Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh as Craftsman and Trickster

In the romance, Bás Chearbhaill agus Farbhlaidhe [ BCF ] ('The Death of Cearbhall and Fearbhlaidh'), because of his harp-playing, of Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh is called ioldánach ('many skilled'), the same epithet used for the god Lugh. ¹ In two poems by Pádraigín Haicéad written c. 1630, another Cearbhall possibly from Co. Wexford, is described as a poet, magincian, smith, fuller, fool, and weaver. ² In folk tradition, Cearbhall possesses a multitude of talents, appearing at various times as a fisherman, cowherd, poet and singer, harpist and piper, comb-, sieve- and basket-maker, shoemaker, weaver, tailor, smith, mason, carpenter, cooper, shipwright, bridgebuilder, saddle-maker, hurling- and backgammon-player, fuller, fool, lover, physician, scribe, sailor and soldier. Moreover, Cearbhall is often depicted as a trickster within those roles, and it is undoubtedly this aspect of Cearbhall's persona which led Proinsias MacCana to describe the Cearbhall who figures in BCF as ' the legendary poet, lover and trickster figure '. ³