Texts

Dinnshenchas of Ailech II
verse beg. Cía triallaid nech aisneis senchais Ailig eltaig

  • Middle Irish
  • verse
  • Early Irish poetry, Dinnshenchas Érenn, Mythological Cycle, dinnshenchas
Dinnshenchas of Ailech.
First words (verse)
  • Cía triallaid nech aisneis senchais Ailig eltaig
Context(s)The (textual) context(s) to which the present text belongs or in which it is cited in part or in whole.
  • independentThe text comes down in a relatively independent form as opposed to being embedded within a larger textual framework.
  • A copy of the poem in the Book of Leinster which is not part of the Dinnshenchas Érenn.
  • Dinnshenchas Érenn C
  • Poem. For the prose version which accompanies this poem (and/or Ailech III) in some of the manuscripts, see the separate entry linked below.
Author
Ascribed to: Flann Mainistrech
Flann Mainistrech
(d. 1056)
Middle Irish poet ass. with Monasterboice (Mainistir Buite)

See more
The attribution to Flann Mainistrech (Fland Manistrech) occurs only in the Book of Leinster copy of the poem.
Manuscripts
Independent
p. 181a–b
beg. ‘CIa triallaid nech aisnis senchais’
35 stanzas.
Dinnshenchas Érenn C
R B Lc M S S3 H
Language
  • Middle Irish
Form
verse (primary)
Length
Number of stanzas: 35
Textual relationships
Related: Dinnshenchas of AilechDinnshenchas of AilechProse tract on the dinnshenchas of AilechDinnshenchas of Ailech IDinnshenchas of Ailech I

Poem on the dinnshenchas of Ailech.

Dinnshenchas of Ailech IIIDinnshenchas of Ailech IIIDinnshenchas of Ailech

Classification

Early Irish poetryEarly Irish poetry
...

Dinnshenchas Érenn
Dinnshenchas Érenn
id. 6712
Early Irish poetryEarly Irish poetry
...

Mythological CycleMythological Cycle
...

dinnshenchasIrish narrative literature, onomastic lore and learning, topographical literature
dinnshenchas
id. 32607

Subjects

Ailech
Ailech
County Donegal, County Derry

Royal seat of the Cenél nÉogain. According to Brian Lacey, Ailech originally referred to a fortification in the area now covered by the townlands of Elaghmore (Ailech Mór, Co. Derry) and Elaghbeg (Ailech Becc, Co. Donegal) on either side of the Northern Irish border; then, after c.789, when the Cenél nÉogain led by Áed Oirdnide overtook territory from the Cenél Conaill and gained control of the overkingdom of the northern Uí Néill, its kings relocated to the ringfort now known as the Grianán of Ailech so that Ailech came to refer to the new royal seat instead. 


See more

Sources

Primary sources Text editions and/or modern translations – in whole or in part – along with publications containing additions and corrections, if known. Diplomatic editions, facsimiles and digital image reproductions of the manuscripts are not always listed here but may be found in entries for the relevant manuscripts. For historical purposes, early editions, transcriptions and translations are not excluded, even if their reliability does not meet modern standards.

[ed.] [tr.] Gwynn, E. J., The metrical dindsenchas, 5 vols, vol. 4, Todd Lecture Series, 11, Dublin: Hodges, Figgis, 1924.
CELT – edition: <link> CELT – translation: <link> Internet Archive – vol. 4: <link>  : View in Mirador
100–107 [id. 23. ‘Ailech II’] direct link direct link direct link

Secondary sources (select)

Gwynn, E. J., The metrical dindsenchas, 5 vols, vol. 4, Todd Lecture Series, 11, Dublin: Hodges, Figgis, 1924.
CELT – edition: <link> CELT – translation: <link> Internet Archive – vol. 4: <link>  : View in Mirador
401–403 [id. 23. ‘Ailech II’] direct link
MacNeill, John, “Poems by Flann Mainistrech on the dynasties of Ailech, Mide and Brega”, Archivium Hibernicum 2 (1913): 37–99.
Contributors
C. A., Dennis Groenewegen
Page created
October 2012, last updated: January 2024