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Editions

• R. I. Best and O. Bergin (eds), Lebor na hUidre (Dublin 1929, reprinted 1992) 288-92.
  

• R. I. Best and M. A. O’Brien (eds), The Book of Leinster. Vol. V (Dublin 1967) 1214-7.

• S. H. O’Grady (ed. & tr.), Silva Gadelica. 2 Vols. (London 1892) I. 396-401, II. 431-7.

• W. Stokes (ed. & tr.), ‘The Battle of Carn Conaill’, ZCP 3 (1900) 203-19.

Manuscripts

• Recension One:

• Lebor ha Uidre

• The Book of Leinster

• The Yellow Book of Lecan (incomplete)

• Recension Two:

• Egerton 1782

Date

• []

Characters

• Guaire Aidne (d. c. 663): king of Connacht from the Uí Fíachrach Aidne
  

• Díarmait (d. 665): son of Áed Sláine and joint king of Tara with his brother Bláthmac from Síl nÁedo Sláine (a branch of the Southern Uí Néill).  Bláthmac does not appear in this story, and according to the Annals of Ulster, he did not participate in the battle.

• Sinech Cró: the woman who raised Díarmait and lampooned Guaire for stealing her cattle.

• St. Cámmine (alias Cáimín) of Inis Celtra (d. 644 AI): founder of an ecclesiastical site on Inis Celtra.  He is said to be the half-brother of Guaire Aidne.

• St. Cuimíne Fota (d. 662): a Munster saint said to belong to the Éoganacht Locha Léin.
  

Notes

• The Battle of Carn Conaill between Díarmait mac Áedo Sláine, king of Tara, and Guaire Aidne mac Colmáin, king of Uí Fíachrach Aidne, took place in 649 according to the Annals of Ulster.
  

• There are two recensions of this story.  The older one survives as an independent narrative and is edited by W. Stokes.  The second and later recension survives as part of the Fragmentary Annals preserved in Egerton 1782 and is edited by S. H. O’Grady.

• Cath Cairnd Chonaill is one of the key narratives in a small cycle of stories dealing with Guaire Aidne, one of the more complex characters in Irish literature.  Although he is most famous for his uncommon generosity, Guaire is also portrayed as spiteful and vindictive, an aspect of his character that is often overlooked in the secondary literature.

• As Stokes points out, this text is also of interest because it contains of number of rare words, some of which appear only in this story.

Summary

The Connachta are often stealing the cattle of Sinech Cró, the woman who raised Díarmait mac Áedo Sláine, king of Tara.  She goes to Díarmait and begs him in verse to attack Guaire Aidne.  Díarmait agrees, but before he attacks, he stops at Clonmacnoise, where the whole community under its abbot, Áed Lug mac Commain, do penance on his behalf so that he may return safely from battle.  Because of this, the saga says, Díarmait grants the community the lands of Tuaim nEirc upon his triumphant return.

Then, Díarmait invades Uí Fíachrach Aidne and defeats Guaire and his Munster allies at the Battle of Carn Conaill.

It seems that one of the reasons Guaire lost that battle was that St. Cámmine had put a curse on him.  The text is vague here but it appears that Guaire had violated some agreement of theirs.  When Guaire learned of this, he went to the saint to make amends, but Cámmine told him that the curse could not be undone.  However, he promised the king that, although he would be defeated, the victors would do his will.  Then Guaire, Cámmine, and Cummíne Fota went into a small church where they fasted together and heard the king’s confession.

Afterwards, the three had a conversation about what they would most like to fill the little church with.  Guaire wanted to fill it will gold and silver, which could be given out to the needy for the sake of his soul.  Cámmine wanted to fill it with hardships and illness, and Cuimíne Fota wanted to fill it books for students.  Each eventually got their wish.  Guaire obtained the land (presumably as a means to acquire the goods he wanted to distribute), Cuimíne wisdom, and Cámmine hardship and illness, so that in the end, each went to heaven by means of their chosen lifestyle.

At any rate, after the battle, Guaire goes to Díarmait and makes his submission at the point of the sword.  (According to the Egerton version, the ritual involved the person lying down and having the point of the sword placed between his teeth.)  En route to this ceremony, Guaire bestows what possessions he has on the people who ask him for alms, and just as he is about to submit to Díarmait, a céile Dé asks him for a boon.  Guaire tells Díarmait to hold off until he has given the man the shirt off his back.  Díarmait is impressed with his generosity, and says ‘you have submitted to another king, .i. the Son of God.  Here, then, is my submission to you’ (ro-giallai-siu do ríg aile .i. do Mac Dé.  Asso mo gíall-sa duit-siu immorro).  Díarmait then kneels before Guaire three times and then asks him to attend the Óenach Tailten, so that the men of Ireland might take him as their chief advisor (cend athchomairc).

Next, Sinech Cró chants a praise poem about Díarmait, and Guaire response with a quatrain threatening her with death.

Later at the Óenach Tailten, Díarmait prevents the people from asking Guaire for handouts.  When no one comes to ask for a boon, Guaire is shocked and takes it as a sign that he will soon die.  He asks Díarmait to send for a cleric to hear his confession.  Díarmait, however, relents, and allows Guaire to distribute gold to the céili Dé.  Then, Guaire and Díarmait make peace, and the men of Ireland accept the Connachtman as their chief advisor.

The text ends with an anecdote about Guaire’s funeral: A jester (drúth) comes up to his corpse and asks for a gift.  The dead king reaches out his hand and grabs a handful of sand.  When he throws it to the jester, it becomes a lump of gold.  This, the story says, is his last generous act.