DEED 15
Similar to Deed 1 in being a list of claims, but with no resolution mentioned in the present case, suggesting the possibility that the list was prepared in order to be presented for adjudication.
Original does not survive; there are three nineteenth-century transcripts by Eugene O’Curry.
Maynooth MS C26, p. 281 Eugene O’Curry, undated.
Maynooth MS C71, item (27b) Eugene O’Curry, watermark 1840, written in a hurried cursive hand
TCD MS 1430 (1.6.13), pp 44–5 Eugene O’Curry, numbered ‘xiiii’.
Text is based on MS C26, though essentially the same in all three witnesses, with minor variants (recorded below) confined in nearly every case to C71.
MN 1
TRANSCRIPTION
1. IS iat so aidhbhlithe Thaidhg meic Sída ar Fhingin mac Meic Con agus ar chlaoinn
2. Fhingin meic Mé Con .i. cneadh tsheicne agus dá bhuille dfheidil mhoir agus buille
3. ar a laimh as ar beanadh da fhearsaid agus sin do deanamh ar gan coir gan ceart.
4. Tuilleadh eile ag Tadg ar Fingin agus ar a chlaoinn .i. aon teach déc lan darbur agus do
5. mhoin do chur do dhíth air Tadhg do bhithin a ghabhala agus a chur a prisún agus ceithre
6. larthacha graoidhe do bhuain de in la .c.na agus [vi above] xxit coera agus luagh ix nuinge
7. do mucaíbh agus sin amuith re xxit bliadhan gan coir. Tuilleadh eile ar in muintir
8. .c.na .i. caira le Tadhg mac Sida do ithe d Fingin mac Mic Con co bfhiande
9. do Donncadh Ua Marcacháin agus do Mhóir ini Geimhérain. Tuilleadh eile ar Loclaoinn
10. mac Fingin agus ar Domhnall .i. cheithre caire do ghaid o Thadhg mac Sida agus Domnall
11. Dearg agus Tadhg ar leanmhain na coerac le faisneis agus da chaire daisec dhib agus in
12. da chaire eile amuith cona rith re .vi. bliadhnaib. Tuilleadh eile Fingin mac Mic Con
13. ar ngabail Taidhg mic Sída agus ar na thabairt do Concubar mac Sida agus fithe uinge
14. do bhuain dfuascla as agus dob ail leis dfhaghbhail ó Fingin do bhithin a
15. ghabhala. Tuilleadh eile ceathrugadh baile do bhuain do Thadhg mac Sida .i. lethceathrugha
16. a Cill Daingin in Chablai agus leathceathrugadh do Bhaile in Mhota agus isseni do ghebhac
17. Tadhg mac Sida do tharba in fearainsin a nécmais a caille agus a tiubrach
18. uaidh .v. mharg sa bliadhain agus dob ail leis sin dfaghail ó Fhingin agus ona chlaoind.
19. Tuilleadh eile gach mead do chuir Tadhg mac Sida do arbhar an bliadhain sin do chur
20. do dhith air agus nar laimh caill na fér na teach do comead na dfechain
21. le claoind Fhingin [meic] me Con agus a teacht don muintir c.na ocht .xx.it .x. punnonn
22. cruithneachta do gaid ó Thadhg mac Sída do bhíthin nar leiced do beith as
23. cionn a raibe aige. Tuille eile vi creithir cruithneachta do ghaid do clao-
24. inn Fhinin ó Thadhg mac Sída as a theampall amach co teach tShlaine inghine
25. tSheaain agus a reic agus gan cruithneacht do bheith aco fein.
Variant readings
1. aidhbthe C71; cloinn (also lines 4, 18, 21, 23) C71. 6. in] om. C71. 7. xxit] .xx. C71. 8. do Fingin C71; bfhiande] bfhiadnaise C71. 9. Lochlainn C71. 16. issé ní] issen C26. 17. fearainnsin C71. 18. dfaghail] dfaghbail (with b expuncted) C71. 20. lam C71. 21. [meic] om. MSS. 22. ghoid C71. 25. aca [corrected to aco] sein C71.
NORMALISED TEXT
Is iad so aidhbhlithe Thaidhg mheic Shíoda ar Fhínghin mac Meic Con agus ar chloinn Fhínghin mheic Mheic Con .i. cneadh sheicne, agus dá bhuille d'fheidhil mhóir, agus buille ar a láimh as ar beanadh dá fhearsaid, agus sin do déanamh air gan cóir gan ceart.
Tuilleadh eile ag Tadhg ar Fínghin agus ar a chloinn .i. aon teach déag lán d’arbhur agus de mhóin do chur do dhíoth ar Tadhg do bhíthin a ghabhála agus a chur i bpríosún, agus ceithre láracha graidhe do bhuain de an lá céadna agus sé fichead caora agus luagh naoi n-uinge de mhucaíbh, agus sin amuigh re fichid bliadhan gan cóir.
Tuilleadh eile ar an muintir céadna .i. caoire le Tadhg mac Síoda do ithe d’Fhínghin mac Meic Con go bhfínné do Dhonncadh Ua Marcacháin agus do Mhóir inghean Í Gheimhéráin.
Tuilleadh eile ar Lochlainn mac Fínghin agus ar Domhnall .i. cheithre chaoire do ghaid ó Thadhg mac Síoda, agus Domhnall Dearg agus Tadhg ar leanmhain na gcaorach le faisnéis, agus dá chaoire d’aiseag dhíobh agus an dá chaoire eile amuigh gona rith re sé bliadhnaibh.
