Gemini.Finnegans.Wake.43

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There was never a warlord in Great Erinnes and Brettland, no, nor in all Pick County like you, they say. No, nor a king nor an ardking, bung king, sung king or hung king. That you chould fell an elmstree twelve urchins couldn’t ring round and hoist high the stone that Liam failed. Who but a Maccullaghmore the reise of our fortunes and the faunayman at the funeral to compass our cause? If you was hogglebully itself and most frifty like you was taken waters still what all where was your like to lay the cable or who was the batter could better Your Grace? Mick Mac Magnus MacCawley can take you off to the pure perfaction and Leatherbags Reynolds tries your shuffle and cut.

This paragraph is a grand, exaggerated eulogy in which the mourners praise the fallen Finnegan/HCE as a hero of unparalleled greatness. They elevate him above all kings and warlords, credit him with superhuman feats of strength, and argue that even with his significant flaws, his genius as a builder was unmatched.

## The One True King 👑

The mourners begin by declaring that there has never been a hero like him in all of Ireland (“Great Erinnes”) and Britain (“Brettland”). They claim he was greater than any king, running through a list that defines his multi-faceted nature:

  • Ardking: The Ard Rí, or High King of Ireland.
  • Bung king: The king of the pub, from “bung,” the stopper in a barrel.
  • Sung king: A legendary king celebrated in song.
  • Hung king: A sacrificed king, a figure who dies for his people.

He is presented as all of these at once: a noble ruler, a common publican, a figure of legend, and a sacrificial victim.

## Feats of Mythic Strength 💪

They then list his heroic deeds, which are deliberately similar to those of mythological figures like the giant Fionn Mac Cumhaill (Finn MacCool).

  • Felling a giant elm tree: A classic display of a founder-hero’s strength, clearing the land to build a civilization.
  • Hoisting a great stone: This recalls the Lia Fáil (Stone of Destiny), the coronation stone which was said to roar when the true High King of Ireland stood on it.

They give him a grand Gaelic name, “Maccullaghmore” (son of the great boar), further cementing his status as a legendary hero and the source of the community’s good fortune (“the reise of our fortunes”).

## The Flawed Genius 🔨

The eulogy cleverly acknowledges his negative traits only to sweep them aside by emphasizing his unique talent.

  • “If you was hogglebully itself and most frifty…”: They admit he was a “huge bully” and very stingy (“thrifty”).
  • “…still what all where was your like to lay the cable…?”: Despite his flaws, they ask, who could equal him at his essential work? “To lay the cable” compares his building skill to the monumental 19th-century achievement of laying the transatlantic telegraph cable. It positions him as a master-builder and connector of worlds, a modern titan whose professional genius made his personal failings irrelevant.

## The Imitators 🎭

The paragraph concludes by mentioning those who try to copy him, which only serves to highlight his originality. Figures like the grandly-named “Mick Mac Magnus MacCawley” and the common “Leatherbags Reynolds” can only imitate his style (“take you off,” “tries your shuffle and cut”). They are mere copies; he was the unique and inimitable original.

11/09/2025, P26.02, to be continued.