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The Song of Amergin

https://vimeo.com/354404173

The Brú na Bóinne megalithic sites of Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth take on a mystical aura at most times of the year. The scorched summer landscape of 2018 proved no exception as the monuments appeared more reminiscent of their distant past, when the climate of Ireland was warmer and drier.

Midsummer night at Newgrange sees the setting sun in almost the exact opposite position to the famous winter solstice that lights up the chamber.

The Song of Amergin is considered to be the earliest spoken Irish poem. It is attributed to the Milesian druid and bard, Amergin Glúingel, who is said to have incanted the words over the Boyne Valley hundreds of years before Christianity during the Milesian arrival in Ireland.

This ‘Mystery’ chant, perhaps sums up the area’s mystique most appropriately. He concludes by asking, "Who shows the place where the sun sleeps?". Recounted in the Leabhar Gabhála or Book of Invasions, it has a philosophical essence paralleling spiritual traditions most certainly unknown to the author. Amergin’s incantation has been interpreted by artists, presidents and world renowned musicians. While many mysteries of the Boyne Valley remain unknown, the words shed light on an ancient people’s quest to make sense of the ambiguities of nature.

The translation used is in keeping with the cadence of the original old irish, and the succinctness of the spoken verse.

Am gáeth i m-muir,
Am tond trethan,
Am fuaim mara,
Am dam secht ndirend,
Am séig i n-aill,
Am dér gréne,
Am cain lubai,
Am torc ar gail,
Am he i l-lind,
Am loch i m-maig,
Am brí a ndai,
Am bri danae,
Am bri i fodb fras feochtu,
Am dé delbas do chind codnu,
Coiche nod gleith clochur slébe?
Cia on co tagair aesa éscai?
Cia du i l-laig fuiniud gréne?
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I am wind on sea
I am ocean wave
I am roar of sea
I am the stag of seven battles
I am an eagle on the cliff
I am a tear of the sun
I am the fairest of plants
I am a wild boar in valour
I am a salmon in the pool
I am a lake in the plain
I am a hill of poetry
I am a word of knowledge
I am the head of the spear in battle
I am the God that puts fire in the head
Who shed light on uncut dolmen?
Who announces the ages of the moon?
Who shows the place where the sun sleeps?
If Not I
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Reading by Daniella Hensman.
Music: Walking on Clouds, by Tea Time, (ShutterStock Music)