The three drinking-horns of Cormac úa Cuinn

The three drinking horns of Cormac úa Cuinn' (From the Liber Flavus Fergusiorum)

Feacht n-ann do luid Aedh Oirdnidhi mac Neill Frosaidh mic Fearghuile mic Maile Duin do ordugud fer cuigid¹ Connacht. Do luid dar Eas Ruaidh ⁊ do baithed a fuis meisi ⁊ a cuirnn ann. Tainic Aedh co riacht Corca Tri, co n-deisidh a tigh righ Corca Tri. Coeca righ do riguibh Eirenn maille re h-Aedh.

Longuis Aedh adhaigh domhnaidh ⁊ an rigraidh: ⁊ cia ro loing Aed, ni sib digh, uair ní bai corn lais, or do baitheadh a cuirnn ⁊ a cuaich ac Ath Enaigh uas Eas Ruaidh, oc tiachtain don t-sluadh thairis. As amlaid imorro robai Aed cona sibh digh a leastur aile o ra dealuigh re cich a mathar acht a curn namha. Ba bron tra do righ Corca Tri ⁊ dia seithid, each ic ol ⁊ righ Erenn gin ol. Togbuis Angal a lamha fri Dia, ⁊ feicis gin codladh gin tomailt co madain, gu n-eabert a bean fris ara barach, ‘Eirg,’ ar si, ‘co Dirlus Guaire mic Colmain, uair ba tealach feile ⁊ naire o aimsir Dathi anall, dus an fuigbithea corn tria firta na feile ann.’ Cechaing Angal righ Corca Tri tar dorus na ratha amach, ⁊ tuisleas a cois deas, co ra tuisil cloch leis isin lis .i. an cloch do bai ar belaib an t-suirn a rabudar na tri cuirn as deach robai a n-Eirinn .i. an Cam-corn ⁊ an Litan ⁊ an Easgung. Cuirn sin tucad do Cormac u Cuinn dar muir, ⁊ ro folaig Niamh mac Lugna Firtri an dara comalta do Cormac u Cuinn, iar n-dith Cormuic, co toracht Coirpri Lifeachuir dar muir ⁊ cia ro fritha na cuirn aile la Cairpri, ni fritha na cuirn-siu co h-aimsir na næmh ⁊ Aeda Oirdnidi mic Neill, or tucad cealtar tairsib o Dia, co ru-s-ḟoillsid do righ Corca Tri tria firta na feile.

Altaigis a buidi do dia an t-i Angal ⁊ beiris leis na curna, cona tri lan do mid inntibh. Do-bert a laim Aeda Oirdnidi righ Eirenn, ⁊ atlaigi do dia ⁊ do-bert an Litan a laim righ Ulad, ⁊ do-bert an Easguing a laimh righ Connacht, ⁊ fagbuis aigi budhein an Cam-cornn. Co toracht iartain do Mailseachloinn mac Domhnuill, co tuc-sidhe do Dia ⁊ do Ciaran a coitcinne co brath.

Finid.

²

E. J. Gwynn

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Notes

1. Or: for cuiged ⇐
2. Corca Tri is a tribal name, applied to a territory which included the present baronies of Gallen, in Mayo, and Leyny and Corran, in Sligo (Four Masters, a 885: Martyrology of Oengus, Index). Corran is the Irish Corann (Rev. Celt., xv. 477). Our text says that Cormac's horns were hidden by Niamh mac Lugna ⁊ trit an dara comalta do Chormac. This is evidently corrupt. Cormac's foster-brothers were the sons of Lugna Firtri, king of Corann, who sheltered Cormac's mother Etan (Silva Gadelica, II. 286). I therefore emend the text by substituting 'Firtri' for the meaningless ⁊ trit. 'Nia mor mac Lugna Firtri' is mentioned in the Book of Ballymote as "the son of Cormac's mother": see Irische Texte, III. 185, where 'Lugdech' should be 'Lugna'. It appears, then, that Etan was taken to wife by Lugna, and bore him this son. The two foster-brothers mentioned in Silva Gadelica, II. 288, Ochomon and Nathnach, may have been Lugna's sons by another wife. As Corann is part of the territory of the Corca Firtri, it may be assumed that Lugna Firtri, king of Corann, belonged to that tribe: probably he was their king, and ancestor of the Angal who comes into our story. The Genealogy of the Gailenga of Corann is given in the Book of Lecan, 427. col. 3. Lugna Firtri is there called Lugna Fertri, and is said to have been grandson of Fiachu Suide, and descended from Morann mac Lir. The explanation of his cognomen given in the Coir Anmann (Ir. Texte, III. 382) is evidently fanciful. ⇐