The naming of Lough Ree

"Loch Rí, when comes its name, truly given, O ye learned of Inis Fail? Say who was Rí from whom it is called, ye learned poets of the world! Rí, son of famous Muirid, of the bright joyous plain of Meath, got a home there

For a time in MagAirbthen of the angels. A gelding - the braver was he - when loosed of his burden staled and made a spring - it was theme of talk - of the abundant flow in mid-plain. The copious spring spread over MagAirbthen famed in story; it drowned Rí - the braver was he!- with his horse and all his cattle.

From that Rí - it was a masterful effort - the lake is named throughout Erin; from him - a title early won - bravely arose the noble lake."

from The Metrical Dindsenchas as Translated by Edward Gwynn (Dublin: Royal Irish Academy, 1903)