Series Notes Contact Rehearsal Hotel
66.
Togail Bruidne Dá Derga /
The Destruction of Dá Derga’s Hostel /
(Many are my names besides)
One Leg One Eye
Ian Lynch
& George Brennan
& Olwen Fouéré
One Leg One Eye / Helen McBride, © 2026.
Togail Bruidne Dá Derga /
The Destruction of Dá Derga’s Hostel /
(Many are my names besides)
One Leg One Eye
Ian Lynch
& George Brennan
& Olwen Fouéré
An (ancient) prose poem in Old Irish / in English.
* * *
AN EXPANDED EXCERPT (care of AD93) ...
* * *
Togail Bruidne Dá Derga / The Destruction of Dá Derga’s Hostel belongs to the Ulster Cycle of Irish Mythology, and stems back to the Old Irish period, roughly 600-900AD. The earliest written text dates to the late 11th century, and is contained within the Lebor na hUidre / the Book of the Dun Cow. The tale recounts the birth, life and death of Conaire Mór, a High King of Ireland.
* * *
Lebor na hUidre / the Book of the Dun Cow, detail, an illuminated manuscript named after a 6th-century sacred relic of Clonmacnoise, the hide of the dun cow that belonged to St Ciarán. The earliest surviving manuscript with literature written in Irish, it contains the oldest version of the Táin Bó Cuailnge, the Voyage of Bran, the Feast of Bricriú, and other religious, mythical and historical material (care of Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann / the Royal Irish Academy). One Leg One Eye, CRONE (AD93, 2026).
Fragments of Togail Bruidne Dá Derga are gathered
in One Leg One Eye’s ‘Many are my Names Besides,’ as
read by Olwen Fouéré, and as drawn from their second
album CRONE (AD93, 2026).
* * *
Luid Conaire íarum isin m-Bruidin & gabais cách a suidi is tig iter ges & nemgeis, & gabsat na trí Deirg a suidiu & gabais Fer Cailli cona muicc a Fer Cailli cona muicc a suidiu.
Tos-tánic Dá Dergae íar sin trí caectaib óclach & a fotalbearrad co clais a dá chúladh for cach fear díb, & gerrchochaill co mell a dá lárcc. Berrbrócca breccglasa impu. Trí caecait maglorg n- draighin co feithnib iairn ina lámaib. ‘Pho chen, a phopa Conaire,’ ol sé. ‘Cid formna fear n-Érind do-thaístis lat ros-m- biadfaindsea.’
In tan trá bátar and con-accatar a n-oen-bandscáil do dorus na Bruidhne iar fuinead n-gréne, oc cuindchid a l-léicthi isa thech. Sithir cloideb n-garmnai ceachtar a dá lurcan. Batir dubithir dethaich. Brat ríabach rolómar impi. Tacmaicead a fés in t-íchtarach co r-rici a glúin. A beóil for leith a cind.
To-téit co tard a leathgúalainn fria h- ursaind in tigi oc admilliud ind ríg & na maccoem ro bátar immi sin tig. h-Éseom feisin ata-raglastar as tig: ‘Maith sin, a banscál , cid at-chi dúnd, inda fisid?’
‘At-chíusa duidseo immurgu,’ ol sise, ‘nocon érnaba cerr ná chárnai dít asin taig h-i taudchud acht a m-bértae eóin ina crobaib.’ ‘Ní bo dochél célsamar, a bean,’ ol seisem. ‘Ní tú chélas dúind do grés. Cá do chomainmseo, a banscál?’ ol Conaire.
‘Cailb’, ol sí.
‘Ní forcrad n-anma són ém’, ol Conaire.
‘Éce it ile imda mo anmandasa cheana,’ ol sí.
‘Citn-éisidi?’ ol Conaire.
‘Ní anse,’ ol sisi:
Samain, Sinand, Seiscleand, Sodb, Saiglend , Samlocht,
Caill, Coll,
Díchoem, Díchuil, Díchim, Díchuimne, Díchuinne,
Dairne,Dáirine, Der úaine,
Égem, Agam, Ethamne,
Gním, Cluichi, Cethardam,
Nith, Nemain, Noenden,
Badb, Blosc, Bloar,
h-Uaet,
Mede, Mod.
For énchois & oenanáil ro chachain doib in sin uile ó dorus in tigi.
‘Cid as áil dait?’ ol Conaire.
‘A n-as áil daitsiu didiu,’ ol sisi.
‘Is ges damsa,’ ol Conaire, ‘dám oenmná da airitin íar fuin n-gréne.’
‘Cid geis,’ ol sisi, ‘ní ragsa co n-decha m'aídidecht di ráith isind aidchise inocht.’
