Heroes & Saints
Heroes, warriors, saints. Cú Chulainn, Fionn, Pádraig, Bríd. Their names live on in the language.
26 entries.
| Irish | Ogham | How to say it | English | Source | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brendan | ᚛ᚁᚏᚓᚅᚇᚐᚅ᚜ | BREN-dun | brendan | FoclóirTeanglann | Saint Brendan the Navigator. Crossed the Atlantic in a currach in the 6th century, by the testimony of Navigatio Sancti Brendani. Feast day 16 May. |
| Bríd | ᚛ᚁᚏᚔᚇ᚜ | breed | bridget | CELT — Lebor Gabála | Brigid. Goddess of poetry, smithcraft, and healing in pre-Christian Ireland; also the Christian saint whose feast (1 February) marks the spring festival of Imbolc. |
| Caílte | ᚛ᚉᚐᚔᚂᚈᚓ᚜ | KEEL-chuh | caílte | CELT — Acallam | Caílte mac Rónáin — fastest of the Fianna; in Acallam na Senórach, he tells the surviving lore of the Fianna to Saint Pádraig centuries after they died. |
| Ciarán | ᚛ᚉᚔᚐᚏᚐᚅ᚜ | KEER-awn | ciarán | Foclóir | Saint Ciarán of Clonmacnoise. Founded the great monastery on the Shannon. Feast day 9 September. |
| Colm Cille | ᚛ᚉᚑᚂᚋ ᚉᚔᚂᚂᚓ᚜ | KUL-um KIL-uh | columba | FoclóirTeanglann | Saint Columba (Colm Cille — ‘dove of the church’). Founded Iona; brought Irish monasticism to Scotland and beyond. Feast day 9 June. |
| Conchobar | ᚛ᚉᚑᚅᚉᚆᚑᚁᚐᚏ᚜ | KUN-uh-khur | conchobar | CELT — Táin | Conchobar mac Nessa — King of Ulster in the Ulster Cycle. The treachery of his court drove Deirdre to her death. |
| Conn Céadchathach | ᚛ᚉᚑᚅᚅ ᚉᚓᚐᚇᚉᚆᚐᚈᚆᚐᚉᚆ᚜ | KUN KAYD-khah-ukh | conn of the hundred battles | Foclóir | Conn Céadchathach. Legendary High King of Ireland; conn means ‘sense, judgement.’ |
| Connla | ᚛ᚉᚑᚅᚅᚂᚐ᚜ | KUN-luh | connla | CELT — Táin | Connla — son of Cú Chulainn and Aoife. Killed by his own father in a tragic recognition story (echoed in Persian and Russian epic — the international ‘father-son combat’ theme). |
| Cormac mac Airt | ᚛ᚉᚑᚏᚋᚐᚉ ᚋᚐᚉ ᚐᚔᚏᚈ᚜ | KUR-muk muk ARCH | cormac mac airt | Foclóir | Cormac mac Airt — the wise High King. Author of the Brehon law text Tecosca Cormaic (‘Instructions of Cormac’). |
| Cú Chulainn | ᚛ᚉᚒ ᚉᚆᚒᚂᚐᚔᚅᚅ᚜ | koo-KHUL-in | cú chulainn | CELT — Táin | The Hound of Culann. Hero of the Ulster Cycle; defended Ulster single-handed in the Cattle Raid of Cooley. |
| Deirdre | ᚛ᚇᚓᚔᚏᚇᚏᚓ᚜ | DAYR-druh | deirdre | CELT — Táin | Deirdre of the Sorrows. Prophesied to bring ruin to Ulster; her doomed love for Naoise is one of the great tragedies of Irish lore. |