Tuilleadh eile: Fínghin mac Meic Con ar ngabháil Thaidhg mheic Shíoda agus arna thabhairt do Chonchubhar mac Síoda, agus fiche uinge do bhuain d’fhuascladh as, agus dob áil leis d’fhaghbháil ó Fhínghin do bhíthin a ghabhála.
Tuilleadh eile: ceathrughadh baile do bhuain do Thadhg mac Síoda .i. leathcheathrughadh a Cill Daingin an Chabhlaigh agus leathceathrughadh do Bhaile in Mhóta; agus is é ní do ghéabhadh Tadhg mac Síoda de tharbha in fhearainn sin, i n-éagmhais a chaille agus a thiubrach uaidh, cúig mharg sa bhliadhain: agus dob áil leis sin d’fhagháil ó Fhínghin agus óna chloinn.
Tuilleadh eile: gach meadh do chuir Tadhg mac Síoda do arbhar an bhliadhain sin do chur do dhíoth air, agus nár laimh caill ná féar ná teach do coimhéad ná d’féachain le cloinn Fhínghin mheic Mheic Con agus a theacht don mhuintir céadna. Ocht bhfichead déag punnonn cruithneachta do ghaid ó Thadhg mac Síoda do bhíthin nár léigeadh do beith as cionn a raibhe aige.
Tuilleadh eile: sé chréithir chruithneachta do ghaid do chloinn Fhínghin ó Thadhg mac Síoda as a’ theampall amach go teach tShláine inghine tSheaáin agus a reic, agus gan cruithneacht do bheith aco féin.
TRANSLATION
These are the claims of Tadhg son of Síoda against Fínghin son of Mac Con and against the sons of Fínghean son of Mac Con i.e. a wound of the skull and two blows of a big yoke and a blow on his hand as a result of which his ulna was fractured, and that was done most unjustly.
Further claims of Tadhg against Fínghean and his sons i.e. eleven houses full of corn and turf were lost to Tadhg on account of his being taken and put in prison, and four brood mares were taken from in on the same day, and 120 sheep and the value nine ounces of pigs, and that has been an outstanding grievance for 20 years without settlement.
Further [claims] against the same people .i. a sheep belonging to Tadhg son of Síoda was eaten by Fínghin son of Mac Con by the testimony of Donnchadh Ua Marcacháin and Mór Ní Gheimhéaráin.
Further [claims] against Lochlann son of Fínghin and against Domhnall i.e. four sheep were taken from Tadhg son of Síoda, and Domhnall Dearg and Tadhg pursued the sheep on information, and two of them were restored, and the other two sheep, with their interest, are outstanding for six years.
Furthermore: Fínghin son of Mac Con captured Tadhg son of Síoda and delivered him to Conchubhar son of Síoda and took twenty ounces from him for his release and he [sc. Tadhg] would like to recover that from Fínghin on account of his capture.
Furthermore: a quarterland was seized from Tadhg son of Síoda i.e. the half-quarter from Cill Daingin an Chabhlaigh and the half-quarter of Baile an Mhóta; and the profit that Tadhg son of Síoda would get from him for that land, not counting its wood and wells, was 5 marks per year, and he would wish to recover that from Fínghin and his sons.
Furthermore: every measure of corn that Tadhg son of Síoda planted that year was wasted on him, and he did not dare to watch or protect wood or grass or house due to the sons of Fínghin [son of] Mac Con and the visitation of the same [band of] followers. 360 sheaves of wheat were stolen from Tadhg son of Síoda because he was not allowed to tend to what he possessed.
Further: the sons of Fínghin stole six sieves of wheat from the church out to the house of Sláine daughter of Seaán, and sold it though they had no wheat themselves.
NOTES
1. aidhbhlithe Presumably a form of the plural of Old Irish aidbred ‘act of suing, claiming’, possibly influence by forms of aidbliugud ‘increasing’.
2. cneadh tsheicne DIL cites two pertinent meanings of sicne ‘the peritoneum’, confined to medical texts, and ‘the skull’, as found in Peter O’Connell’s dictionary and in Keating. (Dinneen has these examples also, s.v. sicin, and cites maidhm seicne a hernia.)
fhearsaid Dinneen ‘ulna’ of hand. Prof. Aoibheann Nic Dhonnchadha provides example of fersad laimhe (NLI MS G 1, p. 396b35 [=TCD 1310, f. 4va9-10]; cf NLICat. I, 87).
9. ini Geimhérain Surname otherwise unrecorded?
9–10 Clann Fhínghin are here identified by name: Lochlainn and Domhnall.
10–11. Domhnall Dearg Mac Con Mara, mentioned in Deeds 7–11.
11. faisnéis anglicised ‘fastness’ in English documents (KN).
12. rith DIL (s.v., sense (b)) lists use in legal contexts. The interest accruing would be calculated on the assumption of each sheep having a lamb every year (KN).
13. Fínghin ransoms Tadhg to Tadhg’s brother, Conchubhar.
16. Cill Daingin in Chabhlaigh, unidentified.
Baile an Mhóta Ballinphunta tld (par. Kilfintinan, bar. Bunratty Lower, Co. Clare). See also D10.1–4, 15.
23. créithir (criathar) presumably the quantity of corn that could be contained in a sieve prior to working same. (DIL lists other examples).
24. KN cites evidence from Armagh Registers and from Synod of Limerick 1456 for custom of storing goods in churches.