“Right, Grandad, Paddy, Tom, Conor, Niamh and I, will decide how the contest will work,” Sean said firmly.Niamh looked up at him and whispered, “Well done Sean.” Sean smiled back at Niamh.“Now, all of you go outside while we discuss the rules of the contest,” commanded Sean. “And don’t be fighting,” he added. The six of them went out quite meekly, but eying each other as they went.“Okay, how many tests will we have and in what events?” Sean asked the rest of them.“Well we haven’t got much time if they have to return to the Otherworld by midnight,” Tom said. “That’s true,” said Conor. “How about three events?” They all agreed to this.“Now, what events?”“Running,” suggested Niamh“Climbing,” added Conor“Throwing rocks,” said Grandad, smiling at his own proposal.“Okay, the first event will be climbing,” declared Sean. “But where will they climb?”“Up on top of the dolmen,” said Conor, because there aren’t many trees around.“Alright, they can climb up one side and go down the other side,” Sean said.“Next we will have throwing the rocks. How far should they throw the rocks, and what should they aim at?”“What about that old hawthorn tree, half way down the hill,” Tom offered as a suggestion. “Good idea. Thanks Tom,” Sean nodded in agreement. “And running?”Niamh butted in and said, “From the top of the hill to the bottom, and back up again.”“Perfect Niamh,” Sean said. “Let the games begin!” “Right, Grandad, Paddy, Tom, Conor, Niamh and I, will decide how the contest will work,” Sean said firmly.Niamh looked up at him and whispered, “Well done Sean.” Sean smiled back at Niamh.“Now, all of you go outside while we discuss the rules of the contest,” commanded Sean. “And don’t be fighting,” he added. The six of them went out quite meekly, but eying each other as they went.“Okay, how many tests will we have and in what events?” Sean asked the rest of them.“Well we haven’t got much time if they have to return to the Otherworld by midnight,” Tom said. “That’s true,” said Conor. “How about three events?” They all agreed to this.“Now, what events?”“Running,” suggested Niamh“Climbing,” added Conor“Throwing rocks,” said Grandad, smiling at his own proposal.“Okay, the first event will be climbing,” declared Sean. “But where will they climb?”“Up on top of the dolmen,” said Conor, because there aren’t many trees around.“Alright, they can climb up one side and go down the other side,” Sean said.“Next we will have throwing the rocks. How far should they throw the rocks, and what should they aim at?”“What about that old hawthorn tree, half way down the hill,” Tom offered as a suggestion. “Good idea. Thanks Tom,” Sean nodded in agreement. “And running?”Niamh butted in and said, “From the top of the hill to the bottom, and back up again.”“Perfect Niamh,” Sean said. “Let the games begin!”Niamh ran outside and told the contestants that they could come back in. They came back inside the dolmen and looked at Sean expectantly. Sean explained the three events and what was expected.
The six contestants stood at the bottom of the dolmen on the left hand side and waited for the command to start.
“Ready, Steady, Go!” shouted Sean. Instantly, Morrigan changed herself into a monkey and started clambering up the rock. She was quickly followed by Gráinne who was well used to nimbly climbing up the rigging on ships. Not far behind Grainne, was Aillén whose gnarly, slender fingers helped him dig into crevices in the rock. Fionn, Brian and Maeve struggled after them. Gráinne got to the top and onto the capstone, at the same time as the monkey. Gráinne gave the monkey a rough push and the monkey somersaulted back down the slope. This gave Gráinne enough time to literally slide down the rock on the other side. She landed with a thump at the bottom. “Well done! One for the girls,” Niamh cheered.
Gráinne staggered up from the ground. She was covered in mud, grass, and scratches, but she grinned broadly. Morrigan changed back to herself and told Gráinne off for pushing her.
Gráinne chancela en quittant la piste. Elle était couverte de boue, d'herbe et d'égratignures, mais elle souriait largement. Morrigan était redevenue elle-même et engueula Gráinne pour l'avoir poussée.
“I thought as women we were fighting this together,” Morrigan snapped. “But you were a monkey,” Gráinne laughed back, unashamed.
The others looked downcast and waited for the next event.
