Catalogue of Irish Manuscripts in National Library of Ireland
G 7
Tales: Verse
16th cent. Vellum. 11 ff. mainly 21 × 16 cms., one folio 7.5 × 13 cms.
The text is in double column. The early 19th cent. columnar numeration 1-40 on the upper margins, adopted for the purpose of the present catalogue, ignores the smaller leaf, which, for the purpose of the catalogue, has been numbered col. 24a. An older (18th cent.?) foliation 5-26 on the lower margins indicates that two folios became separated from the manuscript sometime in the 18th cent. One of these folios contained the beginning of the story of Mongán being Finn (col. 1). It was probably at this time too that the folio containing the end of Cath Maige Mucraimhe (col. 29) became separated from the manuscript. Except for the smaller leaf, written by another hand of the period, the manuscript appears to be the work of one scribe who remains unidentified. A more recent hand, however, is responsible for the second half of l.18 in col. 23.
The scribe writes in different styles; mainly a book-hand (cols. 6-7, 17-8, 27-8 etc.) and occasionally a smaller and more compressed book-hand (cols. 9-10, 22 ll.14-9, 36 inf., 40 inf.), while on col. 21 inf., his script is cursive and sloping; at that point a rough drawing of a hand holding a pen is accompanied by a note of complaint about pend remor hui Cenndubhain.
Other scribal notes and comments occur on cols. 4, 5, 11. The first is addressed to Muintir Cingaid (Ó Cionga, Ó Cingeadh). Both the Ó Cionga and Ó Cenndubháin families were influential in the west Midlands in the 16th-17th cent. and the scribe's association with them points to a place in or near these districts (Galway-Westmeath) as his probable place of abode or writing. The scribal comment at the foot of col. 11 might suggest his having an association with the religious life; however, this comment could have been copies from an entry in the scribe's exemplar. The present manuscript is similar in much of its content to two contemporaneous manuscripts, RIA 23 N 10 and BM Eg. 88 (Tale Section); the orthography in some of the texts in Eg. 88 shows eccentricities similar to those in the present manuscript.
RIA 23 L 14, pp. 2b-80 is a transcript of the present manuscript and the scribe appears to have been James McQuigge and not Dermuid Ó Mulchoine as stated in the RIA Cat. Ir. Mss., p. 3405. The RIA manuscript is a composite one, the last part (pp. 138-180) of which includes the colophon (p. 178) with Ó Mulchoine's name and the date 1765, but the watermark 1815 forbids the acceptance of this colophon as other than a copy of an entry in the scribe's exemplar. McQuigge is responsible for the columnar numeration 1-40 in the present manuscript: compare his characteristic 8 and 9 in this manuscript with those in the RIA transcript. He was employed by Dr. Adam Clarke (1762-1832) who was, prior to Phillipps, the owner of this manuscript. NLI G 36 is a transcript by McQuigge of another Clarke manuscript, NLI G 9.
The scribe of the present manuscript left a blank space for the initial capitals of the different items: one initial in col. 18 has been filled in. The ruling is by dry point with marginal prickings. The vellum is even in texture but naturally defective with a few holes but without loss of text. There is much staining throughout the manuscript, mainly in the lower margins and on the outer leaves. Ten folios in the manuscript form one gathering; the remaining folio, between the sixth and seventh, is a smaller leaf, its inner margin trimmed and fitted to a slit on the inner margin of the sixth. There are two small strips of vellum stitched to the inner margin of the first folio, perhaps connected with an earlier binding. The average number of lines to the page is 32.
The manuscript is bound in blind tooled brown calf with Codex Hibernicus lettered in gold on the spine, with three blank leaves bound after the front cover and one before the back cover. On the recto of the second flyleaf the following is written: No. 5 This manuscript in the Irish Language was wrote in the Tenth Century - part of the History of Ireland and - about [space here] Hundred years old. As comments of a similar nature and a shelf number 3 are written by the same hand on a flyleaf in G 9 it would appear that these two manuscripts, came into Clarke's possession. The shelf number CLXV of the Clarke collection is pasted on the recto of the 2nd flyleaf of the present manuscript as is also the catalogue number 9748 of the Phillipps collection.
Col.
