[page 601]

THE HISTORIE of Irelande.

[1] _ALthough vndoubtedlye, the Originall of all nations for the more part is ſo vn|certaine, that who ſo euer ſhall enter in|to the ſearche thereof further than hee fyn|deth in the holie ſcriptures, may ſeeme (as it were rather to talk with men that dreame) than to ga|ther authorities ſufficient wherevpon to grounde any warranted opinion:

Id [...]end Cam|p [...].

G [...]raldus Cam|brenſis.

yet for as muche as the authors (whom in this Iriſh hyſtorie we chiefly followe) haue ſet downe what they haue founde in the Iriſhe antiquities, concerning the firſte in|habitation of this countrey of Ireland: and by|cauſe the reader alſo maye be peraduenture deſi|rous to vnderſtande the ſame, we haue thoughte good to recite what they haue written thereof, leauyng the credite vnto the due conſideration of the circumſpecte reader, and where the errours are to groſſe, giuing by the waye ſome cauti|ous, in lyke ſorte as oure Authours themſelues haue done.