St. Moling, Gaelic Contemplative Christianity and the Medieval Landscape of Tigh Moling as encrypted in Gáir na Gairbe

Suibhne Geilt cct.

There are only two great lyrics about pilgrimages to holy wells in Ireland – the early medieval Gáir na Gairbe and the eighteenth century Duan Deaglán composed by Tadhg Gaelach Ó Súilleabháin poet and theologian. The aim of this essay is to establish the biblical style of the lyric Gáir na na Gairbe. Thereby we may grasp the subtle nuances of the lyric and come to an appreciation of aspects of our Gaelic, contemplative Christianity as practised in the landscape of south Carlow.

One of the most important of these aspects is that of ‘listening for the voice of the Lord and entering into his peace’. This listening aspect is particularly well encrypted in this Carlovian masterpiece.

Tigh Moling in south Co. Carlow, where St. Moling made his monastic foundation in the seventh century, is the locale and inspiration of the lyric, Gáir na Gairbe. The picturesque ecclesiastical site of Tigh Moling is situated on a high wooded promontory on the right bank of the River Barrow in south Co. Carlow, close to its junction with the modern Glynn rivulet or the medieval Dubglas of this lyric:

11 a It is hard to attend to canonical hoursb at which loud bells are rung,c by reason of the noise of Inbhear Dubglaise (estuary of the Glynn rivulet)d and the cry of the Garb.

There are also the ruins of a number of churches, the remains of a high cross, and of a cloigtheach (belfry), An Tiopra (Moling’s holy well), and a motte-and-bailey castle.

An English historian who visited Tigh Moling in recent years is quoted as saying that:

Sound describes the place… The ancient Láthair an Aonaigh or ‘Fair Green’ is untouched, one of the best preserved of its kind in Europe. Every square foot of it is worth an archaeological dig…. Tigh Moling should be made a place of international pilgrimage!1

The central ‘sound’ of this lyric which celebrates a symphony of sounds at Tigh Moling, is the gradual triumph of the mighty torrent (2c) of the fresh river water of the over the water of the noisy sea (12a), about an hour after ebb tide begins. As this mighty torrent (2c) cascades over the rocks at a point, locally called An Scar or The Parting Point between sea water and river water on the Barrow at Tigh Moling, it causes the unusual ‘sound’ or ‘roar’ which constitutes both the theme and the name of this lyric which the poet terms Gáir na Gairbe, The Cry of the Rough One:

1 a The cry of the tuneful roaring Garbb sounding against the sea’s first wave!

2 a My patient activity is not wearisome to me,b my looking at the tides which fill the banks:c the mighty torrent of the great Garb,d and the sea-water thrusting it back.

St. Moling Luachra (AD 615-697)

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St Moling whose feast day is celebrated in the Irish calendar on 17th June, ranks among ‘the four great prophets of Ireland’2 as well as being the celebrated founder of Tigh Moling.

In the opening chapter of the Middle-Gaelic Life, Geinemain Molling ocus a Bhetae, The Birth and Life of Moling, Moling son of Faelán Fionn, is presented as a descendant of Findlug, the eponymous father of the Uí Dheagha who in turn is descended from Cathaoir Mór, the ancestor of the Leinster people.

His mother, Éamhnaid, is presented as of the Cineál Séadna, from near Castleisland in Co. Kerry. According to this account, Moling, who was conceived in Leinster, was born in Brosna, Co Kerry, beside St. Moling’s holy well there, and was reared and educated at Uaimh Breanainn, on the slopes of Sliabh Luachra, Co. Kerry. His baptismal name was Taircheall.

When he reached the age of seventeen, Collanach, his tutor and anamchara or spiritual advisor, gave him the new name of Mo Ling Luachra because of his famous “three leaps over Sliabh Luachra towards the King of Heaven and Earth, and away from the Evil Phantom”3

When Collanach had helped his student to decern his vocation, “he put a monk’s tonsure upon him, said a Pater Noster over him and told him to go to Maedóc of Fearna (anglicised ‘Aidan’ of ‘Ferns’ in Co. Wexford) and be his pupil.”4 Fearna was famous throughout Ireland as a centre for the study of Sacred Scripture.

In his search for a monastic site, we are told in the Life that when Moling reached Sliabh Mairgí, on the present-day Carlow-Laois border above Old Leighlin - on his way from Sliabh Luachra, Co. Kerry - there he looked southwards

and beheld a host of angels at Rinn Ruis Broicabove the stream-pools of the Barrow. 5

Accepting this sign from heaven as designating the place the Lord had chosen for him, he directed his course southwards without delay:

And Moling came to that place,and found Breanainn’s hearth therein. House and Church were built there by Moling,and everyone marvelled that a habitation was made there,for the place in which it was set up was a place ofrobbery and theft and outrage.6

In pre-Christian and early Christian times Tigh Moling was known as Rinn Ruis Broic anglicised ‘the Wood of the Badger’. This symbolic ‘wasteland’ is a feature of many other lives of saints. It was always “a place of great need, where fecundity, by the power of the Spirit, was destined to triumph over death and decay”.

Rinn Ruis Broic, Moling’s symbolic ‘wasteland’ was possibly under the jurisdiction of Maedóc, Abbot of Fearna where Moling pursued his biblical studies and prepared for the priesthood and the monastic way of life. But, since Moling was only seventeen years of age in AD 632, the year Maedóc is reputed to have died, he probably never had the privilege of meeting that great saint.

Having completed his studies and priestly formation under Maedóc’s monks of Fearna he was sent by them to live and pray in a hermitage, for a period of time, at a place among the Ossorians, now known as Listerlin. This hermitage was on a liosta, or ledge, over a

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well. Here Moling, who had already made “three leaps over Sliabh Luachra to escape from the Evil Phantom in his earlier youth”7 was once more oblidged to leap from the tempter over this ledge or liosta. The place, consequently, has been named Liostarling (an liosta ar ling, abbreviated to, Liost’ ar ling (‘the ledge over which he leaped’), ever since to commemorate Moling’s faith-filled struggle to follow his monastic vocation.

Moling then proceeded to Muileann na Cille (anglicised Mullenakill) in Ossory where he set up another hermitage which is a famous place of prayer and pilgrimage down to our own day. He finally settled, some years later, in a hermitage at Rinn Ruis Broic. The said hermitage came to be called Tigh Moling, and, eventually, gave its name to the whole area.

Disciples were gradually attracted to Moling’s Way of Life and soon, a monastic foundation was required. Among his contemporaries was St. Molaise (+AD 639) of Leighlin, Co Carlow, who provided the material for the roofing of Moling’s Oratory when An t-Eo Rosa the Yew of Ross, one of the Bilí or Sacred Trees of Ireland, fell at St. Molaise’s prayer.8 This Bile or Sacred Tree probably grew in the vicinity of Ros Mhic Thrúin (anglicised New Ross), about six miles south of Tigh Moling.

The fall of the Bile or Sacred Yew-Tree symbolised the gradual waning of pre-Christian worship and practices with the advent of Christianity. But many of the good pre-Christian customs were ‘baptised’ into Christian worship, as recommended by Pope Gregory the Great in the previous century. The roofing of Moling’s Oratory with part of the Yew of Ross may, therefore, symbolize the ‘baptism’ of the pre-Christian order in that locality with the building of Moling’s Oratory at Rinn Ruis Broic.

Only the width of the River Barrow at Rinn Ruis Broic divided the people of Leinster from their political rivals, the Ossorians, in the seventh century, when Moling founded his monastery here. This fact was, of course, an added challenge because, to quote Dorothy Bray, “The attraction of the periphery is echoed in the Lives of the Desert Fathers of whom St. Anthony (c. AD 250-350) is perhaps the best known.”9

St. Mochaille 10 of Innsnat in Fotharta Feá, Co. Carlow, was another of Moling’s seventh century contemporaries who undoubtedly helped and encouraged him in his endeavours.

Finally, St. Willibrord11(AD 657 -738) of Rath Melsigi, Co. Carlow, was a youngercontemporary. He was an English man, who was educated in Rath Melsigi, known in modern times as Clonmelsh, and prepared there to become ‘the great apostle of the Frisians’. He was consecrated Archbishop of Utrecht by Pope Sergius on St.Cecelia’s Day, 22nd November AD 696, with the name Clemens. That was less than a year prior to Moling’s death on 17th June AD 697.

Moling and his companions must also have been greatly inspired by their Carlovian predecessors: St. Fionnán, ‘Father of Irish Education’, St. Fionntán, ‘Father of Irish Monasticism’; St.Columbán, ‘First great Irish Missionary to Europe’, and ‘The first European’; St. Fiach and his son, St. Fiachra, of Sléibhte; St. Fortiarnán, SS. Maedhócand Oncho, and St. Brandubh.12

The ‘Life’ of Moling helps us to come to an appreciation of the saint’s profound focus on contemplative prayer, and his Christian values that found concrete expression in his heartfelt concern for the welfare of his people. This Christian concern, which is the central statement of the Gaelic ‘Life’, is exemplified in his unrelenting exertions, even to the point of death, to obtain ‘the remission of the Leinster Bóraimhean tribute’ that was such an unjust and unbearable burden for his people.13

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In the last chapter we are given a brief sketch of our illustrious Leinster saint and prophet:

He was a poet, a prophet, a scholar, a teacher.He was a sage, a psalmist priest,a bishop, a soul-friend, a noble….

Nobly and honourably he went unto the angelic resting-placewith the choiring of the household of heavenand with the prayer of the household of earth,

after fasting, and almsgiving, and prayer,and fulfilment of every good thing,

in the eighty-second year of his age.14

Aonach Rinn Ros BroicMoling and his monks were faced with enormous Christian challenges when they settled at Tigh Moling. One such challenge was Aonach Rinn Ros Broic, which was held four times each year as seasonal celebrations, from the pre-Christian era down to Moling’s time. The location of this Aonach or Assembly of the people under their tribal king was the present day Láthair an Aonaigh, or the ‘Fair Green’ area at Tigh Moling that was then surrounded by trees. At the centre was a Bile or Sacred Tree that was supposed to stand at the centre of the tribal territory where their tribal king had been inaugurated. Adjacent to it was a cromleac or dolmen and a spring-well from which a stream flowed. The dolmen was located possibly where the motte now stands and ‘the reflection of the full moon in the water under it indicated the time of the Aonach’.

This Aonach lasted for about a week. Its aim was to forge bonds of friendship and unity, or aontacht, between an pobal, the people and their God, between each other, and between them and their king.

Food was placed beside the well and people placed woven-material on the limbs of trees. Since these assembled people and their king believed that they were all descended from the one ancestor they could take whatever food and material for clothing they required without ever losing their dignity.

Pre-Christian rituals were celebrated around the Bile or Sacred Tree that pointed to heaven. Goods were bartered, matches were made, marriages were celebrated, bonds of friendship were reforged, and the newborn since the last Aonach were welcomed into the tribal family. The draoithe or learned men recalled their tribal ancestry, their historical exploits, and achievements that were celebrated in music, song and dance. The Aonach usually concluded with a game of hurling. The people then returned to their homes refreshed in body, mind, and spirit.

In practical terms, though, Rinn Ruis Broic above the stream-pools of the Barrow was the location where the River Barrow ceased to be both tidal and navigable. Consequently, it was, from pre-Christian times, the last port of call on that river for boats coming from Britain and the Continent to exchange merchandise with the native people at their tribal Assemblies. The people from the hinterland bartered Irish goods in exchange for continental ones such as wine and other commodities. All things considered, it is not so surprising that Rinn Ruis Broic was deemed to be “a place of robbery and theft and outrage”, an echo, perhaps, of the biblical Feast of Tabernacles and the behaviour of some of those in attendance (Jn 8), or the biblical Cleansing of the Temple (Lk 19:45-46).

St. Moling’s ‘Pattern’ But Moling and his monks, by the power of God alone, succeeded in transforming Rinn

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Ruis Broic into a great national centre of prayer and pilgrimage.15 The pre-Christian Aonach was ‘baptised’ by them in that the Christian people still continue to assemble at Tigh Moling for the yearly Christian Aonach or celebration of the ‘Patron Saint’ which is now called St. Moling’s ‘Pattern’. This ‘Pattern’ is celebrated on the Sunday nearest the Feast of St. James (25th July), the patron saint of pilgrims. Here people’s Faith is renewed and strengthened, bonds of friendship continue to be forged; they mutually support each other and, consequently, they return to their homes refreshed in body and soul.

