THE TRAGEDY OF DIARMUID AND GRÁINNE

BY JOHN MURPHY

The author asserts his international copyright to this creative work.

CHARACTERS

FIONN MAC COOL
DERING
OISÍN
OSCAR
CONÁN MAOL
CORMAC MAC ART (The High-King)
DONAL, a servant
GRÁINNE
THE QUEEN, wife of Cormac Mac Art
ORLA, a maid-servant
TWO MALE SERVANTS
DIARMUID
A STRANGER
ANGUS-OF-THE-BIRDS
TWO TRACKERS
A MUSICIAN
TWO CHILDREN

Note: Perhaps because stories of the Fianna have tormented Irish school children of various generations, the spelling of names in this play is an odd mixture of the phonetic and the original Irish.

ACT ONE
SCENE ONE: Main-fort of the Fianna, Hill of Allen. Hill circled with bothys on backdrop. Enter Fionn, Dering, Oisín, Oscar and Conán Maol. They speak in unison:
The brave Fenian band are we,
From the Earth we take freely -
It feeds and heals us gladly
And we praise it constantly

Our traits they number three:
Our hearts are set on liberty,
Our limbs as strong as oak-tree
And our word we honour truly

We roam the hill and valley
And take joy in all we see:
The wolf, the boar and the deer,
Lakes and rivers and the sea

Our traits they number three:
Our hearts are set on liberty
Our limbs as strong as oak tree
And our word we honour truly

FIONN: My heart is longer in those lines. I care not for poem, nor music. I don't even care for hunting.
DERING: Fionn, that is not like you. How many mornings were you the first to rise and look down from a hill or mountain, look down on the river Boyne or the river Shannon or the river Maigue and 'This is going to make a lovely day and a lucky day for hunting'.
FIONN: You speak of old times, Daring. I haven't felt in the mood for hunting this long while, not since my wife died six months ago.
CONÁN MAOL (approaching Fionn and slapping him on the shoulder): Nonsense, Fionn! There's plenty of wolves in the mountain, plenty of deer in the lowlands, plenty of birds in the sky and plenty of fish in the sea; and there's many a woman who'd be only too delighted to her lot and more in with the famous Fionn Mac Cool, a man whose fame has reached the shores of Scotland, a man whose fame has reached the shores of Greece, a man whose fame has even reached the shores of -
OISÍN: Whist, Conán Maol, have you no respect for a man so recently bereaved ?
FIONN: Don't upset yourself, Oisín; don't take offence, Conán Maol. I know you all mean well. It's just that since my wife the daughter of Glenduv died and left me on my own every day has been worse than the one before. ( Off, The sound of beagles barking.) Observe how the sound of beagles barking interrupts my flow of speech. There was a time when that sound was music to my ears: now it just serves to fill me with feelings of great sadness.
What good to me is the beagles' call?
What good to me are my warriors tall?
What good to me is the wine-cup small?
What good to me is the banquet hall?
My wife has gone to the silent clay
I take no joy in this lonesome day

What use the tune, what use heroic rhyme?
For the hunter is but prey to Time
And the hunter dead but prey to rhyme
And rhyme itself be but prey to Time

What good to me is the game of chess?
What good to me is all this contest?
What good to me is all female dress?
What good to me is all mortal flesh?
My wife has gone to the silent clay
I take no joy in this lonesome day

What use the tune, what use heroic rhyme
For the hunter is but prey to Time
And the hunter dead but prey to rhyme
And rhyme itself be but prey to Time

DERING: I have to say that's a very sad poem.

OISÍN: I am of one mind with Dering. That poem you just recited is so sad it's not one bit like you. It's sad and even improper to hear such mournful and defeatist words come from the leader of the Fianna's own lips.
FIONN: I know there's truth in what you're saying, Oisín. But a man can find neither rest, nor contentment when he doesn't have the support of a woman.
OISÍN: How can you talk like that, when there isn't the daughter of a king or chieftain throughout the big world that, if you were to as much cast your eyes at her, wouldn't there and then take up with you?
DERING: I know where you could find a woman and a wife for yourself, Fionn, if that's what you want?
FIONN: Who is she?
DERING: Gráinne the daughter of Cormac Mac Art, the High-King. Gráinne is the most shapely and well-spoken woman of all the women in the whole wide world.
FIONN: You never failed to come up with good advice, Dering ! But for many a long day I have had a quarrel with Cormac Mac Art the High-King and it wouldn't be wise for me to go courting his daughter; it would be far better if you Dering and Oisín were to go to Cormac Mac Art and try and arrange a match on my behalf.
OSCAR: That's a good idea! Will I go along with Dering and Oisin to talk to the
High-King ?
CONÁN MAOL: And I can go too! I have a lot of experience in match-making.
FIONN: No! This is a task that calls for diplomacy, and the more subtle skills of diplomacy only come with age. Let Oisín my own son and Dering the wise travel to Tara to meet the High-King. This new plan of ours has come as rather a surprise to me and, begging your pardon, I'd like to go down to the woods to reflect a while.
( Fionn's exit prompts a pause. )
OISÍN: Through no fault of his own my father Fionn has allowed his mourning for his wife and my mother demoralise the Fianna present here.
DERING: That is so, Oisín. And it's not proper for warriors to be despondent, rather they should be ever joyful and watchful. So might I suggest that, as a means of dispelling our sense of gloom, we repeat the motto of the Fianna. ( They all recite:)
Our traits they number three:
Our hearts are set on liberty
Our limbs as strong as oak tree
And our word we honour truly

