350 Mr. PETRIE'S Inquiry into the Origin and 



this class. Moreover, we are not without evidences to show that some of the 

 duirtheachs ranked as of more importance than others in their immediate vicinity, 

 as the epithet mor, or great, applied to them, clearly proves ; and, as the same 

 epithet, when applied to a stone church, was unquestionably intended to denote 

 its greater size, as compared with the contiguous churches, so we must also con- 

 clude that it was applied to the duirtheach with a similar object. The following 

 example of such evidences will, however, suffice. It is found in an account of 

 the circumstances which occasioned the writing of a poem for the Galls, or 

 foreigners of Dublin, by the celebrated Irish poet, Rumann, who has been 

 called, by the Irish writers, the Virgil of Ireland, and whose death is thus 

 entered in the Annals of Tighernach at the year 747 : " Human Mac Colmain 

 Poeta optimus quievit" It refers to the building of the duirtheach mor, or great 

 oratory of Rathain Ua Suanaigh, now Rahen, in the King's County ; and the 

 original, which is preserved in an ancient vellum MS. in the Bodleian Library 

 at Oxford, is said to have been copied from the Book of Rathain Ua Suanaigh : 



" Rumuno, mac Colmain, .1. mac pij Caejaipe, oo Clannaio Neill, pi^-pilio eipeno, ip 6 

 DO pi^ne an ouan pa, 7 laio luapcacli amm na h-aipce ap a n-epnao. Ip e aobap imoppu a 

 oenma DO, .1. oia ailirpi camicc pe co T?acan, i n-aimpip jopca moipe. T?a bo meipci la luce 

 an baile a cuioechc oo'n baili, con ann a oubpacap ppip in paep, po bin ic oenum in oup- 

 caiji moip, oiulcao DO oenum ppip in pep n-oana ; conio ann ac bepc in paep ppi pep oia 

 niuincip, epij a n-agaio Rumuino, 7 abaip ppip na cicceo oo'n bailiu, no co n-oepnao pe 

 pano i m-bia aipim na pil DO clapaib puno, DO chum in oupcaijji ; conio ann oo poinpiom in 

 pano pa : 



'" Q mu coimoiu I CID DO oe'n-pa, 



Ppip in aobup mup pa ? 

 Cum bup aicoi popceim olucu, 

 Na pc.ceo clap pa ?' 



" Ipeo pin po bui DO clapaib ano, .1. mile clap, 7 ni po p6cao oiulcao ppip ap pin, 6 pa 

 paillpijj t)ia DO, cpia n-a eicpi, in lin clap po bui oc un paep. 



" t)o pome mop ouain DO ^a^a'bh Ocha cliach ap pin a cecoip, 7 a oubpacap na ^aill, 

 co nu cibpicfp luach a ouaine DO ; conio ann DO pom-piom in pano ipopaic, co n-ebaipc : 



" ' TTVeppa maoail ooneoch DO gena, 

 7 ap pem bepac-pa einech DO pjena.' 



" Co cuccao a bpech p6m DO ap pin ; conio pi bpech pucpum,.i. pinjinocech opoch^a'H, 

 7 oa pfnjmn cech oe-^aill, co na ppich acu ^all nac cue oa pingino oo, ap nip piu pe "frail 

 otb opoch "frail DO pao ppip pem icip, co n-ebpucap ppip na ) a '^ lnD F al P5 e Do molao, co 



