Those who visit Knock Aillinn and its mighty _dun_ should also visit the hill of Allen. If there is nothing to be seen on it, there is a great deal to be seen from it, for the view is very extensive. If any one wanted to know how vast the bog of Allen is, he should ascend the hill of Allen, from which he will see a very large part of it. If he is in any doubt as to the exact place in which Finn had his dwelling and _dun_, he will at least be in the locality that has given birth to the most colossal folk-lore that perhaps ever existed,--stories that in the far-back past, before the world was tormented by newspapers and bewildered by politicians, beguiled many a tedious hour and delighted many a sad heart. "KILDARE'S HOLY FANE" Those in search of the picturesque alone will not find very much to interest them in Kildare or its immediate vicinity. There may be said to be hardly any remarkable scenic beauties in its neighbourhood. There is the broad expanse of the Curragh not far from the town, one of the finest places for military manoeuvres in the British Isles. It is strange why it is called a curragh--more correctly, _currach_--for the word means a marsh, a place that _stirs_ when trodden on. There is only a very small part of the land to which the name is applied that is a marsh. It is almost all perfectly dry upland. However, it was called _Currach Life_ from very early times, that is the marsh or swamp of the Liffy. It would seem as if the word _Life_ meant originally the country through which the river Liffy flows, and that the river took its name from the country; for when King Tuathal wanted revenge on Leinstermen, for the death of his two daughters, who have been mentioned in the article on Tara, he says-- "Let them be revenged on Leinstermen, On the warriors _in_ the Life." It is thought that the name Liffy comes from the adjective _liomhtha_, meaning smooth, or polished, for part of the country through which the river flows is very smooth and beautiful.