Now, with one thing and another, the High
King of Ireland had got to be someway bitter against Finn
and the Fianna;
and one time that he had a gathering of his people he spoke out to them, and
he bade them to remember all the harm that had been done them through the
Fianna, and all their pride, and the tribute they asked. "And as to
myself," he said, "I would sooner die fighting the Fianna, if I
could bring them down along with me, than live with Ireland under them the way
it is now."
All his people were of the same mind, and
they said they would make no delay, but would attack the Fianna and make an
end of them. "And we will have good days of joy and of feasting."
they said, "when once Almhuin is clear of them."
And the High King began to make plans
against Finn; and he sent to all the men of Ireland to come and help him. And
when all was ready, he sent and bade Osgar
to come to a feast he was making at Teamhair.
And Osgar, that never was afraid before
any enemy, set out for Teamhair, and three hundred of his men with him. And on
the way they saw a woman of the Sidhe
washing clothes at a river, and there was the colour of blood on the water
where she was washing them. And Osgar said to her: "There is red on the
clothes you are washing; and it is for the dead you are washing
them."
And the woman answered him, and it is what
she said: "It is not long till the ravens will be croaking over your own
head after the battle."
"Is there any weakness in our
eyes," said Osgar, "that a little story like that would set us
crying? And do another foretelling for us now," he said, "and tell
us will any man of our enemies fall by us before we are made an end of?"
"There will be nine hundred fall by
yourself," she said; "and the High King himself will get his
death-wound from you."
Osgar and his men went on then to the
king’s house at Teamhair, and they got good treatment, and the feast was
made ready, and they were three days at pleasure and at drinking.
And on the last day of the drinking, the
High King called out with a loud voice, and he asked Osgar would he make an
exchange of spears with him. "Why do you ask that exchange," said
Osgar, "when I myself and my spear were often with yourself in time of
battle? And you would not ask it of me," he said, "if Finn and the
Fianna were with me now."
"I would ask it from any
fighting man among you," said the king, "and for rent and tribute
along with it." "Any gold or any treasure you might ask of us, we
would give it to you," said Osgar, "but it is not right for you to
ask my spear."
There were very high words between them,
then, and they threatened one another, and at the last the High King said:
"I will put my spear of the seven spells out through your
body."
"And I give my word against
that," said Osgar, "I will put my spear of the nine spells between
the meeting of your hair and beard."
With that he and his men rose up and went
out of Teamhair, and they stopped to rest beside a river, and there they heard
the sound of a very sorrowful tune, that was like keening, played on a harp.
And there was great anger on Osgar when he heard that, and he rose up and took
his arms and roused his people, and they went on again to where Finn was. And
there came after them a messenger from the High King, and the message he
brought was this, that he would never pay tribute to the Fianna or bear with
them at all from that time.
And when Finn heard that, he sent out a
challenge of battle, and he gathered together all the Fianna that were left to
him. But as to the sons of Morna, it was to the High King of Ireland they
gathered.
And it was at the hill of Gabhra the two
armies met; and there were twenty men with the King of Ireland for every man
that was with Finn.
And it is a very hard battle was fought
that day, and there were great deeds done on both sides; and there never was a
greater battle fought in Ireland than that one.
And as to Osgar, it would be hard to tell
all he killed on that day; five scores of the Sons of the Gael, and five score
fighting men from the Country of Snow, and seven score of the Men of Green
Swords that never went a step backward, and four hundred from the Country of
the Lion, and five score of the sons of kings; and the shame was for the King
of Ireland.
But as to Osgar himself, that began the
day so swift and so strong, at the last he was like leaves on a strong wind,
or like an aspen-tree that is falling. But when he saw the High King near him,
he made for him like a wave breaking on the strand; and the king saw him
coming, and shook his greedy spear, and made a cast of it, and it went through
his body and brought him down on his right knee, and that was the first grief
of the Fianna.
