Dáire mac Fiachna is an

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

cattle-lord who appears in the

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, Do ...

of Irish mythology as the 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 rec ...

(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 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 ...

. 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

. When Queen

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 ...

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, C ...

discovers that her husband,

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 ...

, 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 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 agrees. But when one of the Queen's messengers becomes inebriated, he boasts that had Dáire mac Fiachna not agreed, Queen Medb would have taken the bull by force. When Dáire mac Fiachna hears this slight, he backs out of the deal, and Queen Medb launches her army to take

, by force.

References

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 ...

(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