242 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



The list of tales given in the Book of Leinster, and printed by 

 0' Curry, and in the preceding list from the MS. H. 3, 17, referred to in 

 the passage which I have quoted from Dr. O'Donovan's Catalogue, is 

 classified according to the following categories: — 



U05I&. — " Destructions." 

 Uatia. — " Cattle-Spoils." 

 Uochm&pc&. — "Courtships." 

 Cac1i/s— " Battles." 

 lUdiA.— "Caves." 

 tirifiiMnA.. — " Voyages." 

 Lon^e^-p^. — " Exiles.' 



Vopb^iY^. — " Sieges." 

 CAchcp^. — " Adventures." 

 Airliex)^. — " Elopements." 

 Aipjne. — " Slaughters." 

 Uom<vom^. — " Irruptions." 

 Tipb. — " Yisions." 

 Sepc<s. — " Loves." 



Oiuce. — "Tragedies." SIu&tjvo. — "Expeditions." 



Vepf^. — "Feasts." Uochomt^'o^. — "Progresses." 



All our tales, no matter to what period of our history they belong, 

 may be conveniently classified under these categories, and I shall ac- 

 cordingly follow it in submitting the tales which I have translated. 



UojIa, or Destructions. Of this class we have very important 

 specimens in the Bruiden Da Dearga, and Bruiden Da Choga, both of 

 which belong to the heroic period. Of the story of the Destruction 

 of Bruiden Da Dearga, and death of Conaire Mor, Monarch of Lreland, 

 A.ir., 5091-5160, we possess two good copies on vellum. One in 

 Leabhar nah-Didhri, defective at commencement ; and a perfect copy in 

 MS. H. 2, 16, T. C. D. I made independent copies and translations of 

 this tale from both manuscripts, and having collated them and made 

 an index of the various readings, and a glossary of the obsolete and 

 archaic words found in them, I submitted the whole to the Academy 

 with my translation of Leabhar na h-TJidhri, which the Academy has 

 kindly accepted with a view to its future publication. 



I now submit the very ancient and valuable tale of the Destruc- 

 tion of Bruiden Da Choga and the death of Cormac Condlonges, son of 

 Concobar Mac J^essa,' king of Ulster. This prince, I may say king, 

 as he was duly elected to succeed his father in the sovereignty of 

 Ulster, and on his way to mount the throne when he was surprised 

 and murdered by the emissaries of Medb and Ailill in the house of 

 Da Choga, figures so prominently in the better known tales of Tain 

 Bo Cuailnge and Briuden Da Dearga, it would be desirable to have 

 this tale printed with them, in order to make the history of his event- 

 ful life as complete as possible, and to bring to light the great mass 

 of mythological and topographical information it contains, and the 

 curious pictures it preserves of the customs of the heroic period. 



CiMk\, or Tains. This is the most important of all the classes 

 of tales, for it includes the celebrated Tain B6 Cuailnge. All the 

 Tains still preserved belong to the heroic period, and most of them are 

 so intimately connected with the Tain Bo Cuailnge that they may be 



