Masraige

“I prophesy thee, without anguish.
Give me my tribute every time,
as Conall Gulban gave it.
Conall was the first king of Tara,
of the Clann-Neill, without dispute.
'Till he was slain in prosperous Magh-Rein,
sixteen years he happily spent.
The Masraighe went to the East
once, on a great foray to Tara;
Whereupon Conall quickly came,
to Magh-Rein, in pursuit of them.
A flying spear killed the king,
on that journey, without falsehood,
on Magh-Rein, at Dun-baile,
of which the Masraighe boasted.
Conall was interred in the earth,
between the Lake and the Dun.”

“One time the Masraidhe of Magh-Slecht went on a predatory expedition
to Tara, when they brought a prey of horses with them from the east.
Conall, on hearing the shoutings, proceeded with the small number that was
near him at the time; and he ceased not from them until he came
to Dun-Conaing on Magh-Rein, to wit, Fidhnacha at this day. And the old
Tuatha-Slecht slew him, because he was unarmed; and that would not have
been an occasion of slaughter to them, if luck had not willed. Or it is a
flying spear that killed him. But whichever of them was his
death, it was the Masraidhe that committed the deed. Howsoever, the stone
and grave of Conall were placed on Magh-Rein, at Dun-Baile.”

“Dun-Conaing was this place , till to day,
during the time of sixty prosperous kings,
until Conall son of Niall fell,
by the sons of the Liath, over the gap of treachery.
Berna-in-braith was its name until this day,
from the betrayal of Conall, the head of the host;
Fidhnacha of Caillin son of Niata
shall be its name, without falsehood, to the day of doom.
In pursuit of horses he stoutly came,
from the east, from Tara of the flocks,
with a small company; 'twas a foolish journey,
for he was slain by the old Tuatha-Slecht.
Being without a shield against lance-thrusts
was what caused the king his mortal wound.
Too many men, and too many weapons,
found the man at a disadvantage.”