Free Eye of the Law by Cora Harrison Page A

from the barn and the cellars; we check and clean and repair them all. Then they are ready for the tribute at Bealtaine and at Michaelmas.’
    ‘And what about the townland of Ballymurphy? There’s no name here.’
    Ardal smiled. ‘Well, that’s exactly what Liam said. This is the only possibility: Iarla came out of the kitchen house, at a moment when Liam and the other men were in the barn. Iarla could have gone over the wall of the courtyard, through Ballymurphy and down south towards Noughaval.’
    ‘But why on earth should he go towards Noughaval? Anyway, it’s the wrong direction for Kilcorney and Balor’s Cave.’ A sudden thought struck Mara. ‘Ardal, on Monday night, how did you take Iarla and Becan back from Lemeanah Castle?’
    Ardal looked at her with a puzzled expression. ‘How? Well, Teige lent us a couple of horses.’
    ‘I don’t mean that. I meant what route did you take?’
    ‘Oh, I see. Well, we just went through the fields. Just went direct.’
    ‘Through Noughaval?’
    ‘That’s right.’
    Ardal looked puzzled, but Mara said no more. An idea had just come to her. Tomorrow, once morning school was over, she would use the Saturday half-day to pay a round of visits. She would take her mare, Brig, she decided. She would not gallop, or even trot; just a slow walk sitting side-saddle on the horse’s back could not do her any harm, despite all the old wives’ tales.
    She had to see Malachy and Nuala at some stage and ask them if they were certain about the time of death. But first of all she would go to Glenslade, the home of Ardal’s brother, and heir, Donogh O’Lochlainn. She would see Donogh, and also his son, Donogh Óg, and his daughter Mairéad. And then she would go to Lemeanah Castle. If Iarla had memorized the route on that Monday night and did leave Lissylisheen through the Ballymurphy townland and then down to Noughaval, the most likely possibility was that he was going to visit Lemeanah.
    And if the man from Aran had arrived there on Thursday morning, what sort of reception did he get from the outraged father?

Five
    Crith Gablach
    (Ranks in Society)
    Bláthmac, the poet, compares the relationship between a taoiseach (chieftain) and his clan to that between God and the Jewish people. A taoiseach must care for all members of his clan, especially if old, sick or handicapped, and he must be just in all dealings with them and protect them against any threats.
    ‘ I ’m just going to use the mare to walk the road between here and Glenslade. I won’t even trot, I promise!’ said Mara apologetically.
    She had sent Moylan to tell Seán to saddle Brig, but Brigid, of course, always knew everything that was going on. Now she was gazing at Mara, her thin lips compressed and her green eyes sparkling with annoyance.
    ‘What do you have to go to Glenslade for, when you will have to go to Poulnabrone to make the announcement at vespers?’ Brigid’s voice was sharp with anger. ‘If you want to see anyone there, just send for them. That’s what your father would have done. He didn’t do all this journeying around. He sat in the schoolhouse and saw people there.’
    ‘Well, I just want to see Donogh O’Lochlainn and, well . . . well, I thought it was better for me to go to see him, than . . .’
    Brigid nodded resignedly. She had noted the emphasis on the word ‘me’. What Mara had not said – and you know how touchy he is – would not be mentioned by Brigid, but they were both aware of the truth.
    ‘The taoiseach could have brought the man over for you,’ she muttered, ‘but I suppose you don’t want to cause any more trouble between the two of them. I remember when they were young, there used to be great trouble. Donogh was always fierce jealous of his brother.’
    ‘Brigid, what were they like when they were quite young, the two of them?’ asked Mara curiously. ‘I didn’t know Donogh too well. Ardal was nearer to my age so I knew him better. Donogh had gone off and