I. The Tale

A tree of the old tale. The story of the Rowan Tree of the Uí Fiachrach at a place called Dubhros is preserved in a long episode of Tóraíocht Dhiarmada agus Gráinne — The Pursuit of Diarmaid and Gráinne. Many of the peoples of ancient Ireland had sacred trees associated with them; there are references in the Annals to such trees being cut down by opposing forces at war, particularly in the eleventh century.

A tree of the Uí Fiachrach. This story preserves the knowledge of the tree of the Uí Fiachrach, from whom the O'Dubhda are descended. The tale dates to the tenth century, when Aodh Ó Dubhda was living, and is preserved in a manuscript written in 1651 by a County Sligo scholar named David O'Duigenan.

Magical berries. The tree bore magical berries. If eaten, they would satisfy any hunger or thirst, and cure or protect against any illness; they would also restore youth to the aged. The tree was guarded by a fierce one-eyed giant, who slept in its branches at night. Gráinne became pregnant and had a craving for the berries, so Diarmaid killed the giant and harvested some for her. Diarmaid was later mortally wounded by the wild boar of Benbulben, and was allowed to die of his injuries by Finn Mac Cumhail in revenge for his having taken Gráinne away from him.

II. The Tree in Folklore

In Irish folklore the Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia) protected houses and beasts. In England it warded off witches; in Scotland the berries could be made into a charm necklace. The berries are slightly poisonous when eaten raw, but can be made into a jelly rich in Vitamin C, and have also been used to make birdlime for catching birds.

III. A Living Idea

The image of a sacred tree standing at the heart of a people is an old and far-travelled one. It runs through Yggdrasil, the world-ash of Norse cosmology whose roots bind the nine worlds together; through Tolkien's Two Trees of Valinor and the White Tree of Gondor, the emblem of a royal line; and, most recently, through the weirwoods of George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire — white-barked, red-leaved heart trees at the centre of each northern godswood, before which oaths are sworn and the dead are mourned. The Rowan of Dubhros belongs to that older family of ideas: a tree that stands for the life, memory, and identity of a people.

IV. Sources

• Tóraíocht Dhiarmada agus Gráinne (The Pursuit of Diarmaid and Gráinne), preserved in a 1651 manuscript by David O'Duigenan of County Sligo.
• O'Dubhda Clan Newsletter no. 2 (1990) — the original article from which this page is drawn.
• Max Adams, The Wisdom of Trees (2014).