1. Aided Fothaid Airgdig. Beg. acephalous co mpiu for lar ind liss. Ends nat lecc fornduisi. Finitt. Ed. Hull from TCD H. 4. 22, ZCP xviii 416; Meyer from other mss., Voyage of Bran i 45.
2. Scél Mongáin. Beg. [D]ia mpui Forgall filiu lia Moncccan (sic) fecht n-ant. Ends Batir he sin a n-imthichta ⁊ ca. Ed. Hull from H. 4. 22, ZCP xviii 418; Meyer from other mss., Voyage of Bran i 52.
3. Tucait Baile Mongáin. Beg. [E]issistir pen Mongain .i. Fintigern di Mongan. Ends Muiche Line i rrapatir ⁊ rilica. Ed. Hull from H. 4. 22, ZCP xviii 419; Meyer from other mss., Voyage of Bran i 56.
4. Compert Conchobair. Beg. [N]essa ingen Echach Salbuthi pui ina richuiti impmuich ar Emain. Ends hoc fleg Oit[h]er ba haulucht. Ed. Hull from all mss. including this copy, Irish Texts iv 4-12. See BM ii 288.
4. Short extract from an Irish Glossary. Headed Tulchupa briethar indsee. Beg. Ferr ar fec[h]tib feur .i. féur
an ba no laogha = Eg. 88, f.11, col. 2. Ends indeóin in gabann followed by scribal comment Finit do sin
mait[h] do mellabair sinn a muintir Cingaid.
4. Quatrain on Conchobhar's share in the division
of Ireland beg. Dia ro randad coicith Erent.
5. Note on the causes of the battle of Cúl Dreimne, entitled Tucait Cat[h]a Cula Dremne. Beg. [L]uith Caurnán mac Aeda meic Echit ind aitriu lie Diermuit mac Cerbill = Harl, 5280, f.44b. Ends rolla tar a cenn ⁊ ca. For longer version see RIA 24 P 25, f.44r.
5. Togail Bruidne Da Derga. Beg. [C]onari mac Messi Bouchalla issne (sic) ortiu i mPruidin huo Derce. Ends ata Pruiden hui Derca immediately followed by scribal note Tuirsech sin a ben an cainti. The short (Cín Dromma Snechta) recension ed. V. Hull from this ms., ZCP xxiv 131-32. See BM ii 295.
6. [D]et Ailella raben ind 14 qq. Sadb speaks after the death of her son Lugaid mac Con.
7. Compert Con Culaind. Beg. [B]ae Conc[h]upar ⁊ maithi hElad ind Emin. Nou tathitis eundlaith i mMag er Emin. Ends ra ngiuilsi iarum Cu Culainn ⁊ ca. The Cín Dromma Snechta recension ed. V. Hull from this ms., ZCP xxiv 128-31. See BM ii 288.
9. Imacallam in druad Brain ⁊ na banfatha Febuil, entitled Imacallam in druad Brain ⁊ na banfatha Febuil o Loch Febuil ind sin tuas (the title appears at foot of col. 9). [I] mpa missi, impa mé 8 qq. Ed. Meyer from H.4.22, ZCP ix 339.
10. Tarnac i mbith coult co cmaip | isin Dothre ic feinnip 4 qq. Headed hOsini (sic) mac Fint dixit contra filium sidhe for Sruib Brain.
10. Dindshenchus. Magh Febuil. Headed Anmand tire Locha no Maigi Febuil inso. Beg. Echdruim .i. cen indaa. Ends do Rait[h] Febuil.
11. Dindshenchus. Temair. Beg. [M]ac Miled Espaine .i. Herimon nomine dipert nnui di Teipip followed (l.15) by poem on same beg. Ind filidh rafetatar 12 qq. Ed. M. O Daly from this ms. with translation and glossary, Celtica v 186.
The following scribal entry immediately follows q. 7 at foot of col. 11: Is mairc di facbad fa deraib a cleir[ch]echt chaid ⁊ cac[h] da trega(i)d le hocras (al. egr[u]as). Cf. Mrs. O Daly's readings, op. cit. 191.
12. [F]o Loch Echach adbha damh 11 qq. Headed Muirgelt [fi]lia Ethach cc .i. Li Ban ingen Echach. One of the poems included in the tale Aided Echach meic Maíreda, ed. S. H. O'Grady from LU (containing 22 qq.), Silva Gadelica 235.