The medieval landscape of Tigh MolingMoling and his followers must have been immensely inspired in their monastic prayer-life by the beauty of the landscape, and the calming sounds of nature that are magnified at Tigh Moling because of the two wooded promontories on either side of the River Barrow. Pilgrims came there, among them the poet who composed Gáir na Gairbe, to listen for the voice of the Lord and enter into his peace (cf. Psalm 46:10).

The poet tells us at the outset that he was resting, on a cold frosty night, above Durtaigh Faithlenn16 on the right bank of the Barrow, and east of the estuary of the Dubglas or modern Glynn rivulet on the steep, oak-wooded incline close to the monastic site of Tigh Moling:

4 c B I sleep to the sound of great revelryd on a very cold icy night.

6 c C time passes swiftly for med as I rest above Durtaigh Faithlenn.

It must be emphasised that Gáir na Gairbe is merely imagined as being spoken bySuibhne Geilt, the seventh century king who, we are told, became a geilt or lunatic as the result of a vision in the sky during the Battle of Myra fought in AD 637, and thereafter spent much of his time on tree-tops. Similarly, the medieval poet places himself, or, more likely, imagines himself perched on top of a tree, close to Moling’s monastery above Durtaigh Faithlenn, on a very cold, frosty, winter’s night.

The ‘tree-top’ is probably chosen because it provides the best possible commandingview of the monastic settlement and its surroundings so skilfully evoked in the lyric asa backdrop to his exclusive focus on the varied sounds of the night. DurtaighFaithlenn was, either an oratory, a hermitage, or a penitentiary, named after Faithle, a saint associated with Luachra Dedad (Killarney), Co. Kerry hence (Inis Faithleann), and whose Feast Day is celebrated on 4th June. Moling, whose mother, Éamhnaid, was - as previously noted - a Kerry woman, had very close ties with Kerrywhere he was born, reared and educated.

Fid Coille was a local place-name now anglicised as ‘Drummond Wood’. It is on theeastern side of the monastic site, on the border between present-day Counties Carlow and Wexford:

9 c great callings of birdsd from the wood of Fid Coille

Airbre,17 now known as Bahana Wood, is about a mile west of the monastery beside the weir of Ballyogan:

12 a The water of the noisy seab westwards around the approach to Airbre

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Druim Lethet, the modern Coill Bhaile na Bearú (Ballinavarry Wood), is, in part, the steep wooded slope, in Co. Kilkenny, directly opposite Tigh Moling on the far side of theBarrow:

13 a Manifold Druim Lethetb has brown acorns on its oak tree

The poet names three tiny waterfalls at Tigh Moling in this lyric. The waterfall or ess (eas) (2c-d) at An Scar or The Parting Point, on the Barrow at Tigh Moling, that causes the unusual sound or roar that the poet terms Gáir na Gairbe as already noted above, constitutes the first eas or water-fall of this lyric:

2 c ii' r the mighty torrent of the great Garb,d r' and the sea-water thrusting it back.

The point where the Barrow ceases to be tidal and navigable is about a mile further upstream at the weir of Ballyogan or doras Airbre (12b) beside Bahana Wood:

12 a Muir na farraige foghraí b tímpeall siar dorais Airbre. 12 a The water of the noisy sea b going westward around the approach to Airbre

Moling’s holy well is to be identified with An Tiopra whose waters an angel announced would come from the Jordan to Moling’s dwelling (Moling series: poems i.18, and viii).In poem viii of the Moling series, it is said that “the people would often be healed by going from the graveyard to the miraculous branch of the Jordan promised by the angel”.18

The second ess (eas) at Tigh Moling is An Tacarda, the waterfall formed from the streamcascading from the Tiopra, or holy well. At the present day this stream flows under a little stone ‘bridge’ in the pathway adjacent to the Tiopra before it eventually flows more or less parallel with the Dubglas or modern Glynn rivulet, and finally empties itself into the said Dubglas near the area where Moling’s mill and Taídiu or Millrace-waterfall were once located.

In the lyric, An Tacarda is described as ainglide (angelic):

17 c r the angelic Tacarda – d r' what cascade is purer in cry!

In another poem in the Moling series (cf 1.c.i: 3-4; ii: 4), it is stated that “An Tacarda had been sent by the King of the Angels to satisfy Moling’s thirst when he did not wish to drink the water of the Barrow”. The angel, the King of Angels, and the Jordan19 have encrypted biblical implications as is usual in medieval hagiography; “the angel” heralds the coming of Jesus Christ, the King of Angels who was baptized by John the Baptist at the Jordan prior to his Public Life, Passion, Death, and Resurrection.

An Taídiu (z) or Millrace waterfall, was the third Tigh Moling waterfall that was artificially constructed by Moling to work his mill.20

17 a r The strong prophesied Watercourse or Millrace (Taídiu), b r' its high cascade (ess) is tuneful!

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In medieval times the Taídiu waterfall, formed the apex of a triangle of tiny waterfalls at Tigh Moling. This Millrace waterfall and mill, which no longer exist, were situated on the slope of the wooded promontory just below the monastic buildings. The Taídiu rejoined the Dubglas or modern Glynn rivulet, before the latter entered the Barrow at Inbhear Dubglaise, the estuary of the Dubglas or modern Glynn rivulet.

An Tiopra, Moling’s holy well, in its present condition, with its beautifully curved masonry, tiny waterfall, and roofed area may have been constructed by the Augustinian Canons “who obtained an establishment here in AD 1158 and erected an abbey on a hill over the Barrow”21. It may, moreover, be a miniature, symbolic replica of Moling’s triple achievement, his Millrace, his Taídiu or Millrace-waterfall, and his Mill, all of which had, by then, either fallen into disuse or had been destroyed.

The Wading of the WatersOn 25 July, the Feast of St. James, patron of pilgrims, Moling, together with a vast congregation of clerics and laity, celebrated Mass in St. James’s Oratory, adjacent to the monastic Church, in thanksgiving to God for the safe completion of the Watercourse and Taídiu and the erection of the mill after more than eight years’ hard work.

The Mass was then followed by the ceremony known ever since as ‘The Wading of the Waters’, the ‘Life’ tells us, and which continued each year down to the confiscation of the monastic territory after the Reformation in the sixteenth century.

The Wading of the Waters. The Watercourse Pilgrims’ RouteThe pilgrims assembled at the monastic church for Mass on the Sunday nearest to the Feast of St James, then waded the waters of the Watercourse, dug by Moling over a period of eight years, as far as the Sluiceman’s Oratory about a mile distant, and returned to the monastic site by the same route. The said Oratory is the point at which Moling diverted his Watercourse from the Dubglas in order to eventually construct an artificial ess (eas) or waterfall, to work a mill for the use of his monks and their dependencies. The mediaeval Latin ‘Life’ affirms that:

This watercourse is a place of very great pilgrimage today in Ireland, because from Moling’s day, very numerous crowds of both sexes assemble from all parts of Ireland at all times to this watercourse, and walk on its shore as was established by the ancients, and wash themselves in the water, hoping, indeed not now doubting, that the very filth of their sins in the very washing will, by the grace of God, through the intercession of the most blessed father, Moling, be washed away. Many miracles and prodigies are performed there by God.22

The ‘Black Death’ in Ireland (AD 1348)John Clyn, the Franciscan Friar of Kilkenny, writing in Latin, described the pilgrimage and Wading of the Water in his Annals in 1348, the year the ‘Black Death’ broke out in Ireland:

This year and chiefly in the months of September and October, great numbers of Bishops and prelates, ecclesiastical and religious, peers and others, and in general people of both sexes, flocked together by troops to the pilgrimage and Wading of the Water at Tigh Moling, so that many thousands might be seen there together for many days; some came out of devotion, but the greatest part for fear of the pestilence which raged at that time with great violence.

The Black Death first broke out near Dublin at Howth and Dalkey; it almost destroyed and laid waste the cities of Dublin and Drogheda, so that in Dublin alone, from the beginning of August to Christmas, fourteen thousand people perished.23

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After the sixteenth-century confiscation of the monastic lands through which the Taídiu flowed, The Tacarda Pilgrims’ Route was used as a substitute or makeshift for the original Taiden Pilgrims’ Route.24

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Gáir na Gairbe. Date of CompositionThe lyric, Gáir na Gairbe was transcribed by Mícheál Ó Cléirigh OFM, from a nolonger-extant exemplar towards the beginning of the seventeenth century. 25 He pointed out, in a scribal note at the end of the lyric, that it was clearly imagined as being spoken, not by Moling, but by Suibhne Geilt,26 king and poet who, according to Middle Irish tradition, ended his life at Tigh Moling.

While Gerald Murphy dated this lyric to about 115027 James Carney suggested that it Was possibly composed in the previous century because,

Meyer in Anecdota from Irish Manuscripts published from a Brussels manuscriptcertain poems of the eleventh century and known as the ‘Moling Poems,’ since, according to common Irish convention, most of them were written as if spoken by the seventh century Irish saint, Moling;

and again:

In the collection of poems attributed to Moling and dealing partly with Suibhne Geilt, there is a group of three poems written by Mael Ísa” (Ó Brollacháin, +1086). These Meyer omitted, but my suggestion here is that they are virtually an author’s signature to the whole collection. 28

Biblical style of Gáir na GairbeIt is a fundamental critical principle that the content of a literary document cannot beadequately understood and evaluated without understanding its literary genre, structureand context. Since that principle is now as well established for religious and biblical booksas it is for secular literature, it holds for the understanding and evaluation of Gáir naGairbhe. It is, therefore, refreshing to discover that this Gaelic lyric, is an impressively well woven, symmetrical composition in which, as in Sacred Scripture, parallel, chiasticand concentric literary patterns, encoded mathematical and musical techniques, andsymbolism can be traced.29

This method of composition ensured, moreover, that no one could tamper with the textwithout the fraud being exposed. As there are excellent works on all aspects of this medieval way of writing now readily accessible,30 a cursory glance at those parallel patterns and mathematical techniques is considered sufficient in this context.

A parallel patternA parallel pattern, which is the smallest unit of such literary patterns, is a balanced construction of a verse or sentence, in which one part repeats the form or meaning of the other. It is characteristic of the biblical Psalms. A clear example of this antiphonal statement and restatement is in Luke 21:23-24, which is as follows:

A Woe to those who are pregnantA' and to those who are nursing infants in those days!B For there will be great distress on the earthB' and wrath against this people…

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Another example of this antiphonal statement and restatement is Deus Meus, adiuva me, the hymn composed by Máel Ísu Úa Brolchán (+1086) from the Monastery of Armagh, possibly, for the monks of the Monastery of Lismore, Co. Waterford, where he was a frequent visitor and where he eventually died. It contains seven quatrains and has been translated into Modern Irish by Seán Ó Ríordáin.31

1 a i Deus Meus , adiuva me,b ii Tabhair dom do shearc, a Mhic dhil Déc ii' Tabhair dom do shearc, a Mhic dhil Déd i' Deus Meus , adiuva me,

1 a i My God, help me,b ii Give me your love, O dear Son of Godc ii' Give me your love, O dear Son of Godd i' My God, help me

This hymn was sung by the monks in choir as an introduction to the chanting of the Divine Office. The monks on side A of the choir sang the first two lines or antiphon while the monks on side B responded with the second two lines or corresponding antiphon.“A concentric pattern, consists in disposing the elements in the pattern A B C N C' B' A' with thematic and verbal correspondences, the central element being stressed”32 , according to Luis Schokel.

The ‘Life’ of Moling, a concentric compositionGeinemain Molling ocus a Bhetae, the medieval Gaelic ‘Life’ of Moling taken in its totality, may be considered as one grand concentric composition where the author balances various themes artistically and antiphonally around the central building of the oratory in the name of the Triune God and Moling’s encounter with Christ in true concentric biblical style:

1 A Moling’s conception and birth; a sevice of angels (cf Mt 26:53)2 B His mother, Éamhnaid, seeks to kill the infant Moling3 C The prophesied one: the cleric, Moling Luachra (cf Jer 1:4-10)4 D Moling Luachra seeks a site for an abbey-oratory 5 E The oratory: Moling’s Encounter with Christ6 D' The full of the oratory of rye-grain7 C' The prophesy:

the remission of the Leinster Bóraimhean tribute through a cleric8 B' Alusán, at the head of the host of Tara, seeks to kill Moling9 A' Moling’s death; choiring of angels (cf Lk 16:22)33

Thematic and verbal correspondences are italicised. The prologue A: Moling’s birth, a sevice of angels and the epilogue A': and Moling’s death, choiring of angel, correspond antiphonally.

