Cú Chulainn an chroidhe mhir

[27]

Cú Chulainn an chroidhe mhir
níor chuir riamh i rinn éigin
bríogh i gcréachtnughadh a chuirp
síol na n-éachtchuradh n-orrdhuirc.

[28]

An tráth fa dtigdis uile
i gCúigeadh chlann Rudhraidhe
níorbh uamhan le beithir mBreagh
sluaghadh na gceithir gcóigeadh.

[29]

Fir Éireann d’aonrún cogaidh
d’éis na Tána tángadair
d’fhios Eamhna na mbánshroth mbinn
ealbha ánrath fa Oilill.

[30]

Lingis i lámhaibh Ultach
an Cú fíochdha fóbartach
tré bhróin gcrannruaidh choille reann
i gcoinne armshluaigh Éireann.

[31]

Innlid ar Choin na ceardcha
a gcleasa áigh inneallta
uaisle an chuire chneisghil chaoimh
sa bhreisligh uile d’aontaoibh.

[32]

Leathtrom muinntire Meidhbhe
don chur-sa ar Magh Muirtheimhne
téid soin ar chéadfaidh gcatha
do Choin éachtaigh fhionnMhacha.

[33]

Gidh eadh tar éis a ndearna
ar chathaibh Chláir sheinMheadhbha
do créichtchiorrbhadh cneas an Chon
sa treas éichtiongnadh uathmhar.

[34]

Cuiris láimh – lór do phudhar –
d’éis a chuirp do chréachtnughadh
slat dob orsa d’fhine Ír
ar cridhe an Chon-sa an chleitín.

[35]

‘An croidhe ad-chiú ar n-a tholladh
go dul orm ní fheadamar
gur neamhchruaidhe ‘ná cur cloch‘
ar cur fhearchuaine Ultach.

[36]

Gé a-tá a-niogh ‘n-a chosair chró
níor shaoil mé – móide mh’iarghnó –
narbh iarann cruaidh mo chridhe‘
ar sduaigh ghrianfhonn nGáirighe

[37]

‘Bheith dom chroidhe d’fheoil nó d’fhuil
dá saoilinn‘ ar Cú an chleasraidh
‘fa chlár sreabhghlas na mbeach mbinn
leath a ndearnas ní dhingninn‘.

Narrative

These eleven quatrains are taken from a poem beginning Fód codarsna críoch Bhanbha ‘Ireland is a contentious land’ by the poet Eochaidh Ó hEódhasa (c. 1568-1612). He was court-poet to several members of the Mág Uidhir family in modern-day County Fermanagh, including the famous rebel leader Aodh (†1600), who played a key role in the Nine Years' War and with whom Ó hEódhasa appears to have enjoyed a close but sometimes strained relationship. The eleven quatrains excerpted here are an apologue taken from a poem composed by Ó hEódhasa for another rebel Gaelic lord, Conchobhar Mac Diarmada of modern-day County Roscommon. An apologue is a story that the poet weaves into his poem to help him illustrate in an entertaining or vivid way the message that he is trying to get across. Poets will often explain the point of the apologue in verse. Apologues could be drawn from all kinds of sources – the Bible, the myths of the Classical world or of Ireland, Ireland's history, even print-books in English. Poets felt free to tailor a particular story to suit the argument that they were making in a particular poem. In the present case, Ó hEódhasa tells a story concerning Cú Chulainn, perhaps the most celebrated hero of Irish myth, who is frequently mentioned in Early Modern Irish court poetry. The poet describes how the armies of the four other provinces marched against Ulster. Cú Chulainn defends the northern province but in the process is wounded. Ó hEódhasa describes how Cú Chulainn only becomes aware that his heart is made of flesh and blood – rather than stone or iron – when he sees in his gaping chest-wound a very vulnerable human heart. Cú Chulainn, now aware of his own fragile humanity, remarks that he would not have done half of his many feats had he been aware of his own weakness. The poet tells the story skilfully, and the use of direct speech makes it particularly gripping. Ó hEódhasa (in the quatrains following the apologue and not excerpted here) explains the message that Conchobhar Mac Diarmada, the addressee of this poem, should take away from Cú Chulainn's story. The poet argues that in rebelling against the English Conchobhar Mac Diarmada is like Cú Chulainn – he can be rash and reckless in battle; he should fight in a more cautious and considered way from now on. Conchobhar Mac Diarmada was an ally of Aodh Mág Uidhir, and the poem from which this apologue was taken was probably composed not too long before 1595. It is likely that Ó hEódhasa was sent by Mág Uidhir to urge Mac Diarmada to pursue a more sensible military strategy. Ó hEódhasa attempts to make himself clear while still being diplomatic: rather than criticising Mac Diarmada directly, he compares him to the greatest of Irish heroes and so puts a positive spin on Mac Diarmada's reckless policies, even while he urges him to change tack. Despite Ó hEódhasa's efforts to be diplomatic, he may not have been successful on this occasion, as another poem indicates that he had had a falling out with Mac Diarmada; apparently Mac Diarmada believed Ó hEódhasa had said something critical about him!

