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 ...
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 Ch ...
Donn Cúailnge, the Brown Bull of Cooley, was an extremely fertile stud bull over whom the
Táin Bó Cúailnge
(Modern ; "the driving-off of the cows of Cooley"), commonly known as ''The Táin'' or less commonly as ''The Cattle Raid of Cooley'', is an epic from Irish mythology. It is often called "The Irish Iliad", although like most other early Iri ...
(Cattle Raid of Cooley) was fought.
Prologue
A ninth century ''rémscéla'' or foretale recounts how the tale came to be. In the 6th century, the poet
Senchán Torpéist
Senchán Torpéist (c. 560–649 AD) was a Gaelic-Irish poet.
Background
Seanchan Torpest was the Chief Poet of Connacht c.640 AD when he succeeded Dallán Forgaill as Chief Ollam of Ireland. He died in c.649 AD.
His father was Cuairfheartaig ...
gathered the poets of Ireland together to see if any of them knew the story of the ''Táin Bó Cúailnge'', but they all only knew parts of it. His son Muirgen came to the grave of
Fergus mac Róich
Fergus mac Róich (literally " manliness, son of great stallion") is a character in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. Formerly the king of Ulster, he is tricked out of the kingship and betrayed by Conchobar mac Nessa, becomes the ally and lo ...
and spoke a poem, and Fergus' ghost appeared to him and related the events of the ''Táin'' as they happened.
Legend
He was originally a man named Friuch, a pig-keeper, who worked for
Bodb Dearg
In Irish mythology, Bodb Derg (Old Irish, ) or Bodhbh Dearg (Middle Irish and Modern Irish, ) was a son of Eochaid Garb or the Dagda,"The Children of Lir". P.W. Joyce (translator). 1879. ''Old Irish Romances.'' C. Kegan Paul & Co. and the Dagda' ...
, king of the Munster ''sidh''. He fell out with Rucht, who was a pig-keeper for Ochall Ochne, king of the Connaught ''sidh''. The two fought, transforming into various animal and human forms, ultimately becoming two worms which were swallowed by two cows and reborn as two bulls, Donn Cuailnge and
Finnbhennach
In the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology, Finnbhennach ("white-horned" sometimes rendered as "Whitehorn") was an extremely fertile stud bull owned by king Ailill of Connacht.
He was originally one of Bodb Dearg's pig-keepers, who fell out with on ...
("White-horned"). Donn belonged to
Dáire mac Fiachna
In the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology, Dáire mac Fiachna is an Ulster cattle-lord and owner of Donn Cuailnge, the Brown Bull of Cooley, over which the '' Táin Bó Cuailnge'' (Cattle Raid of Cooley) was fought. Following the medieval Irish geneal ...
, a cattle-lord 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 Kin ...
; Finnbhennach was born into the herds of queen Medb of
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 Del ...
, but considered belonging to a woman beneath him and joined the herds of her husband, Ailill.
The Mórrígan had a heifer which she took to Cooley to be bulled by Donn. The result was a bull-calf which fought Finnbhennach and narrowly lost. After seeing that, Medb was determined to see Finnbhennach fight the bull-calf's sire.
When Medb discovered that owning Finnbhennach made Ailill richer than her, she resolved to even the account by possessing Donn Cuailnge. She sent messengers to Dáire with an extremely generous offer of land and treasure, and if necessary sexual favours, if he would loan the bull to her for a year. Dáire agreed. However the messengers got drunk, and one boasted that if he hadn't agreed Medb would have taken the bull by force. When Dáire heard that he backed out of the deal.
Medb raised an army to steal Donn, and marched on Ulster. As Fergus mac Róich knew the terrain he was chosen to lead. The Mórrígan, in the form of a crow, warned Donn of the coming army, and Donn Cuailnge goes on a rampage.
The men of Ulster were intent on fighting Medb's army but were disabled by the curse of Cruinniuc's wife,
Macha
Macha () was a sovereignty goddess of ancient Ireland associated with the province of Ulster, particularly the sites of Navan Fort (''Eamhain Mhacha'') and Armagh (''Ard Mhacha''), which are named after her.Koch, John T. ''Celtic Culture: A H ...
. The only person fit to defend Ulster is seventeen-year-old Cúchulainn but he lets the army take Ulster by surprise because he's off on a tryst when he should be watching the border. Medb ultimately tracked Donn Cuailnge down and he gores the first Connaught herdsman that attempts to capture him. He then stampeded with fifty heifers through the camp killing fifty warriors before charging off into the countryside.MacKillop, James. "Táin Bó Cúailnge", ''Myths and Legends of the Celts'', Penguin UK, 2006
Cúchulainn meets Medb's army on the mount of
, who invoked the right of single combat at a ford, defeating a series of champions in a standoff lasting months. While Cúchulainn is thus engaged Buide mac Báin has found Donn Cuailnge and is driving him and twenty-four cows to Connaught. Cúchulainn kills Buide mac Báin and his twenty-four followers, but in the carnage Donn Cuailnge again runs off.
Eventually, after a pitched battle with the Ulster forces, Medb's armies were forced to retreat, but they managed to bring Donn Cuailnge back to Cruachan. He and Finnbhennach fight. After a long and gruelling battle Donn killed his rival. Mortally wounded himself, he wandered around Ireland inspiring placenames before returning to Cooley to die.
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, ...
, in his ''
Gallic Wars
The Gallic Wars were waged between 58 and 50 BC by the Roman general Julius Caesar against the peoples of Gaul (present-day France, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland). Gallic, Germanic, and British tribes fought to defend their homel ...
'', refers to a
Gaulish
Gaulish was an ancient Celtic language spoken in parts of Continental Europe before and during the period of the Roman Empire. In the narrow sense, Gaulish was the language of the Celts of Gaul (now France, Luxembourg, Belgium, most of Switze ...
ally called Valerius Donnotaurus, an interesting Celtic parallel to the ''Donn Tarbh'' of Cooley."Donn Cuailnge", Oxford Index /ref>