It is said that the first person to ever set foot in Ireland was Aimhirgin (in full, Aimhirgin Gluingheal mac Mileadh), the warrior-poet. The name would be pronounced something like /AV-ur-GEEN/. Well, that is a tall tale, in a land of tall tales, by the inventors of blarney. But such wonderful blarney! Below is Aimirgin's poem, in Irish-Gaelic and in English, as set forth in the wonderful book Aniar: Voices and Verse from the Edge of the World, by Tadhg Mac Dhonnagain, Ceara Conway, and John Ryan:
Is mé an gaoth ar muir
Is mé an tonn tréan
Is mé glór na mara
Is me seitreach daimh
Is mé seabhac na haille
Is mé an gá greine
Is mé ailleacht na luibhe
Is mé torc ar ar ghail
Is mé an bradan sa linn
Is mé an loch ar an má.
I am the wind on the ocean
I am the crashing wave
I am the song of the sea
I am the bellow of the stag
I am the ray of sunlight
I am the beauty of the herb
I am the furious boar
I am the salmon in the pool
I am the lake on the plain.
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