| Diarmuid | ᚛ᚇᚔᚐᚏᚋᚒᚔᚇ᚜ | JEER-muj | diarmuid | CELT — Acallam | Diarmuid Ua Duibhne. Hero of the Fenian Cycle; eloped with Gráinne (Fionn’s promised bride). Diarmuid agus Gráinne is one of the great Irish romances. |
| Fionn | ᚛ᚃᚔᚑᚅᚅ᚜ | fyun | finn | CELT — Acallam | Fionn mac Cumhaill. Hero of the Fenian Cycle; leader of the Fianna, the wandering warrior-poets. |
| Goll mac Morna | ᚛ᚌᚑᚂᚂ ᚋᚐᚉ ᚋᚑᚏᚅᚐ᚜ | GUL muk MUR-nuh | goll mac morna | CELT — Acallam | Goll mac Morna — one-eyed Fenian hero, sometimes Fionn’s friend, sometimes his rival. |
| Gráinne | ᚛ᚌᚏᚐᚔᚅᚅᚓ᚜ | GRAW-nyuh | gráinne | CELT — Acallam | Gráinne. Promised to Fionn but eloped with Diarmuid. Gives English-speakers the name Grace. |
| Ita | ᚛ᚔᚈᚐ᚜ | EE-tuh | ita | FoclóirTeanglann | Saint Ita of Killeedy. Foster-mother to many of Ireland’s male saints. Feast day 15 January. |
| Kevin | ᚛ᚓᚔᚅ᚜ | KEH-vin | kevin | FoclóirTeanglann | Saint Kevin (Caoimhín) of Glendalough. Founded the monastic city in the Wicklow valley. Feast day 3 June. |
| Lugh | ᚛ᚂᚒᚌᚆ᚜ | loo | lugh | CELT — Lebor Gabála | Lugh of the Long Arm. King of the Tuatha Dé Danann; god of skill, oaths, and harvest. The August festival Lughnasa is named for him. |
| Medb | ᚛ᚋᚓᚇᚁ᚜ | mayv | medb | CELT — Táin | Queen Medb of Connacht. Demanded the Brown Bull of Cooley; opponent of Cú Chulainn in the Táin. Originally a sovereignty goddess; later folded into the historical-king tradition. |
| Naoise | ᚛ᚅᚐᚑᚔᚄᚓ᚜ | NEE-shuh | naoise | CELT — Táin | Naoise — lover of Deirdre. Killed by the treachery of King Conchobar; central tragedy of the Ulster Cycle. |
| Niall Naoighiallach | ᚛ᚅᚔᚐᚂᚂ ᚅᚐᚑᚔᚌᚆᚔᚐᚂᚂᚐᚉᚆ᚜ | NEE-ul NAY-yul-ukh | niall of the nine hostages | Foclóir | Niall of the Nine Hostages. Late 4th-century High King; ancestor of the Uí Néill dynasty that dominated Ulster for centuries. |
| Nuada | ᚛ᚅᚒᚐᚇᚐ᚜ | NOO-uh-duh | nuada | CELT — Lebor Gabála | Nuada Airgetlám — Nuada of the Silver Arm. King of the Tuatha Dé Danann. |
| Oisín | ᚛ᚑᚔᚄᚔᚅ᚜ | USH-een | oisín | CELT — Acallam | Son of Fionn mac Cumhaill, poet of the Fianna. Spent three centuries with Niamh in Tír na nÓg. |
| Pádraig | ᚛ᚚᚐᚇᚏᚐᚔᚌ᚜ | PAW-rig | patrick | FoclóirTeanglann | Saint Patrick. Feast day 17 March. Patron saint of Ireland; brought Christianity in the 5th century. |
| Scáthach | ᚛ᚄᚉᚐᚈᚆᚐᚉᚆ᚜ | SKAW-hukh | scáthach | CELT — Táin | Scáthach — warrior-woman of the Isle of Skye; Cú Chulainn’s martial-arts teacher. ‘The Shadowy One.’ |
| Sétanta | ᚛ᚄᚓᚈᚐᚅᚈᚐ᚜ | SHAY-tun-tuh | sétanta | CELT — Táin | Sétanta — Cú Chulainn’s name as a boy, before he killed the smith Culann’s hound and took its name. |