Ulster Cycle
The Ulster Cycle is the heroic epic of pre-Christian Ireland — Cú Chulainn, the Cattle Raid of Cooley, the warriors of the Red Branch.
16 entries.
| Irish | Ogham | How to say it | English | Source | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aided Chú Chulainn | ᚛ᚐᚔᚇᚓᚇ ᚉᚆᚒ ᚉᚆᚒᚂᚐᚔᚅᚅ᚜ | EYE-jud khoo KHUL-in | death of cú chulainn | CELT — Táin | The Death of Cú Chulainn. Killed by his geasa colliding with each other; tied himself to a stone pillar to die standing. |
| Aoife | ᚛ᚐᚑᚔᚃᚓ᚜ | EE-fuh | aoife | CELT — TáinCELT — Lebor Gabála | Aoife. Many in mythology: stepmother of the Children of Lir; warrior-queen who bore Cú Chulainn his son. Modern girls’ name. |
| Cnoc na hAdhairce | ᚛ᚉᚅᚑᚉ ᚅᚐ ᚆᚐᚇᚆᚐᚔᚏᚉᚓ᚜ | knuk nuh HAR-kuh | knocknarea | CELT — Táin | Knocknarea, Sligo. Topped by Queen Medb’s cairn (Miosgán Mhéabha) — said to contain her standing burial. |
| 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. |
| 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). |
| Cruachan | ᚛ᚉᚏᚒᚐᚉᚆᚐᚅ᚜ | KROO-uh-khun | cruachan | CELT — Táin | Cruachan (Rathcroghan, Co. Roscommon). Royal seat of Connacht; Medb’s stronghold; entrance to the otherworld in the Táin. |
| 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. |
| Emain Macha | ᚛ᚓᚋᚐᚔᚅ ᚋᚐᚉᚆᚐ᚜ | EH-vin MAH-khuh | emain macha | CELT — Táin | Emain Macha (Navan Fort, Co. Armagh). Royal seat of Ulster; Cú Chulainn and the Red Branch warriors based here. |
| Fand | ᚛ᚃᚐᚅᚇ᚜ | fond | fand | CELT — TáinCELT — Lebor Gabála | Fand — wife of Manannán, briefly the lover of Cú Chulainn before being magically separated from him. |
| Longes mac nUislenn | ᚛ᚂᚑᚅᚌᚓᚄ ᚋᚐᚉ ᚅᚒᚔᚄᚂᚓᚅᚅ᚜ | LUN-guss muk NISH-len | exile of the sons of uisliu | CELT — Táin | Longes mac nUislenn — Exile of the Sons of Uisliu. The Deirdre tragedy. The third of the Three Sorrows. |
| Macha | ᚛ᚋᚐᚉᚆᚐ᚜ | MAH-khuh | macha | CELT — TáinCELT — Lebor Gabála | Macha — horse-goddess. Cursed the men of Ulster with labour-pains in their hour of need (the source of Cú Chulainn’s solo defence in the Táin). |
| 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. |
| 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. |