In the

Ulster Cycle The Ulster Cycle ( ga, an Rúraíocht), 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 coun ...

Irish mythology Irish mythology is the body of myths native to the island of Ireland. It was originally oral tradition, passed down orally in the Prehistoric Ireland, prehistoric era, being part of ancient Celtic religion. Many myths were later Early Irish ...

, Dáire mac Fiachna is an

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 Kin ...

cattle-lord and owner of

Donn Cuailnge In the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology Donn Cúailnge, the Brown Bull of Cooley, was an extremely fertile stud bull over whom the Táin Bó Cúailnge (Cattle Raid of Cooley) was fought. Prologue A ninth century ''rémscéla'' or foretale recount ...

, the Brown Bull of Cooley, over which the '' Táin Bó Cuailnge'' (Cattle Raid of Cooley) was fought. Following the medieval Irish genealogies, Dáire mac Fiachna appears to have been a paternal relative 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 hi ...

. He appears in the

Táin Bó Regamon The Táin Bó Regamon is an Irish story written c. A.D.800–c. A.D. 900. A version of it exists in the Yellow Book of Lecan. One of the Táin Bó tales of early Irish literature, the Táin Bó Regamon was by one of more authors during the 9th c ...

within a ghastly chariot alongside the Morrígan. He is described as a great man wrapped in a red cloak with a forked staff of hazel at his back. The Morrígan first introduces him as ''h-Uar-gaeth-sceo-luachair-sceo'', before later revealing that he is Dáire mac Fiachna, and the owner of

. When Queen

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 sev ...

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 ...

discovered that her husband, Ailill, was considerably wealthier than her due to his possession of one extremely fertile bull, she resolved to even the account by possessing Dáire mac Fiachna's great bull, Donn Cuailnge. Queen Medb sent messengers to Dáire mac Fiachna with a generous offer of land, treasure, and if necessary, sexual favours, should Dáire mac Fiachna agree to loan her the bull for one year. Initially, Dáire mac Fiachna agreed. However, the Queen's messengers became inebriated, and one of the messengers drunkenly boasted that if Dáire mac Fiachna had not agreed, Queen Medb would have surely taken the bull by force. When Dáire mac Fiachna heard this slight, he backed out of the deal, and Queen Medb proceeded to take the bull,

, by force.

References

Cecile O'Rahilly Cecile O'Rahilly ( ga, Sisile Ní Rathaille; 17 December 1894 in Listowel, County Kerry, Ireland – 2 May 1980 in Dublin, Ireland) was a scholar of the Celtic languages. She is best known for her editions/translations of the various recensions o ...

(ed & trans), ''Táin Bó Cúalnge from the Book of Leinster'', Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1967, pp. 138–141 {{DEFAULTSORT:Daire Mac Fiachna Ulster Cycle Characters in Táin Bó Cúailnge

See also

References