Transcript

Bhí Oisín i ndiaidh na Féinne ag siubhal ar tráigh Amhairc Dheirg[1] nuair a tháini' Pádraig chun a dhéin. D'fhiosraigh sé de goidé a rabh sé a dhéanamh ansin. Dúirt sé go rabh sé ag amharc bho[2] a chuid chromrádaithe[3] a tháinig go hAlbain... a chuaigh go hAlbain a throid.

"Ó," arsa Pádraig. "Chan bhfeic[4] tú iad achoíche. Tá siad marbh."

"Ó, cha dtig leo a bheith marbh."

"Ó, tá siad marbh," arsa Pádraig. "Thugainn[5] liomsa agus teiseánaidh[6] mise duid iad."

Ois-... Thug sé... Thug Pádraig é go hifreann[7] agus theiseáin sé dó iad ine hifreann[8] ag troid. Arsa... Arsa Oisín nuair a chonai' sé iad:

"Chan fhearr bhuafa[9] ná chucu;
Má mhaireas Goraidh agus Goll,
Diarmaid na Lann agus an tOrscrath,[10],
Baineann siad an lá go tea[11]."

Arsa Pádraig, "Beidh siad mar sin go héag. Go brách."

"Más mar sin é, tabhair mise leat agus baistigh mé, agus rachaidh mé leat."

Thug Pádraig eisean leis chun an tsruth. Agus nuair a bhí siad insa tsruth chuaigh spéic a chrosta[12] in cos Oisín. Agus chonaic Pádraig an uisc-... an t-uisce dearg le fuil. Agus tharraing sé an spéic as a chos.

"Goidé as[13] nachar... Goidé as nachar úirt[14] tú go rabh an spéic in do chos?"

"Shaoil mé gur den bhaisteadh é."

Agus thug Pádraig an spéic as a chos.

Translation

Oisín, the last of the Fenians, was walking on Red Bay strand when Patrick came up to him. He asked him what he was doing there. He said he was looking for his comrades who had gone to Scotland to fight.

"Ah," said Patrick. "You will never see them again. They are dead."

"They cannot be dead."

"Oh, they are dead," said Patrick. "Come with me and I will show them to you."

Patrick brought Oisín to Hell and he showed him them fighting in Hell. When Oisín saw them he said:

"It is best not to meddle with them;
If Goraidh and Goll survive,
And Diarmaid of the Blades and An tOrscrath,
They will win the day yet."

Patrick said, "They will be like that till death. Forevermore."

"If that is how it is take me with you and baptize me and I will go with you."

Patrick brought him to the stream. And when they were in the stream the spike of his cross went into Oisín's foot. And Patrick saw the water was red with blood. And he pulled the spike out of his foot.

"Why didn't you say that the spike was in your foot?"

"I thought it was part of the baptism."

And Patrick took the spike out of his foot.

Footnotes

Commentary

The context for this tale, a conversation between Saint Patrick and the figure of Oisín from Fenian lore, finds its origin in the late twelfth century text Acallam na senórach. It describes how two warriors, Oisín and Caílte, survive into the time of Saint Patrick, and outlines many of their subsequent conversations. See Maurice Harmon, The dialogue of the ancients of Ireland: a new translation of Acallam na Senórach (Dublin, 2009). It was hugely influential on later folk tradition, and served as an important frame story for many later narratives.

This particular story contains two elements, the first being the image of the Fianna in hell, and the second being the baptism of Oisín. The former may be related to an international motif, J172 Account of punishments prepared in hell brings about repentance. See Stith Thompson, Motif-index of folk literature (revised and enlarged ed., 6 vols, Bloomington, Ind., 1955-8). The imagery of the Fianna fighting in hell is not exclusive to this tale, as the narrative for international folktale no. 650A, Strong John, was used in stories that describe Oscar or Goll battling demons in hell with a giant flail, while the rest of the Fianna escape. See Standish Hayes O'Grady, The story of Ireland (London, 1894), 33. See also Hans Jorg Uther, The types of international folktales: a classification and bibliography (3 vols, Helsinki, 2004). The second motif, that of the piercing of Oisín's foot during baptism, has its origins in a Middle Irish account of the life of Saint Patrick contained in the manuscript known as An Leabhar Breac (Royal Irish Academy Library). This text describes Saint Patrick driving his staff through the foot of King Aonghus of Cashel, who remained stoically silent, thinking it was part of the baptism process. See Whitley Stokes, Betha Patraic, on the life of Saint Patrick, three Middle-Irish homilies (Calcutta, 1877), 33.

This track has also been transcribed and translated in Róise Ní Bhaoill, Ulster Gaelic voices: bailiúchán Doegen 1931 (Belfast, 2010), 286-9. Orthographic and phonetic transcriptions of the track appear in Heinrich Wagner, Linguistic atlas and survey of Irish dialects (4 vols, Dublin, 1958-69), vol. 4, 284. Another version of the story by the same speaker appears in An tUltach 11:6 (1934), 7, and further versions and information have been compiled by Dr Ciarán Ó Duibhín at http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/~oduibhin/doegen/mcauley.htm.