Birth of Aedh Sláine
Tara of the Kings: she it was that to all kings
successively ruling Ireland was a peculiar appanage; and it
was a universal thing for them that thither all Ireland's
charges, and dues prescribed, and rents, must be brought in
to them. With the men of Ireland too it was general that
out of all airts they should resort to Tara in order to the
holding of Tara's Feast at samkaintide. For these were the
two principal gatherings that they had: Tara's Feast at
every samhain (that being the heathens' Easter); and at
each lughnasa, or' Lammas-tide,' the Convention of Taillte.
All precepts and all enactments which in either qf these
festivals were ordained by the men of Ireland, during the
whole space of that year none might infringe. In Taillte
then once upon a time the Gael had an extraordinary great
convention, he that at such epoch was king of Ireland being
Dermot son of Fergus Cerrbeol. The men of Ireland were
disposed along the benches of the assembly-ground: all of
them according to precedence of ranks, of calling, of
legitimate claim and, in fact, after the fashion of
hitherto use and wont.
Now the women, with the king's two wives, had a
sitting-place apart; the queens that on this occasion kept
Dermot company being Mairenn (surnamed mael i.e. 'bald')
and Mughain, daughter of Conchraid son of Duach (of the men
of Munster). Mughain bore Mairenn a great jealousy, and to
a certain female jester she said that she would give her
her own award [i.e. told her to name her own price] if from
the other queen's head she would remove her headgear of
gold; for the manner of Mairenn was that she lacked all
hair, so that a queen's head-dress it was which habitually
concealed her defect The jestress came to Mairenn
therefore, and began to importune her for some boon or
other. The queen averred that she had it not to give. "Thou
shalt have this at anyrate," said the other as from the
queen's head she tore her casque of gold. Mairenn cried:
"God and S. Kieran help me at this need!" nor had an
individual in the crowd so much as well turned his eyes on
her there, when down to her very shoulders fell the flossy,
convoluted, golden-sheeny hair which through Kieran's power
grew on her. The whole host are astounded at the miracle,
and well pleased that the queen is not put to shame. "God I
invoke," cried Mairenn, "that for this thing thou be
disgraced in presence of the men of Ireland!" which came
true.
After this Dermot frequented Mugain still, but she was
barren; whereby she was unhappy, for the king meditated to
abandon her utterly. The other wives also that the king had
were a grief to her, that they bore children: Eithne in
especial, daughter of Brenann Dall of the conmaicne cúile
talad and mother of Colman Mór; and Breo, daughter of
Colman mac Neman from dún Suane, mother of Colman Beg. So
Mugain was sad for this: for her being without either son
or daughter, and the king purposing to dismiss her.
Finnian of magh
bile [angl.
'Moville '], and bishop Aedh son of Bri, arrived in Bregia.
The queen came to visit them, and began to implore the
clerics that they would succour her. Finnian and bishop
Aedh blessed water, gave it to her to drink, and she became
pregnant; but what she eventually produced from this
promise was-a lamb. She cried: "woe is me that I should
have borne a four-footed thing, after which I shall never
be acceptable to any!" "Not that it is which shall come to
pass," said Finnian: "but such a thing, a similitude namely
of the sinless Lamb that was offered up for the human race,
shall to thy womb be for a consecration."
Again the cleric blessed water for her, and she conceived
of it; then bore a silvern salmon. "Woe is me for this!"
she said: "for all thou doest in my behalf I am but the
worse off, cleric, seeing that with the men of Ireland
these two births will become matter of common notoriety;
from all which no good awaits me." "Not that it is which
shall take place," said the cleric: "but the silvern salmon
I will take, and by me a use will be made of him ;* in
virtue of him too [lit. 'on the head of him'] thou shalt
bring forth a son, and in addition bear brothers to him;
but from him shall kings of Ireland spring in number more
than from the others." Mughain answered: "I am well
pleased, if that thou sayest be but fulfilled to me!"
"Fulfilled it shall be," quoth the cleric.
Then Finnian and bishop Aedh pronounced a benediction upon
the queen and on the seed to emanate from her; he [i.e. one
of them] put water into his cup and gave it to the queen,
who both drank of it and washed in it. By this process she
found herself with child and, this time, had a son: who was
Aedh: Sláine. A good offspring in sooth was that which was
born then: Aedh Sláine. Good are his clan too in Bregia:
good in respect of profuseness, of renown, of honour; of
hardihood, of lifting tribute, of holding the upper hand;
of rectitude, of heroic practice, of brilliancy; of dealing
with church orders, of exercising hospitallers' functions,
of compassionateness; of ethics, of sagacity, of pride; of
fame, of affection, of cordiality; of form, of good sense,
of intelligent apprehension; of nobility, of excellence, of
splendour. For 'a golden wand laid across a plate of white
bronze, that is what the seed of Aedh Sláine are athwart
Bregia's plain; and all opulence whatsoever, every grandly
ordered household, 'tis with that of Aedh Sláine that men
compare it.
To commemorate which transactions, and to store them in all
- men's memory, it was that the sennachie, Flann of the
Monastery namely, sang this:
"Mughain,
daughter of Duach's son gentle Conchraid out of Desmond:
she-wife of Dermot son of Cerbhall-without intermission
plied large-handed generosity. . .
*The
only additional detail furnished by the concluding lay of
fourteen quatrains is that of this silver salmon Finnian
had a reliquary and other sacred objects made.
SOURCE
Silva
Gadelica. ed.
and trans. Standish Hayes O'Grady. 1892. reprint: NY: C.
Lemma Publishing Corporation, 1970.