by Michael Ragan
© 2001

Aliu iath nHerend   he twelfth century Book of Leinster (known also as the Lebar na Núachongbála) contains four poems attributed to Amergin, Chief Druid of the Milesians. The most well-known of these are the Song of Amergin and this the Invocation of Ireland. Early scholars struggled with translation for a number of reasons. Here we present a new English translation developed with a spiritual consideration, rather than a purely academic point of view.   From the Book of Leinster:   Ailiu iath nhErend hermach muir, mothach mothach sliab, srathach srathac caill.Cithach cithac aub, essach essach loch, lindmar linmar tor, tipra tripra túath. Oenach oenach rig Temrach. Temair tor tuathach tuatha mac Miled mmilid lonhg libarn. libard Herend. Ever Dond díglass dichetal rogaeth rogaeth bán Brise Brese ban Buagne bé adbul Herin Herimon, ar tús Ir, Eber Alius   Invoke1 the Land of Ireland, lively, rolling sea. Fertile fertile2 hills. Bottomlands bottomland woods. Showery3 showery rivers. Cascading cascading lakes. Multitude multitude of abundance. Springs springs (of) people. One one king for Tara. Tara abundant people. People descendants of Miled. Mileds vessels, long-boats4 . Learned5 Erin Eber, faultless chief. The spell is chosen. The chosen women are great6 . The great women supervise the herds7 . Mighty women of Erin. Herimon for the leader, Ir and Eber8 Invoke. Invoke9 the land of Ireland.   1. Ailiu can be variously translated as request, invoke, ask etc. Since this seems to be an obvious incantation, I use invoke. 2. Repetition of last word of one line and first word of succeeding line was common practice in incantations. 3. Cithac translates to showery or bedewed. 4. Reference to long-boats is alluding to trading ships and sea commerce. 5. In this case, the repitition of words is not exact, though from an alliterative sense it fits nicely. 6. Early scholars have translated "brise" as "Bres." Bres was a half-Fomorian king of the Tuatha de Danann and out of place. "Brise" actually translates to "great" and usually alludes to prowess in combat. 7. The Gaelic word buagne has been incorrectly translated as a proper name. A person by this name does not appear in any of the tales. Though the word is extremely obscure, it seems to be based on the Gaelic word "buach" which has to do with herds. In the context of the rest of this incantation, this is a "best guess." 8. (h)Erimon, Ir and Eber are the three sons of Mil. After the invasion, Eber assumed rulership of the south while Erimon assumed leadership of the north. 9. The last two lines are not included in the Book of Leinster, though they do appear in the same incantation in the Lebor Gabala Erenn. Since it is common practice to repeat the first line as the end of an incantation, as in the "Song of Amergin," I have taken the liberty to insert it here.