Emain Macha

In Irish mythology

Emain Macha is said to have been named after Macha, who is believed to have been a sovereignty goddess of the Ulaidh. One tale says that Macha, queen of the Ulaidh, forced her enemy's sons to dig the great bank-and-ditch after marking it out with her neck-brooch (eomuin), hence the name. In another tale, Macha is the fairy wife of Crunnchu. Despite promising not to speak of her, Crunnchu boasts that his wife can outrun the king's horses. The king forces the pregnant Macha to race the horses. She wins, but then gives birth to twins on the finish line. Before dying in childbirth, she curses the Ulstermen to be overcome with the exhaustion of childbirth at the time of their greatest need. This is a fore-tale of the Táin Bó Cúailnge (Cattle Raid of Cooley). The name Emain Macha is thus explained as "Macha's twins".