hiː fˈɜːst plˈeɪst hɪmsˈɛlf ˌʌndɚ ðə pɹətˈɛkʃən ʌv ɹˈɪtʃɚd fɪtswˈɪljəm də bˈɜːɡ, mˈɛmbɚɹ əvə nˈoːɹmən fˈæmɪli ɹˈɛzᵻdənt ɪn kənˈæxt fɔːɹ θˈɜːɾi jˈɪɹz, tə hˈuːm hiː ɐdɹˈɛst ðə pˈoʊᵻm ɪn pɹˈeɪz ʌv hɪz bjˈuːɾi ænd hɪz ɐdˈɑːpʃən ʌv ɡˈeɪlɪk kˈʌltʃɚ, "kɹˈeɪd ˈæɡeɪb ˈiːdhaɪ ɐ dʒˈiːsˈeɪɪn""wˈɛns kˈʌmz ɪt ðæt juː hæv ɡˈɛsts fɹʌm ɐfˈɑːɹ?".
He first placed himself under the protection of Richard Fitzwilliam de Burgh, member of a Norman family resident in Connacht for thirty years, to whom he addressed the poem in praise of his beauty and his adoption of Gaelic culture, "Créd agaibh aoidhigh a gcéin" ("Whence comes it that you have guests from afar?").