This is our 100th poem.
It lays claim to be the first poem in the Irish language. The story goes that in the mists of pre-history, long before Christianity had arrived in Ireland, the song was spontaneously uttered by Amergin, the Milesian sailor poet-prince as he stepped from his boat and placed his right foot on the shore of Ireland for the very first time. It’s said that it was the Milesians who first brought the Irish language here.
If you find an hour,
this programme by RTE Lyric is worth a listen
Achainí Amairgin
Am gaeth i m-muir,
Am tond trethan,
Am fuaim mara,
Am dam secht ndirend,
Am séig i n-aill,
Am dér gréne,
Am cain lubai,
Am torc ar gail,
Am he i l-lind,
Am loch i m-maig,
Am brí a ndai,
Am bri danae,
Am bri i fodb fras feochtu,
Am dé delbas do chind codnu.
Coiche nod gleith clochur slébe?
Cia on co tagair aesa éscai?
Cia du i l-laig fuiniud gréne?
Cia beir buar o thig tethrach?
Cia buar tethrach tibi?
Cia dám, cia dé delbas faebru a ndind
ailsiu?
Cáinte im gai, cainte gaithe.
The Amairgen Step
Translation by Paddy Bushe
Am wind on sea
Am wave swelling
Am ocean’s voice
Am stag of seven clashes
Am falcon on cliff
Am sunlit dewdrop
Am rarest of herbs
Am boar enraged
Am salmon in pool
Am lake in plain
Am fortified hilltop
Am learning’s essence
Am sharpened spear dealing death
Am god who kindles fire in the head.
Who makes smooth the stony mountain?
Who elucidates the lives of the moon?
Who proclaims where the sun will rest?
Who leads the waves like cattle from the
ocean?
On whom do those waves smile?
What troop, what god edges blades in a
plague-struck fortress?
Keening of weapons. Keening of wind.
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