In Battle

Pity whoever takes womens’ fancy,
However plausible they appear to be,
Since the first love of Mad Sweeney
Didn’t do him right.

Pity whoever trusts women,
Whether by night or by day,
Whatever it is they have in their gut
After Erin’s deceit.

I did the woman a good favour
Without beating about the bush, no lie,
She got from me 150 head of cattle
And fifty steeds in a single day.

When I was in battle
I wouldn’t run away from an army band,
Any place there was a battle or fight,
I was a match for thirty.

Congal asked us, good move,
Young warriors of Ulster,
Which of you will crush in battle
The warmonger L. L. from Keady?

The man is wild and angry,
His shield and his spear are enormous,
He quieted the army host for a spell,
The great peerless man.

I said at Congal’s hand,
Not the words of a man not up for a fight,
I’ll crush the great L. L.
Though he’s stronger in battle than most.

I left L. L. headless
And got satisfaction in full,
The five sons of the king of Moymargy
Fell by me and all.

Extract from forthcoming Sweeney: an intertonguing by Rody Gorman
Rody Gorman’s Sweeney, An Intertonguing is published this spring by Francis Boutle Publishers. The work is multilingual version of Buile Shuibhne, in English, Irish, Scottish and Manx Gaelic with lingua gadelica, phonemic pieces and round-trip translations. Pre-publication reactions to the work have been full of praise, with words such as ‘extraordinary’, ‘masterpiece’ and ‘magnificent’ used by more than one eminent commentator. Ed.
Bás Gan Sagart	Poem by Rody Gorman
Cuckoo!	Poem by Rody Gorman
Curse	Poem by Rody Gorman
Dear to me	Poem by Rody Gorman
Fatal Shot	Poem by Rody Gorman
Hag of the Mill	Poem by Rody Gorman
In Battle	Poem by Rody Gorman
Madman of the Glen	Poem by Rody Gorman
Moylinney	Poem by Rody Gorman
My Night In Kildervila	Poem by Rody Gorman
Myself and Yourself	Poem by Rody Gorman
There	Poem by Rody Gorman
Young Men	Poem by Rody Gorman

↑

Northwords Now