p. 20. ní raiḃ de ḋia beag acu aċ C., ‘there was no one whom they idolised as much as C.’
p. 26. Calaḋċolg, ‘Hard blade,’ the name of Fergus’ sword. Another form is caladhbholg, corresponding with caledvwlch, ‘Hard notch,’ the name of Arthur’s sword (Caliburnus, Excalibur) in the Welsh tales. See Lady Guest’s Mabinogion, 1902, p. 106, and NED., under Excalibur.
p. 28. ċeiṫre áṫa Ṁ. hA. These were: Áth Mogha, Ballymoe, on the Suck, Co. Galway; Áth Coltna, unidentified; Áth Slisean, Ballashlishen, S. of Elphin, Co. Roscommon; Áth Bearcha, unidentified. See Hogan’s Onomasticon.
p. 29. slóiġte Laiġean, the Gailiain.
p. 30. ’na ċeas, see note on p. 9, supra.
„ „ an Luin Cealtċair, ‘C.’s lance,’ the article may seem irregular here, but the two nouns are taken as one word, the second having an adjectival force. Cf., e.g., ‘an gaoi bolga.’ The Luin Cealtchair was a very remarkable weapon, supposed to be endowed with an instinctive ferocity of its own. See descriptions of it in Hennessy’s Mesca Uladh, p. xiv., Togail Bruidhne Dá Derga, § 129, R.C. XXII., and Ferguson’s Conary.
p. 33. gan stad, ‘immediately.’
„ ag déanaṁ sgiaṫ tar lorg, ‘acting as a rearguard.’ The words sgiaṫ tar lorg being taken as a phrase, the first is left undeclined.
„ „ iṫir ḋearg, ‘red earth,’ the upturned clay as left by the trampling of the hosts.
p. 34. ’na steillḃeaṫaiḋ,, ‘actually alive.’
p. 35. féaċ náċ beag—, ‘see how little’—, lit. ‘look, is it not little.’
„ „ ag déanaṁ críċe agus tiúsgail (tionnscail), ‘using thrift and industry.’ críċ, a furrow, a border > a boundary > end > definite object. ag déanaṁ críċe, working with a definite object in view; being useful.
p. 39. ġá maoiḋeaṁ orainn, ‘crediting us with them,’ i.e. ascribing to them the credit of whatever good we do. This expression is so difficult to render concisely into English, that Irish speakers of English simply say ‘meeving—on us.’
p. 45. According to the plot of the story Fergus purposely leads the army astray in order to give the Ulstermen time to prepare a defence. Possibly Fergus’ conduct in this matter was invented by an early shaper of the Táin, in order to account for the roundabout route chosen by the Connacht hosts. In an interesting paper, printed in the Zeitschrift für Celtische Philologie VIII., Miss Margaret Dobbs has shown that the direction followed by Méibh might be explained by the necessity of avoiding such a boundary fortification between Ulster and Connacht as is still apparently discernible in the so-called ‘Black Pig’s Dyke.’ This curious intrench-