But Osgar himself was no way daunted, but
he made a cast of his spear of the nine spells that went into the High King
(Cairpre Mac Cormac) at
the meeting of the hair and the beard, and gave him his death. And when the
men nearest to the High King saw that, they put the king’s helmet up on a
pillar, the way his people would think he was living yet. But Osgar saw it,
and he lifted a thin bit of a slab-stone that was on the ground beside him,
and he made a cast of it that broke the helmet where it was; and then he
himself fell like a king.
And there fell in that battle the seven
sons of Caoilte,
and the son of the King of Lochlann that had come to give them his help, and
it would be hard to count the number of the Fianna that fell in that battle.
And when it was ended, those that were
left of them went looking for their dead. And Caoilte stooped down over his
seven brave sons, and every living man of the Fianna stooped over his own dear
friends. And it was a lasting grief to see all that were stretched in that
place, but the Fianna would not have taken it to heart the way they did, but
for being as they were, a beaten race.
And as to Oisin,
he went looking for Osgar, and it is the way he found him, lying stretched,
and resting on his left arm and his broken shield beside him, and his sword in
his hand yet, and his blood about him on every side. And he put out his hand
to Oisin, and Oisin took it and gave out a very hard cry. And Osgar said:
"It is glad I am to see you safe, my father." And Oisin had no
answer to give him. And just then Caoilte came where they were, and he looked
at Osgar. "What way are you now, my darling?" he said. "The way
you would like me to be," said Osgar.
Then Caoilte searched the wound, and when
he saw how the spear had torn its way through to the back, he cried out, and a
cloud came over him and his strength failed him. "O Osgar," he said,
"you are parted from the Fianna, and they themselves must be parted from
battle from this out," he said, "and they must pay their tribute to
the King of Ireland."
Then Caoilte and Oisin raised up Osgar on
their shields and brought him to a smooth green hill till they would take his
dress off. And there was not a hands-breadth of his white body that was
without a wound.
And when the rest of the Fianna saw what
way Osgar was, there was not a man of them that keened his own son or his
brother, but every one of them came keening Osgar.
And after a while, at noonday, they saw Finn
coming towards them, and what was left of the Sun-banner raised on a
spear-shaft. All of them saluted Finn then, but he made no answer, and he came
up to the hill where Osgar was. And when Osgar saw him coming he saluted him,
and he said: "I have got my desire in death, Finn of the sharp
arms." And Finn said: "It is worse the way you were, my son, on the
day of the battle at Beinn Edair when the wild geese could swim on your
breast, and it was my hand that gave you healing."
"There can no healing be done for me
now for ever," said Osgar, "since the King of Ireland put the spear
of seven spells through my body." And Finn said: "It is a pity it
was not I myself fell in sunny scarce Gabhra, and you going east and west at
the head of the Fianna."
"And if it was yourself fell in the
battle," said Osgar, "you would not hear me keening after you; for
no man ever knew any heart in me," he said, "but a heart of twisted
horn, and it covered with iron. But the howling of the dogs beside me,"
he said, "and the keening of the old fighting men, and the crying of the
women one after another, those are the things that are vexing me." And
Finn said: "Child of my child, calf of my calf, white and slender, it is
a pity the way you are. And my heart is starting like a deer," he said,
"and I am weak after you and after the Fianna of Ireland. And misfortune
has followed us," he said; "and farewell now to battles and to a
great name, and farewell to taking tributes; for every good thing I ever had
is gone from me now," he said.
And when Osgar heard those words he
stretched out his hands, and his eyelids closed. And Finn turned away from the
rest, and he cried tears down; and he never shed a tear through the whole
length of his lifetime but only for Osgar and for Bran.
And all that were left of the Fianna gave
three sorrowful cries after Osgar, for there was not one of the Fianna beyond
him, unless it might be Finn or Oisin.
And it is many of the Fianna were left
dead in Gabhra, and graves were made for them. And as to Lugaidh’s Son, that
was so tall a man and so good a fighter, they made a very wide grave for him,
as was fitting for a king. And the whole length of the rath at Gabhra, from
end to end, it is that was the grave of Osgar, son of Oisin, son of Finn.
And as to Finn himself, he never had peace
or pleasure again from that day.