m:U;^- ^^ms-jt CÍAmM'i4L I. t.5 f^^ : TRANSACTIONS THE OSSIANIC SOCIETY, FOR THE YEAR 1853. VOL. I. BATTLE OF GABHRA. DUBLIN PRINTED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE COUNCIL, FOR THE USK OF THE M KM BKRS. 1854. : BATTLE OF GABHRA: GARRISTOWN IN THE COUNTY OF DUBLIN, FOUGHT A.D. 283. FOE THE FIRST TIME EDITED, FROM AN ORIGINAL IRISH MANUSCRIPT, WITH INTRODDCTION, LITERAl. TRANSLATION, AND NOTES, BY NICHOLAS O'KEARNEY. DUBLIN PRINTED FOR THE OSSIANIC SOCIETY, By JOHN O'DALY, 9, ANGLESEY-STREET. 1853. PUBLICATIONS OF THIS SOCIETY ARE NOT SOLD ; TO MEMBERS. — ; REPORT. On the l"th day of March, 1853, a few individuals, interested in the pre- servation and j)ublication_ofjrish Manuscripts, met at No. 9, Anglesey-street, for the express purpose of forming a Society whose object should be the pub- lication of Fenian poems, tales, and romances, illustrative of the Fenian period of Irish histqrxj_in the Irish language and character, with literal transla- subsequent tionsand notes explanatory of the text, whenpracticable : and at a meeting, held on the 9th of May following, the Society was formed, and named the OssiANic Society, the Council to consist entirely of Irish Scholars ; when the following gentlemen were duly elected as the first Council of the Society, and the undermentioned Fenian Tracts were determined on as its first publi- cations : COUNCIL. Rev. John Clarke, R.C.C., Louth ; Euseby D. Cleaver, Esq., A.B., Del- gany; Professor Connellan, Cork; Rev. James Goodman, A.B., Skibbereen : William Hackett, Esq., ilidleton ; Rev. Patrick Lamb, P.P., Newtownhamil- ton: Professor Mac^eeny, Thurles ; Mr. John O'Daly, Hon. Secretary, DublinTTohn O'Donovan, Esq.T^LL.D., M.R.I.A., Dublin ; Rev. J. L. O'Flynn, O.S.C.F., Kilkenny; Standish II. O'Grady, Esq., Castleconnell Nicholas O'Kearney, Esq., Dublin ; _Profe^ssorjD'Mahwiv^_College_of_St^ Columba; Andrew Ryan, Esq., Gortkelly Castle, Borrisoleigh ; John Windele, Esq., Cork; Rev. W. Wright, D.D., Medmenham, Bucks. BOOKS. I. The Prose and Poetical Account of the Battle of 5Abti>v (Garristown, in the County of Dublin), fought A.D. 283, where the Fenian forces of Ireland were conquered, and their ranks finally broken up. II. A very interesting Fenian Tale, entitled " Vé]X Z]-^e Coo^m Ciw r-vlé|bo ;" or a Visit to the House of Conan of Ceann Sleibhe— nearCorofin, in the county of Clare. III. A Volume of Ossianic Poems. IV. A Treatise entitled " y.5AlUn) tjA SeAnómié," or Dialogue of the Sages—a historical work in prose and poetry, full of rare information relative to the topography of Ireland. V. A Romantic Tale entitled "CótiuioeAcc r)iATtn)U6A U] bujbne A5Uf Stt^^inne"— i.e., the Adventures of Diarmuid O'Duibhne and Grainne (Grace), the Daughter of Cormac Mac Airt, Monarch of Ireland in the Third Century, •who, after being married to Fionn Mac Cumhaill, eloped with Diarrauid; and to whom are ascribed the Leaba Caillighes (Hags' Beds), so numerous in Ire- land—the origin of which is now so anxiously sought for by antiquaries. VI. A Tract giving an Account of the Battle of Ventry, iu the county of Kerry, which was fought between Daire Doun, Monarch of the World, and the Fianna Eirionn, and lasted for 366 days. The editing of the first volume on the Council's list was entrusted to a gentleman well qualified for the task ; owing, however, to the abundance of more ancient and consequently more authentic matter which occasionally turned up, some little delay has occurred in its preparation for the press; but the Council now have the satisfaction of announcing to the Society that the first printed-off sheet of this important work lies on the table before them, and that the work itself shall be very soon ready for delivery to the members. The Council have also to state that, owing to the kindness of the Rev. the Provost and the Board of Trinity College, and to the courtesy of the Rev. Dr. Todd, who is ever foremost in the field of Irish literature, a very valuable and ancient poem by Oisin, on the death of CAnthne liyeACA^n, who wa s killed in the battle of SAb ^tA, h as been secured for the Society's first p ublica- lion, from the " Book of Leinster," a Vellum Manuscript of the twelfth cen- tury, now deposited in the College Li brary. Mr. Curry, who has madelhe"* transcript, states it as his opinion that the book must have been written before the year 1150. The other poems bearing ou the subject will be also very curious, inasmuch as one of them relates all the wondrous circumstances said to have occurred in Ireland at the first sound of St. Patrick's bell, about which there