Fiachna. is grandson to Conor in the Book of Leinster account of the battle.  Fiacha is Conor’s son in the Glenn Masain version.

It is thy fault, O woman with excellence, the wound of Gerrc son of Illadan, and a deed of no smaller importance, the slaying of Eogan mac Durthacht.

There is no account of the slaying of Eogan in the Book of Leinster version; and Eogan appears on the Hill of Slane in the Ulster army in the War of Cualgne.  The sequel to the Glenn Masain version, however, describes Eogan’s death at the hand of Fergus (Celtic Review, Jan. 1905, p. 227).

Thou shalt do a deed that is wild and hateful for wrath against the king of noble Ulster; thy little grave shall be in that place, thy tale shall be renowned, O Deirdre.

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Line 13.  “Release me, O my wife!” eirgg uaim a ben.  It is suggested that the vocative ben is “wife,” not “woman.”  It occurs in seven other places besides this in Windisch’s Dictionary, and in six of these it means wife (Emer is addressed as wife of Cuchulain in a deig-ben, in “Sick-bed,” 44).  In the remaining case ("Fled Bricrend,” 31) the word is abbreviated, and stands b in the text, which might be for be, “O lady,” though we should have then expected the accent.  I suggest that Naisi, by giving to Deirdre the name of “wife,” accepts her offer, for no other sign of acceptance is indicated, and the subsequent action shows that she is regarded as his wife afterwards.

Line 30.  “Near to Ballyshannon,” and “which men to-day call the Mountain of Howth,” are inserted as the modern names of the places.  The words correspond to nothing in the Irish.

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Line 13.  “Fiacha.”  Fiacha, the son of Fergus, corresponds to Illan in the better known version.  There is no one in this version who corresponds to the traitor son, Buinne.

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The “Lament of Deirdre,” one of the finest of the older Irish poems, has been rendered by Thurneysen and by others, among which should be specially mentioned Miss Hull, in the Cuchullin Saga, pp. 50-51.  O’Curry’s and O’Flanagan’s versions seem to be very far from correct, and it will be more convenient to give that literal translation which seems nearest to the original, instead of indicating divergencies.  The literal translation adopted runs as follows: 

Though fair to you seems the keen band of heroes who march into Emain that they lately left (lit “after departing"), more stately was the return to their home of the three heroic sons of Usnach.

Naisi, with mead of delicious hazel-nuts (came), to be bathed by me at the fire, Ardan, with an ox or boar of excellence, Aindle, a faggot on his stately back.

Though sweet be the excellent mead to you which is drunk by the son of Ness, the rich in strife, there has been known to me, ere now, leaping over a bank, frequent sustenance which was sweeter.