Editing Balor (section)

===Balor's eye===
"Balor himself may have one, two or three eyes, one of which is poisonous, incendiary, or otherwise malignant; he may have two eyes in front, one each in front and back, an extra eye in the middle of his forehead. Lugh always puts the evil eye out", as summarized by Mark Scowcroft.{{sfnp|Scowcroft|1995|p=143}}

In O'Donovan's version of the folktale above, Balor has one eye in the middle of the forehead, and a deadly eye on the back of his head. It is described as both venomous, and issuing some sort of petrifying beam with powers like unto a [[basilisk]].{{sfnp|O'Donovan|1856|pp=18–21}}<ref>Cf.   {{harvp|Kinahan|1887|pp=66–68}}. "[[s:The Folk-Lore Journal/Volume 5/Donegal Folk-Lore|Stray Donegal Folk-Lore: Ballor of the Evil Eye]]"</ref> O'Curry deplored the dissemination of such a "peasantry" version, assisted by O'Donovan printing it.{{sfnp|O'Curry|1863|pp=233–234}} This second eye in the back does not preclude comparison with the one-eyed [[Cyclops]] of Greek myth.<ref name=crooke/>

In "Balor on Tory Island", Balor covers the eye in the middle of his forehead with nine leather shields, but Lugh (Lui Lavada "the Longhand") sends a red spear crafted by Gavidin Gow through all the layers.<ref name=curtin-p283-donegal/>{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|Thusin Laoide's Irish version,<ref name=laoide/> Lugh Fadlámhach's spear pierces seven coverings (Irish:''bpilleadh''>''[[wikt:filleadh|filleadh]]''; German:''[[wikt:Hülle|Hülle]]'') out of the nine coverings protecting Balor's eye.{{sfnp|Müller-Lisowski|1923|p=321}}}}

It may be that this forehead eye should be interpreted as an "extra eye in the middle of his forehead" (one of three) as Scowcroft puts it, otherwise Balor would be rendered blind most of the time. But Scowcroft does not specify the work to which he is alluding. Balor is explicitly three-eyed in a version published by [[William Hamilton Maxwell]].<ref name=maxwell/>

But another version of the folktale (from [[County Mayo]]) says that Balor was one-eyed, yet it was usually covered: "He had a single eye in his forehead, a venomous fiery eye. There were always seven coverings over this eye. One by one Balar removed the coverings. With the first covering the [[bracken]] began to wither, with the second the grass became copper-coloured, with the third the woods and timber began to heat, with the fourth smoke came from the trees, with the fifth everything grew red, with the sixth it sparked. With the seventh, they were all set on fire, and the whole countryside was ablaze!"<ref name="ohogain"/>