(Little Manannan, son of Leir)
Little Manannan was the son of Leirr,
he was the first that ever had her;
but as I can best conceive,
he himself was a heathen.
‘Twas not with his sword he kept her,
nor his arrows, nor his bow;
but when he would see the ships coming,
he hid her right round with a mist.
He’d set a man upon a hill
you’d think there were a hundred there;
and thus did wild Manannan guard
that island with all its beauty.
The rent each paid out of the land
was a bundle of green rushes;
and that was on them for a tax
throughout the country each John’s Eve.
Some went up with the rushes to
the great mountain at Barool;
others would leave the grass below,
with Manannan above Keamool.
In this way then they lived, I think
myself their tribute very small,
without care or anxiety,
Or labour to cause weariness.
(source: Manx Fairy Tales by Sophia Morrision (1911))