There are similar antiphonal correspondences between B: Éamhnaid, seeks to kill the infant Moling and B' Alúsán seeks to kill Moling; between C: The prophesied one and C': The prophesy; and between D: a site for an abbey-oratory and D': the full of the oratory of rye-grain.

The concentric climax, E: Encounter with Christ has no corresponding antiphon, but is heralded in the prologue A: by a sevice of angels at Moling’s birth, and in the epilogue A': by choiring of angels at Moling’s death.

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In the Gospels, likewise, the accounts of the Birth of Christ (Lk 2:9-14) and his Resurrection (Lk 24:4-7; Jn 20:12-13) are, respectively, heralded by angels.

The ‘turning point’ just below the climax is: D' the full of the oratory of rye-grain. The turning point D' is followed by the ‘central statement’ (C', B') where Moling risks his very life in the service of his people:C' the prophesy: the remission of the Leinster Bóraimhean tribute through a cleric (.i. Moling);B' Alusán, at the head of the host of Tara, seeks to kill Moling, the cleric.

The division of the ‘Life’ into nine parts is, of course, evocative of the nine lections standard in the Offices for saints’ days, and also of the nine choirs of Angels.

A chiastic patternA chiastic pattern: A B C C' B' A', follows the same basic rules but has two central elements. The word chiasmus properly refers to two lines where the themes are reversed in the second, such as Mark 2:27

A BThe sabbath was made for man,

B' A'not man for the sabbath.

If one were to draw a line connecting the A’s and then the B’s the lines would form an X,which is the Greek letter Chi, hence chiasmus.

Part V (E) of Moling’s ‘Life’ is an obvious example of a chiastic pattern.

The oratory built in the name of the Triune God. Moling's encounter with Christ.Chiastic antiphons are italicised

XVIII-XIX E a In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy SpiritXX-XXI b The Evil One in the guise of a studentXXI c An angel in the guise of an old clericXXI-XXII c' The Lord in the guise of a leperXXII b' Íosagán in the guise of a boy of seven yearsXXII a' An ingot of gold from a salmon (Maighre) is divided into three parts34

XVIII- XXII indicates chapter numbers.Moling’s Gaelic ‘Life’ is divided into thirty-four chapters.

The prologue a: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit , the Three Persons of the One God, isrelated antiphonally to the epilogue a': where one ingot is divided into three parts.

There is a contrast between antiphon b The Evil One in the guise of an old cleric andantiphon b' Íosagán in the guise of a boy of seven years.

The angel in the guise of an old cleric in antiphon cheralds the Lord in the guise of a leper in antiphon c'.

The Lord in central c' is related to antiphon a: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in theprologue, and to antiphon a' Maighre (salmon) which is a medieval Gaelic, encryptedconceit for Jesus Christ, Son of God Saviour, 35 in the epilogue.

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Perfect symmetry and Extreme and Mean ratioThe concentric and chiastic patterns exhibit balance not only in the antiphonal statement and restatement of ideas, but in the numbers of lines, words, letters and spaces. These are arranged by perfect symmetry or by extreme and mean ratio (also known as the divine In perfect symmetry there are exactly as many lines, or words or letters in one part of a unit as in the other.In the case of the extreme and mean ratio the number in the minor part (m)relates to the number in the major part (M) as the number in the major partrelates to the number in the whole (m+M): m/M = M/(m+M).To calculate the major part, a number requires to be multiplied by 0.61803,and to calculate the minor part, a number can be multiplied by 0.38197.36

We shall return to these points later. Let us first examine the original Gaelic text of Gáir na Gairbe side by side with an English version of the lyric:

Gáir na Gairbe An bun-leagan. Suibhne Geilt cct.

Scéim chiasmach na duaine agus uimhir na bhfocal agus na siollaí:Na ceangail idir na hainteafain i gcló iodálach

I 1-2A: An oscailt: S F1 a A i r Gáir na Gairbe glaídbinne 73 4

b r' glaídes re tosach tuinne; 72 4c ii s RÁTHA aidble aíbinne 73 3d s' D’IASC oc irshnám ’na bruinne! 72 5/16

2 a Gairit lem mo chomainmne, 73 4b fégad lán línas múru: 72 4c i' r buinne rothrén roGairbe, 73 3d r' (x') uisce ’gá chor ar cúlu.(an chéad eas beag) 72 5/16

II 3-4B:Cluas le h-éisteacht:Cairche cíuil at-chluinimse/’sin Gairb...

3 a B i r Is súairc immar glecaitsium 73 4b r' tuile is aithbe co n-úaire; 72 5c ii r imá-sech do-ecmaitsium 73 2d r' sís is an-ís cech úaire. 72 5/16

4 a iii Cairche cíuil at-chluinimse 73 3b vi ’sin Gairb go nglúaire geimrid; 72 5c v ra muirn móir con-tuilimse 73 4d iv in aidche adúair eigrid. 72 4/16[64]

III 5-9C: An bhuaic: Na céola do-chluinimse/ is airfeitiud dom anmain

5 a C i Éoin chalaid co céolchaire, 73 4b ii céoilbinne a ngotha gnátha; 72 4c impa rom-geib éolchaire, 73 3d iii ’má CEILEBRAD CECH TRÁTHA. 72 4/15

6 a iv Binn lem loin co longaire 73 5b v ocus ÉISTECHT RE HAIFRENN; 72 4c gairit lem mo chomnaide 73 4d ar drumchla Durtaigh Faithlenn 72 4/17

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7 a Is ríu sein con-tuilimse 73 4b ar bennaib is ar barrgail; 72 5c v' na céola do-chluinimse 73 3d vi is airfeitiud dom anmain: 72 4/16

8 a iii' CÉOL NA SALM go salmglaine 73 5b i Rinn Ruis Bruic cen búaine; 72 6c iv' dordán daim duinn damgaire 73 4d do lecain Erce úaire; 72 4/19

9 a Codlad adúar áenaidche; 73 3b ii' éistecht re trethan tuinne; 72 4c i' gotha aidble énlaithe 73 3d de fhidbaid Fheda Cuille; 72 4/14[81]

IV 10-13C' An casadh: Gairde lim im chomnaide/ éistecht re gáir na Gairbe

10 a C' i r Osnad gaíthe geimreta; 73 3b s ii fúaim doininne fa dairbre: 72 4c t géisid lec úar eigreta 73 4d t' iii oc maidm tría gáir na Gairbe. 72 6/17

11 a ivr ivr' Duilig TRÁTHA d’urmaisin 73 3b v i mbentar cluic cen bailbe, 72 5c vi ra sían Inbir Dubglaise 73 4d vi' ocus ra gáir na Gairbe. 72 5/17

12 a v' Muir na fairrge fograige 73 4b timchell síar dorais Airbre- 72 4c gairde lim im chomnaide 73 4d iv' éistecht re gáir na Gairbe. 72 5/17

13 a Druim Lethet co llínmaire 73 4b ii' dercain donna ar a dairbre; 72 5c i' a macalla is mírbuile 73 4d iii' fhrecras lem gáir na Gairbe. 72 5/18[69] 150

V 14-16B' An beo-ráiteas(z): Binne fogar na Gairbe. MAIGRE

14 a B' v' r s Ess Máige, Ess Dubthaige, (x'y') 73 4b r' Ess Rúaid cos’ reithet MAIGRE, (z') 72 5c gidat imda a turthaige, 73 4

(z) d vi' binne fogar na Gairbe. 72 4/17

15 a Benn Boirche, Benn Bógaine 73 4b is Glenn Bolcáin go mbailbe, 72 5

(z) c iv' mór n-aidche, mór nónaide 73 4(z) d iii' tánac fa gáir na Gairbe. 72 5/18

16 a ii' r Tonn Túaige Tonn Rudraige 73 4b r' (nídat imfhoicse a n-airde) 72 4

(z) c i' r gairde lim ná a n-urnaide 73 5(z) d r' éistecht re gáir na Gairbe. 72 5/18

VI 17A' An dúnadh: An Taídiu agus an Tacarda ag Tigh Moling

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17 a A' iii' r (z) Taídiu thenn na tairngire (an 3ú eas beag) 73 4b r' binn a hairdess co n-áine; 72 5c ii' s (y) in Tacarda ainglide- (an 2ú eas beag)73 3d s' ga hess as glaine gáire? 72 5/17

18 X An Ceangal: Paidir agus aidhm an oilithrigh

18 a X i r A Mo Ling na connailbe 73 5b r' gus’ tucus cenn mo báire, 72 5c i' r go nderna mo chomairge 73 4d r' ar ifrenn as garb gáire! 72 5/19[89]

Gáir na Gairbe An bun-leagan. Suibhne Geilt cct.

Codanna na lirice Ciallaíonn:

1. Na bun uimhreacha 1-18 sa chéad colún, uimhir na rann.2. Na litreacha rómhánacha, a-b-c-d, i gcás beag sa dara colún: uimhir na línte.3. Na litreacha rómhánacha, A-B-C-C'-B'-A', i gcás mór sa tríú colún: mórchodanna

ciasmacha na lirice.4. Na huimhreacha rómhánacha, i-ii-iii-iv-v-vi-vii-viii-ix-viii'-vii' vi'-v'-iv'-iii'-ii'-i',

i gcás beag, sa ceathrú colún: na hainteafain i ngach ceann de na fo-chodannaciasmacha ina bhfuil mórchodanna ciasmacha na lirice, A-B-C-C'-B'-A' fo-roinnte.

5. r-s-r' i gcás beag sa cúigiú colún: aonad comhlárnach inmheánach (Rann a 14) .r/r', s/s' agus rstt' gcás beag, sa cúigiú colún: leanúnachas smaointe ó líne go chéile.

6. (x)(y)(z) sa séú colún, na trí heasa beaga ag Tigh Moling.(x'y'z'): sa séú colún, trí heasa móra na hÉireann.

7. Na ceangail idir focail agus téamaí na n-ainteafan i gcló iodálach.8. Ciallaíonn (z) ag rannta 14c/d(z), 15c/d(z), 16c/d(z) beo-ráiteas na lirice9. Ciallaíonn na bun uimhreacha ar thaobh na láimhe deise den téacs sa chéad

colún: uimhir na siollaí (504). Sa dara colún: uimhir na bhfocal (303 nó 150+153).

10. 73 7273 72 : aoi freislighe meadracht na lirice.

