The Battle of the Quicken Trees
Colga of the Hard Weapons
Invaded Erin in dark dragon ships,
Landing at Ulster, where all were
Killed by Finn MacCool and his
Grandson , Oscar.
Midac , the son of Colga, alone survived
And was treated well by Finn in his own house.
Sure and when the time arrived,
Finn gave Midac the rich cantreds
Of Kenri and the Islands.
Midac withdrew hence from the Fena
And build two wondrous palaces there,
One on the Islands, and one in a grove
Of Mountain Ash.
To the last named place
He lured Finn and his heroes, posing
As a ferdana, he spoke this riddled poem:
“I saw a house by a river’s shore,
famed through Erin in days of yore,
I saw to the south a bright-faced queen,
With couch of crystal and robe of green.”
Thusly, he enchanted then in the Palace of Quicken Trees.
Three times did the invaders come in attack
To the ford from the islands, and
Three times were they defeated while Finn sat enchanted.
At last Dermat O’Dyna slayed
The Three Kings of the Islands
And taking their bloody heads
Broke the Enchantment, and with Fatha
Held off the foes until the sun did rise.
With the rising sun
Finn MacCool and a host of Fena
Fell upon them who were from Lochlann.
And, like a lion maddened by dogs,
Oscar drove though the battle and
With a single blow struck the head
From the King of the World.
And so
The blood of the danes
drank by the thirsty earth of Erin.
Please login or register
You must be logged in or register a new account in order to
Login or Registerleave comments/feedback and rate this poem.