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Irish legend
tells many stories of an old hag (witch
or "Cailleach").
Her names and variations are quite
numerous. She is often linked to the
golden fire goddess Brigit as her
darker half Cailleach
Bheara. At
Hag's Head, she is called Mal.
Mal fell madly
in love with the great Irish hero,
Cú (pronounced Koo) Chulainn.
Sadly for her, Cú Chulainn
did not return her feelings, finding
her advances distasteful. He ran all
over Ireland trying to get away from
her, eventually ending up at Loop
Head in south Clare.
Mal thought
she had him cornered here, with nowhere
left to run. But, being Cú
Chulainn, he escaped by jumping back
to the Cliffs of Moher using the sea
stacks as stepping stones (as only
a legendary Irish hero could..)
Poor Mal was
not as nimble on her feet as the mighty
Cú Chulainn - she tried to
follow him, but missed her footing
and was dashed to pieces against the
cliff. She fell to her death at Hags
Head where her blood is said to have
stained all the sea.
The nearby
town of Miltown Malbay was named for
her and the "Wave" at Loop
Head was also called after her "Tonn
Mhal,". This wave was believed
to raise a voice of unutterable anguish,
foretelling death and disaster.
So... Mal definitely
left her mark on the area if not on
her man!
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