Scéim imlíneach chiasmach na lirice: Gáir na Gairbhe Na ceangail idir na hainteafain i gcló iodálach

I 1-2A: An oscailt: Gáir na Gairbe RÁTHA D’IASCII 3-4B: Cluas le h-éisteacht: Cairche cíuil at-chluinimse/’sin Gairb...III 5-9C: An bhuaic: Na céola do-chluinimse/ is airfeitiud dom anmainIV 10-13C' An casadh: Gairde lim im chomnaide/ éistecht re gáir na GairbeV 14-16B' An beo-ráiteas(z): Binne fogar na Gairbe. MAIGREVI 17A' An dúnadh: An Taídiu agus an Tacarda ag Tigh Moling18 X An Ceangal: Paidir an oilithrigh

Scéim chiasmach na lirice: Gáir na Gairbe Na ceangail idir na hainteafain i gcló iodálach

I 1-2A: An oscailt: Gáir na Gairbe RÁTHA D’IASC

1 a/b A i Gáir na Gairbe glaídbinne/ glaídes re tosach tuinnec/d ii RÁTHA D’IASC

2 c/d i' buinne rothrén roGairbe/ uisce ’gá chor ar cúlu (x: an chéad eas beag)

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II 3-4B: Cluas le h-éisteacht: Cairche cíuil at-chluinimse/’sin Gairb3 a/b B i glecaitsium/ tuile is aithbe

c/d ii do-ecmaitsium/ sís is an-ís4 a iii Cairche cíuil at-chluinimse

d iv in aidche c v ra muirn móirb vi ’sin Gairb

III 5-9C: An bhuaic: Na céola do-chluinimse/ is airfeitiud dom anmain

5 a C i Éoin chalaid co céolchaireb ii céoilbinne a ngotha gnáthad iii CEILEBRAD CECH TRÁTHA

6 a iv Binn lem loin co longaireb v éistecht re HAIFRENN

7 d vi is airfeitiud dom anmainc v' na céola do-chluinimse

8 c iv' dordán daim duinn damgairea iii' CÉOL NA SALM

9 b ii' éistecht re trethan tuinnec i' gotha aidble énlaithe

IV 10-13C' An casadh: Gairde lim im chomnaide/ éistecht re gáir na Gairbe

10a-dC' i Osnad gaíthe, fúaim doininne, géisid lec eigreta/ oc maidmb ii fa dairbred iii gáir na Gairbe

11 a iv TRÁTHA d’urmaisinb v cen bailbec vi sían Inbir Dubglaised vi' gáir na Gairbe

12 a v' fograiged iv' éistecht re gáir na Gairbe

13 d iii' gáir na Gairbeb ii' ar a dairbrec i' a macalla

V 14-16B' An beo-ráiteas(z): Binne fogar na Gairbe. MAIGRE

14z d B' vi' binne fogar na Gairbe14a/b v' Ess… Ess… Ess… MAIGRE (x'y'z')15 c iv' mór n-aidche z d iii' gáir na Gairbe16a/b ii' Tonn… Tonn… z c/d i' gairde lim ná a n-urnaide/ éistecht re gáir na Gairbe

II 3-4B: agus V 14-16B' taobh le taobhII 3-4B: Cluas le h-éisteacht: Cairche cíuil at-chluinimse/’sin Gairb

3 a/b B i glecaitsium/ tuile is aithbec/d ii do-ecmaitsium/ sís is an-ís

4 a iii Cairche cíuil at-chluinimse d iv in aidche c v ra muirn móir

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b vi ’sin Gairb

V 14-16B' An beo-ráiteas(z): Binne fogar na Gairbe. MAIGRE

14z d B' vi' binne fogar na Gairbe14a/b v' Ess… Ess… Ess… MAIGRE (x'y'z')15 c iv' mór n-aidche 15z d iii' gáir na Gairbe16a/b ii' Tonn… Tonn…16zc/d i' gairde lim ná a n-urnaide/ éistecht re gáir na Gairbe

VI 17A' An dúnadh: An Taídiu agus an Tacarda ag Tigh Moling

17 a/b A' iii' Taídiu binn a hairdess (z: an triú eas beag) c/d ii' in Tacarda ga hess as glaine gáire? (y: an dara eas beag)

18 X An Ceangal: Paidir an oilithrigh

18 a/b X A Mo Ling na connailbe gus’/ tucus cenn mo báirec/d go nderna mo chomairge/ ar ifrenn as garb gáire

Is iad na heasanna (xyz) agus binn (1a, 17b) na ceangail idir an oscailt agus an dúnadh:

I 1-2A: An oscailt:Gáir na Gairbe RÁTHA D’IASC1 a/b A i Gáir na Gairbe glaídbinne/ glaídes

c/d ii RÁTHA D’IASC2 c/d i' buinne rothrén roGairbe/ uisce ’gá chor ar cúlu (x: an chéad eas beag)

VI 17A' An dúnadh: An Taídiu agus an Tacarda ag Tigh Moling17 a/b A' iii' Taídiu binn a hairdess (z: an triú eas beag)

c/d ii' in Tacarda ga hess as glaine gáire? (y: an dara eas beag)

Gáir na Gairbe - The Cry of the Rough OneSuibhne Geilt cct.

Translation by Gerard Murphy

Chiastic structure of the lyricThematic and verbal correspondences italicised

I 1-2A Prologue: The cry of the tunefully-roaring Garb. SCHOOLS OF FISH

I 1 a A i r The cry of the tunefully- roaring Garbb r' sounding against the sea’s first wave!c ii s great lovely SCHOOLSd s' OF FISH swim about in its bosom.

2 a My patient activity is not wearisome to me,b my looking at the tides which fill the banks:c i'(x)r the mighty torrent of the great Garb,d r' and the sea-water thrusting it back. (x: 1st tiny waterfall)

II 3-4B A listening ear: I hear melodious music/ in the Garb…

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II 3 a B i r It is pleasant to see how they wrestle,b r' flood-tide and cold ebb;c ii r they occur in due succession,d r' perpetually up and down.

4 a iii I hear the melodious musicb vi in the Garb at the time of its winter splendour;c v I sleep to the sound of great revelryd iv on a very cold icy night.

III 5-9C: The climax: The tunes which I hear/ are music to my soul

III 5 a C i Musical birds of the shore,b ii music sweet their constant crying!c Lonely longing has seized me (to hear their chanting)d iii as THEY SING THE HOURS.

6 a iv I love to hear the blackbirds warbling,b v and TO LISTEN TO MASS;c time passes swiftly for med as I rest above Durthaig Faithlenn.

7 a I sleep to those melodiesb on mountain tops and tree tops;c v' the tunes which I heard vi are music to my soul.

8 a iii' Chanting of the PSALM-PURE PSALMSb at the Point of Ros Broic, destined not long be so called;c iv' roar of the brown belling stagd from the cheek of cold Erc;

9 a Very cold sleep through a whole night;b ii' listening to the billowy sea;c i' great callings of birdsd from the wood of Fid Coille;

IV 10-13C':Turning point: Time passes more swiftly for me/listening to the cry of the Garb

IV 10 a C' i r Sigh of wintry wind;b s/ii sound of storm beneath an oak tree;c t cold sheeted ice roars,d iii t' breaking up at the cry of the Garb.

11 a ivr ivr' It is difficult to attend to CANONICAL HOURSb v at which loud bells are rung,c vi because of the noise of Inbhear Dubglaised vi' and the cry of the Garb.

12 a v' The water of the noisy seab westwards around the approach to Airbre c time passes more swiftly for me, as I restd iv' listening to the cry of the Garb.

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13 a Manifold Droim Lethetb ii' has brown acorns on its oak tree;c i' its echo is a marveld iii' joining me in answering the cry of the Garb.

V 14-16B'Central statement: The voice of the Garbh is more musical SALMON

V 14 a B' v' r s Eas Máige, Eas Dubthaige, (x'y')b r' Ess Rua to which SALMON run (z')c thoufh many things be told of them

(z) d vi' the voice of the Garb is more musical.

15 a Beann Boirche, Beann Bógaineb and silent Gleann Bolcáin,

(z) c iv' many nights, many evenings(z) d iii' (have I come from them) in answer to the cry of the Garbh.

16 a ii' r Tonn Tuaige Tonn Rudraigeb r' (their positions are not close)

(z) c i' r more swiftly for me - than when I linger beside them- time passes(z) d r' when I listen to the cry of the Garbh.

VI 17A' Epilogue: The Taiden and the Tacharda

17 a A' iii r (z) The strong prophesied Watercourse (Taiden/Taidiú),b r' its high cascade is tuneful! (3rd tiny waterfall)c ii r (y) the angelic Tacharda -d r' what cascade is purer in cry? (2nd tiny waterfall)

18X L’envoi: The pilgrim’s prayer and the purpose of his pilgrimage18 a X Beloved Mo Ling,

b to whom I have come to play the end of my game, c may you protect me

d against hell whose cry is rough!

This translation of Gáir na Gairbe is from Gerard Murphy, Early Irish Lyrics, pp. 112-17; 225-27

Gáir na Gairbe: The Cry of the Rough One The divisions of the lyric

1. The Arabic numerals 1-18 in the first column indicate the number of each quatrain.2. The Roman letters a-b-c-d in the second column indicate the lines in each quatrain.3. The Roman letters A-B-C-C'-B'-A' in higher case in the third column indicate the six

major chiastic antiphonal divisions of the lyric.4. The Roman numerals i-ii-iii-iv-v-vi-vii-viii-ix-ix'-viii'-vii'-vi'-v'-iv'-iii'-ii'-i' in the fourth

column indicate the smaller chiastic antiphons into which each of the six major chiastic antiphons, A-B-C-C'-B'-A', are divided.

5. The Roman letters r-s-r' in the fifth column, indicate an internal concentric unit;rr ss and rstt'(quatrain 10) indicate continuity of an idea from one line to another.

6. (x)(y)(z) in the sixth column indicate the three tiny waterfalls at Tigh Moling. (x'y'z'): indicate the three great waterfalls at a vast distance from Tigh Moling.7. Italicised words and phrases in the text indicate chiastic pairs of antiphons.8. (z) indicates the central statement of the lyric:14c/d(z), 15c/d(z) and 16c/d(z).

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9. The Arabic numerals in the first column to the right indicate the number of syllables in the original Gaelic (504).Those in the second right column indicate the number of words in the original Gaelic text (303 nó 150+153).

10.The metre of the lyric is indicated as: 73 7273 72: aoi freislighe .i. “syllabic metre with alternate lines ending in trisyllable and disyllable”.37

Gáir na Gairbhe: The Cry of theRough OneThematic and verbal correspondences are italicised

The theme of the lyric Gáir na Gairbhe is the sound of tides at Tigh Moling that recur twice daily. The external context of the lyric is the pilgrim-poet at rest above Dairtheach Faithleann at Tigh Moling, possibly, on a tree-top, on a frosty winter’s night, listening to the Cry of the Gairbh:

4 a I hear the melodious musicb in the Garbh at the time of its winter splendour;c I sleep to the sound of great revelryd on a very cold icy night

1 c time passes swiftly for med as I rest above Durtaigh Faithlenn

7 c the tunes which I hear d are music to my soul.

The inner context of the lyric is the contemplative-pilgrim-poet’s exclusive focus on the sounds of the night to find inner-calm:

“Be still and know that I am God” (Ps 46:10); “Tóg bog é, fág fúm é”, adeir an Tiarna!

“At the depth of our being the Father continually loves the Son while the Son responds to the Father in love and prayer through the Holy Spirit”.

Biblical style of Gáir na Gairbe:The lyric Gáir na Gairbe is structured in the form of an inclusion. An inclusion is a theme or element that recurs twice and everything in between is to be understood in the light of that theme or element.

A Semitic example of an inclusion:The mother of Jesus was there

(at the wedding of Cana, at the beginning of her Son’s public life): Jn 2:1

Standing near the cross of Jesus was his mother (at the close of her Son’s public life): Jn 19:25

The Cry of the Garb: an inclusion:Prologue:I 1 a A : The Cry of the Garb 1 c/d i s/s' great lovely schools/of fish swim about in its bosom

2 c i' r The mighty torrent of the great Garb 2 d r' (x') and the sea-water thrusting it back (1st tiny cascade at the

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‘Scar’)

Epilogue:VI 17 a/bA' ii' (z) the Watercourse/ (Taídiu) (3rd tiny cascade)

17 c/d ii (y) the Tacarda/ what cascade is purer in cry? (2ndtiny cascade)

1-2A and 17A' are linked by the three tiny cascades (xyz), and by the cry of the cascades.

There are verbal and thematic correspondences between prologue, epilogue, l’envoi,and central statement:1 a A Prologue: The cry of the Gairb 3-4 B I hear the melodious music/ in the Garb…14 c B' though many things be told of them14 d B' Central statement (z): The voice of the Garb is more musical17 d A' Epilogue: cry18 d X L’envoi: cry

Between schools/of fish, and SALMON (MAIGRE)1 c/d A Prologue: great lovely SCHOOLS/OF FISH swim about in its bosom

14 b B' Around the Climax of the Central Statement: Eas Rua to which SALMON run

Between cascades or waterfalls:At the Prologue:2 c A (x) The mighty torrent of the great Garbh d (x') and the sea-water thrusting it back (1st tiny waterfall)

At the central statement14 a B' (X'Y') Ess Máige, Eas Dubthaige,

b (Z') Ess Rúaid to which SALMON run .i. (X'Y'Z' great waterfalls)

At the epilogue:17 a/b A' (z) the Watercourse/ (Taídiu) (3rd tiny waterfall)17 c/d A' (y) the Tacarda/ what cascade is purer in cry? (2nd tiny waterfall)

18X L’envoi: The pilgrim’s prayer or the purpose of the poet’s pilgrimage18 a X Beloved Mo Ling,

b to whom I have come to play the end of my game, c may you protect me

d against hell whose cry is rough!0---------------- 000----------------0

The six divisions of the lyricThe lyric is divided into six parts. The Prologue and Epilogue: Parts I(1-2A) and VI(17A') together with Parts II(3-4B) and V(14-16B') plus L’envoi, the quatrain (18X), together amount to thirty-six lines.Twenty-two is the extreme ratio of the thirty-six lines which is calculated by multiplying 36 by 0.61803 (36 x 0.61803 or 22.24908 or 22); thus:

14b B' Eas Rúaid cois rithid MAIGRE, Eas Rúaid to which SALMON (MAIGRE) run

is the twenty-second line of this chiastic pattern. The focus is thereby placed firmly on MAIGRE, The medieval Gaelic conceit for ‘Jesus Christ Son of God Saviour’.

