hɪz sˈɛkjʊlɚ pˈoʊɪtɹi ɛɡzˈɛmplᵻfˌaɪz ðɪ æmbˈɪvələnt ˈæɾɪtˌuːd ʌv bˈɑːɹdɪk pˈoʊɪts tə ðɛɹ pˈeɪtɹənz, fɔːɹ ɔnðə wˈʌn hˈænd hiː ˈɔfɚd fˈʌlsʌm pɹˈeɪz tə ðə sˈʌn əvən ˈæŋɡloʊnˈoːɹmən kˈɑːlənˌɪst, ænd ɪn ɐ pˈoʊᵻm tə ðə kˈɪŋ ʌv kənˈæxt kˈæθəl kɹˈɑːbhdɪɹɡ jˈuːæ kəntʃˈɑːbɛɹ kˈæθəl "ɹˈɛdhˈændᵻd" oʊkˈɑːnɚ sˌʌm jˈɪɹz lˈeɪɾɚ hiː ɛkspɹˈɛsᵻz ɐ wˈɪʃ ðæt kˈæθəl wˈʊd "dɹˈaɪv ˈiːstwɚdz ðə fˈɔːɹənɚz hˌuː hæv sˈiːzd tˈɑːɹɹə".
His secular poetry exemplifies the ambivalent attitude of bardic poets to their patrons, for on the one hand he offered fulsome praise to the son of an Anglo-Norman colonist, and in a poem to the King of Connacht Cathal Crobhdearg Ua Conchobair (Cathal "Red-Handed" O'Connor) some years later he expresses a wish that Cathal would "drive eastwards the foreigners who have seized Tara".