46 THE BATTLE OF VENTRY. 



ar leath iad nach samalta co fuighthi 'sa bith neach d' aithneochadh aen dib seach 



835 a cheili muna tucadh aithne ara n-urrlabraibh. 7 is imdha laech ac tuargain sceith 

 Oisin 7 Oscur 7 an laech is lugha eigean [fo. 9 b. i ,] a fianaibh Eirenn ata nonbar 

 allmurach ac tuargain a sceith 7 is imdha laech dhibh fos ar a fuil caeca laech na 

 sesca na ochtmhogha 7 ataid cuic cedh ac tuargain sceith Oisin 7 Oscuir 7 

 Chailti 7 is mor an t-eigean a iuilead seach chach.' 



840 ' Eiridh-si chuca, a Ferghus,' ar Finn ' 7 tabhair treas adhmolta ar gach aen 

 dibh-sin fo leith, gumad moidi a menma 7 a n-aigned leo he.' Teid imoro 

 Ferghus gusan maidhin a raibhe Oisin 7 Oscur 7 maithi clainni Baiscne a ceart- 

 mheadhon an chatha ac cirbhadh na curadh 7 ac marbadh 7 ac mugudh na miled 

 7 do ghabh Ferghus ann sin ac commaidheam na curadh 7 ac laidheadh na laech- 



845 raidhe 7 ac greasacht na n-galghadh 7 ac adhmoladh na n-anradh 7 ac maidem 

 na miled 7 ac brostadh na m-bhuidhean 7 ac forail an anta 7 ac teannadh an 

 tairisim 7 ac aslach na hinnsaighi, co tabhradh-san imoro tuilled meanman 7 

 aigeanta da gach dnfear d' fianaibh Eirenn, ger bo sainnt 7 ger bo duthracht leo fein 

 calma do denamh roime sin. 7 tainic Fergus aris mar a raibe Finn. 



850 ' Cia anois is fearr isin chath .? ' ar Finn re Ferghus Finnbel, ' Dar mo chubhais, 

 ni cara duit-si anti is fearr ann,' ar Fergus ' .i. ri an domhain .i. Daire Donn mac 



blood and locks that rain down on the armies side by side, have smothered them, 

 so that there would not be found in the world anybody who would distinguish any one 

 of them from the other, unless he recognised them by their voices. And many 

 are the warriors striking the shield of Oisin and Oscar, and the warrior whose strait is 

 smallest of the fianns of Erinn, nine foreigners are striking his shield, and many warriors 

 of them moreover there are, on whom are fifty warriors, or sixty, or eighty, and there 

 are five hundred striking the shield of Oisin and Oscar and Cailte, and great is the strait 

 in which they are above all.' 



' Go thou to them, O Fergus,' said Finn, ' and sing a fit of praise to each of them 

 separately, so that their courage and their spirits may be the greater.' Then Fergus 

 went to where Oisin and Oscar and the nobles of the Clann Baiscne were in the 

 very midst of the fight, wounding the heroes and killing and destroying the soldiers, 

 and Fergus began to praise the heroes, and to conjure the warriors, and to urge on 

 thc brave, and to extol the champions, and to praise the soldiers, and to exhort the 

 companies, and to command the staying, and to strengthen the resistance, and to urge 

 on the attack, so that he imparted increase of courage and spirit to every man of the 

 fianns of Erinn, though before that they were of themselves eager and desirous to do 

 bravely. And Fergus went again where Finn was. 



' Who is foremost in the battle now ?' said Finn to Fergus. * By my faith, no friend 

 of thine is he who is foremost in it,' said Fergus, ' to wit, the king of the world, to 



837. /. /aec/i l-. xl. MS. 



