Transcript

Bhí Muire agus a Mac ag goil fríd an tír uair amháin agus scairt siad aige[1] toigh mór agus d'iarr siad lóistín oíche. Dúirt an bhean leofa nach rabh dóigh acu dófa, go rabh scuitseoir leofu ó mhaidin agus a (bhean fosta), nach rabh dóigh acu dófa.

"Coinnigh iad," a deir an fear. "Tá (áit dófa amuigh) sa cholg. (B'fhearr dófa ná luí amuigh). (Beidh sé te) sa cholg."

Choinnigh siad ansin iad agus eadra[2] sin agus maidin bhí an fear tinn agus bhí an bhean ar baoth. Cha rabh a fhios aici goidé a dhéanfadh sí agus chuaigh sí amach chun an... chun an choilg 'ucu agus d'ársaigh sí do na daoiní bochta go rabh a fear tinn agus nach rabh a fhios aici goidé a dhéanfadh sí. Thóg Mac Dé dornán den... den cholg agus thug sé daoi' é.

"Seo dhuid," arsa seisean. "(...) an eisir[3], agus cumail... cumail dó é.

'Fear cineálta agus bean bhorb,
Agus Mac Dé ina luí sa cholg.'

"Tóg suas an eisir agus cumail dó é agus beidh sé slán."

Translation

Mary and her Son were travelling through the land once and they called to a big house and asked for shelter for the night. The woman told them she couldn't accommodate them, that they had a scutcher with them since that morning, and his wife too, and that she couldn't accommodate them.

"Make a place for them," said the man. "There's room for them (?) in the rough straw. It would be better for them than sleeping outside. It will be warm in the rough straw."

They settled them there and between then and morning the man was sick and the woman was addled. She didn't know what to do and she went out to... to the rough straw and she told the poor people her husband was sick and that she didn't know what to do. The Son of God took a fistful of... of rough straw and he gave it to her.

"Here," he said. "(...) the bedding, and rub... rub it on him.

'A kind man and a fierce woman,
And the Son of God lying in the rough straw.'

"Lift up the bedding and rub it on him and he will be well."

Footnotes

Commentary

Charms, particularly those involved in a ritual of healing, are commonplace in Irish tradition. A great many invlove invoking religious figures and saints. They often employ obscure or archaic language, or reference some legend or tale that provides context or precedent for the healing the charm is supposed to effect. The current example is an extremely common religious legend in Irish tradition, whereby a context story is given for a charm that is said to cure a stitch or pain in the stomach. It usually involves Jesus and Mary, and the charm itself concludes the story. It is of considerable antiquity, and was told in western, southern and central Europe in the middle ages. It can ultimately be traced back to ancient Egyptian tradition, whereby the religious characters involved were Isis and Osiris, rather than the Christian holy family. See Tekla Domotor, 'A type of Hungarian faith-healing charm and its background', Arv 28 (1972), 21-35.

This item is transcribed also in Heinrich Wagner and Colm Ó Baoill, Linguistic atlas and survey of Irish dialects (4 vols, Dublin, 1958-69), vol. 4, 291. The Doegen collection contains another rendition of the tale by Brighid Ní Chaslaigh of county Louth.