Dess imm·ríadam dúib!

(rightward * we ride * to you-all)

Auspicious greetings to you!

Spoken by Emer to Cú Chulainn in the tale “Tochmarc Emire”. Altough she is in fact seated quietly at the time, she uses a formula that invokes the image of a chariot rider and driver approaching another chariot courteously displaying their righthand side, moving sunwise or clockwise. The opposite direction of approach was ritually hostile and insulting. Cú Chulainn’s reply is equally courteous and formulaic: “Slán imraisc dúib-se!” = May you be free of all harm.

Topics: Greetings & Farewell