Lake-burst

A lake-burst (Old Irish: tomaidm^[1]) is a phenomenon referred to in Irish mythology, in which a previously non-existent lake comes into being, often when a grave is being dug. Part of the lake-burst stories may originate in sudden hydrographic changes around limestone-based inland plains or turloughs. Other so-called lake-bursts refer to marine estuaries, bays and inlets, such as Galway Bay, Strangford Lough, Dundrum Bay, Belfast Lough, Waterford Harbour and the mouth of the River Erne. Some of these coastal districts were renowned for the drowned prehistoric forests, which gave rise to several flood-myths.

Medieval bards had a special genre of lake-burst poems called tomamond. More or less laborate 11th- or 12th-century narratives have survived around Galway Bay, Lough Neagh and Lough Ree, which seem to be related to similar (though less ancient) stories in Wales (Cantre'r Gwaelod, Llys Helig, Bala Lake, Llynclys), Cornwall (Lyonesse), Brittany (Ys) and Normandy (Forêt de Scissy). A late 16th-century Frisian legend, probably borrowed from Irish examples, refers to the origins of the Zuiderzee. Other Irish texts refer to the eruption of the River Boyne and other rivers. The poems of the lake-burst of Lough Erne and the eruption of Brí (were the legendary character Midir lived) have been lost. In Wales the flood-myth is elaborated in the story of Dwyfan and Dwyfach, who saved people and animals from the great deluge caused by the monster Avanc living in Llyn Llion (possibly Bala Lake). Its Irish counterpart as told in the Lebor Gabála Érenn only links up with the Biblical story of Noah's flood.

Identification

Not every lake mentioned in medieval sources can be identified with certainty.^[2] Loch Lainglinne, for instance, might be another reference to Belfast Lough, which was known as Loch Laoigh" or Loch Laigh.

Apparently, medieval Irishmen were convinced that almost all of their lakes had emerged after Noah's flood. Their myths suggest that land reclamation and deforestation went hand in hand with the seasonal inundation of low-lying plains. According to the corrupted text of Lebor Gabála Érenn king Partholón found only three lakes or bays: Loch Fordremain in Sliab Mis of Mumhan (Tralee Bay), Loch Lumnig (probably Loch Lurgan or Galway Bay) on Tir Find and Loch Cera or Findloch over the borders of Irrus. Interesting enough, several major lakes and outlets, such as Lough Corrib, Lough Derg, Shannon Estuary and Killary Harbour are not mentioned in any myth. This may imply that at least some lake-bursts mentioned have been wrongly identified with smaller lakes.

List of mythical lake-bursts

Fionn mac Cumhaill's time

Galway Bay or Loch Lurgan.^[3]

Partholón's time^[4]

Loch Laighlinne in Ui mac Uais of Breifne (Laighlinne's grave)
Loch Rudraige, in Ulaid (Rudraige's grave)^[5]
Loch Techet, in Connachta
Loch Mese, in Connachta
Loch Con, in Connachta
Loch Echtra, in Airgialla (between Sliabh Modharn and Sliabh Fuaid), "full of swans"
Loch Cuan in Ulaid, an inundation of the sea over the land of Brena, or by the river Brena - the seventh lake eruption