“It shall not be lucky for you truly,” she says, “the going up to the multitude of the woman; more troublesome to you than everything,” she says, “is the serpent which is at guarding of the Liss.”  “She is not my country-name(?),” says Fraech, “she is not constant in my estimation; thou art constant in my estimation; we know thou wilt not lead us astray, since it is from the men of Ulster thou art.”  “Whence are ye from the men of Ulster?” she says.  “This is Conall Cernach here, the bravest hero with the men of Ulster,” says Fraech.  She flings two hands around the throat of Conall Cernach.  “The destruction has come in this expedition,” she says, “since he has come to us; for it is to him the destruction of this dun has been prophesied.  I shall go out to my house,"[FN#41] she says, “I shall not be at the milking of the cows.  I shall leave the Liss opened; it is I who close it every night.[FN#42] I shall say it is for drink the calves were sucking.  Come thou into the dun, when they are sleeping; only trouble. some to you is the serpent which is at the dun; several tribes are let loose from it.”

[FN#41] “To my house” is in the Egerton Ms. only.

[FN#42] “Every night” is in the Egerton Ms. only.

“We will go truly,” says Conall.  They attack the Liss; the serpent darts leap into the girdle of Conall Cernach, and they plunder the dun at once.  They save off then the woman and the three sons, and they carry away whatever was the best of the gems of the dun, and Conall lets the serpent out of his girdle, and neither of them did harm to the other.  And they came to the territory of the people of the Picts, until they saw three cows of their cows in it.  They drove off to the Fort of Ollach mac Briuin (now Dunolly near Oban) with them, until they were at Ard Uan Echach (high-foaming Echach).  It is there the gillie of Conall met his death at the driving of the cows, that is Bicne son of Loegaire; it is from this is (the name of) Inver Bicne (the Bicne estuary) at Benchor.  They brought their cows over it thither.  It is there they flung their horns from them, so that it is thence is (the name of) Tracht Benchoir (the Strand of Horn casting, perhaps the modern Bangor?).

Fraech goes away then to his territory after, and his wife, and his sons, and his cows with him, until he goes with Ailill and Medb for the Spoil of the Cows from Cualnge.

THE RAID FOR DARTAID’S CATTLE

INTRODUCTION

This tale is given by Windisch (Irische Texte, ii. pp. 185-205), from two versions; one, whose translation he gives in full, except for one doubtful passage, is from the manuscript in the British Museum, known as Egerton, 1782 (dated 1414); the other is from the Yellow Book of Lecan (fourteenth century), in the library of Trinity College, Dublin.