The earliest tracts were produced in the oldest archaic form of Irish dialect known as 'Bérla Féine’, some also suggest the written text to be an ancient poetic legal dialect of Dubthach. According to Irish myth the "Feine" were descendants of a legendary figure known as Fénius Farsaid, who is said to have created the ancient language "Bérla Féne". These early manuscripts proved a difficult challenge for centuries after to translate for future academics and even to later Brehons. Only in the seventeenth century did Irish Gaelic scholars such as Eugene O'Curry and John O'Donovan manage to translate much of these original text, but only due to a life-long study.