¶1] Either O'Carroll or the rest are mistaken, these are some of the stories about him; who is it that is really mistaken? it is time to consider.
¶2] There are some of them hoarding their wealth, those that never cared for hospitality; and some that bear the palm from Guaire, head of every company.
¶3] A question for the companies of the Five Fifths, it should be-tackled; is it the bestower of kine who is most astray?
¶4] Wealth [...](?), and castles the others cherish them; Cobhthach's, descendant has spent his own share, it is a wealth that endures.
¶5] The rest desert the professional poets of Ireland for common song, until (?) the man of Cliú checked their discourse, bright shield of Gowran.
¶6] It is a pity that the rest are not like O'Carroll, generous with cattle; given to(?) music and entertainment, blameless course.
¶7] Maol Ruana, king of Cearbhall's stock, to whom Ireland rightfully belongs, to him the name is given as a just title—palm of hospitality—The Feale and the Cashen are two rivers in North Kerry, and it is these two prime rivers with beautiful banks that form a fishing estuary for the men of West Munster, and as the Feale is plundered of her fish she goes and floods the Cashen, and brings a prey of fish with her when returning. In such wise O'Carroll, when the keen, pungent-worded poets of Fódla plunder his land and his territory of riches and treasures and wealth, he sets upon the dour, unintelligibly-speaking outlanders, and they are plundered and burnt by him again and again.
¶8] Again and again is the great plain of the Moy plundered by Maol Ruana; a man who never puts off a bardic company, so great is his pride.
¶9] [...](?) O'Carroll of the elfin blades; every man shall receive his own award if he reach the kingship.
¶10] It is not the son of Isabel, desirous of praise, who has made a mistake; all that hath joined him of the Plain of the Champions—bardic companies are its tax—
Doladh is a little town in East Munster, and nuns reside there, and a priest says mass every Sunday to those nuns, and good is the life (?) of that little town—
¶11] So that thence O'Carroll goes to raid Meath; to take cattle out of every town, firm is his courage [...](?) gone into the cauldron to dispense liquor.
¶12] Maol Ruana is the Cú Chulainn of Munster in greatness of courage; is the house in which he is better for him than the House of Tara?
¶13] The warriors of the Gael gather around him to exercise steeds; he has surpassed Ireland, Éile and Oileach in generosity.
¶14] Heir of Seaán son of Maol Ruana, wheel of prowess; man who could contrive victory, guarantor of hosting—
And it was a wonderful hosting the Vicar Ó Conchobhair, and the Stronglegged Ó Léanaigh (?) the Big made, having resolved to make an alliance and compact with one another, and to go without pause or delay to battle with O'Daly—
¶15] The fuller was robbed when coming from the forge, having ground his teasel: often [...]20
¶16] In Limerick there is many a gentle young woman, and many a whistling man who awakens the fierce, cold-beaked, deep-crawed snipe.
¶17] It is not easy to collect the cattle of the man of Éile [...]wrong and slaughter.
¶18] The cow of Athboy from its spancell, the cattle of striped Slieveroe have been brought by thee, O torrential champion, to Éile; many a running in their eyes for a time from the warrior—
And the Monday after Michaelmas a mayor is made in every big town in Ireland, and it is in this way he is made, the shaven-lipped, big-paunched, bulging(?)-eyed burgesses of those towns enter into courts built of gray masonry and stout timber, and he who has the largest retinue and following comes out as mayor, and it is a great wonder that O'Carroll does not even so go to Tara and gather the Gaels of all Ireland around him—
¶19] As did the spirited kin from whom he is sprung; often is the fury of—Fearghal's descendants curbed by the warrior of Limerick.
¶20] Many a heron (?) on the slope of Turlach and fawn of Leamhain (?); no dull gathering on Sunday is the tribe of O'Kearney—
And as for O'Kearney, he used to be in Cashel, and it is for him O'Grady made the whisky, and sent one of his followers for spice, that is pepper and aniseed, telling him to memorise that well, like any lesson, and the boy started learning it well, as he had been told, and on drawing near the big town he got an extraordinary and unfortunate tumble, and this is what he said as he was getting up: 'pepper and aniseed.'
