It appears they were a clan escaping
prosecution...
In 5th century Ireland, chieftains
occupied the land known now as
Donegal.
This was, and still is, a remote, rugged, windswept place.
The Breslins moved north, and found a lake near the sea
in a land of rock.
It must have had fish.
Trees, plants, animals, grew and roamed nearby.
On an overlooking plateau,
and stone on the surface.
So assuming they lined themselves in a chain
from the shore out into this lake
(I do not know the depth then)
and began ferrying stones...
first picked easily, then dredged, under mud,
then split,
a hard shale, with only harder stones to cleave.
raining,
storming from the Atlantic,
stone by stone,
raft by raft,
hand by hand,
they created a surface to keep their feet dry.
And did not stop.
A ring rose along the circumference,
more stones heaved up,
baskets of smaller chinks,
packed into the heart,
keeping the mass together.
60 feet in diameter.
16 feet in height.
A megalithic mode of making.
And when all done,
the stairs inside the wall laid,
the well inside the wall dug,
wooden cabins built,
children put to bed,
a fire could be started,
a cow could graze inside
and produce food,
and stories of leaving,
and making a place,
could begin.
How long did they last?
(Not very)
How long will their story last?