Transcript

Chogain Oisín a ordóig agus chan ársann an ordóig a bheag dó. Bhí... bhí sé... bhí an chaint briste. Agus bhí sé... Chuaigh sé trasna na (creige), ar barr na creige, agus chonai'[1] sé dó dhéag fir ag teacht ina aghaidh. Fuirigh sé... D'fhuirigh sé nó gur tháinig siad chun a dhéin. D'fhiosraigh sé daofa goidé a bhí siad a dhéanamh anseo. Dúirt siad go rabh siad ag amharc bhó[2] máistir. D'fhiosraigh sé dófa goidé a thiocfadh leo a dhéanamh. Dúirt haon acu leis go thiocfadh leisean ársa rud ar bith a shiúil ar barr na creige sin le cúig bliana ina héis[3].

"Thusa... thusa an duine atá mise ag amharc bhó," arsa Oisín.

(D'fhiafraigh) sé de haon eile goidé a bhí sé... a thiocfadh seisean a dhéanamh. Dúirt sé go rabh seisean gadaí a thiocfadh leis rud ar bith a ghoid. Agus haon eile acu, dúirt sé leis go rabh seisean dreapaire go thiocfadh leis toil[4] suas... a thoil suas áit ar bith. Agus haon eile, thiocfadh leis báta[5] a dhéanamh ine[6] gcúig bhimide[7] a rachadh deich míle ine gcúig bhimide. Thug sé iad uile leis.

Agus chuaigh siad síos ar maidin[8] chun Coiscéim an Choiligh agus rinn... rinn sé báta - rinn sé seo báta. Agus chuaigh siad uile ar bord agus amach ar an fharraige. Agus bhí siad aige caisleán Leathduine ag a dó dhéag a chlog an lá arna mhárach.

Agus nuair a chonai' Leathduine go rabh siad ansin agus go rabh seisean (ceartaithe) dúirt sé leo nach dtiocfadh leis iad a dhíol(adh) dóigh ar bith nas[9] fhearr ná an dtiocfadh leofa an coileán a ghoid bhón phéiste a bhí insa chreig... insa chreig mhór. Agus dúirt an gadaí go goidfeadh seisean an coileán an dtabhar-... an dtiocfadh leis an dreapadóir é a thabhairt suas an chreig. Dúirt an dreapaire go dtiocfadh leis é a thabhairt suas. Agus thug an dreapaire... thug an dreapaire suas é chun an chreig - chun an nead.

"Má mhuscaileann sí marbhaidh sí ibh uile," arsa... arsa Leathduine.

Ach ghoid siad an coileán agus char mhuscail... char mhuscail siad an péiste.

Translation

Oisín chewed his thumb but the thumb told him nothing. The speech was broken. He went to the top of the crag and saw twelve men coming towards him. He waited until they came to him. He asked them what they were doing here. They said they were looking for a master. He asked them what they could do. One of them said he could give an account of everything that had walked on the top of that crag for the previous five years.

"You... you are the man I am looking for," said Oisín.

He asked someone else what he could do. He answered that he was a thief who could steal anything. And another one of them said he was a climber who could go up anywhere. And another one could make a boat in five minutes that would go ten miles in five minutes. He took them all with him.

And they went down in the morning to Coiscéim an Choiligh and he made a boat - this fellow made a boat. And they all went aboard and out to sea. And they were at Leathduine's castle at twelve o'clock the following day.

And when Leathduine saw that they were there and that he had been set right (?) he told them that he could pay them in no better way than if they could steal the pup from the monster who was in the crag... in the big crag. And the thief said that he would steal the pup if the climber could bring him up. The climber said he could bring him up. And the climber brought him up to the crag - to the lair.

"If it wakes up, it will kill you all," said Leathduine.

But they stole the pup and they did not wake the monster.

Footnotes

Commentary

Parts 1 and 2 of this story represent a partially remembered version of a much greater narrative, which is known as 'Fionn and the Seven Warrior Bands of the Fianna'. See Róise Ní Bhaoill, Ulster Gaelic voices: bailiúchán Doegen 1931 (Belfast, 2010), 294-7. It describes how Fionn accomplishes a task or goes on a journey with the help of a series of characters with extraordinary abilities. This greater narrative itself is based on an international folktale, ATU 513A Six go through the whole world. See Hans Jorg Uther, The types of international folktales: a classification and bibliography (3 iml., Helsinki, 2004). It was present in Ireland since at least the tenth or early eleventh century. See Dáithí Ó hÓgáin, Myth, legend and romance (Nua-Eabhrac, 1991), 72. It is extremely popular tale throughout the entire island of Ireland, usually in the context of Fenian lore. See Seán Ó Súilleabháin and Rieder Th. Christiansen, The types of the Irish folktale (Helsinki, 1968). A version of this story by the same speaker was published in An tUltach 11:6 (1934), 7. Further versions and information have been compiled by Dr Ciarán Ó Duibhín at http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/~oduibhin/doegen/mcauley.htm.