translated into English and preface by David Comyn, Patrick S. Dinneen
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The present text represents pages iii-xviii and 3-237 of vol. 1; 3-413 of vol. 2; 3-369 of vol. 3. Notes and indexes have been omitted; editorial corrigenda are integrated into the electronic edition. Missing text supplied by the editor is tagged sup.
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The translation is in English.
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Beatrix Färber (ed.)
Beatrix Färber (ed.)
Beatrix Färber (ed.)
Beatrix Färber (ed.)
Marcos Balé (ed.)
Ruth Murphy (ed.)
Pádraig Bambury (ed.)
Pádraig Bambury (ed.)
Beatrix Färber (ed.)
Ruth Murphy (ed.)
Benjamin Hazard (ed.)
Beatrix Färber (ed.)
Pádraig Bambury (ed.)
Pádraig Bambury (ed.)
Beatrix Färber (ed.)
Julianne Nyhan (ed.)
Julianne Nyhan (ed.)
GEOFFREY KEATING stands alone among Gaelic writers: he has had neither precursor nor successor nor, in his own domain, either equal or second. His works show the fullest development of the language, and his historical treatise, with which we are here concerned, marks an epoch in our literature, a complete departure from the conventional usage of the annalists. From the last and greatest of these, even from his illustrious contemporaries the Four Masters, he is, in his style and mode of using his materials, as far removed as is Gibbon from earlier English writers on European affairs. The period, however, with which the English author deals is one for the history of which ample authentic materials existed, and nothing remained for the writer but to select and present the facts in his own style to the reader. But our author has to give an account of a country apart from the general development of European Civilisation, and to treat chiefly of remote ages without the support of contemporary documents or monuments. In this respect his field of inquiry resembles somewhat that of the portion of Dr. Liddell's work relating to the Kings and early Consuls of Rome, where the author, in a pleasing style, does his best with scanty and unsatisfactory materials, not altogether throwing aside, like the German critics, all data which cannot be confirmed by inscriptions or authentic records, yet skilfully exercising his discretion in the use of legend and tradition which had by earlier writers been received as trustworthy evidence.
It will be seen, in the course of this work, that Keating, though often accused of being weakly credulous, and though he was
Printing in Gaelic was then rare and difficult, especially in Ireland, but the reproduction of manuscripts was an honourable calling actively pursued, and the copies were so clearly and beautifully executed by professional scribes that the native reader was never so bereft of literature as the absence of printed books might suggest.
‘To live is to change’, and the Irish language, like everything living, has changed, passing from what scholars know as 'old' Irish to 'middle' and 'modern' Irish. Modern begins with Keating, and his model has been followed the good writers of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, including O'Nachtan and O'Donlevy; and it still guides us, allowance being made for inevitable change, not more noticeable in Irish than in any other language cultivated
The language used by our author is described by O'Curry as the modified Gaedhlic of Keating's own time’’
: which merely means that Keating elected to write in the living language, not (like the O'Clerys and Mac Firbis) continuing to employ forms long obsolete, and to copy strictly ancient models. O'Curry says further of Keating, whom he elsewhere calls a most learned Gaedhlic scholar’’:—Although he has used but little discrimination in his selections from old records, and has almost entirely neglected any critical examination of his authorities, still, his book is a valuable one, and not at all, in my opinion, the despicable production that it is often ignorantly said to be.’’ In another passage, however, O'Curry rather tones down this censure, and thus appreciates Keating:— It is greatly to be regretted that a man so learned as Keating (one who had access, too, at some period of his life, to some valuable and ancient MSS. since lost) should not have had time to apply to his materials the rigid test of that criticism so necessary to the examination of ancient tales and traditions criticism which his learning and ability so well qualified him to undertake. As it is, however Keating's book is of great value to the student, ... so far as it contains at least a fair outline of our ancient history, and so far as regards the language in which it is written, which is regarded as a good specimen of the Gaedhlic of his time.’’ From O'Curry's standpoint, and taking into account the purpose of his work, we cannot expect a more favourable estimate.But O'Donovan himself says of Keating's History of Ireland:— This work, though much abused by modern writers, on account of some fables which the author has inserted, is, nevertheless, of great authority, and has been
In his Literary History of Ireland, Dr. Douglas Hyde thus contrasts the O'Clerys and Keating:—As if to emphasise the truth that they were only redacting the Annals of Ireland from the most ancient sources at their command, the Masters wrote in an ancient bardic dialect, full at once of such idioms and words as were unintelligible, even to the men of their own day, unless they had received a bardic training. In fact, they were learned men writing for the learned, and this work was one of the last efforts of the esprit de corps of the school-bred shanachy which always prompted him to keep bardic and historical learning a close monopoly amongst his own class. Keating was Michael O'Clery's contemporary, but he wrote—and I consider him the first Irish historian and trained scholar who did so—for the masses, not the classes, and he had his reward in the thousands of copies of his popular History made and read throughout all Ireland, while the copies made of the Annals were quite few in comparison, and after the end of the seventeenth century little read.’’
Dr. Hyde further says: What Keating found in the old vellums of the monasteries and the brehons, as they existed about the year 1630—they have, many of them, perished since—he rewrote and redacted in his own language, like another Herodotus. He invents nothing, embroiders little. What he does not find before him, he does not relate ... though he wrote currente calamo, and is in matters of fact less accurate than they [the Four Masters] are, yet his history is an independent compilation made from the same class of
The present will be the first complete edition of Keating's History. Outside the restricted circle of Irish scholars, nothing was known of the work, save through Dermod
Dr. Joyce says:—To publish text, translation, and annotations of old Keating—whom I revere and love—would be a great work, enough to place all Irishmen, present and future, under deep obligations to you. A grand ambition, enough to make a man's whole life pleasant and healthy.’’
I too can claim that I have always had a like deep veneration and affection for our good old author, and to do this work has been with me the desire and dream of half a lifetime: in fact, since I was first able to read the Irish language, and took part, now more than a quarter of a century ago, in the movement for its preservation. I even then hoped to have commenced this undertaking, but other matters, in themselves of minor interest, were more pressing needs for the time: now, however, the Irish Texts Society gives me the opportunity so long wished for; and from Dr. Hyde, the President, Miss Eleanor Hull, the Hon. Sec., my colleagues on the Committee, and other members and friends, I have received such encouragement and assistance, as give me hope that I may be able, under their auspices, to complete so great and useful a work.As to Dr. Keating's other works, Dr. Atkinson's splendid edition, published by the Royal Irish Academy, in 1890, of the text of the Three Shafts of Death, a moral and philosophic treatise, with an exhaustive vocabulary, has been of great service in the preparation of the present volumes: and the text of An Explanatory Defence of the Mass has been issued by Mr. Patrick O'Brien, and is important and has been issued by Mr. Patrick O'Brien, and is important and useful. It was Keating's earliest work, and the language is simpler than in the other text named. These two texts, together with the present edition of the History, furnish an ample store of classical Gaelic prose, and to these works, since their first production, so far as they were known, everyone has been satisfied to appeal as to authoritative
A sketch of the life of the author prefixed to Halidays edition of Keating, has been in part reprinted by Mr O'Brien: O'Mahony also wrote a life for his translation; and other brief narratives have been published, though authentic materials are scanty. A full biography of Keating, however, with an account of the time in which he lived and the conditions under which he worked, is still a desideratum for the numerous and increasing class who now feel interest in him, his work, and his language.
I must content myself with a few approximate dates. Neither the year of his birth nor of his death is exactly known; but between 1570 and 1650 may be assumed as his period. He was born at Burges, and is buried at Tubrid, both in Co. Tipperary, and distant only a few miles. He was educated at Bordeaux, and returned to Ireland about 1610. His first known work, the treatise on the Mass, was written about 1615; though there is in the Franciscan MSS. a small religious tract, attributed to him, which may be of earlier date, as also some of his poems. The Three Shafts of Death was written about 1625, and the History was completed about 1634, certainly before 1640. In 1644 he built the little church of Tubrid in which he is interred, though the exact spot is not known.
From D'Arcy McGee's position in literature, an opinion from him on Keating's History of Ireland is of some interest. He writes:— It is a semi-bardic and semi-historic work. It is full of faith in legends and trust in traditions. But its author has invented nothing. If it contain improbabilities or absurdities, they are not of his creation. He had gathered from manuscripts, now dispersed or almost unknown, strange facts wildly put, which jar upon our sense as downright fictions. They are not such. Ignorance has criticised
Hardiman, who was a first-rate Irish scholar, and familiar with the original, writes thus of Keating's work:—Our Irish Herodotus was both a poet and an historian. Indeed the flowery style of his Foras Feasa ar Éirinn or History of Ireland, shows that he must have paid early and sedulous court to the muses; and, that he was rewarded for his attentions, appears from the pleasing poems which he has left behind. ... As an historian and antiquary, he has acquired much celebrity for profound knowledge of the antiquities of his country, vir multiplicis lectionis in patriis antiquitatibus ... It is an irreparable loss to Irish history that he did not continue his work. ... Of all men, he was best qualified to give a true domestic picture of this country, from a knowledge of its civil affairs, manners, customs, poetry, music, architecture, &c., seldom equalled and never surpassed; besides his intimate acquaintance with many ancient MSS. extant in his time, but since dispersed or destroyed. The English edition by which his history, so far as it extends, is known to the world, is a burlesque on translation. In innumerable passages it is as much a version of Geoffrey of Monmouth as of Geoffrey Keating.’’
Dr. Todd says: O'Mahony's translation, (before referred to), is a great improvement upon the ignorant and dishonest one published by Mr. Dermod O'Connor ... which has so unjustly lowered in public estimation the character of Keating as a historian; but O'Mahony's translation has been taken from a very imperfect text, and has evidently been
A few words will be in place here concerning the authorities for the text of the present volume. The chief are:—
I.—A MS., believed to be in the handwriting of the author, most accurate and valuable, now in the Franciscan Convent Library, Dublin. This volume is stated to have been written in the convent of Kildare, and is shown by another entry to have belonged to the famous convent of Donegal, whence it was transferred to Louvain, where it was included among Colgan's collection, thence conveyed to Rome, and ultimately restored to Ireland some twenty-eight years ago. Its date unfortunately is not traceable, but in all probability it is the oldest existing transcript of Keating's History and written before 1640. This manuscript will be cited in this edition as F. There is another important
II.—MS. H. 5, 26, by O'Mulconry, referred to in this edition as C, with the aid of Dr. Joyce's transcript, and printed edition of part of same, compared, in doubtful and difficult passages, and to supply omissions, with MS. H. 5, 32; both in Trinity College, Dublin, being Nos. 1397 and 1403 in the printed catalogue. I have to express my thanks to the authorities of Trinity College for permission to use the University Library, and to the Library officers for their courtesy and kindness.
III.—Haliday's text, stated to have been printed from a MS. also by O'Mulconry, dated 1657, but differing considerably in places from those named.
IV.—The next is an older MS., dated 1643, in my own possession, unfortunately in bad preservation, but still legible for the body of the work, written by James O'Mulconry, of Ballymecuda, in the county of Clare. These two authorities will be referred to in this edition as H, and M, respectively.
By the letter N, I shall indicate a MS., also my own, written in Dublin by Teig O'Nachtan, and dated 1704, with which has been carefully compared a copy made in 1708 by Hugh Mac Curtin, and various readings noted. This I have occasionally consulted, and found to be a very useful text. All the writers named were well-known Irish scholars. I have, besides, a transcript made by Peter O'Dornin, the Gaelic Poet, in 1750; another, dated 1744, and written in a
I shall note at the foot of each page, for the present, only such various readings as appear to me to be important. Space, after all, is an object, and the whole volume might easily be filled with matter which would be little help, but rather a distraction, to the reader. The author himself is believed to have made several transcripts of his work; and to have inserted from time to time, passages or quotations relating to the events recorded. In this way there is some inevitable discrepancy between the best manuscripts. I have followed, in the main, the recension of the O'Mulconrys, adhered to strictly by Dr. Joyce, and which is also the basis of Haliday's text. I have not modernized their system of inflection, or altered the orthography, save in certain mannerisms, which I have not felt bound to adopt. It is probable that this family of professional scribes and antiquaries would have adhered more rigidly than Keating himself to classic but obsolescent usages. In fact, the important MS. cited as F, prefers living forms such as tugadar where C has tugsad, &c. The authentic copies differ occasionally from each other, and where I have had to choose between them, or prefer another authority, the ancillary manuscript and other sources from which omissions have been supplied and various readings drawn, will be indicated wherever necessary. The MSS., here and there, retain antiquated forms of spelling from which I have felt at liberty to depart when their use in other places of more modern forms gives sanction to the innovation. Thus, for instance, O'Mulconry uses the obsolete doridisi and aridhisi almost side by side with the living arís. The latter I have uniformly adopted, as it exists in texts much older than Keating's time, such as the Homilies in the Leabhar Breac: and so I have, where authority was equal, endeavoured to attain uniformity of spelling, and given the preference to
I have endeavoured to prepare a closely literal translation, though not actually word for word: thus, while not unreadable, it will aid students in the better understanding of the text, to which object it is entirely subsidiary: no attempt being made to draw away the reader's attention from the plain meaning of the author, by a sophisticated version for the sake of superficial correctness or elegance of style. Any such considerations must give place to the necessity for the study and understanding of Keating's text by the native reader and the Gaelic student, who will be alike unwilling to substitute any translation, however successful, for the original language of this standard work. This view has also guided me in the forms of personal and place names in the translation. I should prefer to retain the correct spelling in every instance, especially when so many are now studying the language and becoming familiarized with its phonetics: however, in the case of some very familiar names, I have adopted no hard and fast rule, but wherever I follow the usual corrupt spelling, I point out the correct Irish form also. The few foot-notes, here and there, on the translation, must of necessity be brief: but I hope, later, to give a full Index, and, for the present, will merely indicate, in loco, the place or person alluded to, where this may be necessary, or not obvious from the context.
The Latin quotations used by Keating are here relegated to the margin to avoid disturbing the continuity of the text, and distracting the reader's attention. In each case our author gives the Gaelic equivalent, and from this the English translation has been made. A letter will indicate the reference
Not only among the strange facts wildly put’’
, and the traditions gathered by Keating, but also in the more authentic portions of his narrative, there will be found recorded occurrences which may offend certain readers who would fain judge every age and people by the standards of modern European civilization; or, rather, by their own narrow experience and reading, and their ill-informed prepossessions. Persons whose susceptibilities are so easily shocked, and who cherish their convictions so tenderly, have no business studying the history of human progress in ancient times, or during the middle ages, or among people who have developed under special conditions; or, indeed, any subject outside of the commonplace.Among the many writers who have censured Geoffrey Keating's work and method, as the introduction to Haliday points out, Roderick O'Flaherty, at least, had a sufficient knowledge of the language and the subject: but, without this title to a hearing, Isaac Disraeli presumes to denounce Keating and O'Flaherty, alike, in the most sweeping manner, among the various literary cranks and humbugs whom he criticises. We need not wonder, therefore, though we may regret, that Thomas Moore, in his History of Ireland, speaks slightingly of Keating, whose text he could not read, but there is reason to believe that Moore subsequently recognised the need of acquaintance with the native records; as it is well known that he expressed to O'Curry and Petrie his conviction, that without this knowledge he should not have undertaken to write a History of Ireland, a work, now, in its turn, notwithstanding its fascinating style, almost as much neglected as, and of far less value than, either Keating or O'Flaherty.
Our author concludes his vindicatory introduction by affirming that if there be anything in his history inviting censure, it is there not from evil intent but from want knowledge or ability. Being a descendant of the old foreign settlers, Keating cannot be said to have inherited a prejudice in favour of the native Irish; and his testimony on their behalf, as he himself argues, ought on that account to be the more readily received. While indignantly refuting the calumnies of ignorance and malice, his honesty of purpose is yet such as impels him to relate some strange facts which his keenly sensitive regard for his country's honour must have induced him to wish could be related differently. But not less is this the case with the native annalists of Ireland. Having had the advantage of writing their own history, for their own people, in their own language, they did not attempt to make the facts bend to preconceived theories, but, to the best of their ability and according to their lights, they delivered the stories as they found them, not condescending to pander to any mistaken patriotic zeal, or to insert and omit with a purpose in view, and so colour their narrative as to place the ancestors before their own fellow-countrymen and the world in any better light than they felt was warranted by the authorities available. Though occasionally vain-glorious, and by no means free from clan predilections, they do not conceal faults or errors, or extenuate crimes: they are, in general, too candid. In this way the ancient history of Ireland often appears to the modern reader at a disadvantage, compared with the nicely adjusted narratives told by historians of remote times in other countries.
WHOSOEVER proposes to trace and follow up the ancient history and origin of an country ought to determine on setting down plainly the method which reveals most clearly the truth of the state of the country, and the condition of the people who inhabit it: and forasmuch as I have undertaken to investigate the groundwork of Irish historical knowledge, I have thought at the outset of deploring some part of her affliction and of her unequal contest; especially the unfairness which continues to be practised on her inhabitants, alike the old foreigners who are in possession more than four hundred years from the Norman invasion down, as well as the native Irish who have had possession during almost three thousand years. For there is no historian of all those who have written on Ireland from that epoch that has not continuously sought to cast reproach and blame both on the old foreign settlers and on the native Irish.
Whereof the testimony given by Cambrensis, Spenser,
There are some ancient authors who lay lying charges against the Irish; such as Strabo, who says in his fourth book that the Irish are a man-eating people. My answer to Strabo is, that it is a lie for him to say that the Irish are a people who eat human flesh; for it is not read in the ancient record that there was ever one in Ireland who used to eat human flesh, but Eithne the loathsome, daughter of Criomhthann, son of Eanna Cinnsiolach, king of Leinster, who was in fosterage with the Deisi of Munster: and she was reared by them on the flesh of children, in hope that thereby she would be the sooner marriageable. For it had been promised to them that they should receive land from the man to whom
Solinus, in the twenty-first chapter, says that there are no bees in Ireland; and he says, that it is from the point of a sword the first bit is tasted by a male child in Ireland. He says, moreover, that the Irishman is wont, when his enemy is slain by him, to bathe himself in the blood. It is clear from the ancient record, which will be (found) in the history, that every one of these things is false. Pomponius Mela, in the third book, says these words, speaking of the Irish, a people ignorant of all the virtues {Omnium virtutum ignari}’’
: and so of many other ancient foreign authors who wrote rashly without evidence concerning Ireland, on the lying statements of false witnesses, whom it would not be right to trust in such a matter: wherefore Camden, setting down the testimony of these people concerning Ireland, says these words: We have not (says he)We shall set down here a few of the lies of the new foreigners who have written concerning Ireland, following Cambrensis; and shall make a beginning by refuting Cambrensis himself where he says that Ireland owed tribute to King Arthur, and that the time when he imposed the tax on them at Caerleon was, when the year of the Lord was five hundred and nineteen, as Campion sets forth in his chronicle in the second chapter of the second book, where he says that Gillamar was then king of Ireland. Howbeit, notwithstanding that (the author of) Polychronicon, and (Geoffrey of) Monmouth, and others of the new foreigners assert this Gillamar to have been king of Ireland, I defy any of their followers (to show) that there is a lay or a letter from the ancient record of Ireland in which there is mention or account of Gillamar having ever been king of Ireland: unless it be to Muircheartach the Great, son of Earc, they call it, who was king of Ireland, and was a contemporary of King Arthur; and Muircheartach could not have been tributary to King Arthur, because, that he himself was mighty in Ireland and in Scotland, and that it was he who sent his six brothers into Scotland, and that it was one of them became the first king
Here we may see how Camden corroborates this in the book called Camden's 'Britannia', where he says:—When the Romans had widely extended their dominion, there came, without doubt, many hither (speaking of Ireland) from Spain, from France, and from Britain, in order to extricate their necks from the most grievous yoke of the Romans. {Cum suum Romani imperium undique propagassent, multi, procul dubio, ex Hispania, Gallia, et Britannia hic se receperunt, ut iniquissimo Romanorum iugo, colla subducerunt.}’’
From this it may be understood that it is not alone that the Romans did not come to Ireland, but even that it is there the peopleCambrensis says, in his ninth chapter, that in Ireland the men used to marry the wives who had been married to their brothers, upon the death of their brothers: and he says that the tithe used not to be paid in Ireland, and that there was no regard for marriage there till the coming of Cardinal John Papiron; this, however, is not true for him, as we shall prove in the body of the history, and as will be evident from this same introduction shortly hereafter. He says, in his seventh chapter, where he treats of the wonders of Ireland, that there is a well in Munster which presently makes a man grey when he washes his hair or his beard in its water, and that there is likewise a well in Ulster which prevents greyness. Howbeit, there are not the like of these wells in Ireland now, and I do not think there were in the time of Cambrensis, but these wonders were (merely) set forth as a colouring for his lies.
Cambrensis says, in his twenty-second chapter, that whenever the nobles of Ireland are making a compact with each other, in presence of a bishop, they kiss at that time a relic of some saint, and that they drink each others blood, and at that same time they are ready to perpetrate any treachery on each other. My answer to him here (is), that there is not a lay nor a letter, of old record or of ancient text, chronicle or annals, supporting him in this lie: and, moreover, it is evident that it was obligatory on the antiquaries not to
Again, he says, in the twenty-fifth chapter of his narration concerning Ireland, that the king of Cinéal Conaill, i.e.
Spenser, in his narrative, says that Egfrid, king of the Northumbrians, and Edgar, king of Britain, had authority over Ireland, as may be read in the thirty-third page of his history: yet this is not true for him, because the old records of Ireland are opposed to that, and, moreover, British authors themselves confess that the Saxons did not leave them any ancient texts, or monuments, by which they might know the condition of the time which preceded the Saxons. For Gildas, an ancient British author says, that the monuments, and consequently the history of the Britons, were destroyed by the Romans and by the Saxons. Samuel Daniel, in the first part of his chronicle, agrees with this author on the same matter, and Rider, in the Latin dictionary he wrote, where he treats of this word Britannia; moreover he says, that it is not from Brutus Britain is called Britannia, and, if it were, that it should be Brutia or Brutica it should be called; and it were likely, if it had been from Brutus it was named, that Julius Caesar, Cornelius Tacitus, Diodorus Siculus, or Bede, or some other ancient author would have stated whence is this word Britannia; and since they knew not whence is the name of their own country, it was no wonder they should be in ignorance of many of the ancient concerns of Britain, and, therefore, it is not strange that Spenser likewise should be ignorant of them.
It is a marvellous thing Spenser took in hand to trace up
Stanihurst asserts that Meath was the allotted portion of Slainghe, son of Deala, son of Loch; howbeit, that is not true for him. For, according to the Book of Invasion, there was of Meath, in Slainghes time, but one district of land only, which lies hard by Usna, (and so) till the time of Tuathal the Welcome: and where he says that it is from Slainghe the town of Slane is called, and, consequently, that Meath was the allotted share which came to him from his brothers, it is not more reasonable to suppose that it was his share than to suppose that it was the province of Leinster that was allotted to him, and that it is from him is named Inver Slaney which flows through the midst of Leinster to Lochgarman (or Wexford); and that it is from him is named Dumha Slainghe, otherwise called Dionnriogh, on the bank of the Barrow, between Carlow and Leighlin, on the west side of the Barrow, and that it was his fortified residence, and that it was there he died.
It is no marvel that Stanihurst should be without knowledge of this matter, since he had never seen the records of Ireland, from which he might have known her previous condition; and I fancy he did not make any great inquiry after them, since he is so ignorant about Irish affairs that he asserts Rosmactriuin to be in Munster, and that Meath is a province, (or 'fifth'), in opposition even to Cambrensis, who does not reckon Meath as a province, and contrary to the Book of Invasion of Ireland. As Stanihurst divides Ireland, he makes up one half from the race of the foreigners apart, and the other half of Ireland outside that (jointly) between Gall and Gael; and, moreover, he says that the least colonist among the race of the foreigners would not deem it fitting to form a matrimonial alliance with the noblest Gael in Ireland; thus, he says, in his chronicle:—The most lowly of the colonists who dwell in the foreign province would not give his daughter in marriage to the greatest prince among the Irish. {Colonorum omnium ultimus qui in Anglica provincia habitat filiam suam vel nobilissimo Hibernorum principi in matrimonium non daret.}’’
I ask Stanihurst which were the more honourable, the more noble, or the more loyal to the crown of England, or which were better as securities for preserving Ireland to the crown of England, the colonists of Fingall, or the noble earls of the foreigners who are in Ireland, such as the earl of Kildare, who contracted alliance with Mac Carthy riabhach, with O'Neill, and with others of the nobles of the Gael; the earl of Ormond with O'Brien, with Mac Gil Patrick, and with O'Carroll; the Earl of Desmond with Mac Carthy mór, and the earl of Clanricard with O'Ruarc. I do not reckon the viscounts nor the barons, who were as noble as any settler who was ever in Fingall, and by whomFrom the worthlessness of the testimony Stanihurst gives concerning the Irish, I consider that he should be rejected as a witness, because it was purposely at the instigation of a party who were hostile to the Irish that he wrote contemptuously of them; and, I think, that hatred of the Irish must have been the first dug he drew after his first going into England to study, and that it lay as a weight on his stomach till, having returned to Ireland, he ejected it by his writing. I deem it no small token of the aversion he had for the Irish, that he finds fault with the colonists of the English province for that they did not banish the Gaelic from the country at the time when they routed the people who were dwelling in the land before them. He also says, however excellent the Gaelic language may be, that whoever smacks thereof would likewise savour of the ill manners of the folk whose language it is. What is to be understood from this, but that Stanihurst had so great an hatred for the Irish, that he deemed it an evil that it was a Christian-like conquest the Gaill
He finds fault also with those who play the harp in Ireland, and says, that they have no music in them. It is likely that he was not a judge of any sort of music, and especially of Irish music, he being unacquainted with the rules which appertain to it. I think Stanihurst has not understood that it is thus Ireland was (being) a kingdom apart by herself like a little world, and that the nobles and the learned who were there long ago arranged to have
Understand, reader, that Stanihurst was under three deficiencies for writing the history of Ireland, on account of which it is not fit to regard him as an historian. In the first
Stanihurst says that when Irishmen are contending, or striking each other, they say as a shout with a loud voice, ‘Pharo, Pharo,’ and he thinks that it is from this word Pharao, which was a name for the king of Egypt, they use it as a war-cry: howbeit, that is not true for him, for it is the same as ‘watch, watch O’, or, ‘O take care’, telling the other party to be on their guard, as the Frenchman says, ‘gardez, gardez’, when he sees his neighbour in danger.
Dr. Hanmer states in his chronicle that it was Bartholinus who was leader of the Gaels at their coming into Ireland, and it is to Partholon he calls Bartholinus here. However, according to the ancient record of Ireland, there were more than seven hundred years between the coming of Partholon and the
The same author says that it was a king of Scandinavia, whose name was Froto, was king of Ireland when Christ was born; however, that is not true for him, for according to the ancient bistory, it is during the time of Criomhthann Nia Náir being in the sovereignty of Ireland that Christ was
He says, likewise, that it is not Patrick, the apostle of Ireland (he by whom the Catholic faith was first propagated in the country), who discovered the cave of Patricks purgatory in the island of purgatory, but another Patrick, an abbot,
Another thing he says, in his twenty-fourth page, that Fionn, son of Cumhall, was of the Scandinavians of Denmark; though this is not true for him, according to the chronicle, but he is of the posterity of Nuadha Neacht, king of Leinster, who came from Eireamhón, son of Mileadh. He says also, in the twenty-fifth page, that the person whom authors call Gillamar, king of Ireland, was son to the king of Thomond; howbeit, we deem the confutation we have already given this thing sufficient.
I think that it is mockingly Hanmer inserts the battle of Ventry, deceitfully ridiculing the antiquaries, so that he might give the reader to understand that there is no validity in the history of Ireland, but like the battle of Ventry. However, it is clear that the 'shanachies' do not, and did not, regard the battle of Ventry as a true history, but that they are assured that it is a poetical romance, which was invented as a pastime. The same answer I give to every other story he recounts concerning the Fianna. It is untrue for him also where he says that Sláinghe, son of Deala, was thirty years in the sovereignty of Ireland, whereas, according to the record, he reigned but one year only.
It is untrue, likewise, for him to say that the archbishop of Canterbury had jurisdiction over the clergy of Ireland from the time of Augustine the monk. For it is certain that the archbishop of Canterbury had no jurisdiction over the clergy of Ireland until the time of William the Conqueror, and even then he had not jurisdiction, except over the clergy of Dublin, Wexford, Waterford, Cork, and Limerick; and it is those clergy themselves who placed themselves under the control of the archbishop of Canterbury, through affection of kinship with, the people of Normandy, they being themselves of the remnant of the Danes usually called Normans, and also through dislike of the Irish;, and I do not think there was authority over those same (clerics), but during the time of three archbishops who were in Canterbury, namely, Radulph, Lanfranc, and Anselm. Therefore it is false for him to say that the archbishop of Canterbury had jurisdiction
It is also false what he says that Murchadh Mac Cochlain was king of Ireland in the year of the Lord one thousand one hundred and sixty-six, for it is certain that it was Ruaidhri Ua Conchubhair who was at that time assuming the headship of Ireland, and that that time was four years before the Norman invasion.
Again, he says, that it is in Great Britain Comhghall, abbot of Beannchar in the Aird of Ulster, was born: yet that is not true for him, for it is read in his life that it was in Dal n-aruidhe in the north of Ulster he was born, and that he was of the race called Dal n-aruidhe. It is wherefore Hanmer thought to make a Briton of Comhghall, because that it was Comhghall founded the abbey of Beannchar in the Aird of Ulster, which was the mother of the abbeys of all Europe, and that he founded another abbey in England beside west Chester, which is called Bangor: and if it should happen to Hanmer to convince the reader that Comhghall was a Briton, that he would give him consequently to understand that every excellence which adorned the abbey of Beannchar of Ulster would tend to the renown of the Britons in regard to Comhghall belonging to them; or that all the fame which Beannchar of Ulster had earned would be imputed to the abbey named Bangor, which is in England.
Hanmer says that Fursa, Faolan, and Ultan were bastard children of a king of Leinster; although truly they were children of Aodh Beannan, king of Munster, according to the account of the saints of Ireland. So also for many other of
John Barckly, writing on Ireland, says these words:— They build (says he, speaking of the Irish) frail cabins to the height of a man, where they themselves and their cattle abide in one dwelling. {Fragiles domos ad altitudinem hominis exitant, sibi pecorique communes.}’’
I think, seeing that this man stoops to afford information on the characteristics and on the habitations of peasants and wretched petty underlings, that,his being compared with the beetle is not unfitting, since he stoops in its fashion to give an account of the hovels of the poor, and of miserable people, and that he does not endeavour to make mention or narration concerning the palatial princely mansions of the earls and of the other nobles who are in Ireland. I consider also that the repute of an historian ought not to be given to him, nor to any body else who would follow his track in the same degree: and thus, with one word, I discard the witness of Fynes Moryson who wrote jeeringly on Ireland; for, though his pen was skilful for writing in English, I do not think that he intended by the power of the pen to disclose the truth, and so I do not consider that it is worth (while) giving him an answer. For, the historian who proposes to furnish a description of any people who may be in a country, ought to report their special character truthfully [on them], whether good or bad; and because that it was of set purpose, through evil and through a bad disposition (at the suggestion of other people, who had the same mind towards the Irish), he has left in oblivion,Whoever should determine to make a minute search for ill customs, or an investigation into the faults of inferior people, it would be easy to fill a book with them; for there is no country in the world without a rabble. Let us consider the rough folk of Scotland, the rabble-rout of Great Britain, and the plebians of Flanders, the insignificant fellows of France
Camden says that it is usual in Ireland for the priests with their children and concubines to dwell in the churches, and to be drinking and feasting in them: and moreover, that it is a habit there to call the children of these clerics, son of the bishop, son of the abbot, son of the prior, and son of the priest. My answer to him here is, that the time the clergy of Ireland began that bad system was after the eighth Henry had changed his faith, and, even at that time and thenceforward, there did not practise that bad habit but such of them as followed their own lusts, and denied the lawful superiors who were set over them. Camden himself concurs with this reply, where he says, speaking of Ireland:— Whoever among them (says he) give themselves to a religious life, restrain themselves even to miracle in a condition of austerity, governed by rule, watching, praying, and fasting for their mortification. {Si qui religioni se consecrant, religiosa quadam austeritate ad miraculum usque se continent, vigilando, orando, et jejuniis se macerando.}’’
Here is what Cambrensis says in the twenty-seventh chapter, speaking also of the clergy ofCamden says that the marriage bond is not strictly observed in Ireland, outside of the great towns: however, this is not true for him, and casts great discredit on the true aristocracy of Ireland, both native and foreign, because that it is in the country they mostly reside. Howbeit, I say not that there be not some of them lustful, as there be in every country, those who are not obedient to their ecclesiastical superiors: and, accordingly, it is unjust for Camden to charge this offence, rarely occurring, as a reproach against the Irish who reside in the rural districts. For, if there were one or
Campion says, in the sixth chapter of the first book of his narrative, that the Irish are so credulous, in a manner, that they will regard as truth whatever their superior may say, however incredible, and he propounds a dull fabulous tale in support of this. That is to say, that there was a greedy prelate in Ireland who was capable of imposing on his people anything he might say, and, being straitened for money, and in hope that he might obtain assistance from them, he made known to them that, within a few years, Patrick and Peter had been contending with each other concerning an Irish 'galloglass' whom Patrick wanted to have admitted into the kingdom of Heaven, and that Peter became angry, and with that he struck Patrick on the head with the key of Heaven, so that he broke his pate, and Campion says that the prelate obtained a subsidy by this story. My answer to him here is, that he is like a player who would be recounting jeering stories on a platform rather than an historian. For, how
Here is the testimony which Mr. Good, an English priest who was directing a school in Limerick, gives concerning the Irish in the year of the Lord fifteen hundred and sixty-six:—A nation this, (he says) which is strong of body, and active, which has a high vigorous mind, an acute intellect, which is warlike, lavish of its substance, which is gifted with endurance of labour, cold, and hunger, which has an amorous turn, which is most kind towards guests, steadfast in love, implacable in enmity, which is credulous, greedy of obtaining renown, impatient of enduring insult or injustice. {Gens haec corpore valida et in primis agilis, animo forti et elato, ingenio acri, bellicosa, vitae prodiga, laboris, frigoris et inediae patiens, veneri indulgens, hospitibus perbenigna, amore constans, inimicis implacabilis, credulitate levis, gloriae avida, contumeliae et iniuria impatiens.}’’
Here is also the testimony which Stanihurst gives of them:—A people much enduring in labours, beyond every race of men, and it is seldom they are cast down in difficulties. {In laboribus ex omni hominum genere patientissimi, in rerum angustiis raro fracti.}’’Spenser says that it was from the Irish the Saxons first
John Davies finds fault with the legal system of the country, because, as he thinks, there are three evil customs in it. The first custom of these is that the 'tanist' takes precedence of the son of the lord of the soil. The second custom is the division which was made on, the land between brethren, which the Galls call 'gavalkind', where a subdivision of the land is made between the kinsmen. The third custom is to take 'eric' for the slaying of man. My answer in this matter is, that there is not a country in the world in which a change is not made in statutes and customs, according as the condition of the, country alters. For, those customs were not sanctioned in the law of the land until the Irish had entered upon war and conflict between every two of their territories, so that they were usually slaying, harrying, and plundering each other: and as it was apparent to the nobles of Ireland, and to their 'ollavs', the damage which ensued from the disunion among the inhabitants, they deemed it expedient to ordain those three customs.
In the first place, they understood that the 'tanistry' was suitable in order that there should be an efficient captain safeguarding the people of every district in Ireland, by defending their spoils and their goods for them. For, if it
Camden says it is a system among the Irish for their nobles to have lawgivers, physicians, antiquaries, poets, and musicians, and for endowments to be bestowed on them, and also their persons, lands, and property to enjoy immunity. Here is what he says, speaking of them:—These princes (he says) have their own lawgivers, whom they call 'brehons', their historians for writing their actions, their physicians, their poets, whom they name 'bards', and their singing men, and land appointed to each one of these, and each of them dwelling on his own land, and, moreover, every one of them of a certain family apart; that is to say, the judges of one special tribe and surname, the antiquaries or historians of another tribe and surname, and so to each one from that out, they bring up their children and their kinsfolk, each one of them in his own art, and there are always successors of themselves in these arts. {Habent hi magnates suos iuridicos, quos vocant Brehonos, suos historicos, qui res gestas describunt, medicos, poetas, quos bardos vocant, et citharaedos, quibus singulis sua praedia assignata sunt, et singuli sunt in unoquoque territorio, et é certis et singulis familiis; scilicet, brehoni unius stirpis et nominis, historici alterius, et sic de coeteris, qui suos liberos sive cognatos in sua qualibet arte erudiunt, et semper successores habent.}’’
From these words of Camden it is clear that the order is good which the Irish had laid down for preserving these arts in Ireland from time to time. For they assigned professional lands to each tribe of them, in order that they might have sustenance for themselves for the cultivation of the arts, that poverty should not turn them away; and, moreover, it is the most proficient individual of one tribe or the other who would obtain the professorship of the prince of the land which he held; and it used to result from that that every one, of them would make his best efforts to be well versed in his own art in hope of obtaining the professorship in preference, to the rest of his tribe: and it is thus it is done beyond the sea now by many who go to obtain (college) chairs in consideration of their learning. It was all the more possible to preserve these arts, as the nobility of Ireland had appointed that the land, the persons and the property of the ollavs should enjoy security and protection; for when the native Irish and the foreigners would be contending with each other, they should not cause trouble or annoyance to the professors, or to the pupils who were with them for instruction, hindering them from cultivating the arts. It is read in Julius Caesar, in the sixth book of his history, that the 'druids' who came from the west of Europe to direct schools in France enjoyed a similar immunity, and I think that it was from Ireland they brought that custom with them.