‘Abraid fria,’ ol Conaire, ‘bérthair dam & tindi dí ammach & mo fuidelsa, & anad i maigin aile inocht.’
‘Má dod-ánic ém dond ríg’, oll sisi, ‘co praind & lepaid n-oenmná ina thig, ad-étar na aill ó nach ailiu oca m-biad ainech, mad ro scáich coiblide na flatha fil isin Bruidin’.
‘Is fechuir a frecra ’, ol Conaire. ‘Dos-léic ind, cid geis damsa.’
Buí gráin már foraib íar sin dia accallaim na mná & míthaurassa acht nád feadatar can boí doib.
[...]
Left to Right, Olwen Fouéré,
George Brennan & Ian Lynch. One Leg One Eye, CRONE (AD93, 2026).
* * *
Bandcamp
* * *
Apple Music
* * *
Spotify
*
Then Conaire with his people entered the Hostel, and each took his seat within, both tabu and non-tabu. And the three Reds took their seats, and Fer caille with his swine took his seat.
Thereafter Dá Derga came to them, with thrice fifty warriors, each of them having a long head of hair to the hollow of his polls, and a short cloak to their buttocks. Speckled-green drawers they wore, and in their hands were thrice fifty great clubs of thorn with bands of iron.
‘Welcome, O master Conaire!’ quoth he. ‘Though the bulk of the men of Erin were to come with thee, they themselves would have a welcome.’
When they were there they saw a lone woman coming to the door of the Hostel, after sunset, and seeking to be let in. As long as a weaver's beam was each of her two shins, and they were as dark as the back of a stag-beetle. A greyish, woolly mantle she wore. Her lower hair used to reach as far as her knee. Her lips were on one side of her head.
She came and put one of her shoulders against the door-post of the house, casting the evil eye on the king and the youths who surrounded him in the Hostel. He himself addressed her from within.
‘Well, O woman,’ says Conaire, ‘if thou art a wizard, what seest thou for us?’
‘Truly I see for thee,’ she answers, ‘that neither fell nor flesh of thine shall escape from the place into which thou hast come, save what birds will bear away in their claws.’
‘It was not an evil omen we foreboded, O woman,’ saith he: ‘it is not thou that always augurs for us. What is thy name, O woman?’
‘Cailb,’ she answers.
‘That is not much of a name,’ says Conaire.
‘Lo, many are my names besides.’
‘Which be they?’ asks Conaire.
‘Easy to say,’ quoth she. ‘Samon, Sinand, Seisclend, Sodb, Caill, Coll, Díchóem, Dichiúil, Díthím, Díchuimne, Dichruidne, Dairne, Dáríne, Déruaine, Egem, Agam, Ethamne, Gním, Cluiche, Cethardam, Níth, Némain, Nóennen, Badb, Blosc, Bloár, Huae, óe Aife la Sruth, Mache, Médé, Mod.’
On one foot, and holding up one hand, and breathing one breath she sang all that to them from the door of the house.
‘I swear by the gods whom I adore,’ says Conaire, ‘that I will call thee by none of these names whether I shall be here a long or a short time.’
‘What dost thou desire?’ says Conaire.
‘That which thou, too, desirest,’ she answered.
‘'Tis a tabu of mine,’ says Conaire, ‘to receive the company of one woman after sunset.’
‘Though it be a tabu,’ she replied, ‘I will not go until my guesting come at once this very night.’
‘Tell her,’ says Conaire, ‘that an ox and a bacon-pig shall be taken out to her, and my leavings: provided that she stays tonight in some other place.’
‘If in sooth,’ she says, ‘it has befallen the king not to have room in his house for the meal and bed of a solitary woman, they will be gotten apart from him from some one possessing generosity—if the hospitality of the Prince in the Hostel has departed.’
‘Savage is the answer!’ says Conaire. ‘Let her in, though it is a tabu of mine.’
Great loathing they felt after that from the woman's converse, and ill-foreboding; but they knew not the cause thereof.’
[...]
* * *
English translation of
Togail Bruidne Dá Derga /
The Destruction of Dá Derga’s Hostel
courtesy of Whitley Stokes.
This Old Irish version was edited by
Eleanor Knott and is contained on the
website, CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts,
a project of the Department of History,
University College, Cork.
For the full text, see here.
Order ONE LEG ONE EYE’S CRONE HERE.
