The oldest surviving piece of Manx historical verse, copied down between 1504 and 1522 during the time of Thomas, second Earl of Derby. The ballad is composed in Manx Gaelic and was first translated into English by Joseph Train in 1845. Its full title in Manx is Mannanan Beg Mac y Leirr; ny, Slane Coontey jeh Ellan Vannin — "Little Mannanan Son of Leirr; or, A Full Account of the Isle of Man."

The ballad opens with Manannán as first ruler of the Island and moves through the coming of Saint Patrick, the establishment of Christianity, the succession of kings and lords, and the arrival of the Stanley family. It is a people’s history, passed from voice to voice across the centuries, preserving memories that no written record kept.

The Manannán verses are the earliest Manx-language source for the cloak of mist, the rush tribute, and South Barrule as Manannán’s stronghold. Verse 3 states it plainly: Manannan beg va Mac y Leirr, / Shen yn chied er ec row rieau ee — "Little Mannanan was son of Leirr; he was the first that ever had it." Verse 4 describes the mist: "It was not with his sword he kept it, neither with arrows or bow, but when he would see ships sailing, he would cover it round with a fog." Verse 5 adds the illusion of numbers: he would make a single man standing on a hill appear as if there were a hundred. Verse 6 records the rent: a bundle of coarse meadow grass from every landholder, paid yearly. Verse 7 names the destinations: some rushes went up to the great mountain above Barrule, and some to Mannanan above Keamool — South Barrule and Cronk y Voddy.

The ballad also records the ecclesiastical settlement of the Island: "for each four quarterlands he made a chapel, for people of them to meet in prayer." It is at once a political history, a record of tribute, and a statement of identity — the Island’s oldest surviving account of itself.