Let us now consider how far these genealogies tend to establish the authenticity of our early history, saga, and literature. The first plain and obvious objection to them is this--that genealogies which trace themselves back to Adam must be untrue inventions. We grant it. But all Gaelic genealogies meet, as we have shown in Milesius or his uncle, Ith. Strike off all that long tale or pre-Milesian names connecting him with Adam, and count them as a late excrescence--a mixture of pagan myth and Christian invention added to the rest for show. This leaves us only the four stems to deal with. The next objection is that pedigrees which trace themselves back to the landing of the Milesians--a date in the computation of which Irish annalists themselves differ by a few hundred years--must also be untrue, especially as their own annalist, Tighearnach, has expressly said that all their history prior to about 300 B.C. is uncertain. We grant this also. What, then, remains? This remains--namely the points in each of the four great race stems, in which all or the most of the leading tribes and families belonging to that stem converge, and, as we have seen, all of these with a few exceptions take place within reach of the historical period. In the lines of EBER and of ITH, this point is at the close of the second century; in the race of IR it is about the time of Christ's birth,[16] and in the fourth and perhaps most important stem, that of EREMON, the two main points of convergence are in the historical Niall of the Nine Hostages, who came to the throne in 356, and in Cairbré of the Liffey, who became High-king in 267.[17] [1] Craobh-ruadh. [2] _I.e._, Ath-Fhirdia, Suidhe Fhinn, Rath Chúmhail. There are See-finns or See-inns, _i.e._, Finn's seats in Cavan, Armagh, Down, King's County, Galway, Mayo, Sligo, Tyrone, and perhaps elsewhere, and there are many forts, flats, woods, rivers, bushes, and heaps, which derive their name from the Fenians. [3] As the various Teutonic races of Germany traced themselves up to one of the three main stems, Ingævones, Iscævones, and Herminones, who sprang from the sons of Mannus, whose father was the god Tuisco. [4] A large part of the Books of Leinster, Ballymote, and Lecan, is occupied with these genealogies, continued up to date in each book. The MSS. H. 3. 18 and H. 2. 4 in Trinity College, Dublin, are great genealogical compilations. Well-known works were the Book of the genealogies of the Eugenians, the Book of Meath, the Book of the Connellians (_i.e._, of Tirconnell), the genealogy of Brian, son of Eochaidh's descendants (see above, p. 33), the Book of Oriel, the Genealogies of the descendants of the Three Collas (see above, p. 33) in Erin and Scotland, the Book of the Maineach (men of O'Kelly's country), the Leinster Book of Genealogies, the Ulster Book, the Munster Book, and others. [5] See above, ch. II, note 2.