In reading this apologue – and court poetry in general – bear in mind that the word order can be quite flexible. In Irish, the verb normally comes first in the sentence, followed by the subject. In poetry, however, the requirements of the metre mean that this order is often not observed. Another factor that can make reading a quatrain of court poetry a little more challenging is the tendency to use multiple phrases to describe one person or object or event, sometimes scattered across different parts of the quatrain. Sometimes this piling up of phrases referring to the same person or thing can strike the reader as very clumsy or awkward – at least in translation. It can take a few readings of a quatrain to disentangle what each phrase is doing or how the various phrases relate to each other. If you're unsure where to start, try and find the verb and work from there using whatever context you can glean from the quatrain itself and the text around it.

[27]

Cú Chulainn an chroidhe mhir
níor chuir riamh i rinn éigin
bríogh i gcréachtnughadh a chuirp
síol na n-éachtchuradh n-orrdhuirc.

[28]

An tráth fa dtigdis uile
i gCúigeadh chlann Rudhraidhe
níorbh uamhan le beithir mBreagh
sluaghadh na gceithir gcóigeadh.

[29]

Fir Éireann d’aonrún cogaidh
d’éis na Tána tángadair
d’fhios Eamhna na mbánshroth mbinn
ealbha ánrath fa Oilill.

[30]

Lingis i lámhaibh Ultach
an Cú fíochdha fóbartach
tré bhróin gcrannruaidh choille reann
i gcoinne armshluaigh Éireann.

[31]

Innlid ar Choin na ceardcha
a gcleasa áigh inneallta
uaisle an chuire chneisghil chaoimh
sa bhreisligh uile d’aontaoibh.

[32]

Leathtrom muinntire Meidhbhe
don chur-sa ar Magh Muirtheimhne
téid soin ar chéadfaidh gcatha
do Choin éachtaigh fhionnMhacha.

[33]

Gidh eadh tar éis a ndearna
ar chathaibh Chláir sheinMheadhbha
do créichtchiorrbhadh cneas an Chon
sa treas éichtiongnadh uathmhar.

[34]

Cuiris láimh – lór do phudhar –
d’éis a chuirp do chréachtnughadh
slat dob orsa d’fhine Ír
ar cridhe an Chon-sa an chleitín.

[35]

‘An croidhe ad-chiú ar n-a tholladh
go dul orm ní fheadamar
gur neamhchruaidhe ‘ná cur cloch‘
ar cur fhearchuaine Ultach.

[36]

Gé a-tá a-niogh ‘n-a chosair chró
níor shaoil mé – móide mh’iarghnó –
narbh iarann cruaidh mo chridhe‘
ar sduaigh ghrianfhonn nGáirighe

[37]

‘Bheith dom chroidhe d’fheoil nó d’fhuil
dá saoilinn‘ ar Cú an chleasraidh
‘fa chlár sreabhghlas na mbeach mbinn
leath a ndearnas ní dhingninn‘.

