Is é tadall ségainne...

Is é tadall ségainne
áit i fera céilide,
dotháet i tech, snaidid crann,
gaibid rann co éimige.

(is * it * visit * of * skill
place * in [which] * pours forth * social visiting
he comes * into * house * carves * wood
sings * quatrain * with * opportuneness)

It’s a skilfull visit
to a social gathering:
he comes inside, whittles a stick,
and sings an appropriate rhyme.

This quatrain is found in the upper margin of page 116 in the Book of Leinster, where a scribe jotted it down along with a paired quatrain on the behaviour of the rude guest. I have standardized the spelling slightly.

Topics: Verse Maxims & Wise Counsel