Notes to Poem XXIV
i. MS Text: The text of this poem occupies most of p. 280 of the MS, and the upper part of p. 281. Fading has taken place in the lower right hand corner of p. 280, and serious staining is evident towards the right side and bottom of the page. The upper left hand corner is similarly stained. The legibility of the poem is, however, scarcely affected. A copying error occurs at the top of p. 280, where part of the first couplet of q. 8 is repeated and then cancelled, but there is no evidence of emendation. A later hand, apparently that of Ewen MacLachlan, has written “Fingalian” in the space between this poem and the preceding item.
A fascinating feature of this text is the manner in which the hand and orthography of p. 280 seem to differ from the hand and orthography of the portion on p. 281. Distinctive of the hand on p. 280 are a sharply angular capital D, a broad-topped capital F, and a square-shaped capital A. Both types of capital F and A are also found in BDL XVI, where they are reproduced in the discussion. As in BDL XXIV, the hand on p. 280 seems thicker and less tidy, as well as more upright, than that normally found in the BDL ballad texts. The unusual orthographic features of the text on this page are: dyt representing the preverb do, generally written as di in the MS, and triplication of n when representing /N’/ when this occurs internally: thus a ȝrannnyt for a Ghráinne (1, et passim); rynnna for rinne (16); synnnyt and synnnaa for sinne (19, 31). As in BDL XXIV, -ey- is employed to represent /i:/, where -ei- is more commonly found in the MS; thus In feych neyr for a fíoch níor (15).
On p. 281, MS di again represents do, and glinni is written for glinne (35) and sinni for sinne (39), in accordance with the general practice elsewhere in the heroic verse corpus. At the same time, the hand reverts to the style normally found in such items.
It is difficult to know what significance to attach to the apparent variation in hand and orthography in this text. Given the nature of the orthography, it might be possible to regard the ‘unusual’ forms as the result of temporary experimentation; but as these are accompanied by what seems to be a distinctive hand, it is conceivable that the MS text of this poem is the work of two scribes, one of whom wrote the main part of the text on p. 280, with the other adding the remaining quatrains at the top of p. 281. Further investigation of the MS as a whole is required before any firm conclusion can be offered.
ii. General background: This poem is one of a small number of surviving pieces which have Diarmaid’s elopement with Gráinne as their background. Here, Diarmaid reproaches Gráinne for all the hardships which he has had to face since the matter began, and for his alienation from the Fian.
The Early Modern prose tale describing the elopement, Tóruigheacht Dhiarmada agus Ghráinne, appears to be of southern Irish provenance, although parts of the Diarmaid story clearly belong to the north. The present poem contains two identifiable northern Irish place-names, and one evidently from the south. The former are Beanna Boirbhe (29), or Bennyborfy in the Mourne Mountains, and Eas Ruaidh (33), or Assaroe, near Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal. The latter is Boireann (29), probably Burren in Co. Clare. It is possible, therefore, that the poem reflects a predominantly northern interest.
iii. Later versions: Attention has been drawn by earlier editors to a poem in the collections of Kennedy which they regard as “a more elaborate version” of the present item (Lloyd, Bergin and Schoepperle, RC, XXXIII, 51–7). The poem in question begins “’S moch a ghoireas an Chórr”, and consists of 22 quatrains. The element of reproach is certainly attested in this piece, as q. 11 demonstrates:
Chaill mi aoibhneas
aqus ceól,
Chaill mi coir air m’
onair féin;
Threig Eirinn mi ’s
na bheil ann,
Air son d’ aon ghrádh
is do spéis.
It is therefore difficult to discount the possibility that it may preserve a distant echo of the BDL item. However, the metre and language indicate that considerable modification has taken place, and that what is effectively another poem has been produced, perhaps under the creative influence of Kennedy himself. Apart from this, no other version of the BDL item is known to survive in Irish or Scottish tradition.
iv. Metre: Rannaigheacht Bheag
v. Line annotation:
1 mhillis: wyl<d>lys MS. It is difficult to know how one ought to transcribe the fourth letter of the MS form; in addition to d, another possibility is e, but it is also conceivable that the ‘letter’ is no more than a flourish at the base of a capital or lower case l. The same problem is found with the MS representation of this verb form in 8, 16, 20, 24, 28; but note willis (12, 32, 40) and villis (36), where there is no doubt about the lower case ls.