Translation

[27]

Cú Chulainn of the brave heart
did not put stock in any [spear-]point,
in the wounding of his body,
the seed of the renowned, valiant champions.

[28]

When they all used to come
into the province of the families of Rudhraighe,
the bear of Breagha did not fear
the host of the four provinces.

[29]

The men of Ireland, with a single purpose of [making] war,
after the Táin, came
to Eamhain of the melodious, white streams,
a herd of warriors around Oilill.

[30]

The fierce, aggressive Hound [ = Cú Chulainn] charged
on behalf of Ulstermen
through a tree-red phalanx of a wood of [spear-]points
against the weapon-host of Ireland.

[31]

The nobles of the pale-skinned, fair host
ply on the Hound of the Smithy [ = Cú Chulainn]
their ready feats of battle
in the whole breach side by side.

[32]

The oppression of Meadhbh's people
on this occasion upon Magh Muirtheimhne,
that awakes spirit of battle
in the mighty Hound of fair Macha.

[33]

However, after all that he did
to the battalions of the Plain of old Meadhbh,
the skin of the Hound [ = Cú Chulainn] was wounded
in the terrible battle of incredible deeds.

[34]

He put a hand – ample the sorrow –
after his body had been wounded,
the scion who was the door for the kindred of Íor,
onto the heart of that Hound of the javelin [ = Cú Chulainn].

[35]

“The heart that I see having been pierced,
I [lit. 'we'] did not know until [it] happened to me
that it was less hard than a course of rocks,”
said the champion of the band of Ulstermen.

[36]

“Though it is today a gory mass
I did not think – greater my vexation –
that my heart was not hard iron,”
said the champion of the sunny lands of Gáireach.

[37]

“If I had thought,” said the Hound of the feats,
“my heart was of flesh and blood,
around the stream-green plain of melodious bees,
I would not have done half of what I did.”

[27]

Cú Chulainn an chroidhe mhir
níor chuir riamh i rinn éigin
bríogh i gcréachtnughadh a chuirp
síol na n-éachtchuradh n-orrdhuirc.

[28]

An tráth fa dtigdis uile
i gCúigeadh chlann Rudhraidhe
níorbh uamhan le beithir mBreagh
sluaghadh na gceithir gcóigeadh.

[29]

Fir Éireann d’aonrún cogaidh
d’éis na Tána tángadair
d’fhios Eamhna na mbánshroth mbinn
ealbha ánrath fa Oilill.

[30]

Lingis i lámhaibh Ultach
an Cú fíochdha fóbartach
tré bhróin gcrannruaidh choille reann
i gcoinne armshluaigh Éireann.

[31]

Innlid ar Choin na ceardcha
a gcleasa áigh inneallta
uaisle an chuire chneisghil chaoimh
sa bhreisligh uile d’aontaoibh.

[32]

Leathtrom muinntire Meidhbhe
don chur-sa ar Magh Muirtheimhne
téid soin ar chéadfaidh gcatha
do Choin éachtaigh fhionnMhacha.

[33]

Gidh eadh tar éis a ndearna
ar chathaibh Chláir sheinMheadhbha
do créichtchiorrbhadh cneas an Chon
sa treas éichtiongnadh uathmhar.

[34]

Cuiris láimh – lór do phudhar –
d’éis a chuirp do chréachtnughadh
slat dob orsa d’fhine Ír
ar cridhe an Chon-sa an chleitín.

[35]

‘An croidhe ad-chiú ar n-a tholladh
go dul orm ní fheadamar
gur neamhchruaidhe ‘ná cur cloch‘
ar cur fhearchuaine Ultach.

[36]

Gé a-tá a-niogh ‘n-a chosair chró
níor shaoil mé – móide mh’iarghnó –
narbh iarann cruaidh mo chridhe‘
ar sduaigh ghrianfhonn nGáirighe

[37]

‘Bheith dom chroidhe d’fheoil nó d’fhuil
dá saoilinn‘ ar Cú an chleasraidh
‘fa chlár sreabhghlas na mbeach mbinn
leath a ndearnas ní dhingninn‘.