The refutation of these new foreign writers need not be pursued by us any further, although there are many things they insert in their histories which it would be possible to confute; because, as to the most part of what they write disparagingly of Ireland, they have no authority for writing it but repeating the tales of false witnesses who were hostile to Ireland, and ignorant of her history: for it is certain that the learned men who were conversant with antiquity in Ireland did not undertake to enlighten them in it, and, so, it was not possible for them to have knowledge of the history and ancient state of Ireland. And Cambrensis, who undertook to supply warrant for everything, it is likely in his case that it was a blind man or a,blockhead who gave him such a shower of fabulous information, so that he has left the invasion of the Tuatha Dé Danann without making mention of it, although they were three years short of two hundred in the headship of Ireland, and that there were nine kings of them in the sovereignty of Ireland: and (yet) he had recounted the first invasion of Ireland, although it were only the invasion of Ceasair, and that the antiquaries do not regard it for certain as an invasion, notwithstanding that it is mentioned by them in their books. Truly I think that he took no interest in investigating the antiquity of Ireland, but that the reason why he set about writing of Ireland is to give false testimony concerning her people during his own time, and their ancestors before them: and, besides, it was but brief opportunity he had for research on the history of Ireland, since he spent but a year and a half at it before going (back) to
Wherefore, I have hope that whatsoever impartial reader shall read every refutation which I make on Cambrensis, and on these new foreigners who follow his track, will trust the refutation I make on their lies rather than the story-telling they all do, for I am old, and a number of these were young; I have seen and I understand the chief historical books, and they did not see them, and if they had seen them, they would not have understood them. It is not for hatred nor for love of any set of people beyond another, nor at the instigation of anyone, nor with the expectation of obtaining profit from it, that I set forth to write the history of Ireland, but because I deemed it was not fitting that a country so honourable as Ireland, and races so noble as those who have inhabited it, should go into oblivion without mention or narration being left of them: and I think that my estimate in the account I give concerning the Irish ought the rather to be accepted, because it is of the Gaels I chiefly treat. Whoever thinks it much I say for them, it is not to be considered that I should deliver judgment through favour,giving them much praise beyond what they have deserved, being myself of the old Galls as regards my origin.
If, indeed it be that the soil is commended by every historian who writes on Ireland, the race is dispraised by every new foreign historian who writes about it, and it is by that I was incited to write this history concerning the Irish, owing to the extent of the pity I felt at the manifest injustice which is done to them by those writers. If only indeed they had given their proper estimate to the Irish, I know not why
Understand, nevertheless, O reader, that I have made a change in the computation of the years which are stated to have been in the reign of a few of the pagan kings of Ireland apart from how it is set down in the Roll of Kings, and in the poems which have been composed on them; and the reason I have for that is, that I find them not agreeing with the enumeration of the epochs from Adam to the birth of Christ, according to any reputable foreign author. I have, besides, another reason, that it seems to me that an undue number of years is assigned to some of them, such as Síorna the long-lived to whom three fifties of years are attributed, and that we may read in the old book of Invasion that Síorna was an hundred years old before he assumed the sovereignty
And if any one be surprised at the discrepancy which exists among some of the authors of our ancient record as to the calculation of time from Adam to the birth of Christ, it is no cause for wonder, seeing that there are few of the standard authors of all Europe who agree together in the computation of the same time.
Let us take as witness of this, the disagreement which these chief authors following make with each other:— In the first place, of the Hebrew authors:—
Baalsederhelm, 3518: the Talmudists, 3784: the New Rabbis, 3760: Rabbi Nahsson, 3740: Rabbi Levi, 3786: Rabbi Moses, 4058: Josephus, 4192.
Of the Greek authors:—
Metrodorus, 5000: Eusebius, 5190: Theophilus, 5476.
Of the Latin authors:—
St. Jerome, 3941: St. Augustine, 5351: Isidore, 5270: Orosius, 5199: Bede, 3952: Alphonsus, 5984.
Here is the reckoning of the twelve men and three score on the four first ages of the world, together with the calculation which the wise learned men who have followed them in the direct track have given on the epochs from the creation of the world to the birth of Christ, dividing them into five parts, i.e. from Adam to the deluge, 2242, from the deluge to Abraham, 942, from Abraham to David, 940, from David to the captivity of Babylon, 485, from the captivity to the birth of Christ, 590:—Sum, 5199: it is why the authorities
And since these chief authorities agree not with each other in the computation of the time which is from Adam to the birth of Christ, it is no wonder that there should be discrepancy among some of the antiquaries of Ireland about the same calculation. However, I have not found among them a computation I rather think to be accurate than the numbering which some of them make four thousand, fifty and two years, for the time from Adam to the birth of Christ; and (it is) what I desire is to follow the standard author who comes nearest to this reckoning in the synchronism of the
If anyone should charge it upon me as a strange thing wherefore I give many verses as evidence for the history out of the old record, my answer to him is that my reason for that is, that the authors of the ancient record framed the entire historical compilation in poems, in order that thereby the less change should be made in the record; and also, that in this manner, it might the more be committed to memory by the students who were attending them: for it is through being in verse metre the 'saltair' of Tara was called to the chief book which was in the custody of the king of Ireland's own professors, and the 'saltair' of Cashel to the chronicle of Cormac, son of Cuileannan, and the 'saltair' of the verses to the record of Aonghus the 'culdee': for, as 'psalm' and duan (poem) or dán (song) are alike, equal are 'saltair' or 'psalterium' and 'duanaire', in which there would be many poems or songs: and forasmuch as in the poems are the bone and marrow of the ancient record, I think that it is expedient for me to rely on it as authority in treating of the history.
Therefore I have often said, in opposing the authors who have been refuted by us, that the ancient record was against them, because I considered that the record which was common and had been frequently revised, had more of authority, as we have said, than any one solitary author of those who are in the history. Some people profess astonishment how it should be possible to trace to Adam the origin of any man. My answer to that is, that it was easy for the Gaels to keep
Here is a vindication or defensive introduction to the groundwork of knowledge on Ireland, in which is a compendium of the history of Ireland briefly: which has been
The history is divided into two books: the first book makes known the condition of Ireland from Adam to the coming of Patrick into Ireland; the second book from the coming of Patrick to the invasion of the Galls, or down to this time.
I think that there is not a reader, impartial and open to conviction, whom it concerns to make a scrutiny into the antiquity of Ireland, but such as will be pleased with what we have said in this introduction: and if it should happen that he deems insufficient every explanation which I have given, it is beyond my ability he would go. Wherefore, I take leave of him, and let him excuse me, if it happen to me to go out of the way in anything I may say in this book, for if there be anything blameworthy in it, it is not from malice it is there, but from want of knowledge.
The first name which was given to Ireland was Inis na bhfiodhbhadh, that is to say Island of the woods; and the person who called that name to it was a warrior of the people of Nin, son of Bel, who came from him to spy out Ireland, and on his coming thither he found it to be all one forest-wood, except Magh-n-ealta alone. Three times, indeed, Ireland was one continuous wood, according to this old saying, which is in the ancient record:"Three times Eire put three coverings and three barenesses off her."
The second name was Críoch na bhfuineadhach from its being at the limit or end of the three divisions of the world which had then been discovered; fuin indeed, from the Latin word finis being equivalent to 'end'.
The third name was Inis Ealga, that is, noble island; for inis and oiléan are equivalent, and likewise ealga and uasal: and it is during the time of the Firbolg it was usual to have that name on it.
The fourth name was Eire, and it is said that wherefore that name is called to it, according to a certain author, is from this word Aeria, which was an old name for the island which is now called Creta or Candia; and why that author thinks that is because the posterity of the Gaedheal glas dwelt in that island some space of time after Sru, son of Easru, son of Gaedheal, had been driven out of Egypt: and, moreover, Aere is given as a name for Egypt whence the Gael proceeded. However, it is the common opinion of antiquaries that why it is Eire is from the name of the queen of the Tuatha Dé Danann who was in the land a the time of the coming of the of the Clann Míleadh into it: Eire, daughter of Dealbhaoth, was her name, and it is she was wife to Mac Gréine who was called Ceathúr who was king of Ireland when the sons of Míleadh came to it.
The fifth name was Fódhla, from a queen of the Tuath Dé Danann, who was called Fódhla: it is she was wife to Mac Cécht, whose proper name was Teathúr.
The sixth name was Banbha, from a queen of the Tuatha
The seventh name was Inis Fail; and it is the Tuatha Dé Danann gave that name to it, from a stone they brought with them into it, which was called the Lia Fail: and Saxum fatale, i.e. 'Stone of Destiny', Hector Boece calls it in the history of Scotland; and it was a stone on which were enchantments, for it used to roar under the person who had the best right to obtain the sovereignty of Ireland at the time of the men of Ireland being in assembly at Tara to choose a king over them. However, it has not roared from the time of Conchubhar forward, for the false images of the world were silenced when Christ was born. Here is a verse of quotation proving that it is from this stone Ireland is called Inis Fail, as Cionaoth the poet said:—
- The stone which is under my two heels,
from it is named Inisfail;
Between two shores of a mighty flood,
the plain of Fál on all Ireland.
The eighth name was Muicinis; and it is the children of Míleadh who gave it that name before they arrived in it. When, indeed, they had come to the mouth of Innbhear Sláinghe, which to-day is called the haven of Lochgarman, the Tuatha Dé Danann, with their druids, assemble to oppose
The ninth name was Scotia; and it is the sons of Míleadh who gave that name to it, from their mother, whose name was Scota, daughter of Pharao Nectonibus; or it is why they called it Scotia, because that they are themselves the Scottish race from Scythia.
The tenth name was Hibernia; and it is the sons of Míleadh gave that name to it. However, it is said that it is from a river that is in Spain which is called Iberus (the name) Hibernia is given to it. It is said also that it is from Eibhear, son of Míleadh, it is called Hibernia; but, however, holy Cormac, son of Cuileannan, says, that why it is called Hibernia is from this compound Greek word 'hiberoc' (ie. occasus in Latin) and 'nyaon' (i.e. insula) that is equivalent to saying insula occidentalis, i.e. 'western island'.
The eleventh name was Iuernia, according to Ptolemy, or Iuerna, according to Solinus, or Ierna according to Claudian, or Vernia according to Eustatius. I think there is no meaning in the difference which is between these authors concerning this word Hibernia, but that they did not understand whence came the word itself; and, accordingly, that each one of them separately gave a guess from himself at it, so that from that came this variation on the word.
The twelfth name was Irin, according to Diodorus Siculus.
The thirteenth name was Irlanda; and I think that the reason why that name was given to it is, because that
The fourteenth name was Ogygia, according to Plutarch: indeed, 'Ogygia' in Greek and insula perantiqua, i.e. most ancient island, are equivalent; and that is a suitable name for Ireland, because that it is long since it was first inhabited, and that perfect is the sound information which its antiquaries possess on the transactions of their ancestors from the beginning of eras, one after another.
The first division, it is Partholon who divided it into four parts among his four sons, whose names were Er, Orba, Fearon, and Feargna. He gave the first part to Er, namely, all that is from Aileach Néid in the north of Ulster to Athcliath of Leinster. He gave the second part to Orba, namely, all that is from Athcliath to Oiléan Arda Neimheadh, which is called Oiléan Mór an Bharraigh. He gave the
The second division, that is, the division of the children of Neimheadh. Three leaders of the children of Neimheadh divided Ireland among them into three parts:—Beothach, Simeon, and Briotán their names. Beothach takes from Tóirinis to the Boyne. Simeon takes from the Boyne to Bealach Chonglais near to Cork. Briotán takes from Bealach Chonglais to Tóirinis in the north of Connacht.
The third division here, i.e. the division of the Firbolg. The five sons of Deala, son of Loch, divided Ireland into five parts among them, and it is those are called the five provinces, and it is that is the division which is the most permanent that was ever made in Ireland, as we shall shortly hereafter relate. Cambrensis agrees with this division in the book he wrote of an account of Ireland, where he says:—In five parts, indeed, almost equal, (he says), this country was anciently divided, which are, the two Munsters, north Munster and south Munster, Leinster, Ulster, and Connacht. {In quinque enim portiones (inquit) fere aequales antiquitus haec regio divisa fuit; videlicet, in Momoniam duplicem, Borealem et Australem, Lageniam, Ultoniam, et Conaciam.}’’
Here are the five leaders of the Firbolg who took the headship of those five provinces: Sláinge, Seangann, Gann, Geanann, and Rughruidhe. Sláinge took the province of Leinster, from Droicheadátha to Cumar-na-dtrí-n-uisge Gann takes the province of Eochaidh Abhradhruaidh, from Cumar-na-dtrí-n-uisge to Bealach Chonglais: Seangann takes the province of Cúraoi, son of Dáire, from Bealach Chonglais to Luimneach;Although some antiquaries hold that it is a tripartite division which was on Ireland among the three sons of Cearmad Milbheoil of the Tuatha Dé Danann, I do not think that they divided Ireland among them, but it is my opinion that it is a permutation of the sovereignty each succeeding year which they had between them, according as we have said above, in showing why Eire is called to this country more frequently than Fodhla or Banbha.
The fourth division, that is, the division of the children of Míleadh. It is the opinion of some antiquaries that it is thus Ireland was divided between Eibhear and Eireamhón:—all that is from Athcliath and from Gaillimh southwards, and Eisgir riadha for a boundary between them, to Eibhear; and what there is from that northwards to Eireamhón. However, this is not the division which was made between them, as we shall prove hereafter; but it is thus they divided Ireland:— the two provinces of Munster to Eibhear; the province of Connacht and the province of Leinster to Eireamhón; and the province of Ulster to Eibhear, son of Ir, i.e. their brothers's son: and a party of the nobles who had come with them, in the company of each one of them in his own division of the country.
The fifth division, that is, the division of Cearmna and Sobhairce. Cearmna and Sobhairce, indeed, in [two] halves between them, namely, from Innbhear Colptha at Droichead-átha to Luimneach Mumhan, and the half which was north to Sobhairce, and he built a fortress in his own half, namely
The sixth division, that is, the division of Ugaine Mór. Ugaine Mór divides Ireland in twenty-five parts, among the five and twenty children that he had, as we shall set down in the Roll of Kings.
The seventh division, namely, the division of Conn Céadchathach and Mógh Nuadhat. Conn and Mógh Nuadhat divided Ireland into halves between them, that is to say, all that is from Gaillimh and from Athcliath northwards, and Eisgir riadha for a boundary between them to Conn: and it is from that came Leath Chuinn to be given to the side which was north; and Leath Mhógha to Mógh Nuadhat;:and it is from that was given Leath Mhógha to the half which was south.
Notwithstanding, however, that I have set down in order these seven divisions which were made of Ireland, according to the sequence of the invasions and of the epochs, I shall return to the usual division which is on Ireland from the time of the Firbolg apart, for it is it is the most permanently established, namely, five provinces to be made of it, as we have said. And it is where the common centre of these five provinces was, at a pillar-stone which is in Uisneach, until that Tuathal Teachtmhar came, into the sovereignty, and that he took away a portion of each province as mensal land for every high-king who should be in Ireland: so that it is of these Meath was formed, as we shall show in the reign of Tuathal.
I shall now make the subdivision of Meath and of the provinces also; and I shall give the beginning of this division to Meath until its lands are described, because it is the mensal land of the king of Ireland, according to the Gael, and that it used to be free, without obligation, without control, without tax from any one in Ireland, except from the king of Ireland alone. Eighteen 'triochas' the extent of its land; thirty 'bailes' in the 'triocha-céd' of them; twelve 'seisreachs' of land in the 'baile', according to the ancient record, and six score acres in the 'seisreach'. Three score and three hundred 'seisreachs' of land in the triocha-céd accordingly. Four score and four hundred and six thousand 'seisreachs' of land in all Meath, according to this computation. It is why it is called Meath, because that it is from the neck of each province Tuathal Teachtmhar cut it. Or it is why Meath is called to it from Midhe, son of Brath, son of Deaghfhath chief druid of the children of Neimheadh; and it is by him was kindled the first fire in Ireland, after the coming of the children of Neimheadh; and hard by Uisneach he kindled it. The children of Neimheadh bestowed on him the 'tuath' of land which was there, and from that druid it is called Midhe. And there was not, about that time, of land in Meath, but the one tuath aforesaid, until Tuathal Teachtmhar put a 'meidhe' or neck of every province with it, as we have said.
Of the boundary of Meath with the provinces here, as Tuathal Teachtmhar ordained; i.e. as one goes from the Shannon east to Dublin, from Dublin to the river Righe, from the river Righe west to Cluain-Connrach, from Cluain-Connrach to Ath-an-mhuilinn-Fhrancaigh, and to the confluence of Cluain-Ioraird, from that to Tóchar Cairbre, from Tóchar Cairbre to Crannach of Géisill to Druimchuilinn, to Birr, to the river which is called Abhainnchara to the Shannon northwards, to Loch Ribh, and all the islands belong to Meath: and the Shannon to Loch-Bó-dearg, from that to Maothail, thence to Athluain, thence to upper Sgairbh, to Druimleathan, till one reaches the Magh, to the confluence of Cluain-eois, to Loch-dá-eun, to Magh Cnoghbha, to Duibhir, to Linn-átha-an-daill on Sliabh Fuaid, to Magh-an-chosnamhaigh at Cillshléibhe, to Snámh Eugnachair, to Cumar, and from Cumar to Life: as the ancient writer says—
Thirteen 'triochas' in the body of Meath itself and five 'triochas' in Breagh, as is said in these verses below—
- From Loch-bó-dearg to Biorra,
from the Shannon east to the sea,
To the confluence of Ciuain-ioraird,
and to the confluence of Cluain-airde.
- Thirteen 'triochas' in Meath,
as every poet says;
Five 'triochas' in rich Breagh's plain—
it is a memory with the learned;
The territory of Meath I will tell to you,
and the territory of Breagh most pleasant,
From Shannon of the fair gardens to the sea—
we have known it—
The men of Teathbha on the northern border,
and Cairbre of bright victory;
With abundance of bee-swarms and of oxen,(?)
the men of Breagh (possess) as far as the Casan.
Meath was divided after this by Aodh Oirdnidhe, king of Ireland, between the two sons of Donnchadh son of Dómhnall (who was king of Ireland before Aodh Oirdnidhe); Conchubhar and Oilioll their names. He gave the western half to one of them, and the eastern half to the other man, so that that division adhered to it from that out: and it is in it is the royal seat, Tara.
The province of Connacht from Limerick to Drobhaois: nine hundred 'bally-betaghs' that are in it, and that is thirty 'triochas'; and thirty 'bailes' in each 'triocha-céd' of them, and twelve 'seisreachs' of land in the 'baile'. Six score acres in the 'seisreach': eight hundred and ten thousand 'seisreachs' of land in all Connacht. It is why it is called Connacht: a contention of magic which took place between two druids of the Tuatha Dé Danann, Cithneallach and Conn their names. Conn brought a great snow round about the province through art magic, so that from it was named Connacht, i.e. Conn's snow. Or it is why it is called Connacht, i.e. Conn-iochta, namely, the children of Conn, for iocht and 'clann' are equivalent: and because that they are the children of Conn who inhabited the province, that is to say, the race of Eochaidh Moighmheadhón, they are called Connachta. Eochaidh Feidhleach divides the province of Connacht in three parts among three. He gave to Fidheach, son of Fiach, of the men of the Craobh, from Fidhic to
The province of Ulster from Drobhaois to Innbhear Cholptha, five and thirty 'triochas'; or six and thirty that are in it. Nine score and nine hundred 'bally-betaghs' in it. Three score nine hundred and twelve thousand 'seisreachs' of land in all this province. It is why they are called Ulaidh, from this word 'oll-sháith', i.e. great plenty, signifying that Ulster is very rich with regard to fish and cattle. This verse testifies that sáith and ionnnmhas (treasure) are equivalent:—
- Wednesday Judas transgressed his order,
following demons vengeful-fierce;
Wednesday he became eager for treasure;
Wednesday he betrayed Jesus the exalted.
Or it is wherefore they are called Ulaidh, from Ollamh Fodhla, son of Fiachaidh Fionnscothach, as this verse certifies:—
And Eamhain Mácha and Aileach Néid its royal seats.
- Ollamh Fodhla of prudent valour,
from him were named (the) Ulaidh,
After the real assembly of Tara of the tribes,
it is by him it was first appointed.
The province of Leinster from the strand of Innbhear Cholptha to Cumar-na-dtrí-n-uisge, thirty-one 'triochas' in
- Two hundred and twenty hundred Galls,
with broad spears with them hither;
From those spears, without blemish,
of them the Laighin were named.
Two chief seats were indeed in Leinster, in which its kings used to reside, namely Dionnríogh and Nás.
The province of Eochaidh Abhradhruaidh, from Cork and from Limerick east to Cumar-na-dtrí-n-uisge; thirty-five 'triochas' in it. Ten ['ballys'] seven score and nine hundred 'bally-betaghs' that are in it. Six hundred and twelve thousand 'seisreachs' of land that are in east Munster. Two royal seats of residence the kings of this province had, namely, Dún gCrot and Dún Iasgaigh.
The province of Cúaoi son of Dáire from Bealach Chonglais to Limerick, and from Limerick west to the western land of Ireland. Thirty-five 'triochas' in it: one thousand and fifty 'bally-betaghs' in that. Twelve thousand six hundred 'seisreachs' of land that are in west Munster. Two royal seats of residence the kings of this province anciently had, namely, Dún gCláire and Dún Eochair Mhaighe.
There were two races who used to be in possession of these two provinces of Munster, that is to say, the race of Dáirfhine and the race of Deirgthine, up to the time of Oilioll Ólom of the race of Deirgthine who took the chieftaincy of the two provinces, having banished from Ireland Mac Con, who was of the race of Dáirfhine. And he left the chieftaincy of the two provinces with his own posterity from that out: by way of alternation to be with the race of Eoghan mór son of Oilioll Ólom, and with the race of Cormac Cas (second son of Oilioll Ólom), every generation by turns, in the sovereignty of the two provinces of Munster.
It is the four royal seats aforesaid which were the chief mansions of residence for the kings of these two provinces till the time of Corc, son of Lughaidh, being in the sovereignty of Munster. For it is during his time Cashel became known first; and Siothdhruim was the name for the place which to-day is called the Rock of Cashel. The same place used also to be called Leac na gcéad and Druim Fiodhbhuidhe, for there were many woods round about that
Here is an assurance on this matter, from the poem which has beginning— Cashel, city of the clans of Mogha, which Ua Dubhagáin composed:—
- Corc, son of Lughaidh, warrior-like the man,
first man who sat in Cashel;
Under a thick mist was the place,
till the two herdsmen found it.
The swineherd of the king of Muskerry of the gold,(?)
Duirdre his name and it is not wrong;
And Ciolarn through the plain of rue (?),
swineherd of the worthy king of Éile.
It is they who got knowledge of the place
at first in Druim Fiodhbhuidhe.
Druim Fiodhbhuidhe without fault with you,
most dear to Corc of Cashel.
The race of Oilioll Olom having acquired the two provinces of Munster, they divide them into five parts, which are called the five Munsters. The first part which is called North Munster, its length is from Léim Chongculainn to Slighe Dála, i.e. the great road in Osraidhe, and its breadth from Sliabh Eichtge to Sliabh Eibhlinne. And notwithstanding that all that is from Sliabh Eichtge to Limerick was in the ancient division of Connacht, yet Lughaidh Meann, son of Aonghus Tíreach, son of Fear Corb, son of Mogh Corb, son of Cormac Cas, son of Oilioll Olom, made sword-land of all that is from Eichtge to Limerick, and from the Shannon west to Léim Chongculainn, so that he annexed it to Munster: and the name it was usually called was the rough land of Lughaidh, and the Dál gCais had it free without rent, without taxing, from the kings of Ireland. The second part East Munster, its length is from Gabhran to Cnámhchoill near Tipperary, and its breadth from Béarnán Éile to Oiléan O'Bric. The third part, namely, Middle Munster, its length is from Cnámhchoill to Luachair Dheaghaidh, and its breadth from Sliabh Eibhlinne to Sliabh Caoin. The fourth part South Munster, its length is from Sliabh Caoin to the sea southwards. The fifth part West Munster, its length is from Luachair Dhea-ghaidh to the sea west, and its breadth from Gleann Ua-Ruachta to the Shannon.
According to Breasal Ua Treasaigh, when Munster was divided into its five parts, there were five tribes in each part, and five companies in a tribe, and five hundred effective men in the company. And if the strength of all Ireland at that time be estimated, the opinion is unsound of the people who thought that the Roman with a legion or with two legions would be able to bring Ireland under power of spear and sword to himself, [and] the Irish always being valiant men.
It is why these two provinces of Munster are called Mumha [i.e. that it is greater], because that it is greater than any other province of Ireland. For there are thirty-five 'triochas' in each province of these two provinces of Munster, and not that much in any other province in Ireland. For, allowing that thirty-six are reckoned in the province of Ulster, there were but thirty-three in it till the time of the provincial kings. For it is Cairbre Nia Fear, king of Leinster, who yielded to the province of Ulster three 'triocha-céads' of Leinster (that is to say from Loch an Chúigidh to the sea), in consideration of obtaining the daughter of Conchubhar son of Neasa as his wife, as we shall relate here-after in the body of the history.
Five ['triochas'] and nine score 'triocha-céads' in all Ireland: ten ['ballys'] and two score and five hundred and five thousand 'bally-betaghs' there are in it: six hundred, and six thousand, and three-score thousand 'seisreachs' of land in it, according to the old division of the Gael. Understand, O reader, that the acre of the measure of the Gael is greater, twice or thrice, than the acre of the division of the Gall now.
It is the situation which is on Ireland; Spain to the south-west side of it, France to the south-east side of it, Great Britain to the east side of it, Scotland to the north-east side, and the ocean to the north-west side and to the west side of it. And in the form of an egg it is shaped, and its foot to Scotland, north-eastwards, its head to Spain, south-westwards; and, according to Maginus, writing on Ptolemy, it is four degrees and a half of the solar zone, which is called the Zodiac, that are in its breadth; and the same man says that it is sixteen hours and three-quarters that are in length in the longest day in the year in the side of Ireland which is farthest towards the south, and eighteen hours in the longest day at the northern side. The length of Ireland is from Carn Uí Néid to Cloch an Stocáin, and its breadth from Innbhear mór to Iorrus Domhnann.
Understand, O reader, that it is not through forgetfulness that I do not mention here the counties, nor the cities, nor the great towns of Ireland; but that Camden and these new chronicles give their description down clearly, and that this is not the place for inserting them, but at the beginning of the invasion the foreigners, by whom they were arranged.
In the beginning Adam was created, the sixth day of the age of the world: the fifteenth year of the life of Adam, Cain and his sister Calmana were born: the thirtieth year of the life of Adam, Abel and his sister Delbora were born: at the end of a hundred and thirty years of the life of Adam, Seth was born, according to the Hebrews, as is read in Polychronicon.
Noah was son of Lamech, son of Mathusalem, son of Enoch, son of Iared, son of Malaleel, son of Cainan, son of Enos, son of Seth, son of Adam: for it is of the race of Seth are all those who live after the deluge, and all the race of Cain were drowned under the deluge. And, according to the Hebrews, it is the length from the creation of Adam to the deluge, one thousand six hundred and fifty-six years; it is therefore the ancient author recited this verse:—
- The first period of true life,
from when Adam is to the deluge;
Six years, fifty, a clear saying,
on six hundred, on a thousand.
Here is how another antiquary agrees with the same calculation:—
- Six years and fifty,
and six hundred, as I count,
And a thousand, as I calculate,
from Adam to the deluge.
Yet another ancient author agrees with the same computation:—
- Ten hundred years, six hundred fair,
on fifty, with six years,
As I reckon, it is known without blemish,
from the deluge to the beginning of the World.
Here is the age of every man from whom Noah sprang in the direct line:—Adam thirty and nine hundred years; Seth twelve years and nine hundred; Enos five years and nine hundred; Cainan ten years and nine hundred; Malaleel nine hundred but five years wanting of them; Jared two years and three score on nine hundred; Enoch five years and three score on three hundred; Mathusalem nine years, three score, on nine hundred; Lamech seventeen years, three score, on seven hundred; Noah ten years, two score, on nine hundred.
Here is the assurance of the ancient writer on the age of every patriarch of them, as is read in the poem which has for beginning:— Father of all, Ruler of Heaven, &c.:—
- Thirty (and) nine hundred fair years,
The life of Adam to be narrated;
Ten years together with all that (was)
The age ofhis yellow-haired wife:- The life of Seth, that is known to me,
Twelve (years) and nine hundreds;
Five years nine hundred, it has been heard,
Until death took away Enos;- Ten years nine hundred, without reproach,
The age of the son of Enos,
Cainan: Nine hundred but five, with renown,
The life of Malaleel of mighty deed;- Two years, sixty, (and) nine hundred,
To Jared before going to death;
Three hundred, sixty, (and) five, it has been heard,
For Enoch before going into Paradise:- Nine years sixty, with renown,
And nine hundred of years,
That is the life, glorious,
Which was given to Mathusalem;- The life of Lamech, it is mentioned to thee,
Seven hundred, seventy, and seven:
The life of Noah, pure bright his fame,
Fifty and nine hundred years.
When, indeed, God saw the race of Seth transgressing his own covenant, where he had commanded them not to make intermixture or alliance with the race of the wicked Cain, and that they had not observed that injunction, he sent a deluge to drown all the people, except Noah and his wife, whose name was Coba, and his three sons, Sem, Cham, and Japheth, and their three wives, Olla, Oliva, and Olivana: for Noah had not mixed with the race of Cain, and he was righteous. After the subsiding of the deluge, Noah divides the three parts of the world among his three sons, as the antiquary says:—
- Sem took his place in Asia;
Cham with his children in Africa;
The noble Japheth and his sons,
It is they who obtained Europe.
Twenty-seven sons had Sem, including Arphaxad, Asshur, and Persius; and it is from his seed (came) the Hebrews. Thirty sons had Cham, and of those were Cus and Canaan.
- Thirty gentle sons, a clear fact,
Sprang from Cham, son of Noe;
Seven and twenty are from Sem,
Fifteen (are) from Japheth.
Many of the people of Asia, and the people of all Europe have descended from Japheth. The people of Scythia are of the posterity of Magog, son of Japheth, and especially the tribes who occupied Ireland after the deluge, before the sons of Mileadh, as we shall show in (relating) the invasions of Ireland after the deluge. Nevertheless, we shall set down here at first, concerning the invasions of Ireland before the deluge, according to some antiquaries, before we shall treat of the real occupation of it which was made after the deluge.
I. Some say that it is three daughters of the wicked Cain who inhabited it at first, so to certify that I have set down here a verse out of the poem which commences I found in the Saltair of Cashel:—
- Three virgin daughters of Cain,
With Seth, son of Adam,
They first saw Banbha,
Banbha, I remember their adventure.
The book of Dromsneachta says that Banbha was the name of the first maiden who occupied Ireland before the deluge, and that Ireland is called Banbha from her. Thrice fifty women came there, and three men: Ladhra was the name of one of them, and it is from him Ard Ladhrann is named. Two score years they were in the island, till a plague fell on them, so that they all died in one week. Ireland after that, was desert, empty, without anyone alive in it, for two hundred years till after that came the deluge.
II. Some others say that it is three fishermen who were driven by a storm of wind from Spain unwillingly; and as the island pleased them that they returned for their wives to Spain; and having come back to Ireland again, the deluge was showered upon them at Tuaigh Innbhir, so that they were drowned: Capa, Laighne, and Luasad, their names. It is about them the verse was sung:—
- Capa, Laighne, and Luasad pleasant,
They were a year before the deluge
On the isle of Banbha of the bays;
They were eminently brave.
III. It is said, however, that it is Ceasair, daughter of Bioth, son of Noe, who came there before the deluge, so the verse was made about it:—
- Ceasair, daughter of lasting Bioth,
Foster-child of Sabhail,son of Nionuall;
The flrst valiant woman who came
To the isle of Banbha before the deluge.
If one should wish, indeed, to obtain knowledge what brought her to Ireland:—Bioth had sent a messenger to Noe, to know whether he himself and his daughter Ceasair would obtain a place in the ark to save them from the deluge; Noe says they should not get (that). Fionntain asks the same, and Noe says he should not get it. Whereupon Bioth, Fionntain and the maiden Ceasair go to consult. ‘Let my advice be followed by you’, says Ceasair. ‘It shall be done,’ say they. ‘Well then,’ says she, ‘take to ye an idol, and adore him, and forsake the God of Noe.’ After that they brought with them an idol, and the idol told them to make a ship, and put to sea: although he did not know what time the deluge would come. A ship was fitted, accordingly, by them, and they went to sea. Those who went into it were three men, namely, Bioth, Fionntain, and Ladhra: (also) Ceasair, Barrann, and Balbha, and fifty maidens along with them. Seven years and a quarter for them on the sea, until they put into port at Dún na mbarc, in the district of Corca Dhuibhne, the fifteenth day of the moon, as the antiquary says:—
And that was forty days before the deluge, as is said:—
- It is there they took harbour
At Dún na-mbarc, the female company,
In Cúil Ceasrach, in the district of Carn,
The fifteenth, (being) Saturday.
- Two score days before the deluge,
Ceasair came into Ireland,
Fionntain, Bioth, and Ladhra fierce,
And fifty beautiful maidens.
Another poet agrees with the same thing, where he says in this verse:—
- Ceasair set out from the east—
Daughter of Bioth was the woman—
With her fifty maidens,
And with her three men.
A ship's company were on that expedition to Dún na mbarc: Ceasair, and her ships lading, came to land there; namely, fifty women and three men, i. e. Bioth and Fionntain, and Ladhra, as we have said. It was that Ladhra, as we have said, who was the first dead person of Ireland, according to the folk who say that no people at all occupied Ireland before the deluge, but Ceasair and those who came with her. And from him is named Ard Ladhrann. From Bioth Sliabh Beatha is named; and from Fionntain is named Feart Fionntain over Tultuinne in Duthaigh Aradh, near to Loch Deirgdheirc. From Ceasair is named Carn Ceasrach in Connacht. They proceed thence to Bun Suaimhne, i.e. Cumar na dtri-n-uisge, where is the junction of Suir and Nore and Barrow. There they share their fifty women in three parts among them. Fionntain took Ceasair with him, and seventeen women along with her. Bioth took Barrann with him, and seventeen other women in her company: and Ladhra took Balbha with sixteen women likewise with him, till he reached Ard Ladhrann, and died there. Balbha and her sixteen women return to Ceasair again. Ceasair sends tidings to Bioth. Bioth comes to acquaint Fionntain, so that they shared those sixteen women equally between them. Bioth brought his own share of them with him to Sliabh Beatha in the north of Ireland, and it was
- It is those—after appointed time—
Their deaths, their proceedings;
There was not, but a week alone,
From them to the forty (days' rain).
IV. Know, O reader, that it is not as genuine history I set down this occupation, nor any occupation of which we have treated up to this; but because I have found them written in old books. And, moreover, I do not understand how the antiquaries obtained tidings of the people whom they assert to have come into Ireland before the deluge, except it be the aerial demons gave them to them, who were their fairy lovers during the time of their being pagans; or unless it be on flags of stones they found them graven after the subsiding of the deluge, if the story be true: for it is not to be said that it is that Fionntain who was before the deluge who would live after it, because the Scripture is against it, where it says that
- The names of four—in right resolved—
Whom God left (safe) throughout the deluge,
Fionntain, Fearon, Fors, just, gentle,
And Andoid, son of Eathor.- Fors in the eastern land, east, was allowed;
Fearon for [northern] coldness (in need) of clothing;
Fionntain for the west limit fairly
And Andoid for the southern part.- Though antiquaries record that,
The just canon does not record
But Noe who was in the ark, and his children,
And their wives, who obtained protection of their lives.
