BRICRIU'S FEAST, AND THE WAR OF WORDS

OF THE WOMEN OF ULSTER

DRICRIU of the Bitter Tongue made a great feast one time for Conchubar, son of Ness, and for all the chief men of Ulster. He was the length of a year getting the feast ready, and he built a great house to hold it in at Dun-Rudraige. He built it in the likeness of the House of the Red Branch in Emain, but it was entirely beyond all the buildings of that time in shape and in substance, in plan and in ornament, in pillars and in facings, in doors and in carvings, so that it was spoken of in all parts. It was on the plan of the drinking-hall at Emain it was made inside, and it having nine divisions from hearth to wall, and every division faced with bronze that was overlaid with gold, thirty feet high. In the front part of the hall there was a royal seat made for Conchubar, high above all the other seats of the house. It was set with carbuncles and other precious stones of all colours, that shone like gold and silver, so that they made the night the same as the day ; and round about it were the twelve seats of the twelve heroes of Ulster.

Good as the material was, the work done on it was as good. It took six horses to bring home every beam, and the strength of six men to fix every pole, and thirty of the best skilled men in Ireland were ordering it and directing it,

BRICRIU'S INVITATION 49

Then Bricriu made a sunny parlour for himself, on a level with Conchubar's seat and the seats of the heroes of valour, and it had every sort of ornament, and windows of glass were put on every side of it, the way he could see the hall from his seat, for he knew the men of Ulster would not let him stop inside.

When he had finished building the hall and the sunny parlour, and had furnished them with quilts and coverings, beds and pillows, and with a full supply of meat and drink, so that nothing was wanting, he set out for Emain Macha to see Conchubar and the chief men of Ulster.

It happened that day they were all gathered together at Emain Macha, and they made him welcome, and they put him to sit beside Conchubar, and he said to Conchubar and to them all, " Come with me to a feast I have made ready." " I am willing to go," said Conchubar, " if the men of Ulster are willing."

But Fergus, son of Rogh, and the others, said : " We will not go, for if we do, our dead will be more than our living, after Bricriu has set us to quarrel with one another." " It will be worse for you if you do not come," said Bricriu. "What will you do if they do not go with you ? " said Conchubar. " I will stir up strife," said Bricriu, " between the kings and the leaders, and the heroes of valour, and the swordsmen, till every one makes an end of the other, if they will not come with me to use my feast." " We will not go for the sake of pleasing you," said Conchubar. " I will stir up anger between father and son, so that they will be the death of one another," said Bricriu ; " if I fail in doing that, I will make a quarrel between mother and daughter ; if that fails, I will put the two breasts of every woman of Ulster striking one against the other, and destroying one another." " It is better for us to go," said Fergus. " Let us consult with the chief men of Ulster," said Sencha, son of Ailell. "Some harm will come of it,"