Deirdre ( , Irish: ; sga, Derdriu ) is the foremost

tragic heroine A tragic hero is the protagonist of a tragedy. In his ''Poetics'', Aristotle records the descriptions of the tragic hero to the playwright and strictly defines the place that the tragic hero must play and the kind of man he must be. Aristotle ba ...

in Irish legend and probably its best-known figure in modern times. She is known by the epithet "Deirdre of the Sorrows" (). Her story is part of the Ulster Cycle, the best-known stories of pre-Christian Ireland.

In legend

Deirdre was the daughter of the royal storyteller

Fedlimid mac Daill Feidhlimidh Mac Daill (sometimes Felim mac Dall) was the father of Deirdre in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. He was the bard of King Conchobar mac Nessa, whom he was entertaining when the news arrived of Deirdre's birth; the king's chief dru ...

. Before she was born,

Cathbad Cathbad () or Cathbhadh (modern spelling) is the chief druid in the court of King Conchobar mac Nessa in the Ulster Cycle of Irish Mythology. He features in both accounts of Conchobar's birth, in one of which he is the king's father. In the first ...

the chief

druid A druid was a member of the high-ranking class in ancient Celtic cultures. Druids were religious leaders as well as legal authorities, adjudicators, lorekeepers, medical professionals and political advisors. Druids left no written accounts. Whi ...

at the court of Conchobar mac Nessa, king 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 ...

, prophesied that Fedlimid's daughter would grow up to be very beautiful, but that kings and lords would go to war over her, much blood would be shed because of her, and Ulster's three greatest warriors would be forced into exile for her sake. Hearing this, many urged Fedlimid to kill the baby at birth, but Conchobar, aroused by the description of her future beauty, decided to keep the child for himself. He took Deirdre away from her family and had her brought up in seclusion by

Leabharcham Leabharcham was a wise old woman of Emain Macha in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. She was charged by the Ulster king Conchobar mac Nessa with nursing Deirdre in seclusion until the girl was old enough to be his bride, after it was prophe ...

, a poet and wise woman, and planned to marry Deirdre when she was

old enough ''Old Enough'' is a 1984 American comedy-drama coming-of-age film written and directed by Marisa Silver, and produced by Dina Silver. The film follows the friendship that develops over one summer between two girls from different social backgrou ...

. As a young girl, living isolated in the woodlands, Deirdre told Leabharcham one snowy day that she would love a man with the colours she had seen when a raven landed in the snow with its prey: hair the color of the raven, skin as white as snow, and cheeks as red as blood. Leabharcham told her she was describing Naoise, a handsome young warrior, hunter and singer at Conchobar's court. With the collusion of Leabharcham, Deirdre met Naoise and they fell in love. Accompanied by his brothers Ardan and Ainnle (the other two sons of Uisneach), Naoise and Deirdre fled to Scotland. They lived a happy life there, hunting and fishing and living in beautiful places; one place associated with them is Loch Etive. Some versions of the story mention that Deirdre and Naoise had children, a son, Gaiar, and a daughter, Aebgreine, who were fostered by Manannan Mac Lir. However, the furious, humiliated Conchobar tracked them down. He sent Fergus mac Róich to them with an invitation to return and Fergus's own promise of safe conduct home. On the way back to Emain Macha, Conchobar had Fergus waylaid, forced by his personal

geis A ' or ' (pl. ') is an idiosyncratic taboo, whether of obligation or prohibition, similar to being under a vow or curse, yet the observance of which can also bring power and blessings. It is also used to mean specifically a spell prohibiting s ...

(an obligation) to accept an invitation to a feast. Fergus sent Deirdre and the sons of Uisneach on to Emain Macha with his son to protect them. When they arrived, Conchobar sent Leabharcham to spy on Deirdre, to see if she had lost her beauty. Leabharcham, to protect Deirdre, told the king that Deirdre was now ugly and aged. Conchobar then sent another spy, Gelbann, who managed to catch a glimpse of Deirdre but was seen by Naoise, who threw a gold chess piece at him and put out his eye. The spy managed to get back to Conchobar, and told him that Deirdre was as beautiful as ever. Conchobar called his warriors to attack the

Red Branch The Red Branch (; alternatively, ) is the name of two of the three royal houses of the king of Ulster, Conchobar mac Nessa, at his capital Emain Macha (Navan Fort, near Armagh), in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. In modern retellings it is s ...

house where Deirdre and the sons of Uisneach were lodging. Naoise and his brothers fought valiantly, aided by a few Red Branch warriors, before Conchobar evoked their oath of loyalty to him and had Deirdre dragged to his side. At this point, Éogan mac Durthacht threw a spear, killing Naoise, and his brothers were killed shortly afterward. Fergus and his men arrived after the battle. Fergus was outraged by this betrayal of his word, and went into exile in

Connacht Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbhn ...

. He later fought against Ulster for

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 ...

in the war of the '' Táin Bó Cúailnge'' (the Cattle Raid of Cooley), sometimes referred to as "the Irish

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odysse ...

