Torna, nicknamed Éices or Éces ("the poet, sage"), was a legendary Irish poet of the 5th century, noted as "the last great bard of Pagan Ireland." He is not to be confused with Torna Éigeas, the 17th-century bard who figures in the Contention of the Bards

Contention of the bards

The Contention of the Bards was a literary controversy of early 17th century Gaelic Ireland, lasting from 1616 to 1624 , in which the principal bardic poets of the country wrote polemical verses against each other and in support of their respective patrons.There were thirty contributions to the...

.

He was the foster-father of the Irish kings Corc

CORC

CORC , was a simple computer language developed at Cornell University in 1962 to serve lay users, namely, for students to use to solve math problems. Its developers, industrial engineering professors Richard Conway and William Maxwell and mathematics professor Robert J...

 and Niall of the Nine Hostages

Niall of the Nine Hostages

Niall Noígíallach , or in English, Niall of the Nine Hostages, son of Eochaid Mugmedón, was an Irish king, the eponymous ancestor of the Uí Néill kindred who dominated Ireland from the 6th century to the 10th century...

, and to him is attributed the Lament for Corc and Niall of the Nine Hostages. In the tale Suidigud Tellaig na Cruachna ("The Settling of the Manor of Crúachan"), he is the author of a poem on famous men and women who were buried in the cemetery of Crúachan (Rathcroghan).