Whence it is understood that it is not the common opinion of all the antiquaries, any of these to have lived after the deluge: however, if any antiquary should say, as a safeguard against perverting the faith, that Fionntain, a man like the rest, was drowned under the deluge, and that he was revived
And it is not true for Hanmer in his chronicle, where he says that the Gaels hold in great esteem the stories of Fionntain, whom he himself calls Roanus, where they say that he was hidden from the deluge, and that he lived after it more than two thousand years till he met with Patrick, and that he received baptism from him, and that he made known to him much of antiquity, and that he died at the end of a year after the coming of Patrick into Ireland, and that he was buried beside Loch Ribh in Urmhumha, where there is a church named or dedicated in his name, and, moreover, that he is named among the saints of Ireland. Nevertheless, it is clear that an antiquary never said, and also that he never left written this thing Dr. Hanmer says. For there are three persons being mentioned here in the guise of one man,
According to some antiquaries, there came a youth of the family of Nin son of Bél (whose name was Adhna son of Bioth) to spy Ireland about seven score years after the deluge. However, it was not long the stay he made in it. He went back to give an account of the island he, had seen, to his neighbours, and with him a part or certain bulk of the grass of Ireland, as is read in the poem (to which is) beginning, I found in the Saltair of Caiseal, &c. [Here is what the poem says.]
- Adhna, son of Bioth, with prophecy (?)
A warrior of the family of Nin son of Bél,
Came into Ireland to explore it,
So that he plucked grass in wood island:- He brought with him the full of his fist of its grass,
He goes back to tell the news:
That is the clear complete possession,
Shortest in duration which occupied Ireland.
Howbeit, I do not think that the expedition of that man ought to be called a conquest, because he did not make any stay in it, and therefore that it is more right to reckon the conquest of Partholón as the first occupation of it after the deluge.
Ireland, indeed, was desert three hundred years after the deluge, till Partholón, son of Sera, son of Sru, son of Esru, son of Fraimint, son of Fathacht, son of Magog, son of Japheth came to occupy it, according as it is found in the poem [to which is] beginning,— Adam, father, fountain of our hosts [as the poet says]:—
- Three hundred years after the deluge,
It is a tale of truth, as I reckon,
All holy Ireland was desert,
Until Partholón came.
Accordingly, I think that it is twenty-two years before Abraham was born, Partholón came into Ireland, and that it is it which was the age of the world therefore, about this time a thousand, nine hundred and three score and eighteen years, as this verse states:—
- Eight and seventy—a clear gradation—
A thousand and nine hundred years,
From the time of Adam, virtuous, just,
To the birth of Abraham our father.
However, the opinion of the people who say that it is at the end of two years and a thousand after the deluge that Partholón came to Ireland, is not truthful, and they, admitting that it is in the time of Abraham he came into it, and that it is Abraham, who was only the eighth generation from Sem,
From middle Greece, i.e. 'Migdonia', Partholón set out. It is the way which he took (was) through the 'Torrian' Sea to Sicily, and with the right hand towards Spain till he reached Ireland. Two months and a half he was on the sea till he took harbour in Innbhear Sceine, in the western part of Munster, the fourteenth day in the month May. It is of it this verse was recited [as the poet says]:—
- The fourteenth, on (day of) Mars,
They put their noble barks
Into the port of fair lands, blue, clear,
In Innbhear Scéine of bright shields.
Here is the company who came with Partholón to Ireland, and with his wife, Dealgnaid her name: their three sons, namely, Rudhruidhe, Slangha, and Laighlinne, with their wives, and a thousand of a host along with them, according to Nennius, as is read in the Saltair of Caiseal.
It is the place where Partholón dwelt at first in Ireland, in Inis Saimher, near to Eirne. It is why it was called Inis Saimher; a lap-dog or hound-whelp which Partholón had, which was named Saimher; and he killed it through jealousy with his wife, who committed misconduct with her own
- Honey with a woman, new milk with a child,
Food with the generous, flesh with a cat,
A workman in a house, and edge tools,
One with the other, it is great risk.
After Partholón had heard that answer, his jealousy was so increased by it that he struck the dog to the ground, till it was killed: so that from it the island is named. The first jealousy of Ireland after the deluge (was) that. So for it was recited this verse:—
- The king strikes the hound of the woman
With his hand—it was not sad that it was (so):— ?
The hound was dead (...)
That was the first jealousy of Ireland.
The seventh year after the occupation of Ireland by Partholón, the first man of his people died, namely, Feadha, son of Tortan, from whom is named Magh Feadha.
It is the cause on account of which Partholon came to Ireland, because he had slain his father and his mother, seeking the kingdom from his brother, so that he came in flight (because
Some of our authors reckon another occupation of Ireland before Partholón, namely, the invasion of Cíocal, son of Nel, son of Garbh, son of Ughmhóir, from Sliabh Ughmhóir, and Lot Luaimhneach (was) his mother: they (were) two hundred years (living) on fish and fowl till the coming of Partholón into Ireland, till the battle of Magh Iotha took place between them, in which Cíocal fell, and in which the Fomorians were destroyed by Partholón. In Innbhear Domhnann Cíocal, with his people, took harbour in Ireland: six ships their number; fifty men and fifty women the complement of each ship [of them]. It is about them it is recited:—
- The seventh invasion which took
Spoil of Ireland of the high plains
(Was) by Ciocal the stunted, (of withered feet),
Over the fields of Innbhear Domhnann;- Three hundred men, the number of his host,
Who came from the regions of Ughmhór
Till they were scattered after that,
Being cut off in a week.
Seven lakes burst forth in Ireland in the time of Partholón, namely, Loch Masc in Connacht; over Magh Leargna it sprang up: at the end of three years after giving battle to Cíocal, Loch Con burst over the land, and Magh Cró (was) the name of the plain over which it came: Loch Deichet at the end of twelve years after the coming of Partholón into Ireland. A year after that the fourth chieftain of his people
Partholón did not find before him in Ireland but three lakes and nine rivers: the names of the lakes (are) Loch Luimneach in Desmond, Loch Foirdhreamhain at Tráigh-lí, by Sliabh Mis in Munster, and Fionnloch Ceara in Iorros Domhnann in Connacht. It is for them this verse was recited [as the poet says]:
- Three lakes—wondrous their brilliancy,
And nine plentiful rivers;
Loch Foirdhreamhain, Loeh Luimnigh,
Fionn Loch beyond the bounds of Iorros.
Here are the rivers:— The Buas, between Dal n-Áruidhe and Dalriada, i.e. the Rúta; the Rurthach, i.e. Abhann Life, between the Ui Neill, and the Leinstermen; Laoi, in Munster, through Muscraidhe to Cork; the Sligeach; the Samhaoir; the Muaidh in Connacht, through Ui Fiachrach
Or yet in the poem which has for beginning, Adam, father, fount of our hosts, &c.:—
- Muaidh, Sligeach, Samhaoir of name (?)
Buas, a torrent of melodious sound;
Moghurn, Fionn, with face of brightness;
Banna, between Lí and Eille.
- Laoi, Buas, Banna, lasting Bearbha,
Samhaoir, Sligeach, Moghurn, Muaidh,
And Lifé in Leinster with them,
There they are, the old rivers.
At the end of four years after the eruption of Murthol, Partholón died in Sean-mhagh Ealta Eudair, and it is there he was buried. It is called Sean-mhagh, 'old plain', because a wood never grew on it; and, moreover, it is why it is called Magh n-Ealta, as it was there the birds of Ireland used to come to bask in the sun. At the end of thirty years from the coming of Partholón to Ireland, he died. Some antiquaries say that the age of the world when Partholón died was two thousand six hundred and twenty-eight years: nevertheless, what I think is, according to everything we have said before, that it is one thousand nine hundred and four score and six years from the beginning of the world to the death of Partholón.
- During thirty years of a period
It was empty of (its) skilled warriors,
After the destruction of its host in a week,
In crowds upon Magh n-Ealta.
Holy Cormac son of Cuileannan agrees with the same thing in the Saltair of Caiseal, where he says that it is three hundred years (that) were from the coming of Partholón into Ireland to the plague of his people. The poet Eochaidh Ua Floinn agrees with it likewise, according to this verse:—
- Three hundred years, who know it?
Over very great [or wide] excellent corn-lands, (?)
The rank sharp-pointed stalks [or weeds] (?)
(Were) in noble Erin grass-grown.
From all these things (it appears that) those who say that there was more than five hundred years from the death of Partholón till the destruction of his people, are not to be believed; and it is not probable that Ireland could have been settled so long, without more people in it than five thousand men and four thousand women.
Er, Orba, Fearón, and Feargna their names, and there were four their namesakes among the descendants of Míleadh, as we shall set down in (relating) their special conquest.
From Aileach Néid (in the) north to Áthcliath Laighean, the portion of Er.
From the same Áthcliath to Oiléan Árda Neimeadh [to] which is called Oiléan Mór an Bharraigh now, the portion of Orba.
From the Oiléan Mór to Meadhraidhe by Gaillimh, the division of Fearón.
From Áthcliath Meadhraidhe to Aileach Néid, the portion of Feargna, as Eochaidh Ua Floinn says in these verses: and he was the chief professor of poetry in Ireland in his time:—
- Four sons, (who) were fierce of voice,
For noble children had Partholón:
They took under direction among them
The tribes of Ireland without objection:- Not easy to the kings was their division,
The island of Erin (being all) one wood,
Treasure close (? safe) in each dwelling during their time;
Each man got knowledge of his share.- Er, their eldest, (who) was free in happiness,
Pleasant his portion, long without change;
From Aileach Néid, land without treachery,
To Áthcliath Laighean full-strong.- From Áthcliath of Leinster—leap of the sea—
To the isle of Neimheadh's Height,
Without misery—not weak his conduct—
(Was) Orba's portion of the land of his race.
- From the ford where Neimheadh was slain
To Meadhraidhe of the great districts,
A cause of good content without cease there,
The portion of Fearón, long the tract.- From Meadhraidhe, (it is) long also,
To Aileaeh Néid of good customs,
If we follow the boundary in every track;
Feargna got an extensive tract.- On Erin itself, not a cause of deceit (this),
Were born the strong men (whom) I enumerate,
A noble company, who were established in fame,
Gentle (and) knightly were the four.
Here are the names of the ploughmen he had, namely, Tothacht, Treun, Iomhas, Aicheachbhéal, Cúl, Dorcha, and Damh. The names of the four oxen they had, namely, Liag, Leagmhagh, Iomaire, and Eitrighe. Beoir (was) the name of the man who gave out free entertainment or hospitality at first in Ireland. Breagha, son of Seanbhoth (it was) who established single combat first in Ireland. Samaliliath first introduced ale-drinking in it. Fios, Eolus and Fochmorc (were) his three druids. Macha, Mearan, and Muicneachán, his three strong-men. Biobhal and Beabhal his two merchants. Partholón had ten daughters and ten sons-in-law.
Ireland, indeed, was waste thirty years after the destruction of the race of Partholóon, till Neimheadh son of Agnoman, son of Pamp, son of Tat, son of Seara, son of Srú, son of
Starn, Iarbhoinel Fáidh, Ainninn, and Fearghus Leithdhearg (are) the names of the four sons of Neimheadh.
Four lake-eruptions in Ireland in the time of Neimheadh, namely, Loch mBreunainn on Mágh n-Asail in Ui Nialláin: Loch Muinreamhair on Mágh Sola among the Leinstermen: at the end of ten years after Neimheadh had arrived in Ireland, Loch Dairbhreach and Loch n-Ainnin sprang up in Magh Mór in Meath: for when the grave of Ainnin was dug, it is then Loch Ainnin sprang forth. It is in proof that it was in Neimheadh's time these lakes burst forth that this verse was made:—
- Four lakes of abundant water
Burst forth over Fodhla truly great:—
Loch Dairbhreach, Loch mBreunainn sweet sounding,
Loch Muinreamhair, Loch n-Ainnin.
The wife of Neimheadh—Macha her name—died in Ireland sooner than Ainnin; and the twelfth year after their coming into Ireland this Macha died; and she was the first dead person of Ireland after the coming of Neimheadh into it. And it is from her Árd Macha is named; for it is there she was buried. Two royal forts were built by Neimheadh in Ireland, namely, Rath Chinneich in Uí Nialláin, and Rath Ciombaoth in Seimhne. The four sons of Madán Muinreamhar of the Fomorians built Rath Cinneich in one day, Bog, Robhog, Ruibhne, and Rodan their names: and Neimheadh slew them on the morrow in the morning, in Daire Lighe, for fear that they should resolve on the destruction of the fort again; and they were buried there.
Twelve plains were cleared from wood by Neimheadh in Ireland; namely, Magh Ceara, Magh Neara, Magh Cuile Toladh, Magh Luirg in Connacht, Magh Tochair in Tír
Neimheadh won three battles on the Fomorians, namely, navigators of the race of Cham, who fared from Africa; they came fleeing to the islands of the west of Europe, and to make a settlement for themselves, and (also) fleeing the race of Sem, for fear that they might have advantage over them, in consequence of the curse which Noe had left on Cham from whom they came; inasmuch as they thought themselves to be safe from the control of the posterity of Sem by being at a distance from them: wherefore, they came to Ireland, so that the three battles aforesaid were won over them, i.e. the battle of Sliabh Bádhna; the battle of Ross Fraocháin in Connacht, in which there fell Gann and Geanann, two leaders of the Fomorians; and the battle of Murbholg in Dalriada, i.e. the Rúta, the place where Starn son of Neimheadh fell by Conaing son of Faobhar in Leithead Lachtmhaighe. Moreover, he fought the battle of Cnámhros in Leinster, where there was a slaughter (made) of the men of Ireland, including Artur, son of Neimheadh, i.e. a son born in Ireland to him; and including Iobcan son of Starn, son of Neimheadh. However, it is by Neimheadh these three battles were won over the Fomorians, as these verses below certify:—
- Neimheadh defeated—illustrious his strength—
(Their sepulchre was satiated I think),
Gann and Geanann, by his attack.
They were slain by him, one after the other.
- Geanann by Neimheadh was worn out.
Their little grave—what tomb is greater (than it)?—
By Starn, son of Neimheadh the mighty,
Gann fell, and it is not deceit.- The battle of Murbholg—he fought it—
Till it was closed, it was stiff,
It was won by Neimheadh of the arms,
Though Starn came not back (from it).- During the battle of Cnamhros, which was very great,
It is much there was of hacking of flesh;
Artur and Iobcan fell there,
Although in it Gann was routed.
After that Neimheadh died of the plague in Oiléan Árda Neimheadh in Críoch Liatháin in Munster, which is called Oiléan Mór an Bharraigh; and two thousand (of) people with him, both men and women.
There was slavery and great oppression afterwards on the race of Neimheadh by the Fomorians, revenging the battles which Neimheadh had gained over them. Morc, indeed, son of Deileadh, and Conaing, son of Faobhar, from whom is named Tor Conaing on the border of Ireland north [who] had a fleet, and they residing in Tor Conaing which is called Toirinis, enforcing a tribute on the children of Neimheadh: and the extent of that tribute was two thirds of the children, and of the corn, and of the milch-kine of the men of Ireland, to be offered to them every year on the eve of Samhain at Magh gCéidne between the Drobhaois and the Eirne. It is why it is called Magh gCéidne from the frequency (with which) the tribute was brought to the same plain.
The Fomorians had still more tyranny on the children of Neimheadh, to wit, three full measures from every single
- That tax which was devised there,
Three measures which were not very scant;
A measure of the cream of rich milk,
And a measure of the flour of wheat,
The third obligation—we think it was hard—
A measure of butter over it for a condiment.
Anger and rage indeed seize upon the men of Ireland by reason of the heaviness of that tribute and tax, insomuch that they went to do battle with the Fomorians. It is wherefore they used to be called Fomorians, namely, from their being committing robbery on sea: Fomhóraigh, i.e. along the seas.
There were, however, three good warriors among the children of Neimheadh at this period, namely, Beothach, son of Iarbhoineol the prophetic, son of Neimheadh; Fearghus the red-sided, son of Neimheadh; and Earglan, son of Béoan, son of Starn, son of Neimheadh, with his two brothers, namely, Manntán and Iarthacht: and their number was thirty thousand on sea, and the same number on land, as this verse shows:—
- Three score thousand,—bright array—
On land and on water;
It is the number went from their dwelling
The race of Neimheadh to the demolition (of the tower).
The tower was demolished then, and Conaing falls with his children by the race of Neimheadh. Afterwards, Morc, son of Deileadh, brought the crew of three score ships from Africa to Toirinis, till he gave battle to the children of
- But one bark with its full company,
There escaped not of them, the entire of their hosts:
Simeon and Iobath good,
And Briotán Maol, in that ship.
On their coming away from that conflict, it is the counsel on which they resolved, to fare from Ireland to fly the tyranny of the Fomorians. They were seven years making ready towards this adventure; and a fleet is prepared by each chief of them, and a party of the people who had come with Neimheadh to Ireland, and of his descendants, go with each one of the aforesaid chiefs; and some of them remain behind in Ireland, namely, ten warriors whom they left taking the headship of the remnant of the race of Neimheadh who remained under servitude of the Fomorians till the time of the Firbolg.
A chief of the three above (named), viz. Simeon Breac, son of Starn, goes to Greece, even to Thrace, and a company with him; it is there they were under bondage, and it is from him the Firbolg have come, as we shall say hereafter.
The second chief, namely, Iobáth, son of Beothach, goes into the regions of the north of Europe; and some antiquaries say that it is to 'Boetia' he went: it is from him the Tuatha Dé Danann have descended.
The third chief, i.e. Briotán Maol goes with a company with him to Dobhar and to Iardhobhar in the north of Scotland, so that he himself and his posterity after him dwelled there. It is the total of the fleet these chiefs, the children of Neimheadh, (had) on this expedition, between ship, bark, skiff, and small boat, one thousand one hundred and thirty vessels.
However, Briotán, son of Fearghus Leithdhearg, son of Neimheadh, and his posterity, were inhabiting the north of Scotland until the Crutheni, i.e. the Picts, went from Ireland to dwell in Scotland in the time of Eireamhón. Holy Cormac, son of Cuileannan, in his Saltair, says that it is from Briotán, Britannia is called to the island which is to-day called Great Britain: and the ancient record of Ireland is agreeing with him on that, as the poem says, which has for beginning Adam father, fountain of our hosts, where it says:—
Another author supports him on that where he says:—
- Briotán went beyond sea, without stain,
Generous son of red-sided Fearghus;
The Britons all, victory with renown,
From him, without deception, they have descended.
- Briotán Maol,son of the prince,
Noble the stock-branch spreading from him,
Son of Leithdheirg from Leacmhagh,
From whom are the Britons of the world.
It is the more right to think that to be true since it is not probable that it is from Brutus it is called (Britain); for if it were from him, it is likely that it is Brutania it would be called; and, besides, it is the more its name was obscured by the children of Brutus, according to (Geoffrey of) Monmouth, since Laegrus, son of Brutus, gave Laegria for name to the part of Britain which came to him; Camber, the second son of Brutus, gave Cambria for name to the part of it that came to himself; and Albanactus, the third son of Brutus, gave Albania for name to his own portion of the same territory.
As to the remnant of the race of Neimheadh, who remained dwelling in Ireland after those chiefs; they were oppressed by the Fomorians from time to time, till the arrival of the posterity of Simeon Breac, son of Starn, son of Neimheadh, in Ireland from Greece. Two hundred and seventeen years from the coming by Neimheadh into Ireland till the coming of the Firbolg into it, as this verse certifies:—
- Seventeen years and two hundred—
During their reckoning,(there is) no exaggeration—
Since Neimheadh came from the east,
Over sea with his great sons,
Till the children of Starn came
From Greece,terrifying, very rugged.
The posterity of Simeon Breac, son of Starn, son of Neimheadh, having been in Greece, i.e. Thrace, as we have said, they grew so that the people who were there of them
Here are the chiefs who were over them that time, namely, Sláinghe, Rughruidhe, Gann, Geanann, and Seanghann, i.e. the five sons of Deala, son of Loch, son of Teacht, son of Triobuat, son of Othorb, son of Goiste, son of Oirtheacht, son of Simeon, son of Arglán, son of Beoán, son of Starn, son of Neimheadh,;son of Agnamon, &c. Their five wives, Fuad, Eudar, Anust, Cnucha, and Liobhra, their names: and it is of them it was said:—
- Fuad wife of Sláinghe—not deceiving you—
Eudar wife of Gann the valorous,
Anust wife of Seanghann of the spears,
Cnucha was wife of Geanann bright,(?)
Liobhra wife of Rughruidhe of the way.(?)
Five thousand the number of the host who came with them; one thousand one hundred and thirty ships (between
- Thirty ships on one hundred,
And a thousand—it is not a lie—
It is the number who came from the east,
The good Sláinghe with his hosts:- Many were the Firbolg, without a lie,
At their coming out from Greece;
Good the tribes who were not diffident (in setting out),
Nor was the fleet wooden.- Wednesday they went westward,
Over the great broad Torrian Sea;
The period of three days on a fair year (went by)
Until they reached to Spain:- From that by them to noble Ireland—
A convenient sailing from Spain—
Better then not to conceal it from all,(?)
The space of three days and ten.
These five chiefs divide Ireland in five parts among them, as we have said before, speaking of the third partition which was made of Ireland; as this verse says:—
- Five chiefs at the head of the host
Divide into five Banbha the ancient;
Geanann, Rughraidhe—a brilliant roll—
Gann, Seangann, and Sláinghe.
Sláinghe (from whom is named Innbhear Sláinghe at Loch-garman, [the youngest of the children]) took the province of Leinster from Innbhear Colptha at Droichead-átha to Cumar na dtrí-n-uisge, and a thousand the number of his host. Gann takes from Cumar na dtrí-n-uisge to Bealach Chonghlais, and a thousand the number of his host. Seangann takes from Bealach Chonghlais to Luimneach, and a thousand the number of his host. Geanann takes the province of Connacht from Luimneach to Drobhais, and a thousand the number of his
It is [to] these chiefs with their companies that are called Fir Bolg, Fir Domhnann and Gaileoin". Fir Bolg, indeed, from the bags of leather they used to have in Greece, carrying earth to put it on bare flags so that they might make of them flowery plains in bloom. Fir Domhnann from the pits they used to dig in the soil by carrying it to the Fir Bolg. Gaileoin, indeed, they were named from the darts; because it is these which used to be their arms defending everybody when they would be (i.e. the others) doing their work; and from the darts or the spears which were their arms, they were named.
Understand, O reader, that it is one conquest they made, and that it is in one week they came into Ireland, i.e. Sláinghe on Saturday in Innbhear Sláinghe, Gann and Seangann the Tuesday after that in Iorrus Domhnann, Geannan and Rughraidhe the Friday afterwards in Tracht Rughraidhe. (The name) Gaileoin is given to Sláinghe with his people: Fir Bolg is given to Gann and to Seangann with their people: and Fir Domhnann is given to Geanann and to Rughraidhe. And some of the antiquaries say that it is in Iorrus Domhnann (in the north-west of the province of Connacht) these two came to land with a third of the host, and that it is from them Iorrus Domhnann is called. However, they are all commonly called Fir Bolg. Thirty-six years (was) the length of the dominion of the Fir Bolg over Ireland: and no one to whom the title of high-king was given came into the island before
- Sixteen years and two tens,
Fir Bolg over Banbha throughout,
Till the coming of the Tuath Dé to the people,
(And) that they seized all Ireland.
Sláinghe, son of Deala, son of Lóch, took rule of Ireland (for a year, till he died in Dionnriogh, which is called Dumha Sláinghe: and he was the first king of Ireland [ever]; and, moreover he was the first dead among the Fir Bolg.
Rughraidhe, son of Deala, son of Lóch, took the kingdom of Ireland two years till he fell in the Brugh over the Bóinn.
Gann and Geanann took the kingdom of Ireland four years till they died of the plague in Freamhainn Midhe.
Seangann held the kingship five years till he fell by Fiachaidh Ceinnfhionnán.
Fiachaidh Ceinnfhionnán, son of Starn, son of Rughraidhe, son of Deala, son of Lóch, held the kingdom five years, till he fell by Rionnal, son of Geannan, son of Deala, son of Lóch. There were white heads on the men of Ireland during his time: hence he was called Ceinnfhionnán.
Rionnal took the kingdom of Ireland six years, till he fell by Foidhbghein, son of Seangann, son of Deala, son of Lóch.
This Foidhbghein held the kingship four years, until he was slain by Eochaidh, son of Earc, in Magh Muirtheimhne.
Eochaidh, son of Earc, son of Rionnal, son of Geannan, held the kingship ten years. There was no rain nor bad weather during his time, nor yet a year without fruit and increase. It is in his time injustice and lawlessness were put down in Ireland, and approved and elaborated laws were ordained in it. This Eochaidh fell by the three sons of Neimheadh, son of Badhraoi (Ceasarb, Luamh, and Luachra their names), in the battle of Magh Tuireadh. It is this Eochaidh who was king of the Fir Bolg at the coming of the Tuatha Dé Danann into Ireland. It is she who was queen to him, Taillte, daughter of Madhmór, king of Spain, and in Taillte she was buried, so that from her it was named Taillte. Nuadha Airgeadlámh was king over the Tuatha Dé Danann at that time. This battle of Magh Tuireadh was very long being fought between the two kings aforesaid. Howbeit, it was gained at last over Eochaidh and over the Fir Bolg, till Eochaidh was slain, and a hundred thousand of his people cut off from Magh Tuireadh to Trá igh Eothaile. It is in this battle his hand was cut off from Nuadha Airgeadlámh, so that he was seven years being cured, until a hand of silver was put on him, whence it is that he was named Nuadha of the silver hand.
The small number of Fir Bolg who escaped out of this battle departed in flight before the Tuatha Dé Danann, so that Ára, Ilé, Reachra, Inse Gall, and many islands besides, were inhabited by them; and they dwelt there until the time of the provincial kings being in the sovereignty of Ireland, until the Cruithnigh, i.e. Picts, banished them out of those
- The Fir Bolg were here a while
In the great island of the sons of Míleadh:
Five chiefs they came hither,
I have knowledge of their names.
The Tuatha Dé Danann are of the posterity of the third chief of the race of Neimheadh who had gone on adventures from Ireland after the destruction of the tower of Conaing, namely, Iobath son of Beothach; and, according to some antiquaries, the place which was inhabited by them was Boetia in the north of Europe. Some others say that it is in the Athenian territory they dwelt, where the city of Athens is. Understand, O reader, that Boeotia and the city of Athens, according to Pomponius Mela, are in the district of Greece which is called Achaia: and that it is there they learned their magic and their arts until they became skilled in every trick of sorcery.
It happened about that time that a great fleet came from the country of Syria to make war on the people of the Athenian country, so that there was daily warfare between them; and those of the Athenians who would be slain, it is they who would be on the morrow fighting with the people of Syria. That necromancy used to be done through the art magic of the Tuatha Dé Danann: for they would put demons into the same bodies to restore them. And when the people of Syria became aware of this, they go to take counsel with their own druid. The druid says to them, to set a watch on the site or on the place of the battle-field, and to thrust a stake [of a spit] of quicken-tree through the trunk of every dead person who would be rising up against them; and if it were
As regards the Tuatha Dé Danann, when they saw the people of Syria prevailing over the people of the country, they, in one band, depart from that territory, for fear of them, and they made no stay till they came to the country of Lochlonn, i.e. Fionn-Lochlonn, viz. the people of Norway, where they got welcome from the people of the country for the extent of their science and of their varied arts. It is Nuadha Airgeadlámh, son of Euchtach, son of Edarlámh, of the posterity of Neimheadh who was chief over them at that time. Indeed, they obtained four cities, so as to be teaching the young folk of that country in them. The names of the cities here: Fáilias, Gorias, Finias, and Murias. The Tuatha Dé Danann place four sages in those cities to teach the sciences and the varied arts they had to the youths of the country; Semias in Murias, and Arias in Finias, and Eurus in Gorias, and Morias in Fáilias. After being a while of their time in these cities, they proceed to the north of Scotland, so that they were seven years at Dobhar and at Iardobhar. They had four noble jewels, which they brought from those cities, namely, a stone
[This stone which is called Lia Fáil], another name for it (is) the Stone of Destiny; for it was in destiny for this stone, whatever place it would be in, that it is a man of the Scotic nation, i.e. of the seed of Míleadh of Spain, that would be in the sovereignty of that country, according as is read, in Hector Boetius in the history of Scotland. Here is what he says, viz.—
- The stone which is under my two heels,
From it Inis Fáil is named;
Between two shores of a mighty flood,
The plain of Fál (is for name) on all Ireland.
{Ni fallat fatum, Scoti quocunque locatum, invenient lapidem, regnare tenentur ibidem.}
- The Scotic nation, noble the race,
Unless the prophecy be false,
Ought to obtain dominion,
Where they shall find the Lia Fáil.
When the race of Scot heard that the stone had this virtue, after Feargus the great, son of Earc, had obtained the power of Scotland, and after he had proposed to style himself king of Scotland, he sends information into the presence of his brother Muircheartach, son of Earc, of the race of Eireamhón, who was king of Ireland at that time, to ask him to send him this stone, to sit upon, for the purpose of being proclaimed king of Scotland. Muircheartach sends the stone to him, and he was inaugurated king of Scotland on the same stone, and he was the first king of Scotland of the Scotic nation; and although
The second jewel the Tuatha Dé Danann brought into Ireland then, that is the sword which Lúgh Lámhfada had used, and from Gorias it was brought. The third jewel, namely, the spear which the same Lúgh had when prepared for battle, and from Finias it was brought. The fourth jewel, the caldron of the Daghdha: a company would not go away unsatisfied from it, and from Murias it was brought.Here is a poem from a certain Book of Invasion for proof on the same things:—
- Tuatha Dé Danann of the precious jewels,
The place in which they acquired learning
They attained their complete culture,
Their art magic (and) their diablerie.- Iarbhoineol fair—an excellent seer—
Son of Neimheadh, son of Aghnomon,
To whom the doughty fool-hardy Beothach was son
Who was a hero full-active, given to slaughter.- The children of Beothach—vivid their fame—
They arrived a powerful host of heroes,
After much travail and wandering,
The entire of their fleet to Lochlonn.- Four cities, justly famous,
They occupied in sway with great power,
Where they used to wage war ingeniously(?)
For learning (and) for exact knowledge.- Fáilias and Gorias bright,
Finias (and) Murias of great deeds,
To blazon their sallies abroad(?)
(And) the names of the great cities.- Morias and Euras high-placed,
Arias (and) Semias austere;
Their naming is profitable discourse,
Of the names of the sages of the noble gain.- Morias the sage of Fáilias itself,
Euras in Gorias, of good disposition,
Semias in Murias, southern stronghold(?)
Arias fair, sage of Finias.- Four gifts with them (brought) from afar,
By the nobles of the Tuatha Dé Danann:—
A sword, a stone, a shapely cadron,
A spear for facing tall champions.- Lia Fáil from Fálias hither,
Which used to roar under the king of Ireland;
The sword of the hand of Lúgh the active(?),
From Gorias-choicest of great store.- From Finias far over the sea,
Was brought the spear of Lúgh who was not weak;
From Murias—great prodigious gift—
The caldron of the Daghdha of Iofty deeds.
- King of heaven, king of feeble men,
Protect me, king of the great stars,
Prince, who hast endurance of hateful things,(?)
And the strength of the gentle tribes.
Concerning the Tuatha Dé Danann, they, having spent seven years in the north of Scotland, came to Ireland; and, on their coming to land, Monday Bealtaine in the north of Ireland, they burn their ships, so to certify that, this rann was composed:—
- Each warrior of them burned his ship,
When he reached noble Eire:
It was a grave decision in his state(?)
The vapour of the ships being burned.
After that they put of mist of druidism around them for the space of three days, so that they were not manifest to any one of the Fir Bolg till they reached Sliabh-an-iarainn. Thence they send an embassy from them to Eochaidh, son of Earc, and to the chiefs of the Fir Bolg, to demand the kingdom of Ireland or battle on its account. Whereupon, the battle of Magh Tuireadh South is fought between the Fir Bolg and the Tuatha Dé Danann, so that the battle was gained on the Fir Bolg, and that a hundred thousand of them were slain, according as we have said above.
Thirty years from the battle of Magh Tuireadh South to the battle of Magh Tuireadh North, as the verse says:—
- Thirty years,it is known,
From the battle of Magh Tuireadh South,
To the battle of Magh Taireadh North,
In which fell Balor of the great host.
Some antiquaries say that it is from the three sons whom Danann, daughter of Dealbhaoth, bore, the Tuatha Dé Danann were called, to wit, Brian, Iuchar and Iucharbha, i.e. three of the children of Dealbhaoth, son of Ealatha, son of Néd, son of Iondaoi, son of Allaoi, son of Tat, son of Tabharn, son of Enna, son of Bathach, son of Iobath, son of Beothach, son of Iarbhoineol Fáidh, son of Neimheadh: because that the aforesaid three were so accomplished [as that] in heathen arts, that these tribes with whom they were wished to style them gods, and to name themselves from them. Here is a stave of a quotation certifying it, that these three are the three gods of Danann, as the poem says, which has for beginning, Hear, ye learned without blemish, &c.:—
- Brian, Iucharbha and Iuchar there,
Three gods of the Tuatha Dé Danann;
They were slain at Mana over the great sea
By the hand of Lugh, son of Eithneann.
It is from [the] Danann, who was mother to these three, Dá Chích Danann is called to the two hills which are in Luachair Deaghaidh in Desmond. Others say that it is why they are called Tuatha Dé Danann, because it is in [their] three orders they were, of those who had come into Ireland on this expedition. The first order of them, which is called Tuath, used to be in the rank of nobility and headship of tribe: called tuathach, indeed, and called tighearna being equivalent, as called tuath and called tighearnas are equal. That is the more fit to believe, inasmuch as Dá Bhantuathaigh is given (as an epithet) for Beuchuill and for Danann, whom
- Beuchuill and Danann beloved—
The two female chiefs were slain;
The extinction of their magic at last
By pale demons of air.
The second order (to) which used to be called Dé, such are their druids, whence it is the above three used to be called the three gods of Danann. Wherefore they were called 'gods' (is) from the wonderfulness of their deeds of magic. The third order which was called Danann, namely, the order which was given to dán, or to crafts; for dán and céard are equal.
Eochaidh Ollathar, i.e. the Daghdha, Oghma, Allód, Breas and Dealbhaoth, the five sons of Ealatha, son of Néd, son of Iondaoi, son of Allaoi, son of Tat, son of Tabharn, son of Enna, son of Báthadh, son of Iobath, son of Beothach, son of Iarbhoineol Fáidh, son of Neimheadh, son of Aghnoman.
Manannán son of Allód, son of Ealatha, son of Dealbhaoth.
The six sons of Dealbhaoth, son of Oghma: Fiachaidh, Ollamh, Iondaoi, Brian, Iuchar and Iucharbha.
"Aonghus, Aodh, Cearmadh and Mídhir, the four sons of the Dághdha.
Lúgh, son of Cian, son of Dianchéacht, son of Easarg, son of Néd, son of Iondaoi.
Goibhneann the smith and Creidhne the artist: Dianchéacht the physician and Luchtain the mechanic; and Cairbre the poet, son of Tara, son of Tuirreall.
Beigreó, son of Cairbre Caitcheann, son of Tabharn.
Fiachaidh, son of Dealbhaoth, and Ollamh, son of Dealbhaoth.
Caichér and Neachtain, two sons of Námha, son of Eochaidh Garbh, son of Duach Dall.
Siodhmall, son of Cairbre Crom, son of Ealcmhar, son of Dealbhaoth.
Eire and Fódhla and Banbha, three daughters of Fiachaidh, son of Dealbhaoth, son of Oghma. Eirnin, daughter of Eadarlámh, mother of those women.
Badhbh, Macha, and Móirríoghan, their three goddesses.
Danann and Beuchuill, the two female chiefs, and Brighid the poetess.
(Appertaining to these noble females were the two royal institutes, i.e. Fé and Meann (being) their names): it is from them is named Magh Feimhin. It is among them also was Triath-rí-thorc, from whom is called Treitheirne Mumhan.
[Cridhinbhéal, Bruinne, and Casmhaol, the three satirists.]
It is they who won the battle of Magh Tuireadh North on the Fomórians, and the battle of Magh Tuireadh South on the Fir Bolg. It is in the first battle his hand was cut off Nuadha, and his head in the last battle.
Nuadha Airgeadlámh, son of Euchtach, son of Eadarlámh, son of Orda, son of Allaoi, son of Tat, son of Tabharn, son of Enna, son of Iobáth, son of Beothach, son of Iarbhoineol Fáidh, son of Neimheadh, took the kingdom of Ireland thirty years, till he fell in the battle of Magh Tuireadh North.