SCENE TWO: In the outdoors at Tara. A grove of bushes on backdrop. Off, the somewhat distant sounds of a gathering of people.
Enter servant Donal and Cormac Mac Art. Donal obsequiously makes way for Cormac the King as the latter goes forestage.
CORMAC MAC ART: There's nothing I like more than a gathering of people at a fair. People seem to be at their happiest when they are in assembly. ( Removing crown from his head ) But just for a few moments in the course of a long day I like to get away from it all to reflect a while, so that a few minutes later I can return to the happy assembly and relish all the more the smiles and the laughter of people meeting old friends and making new acquaintances, and enjoy all the more the chattering and shouting of people making deals and forging alliances; and, needless to say, every second man at gatherings of this sort comes to me their King to ask some favour or other. Which reminds me, did I not a few minutes ago happen to see two warriors of the Fianna at the edge of the crowd ? Dering and Oisín, no less. Dering the wise and Oisín who is quite an astute fellow in his own right. I needn't be in any doubt that these two gentlemen didn't come to this fair at Tara just to pass the time; nor did they come to Tara in the hope of seeing a man with two heads. No, these two brave fellows came on business, important - important business with me no doubt. Any minute now I can expect these two warriors to seek me out. What did I say ? ( Cormac Mac Art returns the crown to his head as Dering and Oisín enter. ) Here comes two of the Fianna, the same virtuous Fianna that allow no crime go unpunished in my kingdom and that preserve the mystic land of Ireland from foreign invader.
DERING AND OISIN: Greetings, your noble Majesty.
CORMAC MAC ART: And greetings to you, Dering and Oisín, I'm happy to meet you both.
DERING: Great weather today, and great weather for a fair-day I might add. I was just saying to Oisín where on earth would so many people come together in good humour; where on earth would you meet so many people of diverse trade and costume; where on earth, for that matter, would you see so many horses and strange creatures of the world ? Where on earth but on a fair-day at Tara in the reign of Cormac Mac Art !
CORMAC MAC ART: In your wanderings about this assembly of people on this lovely day you didn't happen to catch glimpse of a man with two heads, did you, Dering?
DERING: I assume you jest, your Majesty.
CORMNAC MAC ART: I do indeed. For I know full well that it is not the custom of two warriors of the Fianna such as yourselves to spend half the day loitering around on a fair-day like thieves or vagabonds intent on roguery. I know you've come on important business and it would please me if it would please you to say what it is.
DERING: You judge matters correctly, your Majesty. We come on important business. Indeed, there are many people who would say that our business here today is the most important business there is; and even a warrior like me wouldn't be inclined to say that people with such an opinion have got it wrong.
OISÍN: Dering is a little shy, your Majesty, Dering is a little shy about saying that Fionn Mac Cool, the leader of the Fianna, has sent us two to ask for the hand of your renowned and beautiful daughter Gráinne in marriage.
CORMAC MAC ART: I might have guessed, for most of the time is there not a very simple explanation for what brings men to Tara. Isn't every second visitor to Tara either seeking to marry my daughter or else trying to arrange a match with her on behalf of someone or other? Now the great Fionn Mac Cool is added to the long list of men who wish to marry Gráinne; and, of course, I can't but remark that the same Fionn Mac Cool and myself have had our differences and have our differences. But, that said, I would never allow my own feelings of anger with Fionn ruin a chance of happiness for my own dear daughter, Gráinne. I would allow nothing of the sort; for it is my wish that everybody be happy and it is my great wish that Gráinne be happy in marriage. But, then, there isn't a king or a prince in his own right in the green island of Ireland who hasn't come to me asking for the hand of Gráinne in marriage; and then, of course every man that Gráinne has refused puts the blame on her innocent father. So, for the sake of a quiet life, I intend telling my servant here to bring Gráinne here this very minute, so that I can ask her to her face will she marry Fionn. Donal!
( Exit Donal. )
DERING: You were speaking there just jokingly, your Majesty, of a man with two heads. But, in all seriousness, I would point out that, if you were to meet those who have travelled to the faraway Eastern world, they would tell you tales of more fabulous things than a man with two heads. Indeed, a very experienced traveller once told me that he saw a -
( Enter Gráinne.)
GRAINNE: O Father dearest, I hope you didn't summon me here for folly. Pardon me, I spy two warriors of the Fianna here and somehow I suspect important business is afoot.
CORMAC MAC ART: Yes, daughter, your suspicions are most apt. Fionn Mac Cool, the warrior-chieftain of the Fianna, has sent these two emissaries to ask on his behalf for your hand in marriage; and you have but to say the word 'Yes' and my agreement is with and my blessing is upon the marriage of Fionn and Gráinne.
GRAINNE: If Fionn is good enough to be your son-in-law, he's good enough to be my husband.
CORMAC MAC ART: My daughter has consented to marriage; my daughter is to be wed at last. All that remains is for the happy couple to meet and day and place of the wedding be decided.
DERING: Might I suggest that a party of the Fianna including Fionn Mac Cool pay a visit to the royal-palace of Tara a fortnight from today, so that the lovers may meet.
CORMAC MAC ART: Yes, that is a most sensible plan. No one could imagine how happy I am that my daughter Gráinne's future has been decided.
How happy I am today
As father and a king;
My child I give away
To warrior bold and strong.
She will know no poor day
Nor will she suffer wrong;
From love she will not stray
As summer's day is long.

O Gráinne faithful child
To Fionn be faithful wife
That your weathers be mild
And happy be your life

How happy I am today
As father and a man;
My daughter well did say
Fionn is to be her man.
Happy this union I say
All as happy as I am;
Faithful couple always
As each minute is ran

O Grainne faithful child
To Fionn be faithful wife
That your weathers be mild
And happy be your life

OISIN: Noble sentiments, your Majesty, on this most auspicious day.
( Enter Donal and the Queen. Donal briefly
shows displeasure as the Queen pushes past him. She brings her hands to tear-filled eyes as she speaks. )
THE QUEEN: Gráinne, Gráinne! My child, my child! I couldn't but overhear that my child is to be married to the brave and illustrious Fionn Mac Cool. O what happiness! As happy as we are today, it is but a foretaste of the happiness that is come, as the union of Fionn and Gráinne bestows peace and good fortune to everyone throughout the land. We're all going to be so happy !

ACT TWO
SCENE ONE: banquet-hall at Tara. A table at right and a table at left. Seating.
Two male servants are roasting a pig on open fire at back. Maid-servant Orla is busy completing table-setting. Enter the Queen.
THE QUEEN: Is everything in complete and absolute readiness for our little feast, good servant?
ORLA: I can safely say, your ladyship, that everything is in perfect order and as good as good as ready for our guests.
THE QUEEN: I don't mind telling you even if you're only a servant to the household and a servant to Gráinne in particular, I don't mind telling you that I'm very excited.
( Enter Cormac Mac Art. )
CORMAC MAC ART: I take it all is at the ready for our guests who I observed just this minute in the half-light make their way to the palace gates. Nothing that I will say to these warriors of the Fianna will allude to the fact that Fionn Mac Cool and myself are in some disagreement. Do I not this very minute hear this brave party in happy mood ?
( Off, the warrior party are heard in song and banter. Fionn, Diarniuid, Oisín, Oscar and Conán Maol fall silent as they enter. )
FIONN MAC COOL: I sincerely hope that the exuberance of the Fianna here caused no offence to this royal household, nor to your royal self, Cormac.
CORMAC MAC ART: No offence at all, no offence but great joy. It is good to see you Fionn and good to see your fellow warriors here. But let us not wait on ceremony, but let you all take your seats and let the maid-servant Orla fetch Gráinne here this instant and also instruct servant Donal to be in quick attendance.
( Exit Orla. The company take their seats, Fionn and royal couple at one table Diarmuid, Oisin, Oscar and Conán Maol at the other table. All engage in animated conversation as loud music plays. During which music Orla and Donal enter and assist in the pouring of the wine. Gráinne also enters and is found chatting with a standing Conán Maol as music fades. )
CONÁN MAOL: And just then the monster with three eyes in his head appeared at the top of the hill, and Fionn Mac Cool was very frightened and Oisín was very frightened and Oscar was very frightened; and they were all about to make quick retreat, when I with great courage walked up the hill against the coming monster; and I didn't stop walking until I could see the whites of monster's six eyes and I could see the sweat dripping from his huge nostrils and cool as a breeze I sunk my sword into the monster's heart and the monster fell over and died !
GRAINNE: I thought you said earlier that the monster had three eyes. But tell me, Conán Maol, what cause or occasion brought Fionn Mac Cool to the town of Tara tonight ?
CONAN MAOL: If you don't know what brought Fionn Mac Cool here tonight, it should be no surprise that I don't know !
GRAINNE: I want to know from you what brought Fionn Mac Cool here tonight.
CONAN MAOL: If that's the case, I should say that Fionn came here to claim you as his woman and his wife.
( A pause. ).
GRAINNE: It would be no wonder if Fionn wanted me as a wife for his son Oisín, or even as a wife for his grandson Oscar; but it's a great wonder to me that he wants me for himself, since he's every bit as old as my father.
CONAN MAOL: If Fionn was to hear you say that, he'd have nothing to do with you and Oisín would have nothing to do with your either.
GRAINNE; Tell me, Conan Maol, who is that sweet-tongued, handsome man to the right of Oisín the son of Fionn?
CONAN MAOL: That's Diarmuid of the shining face, the man most loved by all the women throughout Ireland. Of course, I myself as one of the bravest of the Fianna am much loved by women.
( Gráinne drifts away from Conán Maol. Conán Maol returns disappointed to table. )
GRÁINNE ( beckoning to Orla ):The plan and scheme that is afoot tonight does not agree with me. It is time I performed some mischief.
ORLA: You summoned me, Mistress Gráinne.
GRAINNE: Bring me the large jewel-studded drinking-cup. The jewel-studded cup can hold enough wine for nine times nine men and on this night I shall fill it with a special enchanted wine that does send all who drink it into a deep sleep. ( Exit Orla. ) It is peculiar, is it not, how all things seek out their very opposite. For men drink wine of all kinds so as to forget and, often as not, so as to sleep. .Surely, there can be no more perfect imitation of death than sleep. Perhaps all the joys and glories of the world possess one quality in common: they all grant a little of the freedom of death.
The peace of death is life's goal
.Some seek it in the noise of war
The peace of death is life's goal
Some seek it in the heat of bed
The peace of death is life's goal
Some seek it in song or a star
The peace of death is life's goal
Some seek it in the wine so red

