Doilig dán láechdacht.

Doilig dán láechdacht:
ní suthain a mbí,
ifernnaig a mairb.

(grim * profession * warriorship *
not * long-lived * their * living ones *
hell-damned * their * dead ones)

Warriors have a hard profession:
their life is short and then they go to hell.

The ecclesiastical and scholarly view of the profession of war, edited by Kuno Meyer at ZCP vi.261. For another instance of “short life and hell after”, see “Goirde shaogail duit abhus ⁊ ifrenn thall” in this collection.

Topics: War