G 404

Tales

18th cent. Paper. 15.5 × 10 cms. 20 leaves bound in undressed leather with modern pencil pagination. Scribe: Seaghan Ó Conaill (unsigned; cf. G 375 above). Uilliam leathlámhach Ó Maingín, 1763 (unsigned; cf. G 406 below; for his earlier hand (1726) see G 346 above) supplied the missing parts of the two tales in the manuscript, the beginning of the first (p. 4) and the end of the second (p. 37); Tomas Breathnach, 1765, probably wrote item (b) above his colophon on p. 3; an unidentified hand wrote item (a) on the same page (for which see below). The names `Thomas Nugent', `William Coughlan' and the stanza in English on p. 38 (see below) are by one and the same hand, the first of these names occurs also on p. 39. The first and the last pages, one-time outer unprotected leaves, each consist of three leaves stitched together, the stitching now worn on the back-leaf showing pages with marginally cropped writing exercises. `William Hennessy his hand' [repeated] on recto of front leaf and `Garret Keo(?) his hand and copy book dated' and `Séamus Ua Casaide 1.1.1909' on verso. Ó Casaide ms 71.

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3 (a) cipher. (b) `Go Uilliam Ó Maingín / Dr. master I'm very much obliged to you for sending me this book which I wanted greatly & I hope to make you amends for it &c Dated this 8th day of September 1768 / Arna sgriobhadh le Tomas Breathnach le luas lámh et ar droichghleas annsa mbliadhain 1768. / To Mr. W. M.'.

4 Bruighean Bheag na hAlmhuine sonn. Beg. Do rineadh fleadh priomhadhbhal le Fionn mac Cumhaill dFíanuibh Éirionn a nAlmhuinn luchtmhar lánaoibhinn Laighion. Ends (p. 21) Et do hinniseadh an bhreith dhóibh et do mholadar uile í. `Gonadh í sin Bruighean Bheag na hAlmhuine go nuige sin. Finis.'

22 Bruighean Chéise Coruinn sonn. Beg. Sealg fíadhach et fionchosgar do comóradh le Fionn mac Cumhaill, mac Airt, mic Tréinmhoir Í Bhaoísgne fá chriochaibh caomhaille an Choruinn. Ends (p. 37) et as í féin do mharbh é a naois a sheacht mbliadhian [sic] ndéag air an ráth chéanna. `Gurab í sin Bruighean Chéise an Choruinn go soiche sin. 1763.'

38 (a) Oh wicked will that will must be thy slave. 1 st. (b) `There is no nation of people under the sun that hath equal regard better than the Erish so that by Gods', continued in cipher.