( Enter Orla and she places the jewel-studded drinking-cup on table. Gráinne then fills the drinking-cup from special wine-jar.)

The wine I pour is the stuff of death
It grants death's peace for small sojourn
The wine of life is more potent yet
It grants death's peace without return

Orla, take this jewel-studded cup to Fionn and tell him it is Gráinne who sends it to him.
( Orla does as instructed. Fionn takes a long draught from the cup and passes it to the King who, in turn, passes it to the Queen. The three who drink from the cup fall asleep. Gráinne then grabs Diarmuid by the arm and drags him forestage. ) Will you be my love, Diarmuid, and take me from this house tonight?
DIARMUID: I will not take you from this house, for you have promised yourself to Fionn, and I will have nothing to do with a woman who is promised to Fionn.
GRÁINNE: I put you under bonds, Diarmuid, bonds that no true hero is known to break, to take me out of Tara tonight and rescue me from a marriage to an old man.
DIARMUID: These are evil bonds, Gráinne, and nothing but trouble and strife can come from them. Please Gráinne, give your love to Fionn as you promised; for Fionn is more noble and courageous than any man of the Fianna and there is no man more deserving of a woman's love.
GRÁINNE: You are under bonds, Diarmuid, and should you break these bonds you will be forever known as a traitor and a coward.
DIARMUID: Don't you know that when Fionn sleeps at Tara he enjoys the right and privilege of keeping the keys of great gates on his person, so even if we wished we could not leave Tara.
GRÁINNE: I have the answer to that difficulty: there is a secret door leading from my bower and we could go through that door before Fionn and my royal parents wake up.
DIARMUID: It is not fitting for a honourable warrior to escape through a secret door like a thief.
GRÁINNE: It is well within the ability of any member of the Fianna to jump over the palisades using his spear as a jumping-pole. Or could it be, Diarmuid, that you are only trying to raise petty objections in order not to help me?
DIARMUID: Let us not be rash. Let us ask the advice of Oisín and Oscar. My faithful friends, Oisín and Oscar, Gráinne here has put me under bonds to rescue her from an unsuitable marriage to Fionn and take her from Tara tonight. Am I not in all fairness entitled to break such cruel bonds?
OISÍN: It is a sad predicament you are in, Diarmuid, but no honourable member of the Fianna would refuse to come to the help of a woman in distress.
OSCAR: Sad as I am to say so, I am of one mind with Oisín. You cannot break the bonds Gráinne has placed on you.
( A weeping Diarmuid puts on his weapons. )
DIARMUID ( clasping the hands of Oisín and Oscar ): Never again will I know the joy of your comradeship either at the chase or, after a long day's hunting, at the ale-feast.
( To Gráinne ) It's a sad journey you are bringing on yourself and upon me, Gráinne; for there is no corner of Ireland that Fionn Mac Cool will not search for us.
GRAINNE: I am resolved to go with you, Diarmuid, and I will never part with you until death itself comes between us.
( Exit Diarmuid and Gráinne. Conán Maol accidentally topples wine-cup from table. Fionn stirs and wakes up. )
FIONN MAC COOL: What treachery is this? ( Fionn sounds hunting-horn. King and Queen wake up. ) Tell me Oisín and tell me Oscar that my eyes do not deceive me and that the woman I intended to be my wife and the warrior I trusted so have fled together from Tara? Have Diarmuid and Gráinne fled?
OISÍN: Your eyes do not deceive you.
OSCAR: Diarmuid and Gráinne are gone.
CORMAC MAC ART: What?
FIONN MAC COOL: This treachery I will punish. No matter where in Ireland Diarmuid and Gráinne make home, no matter where they hide I will find them.
THE QUEEN: What calamity is this?
CORMAC MAC ART: Fionn says that he will hunt down man who has stolen my daughter from her palace-home and from Fionn who was to be her husband. I must believe Fionn
THE QUEEN: You believe too much, husband Cormac. I could have known something would happen to spoil our happiness. Why did you not foresee and prevent Diarmuid's treachery? You brought all this unhappiness upon us, Cormac.
CORMAC MAC ART: I brought all this unhappiness about, I brought all this unhappiness about, I have never been more outraged ! But Fionn has vowed to hunt down Diarmuid and my daughter Gráinne who he has tricked into going along with him; and Fionn Mac Cool I must believe.
FIONN MAC COOL: You can believe me, Cormac. I shall search every glen and every mountain, every forest and every cave until I find Diarmuid and Gráinne.

