In the Metrical Dindshenchas, an ancient collection of Irish placename lore, there exists a strange story detailing how the Berba (the Barrow River) got its name. In the prose version of the tale, a figure name Méiche, a son of the Morrígan, had three hearts, and each heart contained a serpent. If allowed to grow, these serpents would lay waste to Ireland and consume all life upon it. Dian Cécht, physician of the Tuatha Dé, slays Méiche and cuts out his hearts, burning them to ashes, along with the deadly serpents. He then scatters the ashes in the Berba, which causes the waters to bubble up and all the life in the river to die, thus why the river has been called "Berba" ("boiling") ever since. The design of this piece was inspired by ornaments found in the Book of Kells, which is renown for its complex and intricate illustrations, often depecting different kinds of animals. Where the hearts meet in the center, they take the shape of a triskelion, a type of three-armed spiral featured in Neolithic and Iron Age Celtic art.
