There was a king over each of the five provinces, and over these again was a king of all Ireland, called the Over-king or head king. The kings of Ireland had their chief palace on the Hill of Tara in Meath; where many of the forts and other remains of the old buildings are still to be seen. But Tara was deserted as a royal residence in the sixth century, after which the kings of Ireland lived elsewhere. II. THE SONG OF INISFAIL. I. They came from a land beyond the sea, And now o'er the western main, Set sail, in their good ships, gallantly, From the sunny land of Spain. "Oh, where's the Isle we've seen in dreams, Our destined home or grave?"-- Thus sung they, as by the morning's beams They swept the Atlantic wave. II. And lo, where afar o'er ocean shines A sparkle of radiant green, As though in that deep lay em'rald mines, Whose light through the wave was seen. "'Tis Inisfail--'tis Inisfail!" Rings o'er the echoing sea, While, bending to Heav'n, the warriors hail That home of the brave and free. III. Then turn'd they unto the Eastern wave, Where now their Day-God's eye A look of such sunny omen gave As lighted up sea and sky. Nor frown was seen through sky or sea, Nor tear on leaf or sod, When first on their Isle of Destiny Our great forefathers trod. THOMAS MOORE. III. THE RELIGION OF THE PAGAN IRISH. So far as we are able to judge from our old writings, the pagan Irish had no one religion common to all the people, and no settled general form of worship. They had many gods; and it would appear that every person chose whatever god he pleased for himself. Some worshipped idols; and we read of certain persons who had spring wells for gods: while some again adored fire, and others the sun and moon. The people also worshipped the _shee_ or fairies, who were supposed to live in grand palaces underground, as described at page 3. The persons who taught the people all about these gods were the Druids, who were the learned men of those times. They were believed to be wizards, and some think that they were pagan priests. The pagan Irish had a dim notion of a sort of heaven, a happy land of perpetual youth and peace. It was believed that there were many happy lands in different places, which were called by various names, such as Moy-Mell, I-Brazil, and Tirnanoge. Some were out in the Atlantic Ocean, off the western coast, while others were down deep beneath lakes, and some in caves under forts or cairns. They were all inhabited by fairies, who sometimes carried off mortals: and those whom they brought away hardly ever came back. A fairy who wished to allure a mortal often chanted a sort of magical song called an incantation, which exercised a spell over the person that listened to it.