SCENE TWO: Backdrop, a moonlit wood. A fire smoulders forestage. Diarmuid has almost completed the construction of a small bothy.
GRÁINNE: We have been walking through glen and up and down mountain this past year. And every time we see a hare rise from its sleep and run away in fright and every time we see bird rise from its nest and fly away in distress, our own two hearts beat faster and we wonder was it ourselves alone that caused such creatures to flee in terror, or have such creatures fled in terror because Fionn Mac Cool happens to be in the vicinity.
DIARMUID: We are fugitives now and our lives are every bit as uncertain as the life of any creature of the wild.
GRÁINNE: I wouldn't wish for any other kind of life than the life of a fugitive: I wouldn't wish for any other kind of life if it meant that I could not have you, Diarmuid. But, ever so often, when I grow tired of walking on wet-land and walking up hill, I think how sweet it would be if you could command two horses and a chariot and we could drive through the fair land of Ireland.
DIARMUID: Those are idle dreams, Gráinne. When we fled from Tara we had to abandon our horses, for had we kept our horses Fionn would have tracked us down instantly.
GRAINNE: Sometimes I think the world is designed to increase our difficulties. Fionn is the most capable of huntsmen, is a man who has dedicated his life to the chase, and now Fionn Mac Cool intends to hunt us down.
DIARMUID: That is so, and that we must accept. We are fugitives now. And all of those who would once have shown us hospitality will no longer do so lest they incur the wrath of Fionn.
GRAINNE: As I was walking over a bog today I stepped in a bog-hole and a splash of water wet my leg. It seems to me, Diarmuid, that for all your bravery in war and battle, the splash of water had more courage than you !
DIARMUID: That's true, for up to now I kept away from you for fear of bringing the anger of Fionn down on top of me; but no man can get the better of a woman and I'm not prepared to put up with your insulting talk anymore.
( Diarmuid kisses Grainne. )
GRAINNE (startled ): Did you hear the east wind blow the sound of footsteps in our direction?
DIARMUID: Tell me true, who goes there.
( Enter a stranger, colourfully dressed and carrying a blackthorn stick. )
STRANGER: Take it easy, you have nothing to fear from me. Be you outlaws or men with a history of murder playing on your minds, you have nothing to fear from me. Nothing to fear from good ol' Solfred. I mix with all sorts of people, and no one as yet has as much as disturbed a lock of my hair. I have the confidence of one who knows this world, and in a manner speaking I own this world.
DIARMUID: Are you some hireling sent by Fionn Mac Cool to find out where we are hiding and return to him with the news?
STRANGER; Worry not, I am no hireling of this Fionn Mac Cool nor of any other man. I am that happiest of things and that rarest of things: a poet and a man of wealth. I am also a traveller to these parts, and in these parts I hear much talk of Fionn Mac Cool and the Fianna. Why only today I happened to hear that the woman this Fionn Mac Cool hoped to take for a wife had fled with her lover into the wild countryside. And by this and by that I gather you are the very two that Fionn has vowed to search every corner of Ireland for. But I understand love as I understand all human afflictions and not a word of your presence here in this wood will I breathe to Fionn Mac Cool nor to any of his associates should I happen to meet them.
GRAINNE: I am thankful for your promise of secrecy about our presence here in this wood. But, as thankful as I am and aware as I am that your are a stranger in this country, I can't but be impressed by your detachment and independence from all the great and little troubles that bother people of great and little standing in Ireland. Are all the people in your native country as free of life's tribulations as yourself ?
STRANGER: Not at all, good lady. I have been in many a strange land and all these lands are as familiar to me as my native land; and everywhere I go I find people are forever engaged in little conspiracies and little disputes and they never take time to stand back and observe. But I observe! I observe great and little creatures defend their territories and establish little kingdoms for themselves, until they grow old and not as fast as before and they themselves fall to some new challenger and their territory, their kingdom is lost and gone forever. I have observed all this, and I have resolved not to fall into this way of life. I have decided instead to go my own way as a wanderer and observer.
DIARMUID: It must be a lonely life for you, to wander this rich world and never say to yourself 'There is something here of beauty that I would claim for my own.'
STRANGER: It is not for you to say that my life is lonely, you that are not master of your own fate but live in fear of every noise on the wind, lest it be a sign that the people that are searching for you have caught up with you. As for me, I am happy to see all things as but a shadow and go my way just comparing shadow with shadow. And speaking of going my way, I'm on my way this minute. I am the guest of some local chieftain. I find that chieftains and kings throughout this world never tire of hearing of my philosophy. It is, I suspect, a pleasant diversion from the troubled lives they lead. Good night and may you find some respite on own your troubled journey.
( Exit Stranger )
GRÁINNE: What an interesting stranger that was !
DIARMUID: We are two people on a journey that has no foreseeable end, and we can expect to be beset by many terrors and trials and for these reasons alone we would be well advised to pay no heed to the boastful talk of strangers.
GRAINNE: You speak with a brave sort of pessimism, Diarmuid. It is true that I have abandoned my palace-home and you have left behind your warrior-companions; but these are not the greatest of evils. Have we not our love to share all the long day as we wander the trackless wastes of Ireland, and as we feed on the berries of the forests and salmon from the rivers can we not also take delight in the many strangers we will meet and the fabulous stories they have to tell?
DIARMUID: I would dearly love to sleep, but I fear this wood is alive with people who are searching for us.
GRAINNE ( embracing Diarmuid): Sleep my love !
Sleep my love sleep tonight
Ancient lovers knew our plight -
To fear to walk in the sun,
To fear to rest in the night

The stag eastward does not sleep
The hornless doe does not rest
The grouse sleeps not in the heath
The lively linnet shuns her nest

Fionn's men are on our trail
Diarmuid I will watch the while
That Fionn's search will fail
And I will have you all the while

Sleep Diarmuid, my love, and I will keep watch.
( Diarmuid begins to enter the bothy, only to suddenly spring to his feet and prepare for combat. )
DIARMUID: Our pursuers are all around us.
( Enter Angus-of-the-Birds. )
ANGUS-OF-THE-BIRDS: You have no cause to fear me, Diarmuid. For I am none other than Angus-of-the-birds your foster-father, and I have long ago pledged myself to your protection. This very moment is a moment of great danger for you; for Fionn Mac Cool is nearby and ready to avenge himself on you for the stealing of his bride. But fear not Diarmuid and Gráinne, for this cloak that I wear has magic properties; and if you two fugitives hide within the folds of this same cloak you will both be able to make your escape unseen by Fionn and his people.
DIARMUID: My heart rejoices at your coming to our assistance, my dear foster-father. I will be greatly pleased if you spirit Gráinne away to some safe hiding-place. But I fear I myself cannot avail of the offer to steal away under the protection of your cloak; for I am a warrior and a warrior is duty-bound to stand his ground and fight his way out of trouble.
ANGUS-OF-THE-BIRDS: Very well, my foster-son. I will spirit Gráinne away to the Headland of the Two Swallows, and if you Diarmuid happen to survive this encounter with Fionn Mac Cool, you may join us there and Gráinne and I will be more than happy to see you.
( Exit Angus-of-the-Birds and Grainne. )
DIARMUID: Fionn and his people have found me. ( Diarmuid goes to the right as music plays. Music stops. ) Who goes there?
THE VOICE OF OISÍN: Not an enemy of yours, Diarmuid, but your friend Oisín and if you come this way no harm will befall you.
DIARMUID: I won't go that of yours until I know where Fionn is waiting. (Off ,music resumes. Diarmuid goes to the left. Music stops. ) Who goes there?
VOICE OF OSCAR: Your friend Oscar. Come this way and I will fight to preserve your life even at the cost of my own.
DIARMUID: I can't go that way of yours, Oscar, because if Fionn were to discover that you helped in my escape he would kill you. ( Off, music resumes. Diarmuid goes to the right. Music stops. ) Who goes there?
VOICE OF CONÁN MAOL: This is the brave Conán Maol. Come this way and you will have nothing to fear. Fionn Mac Cool lives in great fear of me.
DIARMUID: I am determined to make my escape past Fionn Mac Cool, so that Fionn Mac Cool cannot blame any of my one -time comrades for my escape. ( Diarmuid goes to the left and shouts: ) I will pass this way, Fionn, I will pass the way you are guarding yourself.
( Diarmuid jumps in exit. Moments later Fionn enters.)
FIONN MAC COOL: The young and athletic Diarmuid has eluded me one more time. But, if he did elude me, he did not do so without the help and assistance of the Fianna, the same Fianna I brought along with me to search for Diarmuid and Gráinne. Very well, if the Fianna bear more loyalty to Diarmuid than they do to me, I will hire other men to find Diarmuid and Gráinne and hand them them over to me.