Breas, son of Ealatha, son of Néd, son of Iondaoi, son of Allaoi, son of Tat, held the kingship seven years.
Lúgh Lámhfada, son of Cian, son of Dianchéacht, son of Easar Breac, son of Néd, son of Iondaoi, son of Allaoi, held the kingdom of Ireland forty years. It is this Lúgh who appointed the Fair of Taillte at first as a yearly commemoration of Taillte, daughter of Madhmór, i.e. king of Spain, who was wife to Eochaidh, son of Earc, last king of the Fir Bolg, and who was wife after that to Eochaidh Garbh, son of Duach Dall, a chief of the Tuatha Dé Danann. It is by this woman Lúgh Lámhfada was fostered and trained till he was fit to bear arms; and it is as an honourable commemoration for her Lúgh instituted the games of the Fair of Taillte a fortnight before Lúghnasadh, and a fortnight after it, resembling the games called 'Olympiades': and it is from that memorial which Lúgh used to make Lúghnasadh is given (as name) to the first day (or) to the Calends of August, i.e. the násadh or commemoration of Lúgh, (on which is now the feast of St. Peter's chains). He fell by (the hand of) Mac Coll at Caondruim.
The Daghdha Mór, son of Ealatha, son of Dealbhaoth, son of Néd, held the kingdom of Ireland seventy years. He died at Brugh of the bloody missiles of a cast which Ceithleann flung at him in the battle of Magh Tuireadh. Eochaidh Ollathar (was) the proper name of the Daghdha.
Dealbhaoth, son of Oghma Griain-éigis, son of Ealatha, son of Dealbhaoth, son of Néd, held the kingship ten years till he fell by Fiachaidh, son of Dealbhaoth.
Fiachaidh, son of Dealbhaoth, son of Ealatha, held the kingship ten years, till he fell by Eoghan at Ard Breac.
The three sons of Cearmad Milbheol, son of the Daghdha, that is to say, Mac Coll, Mac Céacht and Mac Gréine their names, assumed the dominion of Ireland thirty years; and some antiquaries say that it is a tripartite division which they made on Ireland, as is said in this verse:—
- Though Eire had many thousands,
They divide the land in three;
Great nobles of glorious deeds,
Mac Coll, Mac Céacht, Mac Gréine.
However, it is not a tripartite division which was among them, but the permutation of the sovereignty, that is to say, each one of them had it every succeeding year, by turns, as we have said above in (enumerating) the names of this country, [and in the battle of Taillte all three fell]. It is why these names were given to those three kings, because Coll, Céacht, and Grian were gods of worship to them. Coll, indeed, was god to Mac Cuill, and Eathúr was his proper name, and Banbha his wife. Mac Céacht, too, Céacht his god, Teathúr his name, and Fódhla his wife, Mac Gréine, lastly, Grian his god, Ceathúr his name, and Eire his wife.
Oirbsean (was) the proper name of Manannán: it is from him Loch Oirbsean is named: for when his grave was being dug, it is then the lake burst forth over the land. It is to make this matter clear these verses following were composed:—
- Eathúr tall, who obtained dignity, fierce the man,
Coll his god, grandson of the Daghdha not gloomy, Banbha his wife;
Teathúr stout, strong his contest, sharp his stroke (?),
Fódhla his wife, great deeds he accomplished (?), in Céacht he trusted;- Ceathúr comely, fair his complexion, noble was he,
Éire his wife, generous woman she, Grian his divinity.
Manannán, son of Lear, from the loch, he sought the sraith,
Oirbsean his (own) name, after a hundred conflicts he died the death.
According to the Saltair of Caiseal, it is three years wanting of two hundred (is) the length of the sovereignty of the Tuatha Dé Danann over Ireland. This verse agrees with that:—
- Seven year, ninety, and one hundred—
That reckoning is not false—
For the Tuatha Dé Danann with might,
Over Ireland in high sovereignty.
In order, truly, that we should be able to trace the origin of the Scotic nation to its root, i.e. to Japheth (we find) the two most distinguished sons Japheth had, that is to say, Gomer
The Polychronicon says in the thirty-seventh chapter of the first book, that it is from this word Scythia, Scot is called
Some Latin authors say that Gaedheal was the son of Argus or of Cecrops, who obtained the sovereignty of the Argives; but that cannot be well-founded, because that St. Augustine says that the monarchy of that people commenced at the time Jacob was born, i.e. about four hundred and thirty-two years after the deluge; and, moreover, according to the same author, [that] the dominion of his posterity was maintained but two hundred and fifteen years: and, according to that, that it is at the end of six hundred and three score and seven years after the deluge the rule of that line terminated. But truly, it is not possible for that to be authentic, and to say (at the same time) that it is from Argus or Cecrops Gaedheal should have come; for Hector Boetius in his history of Scotland, and, moreover, all the books of invasion of Ireland, state that Gaedheal was in Egypt during the time of Moses being in the headship of the children of Israel in Egypt. Indeed, the books of invasion say that it is at that time Scota, daughter of Pharao Cingcris, bore Gaedheal to Niul, son of Fenius Farsaidh, son of Báath, son of Magog: and it is the time when Moses began to act as leader of the children of Israel in Egypt, seven hundred and four score and seventeen years (from the deluge); so that according to that reckoning of time, there were as a conjecture three hundred years and two score and five besides, from the time of Argus or Cecrops till Gaedheal was born, and, consequently, it was not possibie for him to be son to Argus or to Cecrops.
Whoever would say that it was from Greece Gaedheal proceeded to Egypt, and that it is why it is said that it was from Scythia he went to Egypt, because that it was from the land of 'Cetim' (as a certain author thinks), he journeyed, [and,] consequently [that he] says that Scythia, and iath na sceach are equivalent: iath, truly, when it is understood in place of this word fearann (land), has th or has dh at the end, that is to say has iath or has iadh: however, when this word Scithia is written, there is no 'c' in the middle, as should be in such like compound word; and, moreover, there is no 'th' or 'dh' at the end of it, and, consequently, it is but an unwarranted opinion to suppose that, according to Gaelic etymology, 'Scithia' is equivalent to land of thorns.
The proof, likewise, is weak concerning Gaedheal having come from Greece according to his origin, to say that the posterity of Gaedheal have a resemblance to the Greeks in (their) manners, customs, and games, and that, therefore it must be said that they came from Greece. For every invasion that came into Ireland after the deluge, except only the race of Gaedheal and the children of Neimheadh, it is from Greece they came, [that is to say, Partholón from Migdonia, the Fir Bolg from Thracia and the Tuatha Dé Danann from Achaia, where Beotia is, and the city of Athens,] according as we have shown above in their several conquests the name of every place in Greece from whence they had set out.
Wherefore, although the race of the Gaedheal, on their arrival in Ireland, had not the manners and customs of the Greeks, it was possible for them to have learned them from the remnant of the Fir Bolg and the Tuatha Dé Danann who were before them in Ireland, and to have left them to be practised by their posterity after them, though they themselves had never been in Greece, nor Gaedheal, nor any of those who had come before them.
WHEN Feinius Farsaidh became king of Scythia, he determined to become perfectly acquainted with the various languages which had sprung up after the confusion of tongues that had taken place long before at the tower of Babel, which was being erected through pride for the space of forty years by Nimrod and his followers. For before that confusion of tongues took place at the tower, the entire human race had but one common language which had existed amongst them from the time of Adam. And the name the Book of Invasions gives this language is Gortighern, as the poet says:
And Latin authors call it lingua humana, that is, the human language. But when Nimrod and his kinsfolk were building the tower, as the confusion of tongues set in and prevented them from finishing a structure they had begun through pride, the human language they derived from Adam was taken from them, as many as were engaged in building the tower. However, it remained with Eibhear son of Saile, and with his tribe, so that it was named from him; for they called it Hebrew from Eibhear. Now when Eibhear had learned the cause of their erecting the tower, that it was with a view to protecting themselves against the second
- Gortighern the name of the language
Used by the son of God of goodly science,
And by the race of Adam erst
Ere the building of Nimrod's tower.
The principal reason why Feinius Farsaidh went to the Plain of Seanair, together with his school, was that he might be with the people whose native language was Hebrew, and that it might thus come about that he and his school would acquire a full and perfect knowledge of that language.
Now, when Feinius, as we have said, had resolved to acquire the various languages, he sent, at his own expense, seventy-two disciples into the various countries of the three continents of the world that were then inhabited, and charged them to remain abroad seven years, so that each of them might learn the language of the country in which he stayed during that time. And at the end of seven years they returned to Feinius to Scythia; and Feinius went with them to the Plain of Seanair, together with a large number of the youths of Scythia, leaving his eldest son Neanual to rule Scythia in his stead, as a certain poet says, in the poem which begins, Let us relate the origin of the Gaels:
And some seanchas assert that there was a space of sixty years from the building of the tower until Feinius and his school came southwards from Scythia to the Plain of Seanair, as a certain poet says in this stanza:
- Feinius went from Scythia
On the expedition,
A man renowned, wise, learned,
Ardent, triumphant;
- There was but one tongue in the world
When they set out;
There were seventy-two tongues
When they parted;- Feinius had a great school learning
Each science,
A man renowned, wise, learned
In each language.
- Thrice twenty years of renown,
So every seancha says,
Till Feinius came southwards,
From the building of Nimrod's tower.
Feinius established schools for the teaching of the various languages on the Plain of Seanair in the city which Cin Droma Sneachta calls Eathena, as the poet says in the following stanza:
And they assembled the youths of the countries next them to learn the various tongues from them; and the three sages who presided over this school were Feinius Farsaidh himself from Scythia, and Gaedheal son of Eathor of the race of Gomer from Greece, and Caoi Caoinbhreathach from Judea, or Iar son of Neama, as the poet says:
- In the Plain of Seanair after the tower,
The first school was assembled,
In the city of Eathena,
To learn the various tongues.
Another poet speaks thus:
- Here are the names of the sages—
I shall reveal them to you speedily—
Gaedheal son of Ethor of wisdom,
Iar son of Neama and Feinius.
- Feinius the eloquent sage,
Gaedheal and Caoi Caoinbhreathaeh,
Three of the writers of the schools
Who followed in the true track of the authors.
As some seanchas assert that it was when Nion son of Beil had reigned forty-two years that Feinius Farsaidh established a school in the Plain of Seanair, I am of opinion that he passed ten years of the reign of Nion son of Beil, and ten years thereafter, in the Plain of Seanair before he returned from the school to Scythia. For all the seanchas say that he passed twenty years in charge of the school before his return. I am also of opinion that it was two hundred and forty-two years after the Deluge that Feinius established the school in the Plain of Seanair, according to the computation Bellarminus makes in his chronicle, where he says that the age of the world was one thousand eight hundred and fifty-six years when Nion son of Beil began his sovereignty.
This is the same, according to the Hebrew chronology which Bellarminus follows, as to say that the reign of Nion began two hundred years after the Deluge, since according to the Hebrews one thousand six hundred and fifty-six years elapsed from the beginning of the world to the Deluge. Add to this forty-two years of the reign of Nion that had passed before Feinius began the school, and it thus appears that it was two hundred and forty-two years after the Deluge he began it, and that he passed twenty years directing it, namely, the ten years that remained to him of the reign of Nion, and ten years thereafter.
Now after twenty years Feinius returned to Scythia, and established schools there, and appointed Gaedheal son of Eathor to take charge of them. Then did Feinius command Gaedheal to arrange and regulate the Gaelic language as it is into five divisions, that is, Bearla na Feine, Bearla na bhFileadh, Bearla an Eaderscartha, Bearla Teibidhe, and Gnaithbhearla, and to name it precisely from himself; hence it is from Gaedheal son of Eathor it is called Gaelic, and not from Gaedheal Glas, as others assert. Moreover, it was through friendship for Gaedheal son of Eathor that Niul son of Feinius Farsaidh gave the name Gaedheal to the son whom Scota daughter of Pharao Cincris bore him, as Ceannfaolaidh the Learned says in the Uraicheapt.
Now, it is disputed among authors whence is this word Gaedheal. Becanus says that it is from the word goedin, that is, goethin, 'noble', and from the word all, that is, uile, that Gaedheal is named, that is, 'all noble'; or from the Hebrew word gadhal, meaning 'great', because Gaedheal son of Eathor, the first who was called Gaedheal, was great in learning, in wisdom, and in the languages. However, the seanchas say that he is called Gaedheal from the two words gaoith dhil, that is, lover of wisdom; for gaoith means wise and dil loving, as the Greeks call a sage philosophos, that is, 'a lover of wisdom'.
As to Feinius Farsaidh we are not told that he had any children except two sons, namely, Neanul and Niul, as the poet says in this stanza:
- Two sons had Feinius, truth I tell,
Neanul and Niul, the valiant;
Niul was born at the tower in the east,
Neanul in shield-bright Scythia.
When Feinius had been twenty-two years sovereign of Scythia, after his return from the Plain of Seanair, being at the point of death, he bequeathed the sovereignty of Scythia
Before we speak of the journeying of Niul from Scythia to Egypt, we may observe that Herodotus says that it was from Babylon the Greeks derived the knowledge of the position of the north star, and the division of the hours; and Solon asserts that the Greeks had not a knowledge of history until they obtained it from the Egyptians. Josephus says, in the first book of his History, that the Greeks had not an alphabet till the time of Homer. From these authors it appears that it was not from Greece, so named to-day, that Isis or anyone else went to teach the sciences to the Egyptians; but it was Niul, the son of Feinius Farsaidh, who went from Scythia to teach the sciences there. And whoever should say that there was not learning in Scythia, from whence Niul came, earlier than in Egypt, would not be stating truth, according to Polydorus, in the first book he has written, De rerum inventoribus, where he says: There was a long dispute between the Egyptians and the Scythians; and, in that struggle, the Egyptians having been overcome, it appeared that the Scythians were more ancient than they were. {Magna diu inter Aegyptios et Scythas contentio fuit in quo certamine superatis Aegyptis Scythae aniquiores visi sunt.}’’
From this it may be inferred that the Scythians possessed education and learning earlier than the Egyptians, and since, according to the above authors, learning was earlier in Egypt than in Greece, it was not Isis of Greece or any such person who went from Greece to Egypt to conduct schools, but Niul son of Feinius FarsaidhWhen Niul had been a long time conducting the public schools in Scythia, his fame for knowledge and wisdom spread through the nations generally, so that on account of his great reputation Pharao Cincris, king of Egypt, sent envoys to him, inviting him to Egypt to teach the sciences and the various languages to the youths of that country. Niul accordingly proceeded to Egypt, as the poet says in this stanza, which is taken from the poem beginning, Let us relate the origin of the Gaels:
- Tidings reached Forann
With great acclaim
Of Niul son of Feinius knowing
The languages of the world.
Niul then went to Egypt with the envoys of Pharao; and the king gave him the land called Capacyront (or Campus Circit) beside the Red Sea. He also gave his own daughter Scota in marriage to Niul, as Giolla Caomhain says in the poem beginning Gaedheal Glas, from whom are the Gaels:
- He then went into Egypt
And reached the mighty Forann,
And married Scota of charms not few,
The generous, clever daughter of Forann.
When Niul had married Scota, he established schools at Campus Circit for teaching the sciences and the various languages to the youths of Egypt. And it was there that Scota gave birth to Gaedheal son of Niul. Perhaps some one might wonder how Niul, the fifth in descent from Japhet, could be a contemporary of Moses, seeing that seven hundred and ninety-seven years elapsed between the
As to Niul, it was when he was sojourning at Capacyront beside the Red Sea, and when Scota had given birth to Gaedheal, that the children of Israel escaped from Pharao and marched to the shore of the Red Sea, and made an encampment beside Capacyront where Niul dwelt. When Niul heard of this, he went to meet them and discourse with them, and to find out who they were. At the outposts of the host he met Aaron who told him the story of the children of Israel and of Moses and the witness-bearing miracles that God had wrought against Pharao and his army, because of the bondage of the children of Israel. Now Niul and Aaron entered into an alliance and friendship with one another; and Niul inquired of Aaron whether they had food or provisions, and further informed him that whatever corn and means he had would
Now Niul went to his own people after this, and told them that the children of Israel were nigh unto them; and he told them all that had befallen the children of Israel. And that same night a serpent came upon Gaedheal as he was swimming, and wounded him so that he was at the point of death; and others say that it was from the desert it came and wounded him in bed. His people told Niul to take the lad to Moses; and he took Gaedheal into the presence of Moses. Moses prayed to God, and applied the rod he held in his hand to the wound, and thus healed it. And Moses said that, in what place soever the stock of that youth would settle, there no serpent would ever have venom, and this is verified in Crete, an island in Greece, in which some of his posterity are; it is without serpents as Ireland is. And although there were serpents in Ireland up to the coming of Patrick, I do not think they had venom; or I imagine it is the demons that are called serpents in the Life of Patrick.
Some seanchas state that Moses fastened with a lock around the neck of Gaedheal the bracelet that he had on his own arm, and that it was from this he was called Gaedheal Glas. At that time each chieftain wore a bracelet on the arm as a mark of his tribal supremacy; and hence the head of a company is now called a noble fleascach or bracelet-bearer. To set forth that it was from the trail of the serpent that clung to Gaedheals neck that he is called Gaedheal GIas, and to show that it was Moses who healed him, we have the following stanzas:
Others assert that he was called Gaedheal Glas from the grey-blue colour of his arms and armour. Hence someone has composed the following stanza:
- Gaedheal Glas, why was the name given
To that brilliant, perfect man?
The event whence Gaedheal is Glas,
Few are those who know its history;
- While bathed in the strong stream
Gaedheal son of Niul of good disposition,
A serpent bit his skin;
It was not easy to heal it;- The grey-blue mark did not leave him
Till Moses kindly healed it.
What the learned understand from this
Is that thence comes Gaedheal Glas.
And it is from this Gaedheal that all the Gaels are named. Hence the poet composed this stanza:
- Scota bore a son to Niul the modest,
From whom sprang many noble tribes;
Gaedheal Glas was the name of the man,
From the grey-blue colour of his arms and armour.
Others, however, say that the mother of Gaedheal was called Scota because his father was of the Scotic race from Scythia, and that it was their custom to call the women after their husbands. Understand that this is not the Scota who was wife of Galamh, who is called Milidh of Spain, and bore him six sons. For the mother of Gaedheal was daughter to Pharao Cincris; and it was he who held the children of Israel in bondage. But the Pharao whose daughter was wife of Milidh was the fifteenth Pharao after him. He was called Pharao Nectonibus.
- The Feni are named from Feinius,
The meaning is not difficult;
The Gaels from comely Gaedheal Glas,
The Scots from Scota.
Now as to Niul, he told Moses that Pharao Cincris would be angry with himself for having welcomed him. ‘In that case’, said Moses, ‘come along with us; and if we reach the land which God has fore-appointed to us, thou shalt get a share of it; or, if thou wilt, we will deliver
Sixty thousand foot, then, and fifty thousand horse was their number. It was seven hundred and ninety-seven years after the Deluge that Pharao was drowned, as we have stated above. And Niul having seen Pharao and his host drown, remained in the same territory, as he was not afraid after the drowning of Pharao; and his children and progeny grew up until they were able to bear arms. Some time afterwards Niul died; and Gaedheal and his mother took possession of his lands. Thereafter a son was born to Gaedheal in Egypt, namely Easru son of Gaedheal, and some time after that a son was born to him in turn, Sru son of Easru, son of Gaedheal, and these possessed the same lands and dwelt thereon.
- Sixty thousand of them on foot,
Fifty thousand on horseback,
storm of the Red Sea of Romhar
overwhelmed them all at once.
Now, as to the Egyptians, Pharao Intuir assumed sovereignty over them after the drowning of Pharao Cincris. Pharao was a name given to every king who ruled over Egypt from Pharao Cincris who was drowned in the Red Sea to Pharao Nectonibus the fifteenth king after Pharao Cincris.
As to Pharao Intuir and the Egyptians thereafter, when they had become powerful in the country,they remembered their old enmity against the children of Niul and the race of Gaedheal, that is, the friendship into which they had entered with the children of Israel, and Niul's having carried off the fleet of Pharao Cincris on the escape of the children of Israel. They accordingly made war upon the race of Gaedheal and banished them against their will from Egypt. Thomas Walsingham agrees with this account in Upodigma, where he says: When the Egyptians had been drowned, the portion of the inhabitants who lived after them expelled a certain Scythian nobleman who dwelt amongst them, lest he might assume sovereignty over them. When he had been expelled with his tribe, he came to Spain, where he resided many years, and where his progeny multiplied exceedingly, and thence they came to Ireland. {Aegyptius in Mari Rubro submersis, illi qui superfuerunt expulerunt a se quemdam nobilem Scyticum qui degebat apud eos ne dominium super eos invaderet; expulsus ille cum familia pervenit ad Hispanium ubi et habitavit per annos multos et progenies ipsius familiae multae multiplicata est nimis et inde venerunt in Hiberniam.}’’
Know, O reader, that this nobleman was Sru son of Easru, son of Gaedheal, and not Gaedheal himself, notwithstanding Hector Boetius, and notwithstanding also the opinion of the modern English authors who have written on Ireland, and who imagine that it was Gaedheal himself who came to Spain. Because, according to the truth of the seanchus of Ireland, which one should believe in this matter, it was in Egypt that Scota daughter of Pharao Cincris gave birth to Gaedheal, and it was there that he lived till his death; and he did not come from Greece, as others assert, but his father, who was called Niul, came from Scythia. And although the author whom we have quoted states that it was to Spain the nobleman to
- Sru son of Easru son of Gaedheal,
Our ancestor of the joyous host,
It was he who went northwards from his house
Over the Red Sea of Romhar.- Four shipfuls were his host
Upon the Red Sea of Romhar;
Found room in each wooden dwelling, as was right,
Four and twenty wedded couples.
Know, as we have said, that it was Sru son of Easru who headed this expedition till they reached the Island of Crete where he died, and that his son Eibhear Scot assumed the supreme authority till they arrived in Scythia. It is for this reason that a certain author says that Eibhear Scot was their leader in this expedition, and that it was from his cognomen, namely, Scot, that the Gaels are called the Scotic race. For, according to a certain author, Scot means archer, and there was in his time no bowman superior to him; and from this cognomen given him the name was given to his posterity; and they practised the bow as a weapon in imitation of the ancients down to a recent period within our own memory. However, we shall not adopt the view of this author, since it is the common opinion of the seanchas that the race of the Gaels were called the Scotic race from their having come originally from Scythia.
Understand, O reader, that Gaedheal was a contemporary of Moses, and that accordingly he was fourscore years of age when Pharao was drowned, and that the fourth in descent from himself, namely, Eibhear Scot son of Easru, son of
- Forty and four hundred
Years, it is not a falsehood,
From the going of the people of God, I assure you,
Over the surface of the sea of Romhar
Till sped across the sea of Meann
The sons of Milidh to the land of Erin.
However, according to the computation made by the Book of Invasions, there were only three hundred years less by seventeen from the time that Moses assumed the leadership of the children of Israel in Egypt until the coming of the sons of Milidh to Ireland. For Moses assumed the leadership of the children of Israel in Egypt seven hundred and ninety-seven years after the Deluge; and according to the time Irish history allows to the Invasions of Ireland, it was one thousand and eighty years after the Deluge that the sons of Milidh took possession of Ireland. Thus the Book of Invasions states that it was, three hundred years after the Deluge that Parthalon came, and that his descendants remained in possession of Ireland three hundred years, and that Ireland remained a waste for thirty years, till the descendants of Neimhidh arrived there, and that these descendants ruled Ireland two hundred and seventeen years, and that the Firbolg held the sovereignty thirty-six years, and the Tuatha De Danann two hundred years less by three; and, adding all these together, they make a total of one thousand and eighty years from the Deluge to the coming of the sons of Milidh to Ireland. And if this number be taken in connexion with the seven hundred and ninety-seven years that elapsed from the Deluge to the leadership of Moses over the children of Israel,
Some seanchas state that the route taken by Sru son of Easru and his followers was through the Red Sea and south-eastward through the ocean, having Taprobana on their right, and Asia on their left to the east, and then turning northwards, having it still on the left, and thence to the extremity of Sliabh Rife, in the north-west part of Asia, and southward through the strait that separates Europe and Asia, and thence to Scythia. However, this was not the route Sru took as he proceeded from Egypt to Scythia with the crews of four ships, and each ship containing thirty men; but from the mouth of the Nile through the Torrian Sea to Crete, which is now called Candia, where he dwelt for a time, and where he died, and where he left succeeding generations of his descendants; and hence, according to the authors of our records there are no serpents in Crete as there are none in Ireland. And thence they proceeded to Scythia, with Eibhear Scot for their leader; and whoever should state that it was not possible to go from Egypt to Scythia by ship or vessel, considering how Scythia was bounded at that time, would not be stating a fact, since it is plain from every writer who has treated of geography that the river called Tanais flows into the Mediterranean Sea, and that that sea extends to Egypt, where the river Nile is; and according to the limits of Scythia at that time the river Tanais is reckoned among the rivers of Scythia, according to Herodotus, an ancient author of weight, in the fourth book, where he says: The river Tanais, which separates Asia from Europe, is reckoned among the rivers of the Scythians. {Tanais fluvius dividens Asiam ab Europa enumeratur inter flumina quae apud Scitas sunt}’’
And when they had arrived in Scythia, war and strife arose between themselves and their kinsmen, namely,
- Reafloir and Aghnon without fault
Were seven years contending for mastery,
Till Reafloir fell with glory
By the successful hand of Aghnon.
Now, as to the children of Reafloir son of Rifill, he had two sons, to wit, Neanul and Rifill, and they collected an army against the descendants of Gaedheal, to banish them completely from the country; and the descendants of Gaedheal came together, and left the country in a body, going through the land of the Breast-Seared, who are called Amazons, to the border of the Caspian Sea. There they took ship and went on sea, and landed on an island in the Caspian Sea, where they remained a year; and their leaders in that expedition were Aghnon and Eibhear, two sons of Tat son of Aghnaman, son of Beodhaman, son of Eibhear Scot, son of Sru, son of Easru, son of Gaedheal.
Aghnon had three sons with him on that expedition, namely, Ealloit, Laimhfhionn, and Lamhghlas. Eibhear son of Tat had two sons, namely Caicher and Cing. And Aghnon died on that island. And at the end of a year they all quitted the island, the crews of three ships, there being sixty in each ship, and every third man having a wife with him. They had six leaders in that expedition; and they made for the strait that leads westward from the Caspian Sea to the narrow sea that comes in from the northern ocean; and when they reached that sea, a storm
- The race of skilful, beloved Gaedheal
Were thirty years in that land;
Some of their tribe remain there ever since
Until the end of the world.
Other seanchas are of opinion that the race of Gaedheal dwelt in Gothia a hundred and fifty years; and this is the most probable opinion. For it is plain that the race of Gaedheal spent eight generations in Gothia, namely, from Eibhear Gluinfhionn to Bratha. These generations are as follows: Bratha son of Deaghaidh, son of Earchaidh, son of Ealloit, son of Nuadha, son of Neanul, son of Eibric, son of Eibhear Gluinfhionn, who was born in Gothia itself son of Laimhfhionn, the first leader of the race of Gaedheal that came into that country; and since so many generations could not come
Other seanchas assert that it was three hundred years the race of Gaedheal dwelt in Gothia. But this cannot be true, since, according to the times of the Invasions, as we have said above, there were not three hundred years in full from the time Pharao was drowned in the Red Sea until the coming of the sons of Milidh to Ireland. Hence this opinion cannot be true, since within that period the race of Gaedheal went through the whole of their wanderings from Egypt to Crete, and from Crete to Scythia, and from Scythia to Gothia, from Gothia to Spain, from Spain to Scythia, and from Scythia to Egypt, and from Egypt to Thrace, from Thrace to Gothia, and from Gothia to Spain, and from Spain to Ireland.
Now Bratha son of Deaghaidh, the eighth in descent from Eibhear Gluinfhionn, proceeded from Gothia by Crete and Sicily, having Europe on the right, to Spain, there being with him the crews of four ships, as Giolla Caomhain says in this stanza:
From Bratha Braganza in Portugal is named, where lies the duchy of Braganza. Here are the four leaders that came with Bratha to Spain on that expedition: Oige and Uige, two sons of Ealloit son of Neanul, Manntan and Caicher. There were fourteen wedded couples and six servants in each of the ships; and they routed the natives thrice, after they had come to land, that is, the race of Tubal son of Japhet. However, a one-day's plague came afterwards upon the followers of the son of Ealloit; and they died all but ten. But after this they increased; and Breoghan son of Bratha was born.
- Bratha son of Deaghaidh the beloved
Came to Crete to Sicily;
The crews of four well-rigged ships safely came,
Having Europe on the right, to Spain.
The general chronicle of Spain, which was written by a French gentleman called Lobhaois, as we read in Edward Grimston, page 3, says that the first king who obtained sovereignty over all Spain was a person called Brigus, who built many castles; and it is he who, in the Book of Invasions, is called Breoghan, the grandfather of Milidh of Spain; and it is from him the Brigantes are so called; and, according to the same chronicle, it is from him that the country now called Castile was given the name Brigia in olden times; and a castle was the emblem on his shield, as is the case with the king of Spain now.
It was this Breoghan, too, who defeated Spain in many battles; and it was he who finished or built Brigansia near Corunna, and the tower of Breoghan in Corunna itself. Whence Giolla Caomhain composed this stanza:
- Many contests and battles
Over the proud host of Spain
Won Breoghan of conflicts and strifes,
Who built Brigansia.
This Breoghan had ten sons, namely, Breogha, Fuad, Muirtheimhne, Cuailgne, Cuala, Bladh, Eibhle, Nar, Ioth, and Bile. And hereupon the same author composed this stanza:
Now Galamh, who is called Milidh of Spain, was a son of the Bile here mentioned; and although Bile be the last-named of the sons of Breoghan in the stanza given above, the authors of our records assert that he was the eldest of Breoghan's sons.
- The ten sons of Breoghan without faltering;
Breogha, Fuad, and Muirtheimhne,
Cuailgne, Cuala, noble Bladh,
Eibhle, Nar, Ioth, and Bile.
And when the race of Breoghan had multiplied and had conquered the greater part of Spain, a mighty son of renowned deeds called Galamh was born to Bile son of Breoghan; and it is he who is named Milidh of Spain; and he was seized by a desire to go to Scythia with a fleetful of the young men of Spain to visit his kinsmen and to serve under them. Having resolved on this undertaking, he equipped thirty ships, placing in them their complement of warriors, launched on the Torrian Sea, and proceeded directly northeastward to Sicily and to Crete, until he reached Scythia; and when he had landed there, he sent word to Reafloir son of Neomann, who was king of Scythia at that time; and this Reafloir son of Neomann was of the race of Reafloir son of Rifill, whom we have mentioned above. Now when Milidh
And when Milidh had passed some time in Scythia, he had much success against rebels and plunderers in that country, so that the inhabitants loved him greatly. When Reafloir the king perceived this, he grew afraid lest Milidh should oppose him and deprive him of the kingdom of Scythia; and accordingly he conspired to kill him, notwith-standing that he was his son-in-law. And when Milidh heard this, he sought an opportunity and killed Reafloir the king; and he then assembled and brought together his own followers and put to sea with the crews of threescore ships, and proceeded by direct route through the Torrian Sea till he reached the mouth of the Nile; and when he had landed there, he sent messengers to Pharao Nectonibus, informing him that he had arrived in the country; and that king sent messengers to Milidh; and when the latter came into his presence, he bade him welcome, and gave territory in that country to himself and his followers to abide in. This expedition of Milidh from Scythia to Egypt is related by Giolla Caomhain in this stanza:
- Milidh, whose progeny was good,
Slew Reafloir, who was not weak;
Hastily did he fly from yon land
To the river Nile, where he obtained territory.
Understand, O reader, that the two sons whom Seang daughter of Reafloir bore to Mileadh, that is, Donn and Airioch Feabhruadh, were with him on his voyage to Egypt, their mother having died in Scythia.
At this time a great war took place between king Pharao and the king of Aethiopia. Pharao, when he had satisfied himself as to the valour and prowess of Milidh, made him commander of his army to
As for Milidh, he bethought him that Caicher the Druid had foretold, long before, to his ancestor Laimhfhionn, that it was in Ireland his descendants would obtain permanent sovereignty; and accordingly he fitted out sixty ships, putting the full number of warriors into them, and bade farewell to Pharao. Thereupon, he proceeded from the mouth of the river Nile through the Torrian Sea till he landed on an island close to Thrace, which is called Irena; and it was here that Ir son of Milidh was born. Thence he proceeded to an island called Gothia, which lies in the channel leading to the northern ocean; and he dwelt there for some time, and it was there that Scota bore him a son called Colpa of the Sword. Thence they proceeded into the narrow sea which separates Asia from Europe on the north, and continued in a westerly direction, having Europe on the left, till they came to Cruithentuaith, which is called Alba. They plundered the coasts of that country, and afterwards proceeded, having Great Britain on their right, and reached the mouth of the river Rhine, and continued in a south-westerly direction, having France on the left, and after that they landed in Biscay.
Now, when they had arrived in that country, Milidh's kinsmen came to bid him welcome; and they informed him
Twenty-four of these were born to him in concubinage before he set out from Spain for Scythia, and the other eight were borne to him by the two wives he had in succession, namely, Seang daughter of Reafloir, prince of Scythia, who gave birth to two of them in Scythia, namely Donn and Aerioch Feabhruadh, and Scota, the daughter of Pharao Nectonibus, who gave birth to the remaining six of them, to wit, two in Egypt, Eibhear Fionn and Aimhirgin, Ir on the Thracian Sea, Colpa of the Sword in Gothia, Arannan and Eireamhon in Galicia, as Conaing the poet says in the following historical poem:
- Thirty sons and two sons
Had Milidh of bright hands;
There came of these, we are certain,
Only a single eight to Ireland.
- Eight sons of Galamh of the shouts,
Who was called Milidh of Spain,
They hewed down a thousand fields;
In what countries were they born?- Airioch Feabhruadh and Donn of conflicts
Were born in Scythia;
There were born in stream-filled Egypt
Eibhear Fionn and Aimhirgin;
- Ir, no warrior was greater,
Was born beside Thrace;
Colpa of the Sword was born
In Colpa's Glen in Gaothlaidhe;- There were born at Breoghan's tower without grief
Arannan and Eireamhon,
The two youngest of the faultless warriors;
The Son of God subdued their strength.Eight.
When the race of Breoghan son of Bratha had increased, they were strong and numerous in Spain; and because of the Greatness of their exploits, they resolved to extend their sway in other directions. They had another motive also. For, at that time, there was a scarcity of food in Spain for the space oftwenty-six years, on account of the great drought that existed during that period, and also because of the many conflicts that took place between them and theGoths, and the other foreign races, with whom they were contending for the mastery of Spain. They accordingly took counsel together as to what country they should explore, and who should be sent to explore it. What they resolved on was, to elect Ioth son of Breoghan, son of Bratha, who was a valiant man, and also wise and learned in the sciences, for the purpose of exploring the island of Ireland. And the place where they adopted this counsel was at the tower of Breoghan in Galicia.
It was in this manner that they sent Ioth to Ireland, and not, as others assert, that he had seen it in the clouds of heaven on a winter's night from the summit of the tower of Breoghan. For there had been familiarity and intercourse before then between Ireland and Spain since the time when Eochaidh son of Earc, the last king of the Fir Bolg, took Taillte daughter of Maghmhor, king of Spain, to wife. They thus had been in the habit of trading with one another, and of exchanging their wares and valuables, so that the Spaniards were familiar with Ireland, and the Irish had a knowledge of Spain before Ioth son of Breoghan was born. Hence it was not from a view obtained in a single night from the summit of the tower of Breoghan that Ioth, or the children of Breoghan, acquired a knowledge of Ireland, but from there having been intercourse for a long time previously between Spain and Ireland.
Now, Ioth equipped a ship and manned it with thrice fifty chosen warriors, and put out to sea until they reached the northern part of Ireland, and put into port at Breantracht Mhaighe Iotha. And when Ioth landed there, he sacrificed to Neptune, the god of the sea, and the demons gave him bad omens. Thereupon, a company of the natives came and spoke with him in Scoitbhearla, that is, in Gaelic; and he replied to them in the same tongue, and said that it was from Magog he himself was descended, as they were, and that Scoitbhearla was his native language as it was theirs. Taking their cue from this passage in the Book of Invasions, the seanchas state that Scoitbhearla, which is called Gaelic, was the mother tongue of Neimhidh and his tribe, and therefore also of the Fir Bolg and the Tuatha De Danann. For this may be believed from what we have stated above, that it was Gaedheal son of Eathor, at the command of Feinius Farsaidh, king of Scythia, who regulated and set in order the Scoitbhearla; and it is from this Gaedheal that it was called Gaelic as we have said above.