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Gáir na Gairbhe: the climax Part III(5-9C) is concentric in structure while the turning point Part IV(10-13C') is chiastic in structure.They are linked to each other by the chanting of the canonical hours with which the sounds of nature are in harmony, all of which comes to a climax in the singing of the Mass:

III 6 a C I love to hear the blackbirds warbling,b and to listen to MASS;

7 c the tunes which I heard are music to my soul.

8 a Chanting of the PSALM-PURE PSALMS b at the Point of Ruis Bruic, destined not long be so called

IV 11 a C' It is difficult to attend to CANONICAL HOURSb at which loud bells are rung,c because of the noise of Inbhear Dubglaised and the cry of the Garb.

The chanting of the canonical hours (5-9C) and (10-13C'), that culminated in the singing of the Mass in (6C) are also linked to 14bB': Ess Rúaid to which MAIGRE, SALMON run, and around the Prologue: RÁTHA D’IASC (1c/d) and around the Central statement (z)(14d(z) B'):

14 a B' (x'y') Ess Máige, Eas Dubthaige, b (z') Ess Rúaid to which SALMON run c though many things be told of them

14zd the voice of the Garb is more musical.

because MAIGRE, (SALMON), the medieval Gaelic conceit forJesus Christ Son of God Saviour, is the victim of the Sacrifice of the Masswhich is “the Sacrament of the Sacrifice of Calvary”. The RÁTHA D’IASC (1c/d) in the Prologue are God’s people swimming up to the MAIGRE,Jesus Christ Son of God Saviour….

The central statement of the lyric (z) is the supreme attraction of the cry of the Garb for the pilgrim-poet. There is a triad of turning points in (14-16B') of this lyric followed, in each case, by three variations of the central statement:

14(z) dB' the voice of the Garb is more musical.

Beginning with the lines 16a/b B', he recalls two famous Waves and then concludes that:

16 (z) cB' more swiftly for me – than when I linger beside them – time passes,(z) d when I listen to the cry of the Garb.

In lines (15a/b B') he recalls two famous mountain peaks and a silent glenand then affirms the greater attraction of the cry of the Garb:

15 (z) c B' many nights, many evenings(z) d have I come from them in answer to the cry of the Garb.

Finally, in lines 14a/b, he recalls the three renowned waterfalls of Ireland: 14 a B' (x'y') Ess Máige, Eas Dubthaige,

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b (z') Ess Rúaid to which SALMON run14 c B' Though many things be told of them

and concludes that: 14(z) d the voice of the Garb is more musical.

Chiastic structure of Gáir na Gairbe – an outlineThematic and verbal correspondences are italicised

I 1-2A: Prologue: The cry of the tunefully-roaring GarbSounding against the sea’s first wave

Great SCHOOLS OF FISH (The Mystical Body of Christ)

II 3-4B: A listening ear:I hear the melodious music/ in the Garbhat the time of its winter splendour

III 5-9C: Climax:Music of the birds, CHANTING OF THE HOURS,LISTENING TO MASS (“The Sacrament of the Sacrifice of Calvary”)The tunes which I hear/ are music to my soul

IV 10-13C':Turning point:The noise of Inbir Dubglaise, the Cry of the Garb,CHANTING OF THE HOURSTime passes more swiftly for me as I rest listening to the cry of the Garb

V 14-16(z)B':Central statement (z): 14c B' Though many things be told of them (Three great waterfalls x'y'z')14(z)dB' The voice of the Garb is more musical (1st tiny waterfall) 14 b B' MAIGRE, SALMON, ICHTHYS (Jesus Christ Son of God Saviour)

VI 17 A': Epilogue:17a/b A' (z) the Watercourse/ (Taídiu) (3rd tiny waterfall)17c/d A' (y) the Tacarda/ what cascade is purer in cry? (2nd tiny waterfall)

18 X: l’envoi:18 X The pilgrims’ prayer or the purpose of the poet’s pilgrimage

18 a X Beloved Mo Ling,b to whom I have come to play the end of my game, c may you protect me

d against hell whose cry is rough!Gáir na Gairbhe: The Cry of theRough OneThematic and verbal correspondences are italicised

CHIASTIC STRUCTURE OF GÁIR NA GAIRBE IN DETAILThematic and verbal correspondences italicised

I 1-2A Prologue: The cry of the tunefully-roaring Garb. SCHOOLS OF FISH

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I 1 a A i r The cry of the tunefully- roaring Garbb r' sounding against the sea’s first wave!c ii s great lovely SCHOOLSd s' OF FISH swim about in its bosom.

2 a My patient activity is not wearisome to me,b my looking at the tides which fill the banks:c i' r the mighty torrent of the great Garb,d r' (x) and the sea-water thrusting it back. (1st tiny waterfall)

VI 17A' Epilogue: The Taídiu and the Tacarda

17 a A' iii r (z) The strong prophesied Watercourse (Taídiu)b r' its high cascade is tuneful! (3rd tiny waterfall)c ii r (y) the angelic Tacarda -d r' what cascade is purer in cry? (2nd tiny waterfall)

18 X L’envoi: The pilgrim’s prayeror the purpose of the poet’s pilgrimage

18 a X i r Beloved Mo Ling,b r' to whom I have come to play the end of my game, c i r may you protect me

d r' against hell whose cry is rough!

Biblical style of Gáir na Gairbe:The lyric Gáir na Gairbe is structured in the form of an inclusion. An inclusion is a theme or element that recurs twice and everything in between is to be understood in the light of that theme or element.

A Semitic example of an inclusion:The mother of Jesus was there

(at the wedding of Cana, at the beginning of her Son’s public life): Jn 2:1Standing near the cross of Jesus was his mother

(at the close of her Son’s public life): Jn 19:25

The Cry of the Garb: an inclusion:Prologue:I 1 a A : The Cry of the tunefully roaring Garb

b sounding against the sea’s first wave!1 c/d i s/s' great lovely schools/of fish swim about in its bosom

2 c i' r The mighty torrent of the great Garb2 d r' (x) and the sea-water thrusting it back (1st tiny cascade at the ‘Scar’)

Epilogue:VI 17 a/bA' ii' (z) the Watercourse/ (Taídiu) (3rd tiny cascade)

17 c/d ii (y) the Tacarda/ what cascade is purer in cry? (2ndtiny cascade)

L’envoi: The pilgrim’s prayeror the purpose of the poet’s pilgrimage18 a X i r Beloved Mo Ling,

b r' to whom I have come to play the end of my game, c i r may you protect me

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d r' against hell whose cry is rough!

1-2A and 17A' are linked by the three cascades (xyz) and by The Cry.

Verbal and thematic correspondencesThere are verbal and thematic correspondences between prologue, epilogue, l’envoi,and central statement (z):

1 a A Prologue: The cry of the Gairb 3-4 B Listening: I hear the melodious music/ in the Garb…

14 c B' Central statement: though many things be told of them14zd Listening: The voice of the Garb is more musical

17 d A' Epilogue: cry18 d X L’envoi: cry

Between schools/of fish, and SALMON (MAIGRE)1 c/d A Prologue: great lovely SCHOOLS/OF FISH swim about in its bosom

14(z) b B' Around the Climax of the Central Statement: Eas Rua to which SALMON run

Between cascades or waterfalls:At the Prologue:2 c A (x) The mighty torrent of the great Garbh d (x') and the sea-water thrusting it back (1st tiny waterfall)

At the central statement:14 a B' (x'y') Ess Máige, Eas Dubthaige,

b (z') Ess Rúaid to which SALMON run .i. (x'y'z' great waterfalls)

At the epilogue:17 a/b A' (z) the Watercourse/ (Taídiu) (3rd tiny waterfall)17 c/d A' (y) the Tacarda/ what cascade is purer in cry? (2nd tiny waterfall)

The climax: Part III (5-9C) is concentric in structure, whilethe turning point Part IV(10-13C') is chiastic in structure.

They are linked to each other by the chanting of the canonical hours with which the sounds of nature are in harmony, all of which comes to a climax in the singing of the Mass:

III 6 a C I love to hear the blackbirds warbling,b and to listen to MASS;

7 c the tunes which I heard are music to my soul.

8 a Chanting of the PSALM-PURE PSALMS b at the Point of Ruis Bruic, destined not long be so called

IV 11 a C' It is difficult to attend to CANONICAL HOURSb at which loud bells are rung,c because of the noise of Inbhear Dubglaised and the cry of the Garb.

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The lyric is divided into six parts. There are eighteen quatrains and, therefore, seventy-two lines in the entire lyric.

The Prologue: I(1-2A) and Epilogue: VI(17A') together with II(3-4B) and its chiastic pair, V(14-16B') plus L’envoi (18X) together amount to thirty-six lines.

Twenty-two is the extreme ratio of those thirty-six lines which is calculated by multiplying 36 by 0.61803 (36 x 0.61803 or 22.24908 or 22); thus:

14b B' Eas Rúaid cois rithid MAIGRE, Eas Rúaid to which SALMON (MAIGRE) run

is the twenty-second line of this chiastic pattern.

The chanting of the canonical hours (5-9C) and (10-13C'), that culminated in the singing of the Mass in (6C) are also linked to 14bB': Ess Rúaid to which MAIGRE, SALMON run.The focus is thereby placed firmly on MAIGRE, The medieval Gaelic conceit for ‘Jesus Christ Son of God Saviour’ who is the victim of the Sacrifice of the Mass which is “the Sacrament of the Sacrifice of Calvary”.

The RÁTHA D’IASC (1c/d) in the Prologue are God’s people, the membersof Christ’s Mystical Body, swimming up to the MAIGRE, Jesus Christ Son of God Saviour.

The central statement of the lyric [14(z) d B'] is the supreme attraction of the cry of the Garb for the pilgrim-poet. There is a triad of turning points in (14-16B') of this lyric followed, in each case, by three variations of the central statement which come to a final climax in:

14(z) d B' the voice of the Garb is more musical.

Beginning with the lines 16a/b B', he recalls two famous Waves and then concludes that:

16 (z) cB' more swiftly for me – than when I linger beside them – time passes,16 (z) d when I listen to the cry of the Garb.

In lines (15a/b B') he recalls two famous mountain peaks and a silent glenand then affirms the greater attraction of the cry of the Garb:

15 (z) c B' many nights, many evenings(z) d have I come from them in answer to the cry of the Garb.

Finally, in lines 14a/b, he recalls the three renowned waterfalls of Ireland:

14 a B' (x'y') Ess Máige, Eas Dubthaige,b (z') Ess Rúaid to which SALMON run

14 c B' Though many things be told of them

and concludes that: 14(z) d the voice of the Garb is more musical.

A hundred and fifty-three wordsWe have already noted that there are a hundred and fifty-three words in the originalGaelic version of the chiastic pattern made up of Parts I(1-2A), II(3-4B), V(14-16A') and

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VI (17A') where Ichthys (fish) and the medieval Gaelic conceit, Maighre (salmon) are encrypted.

A hundred and fifty wordLikewise, the concentric pattern, Part III (5-9C) and its chiastic pair, Part IV (10-13C'), which, together, deal with the sounds of the night and all creation joining with the monks in singing God’s praises, and which culminate in the singing of the Mass, contain, not surprisingly, one hundred and fifty word in the original Gaelic version, which, of course, evoke the one hundred and fifty psalms contained in the five books of the Psalter.

