Editing Merrow (section)

===Cohuleen druith===
Merrows wear a special hat called a ''{{lang|ga|cohuleen druith}}'',{{efn|The spellings vary from ''{{lang|ga|cohuleen driuth}}''" (Croker), "''{{lang|ga|cohuleen druith}}''" (O'Hanlon, Kennedy), to "''{{lang|ga|cohullen duith}}''" (Yeats).}} which enables them to dive beneath the waves. If they lose this cap, it is said that they will lose their power to return beneath the water.{{sfnp|Croker|1828|loc='''II''', 4}}{{sfnp|O'Hanlon|1870|p=57}}{{sfnp|Yeats|1888|p=61}}

The normalized spelling in [[Irish language|Irish]] is ''{{lang|ga|cochaillín draíochta}}'', literally "little magic hood" (''{{lang|ga|[[wikt:cochall|cochall]]}}'' "cowl, hood, hooded cloak" + ''{{lang|ga|-ín}}'' diminutive suffix + [[genitive case|gen.]] of ''{{lang|ga|[[wikt:draíocht|draíocht]]}}'').{{r|"zimmermann"}}{{r|"almqvist"}} This rendering is echoed by Kennedy who glosses this object as "nice little magic cap".{{r|"kennedy-LFIC-p121"}}

Arriving at a different reconstruction, Croker believed that it denoted a hat in the a particular shape of a [[matador]]'s "{{lang|es|[[montera]]}}",{{sfnp|Croker|1828|loc='''II''', 18|ps="'from ''{{lang|ga|cuthdarún}}'', a sort of montera or monmouth cap"}} or in less exotic terms, "a strange looking thing like a cocked hat", to quote from the tale "[[The Lady of Gollerus]]".{{sfnp|Croker|1828|loc='''II''', 13}} A submersible "cocked hat" also figures in the invented merrow-man tale "[[The Soul Cages (story)|The Soul Cages]]."

The notion that the ''{{lang|ga|cohuleen druith}}'' is a hat "covered with feathers", stated by O'Hanlon and Yeats{{sfnp|O'Hanlon|1870|p=57}}{{sfnp|Yeats|1888|p=61}} arises from taking Croker too literally.<ref>{{Harvnb|Kinahan|1983|p=261}}: "O'Hanlon was echoing Croker directly [when he wrote the paragraph on the ''{{lang|ga|cohuleen druith}}'' being] ‘generally covered with feathers...’..."; ‘The feathers on the merrow's cap’ are clearly a touch borrowed from O'Hanlon' in Yeats's case."</ref> Croker did point out that the merrow's hat shared something in common with "feather dresses of the ladies" in two ''[[Arabian Nights]]'' tales.{{efn|The tales of ''[[The Story of Janshah|Jahanshah]]'' and ''[[Hassan of Bassorah|Hassan of Bassora]]''.}}{{sfnp|Croker|1828|loc='''II''', 17}} However, he did not mean the merrow's hat had feathers on them. As other commentators have point out, what Croker meant was that both contained the motif of a supernatural woman who is bereft of the article of clothing and is prevented from escaping her captor.  This is commonly recognized as the "feather garment" motif in [[swan maiden]]-type tales.{{r|"bolte-polivka"}}{{r|"leavy"}} The ''{{lang|ga|cohuleen druith}}'' was also considered to be of red color by Yeats,{{sfnp|Yeats|1888|p=61}} although this is not indicated by his predecessors such as Croker.

An analogue to the "mermaid's cap" is found in an Irish tale of a supernatural wife who emerged from the [[freshwater]] [[Lough Owel]] in [[Westmeath]], Ireland. She was found to be wearing a [[fish leather|salmon-skin]] cap that glittered in the moonlight. A local farmer captured her and took her to be his bride, bearing him children, but she disappeared after discovering her cap while rummaging in the household.{{r|"rhys"}} Although this "fairy mistress" is not from the sea, one Celticist identifies her as a ''{{lang|ga|muir-óigh}}'' (sea-maiden) nevertheless.{{efn|The Celticist, [[Tom Peete Cross]] adds that the ''{{lang|ga|muir-óigh}}'' in Patrick Kennedy's example wears the "magic cap", i.e., the ''{{lang|ga|cohuleen druith}}''.}}{{r|cross}}

The Scottish counterpart to the merrow's cap was a "removable" skin, "like the skin of a salmon, but brighter and more beautiful, and very large", worn by the Maid-of-the-wave.{{sfnp|Kickingereder|2008|p=57–60}} It was called in [[Scottish Gaelic]] ''cochull'', glossed as 'slough' and "meaning apparently a scaly tail which comes off to reveal human legs",<ref name="bruford1980"/> though it should be mentioned that a ''cochull'' in the first instance denotes a piece of garment over the head, a hood-cape.{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|The word ''cochull'' denoted a piece of garment (hood-cape). The ''cochull craicion'' is explained to be a leather or skin cloak over the head and shoulders, such as became the nickname of [[Muirchertach mac Néill]] ({{lang|ga|na gcochull gcraiceann}}; 'of the Leather Cloaks', d. 943), a would-be [[High King of Ireland|high king]].<ref name="macadam"/> It is pointed out that in Scottish-Gaelic folklore the nickname is applied to fantastical figures, such as the Supernatural Smith<ref name="mcinnes"/> (usually identified as Lon mac Liomhtha, the forger of Finn's sword [[Mac an Buin]] according to the ''Duan na Ceardaich'' ("Lay of the Smithy") in ''Duanaire Finn''.<ref>{{harvp|McInnes|1986–1987|p=108}} and ''Duan na Ceardaich'' Str. 42, quoted pp. 109–113.</ref> Scottish lore speaks of a certain hag or sea-hag ({{langx|gd|Muilghertach, Muirghertach}}, quite similar sounding to the Irish king's name, and she too is applied the "of the leather cloak" ("{{lang|gd|A Mhuilgheartach nan cochull craicinn}}")) in derisive manner in  a [[waulking song]]. Muilghertach bears resemblance to the sea-ogress ''margýgr'' in Old Norse texts, in the opinion of [[Reidar Thoralf Christiansen]].<ref name="mcinnes"/>}}

The "fishtail-skin" mermaid folklore (as well as that of "seal-skin" seal-woman/[[selkie]]) are found all over the Irish and Scottish coasts.<ref name="bruford1980"/>