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Dáire Mac Fiachna
Dáire mac Fiachna is an Ulster cattle-lord who appears in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology as the owner of Donn Cuailnge (The Brown Bull of Cooley) over which the '' Táin Bó Cuailnge'' (Cattle Raid of Cooley) is fought. Following the medieval Irish genealogies, Dáire mac Fiachna appears to have been a paternal relative of Conchobar Mac Nessa. He appears in the Táin Bó Regamon 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 Donn Cuailnge. When Queen Medb of Connacht discovers that her husband, Ailill, is considerably wealthier than her due to his possession of one extremely fertile bull, she resolves to even the account by taking possession of Dáire mac Fiachna's great bull, Donn Cuailnge. Queen Medb sends messengers to Dáire mac F ...
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Ulaid
(Old Irish, ) or (Irish language, Modern Irish, ) was a Gaelic Ireland, Gaelic Provinces of Ireland, over-kingdom in north-eastern Ireland during the Middle Ages made up of a confederation of dynastic groups. Alternative names include , which is the Latin form of , and , Irish for 'the Fifth'. The king of Ulaid was called the or . Ulaid also refers to a people of early Ireland, and it is from them that the province of Ulster derives its name. Some of the dynasties in the over-kingdom claimed descent from the Ulaid, but others are cited as being of Cruithin descent. In historical documents, the term Ulaid was used to refer to the population group of which the was the ruling dynasty. As such, the title held two meanings: over-king of the Kingdom of Ulaid and king of the Ulaid people, as in the . The Ulaid feature prominently in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. According to legend, the ancient territory of Ulaid spanned the whole of the modern province of Ulster, excludin ...
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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, Down and Louth. It focuses on the mythical Ulster king Conchobar mac Nessa and his court at Emain Macha, the hero Cú Chulainn, and their conflict with the Connachta and queen Medb. The longest and most important tale is the epic '' Táin Bó Cúailnge'' (Cattle Raid of Cooley). The Ulster Cycle is one of the four 'cycles' of Irish mythology and legend, along with the Mythological Cycle, the Fianna Cycle and the Kings' Cycle. Ulster Cycle stories The Ulster Cycle stories are set in and around the reign of King Conchobar mac Nessa, who rules the Ulaid from Emain Macha (now Navan Fort near Armagh). The most prominent hero of the cycle is Conchobar's nephew, Cú Chulainn. The Ulaid are most often in conflict with the Connachta, le ...
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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 recounts how the tale came to be. In the 6th century, the poet Senchán Torpéist 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 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, 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 tw ...
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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 his father is the druid Cathbad, and he is usually known by his matronymic, ''mac Nessa'': his mother is Ness, daughter of Eochaid Sálbuide, King of Ulster. Conchobar was an important figure in the Ulster Cycle, appearing in the Táin Bó Cúailnge and a number of other stories where he is depicted as a good king. Legendary biography Birth There are several versions of how Conchobar was conceived. In the earliest, Ness, daughter of Eochaid Sálbuide, the then king of Ulster, asks the druid Cathbad what it is an auspicious time for. Cathbad replies, "for begetting a king on a queen". There are no other men around, so Ness takes Cathbad to bed and she conceives a son. In a later version, Ness is brought up by twelve foster-father ...
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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 century and linguistically belongs to the Old Irish era. It is found in Egerton 1782. It tells the story of the Connachtman Regamon - apparently a misspelling of Regamain - who is described as "a famous warrior and hospitaller". He is described as living at a dún ('fort') "in the south of Connacht near to the boundary of the Corcmodruad (Corcomroe (barony)) in Nindus (see Eóganacht Ninussa). His seven daughters contest the seven sons of Queen Medb and King 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 ... over "a gift from his h ...