13. Death of Fothad Canainne. Beg. [B]ai ri feinidh ar Condichtip Fothadh Cananne a ainmp. Ends a ndail Fothaid ⁊ it-pert followed by quatrain beg. A ben nacam-aic i-lle followed by Finit. Ed. V. E. Hull from this ms. with translation, ZCP xx 400. The complete poem (49 qq.), Reicne Fothaid Canainne, ed. Meyer from TCD H.3.17, Fianaigecht 10.
- Note on the smiths of the Fomoire and the Gaedil. Beg. Dolb goba Fomoire na hairm. Ends in trerind do Lugh.
14. Dindshenchus. Emain Macha. Beg. Toforaint in Márrighan laithriuch nduine lie hAulta hi Machi followed (l.16) by poem on same beg. A fir ce noturcba raith 7 qq. followed by Finit.
15. [A] Choicidh c[h]oin C[h]airpre cruait 37 qq. On the kings of Leinster. Ed. M. O Daly from this and other mss. with translation and notes, Éisge x 177-179.
18. Laudate Dominum de celis 5 qq. Ed. Meyer from 23 N 10, ZCP vi 262.
18. [I] s doilge lem ina in t-éc 12 qq. Headed Mocuta cc. Cf. the Lis. version of this poem (ed. Stokes, Lives of Saints from the Book of Lismore 135).
19. [R]opad inmuin damsa fechtass | múichni im aileóin 11 qq. Cf. 'Meallach liom bheith i n-ucht oiléin', ed. O'Rahilly, Measgra Dánta ii 120, 194.
20 [E]oul dam morseser fer bfiel 9qq. Four Heptads. Cf. AL v, Heptads.
21. [A]rsiasar coimhdhi Temrae scéo Tailten suidhi coimhdemhair 49 qq. On the status and rights of the Airgialla. Ed. M. O Daly from this ms. with translation and notes, Ériu xvi 179. The poem breaks off on col. 23 l.18 and is continued (in another hand) on the recto of the smaller leaf, col. 24a.
The following scribal note is written after q. 9 at foot of col. 21: Is olc pend remor hui Cenndubhain fa brisgélachiph [al. brisgénaiph ?] (see introductory remarks above) underneath which is a rough drawing of a hand holding a pen. Underneath this drawing on the lower margin of the page is the following verse (?) which for the most part is illegible: maighi gabsat cetig (?) la riga fira falmaigi ... bh airseass (?) báigh fri hirinn (?) eirigh a ngnoaibh Clanna iarsin Colla ... aid ...
23. [A]ithbi damsa bess mara 35 qq. Headed Sentuinde Uerre .cc.iarna senod don crine. The Lament of the Old Woman of Beare. Ed. G. Murphy from this and other mss., Early Irish Lyrics, no. 34.
24a. (smaller leaf) See under col. 21 above.
26. [M] 'oenarán am ereclán 14 qq. A hermit's song. Ed. G. Murphy from this and other mss., Early Irish Lyrics, no. 9. Cf. G 10, p. 45.
27. Mesce Chúanach, entitled Messci Cuanach ind sin tuas (the title appears at the end of the poem). Beg. Is pind limp | in tan gabther mo duan dam 8 qq. Rhapsody of Cuana mac Cailchíni, king of the Fir Maige Féne, also called Laoch Liathmhuine (+ 640 AFM), a contemporary of Guaire mac Colmáin (q. 5) and his rival in 'hospitality and charity' (Keating iii 131). Ed. M. O Daly from this ms. with translation and notes, Ériu xix 75-80.
28. Lánellach Tigi Rích ⁊ Ruirech, entitled Lanellach tigi rich ⁊ ruirech ind so sis. Beg. Arsesar Conc[h]ubar cetath. Ends foss ⁊ coicne ⁊c. On the composition of Conchubhar's household. Ed. M. O Daly from this ms. with translation and notes, Ériu xix 81.
29. Cath Maige Mucraimhe. Beg. [A]ilill Aulum mac Modho Núothet to hsil hEbir. Corresponds more or less to LL version. Breaks off with col. 40 a c[h]ent te for cloich isin tur = LL 291a (= ed. O'Grady, Silva Gadelica i 316 l.36). See BM ii 400.