I 1-2A: Prologue:1a/b Ai The cry of the tunefully- roaring Garb/ sounding against the sea’s first wave

c/d ii SCHOOLS OF FISH 2 c/d ' i' the mighty torrent of the great Garb and the sea-water thrusting it back (x: 1st tiny waterfall)

VI 17A': Epilogue: 17 a/b A' i The Taídiu/ (Watercourse) its high cascade is tuneful! (z: 3rdtiny waterfall)

c/d i' the Tacarda/ what cascade is purer in cry? (y: 2nd tiny waterfall)

The three tiny waterfalls (xyz) form a connection between Prologue and Epilogue:

2 c/d' A i' the mighty torrent of the great Garb and the sea-water thrusting it back (x: 1st tiny waterfall)17 a/b A' i the Taídiu (Watercourse) its high cascade is tuneful! (z: 3rdtiny waterfall)

c/d i' the Tacarda/ what cascade is purer in cry? (y: 2nd tiny waterfall)

The cry forms a connection between Prologue, Epilogue and L’envoi 18X 1a A The cry of the Garb17d A' what cascade is purer in cry?18d X against hell whose cry is rough!

II 3-4B: A listening ear: I hear melodious music/ in the Garb…

3-4a/b B i how they wrestle/ flood-tide and ebb (.i. in the Garb)c/d ii they occur in due succession/ up and down

4 a iii hear the melodious musicd iv on a nightc v the sound of great revelryb vi in the Garb

V 14-16B': The central statement: the voice of the Garb is more musical SALMON

14(z)d B' vi' the voice of the Garb is more musical14 a/b v' Ess…Ess… Ess… SALMON (x'y'z')15 (z) c iv' many nights

(z) d iii' the cry of the Garb16 a ii' Tonn… Tonn …

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(z) c/d i' more swiftly for me…time passes/-the cry of the Garb

Prologue, Epilogue, and L’envoi are also related to the Central Statement. Thus: the prologue: 1a/b The cry of the tunefully roaring Garband the epilogue: 17d What cascade is purer in cry? and l’envoi 18d whose cry,are related to the central statement: though many things be told of them

(.i. Ess Máige, Ess Dubthaige, Ess Rúaid)vi' 14dB' the voice of the Garbh is more musical.FISH, SALMON: great schools of fish swim about in its bosom in the prologue (1c/dA) are connected to Ess Rúaid to which salmon, (MAIGRE) run (14bB'), close to the climax of the Central Statement (14c/dB'). great schools of fish, (1cA) signify the encoded members of the Mystical Body of Christ, who are mystically swimming up the river towards the MAIGRE, Jesus Christ, Son of God Saviour (14bA')

There are, significantly, a hundred and fifty three words in the original Gaelic version of this chiastic pattern made up of Parts I (1-2A), II (3-4B), V (14-16B') and VI (17A') where ICHTHYS (fish) and the medieval Gaelic conceit, MAIGRE (salmon) are encrypted.

In John’s Gospel, a hundred and fifty three is the number of fish caught by Peter when he and his comrades in navicula Petri, Peter’s little boat, cast their net on the right side of the boat (Jn 21:6). Navicula Petri, Peter’s little boat, is a symbol of the universal Christian Church. Cf. (Jn 21:4-11)

Ess Máige is a waterfall on the River Maigue between Adare and Croom, Co Limerick.Ess Rúaid is synonymous with the famous Falls of Assaroe, on the River Erne, at Ballyshannon, Co Donegal. In regard to the problem about the location of Ess Dubthaige, it might be contended that Ess Dubthaige, a waterfall which no longer exists, was made by the Irish monks of Beg Teach (Bective) monastery, on the west bank of the River Boyne east of Dún Samhnaigi38 (Dunsany) Co. Meath. Those monks, it is conjectured, constructed it to operate a mill for themselves and their dependencies long before the Cistercians settled there in the twelfth century. As there was no waterfall nearby they were obliged to dig a Taídiu or millrace by diverting part of the River Boyne to form an artificial ess or waterfall, just as Moling had done in the seventh century, under the similar circumstances, at Tigh Moling.

Ess Rúaid cos rithid MAIGRE, Ess Rúaid to which SALMON run (14bB'), forms the apex of the much larger triangle of distant waterfalls and is imaginatively placed by the poet-mystic above the Taídiu, the apex of the three tiny Tigh Moling waterfalls, because MAIGRE (SALMON) is a medieval Gaelic, encrypted conceit for Jesus Christ, Son of God Saviour, as already noted above. The Cross of Christ is thus placed, significantly, high over the monastic church where the monks chant the canonical hours:

8 a C Chanting of the psalm-pure psalmsor 11 a C' the canonical hours

all of which culminate in the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of Mass:

6 b C and to listen to Mass

in harmony with the background music of the Lord’s creation that joins them in praising their Creator:

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4 a B i melodious music in the Garb5 a C ii musical birds of the shore9 b B iii listening to the billowy sea10 a C' iv sigh of wintry wind8 c C v roar of the brown belling stag7 c/d B vi' the tunes which I hear/ are music to my soul 1Oc C' v' roar of cold sheeted icebreaking up10 b C' iv' sound of storm beneath an oak tree11 c C' iii' the noise of Inbir Dubglaise6 a C ii' warbling of the blackbirds1Od C' i' the cry of the Garb

Gáir na Gairbe Parts III (5-9C) and IV (10-13C') that together form the climax and turning point of the lyric, respectively, are each chiastic in structure.

Gáir na Gairbe Part III (5-9C) Music of the birds, Chanting of the Hours, Listening to Mass: music to my soul

Chiastic, antiphonal correspondences italicised:

5 a Ci Musical birds of the shore,b ii music sweet their constant crying!c iii r Lonely longing has seized me to hear their chantingd r' as they sing the hours.

6 a iv I love to hear the blackbirds warbling,b v and to listen to Mass;c time passes swiftly for med as I rest above Dairtheach Faithleann.

7 a I sleep to those melodiesb on mountain-tops and treetops;c vi the tunes which I heard vi' are music to my soul.

8 a iii' Chanting of the psalm-pure psalmsb at the Point of Ros Broic, destined not long be so called;c iv' roar of the brown belling stagd from the cheek of cold Erc.

9 a Very cold sleep through a whole night;b v', ii' listening to the billowy sea;c i' great callings of birdsd from the wood of Fid Coille;

Chiastic pattern of Gáir na Gairbhe Part III (5-9C)Music of the birds, Chanting of the Hours, Listening to the Mass, are Music to my soul

Chiastic antiphonal correspondences italicised

5 a C i Musical birds b ii Music sweet their crying!c iii r to hear their chantingd r' As they sing the hours

6 a iv I love to hear the blackbirds’ warbling

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b v And to listen to Mass7 c vi The tunes which I hear

d vi' Are music to my soul9 b v' Listening to8 c iv' Roar of the brown belling stag

a iii' Chanting of the psalm-pure psalms9 b ii' the billowy sea;

c i' Great callings of birds

The chiastic correspondences of Part III (5-9C) are italicised, therefore i and i', ii and ii', iii and iii', iv and iv', v and v', vi and vi' are linked one with the other either by contrast or correspondence. ii Music sweet, is to be contrasted with ii' the billowy sea. iv, warbling is to be contrasted with iv' Roar of. The prologue: C i Musical birds and the epilogue: C i' Great callings of birds are linked antiphonally to each other as well as to the central climax: C vi and C vi' The tunes which I hear/ Are music to my soul.

The singing of birds, the roar of the stag, and the sounds of the night form a musical backdrop to the chanting of the canonical hours culminating in the singing of the Mass. These are all tunes that are music to the pilgrim-poet’s heart and soul.

It is surely significant, therefore, that line 28, that is: 7dC Are music to my soul, is the golden section or mean ratio of the 72 lines (18x4) of this sacred lyric. (72x0.38197 or 27.5 or 28). Line 12, 7dC Are music to my soul, is also the extreme ratio of the 20 lines that comprise 5-9C or this section of the lyric: (20x 0.61803 or 12.206 or 12).

Line 6bC the Mass is linked with Maighre, Jesus Christ Son of God, Saviour who died for us on Calvary (14a/bB') and with great schools of fish (1c/dA) namely the encoded members of the Mystical Body of Christ for whom Christ died.

Chiastic pattern of Gáir na Gairbhe Part IV (10-13C') Noise of Inbhear Dúglaise, Cry of the Garbh, Chanting of the Hours

Chiastic antiphonal correspondences italicised:

10 a C' i r Sigh of wintry wind;b s/ii sound of storm beneath an oak tree:c t cold sheeted ice roars,d iii breaking up at the cry of the Garbh.

11 a iv It is difficult to attend to canonical hoursb v at which loud bells are rung,c vi because of the noise of Inbhear Dúglaised vi' and the cry of the Garbh.

12 a v' The water of the noisy seab westwards around the approach to Airbre c time passes more swiftly for me, as I restd iv' listening to the cry of the Garbh.

13 a Manifold Droim Leitheadb ii' has brown acorns on its oak tree;c i' its echo is a marveld iii' joining me in answering the cry of the Garbh.

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Chiastic pattern of Gáir na Gairbhe Part IV (10-13C')Noise of Inbher Dúglaise, Cry of the Garbh, Chanting of the Hours

Chiastic, antiphonal correspondences italicised:

10 a C' i r Sigh of windb s Sound of storm c t Cold sheeted ice roarsb ii an oak tree:d iii At the cry of the Garbh

11 a iv To attend to canonical hoursb v Loud bells are rungc vi The noise of Inbhear Dúglaised vi' The cry of the Garbh

12 a v' The noisy sead iv' Listening to the cry of the Garbh

13 d iii' the cry of the Garbhb ii' oak treec i' its echo

Part IV (10-13C') forms a chiasmus. Its chiastic pairs or correspondences are italicised. Thus: the prologue, i rsr': sigh, sound, roars, and the epilogue, i': echo are linked as are: ii: an oak tree and ii': oak tree; iii: the cry of the Garbh and iii': the cry of the Garbh; iv: To attend to, and iv': Listening to. v: Loud, and v': noisy; vi: The noise of Inbhear Dúglaise, and vi': The cry of the Garbh.

The prologue: i rsr', sigh, sound, roars, and the epilogue: i': echo are linked to the central climax: vi: The noise of Inbhear Dúglaise, vi': The cry of the Garbh. This central climax of Part IV (10-13C') is also linked to the climax of Parts I (1-2A) and V (14-16B') which is also part of the triadic central statement of the lyric:

14 c A' vi though many things be told of them .i. ( x 'y'z', the three great waterfalls)d vi' the voice of the Garbh is more musical

A hundred and fifty-three wordsWe have already noted that there are a hundred and fifty-three words in the originalGaelic version of the chiastic pattern made up of Parts I(1-2A), II(3-4B), V(14-16A') andVI (17A') where Ichthys (fish) and the medieval Gaelic conceit, Maighre (salmon) are encrypted.

A hundred and fifty wordLikewise, the chiastic pattern, Part III (5-9C) and its chiastic pair, Part IV (10-13C'), which, together, deal with the sounds of the night and all creation joining with the monks in singing God’s praises, and which culminate in the singing of the Mass, contain, not surprisingly, one hundred and fifty word in the original Gaelic version, which, of course, evoke the one hundred and fifty psalms contained in the five books of the Psalter.

Sixty-eight linesThere are sixty-eight lines in the seventeen quatrains of this lyric without counting l’envoi. Virgo (virgin) has a numerical value of 68 in the Latin alphabet, therefore, it is encrypted or hidden in those sixty-eight lines. Virgo is evocative of the monks and nuns as consecrated Virgins of Christ living in community who chant the psalms in choir, as well as being an encrypted reminder of their specific role as witnesses in the life of the Church, the Bride of Christ.

