Aisling Meabhuil

Aisling Meabhuil An Illusive Vision
Aisling meabhuil d'aicill mh'anam,1 seal gan tapa seang tím tréith; An illusive vision troubled my soul for a time, leaving me without vigour, lean, spiritless, and prostrate:
Frasa carb trasna mara ag2 teacht andeas go ceann faoi réim; Showers of ships crossing the sea from the south, mightily and in due order,
Dragain mheara a d-tosahc cata a n-airm ghreanta an t-seang t-síol3 Chéin, Nimble soldiers in the battle-front, in splendid arms—the graceful race of Cian—
Leagadh air ghallaibh aca is bargadh, is fearann fairsing a g-ceann críoch Néill. Upsetting and wounding the foreigners, and wide their plains at the extremity of the regions of Niall.

Mars gan bhanna dearcaim, seabhac leabhair lannach leabhair-ghníomh tréan, I beheld a Mars without censure, a warrior of the sword, of nimble deeds, mighíy,
Bracach asgnaimh,4 coileach catha, d'aicme Raithleann sean ghríb Gaedheal; A marching banner, a battle cock, of the race of Raithlean, parent oí the warriors of the Gael;
Críthid flaithis, bailte, daingin, ranna, mara, is campaoi a g-céin, The heavens tremble, towns, strongholds, continents, seas, and camps in the distance
D'fheartaibh arm-ghairge an aicil gheallas ceart an t-seanrígh phléidh.5 At the feats of martial valour of the hero who undertook to fight for the rights of the old king.

Taken from Dánta Aoḋagáin Uí Raṫaille “The Poems of Egan O’Rahilly”, Translated by Patrick Dinneen and Taḋg O’Donoġue, 2nd ed., 1911

  1. 1."m’anam". This aspiration is common in the spoken language. aicill, from aiciollaim, “I vex." O.R. writes it aigiollaim: d’aicill mh’anam gan tapa, "vexed my soul, leaving it, or rather me, without vigour." ↩
  2. 2.ag. In MSS. freguently aig. ↩
  3. 3.t-seang t-síol. A t-seang-síol. ↩
  4. 4.bratach asgnaimh, “banner of progress or marching.” asgnaimh, from asgnaim, “I go, march.” M, brotach aisnimh. A, also, aisnimh. Ibid. Raithleann was foster-mother of Corc of Cashel, and daughter of Dathe the strong. Corc being the first king of Cashel, descent from the Cashel kings is spoken of as descent from Raithleann. ↩
  5. 5.pléidh generally means “to litigate, to contend ”; here it is used of battle. ↩