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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 Irish literature, the ''Táin'' is written in prosimetrum, i.e. prose with periodic additions of verse composed by the characters. The ''Táin'' tells of a war against Ulster by Queen Medb of Connacht and her husband King Ailill, who intend to steal the stud bull Donn Cuailnge. Due to a curse upon the king and warriors of Ulster, the invaders are opposed only by the young demigod, Cú Chulainn. The ''Táin'' is traditionally set in the 1st century in a pagan heroic age, and is the central text of a group of tales known as the Ulster Cycle. It survives in three written versions or " recensions" in manuscripts of the 12th century and later, the first a compilation largely written in Old Irish, the second a more consistent work i ...
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Heroic Age (literary Theory)
Some 20th-century studies of oral poetry and traditional literature postulate Heroic Ages as stages in the development of human societies likely to give rise to legends about heroic deeds. According to some theorists, oral epic poetry would originate during an Heroic Age, and would be transmitted, by singers who displayed less creativity, through later periods. Scholars who adopted Heroic Age theories include: * Maurice Bowra (1898–1971) * Hector Munro Chadwick (1870–1947) and Nora Kershaw Chadwick (1891–1972) A widely-shared view was that each society would pass through a Heroic Age only once. This apparently explains why, in the Chadwicks' survey of world-wide oral and traditional poetry, ''The Growth of Literature'' (published 1932–1940), medieval European epics such as the French ''Chansons de geste'' and the Spanish ''Cantar de Mio Cid'' are omitted: those societies are taken to have passed through a Heroic Age earlier. Bryan Hainsworth has suggested that in the va ...
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Fergus Mac Róich
Fergus mac Róich/Róigh (literally "Virility, manliness, son of great stallion") is an Irish hero and a character in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. Formerly the king of Ulaid, Ulster, he is tricked out of the kingship and betrayed by Conchobar mac Nessa, becomes the ally and lover of Conchobar's enemy, queen Medb of Connacht, and joins her expedition against Ulster in the ''Táin Bó Cúailnge''. Fergus is described as being of huge size and sexual potency.Whitley Stokes (scholar), Whitley Stokes (ed. & trans.)"The Tidings of Conchobar son of Ness" ''Ériu (journal), Ériu'' vol. 2, 1908 This leads him into many a precarious situation as in the story of the ''Táin Bó Flidhais''. King of Ulster Fergus becomes king of Ulster after his predecessor, Eochaid Sálbuide, is killed, along with the High King of Ireland, High King Fachtna Fáthach, by Eochu Feidlech in the Battle of Leitir Ruad. While king, he desires Eochaid Sálbuide's daughter Ness (Irish mythology), Ness, but ...
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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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Cooley Peninsula
The Cooley Peninsula (, older ''Cúalṅge'') is a hilly peninsula in the north of County Louth on the east coast of Ireland; the peninsula includes the small town of Carlingford, the port of Greenore and the village of Omeath. Geography The peninsula contains the Cooley Mountains, the highest of which, Slieve Foy, is also the highest peak in County Louth at . To the north is Carlingford Lough and the border with Northern Ireland; to the south is Dundalk Bay. The peninsula is ringed by the R173 regional road. The peninsula is geologically diverse, with 440-million-year-old Silurian greywacke sandstones in the northwest and southwest, 340-million-year-old limestones in the east, and 60-million-year-old volcanic rocks forming the Cooley Mountains. Antiquity In Irish mythology, Cooley (Old Irish Cúalnge') was the home of the bull Donn Cuailnge, and the site of the ''Táin Bó Cúailnge'', "Cattle Raid of Cooley". Ancient monuments in Cooley include the Proleek Dolmen ...
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Cruachan, Ireland
Rathcroghan () is a complex of archaeological sites near Tulsk in County Roscommon, Ireland. It is identified as the site of Cruachan, the traditional capital of the Connachta, the prehistoric and early historic rulers of the western territory. The Rathcroghan Complex (Crúachan Aí) is an archaeological landscape with many references found in early Irish medieval manuscripts. Located on the plains of Connacht (Mag nAí/Machaire Connacht), Rathcroghan is one of the six Royal sites of Ireland. The landscape extends over and consists of over 240 archaeological sites, 60 of which are protected national monuments. The monuments range from the Neolithic (4000–2500 BC), the Bronze (2500–500 BC) and Iron Ages (500 BC–400 AD), to the medieval period. These monuments include burial mounds, ringforts and medieval field boundaries amongst others. The most prominent of these are the multi-period Rathcroghan Mound, the Oweynagat cave, the Mucklaghs (a set of linear earthworks), and ...
