by Ceallach he was roused to fury and he followed Ceallach to Tara taking with him his foster child, scil.:—­Corc Duibhne, the son of Cairbre, son of Conaire, son of Mogha Lamha whom Cormac held as a hostage from the Munstermen, and whom he had given for safe custody to Oengus.  When Oengus reached Tara he beheld Ceallach sitting behind Cormac.  He thrust his spear at Ceallach and pierced him through from front to back.  However as he was withdrawing the spear the handle struck Cormac’s eye and knocked it out and then, striking the steward, killed him.  He himself (Oengus) with his foster child escaped safely.  After a time Cormac, grieving for the loss of his son, his eye and his steward at the hands of Oengus of the poisonous javelin and of his kinsmen, ordered their expulsion from their tribal territory, i.e. from the Decies of Tara, and not alone from these, but from whole northern half of Ireland.  However, seven battles were fought in which tremendous loss was inflicted on Cormac and his followers before Oengus and his people, i.e. the three sons of Fiacha Suighde, namely, Ross and Oengus and Eoghan, as we have already said, were eventually defeated, and obliged to fly the country and to suffer exile.  Consequent on their banishment as above by the king of Ireland they sought hospitality from the king of Munster, Oilill Olum, because Sadhbh, daughter of Conn Ceadcathach was his wife.  They got land from him, scil.:  the Decies of Munster, and it is to that race, i.e. the race of Eoghan Mac Fiacha Suighde that the kings and country of the Decies belong ever since.

2.  Of this same race of Eoghan was the holy bishop Declan of whom I shall speak later scil.:  Declan son of Eirc, son of Trein, son of Lughaidh, son of Miaich, son of Brian, son of Eoghan, son of Art Corp, son of Moscorb, son of Mesgeadra, son of Measfore, son of Cuana Cainbhreathaigh, son of Conaire Cathbuadhaigh, son of Cairbre, son of Eoghan, son of Fiacha Suighde, son of Felimidh Reachtmhar, son of Tuathal Teachtmhar.  The father of Declan was therefore Erc Mac Trein.  He and his wife Deithin went on a visit to the house of his kinsman Dobhran about the time that Declan’s birth was due.  The child she bore was Declan, whom she brought forth without sickness, pain or difficulty but in being lifted up afterwards he struck his head against a great stone.  Let it be mentioned that Declan showed proofs of sanctification and power of miracle-working in his mother’s womb, as the prophet writes:—­“De vulva sanctificavi te et prophetam in gentibus dedi te” [Jeremias 1:5] (Before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee and made thee a prophet unto the nations).  Thus it is that Declan was sanctified in his mother’s womb and was given by God as a prophet to the pagans for the conversion of multitudes of them from heathenism and the misery of unbelief to the worship of Christ and to the Catholic faith, as we shall see later on.  The very soft apex of his head struck against a hard