is so much discussion among antiquaries at the present day. The second book on the Council's list gives an account of Fionn Mac Cumhaill's visit to the house or mansion of Conan of Ceann Sleibhe —near Corofin, in the county of Clare —when he was separated by a druidic mist from his companions in the chase, on the mountain of Tork, in the county of Kerry; the colloquy which passed between him and Conan, in which the latter interrogates the Fenian hero as to the etymology of various places and localities in Munster ; also as to the origin of certain Fenian haljits and customs, as well as of sundry incidents in Fenian history which are quite unknown to us of the present day, and to all of which Fionn gave full explanatory answers. The third on the list is a collection of Ossianic Poems, which will also be found illustrative of the topography of the country. The fourth on the list —the Agallamh,&c.— is highly interesting and curious, and is at this moment preparing for the Society from the " Book of Lismore," a vellum manuscript of the fourteenth century : the most important portion of the original having recently turned up for sale in Cork, and having been pur- chased by a gentleman friendly to the Society for the munificent sum of jGSO, is now at the disposal of the Council as far us it is necessary to use and consult it. ; The fifth volume on the list— the Toruigheacht, &c.— gives the fullest particulars of the subject to which it refers, and will carry the reader from cave to cave where it is supposed the fugitives took shelter from the hot pur- suit of the injured hero Fionn. The sixth on the list—the Battle of Ventry—is just copied by a member of the Council from a vellum Manuscript of the fifteenth century, in the Bod- leian Library, Oxford, and presented to the Society by the learned transcriber. Various other Manuscripts of high importance are in the Council's hands : and while such a mass of valuable matter still remains unpublished, the Coun- cil feel assured that the public will rally round an institution whose object is to place these documents before its members on terms so reasonable as to enable every one interested in the subject to obtain them at a sum almost nominal (5«. per annum), which sum, too, will not be demanded until a book is announced ready for delivery. The Council take this opportunity of recording their grateful thanks to the public for the amount of support they have already received at their hands and, to show the success attendant upon institutions starting with a moderate amount of subscription for membership, they beg to speak in honourable terms of the great and unparalleled success of the Kilkenny and South-East of Ire- land Archaeological Society, which went to press four years ago with only the small sum of £15, the subscriptions of sixty members, and whose list, in this short period, has swollen to the almost incredible number of six hundred mem- bers, realising to the society an annual income of about £150 ! It may not be out of place to say a word or two more about this last- named society, as it takes cognizance of matters which strongly prove that Irish history is not fully before the public as yet, and that there are still many omissions, and many important circumstances neglected or quite forgotten by kindred societies in Ireland, such as Cams, Cromleacs, Dallans, Dangans, Duns, Fallachd Fians, Leabas, Lioses, Raths, Tulachs, Turloghs or Lochans, and many others that could be named, not to make mention of our great puzzle, the Round Towers. While the Council have every reason to feel thankful for the amount of support tendered to them from all quarters, they cannot omit recording their sense of the deep loss sustained by the cause of Irish literature in general, and their own infant society in particular, in the death of one of their mem- bers, the ever-to-be-lamented William Elliot Hudson, Esq., M.R.I. A., whose time and money were ever cheerfully devoted to the advancement of every- thing that could reflect credit on the country he loved so well, and in whose annals he shall ever occupy a place second to none of those whose memory a grateful nation " delighteth to honor." (íoiuuil RE-ELECTED 17th OF MARCH, 1854. Clarke, Rev. John, R.C.C, Louth. Cleaver, Euseby D., Esq., A.B., Delgany^ and Christ Church, Oxford. Connellan, Professor, Dublin, and Queen's College, Cork. Goodman, Rev. James, A.B., Skihbereen, County of Cork. Hackett, William, Esq., Midleton, County of Cork. Lamb, Rev. Patrick, P.P., Newtownhamilton. -y- Mac Sweeny, Professor, St. Patrick's College, Thurles. O'Daly, Mr.