O'brine a'bride

• Venice: the Italian city is known as the Queen of the Adriatic; it was once customary to celebrate the marriage of the city and the sea (Sposalizio del Mar) on Ascension Thursday; hence, Venice is the Bride of the Brine → in FW, Venice is often associated with Venus (and thus with Issy)
  • A Finnegans Wake Gazetteer
  • Third Census of Finnegans Wake
  • Wikipedia

• brine: the sea; salt water → the Adriatic Sea

• O’Brien: the ruling sept of Thomond (now County Clare), which took its name from the High King Brian Ború

• Biddy O'Brien: a character in the ballad Finnegan's Wake; she weeps over Tim's corpse, so the brine could allude to her salt tears
  • Third Census of Finnegans Wake

• O’Brien, about [to be deserted]

• brón: (Irish) sorrow, grief

• braonach: (Irish) tearful

• pride