Now, this Gaedheal had been teaching the public schools in Scythia before Neimhidh proceeded from Scythia on an expedition to Ireland; and since Scoitbhearla was the common tongue of Scythia when Neimhidh set out from that country,according to the seanchas, the Scoitbhearla must have been the mother tongue of Neimhidh and of his followers when they came to Ireland, and accordingly of every colony sprung from him or from his descendants who came to Ireland, not to mention the descendants of Milidh, whose native language was the Scoitbhearla from the time that Niul left Scythia to the present time. Richard Creagh, primate of Ireland, supports this view in the book he has written on the origin of Gaelic and of the race of Gaedheal. He speaks as follows: The Gaelic speech, (he says,) has been in common use in Ireland from the coming of Neimidh, six hundred and thirty years after the Deluge, to this day. {Gaelica locutio est in usu in Hibernia ab adventu Nemedii anno 630 a Diluvio in hunc usque diem.}’’
From what we have said, it is not improbableAs to Ioth, he proceeded to ask them the name of the country and who held the sovereignty of it at that time. The company he had first fallen in with explained that the name of the country was Inis Ealga, and that the three sons of Cearmad Milbheoil son of the Daghaidh held the sovereignty of it yearly, in succession, as we have said above, that they were at that time at Oileach Neid, in the north of Ulster, contending with one another about the valuables of their ancestors. Upon hearing this, Ioth set out with two-thirds of the company who had come with him in the ship, the full number manning the ship being thrice fifty warriors. And when he had come into the presence of the sons of Cearmad, they bade him welcome, and made known to him the cause of their contention. He, on his part, informed them that it was through stress of weather at sea he had landed in the country, and that he did not intend to dwell there, but to return to his own country. But as they deemed Ioth a learned man, they chose him as a judge in the dispute that was between them, and his decision was that the valuables be divided into three equal parts between them; and he thereupon proceeded to praise Ireland, and said it was wrong for them to dispute with one another, seeing that the island so abounded in honey, in fruit, in fish, and in milk, in grain and corn, and that the climate was so temperate as regards heat and cold. He further said that, if a tripartite division were made of the country between them, it would be sufficient for them all. Ioth then took his leave of them, and with his hundred warriors set out for his ship.
As to the sons of Cearmad, they observed how highly Ioth had praised Ireland; and they believed that, were he to reach his own country, he would return with a large host to conquer Ireland; and they resolved to send the son of Coll with thrice fifty warriors in pursuit of him. These overtook him, and Ioth placed himself in the
Hector Boetius, in the third chapter of the History of Scotland, states that Eibhear and Eireamhon were sons of Gaedheal. Now this cannot be true, since, according to Cormac son of Cuileannan in his chronicle, Gaedheal was a contemporary of Moses; and he says, moreover, according to the Book of Invasions, that it was two hundred and eighty-three years after the drowning of Pharao that the sons of Milidh came to Ireland, and therefore Gaedheal could not have been the father of Eibhear or of Eireamhon. It is plain also, according to Cormac, in the enumeration of the generations he has made from Galamh, called Milidh of Spain, who was father of Eibhear and of Eireamhon, to Noe, that it was not Gaedheal who was their father. Here is the pedigree to Noe, according to Cormac: Galamh son of Bile, son of Breoghan, son of Bratha, son of Deaghaidh, son of Earchaidh, son of Ealloit, son of Nuadha, son of Neanul, son of Eibric Glas, son of Eibhear Gluinfhionn, son of Laimhfionn, son of Aghnon, son of Tat, son of Ogaman, son of Beodhaman, son of Eibhear Scot, son of Sru, son of Easru, son of Gaedheal Glas, son of Niul, son of Feinius Farsaidh, son of Baath, son of Magog, son of Japhet, son of Noe.
Whoever reads the History of Hector Boetius would imagine that he is of opinion that the Gaels of Alba sprang from a different Gaedheal from the Gaedheal whence the Irish sprang. However, I am content with the opinion of a reputable Scotch author, Johannes Major, who asserts that it is from the Gaels of Ireland the Gaels of Alba sprang. He speaks in these terms: For this reason, I assert, (says he,) that whatever stock the Irish be from, the Albanians are from the same stock. {Dico ergo a quibuscunque Hibernici originem duxere ab iisdem Scoti exordium capiunt.}’’
Beda agrees with this view in the first chapter of the first book of the History of the Church of Sacsa, where he says: In the course of time, (says he,) Britain received, after the Britons and the Picts, a third race in the portion or division of the Picts, a race that came from Ireland together with their chief Rheada, who seized on a settlement for themselves among the Picts by friendship or with arms, which they retain to the present time. {Procedente autem tempore Britannia post Britones et Pictos tertiam Scotorum nationem in Pictorum parte recepit qui duce Rheada de Hibernia egressi vel amicitia vel ferro sibimet inter eos sedes quas hactenus habent vindicarunt.}’’From this it is to be inferred, in accordance with Beda, that it was from Ireland the Scotic race, together with their chief Rheada, went to Scotland, and that their descendants are there to this day, and that it is they who are called Scots. Humphredus, a Welsh author, speaks thus: The Scots themselves, and all besides, know well that they are the descendants of the Irish; and our countrymen (that is, the Welsh) call them by the same name, that is, Gaels. {Scotos Hibernorum proles et ipsi et omnes optime norunt eodemque nomine a nostratibus scilicet Gaidhil appellantur.}’’
Moreover, Cambrensis, in the sixteenth chapter of the third distinction of the book he has written describing Ireland, points out that it was when Niall Naoighiallach held the sovereignty of Ireland that the six sons of Muiredhach, king of Ulster, went to Alba, that they acquired power and supremacy there, and that it was at this time that the name Scotia was first given to Alba, and that it is from these sons of the king of Ulster that the Albanians are called the Scotic race. Of these sons he speaks as follows:According to what we have said the two opinions advanced by Hector Boetius in the History of Scotland are false: the first in which he imagines that Gaedheal was the father of the children of Milidh; and the second in which he thinks that the Gaedheal from whom the Gaelic race of Alba are descended was a different person from the Gaedheal from whom sprang the sons of Milidh who conquered Ireland.
Buchanan, a Scotch author, in the History of Scotland which he has written, asserts that it was from France the sons of Milidh came to Ireland; and he advances, as he thinks, three reasons for this. The first of these reasons is that in which he says that France was so populous that the portion of it called Gallia Lugdunensis could supply three hundred thousand fighting men, and hence that it is likely that she sent out surplus forces to occupy other countries, and that accordingly she sent forth a company to occupy Ireland, namely, the tribe of Gaedheal. My reply to this reason is, that this author did not know when the sons of Milidh came to Ireland, and accordingly did not know whether France was populous or waste when the sons of Milidh came to Ireland. Moreover, granted that France was as populous as he represents it to have been when the sons of Milidh came to Ireland, it does not necessarily follow from this that it was from France the sons of Milidh came. For why should France be populous at that time rather than Spain, whence the sons of Milidh came? It thus appears how trifling is this reason that Buchanan advances to prove that it was from France that the sons of Milidh originally came.
The second silly argument he gives for supposing that it was from France the sons of Milidh came to Ireland is, that certain French and Irish words are identical, such as dris
It is probable that this island whence the druids went to France was the island of Ireland, since Ireland was the fountain of druidism for western Europe at that time, and that accordingly Gaelic was the language of these druids. Or if it was from Manainn they went thither, it is well known that Gaelic was the mother-tongue there, according to Ortelius, who, treating of Manainn, says: They use, (he says,) the Scotic language, or Gaelic, which is the same. {Lingua Scotia, seu Hibernica quae est, utuntur.}’’
Accordingly it is probable that, when these druids were teaching in France, the youth of France, from their intercourse with the druids, caught up a certain number of Irish words, and that these have ever since been in use in the French language; and, moreover, Camden states in the book called Britannia Camdeni, that the druids taught in their schools more from oral tradition than from writing.
Another reason why it should not seem strange that Irish words should be embodied in French is, the great intercourse that existed between the Irish and the French. For the Book of Invasions says that the wife of Ughaine Mor, high king of Ireland, was a daughter of the king of the French, and this Ughaine went to conquer France. In like manner another high king of Ireland, Niall Naoighiallach, a long time after Ughaine, went to conquer France, and was slain at the river Leor, in France, by Eochaidh son of Eanna Cinnsealach, king of Leinster. Criomhthann son of Fiodhach, king of Ireland, went to France before Niall. Another high king of Ireland also, whose name was Dathi son of Fiachraidh, went on an expedition of conquest to France; but he was slain by lightning in the east of France, beside the Alp mountains. Similarly, Cornelius Tacitus says that commercial
False again is the third argument that Buchanan gives in which he says that the manners and customs of the French and of the Irish are the same. Now, whoever reads Joannes Bohemus, in the book which he has written on the manners and customs of all nations, will find plainly there that neither the manners nor the customs of the French and the Irish are the same at present, nor were they the same in the distant past. Accordingly false is the third reason he alleges as a proof that the race of Gaedheal came first to Ireland from France.
Some modern English writers treating of Ireland state that it was from Great Britain that the sons of Milidh first came, and their reason for that view is, that there are many words identical in Irish and Welsh. My reply to this reason is, that it is not a proof of the race of Gaedheal having first come from Great Britain. There are two reasons for this. The first reason is, that Gaelic was the mother tongue of Briotan son of Fearghus Leithdhearg, son of Neimhidh, and that it was from him Britain was called Britannia, according to Cormac son of Cuileannan and the Books of Invasion of Ireland, and that it was in Britain he and his descendants after him dwelt; that Eireamhon son of Milidh sent the Cruithnigh, who are called Picts, to share Alba with them; and that Brutus son of Silvias, if we may believe some of their own chronicles, invaded them, and after him the Romans, and then the Saxons and the Lochlonnaigh, and finally William the Conqueror and the French, so that they suffered so much oppression from foreigners that it was not
The second reason why it is not strange that many words are the same in Irish and in Welsh, without supposing the sons of Milidh to have come to Ireland from Britain, is that Ireland was a place of refuge for Britons whenever they suffered persecution from the Romans or the Saxons, or from any other races that oppressed them, so that large companies of them, with their families and followers, and with their wealth, used to fly for refuge to Ireland; and the Irish nobles used to give them land during their stay; and the children, they had during their time of exile used to learn Irish, and there are townlands in Ireland named from them, as Graig na mBreathnach, Baile na mBreathnach, Dun na mBreathnach, etc.; and after they returned to Britain they themselves, and their descendants after them, had many Irish words in constant use. From what we have said, it is not necessarily to be inferred that it was from Britain the sons of Milidh first came, notwithstanding that there are some words identical in Welsh and in Irish. Furthermore, if anyone were to say that the Welsh and the Irish are alike in their manners and customs, since as the Irishman is hospitable in bestowing food without payment so is the Welshman; as, moreover, the Irishman loves seanchas, poets and bards and harpplayers, the Welshman has a similar love, for these classes, and in the same way they resemble one another in several other customs; this is not a proof that the Gaels came from Britain, but is rather a proof that the Welsh were familiar with Ireland, as we have said above; and hence it is not to be inferred from the forementioned reasons that it was from Great Britain the sons of Milidh first came. It may, however, be stated with truth that a company of the race of Breoghan
The following are the names of those sons of Breoghan who came with the sons of Milidh to Ireland, namely, Breagha, Fuad, Muirtheimhne, Cuailgne, Cuala, Eibhle, Bladh, and Nar. It is precisely from the progeny of these, according to the records of Ireland, that the race called Brigantes are descended; and the truth of this should be the more readily admitted, as Thomasius, in the Latin Dictionary which he has written, says that the Brigantes, that is, the descendants of Breoghan, were an Irish tribe.
A Spanish author named Florianus del Campo, agreeing with the Irish records, says that the Brigantes were Spanish by origin, and that it was from Spain they came to Ireland, and from Ireland they went to Britain.
All that we have stated concerning the intercourse of the Britons with the Irish, and Ireland's being a place of refuge for the Britons, is the more probable, because Caradocus, a Welsh author, in his chronicle, and Albion in his chronicle, and many other Welsh authors, state that many British princes and nobles, with their families and followers, used to come to Ireland, where they were received and kindly entertained, and where they got land to settle down in, as we have said above. Moreover, Doctor Hanmer, in his chronicle, makes special mention of some of them. In the first place, he says that a king of Wales named Cadualin was banished to Ireland by Edwin son of Athelfred in the year of the Lord 635, and that he was kindly received there, and got a reinforcement for his army, by means of which he recovered his own kingdom. He also states that two princes from Britain, namely, Haralt and Conan, came to Ireland in the year of the Lord 1050, and that they were received and even treated in a friendly manner and protected by the Irish. He says likewise that Allgor, Earl of Chester, fled from Britain
In Hanmer's chronicle, also, we read that Arnulfus, Earl of Pembroke, married the daughter of Muircheartach O'Brien, King of Ireland, in the year of the Lord 1101. And his second daughter was married to Maghnus son of Aralt, king of the Isles. Moreover, when Henry the First was on the throne of England, there was a prince over Wales whose name was Griffin ap Conan, who used often boast that his mother was an Irishwoman, and also his grandmother, and that it was in Ireland he was born and educated in politeness. According to the same author there was also another prince of Wales in the time of Henry the Second, whose name was Biradus son of Guineth, who had an Irishwoman for his mother. In this manner there used to be much intercourse of friendship and of alliance between the Irish and Welsh, so that therefore it is not to be wondered at that there are many words common to their languages, and that they resemble one another in their manners and customs, without supposing that the Gaels ever came originally from Britain.
Camden says, in like manner, that the Brigantes settled in the following territories of Great Britain, to wit, the district of York, the district of Lancaster, the district of Durham, the district of Westmoreland, and the district of Cumberland; and it is not strange, from what we have said, that the Welsh and the Irish should resemble one another in their manners and customs, and that there should be many words common to both their languages without supposing the sons of Milidh to have ever come from Britain originally, notwithstanding Camden, who says that it was from Britain
Cambrensis, writing of Ireland, says that it was by permission of the King of Great Britain that the sons of Milidh came from Biscay, and that, moreover, it was at his inducement they came after him to the Orcades, and that he sent a company with them to Ireland so that they might settle down there on condition that themselves and their descendants should be subject to him and to the kings of Great Britain for ever; and Cambrensis gives the king's name as Gorguntius son of Beilin. In the same way my reply to Cambrensis is, that it is plain that his statement is false. For, whoever will read Stowe's Chronicle will plainly find that there is little more than three hundred years from the reign of that Gorguntius over Great Britain till the coming of Julius Caesar to conquer it, the eighth year of the reign of Cassibellanus over Great Britain; and we read in the same author that they were only about forty-two years from Julius Caesar to the birth of Christ, so that, according to the computation of Stowe, there were not four hundred years in full from the time of Gorguntius to the birth of Christ. Now Cormac son of Cuileannan and the Books of Invasion of Ireland state that it was about thirteen hundred years before the birth of Christ that the sons of Milidh came to Ireland. And the Polychronicon agrees with them in the same computation where it treats of Ireland. It thus speaks: There are, (it says,) one thousand eight hundred years from the arrival of the Irish to the death of Patrick. {Ab adventu Ibernensium usque ad obitum Sancti Patricii sunt anni mille octigenti.}’’
This is equivalent to saying that it was about thirteen hundred years before Christ that the sons of Milidh came to Ireland. For deduct the four hundred and ninety-two years from the birth of Christ to theWhen the sons of Milidh and all the descendants of Breoghan heard that the children of Cearmad had murdered Ioth son of Breoghan and his followers, and when they saw his body mangled and lifeless, they resolved to come to Ireland to avenge him on the children of Cearmad, and they assembled an army to come to Ireland to wrest that country from the Tuatha De Danann in retribution for the deed of treachery they had done against Ioth son of Breoghan and his followers. Some seanchas assert that it was from Biscay the sons of Milidh went to Ireland from the place which is called Mondaca beside the river-mouth of Verindo; and their reason for this opinion is that Milidh was king of Biscay after he had been banished by the violence of many foreign tribes from the very heart of Spain to Biscay, where there were many woods, hills, and fastnesses protecting Biscay from the fury of foreign races. This, however, is not the general opinion of the seanchas. What they assert is that it was from the tower of Breoghan in Galicia they came to Ireland, and this is the view I regard as the most probable. For we read in the Book of Invasions that it was at Breoghan's tower they resolved on sending Ioth son of Breoghan to explore Ireland, and that it was to it Lughaidh son of Ioth came when he returned from Ireland, and showed his father's dead body to the sons of Milidh and to the sons of Breoghan; and accordingly I believe that it was from the same place they proceeded to Ireland very soon after the death of Milidh. And it was because of the death of Milidh that Scota came to Ireland with her children, Spain being at that time a bone of contention between the tribes who inhabited Spain itself and the numerous foreign tribes who came from the north of Europe to overcome them.
As to the sons of Milidh, they got together an army to come to Ireland and avenge Ioth on the Tuatha De Danann and on the children of Cearmad, and to wrest Ireland from them; and the full number of leaders they had to rule the warriors was forty, as we read in the poem composed by Eochaidh O'Floinn, beginning, The Leaders of those oversea ships:
- The leaders of those over-sea ships
In which the sons of Milidh came,
I shall remember all my life
Their names and their fates:- Eibhle, Fuad, Breagba, excellent Bladh,
Lughaidh, Muirtheimhne from the lake,
Buas, Breas, Buaidhne of great vigour,
Donn, Ir, Eibhear, Eireamhon,- Aimhirgin, Colpa without annoyance,
Eibhear, Airioch, Arannan,
Cuala, Cuailgne, and generous Nar,
Muimhne, Luighne, and Laighne,- Fulman, Manntan, gentle Bile,
Er, Orba, Fearon, Feirghein,
En, Uu, Eatan Goistean bright,
Seadgha, Sobhairce, Suirghe,- Palap son of noble Eireamhon,
And Caicher son of Manntan,
To avenge Ioth of the steeds—
Ten and thirty leaders.The leaders.
Their fleet was thirty ships in all, with thirty warriors in each of the ships, besides their women and camp-followers. The following are their names: Breagha son of Breoghan, from whom Magh Breagh in Meath is called; Cuala son of Breoghan, from whom Sliabh Cuala is called; Cuailgne son of Breoghan, from whom Sliabh Cuailgne is called; Fuad son of Breoghan, from whom Sliabh Fuaid is called; Muirtheimhne son of Breoghan, from whom Magh Muirtheimhne is called; Lughaidh son of Ioth, who came to Ireland to avenge his
As regards the descendants of Milidh and their fleet there is no account of them until they put into port at Innbhear Slainghe in the lower part of Leinster, which place is called the harbour of Loch Garman to-day. The Tuatha De Danann assembled and congregated round them, and spread a magic mist above them, so that they imagined that the island in front of them was a hog's back, and hence Ireland is called Muicinis. Accordingly, the Tuatha De Danann, by means of magic, drove the sons of Milidh out from the land, and so they went round Ireland and put into port at Innbhear Sceine in West Munster; and when they had landed, they proceeded to Sliabh Mis, where they met Banbha with her women and her druids. Aimhirgin asked her her name. ‘Banbha is my name,’ said she; ‘and it is from me that this island is called Inis Banbha.’ Then they proceeded to Sliabh Eibhlinne where they met Fodla, and Aimhirgin asked her her name. ‘Fodla is my name,’ said she; ‘and it is from me that this land is
These three queens were the wives of the three sons of Cearmad, and some seanchas say that there was no division of Ireland into three equal parts among the sons of Cearmad, but that each of the sons held it for a year in turn; and the name the country bore each year was the name of the wife of him who held the sovereignty that year. Here is a proof of this alternation of sovereignty:
- Banbha on Sliabh Mis, with hosts
Faint and wearied;
Fodla on Sliabh Eibhlinne, with groanings;
Eire on Uisneach.
- Every year by turns
The chiefs held the kingdom;
Eire, Fodla, and Banbha,
The three wives of the very strong warriors.
The sons of Milidh proceeded thence to Tara, where they met the three sons of Cearmad, to wit, Eathur, Ceathur, Teathur, with their magic host; and the sons of Milidh demanded battle or a right to the sovereignty of the country from the sons of Cearmad, and these replied that they would act towards them according to the judgment of Aimhirgin, their own brother, and that if he delivered an unjust judgment against them, they would kill him by magic. The judgment Aimhirgin gave regarding his brothers and their host was that they should return to Innbhear Sceine, and that they should embark with all their host and go out the distance of nine waves on the high sea, and if they succeeded in coming to land again in spite of
As to the sons of Milidh, they returned to Innbhear Sceine, and went out on the high sea, the space of nine waves, as Aimhirgin directed them. When the druids of the Tuatha De Danann saw them on the sea, they raised a terrific magic wind which caused a great storm at sea; and Donn son of Milidh said that it was a druidical wind. ‘So it is,’ said Aimhirgin. Thereupon Arannan, the youngest of the sons of Milidh, climbed the mainmast, and, by reason of gust of wind, he fell to the ship's deck, and thus was killed. And forthwith the rocking of the tempest separated from the rest the ship in which Donn was, and soon after he was himself drowned, and the ships crew along with him, twenty-four warriors in all, and five leaders, to wit, Bile son of Brighe, Airioch Feabhruadh, Buan, Breas, and Buaidhne, with twelve women and four servants, eight oarsmen, and fifty youths in fosterage; and the place where they were drowned is Dumhacha, which is called Teach Duinn, in west Munster. And it is from Donn son of Milidh, who was drowned there, that it is called Teach Duinn. And it is the death of Donn and of those nobles who were drowned with him that Eochaidh O'Floinn narrates in the poem beginning, The leaders of those over-sea ships. Thus does he speak:
The ship in which was Ir son of Milidh was also separated from the fleet by the storm; and it was driven ashore in
- Donn and Bile and Buan, his wife,
Dil and Airioch son of Milidh,
Buas, Breas, and Buaidhne, the renowned,
Were drowned at Dumhacha.
Eireamhon, accompanied by a division of the fleet, proceeded, having Ireland on the left, to the mouth of Innbhear Colpa, which is called Droichead Atha. Now, the river is called Innbhear Colpa, from Colpa of the Sword, son of Milidh, having been drowned there as he was coming ashore with Eireamhon son of Milidh. It is plain from this that five of the sons of Milidh were drowned before they took possession of Ireland from the Tuatha De Danann; hence some poet composed this stanza:
- Aimhirgin, poet of the men,
Was killed in the Battle of Bile Theineadh;
Ir died in Sceilig of the warriors,
And Arannan died in the ship.
these are Donn and Ir, Airioch Feabhruadh, Arannan, and Colpa of the Sword; so that when these sons wrested Ireland from the Tuatha De Danann, there were only three of them surviving, to wit, Eibhear, Eireamhon, and Aimhirgin. As to the remainder of the descendants of Milidh, to wit, Eibhear with his own division of the fleet, they landed at Innbhear Sceine. They met Eire, wife of Mac Greine, on Sliab Mis three days after they had landed, and there the Battle of Sliabh Mis took place between them and the Tuatha De Danann, in which fell Fas wife of Un son of Uige, and from her the name Gleann Fais is given to the glen which is in Sliabh Mis, and is called at present Gleann Fais; and it is to bear testimony to this that the poet composed this stanza:
- Five of these were drowned,
Of the swift sons of Milidh,
In the harbours of Ireland of the divisions,
Through the magic of the Tuatha De Danann:
- Gleann Fais, true is the derivation,
Without error or difficulty;
Fas the name of the woman I refer to
Who was killed in the great glen.
This was the first battle that took place between the sons of Milidh and the Tuatha De Danann, as the same poem says:
- In this battle also, I will not deny,
Scota found death and extinction;
As she is not alive in fair form,
She met her death in this glen.- Whence there is in the north side
The tomb of Scota in the clear, cold glen,
Between the mountain and the sea;
Not far did she go from the conflict.
The two women we have mentioned, to wit, Scota and Fas and their two most accomplished druids, that is, Uar and Eithiar, were the most celebrated of the race of Gaedheal who fell in that battle. But though three hundred of them were slain, still they slew ten hundred of the Tuatha De Danann, and thus routed them; and Eire wife of Mac Greine followed in their wake, and proceeded to Taillte, and related her story to the sons of Cearmad. Now, the sons of Milidh remained on the field of battle, burying those of their people who were slain, and in particular burying the two druids. It is with reference to this that the poet composed the following historical stanzas:
- The first battle of the famed sons of Milidh,
On their coming from Spain of renown,
At Sliabh Mis there was cause of woe;
It is certain history and true knowledge.
- In the morning we left Sliabh Mis;
We met with aggression and defiance
From the sons of the noble Daghadh,
With strong battle-spears.
- We stoutly won a battle
Over the sprites of the isle of Banbha,
Of which ten hundred fell together,
By us, of the Tuatha De Danann.- Six fifties of our company
Of the great army of Spain,
That number of our host fell,
With the loss of the two worthy druids:- Uar and Eithiar of the steeds,
Beloved were the two genuine poets;
A stone in bareness above their graves,
In their Fenian tombs we leave them.
Eight also of the leaders of the host fell at sea through the magic of the Tuatha De Danann, as we have said above, namely, Ir at Sceilig Mhichil; Arannan, from the mainmast; Donn with his five leaders, who were drowned at Teach Duinn. Eight royal ladies also fell there, two of them with Donn, namely, Buan wife of Bile, and Dil daughter of Milidh of Spain, wife and kinswoman of Donn. There were also drowned Sceine wife of Aimhirgin, in Innbhear Sceine and from her the nameInnbhear Sceine is given to the river which is in Kerry. Fial wife of Lughaidh son of Ioth died of shame on her husband seeing her naked as she returned from swimming; and from her that river has ever since been called Innbhear Feile; Scota and Fas were also slain in the Battle of Sliab Mis, as we have said above. Two others of them also died, namely, the wife of Ir and the wife of Muirtheimhne son of Breoghan. These then are the eight princesses and the eight leaders that perished out of the host of the descendants of Milidh from their coming into Ireland up to the Battle of Taillte. Here are the names of the seven principal women who came to Ireland with the sons of Milidh, according to the Book of Invasions: Scota, Tea, Fial, Fas, Liobhra, Odhbha, and Sceine. It is in the following manner the seancha sets forth this, and states who was
As to the descendants of Milidh, the company of them who landed with Eibhear and fought the Battle of Sliab Mis went to meet Eireamhon to the mouth of Innbhear Colpa; and when they came together there, they gave warning of battle to the sons of Cearmad and to the Tuatha De Danann in general. It was then that the Battle of Taillte took place between them; and the sons of Cearmad were defeated by the sons of Milidh, and there fell Mac Greine by Aimhirgin, Mac Cuill by Eibhear, and Mac Ceacht by Eireamhon, as the seancha says:
- The seven chief women who came thither
With all the sons of Milidh,
Tea, Fial, Fas, to our delight,
Liobhra, Odhbha, Scot, Sceine;- Tea wife of Eireamhon of the steeds,
And Fial too, the wife of Lughaidh,
Fas wife of Un the son of Oige next,
And Sceine wife of Aimhirgin,- Liobhra wife of Fuad, noble her renown,
Scota the marriageable, and Odhbha
These were the women who were not giddy,
Who came with the sons of Milidh.
Their three queens also fell; namely, Eire, Fodla, and Banbha. Hence, and to state by whom they fell, the seancha composed this stanza:
- The bright Mac Greine fell
In Taillte by Aimhirgin,
Mac Cuill by Eibhear of the gold,
Mac Ceacht by the hand of Eireamhon.
Now the greater part of the host of the Tuatha De Danann also fell; and while the host of the sons of Milidh were
- Fodla slain by Eatan the proud;
Banbha by Caicher the victorious
Eire then slain by Suighre:
These are the fates of this trio.
When they had expelled the Tuatha De Danann, and brought Ireland under their own sway, Eibhear and Eireamhon divided the country between them; and, according to some historians, the division made between them was this: Eireamhon to have the northern half from the Boyne and from the Srubh Broin northwards, and Eibhear from the same boundary southwards to Tonn Cliodhna. Thus does the seancha speak of this division— Eireamhon and noble Eibhear, is the beginning of the poem:
- On the northern side, an event without sorrow,
Eireamhon took sovereignty
From the Srubh Broin, noble the division,
Over every tribe to Boyne.- Eibhear, the prosperous son of Milidh,
Possessed the excellent southern half
He obtained from the Boyne, strong the division,
To the wave of Geanann's daughter.
Now, five of the principal leaders of the host of the sons of Milidh went with Eireamhon to his division, and received territory from him; and each of them built a stronghold in his own portion of the territory. The five leaders who went with Eireamhon are Aimhirgin, Goistean, Seadgha, Sobhairce, and Suirghe. Here follow the royal forts that were built by Eireamhon and by his five leaders. In the first place he himself built Raith Beitheach in Airgeadros, on the brink of the Feoir in Osruighe. Then Aimhirgin built Turloch of Innbhear Mor; Sobhairce built Dun Sobhairce; Seadgha
The following are the five who went with Eibhear, namely, Caicher, Manntan, En, Oige, and Fulman, and each of them similarly built a fort. First, Eibhear himself built Raith Eoamhain, in Laigheanmhagh; Caicher built Dun Inn, in the west of Ireland; Manntan built the stronghold of Carraig Bladhruidhe; En son of Oige built the fort of Ard Suird, and Fulman the fort of Carraig Feadha.
From Eibhear to Adam there were thirty-five generations, as the poet says:
- With good upbringing, fifteen
And twenty generations,
The tribe of brave men lavish of herds
Up from Eibhear to Adam.
Other seanchas are of opinion that the division of Ireland made by Eibhear and Eireamhon was this: Eibhear to have the two provinces of Munster; Eireamhon the province of Connaught and the province of Leinster; and Eibhear son of Ir, son of Milidh, and others of the leaders who came with the sons of Milidh, to have the province of Uster; and the cantred of Corca Laighdhe, in south Munster, they gave to Lughaidh son of Ioth, the son of their grandfather's brother. This opinion I am the more disposed to accept as true, as it was in Leinster that Eireamhon's chief stronghold was situated, namely, Raith Beitheach in Airgeadros beside the Feoir, and also because the descendants of Eibhear originally settled in Munster, the descendants of Eireamhon in Connaught and Leinster, and the descendants of Rudhruidhe son of Sithrighe, who sprang from Eibhear son of Ir, son of Milidh, in Ulster. It is from this Rudhruidhe that the name Clann Rudhruidhe is given to the real Ultonians, and to every section of their descendants who went into each others provinces to seize upon land and to make conquests, such as the coming of the children of Rudhruidhe to Leinster
In the time of Cormac son of Art, also, the Deisigh, a tribe of the race of Eireamhon, came to Munster and acquired territory there. And it was while Fiachaidh Muilleathan son of Eoghan Mor, son of Oilill Olum, was king of Munster, that Cairbre Musc, a nobleman of the race of Eireamhon, brought a poem to Fiachaidh, and obtained all the land that lies between Slighe Dhala, that is, Bealach Mor Osruighe and Cnoc Aine Cliach, as a reward for his poem, as we read in the Book of ArdMacha; and it is from this Cairbre Musc that the name Muscruidhe Tire is given to the two Ormonds. And soon after this, some of the race of Eibhear came to Connaught, namely, the descendants of Cormac Gaileang, that is, the Gaileanga and the Luighni, of whom are O Headhra and O Gadhra in the northern half. And so it was with every family and tribe who migrated to another district in Ireland, it was not because of the division made by
A learned poet and a melodious harper, the name of the poet being Cir son of Cis, and that of the harper Onaoi, were amongst those who came with the sons of Milidh to Ireland. And Eibhear said that he should have them, while Eireamhon maintained that they should be his. Now the arrangement made between them was to share them with one another by casting lots for them, and the musician fell by lot to Eibhear and the poet to Eireamhon. And as a setting forth of this contest are the following stanzas from the Psalter of Cashel:
- They cast lots fairly
For the noble poetic pair,
So that to the man from the south fell
The correct dextrous harper;- To the man from the north fell, too,
The poet of great powers;
And hence came sway
Over honour and learning,- String-harmony of music, beauty, quickness,
In the south arid lower part of Ireland:
Thus shall it be for evermore,
As is recorded in the seanchus.
There came to Ireland with the sons of Milidh twenty-four slaves who cleared twenty-four plains from wood after they had come into the country; and it is from themselves these plains are named. Here are the names of these men: Aidhne, Ai, Asal, Meidhe, Morbha, Midhe, Cuibh, Cliu, Ceara, Reir, Slan, Leighe, Lithfe, Line, Lighean, Trea,
Moreover, Tea daughter of Lughaidh son of Ioth, the wife of Eireamhon, got a fortress built for herself in Liathdhruim which is now called Teamhair; and it is from Tea daughter of Lughaidh that this hill is called Teamhair, that is, the mur or house of Tea.
The sons of Milidh ruled Ireland jointly for a year, when a dispute arose between them about the possession of the three best hills in Ireland, namely, Druim Clasaigh in the territory of Maine, Druim Beitheach in Maonmhaigh, and Druim Finghin in Connaught. On that occasion a battle was fought between Eibhear and Eireamhon in Ui Failghe at Bru Bhriodain, at a pass between two plains in the district of Geisill. Eibhear was defeated in that battle; and he himself was slain, together with three leaders of his followers, namely, Suirghe, Sobhairce, and Goistean. The poet treats of this event, setting forth the cause of the dispute, as follows:
The poet Tanuidhe, agreeing with the same statement, speaks thus:
- Banbha without grief shared
Eibhear and Eireamhon,
Till pride seized their wives,
A year without foray, without war.- The wife of Eibhear of the battles said
That unless she owned the fair Druim Clasach,
Druim Beithech, Druim Finghin bright
She would not remain a night in Erin.- Eibhear fell, great the man,
By Eireamhon son of Milidh;
He got his death-wound in the land of Geisill
In the morning on Magh Smearthoin.
- Ye bards of renowned Banbha,
Know ye, or can ye tell,
Why the great battle was fought
Against Eibhear by Eireamhon?
- I myself will tell you that—
The reason why he committed the fratricide,
Because of three low-lying hills,
The best that were in Erin:- Druim Finghin, fair Druim Clasaigh,
Druim Beitheach in Connaught;
In struggling for these, not bright the tale,
This slaughter was wrought, O bards.
Eireamhon, after being a year in the joint sovereignty of Ireland with Eibhear, held the full sovereignty for fourteen years after Eibhear was slain in the Battle of Airgeadros, according to some seanchas, as this stanza says:
However, the common opinion of seanchas is, that it was not in the Battle of Airgeadros that Eibhear was slain, but in the Battle of Geisill, as we have stated above. It was in the time of Eireamhon that the following events took place. The Battle of Cuil Caicheir, a year after the death of Eibhear, it was there that Caicher, leader of the followers of Eibhear, fell by Aimhirgin son of Milidh; a year after that Aimhirgin was slain by Eireamhon in the Battle of Bile Theineadh in Cuil Breagh; and in that year also the nine Brosnas of Eile and the three Uinnses of Ui nOiliolla burst over land in Ireland. The third year after that Fulman and Manntan, two leaders of the followers of Eibhear, feIl by Eireamhon in the Battle of Breoghan in Freamhainn. Eight lakes burst over land in Ireland in the reign of Eireamhon,
- Fourteen years, I know it,
Did Eireamhon hold chief sovereignty
After the Battle of Airgeadros with valour,
Where Eibhear fell outright.
Some seanchas assert that it was Eireamhon who portioned the five provinces of Ireland among some of the leaders who were with him after the death of Eibhear. First he gave the province of Leinster to Criomhthann Sciathbheal of the Domhnanncha, a noble of the relicts of the Fir Bolg. He gave, moreover, the two provinces of Munster to the four sons of Eibhear, to wit, Er, Orba, Fearon, and Feargna. He gave besides the province of Connaught to Un son of Oige and to Eatan, two leaders who had come with him from Spain. Similarly he left the province of Ulster to Eibhear son of Ir, his own brother's son.
