96 THE BATTLE OF VENTRY, 



Ge ata niuine glaisnennta 

 'san ait si a m-biodh ar n-atbair, 

 tighthe Jionna fairsenga 

 fa minic ann anallain. 



A bbaili si a bk-facamar 

 ceol is imeirt is aonach, 

 * dar lem as e an t-atbarrach 



mar ^ta anocht iona aonar. 



Meid don dochar fuaromar 

 on tttinn mhara go aroilcf 

 a leitheid 7ii chualomar 

 d' imtbecht ar dhaoinibh oile. 



DoV annamh an baile si 

 taobh re feur is re fodhbhaidh, 

 ni mair fear ar n-aitheinti, 

 sinn 'san ait si gerb iongnadh. 



(8) \ia \\a, a monosyllabic, a line-pause after the eighth syllable, the last two 

 syllables before the line-pause riming with one another. Six stress-syllables in each Une : 



LL, p. 174 a: Cdnas tdncatar na techta sund do chein'? 



fnslainnid dam-sd bar n-echtra \n dam reir. 



Idncamdr on Chruachain chroda (ndch bec blad) 



cucut-su d Chonchobuir chora {cruaid do gal). 



(9) \2 a-\2a,a dissyllabic, a line-pause after the eighth syllable, six stress-syllables 

 in each line : 



LL. p. i8ia: Fland Manistrech cecinit: 



Cia triallaid 7iech atsnis senchais '^''^ig eltaig &c. 



Ibid, Bdtar otc hErenn co iarair {dmra in luct sin) 



cona fuaratdr don fecht sain isind luc sain &c. 



LL. p. 182 a: Ani doronsdt do chdlmu cldnna Edgain 



cia merddid ni etdt a drim eolaig &c. 



LL, p. i83a: A n-gluind, d n-echtd, a n-brgni bdtar [//'], &c. 



I hope that the above theory about the correct reading of Old-Irish poetry will also 

 clear up other points of Irish metric hitherto doubtful, One point certainly which has 

 never yet received a satisfactory explanation is now made clear, viz, the rule according 

 to which a hiatus is allowed to stand. This rule, easily derived from the above and 

 other instances, is : A hiatus is admissible only when one of the two syllables 



CONCERNED BEARS THE METRICAL ACCENT, as 6. g. 



LL. p, 1743; d Meidb is a Ailill dmra cdlma a cri. 



LL, p, 147 b : ni innisfind i fail bdn. 

 LL. p. 127 a: coica ingen ingnathdch, &c. 



