Celtic Poems

[PerseH ~Staff Wrangler~]

poem/story 4
LOCH GILE

1. INgen Romra, Gili glan,
bean darb aithnich cach inber,
a h-ainm arin loch lebar
or moch maidm do minugad.
2. Teid an ingen, toisc uabair,
farcur socht ar saer-sluagaib,
dia fothrucad sa snigi
co glan-tobar ngainmidi.
3. Ca nigi don ingin feil
asa lind-usqi lan-reid,
dochi sa mag Omra ard,
mar bad omna mear mor-garg.
4. Dogob nairi an ingen an
ac faicsin chuici a lennan:
tuc a ceann fan tobar thall:
baiter an ingen admall.
5. Tic a buime as cind a cuirp
cor said thall isa tibraid:
a cained Gili co h-an
dobi ar miri mun macan.
6. Mar dasilsead na dera
on ingin tre athmela,
doluid tharrso in tobar teann,
corob loch dreaman dileann.
7. Loch Gili on dail sin ana
o Gili ingin Romra:
douair Omra oiged ann
o Romra romear rothenn.
8. Douair Romra in bas bunaig
da cumaig sa chaem-thulaig:
is uaada Carn Romra ran,
Carn Omra o Omra drech-nar.

p.14
9.

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isa Loch Gili sea ana
o Gili ingin Romra. INgen.
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LOCH GILE

1. Bright Gile, Romra's daughter, to whom every harbour was known, the broad lake bears her name to denote its outbreak of yore.
2. The maiden went, on an errand of pride that has hushed the noble hosts, to bathe in the spray by the clear sand-strewn spring.
3. While the modest maiden was washing in the unruffled water of the pool, she sees on the plain tall Omra as it were an oak, lusty and rude.
4. Seeing her lover draw near, the noble maid was stricken with shame: she plunged her head under the spring yonder: the nimble maid was drowned.
5. Her nurse came and bent over her body and sat her down yonder in the spring: as she keened for Gile vehemently, she fell in a frenzy for the girl.
6. As flowed the tears in sore grief for the maiden, the mighty spring rose over her, till it was a vast and stormy lake.
7. Loch Gile is named from that encounter after Gile, daughter of Romra: there Omra got his death from stout and lusty Romra.
8. Romra died outright of his sorrow on the fair hill-side: from him is lordly Carn Romra called, and Carn Omra from Omra, the shame-faced.

p.15
9.

[gap: extent: two lines]
Loch Gile here is named from Gile, Romra's daughter.

All from: http://www.ucc.ie/celt/irlpage.html

poem 8
Lagin I

1. Rohort in rigrad 'moa ríg,
(ba gním olc, ba domna h-ír);
loisc Loingsech Móen, méit gaile
Cobthach Cóel mac Ugaine.
2. 5] Ba Túaim Tenbath cosin olc
in ríg-dind rán, in rochnocc,
cornoirg Labraid, lán n-gaile,
diarchuir ár a maccraide.
3. O rohoirged, is é a fhír,
10] Cobthach cóel, a thrichait ríg,
corgénair mac mór Maire
cóic cét bliadna bith-glaine.
4. Ba tossach glíad is gaile
pían Chobthaig for Lóegaire;
15] de dorochair Cobthach Cairn
la h-úa Lóegaire lond-gairb.
5. Luidset dond orgain for sét
Labraid, Dubgaill trichat cét,
'na congaib ágmair assaid,
20] cona lágnib lán-glassaib.
6. O na laignib-sin ille
rogairit Lagin Laigne:
la Loingsech Móen, co méit olc,
Cobthach Cóel ba díb rohort.
7. 25] Meraid 'ca chlaind co tí bráth,
corob cocad ríg rognáth:
Oilill Lóegaire do lot
la Cobthach Cóel cétna h-ort.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lagin I
# The princes were slain round their king
(it was an ill deed, it was matter for wrath):
the Dumb Exile of martial might burnt
Cobthach Cael, son of Ugaine.
# 5] Till that crime, Tuaim Tenbath was the name
of the noble kingly hold, the noted hill,
till Labraid full of valour sacked it,
when he made a slaughter of its young men.
# From the day he was slain (this is sooth)
10] even Cobthach Cael, with his thirty kings,
till the birth of the Son of Mary
is five hundred years ever pure.
# The beginning of struggle and strife was
the vengeance of Cobthach on Loegaire:
15] thereby fell Cobthach of the cairn
by the grandson of Loegaire fierce and fell.
# There came on the march to that slaying
Labraid and thirty hundred of the Dub-Gaill
in a muster, warlike and staunch,
20] with their deep-blue lances.
# From those lances thenceforth
were the men of Leinster called the Spearmen;
at the hand of the Dumb Exile, with heavy disaster,
by these lances Cobthach Cael was slain.
# 25] This doom shall abide with his family till the Last Day
that there be war between kindred kings:
the destruction of Oilill and Loegaire
at the hand of Cobthach Cael was the first slaying.

The Metrical Dindshenchas (Author: [unknown])
poem 36
Mag Femin, Mag Fera, Mag Fea

1. Femen ocus Fera find,
mílid mera na mór-dind,
is Fea fri fid-fhogail Fáil,
maic Inogaich maic Dacháir,
2. 5] La claind Míled mhbadba mhbrais
brogsat co Banba mhbarr-glais;
a n-airm fri dúal a ndána
bacc is túag is trom-ráma.
3. Túag oc tamnad oc trén-mud,
10] ocus bacc ic eirémud,
a n-airm ána cen úabur,
ocus ráma oc rorúamur.
4. Slechtsat tri maige, méd n-amm;
techtsat tria gaire a ngarmann:
15] Mag Fea, ní dela do deir,
Mag Fera ocus Mag Femin.
5. Nochuired cach eile,
cen fhuirech cen aithméile,
cen baeth-rún rosmairn immaig,
20] cláemchlúd airm ocus ernaig.
6. Mag Fea, nírthréic, ciarbo thúi,
Fea ben Néit maic Indúi,
find-ben ba sercaigthi serc,
ingen Elcmairi fhíal-chert.
7. 25] Atchúala, co ngile gné,
dá dam Dile derscaigthe,
Fe ocus Men fria ngairm sein,
ó fail ainm ar Maig Fhemin. F.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Metrical Dindshenchas (Author: [unknown])
poem 36
Mag Femin, Mag Fera, Mag Fea

1. Femen and fair-haired Fera,
eager soldiers of the great strongholds,
and Fea, famed for timber-havoc in Inis Fail,
sons of Inogach son of Dachar,
2. 5] With warlike bold Clann Miled
they pushed on to verdurous Banba;
the tools of their hereditary calling
were bill-hook and axe and heavy spade.
3. The axe a-lopping in stout style
10] and the bill-hook
[...]

were their tools, noble yet not proud, —
and the spade hard a-digging.
4. They cleared three plains, after many a spell;
through their piety they gained their titles:
15] Mag Fea, no
[...]
for a girl,
Mag Fera and Mag Femin.
5. Each in turn would make,
without delay, without regret,
without idle desire that lured him away,
20] exchange of tools and weapons.
6. Fea, wife of Neit son of Indui,
did not desert Mag Fea, though she was silent,
the fair-haired woman, — she was a love beloved-
the right-generous daughter of Elcmaire.
7. 25] I have heard of the two oxen of Dil,
radiant of beauty, conspicuous;
Fe and Men are they called,
whence Mag Femin gets its name.