It was in the reign of Eireamhon also that the Cruithnigh, or Picts, a tribe who came from Thrace, arrived in Ireland; and according to Cormac son of Cuileannan, in his Psaltair, the reason of their leaving Thrace was that Policornus, king of Thrace, designed to force a beautiful marriageable daughter of Gud, chief of the Cruithnigh, while these latter were at free quarters in the country. When, however, Gud and his Cruithnigh suspected that the king was about toforce the maiden, they slew him, and accordingly quitted the country, and went from country to country till they reached France, where they were quartered and got lands from the king of the French, and there they built a city called Pictavium, from the Picts or Cruithnigh who built it. And when the king of the French heard of the fame of the maiden's
The leaders of that fleet were Gud and his son Cathluan; and the reason why Criomhthann entered into friendship with them was because some British nobles, who were called Tuatha Fiodhgha, were making conquests in the Fotharta on either side of the mouth of the Slaney. Such were these people that the weapons of every one of them were poisoned, so that, be the wound inflicted by them small or great, no remedy whatever availed the wounded man, but he must die. Criomhthann heard that there was a skilful druid called Trostan amongst the Cruithnigh who could furnish himself and his people with an antidote against the poison with which the weapons of the Tuatha Fiodhgha were wont to be charged; and he asked Triostan what remedy he should use against the poison of the weapons of those people we have mentioned. ‘Get thrice fifty white hornless cows milked,’ said Trostan, ‘and let the milk got from them be placed in a
- Ard Leamhnachta in the southern country
Each noble and bard may inquire
Whence is derived the name of the land
Which it has borne from the time of Criomhthann;- Criomhthann Sciaithbheal it was who fought,
To prevent the slaughter of his warriors,
Protecting them from the sharp poison of the weapons
Of the hateful, horrid giants.- Six of the Cruithnigh, God so ordained,
Came from the land of Thrace,
Soilen, Ulpia, Neachtain the noble,
Aonghus, Leathan, and Trostan.- God granted them, through might
To heal them from the sharp poison of the wounds,
And to protect them from the bitter venom of the weapons
Of the powerful, very fierce giants.- The true knowledge obtained for them
By the druid of the Cruithnigh, at once, was
That thrice fifty hornless cows of the plain
Be milked in one deep hollow.- The battle was pressingly fought
Around the hollow where the new milk was,
And the battle went strongly against
The giants of high Banbha.
Now as to the Cruithnigh, that is, Gud and his son Cathluan, they resolved to invade Leinster; and when
- The Cruithnigh seized it after that,
When they had come from the land of Erin;
Ten and sixty very noble kings
Of those ruled the land of the Cruithnigh.- Cathluan, the first of these kings,
I will tell you briefly;
The last king of them was
The stout champion Constantin.
But Trostan the Druid and the five other Cruithnigh mentioned in the above poem, remained in Ireland after
The three sons of Eireamhon held the sovereignty of Ireland after him three years. These were Muimhne, Luighne, and Laighne. They held the sovereignty jointly for three years till the death of Muimhne in Magh Cruachan, and till Luighne and Laighne were slain by the sons of Eibhear in the Battle of Ard Ladhrann.
The four sons of Eibhear, Er, Orba, Fearon, and Feargna, held the sovereignty of Ireland a part of a year, when they were slain by Irial Faidh son of Eireamhon, to avenge his two brothers Luighne and Laighne.
Irial Faidh son of Eireamhon held the sovereignty of Ireland ten years, for his three elder brothers had no issue. Besides, when Irial had assumed the sovereignty and attained to greatness and power, he slew Eibhear's four sons—namely, Er, Orba, Fearon, Feargna—to avenge his two brothers who had been killed by them.
Sixteen plains were freed from wood in Ireland in the reign of Irial. The following are their names :—Magh Reichead in Laoighis; Magh Neiliu in Leinster; Magh Comair, Magh Seiliu in Uibh Néill; Magh Sanais i Connaught; Magh nlnis, in Ulster; Magh Midhe; Magh Luinge in Ciannachta; Magh Teacht in Ui Mac Uais; Magh Fearnmhuighe in Oirghialla; Magh Foithin in the west; Magh Cobha in Ui Eachach; Magh Cuma in Ui Neill;
Irial Faidh son of Eireamhon built seven royal forts in Ireland in his time, namely, Raith Ciombaoith in Eamhain; Raith Croichne in Magh Inis; Raith Bachaill in Lothama; Raith Coincheadha in Seimhne; Raith Mothaigh in Deagh-charbad; Raith Buireach in Sleachta; Raith Lochaid in Glascharn.
The year after that the three rivers called the three Fionns burst over land in Ulster. The following year Irial won four battles. The first battle was the Battle of Ard Ionmhaith in Teathbha, where Stime son of Dubh, son of Fomhor fell; the second battle was the Battle of Teannmhagh, which Irial fought against the Fomoraigh, where the Fomorian king, who was called Echtghe Ethcheann, fell; the third battle was the Battle of Lochmhagh, where Lughroth son of Mogh Feibhis fell; the fourth battle was the Battle of Cuil Marta, where he defeated the four sons of Eibhear. Hence, and to narrate these events, is the poem which begins with this stanza:
The second next year after this Irial Faidh son of Eireamhon died at Magh Muaidhe, and was buried there.
- Irial, the youngest of the children,
Son of the king of Fodhla of curled hair,
King of Sliabh Mis, king of Macha,
Won four hard battles.
Eithrial son of Irial Faidh, son of Eireamhon, held the sovereignty of Ireland for twenty years. In the time of this Eithrial seven plains were cleared of wood in Ireland, namely, Teannmhagh in Connaught; Magh Lioghat and Magh mBealaigh in Ui Tuirtre; Magh Geisill in Ui Failghe; Magh Ochtair in Leinster; Lochmhagh in Connaught; Magh Rath in Ui Eachach; and after he had been twenty years on the throne of Ireland he was slain by Conmhaol son of Eibhear in the Battle of Raoire in Leinster.
Conmhaol son of Eibhear held the sovereignty of Ireland thirty years; and he was the first king of Ireland of the race of Eibhear. Now this Conmhaol defeated the descendants of Eireamhon in twenty-five battles. The following are nine of these battles: to wit, the Battle of Ucha; the Battle of Cnucha; the Battle of Eile; the Battle of Sliabh Beatha; and the Battle of Geisill, where Palap son of Eireamhon fell; the Battle of Sliabh Modhairn, where Samhra son of Ionbhoth fell; the Battle of Loch Lein, where Mughroth fell; the Battle of Beirre; and the Battle of Aonach Macha, where Conmhaol himself fell by Eibhear son of Tighearnmhas of the race of Eireamhon; and he was buried on the south side of Aonach Macha in the place which is called Conmhaol's Mound at this day.
Tighearnmhas son of Follach, son of Eithrial, son of Irial Faidh, son of Eireamhon, held the sovereignty of Ireland fifty years, or according to others sixty years; and this monarch won twenty-seven battles over the descendants of Eibhear, namely, the Battle of Eille, in which Rochorb son of Gollan fell, and the Battle of Cumar, the Battle of Magh Teacht, the Battle of Lochmhagh, in which fell Deighiarna son of Goll son of Gollan, the Battle of Cuil Ard in Magh Inis, the Battle of Cuil Fraochain, the Battle of Athghart in Seimhne, the Battle of Ard Niadh in Connaught, and the Battle of Carn Fearadhaigh, in which Fearadhach son of Rochorb, son of Gollan, fell, the Battle of Cluain Cuasa in Teathbha, the Battle of Comhnuidhe in Tuath Eibhe, the Battle of Cluain Muirisc in the north of Breithfne, the Battle of Cuil Fabhair on Earbhus, and seven battles in Lughlachta on Loch Lughdhach in one day, and the two battles of Cuil in Airgeadros, and the Battle of Reibh, where the greater part of the descendants of Eibhear were slain by Tighearnmhas.
The year after that nine lakes burst over land in Ireland, namely, Loch Cé, and it was over Magh Sulchair it burst; Loch Aillinne in Connaught; Loch n-Iairn, Loch n-Uair,
It is the same Tighearnmhas who first found a mine of gold in Ireland; and Uchadan was the name of the artificer who used to refine the gold for him; and it was in Fotharta east of Lithfe he used to smelt it. It was in the time of Tighearnmhas that clothes were first dyed purple, blue, and green in Ireland. It was also in his time that embroidery, fringes, and filigree were first put on mantles in Ireland. It was he in the same way that introduced into Ireland the custom of having but one colour in the dress of a slave, two colours in the dress of a peasant, three in the dress of a soldier or young lord, four in the dress of a brughaidh, five in the dress of a district chief, six in the dress of an ollamh and in the dress of a king or queen. And it was at Magh Sleacht that Tighearnmhas himself died and three quarters of the men of Ireland with him on the eve of Samhain while they were in the act of worshipping Crom Cruaidh, the chief idol of Ireland. For it was this Tighearnmhas who first instituted the worship of Crom Cruaidh (as Zoroastres did in Greece) about a hundred years after they had come to Ireland; and it was from the prostrations of the men of Ireland before this idol that that plain in Breithfne is called Magh Sleacht. Some seanchas state that Ireland was seven years without a king after the death of Tighearnmhas at the convention of Magh Sleacht, and that it was Eochaidh Faobharghlas son of Conmhaol who held the sovereignty of Ireland after him. But they are in error in this; for the Reim Rioghruidhe states that it was Eochaidh Eadghothach of the race of Lughaidh son of Ioth who held it.
Eochaidh Eadghothach son of Daire, son of Conghal, son of Eadhaman, son of Mal, son of Luighaidh, son of Ioth, son of Breoghan, son of Bratha, held the sovereignty of Ireland four years, and he fell by Cearmna son of Eibric.
Cearmna and Sobhairce, two sons of Eibric son of Eibhear, son of Ir, son of Milidh of Spain, held the sovereignty of Ireland forty years, and were the first Ultonian kings of Ireland; and they divided the sovereignty of Ireland between them; and the boundary of this division extended from Innbhear Colpa at Droichead Atha to Luimneach of Munster. Sobhairce obtained the northern part, and built a dun on his own division, namely, Dun Sobhairce. Cearmna obtained the southern division, and built a dun beside the southern sea, namely, Dun Cearmna; and it is now called Dun Mic Padraig in the Courcys' country. Sobhairce fell by Eochaidh Meann, son of a Fomorian king. Cearmna fell by Eochaidh Faobharghlas son of Conmhaol in the Battle of Dun Cearmna.
Eochaidh Faobharghlas son of Conmhaol, son of Eibhear Fionn, son of Milidh of Spain, held the sovereignty of Ireland twenty years. He was called Eochaidh Faobharghlas, for his two spears were bluish-green and sharp-edged; and it was he who defeated the race of Eireamhon in the following battles, namely, the Battle of Luachair Deaghaidh in Desmond; the Battle of Fosadh Da Ghort; the Battle of Cumar na dTri nUisce; the Battle of Tuaim Dreagan in Breithfne; and the Battle of Drom Liathain. He cleared seven plains from wood in Ireland, namely, Magh Smeathrach, in Ui Failghe; Magh Laighne and Magh Luirg in Connaught; Magh Leamhna, Magh n-Ionair, Magh Fubhna, and Magh Da Ghabhal, in Oirghialla. And this Eochaidh fell by Fiachaidh Labhruinne son of Smiorghull, son of Eanbhoth, son of Tighearnmhas, in the Battle of Carman.
Fiachaidh Labhruinne son of Smiorghull, son of Eanbhoth, son of Tighearnmhas, son of Follach, son of Eithrial, son of
It was the son of this Fiachaidh, namely, Aonghus Ollbhuadhach, who defeated the Cruithnigh and the old Britons who were in Alba in several battles, and who first placed Alba under the full sway of the Gaels, though from the time of Eireamhon son of Milidh the Gaels claimed a tribute from them (the Albanians). About two hundred and fifty years after the sons of Milidh came to Ireland, Alba was brought under sway and tribute by Aonghus Ollbhuadhach son of Fiachaidh Labhruinne; and this Fiachaidh Labhruinne fought four battles against the race of Eibhear, namely, the Battle of Fairrge, the Battle of Gallach, the Battle of Sliabh Feimhion, and the Battle of Sliabh Bealgadain, in which he himself fell by Eochaidh Mumho son of Mo Febhis.
Eochaid Mumho son of Mo Febhis, son of Eochaid Faobharglas, son of Conmhaol, son of Eibhear Fionn, son of Milidh of Spain, held the sovereignty of Ireland twentyone years; and he fell by Aonghus Olmucaidh in the Battle of Cliu.
Aonghus Olmucaidh son of Fiachaidh Labhruinne, son of Smiorgull, son of Eanbhoth, son of Tighearnmhas, son of Follach, son of Eithrial, son of Irial Faidh, son of Eireamhon, held the sovereignty of Ireland eighteen years, and according to others twenty-one years. He was called Olmucaidh from the word oll, that is great, and muca, hogs, since he had the largest hogs that were in Ireland in his time; and it was he who fought the following battles: The Battle of Cleire; the Battle of Sliabh Cailge, where Baiscionn fell; and the Battle of Magh Einsciath in Connaught; and the Battle of Glaise Fraochain, where Fraochan Faidh fell; and fifty battles against the Cruithnigh and the Fir Bolg, and the inhabitants of the Orcades. Three lakes burst forth in his time—Loch Einbheithe in Oirghialla, Loch Sailgheadain, and Loch Gasain in Magh Luirg. It was in his time that the following plains were cleared of woods, namely: Magh Glinne Dearcon in Cineal Conaill; Magh n-Einsciath in Leinster; Magh Cuile Caol in Boghaine; Aolmhagh in Callruidhe; Magh Mucruimhe in Connaught; Magh Luachra Deaghaidh, and Magh Archaill in Ciarraidhe Luachra. And it was in the Battle of Sliabh Cua that Aonghus Olmucaidh was slain by Eanna son of Neachtain, a Munsterman; and others say that it was Eanna Airgthioch who slew him in the Battle of Carman; and this latter opinion is the more probable, according to the poem which begins, Aonghus Olmucaidh died. And moreover the Reim Rioghruidhe agrees with the same opinion.
Eanna Airgthioch son of Eochaidh Mumho, son of Mo Feibhis, son of Eochaidh Faobharghlas, son of Conmhaol, son of Eibhear Fionn, son of Milidh of Spain, held the sovereignty of Ireland twenty-seven years; and it was he who, at Airgeadros, first made silver shields in Ireland; and he bestowed them on the men of Ireland; and he fell in the Battle
Roitheachtaigh son of Maon, son of Aonghus Olmucaidh, son of Fiachaidh Labhruinne, son of Smiorgholl, son of Eanbhoth, son of Tighearnmhas, son of Follach, son of Eithrial, son of Irial Faidh, son of Eireamhon, held the sovereignty of Ireland twenty-five years; and this Roitheachtaigh fell by Seadna son of Art, son of Airtre, at Raith Cruachan.
Seadna son of Art, son of Airtre, son of Eibric, son of Eibhear, son of Ir, held the sovereignty of Ireland five years; and he was slain by his own son on the coming of 'a black fleet' to Cruachain.
Fiachaidh Fionscothach son of Seadna, son of Art, son of Airtre, son of Eibric, son of Eibhear, son of Ir, son of Milidh of Spain, held the sovereignty of Ireland twenty years; and he was called Fiachaidh Fionscothach, for in his time there were wine flowers that used to be pressed into goblets; and this Fiachaidh was slain by Muineamhon son of Cas Clothach.
Muineamhon son of Cas Clothach, son of Fear Arda, son of Roitheachtaigh, son of Rossa, son of Glas, son of Nuadha, son of Eochaidh Faobharghlas, son of Conmhaol, son of Eibhear Fionn, held the sovereignty of Ireland five years; and this Muineamhon was the first to decree that collars or chains of gold should be worn round the neck by the nobles in Ireland; and he died of the plague at Magh Aidhne.
Ailldeargoid son of Muineamhon, son of Cas Clothach, son of Fear Arda, son of Roitheachtaigh, son of Rossa, son of Glas, son of Nuadha Deaghlaimh, son of Eochaidh Faobharghlas, son of Conmhaol, son of Eibhear Fionn, son of Milidh, held the sovereignty of Ireland seven years; and it was in his time that gold rings were first put on the fingers of the nobles in Ireland; and he was slain by Ollamh Fodla in the Battle of Tara.
Ollamh Fodla son of Fiachaidh Fionscothach, son of
- Ollamh Fodla of furious valour
Built the hall of ollamhs;
The first noble king, happy his reign,
Who assembled the Feis of Tara.
Now the Feis of Tara was a great general assembly like a parliament, in which the nobles and the ollamhs of Ireland used to meet at Tara every third year at Samhain, where they were wont to lay down and to renew rules and laws, and to approve the annals and records of Ireland. There, too, it was arranged that each of the nobles of Ireland should have a seat according to his rank and title. There, also, a seat was arranged for every leader that commanded the soldiery who were in the service of the kings and the lords of Ireland. It was also the custom at the Feis of Tara to put to death anyone who committed violence or robbery, who struck another or who assaulted another with arms, while neither the king himself nor anyone else had power to pardon him such a deed. It was also their custom to pass six days in feasting together before the sitting of the assembly, namely, three days before Samhain and three days after it, making peace and entering into friendly alliances with each other. In the following historical poem Eochaidh Eolach describes the customs that were in vogue at the Feis of Tara:
- The Feis of Tara every third year,
For the fulfilment of laws and rules,
Was convened at that time mightily
By the noble kings of Erin.
- Cathaoir of many alliances assembled
The beauteous Feis of Royal Tara;
There came to him, it was a pleasure,
The men of Ireland to one place.- Three days before Samhain, according to custom,
Three days thereafter, good the practice,
Did that high-spirited company
Pass in constant feasting, a week.- Robbery, personal wounding,
Were forbidden them all that time;
Assault at arms, cutting,
Proceedings by litigation:- Whoever did any of these thing
Was a wicked culprit of much venom
Redeeming gold would not be accepted from him,
But his life was at once forfeit.
Fionnachta son of Ollamh Fodla, son of Fiachaidh Fionscothach, son of Seadna, son of Art, son of Airtre, son of Eibric, son of Eibhear, son of Ir, son of Milidh, held the sovereignty of Ireland twenty years; and he was called Fionnachta, that is, Finshneachta, because it rained showers of wine-snow in his reign; and he died in Magh Inis.
Slanoll son of Ollamh Fodla, son of Fiachaidh Fionscothach, son of Seadna, son of Art, son of Airtre, son of Eibric, son of Eibhear, son of Ir, son of Milidh, held the sovereignty of Ireland fifteen years; and he was called Slanoll, for oll means great, and everyone in Ireland had great health during his reign, for none of the men of Ireland suffered from plague or disease in his reign. And it was in the banqueting-hall at Tara that he died; and others say that the disease that seized him is unknown.
Geidhe Ollghothach son of Ollamh Fodla, son of Fiachaidh Fionscothach, son of Seadna, son of Art, son of Airtre, son of Eibric, son of Eibhear, son of Ir, son of Milidh, held the sovereignty of Ireland seventeen years; and he is called
Fiachaidh son of Fionnachta, son of Ollamh Fodla, son of Fiachaidh Fionscothach, son of Seadna, son of Art, son of Airtre, son of Eibric, son of Eibhear, son of Ir, son of Milidh, held the sovereignty of Ireland thirty years; and he fell by Bearnghal son of Geidhe Ollghothach.
Bearnghal son of Geidhe Ollghothach, son of Ollamh Fodla, son of Fiachaidh Fionscothach, son of Seadna, son of Art, son of Airtre, son of Eibric, son of Ir, son of Milidh, held the sovereignty of Ireland twelve years; and he fell by Oilill son of Slanoll.
Oilill son of Slanoll, son of Ollamh Fodla, son of Fiachaidh Fionscothach, son of Seadna, son of Art, son of Airtre, son of Eibric, son of Eibhear, son of Milidh, held the sovereignty of Ireland sixteen years, and he fell by Sioma son of Dian.
Sioma Saoghlach son of Dian, son of Roitheachtaigh, son of Maon, son of Aonghus Olmucaidh, son of Fiachaidh Labhruinne, son of Smiorghull, son of Eanbhoth, son of Tighearnmhas, son of Follach, son of Eithrial, son of Irial Faidh, son of Eireamhon, held the sovereignty of Ireland twenty-one years; and he was called Sioma Saoghlach, from the length of life granted to him above his contemporaries; and he fell by Roitheachtaigh son of Roan, in Aillinn, as says the poem beginning, Noble Eire, island of kings:
- Sioma passed in govemment
The length of thrice seven noble years;
The cutting off of Sioma with slaughter
Was in Aillinn by Roitheachtaigh.
Roitheachtaigh son of Roan, son of Failbhe, son of Cas Ceadchaingneach, son of Ailldeargoid, son of Muineamhon, son of Cas Clothach, son of Fear Arda, son of Roitheachtaigh, son of Rossa, son of Glas, son of Nuadha Deaghlaimh, son of
Eilim son of Roitheachtaigh, son of Roan, son of Failbhe, son of Cas Ceadchaingneach, son of Ailldeargoid, son of Muineamhon, son of Cas Clothach, son of Fear Arda, son of Roitheachtaigh, son of Rossa, son of Glas, son of Nuadha Deaghlaimh, son of Eochaidh Faobharghlas, son of Conmhaol, son of Eibhear Fionn, son of Milidh, held the sovereignty of Ireland one year, till he fell by Giallchaidh son of Oilill Olchaoin.
Giallchaidh son of Oilill Olchaoin, son of Sioma Saoghlach, son of Dian, son of Roitheachtaigh, son of Maon, son of Aonghus Olmucaidb, son of Fiachaidh Labhruinne, son of Smiorghull, son of Eanbhoth, son of Tighearnmhas, son of Follach, son of Eithrial, son of Irial Faidh, son of Eireamhon, held the sovereignty of Ireland nine years; and he fell in Magh Muaidhe by Art Imleach.
Art Imleach son of Eilim, son of Roitheachtaigh, son of Roan, son of Failbhe, son of Cas Ceadchaingneach, son of Ailldeargoid, son of Muinemhon, son of Cas Clothach, son of Fear Arda, son of Roitheachtaigh, son of Rossa, son of Glas, son of Nuadha Deaghlaimh, son of Eochaidh Faobharghlas, son of Conmhaol, son of Eibhear Fionn, son of Milidh, held the sovereignty of Ireland twenty-two years; and he fell by Nuadha Fionn Fail.
Nuadha Fionn Fail son of Giallchaidh, son of Oilill Olchaoin, son of Sioma Saoghlach of the race of Eireamhon, held the sovereignty of Ireland twenty years, or according to others sixty years, till he fell by Breisrigh son of Art Imleach.
Breisrigh son of Art Imleach, son of Eilim, son of Roitheachtaigh, son of Roan, son of Failbhe, son of Cas Ceadchaingneach, son of Ailldeargoid, son of Muineamhon
Eochaidh Apthach son of Fionn, son of Oilill, son of Flann Ruadh, son of Rothlan, son of Mairtine, son of Sithcheann, son of Riaghlan, son of Eoinbhric, son of Lughaidh, son of Ioth, son of Breoghan, held the sovereignty of Ireland one year; and he was called Eochaidh Apthach because of the number who died in Ireland in his time; for the plague or other disease seized upon the men of Ireland each month, from which many of them died; hence the name Eochaidh Apthach clung to him; for apthach means 'fatal'; and he himself fell by Fionn son of Bratha.
Fionn son of Bratha, son of Labhraidh, son of Cairbre, son of Ollamh Fodla, son of Fiachaidh Fionscothach, son of Seadna, son of Art, son of Airtre, son of Eibric, son of Eibhear, son of Ir, son of Milidh, held the sovereignty of Ireland twenty years, or according to others thirty years; and he fell by Seadna Ionnarraidh.
Seadna Ionnarraidh son of Breisrigh, son of Art Imleach of the race of Eibhear, held the sovereignty of Ireland twenty years; and he is called Seadna Ionnarraidh, that is, Seadna of the Wages, for he is the first king who gave pay to fighting men in Ireland; for ionnarraidh means wages. And his limbs were torn asunder by Simeon Breac, and so he died.
Simeon Breac son of Aodhan Glas, son of Nuadha Fionn Fail, son of Giallchaidh, son of Oilill Olchaoin, son of Sioma Saoghlach of the race of Eireamhon, held the sovereignty of Ireland six years, till he fell by Duach Fionn to avenge his father, and the tearing asunder of him which he had done.
Duach Fionn son of Seadna Ionnarraidh, son of Breisrigh, son of Art Imlioch of the race of Eibhear, held the sovereignty of Ireland five years; and he fell by Muiredhach Bolgrach. Muiredhach Bolgrach son of Simeon Breac, son of
Eanna Dearg son of Duach Fionn, son of Seadna Ionnarraidh, son of Breisrigh, son of Art Imleach of the race of Eibhear, held the sovereignty of Ireland twelve years; he was called Eanna Dearg, for his oineach, that is his countenance, was red. It was in his time that, at Airgeadros, money was first coined in Ireland. And he died of the plague on Sliab Mis, and a large multitude with him.
Lughaidh Iardhonn son of Eanna Dearg, son of Duach Fionn, son of Seadna Ionnarraidh, son of Breisrigh, son of Art Imleach of the race of Eibhear, held the sovereignty of Ireland nine years. He was called Lughaidh Iardhonn, for iardhonn means 'dark-brown'; hence through his dark-brown locks he got the name Lughaidh Iardhonn; and he was slain by Siorlamh at Raith Clochair.
Siorlamh son of Fionn, son of Bratha, son of Labhraidh, son of Cairbre, son of Ollamh Fodla of the race of Ir, son of Milidh, held the sovereignty of Ireland sixteen years. He is called Siorlamh, for síor means 'long'; and he had long hands, for when in a standing posture his hands reached the ground; and he was slain by Eochaidh Uaircheas.
Eochaidh Uaircheas son of Lughaidh Iardhonn, son of Eanna Dearg, son of Duach Fionn, son of Seadna Ionnarraidh, son of Breisrigh, son of Art Imleach of the race of Eibhear, held the sovereignty of Ireland twelve years. He was called Eochaidh Uaircheas, for he used to have bare canoes for a fleet, and ceasa means 'canoes' or 'coctaoi'; and as he was two years on sea in exile from Ireland, he used to put
Eochaidh Fiadhmhuine and Conuing Beigeaglach, two sons of Duach Teamhrach son of Muireadhach Bolgrach, son of Simeon Breac, son of Aodhan Glas, son of Nuadha Fionn Fail, son of Giallchaidh, son of Oilill Olchaoin, son of Siorna Saoghlach of the race of Eireamhon, held conjointly the sovereignty of Ireland five years. Eochaidh Fiadhmhuine was so called, for he used to hunt and chase amidst thickets or in woods; and this Eochaidh fell by Lughaidh Laimhdheargh son of Eochaidh Uaircheas.
Lughaidh Laimhdhearg son of Eochaidh Uaircheas, son of Lughaidh Iardhonn, son of Eanna Dearg, son of Duach Fionn, son of Seadna Ionnarraidh, son of Breisrigh, son of Art Imleach of the race of Eibhear, held the sovereignty of Ireland seven years. He was called Lughaidh Laimhdhearg, as there was a red ti or spot on his hand; and he fell by Conuing Beigeaglach.
Conuing Beigeaglach son of Duach Teamhrach, son of Muireadhach Bolgrach, son of Simeon Breac, son of Aodhan Glas, son of Nuadha Fionn Fail, son of Giallchaidh, son of Oilill Olchaoin son of Siorna Saoghlach of the race of Eireamhon, held the sovereignty of Ireland ten years. He is called Conuing Beigeaglach, for he never felt a qualm of fear in battle or contest, and, moreover, he was a brave man in an onslaught; and hence the poet composed this stanza:
- Conuing of the fights of the bright spears,
Who never quailed before wight,
Passed a decade ruling over each Half
Till Art son of Lughaidh slew him.
Art son of Lughaidh Laimhdhearg, son of Eochaidh Uaircheas, son of Lughaidh Iardhonn, son of Eanna Dearg,
Fiachaidh Tolgrach son of Muireadhach Bolgrach, son of Simeon Breac, son of Aodhan Glas, son of Nuadha Fionn Fail, son of Giallchaidh, son of Oilill Olchaoin, son of Siorna Saoghlach of the race of Eireamhon, held the sovereignty of Ireland seven years; and he fell by Oilill Fionn.
Oilill Fionn son of Art, son of Lughaidh Laimhdhearg, son of Eochaidh Uaircheas, son of Lughaidh Iardhonn, son of Eanna Dearg, son of Duach Fionn, son of Seadna Ionnarraidh, son of Breisrigh, son of Art Imleach of the race of Eibhear, held the sovereignty of Ireland nine years; and he fell by Argeadmhar and by Fiachaidh and by Duach son of Fiachaidh.
Eochaidh son of Oilill Fionn, son of Art, son of Lughaidh Laimhdhearg, son of Eochaidh Uaircheas of the race of Eibhear, held the sovereignty of Ireland seven years; and he did not yield the kingdom to Argeadmhar, but made peace with Duach Lagrach; and Duach slew him at a meeting.
Airgeadmhar, son of Siorlamh, son of Fionn, son of Bratha, son of Labhraidh, son of Cairbre, son of Ollamh Fodla of the race of Ir son of Milidh, held the sovereignty of Ireland twenty-three years, or according to others thirty-eight years; and he fell by Duach Laghrach and by Lughaidh Laighdhe.
Duach Laghrach, son of Fiachaidh Tolgrach, son of Muireadhach Bolgrach, son of Simeon Breac, son of Aodhan Glas, son of Nuadha Fionn Fail, son of Giallchaidh of the race of Eireamhon, held the sovereignty of Ireland ten years. He was called Duach Laghrach, for ladhgra is the same as luathagra, 'swift retribution'; and he used to give respite to no one who had committed injustice, but exacted retribution from such on the spot, and hence he was called by the name of Duach Laghrach.
Lughaidh Laighdhe son of Eochaidh, son of Oilill Fionn, son of Art, son of Lughaidh Laimhdhearg, son of Eochaidh Uaircheas of the race of Eibhear, held the sovereignty of Ireland seven years; and he fell by Aodh Ruadh, son of Badharn. The Coir Anmann states that this Lughaidh was one of the five Lughaidhs, the children of Daire Doimhtheach. The same book relates that a certain druid revealed prophetically to Daire Doimhtheach that he would have a son who would be called Lughaidh who would obtain the sovereignty of Ireland; and after this five sons were born to him in succession, and he called each of them Lughaidh. When the sons grew up, Daire had recourse to the same druid, and asked him which of the five Lughaidhs would get the sovereignty of Ireland. ‘Go to-morrow to Taillte,’ said the druid, ‘with thy five sons, and there will come to-morrow a beautiful fawn into the fair, and everyone, and thy children with the rest, will run in pursuit of it, and whichever of thy children shall outrun the fawn and kill it will be king of Ireland.’ The fawn came into the fair on the morrow; and the men of Ireland and the children of Daire pursued it till they reached Beann Eadair. A druidical mist separated the sons of Daire from the men of Ireland. The sons of Daire proceeded to hunt the fawn from thence to Dal Maschorb of Leinster, and Lughaidh Laighdhe overtook and slew it; and it was from that fawn that he was called Lughaidh Laighdhe, that is, Lughaidh Laoghdha.
Of this Lughaidh there is a curious romantic story, in which it is said that, when he was engaged in hunting in a desert place, he met a hideous hag who wore a magic mask; that he went into her bed, and took off her magic mask, and dreamt that she would be a beautiful young lady thereafter; and by this hag, with whom Lughaidh lay, Ireland is allegorically meant, for at first he endured toil and torment on her account, but afterwards enjoyed pleasure and delight.
Although the Coir Anmann states that Lughaidh Laighdhe
Aodh Ruadh son of Badharn, son of Airgeadmhar, son of Siorlamh, son of Fionn, son of Bratha, son of Labhraidh, son of Cairbre, son of Ollamh Fodla of the race of Ir son of Milidh, held the sovereignty of Ireland twenty-one years; and he was drowned at Eas Ruaidh.
Diothorba son of Deaman, son of Airgeadmhar, son of Siorlamh, son of Fionn, son of Bratha, son of Labhraidh son of Cairbre, son of Ollamh Fodla of the race of Ir son of Milidh, held the sovereignty of Ireland twenty-one years; and he fell in Corann by the Cuans, that is Cuan Mara, Cuan Muighe, and Cuan Sleibhe.
Ciombaoth son of Fionntan, son of Airgeadmhar, son of Siorlamh, son of Fionn, son of Bratha, son of Labhraidh, son of Cairbre, son of Ollamh Fodla of the race of Ir son of Milidh, held the sovereignty of Ireland twenty years, or according to others twenty-eight years; and he died of the plague in Eamhain Mhacha.
Macha Mhongruadh, daughter of Aodh Ruadh son of Badharn, son of Airgedmhar, son of Siorlamh, son of Fionn, son of Bratha, son of Labhraidh, son of Cairbre, son of Ollamh Fodla, held the sovereignty of Ireland seven years, till Reachtaidh Righdhearg slew her. And it was in her time that Eamhain Mhacha was built. Now the reason why it is called Eamhain Mhacha is this: three kings out of Ulster held the sovereignty of Ireland, namely, Aodh Ruadh son of Badharn, from whom is named Eas Ruaidh, and Diothorba son of Deaman of Uisneach in Meath, and Ciombaoth son of Fionntan from Fionnabhair; and it was with this Ciombaoth that Ughaine Mor son of Eochaidh Buadhach was brought up. And each of these kings reigned seven years in succession, until each had held the sovereignty of Ireland thrice. And the first of them to die was Aodh Ruadh; and he left no issue but one daughter named Macha. Macha demanded the sovereignty in her turn after her father's death; and Diothorba and his children said that they would not cede sovereignty to a woman; and a battle was fought between themselves and Macha; and Macha triumphed over them in that battle, and held the sovereignty of Ireland seven years; and Diothorba died and left five sons, namely, Baoth, Bedach, Bras, Uallach, and Borbchas. These demanded the sovereignty of Ireland for themselves, as it was held by their ancestors before them. Macha said she would only give them battle for the sovereignty. A battle was fought between them, and Macha defeated them. The children of Diothorba fled for safety to dark and intricate woods; and Macha took Ciombaoth son of Fionntan as her husband, and made him leader of her warriors, and went herself in pursuit of the sons of Diothorba in the guise of a leper, having rubbed her body with the dough of rye, and found them in an intricate
And then one of the men said that the leper had a beautiful eye, and that he desired to lie with her. Thereupon he and Macha retired into the recesses of the wood, and Macha bound this man and left him there, and returned to the rest. And they questioned her, ‘Where didst thou leave the man who went with thee?’ said they. ‘I know not,’ said she; ‘but I think he feels ashamed to come into your presence after embracing a leper.’ ‘It is not a shame,’ said they, ‘since we will do the same thing.’ Thus she went into the wood with each of them in turn; and she bound them all, and so took them bound together before the men of Ulster at Eamhain; and she asked the Ulster nobles what she should do with them. They all said with one accord that they should be put to death. ‘That is not just,’ said Macha, ‘for that would be contrary to law; but let them be made slaves of and let the task be imposed on them of building a fort for me which shall be the capital of the province for ever.’ Thereupon Macha undid the gold bodkin that was in the mantle on her breast, and with it measured the site of the fort which the sons of Diothorba were obliged to build. Now, the fort is called Eamhain eo being a word for 'a bodkin', while muin means 'the neck', and hence the fort is called Eamhain, that is, eo mhuin. Or, it is called Eamhain from Eamhain Mhacha, that is, the wife of Cronn son of Adhnaman. Now this woman was forced against her will to run with the horses of Conchubhar, king of Ulster; and she, though pregnant, outran them; and at the end of the race she gave birth to a son and a daughter; and she cursed the men of Ulster, whence they were visited with the pangs of labour; and these pangs continued to afflict them during nine reigns, that is, from Conchubhar to the reign of Mal son of Rochruidhe. Eamhain accordingly
Reachtaidh Righdhearg son of Lughaidh Laighdhe, son of Eochaidh, son of Oilill Fionn, son of Art, son of Lughaidh Laimhdhearg, son of Eochaidh Uaircheas of the race of Eibhear, held the sovereignty of Ireland twenty years. He was called Reachtaidh Righdhearg from his having a red fore-arm, that is, the end of a red fore-arm; and he was slain by Ughaine Mor to avenge his foster-mother.
Ughaine Mor son of Eochaidh Buadhach, son of Duach Laghrach, son of Fiachaidh Tolgrach, son of Muireadhach Bolgrach, son of Simeon Breac, son of Aodhan Glas, son of Nuadha Fionn Fail, son of Giallchaidh, son of Oilill Olchaoin, son of Siorna Saoghlach of the race of Eireamhon, held the sovereignty of Ireland thirty years, or according to others forty years. He was called Ughaine Mor, as his reign was great, since he held sway over the islands of western Europe; and this Ughaine had twenty-five children, namely twenty-two sons and three daughters. When these children grew up, each of them had a special retinue; and when they went on free circuit round Ireland, where one of the sons stayed at night, another son stayed on the morrow. Thus they went on in succession, so that wherever they directed their steps they exhausted all the food and provisions in the district. And when the men of Ireland observed this, they went to complain of this injury to Ughaine, the king. And it was mutually agreed on to divide Ireland into twenty-five parts, and to give each of these children his own part, and not to permit any one of them to be a burden to another's portion. Hence some poet composed this stanza:
- Ughaine the proud, the noble,
Whose victorious dwelling was Banbha,
His children divided rightly
Erin into twenty-five portions.
