Baile's Strand

The Red Branch knights are gatheredFor Ulster's honour at Baile's strandHither from across the wavesA young boy with a merry faceBut armed as if for fightingCame onto the shore"Thou shall not land on Erin's soil",Cuinaire cried out,"Until thou hast revealed thy name!"For all you ask I can reveal but I must concealMy name and lineageNor from my course you can make me stray awayFor I am under bounds and cannot disobeyIn battle I will not give wayNor ever will I speak my nameIf challenged I will draw my bladeHere on this strand I will meet my fateI'll only answer with my bladeNo man can stray me from my way"Then you shall die", Cuinaire replied,"For no one unknown may enter our realm"For Ulster's honour many warriors were sentBut to none did he give his unhallowed nameTo wound them or kill, the spell to fulfilThe geasa forced upon his infinite willAny attempt to impede him was doomed and destined to failI'll only answer with my bladeNo man can stray me from my wayIn battle I will not give wayNor ever will I speak my nameFinally Cuchulainn himself was summoned,The King had ordered him to defeat this foeAnd towards tragedy he strodeA fierce battle ensued,More than a match for Cuchulainn,The young boy provedDealing blow after blow,The lad forced Chuchulainn backWith a strength and speedThe hound of Culan had never metAs the battle continued in the waterTwo times Cuchulainn almost drowned,Yet on the third, he remembered the Gae BolgAnd with the strength of the hero's lightHe threw it through the waves with all his mightThe Gae Bolg, is it true?Only one may wield it, is it really you?To a tragic end the story seems to have comeTogether they would have crushed the gates of RomeAs Cuchulainn bore the boy in his arms towards the shoreHe saw his own ring that the brave boy had wornHence the father realized what he had just doneOh Lord, he had slain his only son!But what he did not know, at that time on that shoreThrough Elatan's ring Conloach's soul now soaredTo take his place into myth and memoryAmongst the Riders of the Daoine Sidhe