The hill, the hero and his dog

Gaelic, Norse, Brittonic? A look into the history 
and origins of place names in and around our area

Carn Bhren, also Carn Bhrain, or Carn Breathainn as recorded by W J Watson in 1904, is a 635-metre (2,085 ft) summit in Ardgay. Its name most likely means ‘cairn of the raven’, from the Gaelic bran, ‘raven’. Watson mentions a legend connecting it with Fingal’s dog Bran, who “entered a cairn there and was never seen again”.

Fingal - Fionn mac Cumhaill - was a hero in Irish and Scottish mythology, the leader of the band of hunters/warriors Fianna. He had two dogs, Bran and Sceólang, Scottish deerhounds as tall as Fingal’s shoulder. Bran was mostly white or merle, and features in many legends, always by Fingal’s side, hunting and sometimes saving his life.

In Oban, we find Clach a’ Choin, a former sea stack where Bran was allegedly chained. Impatient for his master’s return, Bran paced round in circles and the chain slowly wore away the bottom.

By Silvia Muras