One Leg One Eye are Ian Lynch (founding member of the Irish group Lankum) and veteran noisemonger George Brennan (see BB84, Melodica Deathship, Cholera House and DeepBurial). Musically, they explore submerged leylines of music and song—drawing on the raw aesthetics of black metal, noise and drone—to produce a work deeply embued with a sense of history, place and myth. Their debut album …And Take the Black Worm With Me (Nyahh Records, 2022) is a slow-burn of a suite of expansive songscapes that has found its audience largely by word of mouth. Partly recorded in an abandoned Dublin factory where his father worked when he was a child, Lynch’s harrowing vocals are underpinned by vast pillars of uileann pipe drones, overlaid with effects and field recordings to conjure up a sound that is at once dark, mysterious and transcendental. On their latest release, CRONE (AD93, 2026)—a record that draws from the rich seams of mythological significance submerged below the Irish psyche—Lynch and Brennan are joined by actor, performer, writer and director Olwen Fouéré (Operating Theatre).
Back to Rehearsal.
* * *
Togail Bruidne Dá Derga / The Destruction of Dá Derga’s Hostel belongs to the Ulster Cycle of Irish Mythology, and stems back to the Old Irish period, roughly 600-900AD. The earliest written text dates to the late 11th century, and is contained within the Lebor na hUidre / the Book of the Dun Cow. The tale recounts the birth, life and death of Conaire Mór, a High King of Ireland.
* * *
A word on Togail Bruidne Dá Derga ...
& as recorded by Ian Lynch, 16.06.26.
Fragments of Togail Bruidne Dá Derga are gathered
in One Leg One Eye’s ‘Many are my Names Besides,’ as
read by Olwen Fouéré, and as drawn from their second
album CRONE (AD93, 2026).
* * *
Luid Conaire íarum isin m-Bruidin & gabais cách a suidi is tig iter ges & nemgeis, & gabsat na trí Deirg a suidiu & gabais Fer Cailli cona muicc a Fer Cailli cona muicc a suidiu.
Tos-tánic Dá Dergae íar sin trí caectaib óclach & a fotalbearrad co clais a dá chúladh for cach fear díb, & gerrchochaill co mell a dá lárcc. Berrbrócca breccglasa impu. Trí caecait maglorg n- draighin co feithnib iairn ina lámaib. ‘Pho chen, a phopa Conaire,’ ol sé. ‘Cid formna fear n-Érind do-thaístis lat ros-m- biadfaindsea.’
In tan trá bátar and con-accatar a n-oen-bandscáil do dorus na Bruidhne iar fuinead n-gréne, oc cuindchid a l-léicthi isa thech. Sithir cloideb n-garmnai ceachtar a dá lurcan. Batir dubithir dethaich. Brat ríabach rolómar impi. Tacmaicead a fés in t-íchtarach co r-rici a glúin. A beóil for leith a cind.
To-téit co tard a leathgúalainn fria h- ursaind in tigi oc admilliud ind ríg & na maccoem ro bátar immi sin tig. h-Éseom feisin ata-raglastar as tig: ‘Maith sin, a banscál , cid at-chi dúnd, inda fisid?’
‘At-chíusa duidseo immurgu,’ ol sise, ‘nocon érnaba cerr ná chárnai dít asin taig h-i taudchud acht a m-bértae eóin ina crobaib.’ ‘Ní bo dochél célsamar, a bean,’ ol seisem. ‘Ní tú chélas dúind do grés. Cá do chomainmseo, a banscál?’ ol Conaire.
‘Cailb’, ol sí.
‘Ní forcrad n-anma són ém’, ol Conaire.
‘Éce it ile imda mo anmandasa cheana,’ ol sí.
‘Citn-éisidi?’ ol Conaire.
‘Ní anse,’ ol sisi:
Samain, Sinand, Seiscleand, Sodb, Saiglend , Samlocht,
Caill, Coll,
Díchoem, Díchuil, Díchim, Díchuimne, Díchuinne,
Dairne,Dáirine, Der úaine,
Égem, Agam, Ethamne,
Gním, Cluichi, Cethardam,
Nith, Nemain, Noenden,
Badb, Blosc, Bloar,
h-Uaet,
Mede, Mod.
For énchois & oenanáil ro chachain doib in sin uile ó dorus in tigi.
‘Cid as áil dait?’ ol Conaire.
‘A n-as áil daitsiu didiu,’ ol sisi.
‘Is ges damsa,’ ol Conaire, ‘dám oenmná da airitin íar fuin n-gréne.’
‘Cid geis,’ ol sisi, ‘ní ragsa co n-decha m'aídidecht di ráith isind aidchise inocht.’
‘Abraid fria,’ ol Conaire, ‘bérthair dam & tindi dí ammach & mo fuidelsa, & anad i maigin aile inocht.’
‘Má dod-ánic ém dond ríg’, oll sisi, ‘co praind & lepaid n-oenmná ina thig, ad-étar na aill ó nach ailiu oca m-biad ainech, mad ro scáich coiblide na flatha fil isin Bruidin’.
‘Is fechuir a frecra ’, ol Conaire. ‘Dos-léic ind, cid geis damsa.’