SCENE THREE: 'Headland of the two Swallows', mountain on backdrop.
As Gráinne and Angus-of-the-Birds wait, they walk about to give expression to their anxiety
GRÁINNE: Hours have past since we bid farewell to Diarmuid and all the while I am left wondering did he survive his encounter with Fionn or is his young body lying in wet clay as I speak.
ANGUS-OF-THE-BIRDS: Don not let your mind be overtaken with morbid imaginings. Diarmuid is young and brave and all times we must be of the belief that Diarmuid will survive. Only when you see with out own eyes the body of Diarmuid with the breath of life no longer in it must you ever begin to think of Diarmuid as dead.
GRÁINNE: Your words should inspire me with hope, but they only fill me with foreboding.
ANGUS-OF-THE-BIRDS: The ways of a warrior are different, the ways of a warrior are -
( Enter Diarmuid. )
GRÁINNE ( running to Diarmuid ): O how great is my delight to see you, Diarmuid.
DIARMUID: There is no time to take delight in my survival. Fionn does not rest in his desire for vengeance, and we have to make our way from this spot at once.
GRÁINNE: This is a weary and a troubled life we lead. Wherever we cook our food we cannot eat there; wherever we eat our food we cannot sleep there; and wherever we sleep one night we cannot eat sleep there the following night. Surely we deserve some rest from this life of constant journeying?
DIARMUID: These thoughts of yours Gráinne are unworthy. We must make haste.
ANGUS-OF-THE-BIRDS: Let us pause briefly and allow me to make a suggestion. There is one spot in this island of Ireland where Fionn is unlikely to search for you. I speak of the Wood of Duvros. In that wood there is a special tree, and this tree is guarded by an ugly one-eyed giant by the name of Shavran the Surly. How that magic tree came to be in the wood of Duvros and how Shavran the Surly came to guard that tree is a story in itself.
GRÁINNNE: Everybody knows that story. The story of how many years ago two women of the Fairy people by the names of Aoife and Aine fell into jealous dispute as to which of their husbands was the better hurler. Aoife was married to a captain in the Fianna and Aine was married to one of her own people, that is to say the people of the Fairy. So, as a means of settling the dispute, 'twas agreed that the men of the Fianna should play a hurling match against the men of the Fairy in order to determine who were the better hurlers. The match was to be played near Loch Lene. The Fairy people came from their own land and they brought with them food for the journey and the food they brought consisted of crimson nuts, the sweetest of apples and juicy rowan berries. But, as the Fairy people were passing by the Wood of Duvros, one rowan berry of the berries they were carrying accidentally fell to the ground and it took seed and a tree grew on the spot.
DIARMUID: And the remainder of the story is predictable. The fruit of this rowan tree was intoxicating as fine wine and all who ate of it lived beyond their natural life-span. But the Fairy folk were of no mind to share the fruit of this magic tree with mortals; and that is why the Fairy folk employed Shavran the Surly to guard the tree. And no weapon is capable of killing Shavran the Surly, no weapon except three strokes from his own iron club which he never leaves out of his hands be he awake or asleep. Is it any wonder that not even the Fianna dare to hunt in the same wood?
ANGUS-OF-THE-BIRDS: And that is my point. A wood where even the Fianna dare not hunt is surely a place where you both will be safe from the vengeful Fionn.
DIARMUID: It does seem as if the Wood of Duvros is the only place in Ireland where Gráinne and I can rest awhile. So to the Wood of Duvros Gráinne and I must go. But walk with us a little while, Angus-of-the-Birds, before we say goodbye and you return to the solitary ways of your magic and I attempt to come to some arrangement with this terrible giant Shavran the Surly.
GRÁINNE: We can delay no longer. Fionn and his people are here.
( Diarmuid, Gráinne and Angus-of-the-Birds make hurried exit. Enter Fionn. )
FIONN: I believe Diarmuid and Gráinne have fled from this place this instant. Indeed, I should be thankful in some ways that so far I have failed to catch up with them. For it is true that since I began this pursuit of Diarmuid and Gráinne I have completely shaken off the dark feelings of mourning. Yes, while I will never rest until I make my capture of the two fugitives, I am happy to say that my old mood has returned where I am pleased to delight in the prospect of each new day and the chance of enjoying the thrill of the hunt.
The blood in me rises again
For the music of the chase:
The stags belling in the glen
And my hounds hot in the race

I want to hear the sound again
Of my hounds in great uproar,
As the stag-flesh they do rend
And make the grass red with gore

But it's not the stag I now chase
But Diarmuid thief of my wife:
Diarmuid, cause of my disgrace,
Diarmuid will pay with his life

( Enter Oisín and Oscar. )
OISÍN: We are happy to over-hear that the dark days of mourning are over for you, Fionn and that once more your chief delight is to partake in the chase.
OSCAR: We also realize that the elopement of Diarmuid and Gráinne ways heavily upon your mind and we intend to assist you in every way possible in capturing the unfaithful two.
FIONN: Do you mistake me for a fool? And a fool I would be if I had not realized long ago that those who have resorted to every trick and device in helping Diarmuid and Gráinne stay at large were the same members of the Fianna that I innocently enlisted with a view to they helping me find them
OISÍN: Jealousy must have poisoned your mind, Fionn; for only a poisonous jealousy would have you cast doubts on the loyalty of Fianna to you as their leader.
FIONN: I have learnt the hard way that the Fianna are more loyal to the traitor Diarmuid than to me their rightful leader. And that is why I have arranged to enlist the help of men who soldier for money to hunt down the unfaithful two.
OISÍN: I am saddened by the drift of your talk, Fionn. For it is an evil day that portends even more evil days when Fionn Mac Cool places more trust in mercenaries than in the Fianna.
FIONN: Evil or not, Oisín, I have arranged to employ professional trackers to find Diarmuid and Gráinne. And, as luck would have it, two such trackers make their way to me this minute.
( Enter two trackers. They are dressed in neat animal-skins but bear a greater assortment of knives on their persons than any of the
Fianna. )
FIONN: I take it you are the two trackers who I sent for and who I heard are so adept at chasing a man or a beast that as you walk along the earth no man or animal that has passed the same way within a fortnight escapes your notice.
FIRST TRACKER: We are the same two you speak of, and we have come to do business.
SECOND TRACKER: Provided you make it worth our while, of course.
FIONN: I suspect you two fellows are not much given to sentiment; but let me remind you that when Diarmuid ó Duivne stole my bride, Gráinne the King's daughter, Diarmuid broke his pledge of honour to the Fianna and so more than deserves to be hunted down like animal quarry.
SECOND TRACKER: You can save yourself the trouble of making excuses for your own actions, Fionn. All we want is rich payment and we will deliver Diarmuid and Gráinne to you.
FIRST TRACKER: We will hunt down Diarmuid like you would hunt a stag.
We will hunt down Diarmuid
Like you would hunt a stag;
It's not glory we want
But gold, gold in the bag

Give us the gold, Fionn
We care not for poetry
Nor for tales of old
Give us the gold, Fionn

Men die in the field
Men die like wild dogs
But gold don't lose value
While flesh rots in the bog

We will hunt down Diarmuid
Like you would hunt a stag
It's not glory we want
But gold, gold in the bag

FIONN: Do not fear, gentlemen, I will pay you handsomely if you fulfill the task I set you. And in the task I set you I give you a choice: either bring me the head of a particular warrior or else bring me a fistful of berries.
OISÍN: The head of Diarmuid is what he is asking of you. And, if you were a force of two hundred fighting men, Diarmuid would still get the better of you.
FIRST TRACKER: And what about the fistful of berries he is looking for?
OISÍN: It is an even harder task to get those berries. For the berries Fionn speaks of are Fairy berries growing on a magic tree in the Duvros wood, and that tree is guarded night and day by a terrible giant by the name of Shavran the Surly.
FIRST TRACKER ( To second tracker ): Fionn has given us a choice of task
and the second task is as bad as the first.
SECOND TRACKER ( to first tracker ): We've come a long way to do business and it would be a shame to go back empty-handed.
FIRST TRACKER ( To Fionn ): We will get you the berries, because we're not of a mind to let anybody accuse us of being afraid of Shavran the Surly.
FIONN: Well promised! The lure of gold may be all that motivates you two; but the words you utter have more sincerity than the false promises coming from my fellow-warriors in the Fianna. One way or another, I will have my revenge.

