Matheson Collection > Fianaigecht

THE CHA.se of SID NA MEAN FINN 89
of Fánnall, and around Aedh Balldherg, son of Faelan, son of Finn,
and the three Cú's of Moinmoy. And they lifted up dense, vast, huge,
dark-red, and flaming forests of stout-shafted, martial, fire-edged
spears and of broad-blue lances and of bloody, red-edged javelins, and
made a triumphant, angry, fierce fold, and a firm, compact, indestruc-
tible, inseparable platform of beautiful, bulging shields, and of delight-
ful, all-wliite shields, and of graven, emerald shields, and of crimson,
blood-red shields, and of shining, variegated shields, and of dark-
crimson, spiky shields, and of yellow-speckled, buffalo-horn shields. It
was enough however of horror and heart-trembling to their enemies to
see them in that wise, for the venomousness of their weapons and the
warlike array of their equipment and the stoutness of tlieir hearts
and the ferocity of their intent. And tliey made a fierce, swift, light-
winged, intrepid rush in their well-arranged phalanx and in their
destructive mass and in their furious band to the centre of the ford.
34. Then from the other side came to the ford the three thousand
battle-equipped warriors that the ' pillars' of Tara numbered, and put
their attire of battle and contest and combat about them, and their
trumpets were sounded before them, and their war cries were raised
defiantly, and their battle was put in order, and their impetuous, bold
soldiers and their fierce warriors and their valiant heroes were arrayed
in the forefront of the mutual smiting, even Fer-tái, son of TJaithne
Irgalach, and Fer-li, son of Fer-tái, and Émer Glúnglas son of
Aedh, son of Garadh, and the five sons of Urgriu, and Aithlech' Mór,
son of Dubriu, and Urgriu* himself and the three Táiblennachs from
the stable plain of Farney. And they made a swarming, swift,
torrential rush to the centre of the ford from the other side against
Finn and his people.
35. And they did not long rest content with looking at each
other,^ when the two armies flung themselves against one another.
And they uttered loud, mighty shouts so that their echo rang in woods
and rocks, in cliffs and river-mouths and the caves of the earth and
in the cold outer zones of the firmament. And there were hurled
1 This should be Aiclech, as ia Zeitschr. i., p. 464.
^ The original has here the genitive form Urgrenn, which in so many n-steins
has in Middle-Irish replaced the original nominative, as dilenn, for O.-Ir. dile,
Mid.-Ir. imlenn for imbliu, &c.
•* Literally, * and that gaze was not long endured by them.'