DONN THIR was the dim and distant land in the Western Sea near the Stone Circle of Power and no woman of the Desmond family could be married till her suitor had thence brought the Cráeb Cuilleann holly-bough, the Luis Bui marigold, and the crimson berries of Ibhar the yew. And for some generations no knight had been so fortunate as to secure them. A corrochan of leather-covered bark lay in a wooded nook near Bean l'ra (Fair Strand, Bantry), and had lain there time out of mind. The daring adventurer entered it, and readily made the open sea. A day and a night were allowed for the voyage going and coming; but hitherto the fated bark had been in every instance seen entering its little cove within the time, undaunted by the hero or the magic prizes. Through the thick air and the mist in Donn Thir were to be seen the shooting bark with the dim veils clearing almost at the world's end. A low, thick fog lay beyond to which a boat sped and it became a land of rocks, woods, and valleys as grey as clouds. There was entered a bay where the boat could be secured for advancing inland. A grove then lay in front and under the shade of trees as old as the world stood a ring of mighty stones. Within is a cromlech, and overshadowing it the holly-bough and berry-bearing yew; at its foot springs the marigold. As the dim land is left behind, there appears the boat more plainly, but the land has become a cloud. The boat is then larger, but the cloud bank vanishes.
