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Edition

• T. P. Cross & C. H. Slover (tr), Ancient Irish Tales (1936; reprinted 1996) 518-532.  (not very accurate in places)
  
• L. Nic Dhonnchadha (ed), Aided Muirchertaig meic Erca (Dublin 1980).
• W. Stokes (ed & tr), 'The Death of Muirchertach mac Erca', RC xxiii (1902) 395-437.
  

Manuscripts

• T.C.D., The Yellow Book of Lean, cols. 310-320.
• T.C.D., H.2.7, pp. 248-254
  

Date

• Twelfth century (Radner)
  

Characters

• Muirchertach mac Erca (d. 534), king of Ireland from Cenél nÉogain, a branch of the Northern Uí Néill.
• Duaibsech, the wife of Muirchertach
• Cairnech, bishop of Tuilén
  
• Tadg mac Céin, ancestor of the Cíannachta
• Masán, Casán, and Cridán, three clerics under Cairnech
  
• Mentioned briefly are the following
• Éogan (=? Éogan mac Néill, Muirchertach's grandfather and the eponymous ancestor of Cenél nÉogain)
• Conall (=? Conall mac Néill, Muirchertach's great uncle and the eoponymous ancestor of Cenél Conaill)
• Tuathal Máelgarb (d. 544), the successor of Muirchertach, from Cenél Cairpri
  

Notes

• Aside from being a good story, this text is important because it contains one of the more important accounts of the Threefold Death in Irish tradition.
• The House of Clettech, where Muirchertach lives, is located on the banks of the Boyne near Bruig na Bóinne (Newgrange).
  

One day, while sitting alone on his hunting mound, Muirchertach mac Erca, king of Ireland, see a beautiful woman approaching him, whom he falls in love with at first sight.  She tells him that she is possessed of occult knowledge and has come to him because she loves him.  Muirchertach asks her if she will return home with him, and the woman says she will provided he meet her three demands:  He must never utter her name, he must banish his wife Duaibsech from the House of Clettech, where they live, and he must never allow the clergy to enter a house that she is in.  Muichertach reluctantly agrees to her terms, then asks her name, so that he might not uttered it by mistake.  The woman then gives him a whole string of names, the most important of which are Sín (Storm), the name she goes by in the story, and Osnadh (Sigh).

When the reach the House of Clettech, Sín has Muirchertach summon one man of every craft and art in Ireland to come to a feast, but when the celebration is over, she banishes from the house all of Muirchertach’s relatives, including Duaibsech and their children.  Duaibsech, though, goes to Bishop Cairnech at Tuilén.  He gathers Cenél nÉogain and Cenél Conaill, and together, they all go to Clettech, but Sín does not allow them to enter.  Cairnech becomes so angry at this that he curses the house and digs a grave for Muirchertach.  However, when he is finished, he gives his many blessings to Cenél nÉogain and Cenél Conaill, including sovereignty and victory in battle.  Then, everyone in the party outside Clettech goes his separate way.

On his way back to Tuilén, Cairnech meets Tadg mac Céin, who decides to bring the bishop along with him to make his treaty with Muirchertach.  Although the king is surprised to see the cleric, who has just cursed him, the treaty between Cenél nÉogain and the Cíannachta is established.  Cairnech head back to Tuilén, but Tadg and his men stay at Clettech to protect Muirchertach.

Muirchertach then asks Sín to perform some wonder for them, so she conjures up two battalions of men who fight while they watch.  After this, she changes three vats of water into wine and a fern into a pig, and they all have a feast.  But when they get up the next day, all the people who had eaten the magic food, Muirchertach included, feel weak.  Sín then conjures up more battalions, and Muirchertach fights among them till he is exhausted.  That night, he eats more magic food and wakes up even weaker the next day.

Sín summons more magic hosts, and Muirchertach, thinking he is under attack, fights them, till Cairnech sends Masán, Casán, and Cridán to help him.  They make the sign of the cross over him, and he sees his enemies for what they are--sods of earth and stones.  He makes his confession to them and helps them build a church near at the foot of the Bruig.  Even so, Muirchertach returns to Sín at Clettech.

Sín plies the king with more enchanted wine and summons up a storm.  Hearing the wind, the Muirchertach says, is osnad gem-aidche so (this is the sigh of a winter night).  Sín rebukes him for saying one of her names and then conjures up a greater storm.  When he lays down that night, the king is completely exhausted and has a bad dream that portends his downfall.  He seeks the advice of the Masán, Casán, and Cridán, and then returns to Sín.  In her presence, he remarks that is lán-olc int sín sa anocht (the storm is very bad tonight), and she rebukes him for saying another one of her names.

Muirchertach goes to sleep that night fearing that Tuathal Máelgarb and his men are coming to attack Clettech.  He has another bad dream, which his foster-brother, Dub Da Rinn, interprets as a sign that his reign is coming to an end.  When he again falls asleep, Sín summons up another magic host.  A crash wakes him up and Sín tells him that Tuathal is attacking.  Muirchertach arms himself and goes to defend himself, but he is hit by a spear.  Fire breaks out around him and he climbs into a vat of wine to escape the flames, but when he comes up for air, his head catches fire and he dies.

The next morning, Masán, Casán, and Cridán bring his body to the Boyne and wash it.  Cairnech arrives and has the body transported to Tuilén, where Duaibsech dies of grief for her husband.

After the burial of Muirchertach and Duaibsech, the clerics see Sín approaching them.  She tells that that Muirchertach had massacred her paternal kin at the Battle of Cerb and that is why she killed him.  She then makes her confession to Cairnech and dies.

Thereafter, Cairnech continues to pray for the soul of Muirchertach, but is unable to release it from Hell.