Bill Daly - Brannon’s Great Adventure

Brannon’s Great Adventure

BY BILL DALY

Back in 2018 when I was researching an archaeological presentation on the Irish Mesolithic (8000-4000 BC), I wrote a little coming of age story for schoolchildren centring around a 12 year old boy called Brannon to emphasize the qualities of generosity, kindness, compassion and bravery.

It was just after dawn during the Summer of 5,021 BC (7,000 years ago), and the warm summer sunshine was creeping into his house. Brannon woke up quickly and thought of the exciting day that was ahead of him. He loved the summertime and he loved his house. His house, where he lived with his Father, Mother and younger brother and sister was very cosy. His Father had built the house when they were younger from wooden poles. Smaller sticks called saplings were wound around the poles and then everything was covered with rushes. In the wintertime, animal skins were also used as a covering to keep in the heat. The main fire was outside the hut, but a smaller fire was also built inside the hut to keep them warm and the smoke escaped out through the top. The name ‘Brannon’ means ‘little crow’. He was now 12 years old and dark skinned. His skin soaked in the summer sunshine and it always made him look healthy and alive. Today was a very special day for Brannon. When a boy and a girl reached 12 years of age they were taken hunting and fishing with their parents to see if they could capture a wild pig and a salmon. Today was Brannon’s day to show how skillful he was, and also to prepare him for adulthood in a few years time. This was a very important ritual in the Mesolithic village of Oughterard, and he was nervous but also confident.

PART ONE: HUNTING IN THE WOODS

After a quick breakfast of fruit and berries, Brannon and his Dad set off from the river to make the journey into the deep forest. They had to leave as early as possible in the morning as the wild pig is a noctural animal which hunts during the night and sleeps by day. It didn’t take long to reach the woods as there were trees everywhere. They are also accompanied by Brannon’s black and white collie called Fia. Brannon loves all animals but he adores Fia and they are always together. It wasn’t long before they were in the deeper part of the woods. Brannon was armed with a bow and arrow and his Dad carried a spear and a sharp knife. Suddenly, Brannon saw a young pig in the clearing, he was all alone and eating some plants from the forest floor. Brannon paused for a few seconds, and then quietly said to his Father, ‘Dad, that little pig is young like me, and I want to give him a chance to grow up like me also. Can I do that?’, he whispers. ‘Of course you can’, said his Father. ‘We do not kill animals for pleasure, we only do it so that the family can eat.’ ‘You will make a great hunter Brannon’, his Dad said proudly, because you understand already that there is more to hunting than killing animals. We only take what we need, and all living things should get a chance to live their lives’. His Dad walked on ahead, with Brannon and Fia a little further behind. Suddenly and without warning, a large and ferocious looking wild pig darts out of the undergrowth in the forest. Instinctively, Fia rushes towards the wild pig to protect Brannon, but he is thrown into the air with the impact of the wild pig’s tusks. Brannon sees Fia lying on the ground with some blood flowing from his wound and the wild pig is standing over him. Brannon takes an arrow from his pouch, places it in the string of the bow, and with a calmness, unusual for a boy so young, fires the arrow straight and direct into the throat of the wild pig. Sweating, he hopes that his aim will be good or the wild pig is going to

kill him. The ferocious looking wild animal hits the ground with a heavy thud, and there is no more movement from him. Brannon’s Dad was too far in front to do anything, but he heard all the commotion and noise, and rushed back to Brannon in a panic. He saw the enormous wild pig on the ground and the blood on the dog, who was being attended to by his son. His Father congratulates him on his bravery and for being so calm in a very dangerous situation. They attend to Fia and his wound. The brave little dog is not too badly injured and starts to walk and run again. Brannon told his Dad that everything happened very quickly, and he had to react very fast after the wild pig had injured Fia. His Father was very proud of him. ‘You are an intelligent and very brave young man. It would have been easy to kill a young pig, but what you did was very brave and courageous.’ When they got back to the village, his Father told everybody what had happened in the woods and everybody was hugging Brannon, patting him on the back and admiring the bravery of a boy so young. But the day was not over for Brannon yet. In the afternoon he would go to fish with his Mother on Lough Corrib, and hoping to get his first big salmon.