SCENE FOUR: A sunlit Wood of Duvros. Trees on backdrop and a particular magic tree at back. Shavran the Surly is asleep at base of tree.
SHAVRAN THE SURLY: Shavran the Surly wakes up. Shavran not very smart, but Shavran smart enough to let nobody come near this magic tree. Shavran the Surly kill anybody that try to eat berries from this tree.
A big big giant am I
I have but one big eye
I am slow in the walk
And I am slow to talk
But I can grab your neck
And give a mighty kick
And you die like a rat
If you dare cross my path

I know no one loves me
I know they all fear me
That's how it is with me
And that's how it should be

Shavran the Surly go get nuts for breakfast. ( Shavran the Surly goes to exit; but as soon as he turns to do so Diarmuid tosses a stone on the stage. Shavran the Surly turns in direction
of the sound. ) Shavran the Surly hear sound he don't like.
VOICE OF DIARMUID: Shavran, Shavran, this is the warrior Diarmuid o Duivne and not alone do I promise that I won't take any berries from the magic tree, I also promise that I will kill any man who would attempt to eat the fruit of the same tree.
SHAVRAN THE SURLY: Shavran the Surly like what Diarmuid say, because now Shavran and Diarmuid protect the magic tree. Shavran no longer alone.
DIARMUID: That is right, Shavran. I will be your friend, and together we will stop any stranger from eating the berries of the magic tree.
SHAVRAN THE SURLY: I was hungry before you came along, Diarmuid, and I am still hungry now that you are here and so I go for breakfast.
( Exit Shavran the Surly. )
DIARMUID; At last I found a place where Gráinne and I won't be bothered by Fionn. But I speak too soon, for do I not the sound of two sets of footsteps.
( Enter the two trackers. )
FIRST TRACKER: Are you Diarmuid o Duivne who has fled with the King's
daughter ?
DIARMUID: What is it to you that I am Diarmuid o Duivne, for I am Diarmuid o Duivne!
SECOND TRACKER: Well, Diarmuid, let me tell you that Fionn Mac Cool has hired us two either to return with your head or else return to him with a fistful of berries from the magic tree yonder.
DIARMUID: The choice in task that Fionn has offered you is not much in the way of a choice. But choose what task it is to be, ye miserable hirelings: chose between combat with me or taking the magic berries and incurring the wrath of the terrible giant Shavran the Surly.
FIRST TRACKER: We're more of a mind to engage you in combat.
( Diarmuid wrestles with both trackers, quickly overcoming both and binding them both hand and foot with their own belts. Enter Gráinne. )
GRÁINNE: More trouble, and not a day has lapsed since I fled from Tara with you Diarmuid without its share of trouble. But I was just thinking there as I overheard the trackers speak of Fionn's interest in acquiring a fistful of berries from the magic tree; I was thinking how wonderful it must be to taste those berries and how wonderful again it must be to experience the intoxication and invigoration of those berries.
DIARMUID: Has it not occurred to you that if we go against Shavran the Surly and chose to eat those berries we will lose whatever chance we have of finding peace and contentment
here in the Wood of Duvros! Do you not realise that it is only his fear of Shavran the Surly that stops Fionn from hunting us down this minute?
GRÁINNE: Life is for enjoyment, and I will never eat again until I taste those magic berries.
DIARMUID: That being so, I have no choice but to go and challenge Shavran for the right to eat those berries.
FIRST TRACKER: Will you free our hands and feet and we will go and challenge Shavran for the right to pluck those berries and we will bring them to Gráinne.
DIARMUID: I can't agree to set you free to go and challenge Shavran the Surly. For I have just stopped short of taking your lives, and I don't want you to die at the sight of a giant so horrible as Shavran the Surly.
SECOND TRACKER: We are not so delicate that we would die at the sight of a giant. Will you at least set us free, so that we can at least watch you in combat with Shavran?
DIARMUID: I suppose no harm can come of you watching me in combat with Shavran.
( Diarmuid frees the two trackers and exits to face Shavran. The two trackers go to Diarmuid's exit point to watch. )
GRAINNE: How helpless is a woman in this world ! Not a day goes by without my man Diarmuid coming under threat of his life, and all I can do while Diarmuid fights for his life is wait and worry.
FIRST TRACKER: The giant has refused Diarmuid permission to pluck the magic berries.
SECOND TRACKER: The giant is attacking Diarmuid with his spiked iron-club. Diarmuid has ducked the blow from the iron-club, Diarmuid has jumped on top of the giant, Diarmuid has torn the iron-club from the giant's own hands; and now Diarmuid prepares to attack the giant with the giant's own club. One! ( off, sound of first impact of club on giant), two!
( sound of second impact of club on giant), three! ( sound of third impact of club on giant ). Shavran is dead!
( Enter Diarmuid. )
DIARMUID: Shavran is no more. ( Taking fistfuls of berries from the tree and sharing them with Gráinne and the two trackers ) Now we call can eat the berries from the magic tree, not that I imagine there is much luck in eating those berries.
SECOND TRACKER: Business is business, and we must return to Fionn Mac Cool with these berries he has asked for.
( Exit the two trackers. )
DIARMUID: How wonderfully invigorating these berries are ! I've completely forgotten that just a few moments ago I was in a life-and-death struggle with a giant.
GRÁINNE: These berries are the most delightful food I have ever tasted. How sweet it must be to be one of the immortal little folk. The food they eat is sweeter than the food we mortals eat, and the clothes they wear are finer than the clothes we mortals wear; and, as is quite different from the lot of us mortals, the little folk have all eternity in which to dance and love.
DIARMUID: Never were the workings of your imagination, Gráinne, more at odds with the danger of the moment in which we find ourselves. Fionn and his people are sure to be upon us any second. Come, let us hide behind the tree.
( Diarmuid and Gráinne hide behind the tree. Enter Fionn, Oisín, Oscar and Dering. )
FIONN ( with berry or two in hand ): I sense the smell of Diarmuid's skin upon these berries, and, unless I am greatly mistaken and I don't think I am, the fugitives Diarmuid and Gráinne are hiding behind the magic tree over there.
OISÍN: What great jealousy has gripped your mind Fionn for you to think that Diarmuid and Gráinne would hide where you are most likely to find them.
FIONN (brusquely): Place the chess-board on the ground, Oisín, and we can while away the midday hour in a game of chess.
( Oisín sets up the chess-board on the ground and he and Fionn begin to play .Fionn hums to himself as the game proceeds.)
OSCAR ( excitedly ): You have the beating of Oisín once again, Fionn!
FIONN: There is but one move left that would allow you win the game, Oisín, and I defy you and your advisers to recognize what move that is.
DERING: You have set us all a puzzle, Fionn, and I can't say that I know the answer.
( Diarmuid, who is watching the game from behind the tree, throws a berry down on the piece that has the winning of the game. )
OISÍN ( moving the piece ): In all my games of chess with you, Fionn, it's the first time I have defeated you.
FIONN: It's no wonder that you have defeated me, Oisín, when you happen to have Diarmuid prompting you from behind yonder tree.
OISÍN: Jealously, Jealousy, Fionn! Diarmuid would never linger behind the magic tree and he knowing you want to kill him.
FIONN ( shouting ): Which of us is telling the truth, Diarmuid ?
DIARMUID: Your judgement is as sound as it always was, Fionn. For it is quite true that Gráinne and I have been here all the while.
( Diarmuid gives three kisses to Gráinne in full sight of Fionn. )
FIONN: I promise that you will pay with your life for those three kisses, Diarmuid.
DIARMUID: I will face you in combat now, Fionn. For I can find no refuge from your hatred, and this great hatred of yours I don't deserve. In all my time as a warrior I defended you and the Fianna in all manner of war and strife.
OSCAR: Diarmuid is telling the truth, Fionn. No warrior has given you greater service. Grant him the pardon he deserves.
FIONN: I will not do that.
OSCAR: I promise solemnly as a warrior that I will let no man harm Diarmuid. Diarmuid is now under my protection.
( Diarmuid and Oscar challenge Fionn in sword-play and make their way past Fionn and make their exit. Meanwhile Gráinne makes hurried exit. )
DERING: Look now even loyal warriors of the Fianna are facing each other at sword-point. Fionn, can't you see it time you softened your heart and made peace with Diarmuid.
FIONN: The day Diarmuid stole my bride Gráinne a poison entered my heart and that poison will fester for as long as Diarmuid and Gráinne are together.
( Enter Angus-of-the-Birds. )
ANGUS-OF-THE-BIRDS: What unhappy scene is this! People running in terror of their lives and swords drawn among the Fianna themselves. I beseech you Fionn to bring to an end this sad quarrel with Diarmuid.
OISÍN: You would be well advised to listen to Angus-of-the-Birds and all your comrades in the Fianna. Otherwise, the Fianna will turn on each other and lawlessness break out in Ireland.
ANGUS-OF-THE-BIRDS: Oisín speaks the truth, Fionn. The king himself is unhappy that your quarrel with Diarmuid threatens the peace of his entire kingdom. And as for the Queen, she has known no peace since this unhappy business began. End this quarrel now before greater tragedy afflicts us all.
FIONN: The fear of great tragedy enters all human hearts from time to time. Even the heart of a warrior knows fear of this kind. And, for my part, I would never wish to be responsible for division entering the ranks of the Fianna .So, yes, I will say that I no longer intend to slay Diarmuid. No doubt you will wish to arrange peace terms on behalf of your foster-son, Angus-of-the-Birds.
ANGUS-OF-THE-BIRDS: Peace terms can be arranged later. Now I must haste to the High-King with the good news that Fionn Mac Cool no longer desires to kill Diarmuid o Duivne.