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Thomas Kinsella
Thomas Kinsella (4 May 1928 – 22 December 2021) was an Irish poet, translator, editor, and publisher. Born outside Dublin, Kinsella attended University College Dublin before entering the civil service. He began publishing poetry in the early 1950s and, around the same time, translated early Irish poetry into English. In the 1960s, he moved to the United States to teach English at universities including Temple University. Kinsella continued to publish steadily until the 2010s. Early life and work Thomas Kinsella was born on 4 May 1928 in Inchicore to working-class but "cultured" parents John Paul Kinsella and Agnes, née Casserly. His father and grandfather both worked in Guinness's brewery, his father, a union organiser, in the cooperage, later working as "a helper, a labourer, on a Guinness delivery lorry"; his grandfather ran a barge from the brewery to sea-going vessels in Dublin harbour. Kinsella spent most of his childhood in the Kilmainham/ Inchicore area of Dublin, an ...
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Finnbhennach
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, led by their queen ...
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Desmond Kinney’s Mosaic (6179099398)
Desmond or Desmond's may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Desmond'' (novel), 1792 novel by Charlotte Turner Smith * ''Desmond's'', 1990s British television sitcom Ireland * Kingdom of Desmond, medieval Irish kingdom * Earl of Desmond, Irish aristocratic title * Desmond Rebellions, Irish rebellions during the 16th century led by the Earl of Desmond Science and technology * DESMOND (diabetes) (Diabetes Education and Self Management for Ongoing and Newly Diagnosed), a UK NHS diabetes education programme * Desmond (software), molecular dynamics simulation software * Storm Desmond, a windstorm in Britain and Ireland in 2015 Other uses * Desmond (name), a common given name and surname * Desmond (horse) (1896–1913), Thoroughbred racehorse * Desmond's (department store), a former US store * Desmond, slang term for the British 2:2 degree classification * Desmond, Western Australia, a former town in the Shire of Ravensthorpe See also * Desman, a tribe of aquatic mammals * Clíodhn ...
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National Epic
A national epic is an epic poem or a literary work of epic scope which seeks to or is believed to capture and express the essence or spirit of a particular nation—not necessarily a nation state, but at least an ethnic or linguistic group with aspirations to independence or autonomy. National epics frequently recount the origin of a nation, a part of its history, or a crucial event in the development of national identity such as other national symbols. History In medieval times Homer's ''Iliad'' was taken to be based on historical facts, and the Trojan War came to be considered as seminal in the genealogies of European monarchies. Virgil's ''Aeneid'' was taken to be the Roman equivalent of the ''Iliad'', starting from the Fall of Troy and leading up to the birth of the young Roman nation. According to the then-prevailing conception of history, empires were born and died in organic succession and correspondences existed between the past and the present. Geoffrey of Mo ...
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Early Modern Irish
Early Modern Irish () represented a transition between Middle Irish and Modern Irish. Its literary form, Classical Gaelic, was used in Ireland and Scotland from the 13th to the 18th century. Classical Gaelic Classical Gaelic or Classical Irish () was a shared literary form of Gaelic that was in use by poets in Scotland and Ireland from the 13th century to the 18th century. Although the first written signs of Scottish Gaelic having diverged from Irish appear as far back as the 12th century annotations of the Book of Deer, Scottish Gaelic did not have a separate standardised form and did not appear in print on a significant scale until the 1767 translation of the New Testament into Scottish Gaelic;Thomson (ed.), ''The Companion to Gaelic Scotland'' however, in the 16th century, John Carswell's ', an adaptation of John Knox's ''Book of Common Order'', was the first book printed in either Scottish or Irish Gaelic. Before that time, the vernacular dialects of Ireland and Scotland ...
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Middle Irish
Middle Irish, also called Middle Gaelic (, , ), is the Goidelic language which was spoken in Ireland, most of Scotland and the Isle of Man from AD; it is therefore a contemporary of Late Old English and Early Middle English. The modern Goidelic languages—Modern Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Manx Gaelic—are all descendants of Middle Irish. Grammar Middle Irish is a fusional, VSO, nominative-accusative language, and makes frequent use of lenition. Nouns decline for two genders: masculine and feminine, though traces of neuter declension persist; three numbers: singular, dual, plural; and five cases: nominative, accusative, genitive, prepositional, vocative. Adjectives agree with nouns in gender, number, and case. Verbs conjugate for three tenses: past, present, future; four moods: indicative, subjunctive, conditional, imperative; independent and dependent forms. Verbs conjugate for three persons and an impersonal, agentless form ( agent). There are a ...
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