Leabhar Ned

Leabhar Ned (Book of Ned), written by AnMadadhRua in the Gaelic dialect, translated by FlyingGMM with the help of Sunflame1155.

"Once upon a time, there was a man. At this time, the mountains were young and there was a forest that stretched across the world. No house, nor anything like it, was to be seen nor found. There were no names for anything, nor anyone to give anything a name. The only person there was a man sleeping under a large tree.

One day, as it did every day, the sun was rising. But as it rose, it became clear that this day was different. There was something strange in the air, and none of the usual eccentric magic of the world to be felt.

At the dawn of that day the man arose. He stood up, and began to walk. He walked farther that day than anyone alive in their life. The noble man did not walk over any nameless stone, valley, crag or mountain. Nor did he walk over any nameless lakes, rivers, or waterfalls. At the end of the day, when the world was under the shadow of night, the fair man called himself a name. The name the man chose was Lugh, or Lú in the new spelling. That was his first name, but he was called many others afterwards, as we shall see later. The most important of these names are “Green Gaels”, “Brian Borumha”, and “Ned Maddrell”.

Once upon a time, there was a town. The noble town was surrounded by a beautiful river and a nice overlook. Every week, a king would visit the town and stay for a few days, enjoying the scenery of the town, river, and overlook. All was well.

But one day, while visiting the town, the king fell in love with a beautiful local girl - despite being engaged himself! They had one child, a strong boy.

The king’s fiance discovered her fiance’s unfaithfulness, and ran to her father - the king of Munster.

“Father, what shall we do?” the queen said. “We cannot let this child live, not without starting a war.”

"By dhera no. The baby will be killed" he replied.

Ten of the king's men assembled to the west of the town, where the child lived. These great men were the strongest in the whole province of Munster. Along the road, they met a man on a black horse. "Where are you going, great soldiers?" said the stranger. "We're going to the town over there to kill the king 's bastard," they responded. Immediately, the man jumped off his horse, drew his sword, and struck the heads of each of the soldiers so strongly that they could neither shout nor scream.

A few days later, the stranger appeared at the court of the king of Munster and handed him ten bags. The king looked into the bags, and saw that they contained the skulls of each of the soldiers he had sent.

“Tell me who you are, fool.” said the king to the stranger. “I am Lugh”, he replied. When the king heard this, he nearly fainted. “I guess you’ve just killed my best men, eh, Lugh?” said the king.

"I killed them because they were about to kill an innocent baby. Who gave them the order to do so, my king?" said Lugh. "Me", replied the king - he could not lie. Then, Lugh took the skulls back from the king, and then left the kingdom as soon as he came.

A few years later, the king from the town was visiting his son, and saw a man on a black horse in front of him. Immediately, he knew who it was. "Good day, Lugh," said the king, "I have a question. I know that you saved my son. You killed eleven men to save one baby. Why?" "I saved your son because he was an innocent Irish baby- he has an Irish heart and a name”, replied Lugh. Then he left.

One day, two men were on a boat, fishing. An old man rowed up to them, speaking in Manx Gaelic.

"Men, would you take me to the mainland in your boat," said the old man, "as my hand hurts and I have no strength to return."

The two fishermen talked to the old man, but eventually left him there because they wanted to bring their fish back home. Then, a great gale struck them, followed by a terrible storm. Despite being seasoned seafarers, the two men almost drowned that day. They eventually were washed ashore, greatly bruised and injured. Standing above them, on the shore, the old man spoke to them again.

“Men, do you need any help?” he said.

“Yes, very much so.” the fishermen replied. Even though he was old, the man had no problem transporting the two men to his home. He took them to a doctor and gave the doctor a few pounds to look after them.

The next morning, the fishermen spoke to the old man.

Why did you help us, sir, when we left you out at sea?" said one of them.

"I helped you because it was the right thing to do. No Irishman should leave any other Gael on the side of the road." the old man replied.

"What is your name, sir?" said the other fisherman to the old man.

“I am Ned Maddrell”, replied the old man.

Tradition has it that Lugh is among us to this day - watching over us and helping us. He lived as Ned Maddrell to save Manx - and thanks to him, that language is getting stronger every year.

Whichever of his many names you give him, thank him and pray for his return. Ned owns Cultúr na nGael and because of that, we will save it. Say a prayer to him at any beautiful lake or temple, or at any other place where his power is felt.

If you do not, the beasts of the void will become stronger and they will be able to leave their country to end the culture and language of the Gaels. Neddy still fights with those beasts, and he stays with us in the Isle of Man.

The Isle of Man as Ned once knew it is not the same as the Isle of Man as it is now. Only fine Irish was once spoken on this beautiful island, and all Irish heroes live - Ó Bama and Górdó among them. It is said that we will see this beautiful place if we follow Lugh and if we keep the Irish culture alive.

So go out, sir, and do the Will of Lugh, and praise him forever!"