ACT THREE
SCENE ONE: Banquet-hall at Tara. The party music of Act Two, Scene one is reprised. The festivities here have reached a stage that they are not seen to reach on that previous occasion.
Diarmuid and Gráinne, King and Queen, Fionn, Oisín, Oscar, Dering, Conán Maol, Angus-of-the-Birds and musician and the servants are all on stage.
CORMAC MAC ART: For many a long day I doubted that things would ever come to such a happy ending. But let me not recall the bad times now that Diarmuid and Gráinne are wed. Diarmuid and Gráinne are wed and all is settled for a bright and untroubled future for all here present.
ANGUS-OF-THE-BIRDS: You must take credit, your Majesty, for finding it in your heart to accept Diarmuid as son-in-law and Fionn Mac Cool deserves credit for making peace with Diarmuid.
CORMAC MAC ART: I said it before on previous occasion, I said it before on previous occasion only for subsequent events to mock my words; but I say it again, I say it again in different context, I say it again without fear of misfortune - How happy I am today !
How happy I am today
As father and a King;
My child I give away
To warrior bold and strong.
She will know no poor day,
Nor will she suffer wrong;
From love she will not stray
As summer's day is long -
( Gráinne taps her father on the shoulder, bringing his speaking to a sudden stop. )
GRÁINNE : Those words I heard before in circumstances I would rather forget. Besides, Father, have you never heard of the superstition that it is unlucky to tinker with the words of a poem to suit a new occasion?
CORMAC MAC ART: Have you never heard, dear daughter, of the more venerable superstition that it is unlucky to interrupt a poet or singer in performance?
GRÁINNE: You promised, Father, to announce the details of the peace settlement with Diarmuid.
CORMAC MAC ART: I promise so, and what I promised I will do, Gráinne. Attention, everybody ! As King and father, I am more than happy that my daughter Gráinne is wed to Diarmuid o Duivne and that their days of wandering throughout Ireland are at an end. I welcome this marriage, and I welcome the peace it brings with it, and I will be as generous in the terms with which I greet these events as these events require. To my daughter Gráinne I give back her cantred of land in Kesh-Corran, and to Diarmuid I grant full pardon and to Diarmuid also I return the land that was his. Indeed, I don't doubt that in Diarmuid's own time there won't be a man in Ireland with more gold and money and more cows and cattle than him.
FIONN: For my part, I promise that neither I, nor the Fianna will hunt in Diarmuid's lands without his permission.
DIARMUID; These are generous terms indeed. And, as measure, of our gratitude and respect, Grainne and I will make our home a good distance from the places freqeuented by your Majesty and by the Fianna.
CORMAC MAC ART: Gracious terms have been offered and they have been kindly accepted. Let the feasting continue!
( A drunken Conán Maol approaches Gráinne. )
CONÁN MAOL: This is as good a do as I've ever been at. ( Indicating wine in
drinking-cup ) This is the best yet. ( Gleefully ) My head is wrecked. ( Conán Maol spills wine on Gráinne's dress. ) I'm so sorry, but I reckon that Diarmuid has done worse in his time.
GRÁINNE ( moving away ): I suppose he has.
( The space forestage that was occupied by Gráinne and Conán Maol is taken up by the Queen and Fionn Mac Cool. )
THE QUEEN: It's the first time in years that I have been able to smile. But now all is settled as well as it could be. Now the names Gráinne and Diarmuid will be forever linked in the minds of people, and people will say that from troubled beginnings Gráinne and Diarmuid went on to lead lives of peace and contentment. I am so glad.
FIONN MAC COOL: I'm pleased to hear that your days of worry have come to an end, your ladyship; but I myself had hoped this long while that the name that would be forever linked with the name of Gráinne would have been my own.
THE QUEEN: You must cast aside all thoughts of what-might-have-been, Fionn. ( The King shouts: Let everybody dance! ) Surely, Fionn, you will join in the dance by way of token that all has caused division and strife is no longer of concern among us
FIONN MAC COOL: For me to dance at the wedding of Diarmuid and Gráinne is more than I am prepared to do.
( Fionn exits, as all but the servants begin spirited dance. Troubled as she is by Fionn's attitude, the Queen is last to join the dance. )

SCENE TWO: the home of Diarmuid and Gráinne, in the west of the country.
Diarmuid and Gráinne are seated either side of a fire. A male and female child are at play with a ball.
GRÁINNE: As evening draws in, how sweet it is to sit by the fire and contemplate past times.
DIARMUID: Most of our past times were of the troubled sort and you were most inclined to complain at the time.
GRÁINNE: That is more or less my point. As it can be sweet to contemplate a storm from the safety of one's own home, it is sweet to contemplate the trouble and adversity of other days when you are safe in the knowledge that all is well.
The danger we once knew
Our love it does renew;
The fears of other days
Are gone like a bad dream.
The danger of other days
Our love it does renew;
The fears of other days
Are gone like a bad dream.