3 atáim ’san éigin: It tayme sin nagyn̄ MS. HP construes the MS reading atáim-se i n-éigin.
5 thréigeas: rh<a>gis MS. The third letter of the MS form is evidently a written over e or vice versa.
congháir: co<n>ȝar MS. The third letter of the MS form could be u, but this seems improbable. The form congháir, otherwise comhgháir) is common (RIA Dict. s.v. congáir).
6 HP construes this line as ar chompán, - gá ní as táire, but it is very doubtful whether MS ȝaw can represent gá; equally HP poses a problem in the interpretation of táire as a compv. adj., when one would expect a form such as táireile. Interpreting táire simply as a noun (cf. RIA Dict. s.v.), the line would appear to mean ‘for the sake of a companion of mine – a thing which is an insult’. Cf. LBS.
11 <fileadh>: fylli MS. HP restores as fidhcheall, which would give excellent sense in the context. The BDL scribe may have confused the word with file, ‘poet’, through unfamiliarity with the game fidhcheall; cf. the evidence of IV, 12 n. LBS restores to fileadh.
15 an fíoch: In feych MS. Note the form of the 3 pl. poss. pron. which is an here (< an), but not am as one normally finds in mod. Sc. G. before b-, p-, f- and m-.
17 Oisean: MS osseyn̄e could represent Oisín, the usual form of the name in E. Mod. and Mod. Ir. On the use of -ey- in the orthography of this poem, see Section i above.
19 leó sin: leo sen MS. HP restores to leósan.
22 ghabhmaois: For a note on -st in the MS form ȝaifmost, see II, 4 n.
23 múirn <a thighe>: mwrndnyt hoe MS. The restoration follows HP. This interpretation would appear to be confirmed by the context and the metre; hoe representing thighe does seem to be unusual in terms MS orthography, but cf. the remarks in Section i above.
25 < >: It is difficult to know how to interpret the MS form chaischi. HP restores it as chachta, gen. sg. of cacht, which can mean ‘bondage, captivity, confinement’ (RIA Dict. s.v. 1 cacht (b)). Although this would make sense in the context, giving the line the meaning ‘As I was [i.e. the state I was in] in a cave of captivity’, it seems to be at variance with the MS spelling of the word, which suggests chaise. For the latter no explanation can so far be offered, and such a word would not provide aicill with the next line. The reference to the cave in this line and in 27 may recall the hiding in the underground cave of Currach Cinn Amuide in Co. Kerry (see Ní Shéaghdha (ed.), Tóruigheacht, ll. 501 ff.).
29 A<’> dol: I<t> doll MS. If the second letter of first element in the MS is c rather than t, we may restore to Ag dol.
Bheannaibh Boirbhe: wennnow borrifaa MS. Note that the MS spelling borrifaa appears to reflect the development attested in the anglicised form of the place-name Bennyborfy, earlier Beanna Bairche or Beanna Boirche (Onom. Gad. s.v.). Cf. the tendency for -ch- to become -f- in certain Irish dialects (de Bhaldraithe, The Irish of Cois Fhairrge, p. 103).
33 <A’ dol>: The MS is badly stained at this point, and the present restoration is based on Cameron (RC I, p. 89), who read It dol.
rónach: The third letter of the MS form ro<(n)>nyt is difficult to interpret. Originally it appears to have been either n or y; the dot found above it may be an attempt to turn it into i, but subsequently the letter was cancelled.
37 <Bheirim>: This seems to be the most likely interpretation of the MS form weaym, assuming that raised e represents vowel + r. This makes sense with the accompanying adverbs of time. However, difficulties remain. The line is hypermetric unless one loses the final syllable of fada by elision, and simultaneously reduces is to ’s. There is also the question of the tense represented by Bheirim, which is formally 1 sg. pres. indic.; action continuing up to the present may be implied, or the reference may be future. Note the lenition of the initial of the verb form, perhaps under the influence of do-bheirim.