| Cuchulainn,
also spelled Cuchulainn, is a great hero
of Irish mythology and folklore. He is the main character in The Tain
, the oldest epic of western Europe in a native language detailing a cattle
raid between Connacht and Ulster over a Brown bull from the Cooly Mountains
that Queen Maeve wanted. It is the central story
of the Ulster cycle of ancient Irish tales. Said to have taken place about
the beginning of the christion era, the story has a slim base in fact,
but the details are mythological. Cuchulainn's reputation as a warrior
grew in Irish folk tales until he came to be treated as a defender of
all Ireland. Cuchulainn became a favorite character among writers of the
Irish Literary Renaissance, a period of artistic attention to sources
within the Irish tradition that began in the late 1800's.
Cuchulainn had extraordinary powers because his
father was Lugh (loo), the Celtic
Sun God. He won the name Cuchulainn (Hound of Culan) by offering to take
the place of a ferocious watchdog he had killed at the house of Culan.
There are many stories of his life and exploits.
Cuchulainn's alleged birthplace
is near Dundalk County Louth.
The Hero Tales of Cuchulainn's defense of Ulster
against the armies of Connaught is told in the Tain. The champion of Ulster
defends its southern border as the men of the Red Branch are struck down
with the curse of Macha, To suffer the pains of childbirth at a time of
need, as a punishment for the mocking and cruelty that the men of Ulster
showed the goddess in making her run a race for a wager when she was in
labour with twins.
Unfortunately some of the Red branch knights were
fighting with Maeve and Ailell, after the betrayal by Conner Mac Nessi
of Deirdre and the sons of Usna, they took shelter in the west.
Cuchulainn and his boy hood friend and kindred
spirit Ferdia, met in battle at the ford were death was the only winner.
Cuchulainn died bound upright to a pillar, with
the Morrigan, the War Goddess of the Ancient Celts perched on his shoulder.
In recent years Cuchulainn has been adopted by
strands of Ulster loyalism, perceived as the defender of Ulster his image
is to be seen in several wall murals in loyalist areas of Belfast.
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