The Origin of Bard College Names?

With a bit of research I recently stumbled upon this information from an article in The Dublin University Magazine (Vol 67) called “Laws of the Ancient Irish” from way back in 1866. (Link goes to a google book, the text below is on page 5 left column.)

“The Ollamh's memory was enriched with his seven times fifty stories; the Anruth's with thrice fifty and half fifty; the Cli remembered eighty, the Cana sixty, the Dos fiftv. the Mac Fuirmidh forty, the Fochiuc thirty, and the Drisac twenty. The poor Taman could only tell ten, and the Ollaire of still worse memory soon wearied his hearers; he had only seven.”

This also hints that perhaps there are three possible new instruments of the bards awaiting discovery for the Drisac, Taman, the the Ollaire. I’d make them wind or percussion instruments were I to create them – ie. more primitive than the stringed instruments.