DIARMUID (calling to children ): Come here, Donncha and Druinneach Dhil, and I will tell you of truly happy times. ( Children gather at Diarmuid's feet. ) Only those who are free know what it is to be happy. And those who best know how to be to be free and happy are the men of the Fianna. When I was but a young man I was happy to be a warrior in the Fianna, a warrior and bodyguard to Fionn Mac Cool the leader of the Fianna. To give you both an idea of how much Fionn Mac Cool and the Fianna valued freedom, I need only tell you what was the favourite music of Fionn Mac Cool. You might think that Fionn's favourite music would be sweet music played on the harp while everybody sat around eating and drinking. But it was not as you think. For Fionn's favourite music was the noise of the hunt itself and all the other sounds of the wild countryside. But these thoughts only serve to make me sad. It's time you were asleep my good children.
( Exit children. )
GRÁINNE: A sadness has crept over your normally shining face, Diarmuid.
DIARMUID; It's just that my head is filled with thoughts of times when I was a champion in the Fianna.
Happy I should be
Happy I am not
The joy of family
Is less than my loss.

O to be on a hill
With the Fianna strong,
The hounds about to kill
And the day not long
And the day not long
And the day not long

GRAINNE: I regret I changed your mood to one of sadness.
( Off, sound of hounds
barking. )
DIARMUID: I know what causes those hounds to bark in the distance. They bark at a wild boar, not an ordinary wild boar but a special creature, that is to say a creature of the people of the other world.
( Off, barking again. )
GRÁINNE: I know also that those hounds bark at no ordinary animal, but at a magic boar that has taken the life of many a warrior. But neither the affairs of the Fianna, nor the affairs of the other world bother us anymore. We have our children and we have each other and that is all that matters.
DIARMUID: I am still a warrior and I intend to go out and slay that evil boar that has taken the life of many a champion.
( Diarmuid rises to go. )
GRÁINNE ( running to Diarmuid ): Diarmuid, please don't go out. The night is not of the best and no good can come from your pursuing that magic beast.
DIARMUID: I am resolved to slay that boar.
( Exit Diarmuid. )
GRÁINNE: I was too quick to boast that the dangers of other days were gone for good. Now Diarmuid's life is threatened anew.
( Curtain closes and opens to signify the passing of the night and the beginning of a new day. )
GRAINNE: Morning has come, and still Diarmuid hasn't returned. I fear evil. I fear it with all my mind and body. ( Enter a changed Diarmuid. ) Tell me Diarmuid no harm has come of you, tell me!
DIARMUID: I can only tell you what is true. I slew the magic boar; but in course of the struggle the boar managed to poison me with one of its bristles, and the poison from a bristle of that otherworldly boar is fatal. My strength is ebbing away. I must lie down.
( Diarmuid lies down on bed. )
GRÁINNE: What am I to do?
DIARMUID: Bring the children to me. I want to speak to them one last time.
GRÁINNE: No, the children must not witness a tragedy such as this.
( Enter Fionn, Oisín, Oscar,
Dering and Conán Maol. )
FIONN MAC COOL: We were hunting in these parts, and we heard that the magic boar that had taken the life of many a noble warrior had been slaughtered. I instantly assumed that the man who dealt the death-blow to this evil boar was none other than the famous Diarmuid o Duivne, and looking around me here I don't believe I was mistaken. I am pleased to see you like this , Diarmuid, and 'tis a pity the women of Ireland can't see you now with the all vigour and beauty that once was yours departed from your body.
DIARMUID: It lies within your ability, Fionn, to restore me to full health.
FIONN MAC COOL ( sardonically ): How could I do that?
DIARMUID: Ever since you ate the Salmon of Knowledge at the Boyne you have the power to cure any disease with a drink of water from the palm of your hand.
FIONN MAC COOL: It wouldn't please me to give you a drink of that sort.
DIARMUID: You gave me drink from your palm once upon a time when I saved your life and you have no right to refuse me the same drink now.
FIONN MAC COOL: You don't deserve such a drink from me. You don't deserve any favour from me ever since you stole Gráinne my bride-to-be from Tara.
DIARMUID: It was not as you make out. I was never guilty of stealing Gráinne from you, for it was Gráinne herself that put me under bonds to help her escape. And I well deserve a drink from you considering all the times that I saved your life.
( Fionn pours water from a flask on to his palm, but before he gives the water to Diarmuid he lets it slip through his fingers. )
OSCAR: I swear by my weapons, Fionn, that, if you don't give water from your palm to Diarmuid quickly, the only one of us two to make it out of here alive will be the strongest.
( Fionn pours water from the flask on to his palm once again, but once again lets the water slips through his fingers. Diarmuid dies. )
OSCAR: Diarmuid is dead, and I swear I will have your life, Fionn.
OISÍN: My son, it is true that you would be within your rights to take the life of Fionn, as would any member of the Fianna, but let us not bring another sorrow upon us.
GRÁINNE ( embracing the dead Diarmuid ): The threat of vengeance that has followed us all our time together has finally visited you, Diarmuid my love. The life has gone from you and I am left alone.
( Curtain closes and opens to signifgy the passing of few hours. Diarmuid's body has been removed and buried and only Gráinne is onstage. )
GRÁINNE: His comrades have buried Diarmuid o Duivne in a manner befitting a warrior, and Diarmuid was the bravest of warriors. How fitting that it was Angus-of-the-Birds who made proud lament over his dead body.
( Enter Fionn. )
FIONN MAC COOL: Diarmuid is dead and buried, yet none of his comrades are of a mind to depart this place.
GRÁINNE: There is a completeness about the death of anyone, not least about the death of a hero. His comrades are as much marking the death of Diarmuid as mourning him. Diarmuid's memory will live on, and your part in his death will sully your memory.
FIONN MAC COOL: I tell you true that each time I poured water on to my palm I had every intention of saving the life of Diarmuid; but then an image of you Gráinne flashed before my mind and as if they had a mind of their own my fingers opened to let the water-of-life fall to the floor.
GRÁINNE: Well, you have plenty of time to regret your actions.
FIONN MAC COOL: And what about you, Gráinne ?
GRÁINNE: I recall an occasion when Diarmuid and I met a foreigner on our travels, and this foreigner claimed that he regarded everything in life as but a shadow. Now for me also everything is but a shadow.
FIONN MAC COOL: And would you share the shadows with one such as me who never wavered in his love of you?
GRÁINNE: It's a thought.
( Enter Angus-of-the-Birds, followed by Oisín, Oscar, Dering and Conán Maol. They realise as they enter that they come upon Fionn and Gráinne in intimate conversation. )
ANGUS-OF-THE-BIRDS: Diarmuid is among the spirits of air now, and not a day will go by without I hearing him speak. And as for you, Fionn, women and children will die as a result of you insisting on his death.
FIONN MAC COOL: It was never my wish that Diarmuid should die, only that Gráinne should be my wife.
I killed a comrade
Not in battlefield red:
I have killed a comrade
Killed him is his own bed.
All for the love of woman
Jealousy overtook my head;
All for the love of woman
Jealousy overtook my head.

( The company sans Fionn and Gráinne continue: )
Fionn has troubled mind
His mind will know no rest
A woman's love he has won
A comrade he has betrayed
Dishonour to the Fianna !
Dishonour to the Fianna !
Fionn his dear wife has saved
But Diarmuid is in his grave

DERING: No one can bring the dead back to life. It's time that we all went about our normal business.
(Without accompaniment Gráinne sings: )
The world is but a toy
A woman needs a boy
I am as happy with Fionn
As I was with Diarmuid

Fol-del-dil-dil-deroy
Fol-de-dil-dil-deroy

( Gráinne exits in distracted fashion. She is followed by Fionn. )
OISÍN: Not much good can come of these recent events. Indeed, I foresee a time when not alone honour and chivalry disappear from the world but when also the magic that we take for granted will meet with disbelief. Priest, physician and sage will all laugh at the magic as something only worthy of children.