“All my tabus have seized me tonight,” says Conaire, “since those Three Reds are the banished folks[6].”

[Footnote 6:  They had been banished from the elfmounds, and for them to precede was to violate one of his tabus.—­W.S.]

They went forward to the house and took their seats therein, and fastened their red steeds to the door of the house.

That is the Forefaring of the Three Reds in the Bruden Da Derga.

This is the way that Conaire took with his troops, to Dublin.

’Tis then the man of the black, cropt hair, with his one hand and one eye and one foot, overtook them.  Rough cropt hair upon him.  Though a sackful of wild apples were flung on his crown, not an apple would fall on the ground, but each of them would stick on his hair.  Though his snout were flung on a branch they would remain together.  Long and thick as an outer yoke was each of his two shins.  Each of his buttocks was the size of a cheese on a withe.  A forked pole of iron black-pointed was in his hand.  A swine, black-bristled, singed, was on his back, squealing continually, and a woman big-mouthed, huge, dark, sorry, hideous, was behind him.  Though her snout were flung on a branch, the branch would support it.  Her lower lip would reach her knee.

He starts forward to meet Conaire, and made him welcome.  “Welcome to thee, O master Conaire!  Long hath thy coming hither been known.”

“Who gives the welcome?” asks Conaire.

“Fer Caille here, with his black swine for thee to consume that thou be not fasting tonight, for ’tis thou art the best king that has come into the world!”

“What is thy wife’s name?” says Conaire.

“Cichuil,” he answers.

“Any other night,” says Conaire, “that pleases you, I will come to you,—­and leave us alone to night.”

“Nay,” say the churl, “for we will go to thee to the place wherein thou wilt be tonight, O fair little master Conaire!”

So he goes towards the house, with his great, big-mouthed wife behind him, and his swine short-bristled, black, singed, squealing continually, on his back.  That was one of Conaire’s tabus, and that plunder should be taken in Ireland during his reign was another tabu of his.

Now plunder was taken by the sons of Donn Desa, and five hundred there were in the body of their marauders, besides what underlings were with them.  This, too, was a tabu of Conaire’s.  There was a good warrior in the north country, “Wain over withered sticks,” this was his name.  Why he was so called was because he used to go over his opponent even as a wain would go over withered sticks.  Now plunder was taken by him, and there were five hundred in the body of their marauders alone, besides underlings.