Tabair mo thrí drinnrosc dam!

(give * my * three * wishes * to me)

Give me my three wishes!

Cú Chulainn makes this demand of a giant he has just subdued and who has asked to be spared, in “Fled Bricrenn”. This formula is found elsewhere in Early Irish literature (“Táin Bó Regamna”; and “Tochmarc Emire” where it takes the more peremptory form “Mo trí drinnruisc dam-sa!”), and persists in folklore.

Topics: The Characters Speak