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There are twelve letters in the medieval Gaelic spelling of the title of this lyric, Gáir na Gairbe. Gáir na Gairbe has a numerical value of eighty four in its Middle Gaelic form in the Gaelic alphabet: (7+1+9+15) +(12+1) +(7+1+9+15+2+5). Eighty-four is the solid or three-dimensional number of seven.39 Therefore, “from the triune principle of God and the quadruple principle of man are produced the universal symbols, 7 (3+4) and 12 (3x4)”, St. Augustine (+AD 430), one of the great authorities on biblical style, affirmed, in the fifth century.40

The poet’s responses to the sounds of the night form a concentric pattern:

2 a A My patient activity is not wearisome to me3 a B It is pleasant to see how they wrestle (.i. sea and river waters at the ‘Scar’)4 c C I sleep to the sound of great revelry5 c D Lonely longing has seized me to hear their chanting6 a/b E I love to hear blackbirds warbling/ and to listen to Mass7 c/d D' The tunes which I hear are music to my soul7 a C' I sleep to those melodies11 a B' r It is difficult to attend to canonical hours (.i.because of the Cry of the Gairbh)12 c B' s time passes more swiftly for me listening to the Cry of the Garbh13c/d B' r' Its (.i.Druim Leithead’s) echo joins me in answering the Cry of the Gairbh16 c A' Time passes more swiftly for me

AA', BB', CC', DD', EE' are paired and their chiastic correspondences are italicised.The prologue, A is linked to the epilogue A'. Prologue, A, is not wearisome to me, and epilogue, A', Time passes more swiftly for me are linked to the concentric climax,E I love to hear blackbirds warbling/ and to listen to Mass. To listen, and to hear at the climax are synonymous with his patient activity at the prologue; consequently, inthe epilogue he avows that Time passes more swiftly for me.

Local place names mentioned in lyric also form a chiastic pattern:

2 c/dA (x) Garbh /The sea-water thrusting it back. (1st tiny waterfall)6 d B Durtaigh Faithlenn, St. Faithlea’s Oratory on the right bank of the

Barrow, opposite Ballinavarry Wood on the left bank8 b C Ros Broic ancient name for Tigh Moling8 d D Erc probably Brandon Hill between CC Carlow & Kilkenny11c E Inbhear Dúglaise estuary of Glynn rivulet11 d E' Garbh The meeting of the sea with the Barrow (x: 1st waterfall)9 d D' Fíd Coille Drummond Wood between CC Carlow & Wexford12 b C' Doras Airbre Bahana Wood13 a B' Druim Leithead, Ballinavarry Wood Co. Kilkenny

on the left bank of the Barrow opposite Tigh Moling17 a/b A' (y) An Taíden/ Taídiu) (3rd tiny waterfall)

c/d (z) An Tacarda (2nd tiny waterfall)

AA', BB', CC', DD', EE' are paired and their chiastic correspondences italicised.2c/d A(x) and 17 a/b c/d A'(y)(z)

Distant place-names mentioned in lyric form a concentric pattern

14 a A r Eas Máige A waterfall on the R. Maigue between Adare & Croom,

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Co Limerick b s Eas (Aodh) Rua The falls of Assaroe, on the Erne, at Ballyshannon,

Co. Donegal

a r' Eas Dúthaige A waterfall east of Dún Samhnaigi (Dunsany), Co. Meath

15 a B r Beann Boirche The Peak of the Mourne Mountains, Co. Downb s Gleann Bolcáin (Gleann na nGealt) near Ardee, Co. Louth a r' Beann Bógaine The Peak of Bógaine in the barony of Tír Bógaine,

Co Donegal6 a A' r Tonn Tuaige Wave of Tuag, in the sea at the mouth of the river Bann

a r' Tonn Rudraige Wave of Rudraige, in the sea in Dundrum Bay, Co Down

AA' are paired and their concentric correspondences are italicised. Arsr' and A'rr', (eas) waterfall and (Tonn) wave, are related (because a wave forms a miniature (eas) waterfall, as are Brr', the peaks, in this concentric unit.

In a concentric pattern the climax B has no pair. But A rsr', A'rr' and Bs are related in that A rsr', river-water, A'rr', sea-water, and Bs, Gleann, glen, are practically all on the same ground level.

Before concluding this section on the Biblical style of Gáir na Gáirbhe, it must be acknowledged that what Vincent Hopper terms, “The Science of Numerology”, permeated the lives of the people of the Middle Ages before and after the composition of Gáir na Gairbhe.

“There was literally no reservoir of knowledge or inspiration on which this period could draw which was not impregnated with number philosophy,”42 he explains in hisimpressive study of the subject, Medieval Number Symbolism, published in the late 1930’s.He recounts how “number symbolism was widespread in India, Egypt, the Middle-East,and Eastern-Europe in the pre-Christian era and continued to prevail down through theMiddle Ages.”

He traces these influences from an early sense of mysticism concerning numbers, through the association of numbers with astrology and their rise to religious significance inBabylonia, their inclusion in the Old Testament Scriptures, and finally the re emergenceof Pythagoreanism that held numbers in themselves to be inherently sacred expressions of fundamental truths.

All of these factors were prevalent when the early Christian writers began addressingthe science of numerology. Whereupon, “instead of denying or neglecting what had gone before, the Church accepted number theory in all its forms, thus preservingand revitalizing them all.”43

That our Irish ancestors had a keen appreciation of all the components of this biblical style is demonstrated in much of our poetry, composed in both Latin and Gaelic, from earliest Christian times down through the Bardic Schools to the end of the eighteenth century when its last great exponent, Tadhg Gaelach Ó Súilleabháin (c.1715-1795), bequeathed it to the Nation in both his secular and sacred songs.

The orchestration of sounds at Tigh MolingThe sounds of the night at Tigh Moling are an orchestration of sounds at different geographical levels. Those levels of sound are like the notes on the traditional Irish scale:

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I At water level: 1 a The cry of the tunefully- roaring Garbh

1 b sounding against the sea’s first wave! 2 c the mighty torrent of the great Garbh/ 2 d and the sea-water thrusting it back.

9 b listening to the billowy sea

10 c cold-sheeted ice roars,d breaking up at the the cry of the Garbh.

11 c the noise of Inbhear Dúghlaise (estuary of the Glynn rivulet)d and the cry of the Garbh

II At ground level:10 a Sigh of wintry wind;

b sound of storm beneath an oak-tree

III At the level of trees an the slopes of the promontorieson either side of the Barrow at Tigh Moling:

5 a Musical birds of the shore,b music sweet their constant crying!c Lonely longing has seized me to hear their chantingd as they sing the hours.

6 a I love to hear the blackbirds warbling

9 c great callings of birdsd from the wood of Fid Coille (Drummond Wood)

13 a Manifold Druim Leithead (Ballinavarry Wood)b has brown acorns on its oak tree

IV At the level of the monastic church atop the promontory:6 b and (I love) to listen to Mass

8 a Chanting of the psalm-pure psalmsb at the Point of Ros Broic, fated not long be so called

11 a It is hard to attend to canonical hoursb at which loud bells are rung

V At the level of the hill: 8 c roar of the brown belling stag

d from the cheek of cold Erc (probably Mount Brandon)

The symphony delights the pilgrim-poet’s heart and soul: 7 c the tunes which I hear

d are music to my soul.

The spiritual transformation of Rinn Ruis Broic on the brink of the River Barrow which flows east past the ruins of Tigh Moling before turning south to join the sea at Port Láirge, is evocative of Ezekiel 47:1-12. This great river, which flows in a southerly

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direction from its source, takes a sharp turn close to Tigh Moling and flows due eastwards past the monastic site for a few hundred yards before it turns southwards again to join the Atlantic at Waterford harbour. This geographical setting possibly suggested the parallel between it and Ezekiel (47:1-2; 8-10;12) 44 to St Moling. Indeed this river movement, coupled with “the attraction of the periphery” already mentioned above, may have been a factor in his decision to choose Rinn Ros Broic, as that area was then known, for the location of his monastery:

It could, furthermore, be contended that the following four lines from this sacred lyric are an allegory for the struggle between the loving kindness of the heart of our God (Lk 1:78) and our prodigal-son-resistances to the Holy Spirit (cf Lk 15:11-32):

1 a The cry of the tuneful roaring Garbhb sounding against the sea’s first wave!

2 c the mighty torrent of the great Garbh,d and the sea-water thrusting it back (at the Scar or Parting point)

The mighty torrent of the great Garbh (2c) symbolises the love and mercy of God our Father flooding our wayward hearts and bringing us to our senses. The seawater thrusting it back (2d) symbolises our initial resistance to God’s grace. The stagnant waters of the sea (Ex 37:8) battle with the fresh water for some time, but eventually, about an hour after ebbtide begins, the seawater begins to lose its force. Similarly, our resistance to the action of God’s Holy Spirit gradually loses its force and ebbs away (cf Lk 15:11-32). Then the fresh river water gradually purifies the waters of the sea (Ex 37:8) and we, the fish, can become the Lord’s instruments in helping other members of his Mystical Body (cf 1 Cor. 12:4-13:1-13) to turn back to God.

1 c great lovely schoolsd of fish swim about in its bosom.

And wherever the river goes every living creature which swarms will live, and there will be very many fish; for this water goes there, that the waters of

the sea may become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes (Ez 47:9).

The scope of the chiastic pattern Parts I (1-2A), II (3-4B), V (14-16B') and VI(17A') about Glór na Gairbhe itself, is all at water level. ‘Great lovely schools of fish’ (1c/dA) and ‘salmon’ (14bB') are reminiscent of John’s Gospel (21:4-11)45:

There are a hundred and fifty three words in the original Gaelic chiastic pattern of Parts I II, V and VI of Gáir na Gairbe as already noted above. David Howlett drew my attention to the fact that“A 153 is also the alphanumeric value of Rinn Ruis Bruic (8b) in the Gaelic system [15 9 12 12 15 18 9 16 2 15 18 9 3 or 153]” the locale of the lyric and the place where the 153 fish are swimming up towards the Maighre, Jesus, around the climax of Part IA andPart VB' of this lyric.

He also suggested that “other place names play as well and that there is a calendrical element: tides, winter, hours, acorns; Mo Ling’s Day the 168th of the year. How dense this lyric is….”46

153 is the triangular number of 17. A triangular number is a geometrical arrangement of numbers; thus, the sum of any number of the series of cardinal numbers beginning with 1 is a triangular number: 1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9+10+11+12+13+14+15+16+17 or 153; or (17x18)÷2. There are, significantly, seventeen quatrains in Glór na Gairbe, apart

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from l’envoi, which is a prayer to St. Moling, because it is about the tides, recurring twice daily to make 34 which is the alphanumeric value in the Gaelic system of Gairb (7+1+9+15+2 or 34)”.

There are also seventeen quatrains in Tadhg Gaelach Ó Súilleabháin’s Duain Deaglán.47 It is not without significance that Tigh Moling is situated beside the tidal point of the River Barrow and that the locale of Duain Deaglán is on the periphery on a high cliff over Ardmore Bay, Co. Waterford. SS. Declan and Moling were bishops with pastoral responsibility for Pobal Dé, God’s people. ‘Seventeen’ is, therefore, another encoded reference to the hundred and fifty thee fish (Jn 21:11), or all God’s people.

There are 476 syllables in those seventeen quatrains of Gáir na Gairbe the addends of which also amount to seventeen (4+7+6 or 17). There are 36 lines in this section of the lyric, Parts (I 1-2A), (II 3-4B), (V 14-16B') and (VI 17A') and 18X. 22 is the extreme ratio of the 36 lines (36x 0.61803 or 22.24908 or 22);

14 b B' Eas Rua cois rithid maighre, Eas Rua to which salmon run

is the twenty second line of this chiastic pattern. The encoded focus is thus placed firmly onMaighre: ‘Jesus Christ Son of God Saviour’.

The junction of the tributary Dúghlas (modern Glynn rivulet) with the Garbh (the Barrow) at Tigh Moling forms a Greek T–shaped or Tau Cross:

11 c the noise of Inbhear Dúglaised and the cry of the Garbh

The noise and the cry symbolise the suffering and anguish that the Maighre (14bB') Jesus Christ Son of God Saviour, endured for our sakes on the Cross (cf. Mt 27: 45-50);(IPet 2:24-25), and how his Death and Resurrection opened heaven for us poor mortals, the hundred and fifty three fish caught in navicula Petri, Peter’s little boat (Jn 21:11).

