Anon stood nigh By my side a man Of princely aspect and port sublime. Him queried I, "O, my Lord and Khan,[187-1] What clime is this, and what golden time?" When he--"The clime Is a clime to praise, The clime is Erin's, the green and bland; And it is the time, These be the days, Of Cahal More of the Wine-red Hand!" Then saw I thrones, And circling fires, And a dome rose near me, as by a spell, Whence flowed the tones Of silver lyres, And many voices in wreathèd swell; And their thrilling chime Fell on mine ears As the heavenly hymn of an angel-band-- "It is now the time, These be the years, Of Cahal More of the Wine-red Hand!" I sought the hall, And, behold!... a change From light to darkness, from joy to woe! King, nobles, all, Looked aghast and strange; The minstrel-group sate in dumbest show! Had some great crime Wrought this dread amaze, This terror? None seemed to understand! 'Twas then the time, We were in the days, Of Cahal More of the Wine-red Hand. I again walked forth; But lo! the sky Showed fleckt with blood, and an alien sun Glared from the north, And there stood on high, Amid his shorn beams, A SKELETON It was by the stream Of the castled Maine, One Autumn eve, in the Teuton's land, That I dreamed this dream Of the time and reign Of Cahal More of the Wine-red Hand! [186-1] Mangan wrote many poetical translations from the Irish, as well as from the German and other languages. The "Vision of Connaught" is, however, an original poem, not a translation. [187-1] Irish, _Ceann_ [can], meaning 'head,' one of the Gaelic titles for a chief. [Illustration: St. Finghin's Church, Quin, Co. Clare: originally built by the Irish: re-built by Thomas de Clare, the Anglo-Norman lord who erected Bunratty Castle (see p. 177). The Irish began to build large churches and castles a little before the arrival of the Anglo-Normans. The Irish churches of a previous time were generally small. After the Invasion, the Anglo-Norman barons and the Irish kings and chiefs vied with each other in erecting churches, abbeys, and castles.] XLIV. SIR JOHN DE COURCY. Among the many Anglo-Norman lords and knights who came to settle in Ireland in the time of Henry II., one of the most renowned was John de Courcy. The Welsh writer, Gerald Barry, already mentioned (p. 113), who lived at that time and knew him personally, thus describes him:--