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Medb
Medb (), later spelled Meadhbh (), Méabh(a) () and Méibh (), 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 several husbands before him who were also kings of Connacht. She rules from Cruachan (now Rathcroghan, County Roscommon). She is the enemy (and former wife) of Conchobar mac Nessa, king of Ulster, and is best known for starting the ''Táin Bó Cúailnge'' ("The Cattle Raid of Cooley") to steal Ulster's prize stud bull Donn Cúailnge. Medb is strong-willed, ambitious, cunning and promiscuous, and is an archetypal warrior queen. She is believed by some to be a manifestation of the sovereignty goddess.Ó hÓgáin, Dáithí. ''Myth, Legend & Romance: An encyclopaedia of the Irish folk tradition''. Prentice Hall Press, 1991. pp. 294–295Monaghan, Patricia. ''The Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore''. Infobase Publishing, 2004. p.31 ...
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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, Conmhaícne, and Delbhna). Between the reigns of Conchobar mac Taidg Mór (died 882) and his descendant, Aedh mac Ruaidri Ó Conchobair (reigned 1228–33), it became a kingdom under the rule of the Uí Briúin Aí dynasty, whose ruling sept adopted the surname Ua Conchobair. At its greatest extent, it incorporated the often independent Kingdom of Breifne, as well as vassalage from the lordships of western Mide and west Leinster. Two of its greatest kings, Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair (1088–1156) and his son Ruaidri Ua Conchobair (c. 1115–1198) greatly expanded the kingdom's dominance, so much so that both became High King of Ireland. The Kingdom of Connacht collapsed in the 1230s because of civil war within the royal dynasty, which enab ...
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Ailill Mac Máta
Ailill mac Máta is the king of the Connachta and the husband of queen MedbMatson, Gienna: ''Celtic Mythology A to Z'', page 2. Chelsea House, 2004. in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. He rules from Cruachan (Rathcroghan in County Roscommon). Family background, marriage and offspring The sagas explain ''mac Máta'' as a matronymic: his mother is Máta Muirisc, daughter of Mága, of the Fir Ol nEchmacht, a tribal grouping of Connacht, through whom he claimed the throne of the Connachta. His father is Rus Ruad, king of the Laigin, whose other sons include Cairbre Nia Fer, king of Tara, Find Fili, who succeeded him as king of the Laigin, and in some texts Cathbad, chief druid of Conchobar mac Nessa of the Ulaid. The ''Táin Bó Cúailnge'' says Medb chose him as husband, ahead of Find, Cairbre and Conchobar, because he alone among them was without meanness, jealousy or fear.Cecile O'Rahilly (ed. & trans.), ''Táin Bó Cúalnge from the Book of Leinster'', Dublin Institute fo ...
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Dáire
Dáire is an Old Irish name which fell out of use at an early period, remaining restricted essentially to legendary and ancestral figures, usually male. It has come back into fashion since the 18th century. The anglicised form of this name is Dara. Bearers of the name Pre-modern world * Dáire Barrach, a Leinster dynast and son of Cathair Mór of the Laigin * Dáire Cerbba, a Munster dynast of the 4th century * Dáire Derg, character from the Fenian Cycle possibly identical with Goll mac Morna * Dáire Doimthech (Sírchréchtach), a legendary King of Tara, ancestor of the ''Dáirine'' and Corcu Loígde * Dáire Donn, "king of the great world" from the '' Battle of Ventry'' of the Fenian Cycle * Dáire Dornmár, a grandson of the legendary Conaire Mór and early king of Dál Riata * Dáire Drechlethan, a King of Tara of uncertain identity listed in the '' Baile Chuinn Chétchathaig'' * Dáire mac Cormaic, a son of the celebrated Cormac mac Airt * Dáire mac Degad, father of ...
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Cecile O'Rahilly
Cecile O'Rahilly (; 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 of the Ulster Cycle epic saga '' Táin Bó Cúailnge''. Early years and education O'Rahilly was born in Listowel, County Kerry, Ireland to Thomas Francis Rahilly of Ballylongford, County Kerry and Julia Mary Rahilly (''née'' Curry) of Glin, County Limerick. She was the eleventh of her parents' thirteen surviving children. Her older brother was the scholar T. F. O'Rahilly. She received her primary education at the local national school in Listowel, before attending the Presentation Convent, also in Listowel. By 1906 after being widowed seven years previously, her mother moved the family to Dublin, where they lived at 66 Botanic Road, Glasnevin. O'Rahilly continued her education at the Dominican College in Eccles Street. She received a BA with double firs ...
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