A minimum of nine crosses formed ‘a circular device’ around Tigh Moling, according to H.J. Lawlor writing about ‘Circular Device’, in his book, Chapters of the Book of Mulling.48

In this essay a modest effort has been made to show how the Biblical style of the medieval lyric, Gáir na Gairbhe, facilitates the readers’ celebration of the orchestrated sounds of waterfalls, birds’ song, the bellowing of the ox from the mountain side, acorns falling, in a word, nature singing its psalms in praise of the Creator. It demonstrates how this orchestration is in harmony with the loud monastic bells, the monks’ singing of the psalms coming to a climax in the singing of the Mass to the accompaniment of the wind through the trees of the three woods, on a cold, frosty, winter’s night. And, to crown it all, the Maighre, Jesus Christ,(14bA') to whom the whole celebration is directed, is placed imaginatively high above the monastic church by this great medieval poet. This is the lyric of an Irish mystic….

Note: For the text of the poem seeGerard Murphy, Early Irish Lyrics, Oxford University Press, 1956, pp. 112-117. 225-227.Gerard Murphy’s version: Metrical change made in text of lyric:9d d’fídbaid Fheda Chuille 3 62 9d de fhidbaid Fheda Chuille 4 72

Gerard Murphy’s version umerical change made in the lyric13c a mac alla is mírbuile 5 72 13c a macalla is mírbuile 4 72

The 303 words of Gerard Murpy’s edition are thus retained.

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References:1. Eleanor Chance, Secretary to the Victoria County History of Oxford, who spent a full

day at Tigh Moling, to David Howlett about her impressions of this historic place.2. St. Moling Luachra (AD 615-697), one of the four prophets of Ireland. The other three

prophets are, SS Patrick, Apostle of Ireland, who died about AD 493, Colm Cille, who died in AD 597, a hundred years before Moling’s death, and Bishop Bearchán/ Feardáléithe of Clonsast, Co Offaly. Cf. Healy, Rev. John, DD, LLD, Ireland’s Ancient Schools and Scholars: Dublin: M.H. Gill & Son, 1890, p. 429.4

3. de Paor, Máire B. Saint Moling Luachra A Pilgrimage from Sliabh Luachra to Rinn Ros Broicabove the Stream-Pools of the Barrow, Dublin: Columba Press, 2001, cf. Text, pp.158-9. Commentary, pp. 34-42. (ii) Evil Phantom: Text 166-171; Commentary, pp.63-70. Christ’s leapsare discussed in the seventh-century Irish Collectanea Pseudo-Bedae and in Theodore’s Laterculus Malalianus.

4. de Paor, Máire B., op. cit., Text XV (29) pp. 174-177. Commentary, pp.77-795. Ibid, p.87 (XVII:17)6. Ibid, p.87 (XVII: 18-22)7. Ibid, pp. 63-70. cf. note 3 above.8. Ibid, The Yew of Ross, Text pp. 180-181. pp. Commentary 89-92. Molaise’s prayer9. Kenny, Colum, Molaise, Abbot of Leighlin and Hermit of Holy Island, Ballina, Co. Mayo:

Morrigan, 199810. Ó Cróinín, Dáibhí, “Rath Melsigi, Willibrord, and The Earliest Echternach Manuscripts,”

Peritia, Vol 3 (1984), 17-4211. Carlovian forerunners of St. Moling:

The two fifth-century Carlovians, St. Fiach and his son, St. Fiachra of the Uí Bairrche must have been of particular interest to Moling, founder, abbot, and later, bishop. Fiach was the first bishop of Sléibhte and first abbot of Domhnach Fiach while his son, St. Fiachra, was its second abbot. They ‘emigrated’ across the Barrow to Sléibhte Mairgí to fulfil their pioneering mission among pagans.The fifth-century St. Fortiarnán (Forchern) of Cill Uachtiarnán near Muine Bheag, so highly skilled in metal work, and who opened a school in Tullow, was St. Fionnán’s teacher, the student who was later destined to become the ‘Tutor of the Saints of Ireland’.Then there were SS. Fionnán, Fionntán, and Columbán who made the area famous all over Ireland and abroad. Their sanctity and their achievements must have been a great source of inspiration for Moling.St. Fionnán (c. AD 470-c.552), Múinteoir Naomh Éireann (Tutor of the Saints of Ireland), of Máigh Íseal in the barony of Forth, Co Carlow, became founder of the famous monastic School of Cluain Iraird (Clonard), Co. Meath about AD 520.St. Fionntán (+ AD 603), Athair Naomh Éireann (Father of the Saints of Ireland), was the founder and abbot of Cluain Eidhneach (Clonenagh) Co Laois. St. Columbán, Monk of the West, Ireland’s First European (c. AD 540 –715), of Máigh Íseal, was the dauntless Irish missionary who died in Bobbio, Italy, on 23 November AD 615, the very month and year in which Moling was born. The inspiring memory of Columbán must have been very much alive in Moling’s youth.Three other pioneering, sixth century predecessors of Moling, with whom he would have much in common, were SS. Maedhóc and Oncho of Clonmore, Co. Carlow.St. Oncho, Confessor, was a scholar and antiquary. St. Maedóc was his abbot.St Brandubh, from Uí Chinseallaigh was a monk at Achadh Finnglas near Old Leighlin.

12. de Paor, Máire B., St. Moling Luachra, Text 195-211 Commentary, pp.107-11813. Ibid, (A' XXXIV:136-138); (A' XXXIV:139-144) in ibid, p.21514 Ibid p.87. Proinsias MacCana, Celtic Mythology, p. 50.15. Cf A List of motifs in the Lives of the early Irish Saints (Helsinki, 1992), p.15,

quoted in: Stiofán Ó Cadhla, The Holy Well Tradition, The Pattern of St Declan, Ardmore, Co Waterford, 1800-2000, p.18.

16. Durtaigh (6d) appears to be a form of dairthech, modern dairtheach, hermitage, penetentiary (literally oak-house).See E.G.Quinn, Dictionary of the Irish Language (Dublin, 1998, pp.176,38-9.

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17. Airbre, sluagh in E.G.Quinn, Dictionary of the Irish Language (Compact Edition), RIA,

Dublin, 1998, p. 48.18. Cf . Gerard Murphy, Early Irish Lyrics, (Oxford, 1970 ed.) p. 226;

Is ainm do mo tacarda | ionmain sruth álainn iodhan, Dictionary of the Irish Language, p.570.

19. Cf. The Orations of St Gregory Nazianzen, Or 39:14-16,20, The Baptism of Jesus, The DivineOffice, I, pp.379-380. cf 2Kgs 5:1-14, Lk 4:27 re the cure of Naaman the leper at the river Jordan. Cf also Jn 5:1-9.

20. Máire B. de Paor, Saint Moling Luachra, pp. 119-122; St. Moling’s Mill-race, pp. 119-122, Cf the Latin ‘Life’ in the Codex Kilkenniensis.

21. Máire B. de Paor, Saint Moling Luachra, op. cit., pp.119-122; cf. reference to Augustinian Canons, p.135.

22. Latin Life of Moling. Cf. Wm. Reeves, PRIA, second series, V, I, 1877, 339ff. 23. Patrick O’Leary, St. Mullins, A Local History and the Life of Moling (Gráig na Manach,

(1913), pp. 44-47.24. Ibid, pp.140-150 for a detailed account of the celebration of the Pilgrimage and ‘Pattern’

at Tigh Moling on the Sunday nearest the Feast of St. James.25. Mícheál Ó Cléirigh’s manuscript in the Bibliothèque Royale in Brussels, MS 5100-4.

Dr.Brian Frykenberg, who has done a profound study of the Moling Poems, as yet unpublished, is a graduate of Harvard. I owe him a debt of gratitude for all his help and encouragement.

26. Suibhne Geilt was a king and poet who went mad from the trauma of the Battle of Maí Ráth (Co. Antrim) in AD 637. Thereafter he travelled from tree to tree. He eventually reached Tigh Moling where St. Moling became his soul-friend and where, according to tradition, he is buried. Cf Nora Chadwick, The Age of the Saints in the Early Celtic Church, OUP, London, 1961, p.105 ff. Suibhne, Rí Dháil Araidhe, cf. Pádraig Ó Fiannachta, ‘Buile Suibhne’,I Léachtaí Cholm Cille XI, Máigh Nuad: An Sagart, 1980, pp.120-135.

27. Gerard Murphy was of the opinion that the lyric was composed c. 1150 Cf Gerard Murphy, Early Irish Lyrics, notes on 44. The Cry of the Garbh, pp. 225-227.

28. Cf. James Carney, ‘Old Ireland and her Poetry’ in Old Ireland, Robert McNally (Editor), Dublin, 1940s 147-172, at p.159.

29. cf. de Paor, Máire B., Saint Moling Luachra, op. cit., The Medieval Style of Writing,pp. 16-21

30. Cf. de Paor, Máire B., Tadhg Gaelach Ó Súilleabháin, File agus Diagaire c. 1715-1995, Mainistir Eibhín, Co.Chill Dara: Ceannasaíocht Institiúid na Toirbhearta, 2005, Tagairtí, References, pp. I –III, 480-482.

31. Cf. Ó Conghaile-Ó Ríordain, Rí na nUile, Dublin, 1964/1966 pp. 20-23.32. Schokel, L., ‘Language and Mentality of the Bible Writers’, 87, in Understanding the Bible,

the Old Testament, Gastonia, N.C., 1970, v. 1, pp. 61-69.33. de Paor, Maire B., Saint Moling Luachra…op., cit., p. 21.34. Ibid, p. 89.35. Eas Rua cos rithid Maigre, Eas Rua to which Salmon run (14b B').36. de Paor, Máire B. Patrick the Pilgrim Apostle of Ireland, N.Y.: HarperCollins, 2001; Dublin:

Veritas, 1998, 16, note 17. Howlett, D.R., The Celtic Latin Tradition of Biblical Style, Dublin: Four Courts Press, 1995, The Rules of Biblical Style, ch. I: pp.1-54 and, Howlett, D.R., ‘Murchú’ Moccu Mac The’ni’s Vita Sancti Patricii, Life of Saint Patrick,’ Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2006, are essential reading.

37. Ó Dónaill, Foclóir Gaeilge Béarla, 51, “and with frequent alliteration” (Murphy, Early Irish Lyrics, 227).

38. Cf. Es Dubhthaiti, east of Dún Samhnaigi Co. Meath, Book of Lismore, 198a, 199a, inHogan, Edmund, SJ, Onomasticon Goedelicum, Dublin, 1910, p. 402.

39. To calculate the triangular number of 7 add the cardinal numbers. 1+2+3… To calculate the solid number of 7: add the triangular numbers: 1+3+6…

Cardinal numbers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Triangular numbers: 1 3 6 10 15 21 28

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Solid numbers: 4 10 20 35 56 84

40. Cf. Augustine, Civitas Dei, XX, 5; On John, XXVII, 10.41. Cf. Hogan, Onomasticon, op. cit., 440.42. Hopper, Vincent, Medieval Number Symbolism, N.Y.: Columbia University Press, 1938,

p.89.43. ibid, p. 93.44. Ez.47:1-2; 8-10;12 RSV, 869-870; This scriptural extract is layed out per cola et commita,

by clauses and phrases according to Biblia Sacra Vulgata, at pp. 1537-8.45. Jn 21:3-11 RSV, p. 109; this scriptural extract is layed out per cola et commita, by clauses

and phrases according to Biblia Sacra Vulgata, at p.169646. I am indebted to David Howlett for drawing my attention to the alphanumeric values of

Gairbh and Rinn Ruis Bruic and their significance, as well as for all his generous help and support over the years. Gairbh has an alphanumeric value of 34 [7 1 9 15 2]. Moling’s Gaelic ‘Life’ is, incidently, divided into thirty-four chapters.

47. de Paor, Máire B., Tadhg Gaelach Ó Súilleabháin, File agus Diagaire c. 1715-1995, pp. 178-199.48. Lawlor, H.J., The Book of Mulling, Edinburgh: David Douglas, 1897, Chapter 8. ‘The

Circular Device’, pp. 167-185, where there is a diagram of the crosses on page 167, and a ‘Plan of the Ruins of St Mullins, Co. Carlow’, 1896, on p.182.

* It would seem that the numerological analysis technique of Biblical style is ripe ground for the production of software that could at least partially attempt to automate the numerological analysis process. This would facilitate interested students in understanding and practising the technique and furthermore to assist them to recover an almost lost heritage.

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