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PART TWO: FISHING ON LOUGH CORRIB

In the afternoon, which was the second part of his challenge, Brannon was going fishing with his Mum on the lake. Brannon simply loved living beside the Owenriff River and Lough Corrib. The Owenriff starts about 10 miles up in the mountain, passing through four or five lakes, charges over the waterfall near Oughterard and then enters the lake at a place called River Island. Lough Corrib was spectacular looking to Brannon. He had never fished there before and was really looking forward to this trip. He had fished with his harpoon in the Owenriff near The Shrubbery, and he had to be very patient standing in the middle of the cold river and waiting for the small trout and eels to come along. But today was different, he was going fishing for a big salmon, and he was bursting with excitement! Men fished and hunted and also gathered fruit and berries. The women gathered the fruit and berries too, but they also hunted and

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fished. In the village of Oughterard, men and women, boys and girls, were all equal. Before they went to the lake, they took the coracle boat along the Owenriff to check the fish-traps. The fish-traps were very important to the village as many fish were caught during the night while they were sleeping. This way, they always had a plentiful supply of fish to eat. When they reached the lake they got into the log boat. This was much safer on the lake, especially if they had to go out a bit from the shore. Today they were going after a big salmon. Brannon had caught some small fish in the river, but today was the day to show what a good fisherman he was. He had dug up some nice juicy worms the night before with a sharp stick and he put them into a wooden container wrapped in some damp moss. When they set off from Baurisheen Bay, there were only a few white clouds in the sky and there was a light wind blowing. Brannon put a few of the worms on to a hook made from bone and let the line go out a bit on the water. The sun was shining, he was fishing for salmon, and he was a happy young boy. He had a younger sister, Eithne, and it would be her turn to go hunting and fishing next year. He also had a younger brother called Eshyn. The lake and the landscape looked stunning and peaceful today, and there was a great feeling of joy to be so close to nature. Brannon’s Mum was in charge of steering the boat with a timber paddle and she was doing a very good job. After about an hour or so, she said, ‘Brannon, we should take a break for a while now and have a bit of food, I’ll row over to the shore.’ ‘That’s great’, said Brannon, ‘I’m starving anyway.’ They lit a fire and wrapped the two small trout they found earlier in the fish-traps in leaves and moss, placed them on the fire, and it wasn’t long before the steam had cooked them through. They had a lovely meal, and after a short while they were on their way again rowing across the lake. All of a sudden, Brannon felt a sharp tug on the line he was holding in his hand, and it felt very strong indeed. Then about 20 metres away they saw a very big salmon leap out of the water with Brannon’s line in his mouth. ‘Well done Brannon’, said his Mum. ‘He’s a big fish, take your time, be patient and we’ll row out towards him.’ The salmon used all his strength to get away from them but Brannon played him carefully and would let him go a short distance and then pull slowly on the line to get the fish towards the boat. There was a terrific contest between the big salmon and the young boy, and soon Brannon had made him very tired and brought him beside the boat. Then Brannon and his Mum put their hands around the lovely big salmon and brought him into the log boat. ‘That’s brilliant’, said his Mum, ‘a wild pig and a big salmon on the same day. Nobody is going to believe this!’ That evening there was a big celebration for Brannon in the village, and there was a beautiful smell in the air as the wild pig and salmon were being roasted on separate spits. There was a tradition in the village that the first salmon or wild pig is cooked in the presence of the person who caught it, and that person also has the first taste of the fish or meat. But, like the episode with the young pig earlier in the morning, he broke with tradition, and offered the first pieces of wild pig and salmon to his Mother, Father, Sister and Brother. He also brought some meat over to his wonderful, brave and wounded Fia. His mother wiped a tear from her eye, and said to Brannon, ‘You are going to make a great Hunter and fIsherman, and one day you will have a family of your own to pass on your wonderful skills, compassion and kindness.’ That night, after the last of the embers went out on the fire, and exhausted after his great day and big adventures, he went to his cosy bed tired but very happy. That morning he woke up as a 12 year old boy, now he was going to bed as a 12 year old hunter of wild pig and a fisher of large salmon. He slept well, and had wonderful dreams that night. ☘

BILL DALY

Originally from Tallow in West Waterford, Bill spent 30 years in Cork as a Senior Manager in the Electronics Manufacturing industry with such companies as Apple, EMC and Logitech. He has been working on his own as a Consultant/Contractor in Manufacturing Operations and Materials for the past 18 years. He also attended UCC and has a BA Degree in Archaeology and Geography. Bill resides in Connemara, Co. Galway since 2009.