Celtchar, son of Uthechar or Uthidir, is a character from the Ulster Cycle of

Irish Mythology Irish mythology is the body of myths native to the island of Ireland. It was originally passed down orally in the prehistoric era, being part of ancient Celtic religion. Many myths were later written down in the early medieval era by C ...

. In '' Scéla Mucce Maic Dathó'' ("The Tale of Mac Dathó's Pig") he is described as "a grey, tall, very terrible hero of

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

". When he challenges

Cet mac Mágach Cet mac Mágach is a Connacht warrior in the Ulster Cycle of Irish Mythology. He had a rivalry with the Ulster warrior Conall Cernach. In some myths, he is said to be the brother of Conall's mother, making him Conall's uncle. At a feast at the ...

for the champion's portion, Cet counters that he once emasculated Celtchar with a spear at Celtchar's own house. He lives in Dún Lethglaise, also known as the Mound of Down ( Irish ''Dún''), or Rathkeltair (Irish ''Ráth Celtchair'' or Celtchar's Fort) in Downpatrick,

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the ...

. His wife is Findmór of Dún Sobairche ( Dunseverick,

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...

). He wields a spear or lance, the '' Lúin Cheltchair'', whose lust for blood is so great it has to be dipped in a cauldron of poison to control it. In the '' Táin Bó Cúailnge'', after the Ulstermen have roused from their debility, he and Conchobar mac Nessa rescue eight captive Ulster women from eight men of

Ailill Ailill (Ailell, Oilioll) is a male name in Old Irish. It is a prominent name in Irish mythology, as for Ailill mac Máta, King of Connacht and husband of Queen Medb, on whom Shakespeare based the Fairy Queen Mab. Ailill was a popular given name in ...

and

Medb Medb (), later spelled Meadhbh (), Méibh () and Méabh (), and often anglicised as Maeve ( ), is queen of Connacht in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. Her husband in the core stories of the cycle is Ailill mac Máta, although she had seve ...

's household at Áth Féinne. In compensation for murdering

Blaí Briugu Blaí Briugu (Blaí the Landholder or Hospitaller) is an Ulster warrior in the Ulster Cycle of Irish Mythology. He was wealthy and kept a hostel, and had a ''geis'' which required him to sleep with any woman who stayed there unaccompanied. When B ...

, who had slept with his wife, Celtchar has to rid Ulster of three menaces. The first is Conganchnes mac Dedad, who seeks revenge for the death of his nephew

Cú Roí Cú Roí mac Dáire (Cú Ruí, Cú Raoi) is a king of Munster in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. He is usually portrayed as a warrior with superhuman abilities and a master of disguise possessed of magical powers. His name probably means "ho ...

, and who has skin like horn, which no weapon can pierce. Celtchar offers him his daughter Niam in marriage, who discovers that Conganchnes can only be killed by hammering red hot spits into the soles of his feet. She passes the information to her father, who does the deed. The second menace is a ferocious dog called ''Luch Donn'' ("brown mouse"). It had been found as a pup by a widow, who raised it until it was enormous and uncontrollable. It killed all the widow's sheep and cattle, then her sons, and finally the widow herself, and now it devastates a settlement every night. Celtchar finds an alder log, hollows it out so his arm will fit through it, and boils it in honey, grease and herbs until it is tough and supple. He approaches the dog with the log over his arm, and when the dog bites into it its teeth get stuck, enabling Celtchar to pull its heart out through its throat, killing it. The third menace is Dóelchú, Celtchar's own dog. It was found as a pup inside Conganchnes's burial mound, and would only let Celtchar handle it, until one day it escaped, and became a menace to the cattle and sheep of Ulster. Celtchar finds the dog and calls to it, and it comes and licks his feet. Reluctantly, Celtchar dispatches it with his spear. As he lifts the spear, a drop of the dog's poisonous blood runs down it and through Celtchar's body, killing him.''Aided Cheltchair meic Uthechair'', edited and translated by Kuno Meyer
"The Death of Celtchar mac Uthechair"
, ''The Death Tales of the Ulster Heroes'', Todd Lecture Series. Dublin, 1906: pp. 24-31

References

{{Irish mythology (Ulster) Ulster Cycle

See also

References