Translation

Some of the metaphors used in court poetry may strike the modern reader as being quite strange. For example, describing someone as an orsa or 'door-post' (quatrain 34) would not be an obvious compliment in English. In court poetry, however, describing a warrior as a 'door-post' for his people means that he keeps out danger, that he is their protector. Similarly, calling someone a sduaigh or 'arch' (quatrain 36) may not initially seem to be a compliment, but if we remember that an arch supports a house, we can see more clearly the positive intention behind the use of the phrase to describe a warrior – he supports or upholds his people. In addition, there tend to be a lot of allusions in court poetry: for example, instead of referring simply to 'Connacht', a poet might refer to it as 'the plain of Meadhbh' (quatrain 33) or 'the province of Oilill', assuming that the audience will understand the references to famous mythological figures associated with the province. The more one reads of court poetry, the more of these allusions one will recognise.

Below are some tips to understanding and navigating particular sections of the poem that may challenge learners.

Line 4 of quatrain 27 (síol na n-éachtchuradh n-orrdhuirc) is an appositive phrase with no obvious syntactical connection to the rest of the quatrain. Appositives are nouns or noun phrases, usually set off by commas in modern editions, that describe another noun. In this case, síol na n-éachtchuradh n-orrdhuirc (“the seed of the valorous, renowned champions”) is another name for Cú Chulainn who is mentioned in the first line.

Line 3 of quatrain 28 begins with the phrase Níorbh uamhan; however, in the printed edition, which we have adapted for this website, this is written Níor bh’uamhan. In the manuscripts, this is written something like níorbhuamhan, as unstressed words (like the negative past-tense copula níorbh) were generally written together with a following stressed word (like the noun uamhan) until quite late in the Early Modern Irish period. While modern editions will often use níorbh in such instances, learners should become accustomed to seeing níor bh’ before vowels.

The verb tángadair (“they came”) is found in line 2 of quatrain 29. This verb is also often written as tángadar with a broad final “r.” This is simply a common variant form of the past tense 3rd person plural.

Quatrain 31 is somewhat tricky in that the verb, innlid (“they plied”), is in the first line, while the subject of the verb, uaisle an chuire chneisghil chaoimh (“the nobles of the fair-skinned, noble host”), does not come until the third line of the quatrain. This is a common feature of Irish poetry of the period.

The verb form in the first line of quatrain 35, ad-chiú (“I see”) is has a ending - The form do-chím (“I see”) is more common in the Early Modern period, but poets may choose older forms from time to time.

In poetry of the period, synthetic verb forms are more commonly used than analytic, but often a poet will choose to use an analytic form even when a synthetic form is available. In quatrain 36, for example, the poet writes níor shaoil mé (“I did not think”). However, the poet could use the synthetic verb form níor shaoileas (“I did not think”), assuming it met metrical requirements of the quatrain. By contrast, in quatrain 31, for example, the poet uses the synthetic verb form Innlid (“they ply”), though he might have written a quatrain that included innlidh siad (“they ply”), using the 3rd person singular form of the verb followed by the 3rd person plural pronoun, if metre had allowed him.

In line 4 of quatrain 36, we have a place-name in the genitive – Gáirighe. In the edition we have adapted for this website, this is spelt Gáiridhe. In manuscripts of the Early Modern Irish period, dh and gh are very often confused, as, in most cases, they were pronounced the same way. Many modern-day editors will often restore a more “correct” spelling, but this is not always the case.

Quatrain 37 begins with the phrase Bheith dom chroidhe d'fheóil nó d'fhuil (“my heart’s being of flesh or of blood”). Learners coming from Modern Irish may be more familiar with modern-day a bheith. Here, we have simply the verbal noun bheith, which on its own is often lenited in the Early Modern period.

The full transcription of the poem can be found on UCC CELT: Fód codarsna críoch Bhanbha.

Chunk Title Goes Here, the Original Text

Definition

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