The Mermaid of Dunluce

I first heard this story when I was about 11 years old, back then we had no electricity in our home, just candles, and tilley lamps and later gas lighting, we had no telephone or television, mobile phones had not been invented  so entertainment focused on social gatherings. At least one evening a week I would go with an uncle or auntie to a neighbours cottage about 1km away. Depending on who was there, we had general chat, music being played, singing and stories being told, as we sat in the warmth of an open fire. It was here that I heard most of the folklore and stories that would become a precious part of my imagination and later inspiration. I wrote this song on an acoustic guitar originally and recorded it on an four track with a dreadful vocal. I came across it again this year and brought it back life with the help of AI which created the singing voice to my lyrics.

The Mermaid’s Cave is spectacular cavern with a steep access down a loose dirt bank to a sloping boulder floor which runs to the water's edge. The cave runs the entire length of the castle and opens out to the sea, on calm days it is possible to enter the cave by boat or kayak. One of the memorable features for me was the amazing reverberation, a friend and I would go there to listen to and record it by throwing a large stone in the air so it would fall vertically down creating superb low-frequency reverberation as it hit and went under the water. As well as this, it is the legendary haunt of a mermaid.  Mermaids, Selkies and the Sidhe (pronounced Shee) are found in many stories around our shore, they depict enchanting creatures that materialize in a feminine form to lure the unsuspecting. The story I was told relates to a mermaid.

The story tells of two young soldiers, Elric and Francis,  they were part of a force laying siege to the castle in the 1500s and were posted at the base of the castle in the small bay to the right, to keep watch for anyone trying to leave and prevent any landing parties coming ashore into the bay or cave. The two were like brothers, they grew up together, enlisted in the army together and served in the same unit, Elric confided in Francis and vice versa. Elric told Francis that he was going to explore the cave that evening when the moon was full and invited him to come along but Francis declined. The next day Elric revealed to Francis that he visited the cave and found it dimly lit by the moon's reflection through the opening to the sea, he clambered down a steep bank and found a place to sit near the water, the sea was calm and he closed his eyes and listened to the rhythm of the water gently lapping over the boulders creating an entrancing sound which filled the whole cavern.
 

As he listens to the peaceful sound he became aware of another discordant sound of splashing quite close, he opened his eyes and saw in the shadow and reflections on the water the head of a women with long hair a few yards from him, at first he thought it was an illusion of the moonlight on the water. He was startled when she rose from the water revealing a scaled body, she reached out her hand and beckoned him, at the same time in a beautiful voice that did not come from her mouth but spoke in his mind and heart, said, ‘Come’ take my hand, you are tired, come with me and you will be safe and forever free of war. This unsettled Elric and at the same time mesmerized him, he could not grasp what was happening and panicked, he took flight and scrambled back up to the exit, stopping halfway up to look back but there was nothing there but the moon's long reflection on the water.

Robert sat open mouthed listening to this account, he was baffled by what he had heard and did not know what to believe, was it true or not, he tried to put it down to fatigue as they both were battle-weary and nearing the end of their tour of duty. Francis knew that Elric was always honest with him, they trusted and shared their thoughts with each other, so it unsettled him to hear the account.  Later that day the order came that the castle would be taken by force the following day, artillery had arrived and was being put in place on the cliffs. The day past and as night fell, Elric told Francis he would go back to the cave to see if what had happened the previous night was real or not and that he should come along to witness it. He also said he wanted to hide in the cave until the castle had fallen and the killing was over and then make his way back to their home. Francis pleaded with him not to go, concerned not only by what his friend had told him  but also the fact, that running away from the army was desertion and punishable by death.

His plea failed and he watched as Elric walk towards the cave under the light of the moon, Francis stayed awake, waiting several hours, then just before dawn he decided to go and find him and beg or force him to come back as the last thing he could imagine was his friend being put to death for desertion. He searched the cave but found no trace of Elric, it was still and quiet with the first signs of sunrise in the sky beyond the sea entrance.

Francis returned to his post, later that morning the castle fell, after the fighting a role call was made and Elric was declared missing, a search was called but no trace was found. A few weeks later Francis was granted leave to go home, he was half expecting to find Elric there like he had told him before he disappeared but on arrival he soon found out that nobody had seen or heard from him. He felt it was his duty to tell Elric's parents about what their son had told him before he disappeared.

Francis continued to serve in the army and when he finally retired went back to his village where he lived out the rest of his life never knowing what had happened to friend Elric and if indeed he had been lured to another world by a mermaid. He told the story many times to those who were curious or asked about Elric, he also told it on winter nights around an open fire when people gathered in his home.

Remember just because you have never seen something does not mean it does not exist.