The king then asked Fergus, and he replied that, if the sons of Usnach were slain while under his protection, he would revenge the deed upon anyone who was party to it, save only the king himself.
“Then it is you who shall go,” said Conchobar. “Set forth to-morrow, and rest not by the way, and when you put foot again in Ireland at the Dún of Borrach, whatever may happen to you yourself, send the sons of Usnach forward without delay.”
The next morning, Fergus, with his two sons, Illann the Fair and Buinne the Ruthless Red, set out for Alba in their galley, and reached Loch Etive, by whose shores the sons of Usnach were then living. Naoise, Ainle, and Ardan were sitting at chess when they heard Fergus’s shout.
“That is the cry of a man of Erin,” said Naoise.
“Nay,” replied Deirdre, who had forebodings of trouble. “Do not heed it; it is only the shout of a man of Alba.” But the sons of Usnach knew better, and sent Ardan down to the sea-shore, where he found Fergus and his sons, and gave them greeting, and heard their message, and brought them back with him.
That night Fergus persuaded the sons of Usnach to return with him to Emain Macha. Deirdre, with her “second sight”, implored them to remain in Alba. But the exiles were weary for the sight of their own country, and did not share their companion’s fears. As they put out to sea, Deirdre uttered her beautiful “Farewell to Alba”, that land she was never to behold again.
“A lovable land is yon eastern land,
Alba, with its marvels.
I would not have come hither out of it,
Had I not come with Naoise.