And it was according to these divisions that rents and duties used to be paid to every king who reigned in Ireland for three hundred years, that is, from the time of Ughaine to the time of the provincials who lived when Eochaidh Feidlioch was king of Ireland, as the poet says in this quatrain:
- Three hundred years lasting the reproach,
Until the provincials arose,
Five without faith in their hearts,
Shared between them Ughaine's Erin.
It was Eochaidh Feidhlioch who divided the provinces of Ireland amongst the following. He gave the province of Ulster to Fearghus son of Leide; he gave the province of Leinster to Rossa son of Fearghus Fairrge; he gave the two provinces of Munster to Tighearnach Teidbheannach son of Luchta, and to Deaghaidh son of Sin; similarly he gave the province of Connaught to three, namely, to Fidhic son of Feig, to Eochaidh Allad, and to Tinne son of Connraidh, as we shall hereafter set forth when we are treating of Eochaidh Feidhleach's own reign. Still this division of Ireland among the children of Ughaine held good until the children of Ughaine had died without issue, except two, namely, Cobhthach Caol mBreagh and Laoghaire Lorc, from whom come all that survive of the race of Eireamhon. And Ughaine Mor himself was slain by Badhbhchaidh son of Eachaidh Buadhach his own brother in Tealach an Choscair. But Badhbhchaidh held the sovereignty of Ireland only a day and a half when he was slain by Laoghaire Lorc to avenge his father.
Laoghaire Lorc son of Ughaine Mor, son of Eochaidh Buadhach, son of Duach Laghrach, son of Fiachaidh Tolgrach, son of Muireadhach Bolgrach, son of Simeon Breac, son of Aodan Glas, son of Nuadha Fionn Fail, son of Giallchaidh, son of Oilill Olchaoin, son of Siorna Saoghalach of the race of Eireamhon, held the sovereignty of Ireland two years. Ceasair Chruthach, daughter of the king of the French, wife of Ughaine Mor, was the mother of Laoghaire Lorc and Cobhthach Caol mBreagh. And he was called Laoghaire Lorc, for lorc means 'murder of a kinsman'; and Laoghaire treacherously slew Badhbhchaid, son of Eachaidh Buadhach, whence he got the name Laoghaire Lorc. Cobhthach Caol mBreagh, his own brother, slew Laoghaire Lorc at Dionn Riogh on the brink of the Bearbha.
It happened that Cobhthach Caol mBreagh had been pining through envy of Laoghaire Lorc on account of his holding the sovereignty of Ireland; and when Laoghaire heard that he was sick, he came with an armed force to visit him. When Cobhthach saw him, he said it was sad that his brother always had a suspicion of him and would not come into his presence without an escort. ‘Not so,’ said Laoghaire; ‘I will come peacefully into thy presence the next time unattended by an armed escort.’ Thereupon, Laoghaire bade farewell to Cobhthach. Now Cobhthach took the advice of a druid who was with him as to how he could lay hold on his kinsman to kill him. ‘What thou hast to do,’ said the druid, ‘is to feign death, and go into a bier as a corpse, and to send word of this to Laoghaire; and he will come to thee with only a small escort; and when he will
Cobhthach Caol mBreagh son of Ughaine Mor, son of Eachaidh Buadhach of the race of Eireamhon, held the sovereignty of Ireland thirty years, or, according to others, fifty years. Ceasair Chruthach, daughter of the king of the French, was his mother. He was called Cobhthach Caol mBreagh, for a severe disease afflicted him through envying his brother Laoghaire Lorc, who was king of Ireland before him, so that he got into decline, and his blood and flesh melted away, so that he was thin; and Magh Breagh is the name of the place in which he lay sick, and hence he was called Caol mBreagh; and this Cobhthach was slain by Labhraidh Loingseach, son of Oilill Aine, at Dionn Riogh, on the eve of greater Christmas, to avenge his father
- Labhraidh Loinseach, sufficient his army,
He slew Cobhthach in Dionn Riogh;
With the lance-armed host beyond the sea-water,
It was from these that the Lagenians were named.
Labhraidh Loingseach son of Oilill Aine, son of Laoghaire Lorc, son of Ughaine Mor of the race of Eireamhon, held the sovereignty of Ireland ten years; and he fell by Meilge son of Cobhthach Caol mBreagh. And the way in which he was allured from France to Ireland was that Moiriath daughter of Scoiriath, king of the territory of Feara Morc in west Munster, conceived a violent passion for him on account of the greatness of his name and fame. She equipped Craiftine the harper, a musician who was in Ireland at the time, that he might go after him to France with many love-presents, together with a love-lay in which she set forth the intensity of her passion for Maon; and when Craiftine arrived in France, he played a very sweet tune on his harp when he came to where Maon was, and sang the love-lay which Moiriath daughter of Scoiriath had composed for Maon. He was so delighted with Craiftine's playing that he said he considered the song and the tune melodious; and when his followers and Craiftine had heard this, they besought the king of the French to give him an auxiliary force so that he might go and regain his own territory; and the king gave him a fleetful, that is, two thousand two hundred, and they put out to sea; and no tidings whatever are given of them till they put into harbour at Loch Garman; and when they came ashore, they learned that Cobhthach Caol mBreagh was in Dionn Riogh and many of the Irish nobles with him, and thereupon they marched day and night, and attacked his fortress, and slew Cobhthach together with these nobles. It was then that a druid who was in the fortress inquired
Now when Labhraidh Loingseach had slain Cobhthach Caol mBreagh, and had taken possession of Ireland, he went along with Craiftine to visit Moiriath daughter of Scoiriath, king of the territory of Feara Morc, the lady-love who sent Craiftine to France to visit him. Labhraidh married her, and she was his queen during life.
- Two hundred and twenty hundred foreigners,
With broad spears they came over;
From these spears without flaw
The Leinstermen are called Laighin.
Now the reason why Maon who was called Labhraidh Loingseach went to France was his relation to the king of the French. For a daughter of the king of the French called Ceasair Chruthach was the wife of Ughaine Mor and mother of his children, namely, Laoghaire Lorc and Cobhthach Caol mBreagh; and Labhradh Loingseach is a son's son to that Laoghaire Lorc. And it was on account of his relation to the French that he sought their protection.
Another reason why he went to France rather than to another country is that there was a special friendly understanding between the Leinstermen and the French. Indeed every province in Ireland had formed a special friendly alliance beyond the sea, as the alliance between clann Neill and the
- Each is allied to its like,
Though they be not of the same stock;
The Ui Néill and the Albanians;
The Saxons and the Munstermen;- The Ultonians and the Spaniards,
The battle-stay of every district;
The Connaughtmen and the Welsh;
The Leinstermen allied to the French.
From this alliance between the provinces and the abovenamed countries they became mutually assimilated in manners according to their friendship and affection for one another.
Know, O reader, that all true Leinstermen that survive of the race of Eireamhon are descended from this Labhraidh Loingseach, except O Nuallain who sprang from Cobhthach Caol mBreagh. The following are the principal families that sprang from the Leinstermen, namely, O Conchubhar Failghe with his family branches, O Caomhanaigh, O Tuathalaigh, O Branaigh, Mac Giolla Phadraig, O Duinn, O Diomasaigh, O Duibhidhir, muinntear Riain, and every branch that sprang from these families. It was from Cathaoir Mor that most of the Leinster families sprang. But it was not from him that Mac Giolla Phadraig sprang, since Mac Giolla Phadraig and himself separated in pedigree from one another at Breasal Breac son of Fiachaidh Foibhric, the fourteenth ancestor from Cathaoir upwards. Now this Breasal had two sons, namely, Lughaidh Loithfhionn and Connla; and the province of Leinster was divided between these two: thus Lughaidh and his descendants obtained from the Bearbha eastward, and Connla and his descendants from the Bearbha westwards. These sons and
- Lughaidh and Connla without vexation,
Two sons of Breasal Breac the noble;
The Ossorians sprang from Connla of the wounds,
Lughaidh is ancestor of the Lagenians.
From Lughaidh also sprang O Duibhidhir; and they separated from Cathaoir in pedigree at the fifth ancestor from Cathaoir upwards. Now, Cathaoir Mor was son of Feidhlimidh Fiorurghlas, son of Cormac Gealta Gaoth, son of Nia Corb, son of Cu Chorb. And a son of this Cu Chorb was Cairbre Cluithiochair, from whom is O Dubhidhir; and from Nathi son of Criomhthann, son of Eanna Cinnsealach, the seventh in descent from Cathaoir Mor, came muinntear Riain.
Now, the second son of Ughaine Mor who had issue was Cobhthach Caol mBreagh. From him sprang all the race of Conn, both the descendants of Fiachaidh Sraibhtheine and of Eochaidh Doimhlen, and every other branch that sprang from Conn, as we shall set down hereafter in the genealogy of the sons of Milidh.
We read of Labhraidh Loingseach that his ears were like those of a horse; and hence, he used to kill on the spot everyone who cut his hair, lest he or anyone else might be aware of this blemish. Now he was wont to have his hair cropped every year, that is, to have cut off the part of his hair that grew below his ears. It was necessary to cast lots to determine who should crop the king each year, since it was his wont to put to death everyone who cropped him. Now it happened that the lot fell on the only son of a widow who approached the close of her life, and who lived near the king's stronghold. And when she heard that the lot had fallen on her son, she came and besought the king not to put her only son to death, seeing he was her sole offspring. The king promised her that he would not put her son to death, provided he kept secret what he should see, and made it known to no one till death. And when the youth had cropped the king, the burden of that secret so oppressed his body that he was obliged to lie in the bed of sickness, and that no medicine availed him. When he had lain long in a wasting condition, a skilful druid came to visit him, and told his mother that the cause of his sickness was the burden of a secret, and that he would not be well till he revealed his secret to some thing; and he directed him, since he was bound not to tell his secret to a person, to go to a place where four roads met, and to turn to his right and to address the first tree he met, and to tell his secret to it. The first tree he met was a large willow, and he disclosed his secret to it. Thereupon the burden of pain that was on his body vanished; and he was healed instantly as he returned to his mother's house. Soon after this, however, it happened that Craiftine's harp got broken, and he went to seek the material for a harp, and came upon the very willow to which the widow's son had revealed the secret, and from it he took
Meilge Molbhthach son of Cobhthach Caol mBreagh son of Ughaine Mor of the race of Eireamhon, held the sovereignty of Ireland seven years; and he fell by Mogh Corb son of Cobhthach Caomh.
Mogh Corb son of Cobhthach Caomh, son of Reachthaidh Ridhearg, son of Lughaidh Laighdhe, son of Eochaidh, son of Oilill Fionn, son of Art, son of Lugaidh Lamhdhearg, son of Eochaidh Uaircheas of the race of Eibhear, held the sovereignty of Ireland seven years. He was called Mogh Corb, because, as his son was one day in a chariot, a portion of the chariot got broken, and Mogh Corb repaired it, and through having done this service for his son whose name was Corb he was called Mogh Corb. He fell by Aonghus Ollamh.
Aonghus Ollamh son of Oilill, son of Labhraidh Loingseach, son of Oilill Aine, son of Laoghaire Lorc, son of Ughaine Mor of the race of Eireamhon held the sovereignty of Ireland eighteen years, and fell by Iarainnghleo son of Meilge.
Iarainnghleo Fathach son of Meilge Molbhthach, son of Cobhthach Caol mBreagh, son of Ughaine Mor of the race of Eireamhon, held the sovereignty of Ireland seven years; and he was called Iarainnghleo Fathach because he was wise, skilful, accomplished; and at length he fell by Fear Corb son of Mogh Corb.
Fear Corb son of Mogh Corb, son of Cobhthach Caomh, son of Reachtaidh Righdhearg of the race of Eibhear, held the sovereignty of Ireland eleven years; and he fell by Connla son of Iarainnghleo Fathach.
Connla Cruaidhchealgach son of Iarainnghleo Fathach, son of Meilge Molbhthach, son of Cobhthach Caol mBreagh, son of Ughaine Mor of the race of Eireamhon, held the sovereignty four years; and he fell at Tara.
Oilill Caisfhiaclach son of Connla Cruaidhchealgach, son of Iarainnghleo Fathach, son of Meilge Molbhthach, son of Cobhthach Caol mBreagh, son of Ughaine Mor of the race of Eireamhon, held the sovereignty of Ireland twenty-five years, till he fell by Adhamair Foltchaoin.
Adhamair Foltchaoin son of Fear Corb, son of Mogh Corb, son of Cobhthach Caomh, son of Reachtaidh Righdhearg of the race of Eibhear, held the sovereignty of Ireland five years; and fell by Eochadh Foiltleathan.
Eochaidh Foiltleathan son of Oilill Caisfhiaclach, son of Connla Cruaidhchealgach, son of Iarainnghleo Fathach, son of Meilge Molbhthach, son of Cobhthach Caol, son of Ughaine Mor of the race of Eireamhon, held the sovereignty of Ireland eleven years, and fell by Fearghus Fortamhail.
Fearghus Fortamhail son of Breasal Breac, son of Aonghus Gaileann, son of Oilill Bracan, son of Labhraidh Loingseach, son of Oilill Aine, son of Laoghaire Lorc, son of Ughaine Mor of the race of Eireamhon, held the sovereignty of Ireland twelve years; and he was called Fearghus Fortamhail, for he was warlike, strong, vigorous in his own time; and he fell by Aonghus Tuirbheach.
Aonghus Tuirbheach son of Eochaidh Foiltleathan, son of Oilill Caisfhiaclach, son of Connla Cruaidhchealgach, son of Iarainnghleo Fathach, son of Meilge Molbhthach, son of Cobhthach Caol mBreagh, son of Ughaine Mor of the race of Eireamhon, held the sovereignty of Ireland thirty years, or, according to others, sixty years; and he was called Aonghus
Conall Collamhrach son of Eidirsceol Teamhrach, son of Eochaidh Foiltleathan, son of Oilill Caisfhiaclach, son of Connla Cruaidhchealgach, son of Iarainnghleo Fathach, son of Meilge Molbhthach, son of Cobhthach Caol mBreagh, son of Ughaine Mor, held the sovereignty of Ireland five years, and fell by Nia Seaghamain.
Nia Seaghamain son of Adhamair Foltchaoin, son of Fear Corb, son of Mogh Corb, son of Cobhthach Caomh, son of Reachtaidh Righdhearg of the race of Eibhear, held the sovereignty of Ireland seven years; and he was called Nia Seaghamain, that is, seachmhaoineach 'surpassing in wealth', as his wealth far exceeded that of all others, for the wild does used to come and yield their milk kindly like any cow in his reign in Ireland through the magic of his mother, whose name was Fliodhais; and this Nia Seaghamain fell by Eanna Aighneach.
Eanna Aighneach son of Aonghus Tuirbheach Teamhrach, son of Eochaidh Foiltleathan, son of Oilill Caisfhiaclach, son of Connla Cruaidhchealgach, son of Iarainnghleo Fathach, son of Meilge Molbhthach, son of Cobhthach Caol mBreagh, son of Ughaine Mor of the race of Eireamhon, held the sovereignty of Ireland twenty-eight years. He was called Eanna Aighneach, for aighneach is the same as ogh oineach, that is, 'perfect generosity',
Criomhthann Coscrach son of Feidhlimidh Foirthriun, son of Fearghus Fortamhail, son of Breasal Breac, son of Aonghus Gaileann, son of Oilill Bracan, son of Labhraidh Loingseach, son of Oilill Aine, son of Laoghaire Lorc, son of Ughaine Mor of the race of Eireamhon, held the sovereignty of Ireland seven years. He is called Criomhthann Coscrach from the frequency with which he was victorious in slaughter and contest in every battle in which he was engaged; and he fell by Rudhruighe son of Sithrighe.
Rudruighe son of Sithrighe, son of Dubh, son of Fomhor, son of Airgheadmhar, son of Siorlamh, son of Fionn, son of Bratha, son of Labhraidh, son of Cairbre, son of Ollamh Fodla of the race of Ir son of Mileadh, held the sovereignty of Ireland thirty years, or, according to others, seventy years; and he died of the plague at Airgeadros.
Ionnadmhar son of Nia Seaghamain, son of Adhamair Foltchaoin, son of Fear Corb, son of Mogh Corb, son of Cobhthach Caomh, son of Reachtaidh Righdhearg of the race of Eibhear, held the sovereignty of Ireland three years; and he fell by Breasal Boidhiobhadh.
Breasal Boidhiobhadh son of Rudhruighe, son of Sithrighe, son of Dubh, son of Fomhor, son of Airgeadmhar, son of Siorlamh of the race of Ir son of Milidh, held the sovereignty of Ireland eleven years. He was called Breasal Boidhiobhadh, for a great cow-plague occurred in Ireland in his time. This Breasal fell by Lughaidh Luaighne.
Lughaidh Luaighne son of Ionnadmhar, son of Nia Seaghamain, son of Adhamair Foltchaoin, son of Fear Corb, son of Mogh Corb, son of Cobhthach Caomh, son of Reachtaidh Righdhearg of the race of Eibhear, held the sovereignty of Ireland five years, and fell by Conghal Clairingneach.
Conghal Clairingneach son of Rudhruighe, son of Sithrighe,
Duach Dallta Deaghaidh son of Cairbre Lusc, son of Lughaidh Luaighne, son of Ionnadmhar, son of Nia Seaghamain, son of Adhamair Foltchaoin, son of Fear Corb, son of Mogh Corb, son of Cobhtbach Caomh, son of Reachtaidh Righdhearg of the race of Eibhear, held, the sovereignty of Ireland ten years. He was called Duach Dallta Deaghaidh, for Cairbre Lusc had two sons, namely Duach and Deaghaidh, and they disputed the sovereignty of Ireland with one another, for each of these sons, was a fit person for the kingship as regards shape, make, action, and valour. But Deaghaidh, the youngest of the sons, sought to supplant his elder brother Duach. When Duach perceived this, he sent messengers for his brother Deaghaidh; and Deaghaidh came to the place where Duach was; and when he came into his presence, Duach seized him, and took out his eyes, so that he was really a blind man; hence the name Duach Dallta Deaghaidh, Duach who blinded Deaghaidh, clung to him. To set forth this deed some poet composed this stanza:
This Duach fell by Fachtna Fathach son of Cas.
- Deaghaidh was seized in his house
By Duach, by his brother;
And blinded by violence was
This Deaghaidh, though sorry was the deed.
Fachtna Fathach son of Cas, son of Rudhruighe, son of Sithrighe, son of Dubh, son of Fomhor, son of Airgeadmhar, son of Siorlamh of the race of Ir son of Milidh, held the sovereignty of Ireland sixteen years; and he fell by Eochaidh Feidhlioch.
Eochaidh Feidhlioch son of Fionn, son of Fionnlogh, son of Roighnen Ruadh, son of Easaman Eamhna, son of Blathacht, son of Labhraidh Lorc, son of Eanna Aighneach, son of Aonghus Tuirbheach Teamhrach, son of Eochaidh Foiltleathan, son of Oilill Caisfhiaclach, son of Connla Cruaidhchealgach, son of Iarainnghleo Fathach, son of Meilge Molbhthach, son of Cobhthach Caol mBreagh, son of Ughaine Mor of the race of Eireamhon, held the sovereignty of Ireland twelve years. Benia daughter of Crioinhthann was mother of Eochaidh Feidhlioch. He was called Eochaidh Feidhlioch, for he suffered long from sighing, for feidhil means long, and uch means 'a sigh', hence Feidhlioch means 'a long sigh'. For his heart was never without a sigh since he slew his sons in the Battle of Drom Criaidh until his own death. These three sons were called the three Finneamhnas. And they were called Eamhna, from the word amhaon, denying that any one of them was born alone, they being all born together. And Cloithfhionn daughter of Eochaidh Uichtleathan, wife of Eochaidh Feidhlioch, was their mother, and she gave birth to them together. Their names were Breas and Nar and Lothar. And this Eochaidh Feidhlioch it was who first divided Ireland into provinces and instituted provincials. For he divided the province of Connaught into three parts, between three, namely, Fidheac son of Feig, Eochaidh Allad, Tinne son of Connraidh. He gave to Fidheac Fir na Craoibhe, from Fidheac to Luimneach; he gave to Eochaidh Allad Iorrus Domhnann, from Gaillimh to Dubh, and to Drobhaois; he gave to Tinne son of Connraidh, Magh Sainbh and Seantuatha Taidhean, from Fidheac to Teamhair Bhrogha Niadh; he gave, moreover, the province of Ulster to Fearghus son of Leide; he gave the province of Leinster to Rossa son of Fearghus Fairrge; he gave the two provinces of Munster to Tighearnach Teadbhannach and to Deaghaidh; so that he brought all Ireland under his own sway and rule during his reign.
After this, however, Eochaidh went into Connaught; and the three kings and the people of the three divisions of Connaught came to meet him. Eochaidh asked of them the site of a royal fortress for himself in Connaught. Eochaidh Allad and Fidheac said they would not grant him this, and that they preferred to send him his rent and dues to Tara. Tinne son of Connraidh, however, the third king, consented to Eochaidh's having the site of a fortress. Eochaidh gave his own daughter Meadhbh to wife to Tinne; and they formed a friendly alliance with one another. Eochaidh Feidhlioch inquired of his druids where he should build the fortress; and they told him to build it at Druim na nDruadh, which is called Cruachain. The fort was then begun by the Gamhanruidh from Iorrus Domhnann; and they made the rampart of that fort of Eochaidh in one day, as the poet says:
A residence was then built within it; and Eochaidh gave the kingdom of Connaught to Tinne son of Connraidh, and gave him his own daughter, Meadhbh, in marriage. After this Tinne slew Eochaidh Allad, and gave the kingdom of Domhnann to Oilill Fionn. Now Meadhbh gave the government of Raith Eochach to Crochain Croidhearg, her own mother; and it is from this Crochain that the name Cruachain is now given to Raith Cruachan, as the poet says in this quatrain:
- He enjoined on the tribe of Domhnann, in one day
To make and shape the rampart;
The king of Fail of the feasts gave not
Pay to the men for the work.
Meadhbh continued for a long time afterwards to be the wife of Tinne son of Connraidh, till he fell at Tara by the hand of
- Druim na nDruadh and Tulach Oichne,
And then Raith Eochach was it called;
Raith Cruachan from Crochain Croidhearg,
Who sped great wrath on the plain.
There were war and strife for a long time between the people of Connaught and those of Ulster while Meadhbh held sway over Connaught, and Conchubhar was king of Ulster. And in order that thou mayest know, O reader, the cause of the enmity that existed between them, I shall set down here how the children of Uisneach were slain in violation of the guarantee or protection of Fearghus son of Rogh, of Cormac Conluingeas, and of Dubthach Daol Uladh. The pith of the story is briefly as follows.
One day Conchubhar, king of Ulster, went to partake of a feast to the house of Feidhlimidh son of Dall, storyteller to Conchubhar. In the course of that feast the wife of Feidhlimidh gave birth to a beautiful daughter; and Cathbhadh the druid, who was present at the assembly on that occasion, foreboded and foretold of this daughter that great misfortune and mischief would befall the province on her account. When the warriors heard this, they sought to put her to death on the spot. ‘By no means,’ said Conchubhar; ‘but I will take her and put her to nurse so that she may become my wife.’ Deirdre was the name that Cathbhadh the druid gave her. Conchubhar placed her in a dwelling apart, with a tutor and a nurse to bring her up; and no one in the province was permitted to go into her presence but her tutor, her nurse, and Conchubhar's censorious woman, who was called Leabharcham. She continued under these regulations until she was marriageable, and until she excelled the women of the time in beauty. One snowy day it chanced that her tutor killed a calf to prepare food for her; and when the calf's blood was shed on the snow, a raven began to drink it. And when Deirdre observed this, she said to Leabharcham that she would like to have a husband having the three colours she beheld, namely, his hair of the colour of the raven, his cheek of the colour of the calf's blood, and his skin of the colour of the snow. ‘Such a man is in the household with Conchubhar; he is called Naoise, son of Uisneach.’ ‘Then,’ said she, ‘I beseech thee, O Leabharcham, send him to speak to me in secret’; and Leabharcham informed Naoise of this. Thereupon Naoise came secretly to visit Deirdre, who revealed to him how greatly she loved him, and besought him to elope with her from Conchubhar. Naoise consented to this with reluctance, as he feared Conchubhar. Himself and his two
On the green they were met by Eoghan son of Durrthacht, prince of Fearnmhagh, accompanied by a large host with intent to deal treacherously with the children of Uisneach at the direction of Conchubhar; and when the childrcn of Uisneach arrived, Eoghan went to bid Naoise welcome, and in welcoming him thrust a spear through him. When Fiachaidh son of Fearghus saw this, he sprang between Eoghan and Naoise; and Eoghan dealt his second thrust at Fiachaidh, and slew him, together with Naoise; and forthwith Eoghan and his host fell upon the children of Uisneach, and slew them, and made dreadful slaughter upon their followers.
Now when Fearghus and Dubhthach heard that the children of Uisneach had been slain in violation of their guarantee, they proceeded to Eamhain, and came into conflict with the party of Conchubhar, and they slew Maine son of
From this Ciar is named Ciarraidhe in Munster, and O Conchubhair Ciarraidhe is of his progeny. From Corc is named Corca Moruadh; and from Conmhac is named every Conmhaicne in Connaught; and whoever reads the poem composed by Lughair, Oilill's poet, beginning, The children of Fearghus, children beyond all, he will plainly find that these three sons of Meadhbh wielded great power and authority in Connaught and in Munster. This is proved by the territories that are named from them in these two provinces.
- Meadhbh conceived in fair Crunchain
Of Fearghus, who deserved not reproach,
And brought forth triplets faultless, strong,
Ciar and Corc and Conmhac.
Now as to Deirdre, who gave rise to the events we have narrated, she remained with Conchubhar a year after the slaying of the children of Uisneach; and little though it be to raise her head or let a smile cross her lips, she did not do it during that time. When Conchubhar saw that neither sport nor kindness had any effect on her, and neither merriment nor
As it was in the time of Conchubhar and the heroes that Meadhbh held the sovereignty of Connaught, and as she lived ten years after the death of Tinne son of Connraidh, her first husband, and for eighty years after that was the wife of Oilill Mor, and lived eight years unmarried after the death of Oilill till she was slain by Forbhuidhe son of Conchubhar, we shall briefly set down here the manner of death and some account of the more celebrated of the heroes who lived in the time of Meadhbh.
Now at that time, in order to incite champions to be brave in conflict, it was customary to give a champion's prize as a token of victory to him who proved the stronger in single combat, and who vanquished his adversary in the field of valour. From this custom there arose a contest for the champion's prize between Conall Cearnach, and Cuchulainn and Laoghaire Buadhach in Eamhain. And Conall asked for the brain of Meisceadhra, a stout Leinster champion whom he had himself slain in single combat; and when the brain of that valiant man was exhibited, Laoghaire and Cuchulainn ceased from their contest with Conall, as they judged that neither of them had ever done so great a deed of bravery or valour. It was the custom at that time that when any champion slew in battle another champion of great fame, he took the brain out of his head and mixed it with lime, so that he had it in the shape of a hard round ball to show at meetings and public assemblies as a trophy of valour. And when two jesters whom Conchubhar kept noticed how highly everyone prized the brain, they stole it the next day from Conchubhar's Craobhdhearg. Now there were three dwellings in Eamhain in Conchubhar's time, namely, Broin Bhearg and Craobh Dhearg and Craobh Ruaidh. In the first house were their wounded; and it was called Broin Bhearg, because the wounded who were in it felt sorrow and distress from the piercing pain of the wounds, and of the distempers from which they suffered therein. In the second house, which was called Craobh Dhearg, were kept in safety the arms and precious valuables; and accordingly Meisceadhra's brain was placed there for security as any other
As to the two jesters, having carried off the brain of Meisceadhra from the Craobh Dhearg as we have said, they went on the green of Eamhain, and set to bandying the brain from hand to hand like a ball, when a fierce wolf of evil to the Ultonians, to wit, Ceat son of Magha, a valiant Connaughtman, came and coaxed the brain of Meisceadhra from the jesters, and took it with him to Connaught; and as often as he went to battle or contend against the Ultonians he was wont to have the brain of Meisceadhra at his girdle in the hope of bringing disaster on the Ultonians. For it was foretold that Meisceadhra would avenge himself on the Ultoinans after his death; and he thought it was by means of the brain this prophecy would be fulfilled. Whence Ceat was wont to carry the brain of Meisceadhra about with him in the hope of slaying some one of the nobles of Ulster with it. Now Ceat, accompanied by a large host, went to plunder Ulster, and carried off a large herd of cattle from Feara Rois in Ulster; and he was pursued by a large force of Ultoinans; and the men of Connaught flocked eastward to assist Ceat, and Conchubhar went westward to help the Ultonians. And when Ceat heard that Conchubhar was in pursuit, he sent word to the women of Connaught who were on a hill watching the two hosts asking them to entice Conchubhar to visit them, as he was a jovial, affable man, for the Ultonians would not permit him to take part in the battle against the men of Connaught.
Now when Conchubhar heard that the women wished to see him, he set out alone from the height on which he was to visit them; while Ceat, on the other hand, went secretly and got into the midst of the women waiting in readiness to kill Conchubhar. When, therefore, Conchubhar was approaching the women, Ceat arose and arranged the brain of Meisceadhra in his sling to slay Conchubhar. But when
He was seven years in this state up to the Friday on which Christ was crucified, according to some seanchas. And when he saw the unwonted transformation of the elements and the darkening of the sun with the moon full, he inquired of Bacrach, a Leinster druid who was with him, what was the cause of that unwonted change in the luminaries of heaven and earth. ‘It is that Jesus Christ the Son of God is being put to death now by the Jews,’ replied the druid. ‘That is a pity,’ said Conchubhar; ‘and if I were present, I would slay all that are around my King putting Him to death.’ And with that he drew forth his sword, and went into an oak-wood hard by, and set to cutting and felling it, saying that, if he were amongst the Jews, he would treat them in the same way; and through the strength of the fury that seized him the ball bounded from his head, and a portion of his brain followed it, and with that he died. Coill Lamhruidhe in Feara Rois is the name of that wood-thicket.
After Conchubhar's death, the kingdom of Ulster was offered to whoever should carry his body to Eamhain without resting. A servant of Conchubnar's named Ceann Bearroide
But though authors relate this story of Conchubhar, alleging that he was a contemporary of Christ, still, according to the truth of history, Christ was not born for a long time after Conchubhar; and the truth of this story is that Bacrach, a Leinster druid, foretold through prophecy that Christ the Prophesied One, the Son of God, would be conceived, that He would assume a body, and that the jews would put Him to death; and through Him the human race would be delivered from the tyranny of the evil one. And when Conchubhar heard this, he became enraged as we have said; and through sympathy with Christ, he set to cut down the wood of Lamhruidhe as if the trees were the Jews; and he died of that effort. And if anyone should deem it strange that Bacrach or any other druid, being Pagan, should foretell the death of Christ, how was it more fitting for the Sybils, who were Pagans, to have foretold Christ before His birth than for Bacrach or any of his kind? Hence the story is not to be thus discredited.
This Ceat was a valiant man and during his life he was an enemy and constant plunderer of the Ultonians. On a certain day this Ceat proceeded to Ulster to wreak vengeance as was his wont; and there was heavy snow at that time; and as he was returning with the heads of three warriors whom he had slain on that expedition, Conall Cearnach pursued him and seized him at Ath Ceit. They fought; and Ceat fell in the conflict; and Conall was severely wounded, and lapsed into a trance on the spot after he had lost a large quantity of blood. Thereupon Bealchu of Breithfne, a Connaught champion, came to the place of conflict, where he found Ceat dead and Conall on the point of death, and said that it was well these two wolves who had caused the ruin of Ireland were in so sad a plight. ‘That is true,’ said Conall; ‘and in retribution for all the injury I have inflicted on Connaught do thou kill me.’ Now he said this because he would give the kingdom of Ireland that some other warrior should wound him so that a single Connaught warrior should not have the renown of slaying him. ‘I will not slay thee,’ said Bealchu, ‘since the plight thou art in is almost as bad as death. However, I will take thee with me and apply remedies to thee; and if thou recoverest from thy wounds, I will fight thee in single combat, so that I may avenge on thee all the injury and affliction thou hast brought on Connaught.’ Thereupon he placed him in a litter and took him to his own house, and there applied remedies to him, until is wounds were healed.
But when Bealchu saw that Conall was recovering and his natural strength growing in him once more, he became afraid of him, and arranged for three warriors, his own sons, to slay him treacherously in bed by night. But Conall got a hint of
So far the murder of Ceat son of Magha and of Bealchu of Breithfne and his three sons. And there are many great deeds besides this that might be laid to the credit of Conall which we shall leave untold on this occasion.
- Among the feats of Conall Cearnach
Was the sack of Manainn, the spoiling of slaves,
And the slaying of the three sons of Bealchu of Breithfne,
After he had slain Lughaidh son of three hounds.
When Fearghus was in banishment in Connaught, it happened that he was with Oilill and Meadhbh in Magh Ai, where they had a dwelling-fortress; and one day, when they went out to the shore of a lake that was near the lios, Oilill asked Fearghus to go and swim in the lake, and Fearghus did so. Now while Fearghus was swimming, Meadhbh was seized by a desire of swimming with him; and when she had gone into the lake with Fearghus, Oilill grew jealous; and he ordered a kinsman of his called Lughaidh Dalleigheas who was with him to cast a spear at Fearghus
Conchubhar had a poet called Aodh son of Ainneann, who carried on an intrigue with Maghain, Conchubhar's wife; and when Conchubhar discovered this, the judgment he passed on the poet was that he be drowned in Loch Laoghaire; and at the king's command a company went with him to drown him. And when Laoghaire Buadhach's steward saw this, he went to Laoghaire and said that there was no place in Ireland where the poet could be drowned but at his own door.
When Oilill had been slain by Conall Cearnach, Meadhbh went to Inis Clothrann on Lough Ribh to live; and while she resided there, she was under an obligation to bathe every morning in the well which was at the entrance to the island. And when Forbuidhe son of Conchubhar heard this, he visited the well one day alone, and with a line measured from the brink of the well to the other side of the lake, and took the measure with him to Ulster, and practised thus: he inserted two poles in the ground, and tied an end of the line to each pole, and placed an apple on one of the poles, and stood himself at the other pole, and kept constantly firing from his sling at the apple that was on the top of the pole till he struck it. This exercise he practised until he had grown so dexterous that he would miss no aim at the apple. Soon after this there was a meeting of the people of Ulster and Connaught at both sides of the Shannon at Inis Clothrann; and Forbuidhe came there from the east with the Ulster gathering. And one morning while he was there, he saw Meadhbh bathing, as was her wont, in the fore-mentioned well; and with that he fixed a stone in his sling and hurled it at her, and struck her in the forehead, so that she died on the spot, having been ninety-eight years on the throne of Connaught, as we have said above.
Thus far we have digressed into accounts of the heroes who were contemporaries of Meadhbh. We shall now return
- Three daughters had Eochaidh Feidhlioch,
Fame on a lofty seat:
Eithne Uathach, fair Meadhbh of Cruachain,
And Clothra.
We shall come back again to Conchubhar, and set down here part of his story. His mother was the daughter of Eochaidh Salbhuidhe of Connaught, who was called Neasa, and he was named from her. And his father was Fachtna Fathach son of Cas, son of Rudhruighe of the race of Ir son of Milidh; and when the provincial kings were demanding to have the boundaries of each separate province fixed, Cairbre Nia Fear, king of Leinster, in consideration of getting Conchubhar's daughter in marriage, ceded to Ulster the tract of land that extends from Loch an Chuighidh in Breagh and from Tara to the sea; and this tract consists of three cantons, as the poet says:
The lady through whom he gained this increase was named Feidhlim Nuachrothach; and through force of passion she eloped with Conall Cearnach from the king of Leinster.
- In the division of Erin into fifths,
Between two seas, great the permission,
Three cantons with his portion
Took Conchubhar, no small, narrow tract.