". After the death of Naoise, Conchobar took Deirdre as his wife. After a year, angered by Deirdre's continuing coldness toward him, Conchobar asked her whom in the world she hated the most, besides himself. She answered "Éogan mac Durthacht", the man who had murdered Naoise. Conchobar said that he would give her to Éogan. As she was being taken to Éogan, Conchobar taunted her, saying she looked like a ewe between two rams. At this, Deirdre threw herself from the

chariot A chariot is a type of cart driven by a charioteer, usually using horses to provide rapid motive power. The oldest known chariots have been found in burials of the Sintashta culture in modern-day Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, dated to c. 2000&nbs ...

, dashing her head to pieces against a rock.

Cultural references

There are many plays and other stage productions based on Deirdre's story, including: *

George William Russell George William Russell (10 April 1867 – 17 July 1935), who wrote with the pseudonym Æ (often written AE or A.E.), was an Irish writer, editor, critic, poet, painter and Irish nationalist. He was also a writer on mysticism, and a centra ...

's ''Deirdre'' (1902) * William Butler Yeats' ''Deirdre'' (1907) *

J. M. Synge Edmund John Millington Synge (; 16 April 1871 – 24 March 1909) was an Irish playwright, poet, writer, collector of folklore, and a key figure in the Irish Literary Revival. His best known play ''The Playboy of the Western World'' was poorly r ...

's ''

Deirdre of the Sorrows ''Deirdre of the Sorrows'' is a three-act play written by Irish playwright John Millington Synge in 1909. The play, based on Irish mythology, in particular the myths concerning Deirdre, Naoise, and Conchobar, was unfinished at the author's death o ...

'' (1910). Synge's play enjoyed a vogue amongst composers in the earlier part of the 20th century and many of them set it to music, including Fritz Hart, Cecil Gray,

Havergal Brian Havergal Brian (born William Brian; 29 January 187628 November 1972) was an English composer. He is best known for having composed 32 symphonies (an unusually high total for a 20th-century composer), most of them late in his life. His best-know ...

, Healey Wlllan and

Karl Rankl Karl Rankl (1 October 1898 – 6 September 1968) was a British conductor and composer who was of Austrian birth. A pupil of the composers Schoenberg and Webern, he conducted at opera houses in Austria, Germany and Czechoslovakia until fleeing f ...

. *

Vincent Woods Vincent Woods (born 1960) is an Irish poet and playwright. His life Woods was born in County Leitrim. He studied Journalism in the College of Commerce, Rathmines. Woods lived in the United States, New Zealand, and Australia and worked as a jour ...

' ''

A Cry from Heaven ''A Cry from Heaven'' is a 2005 play by Irish playwright Vincent Woods. It retells the story of the beautiful Deirdre and the Sons of Usna which is one of the great tragedies of Irish myth. The birth of a girl heralded by omens of a vulture-shrou ...

'' (2005). * John Coulter's ''Deirdre of the Sorrows'' (An Ancient and Noble Tale Retold by John Coulter for Music by Healey Willian) (1944), operetta *

Adriaan Roland Holst Adriaan Roland Holst (Amsterdam, 23 May 1888 – Bergen, North Holland, 5 August 1976) was a Dutch writer, nicknamed the "Prince of Dutch Poets". He was the second winner, in 1948, of the Constantijn Huygens Prize. He was nominated for t ...

's ''Deirdre en de zonen van Usnach'' (1916) * '' Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War'': a character named Deirdre was featured with her story based on the mythological counterpart (1996) Novels about her include ''Deirdre'' (1923) by James Stephens, ''The Celts'' (1988) by Elona Malterre, ''On Raven's Wing'' (1990) by

Morgan Llywelyn Morgan Llywelyn (born December 3, 1937) is an American-Irish historical interpretation author of Historical fiction, historical and Mythic fiction, mythological fiction and history, historical non-fiction. Her interpretation of mythology and ...

and ''The Swan Maiden'' by Jules Watson. Music about her includes the album ''A Celtic Tale: The Legend Of Deirdre'' (1996) by Mychael Danna & Jeff Danna. and the song ''Of The Sorrows'' from the album ''The Wanderlings Volume Two'' by Leslie Hudson. , a ship in the

Irish Naval Service The Naval Service ( ga, An tSeirbhís Chabhlaigh) is the maritime component of the Defence Forces of Ireland and is one of the three branches of the Irish Defence Forces. Its base is in Haulbowline, County Cork. Though preceded by earlier mar ...

from 1972 to 2001, was named after her.''Irish Times'', 3 March 2001
/ref>

References

Texts

University of Cork, Ireland : CELT (Corpus of Electronic Texts) : Longes mac nUislenn
(translation by Douglas Hyde)
A Scoto-Irish Romance of the first century A.D., compiled from various sources by William Graham, 1908
A detailed retelling of the story for children, by Jeanie Lang (1914) {{Authority control Ulster Cycle Characters in Irish mythology Scottish folklore Glendaruel Irish-language feminine given names Women in mythology Women in Irish mythology

In legend

Cultural references

See also

References

Texts