Corpus of Electronic Texts Edition
The destruction of Da Derga's Hostel (Author: [unknown])

section 13

He left his fosterbrothers at their game, and turned his chariot and his charioteer until he was in Dublin. There he saw great, white-speckled birds, of unusual size and colour and beauty. He pursues them until his horses were tired. The birds would go a spearcast before him, and would not go any further. He alighted, and takes his sling for them out of the chariot. He goes after them until he was at the sea. The birds betake themselves on the wave. He went to them and overcame them11. The birds quit their birdskins, and turn upon him with spears and swords. One of them protects him, and addressed him, saying: ‘I am Némglan, king of thy father's birds; and thou hast been forbidden to cast at birds12, for here there is no one that should not be dear to thee because of his father or mother.’


p.25

‘Till today,’ says Conaire, ‘I knew not this.’

‘Go to Tara tonight,’says Némglan; ‘'tis fittest for thee. A bull-feast is there, and through it thou shalt be king. A man stark-naked, who shall go at the end of the night along one of the roads of Tara, having a stone and a sling—'tis he that shall be king.’