This is my translation of a very famous 9th century poem in Irish. It was written the the margin of a manuscript in a monastery in Austria. It is written in syllabic metres. The poem is often given the title 'The Scholar and his Cat'; it is sometimes known from the name of the cat as 'Pangur Bán'.

Seo é m'aistriúchán ar dhán as Gaeilge ón naoú céad, dán a bhfuil clú agus cáil air. Scíobhadh é ar imeall lámhscríbhinne i mainistir san Ostair. Filíocht siollabach atá i gceist.
I and Pangur, my white cat,
each has his appointed task;
his mind is set on hunting
and mine on my special skill.

More than fame it's quiet I love,
studious at my wondrous book;
while Pangur 's never envious,
loving his own childish craft.

Home together, just we two
- boredom never enters in -
we find enjoyment without end
in sharpening our skills.

Sometimes, after hard onset,
a mouse is captured in his net;
and as for me, in mine there falls
a dictum of difficult interpretation.

 He fixes a bright, faultless eye
on the enclosing wall;
I focus my keen but feeble eye
on prickly points of learning.

A mouse clasped in his sharp-clawed paw,
rejoicing, he moves swiftly;
I rejoice in the resolution
of a rare and abstruse problem.

While this is our wonted routine
neither hinders the other;
each finds his calling good,
each one enjoys himself.

Each is master of the task
which he performs daily;
for my work I am well suited,
bringing light to dark places.

Shaun Traynor (ed.) The Poolbeg Book of Irish Poetry for Children (Poolbeg 1997)