Cúscraid (; var. Cumscraid) (
pronunciation guides: /'ku:skrid m'eN 'maxa / () /cŏŏs'crĭ/ () /KOOS-kri''dh''/ (Paddy Brown)) known by the epithet ''Mend Macha'' (the "stammerer" or "inarticulate one" of
Macha), is a son of
Conchobar mac Nessa
Conchobar mac Nessa (son of Ness) is the king of Ulster in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. He rules from Emain Macha (Navan Fort, near Armagh). He is usually said to be the son of the High King Fachtna Fáthach, although in some stories ...
in the
Ulster Cycle
The Ulster Cycle (), formerly known as the Red Branch Cycle, is a body of medieval Irish heroic legends and sagas of the Ulaid. It is set far in the past, in what is now eastern Ulster and northern Leinster, particularly counties Armagh, Do ...
of
Irish mythology
Irish mythology is the body of myths indigenous to the island of Ireland. It was originally Oral tradition, passed down orally in the Prehistoric Ireland, prehistoric era. In the History of Ireland (795–1169), early medieval era, myths were ...
.
When he first took arms he led a foray against
Connacht
Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...
. He was met on the border by the Connacht hero
Cet mac Mágach, who wounded him in the throat (or tip of the tongue) with a spear, giving him his speech impediment.
The three most popular heroes with the women of
Ulster
Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...
were Cúscraid,
Cúchulainn and
Conall Cernach. The women imitated the peculiarity of the hero they loved the most: Cúscraid's fans stammered, Conall's crooked their necks, and Cúchulainn's squinted one eye in imitation of his
warp spasm.
After Conchobar's death, the Ulstermen invited his eldest son
Cormac Cond Longas to succeed him as king of Ulster, but Cormac was killed before he could take the throne. It was then offered to
Conall Cernach, who refused, recommending his foster-son Cúscraid instead, and Cúscraid became king.
[The Battle of Airtech]
Footnotes
References
* Scéla mucce meic Dá Thó — "The Story of
Mac Dá Thó's Pig"
** (ed. & tr.)
awl. B 512, f. 105v.-** (ed. & tr.)
L version*
Serglige Con Culainn
**
* Battle of Airtech
**
Irishan
a
Thesaurus Linguae Hibernicae*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cuscraid
Ulster Cycle
Legendary Irish kings
Characters in Táin Bó Cúailnge