To browse Academia. Mythological Background This mythic old woman appears under various names, most derived from Cailleach Carlene, Cally, Cally Berry, Gy-Carling , a word generally translated as "hag" but which can also be rendered as the more contemporary "crone. Local legend holds that Cailleach was pursuing a young man with sexual intent, when her speed carried her over the edge of the cliffs and into the sea.
Supposedly, her face can be seen on the most southerly of the cliffs. The deadly cliffs suggest something about the psychology of Cailleach's ancient goddess legends here, paradoxically combining erotic excitement with endof-life anguish. Many ancient goddesses included life and death in their scope Fig. The Cailleach probably descends from a pre-Celtic divinity; she is not found among the continental Celts, but her lore is widespread in place names and legends in Ireland and Scotland.
Her antiquity is suggested by the names born by the largest mountains in those lands Slieve na Cailleach, Knockycallanan and by legends that she created the landscape by dropping rocks from her apron or throwing them angrily at an enemy.
Creation legends often are attached to the oldest divinities of a land, and settlement in Ireland preceded the Celts by some years. The Cailleach was said to have formed the islands off the southwest coast by towing land around with a straw rope; it broke and left the islands of Scariff and Deenish behind. Another tale tells how she struck an escaping bull with a rod as it swam away from her, turning it into an island of rock.
The Cailleach was especially associated with high mountains, which often bear her name, most significantly the site of the important megalithic sanctuary, Slieve na Cailleach.