Buí gráin már foraib íar sin dia accallaim na mná & míthaurassa acht nád feadatar can boí doib.
[...]
George Brennan & Ian Lynch.
* * *
Bandcamp
* * *
Apple Music
* * *
Spotify
*
Then Conaire with his people entered the Hostel, and each took his seat within, both tabu and non-tabu. And the three Reds took their seats, and Fer caille with his swine took his seat.
Thereafter Dá Derga came to them, with thrice fifty warriors, each of them having a long head of hair to the hollow of his polls, and a short cloak to their buttocks. Speckled-green drawers they wore, and in their hands were thrice fifty great clubs of thorn with bands of iron.
‘Welcome, O master Conaire!’ quoth he. ‘Though the bulk of the men of Erin were to come with thee, they themselves would have a welcome.’
When they were there they saw a lone woman coming to the door of the Hostel, after sunset, and seeking to be let in. As long as a weaver's beam was each of her two shins, and they were as dark as the back of a stag-beetle. A greyish, woolly mantle she wore. Her lower hair used to reach as far as her knee. Her lips were on one side of her head.
She came and put one of her shoulders against the door-post of the house, casting the evil eye on the king and the youths who surrounded him in the Hostel. He himself addressed her from within.
‘Well, O woman,’ says Conaire, ‘if thou art a wizard, what seest thou for us?’
‘Truly I see for thee,’ she answers, ‘that neither fell nor flesh of thine shall escape from the place into which thou hast come, save what birds will bear away in their claws.’
‘It was not an evil omen we foreboded, O woman,’ saith he: ‘it is not thou that always augurs for us. What is thy name, O woman?’
‘Cailb,’ she answers.
‘That is not much of a name,’ says Conaire.
‘Lo, many are my names besides.’
‘Which be they?’ asks Conaire.
‘Easy to say,’ quoth she. ‘Samon, Sinand, Seisclend, Sodb, Caill, Coll, Díchóem, Dichiúil, Díthím, Díchuimne, Dichruidne, Dairne, Dáríne, Déruaine, Egem, Agam, Ethamne, Gním, Cluiche, Cethardam, Níth, Némain, Nóennen, Badb, Blosc, Bloár, Huae, óe Aife la Sruth, Mache, Médé, Mod.’
On one foot, and holding up one hand, and breathing one breath she sang all that to them from the door of the house.
‘I swear by the gods whom I adore,’ says Conaire, ‘that I will call thee by none of these names whether I shall be here a long or a short time.’
‘What dost thou desire?’ says Conaire.
‘That which thou, too, desirest,’ she answered.
‘'Tis a tabu of mine,’ says Conaire, ‘to receive the company of one woman after sunset.’
‘Though it be a tabu,’ she replied, ‘I will not go until my guesting come at once this very night.’
‘Tell her,’ says Conaire, ‘that an ox and a bacon-pig shall be taken out to her, and my leavings: provided that she stays tonight in some other place.’
‘If in sooth,’ she says, ‘it has befallen the king not to have room in his house for the meal and bed of a solitary woman, they will be gotten apart from him from some one possessing generosity—if the hospitality of the Prince in the Hostel has departed.’
‘Savage is the answer!’ says Conaire. ‘Let her in, though it is a tabu of mine.’
Great loathing they felt after that from the woman's converse, and ill-foreboding; but they knew not the cause thereof.’
[...]
* * *
English translation of
Togail Bruidne Dá Derga /
The Destruction of Dá Derga’s Hostel
courtesy of Whitley Stokes.
This Old Irish version was edited by
Eleanor Knott and is contained on the
website, CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts,
a project of the Department of History,
University College, Cork.
For the full text, see here.
Order ONE LEG ONE EYE’S CRONE HERE.
One Leg One Eye are Ian Lynch (founding member of the Irish group Lankum) and veteran noisemonger George Brennan (see BB84, Melodica Deathship, Cholera House and DeepBurial). Musically, they explore submerged leylines of music and song—drawing on the raw aesthetics of black metal, noise and drone—to produce a work deeply embued with a sense of history, place and myth. Their debut album …And Take the Black Worm With Me (Nyahh Records, 2022) is a slow-burn of a suite of expansive songscapes that has found its audience largely by word of mouth. Partly recorded in an abandoned Dublin factory where his father worked when he was a child, Lynch’s harrowing vocals are underpinned by vast pillars of uileann pipe drones, overlaid with effects and field recordings to conjure up a sound that is at once dark, mysterious and transcendental. On their latest release, CRONE (AD93, 2026)—a record that draws from the rich seams of mythological significance submerged below the Irish psyche—Lynch and Brennan are joined by actor, performer, writer and director Olwen Fouéré (Operating Theatre).
Back to Rehearsal.