As to Conchubhar he had twenty-one sons; and in a fit of drunkenness he committed incest with his own mother, and she bore him Cormac Conluingeas. Now, Cormac is the same as Corbmac, an incestuous son; for it was through corbadh or incest that Cormac was the offspring of Conchubhar by his own mother, whose name was Neasa. And in punishment of this misdeed all his sons died without issue except three,
It was this Conchubhar son, of Fachtna Fathach and his kinsmen that fought the Battle of Aonach Macha against Dabhall Dianbhuilleach son of the monarch of Lochloinn. An innumerable host accompanied the son of the king of Lochlainn on that occasion on an expedinon to invade Ireland. It was in the province of Ulster they landed, and after that they proceeded to Magh Macha. The clan Rudhruighe rallied round Conchubhar against the foreigners, and gave them battle. Then Geanann Gruadhsholus son of Cathbhadh said to his followers: ‘Your host is small, O men of Ulster,’ he said, ‘and ye are all young and beardless. What shall we do, then?’ said they all. ‘Well,’ said Geanann, ‘bring with you a large quantity of grey wool, and bind fast the wool to your faces, so that the foreigners may hate and fear you all the more for this, as if you were chosen warriors.’ All those who were amhulchach, that is, those who had not beards, followed the advice of Geanann. The battle was afterwards fought, and the foreigners were defeated, and they were slaughtered there; and it was from this Battle of Aonach Macha that they were called Ulaidh or Ulstermen.
It was thus his death was brought about: Cuchulainn went to learn feats of valour to Scathach, a female champion that lived in Alba; and there was a fair lady in Scotland at that time called Aoife daughter of Airdgheim, who cherished a longing affection for Cuchulainn because of his great fame; and she came to visit him; and they had intercourse with one another, and she conceived a son. Now, when Cuchulainn proceeding to Ireland after having learned the feats of agility from Scathach, he paid a farewell
Know, O reader, that if I were to relate here how Cuchulainn fell by the sons of Cailitin, and Fear Diadh son of Damhan by Cuchulainn, and the death of the seven Maines sons of Oilill Mor and of Meadhbh, and of many other stout heroes who are not mentioned here, a long narrative would be needed concerning them. But if thou wishest to get a lengthy account of them, read Brisleach Mhuighe Muirtheimhne; Oidhidh na gCuradh; or Tain Bo Cuailgne; or Tain Bo Reaghamain; or Deargruathar Chonaill Cheamaigh; or Feis Eamhnan; pr Tain Bo Fliodhais; or similar tales which are now to be seen in Ireland; and thou shalt find therein a copious account of the above-mentioned persons and of many other champions and warriors of their history and adventures.
Nevertheless I think I should not omit mention of Curaoi son of Daire here but should set down the cause of his as he was a valiant man, and a contemporary of Conchubhar and of the heroes. Morann Mhanannach was mother of Curaoi son of Daire, as the poet says in this quatrain:
- Morann Mhanannach of honour pure,
Daughter of Ir son of Uinnseach,
Sister of Eochaidh Eachbheoil was she,
Mother of Curaoi son of Daire.
There were three orders of champions in Ireland at the same time; and there lived neither before their time nor ever since a body of the sons of Milidh who were bigger, stronger, braver, more skilled, more intrepid on the field of battle, and in exercises of valour and bravery than they; for the Fian of Leinster were not to be compared with them. The first order of these were the champions of the Craobh Ruadh under Conchubhar; the second order the Gamhanruidh of Iorras Domhnonn under Oilill Fionn; and the third order
It was thus that the death of Curaoi came about. The champions of the Craobh Ruadh went on an expedition to pillage an island in the ocean near Alba called Manainn, where where was much gold and silver and wealth of various kinds, and many precious valuables besides; and the lord of the island had a comely, marriageable daughter who surpased the women of her time in form and beauty. Her name was Blanaid. And when Curaoi heard that the champions were setting out on that expedition, he put on a disguise by magic, and went with the party; and when they were about to plunder the island in the guise of jugglers they apprehended great difficulty in seizing on the dun which was in the island in which was Blanaid, and all the precious valuables of the island, both on account of its strength and of the great skill in magic of those who were defending it. Then Curaoi, who was disguised as a man with a grey cloak, said that if he got his choice of the valuables in the dun he would capture it for them. Cuchulainn promised him this; and thereupon they attacked the dun with the man in the grey cloak at their head. He stopped the magic wheel that was in motion at the door of the fortress, and enabled all to enter; and they plundered the dun, and took from it Blanaid and all the precious valuables it contained. They thence set out for Ireland and reached Eamhain, and as they were dividing the valuables, the man in the grey cloak asked for the valuable he should choose as was promise to him. ‘Thou shalt have it,’ said Cuchulainn. ‘Well, then,’ said he, ‘Blanaid is my choice of the valuables.’ ‘Thou mayst have thy choice of the other valuables excepting only Blanaid.’ ‘I will not accept any but her,’ said the man of the grey coat. Thereupon Curaoi sought an opportunity of carring off Blanaid, and, seizing her unperceived, he bore her off in an enchanted mask. When Cuchulainn noticed that the lady was missing, he concluded that it was
As to Blanaid, she told Curaoi that he ought to build a stone fortress for himself which would excel all the royal fortresses of Ireland, and that the way in which that could be done was to send the clanna Deaghaidh to collect and bring together all the large stones that were standing in Ireland for
Curaoi's poet, who was called Feircheirtne, went after Blanaid to Ulster in the hope of getting an opportunity of slaying her to avenge Curaoi; and on reaching Ulster he found Conchubhar and Cuchulainn and Blanaid, with a large assembly round them, at Ceann Beara point; and when the poet saw Blanaid standing there on the brink of a precipice, he went towards, her and twined his arms round her and cast himself and herself suddenly down the precipice, and thus they were both killed.
Eochaidh Airiomh son of Fionn, son of Fionnlogha, son of Roighnen Ruadh, son of Easamhan Eamhna, son of Blathacht, son of Labhraidh Lorc, son of Eanna Aighneach, son of Aonghus Tuirbheach Teamhrach, son of Eochaidh Foiltleathan, son of Oilill Caisfhiaclach, son of Connla Cruaidhchealgach, son of Iarainnghleo Fathach, son of Meilge Molbthach, son of Cobhthach Caol mBreagh, son of Ughaine Mor of the race of Eireamhon, held the sovereignty of Ireland twelve years. He was called Eochaidh Airiomh because it was he who first dug a cave in Ireland. Now Airiomh is the same as ar uaimhe, that is, 'the ploughing or digging of a cave'; and finally this Eochaidh fell by Siodhmall in Freamhainn Teathbha.
Eidirsceol son of Eoghan, son of Oilill, son of Iar, son of Deaghaidh, son of Sin, son of Roisin, son of Triun, son of Roithriun, son of Airndil, son of Maine, son of Forga, son of Fearadhach, son of Oilill Erann, son of Fiachaidh Fear Mara, son of Aonghus Tuirbheach Teamhrach, son of Eochaidh Foiltleathan, son of Oilill Caisfhiaclach, son of Connla Cruaidhchealgach, son of Iarannghleo Fathach, son of Meilge Molbhthach, son of Cobhthach Caol mBreagh, son of Ughaine Mor of the race of Eireamhon, held the sovereignty of Ireland six years, and he fell by Nuadha Neacht in Aillinn.
Nuadha Neacht son of Seadna Siothbhac, son of Lughaidh Loithfhionn, son of Breasal Breac, son of Fiachaidh Foibhric, son of Oilill Glas, son of Fearadhach Foghlas, son of Nuada Fullon, son of Ealloit, son of Art, son of Mogh Art, son of Criomhthann Coscrach, son of Fearadhach Fionn, son of Feilimidh Foirthriun, son of Fearghus Fortamhail, son of Breasal Breoghaman, son of Aonghus Ollamh, son of Oilill Bracan, son of Labhraidh Loingseach, son of Oilill Aine, son of Laoghaire Lorc, son of Ughaine Mor of the
Conaire Mor son of Eidirsceol, son of Eoghan, son of Oilill, son of Iar, son of Deaghaidh, son of Sin, son of Roisin, son of Triun, son of Roithriun, son of Airndil, son of Maine, son of Forga, son of Fearadhach, son of Oilill Erann, son of Fiachaidh Fear Mara, son of Aonghus Tuirbheach Teamhrach of the race of Eireamhon, held the sovereignty of Ireland thirty years, or, according to others, seventy years.
This Conaire Mor was the first who exacted from the Leinstermen the eiric of his father, Eidirsceol. The following exacted the same eiric from the Leinstermen, namely, Oilill Olom, Eoghan son of Oilill, Fiachaidh Muilleathan, Oilill Flann Beag, Lughaidh son of Oilill Flann Beag, and Corc son of Lughaidh. The amount of this eiric was three hundred white cows, three hundred mantles, three hundred hogs, and three hundred golden swords; and they joined Osruighe with Munster, that is, from Gabhran to Grian Airbh beside Moin Eile; and they gave all the elements as guarantee that they would pay that eiric for ever, as the seancha says in this stanza:
Understand, O reader, that the Earna of Munster, and the Dal Riada of Alba, are descendants of this Conaire, and that it was in the time of Duach Dallta Deaghaidh that the Earna came to Munster; and according to Cormac, in his Psalter, it was the clanna Rudhruighe who banished them to Munster after they had defeated them in eight battles; and they acquired great power in Munster after that from the time of Duach Dallta Deaghaidh to the time of Mogh Nuadhat; so that, according to the Book of Munster, they drove the race of
- Osruighe from Gabhran to Grian
Was joined, on account of Eidirsceol's eiric,
With Munster, select her choice,
It was Conaire who made the agreement.
Lughaidh Riabh nDearg son of the three Finneamhas son of Eochaidh Feidhlioch, son of Fionn, son of Fionnlogha, son of Roighnen Ruadh, son of Easamhan Eamhna, son of Blathacht, son of Labhraidh Lorc, son of Eanna Aighneach, son of Aonghus. Tuirbheach Teamhrach of the race of Eireamhon, held the sovereignty of Ireland twenty years, or, according to others, twenty-six years. Dearbhorgaill daughter of Fargall, king of Lochloinn, was wife of Lughaidh Riabh nDearg. He was called Lughaidh Riabh nDearg because there was a red circle round his neck, and another circle round his waist; for he was the offspring, in their drunkenness, of the three Fionns by their sister who was called Clothra daughter of Eochaidh Feidhlioch; and as a setting forth of this deed is the following historical stanza from which it will be understood that it was this Clothra who bore Lughaidh Riabh nDearg to her brothers that also bore Criomhthann Nia Nar to this same Lughaidh who was her own son. Here is the stanza:
At that time it was believed that what was above the upper circle of Lughaidh Riabh nDearg resembled the one of the youths who was called Nar, and that what was between the two circles resembled Breas, and that what was below the waist resembled Lotar. This Lughaidh died by falling on his sword, which cut him through.
- Lughaidh Riabh nDearg to fair Criomhthann
Was father and was brother;
And Clothra of the comely form
Was grandmother to her son.
Conchubhar Abhradhruadh son of Fionn File, son of Rossa Ruadh, son of Fearghus
Criomhthann Nia Nar son of Lughaidh Riabh nDearg, son of the three Finneamhnas, son of Eochaidh Feidhlioch, son of Fionn, son of Fionnlogha, son of Roighnen Ruadh, son of Easamhan Eamhna, son of Blathacht, son of Laoghaire Lorc, son of Eanna Aighneach, son of Aonghus Tuirbheach Teamhrach of the race of Eireamhon, held the sovereignty of Ireland sixteen years. He was called Criomhthann Nia Nar, for nia is the same as 'champion' or 'brave man'; and he was called Nar, 'ashamed', for he felt ashamed of being the offspring of his brother and mother. It was in the twelfth year of the reign of Criomhthann Nia Nar that Christ was born. This Criomhthann met his death by a fall from his horse, soon after which he expired.
Fearadhach Fionn Feachtnach son of Criomhthann Nia Nar, son of Lughaidh Riabh nDearg, son of the three Finneamhnas, son of Eochaidh Feidhlioch of the race of Eireamhon, heid the sovereignty of Ireland twenty years. Nar Tuathchuach daughter of Loch son of Daire of Cruitheantuaith was the mother of Fearadhach Feachtnach. He was
Fiatach Fionn, a quo the Dal bhFiatach, son of Daire, son of Dluthach, son of Deitsin, son of Eochaidh, son of Sin, son of Roisin, son of Triun, son of Roithriun, son of Airndil, son of Maine, son of Forga, son of Fearadhach, son of Oilill Earann, son of Fiachaidh Fear Mara, son of Aonghus Tuirbheach Teamhrach of the race of Eireamhon, held the sovereignty of Ireland three years; and he fell by Fiachaidh Fionnoladh.
Fiachaidh Fionnoladh son of Fearadhach Fionn Feachtnach, son of Criomhthann Nia Nar, son of Lughaidh Riabh nDearg, son of the three Finneamhnas, son of Eochaidh Feidhlioch of the race of Eireamhon, held the sovereignty of Ireland twenty-seven years. He is called Fiachaidh Fionnoladh, for oladh is a name for a cow, and most of the cows of Ireland were white (fionn) in his time; hence he was called Fiachaidh Fionnoladh. Know that, according to Stowe's Chronicle, there were Scots residing in Aiba in the year of the Lord 73, very soon after Fiachaidh Fionnoladh held the sovereignty of Ireland, and that was before Cairbre Riada lived. And this Fiachaidh was treacherously slain by the rustic tribes of Ireland.
Cairbre Chinn Chait son of Dubhthach, son of Rudhruighe, son of Diochun
Cairbre obtained the sovereignty of Ireland in this manner. The serfs or rustic tribes of all Ireland devised a treacherous plot against the king and the nobles of the country; and they resolved to carry out this plot by getting ready a feast to be given to the kings and the nobles of Ireland; and the place in which that feast was given was Magh Cru in Connaught; and they were three years preparing it, and during that time they set apart a third of their crops with a view to the feast; and the free tribes of Ireland came to partake of it; and with them came three kings, namely, Fiachaidh Fionnoladh, king of Ireland, whose wife was Eithne daughter of the king of Alba; Feig sonof Fidheic Caoch, king of Munster, whose wife was Beartha daughter of Goirtniad, king of Britain; Breasal son of Firb, king of Ulster, whose wife was the daughter of the king of Sacsa; her name was Aine, and her father's name was Cainneall. The rustic tribes had three chiefs, namely, Monach, Buan, and Cairbre Caitcheann; and this Cairbre was chief of them all. They had been partaking of the feast for nine days when at length the rustic tribes sprang upon the free tribes of Ireland and slew them, so that they all fell by them on the spot, except the three unborn children who were in the wombs of the
- Thus was Cairbre the hardy,
Who ruled Ireland south and north:
Two cat's ears on his fair head,
Cats fur upon his ears.
Eilim son of Connra, son of Rossa Ruadh, son of Rudhruighe, son of Sithrighe, son of Dubh, son of Fomhor, son of Airgeadmhar, son of Siorlamh, son of Fionn, son of Bratha, son of Labhraidh, son of Cairbre, son of Ollamh Fodla of the race of Ir son of Milidh, held the sovereignty of Ireland twenty years; and he fell by Tuathal Teachtmhar in the Battle of Aichill.
Tuathal Teachtmhar son of Fiachaidh Fionnoladh, son of Fearadhach Fionn Feachtnach, son of Criomhthann Nia Nar, son of Lughaidh Riabh nDearg, son of the three Finneamhnas, son of Eochaidh Feidhlioch of the race of Eireamhon, held the sovereignty of Ireland thirty years. He was called Tuathal Teachtmhar, as every good came in his time. Now Fiachaidh Fionnoladh left no issue but one son, who was called Tuathal Teachtmhar; and that son was in the womb of Eithne daughter of the king of Alba, who escaped by flight from the destruction of Magh Cru in Connaught, when the Athachthuaith slew Fiachaidh Fionnoladh and the free tribes of Ireland. And after the birth of Tuathal in Alba he was brought up and educated in politeness there till he had reached the age of twenty-five years; and during that time Ireland had been in adversity; and the Athachthuaith being in a great difficulty went and consulted their druids as to the cause and origin of the adversity in which Ireland was at that time, and as to the way in which she might be freed from it. The druids replied that the cause of her adversity was that they had acted treacherously towards the kings and the free tribes of Ireland, and added that her wonted prosperity would not come back to Ireland until some one of the descendants of those kings who were slain assumed the sovereignty of the country. And it was about this time that the Athachthuaith heard that there was in Scotland a son of Fiachaidh Fionnoladh, whose name was Tuathal Teachtmhar; and a large party of the Athachthuaith took counsel together, and they agreed to send envoys to Tuathal to Alba. There were also companies of the remnant of the free races of Ireland, namely, clann an Duinn Deasa of Leinster, Fiachaidh Casan and Fionnbhall his brother, and six hundred pirates with them, devastating Ireland to avenge the treachery
When Tuathal Teachtmhar heard these tidings, he set out for Ireland with his mother, Eithne daughter of the king of Alba, accompanied by a large host. Tuathal was twenty-five years of age at that time. And they put into port at Iorrus Domhnann, where they met Fiachaidh Casan with his brother. Thence they proceeded to Tara, and there assembled their supporters from all parts of Ireland to meet Tuathal, and they proclaimed him king of Ireland. Eilim son of Connra, who at that time held the sovereignty of Ireland, having been elected by the Athachthuaith after the death of Cairbre Chinn Chait, came and fought the Battle of Aichill against Tuathal. In that battle Eilim and the Athachthuaith were defeated, and himself and the greater part of his army slain. Then Tuathal and his supporters went against the Athachthuaith throughout Ireland, and defeated them in twenty-five battles in Ulster, and twenty-five battles in Leinster, and twenty-five battles in Connaught, and thirty-five battles in Munster.
When Tuathal had won these battles, and rescued the free races of Ireland from the tyranny of the Athachthuaith, he convened the Feis of Tara; as it is customary for every king in the beginning of his reign to convene and bring together a great general assembly to regulate the laws and customs of the country. Then the nobles of the Gael from every province in Ireland came to him, and accepted him as their king, as he had delivered them from the slavery of the serfs and the Athachthuaith; and they pledged themselves by the elements, that they would leave the sovereignty of Ireland to himself, and to his children, as had formerly been promised to Ughaine Mor.
It was then, too, that he was given four portions of the provinces, out of which he made the present Meath, as the peculiar territory of the successive high kings of Ireland.
Now, when Tuathal had put these four parts together and made them into one territory called Meath, he built therein four chief fortresses, that is, a fortress in each of the portions. Accordingly he built Tlachtgha in the portion of Munster which goes with Meath; and it was there the Fire of Tlachtgha was instituted, at which it was their custom to assemble and bring together the druids of Ireland on the eve of Samhain to offer sacrifice to all the gods. It was at that fire they used to burn their victims; and it was of obligation under penalty of fine to quench the fires of Ireland on that night, and the men of Ireland were forbidden to kindle fires except from that fire; and for each fire that was kindled from it in Ireland the king of Munster received a tax of a screaball, or three-pence, since the land on which Tlachtgha is belongs to the part of Munster given to Meath.
On the portion he had acquired from the province of Connaught he built the second fortress, namely Uisneach, where a general meeting of the men of Ireland used to be held, which was called the Convention of Uisneach, and it was at Bealltaine that this fair took place, at which it was their custom to exchange with one another their goods, their wares, and their valuables. They also used to offer sacrifice to the chief god they adored, who was called Beil; and it was their wont to light two fires in honour of Beil in every district in Ireland, and to drive a weakling of each species of cattle that were in the district between the two fires as a preservative to shield them from all diseases during that year; and it is from that fire that was made in honour of Beil that the name of Bealltaine is given to the noble
The third fortress which Tuathal built, called Taillte, is in the portion of the province of Ulster joined to Meath; and it was here the fair of Taillte was held, in which the men of Ireland were wont to form alliances of marriage and friendship with one another. And a most becoming custom was observed in that assembly, namely, the men kept apart by themselves on one side, and the women apart by themselves on the other side, while their fathers and mothers were making the contract between them; and every couple who entered into treaty and contract with one another were married, as the poet says:
Although it was Lughaidh Lamhfhada that first instituted the fair of Taillte as a yearly commemoration of his own foster-mother, Taillte daughter of Maghmor, king of Spain, who was the wife of Eochaidh son of Earc, the last king of the Fir Bolg, as we have said above—now when Taillte had been buried by Lughaidh in that mound he inaugurated the fair of Taillte as a nasadh or commemoration of her; it was for that reason that the name of Lughnasa, that is the gracious nasadh or commemoration, was given to the first day of August, on which is now held the feast of the Chains of Peter—although the mound and fair of Taillte existed from the time of Lughaidh Lamhfhada, still Taillte was not a royal fortress till the time of Tuathal Teachtmhar. Now
- The men must not approach the women,
Nor the women approach the fair bright men,
But every one modestly biding apart
In the dwelling of the great fair.
The fourth royal fortress, Tara, is situated in the part of Leinster given to Meath, and there the Feis of Tara was held, every third year after the sacrifice had been offered to all the gods at Tlachtgha (as we have said) as a prelude to that royal assembly called the Feis of Tara, at which they were wont to institute laws and customs, and to confirm the annals and the records of Ireland, so that the ardollamhs might inscribe all that was approved of them in the Roll of the kings, which was called the Psalter of Tara; and every custom and record that was in Ireland that did not agree with that chief book were not regarded as genuine. We shall not give here in detail the laws or the customs that were severally ordained at the Feis of Tara, for the books of the Breithemhnas Tuaithe are full of them. I shall only give here the custom that was instituted at the Feis of Tara regarding the placing of the nobles and warriors for meals in the banquet-halls when they met for a feast.
There was indeed no doctor of seanchus in Ireland who did not write in the Roll of Tara the names of the nobles who were lords of territories, each according to his rank and title as regulated at the Feis of Tara, and every leader of those bands of warriors who had free quartering for the defence and protection of the lands of Ireland, had his name similarly inscribed by the ollamh; and there was none of these, either territorial lords or leaders of bands of warriors, who was not accompanied by a shield-bearer. Moreover, the banquet halls they had were narrow and long, with tables along the side-walls. Along each of these side-walls there was placed a beam in which there were numerous hooks above the seats on which the company used to sit, with only the breadth of a
It was also their custom that no one should sit immediately opposite to another, but that all, both territorial lords and leaders of warriors, should have their backs to the wall and sit each under his own shield. It was their custom also not to have women in the banquet-halls, but they were given a separate apartment in which they were served. It was, moreover, their custom, before the company were served, to clear out or empty the banquet-hall, so that only three remained in it, namely, a seancha, a bollsaire, that is a marshal of the house, and a trumpeter who had a trumpet or horn to call all the guests to the banquet-hall. He sounded his trumpet three times. The first time he sounded it, the shield-bearers of the nobles assembled at the door of the banquet-hall; and the bollsaire took the shield of each noble according to his title, and placed, according to the direction of the seancha, each of the shields in its own appointed place. The trumpeter sounded his trumpet a second time and the shield-bearers of the leaders of warriors assembled at the door of the banquet-hall; and the bollsaire took the shields from them and placed each shield, according to the direction of the seancha, at the other side of the house, over the warrior's table. Then the trumpeter sounded his trumpet the third time; and thereupon the nobles and warriors assembled in the banquet-hall, and each of them sat beneath his own shield, so that there was no contention or disagreement between them as to their seats.
It was this Tuathal Teachtmhar of whom we are speaking who imposed, the Boraimhe on the people of Leinster, as a tax to avenge the death of his two daughters, whose names were Fithir and Dairine. Now, there was a king over Leinster whose name was Eochaidh Aincheann, and he married Dairine, daughter of Tuathal Teachtmhar, and took her to Leinster to his own fortress, that is to Magh Luadhat; and some time after that he went to Tara and told Tuathal thatDairine had died, and asked him to give him his other daughter, that is Fithir, and Tuathal gave her to him, and he took her to Leinster to his own fortress; and when Fithir saw her sister Dairine alive before her, her soul quitted her body suddenly through shame; and Dairine having come to lament her died of her grief on the spot. And it was to relate this that the poet composed the following stanza:
- Fithir and Dairine
Two daughters of princely Tuathal;
Fithir died of shame,
Dairine died of her grief.
Now when Tuathal heard of the death of the two ladies he became enraged, and sent out messengers in all directions to the nobles of Ireland to complain of the treachery which the king of Leinster had practised against him; and accordingly the nobles of Ireland gave aid in warriors and auxiliaries to Tuathal with a view to avenge this outrage; and when Tuathal resolved to plunder and despoil the people of Leinster though they were unable to meet him in the field, they agreed to pay a tribute, themselves, and their descendants to Tuathal, and to each king who should succeed him, as a retribution for the death of these ladies.
The following is the amount of the tribute that was paid every second year by the Leinstermen to the kings of Ireland
- Three score hundred kine with spancels,
Gifts without fault,
With three score hundred ounces
Of silver in addition.- With three score hundred fine mantles
Of largest measure,
With three score hundred large hogs
Of lusty strength,- With three score hundred wethers,
Generous gift,
With three score hundred brazen caldrons
As a bright ornament.- A third part to the men of Connaught,
The ancient law,
A third part to the Oirghilla,
A third to the Ui Neill,
This was the tribute called Boraimhe Laighean, and it was in force during the reigns of forty kings who ruled Ireland, that is from the time of Tuathal Teachtmhar to the time that Fionnachta held the sovereignty of Ireland as the poet says in this stanza:
- There were forty kings
Who carried off the Boromha
From the time of Tuathal Tlachtgha
To the time of Fear Fionnachta.
It was Moling who got it remitted by means of the respite until Monday which he got from Fionnachta; but the Monday Moling meant was the Monday of the Day of Judgment. The Leinstermen paid this tribute submissively
Mal son of Rochruidhe, son of Cathbhadh, son of Giallchaidh Fionn, son of Fionnchadh, son of Muireadhach, son of Fiachna Fionnamhnas, son of Irial Glunmhar, son of Conall Cearnach, son of Aimhirgin Iairghiunach, son of Cas Trillseach, son of Cas, son of Fachtna, son of Capa, son of Gionga, son of Rudhruighe Mor from whom clanna Rudhruighe are called, of the race of Ir son of Milidh, held the sovereignty of Ireland four years, and he fell by Feidhlimidh Reachtmhar.
Feidhlimidh Reachtmhar son of Tuathal Teachtmhar, son of Fiachaidh Fionnoladh, son of Fearadhach Fionn Feachtnach, son of Criomhthain Nia Nar, son of Lughaidh Riabh nDearg, son of the three Finneamhnas, sons of Eochaidh Feidhlioch of the race of Eireamhon, held the sovereignty of Ireland nine years. Baine daughter of Scal Balbh, wife of Tuathal Teachtmhar, was the mother of Feidhlimidh Reachtmhar, and he was called Feidhlimidh Reachtmhar through the excellence of the legal judgments delivered in Ireland in his time. Now, the law Feidhlimidh ordained in his own time in Ireland resembled the law which is called in Latin lex talionis; this means that when one injures or wounds another a similar infliction would be visited on himself in retribution; thus trespass for trespass, a cow for a cow, a hand for a hand, a leg for a leg, an eye for an eye, and so on for every other injury beginning from these. And the result of this law was that the men of Ireland improved in their behaviour in the time of Feidhlimidh, whence he was called Feidhlimidh Reachtmhar. And at length this man died on his pillow.
Cathaoir Mor son of Feidhlimidh Fiorurghlas, son of Cormac Gealta Gaoth, son of Nia Corb, son of Cu Corb, son of Mogh Corb, son of
But twenty of these children went without issue, and the other ten had issue. Here are the names of the sons who had issue:—Rossa Failgheach senior of the sons who had issue, Daire Barrach, Breasal Einiochghlas, Fearghus, Oilill, Criomhthann, Deargmhosach, Eochaidh Teimhin, Aonghus, and Fiachaidh Aiceadha, the youngest of the children, although it was his descendants who mostly held the sovereignty of Leinster. From Fiachaidh Aiceadha son of Cathaoir Mor sprang O Broin and O Tuathail; from Breasal Bealach son of Fiachaidh Aiceadha sprang Mac Murchadha; from Rossa Failgheach son of Cathaoir Mor sprang O Conchubhair Failghe and O Diomasaigh and O Duinn and clan Colgan, as we shall afterwards state when we are giving the genealogy of the sons of Milidh. And this Cathaoir Mor fell by Conn Ceadchathach in the Battle of Magh hAgha.
- Thirty sons, good the progeny,
Sprang from Cathaoir of Cuala;
Thrice ten—a beauteous company,
A troop of champions with stout spears.
Conn Ceadchathach son of Feidhlimidh Reachtmhar, son of Tuathal Teachtmhar of the race of Eireamhon, held the sovereignty of Ireland twenty years, and was treacherously slain in the district of Tara, being found alone there by Tiobraide Tireach son of Mal, son of Rochruidhe, king of
After this Mogh Nuadhat expelled the Earna from Munster, as many of them as would not submit to him, whence arose a great war between Mogh Nuadhat and Conn, and Mogh Nuadhat defeated him in ten battles: namely, the Battle of Brosnach and the Battle of Samhpait; the Battle of Sliabh Musach; the Battle of Gabhran; the Battle of Suama and the Battle of Grian and the Battle of Ath Luain; and the Battle of Magh Croich, wherein fell Fiachaidh
- Eoghan Mor, great was his success,
Was as exalted as Conn Ceadchathach.
These two, noble was their fame,
Shared Ireland between them.
Another reason, also, why Mogh Nuadhat wrested half of Ireland from Conn is that there was a great famine in Ireland for seven years in his time; and, before the time of this famine came, Eoghan's druid foretold, long before the coming of the famine, that it would come upon all Ireland; and Eoghan, to make provision for the famine, used venison and fish for food, and stored the corn, and, moreover, he spent on corn all the rents and tributes he received, so that he filled his granaries; and, when the time of scarcity arrived, many of the men of Ireland came to him from all sides, and laid themselves under rent and tribute to Eoghan for his supporting them during that time of distress, as we read in the poem which begins, Eoghan Mor, great was his success:
- Eoghan transcended Conn,
Not in number of battles and conflicts—
More plenteously the food of adventurous Eoghan
Was being distributed according to laws of peace.- Lean famine rained on them—
Its visitation was good for Eoghan—
So that men eat their kind
Throughout distressful Erin.
- When men heard—far it spread—
That Eoghan had ale and food in plenty,
They bound themselves as vassals—good the custom—
To Eoghan for their sustenance.
Mogh Nuadhat had four names, namely, Eoghan Fidhfheacach, Eoghan Mor, Eoghan Taoidhleach, and Mogh Nuadhat, as the poet says in this stanza:
- Four names without grief
Had Eoghan Mor,
Eoghan Fidhfheacach, the generous, the hospitable,
Eoghan Taoidhleach, Mogh Nuadhat.
Now, if thou desirest, to learn the reason of each of these names mentioned in this stanza, read the Coir Anmann and thou wilt find it there. Eoghan Mor's wife was Beara daughter of Eibhear Mor son of Modhna, king of Castile, and she bore him a son and two daughters; the son's name was Oilill Olom, and the two daughters' names Scoithniamh and Coinneal. Here is the seancha's proof of this:
Moreover, Conn Ceadchathach slew Mogh Nuadhat in his bed, having treacherously, according to some seanchas, attacked him at early morning, as they were on the point of engaging in battle against each other on Magh Leana. This king of whom we are treating was called Conn Ceadchathach, from the hundreds of battles he fought against the provincial kings of Ireland, as this stanza sets forth:
- Beara daughter of great Eibhear
Was mother of Oilill Olom,
And mother of the two pure ones,
Coinneal and Scoithniamh.
- A hundred battles against great Munster
Won Conn Ceadchathach the just,
A hundred battles against Ulster with valour,
Sixty battles against the Leinstermen.
Conn was treacherously slain by Tiobraide Tireach at Tara.
Conaire son of Mogh Lamha, son of Lughaidh Allathach, son of Cairbre Cromcheann, son of Daire Dornmhar, son of Cairbre Fionnmhor, son of Conaire Mor, son of Eidirsceol of the race of Eireamhon, held the sovereignty of Ireland seven years, and fell by Neimhidh, son of Sraibhgheann. This Conaire's mother was Eithne daughter of Lughaidh son of Daire. From this Conaire are descended the Dal Riada of Alba and of Ulster, the Baiscnigh from Leim Chon gCulainn, and the Muscruidhe, as the poet says in this stanza:
- The Albanians of Riada from the promontory,
The Baiscnigh from Leim Chon gCulainn,
The Muscruidhe beyond, without reproach,
Sprang from the fair Conaire.
Art Aoinfhear son of Conn Ceadchathach, son of Feidhlimidh Reachtmhar, son of Tuathal Teachtmhar of the race of Eireamhon, held the sovereignty of Ireland thirty years; and his wife was Meadhbh Leithdhearg daughter of Conan Cualann, and from her is called Raith Meadhbha beside Tara. He was called Art Aoinfhear, for of his father's sons he alone survived, as his two brothers, namely, Connla and Crionna were slain by Eochaidh Fionn brother of Conn. For Conn had two brothers, namely, Eochaidh Fionn and Fiachaidh Suighdhe, and by them were slain Art's two brothers; and in testimony of this are these two quatrains from the seanchus:
- The two brothers of Conn witbout faults
Were Eochaidh Fionn and Fiachaidh Suighdhe;
They slew Connla and Crionna,
Conn's two sons, two fair youths;- Art hated Eochaidh Fionn
After the two sons had been slain;
He took the name of Art Aoinfhear
After his,two brothers were slain.
As we have said, Connla and Crionna were slain by Eochadh Fionn and by Fiachaidh Suighdhe. Saruit was married to Conaire son of Mogh Lamha, and she bore him the three Cairbres, namely, Cairbre Rioghfhada and Cairbre Baschaoin and Cairbre Musc. It was the descendants of Cairbre Rioghfhada who went to Alba; and it is they who are called Dal Riada. For Eochaidh Muinreamhar, a descendant of Cairbre Rioghfhada, had two sons, namely, Earc and Olchu. From Earc are descended the Dal Riada of Alba, and from Olchu the Dal Riada of Ulster, from whom the Ruta is called. Similarly Sadhbh daughter of Conn was married to Maicniadh son of Lughaidh of the race of Lughaidh, son of Ioth, and she bore him a son called Lughaidh, that is, Mac Con son of Maicniadh. And after the death of Maicniadh she was married to Oilill Olom, and bore him nine sons, namely, the seven who fell in the battle of Magh Muchruimhe, as Oilill Olom himself says in this stanza:
- I can name Conn's six children:
Maoin, Sadhbh, Saruit, mother of the race of Olom;
The fair, valiant, bright-skinned men,
Connla, Crionna, Art Aoinfhear.
and the two sons of Oilill who returned from the Battle of Magh Muchruimhe, namely, Cormac Cas and Cian. Now, although Oilill Olom had nineteen sons, that is nine by Sadhbh daughter of Conn, and ten by other women, still
- Mac Con has slain my seven sons;
Pitiful is my bitter, grievous cry,
Eoghan, Dumbhmearchon, Mogh Corb,
Lughaidh, Eochaidh, Diochorb, Tadhg,
These three who left issue were children of Sadhbh daughter of Conn. The first of them, Eoghan Mor son of Oilill, fell in the Battle of Magh Muchruimhe, by Beinne Briot, son of the king of Britain; and Fiachaidh Muilleathan, from whom clann Charrthaigh and the tribe of Suilleabhan, with their branches, are sprung, was the son of this Eoghan; and his mother was Moncha daughter of Dil son of Da Chreaga the druid; and he was born at Ath Uiseal on the Siuir, and was called Fiachaidh Fear-da-Liach. For líach means sad event; and sad were the two events that took place with regard to him, namely, the slaying of his father in the Battle of Magh Muchruimhe very soon after his conception in the womb, and the death of his mother immediately after his birth. Hence the name Fiachaidh Fear-da-Liach clung to him. Thus does Oilill Olom himself refer to this matter as we read in the Battle of Magh Muchruimhe—
- Nineteen pleasant sons had the chief—
The beauteous Oilill Olom;
Of one sole trio the race did not decay,
From whom have sprung the progeny of the free-born.
Moreover he was called Fiachaidh Muilleathan, because when the time of his birth arrived his grandfather the druid said to Moncha that if she delayed the birth of her son for twenty-four hours, he would be a king; but if she brought him forth within that time, he would be only a druid.
- A two-fold woe to thee their death
Together, and a great disaster,
Thy father and thy mother—
Grief has overwhelmed thee.- Thy father and thy mother,
Two great permanent losses:
The man in battle was struck down,
Died the wife at thy birth.
The second son of Oilill Olom who left issue was Cormac Cas, from whom sprang the Dal gCais and siol Aodha,that is, clan Mac na Mara and siol Flannchuidhe. It was to this Cormac Cas that Oilill Olom had left the inheritance of Munster, until he was informed that Fiachaidh Muilleathan had been born to Eoghan Mor; and when he heard this, he directed that the sovereignty be left after him to Cormac during his life, and that it belong after Cormac's death to Fiachaidh Muilleathan during his life; and in this way that the sovereignty belong alternately in each succeeding reign to the descendants of Cormac Cas and those of Fiachaidh, Muilleathan for ever. And for some generations they held the sovereignty of Munster according to this arrangement.
This Cormac Cas son of Oilill Olom was the fifth best champion in Ireland in his own time; the other four were Lughaidh La