teacup from her and trying to steady her hand. "Don't tell me it was Mac Roth."

She nodded. "Owen Mac Roth. Son of her father's sworn enemy. She didn't tell anyone about it, except I think for me. She was so happy with her young man, and he was a looker, eyes so blue you could see the sea in them, a very lovely young man. And she was a beauty, too, let me tell you. But it wasn't to be.

"Eamon found out about Rose's lover, told his father, and Mick forbade her to see Owen ever again. But she did, and…" here the old woman paused and wiped a tear from her eye, "and with my help. She was so much in love, you see, and begged me to help her. I never could really say no to her, nor Eamon either for that matter. But Eamon found out again, and told his father, and this time, Rose was sent away to Dublin. I wasn't told exactly where: I suppose they thought I might tell Owen, and perhaps I might. The terrible thing was, Rose was pregnant with Owen's child. She was sent away to have the baby-the family said she was finishing her schooling in Dublin. And she was forced to give up the child the minute it was born. She told me she wasn't even allowed to hold it, not once, not even for a minute. She was told her baby was sick and had died, but she never believed it. It had all been arranged by Mick."

"The lost child," I said. "So the Byrnes and the Mac Roths were the local equivalent of the Montagues and the Capulets, were they? Did it end just as badly?"

She smiled slightly. "I suppose you could put it that way, like Romeo and Juliet, but this is Ireland, not Verona. This is more like the old tale of Deirdriu and Naisiu. You don't know the Tain, but do you know the story of Deirdriu?"

"Deirdre of the Sorrows," I replied. "Yes, that one I do. Deirdriu was to marry an old man, a king, I think, I can't remember his name…"

"Conchobar," Kitty said.

"Conchobar. But she loved a strapping young man by the name of Naisiu. They ran away together, but Conchobar and his men tracked them down, and Naisiu was killed, I think. Is that what happened to Owen?"

"Go on," she said, "with the story."

"Deirdre was being given to someone else by Conchobar, and she was on a wagon or something, I can't quite recall all the details, but she dashed her head against a rock and died rather than be with either of these two awful men. Did I get it right?"

"More or less," she replied. "Well, Mick Byrne insisted the wedding between Rose and MacCallum go ahead, and that nothing ever be said about the baby- MacCallum was never to know. Eamon was supposed to be driving Rose over to see MacCallum the night before the wedding. He called her to come out of her room, but there was no reply." Kitty stopped for a moment, and tears started to pour down her cheeks. "Eamon went in after her, but she was dead when he found her. She'd hanged herself." Kitty crossed herself.

"She killed herself rather than marry MacCallum!" I exclaimed.

"She was very depressed, over the loss of her child, and all. Owen, I thought he would die with sorrow. I told him about the baby. I don't know whether I should have or not, but I did. He became a wild man. He looked everywhere for that child, his and Rose's, but he couldn't find a trace. It was very difficult in those days, to track down a child put up for adoption. More difficult than now, and Mick had seen to it there would be no evidence of the child. Owen took to drinking, lost his job."

"Where is he now?"

"I don't know. I moved away. For all I know he's still looking for his child."

"And Eamon? What did he do after all this?"