¶21] He brought a load of the same [...], to O'Grady's castle; when he went to Port an Phúdair(?) he left distress (?)
¶22] Like to the cold Hill of Howth is the frown of O'Grady, by the Grúda men nimbly cast trout into boats.
¶23] I am frenzied [and (?)] every one in the country around me, with love for the bright-toothed one, a love unsupportable.
¶24] I am called O'Carroll's rimer in the land of Munster; him with whom I have the best place I shall make chief of the heroes.
The stag hath no natural liking for the bay of the dogs; Lorcan's descendant [...](?) a miserable yeoman: there is many a heron and wild goose on the land of Ulster.
¶25] The like of O'Carroll have I heard of in the battle of Cnuca; he was foremost in all their feasts, large his pigs—And Walter Mape was roasting two pigs for the king of England, that is, a fat pig and a lean one, and he took to greasing the fat pig with butter and oil, and he let the lean pig burn, and thus the English of lovely Fódla and the nobles of Munster act towards O'Carroll, for they give him gold and silver and manifold riches, while they give neither little or much to Carew, though he is nearer to the Lake of Ribh, son of Muiridh than the woman who comes from Dún Mic Padraicín to Owenogarney to gather limpets.
¶26] Over in Trian Chonghail there is many a breast in [...](?)21
¶27] A Tara is that rampart of Maol Ruana, where there are companies [...](?); in Maol Ruana's, castle there is many a gathering [...](?)
¶28] Magh Dreimhne surpasses every other plain [...](?) it is the darling child of the noble dwellings, praiseworthy are its people—And as for the tribe of Munterhagan, they are in Meath, and they are wont to be killing and quarrelling with one another over the name of the head of the tribe, a name that no other of the men of Ireland would like to bear as tribal chief, and that is, The Fox—a fellow without clothing, without cattle, deceitful, false—
¶166]
¶29] A gray-muzzled fellow, treacherous, shifty, crafty [...] he would bring a hen from the marsh (orthe Curragh?), a guileful deed, he would not exchange for gold or cattle a seal or a mackerel.
¶30] Generous-hearted O'Carroll, sought of travellers; no one else hath such repute save Art the Lonely.
¶31] Art the Lonely or Oilill Bare-ear, from whom he is sprung; it is shameful for all the bardic companies in Cashel not to join him.
¶32] In fear of the champion the warlike English have retreated to the coast; shortly will he leave the castles of the foreigners deserted.
¶33] If the honor of all the men of Ireland be considered, with accurate, knowledge, the fame of O'Carroll should be balanced with that of two kindreds [i. e. should be handicapped by competing against two instead of one] in the balancing—And it is a wonderful leap that is taken by some of the people in the eastern world, that is, to ascend the lofty mountain overlooking Paradise, and they look downwards and laugh, and go thence to Paradise, and return from there no more: even thus, then, do the landless men, the nobles, the travellers and men of art of Ireland in the case of O'Carroll's castle.
¶34] As he competed with(?) the minstrels—attempting a good division (?), the warrior for whom a blue vessel is bright, our house of safeguard.
¶35] Éile of the ruddy appletrees whose fruit is good, the produce of the fragrant branches conceals every path in its way.
¶36] Murmuring streams running shallow at the beginning of summer, from the heat of the winter every fish goes a foot deep into the earth.
¶37] In the dwelling of O'Carroll of Cobhthach's Plain, who never loved hoarding (?), there is many a maiden in the spring and scores of hags—
And a hag who was in the house of MacDermot of Moylurg and [...] save one year there, and that hag left [...] honorable and famous always from that year, and that is wonderful, seeing that there are—
¶38] One hundred hags in O'Carroll's dwelling, God defend it; the King of all is with the youth, Mary and Íde(?).
¶39] [...]from every man, no portent of conflict, however near in time(?) he gets in his castle hundreds of champions, bright, long visitation.
That man is deceived who would not wrest a passing pleasure from the goods of life, seeing they are but a phantom like the mist; to my mind it were better to lavish them justly therein, since assuredly none will carry them away from this dungeon of deceit.