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“ Conor turned him again upon Mani, and over-whelmed him with crushing blows, so that he fell lifeless and dead. Then he began to hew down upon all sides the men that were round him, so that they fell foot to foot and neck to neck throughout the palace. Moreover it so chanced that of the thrice fifty warriors who came with Conor into that house, none escaped alive save himself and Brod, and although these two came out, yet they came not out unhurt. And Cobhtach, the son of Gerg, fled from out of the castle, and Conor chased him. ”

“ A tomb above the dead they raise, and sad the tale will
⁠run:
Badb [1] shall destroy! force wild and dread from Maev
⁠the field shall win;
The slain lie heaped, her host hath fled; how sad the
⁠storm wind's din!
"If ye be obedient to my counsel," said the Druid, "this very night shall ye depart from the castle." And Mani was wroth, and with anger he rebuked the Druid for the words which he had spoken; and "No cause," said Gerg, "is there why ye should be in terror for him of whom he hath warned you, since no muster of heroes or of warriors from Ulster hath Conor with him at all. ”

“ Conor came to the door, and his foreign warriors, as their custom was, raised their cry of havock round about the castle. And Gerg arose, and with him his two sons—to wit, Conn the victorious and Cobhtach of the fair skin, and they caught hold of their weapons. And Gerg said to Mani, "Do then leave us Ulstermen to ourselves to decide this matter, that thou mayest see which of us is the more valiant. We are all bound in honour to see to thy safety, and it would be no hurt to thee should we all fall here together. ”

“ Throughout the castle the warriors stood knee deep in blood, and through the surrounding country was heard the splintering of the shields and the bucklers, and the whirr of the bright green lances, and the clash of the sharp hard swords, and the shattering of skulls in the slaughter, and the cries of the warriors who were overcome in a strife that was greater than they could endure. ”

“ Each pair of horses was yoked to a chariot of white bronze, whose rim was made of silver and gold; fifty caparisons of purple, with threads of silver run through them, were bound to the bodies of the chariots: they had golden buckles to fasten them, and hung over the rims, marvellous figures were embroidered thereon. Fifty graceful youths with fair countenances stood in these fifty chariots; amongst them there was none who was not the son of a king and a queen, and of a hero and warrior of Connaught. ”

“ All of Ulster would destroy.
No long time had Donnell to wait, for he saw a great host coming towards him, in which were four hundred armed men, and their leader was Feradach of the long hand, who was the son of Conor. Each of these foes set themselves against the other. Then Donnell, finding himself overcome by the numbers against him, fell into a rage; fifty warriors fell at his single hand; and all the men of his following were slain, while he himself twice succeeded in wounding Feradach. ”

“ Each of the spears had about it rings of gold purified in the fire, and rested on a socket of carbuncles, which, in like fashion to the spears, had been embellished with many coloured costly stones. They shone in the night like the beams of the sun. At their belts hung fifty long swords; the hilts of the swords were of tooth, adorned with gold and with silver; the scabbards were of white silver. In their hands were fifty whips of white bronze with clasps of gold upon them. ”

“ Now, after the death of the chief of the Fomorians, Mani met Facen, the son of Dublongsech, and for a long time they fought, and Facen fell at the end of that fight. Also at the hand of Cobhtach the fair-skinned, who was the son of Gerg, died Siaburchenn, the son of Suilremuir. But Mani and Cobhtach were forced into the royal palace after their people had suffered defeat, and they held that palace bravely and manfully till the morning, nor could any enter in of those who fought against them. ”

“ At the end of this night, the same woman who had brought the message to Conor went on her way, and came to Maev, where she lay asleep on her couch at Cruachan Ay, and thus she addressed her: "Hadst thou the gift of prophecy, O Maev," said she, "thou wouldest not be sleeping!"
"What then hath happened?" said the queen.
"Conor," said the woman, "hath all but gained the victory over Mani, and Mani shall fall at his hand. Arise, and thou shalt avenge him."
Then she made the first lines of a poem, and Maev, while she slept, replied to her:—
VI
The Bade. ”

“ Thereupon Brod—the servant aforementioned of Conor—hurled one of the two spears that he had in his hand; and the spear flew into the house, and it went through the shield that was on the breast of king Gerg, and into his tender flesh, so that a cross was made by the spear as it passed through his body after piercing his heart, also it passed through Airidech the servant of Gerg, so that both fell lifeless. ”

“ My heart is broken for you, boy!
Then came Fiannamail, the son of Fergus Forderg, to the castle, and three times fifty was the number of the warriors that were with him. And a herald who preceded him gave to Ferb the news of his coming, and to Fiannamail he brought back a sad message to tell him of the deeds which had been done. Fiannamail immediately flew into a rage, and sought eagerly for tidings of where Conor was to be found, and he and Ferb between them made this song:—
VIII
Ferb. ”

“ Dauntless in the hour wherein valiant deeds are done is each of those who have come hither, and mighty would have been the aid that Donnell would have lent to his foster-brother had it been his fortune to come hither while Mani was yet in life." And when the maiden Ferb heard that, she went out that she might meet Donnell, and much she incited him to the fight, and she made a part of a song, and Donnell Derg of the broad countenance, he made answer to her:—
X
Ferb. ”

“ And from it hath been named Loch Guala Umai in the island of Daim, which is in the realm of Ulster; for underneath the lake unto this day is that vat, hidden in a secret place. Also Conor took with him the queen, even Nuagel, the daughter of Erg, and her daughter Ferb, and three times fifty maidens with her. And immediately after this, Ferb and her maidens all died from the sorrow that they felt at the death of the young man Mani; Nuagel also died of grief for the death of her husband and her two sons. ”

“ Her brother's death with grief will fill her breast.
She'll weep for Ferb who such a loss must bear.
Nor Maev, nor Alill, on Mag Ay [6] who dwell,
Can yet endure to live and bear such woes;
And none thy countenance so changed can tell,
Alas, my cup of sorrow overflows!
Then came to the side of Conor his two sons, even Niall and Feradach. And Maev drew nigh till she was in sight of the field of battle, and seven hundred warriors was the following that she had with her. She formed her troops into a compact and stubborn band, and she raised weapons fit for the battle before her ”

“ Before them went three Druids with crowns of silver on their heads; their mantles were of many colours, their shields were of copper, and the rims of the shields were brass. They were attended by three harp-players in purple cloaks, each of them kingly to look upon.
In this fashion then they came to Croghan, and three times they paraded upon the plain of Croghan. They parted from Maev and from Alill, and they turned to the road for the journey to Rath Ini. "Fair is the start that you make," said Briccriu, as he saw them go, " but will you look so fair when you return? ”

“ Upon that Conor spoke to Cathba on the matter, desiring him to give him a prophetic reply. And he made thereon the first lines of a poem, and Cathba replied to him, and the poem runs as follows:—
II
Conor.
Cathba, [3] speak! my mind is troubled
Let thine art the clouds dispel;
What destruction hangs before me,
Eman's Druid, Cathba, tell!
Cathba.
Conor, stately king of Ulster,
As the lord of heroes known!
Many men shall fall in battle.
This was by your vision shown
Conor. ”