Sean organized the contestants in a line at the top of the hill for the rock throwing contest. Whilst the climbing competition had been going on, Tom, Grandad, Paddy, Conor and Niamh had been collecting rocks around the dolmen. They tried to get ones of about the same size, and had made a big pile of them. Sean now placed an equal pile of rocks in front of each one of the contestants.
“Now wait until I get down to the hawthorn tree and give you the flash from my torch to start. Conor will count to twenty to give me a chance to stand back out of the way. You will take it in turns to throw all of your pile of rocks and I will decide who has the surest aim,” Sean explained.
Morrigan decided to stay as herself this time and took the first turn. She did her best but none of her rocks hit the tree. Brian Boru was next and he managed to hit a couple of branches. Then it was Queen Maeve’s turn. But her rocks went in all directions and she was very disappointed with her efforts. Fionn Mac Cumhaill was happy when it was eventually his turn. He studied the target took a rock in his hand, made a circle upwards with his arm and tossed the rock with great force. He hit the trunk of the tree. The children whooped. Each rock hit the tree accurately and everyone clapped, in awe of Fionn’s skill and strength. Aillén tried his best but only one rock touched a branch of the tree. Gráinne went last and managed to hit the tree with two rocks. So Fionn was declared the winner.
Morrigan décida de rester elle-même cette fois et prit le premier tour. Elle fit de son mieux, mais aucune de ses pierres ne toucha l'arbre. Brian Boru était le suivant et réussit à atteindre quelques branches. Puis ce fut au tour de la reine Maeve. Mais ses pierres allaient dans tous les sens et elle était très déçue de ses efforts. Fionn Mac Cumhaill fut content quand arriva finalement son tour. Il étudia la cible, prit une pierre à la main, fit un cercle vers le haut avec son bras et lança la pierre avec une grande force. Il toucha le tronc de l'arbre. Les enfants poussèrent des cris. Chaque pierre frappa l'arbre avec précision et tout le monde applaudit, impressionné par l'habileté et la force de Fionn. Aillén fit de son mieux mais une seule pierre toucha une branche de l'arbre. Gráinne joua en dernier et réussit à atteindre l'arbre avec deux pierres. Donc Fionn fut déclaré vainqueur.
“One for the boys,” Conor said, nudging Niamh.“Right, the last event will decide the winners,” said Sean in a dramatic tone. “You will all line up at the top here, run down the field to the bottom. You must touch the fence and run all the way up again. Now get ready.”
This time Morrigan changed into a hare. As soon as Sean gave the command to go, the hare bounded off with its big back legs. The other contestants ran like the wind, down the hill. The ground was rough and some slipped and fell, got up again and ran on, as the result of this event was vital. The hare was in the lead. It kicked the fence with its back legs as it turned, and nearly tripped up Aillén. Aillén jumped over the hare, touched the fence with his wooden club and chased the scampering hare up the hill. Fionn and Brian followed, close on their hills. Maeve came after them with Gráinne last. Gráinne was feeling the effects of her fall from the dolmen now. As they raced up the hill, it was clear that the winner of the last event would either be Morrigan as the hare or Aillén. The other contestants gave up and just watched them, and shouted for the one they wanted to win. It was neck and neck and for the last few metres the hare and Aillén ran alongside each other. Their silhouettes made a strange sight as their path was lit up by the full moon. They both burst past Sean together.
“We have a tie!” shouted Sean. “That means that women and the men have tied too, and so are equal. Well done everybody!”Just then everybody heard the ringing of the church bells in the village ringing the first chime of midnight.
“Quick, we must go,” warned Brian Boru. “It was wonderful to meet you all,” said Conor.“Tell Granny I love her,” Grandad whispered to the children. “Me too,” added Paddy, who was standing beside Grandad.“Tell her, she gave me a good send-off,” Tom said as he waved goodbye.
“Quick, we must go,” warned Brian Boru. “It was wonderful to meet you all,” said Conor.“Tell Granny I love her,” Grandad whispered to the children. “Me too,” added Paddy, who was standing beside Grandad.“Tell her, she gave me a good send-off,” Tom said as he waved goodbye.
One by one the visitors from the Otherworld disappeared, and as the last chime rang, they were all gone. The full moon was covered by clouds again and it was chilly outside the dolmen.
“Let’s go and sit by the fire,” said Sean.
