e day of the great battle with the pirate horde on the Hill of
Slaughter in Kerry.[21] For Liagan, one of the invaders, stood out
before the hosts and challenged the bravest of the Fians to single
combat, and the Fians, in mockery, thrust Conan forth to the fight.
When he appeared, Liagan laughed, for he had more strength than wit,
and he said, "Silly is thy visit, thou bald old man." And as Conan
still approached, Liagan lifted his hand fiercely, and Conan said,
"Truly thou art in more peril from the man behind than from the man in
front." Liagan looked round; and in that instant Conan swept off his
head and then threw down his sword and ran for shelter to the ranks of
the laughing Fians. But Finn was very wroth because he had won the
victory by a trick.

[21] The hill still bears the name, Knockanar.

And one of the chiefest of the friends of Finn was Dermot of the Love
Spot. He was so fair and noble to look on that no woman could refuse
him love, and it was said that he never knew weariness, but his step
was as light at the end of the longest day of battle or the chase as
it was at the beginning. Between him and Finn there was great love
until the day when Finn, then an old man, was to wed Grania, daughter
of Cormac the High King; but Grania bound Dermot by the sacred
ordinances of the Fian chivalry to fly with her on her wedding night,
which thing, sorely against his will, he did, and thereby got his
death. But Grania went back to Finn, and when the Fianna saw her they
laughed through all the camp in bitter mockery, for they would not
have given one of the dead man's fingers for twenty such as Grania.

Others of the chief men that Finn had were Keelta mac Ronan, who was
one of his house-stewards and a strong warrior as well as a
golden-tongued reciter of tales and poems. And there was Oisin, the
son of Finn, the greatest poet of the Gael, of whom more shall be told
hereafter. And Oisin had a son Oscar, who was the fiercest fighter in
battle among all the Fians. He slew in his maiden battle three kings,
and in his fury he also slew by mischance his own friend and
condisciple Linne. His wife was the fair Aideen, who died of grief
after Oscar's death in the battle of Gowra, and Oisin buried her on
Ben Edar (Howth), and raised over her the great cromlech which is
there to this day.

Another good man that Finn had was Geena, the son of Luga; his mother
was the warrior-daughter of Finn, and his father was a near ki